Fallen Vampire
By Dylan Wetzel
Preface
Angels never desired more power, or more anything. They were always content with what they had. But I wasn't like other angels. I thought they were all weak, ignorant fools.
Even as one of the strongest among the elite, I craved even more. But I couldn't. Or so I thought, until one day…
Earth used to be such a nice place, I thought, floating among the tree tops. Why'd Destiny create humans? They're such disgusting creatures.
"Tired of your binds, angel?" a voice crackled beneath me. Glancing down, I see a middle aged man with waxen skin. He has cropped dark brown hair, dark deep-set eyes, broad shoulders and long limbs.
"What? How can you see me?" I inquired, handing twitching to my blade as I descend a few feet. I'd been sent here to capture and contain a being by his very description.
"I can see lots of things. Like your heart's desire, for example," he tells me. "You want more power. Bu no one will give it to you. If they even knew it, you'd be stripped of your wings and locked away forever." I tear my sword, Panthera, from its sheath. But then the man says, "I know a way."
Pausing, I carefully and thoroughly consider his words. No mere human could see me, and he doesn't seem like a human at all. Darkness seems to seep from him in waves, cold, thick and stifling heavy. The slightest chill ripples threw me. "Who are you?" I ask.
He smirks and replies, "For now, my name is irrelevant. I, too, am an angel. Like you, I desired more of everything. But above all else, I desired more power. But I have found a way. Destiny denies you power because he doesn't want any of you strong enough to fight him."
Slowly, I take a human form before him, this "angel." Short snow white hair, blazing snow white eyes, broad shoulders and waist, I stand at six feet, five inches. My wings, snowy white with black streaks are eight feet from tip to tip, and they enclose into me.
Eyes narrowed, I ask, "How? Do you intend on telling me?" His smirk turns into a grin, but he gestures at my sword. Sighing slightly, I slide it back into the scabbard on my waist.
After a moment, his smirk vanishes and in a deep, serious tone says, "The only way you can acquire more power is to drink the blood of angels. You must suck them dry. Nor should you stop at one angel. The more you drink the stronger and more powerful you'll become.
"The blood of elite, the Archangels, will be ten times as rewarding. But you'll have to Fall. If you don't…well, I've already told you that."
Angel blood? That's what'll make more powerful? Stronger? I thought, processing what he's told me. It actually makes sense, in a way. No angel would willing harm another, unless they were doing something against the Divine laws, let alone blood simply for power.
But I would.
Seeing the decision in my eyes, he adds, "Once you've Fallen, I'll have a surprise for you. It'll help make you even stronger still."
"If that's everything, I'll be going," I tell him. "But if you're wrong, I will find you and kill you. That's a promise." Wings unfolding, my human form folding in onto itself into a ball of golden light, I soar directly up into the sky.
Chapter 1
Bodies collapsed, drained of blood and slashed open. The moment they do, my blade slides easily into its sheath, cleaned of blood. Sitting back, I look up into the sky. I'm surprised no angels have been sent to capture me. Destiny should see that I've become stronger and by far more powerful than any Archangel.
It's been more than two and a half millennia. Surely he could've assembled a battalion of Arch's to capture or kill me, I thought.
A twig snaps quietly behind me. Too quiet for a human or animal. But I don't need to turn to see who it is. The scent tells me who it is. "Where'd you find these worthless pieces of shit…Ashton?" I ask. "A hospital?"
He simply chuckles and flits from body to body. The man who told me how to gain more power as an angel, and then gave me even more by turning me into a vampire.
"I'm assuming they weren't strong enough?" he said. "I found them at a tavern only a few miles away, to the east. Vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters. Since these six weren't enough, I'll take you there. Maybe one of them will prove to be strong enough for you."
Nodding, I eye him carefully, suspicious of him. He's always doing this: testing my abilities and watching from the shadows. He'd taught me everything, how to cover up corpses, fight, control my senses, Power and my abilities as a Fallen.
A voice, which had revealed itself a few years ago, whispered in my mind, He isn't trying to help you. A Fallen angel's blood is like the oldest, rarest wine to a human. Your blood, just one drop, could make any immortal immensely strong and undeniably powerful. He only helps you grow stronger because he plans to kill you. It's always been about taking you gain.
Before I can ask anything, it goes silent. "You okay, Samuel?" Ashton asks. There's a shady glint in his eyes I don't like. "Are you sure you're ready?"
In a heartbeat, he's on the ground, my hand gripping his throat. "I've longed for a real fight. But you just give me these pathetic weak fools," I snarled at him. "If no one at this tavern is strong enough…I'll kill you."
Asthon's eyes are wide open. He hadn't seen my hand at all. Looking into his light hazel eyes, I see surprise and fear. Being a vampire, we don't sweat nor do we have a heartbeat. Figuring out are emotions can be a real pain in the ass for all the other creatures. But we know how to read each other.
He shifts a little and grunted. Trying to compose himself, he says, "I give you my word, they'll be worthy of fighting you. These six were the trash among them. They wouldn't notice these six gone. But I now know you need a greater opponent. Someone who can actually challenge you. I assure you, there are people there that can."
I didn't know if he was telling the truth or just trying to keep alive a bit longer, but I didn't care. For now, he'd be allowed to live. He was pretty much useless to me now anyway. I knew all I needed. If he is telling the truth, I'll kill them, and then I'll rid myself of him.
"Okay, I hope your right," I tell him, letting go. Standing up, I look down at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to rise. "Lead the way, Ashton."
He nods once, slowly, getting to his feet. "Follow me," he says and takes off, me close behind him. The night blows past us as we run and flit, time seeming to freeze and unfreeze.
The nights still young by the time we reach the tavern. It's in a small village, which made me think he was lying until we reached the door. The smell of vampires, werewolves and other were creatures leaked out. So, he was telling the truth, eh? I thought bitterly, entering the tavern.
Almost immediately, all eyes turn towards me, eyes glowing a different color, depending on the species. Vampire eyes were a dark black, like the depths of the sea. The eyes of the werewolves and other were creatures glowed bright, dark gold. There were a lot of them, too. At least two packs of werewolves and were panthers, a group of were leopards, and, more or less, two covens of vampires. There smell didn't tell me how strong they were, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that there were a lot of them. Larger numbers might be the challenge I'm looking for.
As silence falls, I hear the slightest sound of tearing fabric. My very presence makes it hard for any new immortal to resist themselves from attacking on sight, I thought with a smirk, drawing my sword from its scabbard just as two werewolves lunged at me.
In one, swift motion, I easily slash their stomachs open, and just like that, they all descend upon me. Only a few vampires, wolves and panthers stand near the back and watch as their newborns attack me. I was having too much fun to care much anyway.
As soon as I slashed one down, it would seem two more took their place. I slashed them all to pieces, spilling blood and bits of fur everywhere. Soon the floor is slick with blood and bits of fur, flesh and clothing. I lick my blade clean the moment they're all dead, ten minutes later.
The flavor of all their blood is so delicious. I should've been doing this sooner, I thought. A quiet footstep and I glance around. The older, more controlled and, more importantly, experienced, immortals surround me. At least ten or twelve. All looking at me with controlled bloodlust.
"Who do you think you are?" one of the panthers asks me. "Coming in here and killing those who can't control themselves?" He was angry. I can smell it. It made my cold blood quicken. They all hear it, and snarl.
"What the hell are you, anyway?" a vampire asks me curiously. "You're more than just a vampire. That much is obvious. No average vampire could, or would, kill so many like that. Let alone with the ease and grace you did. Your smell also says more than vampire. I've never smelled your scent before."
"I have," a wolf says angrily. "He isn't just some vampire. He doesn't have a demon in him. You were never human, either," he goes on. Everyone glances at him questioning. "You're an angel, aren't you?" They all freeze and tense up, eyes locked on me.
Grinning, I reply, "Used to be an Archangel. But I have Fallen." They all scowl, finally realizing what they're dealing with. "If you didn't attack me on sight, you all must be very strong. Am I wrong?" They don't answer, but I hear the sounds of bones crunching and snapping. "It doesn't matter," I say. "Because you're all about to die!"
As soon as I slash a vampires head off, a wolf and panther leap at me. Focusing power into my palm, I blast them both backwards. Another vampires flits towards me, but I cup him by the throat, lift him up and slam him down onto the ground, breaking the floorboards as I do.
The wolf and panther try sneaking to my sides, but I toss the vampires to the wolf, and slash down the panthers back. It roars it pain as my sword rips threw its flesh. Then I twist its neck, ending its long life.
"You really are strong," the oldest smelling vampire says. "I won't hold back," he adds, drawing a short sword. "Burn the body and consume the soul…Spirit of Fire," he says, holding his blade out. Flames erupt from the hilt guard, blazing white hot, and covering the entire blade. A white chain wrapped around his arm, from the hilt all the way to mid arm. "Since you'll die, I should probably tell you my name." he nods at the others and they hurry away, out and into the night. "Allen Grey." Then the flames soar towards me, and try wrapping around me.
Foolish vampire, I thought, unfolding my wings. The flames reside to the blade, barely visible. Allen's eyes widen in surprise, and fear. "What the hell?" he gasps, and then my blade plunges into him, piercing his heart.
But before his life ended, I tell him, "I'm the Fallen Archangel, Samuel."
Chapter 2
The tavern was on fire, both due to Allen's blade and me setting it on fire. I made it look like a gas leak was the cause. There were too many bodies for me to try and drag out here to hide, so may as well turn them all into ash. It also prevented any humans from discovering immortals existed.
Ashton was waiting for me in the nearby trees, looking around. Noticing me approaching, he asks, "Well? Was that enough to test you? Too meet your expectations?"
Nodding, I reply, "Aye. I enjoyed myself in there. But too many of them managed to escape. I was hoping to kill them all." I noticed his eyes were wavering, like he was anxious to leave. He probably told them a strange vampire would come, and that he was weak. He was hoping I'd die.
Eyeing him up and down, I could see it was true. "What are you doing?" he asks me warily, his hand going to the hilt of his own sword. I'd never, ever seen him make a move to draw it. But then, I'd never seen him fight, period. Maybe it was about time I saw how good he was first hand.
"Figuring you out," I growl, my sword slashing out from the scabbard in an instant. At the exact same time, he drew his own: a short sword, silver blade and serrated, with a small grey hilt guard and dark grey hilt wrap. About time I see your sword, I thought bitterly. I push him back a few feet, and then swing at his legs.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he growls back, parrying my blow with ease. "I give you power that Destiny denies you, I teach you the ways of the world and the ways of a vampire and this is how you repay me?" he flits toward me, blade aimed at my heart.
"Too slow," I tell him, grabbing the blade with my bare hand. His eyes widen in pure shock. "You only did these things for me so you could kill me and make yourself even stronger." His eyes grow dark and he tries to yank his sword free. I slam the hilt of mine into his jaw and hear a nice crack. He snarls and lashes at me with his other arm. But he doesn't have it long. I side step, and then, raising my own blade high, chop it off at the shoulder, letting go.
He screams out in pain and leaps back, blood pouring out. "My arm! You bastard! How could you cut off my arm?" he roars at me in fury. I can see the hate and power growing inside him. The hatred is like a hurricane inside him, making his power grow.
"You've been so busy trying to see how good I am that you never bothered to see exactly how powerful I was," I tell him calmly. "You brought this upon yourself, Ashton. You were using me, but I won't be the one to die. I'll kill you, here and now, and you'll make me even stronger."
"Never!" he bellows and flits at me, swinging his sword wildly. I use my left hand to smack the blade away and my own sword to slash at him. He doesn't even seem to feel his body being slashed open, though it heals. "You are weaker than me! I haven't waited five millennia to be brought down by a stripling like you! You are nothing!"
In the blink of an eye, I bring my blade down his torso diagonally, from his left collar bone all the way down to his right hip. Blood gushes out like a wave, healing itself slowly. He looks down, seeming to finally understand he was losing, terribly. He takes one, deep calming breathe. I knew what he was going to do. Unleash his full power, both as a vampire and Fallen angel.
Bringing his short sword to his chest, the tips aiming up into the sky, he declares, "Spread your wings and devour the world…Black Dragon." Huge gusts of wind engulf him, and black flames erupt from his sword, swirling up and around him, up high into the sky.
The sheer force of the wind was immense, and the heat from the fire was amazing. But once it all calms down, my eyes widen in pure disbelief. He had completely transformed.
Black scales covered his entire body, and he has huge wings, a wingspan of at least ten or twelve feet. His hands have curled into claws, and his feet were the same. His jaw had jutted outward, into a snout, and his eyes were obsidian black, like endless pools of darkness. He had a tail as well, about five feet long. He looked exactly like a black dragon.
"Well?" he asks me, his voice heavy and deep like thunder. "What do you think? This is my actual body. I intend to kill you, and then I will devour you. In this form, you don't stand a chance of killing me." Streams of fire burst towards me, but I don't even flinch. With the slightest gesture of my hand, the flames disappear. Ashton seems unable to comprehend it.
"Black Dragon, was it?" I say, stepping forward. "I'll admit, you are stronger than you were before. You might even be faster, more agile, but in the end, you're still no match for me."
He lets out a blood curdling screech and flies towards me, claws ready to rip me apart. But I use power to blast him back, just an inch, and slice off his new left arm. Bellowing out in pain, he hurls his tail at me. It's so slow; I slash it off before he can even get it halfway towards me. Pure animal hatred radiates from him as he turns to face me.
"This is the end for you, Ashton," I say from behind him. He instantly turns, but he was too late. I plunge my blade deep into his chest, piercing his heart and bursting out his front. He gasps in pain and slowly, the scales, his wings; it all melds back into a sword, which falls to the ground. Then the sword itself turns into black fire, and gets sucked into my blade.
A light chuckle, and with his dying breathe, he says, "You truly…are strong…Samuel. I've always…known you were…but I had…to be sure." The light leaves his eyes, and I bite into his neck, drinking his rich blood.
Chapter 3
Nearly a weak had passed since I'd killed Ashton and gone on my own. Everything he knew about the world, every location of where immortals gathered, even his own power…it was all mine. I could feel power flowing threw me as I travel, with no real direction in mind. I had collected his sword into mine, his Black Dragon. I hadn't had a chance to initiate it, let alone try out all my power.
I was walking threw a dark forest, surrounded by the scent and sound of many animals scurrying about, the smell of tree bark and leaves. The moon, high in the sky, is waning, and the forest would be nearly pitch black for any human. But there's more than enough light for me to see by.
I knew he was hiding something, I though. He's been using me, and every being I fought, was to get all the vampires and were creatures of the night to hunt me down. He was hoping to either kill me himself, or let them kill me, growing stronger themselves, and then he'd hunt them down, growing even more powerful than any other living creature. He was planning to return to Paradise, challenge and bring Destiny down.
But I'm even stronger than he was, before I killed him. With his power and knowledge, I was the equal of every Archangel combined. I was planning to go into the mountains and focus on learning to control all my abilities. If the world of immortals were planning to wage a war against me, I'd need to gain experience and how to control these powers.
I was getting close to the Rocky Mountains when I caught the smell of another creature. It didn't smell like a vampire, or werewolf, or anything I'd ever encountered. It was a strange smell, not too appealing, either.
Moments later, a woman appears, dressed only on animal skins. She's about five feet six inches, with long blond hair reaching mid back, with creamy pale skin. Her dark ice blue eyes glow in the darkness, and her full, blood red lips glow lightly. I was…breathe taken. I'd never seen a woman so beautiful.
She was like a goddess. She was slim and slender, with the movements of an animal, and yet, the grace of a vampire. I couldn't place what she was, but I didn't care. I was stunned.
From the darkness, she asks in a soft, velvety voice, "Who are you? Why are you here, in my territory?" There is a dark edge in her tone, and the slightest growl comes from her. Sounds more like a wolf than a human or vampire's growl. Yet she moves like me.
Shaking my head, composing myself, I answer, "I'm Samuel, ma'am. I didn't know anyone had claimed this place. I'm passing through, nothing more and nothing less. I'm not here to take your land." I didn't see a sword, but she has claws, at least three inches long. Wolfish.
Narrowing her eyes, she takes a few steps forward and asks, "What the hell are you? You smell like a vampire, but that other smell dictates no. You don't smell like any vampire I've ever met."
"I could ask you the same thing," I counter. "You move like a vampire, but your claws and the way you growl goes against that idea. I've never met a creature like you."
"I asked you first…Samuel," she growls lightly.
"Ladies first," I tell her, staring into her eyes. She falters for a moment, her hardened features softening for just a moment. Then she recomposes herself.
"My name is Raven Blackheart, hybrid. My mother was a werewolf, and my father is a vampire."
"Samuel Alexander Maxwell. I was an Archangel," I tell her, and her eyes widen. Both in surprise and just a little fear. "I am now a Fallen, and I was turned into a vampire. I killed my creator, and I'm sure the world wants me dead."
"Then we have something in common," she says, watching me carefully. "Vampires and werewolves don't usually get along. And the offspring of both, with the best of them both? They'd rather have me dead. That's why I live out here. Away from most of them." She nods at me to follow her, and I do so willingly.
We walk for a few moments, until we reach a medium sized hut. "Nice craftsmanship," I tell her before she can say anything. She glances at me in surprise, a slight pink in her cheeks. I knew she built it because her scent is all over it. It's intoxicating, in a good way.
She opens a small latch on the side, and we enter. A blazing fire was inside, with a deer leg roasting on it. The smell wasn't that appealing to me, but she tears a small piece off, takes a small sniff, and eats it.
"How long have you been living like this, out here?" I ask her, looking around. It's nice and comfortable inside, the fire giving enough heat and smoke to keep away all the insects. I could tell that she was rarely bothered by predatory animals. The mixture of her blood would drive them away.
She shrugs, and then says after swallowing, "I don't know. Nine decades, maybe even little over a century. My mother taught me all the basics of hunting, and my father taught me how to conceal my presence. It's nice living out here, no one bothering me." She glances at me and asks, "What about you, angel? What've you done to make all the other races to hate you?"
Chuckling, I say, "I've spent my entire vampiric life fighting, killing and drinking. I've been growing stronger and stronger all these years. They apparently got tired of it, and now I know they'll all be coming for me. It'd be interesting to face them alone, but I know I'd probably die eventually. I'm not ready to die yet." Destiny was probably interfering with this world, helping the others. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
"So you want others to stand and fight with you?" she asks me curiously.
"Aye," I reply. "I've seen Paradise, and Destiny. He is strong. I want to get strong enough to defeat him. Then I'll take over Paradise, and change the Divine laws. And I'll make sure to wipe out the human race."
For a moment, Raven is silent, and then she says slowly, "I'll help you. I can see where you're coming from. I may not have seen as much of the world as you have, but I can tell that humans need to go. They are ignorant beings, who hunt and kill what they don't understand. If they knew about us, they'd hunt us all down. The same goes for the other races. They hate us both, and will try to kill us. So, I may as well fight with you. I might even know two or three others who'll be willing to help." She smiles at me, revealing a mouth filled with razor sharp serrated fangs.
I glance at her, looking into her eyes. Her ice blue eyes are clear and certain, not doubt. "Are you absolutely sure? You'll always have to be fighting, killing, looking over your back…"
"I'm used to it," she replies calmly. "I've had to kill before. It's pretty much secondhand nature to me at this point. You'll also need someone to watch over your back. You might be more gifted and stronger than any other living creature, but everyone is vulnerable when they sleep."
A slight smirk came across my lips as I say, "You are correct. Having a companion, or companions, will be interesting. It'll be easier. Alright then, you can along with, and these other people you spoke of. You all can follow me into the darkest recesses of hell."
Chapter 5