Hey guys! So i know its been a while but its HSC. Thats the only excuse I have. So i wrote this story originally as two separate stories (yes it is original) ages ago, but whilst digging through my old files I stumbled across these and put them together. So as it is my first original story ive shown the world, criticism (but nice criticism) would be awesome. Thanks!

Prologue

Once, thousands of years ago, the heavens were revealed to the dark world below. A disgraced soul fell from the sky, banished from the kingdom of heaven. He was a treacherous soul, but by no means the first to be exiled from the world beyond this one. The fallen angel was doomed to walk the earth for an age for his crimes.

But he was also a desperate soul, and he craved to once again walk the halls of the kingdom. He devised a plan to allow him to return once again to heaven, untarnished of his sin. It took him several hundred years to devise such a plan, and his patience was rewarded. He discovered that those pure of spirit were given entry to heaven and he could steal the purity from these people.

By this time, his desperation was so great he acted without thought as to the consequences of what he was to do. He drank the blood of an innocent baby and, in doing so; he was once again free to enter heaven.

But the archangels saw what he had done and cursed him. He would walk the earth for all eternity, never dying. He would always crave what he had stolen, and the more he partook of his sin, the more of a monster he became. He was the Dark One.

He wandered the earth, a trail of death followed him wherever he went; It was a constant reminder of his sin. He was a plague upon humanity and he hated himself, but was powerless against his cravings. In the darkness, he was a monster, in the daylight he mingled with the ignorant humans. He never stayed in the one place, as to remain inconspicuous.

But his dependency on blood was not without consequences. His body began to change. He became faster, stronger and was burned by all things pure. The tiny details of his curse were coming out of the woodwork. And so, bit by bit, whatever humanity he had left was bleed out of him.

Several years passed, and he became a menace for the human race. Tales of his powers sprung up from every corner of the earth. One night, a few decades after he had turned came across a small village. He was thirsty and, under the cover of night, he attacked a young girl. During his feast, he was assaulted by a number of men from the village and he had to flee. He knew he could have easily destroyed them, but it was an unnecessary risk. He determined that he should wait until the following evening.

He was approaching the town at twilight, when high human screams alerted him. Upon entering the village, he saw the carnage of human bodies. He envied their owners, as they were now residents of the kingdom of heaven.

He came across the girl he had attacked the previous night. He was shocked to find her drinking the blood of a villager. He had bitten her, and doomed her to the same fate.

They burned the village to destroy all the bodies and witnesses, yet some humans escaped to tell the story of two strong, beautiful creatures that had drained the life out of an entire village.

The girl blamed the cursed angel for her transformation and they went their separate ways.

The girl's name was Ruby, and she wandered the world, longing for a way to end her torture. She was visited by Azrael, the angel of death. He had heard her plight and had descended from the heavens to offer her death, in exchanged for the cursed angel. Azrael said he was becoming too unstable and was causing too much death, so the angels were going to imprison him somewhere on the earth, in a place where he would never escape from.

For Ruby, the temptation was too great and she accepted Azrael's terms.

She searched the earth for the angel, but he had disappeared. She knew the world was too big to search on her own so she made some new cursed ones. She commanded the neophytes, but eventually they lost interest and went off on their own. Ruby became a lackey to the angels, desperate to reach peace to no avail. As long as the fallen angel was missing, she would walk the earth. The cursed ones were spreading throughout the globe.

And thus, the race of vampires was created.

And high above, in the kingdom of heaven, Azrael kept watch.

Present Day

The bay was the perfect half moon curve, one rarely found naturally and to the few humans who frequented the cove, it was a natural phenomenon. But the humans often lacked imagination. Gates to the other realms were always unusual.

That uncanny night, the moon shone brightly, high above the headland that shadowed part of the cove. Its pale face was reflected in a calm lagoon, protected from the pounding waves by a rigid arm of stone that had long separated the pool from the sea. A pale strip of sand stretched to the north, meeting another headland obscured by darkness.

The cove echoed with a gentle swell, and the night swept on, untouched and still. That is, until a dark shadow appeared through the low scrub. The cove had seen many strange visitors throughout the centuries, but this one was unique.

They edged their way through the darkness to the sand, their dark cloak dragging along behind them. Despite their sudden appearance, the figure seemed to fit with the surroundings perfectly and simply added to its mysterious allure.

The figure paused at the edge of the shadows and stillness reclaimed the night, and the only sounds were the waves rolling into the shore and the rapid breathing of the stranger. The figure stood immobile for several seconds, as if they were unsure if they should continue. Finally, the figure strode purposefully towards the shore. If it was possible to see their face in the shadows, one would see they were smiling.

Reaching the waters edge, the shadow struck a match, lighting a sphere of light. The shadow, it was revealed, was a woman, and she was beautiful. Her brunette curls fell past her shoulders and her hard, deep brown eyes, which stood out against her pale complexion, suggested a strong character. Her blood-red lips were pursed in concentration. She had the face of an angel.

She rummaged within her cloak and drew out a candle and lit it. Placing it carefully in the sand, standing upright, she unfastened her cloak, letting it flutter to the ground.

Underneath, she wore a delicate velvet dress, with a tight bodice and flowing skirt. The sleeves ended just past her elbows in bells and the cloth was blood red. It was a valuable dress, one she stole in London merely a few weeks ago.

But for all its apparent delicacy, she didn't hesitate as she waded into the lagoon, until she stood in the centre of he moon's shining reflection.

She reached into a pocket at her hip, and clasped something in her palms. Raising her hands to her lips, she murmured in some unrecognisable language, before opening up her hands to the world. A small hourglass stood in her hand.

"Patefacio porta," she whispered to the moon's pale face. "Permissum sand cado."

And she dropped the hourglass into the water, in the centre of the moon's reflection.

Then there was an explosion of light.

The woman shielded her eyes with her forearm, and the cove was suddenly lit as if it were day.

Then just as suddenly, the cove was dark again. In the distance there were dogs barking. The humans would be here soon.

"Ah, Tatiana. We've been expecting you."

Where the light had blossomed now stood a man, illuminated by a spotlight from the heavens. He was a man of tall stature that grandly overshadowed Tatiana and was handsome, with dark, curled hair and tanned skin. His skin was bare except for a plain white shirt and plain denim jeans. For all their supposed power, angels lacked taste in fashion, Tatiana thought to herself. His eyes matched Tatiana's own, the only clue to their shared history. He was the one she sacrificed everything for.

"Mikhail. Always so grandiose. You can drop the act. You know I'm angry at you," she snapped.

"Really?" he stated in a pleasant tone dripping with sarcasm. He turned around to place his back to her, admiring the dark horizon. It had been many years since he last saw the ocean, and he was grateful for this one moment. "Because it should be the other way around, I think. You broke the wardings. Again. You know how long it takes to set those up."

Tatiana felt her anger rise. He was goading her. Typical. Her eyes went narrowed and her tone became measured, filled with malice and venom.

"You sent a weakling to do an archangels job. I feel entitled to screw you guys round a bit."

Mikhail chuckled. "I do apologise for that. We overestimated Sayuri's ability as a tracker. He knows our tricks, and he knows her methods. Surely you will understand. He is merely a miscreant, and he will be found soon enough."

Tatiana sighed, her body tense with annoyance. "I can get past your failings. But I'm still annoyed. So expect to be screwed around a bit more by the likes of me."

"Don't worry. I expected that." Tatiana could hear the grin in his voice.

Tatiana sighed. "So why did you call me here?"

Mikhail turned to face his sister, sending ripples scattering in rings towards the reaches of the pool. "We found him."

Tatiana smiled, revealing a pair of sharp fangs.