The sky was like a dying giant during sunset. As the star of fire crept to its cradle, the sky bled a profuse and brilliant red; yellow beams of dying sunlight were like trickles of pus, as if the wound were infected and festering with white, wispy bacteria. The earth was parched as black hooves dug into it, sending up puffs of dust that would choke the unprepared traveler to the near point of death. Indeed, the dust vapors reached as high as the rider's waist, and if he were to move any faster, he could blind himself.
The rider in midnight leathers paid no attention to any of the surroundings, a scarf wrapped around his nose and mouth. The fading sunlight weakly beat on the brim of a wide traveler's hat, the black of it seeming to simultaneously absorb and reflect and light and heat. Decorative, and useful, jewels gleamed on the rider's hat and clothes, shimmering like stars in an inky night sky. Truly, none of his flesh showed, even his long, dark hair shielded him from any possible eyes. He was a perfect sculpture of ebony twilight astride a mount, radiating both serious calm and frightening serenity.
Such peace was shattered when a high pitched voice stopped the rider in black. It came from his back left, and he didn't even bother to look as hooves pounded toward him.
Outracing the very dust being kicked up was a woman. If the man must have an opposite, it was she: where he was black, she was an outstanding ivory. Her horse was a mighty white mare; its glimmering silver mane braided and secured with jewels any villager would be tempted to thrift. The woman herself was an arresting beauty, with golden hair cascading in a silky waterfall to as far as her saddle, streaked with precious platinum. Her flesh was pale and her eyes were wide with virgin youth, colored the same as her tresses. Any man would have stared at her curvy body, accented by the white skin-tight leather vest and pants she wore. Her face was only slightly flushed when she approached the man in black, and not a spec of dust marred her Heaven-sent perfection.
"You," she said, her voice like the chiming of crystals. "You are a Vampire Hunter, aren't you?"
The man in black still did not look at her, but he did the respect of pulling down his scarf. "Yes."
Any real woman would have flushed and moaned at the sound of his voice, writhing with passion when just even the lower half of his gorgeous face was revealed. But the woman in white seemed unaffected by such astounding beauty; perhaps because she was aware of her own?
She drew her horse up so they were side by side. "You are Vampire Hunter 'D,' aren't you?"
Still he did not look at her. "Yes."
With such a cold exterior, it was shocking he even answered her at all. But answer her he did and D began to move his horse forward again. The woman took this in stride, urging hers on to keep up with him.
"I wish to hire you, D." the woman said, now her own silver and gold eyes fixated on the road ahead and ignoring his lovely face. "I need your help."
D did not snort or make a smart remark, but this did not surprise the female counterpart in the least. Indeed, it was as if they were old friends, and she knew not to be bothered by his silent mannerisms.
"I will pay whatever price you have," she went on. "I will also provide for you whatever you need, be it food or weaponry. You can have whatever type of room you desire, and—"
D finally happened to look to his left at her and she stopped speaking. Was she, finally, mesmerized by the near angelic face? No—she smiled good naturedly, not the same sort of smile of a smitten woman.
"You're as beautiful as I heard," she nodded when he said nothing, or even reacted, to her statement. "I know you are a dhampire… and I know you realize I am as well."
That was the woman's secret against his allure; a dhampire, much like him, knew of her own charms and how to counter those of others of her kind. But why should a dhampire seek another? Were they not all bestowed with the knowledge of slaying the full blooded Nobles?
"Are you hiring me to kill your Noble parent?" D asked, his voice soft and cold.
The woman shook her head. "No, D. I'm hiring you to save him."
"I slay Nobles, not save them."
"You will slay a Noble, the one who has taken my father captive and is terrorizing our sector of the Frontier." The woman shook her head, her hair glittering in the rapidly fading light. "My father is a good Noble… he would not have kept and nurtured a half-breed bitch if he were not. You understand that, being as I am."
D did not respond, so the woman went on. "He was… inspired by the words of the Sacred Ancestor. He wanted to be like him, so he attempted to do so. He overthrew the cruel Count that once ruled here and since then the villages prospered. Never did he terrorize them; never did he feed upon them. Indeed, his marriage to my mortal mother was a shared celebration of humans and liked-minded Nobles."
The woman put a fist over her well formed bosom, over her heart where a locket lay. "I can't tell you how he survived not feeding on these humans, nor what drove him to such lengths, but whatever it is, he has done enough good to not rot away at the bottom of his own home."
The gorgeous youth lifted his head just slightly, his eyes visible. She smiled as he spoke, "How did your father end up like that?"
"Father is a good man, but in these years of general peace he grew… comfortable. His full blooded son hates him, and has backstabbed him. I would see he'd die by my hand, but Father never wanted me to ever know of war. I know nothing of fighting." She lowered her eyes, perhaps in shame. "A helpless dhampire, who knew? Will you let me hire you, D?"
"Slaying one Noble to preserve another… that would have a hefty price." D remarked.
"One lock if my own hair is worth two thousand dalas. I shall shave it all off and give it to you." The woman said. "If that is not enough there is yet still treasures my father will give to you. Naturally taking care of you is my responsibility, I do not expect you to accept it as payment."
"Fine," D stopped his horse and she stopped her in perfect unison. She smiled when he turned to look at her more fully. "Lead on to your town."
"Thank you, D." she lightly, respectfully, touched his cloak with her pale fingertips. "My name is Sinnae-Marie, the daughter of the Noble Duke Glaerian." Her smile widened, and it was more brilliant than any star shining above them.
Not even someone like D could be prepared for what happened when Sinnae-Marie and he rode through the gates of the village. When the human villagers stepped out, his left hand twitched without his accord. He waited for the insults, the distrust.
Instead a child ran up to Sinnae-Marie's horse and grasped at her long hair. "Lady Sinnae," the little boy implored. "Who's your friend? Lady Sinnae?"
The dhampire woman bent low and, with one hand, scooped the child up into the saddle in front of her. D heard no woman screaming for her child, no townsfolk silently weeping in fear. The child himself was smiling.
"He's going to help me with my father," Sinnae-Marie said. "His name is D, and he's a dhampire."
"Like you, Lady Sinnae?" the little boy looked over with awe at D. Indeed, the adult villagers looked at him the same. Not a trace of fear was in them.
Sinnae-Marie nodded. "Yes, dear child. Just like me. So make sure everyone is nice to him, okay?" she let the boy down.
The child bubbled with enthusiasm. "I'll make sure everyone likes you, Mister D! We all like dhampires here!"
"Provided," a stout elder commented rather loudly. "You are like the Lady Sinnae-Marie… and not our new Lord." The distaste was evident.
D showed no emotion to this startling, surreal village. Instead he looked at the elder who had spoken and plainly asked, "Has he done something to you?"
The elder blanched. Obviously pure Nobles still triggered the inherent fear the Nobles of old had put into the humans' DNA. "He took my wife," the elder muttered. "Took her and made her into a zombie. Impaled her on wood fixed in an odd shape and let her burn in the sun; all because I didn't tell him where Lady Sinnae-Marie was."
Sinnae-Marie was extremely pale, given her heritage. One could not think she could be whiter, but at the news the elder gave, she lost all sense of color in her face. Even her eyes lost their golden hue, replaced entirely by silver. "When…" she cleared her throat. "When did this happen?"
"The fourth day you went out to search for help." The elder held up his hand. "Weep not, Lady Sinnae-Marie, having your half-brother as a lording Noble could only lead to needless death. Simply overthrow him for us, and you'll be thousand times forgiven."
Sinnae-Marie pursed her full lips and without another word started forward again. D paused only a moment before following her, their horses in step with each other in a peaceful trot. Although his eyes were trained on the back of the female dhampire's head, D saw from his peripheral vision villagers watching their Lady with worry and pity. When they passed the villagers fled back into their homes, doors and windows marked with odd symbols. It was still night, after all.
"What a village," a gruff voice floated to D's ears. "They'll fear full Nobles but love on the half-breeds? I wonder; did the girl's father do further genetic tests on the humans before making her? Huh, too bad your own—"
D tightened his hands on the horse's reigns, and the voice was silenced.
A mansion Sinnae-Marie brought D to was nothing short of a dream. It was a brilliant white, as if freshly painted. Four columns of what seemed to be intricately engraved marble towered to heights of fifty feet, upholding a roof with a statue of an angel with a trumpet carved out of it. The windows were stained glass, depicting not the gore and bloodshed most Nobles loved to show. Instead, visions of a homely woman in dark blue holding a baby were the common theme. In fact, the largest window that also served as twenty foot tall and thirty feet wide double doors featured that of a cross. As D passed by it, he did not smell the crisp scent of glass—no, the window-doors were made of alloy of a metal he had only seen once or twice. It was impenetrable to lasers and could withstand heat up to twenty million degrees, and perhaps weighed over five thousand tons. But as Sinnae-Marie approached, the doors opened just enough to let the pair in one at a time before firmly closing behind them, the crucifix design brightly illuminated by the starlight.
And it was a Noble whom built this wondrous, almost holy castle? Even the inside was decadent, having the appearance of old Victorian styles but the power of Noble technology. D recognized a fireplace that was also a computer screen, bearing the controls for whatever it was assigned. Sinnae-Marie indicated to a large, beautifully furnished room with ebony tables and footstools, silk and velvet covered seats all the different hues of the night. Even the ceiling became transparent to show the stars and moon in fully enhanced glory.
D took a seat in a plush single chair as Sinnae-Marie pressed some controls into a pad near the living room doorway. The room was then dimly lighted up, and the soft hum of machines could be heard.
"Do you want something to drink?" asked Sinnae-Marie, pulling a ribbon from her pocket to tie back her glimmering hair. "Water? Coffee? I have fine wine if you'd prefer something of that."
She was prepared to accept a no graciously, but D removed his hat and placed it on his knee. "Wine." He responded.
Sinnae-Marie smiled, but it faltered as she gracefully stammered, "Would you… prefer it to be… flavored?"
D gave her a steady look, and she tried to reinforce her smile. "It is clean… the flavoring comes from the local butcher's livestock… worry not, those animals are nearly revered, they are so taken cared of."
The Hunter was silent for several seconds, and then settled for shaking his head ever so slightly, his hair shaking. Although it was dark compared to her own, somehow D's hair had a beauty to it that even Sinnae-Marie found herself jealous of. Excusing herself she quickly stepped onto an elevated sphere portion of flooring and was transported to another part of the house. D was left alone in nightly silence for perhaps three minutes, and as Sinnae-Marie materialized to the same place she had disappeared to, D was just retaking his seat.
"Learning the floor plan?" the female asked as she passed him a wine glass.
D accepted it and stared at it before answering her. "Something to that effect." He took a sip as Sinnae-Marie sat across from him, an ebony coffee table between them. "Tell me about your half-brother."
Sinnae-Marie nodded as she cupped her own glass between her hands. "Personal opinions aside, my brother Falien could be considered a 'good' Noble. He is typically selfish, cruel, cunning and powerful. He has the power to manipulate things into new shapes. As an example, when I was a child, he tried to kill me by warping a poisonous Cloud Scorpion into a kitten. My father barely caught the trick himself. Falien is also in possession of the second castle my father built, the Offensive Palace." She scowled. "Aptly named, I hated that place. All of its gray, stone walls are covered in lasers and Gatling guns, with several rockets in hidden wall compartments. In other words, every inch of that place is covered in weapons of some sort, even as far as mutated creatures crawling on the walls.
"However father also built this place, the Defensive Castle. After its construction he and other Nobles could only enter from below. This place is nigh impenetrable, by means of weapons or Nobles. It was meant to house the entire village should someone attack. Not only is it entirely made up of several layers of metal and stone, there is also a layer of liquid metal over liquid stone, and I can activate a force field as needed. But it has little to no weaponry."
"I take it your father's will was to leave the Defensive Castle to you, and the Offensive Palace to your brother?" D asked.
Sinnae-Marie shook her head. "Rather, it was the other way around. Falien could not do much harm with such a 'worthless' house, but he could not be hurt himself. I am not a warmonger and find no use for weapons, but no one would dare approach me in such a place. In a way it was Father's way of trying to protect us." She scowled. "But Falien overrode the computer protocols and revamped the Users and AI systems to his own revision, and I had to hack this place just to escape. For now I thought the villagers would be safe after the application of a charm mother taught me, but as the elder told you, I seem to have been mistaken." She sighed, the sound tragically wondrous.
"And if your father is dead?" D asked simply.
Sinnae-Marie's expression didn't change as she brought her wine glass to her oh so kissable lips. "Simply slay Falien and your reward shall be paid in full as per the agreement."
D set his glass down; it was still nearly full minus the few sips he had taken. He made the move to put on his hat, but Sinnae-Marie scolded him, "Finish your glass, have you no manners?"
D paused, but with an odd air he picked up the glass again. Although his face did not change, Sinnae-Marie smiled, for the feel of him gave the impression he perhaps was secretly smirking.