A/N: I am hitting some major writer's block on my other stories. I have no choice but to halt them for now and start a new Valkubus story.
I've been wanting to write a Vampire fic for Valkubus for some time now, but I just couldn't figure out the right tone and right story arc until now. I think it will be like Tomb Raider + Diablo II + maybe a little bit True Blood (since it's a Vampire-verse fic)
A little background first. In this fic, Bo is a Vampire, and Tamsin is a Huntress. Huntresses are the only kind that can actually kill the Vampires, and they used to hunt down Vampires, but they are in a bit of a new era where the feud between the two kind has reduced a lot. The story is mainly that they are going on a mission together in search for the truth about themselves and the world. I will introduce more about the Vampires, Huntresses, and the other creatures in this story slowly.
I don't know if I'd include more LG characters, maybe Kenzi or Acacia at most but that's probably about it. There will be quite a few OCs.
The title "Pieces" comes from the song "Pieces" (from Red). For some reason I feel that it really fits Valkubus.
Rated M mostly for hot Vampire/Huntress sex and language.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own LG and I do not profit from it. I wish I did.
"You call my name, and I come to you in pieces, so you can make me whole."
Chapter 1
The sun slowly slipped down behind the horizon. Its last breath painted the edge of the sky blood red. Outside a small town at the foot of the rolling mountains, the entire world weeped along with the cold breeze in the tall grass.
On a dirt road in the middle of the grassfield, two young men were running breathlessly towards the town. Puffs of white air left their mouths so rapidly like wasn't just air but the essence of their life leaving their bodies.
One of them, the taller one, tried to say something, but he was panting too hard and he choked. He swallowed hard and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, before he turned back to take a look behind him.
There was nothing but the last rays of the setting sun, the empty grassland and the darkness that was about to shroud the world slowly.
"Hey..." he murmured as he nudged the other guy. "W-where did Ellia go?"
The other guy took a quick look and shook his head. He coughed loudly as he kept shaking his head. Instead of answering his friend's question, he grabbed his arm and forced him to run faster.
"I think we should go back and-" the taller guy suggested hesitantly. He stopped abruptly for he suddenly tripped and slammed his right knee into a rock under him.
He cried out in pain, but instead of taking a rest, he struggled to move forward with his friend.
Stumbling and limping, they ran towards the gateway of the town, towards where the lights were, towards the shelter where all the livings were.
A few vague, low grunts came from behind them, and the taller guy cringed. He wanted to take a look but was too afraid to do so.
"Did you...did you hear that?" He asked his friend, his voice shaking hard.
"Just keep moving!" The other guy told him firmly.
"I...I think I heard something behind us," the taller guy explained as fear filled his voice. "Is that..."
His friend just dragged his arm again urging him to move faster instead of talking.
The taller guy ran as fast as he could in fear, but his sore legs and that cramp in his right abdomen slowed him down.
As he fell further behind, he started to panic, and then, he remembered that he had brought something with him. He reached into his jacket and took out a metal object.
It was a big, silverplated cross, and he held it so tightly like he was drowning in the rapids and this was the only straw that he could hold onto.
He wanted to show his friend the cross to give him a little hope and comfort, but when he raised his head, he saw no one in front of him but the emptiness of the wild.
He looked around and couldn't find his friend anywhere. It was just himself alone in the middle of the tall grass, still a mile away from the town. And more importantly, the night was inevitably falling upon him.
He thought he saw some shadows moving in the grass, with low grunts and vague slobbering sounds. He swallowed hard and clasped his fingers around the cross as he kept running for his life.
A few low purrs came from behind him. They sounded like someone was slowly forcing an old, wooden door with tight, rusty hinges to open. They seemed to be right behind him, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by fear.
His legs gave out immediately. He wobbled and stumbled, and then he tripped and fell. He dared not to stop, though, as he clenched his teeth and scrambled his way towards the town.
Something behind him pounced at him and grabbed his ankle, almost crushing his shin. He screamed and struggled frantically. Immediately after he freed himself, his other ankle was grabbed and he was dragged backwards forcefully.
He was dragged backwards facing down. He dug his fingers into the mud and forced himself to roll facing up, before he used every bit of his strength to kick the attacker in the face.
He heard an angry growl as the thing let go of him momentarily.
He had finally caught a glimpse of that thing under the moonlight. It was a creature that looked like a wicked animal-human hybrid with four deformed limbs. Its skin was cracked and charred. Its eyes were red like blood, but cold like snake. The creature, it reminded him a dead he had once seen, which had been run over by a car and left on the side of the road for days, highly decomposed with stench.
As the creature, together with three others, closed in on him slowly and growled, he saw their fangs in those open mouths, in which three rows of sawtooth-like fangs grew.
The one in the middle, which assumed to be the alpha, tilted its head at him and made that unpleasant purr again. Before the guy could react, it pounced at him again.
A scream of fear burst out from the young man as he fled on his hands and knees.
He had barely gotten ten feet away, when he heard a slurping sound right above his head. Then, he felt a wet lick on the top of his hair.
Having completely paralyzed by fear, he collapsed and trembled. Tears burst out as he cried for help. He waved his cross in front of him like crazy with his shaking hand.
The group of creatures fell back a little cautiously as they stared at the cross while letting out some low, warning growls at him.
"That's right! Go away! Go away you ugly monsters!" The man yelled as he waved the cross in excitement.
The creatures hiss at him. Then alpha bared its teeth and launched itself at him. It pinned him down to the ground and stared at him viciously, its saliva drooled down from its mouth and into the guy's face.
The others, feeling encouraged, approached him again. One of them slapped his cross away violently.
The young man closed his eyes in despair, thinking that he would be torn into pieces and then eaten right now. However, before those teeth sunk into his flesh, a loud bay came from afar. It sounded like nothing but a screech of anguish.
All the creatures stopped attacking him immediately. They all turned to the alpha as if they were seeking advice from the others.
The alpha raised its head and growled. Right after that, a second bay came. This time it sounded like it was nearby.
The alpha let go of him and looked into the darkness vigilantly. He took the chance and tried to escape, but he couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he had tried, his spasming legs or arms just wouldn't listen to him. They felt like they were no longer his.
Biting out a groan, he inched away from the group of creatures, but froze immediately when a third bay came right behind him. The high pitch sound clawed his eardrums, and he felt that suddenly the air pressure around him had changed. It hammered into his chest, and he suddenly couldn't breathe.
He turned his head, and there he saw a huge shadow standing. It had the shape of a dog as big as the size of a pickup truck.
Thinking that it was yet another flesh eating monster that was coming for him, he closed his eyes in tears and decided to give up.
He heard a series of incoherent growls and whines around him. Then, it was just that dead silence.
It took him forever to realize that he was still alive in one piece. He eventually decided to open his eyes a little to take a peek.
He was shocked to find that the creatures were all gone. That shadow dog was gone too. There was nothing around him but the night wind, the soughing woods and the whispering grassland.
Gasping incoherently, he scrambled to stand up, but as something moved in the tall grass right next to him, he screamed and fell into the mud again.
Then, he realized that it was not a monster, but a small dog with long, tousled black hair and bright amber eyes. He couldn't recognized the breed, though.
He and the dog stared at each other for a few seconds, and then a tall, blonde woman walked out from the darkness. She almost gave him a heart attack.
The woman looked at him with a slight frown. Her light blue-green eyes were almost emotionless. When she noticed that he was shaking hard and he could barely hold himself together, she scoffed,"what kind of moron are you to stay outside the town after sundown?"
The guy swallowed hard at that nonchalant voice. After staring at her for a long time, he finally answered, "we were...our car broke down a few...a few miles back there and-"
"We?" The blonde woman raised her eyebrows.
"They are...my friends are...my friends were..." the guy muttered as he tried to put his mind together to described what had happened. The only thing he could put into words was that there had been five of them in that car and the car had broken down. They decided to go to the town on foot, and while they were on the way, the others disappeared quietly.
He started to tremble again as he remembered those monsters' disgusting faces. "They…my friends..." he murmured, raising his arm weakly to point to where he had come from.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Forget about your friends. They are gone. You better get your sorry ass back to town before more of those fuckers come out and eat you too."
The guy nodded like crazy. He clumsily stood up, almost bumping into her and knocked her down.
He wiped the sweat off his face, and then he looked for his cross. He groaned when he found it twisted and bent in the grass.
"Yeah, I'd just throw that shit away if I were you," the blonde said. "They aren't afraid of crosses."
"W-what?" The guy murmured in surprised as he looked at the cross. "They aren't? But...but...everybody says that…."
"Whoever told you that those damn things are afraid of holy objects-" the woman aired quoted "holy objects", "-had no idea what they were talking about, or maybe they just wanted you dead."
But, they did look like they were afraid of it, at least for a short while. The man thought, but wasn't brave enough to argue with the woman since she looked fierce.
The woman took the cross away from him. Though, before she tossed it away, she noticed a vague scent coming from inside of it.
With a little frown she ripped the cross open with her bare hands. It turned out that it was hollow inside and there was a handful of dehydrated flower buds in it.
"No wonder they came at you last..." she murmured as she picked up one bud and looked at it carefully.
"W-what are those?" The guy asked. He had no idea that his cross was hollow inside, let alone that it had the flowers in it. "Are they...those monsters, they are afraid of these flowers?"
The woman didn't answer him. She examined the cross again, before she asked, "where did you get this cross, hmmm?"
"It's a family heirloom..." the man replied. Then, he cleared his throat and quickly corrected himself, "I mean...I think my grandfather bought it at a garage sale and…."
Nervously staring at the flowers, he asked again, "the monsters are afraid of these flowers?"
"Yeah, you wish," the woman snorted and poured all the flower buds into her hand. She crushed them gently with her fingers. The dried petals crumbled and scattered in the wind. She watched the last petal disappeared, before she continued, "these are just wild roses, and no, they aren't afraid of wild roses at all. What made them hesitate was the smell because the flowers must have…."
She trailed off as she looked into the night sky. Then, she turned to the guy and frowned. "Seriously, get lost, like right now."
The guy nodded absentmindedly. What had happened had finally sunk in, and he somehow figured that the disappearance of those nasty attackers had everything to do with this blonde woman in front of him.
"It was...it was you who saved me, right?" He asked hesitantly.
The woman rolled her eyes, and then shrugged lazily. "So?"
"Well, then could you...I mean, if you don't mind, do you want to go, like go into the town with me?" The man asked, practically begging now.
The blonde huffed out a mocking laugh. "No," she said firmly. "I'm not your bodyguard, and I have no interest to be one."
"But...hey..." the guy muttered.
The woman had finally lost her patience. She took a step forward and looked into his eyes. "Do you know why I saved you from those ugly fuckers?"
The guy shook his head and took a step back. Somehow, all of a sudden, he felt an invisible force in the air pushing against him and making him choke.
"Because..." the woman leaned in and breathed, "I don't like to share my dinner with them."
The man's eyes shot wide open. Then he fell back and let out a loud cry of fear. He fled while screaming and didn't look back at her once.
The woman chuckled and shook her head. She casually ran her fingers through her long locks while looking at the small town in distance.
She could see the guards at the closed gateway checking everyone entering the gate. She could heard some screams and cries of pain from afar. It might be those who had been caught and eaten by those nasty creatures. Or, it might be those who had been injured so badly that the people inside the town decided to kill them before they would turn into the monsters.
The lights in the town looked so fragile, as if the darkness was chipping away the little town.
She wondered how long it would take before it lost too many people to the monsters to recover. She wondered how long it would take before it would crumble and fall, just like many other cities and towns she had seen on her journey.
Behind her, in the mountains, across the roaring river, in the caves, among the tall grass and the woods, there were hundreds of those nasty creatures drooling over warm human flesh. Sooner or later, they would conquer this small town.
The blonde sighed as she pressed her hand on the hilt of her hunting knife. She looked down at the dog, who now was resting beside her foot. "While you are finishing up eating your dinner, I'm gonna go get a drink," she announced.
The dog rolled his eyes at her and let out a low grunt, which sounded surprisingly like a "whatever". Then, he got up and left.
When she found out that there was only one bar in the small town that was still open, the blonde woman let out a deep sigh. She entered it eventually while hoping that it would carry something she would like.
Under the dim light, the bartender greeted her with a wide grin, as if he was showing off his fangs. He took her offer and prepared her drink while she sat down at the bar and looked around.
A group of people sat in the corner, giggling while making out. A man buried his face in a young male's neck, and two women around him looked at him affectionately and intently as if he was the love of their life.
The blonde snorted quietly. She knew that that man was a Vampire. The young guy he was feeding off right now, and the two women beside him were all his enthralled humans. They fell for his Vampire glamour, intentionally or unintentionally, and serving no other purpose but his food. They'd do anything to please him, because he had become their master.
There were two other Vampires sitting at the table behind her. One of them were having an intense discussion on her phone with someone, while the other one was eyeing some human who sat at another table.
The blonde enjoyed her drink alone. With her left hand tucked under her jacket, she ran her finger along the length of the sheath of her hunting knife absentmindedly.
Drowning in her own train of thoughts, she had tuned everything out until a faint smell of fresh blood came to her.
She immediately turned to her left while held the hilt of her knife. Then, she rolled her eyes when she saw that it was just a dark-hair woman sipping a glass of fresh blood at the bar.
It was quite hard for her to fathom the reason why her eyes would be drawn to the woman longer than they should.
Maybe it was simply because she was a good looking woman. Maybe it was her outfit, which hugged her in all the right places. Maybe it was her soft voice when she was battering with the bartender. Maybe it was that smile on her face that allowed everything around her to melt. Maybe it was those blood coated lips. Or maybe, it was those sparkles dancing in her brown eyes. They were coated in fresh blood, and that deep red made her look so much alive, even though she was in fact, a Vampire.
It didn't take long for the brunette to notice her stare, and she turned to her with a gentle grin. One of her fangs biting down on her bottom lip. A hint of blue flicked in her eyes.
"Drinking alone?" The brunette asked her in a sweet voice.
She could feel the brunette's glamour now, a subtle warmth that vibrated in the air, like the air was gently kissing her skin. She pulled her lips into a smirk and replied, "so?"
"Well, if you need some company..." the brunette leaned in a little and gave her a flirty wink.
The blonde chuckled as she looked into those brown eyes. Then, she leaned in and whispered, "I don't mind company, but I don't really do Vamps."
The brunette let out a few amused chuckles while licking her fangs. "Why?" She asked, intrigued, as she looked into those light eyes.
"Well…Vamps are really needy and bossy in bed for one, and the sex is just a bit too messy for my liking, with blood and everything," the blonde breathed into her ear, and chuckled quietly when she felt the brunette shiver a little.
She downed her drink and lifted the corner of her jacket a little, just enough to let the brunette see her hunting knife. She tapped her finger against an embedded piece on the grip, a small, round rune in a blood red color, and looked at the other woman.
She was expecting one of the two responses from the brunette, fear or hatred. After all, those were the two things that the Vampires she had met in her life had given her after seeing that embedded piece, the symbol of the Huntress Guild. However, surprisingly, she saw neither in the brunette's eyes. The only thing she saw, was caution, and strangely, hope?
Right, hope. She gave herself an internal eyeroll and tucked her money under her empty glass. She squinted her right eye at the brunette and then she headed to the door.
To her surprise, the brunette immediately stood up and followed her. She cautiously tailed her all the way into the parking lot outside.
The blonde rolled her eyes and turned around. "Are you really that desperate? Or are you wanting an one-on-one with a Huntress?"
The brunette licked her lips. "No," she said, "I'm looking for a Huntress." After a short pause, she added, "a real one, who's from the Guild, not those fake ones who have no power at all."
The blonde raised her eyebrows. "You are looking for a real Huntress? Why?" She was surprised, and also, curious. Being a Huntress for many years, she had learned that most Vampires either ran away from her or wanted her life as a revenge. No Vampire would approach a Huntress like this.
"I have something-I mean, I have a job that only a real Huntress can do," the brunette told her straightforwardly.
The blonde stared at her for a few seconds, and then she burst out laughing. "You-" she pointed at the brunette, "have a job for me? You do realize that my job is pretty much...killing Vampires like you, right?"
"Oh, bullshit," the brunette drawled. "You and I both know that the Huntress Guild has disbanded a long time ago. You are no longer hunting Vampires under commands."
"Well..." the blonde smirked as she pulled out her hunting knife, "I don't need the Guild's command to kill a Vampire like you."
"Are you gonna kill me then?" The brunette taunted.
"Oh trust me, sweetheart, I'm not that far away from doing it," the blonde leaned in and whispered to her while playfully pressing the tip of her knife against the brunette's stomach.
The brunette cleared her throat nervously and stepped back, but she didn't get scared away. She looked into those light eyes and asked, "anyway, had you been here hunting Vampires there would have been a bloodbath in that bar ten minutes ago. So...are you interested in this job or not?"
"Oh, I don't know, sweetheart, I think I'd have to know what it is first," the blonde drawled. "You want to humor me, now is a very good time."
"Well, l am looking for something, and I need a real Huntress for that," the brunette told her. "I think we should talk somewhere more private, if you want to know more."
They walked out of town and stopped in the middle of the grassfield. The full moon above them looked down at everything coldly, and everything around them seemed dead.
"Alright, I think anyone who are able to hear our conversation would be those fugly Ghouls now, if they dare to get close enough to either one of us," the blonde said as she quickly looked around. "And if this is you luring me into your trap, you can save all the bs and bring the fight on now."
"I am not luring you into a trap," the brunette said as she rolled her eyes.
The blonde shrugged. "Then tell me what exactly you are after."
The brunette bit her bottom and pondered, before she said, "I want the stake that killed the Blood Countess."
The blonde huffed out a mocking laugh. "Yeah, and I want Cinderella's pumpkin coach," she said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm serious," the brunette said.
"Well me too, since the stake is just as real as the pumpkin coach," the blonde told her. "In case that you don't know, it's nothing but a rumor."
"Well, she was staked, was she?"
"She was," the blonde nodded, "but it wasn't the stake that killed her, it was the power of the Huntress who had killed her."
She paused briefly, running her fingers through her blonde hair as she looked away from the brunette and into the darkness. "Listen," she murmured, "I don't know what stories you've heard or where you've heard them from, but that stake, it is not like what many believe it is. It does not have any power. I know people all say that it can kill anything, but it can't. That shit is made up by God knows who."
"How do you know? Have you seen it?" The brunette taunted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
The blonde snorted. "No one has seen it," she said. "No one knows where she's buried. Her mausoleum was empty."
"What if I tell you that I might be the only one who knows where her body is?" The brunette asked her. "Will you be interested in taking this job?"
"You are kidding me, right? You know where her body is, like for real?" The blonde stared at her.
"Yeah, for real," the brunette stared back.
"Well, if you are that sure where her body is, what do you need me for?"
"Only a Huntress can pull that stake out from her body," the brunette explained. "Just...are you interested or not?"
The blonde clicked her tongue as she looked into those brown eyes. "So...let me get this straight, You, a Vamp, are looking for a stake that has kill the Vamp Queen more than six hundred years ago, and now you are asking for help from a Huntress, who basically hunts down Vampires and kill them."
When she saw the brunette nod, she snorted and threw her hands into the air. "This must be the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my entire life!"
The brunette clenched her lips and stared at her. Then, she shook her head slightly and said, "I'll take it as your way of saying no-I-am-so-not-interested then."
"I didn't say I am not interested. It's just that the whole thing is absurd," the blonde told her. "You are looking for something that doesn't even exist."
"The stake does exist," the brunette said firmly.
The blonde let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. She gave up on persuading the brunette, and she thought she should just leave now to save both of them some time. However, deep down, a part of her felt intrigued for some reason. It wasn't about that stupid stake or anything. It was about the brunette. It was that burning devotion in her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder why the other woman was so determined to find something that was considered to be a myth. What was she truly after?
"Fine, I'll go look for the stake with you, only to prove that it is not a magic stake and that it has no power at all," she eventually told the brunette. "And also, you'll have to tell me how you know about the whereabout of her body, and why you need that stake."
The brunette was excited at her answer first, but then she frowned and bit her bottom lip. "When we actually get to her grave and find that stake, I'll tell you everything," she offered. "If it's not good enough for you, I'll...find someone else then."
"Whatever, like I'm really interested," the blonde snorted. A part of her was telling her that this was either the brunette was kinda crazy or this was a trap of some sort, and that she should not go. However, a small part of her was actually curious. The Blood Countess, that stake that had killed her, the mysterious Huntress who ended her ruthless reign, the fight between them, her lost body, there were pretty much the only stories she had heard growing up as a Huntress. She didn't really believe the brunette, because there was no way she could know about the Vamp Queen's grave, but she didn't have anything better to do now anyway. So, why not?
"You have agreed to help me on that stake, right?" The brunette asked her, as if she was afraid that she'd suddenly change her mind.
"Yes, I have," the blonde drawled.
"Good, I'll meet you here tomorrow after sundown then," the brunette said. "And then we'll figure out how to get to her grave."
It was then that she realized that she hadn't even asked the blonde's name. "I'm Bo," she introduced herself as she reached her hand out politely for a handshake.
"Tamsin," the blonde replied simply.
Bo's cold fingers touched Tamsin's warm hand for a brief moment, and then they both withdrew their hands and each took a step back.
"Well, it's nice meeting you, Tamsin," Bo said with a smile.
"Whatever, make sure you pack everything you need, cuz I'm not gonna let you borrow anything of mine for sure. We are gonna split the cost of the trip too. Oh, and if you need to bring your enthralled humans with you, you will have to take care of them on your own, in a separate vehicle."
Bo smiled, and there was a certain vulnerability in her eyes as she said,"it'll just be me."
"Alright then," Tamsin shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Bo gave her a nod, and then she left. Like a shadow she moved in the darkness, so fast like she was teleporting.
The black dog, who had appeared under Tamsin's foot quietly, sniffed, huffed and hissed at Bo's distance silhouette, like he was very much against the idea of traveling with her.
"Relax, if she does anything stupid, I'll kill her and then you can eat her, okay?" Tamsin told him, and the animal yawned out a slight snort.
