Warning: Yep, there's some violence. I mean, can you really have Blade in a story and not have violence somewhere? Other then that, there's isn't much. Maybe a few bad words… but that's why it's rated PG-13.

Disclaimer: I don't own Blade. I don't think I would want to. He's a little scary. I do own the other characters, though once again I had to borrow a name here or there, because I suck at thinking up good names.

Dealings with Lamias

Part One

The music roared throughout the club, dozens of bodies moved to the music out on the dance floor. Ann pushed her way between two men and moved away from the dance floor. She felt one of the men's hand linger on her bare leg, but she moved away without bitching at him. It was simpler for her just to leave then confront him. She didn't need things to be any harder for her.

She spotted a space at the bar and pushed her way closer. She wasn't looking for a drink, more for a place to sit and rest. She'd been all over the club already, searching ever corner. It was going to take her the rest of the night to check the dance floor. Ann hoped she might just run into Jamie.

Suddenly, a loud bang rocketed throughout the club as the back doors were almost blown off their hinges. Standing in the light was a man, dressed all in black, dark sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

Oh, Jesus, not tonight, Ann thought as she moved away from the bar. I'm so damn close.

The man let out a small laugh as everyone became silent. "Didn't mean to put a hamper on everyone's night," came his gruff voice.  At that, four men moved from the dance floor to the backdoors, confronting the man. Ann knew this wasn't going to end well for the four men. Even though they had the quick reflexes that go along with being a vampire, they were no match to Blade, the day-walker.

As the four neared him, Blade pulled out a long sword from behind his back. Ann swallowed and watched it all in morbid curiosity. She could hear the jumble at the door as many of the vampires hurried to escape into the night. She continued to watch as Blade spun the sword, they preceded to cut all four vampires down to dust.

After that, pretty much pandemonium broke out in the club. Ann stayed away from Blade as well as she could, finally slipping out of the backdoors after he moved farther into the club. She heard the screams of vampires as he continued on his quest to rid the world of all her kind.

Ann quickly moved down the alley, trying to keep close to the walls of the buildings. Suddenly, she felt a strong hand land on her shoulder and push her around and up against the wall. She was staring into a pair of dark sunglasses and a grinning face.

"Well, if I haven't caught myself an escapee."

Ann swallowed deeply and tried to keep her cool. You can't die, not tonight. Jamie was in there, you know it. "Please," she said quietly. "Please, Blade. Don't kill me."

Blade pulled back a few inches from the girl. It wasn't normal for a vampire to beg for their life. He studied the girl for few moments, then removed his hand from her shoulder. "Why should I let you live?"

Ann let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She knew she wasn't safe yet, but she was definitely out of the woods. "I need to find my sister first. That's what I was doing at the club."

Blade chuckled and crossed his arms. Ann didn't take it as a good sign. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Look, I don't care if you mark me down for dead later, but I need to find my sister first."

This seemed to catch Blade's attention. "Why so much trouble over your sister?"

"Because I don't want her to be a part of this life," Ann spat back at him. She was getting pissed for no reason, though it seemed like Blade didn't mind. He continued to grin at her from behind his sunglasses.

"What in the hell was she doing at a place like Los Diablos?" Blade asked her mockingly.

Ann glared at him. She knew it was no hope. Blade was going to continue to toy with her, then when he grew tried, he'd kill her with the silver sting of his sword. "She's hooked up with Vassili's group. I heard Diablos is his normal hang out." Ann let out a sigh. "I'd hoped to find her and get her away before she'd changed." She paused for a moment. "Blade, listen to me. I know all about you. You'd have to be an idiot not to know about you in the vampire world, but I need you to do this for me." She took a step closer to him. "If you help, I might be able to find her faster."

Ann was shocked at herself. This night was not turning out as she wanted it to. Her perfect night would have been running into Jamie outside the club and then getting the hell out of here before any trouble began. Now that was all shot to hell, since she was standing in a dark alley with the epitome of vampire hunters. And not only that, but now she was asking for his help.

It seemed Blade was just as shocked as her. He was studying her silently, or at least that's what she thought he was doing. It was so hard to guess where he was looking with those damn sunglasses on. Ann was feeling a little desperate. She knew that if she got Blade to help her she'd find Jamie in no time. Now that it was down to it, she felt as though she needed Blade.

"I'll make you a deal," she began slowly. "You help me find my sister and get her away from that ass Vassili, and I'll let you kill me. Hell, maybe you'll even get Vassili too. Killing two birds with one stone? That ain't bad Blade, and you know it."

Blade gave a small grunt at the last sentence and looked down the alley. Ann knew it was a useless plea, but she had to make it, for Jamie's sake. She was shocked when he turned back to her so quickly and nodded his head slightly.

"I'll help you find your sister," he said slowly. "Not because of you or her, but I've been after that prick Vassili for months now." He paused. "Seems we were both at Diablos tonight for the same reason."

Ann was a little taken aback. She'd never thought Blade would agree in a million years. It was all happening a little too easy. She knew she'd have a big price to pay at the end of all this. Then she realized she'd made a deal for her sister's life for her own. Yeah, the price was already settled on.

* * *

After that, Ann found herself sitting beside Blade, racing down the highway. If it had been a little earlier in the night, she might have laughed at the irony of the situation, her sitting next to the best vampire hunter in the last eon, but now it was getting very close to dawn and she needed to get home, quickly.

Thus brought her to Blade's car. She gripped the handle on the side of the door as he passed a slower moving van on the right. She didn't know it, but Blade was watching her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't act like a normal vampire. Vampires do not beg for their lives, they don't feel for others, they don't sit peacefully beside a known hunter.

"Are you sure you're a vampire?" Blade asked her after a couple of minutes of silence. Ann looked over at him and laughed, showing her fangs.

"Oh yes," Ann said sadly. "I'm a vampire, though I know I don't act it." She sighed and looked out the window. "I hate this life, I do not embrace it like all the others. It's a cursed life, and I don't want my sister to have anything to do with it."

Blade continued to watch her and the road at the same time. "How did you become like this?"

Ann let out another sigh and closed her eyes. "How about we don't talk about me anymore, ok? Let's talk about Jamie. I suppose you should know what she looks like, in case you see her." Ann dug into her back pocket and pulled out a picture. She then held it out so he could see it.

Two girls grinned at him from the picture. One was Ann. Her short brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her arm was around a blonde beside her. Ann pointed to the blonde. "Jamie is my younger sister, by two years. She still has blonde hair, I would imagine. The best feature to pick her out by, though, are her eyes, if you can get close enough. Like me, we both have two different color eyes." Blade looked completely at her and noticed for the first time that one of her eyes was a light blue while the other was a dark green. "Only, Jamie's are blue and brown."

Blade nodded and turned back to the road. Ann pulled the picture back to her and looked at her little sister. The last time she'd seen Jamie was over a year ago, the day Ann moved away from home. She'd been going to college full time then, but had to quit after the night she was attacked and changed. After that, she couldn't stand to be at home, hiding her new life from her family.

A few weeks later, she'd packed a few bags and moved into the closest city, Los Angeles. Giving up college had been the second hardest things she'd ever had to do, leaving Jamie behind was the first. Ann could still remember the tears on her cheeks as she hugged Jamie good-bye. She'd given her mom a bullshit story about a great opportunity in the city for a job, and that had been the end of it. Only her father and Jamie knew the real reason she'd had to leave, and that's the way she wanted to keep it.

Suddenly realizing how early it was actually getting, Ann shouted at Blade to turn right at the next stop. Her apartment was only a few blocks away. She needed to get out of the night before dawn broke. She placed her forehead against the glass and looked out at the shadows that whizzed by them. 

Blade took the turn quickly and slowed down a bit as Ann sat up straighter in her seat. "This is fine. I can walk the rest of the way."

Blade gave her a smirk and pulled up to the curb. "Don't want me to see where you live?"

Ann smirked right back at him. "Actually, I don't want the other tenants to see who's giving me a lift home. I'd like to live to see tomorrow night." She pushed open the door, climbed out and slammed it behind her. She was quickly getting the feeling that Blade's help was going to get her into a lot more trouble then she was ready for.

* * *

The next night, after a long day of sleep, Ann was up, pacing her bedroom, waiting for Blade. Ann wanted to go back to Los Diablos to find Vassili or Jamie, but they couldn't just walk in. Blade was known throughout the vampire world as a sworn enemy. Getting into Diablos with Blade and without a riot was going to impossible.

Ann stopped infront of her mirror and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She frowned at her reflection. Her skin was a pasty white and dark circles framed her eyes. She hadn't seen the sun in over a year. She now spent her life in shadows and darkness, watching her step, trying to survive in a new world she'd been thrusted into.

Ann sighed and looked down at the dresser top. Her parent's smiling face were shining up at her from a frame, reminding her of the life she'd left behind. Another picture next to it was of her and Jamie, ages twelve and ten. Ann swallowed back the lump in her throat and looked back up. She gasped at the reflecting of Blade standing behind her.

"Jesus, Blade!" Ann shouted as she spun around. "What in the hell are you doing?" Ann caught her breath and glared at him. She couldn't believe he was grinning at her from behind those glasses.

"Well, you should really lock your door from now on," came his sarcastic reply. Ann crossed her arms and frowned at him. Dressed all in black once more, Blade stood like a rock in the door of her bedroom. Like normal, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, keeping his emotions bottled up, away from others.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to just drop in like this," she spat back at him. "So, are we heading back to Los Diablos tonight?" Ann asked as she stepped around the rock and into her living room. She grabbed her coat off a chair and pulled it on. "After your little scare last night, I don't know if Vassili will chase going there again so soon."

Blade leaned against the doorframe, arms still crossed. "Los Diablos isn't Vassili's only hang out. He likes a little unknown spot a few blocks over from Diablos." As Ann listened she looked around her kitchen, trying to find her keys. She finally found them laying on the countertop. She picked them up and turned around towards Blade.

"Are you talking about Lamia? No one goes to Lamia anymore, not since the fire," Ann said as they stepped back out her door, where she made sure it was locked before they began down the hall.

"Lamia is only for the top guys now a days."

"And Vassili likes to hang out there?" The two stepped out into the darkness of the night. Ann took a deep breath of the cool air and couldn't help but smile. She always grew tense as the slowly crept her by, hidden in her room. As soon as the sun set, she could finally relax.

"I figured we could give it a try," came Blade's gruff answer.

They climbed back into Blade's hell on wheels and took off towards Lamia. Once more, Blade cut through the traffic as Ann gripped the door handle. Blade's voice came as a surprise as he turn sharply around another corner.

"So you never answered my question. Were you born a vampire?"

Ann continued to stare out the front window. "I wasn't born a vampire, I was made one." Ann paused and took a long breath. "About a year ago I was home alone. An old man came the door, saying he'd just been attacked and mugged. I felt horrible for him, so I let him in and told him the phone was in the kitchen, so he could call someone. I closed the door and suddenly, this guy, this old man attacked me." Ann let out a small laugh. "I was so scared he was going to kill me." She looked out the window and sighed again. "There have been a lot of times in this last year when I wished he just would have killed me."

Ann took a breath and held it for a second. There were a lot of images burning in her head at the moment. The man's face as he told her two boys had just beat him and stole his wallet. She could see herself opening the door wider, letting him into her house. The feeling of his fangs on the side of her neck as she screamed.

"When I woke up, I was covered in blood, but I couldn't figured out where it was coming from. I went into the bathroom and saw the marks on my neck and the damn fangs. I had to spend the next hour cleaning up all the blood."

Blade gave a small grunt and watched the road. "How long until we get there?" Ann asked him after a few quiet moments.

****Notes****

I know, it's a stupid place to end it, but I don't really have a choice. I couldn't fit the whole story into one chapter, so you're getting it in parts.