Title: The Hunter

Author: Tu

Rating: Pg/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or anyone that was on the show.

Author's Note: I wrote this sometime ago. I finally decided to post it. Takes place after Graduation.

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Prologue

950AD.

He was dead meat. He had managed to out run the mob in the village. But he knew he could not out run IT. He was breathing hard as he ran through the forest. He could hear the sound of pounding hooves getting closer. It was almost dawn. If he could get to the caves he would be all right.

Connor knew he was going to die, again. He had lay dying on the battlefield when he was offered eternal life. He had taken it. Being a vampire had its advantages. He could do so much more than he could before. Yet like all his kind he feared the sun and THEM

"Death has come for you, evil one."

"Who said that?" Connor asked, though deep in his bones he knew.

"I did." A shadow separated itself from the trees. "I have come for you demon."

Connor skid to a halt. He knew who this was. All vampires knew. This one was an enemy. One who could not die. If blood had still coursed through his veins, Connor knew it would be frozen. This was a killer. His life was over again, but this time there would be no coming back. He turned to run. Suddenly an arrow pierced his heart.

As the vampire know as Connor exploded into dust, the shadow merged back into the forest. A group of men on horses came into view. The men pulled their mounts up.

"Hell's blood. He's gone." The leader cried.

The other riders crossed themselves. This creature was a hunter of the night and evil. What could have k8illed it? A shadow passed in the forest.

"Halt. Who goes there?" The leader called out.

A figure came out of the shadows. All the riders knew who this person was. She had lost so much. None could look at her. The whole village gad seen the destruction at her home not three months ago.

The girl looked at the riders. Outwardly she looked like a young girl of fifteen. Her expression was one of profound loss. These men knew that she had lost her whole family to the creatures of the night. Inwardly she was something much different.

"Did you catch the man who killed my brother?" she enquired. She had a wide-eyed look. As if they could catch him, she thought. None of the men could meet her eyes.

"No. He is gone." The leader answered.

The girl seemed to collapse inwardly. Her death wail could be heard all through the forest. The leader picked her up and took her back to the village. The mob that had formed was gone. The whole village was weeping for the little girls little brother. The leader took her to her hut. An old woman stood in front of it." Come now little one," the old woman said," we must prepare your brother for his walk to the next life."

The girl simply nodded. It was as if she had no strength to fight.

"I will return with the items we need." The old woman left. She crossed herself as she left. The girl's family was gone but still she lived. Maybe she was cursed.

The girl waited for the old woman to leave. The young boy's body lay on a table near her. In truth he was not her brother. She had no family. What family she had had was now dust. She guarded the boy only to fill a debt she owed to his father. The father had saved her life. She shuddered at the memory.

The mask she wore slipped. To long had she lingered in this village. Someone would uncover her secret. All ready they whispered that she was cursed. It was time to move on. Have I not learned anything in my years on this earth, she thought. It was time to return to the castle. The OTHERS would be waiting. What few where left.

She looked over at the boy. He had gone against her will. He had tried to control a creature of the night with magic. The vampire he had summoned had turned on him and killed him. She felt little guilt about his death.

"Go to the next world, boy," she said,"But in the next life listen to what your elders tell you."

She could hear the old woman returning. The old one crossed herself as she walked. If only you knew what I was, she thought, you would cross yourself. She turned her back to the door and began the spell. A portal formed on the back wall. She stepped through it. As it closed she could hear the old woman screaming.