A/N: I don't own anyone but Alex and the other OC's…I wished I owned Sturges…
So I am sorry about the gap in updates…No excuse I know but real life kicked me in the ASS!
I don't know if you guys have seen but NBC will be airing Dracula in the fall with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the lead…I smell crossover! I think Henry needs a worthy adversary don't you all agree?
"Alright start talking. And please don't hold back."
Alex flashed the ring which was perched between her fingers in a small slip of cloth. Her eyes were blaring and nostrils flaring as Markus pursed his lips on the screen. Henry was seated beside her, letting the hunter handle the situation. The Trinity had been silent and uneasy since the moment the ring graced their vision.
"Gee not everyone talk at once."
The hunger huffed and continued staring down the Trinity. Her eyes shifted between each one, silently studying their faces and body language. Whatever they knew they weren't exactly lining up to divulge.
"Is someone going to explain what the HELL is going on!?"
"We heard you the first time Alexandra. What you are holding….."
"What I am holding? Look I got my ass handed to me back there at Steed's shop because of this damned thing! I deserve to know what is going on!"
Her fist slammed the desk where the laptop rested, rattling the device a few millimeters. The Trinity watched the hunter grind her teeth and breathe hard but shallow.
"Alex," Henry curled a hand around her shoulder.
"You're right Alexandra. You indeed deserve to know."
Markus leaned in front of the laptop on his end, rustling some papers around for a few moments until straightening up and presenting what appeared to be a manuscript in Cuneiform. Alex peered harder at the screen, able to pick out a few words.
"What am I looking at Markus? Looks like something a five year old drew."
"This is a dialect of Cuneiform dating back to the proto-literate period of ancient Mesopotamia. It dates back to the 35th century B.C. It's a little known text uncovered by archaeologists at Jemdet Nasr in the late 19th century. This particular script tells of the demon Lilu."
"Lilu?" Alex felt her stomach dropping. She knew that name; it was one of many for Lilith. "But that's a myth right? I thought it was a bedtime story that you guys read to one another while reminiscing about the old days."
"No we don't read it and reminisce about the old days Alexandra! Lilu is real."
"Okay you wanna run that by me again? I think you said Lilu is real."
"She is very much real. She is the one who is responsible for our existence."
Alex dropped in the chair, staring blankly into the screen. The true origins of the vampire had been shrouded in mythos and legend, winding up as stories mothers recited to unruly children or classic gothic horror novels. Lilu was a demon from Mesopotamian mythology; not the matriarch of the undead!
"If this is their idea of a joke I'm not laughing," she turned to Henry who was strangely silent. "You're not buying into this crap are you?"
"When you touched the ring you went into a trance correct?"
"Yeah but I don't remember anything."
"Where is this going Markus?" Henry was growing impatient with them.
"You need to understand why we did this."
"Did what?" Henry felt his anger simmering.
"We spun the web of lies and fallacy for centuries; to protect the humans and our world. That ring is part of the story."
"We get that much Markus. Stop dancing around the truth and tell us!"
"Perhaps it is best to start in the beginning. I won't divulge into the story of humans as everyone is aware of it. However, there was a woman before Eve; Lilith. She was created of the earth the same as Adam. But that was where the equality ceased in his eyes. She was to be subservient, obeying his every whim even in sex."
"Sounds familiar," the hunter retorted.
"Anyways, Lilith refused to bow down as she was created of the same clay as Adam; she was strong willed, thwarting Adam on every level until he committed the ultimate betrayal . On the count of her disobedience she was ruthlessly cast out into the wastelands."
"Asshole," Alex muttered bitterly. "I think I can sympathize with Lilith."
"You may reconsider after what I have to say. Lilith wandered the Earth, embittered and hateful. By then Adam had been given a new wife, one who was obedient and obeyed his every whim. She had been created from his rib, ensuring she would never raise her voice or question his supremacy."
"Eve," Henry spoke up.
"I thought Lilith ditched Adam and not the other way around." Alex was feeling confused.
"I'm afraid not Alexandra. Adam beseeched to have Lilith exiled from Eden as a result of her actions. Lilith begged to be forgiven but he turned his back upon her, shutting out the curses and cries spilling between her lips. It was then Lilith vowed to may them and their offspring suffer."
"Cain and Abel," Alex laughed humorlessly. "Gee I wonder what happened next."
"Alexandra you may reserve your sarcasm to yourself."
"Considering the Hell we went through I think I'm entitled to my thoughts."
Markus was miffed but the hunter had a point. This would be permitted to slide given the circumstances.
"Alright, we shall look the other way regarding your comments. As I was saying before, Lilith had vowed to make Adam and Eve and their descendents languish in agony."
"I don't think I'm going to like this next chapter," Alex sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"You're right you won't."
This time it was Thomas who spoke up.
"After her banishment from Eden, Lilith was condemned to wander the barren wastelands, surviving on what little sustenance she could forage. You must understand the world of her time was cruel and dark. She prayed for a means of revenge against the one who shunned her; prayed for vengeance against the one who warmed his bed."
"Yeah I get the impression she was pretty pissed."
"That would be understating the obvious. But her pleas were heard….."
The siroccos howled across the sands, stirring up the fine grains which stung her parched skin and dry pained eyes. Her feet had grown calloused and leathery in texture; a degrading consequence of her forced exile. Her beauty had faded, replaced by the hardened aged lines which crusted around her eyes and lips.
Lilith silently damned Adam for his betrayal.
"Lilith…."
The faint disembodied voice echoed in the winds. Lilith stopped and listened intently.
"Lilith…."
It sounded so sweet against the hateful world.
"Who is calling me?" Her heart quickened at the tone of another.
"You prayed and prayed for vengeance. Your prayers have been answered."
Lilith drew the curtain of midnight from her eyes, drawing the pathetic garment to closer to her breast. The creamy skin pebbled in response to the increasing chill though the gales had been called off.
"Now I am here to grant you that desire."
She spun around to discover the source of the melodic voice. A man loomed by a dying date palm. Her heart froze upon laying eyes on the stranger. He was handsome with rich olive skin adorned in nothing more than a simple tunic. His hair shined beautifully in the searing sun, reflective like the wings of a raven. But it was the eyes that captured her attention: Fathomless pools of deep emerald that sadly reminded her of home. But they were beautiful nonetheless. Thick lashes framed them, feminine in a sense but only defining his beauty.
"Who are you?"
Her unexpected savior smiled revealing the immaculate rows of pearl concealed behind the thin lips.
"So beautiful," he shook his head. "Only to be betrayed by the one she trusted above all else."
"H-How do you know that?"
The man didn't answer as he approached. The smile faded until a deep frown replaced it.
"I know everything Lilith. Created of the same as him only to be treated as less; he destroyed your soul, rejecting you without conscious while he replaced you with another."
He watched her eyes grow bleary, distorting his image in her sight. Tears of bitterness stung the corners before staining the dirt caked cheeks.
"I know how it feels to be rejected; shunned from the place called home. Loved ones turning their backs, doing nothing to stop me from forsaken. I too have wandered this barren land, my heart yearning for the same as you."
"I-I don't understand. How can there be others like me?"
"It was all lies," his thumbs swept the wet trails away.
"I've walked this land for so long and yet I found no one else like me. The animals were the only companions I had."
"You were being punished Lilith; punished because you challenged him, defying his subservient demands. Tell me do you still long for it? To watch him and his descendents be afflicted until the very world ended? Do you still desire to see them suffer?"
"YES! YES! I wish for them all to remember! To remember because of HIS arrogance it is why they are condemned to this fate!"
"Very well then Lilith. Humans shall be plagued with your curse for all time."
He tenderly cupped her face in his hands, drawing her trembling lips to his. He pressed their mouths harder together until the sharp prick against her bottom lip startled her. Lilith pulled back, stunned at this man's action.
"You bit my lip," she dabbed the minute wound, seeing her blood collect at the tip of her index finger.
"That is but the beginning dear Lilith. Now come to me."
His hypnotic gaze pulled her in, attracting Lilith like a moth would be drawn to the dangerous beauty of the flame. Her arms were crossed fiercely over her breasts but they dropped allowing the tattered covering to flutter to the sand. She stood before him, naked and vulnerable. He just smiled as those beautiful eyes lustfully gazed upon her.
His hands curled around her waist gently guiding her to the ground. He tore the tunic away, showing off the impressive form that had been hidden. She was frightened at first but gradually accepted what about to transpire. A knee nudged her legs apart to which she complied. Lilith felt the wet mouth tasting her skin igniting the warmth her body had long been denied.
"The world will remember your name," he whispered in a low seductive growl. The thick head of his cock pushed inside, stretching her until he was completely sheathed. "My beautiful Lilith."
Lilith groaned at the full rhythmic thrusts, feeling his hips slamming harder against her. Words couldn't comprehend what she was experiencing though her guttural moans and groaning only excited him even more. She felt her lower body tightening into knots, signaling she was drawing closer.
Her cries were carried upon the whipping air, open for any to hear. The golden honey coated the rigid member, enhancing the delicious friction between their bodies. Oh yes, she was his.
"Lilith," his voice deepened into a growl before his teeth cut across her shoulder. Lilith shrieked, puncturing his back with her nails. Her body suddenly burned as though flames were licking every inch of skin. It was if she was dying!
His tongue lapped from the spring, greedily capturing every drop that surfaced. He could feel the mortal coil being shed, allowing for her mortality to perish. She whimpered like a child with tears streaming from her face, as the last vestiges of life bled from its shell.
"Mine," his breath puffed against her cheek before the thick heat crested inside.
He watched the shine in her eyes dull as she went still beneath him. They stared up into the heavens, a cruel twist of irony as he viewed it.
"Your legacy shall destroy them."
A lone nail sliced across his wrist, breaking the barrier between her and his plan. He carefully maneuvered the bleeding limb until it smothered her partially agape lips. In his native tongue he recanted the words which would seal the fate of His creations.
"You were the most revered but now you are the weakest. Hunted has now become the hunter. You will deliver Death in the guise of beauty and innocence. They will know agony and pestilence. Bounty and paradise are now famine and Hell."
He rose to his feet and waited.
" .GOD."
Alex was going to be ill.
"You mean to tell me that Lilith….."
"I'm afraid so Alexandra. That was only the beginning. Lilith was the first and some see her as their Mother."
"So Lilith screws demon, demon drains her dry, then demon gives her a bit of Vampireade. Lovely! Just freaking lovely! Again why didn't anyone care to tell me this!?"
"Not all vampires are aware of their true origins. The only ones who know are us and a few other vampires that are of the first and second generations."
"What about the hunters? I mean there has to be something in the Archives about this unless there's a great conspiracy and cover up too."
"That is guarded information in their perspective."
"Why? Why would they be so tight lipped about this? What is so important that both sides of the war are not saying shit?"
"Because of the implications of it getting out."
"What implications Markus? You're doing it again."
"I apologize but that is all we can divulge for now."
"How convenient," Henry snorted.
"It will all come in due time Henry. You must trust our judgment on this."
"Sure why not because blindly trusting you three has resulted in stellar results before."
"I think that is enough for one night," Henry clasped a hand on her shoulder.
"We will be in touch."
Thomas severed the connection leaving vampire and hunter in silence.
"They do this all the time," Alex flung her hands in warranted frustration. "How could they keep this from me!? I mean after all Lilith is the matriarch of the entire vampire race! Oh but I don't need to know that! Once to be considered a myth now reality! What are they so afraid of? What is it about this whole Lilith thing that has them being more wound up than a Timex?"
"It has something to do with that ring." Henry pointed to the band on the stand.
"I wish I could remember what I had seen. It's frustrating how sometimes I can recall images but then now I can't."
"It's all part of the gift I'm afraid," Henry sighed heavily. He could see the frustration written plainly across her face. That was the trouble with being in her position: She couldn't control what she saw and when she saw it. There was no answer for the riddle. Perhaps it was best that way he supposed. Of the hunters he had seen come and go, when the visions surfaced it was with a violent blow which rendered the unfortunate soul to the merciless grip of agony.
The head would throb with powerful thunder, killing the ears and sight. For some it would be hours others it was days. For Alex the last episode had reduced her to a sobbing wreck of 72 hours. She had begged and screamed for it to end, not caring how it was done.
It was then Henry had nearly done it, come close to very act he swore never to carry out.
Before his will was realized she had fallen silent, released of her torment.
Guilt had dictated his actions after that, afraid of what he would do.
I almost did something unspeakable…..To you….
It couldn't be any worse than the last three days!
You don't understand Alexandra! I nearly did IT! Seeing you in pain like that! How could I allow myself to even ponder such a course!
She had been silent for a few days, digesting what he had confessed. Alex had felt conflicted as she wanted to unleash anger upon him like an unholy wraith but instead remained calm. She couldn't be hostile towards him.
"I think I'm going to head to the bar," Alex rose from her seat. "This is a lot I have to take in."
Though she spoke with such composure, deep down Alex was growing uneasy. The ring and now this little fable was the beginning of something far more reaching; something that she or Henry wouldn't be able to grasp on their own.
The lounge was enjoying brisk traffic when the pair arrived. Apparently a business conference was hogging up the first three floors and all of the wealthy businessmen were chatting it up with under dressed over painted women who looked as though they would be better accustomed to a circus. Still they claimed the remaining booth in the far back corner of the bar, able to observe all who came and went. The little matter of the murders and how they tied into the ring remained unsolved.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to remember?"
"You know the visions come and go of their own will."
"No, not that Henry," Alex took a long drink of the Jack and Coke. One look into those polished rings and Henry realized his error.
"It's there, just out of reach, waiting for me to come. But I can't, something keeps holding me back. It's a dark entity that keeps be back, as though it knows if I reach it then it loses."
The last syllable glided between her lips as something rather someone captured her thoughts. Henry spotted the man seated at the farthest barstool. He stared back at the pair, never flinching or wavering even as half drunken executives crossed his path. Eyes of steel and cobalt glowed under the bright light of the trendy setting; rich but soulful. His clothing was business casual: A charcoal button up shirt complimented by darker slacks. His shoes were simple but practical and hair like chestnuts on a warm autumn day.
"Is he one?" Alex finished off her drink. Henry sniffed the air letting the unseen particles brush across his heightened olfactory receptors, picking up whiskey, imported and draft beer, cologne, cigarettes, and humans.
"No," he shook his head. "But he sure seems to know us."
"Alright," she slammed down her glass and hopped out of the booth. "Why don't we find out why he's staring at us like a couple of cheap dates."
Henry was on her heels as they wove between dancing sweaty bodies and staggering forms. The man didn't move or attempt to flee as they approached him.
"Did you mother ever tell you it wasn't polite to stare?" Henry addressed the stranger with a bristled tongue. The extreme tips of his fangs poked from beneath his lip.
"Didn't you mother teach you it's rude to bare your fangs Sturges?" The arrogant smirk danced around his mouth.
"Someone needs to be taught some manners," Alex rushed the man, getting within inches of the lecherous smile. "Didn't your mama ever teach you it was rude not to introduce yourself?"
"Oh yes how my manners seemed to have slipped," he casually sipped his rum. "I'm not here to harm you or your hunter Sturges so you can dial back the protector persona."
The man gestured to the bartender for another round then gestured at Henry and Alex.
"Please let's go somewhere less noisy, perhaps the deck? I hear the view of Canada is commanding. But please do accept the drinks as they are on me."
The bourbon and Jack and Coke arrived causing both to be hesitant.
"Don't worry," he chuckled, "I didn't have anything spiked. As I said before I'm not here to harm you. I'm here to discuss business."
"Fine," Henry snipped in a heated tone.
"You're foolish in your actions human," Henry traced his index finger slowly around the rim of the glass, eyeing their host with sheer hostility.
"I'd have to agree with Henry," Alex sipped her drink. "So state your business. Why are you here?"
"I owe you an explanation I suppose," the man produced the Smartphone from his pocket and pulled something up on the screen. "A few weeks ago an archaeology mission working in Scotland unearthed a long forgotten Roman encampment. Ever heard of the Ninth Legion?"
"Yeah," Alex nodded. "It's the one that was supposedly lost and never seen or heard from again."
"Yes well there was another legion that was dispatched into land of the Britons before that. You won't find it in any history book."
Henry swiped the phone from the outstretched hand and examined the image.
"What is this?" He showed the photo to Alex whose curiosity was piqued.
"That is the foundation of a safehouse. You see when Julius Caesar invaded for the second time there was another reason for it. I mean of course the Romans were there to expand the empire but that was the official explanation."
"The Romans retreated after the first attempt," Henry continued staring at the image.
"Right but between those two events Caesar had been entrusted with a certain responsibility."
"Okay you're sounding like someone I know and it's not good," Alex waved for another round.
"I am sorry but it's important you understand that some of the most notable events of world and human history weren't just about humanities motives. The vampires left them no choice."
"What about them?"
"They pursued Caesar as he had moved this item from its resting place in Rome to Britain in the hopes it would be safe. He was to seek out the chieftain of the Brigantes tribe for they were a formidable ally, having forged their bonds in blood."
"Wait," Henry's hand shot up. "Caesar never got that far north into Britain."
"True but then again history has been written and rewritten since the first civilization in Mesopotamia. I take it you know of Lilith?"
He watched as the vampire and hunter traded worried glances.
"What it is that was in the safehouse I don't know and neither do the others. The vampires themselves are in the dark about the contents though they know whatever was housed there could turn the tide in this war."
"How can we trust you?" Henry remained leery about the entire thing.
"Because," he rolled back his sleeve showing the tattoo etched into his wrist. Alex's eyes widened with mouth falling open. Henry narrowed his eyes at the etching on the light tan skin.
"Oh shit," Alex gulped her drink down hard. If Henry's heart were still beating it would've froze. "I don't think you have to worry about whether or not he's lying Henry."
"Now that we are all at an understanding," he calmly pushed the fabric down, "now to the issue of the murders."
"What do you know?" Henry returned his phone.
"They were associates and allies of Steel. The vampires decided that by killing off his friends and those closest to him Steel would crack. They thrive in that sort of thing: Tormenting their victims before killing them."
"Not all of them," Alex was at Henry's defense.
"Of course not," the man snickered. "But Steel refused to yield and so they came for him."
Alex scrubbed a hand over her face as the hits kept right on rolling in. So much for a simple drink…..
"What are you called?" Henry finally spoke after a moment.
"Conroy, John Conroy."
"You know I should've seen it coming."
Henry dropped down in the chair.
"How could you know? Two hours ago I thought Lilith was a legend; boy was I ever WRONG." Alex shook her head in dismay. "And Caesar was running a suicide mission into Britain. Who would've guessed? Makes me wonder about the entire history of the world."
"I wouldn't believe all of world history to be taken as a result of the war between vampire and human."
"I know Adam was one of the oldest vampires as was that bitch of a sister Vadoma."
Henry let a quiet laugh slip, hearing the way she vividly described his former foe. She had a point as Vadoma was the ruthless enforcer for Adam and worthy of the title Bitch.
"Anyways, I think I'm hitting the sack," the hunter stretched and toed her boots off. "Clearly we're up to our hips in some serious shit. The Kingston Trio isn't biting and now we have one of the Boy Scouts stalking us. You know when I signed up for this this wasn't in the contract."
"You didn't have a choice in the matter really," her mentor cast an empathetic glance.
"Thanks for reminding me."
Henry winced at the sharpness in her tongue, realizing he had struck a nerve with her. But Alexandra had to understand she couldn't run from it. And if she tried he would have to stop her.
"Would you," Alex had a downward finger twirling. Henry nodded and turned around hearing the rustle of denim and cotton. He wouldn't admit it but he had accidentally captured a glimpse of a breast or of her ass on more than one occasion. It wasn't as though he was leering like a pervert but rather wrong turn of the head at that instant or crank of the neck at the worst moment.
While he wouldn't confess, Henry found her form appealing. Alex took care of herself with the rigorous training and conditioning regiments. But he wished she would lay off the coffee. A half a pot of Gevalia and she was hotter than a live wire followed up with an equally ugly crash. Who would've imagined she could be so nasty when that happened?
It mattered not as Henry accepted her for all her strengths and faults. She was human after all. They worked well as a team, accomplishing so much good with no fanfare or acknowledgement. The 5 foot five brunette with rich soulful icy rings wasn't like any of the other hunters he had worked with. Alexandra was outspoken and independent, having proven such with the Trinity much to their displeasure. The vibrant spirit couldn't be tamed as he remembered Nate commenting on the matter with loving adoration. Henry could now see why he loved her as he had. It didn't help she could read him as she would a book. Some days he desired for nothing more than to be unreadable. Her resourcefulness was impressive as is the ability to think on her feet in tight situations didn't go unnoticed. Henry couldn't but help to be drawn to her, unsure of what exactly the source of this invisible pull was. He couldn't have asked for a better partner.
He remembered when he had offered Abe the opportunity but he politely rejected the proposition. That was April 14, 1865.
Now it was 2013 and the world continued enduring its growing pains and trials. The vampires had assimilated, taking advantage of technology and social shifts to further their cause. But they weren't the only ones to utilize the marvels of the modern era.
"You okay over there?"
Alex was sitting cross legged on the opposite bed. She was clothed in the usual attire of charcoal sleep pants and oversized Vancouver Canucks shirt. Her hair was gathered in a loose ponytail showing off the defined jaw which was slightly tense.
"Of course," the vampire could see she wasn't buying it.
"Wrong answer," she shook her head. "Try again."
"You always could figure me out Alexandra," Henry smiled wearily.
"Well blame it on the gift as you so put it. What is going on? Did the Boy Scout do something?"
"No, no it's not that."
"Then what is bothering you?" Concern lay woven in her words.
"I shouldn't have attacked you. I lost control-"
"Hey," Alex jumped off the bed. "Why are you beating yourself up over that? I thought we got past that."
"I can't forgive myself for it. I tried but I simply can't."
"This is really bothering you isn't it?" She grabbed his hands letting chilled skin warm in her hold. "I would never force you to leave. I know you thought that. I saw it in your eyes that night. I forgave you and I mean it."
Her hand went to the side of his face, turning his pained eyes to her. This time he didn't shift or even flinch as she invaded the space between them. She was good to him; maybe too good to him in his opinion.
"If you don't stop this and learn to forgive yourself I may have to kick your ass."
Henry could see she was serious behind the partial curling of her lips. The same lips that would form into a full pout then shift into an angry sneer in an instant. The same ones that were now a few inches from him.
Alex lightly patted his face before retreating to the other side of the room, ending the trance he had fallen into.
"If you head out don't forget a key this time. I don't want to listen to another of Markus's boring ass lectures."
Henry waited until she was asleep before snagging a key and deciding to take a walk. He had to get his head straight about a lot.