A/N: I am SO SORRY for the delay, but I've been completely uninspired lately and haven't had much chance to write.
Quoth the Rayven
Rayven was smiling smugly, her hands in her pockets as she sauntered back into the cave later. She felt very satisfied indeed. Her father would be in Santa Carla by the next night at the latest, and then she'd be able to complete her business. Yes, everything was going very well for her.
She stretched out on her bed and relaxed, almost giddy with excitement. She could hardly wait to see her father again. They had so much to talk about now that she was a vampire. Maybe he'd think that she could be that much more useful for hunting other vampires. And maybe he'd want her to take over Santa Carla from Max. So many maybes. What an interesting and enlightening conversation she was in for when her father arrived. After being away so long, she just hoped that he would understand why she had become what she was.
"You seem pleased with yourself."
Rayven opened one eye and saw Paul standing over her. "Back to the crypt, ye demon of hell," she said amiably. Paul laughed.
"Seriously, you look like the cat that got the canary," he said. "What's up?"
"The sun. And it'll sizzle you like a sausage if you're not careful," Rayven replied. Laughing, she added, "I'm just planning a little surprise, is all."
"Really? What kind of surprise?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Now go back to your coffin."
Paul laughed and left. Rayven smiled and fell asleep with devious thoughts bubbling in her head. When she woke night had fallen. She knew that David and the others had already gone out for 'breakfast', so she went out, straddled her Harley, and rode to the boardwalk to look for her father. It took some time, but she finally found him outside Max's store.
"Hi Daddy," she said, walking up to him. Richard started and spun to face her. He smiled broadly when he saw her.
"Rayven," he said, opening his arms to her. Rayven smiled back and hugged him tightly. "Baby, I missed you so much! I'm sorry for what I did, but it was only to protect you. It was all because I love you, sweetie, you understand?"
"Of course I understand," Rayven said reassuringly. "You don't need to explain it. I just needed some time to clear my head. You know how I am."
"Yes," laughed Richard. "Yes, I know. Oh sweetie, I'm so glad to see you."
"Me too, Dad," Rayven said with a smile. "Me too." She gave him one last squeeze before stepping back to look him in the eyes. "Maximillian isn't here right now. I think it's his night off or something. Or he's gone out for breakfast."
Richard's face darkened. "Well, where are his children, these boys you told me about? We should exterminate them quickly, before Maximillian has a chance to protect them."
"From what I've seen, they can protect themselves. They live in a cave under an old resort that fell through the fault during the big quake. I've got my bike; I'll lead the way."
A few minutes later Rayven was roaring across the sand with her father following in his truck. If he had been able to see more than her back, he would have seen the twisted smile she wore. She was planning something more than she was saying. However, Richard would have just attributed it to her thrill for the hunt. He was walking on clouds. His daughter had forgiven him, they were together again, and they were going to hunt vampires together. What could possibly go wrong?
Rayven screeched to a stop by the cliff. She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating. She could sense David's blood in her veins, and she used it to call to him, tell him that he and the others needed to come back to the cave immediately. After a moment she felt his response: they were on their way. Grinning, Rayven dismounted from her bike and turned to her father. He bailed out of the truck and approached her. Rayven held a finger to her lips and pointed to the cave mouth. Richard nodded and followed her into the cave. She lit the trashcan fires one by one. There was no one there.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Richard.
"Trust me; I know," Rayven asserted. "They'll be here soon, I guarantee it."
"How can you be so sure?" Richard persisted.
"You taught me everything, remember?" replied Rayven. Richard laughed.
"That's my girl." He hugged her with one arm affectionately. Rayven just smiled to herself.
It wasn't long before the boys returned, with their customary hollers and shouts of laughter as they roared into the cave. They stopped at the cave entrance, staring at Rayven standing with Richard.
"You!" shouted David in fury. "What the hell are you doing?! What is this?!"
"Ah David, I see you remember my father," said Rayven coolly.
"Oh, I remember him," said David, his eyes still fixed on Richard. "He tried to kill us."
"And now it's time to finish the job," sneered Richard. "Go on, Rayven."
"I'm going," Rayven answered, walking to David's side and turning to smirk at her thunderstruck father. "And I'm here. It is finished, Father dear. This is my choice." Her smile grew cold and faded away to a look of pure undiluted hate. "Murderer," she hissed, her eyes turning red. "You murdered my mother."
Richard stepped back in horror. "What have they done to you?!" he cried. "They've poisoned you!"
Rayven laughed, but it was a hard, metallic sound, full of pain and anger. "You poor idiot! I asked for this! And David welcomed me with open arms. How in the hell could I possibly forgive you? After all the hell you put me through! You poisoned me, lying to me all my life, drugging me so I wouldn't know just what I really am." Rayven advanced on her father, her face twisting into the visage of a hunting vampire. "It ends now."
"Rayven, pumpkin, sweetie, you wouldn't kill your own father!" protested Richard, backing away from his daughter in fear.
"Why not?" Rayven retorted. "You killed your own wife. Did she want to die? Did she ask you to "free" her? Or did you go to her while she was sleeping and drive a railroad spike into her heart?"
"It was for her own good! And yours!" cried Richard.
That was the worst thing he could possibly have said. With a scream of fury, Rayven lunged at her father and hoisted him up by the front of his shirt. "Quoth the raven 'Nevermore', motherfucker!" she snarled before viciously ripping out his throat with her fangs. She drank his blood, pulling hard and fast at the artery.
'Do you realize now?' she asked him in his mind. 'You're nothing but a bloodthirsty killer. You kill and kill without even thinking about it. You killed Mom without even hesitating. I won't waste the deaths. I take the worst that Santa Carla has to offer – the killers, the drug dealers, the lowest life forms – and I turn them into something useful. They feed my hunger. They die so the innocent can live. And so will you. Your death will make me a full vampire. Good night, Father.'
Rayven dropped her father's body with a gasp, stumbling back with wide eyes as the death slammed into her with the force of a bullet. David went to steady her.
"Easy, easy," he said, rubbing her arm. "Just let it happen. I guess I shoulda warned you about that. You'll get used to it."
Rayven's mouth moved, but no sound came out. The world was brightening, sharpening. She was seeing colors and dimensions she had never even imagined. She could hear everything. She could feel the very fabric of the air around her. She looked at her hands in wonder, as though she never realized that they were there. Finally everything began to settle out and Rayven looked at David. Licking the blood off her lips, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him roughly. David locked his arms around her waist and returned the kiss, biting her lip and licking away the blood. Rayven pulled away after a moment and shook her wine red hair out behind her. Grinning devilishly, David seized her and swept her up in his arms, spinning her around and around, rising into the air. Her own father's blood pounding in her veins, Rayven wrapped her arms around David's neck.
And laughed…