Here's a little new year's gift for you guys! Hope you like it! Thanks for all of the reviews!
Chapter 9: Nacht and Eve
Ravyn awoke, her head throbbing and the world spinning. Shaking her head to rid herself of the dizziness, Ravyn realized she was bound to a chair. Once her vision cleared, Ravyn gazed around the room. It seemed to be a huge dining hall or meeting room, with a large table and eight chairs around it, six on each side and on at the head and foot; Ravyn was tied to the chair at the foot. Above the table hung an enormous crystal chandelier, over a dozen candles giving off tiny flickers of light. On the table stood six silver candle holders, each with a blood red candle lit and burning.
Beautiful paintings hung on the walls, some seemingly newer that others, some seemed ancient, and one or two looked like they may have been painted by a famous artist, like Michelangelo or da Vinci. But they all had one thing in common: they where darker paintings, most involving death, blood, battles, or a mix of the three. Only a vampire could really enjoy such a morbid display.
Ravyn's observations were interrupted by a haughty, light drawling voice echoing through the air behind her, "Do you like the pictures? I had hoped you would, child."
Ravyn's entire body tensed; she knew that voice all too well, but she didn't dare turn and face its owner.
"Come now, dear, there's no need to be shy. We're friends… aren't we?"
"Like the snake is the friend of the mongoose," Ravyn muttered.
"Good analogy, but you're amusing comments won't save you." The speaker finally decided to show herself, stepping out from behind Ravyn and into the light of the chandelier.
It was Nacht.
To say she was an intimidating sight was a major understatement. She was tall and regal looking, her facial features sharp and pointed, but without a single wrinkle or dent marring the surface; a lot like a marble sculpture and just as cold. Her hair was even a darker ebony than Ravyn's, the light catching it and making almost deep blue colored streaks within it. Her lips were thin and just as black as her hair, and her nails too were painted red with black letters of some long forgotten language painted on them. And her eyes were the most frightening part. They were looked like polished onyxes; accept for a ring of silver where her irises were. As Ravyn met them, she could feel the blood drain out of her face and she got a sudden chill that took hold and stayed. Nacht was dressed in an elegant crimson gown which had spider web patters woven in black over the body while the arms remained a simple red with silver woven into the cuffs. Needless to say, she was an impressive sight and definitely not the vampire any hunter with half a brain would want to pick a fight with.
"Do I scare you?" She asked, with an innocent smile, exposing her long fangs that just barely began to press into her lower lip.
Ravyn raised a brow, "When you say scare, do you mean scare as in frighten, or scare as in 'you scare me with how damn ugly you are'?"
Nacht laughed, making Ravyn shudder, "Ugly? Really? I know many beings, immortal and mortal, that would argue your point."
Ravyn smiled back, "Well, if you became the thing that you are for beauty purposes, you got ripped off sister. You're not pretty; you're as creepy as hell."
From the flicker in Nacht's eyes, Ravyn knew she had scored a point. Vampires tended to get vainer as they got older and more powerful, and in Nacht's case, she had an ego the size of Alaska.
But Nacht smiled, "Well, you will be, how do you human's say it? 'Joining the club' soon enough. You have barely a month or so now."
Ravyn glared at Nacht, "I'll fall on my knife as soon as I turn."
"You will never get the chance; once you turn, I will have much fun with you. And as long as I feed you at least monthly, you should last awhile. Just think child: You will be so starved for blood that I could throw just about any of you're little hunter friends in the same room with you that you'll drain them without a thought. Then, once their blood clears your senses, you'll weep for what you've done and what you are. You will beg for merciful release of a death that will never come. And you will spend eternity dwelling in your little hell as I watch. Won't that be lovely?"
Ravyn bit her lip, choking back a mix of a rage filled yell and a hopeless sob.
"So you're coming with us?" Ivy asked the alien.
"Yes." It was a simple and short reply, but it was efficient.
It was dusk the day after the guild had been burned and Ravyn abducted. Ivy was now outside, arming the hunters each with a tiny vial of sunlight-serum. Most of the lab had survived the fire and Ivy had salvaged hat she could of the potion. She also had Ravyn's sword and dagger along with her, should she meet up with Ravyn during the fight.
"Ivy, come here," Jonathan called from his position at the edge of the wildlife preserve. In a matter of moments they were going in after Ravyn and to gain revenge for all that Nacht had done. Two other local guilds, Ice and Storm, had joined the cause, while other guilds farther away had promised assistance if needed. Ice deal also with vampires while Storm dealt with mostly shape shifters, being that could become animals or human/animal hybrids, werewolves being the most popular. The two guilds had joined the cause immediately after they had heard what had transpired at the Ash guild. Ice was even taking in and caring for the wounded hunters while Storm offered shelter for the homeless ones. The members of the battered guild accepted, swallowing their pride in the face of wisdom.
Ivy knew what Jonathan was going to ask before he said it, "Are you sure we can trust that guy?"
Ivy nodded, "He gave me his word he would not turn on us; and from what I've picked up on, he comes from a culture where honor is everything. Breaking his word would brand him an outcast and his own would have him executed."
Jonathan gave a small nod, "And are you sure Nathan should be coming with us?"
"I don't want him there anymore that you do, but he does know how to fight and he could be of use; he has the best shooting with a crossbow I've ever seen. Besides, if we don't take him, he'll probably end up following us anyway." Ivy and Jonathan glanced back at Nathan who was swinging around a large broadsword. He gave a yelp as the momentum of the sword pulled him off-balance and flung him to the ground.
Ivy glanced at Jonathan who was giving her a skeptical look. Ivy smiled sheepishly, "He'll fight at long-range only…"
"You know what this is, don't you child?" Nacht asked, holding up a small bottle with a piece of paper stuck within it.
"Yes I do," Ravyn growled through gritted teeth, "And stop calling me child!"
"But you are a child, compared to me at least," Nacht answered, "So… you know this is your cure. The one thing that can save you from becoming one of us. And it is so close." Nacht held the bottle close to Ravyn's face, but Ravyn kept a stone-like mask about her face, not wanting to give Nacht the victory of a response.
Nacht only teased more, "Just think, the one thing you've been looking so hard for is right here." Nacht punctuated the word by plopping the bottle down on the table in front of Ravyn. "I know how much you desire the knowledge that little bottle contains. I'd bet…" Nacht was interrupted by the large, wooden door to the room bursting open.
"Hello big sis! How are you this fine, lovely evening?" Ravyn stared at the vampire who stood in the doorway. She was one of the most bizarre she had ever seen. Most vampires, like Nacht, tended to keep their colors to different blacks, reds, and whites. This vampire however, was a bit of a shock. Though she stuck to the color scheme, she wore "fashionably" faded black jeans and a simple purple, red, and black long-sleeved tie-dye shirt. Her hair was dyed with crimson, violet, silver, with a few streaks of her natural black hair standing out. Her lips were pained ruby red and her nails were silver in color. As if her appearance wasn't bizarre enough, she wore a large, round sombrero-like hat with a great peacock-plume sticking out of a ribbon wrapped around the middle. Besides those differences though, the vampire looked exactly like Nacht: same eyes, same face, same body. Ravyn had only heard rumors about this one, but now seeing the vampire personally, she knew the rumors were true.
"I told you not to interrupt me tonight!" Nacht growled, glaring at the vampire.
"My apologies, big sis," The vampire bowed deeply, pulling off her hat with a flourish, "I did not know you had company."
"Yes you did!" Nacht snapped, "I told you less than an hour ago."
The vampire paused, thinking, "I forgot. That tends to happen a lot doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," Nacht hissed, "Now get out!"
"I can't leave without introducing myself to your guest!" the vampire said in a fake shocked tone, "Where are your manners tonight, big sis?"
"They died a long time ago, and I command you to stop calling me big sis!" Nacht roared picking one of the candlesticks off the table and throwing it at the vampire.
The vampire dodged it easily, "Temper, temper…" The vampire picked up the candle and its' holder, placing them gently back on the table with a smile, "Now, back to introducing myself." The vampire turned to Ravyn.
"I already know who you are," Ravyn said, "You're Eve." In the rumors, Eve was supposedly Nacht's younger twin sister. Thankfully, Eve was more of a tease where Nacht was a sadist. Eve enjoyed teasing people, but unlike Nacht, she was not supposedly known for enjoying torturing.
Eve was delighted Ravyn knew who she was. She clapped her hands together, "Oh, we've got a smart one! You must be… oh, what did Nacht call you! Some bird name… Hawk, Falcon…"
"Ravyn."
"Oh yes! Ravyn! That's it! Pleased to meet you." Eve held out her hand, but paused when she caught sight of the ropes tying her to the chair. "Hmmm… you can't exactly shake hands now can you? Well, that's alright." Eve dropped down into one of the chairs, propping her booted feet up on the table, "So, read any good books lately?"
"Get out!" Nacht screamed, grabbing for Eve, who nimbly slipped out of her chair and jumped over the table.
"Come on sis, why keep her to yourself. It's been a while since I've been able to talk to someone who isn't trying to kiss my ass the whole time."
"What?" Ravyn couldn't help but wonder what Eve was talking about.
Eve leaned against Ravyn's chair and placed her hand on Ravyn's shoulder, "Well, you see hon, in the vampire world I am probably, along with my sister, one of the more powerful vampires…" Eve dodged another lunge from Nacht, "So, as you can guess, the weaker and younger ones of our kind are quite partial to vying for our favor, so to enhance their own standing. Besides my sister and I," Eve teleported to Ravyn's other side as Nacht once again tried to grab her, "there really aren't any other truly powerful vampires in this particular area. So, the only ones I get to talk to are either fledglings, who cower and act like lost puppies around me, or the common ones who try to kiss up to me and get favor. At some points, I could claim I am Albert Einstein and they would agree with me just to earn my favor. It gets quite annoying after a while."
Nacht's face was turning a pale pink, which was about the equivalent of a human's face turning beat red in anger, "If you don't get out now, I swear I will rip your heart out though your mouth and have you thrown in a furnace," Nacht hissed.
Eve rolled her eyes and sighed, "And as you can obviously see, my sister is not the best conversationalist."
Eve teleported to the door, finally deciding it was time to take her leave, and placing her hat back on her head at an angle, "Well Ravyn, I hope we will be able to speak again on…" Eve's gaze flickered to Nacht's furious one, "…better terms." With a smile and a nod, Eve vanished.
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