The Prince's Bride

"Well, we're here. What is it you want to know?" Lonnie kicked his feet up on the table and leaned his chair back. They were in the only saloon in town.

"That man; who was he?" Mikial's feet lay rooted to the ground, and his hand gripping the table. He hadn't taken his eyes off Lonnie since he first saw him in the woods.

As of now, this man was his only link to his sister.

"You get right to the chase," Lonnie observed, taking a drink from a mug that Mr. Hansen had handed to him. Nobody yet knew about the gruesome scene in the Hansen household; Mikial hadn't been sure how to break the news.

"That creature," Lonnie continued, "Was not human. He was what is called a Vampaneze. He's from that myth of yours; the Tale of the Three Brothers? That's a true legend. The story came here a long time ago with a tribe native to the land from which the tale originated. They knew the vampires and had made a treaty with them. However, no one from the tribe was very comfortable around them, knowing what they could do. So they traveled to somewhere around here, where they could feel safe. Ironic; it was settlers like yourselves who wiped them out." He sounded resentful, and you could sense everyone in the room shift slightly.

"So why aren't the Vampaneze mentioned in the story?" Mikial asked.

"Because the vampaneze weren't around at that time. Do you remember; Uman drained the wife of her blood, but Omul left Hom alive? Vampaneze believe it is honorable to kill those from whom they feed. Vampires think it is honorable to let them live. Uman was technically still a vampire, but those whom he blooded, and those whom they blooded-"

"Blooded?"

"'You can share your blood with that of humans and make them one of you.' By exchanging blood, a human becomes either a vampire or a vampaneze, depending on who bloods them. Anyway, Everyone Omul blooded learned his restraint, whereas everyone who was blooded by Uman killed when they fed. When you become superhuman like that, part of the vampire who blooded you is inside of you now, as is the one who blooded him, and he who blooded the one before, and so on and so forth. You gain some of their characteristics, and are a slightly altered person afterward. Only slightly, but enough."

Mikial shook his head. "I don't care about that stuff; I just want to know the basics. Like, how does one go about killing them?"

"Ah… That's not a very safe question. I'm not sure you could do it."

"What!" Mikial exploded, "You can't say that! You're part of the Hunter's Guild, are you not!? You do this for a living!"

Lonnie tilted his head to the side. "That's an interesting accent. It sound Romanian-ish. With a hint of… British? You learned British-style English first, and are now attempting to adopt an American accent, no?"

"What of it?" Mikial growled.

"Nothing; just interesting, that's all. Anyway, back to killing them. I strongly suggest that you go about this by other means."

"Such as?"

"The Hunter's Guild. We take it upon ourselves to protect humans like your sister. The Guild was founded on revenge, but that attitude died out within the first generation or so."

"How do you know about Naliasar!? I didn't tell you anything."

"Well, I ran into that Vampaneze just before he headed off to your place. He struck me as the 'little girl' type. And besides, what else could motivate the prey to hunt the predator? I knew it was your sister because I've been watching this town awhile. I remember everyone who lives here."

Lonnie inwardly noted that the vampaneze had taken a tremendous amount of time to kidnap one little girl. The men had told him that Remy fell into the creek approximately 30 minutes before they arrived. When they came to rescue the two, Lonnie suspected that those men had been the survivors of the vampaneze's attack. However, when he saw that others were still alive, and that Naliasar was the only known victim, he realized that the creature's trip to town had taken much too long for one small child; even if he had been playing with his food. This deduction led him to one conclusion.

There were other victims.

"Who else has been attacked? Do you know?" He asked suddenly.

"Attacked? What do you mean?"

"I mean, who stayed here while you men were gone?"

"Well, there was Mary, and her kids," Mr. Hansen said, "But she couldn't be a victim; I just saw her a couple of minutes ago. Then there was Mikial and Naliasar, whom we already know about. And then-" he stopped. Everyone in the room seemed to understand his silence.

"O-Oh…" was all he could get out.

"Your wife." Lonnie finished.

"I haven't seen Trevor or Sheila either," Daniel spoke.

The hunter stood up.

"Where were they? Someone take me to them. I could find out a lot from their bodies."

"Stop!" The barmaid hissed from behind the counter. She was looking at Hansen.

"It's too soon for him."

The man suddenly broke into sobs. Everyone in the room seemed to glare at Lonnie.

Mikial stood, willing to help in any way, if it meant getting to his sister. He led the hunter to where the bodies of Elaine Hansen, Trevor Hoover, and Sheila Hoover were sprawled.