"Tainted Vengeance"
By: Sara Angeldust
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Chapter 7:
"Not All There"
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"Lucky For You"
Dixie Chicks
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You always said,
That I had multiple personalities,
That I bounced around somewhere,
Between my dreams and reality,
So where'd you dig up,
The audacity, to ask me,
How we've all been doing,
Since you broke our hearts,
Well so far,
Number five just cries,
A river a minute,
Seven wants to tie you up,
And drown you in it yeah,
Fourteen just wants to say so long,
Bygones,
Thirty-two wants to do things to you,
That'll make you blush,
Ten will key the Elcamino,
That you love so much,
And their ain't nobody who wants to mess with,
Twenty-three,
Oh lucky for your tonight I'm just me,
I guess this parties more,
Then your new Barbie bargained for, (bargained for)
She's got you by the sleeve,
Slowly easing towards the door,
She's probably right, you should be moving on,
Don't know how long,
We can behave, better have,
The vale get your car,
'Cause you know how women are,
Number five just cries,
A river a minute,
Seven wants to tie you up,
And drown you in it yeah,
Fourteen just wants to say so long,
Bygones,
Thirty-two wants to do things to you,
That'll make you blush,
Ten will key the Elcamino,
That you love so much,
And their ain't nobody who wants to mess with,
Twenty-three,
Oh lucky for your tonight I'm just me,
Forgiveness is the key,
According to my shrink,
But it's not just up to me,
I dunno girls, what do you think?
Number five just cries,
A river a minute,
Seven wants to tie you up,
And drown you in it yeah,
Fourteen just wants to say so long,
Bygones,
Thirty-two want to do things to you,
That'll make you blush,
Ten will key the Elcamino,
That you love so much,
And their ain't nobody who wants to mess with,
Twenty-three,
Oh lucky for your tonight I'm just me,
I'm just me,
I'm just me.
*************
Nikolas sat comfortably on a large black chair he had brought from his living room. He stared at the floor, arms folded across his chest, eyes watching a small black spider cross the floor boards. With little concern for the insect, Nikolas put his foot forward and stepped on it. The thought of knowing he had destroyed something weaker then him filled him with a small amount of peace.
He had let the intire aura of Raven get to him far too easily. He knew that if any of the others knew how easily he had gone down for one creature they would come after her. It almost angered him to the point of hatred that he could let something could crawl that deeply into his skin. Of course he cared for Raven but he had to make sure he kept that care in check. He was a predator. The law of life as one was kill or be killed. Survive or die. Emotions made even the greatest predator become weak and prey like. If that happened to him everything he had ever worked for would go down the drain. That was not going to happen.
As the last rays of day left the room so did Nikolas's soft feelings. He would protect and care for Raven with his life, for all the eternity she would be damned. This he swore to the humans god and to the witches eternal mother. None would ever harm Raven again.
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The blackness swamped Raven and made her feel light headed. Though she saw figures and shadows about her she could not focus on anything. As pains racked her body Raven tried to concentrate on something else. But the farther she moved from them the closer they moved to her. They were not the pains of dying for she knew she was already dead.
She had once heard that some vampires who are born into lines of great power felt the pains of it. Or had she? She felt she could not consciously think or remember anything as she floated, lost in the recesses of her mind. As another wave of pain hit Raven and her thoughts flew apart. She found she couldn't consciously think of anything when the pain came, it was so strong.
Then as if a weight had been lifted from her the pain stopped. Raven lay still floating half confused. Was she dead? If so death was rather lonely. But as she tried to move Raven finally felt something. As she wiggled her fingers she could feel a soft fabric below them. Suddenly she could smell and hear everything. The scent of dusty fabric and wooden floors came to her nose. As she tested the air a strange but seductive scent filled her. It was cold but the power behind it was unmistakable. It seemed alive in her nostrils and enticed her towards it. Blood. The word came fast and hungrily. As a memory flashed in her head she knew she must still be in Nikolas's room, and that she was smelling the wall that he called art. Now she knew why he did so.
Slowly but surely Raven opened her eyes to the dark room. She had fully excepted to be blind and unable to see anything but it was quite the opposite. She could see the very cracks and crevices of the wall above her. And as she pushed herself to a sitting position in the bed other things came into her vision. Sitting unnerved in a large black chair was Nikolas. She stared at him for less then a second before looking around the room as if she was seeing it for the first time. Truthfully she was and for some reason her memory told her that things looked different. How so she could not tell, but the word clear came to her mind. It was as if everything was alive and as she turned in one direction things from where she had been looking danced in her parifrial vision.
Looking across the room small things brought back fuzzy memories. All of which seemed to have been covered in dust and left sitting in the back of her mind for centuries. This puzzled her because she knew deep down she had just experienced them the days before.
Raven?Lazily Raven turned her head towards the voice's source. Although she knew it was in her head a force seemed to know exactly where it had come from. As she looked at Nikolas with her fuzzy vision she swore she saw something around him. She could not place the illusion but it seemed to be almost a light or a scent, maybe even a sound. As she looked closer she realized it was everything. She saw it, she smelled it, breathed and even psychically felt it. As she paced her mind for the word it came to her. Aura. Raven turned her head down and too the side like a confused dog. So that was what an aura was liked. When she was a shifter she had had a small idea of aura sensing. But then it had only been a presence and not such a feeling. With a silly grin she smiled. Aura's were neat.
Rising slowly from the bed Raven walked towards the mirror that hung by the door. She distinctly remembered how she had gotten it from her other home and brought it to Nikolas's house. Raven frowned as she remembered how she had shattered it weeks before. She stared sadly at the broken image of her body, unable to get a clear picture. With a small smile Raven reached out with her the power she felt growing inside of her and touched the mirror lightly. As gently as she could Raven began to reassemble the mirror. She ran her power invisibly across at least three or four cracks at a time, mending them flawlessly.
From the corner of her mind Raven noticed the curiosity in Nikolas's mind. She could also sense him put up a small wall of protection around his mind. She frowned again. He was in wonderment at what she was doing and yet a little scared at the same time. She guessed that no vampire he knew had exhibited the same type of use she was using her powers for.
The mirror was broken. I'm just fixing it silly. No harm in that right?Raven said to Nikolas almost giddy. As she finished the last large crack in the mirror she looked at the flawless image it showed. Raven almost couldn't believe what she saw. The image was of a perfect 17 year old. Nothing like she had once been. Of course being bonded had come with physical perks but none as sleek as she now saw.
Her hair shined as if it was made of hundreds of raven wings. Her tall, strong figure illuminated with power and stability. She even marveled at the dark red color her lips had taken on. And as she stared at her eyes she noticed the change. Though they were no longer their icy green color they were still not wholly black either. Of course those who saw them from a distance would of course say they were as black as the night, but all others would see the definite green glow of them. After all those years she still didn't have the one attribute that gave her away as a vampire. She silently thanked the demons that had created her for their respect of her past.
You look hungry.Raven turned to see Nikolas smirking. It looked to her that he too liked the new image he saw. She smiled at him and flipped her hair from her face with one hand, showing off her new grace. It puzzled her to no end how she could feel so energetic when she had just been changed. She knew from the past that new vampires felt the pains of the bloodlust and nothing else. Of course the lust was there and with every glance she took of the bloody wall it boomed louder and louder in her ears. But she did not feel dizzy, nor did she feel exhausted. She did of course feel hungry. More hunger then she could have ever thought someone could posses, she even felt the predator's instincts to hunt and kill. They unnerved her a bit but decided not to fight them. So far a predator's life wasn't that bad. She had been a victim for far too long. It was time to be the hunter. Raven giggled as she pictured herself as a panther playing the death game with a small rabbit as she had once before. But this time it was fun, and it excited her beyond all time. She couldn't wait to test this out on real prey.
Yes,Raven said answering his earlier question.
Lets eat.Using her new found abilities, Raven changed form and disappeared in an instant.
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Blood flowed freely from Nikolas's prey to his lips. He loved the taste of it as it slid down his throat and into his body. As he finished his meal he dropped the lifeless body of his victim and licked the last amount of blood from his canines. Nikolas shivered with the new feelings of life that flowed through his veins. What a joy it was to be a vampire.
Looking down the alley Nikolas smiled as he saw Raven, her fangs deep into the neck of an older blonde girl.
He admitted that it had unvaried him the first time he had felt her aura, so strong as it was. Truthfully Nikolas had never before felt such power emanate from a such a new vampire. So great was it that he could tell she was almost giddy with it. He could sense that her mind was a few apples short of a bushel and had protected himself accordingly. Nikolas also couldn't believe how little the lust grabbed at her as she walked around for the first few minutes in her new form. He attested this to the fact that she had been bonded the longest he had ever known. The vampire blood must have been in her body long enough that her body had adapted to it and new what it did. By the way he was seeing her drink he knew the lust was there, it had always been since she awoke, but it had been controlled. How she had accomplished it so early in her life he could not imagine.
Of course there were obvious indications that she was young. She groped at her prey's body like an animal who had been starved for years and was messy. He could see the blood running down the neck of the girl and almost cringed. Oh well, he shrugged, she would learn in time.
Nikolas watched as Raven finished and dropped the body to the ground. He stared at her as she sighed in content and leaned against the alley wall. She stretched, then closed her eyes. If she had been a cat Nikolas swore she would have purred in content.
Moving effortlessly Nikolas walked over to lean against the opposite alley wall. He also closed his eyes and then placed his arms over his chest.
"So, what are we to do now."
Nikolas said. He waited for an answer which came delayed.
"Well," Raven said
"What do you say we pay daddy a visit?" She said almost laughing.
Nikolas opened his eyes and looked up at her. Could her mind still be that disconnected?
"You do realize you are only one day old in this vampire world. If you go after Vailor he will probably kill you. Don't you think you should wait and learn how to at least shield your mind first. Our kind doesn't only fight with their bodies but with their minds too." Nikolas sighed.
"Of course then again whom am I to tell you what to do. You're your own creature. If you want to fight him by all means go ahead." Nikolas said with a grin. He could see and hear her thoughts going through her head. He watched as she lightly hit the wall beside her.
"Damn your right. It would probably be foolish to try and attack him now." He saw a smirk appear on her face.
"Oh well. More time for me to ponder the ways I'm going to screw him over."
Nikolas smiled.
Oh yes. This would be one great fight.
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*Authors Note*:
WHAT! I like country. Lol ok this is kinda a short bridge like chapter. Nothing too big here. I just needed to round out Raven's change, and bring up some stuff.
*Thanks to all those who reviewed my story and gave me my well needed cristisms. It's important to me that I know what the fans want and how they think the story should go.*
Upon many, many requests I am adding more chapters then what was originally planned to this fic. I never thought this thing would go as far as it did and now I'm stumped. I only had a plot line to a certain point and now I've got writers block. I'm afraid of screwing over the story if I keep writing without a place to go. Grrrr.
Anyways. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas for where they would like to see the story go or not go (if you think I should end it here) please, I NEED SUGGESTIONS!
I have a definite "sequel" to this fic but I need suggestions on what I should add before I end this one. Now even though I'm asking for suggestions it does not exactly mean I will use them. Though there is a pretty good chance I will since I am just so stumped.
Oh and p.s. I agree with you Celtic Fire, Raven feeling suicidal and bad for herself for a long period of time is quite unappealing. I never intended for Raven to sound so depressed for as long as I did. Lol I kinda made her seem a bit eccentric, ok well nutty anyways, in this chapter. A tribute to Dilandau-sama for all you Escaflowne fans. DILLY, WE LOVE YOU! *holds up badly made Dilly plushy*
Also I am going to be adding a new section on my website for this fic near the end of August. I hope to get started with it on August 28th or 29th to be exact, or as soon as my schedule allows me time. (School is going to be starting soon and I have major ass things to get done before then.) Though I will still be placing new chapters on Fanfiction.net they may not be the up to date ones. So as soon as the site is up be prepared to have to look there. Thanks and don't hesitate to mail me your comments and suggestions. And please SOMEONE feel free to dissect my fic! Good or bad. ~Arigatou