CHAPTER 8

The traveler pushed himself off the wet grass and buttoned his pants. "Nothing like a good forcible entry to go along with a couple light snacks," he quipped. He looked down at his handiwork; pleased at the destruction he had wrought. The boy had actually tried to fight him. Ha! He wanted to kill him quick in order to have a go with his pretty bitch. Well, he had hit the traveler pretty good, at least for being so scrawny. It sullied the traveler's mood somewhat. Instead of killing the boy off the bat, he had made him watch as he took the boy's woman in so many vile ways. Hard to do anything with a broken back and shattered kneecaps. He was cruel and he knew it. At least he had put the boy out of his misery.

The traveler knelt down to the girl. He twirled a lock of her hair between his slender fingers. She had passed out again. He had thought about killing her, turning her even. But his demon screamed at the injustice of it. Handiwork like this had to be admired, treasured in living memory. Keeping her alive was the only way. And if it resulted in nightmares for the rest of her life? Well, as people were so fond of saying, Shit Happens.

He chuckled to himself and walked away from the bloody mess he had left in his wake. Enough of the games; it was time for business.

He sighed as he descended upon the town. All those people, walking by him, none aware of his true nature. What he wouldn't give to take whom ever he wanted. But he had to maintain discipline. In this world, or time, the humans were still in control. Or so they thought.

Go about your business, cattle, he thought as he eyed passers-by, delighting in their fear. Aside arms covered in tattoos and a curly shock of platinum blond hair, he was decidedly average. He stood a little over six feet with the build of a distance runner: lithe yet powerful. His face was clean-cut except for the conglomeration of hair affixed to his chin. Nothing to be unnerved by. Of course it may have been that homicidal look in his eyes. Unmistakable contempt glared out at them, as if they weren't even there. As if they were all insignificant, their lives meaningless. And they were right. He was privy to future events that would forever alter the nature of things upon earth. And to think, it would all start because one unnatural relationship…

He smiled at the prospect of returning to his own time.

In order to return, Seth, you need the locket the Slayer wears around her neck. And let's not forget that I want her alive. And unharmed.

He remembered the words of his master quite clearly and had to still the demon that raged within him. Even before his embrace into the world of shadows, Seth had never been known for his restraint. He did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He was a man driven by emotions and that was why she had chosen him.

He smiled at the thought of her. He was drawn to her in a way he could not explain and once she laid her eyes upon him, she too was smitten. He had reminded her of someone she had once been close to. She had even insisted on him making certain aesthetic-modifications. He fingered the deep gash above his left eye. She had taken her nail to it and it had yet to heal.

Emerald, he thought to himself. She was an obsession he would have no more. She had bedded him for months but had finally taken him to her consort, lest their affair be found out. She had convinced her consort to sire Seth and once he had been turned, she had become off limits. She was his master's through and through. She rarely spoke to Seth afterwards, always at his master's side. But he saw the longing in her eyes and would always love her in his heart.

He pushed those thoughts away as he navigated through the center of town. He had a job to do; find the Slayer. That was simple enough but the master had insisted that he recruit some demons to help him along in his task. It was unnecessary in his book, since he was confident no one here could best him. But he knew his master. A polite insistence was, for all intents and purposes, equivocal to a command. There would be no arguments on his end. It gave him a chance to intimidate something other than humans. Maybe he could even get a decent workout over it.

It took him an hour before he arrived at the doors of Willie's bar. Even before he entered, he knew it was a demon haunt. The preternatural energy radiated from the bar like heat billowing up from asphalt. A few powerful auras caught his attention. But for the most part, they were nothing but wastes of space.

He pushed open the door and strolled into the bar. Dozens of eyes fell upon him immediately. He smiled knowingly. He could feel their unease at the stranger dare entering their premises.

"If I would have known you all were waiting for me, I would have dressed more appropriately," he said, his eyes roamed the room, momentarily making contact with each face in the room. Most of them dropped their gazes and returned to their drinks and conversations. They were the intelligent ones. Of course, there were always a few who weren't so intelligent.

"Look what we have here, fellas," a particularly large vampire said as he sauntered up to Seth with four minions in tow. The large vampire towered over Seth and looked the traveler up and down with unbridled disgust.

"Well, looks like we have another poser, fellas," he told the vampires standing behind him. They snickered nervously. At least they aren't as brazenly daft as this guy, Seth mused. He stared into the eyes of the one furthest to the rear. The vamp refused to meet his eyes and Seth knew he was young. He couldn't have been turned more than a few weeks ago. One of these bozos must have turned him and now they were his lifeline, his family. In fact, the kid, with his overly curly hair and thick eyebrows reminded Seth of his brother, James. And for an instant, Seth felt a pang of longing rise within him before he brushed it away. Can't be feeling sorry for my prey, now can I, he smiled internally.

The large vampire was still yapping his trap and Seth watched him though he paid him no mind. That was, until something caught his ear.

"What did you say?" Seth demanded, taking a step up to the vampire.

"I said," the vampire repeated, "are you also one of the Slayer's lapdogs?" He puffed out his chest. "I guess the bitch likes her men…scratch that…her vampires, blond. And docile. You're probably just as helpless against humans as the other one." The large vampire laughed heartily and three of his minions laughed more confidently. 'James' still stood quiet, his eyes not looking up.

"Helpless," Seth reiterated with a smirk. The laughter ceased immediately as more eyes turned to the confrontation. Everyone had heard the tone in Seth's voice and knew business was about to pick up. He took another step to the large vamp until they were eyes to chin. He closed his eyes, a look of serenity etched on his face.

"You want to know what helpless is?" He asked the vampire before continuing. "Helpless is five fledgling vamps picking a fight with someone whom they should look at and know not to fuck with…" and that was when the shit hit the fan.

With a speed that defied description, Seth struck. He sidestepped to his right and decapitated the vampire to the left of 'Big Mac' with a roundhouse kick to the neck. Before that vamp was dust, he spun and planted a sharp elbow to the solar plexus of a second vamp, doubling the minion over in pain. He turned him to ash with a vicious chop to the back of the neck. 'Big Mac' finally reacted and Seth shattered the large vampire's ribs with a well-placed kick. He was going to save the big one for last. But the distraction was enough for the third vampire to land a blow. The punch only grazed the top of Seth's head and he knew he was lucky. The force behind the punch was awesome and he staggered back. This guy is a fighter, he thought to himself as he lashed out with a punch of his own. Surprisingly, the vamp, which sported a crewcut, parried it and delivered a bone-shattering body shot. Seth was stunned but immediately spun and shot his leg out. It connected with the side of 'Crew-Cut's' knee and the sickening rendering of bone and cartilage was drowned out by the vampire's screams of agony. Seth ran up to the kneeled form and put him in a front face lock. He struggled until a hard tug from Seth ripped his head off, turning him into dust.

The crowd of onlookers stared in disbelief at the scene before them. This stranger had just taken out Primus and his gang in less than ten seconds without a scratch on him. They all trembled except for two pair of eyes seated in the corner, obscure from sight.

Seth looked down at the three dust piles before him, his fists still clenched. He felt the eyes boring into him with a combination of astonishment, respect, and most important of all, fear. But there was also something else. Someone, rather, a couple someone's' eyed him with interest. He turned to look but the muffled cries of 'Big Mac' reminded him that he still had some unfinished business to attend to.

He walked casually over to 'Big Mac' and hoisted him up by the lapels of his jacket.

"Pathetic," he spat at the injured vampire that clutched his ribs.

"Pl…please don't! I'll do anything. Just don't…"

"Don't what? Kill you? Can't even say the words. You are absolutely pathetic," he dropped him to the ground and he whimpered in both pain and fright. Seth walked over to 'James', who cowered against the bar. He glanced at the short man behind the bar who had said nothing during the fracas. Seth smiled viciously at the man.

"Hi…hi ya doin," the man said, smiling back timidly. "Can I offer you a pint of O-negative? Or maybe some AB?"

"What's your name, little man?" Seth asked, resting his forearms on the bar.

"Willie…I'm the owner of the place." He stuck a shaking hand out as if offering a flag of truce. Seth looked the hand up and down and turned his back to Wily.

"Well, Willie. I have some advice for you. The next time you speak to me, make sure I have spoken to you first," he said, an undeniable air of malice audible in his tone. He walked over to 'James' and put an arm around the frightened vampire. He guided 'James' over to the still downed 'Big Mac' before addressing the newly turned vampire.

"So, what's your name?"

"R…r..Randy," he choked out.

"Randy, huh? Well, you know what Randy; I don't like that name. I like James a lot better. In fact, you look more like a James anyway. So from now on, I'm going to call you James," he craned his neck to look into 'James'' eyes. "Is that cool with you, James?" The vampire nodded nervously, studying his fidgeting hands.

"Great, I'm glad we've got that settled. Now, James, I want to ask you something. Is this sack of shit," he pointed to 'Big Mac' who cowered on the floor, "the reason you're all bumpy up here?" he tapped 'James' on the forehead.

"Ye…yeah, sir."

"So what is his name?"

"P…p…Primus."

"Primus?" Seth asked in disbelief. He laughed out loud and slapped his hand against 'James'' back. The scared vamp stumbled forward but stayed on his feet. Seth didn't notice as he was bent over in almost hysterical laughter. He finally calmed enough before he could speak. "Primus?! Are you named after the group? I mean they were so over years ago. I mean, I know I have their fiftieth anniversary Microdisc but," He stopped when he saw 'James' looking at him, perplexed.

"Oh, forgot when I was," he said and returned his stony gaze to the downed vampire who began to rise to his feet.

"So, Primus," he said, putting his hand on the vampire's shoulder, "wanna tell me again whose helpless?"

"Fuck you," he spat. Seth calmly squeezed the vampire's shoulder. He instantly fell back to his knees as Seth ground his bones together. Surprisingly, he didn't scream. His demon face only twisted in anger, hate, and pain. Seth eyed him intensely before breaking his grip.

"Well, I see you have done quite the one-eighty from thirty seconds ago. What's up, someone give you a sip of courage juice while I was gone?"

Primus' yellow eyes bore holes through Seth and the traveler laughed again.

"I won't beg for my life," he said simply.

"What made you change your mind?" Seth asked, intrigued.

"Fuck off," the vampire spat for the second time and struggled to his feet again. He rose to his full height despite the pain. Seth eyed the man suspiciously and had to re-evaluate his opinion of the man. At first glance, he had thought the guy was just a bully. All talk and no bite. But now…no, he was more than that. Maybe this Primus guy wasn't quite the waste after all.

"Relax, Primus. I'm not going to kill you," the injured vampire's shoulders visibly relaxed. "That is as long as you do something for me."

"What?" he said with skeptical eyes.

"Tell me why you called me…what was that colorful phrase again? Oh yeah. 'One of the Slayer's lapdogs'," he said making air quotes around the last five words.

Primus laughed but stopped abruptly when the pain hit him. He doubled over before gaining a grip on himself. "I mean look at you. The blond hair, the leather vest and black jeans." He looked Seth up and down, "and you even have the blasted scar." Seth unconsciously ran his finger over the scar but let Primus finish. " I thought you were another Spike clone." Primus finished with a smirk but stepped back when he saw the eyes of Seth glower.

"Spike," he spat poisonously. So that was her game, the bitch. He thought murderously. But why? His demon fumed at the revelation but he quickly doused it. This was no time to get sidetracked. He had a job to do. And a point to make.

He turned back to 'James'. He glared at the boy amiably. He put both his hands on the boy's shoulders before speaking. "You know, I had a brother named James once." His eyes clouded with the memories of a childhood lost too soon. "You remind me so much of him. I miss him," Seth said in a whisper.

James was confused at the total change in character of the man. Seth had dropped his arms from the boy's shoulders and studied the ground. "What…what happened to him?" 'James' asked, consolingly. And that's when it happened.

The occupants in the room had heard the whole conversation and all looked upon this big bad vampire that looked as if he were going to burst into tears. It was sickening. But even they were appalled at what he did next.

Without taking his eyes from the ground, Seth shot his right hand forth and into 'James'' chest. The young vampire had no time for any response as Seth's hand emerged from his back. In his hand he clutched what was once the heart of the young vampire. Disbelief crossed his face before his dissolved into so many bits of dust.

Seth stood there for a moment and examined his dust-covered arm as if seeing it for the first time. He then cast his eyes to the pile that was once 'James' and knelt down. His forearms rested on his knees before he replied to the fledgling's earlier question.

"I killed him," he said simply.

No one spoke and several demons picked this moment to exit the bar with as little commotion as possible. Seth's eyes glossed over with memories of the past before he snapped back into the now.

"Now," he said, addressing the remaining onlookers. "I'm looking for a few good men…or should I say demons. I'm looking for a girl. Bout yay high, blond hair, cute as a button. Calls herself the Slayer…"