1:
It was a full moon.
D didn't know which was worst, the parasite talking, or the wind blowing at his face in every direction. He wasn't listening to his hand chatting though; his mind was already busy picking up signals. He wasn't quite sure what kind of signals yet, but he knew it was dangerous and evil, and even worse than all the other vampires he had killed over the centuries.
"D, you should really be heading back. It's dangerous here."
D didn't even bother to glance down at his hand. After years and years of hearing his left hand complaining about how dangerous every situation was to him, he got use to it. After all, it was either cut it off and die, or keep it on, and live. Living was always better than dying, and he wasn't quite ready to die yet, he still had a couple of hundred centuries left to go in him.
"Quiet," was all he said, even though he didn't want to say anything at all.
"Ah, so you finally talked after a hundred years of silence."
D didn't say anything. He was getting really irritated of his stupid parasite hand, but it was all right, he supposed.
"What's that smell in the air?" His hand questioned.
D didn't answer, he already knew what that smell in the air was, it was reek of evil.
"You know, you haven't improved much, and I was hoping your humor would improve."
"Something's not right," D told himself.
"Of course, there's always something that isn't weird about you."
D gave up trying to talk to his stupid parasite hand. His mind was on other matters now, and it wasn't definitely on his hand. He turned, ears perked, as he heard a noise that he wouldn't have heard if he weren't a Dhampir.
"I heard that," his hand told him. "Did you?"
D didn't answer, his answered by turning his horse to the left, and then he applied pressure on the side of the horse. The horse veered off in that direction without another thought, his footsteps quickly fading in the harsh, brewing storm.
"Here's a pretty lady we're looking for."
"And here I thought we wouldn't find ourselves a nice fresh girl."
Adienia stopped as four boys, not quite her age, for she was older than she looked, appeared out of the darkness, surrounding her.
"Come here little girl, we won't hurt you."
Adienia didn't reply. She didn't have to, all she did was stare at them, and they had already begun to nervously backing up…well, two of them anyway.
"You don't have to be shy, sweetie," one of them chuckled.
"We should leave her alone," one of the two who were backing away spoke suddenly.
"What?" the one who had chuckled turned to stare at his comrades.
"Yeah," the other one said. "Leave me out of this, I ain't in this!"
The two saw Adienia smiled, a wicked, purely evil, smile, before they turned and ran off.
"Damn fools, looks like we've got all the fun tonight," there were still two left.
"Yeah boss, she looks mighty sweet."
Adienia turned her smile on them.
"Look, she's inviting us," one of the guys' said. "Smart gal, she knows when to not fight."
"I think," she purred at them, her voice huskily, sending small shivers down the two boys' spine. "That you guys don't know what you're messing with."
"We sure do look forward to it," the bolder of the two, the leader, came at her, slowly, until he was right in front of her.
"Good," Adienia smiled as she clasped her hand around the edge of her sword, a long, slender sword that glittered beautifully like diamonds in the moonlight and then rested the sharp end of the sword to her newly found friend's neck. "Cause I, myself, is looking forward to it also."
"Hey!" the one who had stayed back shouted when he saw the sword against his friends' neck. "We didn't mean anything."
"Sure we did," the leader grinned at her and then grabbed her wrist, twisting it around.
Adienia sigh. Foolish mortals, they will never learn their lesson, she thought as she pretended to drop the sword.
"See?" the leader turn to smile at his friend, giving Adienia a clear full view of his neck and the long, red, throbbing vein that only she can see. Adienia resisted the urge to dive deep in his neck and calm back her fangs, which were already beginning to form. She didn't want to scare the boys…not yet anyway.
"Hehe…yeah, guess you're right boss," the other kid chuckled, although not so sure anymore.
"Now-" The boss turned around only to be grabbed by the throat by slender hands, long and white, and then he was moved, a couple of inches above the ground.
"Now, it's my turn boys," Adienia smiled, showing two white fangs. It had been nearly thirty years since she had fed on human blood, and she was extremely looking forward to it.
"She's not human!" the other one, the one farthest away from her cried as he began to turn around and run.
"Oh no you don't," Adienia said, her voice as soft as silk. "Stop, little boy, and come to me."
The boy stopped immediately.
"Tristin! What are you doing? Run away!" The boss managed to choke out.
"Quiet boy!" Adienia answered. "You guys know more than to assault a girl in the middle of the night, now you will learn your lesson, and heed it will."
Tristin came up to Adienia, staring at her adoringly.
"Good boy," Adienia laughed softly. Foolish mortals indeed, their minds were as easy to control as a pig. But their bloods were much more sweeter than a pig's blood, Adienia thought as she brought her head down to the boy called Tristin's neck while still holding his leader in one hand.
Her fangs were there, just touching the skin when she felt another presence behind her and moved out of the way as something came flying at her.
She dropped the leader and the mind of Tristin to see who had attacked her.
She saw nothing.
"Leave, and forget what has happened this night," Adienia commanded the boys. "But learn your lesson well."
The boys, terrified, turned and ran as if in a daze.
Now that the boys left, Adienia finally tune her powers into the night. She saw no one, but knew someone was there, watching her.
"Who are you, show yourself if you are no coward." Adienia commanded, shouting into the night, but her voice carried no anger, only a soft lure, a siren's calling.
No one answered.
"Very well," Adienia answered. She didn't give a warning, and moved as fast as lightning, maybe even quicker to the dark tree closet to her near the edge of the village and brought her sword into the middle of the tree. She pulled out and grinned to herself as she saw the shadow move away, out into the open where the moon shone.
She saw him then, clad in a dark cloak, all in black, with a wide brimmed hat and a long flowing cape.
"Very good," the male masculine of his voice showed through. Dark and dangerous, it could lure a woman to her doom. It could also freeze even the warmest of blood, she thought.
He was very handsome, she knew. Though half of his face was covered with that brimmed hat, she knew his face was pale, deathly pale, his nose long and pointed coming down to lips and chin. Yes, he was very handsome indeed, she thought. And knew immediately who he reminded her of.
"Hello," Adienia smiled at him. "I believe we have not crossed paths before."
"I believe so myself." He answered as he stared at her intently.
Adienia came to him slowly, examining him up and down as if he was a case to be judged of its importance. She was amazed that he didn't squirm or move under her hard gaze, but she expected not less from him when she saw him.
"I see," she said slowly as her eyes moved back to his face again, only to find him staring at her. "You have a most unsettling stare."
He didn't say anything.
"I tell you, she's trouble."
One of Adienia's brows shot up when she heard the voice. It sounded old, and irritated.
He didn't reply to that voice either.
"D, she's trouble. I sense she's not human."
Adienia managed to hide a grin. "I'm glad your…parasite thinks that way."
She thought she might have saw a flicker of surprised go through his eyes, but it disappeared as quick as it came so she wasn't sure.
"She knows!" the parasite gasped.
D managed to not roll his eyes.
"Interesting, I thought parasites would be smarter than that."
"Shut up you old fool." The parasite told her.
"So you're the famous D eh?" Adienia asked him. "Son of Count Dracula, who has brought death with him wherever he went."
D didn't even move, not even a blink.
"Why did you attack me?" Adienia asked him.
"They did nothing to you."
"Ah, the protector of innocents now, are you? Interesting that you protect some and kill some for food."
"I protect only those who are innocent."
"Why are you explaining yourself to her?" the parasite grumbled. "If she's heard of your reputation, she should be cowering in sight, not standing like she is your equal."
"Oh, but I am." Adienia smiled, showing white teeth. "I am his equal, I may even surpass his power."
"Bah!" the parasite laughed. "You may think you are, but you are not."
Adienia crossed her arms. "It seems your friend here has much to say while you do not."
"He speaks only when it is important." The parasite told her. "Ah, so he thinks this is not an important matter?" Adienia asked the parasite.
"You are of no importance to him, just another obstacle." The parasite answered her.
Adienia smiled. "Do you think your owner will kill me?"
"I am not a pet!" the parasite shouted at her angrily. "D shut her up or I will do it for you."
D didn't say anything.
"A man of few words eh?" Adienia nodded her head. "Very well, I shall see you again stranger."
"If you hurt without cause I will kill you the next time," D's flat voice floated through softly to her brain. No one had invaded her privacy for years and her heart beat at the thought of another invading her privacy.
"You get out," Adienia swirled around, pointing a finger at D. "Do not even attempt to mind bottle me. I am stronger than you."
The parasite snorted while D didn't say anything else.
Adienia stared at him intently, stare for stare.
"I supposed you think you are," D said finally.
"I'll see you again, stranger, and that is a promise." Adienia told him as she twirled around and disappeared into the darkness.
"That girl is evil," the parasite told D when the girl was gone.
"She can still hear you." D told him as he jumped back on his horse.
"I can," came the reply, husky and low, soft and velvety. "I meant for you to hear," his hand shouted loudly enough to wake the dead within a couple hundred miles.
Too bad Adienia didn't have time to mess with him, she thought. She would surely love to have challenge him to a fight, maybe even more, but she was busy. She wasn't out for no reason, hardly did she ever go out in fact, but she was summoned, and though she had tried to avoid the summons for more than a thousand years now, she knew that it was unavoidable, and so she finally decided to see who it was that was always summoning her.
But she was sure she would meet the great D again. She had heard of his reputation, who didn't? He was never seen anywhere twice, in fact, he was hardly ever seen anywhere, always constantly traveling with his hand and horse as his only companions. He only stopped when a certain job requires a certain vampil, or Dhampir, one who would beat the much more older vampires, the ones that were harder to destroy.
"You're late," the voice floated towards her, harsh and cold and commanding.
Adienia didn't answer. She never spoke when dealing with assassinations and other kinds of deadly deeds that humans were too weak and afraid to perform. But judging from the voice, and from what she could hear and see, she knew that this was not someone who couldn't kill a fly. In fact, he might enjoy the thrill of it!
"Speak up!"
Adienia didn't speak up. You don't command me.
"You will soon work under me, you should start showing me your loyalty."
I show loyalty to no one but myself. Adienia answered telepathically.
"Very well, but if you should ever betray me, you will regret it."
We will see if I like my job or not.
"How do you know I can read your thoughts?"
Stop playing. I can make you hear if I want you to.
"Well, well, well," the voice chuckled. "I guess this is all fair. You cannot see my face, I cannot hear your voice."
Fair enough.
"You know what you are to do?"
No.
"I will pay you five million dollars to assassinate the great Vampire Hunter D."
Luckily for Adienia, she showed no surprised. That is not enough. That is how much they would pay me to assassinate one of their kinds. "And how do you know I am not one of their kinds?"
Don't play games.
"Very well, I will pay you five trillion dollars then."
You are that wealthy eh?
"And you will receive an extra bonus if you bring me his head and his heart."
I will think about it.
"There is no time to think! You must decide now, or I will go to someone else.
Adienia resisted the urge to laugh. You think someone else would be strong enough, courageous enough, to kill him?
No answer.
That's right, no one else is besides me, that's why you better listen to me.
"I need the answer now. I will pay you five million in advance for all your equipments and needs. I will pay you the rest and the added bonus once you are done."
How long do I have?
"As long as it takes, just be sure to be quick about it. I cannot wait a thousand years!"
It won't take long at all.
"You seem to underestimate him."
I know him, I know how he works, killing him will be like trapping a mice.
"You plan to trap him?"
That is none of your concern. If you interfere with my business, I vow D won't be the only one I'm after.
"I shall interfere however way I see fit!"
Your temper is getting the better of you.
No answer again.
I warn you now, I work and I work alone. If ever you should interfere, I will no longer care about you nor D I will come after you both.
"And what about the money?"
Believe me, I have much, much more money than you could ever offer.
"Is that so?"
Adienia didn't answer this time.
"Very well."
May I know the name of whom I am working under with?
"You will know soon enough, you will know soon enough," he answered, his voice slowly fading.
Yes, our paths would definitely have to cross again. Adienia told herself as she looked up to the long, shining moon. The same moon she saw every night for almost three thousand years. The same mood that would turn red only during certain vampire rules, and during those rules, she made sure to eliminate those that needed to be eliminated and those that weren't were much of a threat were left to live, living off only on animal blood and maybe a couple of hundred years or so a human blood.
"You seem awfully quiet tonight," D's hand told him.
D didn't answer. He was too busy in his thoughts tonight. Indeed his thoughts were busy tonight and it was of that strange girl. Who was she? Where did she come from? She seemed so sure of herself that she would be able to defeat him, and he knew she was strong enough. He didn't fear it; in fact he was actually looking forward to fighting with her. It has been many years since he had a fight that drained all of his strength, not after the fight with Meyer.
"So you're thoughts are on her!" His hand shouted.
D still didn't reply. Meyer wasn't a threat no more; in fact, he hardly ever was a threat. He was a vampire who believed in true love. He was different from him, and that was probably why D took that job. He will never have someone to love like Meyer. He was destined to be alone, forever. He would have gladly returned the girl, but Meyer had proved him wrong. Love can't be destroyed, and then D had seen the ring. He had decided to take the ring instead, for the girl's parent had demanded a ring to show that she had been indeed turned into one and it was far too late to save her.
"I tell you, she is dangerous," his hand told him for the millionth time that night.
D didn't say anything. He was tired of saying anything. He was a man of few words, and like his hand had said that he never spoke, only when it was important. He knew people feared him. He knew they all admired and hated him for his life, his figure and most of all his reputation, and he was always doing his best to live up to his reputation to make a good many more to fear him. Maybe that was what his whole life will be based on, making people fearing him so he can live in solitude, killing the evil, saving the good, setting a good balance for the Yin and Yan.
"She's not human," his hand told him.
D kept quiet. He finally reached his destination. A messenger, who had taken days to find him summoned him and when the messenger had found him, was too weak from lack of food and water to say anything, but he still had the energy to fear D. Perhaps that was why D was so amused at these mortals. They were so weak when it came to people like him, but when it came to them; they usually find the strength somewhere inside themselves.
"What job is it this time?" his hand asked him, irritated that he wasn't receiving any answers from D.
"I'm going in," D told his hand finally, not even bothering to answer his hand's question.
"It's dangerous," his hand confessed when it saw the big mansion. It was gloomy, dark, and ghastly. All the drapes were pulled down, there were gargoyles of some kind, which were probably demons with wings, perched on top of the mansion. Even the gatekeeper who opened the door fit right into the setting.
He was a nasty looking fellow with half of his hair gone from his baldhead. His left eye was smaller than his right, which squinted up at D through a cricked nose and twisted mouth. His figure was more of an old man than a young boy and he had only three fingers on his left hand. His right, he had six.
"D you are?" he asked, and his voice would have made an ordinary person scream. It was raspy, dark, cold, and hash. It was like he was choking, wheezing the words out, but he was perfectly fine. D only nodded, but the gatekeeper saw his nod and opened the gate for him to step through, though D could have easily jumped over the big gate, no matter how high it was.
"Verra good. My master is waiting for ye. He has been expecting you later, but he will be well pleased that you are as anxious to see him as you are to get down to business." The gatekeeper sneered at him.
D didn't say anything. He was led through the back instead of the front. He noticed garlic and salt and crosses. Objects and symbols of all culture to ward off the dead, the evil, and he was vastly amused. Surely this master of this gatekeeper would have stop to think that these things do not affect a vampire so, especially a Dhampir, one like himself.
He was led through a dark hallway and then into a dark narrow corridor. There were even more symbols to ward off the dead in this little narrow corridor. D wasn't affected by it; the fact that he wasn't down on his knees or coughing right now proved it and he wondered whom this master of the mansion was and why he had gotten a vampire angry enough to want to kill him. Soon he will find out, and so he followed silently, his footsteps as soft and quiet as a tiger who was about to approach its prey was.
"The master is in, please wait a moment." The gatekeeper told him as he went inside and closed the door. A moment later, he came back out, stepping aside so D could enter the warm chamber. "The master awaits. He will see you now."
D entered, taking immediately to his surroundings at once. There was not threat here, everything was fine and there was no evil here as well. It seemed like a perfect comfortable home. He saw a portrait of a beautiful woman and knew immediately it was painted fifteen years ago from the smell of it. He also noticed the fire, dark, red, orange; it was just bursting with energy. Unlike a normal human being, he actually saw the colors that made up of fire, not just red or orange. He saw white and purple and red and orange and all the colors of the rainbow in it. It was only to him that he was able to see it though, and of course, other of his vampire friends (though he didn't considered any of the vampires his friends) and enemies (which were all of his vampire friends).
"Welcome my friend," the master called from at the corner of the bed. "Please come here since this body of mine is too fragile to be moved."
D came towards the end of the bed, spotting a nearly blind old man. His hair was still about him and he was skinny. D could actually see the bones through the bed blankets. But he didn't need to see it; he could feel it, hear it. The old man's heart was as slow as a snail, as if it was about ready to give up, but something was still keeping it beating. He had the urge to put the man out his misery, that was all he could do for the old guy now, and maybe that was why the old guy had ordered him here, to end his life once and for all so he could die in peace. Of course, it would be another life in D's hand that he killed. God knew how many he had killed over the thousand of centuries he had lived.
"You look every fearful and frightening as I have heard you are," he coughed. "I have but one last wish before I leave this world, and I want to do it before I die."
D nodded, understanding coming to him, it was a last request. He didn't know why he was summoned though. Surely someone could have done his last request for him? But he will find out soon enough, he thought.
"I have but less than a year to live, and I know you need not see me to know how I am. Just a fortnight ago, I thought I saw my wife, but she disappeared before I can actually talk to her."
D glanced up at the portrait of the beautiful lady in front of the bed that he had noticed earlier when he had first entered the room.
"That t'is her," D heard the old man whispered.
D only nodded hearing the old man.
"She disappeared, but another girl appeared, and she told me she was coming for me, coming for my soul…"
D didn't move, just listening silently.
"She was beautiful, her eyes breathtaking…violet green eyes, never have I seen such beautiful eyes before," the old man sigh, as if dreaming, but D didn't. D's blood froze for he had seen those eyes before. It was the eyes of that vampil…and he was damn glad that his parasite didn't say anything for it would have scared the man half to death.
"She said she will come, two days from now, that is why I have summoned you, but you appeared earlier than expected of you. I am glad."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to destroy the girl before she can kill me. I do not want to die yet; I still want to live. If she comes for me, I will die and that I do not want."
"You want me to kill her or protect you?"
"Protect me, don't let her kill me. I will pay you ten million if you succeed."
"Ten million will not be enough against her," D told him, his tone of voice flat, cold, unmoving.
"So you have seen her before?"
"She is strong," was all he said.
"Very well, if you succeed, I will pay you fifty million then."
"Very well," D agreed. "It is done."
"Now you may leave and rest. She will not be here until the day after tomorrow. I want you well rested."
"I think she will be here sooner than that…" D told him still in his quiet, flat voice.
"What?" the old man cried.
"Do not worry," D told the man.
The man stared at D for a while longer and then he nodded and closed his eyes.
D went out into the room, back outside to fetch his horse.
"That was a lot of money," his hand finally spoke up.
"He agreed." D stated.
"Are you sure you will be able to protect him from her?"
D didn't answer his hand.
"What does she want with the Marques of Coldwell anyway?"
"Revenge, maybe," D murmured as he got on his horse.
"Looking for a place to rest then?" His parasite asked.
D didn't say anything; of course he was looking for a place to rest, after all, he was more comfortable in the dark than in the light.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes/Comments :
Okay, first of all, let me know what you think okay?? And let me know if I should write more. If you want me too, that is... :)
Yisa