Sean waved his hand back through the fire. He felt the warmth and the faint flickering of the flame across his skin. There was no pain. However, Sean didn't expect any.
Looking up from the fire, Sean gazed about the large room in which he sat. The room was a lavishly furnished study. Hundreds of books occupied the long shelves along each wall. Even the door was hidden behind a cabinet of books. Only a small brass handle protruding from the wood hinted at the existence of an exit. In the center of the room was a small fire pit with an overhanging chimney. On either side of the fire sat a large wooden desk. Both desks were covered by books and papers in and untidy mess that contrasted with the order of the rest of the room.
Sean sat on the floor next to the fire slowly waving his right hand through the flames. At first, his intention with the fire had been to burn the blood from his hands. This plan had worked successfully, but Sean found himself enjoying the fire's warmth too much to leave. He had rolled up the short sleeves of his shirt before sticking his hands into the fire. Now, the dried blood his handling had left on them began to crack and break as he moved. Sean had long since discarded the large trench coat he had been wearing. After it had become ripped, burnt, and soaked, Sean no longer desired it.
Sean looked over the titles of some of the book around him. He didn't need to stand from the fire to see the words, he could probably have still read them if his eyes were closed. At first, Sean had a bit of difficulty reading English as the language had been completely foreign to him. As he read, however, the information he had "absorbed" from those he met had slowly begun to order itself in his head. Now, he could easily browse over the titles around him.
It looked to be more of an informational collection. Most of the titles seemed to focus on describing a certain item or event. Some titles seemed to be those of creative writings but they always seemed to be in theme with those non-fiction titles around them.
As Sean scanned the books, a particular title caught his eye, "A Theoretical Explanation on the Existence of the Slayer." The word "Slayer" sparked interest in the back of his mind and Sean saw the image of the golden haired child that had awoken him flash through his mind.
Standing, Sean took the few steps over to the book case and retrieved the book from the shelf. As Sean gazed down at the black hard-bound cover of the book he felt a tingle in his awareness. Looking toward the book shelf behind which the room's door hid, Sean felt the presence of someone approaching from the outside hallway. Concentrating on the presence, Sean felt his mind extend out beyond the door. He could feel the mind of the one approaching.
It was a vampire. Sean recognized the ever-present blood-thirst in the creatures mind. The constant need for blood boiled in the very depths of this being. The reminder tempted at Sean's own need for human blood and its persistent urging at the back of his mind. As an after-thought, however, Sean suppressed this need with ease.
Sean didn't remember anyone remaining. This new vampire must have recently arrived.
Still monitoring the creatures approach, Sean waited as the vampire slowly crept down the hallway to just outside the study door. Waiting patently, Sean watched as the vampire quietly turned the doors handle and gently pushed inward. The door swung into the room and a blonde haired head slowly extended inside from out in the hallway. The faint scent of sweet perfume wafted through Sean's nose.
Still watching, Sean waited as the vampire scanned the study. With his thoughts, Sean felt the smooth curves of this female vampire as she stood peering in the room. As her head angled from one side of the room to the other, she started with surprise upon spotting Sean.
He kept a calm and unwavering gaze through the few seconds she stood there looking at him. She then stood and half stepped into the room. She kept her left side hidden behind the door as she stood there looking as Sean. Sean neither moved nor took his eyes from her gaze; he remained as immobile as stone.
"Uh…what…what happened here?" she finally asked.
Her voice was soft and hushed, as if she was trying not to wake someone. Sean suspected she was only a few decades old if even that. Her body was young and supple and the tight fitting close she wore hugged her every curve. After dancing lightly through her mind, Sean believed she had been a vampire for only as long as she had not been.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked. He kept his voice calm and hushed, like hers.
Her gaze glanced outside past the door then came back to Sean.
"Everything is destroyed. Everyone's gone. I…I…"
Her statement broke off abruptly. Her eyes grew wide and her grip on the door tightened. Through her eyes, Sean realized that she was starring at the blood soaked into his rolled up sleeves.
"Did you do this?" she asked curtly.
Sean hesitated for a moment. He didn't necessarily want to hurt this young thing. However, he suspected that if he told her the truth she would most likely act the same way the others had and attack him. Sean didn't see the purpose of lying though. He doubted that she would believe him.
"Yes." He answered.
The vampire looked appalled at his answer.
"Why?" she asked, incredulously.
Sean was stumped for a second. He wasn't sure why he had killed them all. At first, he had been defending himself as they attacked him. Eventually, however, Sean had begun enjoying himself. Continuing, Sean eventually ran out of vampires. They had stopped attacking. As he searched the premises, Sean had found several hiding in rooms. He had killed him when the idea struck him, but others he had let escape. As the sport had begun losing his interest, Sean found himself here in this study.
"I'm…not certain." He replied, pausing for a second.
"You're not certain?" she repeated.
"They attacked me." Sean explained.
"All the food in the nursery is dead. You gonna tell me that they attacked you too?" Her voice was harsh.
Through the female vampire's eye, Sean saw an image of the scene to which she was referring. Sean remembered encountering the room she titled "the nursery." He had followed a few fleeing vampires into a large room and had found it occupied by several living children. They had been of all ages of pre-pubescence; from a week-old infant a ten year old boy and girl. They were all huddled away from the door and cowering in fear. Most were in torn and dirty clothes. Others were well dressed and cleansed. All looked to have the tale-tale vampire bite marks scarring their skin. Most were on their necks, some were spread across the rest of their skin.
Sean had stood confused by the scene for a few seconds as the vampires he had been chasing fled from him while firing their weapons in his direction. The children had cringed and shouted with each shot. Sean had stood uncaring as their shots missed and struck the walls behind him.
Forgetting the fleeing vampires, Sean had stepped over to a small cradle currently supporting a crying child. The child had been a boy. Sean could remember feeling the fear and longing pouring out from the young boy. He had craved for little else but food and the warmth of another human. The scent of the boy had been strong, but Sean remembered the reeking taint he had smelt coursing through the child's blood. Gently reaching down and lifting the small child's right leg, Sean had found a vampire's bite just beneath the knee.
Tainted.
The word had rung soundly in Sean's head and he had twisted his face in revulsion. Sean had then looked up again at the face of the still shrieking child. He had seen not the boys face but a mask of the evil that he now sensed corrupting him.
Contact defiles purity. The un-pure cannot be allowed to exist as the risk of contamination is too great.
In his mind, Sean saw the flash of a face uttering those words. The face had been old and wrinkled. His grey eyes flashed with authority as he spoke. His mouth moved in the sharp speech of disgust as uttered the words Sean knew he had heard from those lips countless of times. Sean felt a pang of regret upon seeing this unknown man's face. He tried to grasp the image as it faded from his mind but it slipped through his grasp and fell into the dark hole of his amnesia.
Still not remembering anything about his own past, Sean was not sure whose face he had seen or how he knew this man. It had caused a reaction within him, however, and the feeling of revulsion only grew as he repeated the man's phrase in his head.
Sean knew that the child lying before him had been tainted by the evil of the vampire's bite. Though he might not become a vampire himself, he had been exposed. It was like an illness spreading through a household. Though not all children of that household may show symptoms, each child had been exposed to the sickness and must be separated as if they too were ill.
With a sharp thrust of his arm, Sean had reached down and grasped the head of the screaming child within his huge palm. In a wave of disgust, Sean then closed his hand. He remembered the small child's head popping and hearing the boy's skull crunch under the massive pressure Sean's fingers had applied. Blood and bone had then poured out from between his fingers and stained the light fabric lining the inside of the cradle. Sean remembered the distinct silence after the child's howling had ceased.
Sean vaguely recalled that he had dealt with the rest of the children in a similar fashion. He couldn't remember, exactly. The whole scene had become blurry and awash with emotions of disgust and anger. Sean did regret his actions, considering that he couldn't exactly recall his motivation for killing the children. He hadn't thought much about it until now.
"They…were tainted." Sean tried to explain.
The female vampire only gawked at his answer.
"And so you killed off perfectly good food?" she screamed at him.
She stepped out from behind the door and now stood completely in the room. Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides. Her face suddenly twisted and contorted into the now familiar snarl that Sean had seen on many of the vampires he had killed this evening.
"I'm going to rip you apart for what you've done to my home!" she shouted.
Sean watched the muscles in her legs strain as she launched herself forward with all the speed she could gather. Sean watched her approach; her actions seemed languid and uncontrolled. She sailed lightly through the air and landed on the carpet before him. Shouting in fury, she lashed out toward his face with her right hand and its long pristine claws.
Sean stood unmoving before her attack.
Her nails struck the left side of his face just to the right of his eye. There they stopped. The skin beneath her claws remained unbroken and resilient to her strength. After pulling the look of surprise from her face, the vampire removed her nails from Sean's head and brought her right arm back across her chest. She then released the arm and swung upwards towards Sean's chin with the side of her closed fist.
Again, Sean neither moved nor reacted.
Her fist struck Sean's chin with all her might. Instead of injuring her target, the vampire felt a bone in her own hand pop as it broke. Sharply pulling her hand back in pain, the female vampire took a step back from Sean as he watched her.
Sean then brought his hand up before him. He moved with ease and patience. He struck her chest just below the sternum. Neither defending from the attack nor even seeing Sean's movement, the vampire was flying back across the room before she realized what was happening. She struck the far wall of books with a crash and crumbled to the ground.
Watching her, Sean took a few steps forward.
As the female vampire's dazed look rose to his face, Sean spoke.
"That was foolish" he stated. "I hadn't harmed you."
Rising to her feet, the female vampire kept her back pressed closely to the bookcase behind her. He eyes were now wide and moving wildly around the room.
"What are you?" she asked. Her voice wavered as she spoke.
"I'm a vampire, I believe." Sean answered. "But not like you…or the rest of you."
Sean's eyes dropped to the floor.
"I'm not actually too certain."
The female vampire suddenly shot forward and toward the room's still open exit. Sean didn't stop her as she stepped past him. He didn't much care if she lived, he had killed enough today.
As she exited the room, however, Sean felt a further presence out in the hallway. Multiple creatures waited not too far beyond the room's door.
After the vampire fled the room, Sean felt rage explode from within the waiting creatures and they advanced. Sean heard the female vampire release a shrill scream as she spotted them.
Reaching to his side and swinging the open door inward, Sean looked out into the hallway beyond.
The hallway traveled down several yards before ending at another door. The left side of the hallway was open to railing and, beyond that, a set of stairs which spiraled downward to the mansion's entrance. The stairs met the hallway next to the far door across from the study Sean currently occupied. A gap stood in the railing not far from Sean. The wood had been broken away and most likely tumbled downward through the stair well. Sean recalled tossing a vampire in that direction when he had first approached the study.
The right wall was solid and paneled by dark wood. A few panels were cracked and others were marked with blackened scorches. The floor of the hallway was covered in a plush red carpet and mostly unblemished.
The female vampire had only gotten a few feet from the door before she had stopped. She now stood starring down the hallway at the top of the large staircase. Standing on the stairs top steps were four creatures. Looking beyond the vampire at the creatures, Sean's brow moved slightly in confusion.
The creatures were humanoid, but definitely not human. They stood close to Sean's height and were covered in a pink scaling skin much like a reptiles. Each had a set of bony spikes protruding from the back of their heads in what seemed like a random pattern. Their eyes were deep set into their skulls and glittered red in their sockets. Sharp fangs protruded up and down from between the creatures' fat, dark lips. Their torsos were exposed and showed that the rest of their body was covered with the same type of large pink scales that covered their faces. Their hands ended in a set of massive claws which look as thick around as they were wide. From just below the elbows, a large spike of dark bone lanced outward behind them from their skin and upwards toward their shoulders. Below the waist, the creatures were thankfully wearing pairs of loose fitting breeches of a varied dark color.
Each of the four creatures stood standing on a separate steps and were staring down the hallway at Sean and the female vampire. A slow snarl began stretching their faces. The lead creature at the top of the stairs took another step into the hallway. As he did, the female vampire again yelped and turned to run from them. As she turned, she ran into the form of Sean. He had stepped out from the study and into the hallway. Behind him, Sean closed the door.
The vampire stepped back from Sean in surprise then glanced back over her shoulder at the creatures. Two now had stepped off the stairs and into the hallway. They slowly began stepping toward them. One opened his mouth and snarled at her as she watched them. Several lines of sharp teeth could be seen in his gaping maw.
The vampire turned back to Sean who now stood watching the creatures as they approached. On his face showed only a mild look of curiosity.
"They're greater dracos!" she shouted at him. "They probably sent them in here after you destroyed the place. They'll kill everything, including you."
Sean glanced down at her then back up at the hallway.
"I see." He stated.
Sean had been wondering about the creatures after first seeing them. Scanning their thoughts, Sean saw only the thirst for death and destruction. They seemed nothing more than agents of chaos. However, they're distain reached toward all things and were no doubt a threat to almost every creature they met. They seemed to have no prejudice and wanted to kill everything with equal fervor.
As the creatures continued down the hallway toward them, the female vampire stepped to Sean's side and pressed herself against the wall. Sean suspected that she was familiar with their zealousness, and was hiding with him only because she feared him less then she did them. He assumed that she was going to be little use in this fight.
The largest of the creatures stood in the lead and sharply raised his hand out before the rest. They all stopped at his command. Taking a few steps forward, the lead creature stopped close to a yard in front of Sean. It then arched its back upwards and extended is arms outward. With pure menace, it snarled at Sean and slowly closed its clawed hands.
From the creatures mind, Sean discovered that the beast was extending a challenge. The creature believed that it could defeat Sean single-handedly.
In response, Sean stood unmoving and only watched the creature growling before him.
After several moments, the beast clenched the muscles of its massive arms and crouched low to the ground. He continued to keep his eyes locked on Sean's emotionless face.
Behind him, Sean heard the female vampire began whispering to herself.
"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit" she repeated as Sean picked up flashes of panic welling up within her.
As the female vampire watched from behind Sean, the creature before him suddenly clenched the muscles in his legs and leaped forward. Before him he held open his massive claws. The speed at which the draco moved astonished the vampire. His form was little more then a blur as he shot forward through the air. As his form reached Sean, the blur of his body suddenly changed direction. The female vampire watched as the draco's flight arched to the side away from them and over the railing to her left. His flight sent him directly into the far wall with a crash. He then fell downward and through the banister of the stairs below him and finally tumbled down the stair well..
Looking back toward Sean with a surprised expression, she found Sean's left arm extended before him with his palm open upwards.
She hadn't even seen him move.
Looking past him and toward the remaining dracos, she saw a look of surprised across their demonic faces. It was a look she had never seen before. Some were staring down the stair well after their falling comrade, others watching Sean warily.
Sean lowered his hand to his side and watched the remaining creatures.
"Just go." He spoke, simply.
The two closest creatures snarled at his words and bolted forward at him. Sean watched as they approached. Thinking back, Sean wasn't certain why he had just tried to address them. He wasn't even sure if they would understand him. He didn't feel the need to kill them, however, and he had hopped that they would see the folly of their actions and retreat. However, He wasn't surprised that they chose differently.
As the creatures neared him, Sean reached forward and grasped the closest by his neck. He had his hand around on the beast before his target had noticed his movement. Lifting the creature with ease, Sean threw him backward toward the other oncoming beast. Both fell backwards and landed on the plush red carpet.
The remaining creature who had been at the back of the line now leaped forward and over its comrades as they grappled to their feet. Running down the short hallway, the creature reached forward and swiped his clawed hand at Sean's abdomen.
Seeing the attack, the female vampire yelped in warning to Sean. The creature's claw stopped inches from Sean's stomach, however. Sean's hand grasped the creatures arm around it wrist. The vampire saw Sean's hand twist. A teeth chattering crunch erupted from the creatures left shoulder. A stream of vile green blood sprayed across the carpet and the paneled hallway wall as the creature's arm tore form its torso. The draco howled in pain and stepped back from Sean. His right arm rose to grasp the wound on his left shoulder where its arm had once been.
Looking back at Sean, the creature howled in anger and leapt forward with renewed ferocity.
With a sharp move, Sean brought the creatures severed arm sweeping before him. It struck the attacking beast across its face. The creature rolled to the side and fell through the railing, its weight easily crushing the wooden frame.
Sean tossed the severed arm over the railing after the falling beast.
The remaining two creatures had regained their footing in time to see another of their kind falling over the side of the railing. Both again snarled and advanced on Sean.
Sean was becoming weary of their moronic persistence. This would obviously continue until he had killed them all. Realizing that he could just push the remaining creatures off the hallway and over the edge with his mind, Sean almost laughed at himself. He was apparently doing this the hard way. Still, Sean knew that the fall was not killing these creatures. Sean could still feel the presence of the two he had already sent down the stair well. They would soon be back on their feet and heading up the stairs again.
Behind Sean, the female vampire still watched with astonishment. She had only seen the dracos a few times and only when a threat warranted their type of attention. Each time, however, the display had been a gruesome one. The dracos had been known for their ferocity for as long as she could remember and were often used to keep other vampires in line. The threat, "or you'll be tossed in with the dracos" is not that uncommon. Even most demons wanted nothing to do with these single-minded beasts of carnage. Fighting along side a draco was almost impossible as the draco would have a hard time deciding if you were food or not.
Watching Sean however, he had already defeated two of the creatures without a scratch. She couldn't believe it. The female vampire decided that if Sean really was a vampire, he must be hundreds of years old.
She saw the two remaining dracos stand and then begin to advance on Sean once again. The vampire expected that Sean would just toss them over the railing like the others. As the creatures approached, the female vampire suddenly jumped as the entire form of Sean simply vanished. A moment before he had been occupying the space between her and the dracos and then suddenly he was gone. Her eyes shot upwards toward the two remaining demons.
The vampire gasped. She again spotted Sean. He was now standing behind the two creatures and faced down the hallway toward her. Between them, one of the demons jumped then spun around to face Sean's new position. The other, did not move. He stood staring forward with a blank look across his face. The next moment, the still unmoving draco toppled forward. As he landed, his abdomen split in two and his upper torso landed on the carpet a foot from where the rest of him fell. Green blood poured out of the two portions of the demon from where his body had split in two.
The sole remaining draco barely noticed his comrade falling next to him and leapt at Sean. Before the creature reached his target, Sean raise his hand up before him. Without it appearing as if he had even made contact, the remaining draco suddenly flew backwards and away from Sean.
The female vampire barely ducked in time as the demon flew past her and into the study's closed door. The door shattered as the demon slammed into it. The demon and the broken doors wealth of books tumbled into the room. The demon finally met the floor inside the room's small fire pit. Instantly, the draco and his clothes caught fire.
Standing from the fire, the demon began howling and flailing his burning arms around him. Stumbling about the room in panic, the demon crashed into several of the bookcases lining the room's walls. Each time he struck a bookcase, the flames from his body jumped to the books. Soon, the entire room was ablaze in flames.
The female vampire watched in horror as the fire reached the study floor and caught the carpet. The flames then spread outward at an alarming rate and soon approached the study's exit. The vampire stood from the wall and raced backwards away from the flames. Again she struck the form of Sean standing just above the stairs. His eyes reflected the flickering flames as he watch the mansion catch fire. Looking back into the inferno, the vampire finally saw the fire engulfed form of the last draco crumple to the ground just inside the study.
Looking up from the fire, Sean gazed about the large room in which he sat. The room was a lavishly furnished study. Hundreds of books occupied the long shelves along each wall. Even the door was hidden behind a cabinet of books. Only a small brass handle protruding from the wood hinted at the existence of an exit. In the center of the room was a small fire pit with an overhanging chimney. On either side of the fire sat a large wooden desk. Both desks were covered by books and papers in and untidy mess that contrasted with the order of the rest of the room.
Sean sat on the floor next to the fire slowly waving his right hand through the flames. At first, his intention with the fire had been to burn the blood from his hands. This plan had worked successfully, but Sean found himself enjoying the fire's warmth too much to leave. He had rolled up the short sleeves of his shirt before sticking his hands into the fire. Now, the dried blood his handling had left on them began to crack and break as he moved. Sean had long since discarded the large trench coat he had been wearing. After it had become ripped, burnt, and soaked, Sean no longer desired it.
Sean looked over the titles of some of the book around him. He didn't need to stand from the fire to see the words, he could probably have still read them if his eyes were closed. At first, Sean had a bit of difficulty reading English as the language had been completely foreign to him. As he read, however, the information he had "absorbed" from those he met had slowly begun to order itself in his head. Now, he could easily browse over the titles around him.
It looked to be more of an informational collection. Most of the titles seemed to focus on describing a certain item or event. Some titles seemed to be those of creative writings but they always seemed to be in theme with those non-fiction titles around them.
As Sean scanned the books, a particular title caught his eye, "A Theoretical Explanation on the Existence of the Slayer." The word "Slayer" sparked interest in the back of his mind and Sean saw the image of the golden haired child that had awoken him flash through his mind.
Standing, Sean took the few steps over to the book case and retrieved the book from the shelf. As Sean gazed down at the black hard-bound cover of the book he felt a tingle in his awareness. Looking toward the book shelf behind which the room's door hid, Sean felt the presence of someone approaching from the outside hallway. Concentrating on the presence, Sean felt his mind extend out beyond the door. He could feel the mind of the one approaching.
It was a vampire. Sean recognized the ever-present blood-thirst in the creatures mind. The constant need for blood boiled in the very depths of this being. The reminder tempted at Sean's own need for human blood and its persistent urging at the back of his mind. As an after-thought, however, Sean suppressed this need with ease.
Sean didn't remember anyone remaining. This new vampire must have recently arrived.
Still monitoring the creatures approach, Sean waited as the vampire slowly crept down the hallway to just outside the study door. Waiting patently, Sean watched as the vampire quietly turned the doors handle and gently pushed inward. The door swung into the room and a blonde haired head slowly extended inside from out in the hallway. The faint scent of sweet perfume wafted through Sean's nose.
Still watching, Sean waited as the vampire scanned the study. With his thoughts, Sean felt the smooth curves of this female vampire as she stood peering in the room. As her head angled from one side of the room to the other, she started with surprise upon spotting Sean.
He kept a calm and unwavering gaze through the few seconds she stood there looking at him. She then stood and half stepped into the room. She kept her left side hidden behind the door as she stood there looking as Sean. Sean neither moved nor took his eyes from her gaze; he remained as immobile as stone.
"Uh…what…what happened here?" she finally asked.
Her voice was soft and hushed, as if she was trying not to wake someone. Sean suspected she was only a few decades old if even that. Her body was young and supple and the tight fitting close she wore hugged her every curve. After dancing lightly through her mind, Sean believed she had been a vampire for only as long as she had not been.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked. He kept his voice calm and hushed, like hers.
Her gaze glanced outside past the door then came back to Sean.
"Everything is destroyed. Everyone's gone. I…I…"
Her statement broke off abruptly. Her eyes grew wide and her grip on the door tightened. Through her eyes, Sean realized that she was starring at the blood soaked into his rolled up sleeves.
"Did you do this?" she asked curtly.
Sean hesitated for a moment. He didn't necessarily want to hurt this young thing. However, he suspected that if he told her the truth she would most likely act the same way the others had and attack him. Sean didn't see the purpose of lying though. He doubted that she would believe him.
"Yes." He answered.
The vampire looked appalled at his answer.
"Why?" she asked, incredulously.
Sean was stumped for a second. He wasn't sure why he had killed them all. At first, he had been defending himself as they attacked him. Eventually, however, Sean had begun enjoying himself. Continuing, Sean eventually ran out of vampires. They had stopped attacking. As he searched the premises, Sean had found several hiding in rooms. He had killed him when the idea struck him, but others he had let escape. As the sport had begun losing his interest, Sean found himself here in this study.
"I'm…not certain." He replied, pausing for a second.
"You're not certain?" she repeated.
"They attacked me." Sean explained.
"All the food in the nursery is dead. You gonna tell me that they attacked you too?" Her voice was harsh.
Through the female vampire's eye, Sean saw an image of the scene to which she was referring. Sean remembered encountering the room she titled "the nursery." He had followed a few fleeing vampires into a large room and had found it occupied by several living children. They had been of all ages of pre-pubescence; from a week-old infant a ten year old boy and girl. They were all huddled away from the door and cowering in fear. Most were in torn and dirty clothes. Others were well dressed and cleansed. All looked to have the tale-tale vampire bite marks scarring their skin. Most were on their necks, some were spread across the rest of their skin.
Sean had stood confused by the scene for a few seconds as the vampires he had been chasing fled from him while firing their weapons in his direction. The children had cringed and shouted with each shot. Sean had stood uncaring as their shots missed and struck the walls behind him.
Forgetting the fleeing vampires, Sean had stepped over to a small cradle currently supporting a crying child. The child had been a boy. Sean could remember feeling the fear and longing pouring out from the young boy. He had craved for little else but food and the warmth of another human. The scent of the boy had been strong, but Sean remembered the reeking taint he had smelt coursing through the child's blood. Gently reaching down and lifting the small child's right leg, Sean had found a vampire's bite just beneath the knee.
Tainted.
The word had rung soundly in Sean's head and he had twisted his face in revulsion. Sean had then looked up again at the face of the still shrieking child. He had seen not the boys face but a mask of the evil that he now sensed corrupting him.
Contact defiles purity. The un-pure cannot be allowed to exist as the risk of contamination is too great.
In his mind, Sean saw the flash of a face uttering those words. The face had been old and wrinkled. His grey eyes flashed with authority as he spoke. His mouth moved in the sharp speech of disgust as uttered the words Sean knew he had heard from those lips countless of times. Sean felt a pang of regret upon seeing this unknown man's face. He tried to grasp the image as it faded from his mind but it slipped through his grasp and fell into the dark hole of his amnesia.
Still not remembering anything about his own past, Sean was not sure whose face he had seen or how he knew this man. It had caused a reaction within him, however, and the feeling of revulsion only grew as he repeated the man's phrase in his head.
Sean knew that the child lying before him had been tainted by the evil of the vampire's bite. Though he might not become a vampire himself, he had been exposed. It was like an illness spreading through a household. Though not all children of that household may show symptoms, each child had been exposed to the sickness and must be separated as if they too were ill.
With a sharp thrust of his arm, Sean had reached down and grasped the head of the screaming child within his huge palm. In a wave of disgust, Sean then closed his hand. He remembered the small child's head popping and hearing the boy's skull crunch under the massive pressure Sean's fingers had applied. Blood and bone had then poured out from between his fingers and stained the light fabric lining the inside of the cradle. Sean remembered the distinct silence after the child's howling had ceased.
Sean vaguely recalled that he had dealt with the rest of the children in a similar fashion. He couldn't remember, exactly. The whole scene had become blurry and awash with emotions of disgust and anger. Sean did regret his actions, considering that he couldn't exactly recall his motivation for killing the children. He hadn't thought much about it until now.
"They…were tainted." Sean tried to explain.
The female vampire only gawked at his answer.
"And so you killed off perfectly good food?" she screamed at him.
She stepped out from behind the door and now stood completely in the room. Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides. Her face suddenly twisted and contorted into the now familiar snarl that Sean had seen on many of the vampires he had killed this evening.
"I'm going to rip you apart for what you've done to my home!" she shouted.
Sean watched the muscles in her legs strain as she launched herself forward with all the speed she could gather. Sean watched her approach; her actions seemed languid and uncontrolled. She sailed lightly through the air and landed on the carpet before him. Shouting in fury, she lashed out toward his face with her right hand and its long pristine claws.
Sean stood unmoving before her attack.
Her nails struck the left side of his face just to the right of his eye. There they stopped. The skin beneath her claws remained unbroken and resilient to her strength. After pulling the look of surprise from her face, the vampire removed her nails from Sean's head and brought her right arm back across her chest. She then released the arm and swung upwards towards Sean's chin with the side of her closed fist.
Again, Sean neither moved nor reacted.
Her fist struck Sean's chin with all her might. Instead of injuring her target, the vampire felt a bone in her own hand pop as it broke. Sharply pulling her hand back in pain, the female vampire took a step back from Sean as he watched her.
Sean then brought his hand up before him. He moved with ease and patience. He struck her chest just below the sternum. Neither defending from the attack nor even seeing Sean's movement, the vampire was flying back across the room before she realized what was happening. She struck the far wall of books with a crash and crumbled to the ground.
Watching her, Sean took a few steps forward.
As the female vampire's dazed look rose to his face, Sean spoke.
"That was foolish" he stated. "I hadn't harmed you."
Rising to her feet, the female vampire kept her back pressed closely to the bookcase behind her. He eyes were now wide and moving wildly around the room.
"What are you?" she asked. Her voice wavered as she spoke.
"I'm a vampire, I believe." Sean answered. "But not like you…or the rest of you."
Sean's eyes dropped to the floor.
"I'm not actually too certain."
The female vampire suddenly shot forward and toward the room's still open exit. Sean didn't stop her as she stepped past him. He didn't much care if she lived, he had killed enough today.
As she exited the room, however, Sean felt a further presence out in the hallway. Multiple creatures waited not too far beyond the room's door.
After the vampire fled the room, Sean felt rage explode from within the waiting creatures and they advanced. Sean heard the female vampire release a shrill scream as she spotted them.
Reaching to his side and swinging the open door inward, Sean looked out into the hallway beyond.
The hallway traveled down several yards before ending at another door. The left side of the hallway was open to railing and, beyond that, a set of stairs which spiraled downward to the mansion's entrance. The stairs met the hallway next to the far door across from the study Sean currently occupied. A gap stood in the railing not far from Sean. The wood had been broken away and most likely tumbled downward through the stair well. Sean recalled tossing a vampire in that direction when he had first approached the study.
The right wall was solid and paneled by dark wood. A few panels were cracked and others were marked with blackened scorches. The floor of the hallway was covered in a plush red carpet and mostly unblemished.
The female vampire had only gotten a few feet from the door before she had stopped. She now stood starring down the hallway at the top of the large staircase. Standing on the stairs top steps were four creatures. Looking beyond the vampire at the creatures, Sean's brow moved slightly in confusion.
The creatures were humanoid, but definitely not human. They stood close to Sean's height and were covered in a pink scaling skin much like a reptiles. Each had a set of bony spikes protruding from the back of their heads in what seemed like a random pattern. Their eyes were deep set into their skulls and glittered red in their sockets. Sharp fangs protruded up and down from between the creatures' fat, dark lips. Their torsos were exposed and showed that the rest of their body was covered with the same type of large pink scales that covered their faces. Their hands ended in a set of massive claws which look as thick around as they were wide. From just below the elbows, a large spike of dark bone lanced outward behind them from their skin and upwards toward their shoulders. Below the waist, the creatures were thankfully wearing pairs of loose fitting breeches of a varied dark color.
Each of the four creatures stood standing on a separate steps and were staring down the hallway at Sean and the female vampire. A slow snarl began stretching their faces. The lead creature at the top of the stairs took another step into the hallway. As he did, the female vampire again yelped and turned to run from them. As she turned, she ran into the form of Sean. He had stepped out from the study and into the hallway. Behind him, Sean closed the door.
The vampire stepped back from Sean in surprise then glanced back over her shoulder at the creatures. Two now had stepped off the stairs and into the hallway. They slowly began stepping toward them. One opened his mouth and snarled at her as she watched them. Several lines of sharp teeth could be seen in his gaping maw.
The vampire turned back to Sean who now stood watching the creatures as they approached. On his face showed only a mild look of curiosity.
"They're greater dracos!" she shouted at him. "They probably sent them in here after you destroyed the place. They'll kill everything, including you."
Sean glanced down at her then back up at the hallway.
"I see." He stated.
Sean had been wondering about the creatures after first seeing them. Scanning their thoughts, Sean saw only the thirst for death and destruction. They seemed nothing more than agents of chaos. However, they're distain reached toward all things and were no doubt a threat to almost every creature they met. They seemed to have no prejudice and wanted to kill everything with equal fervor.
As the creatures continued down the hallway toward them, the female vampire stepped to Sean's side and pressed herself against the wall. Sean suspected that she was familiar with their zealousness, and was hiding with him only because she feared him less then she did them. He assumed that she was going to be little use in this fight.
The largest of the creatures stood in the lead and sharply raised his hand out before the rest. They all stopped at his command. Taking a few steps forward, the lead creature stopped close to a yard in front of Sean. It then arched its back upwards and extended is arms outward. With pure menace, it snarled at Sean and slowly closed its clawed hands.
From the creatures mind, Sean discovered that the beast was extending a challenge. The creature believed that it could defeat Sean single-handedly.
In response, Sean stood unmoving and only watched the creature growling before him.
After several moments, the beast clenched the muscles of its massive arms and crouched low to the ground. He continued to keep his eyes locked on Sean's emotionless face.
Behind him, Sean heard the female vampire began whispering to herself.
"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit" she repeated as Sean picked up flashes of panic welling up within her.
As the female vampire watched from behind Sean, the creature before him suddenly clenched the muscles in his legs and leaped forward. Before him he held open his massive claws. The speed at which the draco moved astonished the vampire. His form was little more then a blur as he shot forward through the air. As his form reached Sean, the blur of his body suddenly changed direction. The female vampire watched as the draco's flight arched to the side away from them and over the railing to her left. His flight sent him directly into the far wall with a crash. He then fell downward and through the banister of the stairs below him and finally tumbled down the stair well..
Looking back toward Sean with a surprised expression, she found Sean's left arm extended before him with his palm open upwards.
She hadn't even seen him move.
Looking past him and toward the remaining dracos, she saw a look of surprised across their demonic faces. It was a look she had never seen before. Some were staring down the stair well after their falling comrade, others watching Sean warily.
Sean lowered his hand to his side and watched the remaining creatures.
"Just go." He spoke, simply.
The two closest creatures snarled at his words and bolted forward at him. Sean watched as they approached. Thinking back, Sean wasn't certain why he had just tried to address them. He wasn't even sure if they would understand him. He didn't feel the need to kill them, however, and he had hopped that they would see the folly of their actions and retreat. However, He wasn't surprised that they chose differently.
As the creatures neared him, Sean reached forward and grasped the closest by his neck. He had his hand around on the beast before his target had noticed his movement. Lifting the creature with ease, Sean threw him backward toward the other oncoming beast. Both fell backwards and landed on the plush red carpet.
The remaining creature who had been at the back of the line now leaped forward and over its comrades as they grappled to their feet. Running down the short hallway, the creature reached forward and swiped his clawed hand at Sean's abdomen.
Seeing the attack, the female vampire yelped in warning to Sean. The creature's claw stopped inches from Sean's stomach, however. Sean's hand grasped the creatures arm around it wrist. The vampire saw Sean's hand twist. A teeth chattering crunch erupted from the creatures left shoulder. A stream of vile green blood sprayed across the carpet and the paneled hallway wall as the creature's arm tore form its torso. The draco howled in pain and stepped back from Sean. His right arm rose to grasp the wound on his left shoulder where its arm had once been.
Looking back at Sean, the creature howled in anger and leapt forward with renewed ferocity.
With a sharp move, Sean brought the creatures severed arm sweeping before him. It struck the attacking beast across its face. The creature rolled to the side and fell through the railing, its weight easily crushing the wooden frame.
Sean tossed the severed arm over the railing after the falling beast.
The remaining two creatures had regained their footing in time to see another of their kind falling over the side of the railing. Both again snarled and advanced on Sean.
Sean was becoming weary of their moronic persistence. This would obviously continue until he had killed them all. Realizing that he could just push the remaining creatures off the hallway and over the edge with his mind, Sean almost laughed at himself. He was apparently doing this the hard way. Still, Sean knew that the fall was not killing these creatures. Sean could still feel the presence of the two he had already sent down the stair well. They would soon be back on their feet and heading up the stairs again.
Behind Sean, the female vampire still watched with astonishment. She had only seen the dracos a few times and only when a threat warranted their type of attention. Each time, however, the display had been a gruesome one. The dracos had been known for their ferocity for as long as she could remember and were often used to keep other vampires in line. The threat, "or you'll be tossed in with the dracos" is not that uncommon. Even most demons wanted nothing to do with these single-minded beasts of carnage. Fighting along side a draco was almost impossible as the draco would have a hard time deciding if you were food or not.
Watching Sean however, he had already defeated two of the creatures without a scratch. She couldn't believe it. The female vampire decided that if Sean really was a vampire, he must be hundreds of years old.
She saw the two remaining dracos stand and then begin to advance on Sean once again. The vampire expected that Sean would just toss them over the railing like the others. As the creatures approached, the female vampire suddenly jumped as the entire form of Sean simply vanished. A moment before he had been occupying the space between her and the dracos and then suddenly he was gone. Her eyes shot upwards toward the two remaining demons.
The vampire gasped. She again spotted Sean. He was now standing behind the two creatures and faced down the hallway toward her. Between them, one of the demons jumped then spun around to face Sean's new position. The other, did not move. He stood staring forward with a blank look across his face. The next moment, the still unmoving draco toppled forward. As he landed, his abdomen split in two and his upper torso landed on the carpet a foot from where the rest of him fell. Green blood poured out of the two portions of the demon from where his body had split in two.
The sole remaining draco barely noticed his comrade falling next to him and leapt at Sean. Before the creature reached his target, Sean raise his hand up before him. Without it appearing as if he had even made contact, the remaining draco suddenly flew backwards and away from Sean.
The female vampire barely ducked in time as the demon flew past her and into the study's closed door. The door shattered as the demon slammed into it. The demon and the broken doors wealth of books tumbled into the room. The demon finally met the floor inside the room's small fire pit. Instantly, the draco and his clothes caught fire.
Standing from the fire, the demon began howling and flailing his burning arms around him. Stumbling about the room in panic, the demon crashed into several of the bookcases lining the room's walls. Each time he struck a bookcase, the flames from his body jumped to the books. Soon, the entire room was ablaze in flames.
The female vampire watched in horror as the fire reached the study floor and caught the carpet. The flames then spread outward at an alarming rate and soon approached the study's exit. The vampire stood from the wall and raced backwards away from the flames. Again she struck the form of Sean standing just above the stairs. His eyes reflected the flickering flames as he watch the mansion catch fire. Looking back into the inferno, the vampire finally saw the fire engulfed form of the last draco crumple to the ground just inside the study.