A/N:Another chapter added to my growing collection, and no end in sight with the story. Thanks to my readers and reviewers!
The lure of immortality
Leads souls astray.
Alucard and Seras were resting in the meadow near the castle. Seras was laying down in the flowers, enjoying the sight while Alucard stood to her side. Having fed already, they were free to enjoy the slowly rising half moon peaking over the mountains.
The reason for them being there was for more training, though Alucard hadn't yet told Seras what she would have to do. She had a feeling the task would not be simple nor pleasant.
Suddenly there was a noise behind them. Turning quickly, Seras saw someone approach their position from the woods. Her eyes adjusted slowly, since she had not yet mastered the ability to see in the dark. When she could penetrate the shadows, what she saw made her gasp in surprise.
A boy stood there, looking barely more than fifteen. From his shoes to his shirt, his clothes were of a dark material. His skin was pale, contrasting sharply with his bright red hair. The boy's eyes lay in shadows, covered by a baseball cap. Though his clothes blended in with the color of the night, he would look sorely out of place in a village setting. Obviously he was a traveler who had wandered to the castle, unknowing of the dangers. The stranger began to walk toward them leisurely, apparently not the least afraid of either vampire.
"Aye good evenin' to ya folks. Sorry to interrupt your moon gazin', but Ah've come on some business."
Something about the person caught Seras' attention immediately. The boy had a very distinct British accent, like those found on the streets of London. Why had someone like he traveled to Romania? She was interrupted from her thoughts by Alucard's words.
"Took you long enough to show yourself, boy. I thought I would be forced to drag you from the bushes." The boy looked taken aback, losing some of the self confidence he had before. Alucard now turned to Seras, totally ignoring the stranger's sputtering of indignation. "Police Girl, your training for tonight will be to destroy this weakling."
Seras looked at Alucard in shock. Was he asking her to kill someone? She couldn't kill him, he'd done nothing to her. Besides, the stranger was just a boy, what challenge could he give her to warrant proper training?
The boy only scoffed at Alucard's order. "Give me a break, gov̀nor. Ah can whip that little girl quick enough. The real prize Ah'm afta is you."
The little whelp, what damage could he do to her? Seras decided, whether for training or not, she was going to show this boy what she could do.
Walking up to him quickly, she grabbed his arms and twisted them back. Using her feet to kick his legs out from under him, she pinned the boy to the ground with her body, all the while holding his wrists tightly.
"What's wrong, little boy? Can't you handle me?" She was enjoying herself, causing someone else pain. The feeling of power was almost intoxicating, until she realized what she was doing. The grip with which she held the stranger's wrists was almost enough to break them, but he had not yelled or made any noise at all.
In fact, the boy beneath her merely began to laugh, making Seras wonder if she'd done more damage mentally than physically. Her concern soon turned to as shock as she felt him pull out of her grasp. With one tremendous push, Seras was thrown from his back. Landing hard a few yards away, she rose to her feet only to be knocked to the ground.
The tides had turned and now the boy sat on her stomach, staring at her in amusement. Sometime during the scuffle, his cap had fallen from his head, revealing his eyes. They were a deep red, closely resembling Alucard and hers, though there were specks of brown
She understood now how he'd been able to break her grip, and why Alucard had chosen the boy as her next stage of training. The boy was a vampire, and one who knew how to control his powers.
"Well, aren't we the feisty one?" His hands held her wrists while he lowered his face to hers. "You're kinda cute when you're angry, did you know that?"
When his face nearly met hers, she suddenly raised her head. Meeting bone with a deafening crack, the boy howled in pain but did not loosen his grip on her. "Why you bloody bitch! If that's the way ya want it, then we'll play that game."
Pulling Seras' hands together over her head, the boy wrapped one hand over both wrists, allowing free use of the other. The young vampire reached into one of his pants pocket and pulled out a small knife. Exposing the retractable blade, Seras could clearly see the type of metal the blade was made from. Silver.
Placing the blade over her heart, he prepared to plunge the weapon into her. She struggled frantically under the boy's grasp, knowing the knife would destroy her if she did not free herself.
"Bye, love. Say hello to Beelzebub for me."
Just as the knife penetrated her skin, something inside Seras awakened. Easily breaking free of the boy's grasp, she grabbed the hilt of the blade before the knife could plunge any deeper.
"What...what the bloody hell!" the boy yelled, as Seras began withdrawing the blade from her chest. He placed his other hand on the hilt to try to stop her, but his efforts did not slow down the progress of the blade.
Tearing the tip out of her chest, Seras plunged the knife into one of the boy's eyes. Blood spurted everywhere and a scream of fury escaped the young vampire's lips as he stood to his feet and staggered backwards.
Now released of her burden, she rose and watched as her victim clutched his impaled eye, trying uselessly to stop the bleeding. Seras was trying hopelessly to control the surge of emotions within her. One in particular was growing with each passing moment; anger. The feeling was the same fury she had shown Alucard a few days earlier, only now she was fueled by more than anger. Her body was reacting to the need to survive. The boy was a threat to her existence and her vampiric side would not allow herself to be destroyed.
Fear crept into the boy's mind as he watched through his one good eye as Seras began to transform before him. Her eyes changed color and her fangs grew in length. He was beginning to think maybe he had tarried too long in destroying the girl.
Seras' darkened eyes turned toward the young vampire, a smile slowing growing on her lips. She began to approach the boy, her smile becoming ever more maniacal. Her human side was losing the battle for control over her mind.
The stranger took several steps backward but then stood his ground, remembering how he'd bested her earlier. He shouldn't be afraid, the girl had merely changed her appearance to scare him. Besides, the wound in his eye was already beginning to heal. If his body could so easily repair such a damaging wound then he was unstoppable. With those beliefs to support him, he prepared himself to strike before she reached him.
However, more than Seras' physical appearance had changed. Seeing the boy crouch down in preparation of an attack, she began to run toward him with speed she didn't know she possessed. Before her mind had time to register what she was doing, she had appeared mere inches from him and grabbed the hilt of the still protruding knife. She quickly thrust the weapon deeper into his head, destroying the newly regenerated skin and causing the pain to flare up with renewed persistence. Laughing at the agony the boy was feeling, she then pulled the knife out of the wound.
Stepping back, Seras enjoyed watching the stranger scream in agony. Unable to see anything through the blood now blinding both eyes, the boy started to swing wildly, attempting to come into contact with Seras. She easily dodged the blows, knocking him back with several of her own swings. When the young vampire grew tired from his useless antics, Seras saw her chance to have some fun. Still holding the knife, she slipped behind the boy's back and wrapped her free hand around his neck. The hand gripping the weapon ran across his throat, cutting only deep enough to cause the most pain without killing the vampire.
A gargling sound came from the boy's throat as he tried to scream, blood bubbling from his mouth. Seras then ran the knife across both wrists, spilling blood over herself and ground. As she tightened her hold on the boy's neck, another blood muffled scream escaped the stranger's lips. Deciding she'd had enough fun, Seras spun the boy around so he was facing her. The bloodstained knife was lifted and plunged into the young vampire's heart, turning the body slowly to dust.
Now free of her survival instincts and bloodlust, Seras collapsed to the ground. She looked toward the remains of what was previously her opponent, struggling to comprehend how she had accomplished the destruction of the vampire. Suddenly she heard someone clapping behind her.
Alucard had watched the encounter passively, knowing Seras would win regardless of how strong the boy was. One of his blood could not be defeated so easily. The way in which she had disposed of the boy was also to his liking.
"Bravo, Police Girl. I see you have some skill with the blade."
"Thanks for the help, Master" Seras said sarcastically, standing shakily and turning to Alucard.
"You did not need my assistance. The boy was weak compared to the blood in your veins. But we may have to investigate the origin of the creature you destroyed."
"But why, Master? What was different about that vampire?" Seras then noticed the change in her Master's expression.
Alucard's face showed only a portion of the concern he felt. During the battle, he had time to observe the boy's features. The lack of one particular mark disturbed him. The pathetic vampire had not had any scars on his throat, indicating where his master had bitten him. There were only a few scars along his arms, as if something had drilled itself into his still living skin.
Also, the color of the stranger's eyes had bothered him. They had not been a pure color like all vampires had, but had been tainted with speckles.
Alucard walked over to what remained of the vampire and bent down. Brushing aside the ash, he turned the pockets of the clothes inside out and found what he was looking for.
"Besides, Master" Seras asked, more cautiously this time. The look in Alucard's eyes had startled her. "How will we find that information?"
"Simple, Police Girl" he said, holding up a small book. "We look through his passport."