DARK PASSIONS

Ch 2 Delirium

Yami was surprised. And that didn't happen often, at least not in a long, long time. The prey, his prey, was alert, awake, and aware. And it looked like him.

That just did not happen.

The sweet poison found in the bite of a vampire had allowed the hunters to seek their prey without fear of resistance; it was a way of life. For a vampire was at his strongest when he was drinking his fill, but also at his weakest. Take the right amount and they could feel infinite power running in their veins, but take too little or too much and they felt affects similar to a drug overdose. With almost the same risks and results.

This was why vampires had survived this long, by balancing life, death, and all in between. Only the best: the strongest, the smartest, the most clever, the most self-sufficient, could manage to survive through the ages.

Yami was such a being. He empowered everything that all vampires strove to achieve. That was what made him a Prince, a lord of the netherworld that the vampires had willingly chosen, yet were starting to regret.

Almost reluctantly, the vampire drew back from his victim, letting his overwhelming grip go and dropping the human unceremoniously on the ground. Yami moved away silently, safe in the knowledge that there was no way for a human to get down off the building and that he would sense if there were malicious intentions. So, Yami turned to face the city with a swish of his black cloak and lost himself in memories.

X

Yuugi landed in a heap, his legs giving out under his sudden weight. He had but time for a squeak before his already sore bottom hit the cold concrete and all the breath was knocked out of his lungs.

That hurt.

For all the many thoughts racing through his jumbled mind, Yuugi could only manage to focus on the pain at the moment. He guessed that it was probably his mind's defense against the overwhelming sense of being out of his depth that threatened to take hold. This stupor endured for all of two minutes before Yuugi's restless nature took over and he clambered to his feet.

Looking over at the back of his captor, Yuugi could only stare at their remarkable resemblance. And after what had just happened, the "blood-sucking thing" as he had termed it in his own mind, Yuugi couldn't deny the fact staring him in the face.

This man was a vampire. One of those creatures of legend that had been portrayed as so many different kinds of beings that Yuugi didn't know what to do. How do you approach something you thought didn't exist? He pondered to himself dryly.

And everything that he'd been told, and read, and learned, told him that being bitten would cause pain. Maybe it was a human thing: believing pain every time your skin broke, but it remained nonetheless, thought Yuugi.

In all actuality, Yuugi hadn't really minded being this vampire's prey, the loss of such a heady and pleasurable feeling when fed on already becoming something he already wanted to try again. Only problem was the fact that he'd had no say in the matter before and somehow didn't think he would. Ever.

And the most important thing was that Yuugi had no knowledge that Yami's pulling away had been curiosity. He did not know that most victims of a vampire's hunt were found dead, didn't know that high crime rates determined the population of vampires in a place. And Yuugi didn't know that being spared, if only momentarily, was unheard of in the underground world.

The only thing Yuugi did know was that he really didn't want to stick around, anymore. Something told him to move, to get going, and not look back. Abruptly, Yuugi lost the need to stay and talk to his captor; for unknown reasons, he needed to get away.

Glancing at the vampire, Yuugi found his back still to him, apparently the demon-being was lost in thoughts of some sort. No matter to him, he brushed it off flippantly and took in his location.

On a roof with his weakened body barely holding itself upright against the wind, Yuugi stood shivering while his supposed captor ignoring him.

Not that he cared, Yuugi dismissed again. He'd just have to get down himself. . .From a thirty-something story building, with no stairs. Yuugi gulped at the chilling thought of falling to his demise those many stories below before he shook his head and walking to the edge to look down and around.

There. Near the corner of the building was a black, rusted ladder screwed into the brick wall. A fire-escape, brilliant.

With something akin to glee in his glittering eyes, Yuugi shot one more look at the unresponsive dark figure before placing a tentative foot on the ladder. It was strangely solid and unmoving, though he was not. Yuugi then realized he was shaking pitifully.

Supposing these were the after affects of being 'fed' on: the shaking, the strange thoughts so unlike his own, and the unnerving calm he felt, Yuugi ignored them and began to carefully make his way down, one step at a time.

X

Still oblivious, Yami continued to lightly meditate, unaware that his overinflated ego was allowing his prey to just walk away. Of course, he felt the presence of human at his back, but didn't register as it slowly seeped away...As if leaving.

Wait a minute! Yami inhaled sharpy and turned his dark-eyed, intense gaze on his human prey.

Only to find the rooftop, the most impossible place to leave by human means, the ideal spot for prey...Totally empty. His eyes scoured left to right, searching for some sign of the shorter human.

Even after all this time, Yami relied on his more human senses to guide him before he used his vampiric. It was something he'd promised himself, an informal vow that kept him half-human when others his age had not.

There wasn't even a chance that he'd become one of those Ra-damned soul suckers. Those vampires believed that the Da'sara were just fodder and little better than animals. They had long ago given up their sanity, taken over by the baser instincts of the vampire. Yami swore that it would never happen to him, and he intended to make sure of that.

That was what had happened to most of the remaining hunters. While the majority didn't hunt anymore, didn't enjoy the thrill of the chase and the deliciousness of success, the few that hunted human prey for their blood requirement were even more divided. There were issues on how to 'hunt' and 'enjoy' one's food.

Even now, such a long time from being human, Yami found it sickening to only refer to his prey, these humans, as 'food'. He was not naive, he knew what being Da'sara meant; after all, he'd been human once too.

But, Yami acknowledged, he knew what being Da'kana meant as well. It meant being cut off from anything remotely human. It meant struggling to keep his sanity and not letting his bloodlust rule him. It meant always acting out a role in the vampiric world, so carefully constructed, so designed to make the aches and pains of being a night creature forgettable. And it meant never letting his guard down...Like he'd done just now, he thought incredulously.

Swallowing a curse, Yami opened his mind and sought the trace of sweet blood he'd had earlier.

Once a vampire had tasted a victim's blood, it was his for life. Etching itself permanently in his memory, the blood became a homing beacon, leaving a trail through the air that only the hunter could read.

Within seconds, Yami had located the human, who was...On the side of a building? Yami shook his head; apparently there was something in this human's blood that caused strange side affects. If being caught off guard, almost letting his prey escape, and imagining things counted as anything. Maybe this was why it was so purely sweet?

Naturally, this sparked Yami's already overactive curiosity. Swiftly, he marched over and his head loomed up over the edge of the building. The glint was back in his eye as he searched, this should be entertaining.

Yuugi looked upwards at the sounds of scuffling rocks and froze as the form of the vampire overshadowed the faint light in the sky. This did not look well, he thought, unsure of how to react.

Within seconds Yuugi's fingers decided for him, as their grip on the bars loosened and he felt himself careening back wildly. For a moment, his legs supported his weight and kept his standing against the ladder, but then they also gave out and he tipped back and fell.

Plummeting past the windows of the thirty-something stories, Yuugi was in a daze. Not really caring that he was about to die a most gruesome death, he watched the window glass shimmer as if something or someone was sending ripples across it.

Waves, his dim brain registered. An arm suddenly wound its way around his middle and he was snatched back, suspended only two stories off the ground. He bounced lightly in the hold, the ground coming alarmingly close before pulling away again.

Yuugi felt sick.

The only reason he hadn't already lost all the alcohol from the party was the fact that some far away part of his brain told him that it would be rude to dump the contents of his stomach all over his savior.

Then, he was flipped over onto his back, still hanging off the ground and entirely dependent on the arm supporting him. Why was this the second time tonight that he'd been unsure what was going on? He thought to himself, bewildered at the events.

His eyes slid languidly up the unfamiliar arm to meet shoulder, to meet neck, to meet chin. Finally, his own gaze locked with the other's and he realized with a shock that it was the vampire from earlier.

Wariness clouded his features as he tried to determine the reason behind this unexpected save. What could the vampire possibly hope to gain by preventing his death? Yuugi was perplexed. He thought that all night creatures reveled in death and killing.

Something sparked between them, something electrifying, muddled, and fading at the same time, but it was ignored for the moment. The immediate question for him was the next course of action. What happens now? Wondered Yuugi, I thought I was his prey...Why am I not dead?

X

Yami, meanwhile, was just awakening from his trance-like state. He didn't know what to think; Here he was: suspended off the ground by his vampiric magic and pitifully clutching a human, of all species.

Where had his mind gone to? He wondered with a shake of his head. Certainly somewhere good, for it seemed that it had been gone a long time. He was shocked at himself: First, he had stopped feeding, then he had let his prey escape, and then...He had saved it!

Yami was disgusted with himself. And also a little worried, why had such things occurred? Why couldn't he reign in his wandering mind and finish what he started? What was going on with this human! But no answers were forthcoming.

He slumped inwardly and gave up fighting whatever instinct had been trying to rule him since he'd first tasted blood tonight. All that he showed on the outside was a softening of his eyes. As they met the eyes of the Da'sara, Yami briefly wondered why he felt apprehension before amethyst locked on violet.

Something shot from his feet to the top of his head and Yami's eyes widened. Lightening seemed to course through his veins and images flashed through his mind, too quick to comprehend.

It seemed the human was feeling the same as both vampire and human gasped and gave a shudder. Something was going on between them, something big; Yami could feel it.

But he wasn't ready for it, Yami couldn't take so much breaking of tradition and time-set methods in just one night, and for just one human. His mind was still reeling from the first shock of tasting sweet Da'sara blood, and he was fast drowning in his own mind's questions.

He needed to leave, needed to get out of there before he did something he knew he'd regret. Yami didn't know what it was yet, but he could feel something building between them under the surface. It was powerful, dangerous, and irreversible; Yami did not need to deal with that, on top of everything else.

With another sharp intake of breath, he dropped down to the ground and set the human on his feet, only sparing a glance to make sure he wasn't dead or unconscious, before turning tail and flitting away into the night.

XXXXXXXXX

Author's Note:

Wow, to get so many reviews to continue after only one chapter! I thank each and every one of you for showing me that I shouldn't give up hope.

I'm going to be stylizing this story in a different way, more ironic and exasperating...At least, in this chapter. The writing will be presented differently, as well as the characters. I think we all need a new spin on such time-honored and loved characters. Don't you agree? And I hope to make these chapters as long as I can, so you guys can enjoy reading them just as much as I have fun writing them.

I hope you guys enjoy this new world, that seemingly created itself from a single thought.