Disclaimer: Yayaya I am tired of writing it.

Mature Adult Content: drugs, sex, and rock and roll mates

Black Hat is just too brilliant. I do hope you all are enjoying BH/Lucy pairing. It has been fun trying to develop her character, which is fairly simple by the movie standard.*snickers*

Chapter 8: Sapphires and Rubies

Black Hat followed his familiar out of the train; his gait was measured and smooth. Nostrils flaring, he looked around at a new town with fresh blood. His excited mind brought him full circle back to Lucy. He started thinking about earlier when he began to seduce her. What a glorious memory that was and he smiled to himself. He knew after that experience he could win her as a mate; the thought really was satisfying. Turning a Priest's daughter was the ultimate revenge. He hoped upon hope that Priest would join him and every time he thought about it, it made him angry. Priest may not accept his offer, but others will. If he can't have Priest, well then, he would have others. Lucy's doe eyes appeared in his imagination.

The familiar was noticing his elevated mood, but he knew he would be treading on quick sand if he asked Black Hat about it. He heard what happened to the other familiar that tried to take Lucy, and it did not involve a happy ending. Black Hat even made him scrub the bloody floor. The familiar tried to tell his friend it was a stupid idea, when he mentioned it, but everyone has a hard time staying away from a pretty girl. All of them wanted what Black Hat had. The familiar admired the strong man walking in front of him. The ex-Priest was an ultimate symbol for them and they looked up to him, happy that he turned out to be an incredible leader; ready to fulfill their wildest dreams.

After doing a quick scan of the town, Black Hat jumped back onto the train and his familiar followed him into one of the train's compartmental rooms. Black Hat spotted the man he wanted to see. He had disheveled blond hair, a ragged black coat, and top hat. He was facing away from the door at the familiars instructions; his name was Jack. Black Hat had originally hired this man as a spy, ensuring a sense of false security unbeknownst to Jack; Black Hat would change him forever once he was not needed.

As the shadow of Black Hat began to pass across the man to sit down, the man nearly jumped out of his skin. To Jack, Black Hat was a threat but he didn't know how much because he never really saw the man that much.

"Ahem you –um"

Black Hat put his left black boot up onto the table that separated them. It was a sign that objects were inferior to Black Hat and it made Jack want to scream and run; too late for that now.

"You told me to come if I had any information. Um, before I tell you, now I hate to bring this up-"

Black Hat's fingers squeezed the knob at the end of his arm rest. Drawing attention to his yellow claw- like finger nails, he then loosened his grip to lightly rub the knob with his fingertips. It was a sign of anxiety; not a good sign for Jack.

"There is a small little matter of compensation," Jack said in a hopeful voice and then continued while Black Hat finally lifted up his head for the first time to look at him. His yellowish-green eyes ghosted a smile at this insult.

"Now you've been really good with business. So I am more than willing to cut you a deal," his face crinkled with glee as he inquired further.

Black Hat stared into the man's ratty face with animal eyes and said, "I can smell the blood running through your veins. Smells like…dinner."

This terrified Jack so he decided to back down and try a new approach.

"Okay," he gulped, "Alright."

Black Hat lowered his eyes and thought about the lack of guts this man had. He deserved what was coming to him, as payment, of course.

"After you snatched the girl, I heard secrets about the clergy wanting her. They are going to tell the Priest she was kidnapped. People have started looking for her. "

"Priest?" Black Hat inquired.

"Yea, he is on the verge of finding out. I almost don't feel safe selling now. Sherriff tried to run me out of town a couple weeks ago. I –I can't seem to sell anything with him around."

This was all Black Hat needed to hear. He had done away with the Sherriff; there were bigger fish to fry now. Black Hat looked down and decided now was the time for Jack's dismissal.

"You've done well."

"Thank you," Jack's squeamish voice gave him away before he was about to make a run for the door.

Black Hat lunged out of the seat, across the table, and landed on Jack almost breaking his neck when he sunk his fangs in. He drained the poor fellow dry until his eyes turned blue, his hair fell out, and his skin turned white as a piece of paper. His changing body hit the floor when Black Hat was done with him.

"Now there's your compensation." Black Hat said stepping over the twitching body.

He faced his familiar on the way out and commanded, "Put him to work."

…..

Black Hat walked past Lucy's door. He knew she was tired of being in there and he was going to try to show her that he did not want to harm her; maybe he could insight passion by anger, like their first meeting. His expression lightened from his brooding one when he thought about how he could block any attack of hers. Turning around, he walked back to her door and stopped. He had a surprise for her, but he had to play his cards right. If he could get her to open up and be a good girl then he would give it to her. He thought about the bracelet still in the drawer of the vanity. He thought of the girl who gave it up, he would never forget her or what happened. The longing of companionship hit him to his core, being volatile was good for him but bad for anyone else. He could not stand rejection, but he knew it was impossible that she would be able to do that. It seemed to him after their last encounter that she really did not want to resist him, but had to for goodness sake. He wanted to break her of that; he would try to give her the bracelet first. Having just fed, he was less on edge, and so he decided now was a good time to go in.

Lucy found herself on the strange bed once again. Faint shreds of what happened between her and Black Hat hung on the fringes of her memory. She recalled the tear in her dress, the faint feeling of a man's fingertips exploring it, golden, lust filled eyes hypnotizing her. Jumping out of bed just in time to see the door open, she straightened her dress and tried to smooth her ruffled hair out. He entered the room slowly. His cloak barely rustled as his swagger carried him to the vanity.

"You must be starving; you haven't eaten in days," his silky voice floated to her as he ran a finger along the edge of the vanity, looking away from her.

"You act like you care about what happens to me. Go to hell," she bitterly replied.

This made Black Hat chuckle. "If you don't take what I have to offer then how am I going to keep you in one piece?" His remark made his eyes glitter.

His face turned stoic as he slowly met hers. She understood an underlying, small threat; she felt like crying again. He set some bread out on the vanity next to her water. Her newly wetted eyes looked at the bread. Damn him. She lost all control and lunged for the bread, missing the smirk on his face. He grabbed her just before she reached out to snatch the bread and take it across the room away from him.

"There is plenty more where that came from." Tearing off a piece, he put it in her mouth, giving her time to chew it before he started.

"You should know by now that I am not going to hurt you. If you want to go you can go." He opened his arms to show he wasn't going to stop her. She didn't budge because of her doubt and confusion. She didn't know if this was another threat or a trick. Seeing that she didn't move, he made sure he locked eyes with her for this.

"I have something for you," he said softly, bending slightly towards her.

"What is it that I have done to deserve gifts?" Her head wanted to start spinning from starvation and she eyed the bread.

"Deserve?" He smirked. This opened her up to a direct mind attack. "I will let you off of this train, no longer a prisoner. Consider it my apology for not being there to protect you." This last part was as sincere as it was going to get. He was not shy about running his darkened fingertips along her jaw line. She sucked her bottom lip in, making him lower his head to hers with a cocked grin. This was entrapment; she refused to give a thank you yet; maybe she should take advantage of it.

"You expect me to wear this...filthy...disgusting," looking down she sighed, "Get me another dress." He resisted the urge to rip it off of her. Sensing this, Lucy avoided his gaze and backed down.

Black Hat reached into the drawer with the bracelet hidden in it. Pulling it out he said, "This is what I have to offer you, and so much more," his tone was very suggestive and his molten, gold eyes lit up, reflecting the sapphire gemstones.

Lucy looked at his hand and it held a brilliant silver chain with embedded, sparkling sapphires. She would have fainted if she was not already given her ruby necklace. No woman has ever seen jewelry like this, and before she could object, Black Hat skillfully grabbed her wrist and locked it on. He started to close the proximity between them, backing Lucy up against the wall. His passion was getting ahead of him again and he leaned in, about to kiss her.

"I will get you another dress," he promised. "Tell me you like it."

"I swear, if you killed somebody for this-," she said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't." His face was solemn at her attempted threat. "I will show you I care. There are different paths you can choose in this life, Lucy. I can offer you the best one."

She stared at his tan skin and his white teeth, for the first time she understood why he was doing this. What if the voice was right and she should give him a chance? While Black Hat was making promises she saw a faint ghostly figure in the corner behind him. A younger being with dark hair, winked, and then vanished as suddenly as she came.

"Offer me the best one?" Lucy snorted "You killed my family!" She shrieked.

"No, I didn't." He was being half honest. He could see she was close to tears and the monster inside of him wanted to come out because she showed weakness several times now. As a Priest, he was trained to show none. He also didn't want to reveal his secret; he hoped she would accuse him.

"Vampires killed your family, Lucy, it was too late for me to save your mother," regret was starting to creep its way into his voice.

"Vampires," she scoffed and then looked him up and down. She knew of the vampires

"I am something different. Something more than you could ever imagine." Black Hat's authority rang in his deep voice; he made her look him in the eyes. "And you will join me." He looked at her pink lips and then back at her eyes. He could say no more after telling her his intentions.

"Give me back my family."

His voice rumbled with a growl, "And if I do this, you would still never change your mind about me."

Lucy thought this over quickly and gave in with a sigh. She would do anything for her family, she had nothing to lose. "I will." She thought this was a challenge, impossibility, but he seemed complacent, maybe even pleased because his dimples were showing.

Black Hat looked into Lucy's hopeful face. Smirking in triumph, he turned around to leave; wanting nothing more to do with this mess he was making. It turned out good, but it was still a mess; he was far from winning her over, but that was irrelevant.

"Don't leave," she said in a small voice. He didn't turn around. She didn't want to be alone even though she wasn't going to be alone when he left. She didn't want to meet with the ghosts in the room. The whispers were getting to her, drawing her to the dark side. She felt the tug on her heart and soul.

"Please."

He stopped. Her voice made his body ache and she shakily stepped closer to him. "If you care you won't leave me alone."

He never turned around to face her. "If I let you out you will be torn apart, piece by piece. You are in here for your own good. I thought you would have known," he said the last part quietly. He hated remembering what happened to her when he hadn't been there. He finally turned around to face her which was probably a mistake on his part. She had such a panicked look in her eyes that he thought she could possibly do better away from this room. The slight worry on his face shocked her, making her mouth fall open.

"I will come back for you tonight when they have fed."

"You mean when you have fed," her voice fierce.

Black Hat smirked, showing a bit of fang, with fire in his eyes and in a rough, deep voice he said, "I already did."

The conversation between them made her feel absolutely helpless. Not only did she seem unintimidating, stupid, and childish, but she was no closer to figuring out who this man was. The only gleam she had in his mind was that he wanted her to join him. What would it be like if she did? After all, she couldn't escape, so the only thing left to do was to find out who this man was and see where he would take her. He had been nice to her, she thought while she devoured the rest of the bread, what would be the harm in playing along?

Black Hat stepped out and closed the door behind him. Relief flowed through his muscles, relaxing him, thinking that it went much better than anticipated. She wasn't throwing punches or crying hysterically. A few days will break someone's will sooner or later and he had hoped she reached that point. He wasn't done with the surprises and he was growing impatient still. Manhood never afforded men much patience, and if he was going back to her tonight after his excursion, he would need to find a way to loosen her up. He had the perfect trick up his sleeve, making him Hades and her Persephone. It was indeed an interesting myth and he felt like he was living it. He wondered just how he was going to explain Hicks disappearance. Honesty was going to get him closer to her heart, so instead of conniving around it, he would tell her when he absolutely had to. He gritted his teeth in anxiety. The truth was Hicks killed his best familiars and thwarted some of his plans and would continue to do so if he hadn't stopped him. Black Hat balled his fist at the thought of Hick's killing, more like assassinating, his best mates. Hicks took power to a whole different level and told Lucy as little as he could get away with about his affairs. If he had to he would tell her what Hicks had done behind her back. After all, Hicks was a man, and a broken one at that- trying to deal with his father's murder at the hands of vampires was not easy for him.

Black Hat's situation was a little different; he was doing what nature commanded him to do, something out of his control. The Queen knew him and would be with him, because she was his maker but he needed something more; he was still part human. The Queen would be pleased as well for him to have a companion; two is better than one. He would leave Lucy with the Queen if he needed to; she would teach her the ways of the world, which Lucy lacked.

She was still clinging on to the hope of him, he could tell that much. Young love never worked; he has seen it fail many times with his friends. The best example was one Priest had set himself. He never saw the woman that Priest had loved, but he knew they had made a child. His offer to Lucy was a lot more binding than a Priest's vows because it would change her physically and emotionally forever. He hated Hicks before capturing Lucy; that stupid gun toting Sherriff. Black Hat set his jaw; it is a good thing Hicks is dead. Good riddance.

…

Lucy watched the door close. Her mouth had been hanging open because he revealed the news that her family could be salvaged. A feeling of gratitude towards the man warmed her lonely soul; maybe he cared. It had been a minute before the darkness appeared and she knew it was overdue. Instead, a subtle light came in by the window and seemed to fill the room with peace. The peace clung to her skin like it was a blanket, almost warming its way into her body. The dark haired figure appeared hazy like the other one but with a little more substance; she was wearing a something that resembled a night gown.

"What are you?" Lucy asked calmly, trying to figure out why she could see apparitions when she couldn't before her kidnapping.

"I saw that man…before I died."

Lucy didn't know how to handle this, so she went with the most obvious question- "He killed you?"

"No," the voice sounded far away. "He walked away and then something else…" the spirit shuddered and looked at the bracelet. Confusion lit up her face with more light; she looked young to Lucy.

"Where did you get?" the spirit pointed to the bracelet with a transparent finger.

"A man captured me and gave it to me just now." Lucy felt despair. "I-I don't want it now."

"No! K-k-keep it. I think I must be trapped in it…somehow. I will stay with you as long as you wear it." The spirit looked thoughtful, but tired.

"Trapped? That is terrible." Lucy was horrified at the thought.

"I am oka-"

She doubled over as the look of pain crossed her chiseled features. The light started to fade as a darker, blue cloud moved in like a storm trying to engulf the sun; something was trying to snuff the light out.

The color drained from Lucy's face and she frog hopped away from the vanity, over the bed, against the wall and drew her knees to her chest. The set of sharp teeth was barely visible.

"Don't be scared, once again I say this, little one and I am getting tired of saying it"

"Give me your name." Lucy demanded.

"No," it growled.

Pointed nails raised her ruby necklace, so that Lucy saw it glow more than it normally did. Lucy's frail body stood up on its own accord and her feet dragged as the spirit pulled her closer in to the red hue it surrounded itself with. Lucy screamed once, out of shock, and a familiar that had been guarding the door heard it.

Well if ya'll want revenge for this then you have got it. Writing a book ( I feel like it is) was a greater task then I thought ;)