Dark Charm

Chapter Two

Fight and Flight

André Camilleri stalked the streets of San Francisco restlessly weaving and twisting in and out of deserted alleys and crowded streets feeling agitation stir within the bleakness and barren soul that now resided in his being. Prowling the city gave him little satisfaction, inhaling the perfumes of smoke, drugs and sweat hardly appealed to his depthless appetite while the sounds of many flutter feeble heartbeats drummed in his ears and enticed him closer begging him to appease his darkness and give into intoxication.

The desires were increasing of late and he was finding it ever harder to resist. The days seemed to fade into each other until he drew no distinction between months and years, the end was drawing near and he could feel it creeping upon him. Perhaps this was what had drawn him to San Francisco initially since admittedly the city held no real attraction to him, Aidan Savage resided permanently here and other ancients visited frequently. When he turned he was sure that Aidan and a few others would eventually succeed in slaying him and then that would be it.

"In five seconds orb in front of it and I'll take the behind!"

The female voice drifted unconsciously into his mind causing him to pause in his traces. The sound itself did not spark any emotion or empathy for the panic it was clearly displaying but the fact that it had entered his head unbidden was worthy to halter for. Barley a moment later he felt the dark energy build up like an infection spreading throughout the city calling to him, a noxious parasite contaminating the area, the oily stench and foul fragrance of rotting decay and the lingering perfume of the dead. A vampire…and this woman in his mind clearly intended to challenge it - how foolish. Did such a stupid individual even deserve to live?

His blood burned though, the taste of battle, the small ecstasy of victory reached out like a sirens call which he found himself instinctively answering. Shimmering into mist he floated through the grubby under streets in San Francisco's red light district. The sun was barely setting yet already prostitutes and addicts walked openly into sleazy bars and grotty clubs, the sights disgusted him as he solidified in the middle of a narrow street behind a rowdy night bar. It was deserted but he could feel the dark creature pulling closer, it would arrive soon and then it could give André the temporary satisfaction of killing it and ending it's miserable existence.

Abruptly thought the dark smoky air around him seemed to lighten! A strange aura filled the alley and illuminated it in a swarm of pale blue light bathing him in a temporary glow before they formed into a small figure. Instantly he was impaled as a mirage of colours assaulted him brutally, the grimy brown stones of the alley, the inky lilac tones of the sky, the redness of the door leading into the club. His stomach rolled and clenched as agony shot up his body inflaming him. The moment seemed last an eternity; his body felt as though it was being ripped apart in glorifying torture which seemed to heat and send warmth through him as his dark onyx eyes met those wide astonished blue ones before him.

André felt his chest constrict with harsh breathes going ragged in his throat. An overwhelming thirst consumed him, every inch of him stiffened with hot furious desire as his eyes roamed her. She was surprisingly young, her pale ivory skin was bloodless in fear while her face was oval shaped with a strong aristocratic jaw line while her blue eyes shone like sapphires. Ebony hair hung down her back in a loose plait while her figure was curvy and voluptuous although she was admittedly small in height dressed in a black tee-shirt with a lighter green blouse while her lower half was clad in blue jeans and black boots. He could hear the beat of her heart - a miraculous miracle like the fast beating wings of a butterfly.

"Melinda! Get down!"

The desperate voice cleared through his trance of fascination. He had been so engrossed in examining every single aspect of his life mate that he remained ignorant that anything else could exist. A light of recognition flamed in her eyes and her neck cracked as she glanced behind him where the other female stood before she shimmered away in a whirl of blue lights. Something whizzed through the air behind him but he smirked feeling amusement as he disappeared as well as a burning curiosity. When he reappeared behind his life mate he noticed how an ornate knife had fallen to ground exactly where he had previously been standing.

He reached out gripping her arm tightly feeling the soft skin bend to his will. He could feel her heart pound unsteadily as he dipped his head closer to her neck hovering over her inviting pulse, he spoke a low compulsive hypnotic whisper, "What are you ma petite?" There was no answer, only a terrified inhalation of breath before something dropped to the ground behind him. He barely noticed but it certainly diverted her attention as he felt a new chord of fear being struck inside her as she attempted to fruitlessly throw off his grip.

"Des! Get off me you creep!" She snarled until André released her not willing to distress her further. Upon letting her go she dashed behind him and he turned around feeling a flare of self-loathing. He had barely paid any attention to the other woman who lay crumpled writhing in agony clutching her head. She bore a certain resemblance to his life mate with long chestnut hair curling around her face and shoulders while she wore bright vivid pink clothing although her facial features were contorted in pain. They were kin - relatives and family and he'd neglected to pay her the proper respect. His life mate crouched over her protectively and he could hear her calling to this woman in his mind.

"Destiny! Come on…get up…it's getting closer, and this guy won't freeze!"

"I mean no harm, forgive my disrespect," André communed however Melinda paid him no heed as she continued her ministrations. Andre felt a sudden chill descend upon his body - the vampire! He turned feeling rage seethe through him at the creature hell bent on killing those innocent, the vile monster that the world needed purging off. It appeared in a cloud of thick dark mist before it presented itself - young. How come they were getting younger and younger? This one was barely two centuries; it couldn't be much more or André would have recognised it.

"How nice, you brought me my dinner hunter!" It spat. It's long sleek shiny coco hair was restrained in a leather bound while it dressed impeccably in a tailored suit with flaming ruby eyes and smooth olive skin masking it's true appearance. André cursed inwardly - not only did he have a life mate to protect but three other innocents including those two woman who were cowering at the end of the alley. However he hesitated when he realised something after several internal seconds of speculating his situation - the vampire hadn't moved.

André frowned - not one muscle had moved on the vampire. He remained stoic as those paused like one of those human films paralysed to the spot his mouth semi-open, his menacing red eyes frozen blankly towards André unseeingly. Behind him Melinda stirred standing up moving in front of André with a nervous look on her face but no surprise as she waved her hand in a small gesture. The Carpathian watched in a mixture of awe and shock as the Vampire flickered slowly back to life although his eyes rolled and a high pitched screech was pulled from his body before his frame slowly combusted and was blown apart with a small quake that reverberated down the street as the atoms of his existence were sprayed into dust effortlessly.

"Works on him," Melinda muttered aggregately before her expression cowered into a queasy look of fear, "Oh crap…just great, just what I need is more freakin' hell demons!" André hadn't the faintest idea about what she was speaking but could only stare in dumb shock at the dust that had once been a vampire exploded before his eyes by the power of one girl. The Carpathian quickly recovered though as a foul stench like decaying waste filled the street and a low snarl sounded as something solidified from nothing into something.

In all his ten centuries he had never seen anything resembling this.

The creatures body seemed a hybrid of different beings, thick scaly green skin framed by elongated muscles and flaring amber eyes slit like a cats made the monster look like an enormous reptile however it's fingers ended in sharp talons and it let out a low hiss revealing very sharp pointed yellowing fangs which it bared furiously at Melinda and the fallen Destiny. Instinctively André pushed himself in front of his life mate as several similar demons materialised behind it.

"Pandora!" Screamed Melinda suddenly in pure terror as a flare of blue lights bathed the street in a revered glow subsiding to reveal a young teenage girl with dark shoulder length hair and wide icy blue eyes petrified as she drew the attention of the monsters solely on her. André moved forwards to act however his astounding life mate seemed to get there first shimmering away before reappearing beside her kin. Her hand flicked out and the fallen dagger promptly impaled one of the demons in the neck causing to give a whining squeal before it dissolved into dust.

"I told you to go home!" His life mate yelled waving her hand as the monster froze in mid step as she rounded on her kin, "Go home! Pan, for spirits sake just go!" André could tell her rage was mostly directed at her exasperation at her relative being in such danger. Pandora was shaking slightly but shook her head determinedly; Melinda glowered before turning around and glaring at the nearest of the demons - with a wave of her hand he exploded into dust like the vampire had done sending small rumbles through the ground as the others whirled into motion.

André barely had time to place himself between his life mate and the foremost creature as it lunged lustily towards her. The Carpathian grabbed the hideous reptile by the neck and growled threateningly towards it before he flung it like a rag doll watching as it slammed into the opposite wall before crumbling to the ground. Pandora shrieked and Melinda placed herself squarely in front of her cousin pushing out her hand flinging another one backwards before it twisted in midair imploding into pieces of green flesh showering the alley in acidic blood. In another swift motion she curved her hand into a fist and the third staggered to the ground suffocating as she starved it of oxygen.

Summoning a bolt of white lightening André ended the creatures misery dissolving it into a pile of ash. Melinda let out a low shout as she took a few trembling steps backwards away from him although her eyes remained on her unconscious kin Destiny who lay motionless in front of the two frozen women. The chaos seemed to be lifted as the other monsters let out cries of fury as they vanished into the air leaving behind the remains of their dead comrades. The air reeked of terror and despair, there was a shimmer of light as Pandora vanished leaving Melinda on her own who remained rooted to the spot staring breathlessly at André before she regained her senses and darted towards Destiny.

The Carpathian barely had time think but now she was there. Nothing else seemed to matter, not even the fact that she was something more than human. He moved silently behind her unnoticed as she gently tried to shake her relative into consciousness. André gently crouched low to the ground smouldering with possessive need - Destiny was deeply unconscious as he placed the need for sleep deep within her pushing past her surprisingly strong barriers to spare her from the pain that was crippling her body.

Pressing himself against her back he felt her breath hitch in her throat. Lowering his mouth he swept her long raven locks aside gently with the soft pads of his fingers feeling her tremble to his will. His breath caressed her throat as she went still beneath him like a hare frozen in the headlights unable to run or move in the wake of the emotions gripping her. Hunger beat at him, the ferocious need to claim her controlled him as he felt his incisor lengthen lowering his mouth hovering over her pulse feeling the blood beat inside her. The smell, the fragrance of sweet perfume and incense as he bite deeply into her losing himself.

And yet for the first time finding himself too.

Next time - Melinda awakens to find herself and her cousin in a very strange house with very unusual not so human people. What to do? Threaten to blow their heads off of course! I'll just give the age of the charmed one's children and Billies starting in order of oldest first - Wyatt Halliwell 22, Chris Halliwell 21, Destiny Halliwell 19, Henry Jr 18, Melinda Halliwell 17, Faith Halliwell 16, Penelope and Pandora 15, Nicolas Jenkins 12, Hope Halliwell 10 and Trinity Jenkins 9.

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Daydreamer!x