I felt it. I felt her.
The animals surrounding the town were also privy to her, though humans did what humans always do best, and ignored the signs. Even Rachel didn't notice anything amiss when I dropped her off at the local school.
Feeling her approach, wasn't something you could feel on your skin, it wasn't something that could be felt in the air, nor was it something that could even be felt in whatever innate power you used, be it magic or anything else.
No, when she approached, you'd feel it deep within a place most wouldn't ever know about, till it was too late.
For most, when Death approached it was the end… for most.
On the way home I picked up some milk and small treats that I knew she liked but hardly ever had time to enjoy.
The sound of my gas burner, boiling the water for the chai burned away, a personal favourite of hers.
She stood before me, a serene smile on her pale face, a black tank top tucked into tight ripped jeans, topped off with black gloves that ended at her wrist. Her ankh rested on her slim chest, and as she stood before me, I couldn't help but compare her sylphlike build to my bulky body. Her form took the appearance of a young girl, yet she was older than this earth.
"Hello, old friend."
Her smile finally matched her eyes as her black lips curled into a brighter smile.
I did not embrace Death as an old friend, no, she embraced me.
Her touch was cold, it clashed with the heat in me, something she cared not for, nor I.
Slim arms snaked around my waist and her hands rested on my lower back, a soft smile on her graceful face as she buried into the lower half of my chest. A content sigh escaped her as she felt my arms wrap around her whipcord form.
My relationship with her… No!
There was no word that could describe us, for there was no us. For death would come for all, she wasn't something that could be prevented, only delayed. There was no true immortality for she would guide us all to what laid beyond.
To paraphrase; This is one little planet, in one tiny solar system, in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. She was old, very old.
How insignificant I must be to her.
Yet for whatever reason I couldn't and wouldn't bother to comprehend, she basked in me.
Fire and death, that was what the Phenex clan were known for.
Fawney Rig - Wych Cross – England
Standing at the gate I admired the glyphs etched on the metalwork, the wrought iron and brass were detailed with engravings.
It was a work of art, the runes.
It was designed to suppress the powers inside from leaking out, however, the gate seemed to have seen better days. The rust from the iron was interfering with the runes. Making them incomplete, and their purpose was now failing.
Death found her brother, Dream.
So, she sent a message.
Raising a hand up, a ball of fire generated in my hand, and after a small build-up, I let loose. The toiled metalwork melted to the heat of my flames.
For the presences that were keeping an eye on Earth, the suppressed being known as Dream probably appeared on their radar as if he had been blipped into existence once more.
The fireblast hit a marble fountain and blasted stone chips across the courtyard.
With the brazen attack on them, the Order of Ancient Mysteries flooded out of the manor, weapons wielded.
Various men and women surrounded me when I walked into the middle of the courtyard, but I paid them no mind, as I kept my eyes on the balcony where a wheelchair-bound man watched me with great interest. But there was something wrong with the shadow behind him on the balcony.
Oh joy, her…
"Release Him, and no one dies here today!" I shouted out to the man, Alex Burgess, the current leader of the Order of Ancient Mysteries, a pitiful rival to Hellsing. Trying to emulate my former order only to pale in comparison. Hells, the vampire they had in their employ paled to the destruction Alucard could wrought with a fraction of his power.
"You think I don't know who you are!?" The old man had a pair of lungs on him that was for sure, "You think I would gladly hand over Him to the likes of the dried-up cunt like Hellsing!?"
"Ohhh, you done and goofed it up…" I uttered low, I don't take insults to 'Tegra well.
"Kill this bug!" Burgess ordered.
The water from the still-running fountain evaporated into steam. The leaves on the ground near me burnt to ash. The hundreds of bullets fired at me, melted long before the lead touched me.
My clothes burst into flames, revealing a form-fitting combat skin.
When the folk realised their weaponry was doing next to nothing, they stopped firing. Some of the older lot who had already looked reluctant to engage me were now looking downright fearful, "I gave you a chance Burgess." I uttered low, but my voice was clearly heard in the deafening silence.
I would've given most a second chance here, they were soldiers, nothing more than men and women taking orders from their commander, but I wasn't here as Rowan, nor the Immortal Phenex.
For Death sent her messenger.
Change of POV
She watched him, and the liquid tar that was once her blood boiled in desire.
Here he was, the Apex, Death's Predator, raised and forged by The True Immortal. Rowan Clarent tried to play a weak and feeble human most of the time.
What a laughable thought.
Here he was, cutting through her 'allies'.
It was always strange to her. How someone so monstrous, was also so soft.
She couldn't help but think back to when she first met him. Something her old mind kept on doing, thinking back to the supposed 'good ole days' though he wasn't around during her better memories. No, he was a newborn, still, was she supposed, in mortal terms perhaps not but long-lived as they were, practically a pup just off the teat.
Yet at fourteen, he slew dozens of her ascendants, each one had centuries on him.
Even as humans forgot what horrors stalked them and said horrors became the work of fictional tales, one of the few things they got correct was the older the vampire became the more powerful they were. Though her ilk did not hold the title of elder vampire like her.
Even still he carved through them all. It was a mockery enough that a child did it, worse was yet, he did so without the aid of his holy weapons she learnt later he possessed, plain steel and his hands were all he used, but it was enough.
It. Was. Enough.
He set a fire to the dark void that was her soul. Marking her as his, or his as her. She didn't care for what role what either took, as long as they paired, she cared not.
He lit a fire that died in her when she was captured and enslaved by Burgess.
She wanted the monster, not the human.
A cold smirk appeared on her face, her fangs peeked over her red blood stained lips.
As she watched him slaughter the last of the humans. She pondered for a moment what brought on this sudden mercilessness, not that she cared for his mindset and its poor well-being, no, she wanted to exploit and perhaps further push him off the edge.
After all, he was being too clean about it. Quick deaths, not savouring the kill, not taking the rightly deserved pleasure of squishing vermin.
As the last of them fell, his eyes locked onto the balcony. The courtyard then filled with an orange light, as his wings appeared from his upper back.
He took flight till he was hovering over them.
Burgess was quaking, as he gripped the wheelchairs arms, most likely wishing his little boy-toy was here to comfort him.
Though Rowan didn't pay the man any attention, instead his eyes found her… even shrouded in darkness, he could see her.
She could've dodged or met his strike, but where was the fun in that? Even to her, what appeared to be a blur of movement, he slammed into her.
Burying her into the stone of the manor wall behind.
A meaty hand gripped her slender neck, while the other hand gripped her left thigh. Hoisting her off the ground by a foot, so they both were eye to eye.
Both appendages squeezed hard, a crack could be heard from her leg, and a moan escaped her.
The sheer pleasure and pain, from that action alone.
Divine.
She'd forgive him in a beat if he tore off her clothes and violated her, here and now. Correction, she would not forgive him, if he didn't.
If he showed her an opening, any weakness she could turn against him in the physical sense, she'd play out her desires.
"Carmilla." He growled, and the sheer hate in his voice caused her to shudder. She wanted every orifice of hers that could take it to be filled to the brim with his liquid fire, as he hatefully bred with her. The thought alone, caused the white in her eyes to turn red, as her nether leaked, soaking her undergarments.
He looked at her with a flat look, as he most likely smelled her climax.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" His face screwed up in confusion, but it went quickly flat, "Not the obvious answer please, because I cannot state this enough. It's not happening." I let out a huff which he just ignored, "Anyhow I figured you were dead and all, considering Alucard well…"
"Yes, yes when he ripped my head off."
He shrugged his shoulders and dropped me to the ground, and turned to Burgess who had tried to wheel away silently.
Rowan kicked the chair underneath the man and then towered over him.
"Me-er-cy." The Burgess family were all scum, Alex's father had a habit of trapping his better's and her current loath to admit it master, was no better, he may have pretended to be more amicable than Roderick Burgess but he still held her and Him prisoner.
She had no desire to interact with one of them, no sane being would if they knew who the Endless were, but that didn't mean she'd advise Burgess, any of the Burgess of their suicidal mistakes.
Burgess sowed his fate, and Rowan has come to reap it.
Alex's face morphed into a snarl, "Carmilla, KILL HIM!" He spat and the choker that kept me enslaved burned something fierce, though perhaps I could hold out long enough for Rowan to kill him, then I'll rape the half-devil in the blood of my master.
Yes, the perfect plan. Then when I break him, I'll set him on-
Rowan's POV
Well, that put a smile on my face.
Carmilla's body took the brunt of a familiar a 13.7mm round, impacting her and launching her body into the manor.
Her body was probably torn to shreds, and depending on when she last fed on blood would dictate how long the brutal damage would heal. Ordinarily, I would've gladly found her and cut off her head, but a mentor's work is never done, and if Seras just assumed her foe was down without checking, and it bites her on her arse, Seras would need to deal with that herself.
"Hello, Master." The blonde stood beside me, her arms behind her back, holding aloft her Hallconnen. I hoisted up the old man as he was whimpering about what was going to come next.
With my free hand, I poked the turned vampire in the forehead, "Not your master Seras," I then gave her a half grin, "Not even your CO any more."
She cocked her head to the side with a cute smile on her face, "Technically you're also a traitor to your country," She raised her hands and air quoted her next words, "Seeing how we're allies with the Order." Her Hallconnen then fell to the ground as she had let go of it.
As it clattered to the ground behind her, she let out a squeak and bent over to pick it up, giving me an eyeful of her sinful backside wrapped tightly in her short skirt. I swear she either does it on purpose knowing exactly what she was doing or she was the most clumsy vampire ever made.
She let out a sheepish chuckle, as she stood up straight, "Please don't tell Walter I dropped it."
I rolled my eyes but I had no intent to tell the old butler about it, the man drilled in the importance of proper weapon care to every recruit of Hellsing.
Burgess took his opening and swiped at me with a hidden knife he kept up his sleeve, but the old man might as well have been moving at a snail's pace, as I caught his wrist and crunched his rickety bones under my grip.
However, he wasn't able to scream in anguish for long, as I slit his throat with his own blade. As the blood gushed out, I threw the body to the only vampire I trusted to watch my back.
"Drink, Seras." If my voice sounded like it was chastising her so be it, knowing the lass and her strong moral compass, she hadn't fed in a while. It boggles the mind how strong she is without much feeding, but then again Alucard is her sire. And the man defied everything known about vampires.
The temptation of gushing fresh blood and my command seemed to have broken her will for the moment as she chomped down on Burgess with an almost feral look on her face.
I walked into the manor as she fed, and inspected the bedroom, the wreckage of Carmilla's forcible flung body was prominent in the immaculate room. Yet her body wasn't there.
Hopefully, that bites Seras in the arse and not me… Oh who am I kidding, of course, Carmilla is going to crop up back in my life just to both literally and figuratively fuck with me.
Alas, a problem for another day.
I headed down towards the basement because of course men like Burgess had a dungeon.
Plus not unlike his sister, Dream could be felt in the back of the mind, though slightly different from Death.
Death was a feeling in the gut. Here, there was a sense of calm as I approached closer and closer, to the lower levels.
Killing the guards who stood there in fear at my approach, felt wrong yet it was needed, considering I was gonna have to torch this place down, leaving here with no witnesses.
"My sister's pet so it seems." His voice reverted out in his cell. Even as he sat there cross-legged, naked and chained like an animal, he seemed calm, neither angry nor joyed at my presence here.
"You know of me?" My eyebrow arched up.
Of course, I knew of him, vague recollections of a story of fiction in my past life coupled with his and his sibling's fearsome reputation in this life, but I've only met the one, and I was happy to leave it at that… yet here I was at her behest.
"She is my favourite sister." He said as if that answered anything.
"You've been missing for a while, longer than I've been around, we haven't met," I said as I ripped open his jail door.
"That's not what I mean." He stood up, a sense of ease permeated off him, "I can feel an essence of her from you. Strange…"
I'm not about to get a 'big brother talk', am I?
Time to release him and leave him be. However, as I removed the collar from his neck, he pierced me still with his gaze and silent command to stay.
The collar seemed to have been made of the same design as the gate, it was minimizing his already weakened power.
Dream's cupped hand held sand as the thousands of grains appeared in a golden light. He shifted them between each pale appendage, burying his thumb into it at one point and letting out a pleased sigh.
Yeah, this was really weird.
I left the cell and grabbed a tapestry from the wall and I moved back in and draped it over his shoulders.
"My items." He grunted out, a hint of anger in his voice, "My pouch, my helm, my ruby." He listed out, and I let out a sigh as I recalled where one of the three was. Hell.
Another favour to Lucifer and perhaps a family visit… or I could bail and…
Nope, going by the dead stare, and not wanting to piss off an Endless that doesn't have a soft spot for me.
I couldn't bail.
"Hell. I know one resides in Hell." I let out a long sigh, waiting for him to leave with bidding me a thanks, but his dead stare continued, "Fine, I'll get the fucking helm." I walked off with a huff and just as I was about to leave, he called out to me by using my devil half's clan. "Rowan." I corrected.
"Rowan," He nodded, "Thank you."
Yet again another sigh escaped me, it was a tired one, "It's fine. Anything for her." His passive gaze turned to a slight glare and I stumbled out, "Don't haunt my nightmares, we're just friends." His glare didn't let up, so I just rushed out.
Damn it, Death. What the hell have you gotten me into?
A/N - Published 2024/01/05
Yo, thanks for the support shown to this story.