9 chapters of me book: The Chronicles of Demetrius

Chapter 1

It was the dead of night, not a single cloud in the sky to shroud the moon that shone brightly; it a was a full moon, pale white, suspended high in the heavens, illuminating the pathway to deserted village ahead. Walking slowly and calmly on this beaten, dusty trail was a man, clad all in black, tall, long hair whipping in the night's breeze, and a sword on his lower back, fastened around his waist. When his hair gave way to his face, it was revealed to be a soft, sort of gentle looking face, though still very strong and tough, with much sorrow in his dark shiny eyes; you can tell the Fates have not been kind to him. He was the silent type, ruggedly handsome, mutton chop sideburns that he wore well. He told you all you needed to know with one look.

As he headed to the village to conduct his business, he felt an ominous presence looming within the area. The village was fairly small, and fairly quaint. It had been recently evacuated by it's inhabitants due to mysterious murders and disappearances. The people felt threatened and decided to form a caravan out of there. From they're current location, about 30 miles west, they heard of a man that specializes in ridding places of such "curses." So the village mayor decided to send for him. Enter the mysterious man in black.

The closer he gets, the stronger his senses get. He can feel what's there. Finally he arrives to a broken and ravaged place, the smell of blood and death in the air. Shadows move about, as if they were stalking him. He stopped at the heart of the forsaken village, and stood calmly, confident, as if nothing could happen to him. What ever lurked in the shadows could not stand to wait any longer to feast on the man's flesh and jumped at him in a vicious manner, there were four of these feral beasts, no five, one more had rushed out of a dark and hollow abandoned cabin. All five rushed at him full speed, and he did not flinch, in fact his eyes were closed, as if he was listening to them rather than seeing them. He trusts his ears ore than his eyes.

It seemed like he was going to be tackled and torn to shreds, when at the last moment, as the ghastly fiends attempted to grab him, he had vanished. He moved out of the way at what seemed like inhuman speed, that which is reserved for supernatural beings such as these creatures he is about to slay. What is he exactly? No one knows, they only speculate. Irked by their failed attempt to catch their prey, they lash out, running wildly on their wolf-like legs, these beasts had stained-red razor sharp claws meant for ripping apart at their unfortunate prey, short snouts with jagged, yellow front teeth for tearing, and flat back teeth for grinding bone and tougher flesh. Their bodies looked like that of a muscular man mixed with that of a lion. It was a twisted demonik creature, whom only came out in the dead of night to feed on whatever living thing it can get it's filthy claws on.

They searched the village for the man, but could not find him. They heard a high pitched whistle back in the middle of the village, and there he stood, still calm and collected, no emotion on his face, a water well beside him. The rushed at him with demon like speed, and as the launched themselves in the air, as did he. In a flash of shining light from the sheath of his sword, and five quick, clean sways of his arm, the creatures fell, decapitated and dismembered. The head of one fell into the well, and made a bloody splash. Gracefully the man fell to his feet, and blood followed. Wind blew, and he departed to the settlement west of the village.

Several hours later, after much tiresome and lonesome treading through dense thickets, beaten paths, and a small portion of a dark and gloomy forest. It was dawn and finally he had arrived at the small settlement, and was welcomed with wary and fearful stares from children and women. He walked through the settlement and villagers emotionless, not looking at any one, walking straight to the leader's tent. Already knowing the man had come back, the leader was waiting for him in front.

"I heard you had come back. Not a scratch on ya, eh? You are as good as they said." Saying nothing, The man in black stretched out his arm and opened his hand. "Oh, yeah, your pay. Umm... here it is all of it. It's not much, but it's all we've got to offer." The man takes the small bag of gold coins and ties it to his belt. He turns around and heads off. "Uh hey wait!" Yells the Mayor. The man stops and turns his head. "I think we deserve to know the name of the man that rid our little village of that 'curse' and saved us a lot of trouble." The man looks ahead again and says, "Demetrius, Demetrius DeCorvinus. That is my name." "Thank you Demetrius. We owe you our lives." "You owe me nothing other than this gold you so kindly gave up." Demetrius reached for the bag of gold and unfastened it. "But you need it more than I do. Here, take it." Demetrius tossed back the gold, his back still turned to the Mayor. "Oh, uhh.. I don't know what to say.. Thanks I guess.." Demetrius started to walk out of the settlement and into the forest. They watched him go until his figure completely disappeared into the darkness.


Chapter 2

The night was dismal, cold, and rain clouds blanketed the sky. No moon to be seen. Demetrius had been seriously wounded in a fierce battle with another vampire in an abandoned apartment building about two blocks up from where he lays now. He's lost too much blood, and because of that, he is weak and cannot heal his wounds. He lays in a puddle of water and blood in an alley of a once busy city. It sleeps now. He feels himself slipping away into a deep slumber, when he suddenly caught the scent of a young woman, her blood can sustain him. He lets his adrenaline get the better of him, his pupils widen and his senses strengthen, he can hear her, smell her, she is but a few meters away. He gets to his feet and follows her scent and heart beat. He is silent. Around the corner of the alley and into the open street, no one can be seen. Where is she? he thinks to himself, There! He sees her ahead and draws nearer, walking ever so stealthy, like a shadow on the walls of the buildings.

She, a young woman, late teens, fairly tall, beautiful brown hair, shoulder length, and she walks with composure, but no confidence, she carries a bag, like that which mailmen carry, but more stylish. Her figure is delicate, a fairly thin girl, beautiful and curvatious. As he closes in on this beauty, he senses something familiar about her, like if he's been around her before. But pays this feeling no mind for he must feed to regain his strength. He grabs her shoulders and she quickly turns for she suspected being followed. And he sees her face, and comes to his senses. He has seen this face before, this gorgeous face, one of an angel, fair skinned, dark, mysterious, reflective eyes, her lips are a light pinkish hue and luscious, a thin, kind of gaunt face, rather than round. Their eyes met and he saw a flash of his past life, before he was a vampire.

Demetrius had a wife, and two children, a boy and a girl. He saw his wife when he saw this girl. "Ahh!" he yelled in agony and collapsed. "Oh my god.. What happened to him?" The young girl asked in a concerned tone. "He's all cut up and bloodied.. I better take him home." She picked him up as best as she could and dragged him to her home, just a few doors down. "I don't know why.. but I feel like I know him somehow.. like we met before, in another life.." She spoke softly to herself, and looked down at him.

Several hours later, Demetrius had awakened, wearing nothing but bandages and his underpants, and laying on a burgundy, beat up sofa. His clothes hung on a chair across from him. "What? where am I? I thought I had seen my dear Isabella... was I--" "Oh good you're awake!" The young girl said as she walked into the small, spacious, beige colored room. She had not slept one wink all night looking after him. He looked up at her and sat up on the sofa, "I-Isabella? Is that- no it can't be..." "How do you know my name? You were constantly calling out for me while you were out." "Your name is.. and you are the very image of her... Who are you?" He demands. "My name is Isabella, Isabella DiMercurio... Do we know each other?" "Even her maiden name... Yes, well.. perhaps in another life, I knew you." A long silence followed those words. Then Isabella commented, "Weird... I feel the same way, like if we knew each other a long time ago.." They looked into each others eyes. "You just remind me of someone I used to know, you have her face, and her manner of speaking.. you even have her name."

"What is the time?" Asked Demetrius. "Oh.. uhh.. it's uh, it's About to be five o'clock.. wow the sun's about to come up and I haven't-" "The sun!?" He interrupts, "I have to go.. somewhere, before it comes up!" "Why it's not like you're a-" He gives her a stern look. "Do you have a basement?" She doesn't answer. "Do you have a basement!?" Stammering she replies, "Uh, y-yeah, I-I do. Just passed that door over there." She points to the left of her, down a disorganized, short corridor. "Are there windows?" "No." He gets up and walks to the door down the corridor. "Hey wait!" She exclaims. "What is it my love?" they both stop. "What?" Silence between them for a short moment as he tries to find his words.

"Nothing. I must hurry.. ugh." "You're still weak! you need to lay down." "I can lay down once I get away from these windows." The windows had no blinds, curtains, nor shades. "But there a rats down there!" "Good." "What? Are you... what I think you are?" He grabs the doorknob and opens the door to the basement and proceeds to enter, going down a short stairway. "I will tell you everything you want to know after I regain all of my strength... then I will give you an offer.." Still at the doorway of the basement she stand and says, "Okay.. What kind of offer?" "You will know once I emerge from this damp place. Now go get some sleep, you look tired." "But I-" She stopped herself seeing the look in his eyes, one of care and seriousness. "Okay.. what is your name?" He turns his back and says kindly, "Demetrius; now please, close the door." "Okay...Why do I know that name.."

She shuts the door and goes to the next room, her bedroom. There she lets herself fall on her small, soft bed, her sheets black and red, her pillow plump and semi-firm. She laid face up on her bed, looking up at the off-white, cracked ceiling, her hands resting on her stomach. She plays with her fingers as she inquires about the mysterious man called Demetrius. She wonders why she feels she knows him, and why she felt his sincerity when he called her his love. She closes her beautiful bright eyes and sees his kind face in the back of her eyelids, in her mind. "Who is this, Demetrius... and why am I so attracted to him... more importantly, what is he going to reveal, what is his offer..?" Those questions resonate in her thoughts until she falls asleep.

Down in the dark, damp basement, Demetrius sits against a gray brick wall with his memories of his long deceased wife. How he loved her, and how this girl is just like her in every way. He closes his eyes and listens for the rats. There are three, and one is scratching at his right foot. Quickly he snatches it from the ground and examines it while gripping it tightly. "Ahh, hello there little prey. I'm so sorry you and your two friends have to be my sustenance today." The rat struggles in his hand as he squeezes the life out of it. After it is dead, Demetrius brings it up to his mouth, Ugh, this thing smells horrid. He thinks as he bites into it and sucks the blood out of it till there's only one drop left, then tosses it aside. The new blood courses through his veins, and his wounds begin to heal.

He listens again for the other rats, and waits for them to get close, he is still not fully recovered. And surely enough, they came to him, and he snatched them both up quickly and killed them, then fed. This time he was silent. Now completely recovered and fully healed, he decides to sleep till nightfall. He lays on the cold, hard concrete floor, closes his eyes, and falls asleep.

Hours later, the sun had gone down and Isabella wakes to the sound of the phone ringing. She checks the caller I.D., it reads "Anabella DiMercurio" She picks it up with a heavy exhausted sigh. "Hello mom." buzzing can be heard instead of words coming out of the phone. "No mom- no- nothing is wrong, I just couldn't get sleep." Pause and buzzing, "I can't- I said I can't!" more buzzing, this time louder. "Because- I have things to do here - Like stuff." Buzzing softens "Okay okay, I'll come tomorrow- okay- bye mom- bye." She hangs up and tosses the phone onto a pile of clothes in the corner of the cramped, messy room. "Ugh, whatever.. I don't see why I have to go to that stupid dinner tomorrow." She says a bit irritated. Then remembers that Demetrius is in the basement, "Demetrius! I wonder if he's okay.." She gets up off her bed and starts to the bathroom just across the way. She's still dressed in the same clothes, and decides to take them off and shower. She closes the bathroom door and takes off her clothes as if they were a bother and tosses them by the door. Then she turns the shiny knob for the shower, waits till it gets warm enough, then enters.

The sound of the water coursing through the pipelines had woken Demetrius up. He sat up on the floor and yawned powerfully, then got up to his feet. He ripped off the bloody bandages and dropped them, walked up the stairs and through to the living room. He saw his tattered clothes and grabbed them to dress himself. Now fully dressed he sat on the chair across from the sofa and waited patiently for Isabella.

The steamy hot water fell on Isabella's head and flowed down her flawless bare body, caressing every part of it, washing away the soapy lather. She had her eyes closed as she massaged the shampoo through her hair and the suds fell. A few minutes later, she had finished, but decided to stay under the falling water for maybe a few more minutes. She felt her mind wondering toward the subject of Demetrius. She started to picture him and how incredibly enticing he looked resting there on her sofa. How amazingly handsome he is, and how strong and firm his body felt as she wrapped his arms and torso in bandages. Before getting too carried away she stopped herself, turned off the water, and got out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and started to dry herself off gently.

Minutes later, she came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her towel, not noticing that Demetrius was there, and walked into her room and shut the door. Demetrius just watched her walk gracefully, like an angel. And waited some more. In her room she dropped the towel and walked to her shabby dresser to open the underwear drawer. There she pulled out a red pair of panties with a black pentagram on the front. She put them on, standing, one leg at a time. Then she grabbed a random tank top from the pile of clothes on the corner of the room and slipped it on.

She walked to the door, opened it, and walked into the living room. She had noticed Demetrius sitting patiently and said feeling embarrassed, "H-hi.. Umm.. H-how are you?" "Hello Isabella, I am quite fine, feeling much better thank you." "Would you excuse me?" "What for?" "Pants.." "Oh, I hadn't noticed you weren't wearing any. Go ahead." "Okay." She walked back into her room still embarrassed, "I can't believe I just did that." She came back out wearing pajama bottoms with little skulls and red crosses on them.

Isabella took a seat on the sofa across from him. "Better?" He asked her. "Yes, much. So.. What was it that you were going to tell me? And then the offer... I wonder what it is." "Ah, yes. That. I feel like I must tell you what I am, and what had happened to me." "And why is that?" "Because you were my wife in your past life."


Chapter 3

Spain, 1422, It's mid October in A small village on the eastern border a few miles from the shore. The sun is beginning to set, and the horizon is a mix of orange and a deep purple, clouds fading into the sunset. "Hector! Come back to the house, It's getting late!" yelled a beautiful fair skinned young woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes from the doorway of a two floor humble cottage. "But mama! I wanna stay out and play!" Yelled the boy, 10 years old, with hair as black as tar, eyes like the ocean, and a face like the moon. "No! It's time for your supper! then it's off to bed! Come on!" "Ayy.. mama.." The boy whined and sighed.

Inside, the mother lit the candles and later began to serve supper, Hector already at the table, waiting hungrily. "Elizabetha! Come down! Supper is ready!" The mother yelled for the other child to come, a young girl of 8 years, Long flowing hair like her mother's, fair, and piercing icy blue eyes. She ran eagerly down the stairs, "Where is papa?" "He's not home yet. Sit." Elizabetha sat down, disappointed that her father had not come home yet. The mother sat down as well, "Do we have to wait for papa to come?" asked Hector. "Yes Hector, don't worry, he will be here--"

The door opens and all three look back to see the father step in, the children's faces lit up. "Papa you're home!" both children exclaimed. They ran to him and jumped into his arms. "I missed you Papa!" "I missed you more!" said Elizabetha. "Nuh uh!" "Uh huh!" "Okay okay, you both missed me, now go sit at the table." He kissed them on their foreheads and sent them off. His wife stands him, smiling. He goes to her and throws his arms lovingly around her. "I missed you so much, Demetrius." "I missed you too, Isabella."

They kiss and the children watch, "Ewww! We wanna eat!" They both say. Demetrius and Isabella smile and walk to the table, taking their seats. "You know Hector," says Demetrius, "one day you will have a wife and will do the same as us. And you Eli, will have a husband--" "And you will have to kiss your husband no matter how much hair he has on his face." Interrupts Isabella. The children giggle. "You know I can't shave this off, it's too dangerous, I might cut my nose off!" They all laugh.

The children finish their food and are rushed off to bed by Isabella. Demetrius washes the clay dishes and serves himself some wine. He walks up the stairs to his and Isabella's bedroom and waits for Isabella to finish putting the children to sleep. In the other room, she reads the children a story of a great hero that saves all of Spain and gets married to a beautiful princess. "Sleep soundly my little angels." She says softly, with a warm smile on her face. She walks into her bedroom where Demetrius had been waiting.

"Did you wash the dishes?" "Yes" "Thank you." She crawls into bed with him and cuddles up. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her sweetly on her lips. She smiles. "Did you turn out the candles?" She asks. A pause. "No. I forgot." She kisses him, "Well then, go turn them off." "They can go off on their own, can't they?" She smirks at him and gives him a stern look. "Fine, I'll go." He sighs. She giggles and lightly pats his back as he gets up. "Hurry back."

Demetrius walks out of the room and down the stairs, into the dining area. He goes toward the candles on the end tables when he hears an thump on the roof outside. "What the hell?" He goes out to investigate. Outside he looks up and around the house and notices the children's windows are open. "Those windows..." He thinks to himself. He picks up a shovel near the rear entrance of his cottage and hears his wife scream in a shrill and horrified tone. "Isabella!" He hurries inside and up the stairs as quickly as possible. Checks their room, she's not there. Then he goes into the children's room and finds her by the door, hands bloodied, on her knees.

"Isabella! What happened!? What's wrong!?" Speechless, she points to the children's beds. He goes cautiously to the beds and discovers the sheets bloodied. He pulls the sheets away and finds his children dead, their throats slit from ear to ear, blood pouring out. Horrified, he turns away, blood on his hands. Upon turning to the door, he sees his wife suspended inches from the ground, a shadowed figure behind her. He looks down and sees blood dripping down her legs from her torso. She'd been stabbed by a short, broad sword. "Demetrius.." She gasps with her last breath.

Taken by the horror of it all, Demetrius cannot speak and is brought to his knees. He begins to sob quietly. "Why... Por que Dios! Why!!" He yells in agony. Then he hears a man laugh behind him, and step slowly toward him. He looks ahead and sees the shadow drop his wife and pull the sword from her corpse. The man draws nearer. Demetrius stands quickly and turns to face the demon who has brought this misfortune upon him, but he is not there. A sharp pain mixed with a cold sensation enters his back and proceeds through his chest. The man closes up on him, wrapping his arm around him and stroking his neck and running his thumb across his cheek. The man whispers into Demetrius' ear, "You will not die this day. Instead, I bestow upon you a gift. Though for you, it is a well deserved curse." The man violently tilts Demetrius' head and sinks his teeth into his neck and drains his blood.

After he is done, he lets go of Demetrius and watches him collapse and writhe. "You will drink of me, and live eternally." The shadowed man hands him his sword. With it the man slits his wrist and squeezes blood into Demetrius' mouth. "In your past life you hunted us. Now, you will become that which you hate, that which you hunted. This is the curse I put on you for the lives of our kind that you have taken." Demetrius grunts and writhes on the floor. "No.." "Yes, Hunter, now you will live as we do."

The Man stops the blood flow and his wound heals. He hands the Shadow the sword and both disappear into the night.

Demetrius gains control of himself and crawls out of the room and passed his dead wife. He manages to get to his feet at the top of the stair case, the sword still stuck in him. He takes one step down and stumbles, falling down the stairs. The fall forced the sword out of his body, which slid down with him and set near the front door under a chest of drawers. Beaten, bloodied, and seriously wounded, Demetrius finds his way down into the cellar and locks himself in.

Days pass, Demetrius lay on the cold cellar floor unconscious, slowly healing. Nightmares of his children and wife's murder plague him, and after several sunrises and sunsets, he awakens at dusk, fully restored. He walks up into the house and looks about. In his absence it has been cleaned and the bodies taken. He takes off his tattered rags and exchanges them for black garb and a trench coat. He goes to the door and remembers where the sword had ended up. He goes down and pulls it out. Filled with sorrow and hatred, he rises, sword in hand, and exits his home in search for revenge on those whom had cursed him.


Chapter 4

Upon hearing Demetrius' story, Isabella broke into tears at the horror and misfortune that had befallen him, and made him who and what he is. She was overcome with his sorrow, and he did not know why. He looked on her as she tried to hide her tears, "Why do you cry?" he inquired, "Do you know the pain I feel?" "I can feel your sorrow, and your pain.. I can feel what others feel, or refuse to feel." She sobs quietly. Understanding this, he reaches over to her and wipes her tears, then holds her in his arms. "Isabella, it's quite alright, there's no need for your tears, what is past is passed, and I have accepted it. Sure, there are times when my past comes back to haunt me, but it is for me to deal with, and it is my burden to bare." She looks up at him and dries her eyes. "I can't just ignore it," She says quietly, "it's just something that happens." He looks down at her, into her eyes, and sees the one he once loved, and the life he once knew. He caresses her face, "I understand, love." She buries her head in his chest as he holds her in a sweet embrace.

Minutes later, Isabella had recovered to her normalcy. They sit across from each other again, and just search each others faces, trying to uncover hidden mysteries. The silence is broken when Isabella remembers the end of Demetrius' origin and the date in which it all took place, "1422? So that makes you... like 600 years old. How is that possible?" He sits upright and strokes his chin, "I think you know the answer to your question." She looks into his eyes and pauses before speaking, thinking, he bit his neck.. Then says, "You're a.." She pauses as he nods, "A vampire?" He stands and walks toward the window, then turns his head slightly and nods, "Yes."

Fear and excitement fills Isabella, "Y- you're serious..? A vampire? A real life vampire, creature of the night, stalker of men, drinker of blood?" He smirks and playfully says, "Not of men." She stays glued to her seat, and smiles, "Wow, a real vampire." Demetrius turns and walks slowly in her direction, his hands behind his back. "Does this excite you? Do my kind interest you?" "Yes, very much." she replies. Demetrius stops within inches of her and leans into her face, looking her in the eyes. She quivers a little, afraid of what may happen, then smiles. "Do you wish to be one like me?" He cocks his head to one side and moves onto her neck. She begins to feel his breath on her skin. She closes her eyes in anticipation, "Yes, I'd love to know what it's like." "Hm." Demetrius closes in on her neck and kisses it softly. Isabella bites her bottom lip and Demetrius places his hand gently behind her head, his fangs burn with bloodlust in his mouth, he pulls her toward him, the other hand on her waist. Her mind wanders into fantasies and she smiles slightly as he keeps kissing her neck. "Such a lovely neck, smooth skin, I can see your vein pulsating, the blood running through it. Your heart is racing." As he says this, he hears her voice in his mind saying, Bite me, bite me, bite me, make me yours, make me a vampire, bite me.. He holds her firmly and clenches his teeth, then opens his mouth, fangs exposed and sharp. Isabella moans softly as he caresses her neck with his teeth before biting. He drives his sharp fangs into her skin, then pulls away quickly before piercing through the flesh and vein.

Demetrius clenches his teeth and shuts his eyes. "why didn't you bite me?" She asks cautiously. "I will not, I can not put you through this, I can not pass my curse onto you." She searches his eyes, "Why not, I want to be like you." "You do not want this, you already have enough to bear, this will only bring you pain and sorrow." "Why do you think that?" "You say you felt my pain, my sorrow, did you not?" "Yes." "If I bite you, and you drink of my blood, you will have my burden to bear, my past, my memories. I don't want to do that to you, I can't." "But I.." "Isabella, you have to understand, I cannot curse that which I love." She sees sincerity in his eyes, and hears love in his voice. He walks back toward the window and looks up at the moon shining brightly pale, in it's entirety.

She gets up and walks toward him. "I don't know why, but I feel so close to you, like I've known you forever." She says softly, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his back. "Her spirit lives in you, with that, so does some memory of the past when she, you, were my wife." He runs his hand gently over her arms and turns around, placing his hands on her waist, her arms around his neck, holding each other closely. They look into each others eyes, as if peering to their souls. Demetrius pulls his hand up slowly to her face, holding it lightly, and leans in. Isabella closes her eyes and braces herself for the kiss. Demetrius leans in closer, barely brushing his lips against hers, his eyes closed, and kisses her softly and pulls away slowly, then she kisses him back. Their lips lock in a passionate kiss as she tightens her embrace.

Seconds later Demetrius' ears ring with the shrill cry of a woman coming from outside the house. He pulls away from her and lets her go. "What is it?" She asks disappointed that the kiss ended so soon. "Someone outside is being attacked, a woman." He sniffs the air, "Lychan.. it's been a while since I fought one." Isabella looks at him confused, "How do you..?" "Enhanced senses. Vampire, remember?" He looks around for his sword and finds it next to the couch he laid on when he was unconscious. He grabs it and straps it to his lower back and rushes out the door. "Hold on! I'm coming with you!" Isabella grabs some sneakers laying by the door and runs after him putting them on.

Demetrius follows the screams of the woman being made sport of. "He's playing with his food." He starts to run in the direction of the cries for help, Isabella following behind. "Demetrius!" He ignores her yells, and speeds up, leaving her behind. "It's for your own safety Isabella." He disappears in the fog, but she keeps following. "Dammit!" She exclaims in frustration.

Demetrius stops at the point of the last scream, the city's park. "Where...?" He closes his eyes and listens. The woman screams her last bloody, agonized scream. "Shit!" He yells, bringing attention to himself. A loud panting and fast footsteps like that of a dog, but much larger echo in the surrounding area, coming from no distinct direction through the fog. "Demetrius! Where are you!?" Isabella caught up to him. "There you--" "Isabella!" He runs toward her with his hand on his sword's handle. He sees the lychan standing over her, towering in dark, filthy, patchy fur. She turns around slowly, hearing it's growls. "Oh my god!" "Duck!!" He yells as he jumps towards her and the lychan swipes his claws violently, she avoids her death, falling to the ground as Demetrius gets hit by the swipe that could have killed her. He gets knocked far to the left with the impact of the hit, but he recovers in the air with a back flip and lands on his feet, sliding backward a few feet.

The lychan lets out a fierce growl as Demetrius rushes toward him in anger, pulling his sword out of it's sheath and slashing at him. The lychan jumps back, avoiding being cut, and swings his claws horizontally, trying take Demetrius' head off with one hit. Demetrius dodges it, ducking, still going at the lychan, forcing it to step back dodging his sword. They keep swinging at each other with bloody intent, then the lychan lunges a fist to Demetrius' face, which sends Demetrius flying back and hitting the ground. As Demetrius recovers to his feet, he sees the lychan rush towards him and jump onto him, Demetrius drops to is back and kicks his legs up, thrusting the lychan back. Demetrius jumps to his feet and readies his sword.

Isabella watches the fight in horror and in fear for Demetrius' life, still on the ground. She watches him and the lychan, they both wait for the other to make a move, several yards away from each other. Demetrius sets his sword to his side, below his waist and runs towards the lychan, the lychan runs towards him. Demetrius yells and the lychan roars as they close in on each other. The lychan's arms set behind him, ready to strike. Demetrius' pupils sharpen and everything seems to move slower. They strike simultaneously, Demetrius strikes lower and horizontally, spinning once swiftly, and the lychan strikes at a higher angle, missing his hit.

Their backs to each other, Demetrius' sword drips blood and the lychan lets out a defeated growl as his upper body slides off his lower half hitting the floor making a loud thud, the lower body falls after it. Demetrius sheaths his sword and turns to what's left of his opponent. The lychan's body transforms back into human, and it lays there, blood seeping from each half, staining the green with red. Isabella gets up onto her feet and walks quickly towards Demetrius. She throws her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay, I was so scared." She says relieved. "I've handled worse than this, but what bothers me is, what it was doing here. And the emblem tattooed on his back." Isabella looks down at the corpse, then quickly looks away. "What does it mean?" "Nothing good. For me anyway."


Chapter 5

Cherry blossoms have bloomed in Japan, 1666. Beautiful pink pedals fly through the air westward with the wind as the branches of the trees sway delicately. The trees stand on green plains cut by a coursing blue river, which sparkles in the shimmering moonlight. Everything is so bright, even in the darkness of night. Demetrius strolls through the plains admiring the cherry blossoms, a sight he'd never seen before. He makes his way to a village in the hills, one that appears to be having problems with large wolves attacking livestock and humans, leaving nothing but limbs, decapitated heads, and fleshy skeletons.

The night before, upon arriving by boat to this new and strange land, he had heard of this village from listening in on two English men talking in a tavern about legends of giant white wolves that serve an underground society of demons that take the form of humans living in the forest at the base of the hills where the village is located. And of how lately these legends have become more and more like fact, rather than fictionalized and over dramaticized historical events. Demetrius found it strange that these were the only to men other than him that were not native to this land. But ignored the odd feeling in his gut for the time being and focused on finding this unfortunate village. As he got up to leave, he noticed that the two men had identical brandings, an emblem or symbol of a sort. The emblem was an eye with three elongated lashes on the top, and one on the bottom, the iris was clear and the pupil was large, the eye was surrounded by strange lettering or characters in a circle. One of the men had it on the back of their left hand, the other on his forehead. These were strange looking men of seemingly evil intent, but Demetrius paid them no mind.

He paid for his drink and left the tavern to find the village. The two men had said it was northeast of the tavern, but it was quite far. After Demetrius had left, the two men got up and followed, about five minutes behind him. Quietly they lurked, believing that Demetrius had no idea they were on his trail. Sensing them behind, he clutched his sword, a Spanish steel saber with his wife's name engraved on it. He pulled it out so only the name, Isabella, showed. They lurked even closer, being already a mile from the tavern. Who are these men who try to hunt their predator? Demetrius thought to himself as they drew closer. Abandoning the element of surprise, the two men rushed towards Demetrius with murderous intent. They let out a loud wolf-like roar and Demetrius turned to face his attackers. The two men transformed into large, bi-pedal wolves while jumping into the air to pounce, their clothes ripping off them, and their bodies morphing further. "Carajo! What the Hell is this!?" Yelled Demetrius at the grotesque sight, somersaulting backward out of the way of these monsters.

"Okay, I guess you are the one's terrorizing the village. Your time is at an end." Says Demetrius in a calm tone, completely unsheathing his sword. The monsters growl and run savagely towards Demetrius, and he stands ready in the traditional Spanish fencing stance, saber out, pointed straight at the target, one arm behind his back, legs bent and two feet apart. Demetrius closes his eyes as they close in on him; everything seems to slow down. One of them lunges an arm at him, Demetrius parries it and slashes at the monster's side, spinning quickly. The other swipes both claws toward Demetrius' head, He ducks and stabs through the beast's chest, piercing his heart and killing him. The beast growls in defeat, while the other tries to run. Demetrius looks back and quickly pulls his sword from the dead monster and runs after him. The chase goes on for a while, Demetrius starts to catch up, but the monster heads into a forest ahead and loses him. "Damn it all." Demetrius heads in, following his senses.

He makes his way through the thick forest, following the scent and faint growls. "Where is he leading me?" Demetrius walks over fallen trees and hollowed tree trunks, avoids low branches and large rocks on the ground. The growls persist and keep Demetrius on his trail. He's in too deep to find his way back, and the treetops block most of the light from the moon. Somewhere up ahead the beast turns back into a man and heads into a clearing with a stone slab covering an entrance to a cave. "Finally... I need to heal my wound... Master will be disappointed.. He will also be surprised to know that someone like him is hunting us." The man says. Somewhere behind, Demetrius loses the scent and the man's trail. Still he keeps wander the forest, trying to find a way out. Daylight is coming soon. "I need a place to rest." Demetrius says, "The sun will rise soon." Soon there after, Demetrius finds a small cave and decides to inhabit it until nightfall.

The sun rises, then sets, Demetrius wakes and wanders out of the forest and into the plains. Ahead of him are beautiful rolling hills and a mountain in the horizon, standing tall and strong. Within those hills is the village, and on them are rice plantations. The river flows down from the base of the mountain in the distance. Demetrius heads towards the hills with no concern for the man-beast gone missing.

Upon his arrival to the village in the hills, he hears people chattering and laughing together towards the middle of it. He goes there and see that there is an act on stage, a sort of play. One of the actors on stage notices Demetrius in the back looking on and stops the play. He talks in his native tongue in an assertive tone. The spectators look back at Demetrius and meet him with fearful and defensive glares. The head of the village and three guards in armour approach him and surround him, all with their single bladed swords out at the ready, in a stance that seems stronger and more aggressive, yet peaceful, than the traditional Spanish fencing stance. To show that he means no harm, Demetrius respectfully bows and forfeits his saber to the head of the village. The chief puts his sword away and commands the others to do the same, then takes Demetrius' sword and bows back. He proceeds to speak to the crowd and instructs the actors on stage to keep on with the show. He signals Demetrius to follow him to his home. The chief has a kind but rough face, his eyes shine though they are dark brown, one scar running down his right eye, long black hair always tied back, a strong body, built like a warrior, but in a small frame. He wears a sort of loose garment, grey and brown, with the village emblem stitched on the right breast.

The whole way there, Demetrius feels he is being watched by some ominous force, the origin of which is the forest he was led to and had just come from. They had arrived to the chief's home, it was fairly large and made mostly of the wood from the forest, elaborate and beautiful; it seemed this man was of some importance to the land and not merely a chief of a random and unfortunate village. He sits on a cushion at a small table and instructs Demetrius to join him. Demetrius sits the same as the chief did. The chief ordered a maiden to bring tea to the table. Demetrius and the chief search each others' eyes as they wait for the tea to come. Finally, the chief spoke to him, "Tell me stranger, do you speak the language of the westerners?" Demetrius looked at him and replied, "I do speak English. I also speak Spanish, another western language, the native language of my country, Spain." Intrigued by this, the chief asks, "So you are not an Englishman, like the others that come here with their strange weapons of quick death?" "Guns? No, I'm not one of them. I carry no gun, only my saber." "That is what you call your blade? We call ours, Katana, it is merely the word for sword in our language." "Interesting, I was admiring your sword and stance. The sword looks well made, very strong. But I don't believe it can rival my Spanish saber." Boasts Demetrius subtly. "We'll see about that." Scoffs the chief with a smirk, "But in the morning--" "No!" "No? why not?" "I cannot exist with the sun, it is a disease, I could die." "I see, is that why your skin is like the surface of the moon?" inquires the chief. A pause, "Yes." Replies Demetrius. "Very well then, you will stay here, and we will see when the sun sets tomorrow." Demetrius stays silent. The chief gets up and so does he, "My name is Shintaro Keijin, what is yours?" Demetrius pauses, "Demetrius DeCorvinus, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Shintaro." They bow to each other, and walk to separate rooms, Demetrius being led by the maiden.

"I have not fed in quite some time, and I am feeling the effects. But I can not feed on these people, I'll have to go into the forest and find some animal." Says Demetrius softly. He starts gritting his teeth as he watches the maiden leave the room, he struggles with his urge to feed on human blood. His body starts to ache from lack of nourishment and he begins to lose control of his morality. His pupils dilate and his fangs begin to grow and sharpen. In an attempt to spare human lives, he runs out of the estate, and jumps from rooftop to rooftop, then jumps down the hill and runs into the forest in search for blood. His bloodlust sharpens his senses, he hears the heart beat of an a wolf and follows it, running savagely. When a vampire is deprived of blood for too long, their animalistic side takes over and reason is overshadowed. It's like they black out and become something else, an actual creature, but one that looks human, except with long sharp fangs, pointed ears, long sharp finger nails, red eyes and large pupils. They can see everything in the dark, hear the faintest sound, and smell the slightest scent. This is what Demetrius has become, until he has had his fill of blood. He tracks down the wolf and lets out an inhuman sound, the wolf glares back at Demetrius and growls, then barks savagely. Seeing that Demetrius won't back down, the wolf rushes to him and attacks, lunging at his neck. But Demetrius is too fast and catches the wolf by the neck with one hand, the wolf struggles and tries to break free, but cannot. Demetrius holds the wolf's head to the side, gripping the muzzle tightly, then sinks his teeth into it's neck, draining all but a single drop of blood.

After he fed, he ran back into the village and into Shintaro's estate. Still feral, he avoids being seen and sneaks into his room. The sun is rising, he covers himself completely and lays to rest. The new blood courses through his veins and he returns to his normal state. At daybreak, a group of villagers stroll down to the forest to hunt and find the drained corpses of wolves, at least seven were found. It seems Demetrius did not have his fill with just one wolf. They investigate the cause of death and find the bite marks on the necks of each wolf. The hunters run back into the village yelling, "Oni! Oni!"

The sun sets and Demetrius is awakened by Shintaro, "Wake my foreign friend. Wake and rise so we can have our duel." Demetrius sits up and smells the scent of blood on his hands. What did I do last night? he thinks to himself. He stands and bows in respect to Shintaro. Shintaro bows back, "Also, I have some questions regarding what was found this morning by a group of hunters." "Questions?" "We will discuss it later." Shintaro turns around and heads out the door, "I doubt you have anything to do with it, but I must still ask." Demetrius stays silent and watches him leave. "I will meet you behind the house, on my training ground. Your 'saber' is by your door, along with some traditional garments. Since you wear black, they are black. I hope they are to your liking." He then walks out of the home and into the back training grounds. Demetrius fetches his new clothes, closes his door, and starts undressing. As he takes off his shirt, many deep scars can be seen on his back and chest. One scar in particular, of the stab wound he received on the night he was turned. It was in the shape of an upside-down triangle, and was in the middle of his back and his chest. He then took off his pants, he had already taken his shoes off at the door, so is the Japanese tradition.

Demetrius arrives out in the middle of the estate's courtyard, the training grounds, sword in hand. He stands at the opposite end of the grounds as Shintaro. He's clad in all black, wearing the traditional Japanese garments. The fit loosely for better movement, more fluent, and comfort in battle. it allows for no restrictions on the body. The sleeves and pant legs are wide, and the top closes like a robe, tight on the waist so it doesn't come undone and become cumbersome. It is made of a thick fabric, tightly woven cotton and tweed. Now, The moon is set high, shining brightly, but shining in a reddish hue. A blood moon, it is a bad omen. There are cherry blossom trees here too, the wind sets the pedals free. Demetrius and Shintaro stare each other down, bow, and ready themselves, each in their own stance. "That is an odd stance my friend. Do you win many battles with your way of the warrior?"asks Shintaro, "Yes, in fact, I win all my battles with my 'way of the warrior.'" The both smile. The cherry blossoms fly through the air, coursing around the fighters, and in between them. Demetrius' hair whips in the wind, Shintaro has his tied back as always. "Ready yourself my friend, here I come!"

Shintaro runs at Demetrius, his sword readied, held up infront of his right shoulder, by his head. Demetrius stands ready and calm. He closes his eyes again. Shintaro attacks with a diagonal slash to the chest, but Demetrius quickly parries the attack away and slashes at Shintaro's stomach but he quickly recovers from the parry and blocks the attack. Demetrius quickly attacks again, this time aiming for the neck at a vertical angle, again Shintaro manages to block the attack and pushes Demetrius back with the block. As Demetrius paces back, Shintaro attacks with a stab to the mid-section, Demetrius recovers and parries the attack with great haste. The battle goes on the same way, both are equally matched, they block and parry each other's attacks with amazing precision. But Demetrius' sword starts wearing down. Demetrius attacks Shintaro horizontally, aiming at the neck, but the attack is quickly blocked and Demetrius' sword breaks in half and Shintaro strikes to Demetrius' neck but stops, only leaving a scratch. "I am beaten, my sword is broken, and you truly have a skill superior to mine." Demetrius says monotonally. Shintaro smirks and says, "You have great skill and make an excellent warrior. It was your blade that held you back, and your style." Shintaro sheaths his sword and bows respectfully, Demetrius bows back. "Come, I will have a new sword crafted for you. It should last you many generations. Our steel and traditional way of making swords are what make our swords more than formidable. No sword can stand up to the might of our Katana!" He boasts enthusiastically, "I will also train you in our way of the warrior. You will learn Bushido, and the fighting style that comes with it, Budo." Demetrius nods in agreement and follows him inside.

Isabella... Demetrius runs the memories of his late wife through his head over and over again, lamenting. Now that his sword is broken, he feels he cannot take her with him everywhere, that sword held her memory and kept her with him. It was the sword that caused her death and his new life.

Months go by, and Demetrius trains with Shintaro and his best samurai, as they are called, while his new sword gets crafted. It is done in a matter of months and has Isabella engraved on one side of the blade and 'eternity' on the other in Japanese characters. Demetrius learns the language quickly and is able to live normally amongst them. All of the seasons pass and it has been a year. Demetrius picked up the art of Bushido as quick as he learned Japanese, and now with his new sword and new skills which he can mesh with his old style to make an even more effective style, he sets out to hunt the white wolves of legend.


Chapter 6

“So did you find them?” asks Isabella curiously while sitting on her couch across from Demetrius who has taken the chair. “Yes. I did.” He replies solemnly. There is a short pause, then Isabella cuts in and asks, “Well? What happened?” “I thought I killed them all, I thought I destroyed the wolves’ master, but I guess I didn’t. Their master was a vampire, one that was stronger than I. His name was Vergil, I had encountered him once before, in Italy. We did not fight then, he seemed like no threat. It seemed something had corrupted him, his eyes were different, and his aura.” “How did you beat him?” inquired Isabella. “It was not easy, but I owe my victory to Shintaro, if it wasn’t for his teaching, I would have died. I came so close.” Demetrius says, looking out the window, as if reaching for something far away.

Isabella leans forward on the couch as a thought came across her mind, “Hey, maybe it had to do with that symbol they had on their bodies. Did Vergil have it?” Thinking back, Demetrius rests his chin on his fist then jerks his head up quickly, “Ah yes. He did, he had it burned onto his chest. I remember during the struggle I slashed at his chest and cut his robe, revealing the mark.” Isabella adds, “Don’t you think that maybe there’s someone else pulling the strings? Someone more evil. Maybe it’s like this big cult thing or all the covens coming together under one powerful coven, and its leader could be the head vampire, or the original.” Demetrius is taken by the idea and ponders. “You may be right, but no one really knows who that is, no one has ever seen him or her since it all began. The last vampire that saw the fabled original died hundreds of years before I was made.”

Isabella’s mind wanders to the books she’s read of vampires and books on vampire legends. “Who could it be? Most of what I’ve read is fiction. Although there was this encyclopedia, but I never really finished it. I mostly skipped around chapters.” “Well, legend says that the original could be one of two, in regards to the bible. One could be Cain, brother of Abel, cast out for jealousy and murder, cursed by Him to live as one of us. Or Lilith, the first wife of Adam, made independent of him, cast out of Eden by God because she would not be controlled by Adam. She was then turned into either a vampire or succubus. It is also said that it was she that made Cain. She swore revenge on Adam, and all of the sons of Adam. And there is always some truth in fiction.” Explained Demetrius as he recalled his days at a coven library. “Yeah… well, that’s interesting, I never heard of that.” “You wouldn’t have, that information is kept in coven libraries. I read that while going undercover in a Russian coven. I had to exterminate them, they were terrorizing near by villages.” “I see.” Says Isabella curiously.

Demetrius adds, “There is also one legend that tells of the original vampire, many millennia ago, in ancient Egypt. No one’s sure if it was male or female, but this one had an inverted pyramid built under a temple. This vampire had many slaves turned to bring him or her victims while leaving them scraps. The Egyptians called these vampires the Minions of Anubis.” Isabella runs all of this information through her head and comes up with a theory, “The symbol… Didn’t it look Egyptian to you? And also, the whole Cain thing did take place around the Egyptian/Middle Eastern areas. So, I’m thinking, maybe that the original could be that one from Egypt, but I’m thinking that either Lilith or Cain, most likely Lilith, was the one in Egypt and could be behind all of this.”

Demetrius meditates on her theory. “That could be right, but why Lilith? And why are they after me?” “Because Lilith seems to be very vengeful, and you seem to be the biggest threat to vampires. Their numbers are dwindling because of you. How many covens have you taken out?” “Hmmm…” Demetrius thinks back, “About six or seven. But that does leave six or seven more, four of which are major covens, ones that house the most powerful of them all.” “Well, I think that’s cause enough for them to want to take you out.” “That may be, but I’m not the only one. I’ve met other hunters, different from me. One was half vampire, a dhampir, and others were bestowed with the power for vanquishing evil by God herself, as I once was. Warriors of the church, holy knights, protectors of the people. They had the divine power. I no longer have that, I am amongst the damned.”

Demetrius sulks at the fact that he is forever cursed, damned to walk the earth for eternity as a wretched being, no longer human, and denied of all that is good. He looks down at the floor, Isabella’s rough, red carpets, and crosses his hands. Isabella gets up and goes to him, she can feel his sorrow, her eyes begin to well up with tears as his begin to run at the thought of his beloved deceased wife and his adored children. He looks up at her and she looks down at him, he embraces her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her stomach, his eyes closed. She runs her fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him and holds him tightly against her body.

“Isabella…” Demetrius says silently sobbing, “my children, my beloved…” Tears run down both their faces and Isabella says softly, “I’m here, love. I’m here, I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Dawn starts to arrive, and the sun begins to rise. They have been up all night holding each other, and the light starts to shine through the cracks in the blinds. His skin begins to burn. “Demetrius, you have to get to the basement. You need your rest, and to get away from the sun. Come on, love, let’s go.” Isabella picks him up and takes him down into the basement. He leans back against a wall and slides down. She bends over and kisses him on the forehead. “Sleep well, hon.” He looks up at her and she smiles. She then walks back up into the apartment, he watches her. And as the door closes, so do his eyes. The darkness consumes him.

Isabella walks to her room and collapses on her shabby but comfortable bed. “What a night.” She says and closes her eyes. Within seconds she falls into a deep sleep and starts to dream.

She tosses and turns on her bed dreaming of a struggle between Demetrius and someone else that is shrouded in darkness, a figure never revealed by light. Demetrius seems to be fighting in anger and pain. The fight was violent, both attacking at full force and unnatural speeds. After a very long and bloody struggle, Demetrius had seemed to kill his opponent and ran over, completely beaten and bloodied, to her. She had been mortally wounded and was close to death. Her blood had been pouring out of her and she’d passed out, the only way to save her would be to have her drink from him. So he cuts his wrist and pours blood into her mouth. She starts regaining consciousness and grasps his arm, she pulls it towards her mouth and sucks his blood. Her wound begins to heal and Demetrius pulls his arm away. “That’s enough.” He says exhausted. Then as things seemed to start lightening up, a massive sword penetrates through Demetrius’ chest from behind, killing him.

Isabella wakes up in a cold sweat, “No!” she gasps. She’s trying to steady her breath and heartbeat, “It was just a dream. Just a dream. Nothing more. I hope.” Her phone rings, it’s her mother again. She doesn’t pick it up. Instead, she throws the phone in her pile of clothes. It continues to ring. She ignores it. “The sun’s already gone down. I wonder how Demetrius is doing.” She says looking out her bedroom window, just to the left of her bed. Then she hears her shower start running, “Oh, I guess he’s fine.” She gets up out of bed and silently makes her way to the bathroom to see if she can sneak a peek. She creeps into the bathroom, stealthily opening and closing the door. She leans back against the door, watching his silhouette. He lathers his strong, muscular body with the bar of soap instead of the scrubby. The soapy lather slides down his smooth, pale skin, caressing every muscular definition, every crease. He takes the shampoo and begins to wash his hair, lathering, then rinsing, then repeat. Isabella whispers, “Damn.” After he finishes, he just stands under the hot water, letting it run down his body while the steam rises from it.

“You are welcomed to join me if you like.” He says to her. She blushes and says, “Oh, uh, I-I was just—You knew I was here?” “Yes, I heard you come in, despite your efforts to remain unnoticed.” He replies. “I-I’m sorry, I should have--” He turns the shower off and opens the shower door. “It’s quite alright, I don’t mind.” He says as she just stares at his glistening naked body. He smirks and steps out. “May I use your towel?” he asks. “Oh… umm, sure.” She says distracted. He then takes her towel and dries himself off. Afterwards, he wraps it around his waist. “I don’t have any extra clothes, so I’m going to have to stay like this ‘til mine are washed. Or I get new ones.” “Uh-huh…” she says still taken by his display. “Would you do me a favor? Can you go out and get me some clothes, I have enough money. You can also get yourself something.” “Oh, okay, sure.” “There should be money in the pockets inside my coat.” He says. They stand in the bathroom, across from each other silently, just staring. Then Isabella decides to step out to look inside his jacket, which is battle-torn. “Just like she was before we got married.” He smiles.

In her living room she searches his pockets and finds a huge wad of money. “Wow, that’s a lot of twenties.” She keeps looking, “And hundreds! How is he so loaded?” Demetrius walks into the room, “Hunting pays well, I had all my gold coins and foreign currency converted, I opened up a bank account and put some in there.” “I didn’t think you’d be so modern.” “I had to be, if not, I’d have been taken advantage of.” He explains. “How much?” She asks. “How much what?” “How much is in your account?” She adds. He thinks about it, “About thirteen million.” “Holy crap, you’re rich?” she asks shocked. “I guess so, but I hardly have anything to spend it on other than supplies for hunting evil and food. Even though I don’t need to eat.” Isabella lets it all register. “Okay, so umm, I’ll just take some of this and I’ll go to the mall and get you some clothes… and underwear. I just need a quick shower, then I’ll go.” Demetrius nods in agreement.

Isabella rushes into the bathroom, strips quickly and hops in the shower. A few minutes later she gets out, gets dressed and is about to leave when Demetrius says, “Isabella, wait.” She turns to him, “Yeah?” Demetrius searches his jacket and pulls out a necklace with an odd green pendant, “Take this, it’ll keep you safe.” Isabella walks back over to him, he gets up and fastens the necklace around her neck. She smiles, “Okay, thank you.” “It looks good on you.” He says smiling back. Isabella then goes to the door and leaves.

Demetrius waits for her to return. Hours later, she comes back. She’s carrying a lot of bags full of stuff. “Here you go.” She says tossing a few bags at him. All of them contain black clothing and a pair tall black boots. Another contains a few pairs of underpants. Demetrius laughs, “Thank you, my dear.” He takes the bags of clothes into the bathroom and put them on, starting with the boxers, which are black with skulls on them. He then puts on a pair of black leather pants and a belt with a skull buckle, a long sleeved tight black shirt, and a new black leather trench coat. In a bag there were also a pair of black leather fingerless gloves, which he also put on. He then slipped on the boots and fastened and buckled them over his pants. Demetrius stepped out of the bathroom and Isabella looked him over. “Wow D, you look awesome, really good.” She winked at him. “Thank you, did you get yourself anything?” “Yes, I did. I’ll go change. Just wait here.” She walks into her room. “Okay.” Demetrius agrees. He sits on the chair and waits for her to come out dressed in new clothes.

A few minutes later, Isabella walks out of her room dressed. Demetrius looks at her admiringly and says, “Wow, you look amazing.” “Thanks” she smiles. Isabella is dressed in a black, low cut, semi see-through frilly sheer top, tight fitting black Tripp pants with no chains and minimal straps on them, and tall black leather boots, which are hidden by the pants.

“Okay, so now that we’ve got new clothes for this, how are we going to go about finding this Original vampire?” She asks imposingly, “We? We are not going anywhere. You need to stay behind, where it’s safe.” He says sternly. “No! I am going with you, whether you like it or not!” “Isabella! Listen to me, if they find out that you are with me, they will hurt you just to get to me. You’ll be better off staying behind.” “Demetrius, you listen, chances are, they already know that I am your companion in this. They’ll come looking for me. If I’m with you, I’ll be safer. Plus, I’ve got this pendant.” She says persistently. Demetrius sighs, “It can’t protect you from everything, and neither can I. I’ll have to get you a sword, and train you in the basics.” Isabella smiles, knowing that she’d gotten her way. She’s very persistent and persuasive. “Fine, let’s go.” They depart from Isabella’s quaint apartment.

“Again I ask: how do we find these guys?” “Through one of them.” He replies withholding something. “What do you mean?” she asks. “They’ll find us, and tell us. I can be very persuasive too you know.” “How so?” She asks, Demetrius looks at her, giving her the answer with his eyes and a smirk. “Oh. That sounds… interesting. I’m not watching that.” “You don’t have to.” Says Demetrius in a low serious tone. Isabella stays silent, thinking of how it would be to be made into a vampire and of that dream she had.

She looks up at Demetrius and sees him clenching his teeth, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing. I’m fine.” “Then why are you clenching your teeth like that?” He pauses then says, “I have not had any blood since the first night we met.” “Don’t you need to feed?” “Yes, but I’d rather not use a human, even if I have to.” “You can feed on me.” Demetrius stops walking, “No, I will not. I cannot.” She stops and turns to him, “You can! I want you to!” “You know not what you want! It is a curse!” “No D! It’s a gift! You just treat it like a curse!” Demetrius confronts her aggressively, “This is a curse, to live you must kill, hunt, stalk the living in the darkness of street corners and alleyways! Do you want that! To have the deaths of many on your conscience!? Do you want to be a bloody murderer!?” She stays silent, and shuts her eyes, clenching her jaw, trying not to cry.

Demetrius looks around for a human. He hears a man walking behind them and rushes at him, grabs him by the neck and slams him against a building wall, the man struggles and yells in fright. “Watch, is this what you want?” Demetrius exposes the man’s neck and bites it, feeding on him, drinking ‘til there’s only one drop left. Then he pulls away and drops the man, disgusted by what he had done. Isabella had seen it all, “I don’t care.” She says softly, “I don’t care, I just want to know what it’s like, to know that I can’t die or get sick, to know what it’s like to have unimaginable power.” Demetrius sighs and walks over to her and embraces her, “I am sorry, I did not mean to go off like that. You have to understand, I don’t wish something so horrible as an eternity alone and shunned by all on you. I love you too much to do so.” He strokes her hair and she buries her head in his chest. “I do understand, D. I know, but I won’t be alone forever, and neither will you. We’ll have each other, that’s all we need. Who cares if humanity doesn’t accept us, we’ll still have each other.”

They part and hold hands looking into each others eyes, “I don’t want to pass onto you my burden, all that I have seen, all that I have done, and all that was done to me.” He explains, “But I see that you are very determined to live as I do. I will not turn you now, you are not ready. In due time, my love, you will be bestowed with the Dark Gift.” She smiles and asks, “When? When will that happen?” “You already know the answer to that question, my dear. You’ve seen it.”

Chapter 7

The moon is high and shining brightly red. Below, on the streets of London, England, a young woman runs in terror from a shadowed caped attacker in a top hat, concealing many different knives. This man had been killing young women on the streets of London at night and has never been caught, let alone seen. Jack, is his name, Jack the Ripper. It was 1888, and blood ran on the streets, for his thirst for blood was unquenchable. He mutilated his victims, who were mostly prostitutes, and removed some of their insides, some say it was to eat them, others because he was just insane. But what they did not know, is that Jack was not human.

Demetrius had been passing by the area when he heard the woman’s screams. He quickly follows them. She runs into him and says, “Please, please you’ve gotta help me! There’s a man trying to kill me! It’s him, that man, they call him Jack the Ripper! Help me please!” Demetrius looks at her she has a thin soft, pretty face, bright green eyes, long curly light brown hair, a long and thin frame with a tiny waist and a fairly large bust. Behind her he sees a shadowed figure walking slowly toward them. “Thank you for catching my wife.” He says walking over, “You see, she’s a bit hysterical, think she’s seen that maniac, she does.” The man stops a few feet away, the woman holds on to Demetrius, who remains silent. “It’s alright though, just hand her over to me and be on your way.” There’s a devious tone in the man’s voice. “I don’t think the lady wants to go with you.” Says Demetrius monotonally, “You’d better go. I’ll make sure she’s safe.” The man growls, “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. You see, I have business with the girl, I’m going to make a lovely work of art… With her insides!” The man lunges at Demetrius pulling a knife from his cape, Demetrius pushes the woman out of the way and catches the man by his arm.

“Do you know who I am!?” the man asks in a disturbing voice. “Yes. Jack, Jack the Ripper.” Demetrius replies in a serene tone, as if holding the man back were no trouble at all. “Yes! That is who I am, but that is not all.” Says Jack, growing stronger pushing Demetrius back. He starts to glow red. “You’re a--!” “Yes, yes! Now you see how useless it is to fight. Useless to fight a Child of the Night!” He exclaims arrogantly. Demetrius smirks at him and lets his eyes shine red, “You see, I am one too!”

Demetrius pushes him back and pulls his sword out. Jack growls and pulls another knife out and lunges at him. Demetrius blocks his attacks effortlessly. Jack slashes at him viciously with no sense of skill, he’s just a murderer endowed with the Dark Gift. Demetrius knocks the knives from his hands and puts his sword to Jack’s neck, “It’s one’s like you that gives those like me a bad name. Die in His name.” “Hah! You can’t kill me, I’m a different breed.” A different breed? Demetrius thinks to himself. Jack pulls out a knife without Demetrius noticing and stabs him in the gut. Demetrius pulls his sword away cutting Jack’s neck and grunts in pain, “Bastard!” Jack runs away into the darkness and fog, “Next time you won’t stop me, next time I’ll kill you too!” He disappears, his face was never revealed by the shadows. Demetrius heals.

Demetrius put his sword away and turned to the girl who was shocked by what she just witnessed. “Are you alright, Miss?” He asks. She looks at him silent as he extends his hand to help her up. “I-I’m fine, I guess.” She says taking his hand and standing up, “Who are you?” “I am Demetrius. And you are?” “Elizabeth.” Demetrius bows to her and kisses her hand, “A pleasure to meet you Miss Elizabeth.” She smiles. “Can I stay with you? I’d feel much safer with you around. Especially at night.” “I guess you can, but I have no place to stay.” “You can stay with me in my home, I live alone.” “Alright, do you have a basement?” He asks. “A basement? Yes, but for what?” He doesn’t reply to her question. “Elizabeth was my daughter’s name.” They begin to walk to her home. “Really? Where is she now?” Demetrius pauses, “She was… killed when she was young, many years ago.” Elizabeth looks at him and sees sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” “It’s fine, it’s ancient history.”

They arrive at her home in the slums. She opens the door and lets herself in, Demetrius stands by the door waiting for an invitation. She looks back at him and says, “Well don’t just stand there, come in.” She motions him in, he smiles politely and walks in. Like any old slum, Elizabeth’s home was shabby, small, and dull. It only had one bedroom, and the rest was one big room, except the bathroom of course. The white walls fade into beige from too much humidity and too little care. A table with four chairs stands in the middle of the room, barely holding themselves up, let alone the candles sitting atop of it. To the left is a ragged old couch, brown and beaten down, frays and tears around the edges and fade spots on the cushions. There is no carpet, no area rugs, just bare hardwood floors. The windows are dirty and stained, with led paint chipping off the moldings.

“I know it’s not much, well, it’s not much at all. But it is my home, and it’s a place where I feel at least somewhat safe.” She says slightly apologetic. Demetrius walks over to the couch and looks it over and then sits on it, taking off his coat. “It’s fine, this’ll do. Until daybreak that is.” Elizabeth wonders what he means and why he asked if there was a basement. “Why?” She asks softly, as if she were afraid to. “Why what?” Demetrius responds. She gulps and stalls a little before finally speaking, “Why did you ask if I had a basement? And why would the couch do only ‘til daybreak?” He remains silent for a few moments then speaks, “You would only fear me if I told you the truth. You would run, everyone runs.” She averts her eyes to the ground, then back up at him, “I promise, I won’t. I couldn’t, you saved my life.” He looks into her eyes and stands, he walks towards her and holds her hands. She starts to quiver, staring into his seductive clear, inhuman eyes. “I am a Child of the Night, a Night Hunter, I am amongst the damned, A vampire.” She gasps at the mention of the word. Her body tenses up, but then relaxes as she searches his eyes and finds he means her no harm.

“I believe you,” she says, “I also believe you wouldn’t harm me.” Demetrius smiles in relief and kisses her cheek, “I thank you, señorita.” Elizabeth blushes and looks away, “It’s getting late, I really should get to bed.” “Right. I will watch over you while you sleep.” He agrees and implies. She nods and walks into her bedroom. She starts to undress in front of him, “You can watch me if you like, I don’t mind.” “No, it’d be…” She turns to him completely exposed, he turns away but she walks over to him and grabs him by the shirt, turns his head to her and kisses him.

He places one hand on her waist, the other behind her, holding her close as they kiss passionately. She pulls him back into the room and falls back onto her bed, pulling him down on top of her, and pulls off his shirt. She then pushes him onto his back and gets on top of him and kisses him and starts to undo his pants, then pulls them down getting back on him, so he slides inside of her. Demetrius is taken by the heat of the moment and loses his rationality, his irises get red and his pupils dilate until they resemble those of a cat in the dark. She remains on top of him, thrusting and thrusting. He takes hold of her hips and thrusts with her. She throws her head back and moans loudly with indescribable pleasure, he does so as well. His fangs grow, his feral side is beginning to come through. He fights to keep it from inside as they keep going. Finally after about half hour, she finishes, and he does so too. Elizabeth collapses on him, then rolls off. “Wow. That was amazing!” She says catching her breath. Demetrius just looks up at the ceiling, thankful he did not turn feral and kill her.

He looks over at her and smiles, “Yes, that was something.” She smiles and kisses him, then wraps her arm and leg around him, cuddling up to him and resting her head on his chest. He runs his fingers through her hair and holds her hand, entwining fingers, making her feel comfortable. “I feel so safe with you.” She says with her eyes closed. “Sleep my dear. Sleep and dream.” He tells her in a soft, hypnotizing tone. “Okay.” She responds sleepily. Seconds later, she falls asleep. He watches her sleep for as long as he can.

Elsewhere, in a gloomy, dank room, Jack the Ripper sharpens his knives and plots his bloody revenge on Demetrius. He then steps in the center of a black magic pentagram drawn in the blood of his victims, surrounded by candles emitting bright red flames, his face hidden by shadow. He chants an incantation in the ancient language. The flames start growing larger and brighter, making the room glow brightly red. He continues to chant, louder and louder, raising his arms, hands open and calling the flames to him. The flames fly around him and he draws a circle with them in front of him. “Show me! Show me those wretched animals! Show me!” In the circle of red fire an image of Demetrius and Elizabeth walking to her home shows, then it skips to inside, showing them in their moment of intimacy, and finally, the circle of fire shows Demetrius stroking Elizabeth’s hair while she sleeps. Upon seeing this, Jack grins an evil grin, his fangs prominent.

Morning had arrived and Elizabeth awoke, finding that Demetrius had left her for the basement. Recalling the night before, she smiles and gets up quickly and heads for the bathroom, still naked. She bends over her bath tub and turns the faucet to fill it with warm water. Once it’s filled, she steps in and sits, soaking in the comforting warm water. She closes her eyes and relaxes, wondering how Demetrius is doing down in the basement. She then grabs the bar of soap and slowly lathers her legs up to her chest and back. After doing so, she submerges herself in the tub, closing her eyes, imagining Demetrius with her. Afterwards, she gets out of the tub, bends over and drains it. She grabs her towel and dries herself off, walking into her room to get dressed.

All dressed and ready, she leaves to run her errands and see her friends to talk about her gentleman caller and hear the latest gossip.

The sun begins to set after a long day out and Elizabeth makes her way home before the night comes. Upon her arrival, the sun had set and Demetrius had come out of the basement. “Welcome back.” He says. “Thank you.” She sets her bags down on the table. “It’s good to know you are unharmed. Surely if you were to have stayed out any longer…” He stops, “He’ll come back for us. We have to stay here for now.” She nods in agreement. “Well, I brought some food if you’re hungry.” “I can see that, but I don’t need to eat, my meals consist mostly of living things.” He says in a low and slightly spiteful tone. “Oh, right.” She says softly. “But if you insist, I will join you for dinner.” He adds in his usual monotone. She smiles and begins to prepare dinner.

While she is making dinner, Demetrius hears strange noises coming from outside. Scraping and clanging noises. Demetrius decides to go out and investigate, suspecting it’s him. “Stay here Elizabeth. And stay aware.” He says sternly, opening the door and stepping out cautiously. He looks around, then closes his heart. “I know you’re here, Jack. I can smell you and hear you breathing.” “Yes, but where? Where do you suppose I am?” He replies mockingly. He appears behind Demetrius, “Here!” Demetrius turns around but he had disappeared. “Stay sharp, wouldn’t want me slipping by you now, do you?” Perfectly calm, Demetrius responds, “Why don’t you face me? Are you afraid?” Jack growls and says, “Oh no, no, no, no, no. It’s much more fun playing in the shadows. A wonderful thing, black magic, it enables me to strengthen my abilities, while adding new ones.” Demetrius clutches his sword.

“Your sword would do you no good here For you see, you’re hunting my shadow right now, and seeing how you left the door open…” Demetrius’ eyes open widely as he looks back into Elizabeth’s house, seeing her suspended. A flash of the night his wife and children were murdered passed through his mind as he saw her the same as he saw his wife: stabbed through the chest, suspended off the ground by a shadowed figure.

He stands paralyzed, seeing his wife in her. “Isabella… Elizabeth!” He snaps out of it and rushes at Jack, leaping over the table, unsheathing his sword and slashing vertically downwards as Jack tosses Elizabeth aside. Before the slash can land, Jack phases to the side, leaving just an after image for Demetrius’ sword to slice in half. “Damn.” He says landing. “You know, sharp objects can be dangerous.” Jack mocks lunging at him with two knives to stab, Demetrius goes to block but Jack appears behind him and slashes his back and reaches his arms around to stab Demetrius’ chest. He stabs back at Jack, catching his abdomen and pinning him to the wall. Demetrius lets go of his sword and turns to Jack, the knives still stuck in his chest. He pulls them out, blood spurts out, and stabs Jack in the head and heart, rendering him dead.

Demetrius’ wounds heal and he rushes to Elizabeth to try and save her. But the only way he could would be to give her his blood. He’s willing to do so, so she could live. He rolls up his sleeve and looks at his wrist, the veins pulsate, blood coursing through them. He then bites down on his wrist, piercing and cutting his own flesh. As the blood pours out he hovers his arm over her mouth, bleeding into it. “It’s not enough.” He says frustrated. He takes the wound and sucks some blood into his mouth and passes it into her with a kiss. The blood runs down her throat and into her system. Within moments her body wakes and begins to convulse and writhe. Then she is still, she takes in a deep breath and opens her eyes widely then lets it out. He wound had healed and she had died to live once more.

“Elizabeth, I brought you back, Jack killed you and I brought you back.” He explains. “How?” She asks. “He stops, then says, “With my blood.” “So that means… I’m a—?” Jack interrupts, “A vampire! But not for long.” He stabs through Demetrius’ heart with his own sword and pulls out his knives. Elizabeth screams in horror and tries to scurry away but Jack grabs her by her ankle and pulls her back, getting on top of her. Demetrius comes to, “I want you to watch as I slowly drain her blood and sever her pretty little head!” He exclaims as he stabs her heart. “No!” Demetrius yells in agony, pulling his sword from his chest. He tries to get up to save her but he does so too late, Jack raises his knife, then drops it quickly, taking her head clean off and splattering blood everywhere.

Demetrius picks up his sword screaming in anger and pain. And in one quick swipe, he takes Jacks head and ends his reign of terror on the foggy streets of London once and for all. He had taken Elizabeth’s body and head and buried it in an unmarked grave on a hill just out side the city. Only a lonely cross accompanied her lonely body.


Chapter 8

Demetrius and Isabella walk through the park where the lychan had been slain. The stars above were shining brightly and the moon was an odd shade of yellow, full and radiant. The grass below was short, a dark shade of green, the color was only noticeable by the grace of the lights from above. There was a cool breeze swaying the trees back and forth, tearing some loose leaves from the branches which flowed gracefully through the air. This was beautiful to Isabella, but Demetrius could still smell the scent of death and lychan blood in the air and on the ground. Isabella looks up at Demetrius and sees his solemn and somber expression. She was about to ask what was wrong, but she thought she shouldn’t. She then looked down at the ground in front of her, taken by his expression and feeling helpless to lighten his mood. They kept walking, and soon enough, they had reached the gate on the other side of the park.

Demetrius looked at it’s height, then down at Isabella who wondered how she’d be able to get over the tall, black, metal gate. “Hold on to me.” Demetrius said sternly, yet serenely. “Huh? Why?” Isabella inquired. He looked at her, then at the gate, “It’s the only way to get you over, hold on to me, I’m going to jump it.” She looked at him agreeably, “Oh, okay.” Isabella wrapped her arms around Demetrius’ neck and he swept her off her feet, holding her securely in his strong arms. Effortlessly yet gracefully he leapt clean over the gate, falling slowly and beautifully to the ground, his dark hair and coat flowing in the wind. The landing was soft, as if taking only a step.

Demetrius noticed Isabella’s eyes fixated on his face which shone beautifully pale in the moonlight, and reflected so much. There was no other being on this earth with eyes as fierce and reflective, yet soft and sympathetic as his. No being on this earth that gave off the kind of aura he does. A vampire more human than any human. An enigma, an anomaly, Nature’s perfect being. So flawed, yet so flawless. This is what she saw, what her ability to see into the souls and hearts of others showed her.

Still fixated are her eyes, and she remains speechless. “What is it Isabella?” Demetrius asks softly. She stays silent. He looks into her eyes, Perfect… She thinks to herself. Curious as to what she meant by that, Demetrius gives her an inquisitive look, “Isabella?” “Oh um, nothing.” She replies, snapping out of her silence. Demetrius gently puts her down, she turns away from him smiling and blushing slightly. Her smile so radiant and beautiful as the shimmering night sky, enough to light a frozen heart on fire.

Demetrius walks ahead of her, “We must go.” Isabella looks up at him and rushes to his side, keeping pace with him. “Oh! I just remembered!” She exclaims. “Hm?” “I have to stop by my mother’s house to tell her that I won’t be able to go see her later in the week, and tell her that my phone got disconnected.” I hate lying to my mom… she thinks to herself. “Okay, it’s necessary you do so. We have to hurry though, there’s only a few hours ‘til sunrise.” Says Demetrius, Isabella nods in agreement. They head off in the direction of Isabella’s mother’s house, a couple of miles from the park.

They arrive at Isabella’s mother’s place in one hour’s time. “Isabella, don’t you find it a bit odd for there to be so many stars out in the sky with all the ambient light from the city?” Demetrius inquires, Isabella stops, then says, “I haven’t thought about that… It is quite odd though. I wonder why that is.” Demetrius looks up at the shimmering stars and the looming yellow moon, “Something’s up. But as of now, I cannot tell what it is. Some sort of sorcery, maybe.” “Sorcery? You mean someone’s using magic right now?” “It looks that way, Even if it does sound absurd.” They remain silent wondering as to why someone would be using magic on this night. “Well, I think you should go up to your mother and inform her that you won’t be around for the next… well, I don’t know.” “Right. I’ll tell her it’ll be a few months, though she’ll ask why and worry, or yell.” “I’ll wait here, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.” “Okay then.” Isabella pulls out her keys from her pocket and opens the door, walking up the stairs to the second floor apartment and knocks on her mother’s door.

“Who is it?” A female voice asks in a slight Spanish accent. “Mama, it’s Isabella.” “Isabella? What are you doing here at this time?” Isabella’s mother says while unlocking and opening the door. “Hi mom. I have to talk to you about something” Isabella says hugging her mother. “Que es, mija?”

Isabella walks into the apartment, which is a bit bigger than hers, more organized and clean, with pretty decorations on the walls and lovely knick-knacks on shelves and tables, mostly candles and little angel and cherub figurines and statuettes. On the windows are extravagant crimson curtains with little beads and tassels on the ends. The couches are black, very well kept, and the tables are a cherry wood, with lamps on top of them, illuminating the room.

“Well, you’re not going to like this but… Mom, I’m not going to be here for the next few months.” Her mom gives her a weird shocked look, “Que!? What do you mean, ‘not gonna be here for the next few months?’ where are you going?” They sit on one of the couches, “Umm… There’s something I have to do, like a job. And I have to go away for a bit. Don’t worry, mama, I’ll be fine. I have someone looking after me.” Isabella explains nervously. Her mother looks at her sternly, searching her eyes, “Hm… Okay, but you better not get yourself in trouble, porque si algo pasa, ya tu sabes.” Isabella sighs with relief, “Si, mama, I know.” They both get up and head back to the door, “okay, dame un beso.” Her mother says, hugging her. Isabella kisses her mother goodbye, “Bye, mama.” “Que papa Dios te quide.” “Y a ti tambien.” Isabella leaves her mother’s house and walks down the stairs outside to Demetrius. Her mother closes the door and walks to the window to watch Isabella and Demetrius walk away. “Who is he?” She pauses, “Whoever he is, he will protect my Isabella.”

Out on the orange, dimly lit street Demetrius and Isabella walk seemingly aimlessly to an unknown destination. Isabella looks up at Demetrius, walking closely at his side as he just looks intently straight forward and asks, “Where to now, Demetrius?” He glances down at her thoughtful eyes, without moving his head, then back forward and stops suddenly closing his eyes. Isabella stops as well and just looks at him puzzled. “Northwest, to the upscale part of the state. I can feel a strong presence coming from that area...” He opens his eyes and looks into hers, “Most likely there is a coven there, or a lone noble. Whatever it is, they'll have the answers.” Isabella looks back at him and nods in agreement, saying nothing.

They hail a cab northwest, Upstate. In the cab, Demetrius and Isabella exchange glances and smiles, and Isabella scoots closer to him. He looks at her lovingly, and again sees the face of his long dead wife. Their hands find each other and entwine fingers as Isabella, feeling safe with him, rests her head on his shoulder. The scruffy, middle-aged, tanned, Italian cabdriver looks back at them through the rear view mirror with hardened but caring eyes and says, “You two married yet; you look good together. Not like me and my wife, yeesh, talk about not aging gracefully. Plus, she's a royal pain in the ass.” “No, we're not married. But,” Demetrius looks into Isabella's loving eyes, “It's like we've been together forever.” The cabbie smirks, “Oh yeah? That's real nice. So how'd you two meet, huh?” Isabella looks ahead at him and says, “Oh, umm...” She looks up at Demetrius, “We met on the street at night, I found him on the floor bleeding to death after fighting for his life. He did win the fight, but he was seriously wounded. He's so strong...”

The cabbie watches them look into each others eyes through the rear view, “Oh, wow. That's some story. Makes mine of how I met my wife seem incredibly lame. I met her at the Christmas party downtown, twenty-three years ago, by the big tree. She looked so beautiful, like an angel. So I went up to her and asked her to a dance, she said yeah. So we danced and all that, then towards the end of the night, as the fireworks went up and the tree shone bright, I asked her to be my girl, and we kissed. Nice, eh?” Isabella smiled, “That's so cute, your story isn't lame.” “Thanks. Hey you got yourself a good one, I can tell. Don't ever let her go.” He looks directly at Demetrius, and Demetrius smiles slightly and nods. “Yeah, as much as I talk about my wife, she ain't so bad. I love her, I wouldn't trade her for the world.”

The rest of the ride, Isabella sleeps with her head on Demetrius' shoulder, and he just stares out the window, cherishing the moment, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. The cabbie drives casually through the night to their destination, recalling all of the good times he had with his wife and all of the romance, thinking of ways to rekindle the flame between them. His passengers had inspired him to be more loving and courteous.

Finally they arrived at Upstate and just got out at a hotel. Demetrius payed the cabbie and bid him farewell and a good life, holding Isabella gently in his arms. She sleeps still.

Demetrius checked into the hotel, renting a room with only one window and a big enough closet for him to rest in during the day, which was coming soon. As soon as he got to the room he layed Isabella down on the queen-size bed, which was soft and comfortable, with dark blue linen sheets and the stereotypical mints on the pillows which Demetrius payed no mind to. He didn't like mints. He kissed her forehead and tucked her in. It was six in the morning and the sun was beginning to rise, so he left a note next to Isabella telling her that he'd be sleeping in the closet, the only place where the sun wouldn't harm him, and closed himself in the cold, vacant closet.

It was dark and desolate, nothing in it but him and a few wire hangers on the rack above his head. He layed on the floor of the closet and closed his eyes for a well deserved rest. There was going to be a hunt for a vampire that may know something about the attacks on Demetrius.

Even before he met Isabella, Demetrius had been attacked several times by angry and vengeful vampires that seemed to have sought him out for the sole purpose of eliminating him. He was becoming too much of a threat to vampires everywhere, only because of his vendetta. But now it is the vampires who have a vendetta against him.
On the day he met Isabella, he had battled a powerful vampire that left him wounded and short of blood. The vampire was a higher-up that was sent by the Russian coven Demetrius had thought he destroyed completely. Though he almost killed Demetrius, it was Demetrius that was victorious in the long and vicious battle by thrusting his sword through the Russian vampire's heart then slicing upward, cutting his head in half.

The night came and Demetrius had awoken. He stepped out of the closet and was met by Isabella whom was waiting for quite some time. She gave him a look as if to say, 'what took so long?' but said nothing. Demetrius grabbed his things and said, “There's no time to lose, let's go.” Quickly, Isabella gathered what she'd brought and went off after Demetrius who had already sped out of the hotel room. They hurried out into the lobby and passed the bellhops, tossing the key to the counter and some money as a tip, then leaving the hotel.

They stopped outside and Isabella asked, “Where are we going?” Demetrius didn't look at her, he just said, “Follow me.” Then looked back at her and into her eyes. She trusted his instincts and saw how he looked at her. She saw in his eyes that he would do anything in his power to keep her from harm. “Come on, you're not as fast as me. I'll carry you.” “Umm... Alright.” She said a little reluctantly. Demetrius swooped her off her feet and held her firmly in his arms. She felt safe. “Are you ready?” He asked, she nodded silently. “Alright, hold on tight, there's going to be a lot of jumping, and I run pretty fast. Don't worry, you're safe.” She looked up into his eyes and smiled, “I'm not worried.” He remained straight-faced and looked ahead. He crouched and readied himself, then launched into the air leaving an after image where he once stood.

Speeding through the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, tree to tree, their hair whipping behind them from the force of the wind as they flew gracefully through the air. Isabella had her eyes closed, taking in the sweet serenity of the moment. Demetrius' arms holding her safely gave her a feeling of love that she'd never felt before and was afraid of because she wasn't sure if she could ever handle such an emotion. Demetrius made her feel like she could, he took away all of her fears and doubts and made her content. It was strange, though, she barely knows the man yet he makes her feel this way. She was beginning to believe completely that she was in fact, his lover from many years ago. It was all so surreal, and she loved it.

They had arrived. Demetrius landed in front of a large black iron gate and an expanding, tall brick wall that wraps all around an immensely extravagant mansion. On the Gate were the letters: M V. The mansion itself was large and had Russian décor and structures, it was dark and gloomy and red was the predominant color. Gargoyles watched from atop the roof and ravens circled the main tower in the back. It had no windows, no cracks, no spaces where sunlight can peer through. Black wood and bright red bricks. Above the large, narrow main door was the Soviet symbol, shining proud in golden splendor.

Demetrius had put Isabella down. She looked at the magnificent structure in awe. “Mikail Volskonovich, the exiled Russian vampire. It's been ages, and for good reason. I owe him this visit.” He pulls out his sword and cuts open the gates effortlessly. An alarm is triggered and the compound goes on alert. Vampires with guns and swords come swooping in from above and crawl out of the shadows surrounding them both. “Surrender or you will be killed! Put your sword down!” Demetrius doesn't budge. “I repeat, surrender now or you will be killed!” “Stay behind me,” Demetrius says to Isabella, “this could be fun.”

Inside, a shadowed man watches the monitors, “DeCorvinus? What the hell?”

Chapter 9


The snow was falling like rain, there was nothing but white for miles. It was dark and hard to see, and the howls can be heard in the distance. There was no moon to be seen and Demetrius had to rely on his other senses. The cold was almost too intense, but to one without warmth it was of no bother. Demetrius had been searching all of Siberia for a hidden underground coven. It was smart of them to build one below the ground since the snow could hide it well and dull the senses of any hunter. But Demetrius wasn't just any hunter, and he was drawing near. He stood still, listening for anything that resembled the sound of the undead's single heart beat. Wolves were hunting that night, searching for anything that seemed good enough to sustain them 'til the morning comes.

Three black wolves with yellow eyes stumble upon Demetrius and surround him. “Easy, easy. I'm not food, I've gone bad. Rotten, passed my expiration date long ago. But, I can promise you food if you help me.” He kneels down and tries calling them to him, “Come on, I'm not your enemy. Here,” he pulls some meat from his pack at his side, “here's some food. And there'll be more where that came from if you help me find a hidden place.” They go to him and take the meat. “Good wolves. Now here, sniff this and help me locate the one who dropped it. I'm sure you know the scent.” He pulls a scarf from his side and has the wolves sniff it. The wolves nudge him and motion him to follow. They go off and Demetrius goes after them. They sniff the ground searching for the scent that's like the one on the scarf. Demetrius follows them for miles, “Are you sure you know where you're going?” he yells to them. They bark once each.

They stop and howl. “You found it?” Demetrius asks. They pant lulling their tongues and Demetrius pats their heads, “Good wolves! Thank you. You three wait here. I'll be back soon with some meat for you. Til I come back, here,” he tosses some more raw meat on the snow, “enjoy. And don't be greedy, either of you.” The three wolves share the large piece of venison evenly as Demetrius had instructed them to. As Demetrius digs through the snow and finds a handle to pull up a trap door the wolves play around behind him, growling and barking. “Here we go. Alright, just wait here. I'll be back.” Demetrius says going into the trapdoor to the hidden Russian coven.

There were no stairs to take into the hidden coven, so he just droped in, falling gracefully and landing on the cold concrete as if he'd fallen only an inch. It was dark and cold as a cave in the woods. Before him was a long narrow corridor lit with only a few candles. The walls were like charcoal, rough and a faded grayish-black. Each footstep echoed endlessly as though he'd be walking for an eternity into an abyss. After so long a walk, ahead was a large iron door which led into the main room of the coven. In front of those doors were two guards, they were human, and asleep. Demetrius swiftly ran toward them and dispatched them quickly and cleanly with one swing of his silvery japanese sword. Their blood stained the door and dripped down on to the concrete floor.

He put his ear to the door and listened in. On the other side, every vampire of importance to the coven sat around a small round coffee table on crimson lounge chairs talking about plans to expand and eventually take over all of Soviet Russia. Sword in hand, Demetrius backed away from the door and placed his hand on its surface. With one effortless push and the use of his vampiric power he sent the large iron door flying into the room and straight into one of their necks, decapitating him. As the blood sparyed violently from the vampire's neck and he shriveled up into nothing, Demetrius walked into the room emotionless and authoritative at the same time. The vampires shouted in anger and fear and attacked him.

He cut them down in rapid silvery light, he swung his sword so quickly that all you could see is a flash of silver, like a white lightning bolt and the aftermath of liquid crimson and body parts falling limp on to the concrete below. Some of them tried to run away but Demetrius is too quick, he seemed to teleport leaving an after-image where he once stood as still as a statue. To him, everything seemed to move in slow motion, the severed heads of his fallen foes floating above their bodies or being sent reeling some other place in the room spinning and sprayin blood as the turn to ash and dissipate before the even come close to the ground. Their bodies remain, bloodied and dried up like raisins in a dark grayish hue. Terror ran through the coven as he made his way into every room, beautifully slaughtering the monsters he hated with all of his shriveled black heart encased in ice. To them, he was the monster, a tyrant rampaging through their home murdering them horribly. He'd become that which he hated.

At the end of it all, one vampire remained. "What is your name, vampire?" Demetrius asked monotonously. The vampire stammered in fear, Demetrius had taken his left arm and his eye, "I-I-I-I am, Mikail Volskonovich... W-w-what do you want?" "Mikail, I will spare your life. But let your wounds remind you of me, let them burn and pain you each time you hear my name being spoken amongst your kind. You will aid me when the time comes, and you will never feed on another human, I will know, and I will come back and finish what I started. Do you understand, comrade?" Mikail gulps, "Y-yes, I unders-s-stand." Demetrius looks him in the eye and sees his fear, "Good."

Before leaving him, Demetrius grabs Mikail and bites his neck, draining him of blood. After taking enough, he drops him and and walks away, "There are enough rats here for you to feed on."

Demetrius jumps out of the coven on to the snowy fields outside where the wolves waited for him. He carried the two humans with him and dropped them in front of the wolves, "Here's what I promised. Enjoy." He left the wolves behind as they ravaged the corpses, walking in the blizzard to nowhere in particular. He walks disgusted with his actions which resembled that of what he most despised: they who made him what he is.  He played the massacre of the Russian vampires over and over in his mind, it plagued him. He could not let his monstrous slaughter of those vampires go. Though they deserved what they got, he did not believe that he should have savagely murdered them as if they were animals. Even the worst of beings deserve better than what he gave them. Their blood stained his hands and his garb, and he could not ignore the scent of old, dead blood. He was a monster, a tyrant. He'd let his vampiric side get the better of him, and this time it wasn't his feral side... it was him, and he enjoyed every second of the slaughter. That was the fact that brought him to disgust, to hate himself. He felt as if he'd become one of them.

In the middle of a snowy forest he stood, consumed by self hatred and anger and let out an frightful yell which sounded like that of a demon and passed out of the blanket of snow.

He dreamt of blood and death. He saw himself killing a horde of vampires which seemed endless. He was surrounded by blackness and the vampires came in white, their blood was intense red over the black and white. One after the other the vampires fell dead, filling the black floor with a sea of bright crimson. At the end of the horde were three figures, two the size of children and one the shape of a woman. Blinded by rage he struck them down. As they fell, the  white which hid them poured out of them like blood. At his feet lay his late wife and children, dead by his own hand. He fell to his knees in shock and horror of what he'd done and grasped them, holding them tightly and crying out in agony. Tears ran down his face and he cried out once more.

Demetrius awoke with a cry of pain to a dark cave surrounded by the wolves which protected him. They had carried him there while he slept before the sun came up. He stood up and called the wolves to him, "I owe you three my life. Thank you." He pet them affectionately, "But now I have to go. There's more to be done." They licked his hand and whined and followed him out of the cave and onto the edge of the forest, where Demetrius bid them a farewell and went off to the west, to London.


Chapter 10

Demetrius Cuts through the vampiric commandos employed by Mikail and dodges their bullets. They swarm him and Isabella, he smirks slightly and grabs Isabella, "Trust me." She looks at him and he tosses her high into the air and she screams in terror. The Vampires look up at the airborne girl and Demetrius does a spinning swing of his sword. Isabella begins to fall as he puts his sword away, "Demetrius!!" He puts his arms out and catches her gently, the vampires fall and blood sprays from their necks. He looks at Isabella and she glares at him, "You could have dropped me! What the hell's wrong with you!?" "Told you it was going to be fun." He smirks putting her down and she slaps his shoulder playfully.