Chapter 1: The Hunt

Posted on: December 10, 2009, 05:34:26 PM
Posted by: Lily
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And the raging black fire licked at his skin in torment. Unbearable heat coursed through painfully as his wings were swallowed by the searing flames. Slowly, they turned to ash and fell like dry leaves scattering helplessly. Asariel hung, wrung in the chains that bound his immortal soul. He felt nothing. Nothing but the thought of pledging himself to the mortal who had captured his heart. He refused to be one of the fallen. He was not to be a traitor, but he would fight. Fight for her. Even if it meant purging himself of that which made him pure, even if that meant serving his lord no longer...

Damn dreams again, haunting me even as I trace her. As if I haven't heard the stories enough throughout the centuries, my fate must haunt me in my sole reprieve. Within my mind. I am not a man, but a child of the moon. A the son of the bound, Asariel. I have always been proud, it was an honor to my people but a curse for me. Why should I be bound to a human woman in such a way? Degrading as it is, to pledge my loyalty to their line. And the dreams will not leave me. A constant reminder I have an oath to fulfill - an oath I did not make but still must carry to term.

I am still unsure if this wholly unremarkable woman is the one I've been looking for. Names change over time, and as the magic skips generation its hard to track. She smells...pleasant. And I wonder if she knows the danger she is in if the magic runs through her veins. I am perched comfortably against the skyscrapers, lunging as is necessary to keep up with her. I haven't gotten a good look at her but the golden glow is rather unmistakable for me. The familiar thrumming of her ancestry.

The reason she is to be hunted and extinguished.

Posted on: December 10, 2009, 06:46:22 PM
Posted by: Nelson
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It’s not like I was trying to escape it. It was my destiny. No one can escape their destiny. I only wanted to avoid the part I knew would hurt the most. The part were I had to watch him die. Him. Whoever he was. He already felt part of me. My guardian. Just like Grandma Leah told me. I would feel him before he found me. She had forgotten to mention the part about the visions, though. Yes, the one truth I’d been trying to privately get rid of. Imagine seeing things before they happen, only not literally. The visions come, but do not linger. Momentary blurs. Pieces I must put together through experience, knowledge and emotion. I’ve learned to control my senses, that way my visions don’t frustrate me as much when they leave. If I’m not quick, I lose their purpose, the picture they’re trying to show me. Him I saw for the first time a few nights ago. I’m not sure what he looks like, but I did feel him, I felt him die.

Grandma had only explain a few things before she died. She said time would reveal my role in this our family’s legacy. She said all I had to do was wait and everything would come, including him. Books helped me understand who I was destined to be, but they kept many secrets too in the disclosure. All I could do was wait.

Though as I wandered through the city, trying to keep myself from falling onto the tormenting thread of reality, hurrying before night fell completely upon me, I felt myself unraveling. I had to stop. My heart climbed to my throat as I suddenly drown in agitation. A new sensation made my blood seethe beneath my skin as an irresistible force pushed it through my veins and back to my heart. I was weakened. My eyes felt a burning unlike never before. The city had become a wasteland without me noticing it. Cold, crisp air gathered around, irritating my sensitive, unprotected skin. My body was still quivering. The furor had left an insatiable trail of fire in my veins that forced me to shut my eyes. What had happened?

I heard a voice that arose immediately as I opened my eyes and gave out a whimper of pain.

“Oh, my Abaddon,” it pronounced with a voice shrouded and evil-intentioned. “How fortunate do I count myself for having found a soul to pray on this primal night.”

Numbed, vaguely conscious, I turned. Both hands pitched leisurely to the sides. A dark flash took over my sight as I felt a magnum force vaulting over me, knocking me to the ground, forcing all the pain to move to my back. It’s cold, long fingers moved at a downtempo from my chest to the nape of my neck. I didn’t have to be fully awake to know what was happening. Something had happened to me. Something drained my day of time without me realizing it. Night surprised me, bringing along with it one of it’s usual prowlers: a heartless Vampire.

I knew this wasn’t it. I had that feeling, again. I knew something bigger was waiting to happen. Death couldn’t have been what all this years had anticipated. Death couldn’t be the price I would have to pay for trying to cheat destiny. If Grandma Leah were still alive, she would’ve - well, if she were here I wouldn't have gone off to find a sorcerer. If she were alive she would've given me all the answers. But she wasn't. And though a baffled tender feeling made me think she was near, a deeper glance showed me the face of someone else. Someone I had never seen, but felt. Someone moving beyond the grip of terror to save me. My guardian

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Posted on: December 12, 2009, 01:15:12 PM
Posted by: Nelson
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He came, piercing through the night with the sharp tip of his sword. Crimson venom spurted over the sidewalk pavement. The fledgling fell. Headless. Gushing more and more of it’s poison as what was left of his body hit the ground. Pain teeming with fire constricted my heart. Why wouldn’t it go away? Why did it hang? I almost died. Why couldn’t I feel the fear of being so close to death? Why was this burning sensation asphyxiating my soul?

I caught his smooth beauty as he moved closer to me. He sounded angry. As if I had disappointed him. I breathed. His words somehow extinguished the fire within. In a second, it was gone. I looked up at the night sky, perplexed by what had happened. I breathed again. I felt like my old self, only not completely. Had he done that? Was it really him who made it go away? I couldn’t peel myself off the ground. My eyes followed the shadow of his perfect symmetry and went on to linger comfortably on his face. There was a sense of familiarity in his eyes. Though they were strange, grey, I believed, I felt safe in their line of sight.

“Sorry,” I managed in a whisper as I sat up. I was apologizing for everything he had accused me off doing wrong while my body was recovering. So, we both knew I was being reckless. Only, he conformed to a more sensible point of view on the matter. I was well of aware of the risk I was taking when I left the house. The Elders, including Grandma Leah, had prohibited me from wandering on my own since I can remember. The reasons? Well, that’s why today I decided to break the rules. I needed to know what was so special about me that put my life in such peril. “I...wasn’t...thinking.”

He wasn’t quite what I had imagined. His bone structure was far more narrower than that of the boy in my visions. Well, it was impossible to judge him base on my visions. Like I said, they were always out of focus. He let me down in the sense that he didn’t have the face I’d given him. He was much more fantastic. Much more beautiful. Someone I would’ve never been able to make up on my own.

“Samuel, was it?” I couldn’t help but jumping straight to what had me dangling on the edge of my nerves. What mattered. He was without a doubt who I had been waiting for. I knew it. He saved me. He made the weird feeling go away. He saved me! It was clearer than any vision I had had. But the questions still remained? What exactly was he protecting me from? How did he make the fiery pain go away? I couldn’t help but wonder as I rose to my feet to face him directly. “Took you long enough.” I said matching his bitterness, though I was all curious. I brushed my clothes, eyeing him closely. “Tell me this. What the hell just happened?”

His eyes drew me deeper into their mystery. I stood still. The sound of a motorcycle’s engine shooting to life rented the night, far, but recognizable. The buzz of the night hours begun as by now most of the people had gone to hide from the potential dangers. The creatures who moved about at night were all profoundly mysterious. They were vampires. Some good. Some bad. People didn’t want to risk having a vein popped just because they were wandering about town. It had become a tradition. Vampires had their laws, humans had also made laws to coexists with the vampires, but like a murderous mind, some vampires couldn’t control themselves. I should’ve known I was putting myself in terrible danger, but the urgency of my curiosity was priority. Luckily, someone far more inscrutable appeared out of the dark shadows to rescue me. Him who I know found myself embarrassingly transfixed by.

“I felt something. You stopped it from hurting.” I moved closer to him. A hand surged forward, as if it longed to touch face, but I forced it to stay down. At that moment I felt like I'd known him all my life. Memories gathered in my head, strange unclear pictures of someone who felt like me and someone who looked like him. Only, I was sure I had never met nor seen him before tonight. "Who are you?"


Posted on: December 10, 2009, 09:51:17 PM
Posted by: Lily
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A bitter smile graced my as the stench of the undead hit my sensitive nose. It was her. If there had been a doubt in my mind before this moment it was erased. The Vampire wasn't unseemly, how could they be? Descendants of the fallen would be beautiful. So many were. Only those with week blood turned into monstrous abominations - a reflection of what they all were on the inside. They fey were just as outwardly appealing. Until they showed the uglier side of their nature. The hunger and anger morphed their features. Nasty things they were. Not all were truly evil - as far as they children of the fallen went. But those who worshipped Abbadon made it their mission to hunt those my line was sworn to protect.

All knew of the history. Most thrived in being children of darkness; thrilled as they were for un-beating hearts. But the insult to the fallen... there were some who still lingered and tracked. Those who felt they owed it to their ancestors to destroy that which had cursed them a millennia ago. The clan which had cultivated some of the strongest of witches. I thought it useless, it had been so very long ago. So much older than me. It chafed - the thought that I am so intricately bound to her. Already I can feel her. The pledge binding me tighter still. My muscles tightened as if ready to spring at the spike of her fear and my jaw clenched, the canines slowly protruding with a 'pop'.

I lunged, my body hitting the vampire head on as he was forcibly thrown backwards. He had no choice but to let go of the girl sprawled on the ground. He was a young one. So fragile compared to those who were older. And nothing compared to me. A smiled, my braid swinging wildly in my crouch. I did would end him before this night was over. But for now I was content to bait him. "You'll not get close enough to touch her again." as unsavory as my new goal in life was - I would always retain my honor.

I would never shame my family. Ever. Even if it meant making her my life.

I drew Echelon - the stainless steel executioners sword glinting menacingly in the darkness as I gripped the soft leather handle. Asral was safely strapped against my thigh, the black iron short-sword would be relatively useless against a vampire, though immensely effective against the fey. The vermin before me, though, was so weak I didn't even think about shifting into my true form. "To what clan should I send your last regards?" I asked him softly, his eyes widened in fear, but the insult I had paid him forced him to stay. We were all victims of hubris.

"They will revel in her blood." he spoke his voice strong despite the impending doom I was about to unleash against him. His death was quick as I thrust my sword, a clean swipe to his head and it was over. Decapitation was the way I had chosen to end them. Anything else I found dishonorable. I was a warrior. A watcher. I knew I'd taken all the time I could to draw out having to face the woman. But there could be no more avoidance from my part anymore so I turned around and for the first time got a good look on her.

Boy am I surprised. The sudden shock through was system was freezing my thinking because there were only choice words to describe her. Beautiful, unfortunately, was one of them. There was something about her eyes.... "I am Samuel Lovell." I managed throat constricted. What else was I supposed to say? I doubt she take it well if I told her she would be hunted by creatures of the night till the day she died, and that if she was to bear a child with the same magic that gripped at her veins ... well it would suffer her fate. Her life would take a drastic turn now. She'd me coming of age soon, he could almost taste the magic waiting to escape beneath her skin. But she looked so young, fragile even. She reminded me of porcelain doll. Fair, with cornsilk hair and peculiar round blue eyes. Even as I admired her I could feel the resentment building. It was wholly unfair. It would be so much simpler to let her be bleed dry, or rather end the madness myself.

What would protecting her accomplish? What would it serve? I would be fighting against odds stacked up against me. This fledgling was nothing. He knew not the master he was truly serving. No real reason to want her demise but for the call of her blood. But his words shook me. One as weak as he shouldn't have been able to identify her for what she was. I cast another look at her feeling my lips drawn into a tight line, my extended canines dragging against my lip. So much fucking trouble. And for what? A stupid little girl who couldn't even defend herself. I had a hunch on what had drawn the vampire, how she'd made it so obvious for herself she was otherworldly. I took sure steps towards the frightened little rabbit my steps sure as I sheathed Echelon. "You've been broadcasting." I accused, just about glaring. If she couldn't control her mind or her magic she would make my job so much harder than it already was.

And here I thought I'd at least be dealing with someone who was trained. That was clearly too much to ask. It wasn't enough I was pledged to this woman-child, that now my purpose had ceased to be solely my own. "Do you want to die?" I asked her not giving her any space to move. Up close I could really smell her, could really see her. Beneath the translucent skin was a mounting glow. One those who knew what she was would recognize. "You don't seem surprised, shaken but not surprised." I observed feeling that familiar irritation he was becoming so used to surface once more.

Fantastic. He would also play baby-sitter. And here I thought it couldn't get worse than being pledged to a human woman. I was severely mistaken.