Chapter 1
Can I kill a witness?
The top hat had cost close to two weeks salary, and yet the Lord Count Baron Maloderous nervously twisted the poor thing in his hands. How the mighty had fallen. Although he kept his eyes lowered to try to avoid whatever had befallen Secretia, it didn't help all that much because it forced him to look at the dried husk that had been one of Asche's guards. "Yes sir, that's about all I saw. The painted-faced man came in and started tearing up the place."
"So you're saying that you haven't seen him in here before?" Kelegar held his ground well, an imposing figure in the ruins of the club.
"Is there anything you can add to her description?" Detective Torres stood more than arm's length from the powerful Kindred. He tolerated her presence, but barely. A forensic team worked under heavy guard nearby.
"No, I don't think so." The image of the painted man was burned into his memory. Maloderous replayed it again. "No." Kelegar turned his head slightly as he felt the feather's touch of a hand upon his arm.
She caressed the expensive suit under her fingertips, trembling from the thrill. "He has been here before my Lord. With her." Secretia stepped toward him, she had to feel the fabric of his suit against her skin. Kelegar looked into her eyes and read her like a book. "The night of the other scuffle. They were here before it came down." The aged vampire hadn't perceived such openly lustful thoughts since the plagues.
"That is correct, Sir. Jayna met Az and David here the night of the football game." Aquarius chimed in.
"Football game?" Torres cocked her hip. "Bullshit. What 'other scuffle'."
"You would do well not to be distracted by that you cannot know." Kelegar spoke to both these women. "It has nothing to do with tonight."
"Don't you hold out on me, old man. We're working together on this." Torres stepped forward. Sooner or later the iceman would crack, but not tonight. She felt the cold marble of his skin close around her jaw. Officer Hook impressed everyone with the rapid draw of his service 9mm, but before he could aim the pistol the clip ejected itself, and the slide was jerked back by an unseen hand ejecting the chambered round.
"You are mistaken Detective." A pang of jealousy wounded Secretia as Kelegar pulled Torres to him. "Your presence is tolerated here, nothing more."
"You are on thin ice mister." Torres slowly moved her hand to the holy water 'mace' can issued to all JSPD. Kelegar turned her head slightly from side to side.
"Yes, I do think that if I am going to mount your head on my wall, I should take it soon. Before there are too many more lines to scar what beauty you claim." Kelegar looked into her eyes and let her feel just enough to give her nightmares. Then released her. She recoiled but kept her composure. She knew that if this man wanted her team dead, they would all leave this world before the first one fell to the floor. "I think we have enough information." He released his hold on the Lieutenant and turned to Maloderous' court. "You are free to leave."
"Wait a minute." Torres raised a hand.
"Mr. Aquarius." Kelegar motioned and Zan quick stepped across the rubble. "We are leaving, your car has been brought. Good evening."
"Yes sir, thank you." Zan kept his thoughts to himself. He hated anyone touching his car. Pollux stepped beside Kelegar and the two made their exit.
"Just a minute!" Torres tried to catch up, as Zan walked over to his companions.
"I think we should exit, stage left." Zan said putting on his sunglasses. "We'll meet back at Jayna's." Mike nodded silently and the four moved toward the door.
"Secretia... Are you allright?" Vlad stepped up to his friend. "Secretia?"
"Did you see him?" She sighed. "Wow.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Quetz, it’s nearly three." Az said, looking at Mike's watch. She was exhausted but worried about David. Her mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions; relief that David had finally found his purpose, anger that he hadn't seen fit to share that information with her and that he was causing so much destruction, fear that he would end up doing more harm than good, and sadness that their friendship was probably going to end on such a sour note. "Ok, so what we know is. David's after some vampire thug named Asche."
"He's a little more than a thug." Zan waved away Jayna's offer of a cup of coffee. "You know that stuff only dehydrates me." She nodded and refilled the other’s cups. "He's been trying to become a major player in vampire politics for years. You could say he's the number one thorn in Ravenstrom's side."
"Whatever." Az sighed. Right now vampire politics were the least of her concerns. "And by going after Asche, he's pissing people off."
"He's disrupting the masquerade."
"Oh please." Jayna sighed.
"Look, your garden variety 'Joe Average' still thinks the internet's a neat thing. They don't believe in super-powered people, Holy warriors, or vampires, and that's just the way the vampires want it." Zan drank from his ever-present bottle of water. "David is becoming a threat. If Ravenstrom decides that this is going to get worse you can forget ever seeing him again. Then again, Asche's an ass and that might work in David's favor."
"So the enemy of my enemy may be my friend?" Az asked.
"That could very well be. I don't know." Zan leaned back in his chair and fixed Az with his best no-nonsense look. "Ravenstrom isn't going to like anything that brings too much attention to the vampires. It's like this, either David gets a lot more subtle quickly, or it's decided that he's doing something beneficial, something worth the risk, or he's a goner. If it comes down to that we may have our hands full trying to prove that we aren't involved in any of this."
"Well I'd like to go on the record and say I'm not comfortable with the ass-kissing you were doing tonight. If I have a say in any of this." Mike said, holding Az against him.
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
"All right, enough. We're all strung out and exhausted. Let's not start in on each other." Jayna put her foot down. "Besides, neither of you had the 'honor' of standing in front of Ravenstrom this evening. I did, and I can tell you that whatever you like or don't like we do not want him coming after us." She paused to let her words sink in. “David's found his purpose, hasn't he?" She looked to Mike.
"That's probably a safe bet."
"That's bad isn't it?" Az asked softly. She was thankful for his arms, the warmth of his embrace.
"It's neither good nor bad. If David has found his path then that's good, for David."
"If it incites an all-out vampire civil war that's bad." Zan finished.
"So what do we do? Do we hunt down this Asche, or do we sit back and let David do whatever he's going to do?" Az asked. The idea of just sitting by and letting things escalate didn't appeal to her at all.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if Asche wasn't hauled in front of Ravenstrom before sunrise, if he's the reason for all of this." Zan stood up and pulled on his coat. "I'm going to go back to my place and do some digging. Maybe I can find a connection between Asche and David, something that will help us figure out what David might do next. There's somebody I could go talk to, he might have a clue."
"Don't you think we should get some rest first? We're all running on empty." Mike asked.
"You should know about running till the job's done, soldier." Zan said walking out. Jayna looked at Ciela and Mike, then went after Zan.
"Are you sure you need to do this?" Jayna asked as she caught up to him. "Maybe it would be better for all of us if we just butted out for a change."
"You tend to Az. Whether she's admitting it or not, this is eating her alive. I'll do what I can. My way." He kissed her quickly.
"You really surprise me sometimes."
"That's why I make the big bucks."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The wind licked his feathers, cool and damp from the evening’s earlier rain.
They were hunting.
He circled once, twice, around a tall, unlit building, waiting. Their current quarry was inside, and had been there for a few long minutes. It was the second of the two kidnappers they were after - the first vampire had perished inside the club after giving up this one’s whereabouts, hoping to prolong it’s life. It had…but only by seconds.
This vampire knew that something was amiss, and had remained relatively well hidden, and believed itself safe from all harm. It was mistaken.
None could ever remain safe from them, living, dead, or undead. Revenge knew no boundaries, and had no remorse. It could not be swayed by kind words spoken by a pretty face. Friendships were null and void where he was concerned. Crows had no need for these things, and neither did his charge.
He hoped it would stay here longer, while the other caught up to him. ‘As the crow flies’ was an apt expression here, his charge had been unable to keep up without attracting unwarranted attention to himself. After his little spree inside the club, his appearance alone attracted too much attention, but there was little to do about that now.
Sometimes having wings was a distinct advantage.
There was the noise of a door opening and the pale, blonde figure they were trailing stepped out into the alleyway with a young mortal in tow. She ran her fingers through his long hair, then ran a finger down its lips to stroke idly at his pathetic attempt at a goatee. They would probably be here for a while, which was good.
He sent the other a message to hurry, and let him see where he was and what he was seeing for a moment.
The crow landed on the opposite rooftop silently, watching, waiting. He did not like what he was seeing but the vampire was merely hammering another nail into his already full coffin of sins. Painted ruby lips brushed colorless, cold ones, and murmured soft, kind words when they withdrew. Warm, living flesh curled around his icy chest, fingers running down his back, stopping only to cup his buttocks and pull him closer. She whispered again in his ear, and he responded, laughingly, nibbling on her ear, slowly making his way to her throat.
She had no idea what she had gotten herself into. Unfortunately the little mortal was about to learn the danger inherent in talking, or in this case - necking, with strangers.
Strong, pointed teeth bit into warm flesh without a sound, and from his perch the bird could see the light leave her eyes along with a single sigh of breath, long before the vampire finished feeding.Darkness moved within darkness, and a shadow crossed the vampire’s as the girl’s body fell lifeless to the ground.
~ You took your time. You’re too late to save her. ~
Chapter 2
Leah was more than a little confused about the events of the past hour.
Asche had been on the other side of the club, mingling with some of his more important contacts, leaving her alone for a short time while he discussed some ‘business’ that she hadn't been interested in. He’d been gone long enough for her to finish her first drink, and for her to consider ordering another, when a murmur had run through the club. The vibration of shared vampiric consciousness had tickled the inside of her mind ever so slightly, grabbing her attention instantly. As the murmur turned into something else - shock, anger, and in some cases, fear - Asche was suddenly there at her side, grimacing in a way that let her know something was very, very wrong.
Ravenstrom, she thought. Ravenstrom finally sent some of his people after Asche.
It was something she had feared ever since she had gotten involved with the rogue. But, then again, she hadn’t had much choice in the matter. Stay with Asche or die, death now or death later…a few more days of life or a few decades, depending on his mood…it had been a simple choice, really.Looking past Asche, she thought she spied a familiar face across the club, but what she thought she saw was impossible! Then the pulsating crowd of both the living and the dead swallowed him from sight too quickly for her to get a second look. Leah glanced down at her empty glass and wondered just what the hell she’d been drinking, and started to get up to try to get a better look.
The tall, blonde Kindred had gestured to some of his men, glanced at her fearfully, and grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise it as soon as she stood. Then he’d yanked her off her feet without saying anything other than a quickly mumbled, “We’re leaving.” She had remembered at that moment how strong he truly was as she was very literally carried out of the club, faces shooting by her faster than her still-mortal eyes could follow. As soon as they were away from the club, they were airborne, and she had no idea where they were going.
Whatever had spooked Asche wasn’t something she ever wanted to meet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Mr. Shelby?” A soft, timid voice came over the intercom sitting on the massive redwood desk “Your daughter is here to see you, sir.”
Leo Shelby leaned over and punched a button on the small device. “Send her in.”, he barked, releasing the button, and then running a hand through his non-existent hair. He leaned back in his massive leather chair just as the door swung open.
“Leah, a pleasure to see you again, darling, even if it is a little bit late! I was just finishing up some paperwork.” He gestured to the desk, which was indeed strewn with paper, some of it emblazoned with ‘top secret’ in bright red ink. Leo had always thought little of her. Apparently now he didn’t even believe she could read, for he made no effort to cover up any of the documents.
“So I see.” Leah smiled snidely, but the older man didn’t pick up on it.
“So what brings you here?” Leo leaned back even further in the char, propping his feet up on the desk, which had been cut from a tree that was older than her and her father and Asche put together. Leah hated the damn desk with a passion, but her father loved it, it oozed money as far as he was concerned. Leo folded his arms behind his head and considered her for a moment. “Are you finally ready to shut that rat-trap club of yours down?”
"There aren't any rats there." The guests see to that, she thought, wryly. "Besides, I kind of like Fallen Angels. It gives me something to do."
"Besides hang out with Metahuman scum?" He muttered, adding “You could at least move to a more upscale neighborhood. There are too damn many freaks down there, and too many bloodsuckers.” He stared at her as she flinched, rolling his eyes. “Still trying to be politically correct, Leah?”
“Still xenophobic to a fault, Leo?” Leah had stopped calling her father anything other than 'Leo' many years ago, and didn't speak to him at all if she could avoid it. She was amazingly good at avoiding it, but this was one of those times when it was a necessary evil. Asche hadn’t said much more other than he wanted to speak with her father, and so here they were.
Asche had whisked her out of the club at the exact moment someone who looked amazingly like her ex-fiancée had walked in, and they had been on the move ever since. Another vampire had gotten word to him that the club was now a bloodbath, cops had arrived, along with some unknown metas. The protagonist had escaped just before Kelegar had arrived, and he was ‘questioning’ the witnesses. Leah was surprised to see Asche shudder slightly as he heard this, and she didn’t ask for details.
Things always went from bad to worse when Kelegar arrived. Always. Ravenstrom’s right-hand man was probably sent in to clean up evidence of vampiric involvement, before more attention was drawn to them. Most likely they were now the evidence, unless they found something to bargain with. Asche thought he knew what the vampire-killer wanted, and he hoped to use that information to get into Ravenstrom’s good graces…if it was possible.
“Tell me, what exactly did you pay to have the Long girls killed? Was it worth it to put two little girl’s in their graves just to get ahead in business?” Leah knew quite well what had happened.
Mr. Long, CEO of her father’s biggest competitor on J Street, had suffered a severe nervous breakdown as a result of his children’s tragic deaths, and Leo had been there to snatch up the pieces of Long’s business as they fell. This gave him several large, legitimate connections, including one to manufacture hi-tech weapons for the JSPD
This chain of events tended to lend credibility to David's long-ago assertion that Leo was somehow behind the kidnapping…and Asche had confirmed it when he brought her here.
One day she would be able to come forward about the mystery corpse now planted in an unmarked grave. It tore her up inside to not have David’s name on his own grave, but that would change…eventually. Either when Asche released her or made her one of his kind.Leo sat upright so fast in response to her comment she was surprised that he didn’t hurt himself, slamming one hand down on the desk and scattering several of the papers. “What do you think you’re talking about, Leah?”
“Please, you may as well admit it. You had them kidnapped, and put in that building with a bomb. I know it’s true.” She moved closer to him and smiled, leaning forward with both elbows on the desk. He was obviously rattled.
“Where in the world would you get such a crazy idea?” Leo had regained his composure but was picking up the documents he had scattered in an attempt to keep busy while his mind raced. Leah could only imagine what thoughts were streaming through his head. "I know our relationship isn't the best but…" Fortunately, she wasn’t alone, and the person with her could read Leo’s thoughts as easily as she could read his flustered expression.
“She got the idea from me, Mr. Shelby.” To Leo it was as if the tall, lithe Kindred had appeared out of nowhere, when in fact he had been standing next to his chair the whole time, using a small portion of his power to remain unseen. It hadn’t been much of a challenge, either, considering the weakness of Leo’s unspectacularly common mind.
“We need to talk, Leo. That little job you had me do at the tower has come back to haunt both of us.” Asche paused, cupping his hand under Leo’s chin, forcing the mortal to look up at him. “Someone showed up an MY club tonight, killed MY people, and set the place on fire. Now most likely I have His Majesty Ravenstrom, breathing down my neck.” He dropped his hand, but Leo remained paralyzed, staring up at him in hollow-eyed shock. “If MY neck is in danger, so is yours.”
“Wh-h-”
“Who knew about the plan?” Asche demanded. Both men were now completely ignoring Leah, and she moved to the door, out of the way in case things got messy, as things were wont to do around the temperamental vampire. “Who did you TELL? Why did a meta show up at my club and destroy it?”
“What meta?” Leo managed to stutter. Despite his overriding fear of the vampire questioning him, he still hated metas, all metas. “One of the Pantheon?”
“No, thank the dark lords. A meta who looks almost like our kind. Any ideas?”
“I could call C.A.M.P…It would take until morning though.”
“I don’t have time, and neither do you…”
Leo looked over at Leah, casually leaning against the wall across from the huge desk he sat behind. “Why did you bring this…”
“Why did I bring this bloodsucker here?” She finished the thought for Leo. “He saved my life." She turned her back on both of them, and began studying the pattern on the wall, as she knew what was probably going to happen. "That’s all you need to know.”
“Asche,” Leo began, pleadingly, as the vampire moved closer to him, teeth bared in a false smile. “Let me contact my people. Asche, we can work something out here, I know we can. I’ll find out about this freak, you have my word on it. If I don’t, you can kill me tomorrow night. All I’m asking for here is one day. What does one day matter to you?”
“One day.” Asche leaned in close enough to smell the blood flowing below Leo’s colorless skin, and his hand tightened on the edge of the desk, fighting the urge to drain the man dry. “You have one day.”
Leo smiled, and allowed himself to relax a tiny bit. “You won’t be sorry, Asche.”
“Of course not.” Asche smiled again, widely, showing his fangs. “If I am…” The vampire gestured for Leah, who walked over silently. Leo’s face went even paler as Asche carefully ran a finger across his fangs, drawing blood. He offered the hand to Leah. She tried to look away from the ruby drop of blood on his finger. She didn't want her father to see what she was becoming. She clutched her arm but couldn't turn away, the blood called to her. When Asche turned his hand over and the drop stretched and threatened to fall, Leah stepped up like the junkie she was and sucked his finger greedily. Leo turned color again, this time a sickish green.
“If I am sorry, your daughter will take her first feeding off of you. Have you ever seen a new-reborn take their first meal?” Asche asked as he began to move his finger in and out of Leah's mouth. Asche watched her mouth, not even looking at the mortal he addressed. "It's not pretty. The kine is drained dry in most cases. Dry. The sire should be there to stop them before it comes to that. The hunger can be a maddening thing, Leo." He hooked his finger and drew Leah to him for a kiss.
Leo nodded emphatically to hide his shudders. “I understand. I’ll know tomorrow. I will.”
“Good.” Asche wrapped an arm around Leah’s waist and both vanished as the first of the security guards arrived.
Chapter 3
“How did you find me?” The figure on the ground, crumpled into a broken heap asked, spitting blood with every syllable. “Why?” Overly pointed canine teeth flashed aggressively with this last question. A thin trail of blood - not his own - ran down one side of his split mouth and down his chin, dripping to the ground in flashes of scarlet. “You’re just like us, you could be immortal!” The battered figure shouted, desperately.
David smiled slightly, grimly, an unnerving sight to the injured vampire, but said nothing, letting his stolen samurai speak for him instead. David let the ancient blade flash forward, severing one of the vampire’s hands with a swift flick of his wrist.
“I don’t want to be immortal.” He finally whispered in response. “I just want to know why I’m dead.”
Freshly stolen blood coursed from the stump and pooled beneath him as the undead creature writhed in pain, cursing in several languages. He was a young vampire, one of the rogues, and his powers were struggling to keep up with the amount and variety of damage David had thus far inflicted upon him. He had been hunting a victim even as David had been hunting him, guided by the white winged creature now perched on a filthy dumpster nearby, watching the proceedings intently. They had been to late to save the victim, lying ashen-faced further down the alley, but the murderer had no chance of escaping.
“You fucking idiot!” the vampire raged, trying to struggle to his feet as his body continued to heal. His dark clothes were stained even darker with the blood they’d absorbed, and his long, dirty blonde hair was matted to his skull with it. “What is more important than eternal life?” He spat out at David, regaining his balance. “Tell me that, you damn freak!” He moved forward, his remaining hand balled into a fist, regaining strength with each passing second.
~ Put him in his place, David. ~
The words rang clearly through his mind, almost soothingly, and with the smallest trace of humor. He welcomed the voice in his mind after the chaos and bloodshed that had been the club, where the bird’s mental connection had been taxed to its limit by the various psychic connections amongst the vampires. The crow had become silent, and remained so for quite some time.
David lashed out, snake-like, with a steely fist across the vampire’s jaw. Bone shattered bone with an explosive crack, and the young vampire was sent sprawling across the trash-stewn alley. Rats and other vermin scattered from their hidden homes and a few vanished through the portal at the far side of the alley, which the vampire eyed for a moment before turning his attention back to his attacker. The vampire struggled to his feet again and turned to face David.
~ He’s either stupid or suicidal. ~
“Probably both.” David murmured, bringing the samurai to bear in an en garde position. “So who killed me, Vince?”
The blonde vampire blinked in surprise at hearing his name, and stopped, frozen. “I don’t even know who the hell you are, you freak!” He spat. “Tell me that and maybe I can help you. I’ve killed a few people, after all.” He glanced casually to the blood-drained corpse facedown nearby. “Just a few.”
“All right, how about this? Stop me if you've heard this one. Once upon a time there was a little girl, and there was a little building, and there was a little bomb. The bomb wasn't a happy bomb and didn’t want to make friends and so they all went boom!” David half-laughed as he spoke, the words coming out with a singsong lilt to them. The sword spun around in a full circle for emphasis. “Surely you remember. It's a true story. They're the worst kind.” The samurai twisted again, cutting intricate patterns through the air, coming dangerously close to the vampire’s unblinking eyes. White fingers played across the hilt as if they had been born holding the weapon.
“Two little kidnapped girls. Come on, I know you remember.” David murmured as he edged ever closer to the vampire, who retreated a step, then another, until his back was pressed against the graffiti-covered alley wall. The blade’s edge glinted ominously as it moved closer, eventually pressing against the vampire’s throat, who stared at David, uncomprehendingly.
“Two little kidnapped girls.” He repeated. “Kim and Kathy Long. They were in the old tower, with a bomb. I was inside at the time. My fiancée and I were inside at the time.”
The look in the vampire’s eyes changed, although he never took his eyes from the hand holding the blade. He finally nodded, carefully, speaking in hushed tones.
“Asche. Asche promised to make us vampires for that job.”
“That’s better. Now we're getting somewhere!” David moved the sword away and allowed the vampire some room to move. “Where can I find this Asche?”
“He’s usually at Fallen Angels…but he’s not there now. He went into hiding after you tore it up earlier. That was you at the club, wasn’t it? We’re all looking for a freak with a sword, and you damn well fit the bill.”
“Hey, it's your lucky night! You found me! So he was there?”
“Yeah. He was.” The vampire had regained some of his bravado now that he didn’t have a sword pressed against his throat. “And you haven’t got a hope in hell of finding him, either.”
“Is that so?” David smiled, relaxing his stance slightly, and letting the sword fall to his side limply. “I guess I should just go home then?”
Don’t do it. ~
David’s free hand shot forward suddenly, catching the vampire off guard and connecting to the side of the bloodied face. His body stiffened as he ‘read’ the creature before him.
Across from both of them, the crow ruffled its feathers and cawed once, unhappily.~ You stubborn idiot. ~ It said, but David was no longer listening.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Asche stood before him, speaking in low, conspiratorial tones. Tall and lean, the rogue vampire had a rich, full voice that lent itself well to authority. In another lifetime he could have been anything - an actor, musician, or a politician - he had one of those faces. He also had the charisma that went along with it, some vampires and most mortals found him undeniable.
That was probably the reason Vincent had been willing to risk incurring Ravenstrom’s wrath. He had done a few odd jobs for the old vampire, but was seen as unfit to become one of them, so Vince and one of his closest friends had turned to Asche.
The pair had been promised nothing short of eternal life for doing one simple job.
“I only have one more little thing for you.” Asche repeated, snapping Vince’s thoughts back in place. A stuffed bear sat on the table between them, a small LED crystal visible on the back. “It’s set to go off at dawn. Don’t be anywhere near it when it goes.”
“Right. Then…?”
“Then you come back here tomorrow night, and everything will be taken care of.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cold steel bit deeply into his flesh, severing tendons and chipping bone, the pain breaking his trance. Instinctively he dropped, rolling away from the enraged vampire, and narrowly missed being decapitated by his own sword. He flipped to his feet, and blocked another downward swing of the sword with his left forearm.
~ While you were napping he took your sword away from you. Brilliant move, Sherlock. ~
“Thanks.”
~ That wasn’t a compliment, you know. ~
David spun, avoiding another wild lunge of the sword, his right arm snaking under his trench coat, his left grasping the blade and immobilizing it. Vince tried desperately to pull it free, even as it was wrenched from his hand and thrown across the alley. He turned to flee but the first crossbow bolt penetrated his eye socket before he could even take a step. When the second arrow ripped through his throat, he dropped to the ground, what little blood that remained inside him bubbling out to pool in the cracks of the alley floor.
~ Well? What are you waiting for? Put him out of our misery! ~
David grinned at the bird, still perched on the filthy dumpster. “You worry too much.”
He said as he grabbed the struggling vampire and calmly walked towards the portal on the far side of the alley. He shoved the vampire’s arm through the nexus, and tiny wisps of smoke appeared in midair, hanging there as if suspended by magic. The stench of burning flesh soon followed, and even the bloodthirsty bird seemed to be put off by David’s actions.“Oh look! Two suns.” David laughed as the vampire writhed desperately, trying to escape David’s grip and failing. He was far too weak and David was far too strong for him to have a chance as David pushed him further into the light. The vampire screamed, twitched, convulsed, and was finally still as David pushed him fully into the other dimension.
~ About time. So, did your little trip to Never-Never land tell you where to find this Asche character? ~ The crow asked as he preened, ruffled his feathers, and waited for a response. He eyed the blood-drained corpse, cocking his head to one side, then the other.
“You aren’t that hungry.”
~ Says you. Eyes are a delicacy, you know. ~
“Whatever.” David muttered as the bird hopped to the ground.
~ About this Asche, can you find him? ~
“Yes. But before I do that there’s something I have to do.” David picked up the sword and wiped it off, then replaced the crossbow under the coat. “I want to go home.”