Chapter Fifteen


We've been on the move for several weeks now, staying as far away from civilation as possible, - unless we needed to feed on human blood - travelling through forests or woods. As far as I know, we still have a lot of distance to cover.

I looked over at Angelus, then looked at Mika, "Just like the old days," I began, "running all night through forrest, like when we travelled to the domain,"

Mika grinned, "It's great to be out in fresh air again, I hate being in one place for too long, especially one that's indoors,"

I sighed, "Life was so much simpler back then," I began, then changed my mind, "No, it was never simple, the dhamphires have had it in for me since day one!"

We continued through the seemingly never ending valley of trees. Most vampires travel through forests to keep shelter from the sun during the day. Vampires, strong as they are, lack the resistance of UV rays that humans do. If they stay in the sun for 15 minutes, they get sun burned. The burns get worse and worse until they eventually die, which takes at least an hour.

Vampire's eyes are also very sensitive, if they opened their eyes during the day time, they might as well be forcing two light sockets into their iris. It takes a day for the headaches to lessen and our vision to return to normal. As for the burns, that caries, but will usually be healed in week or so.

Stopping at a pond, I washed my face clean of sweat. Cupping my hands together, I dunked them in the water, lifted the water to my mouth, and drank greedily. I paused when I glanced at my reflection. This is the first time i've got a good look at myself in almost six years.

My face has hardened and matured. I looked more masculent, and my eyes were more serious than before, ever alert to danger. I was more broad, and had bigger arms. My hair was slightly longer, though not messy - i've been keeping it in order over the years. My hair went down to mid neck, my bangs went wherever the wind blew them, I had no control over them.

I was taller too, at least four inches taller since i've been blooded. The cross-like scar on my cheek has faded slightly and stood out less than when I first got it. I had the appearance of a 16 or 17 year old now.

"Admiring your reflection?" Angelus teased.

"There's a lot to admire," I said, running a hand through my hair sarcastically.

"Do you have the maps with you?" He asked.

Pulling out the map from my backpack, I unfolded it and presented it to Angelus, Mika strolled over when he saw it.

"Ok, so we are -" he pointed at our location on the map - "and we have to go here," he said, pointing to a small city not too far.

Mika studied the map, "So all we have to do is go through this forrest, make it through this clearing, and travel through several small towns."

Suddenly there was the sound of a gun cocking, followed by a loud bang.
We all rolled out of the danger zone and looked ahead, seeing four humans in camoflauge.

"Damnit," Mika grunted, "Vampire hunters!"

"Those Exist?!" I asked, though apparently they did.

"Damnit," Angelus also said, "I had the feeling someone was following us, I should have said som-" There was another loud bang. A bullet skimmed the top of Angelus' shoulder, a smal arc of blood sprayed into the air.

While he fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder, Mika and I quickly ran towards the humans. Suprisingly, Angelus got up and charged with us, slightly lagging behind.

I pulled out a sword and darted towards the human closest to me. He raised his gun defensivley. I knocked the rifle to the right, causing him to shoot at the tree next to us. Before he could pull another weapon out, I headbutted him. His nose popped and blood spewed everywhere, he fell to the ground, writhing feverishly with pain.

Angelus made quick work of the two humans targeting him. He pulled out two large knifes. Once again using his trade mark 'lazy stance' he sliced away at their legs, when they both fell simutaneously, he slit their throats with one, graceful swing.

Mike pulled out his shortsword on two humans. They tried shooting, but everytime they raised their weapons, he quickly ran to the left. As humans, it would appear as if he were teleporting around them.

He did this manouver until they ran out of ammo. Once they did, he made quick work of them. He kicked the first one to the ground, stepped on his chest, and cut a deep, fatal wound in his stomache. With the other, he ran behind him, then grabbing his head, he twisted sharply to the left, then right.

Just as he was letting the dead hunter drop, a human - disquised as a large pile of leaves and twigs - emerged, gun aimed at Mika's head, at a perfect distance. Mika wouldn't be able to move without being shot.

"See ya in 'ell, vampire!," he taunted. He pulled the trigger halfway, but got no further. A figure jumped from the top of a tree, his black coat flapping in the wind, and collided with the human. Before the hunter could process what was going on, the man ended his life, piercing his heart with a knife.

The mysterious man turned, and stared seriously at Mika.

"Mika," The man sighed, "What have I told you, 'expect the unexpected,'" His eyes lacked emotion, he simply looked like a bored vampire.

"Corza Wolfbane," Mika nodded,

"Long time no see, wolf," Angelus smilled.

I instantly recognized him, and greeted him with respect, "Corza Wolfbane, I have heard a lot about you from the other Lords, it's great to finally meet you, sire."

He looked at me, then said bluntly, "So you're Damian, the young lord. you don't look as well as i'd thought,"

Corza Wolfbane was the lord who was always absent. He'd rather explore and examine the evolving world than to stay cooped up in the Domain, and I didn't blame him either.

He had short brown hair, with long bangs. He had a serious-structured  face, and eyes that were that of a skilled vampire. He dressed in a long black jacket, torn up brown pants, and a dark blue shirt.

"How did you find us, sire?" Mika asked.

"I've been trailing the vampire hunters for at least a week. I was curious who they were trailing," he began, "It turned out it was you guys."

Corza paused, thinking for a moment, then said, "Speaking of which, why are you two lorda out of the domain?" he asked, "And you Mika, why are you following them?"

After giving him a quick run down of Lufish's visit and what we must do to save the clan, Corza thought it over for a bit.

"Well," he began, "I guess it dosen't take a genius to figure out i'm the fourth vampire," The he looked questioningly at us, "Where are we heading anyway?"

We then told him about our plans to go to Alkali, then told him about the large concentration of reported dhamphires in that area.

"It's strange," Corza mused, "Dhamphires don't really gather in one area like that," then paused, "unless..." he said, coming to terms with the plan.

"Unless their lord is there too," Mika finished for him, "It makes sense, they have killed many vampires in that area, but why?" he asked rhetorically.

"To protect their lord," I answered, filling Corza in on our plan, "If we can somehow sneak into the city without being detected, it would be a simple matter of finding one person in a city."

"We still have to keep in mind that they may be grouping together to plead for a peace treaty," Angelus said, "If not..."

"Ok," Angelus began, "The plan is to-" He was cut off by Corza.

"Save it for tomorrow," he began, "The sun will rise soon, we should get some sleep, we'll discuss plans when the night comes."

As he finished saying that, he moved the dead bodies far away from us, gathered a pile of leaves to rest his head on, then went right to sleep, leaving me baffled. Mika and Angelus were used to Corza, he took it in his hands to be in charge.

Since we didn't have a choice, we pulled some blankets from our backpacks, wrapped ourselfes in them, and drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep. When we woke up we would discuss the plan for our assault on the Dhamphire Lord, then put the plan into action. It was a dangerous feat, with death never too far from us.

In half a week we would find ourselfes in the heart of the dhamphire stronghold, and possibly lock blades with their lord. It will be there that destiny will begin to unravel...