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New Salem, 3009
Day—Wednesday of the Ninth Hour

Twilight

II.
The First Invitation






She thrusted her sword through his heart as he was feeding on the young child that she could tell by the child’s still chest, was dead. She wrinkles her nose in disgust, her small canines growing to fangs, and her deep silver eyes glowed brilliant neon blue. She was getting too angry, and needed to calm down, least she give away her identity.

She composed herself by taking a deep breath, examining her dark surroundings.

The alley was long and dark; with at least two vampires, clubs tucked into the walls black walls. Somewhere in the near distance was a flashing sign in red and green shouting, “ Naked Girls Here,” and the silhouette of there some blond human winking out, sending small showers of yellow light in the alley. Behind her, there were three large garbage dumpsters, and above them, ladders that were the fire escape route for the above apartments.

Ni sighed, then after studying the damage to the bodies, before flicking the sword to remove the blood from its silver blade. The blood from the vampire wound reverted to the original human stage if no new host was found, or when the sun comes up, would turn to ash like the body. And the human…would he found later on in the day, but for now…. She turned away from the yellow light from the club across the way, and with skilled eyes searched for the pale mist that signified there was an entrance to the vampire haven.

A few second later, she found the entrance, recognizing the club by it’s base scent of dry, dead roses, and Cognac, and whatever wine was mixed with blood. She turned back to walk to her motorcycle, studying the damage from her previous mission. There was a slight dent in the front, but barely there, since the black and silver color was dark, it hid dents fairly well. On the side was the figure of a dragon entwining its body with an orb of blood. The meaning known to very few others, and the most rare and powerful of all symbols. She took the key from the ignition, placing it in her shoulder armour, before locking it down, the aura of her ‘charka’ around it, as it should be.

She turned again, satisfied that her bike was safe from common thieves before walking up to the club she saw earlier. “La mort vous accueillant” was the name of the club she heard from another slayer house, the meaning translating to ‘Death welcoming you’, though the meaning obviously lost on some that passed by. In tight leather and silver over her stomach, knees, claves, elbows and shoulders, she didn’t look like a vampire huntress, only some Goth wannabe girl—or maybe a high school student trying to ‘get in touch’ with her past life. At 6” 1’, age twenty-one, she was ‘curvy’, fully developed with mid-length black hair the color of obsidian, and snow-white skin. Her eyes were able to change colors with her mood, and always narrowed and angled to give her that stoic look that Elven and vampires always seemed to achieve. Narrowed, small, and straight nose that sat above full lips, and an angled face.

Her ears were naturally curved and pointed like an elf’s, and had black markings along each ear. An earring that helped control her ‘lust’ hung on the flesh of her ear.

She held her breath as she passed through the “wall,” entering the club, and suddenly wished she took the time to look at her appearance. More than twenty pairs of eyes turned to her, as she swept the area, looking for the ‘head’. When she found them, they were seated at the middle table, four males, and two females sat there. All of their eyes went to hers, the dark hair female looked at her with disgust; the other blond female’s look was odd. The males’ attention, however, was just as it was with ever other man’s—lustfully.

The man sitting on the table was staring at her intently, his fangs showing as if inviting her to sit. She noticed how odd his eyes were, a light honey color, and hypnotic. He seemed tall with short hair that flared out as it fell smoothly around his neck, showing a lot of his luminous pale skin. His eyebrows—though elegant and slim—were close to his eyes, giving them that hooded, and dark seductive look.

The blond female rose as the man she had been watching rose as well, slightly annoyed when he saw the blonde-haired person stepping towards her. ‘Probably the lover.’ She thought off-handedly, when the female approached her, a hungry smile on her face. “ Ah, fresh meat?” The female whispered, walking around Ni in a circle as if summing her up like the dark haired female who decided she wasn’t worth her time. The males were clearly not paying attention to what she was too busy chatting about.

The blond female smiled after a few moments of opting, like a kid with a super big box of their favorite candy. “ I love fresh meat.” She whispered, stressing the word ‘love’, as she lightly stroked Ni’s arm. “ Yes, you are fresh meat.”

What should she do? A female vampire was leaving…suggestive thoughts on the table before she even had a chance to sit down. The male seemed to sense her turmoil when he suddenly appeared behind the blond, an equally—if not hungrier—smile on his face as he watched Ni. “ Tara, please do not harass the young woman, though,” his tongue gently caressed his ivory fang, “we do love fresh meat.”

“But—” Tara began, when the male placed his hands on her shoulder, giving them a hard and firm squeeze. “ Sly, please, don’t embarrass me.” She whispered quietly, thinking that Ni wouldn’t be able to hear her. He whispered something in her ear that was too low for even Ni to catch, when the Tara broke from his grasp, steely eyes to “Sly” and a smile to her. “ My dear girl, I am Tara, and this,” She gestured to him with an open palm, and then a glare that the man obviously didn’t notice since his attention was on Ni, “ is Sly.”

She turned back to the man, still feeling the pairs of eyes on her. For the first time, she noticed music, though it was low, rumbling through speakers in the floor. He stood as if waiting for something, when Ni raised her eyebrows. Where was the hospitality?

“It seems as though we’ve been rude. What do you care for to drink?”

“ Water.”

He nodded, turning smoothly he walked over to the bartender in three short strides, telling her to give him water. The bartender nodded, walking off to retrieve the water when he turned to look at her and smile. She gave no smile back, simply watched him, when the bartender handed him the water, and he smoothly slid her a tip.

Sly had motioned Ni to a seat where hungry eyes were already dissecting her. Many of the vampires were sending suggestive waves to her. She felt his aura flash out, striking those who were already entertaining thoughts of ‘fresh meat.’ Sly sat down across from her, his gaze heated and interested while she regarded him and those around her with a flat and icy stare. He slid the water across the table to her, his hand still on top of the glass as she reached for it.

On one of his finger was a ring, encrusted with jewels and gemstones wound into the shape of a snake that was distinctively from a vampire’s clan.

“ What brings a human here?” He whispered, but she knew that everyone in the club could hear.

She took a sip of her glass, then gazed down into the glass dramatically, feeling all eyes on her as they wait for her response. She looked back at Sly, his face carefully cold, but his eyes were burning. “ What makes you think that I’m human?” She whispered back, leaning across the table to him. “ What if I were a vampire?”

Sly’s eyes hardened, and he barely looked to his right before she saw the glint of a blade flying towards her. Her gaze remained locked in battle with his, both willing each other to submit, when she gently lifted her hand and effortlessly caught the weapon before it try to end her life. She glanced down at the blade, quickly finding the make of it when she saw it etched into the hilt: Lord Aubrey. It was black and silver,a clan written in vampiric language along the hilt.

She glanced back at Sly, frustration and shock in his eyes when she stood up, her gaze gave a final and icy study of the vampires, their eyes, their souls, and their scent, before she turned away. She resisted the urge to throw the dagger aside, or find the thrower; she came for what she needed. Their reaction to her insult, and the hilt of the dagger she knew they would’ve thrown at her….

She walked out the door before glancing up and down the alleyway for any other vampire that may’ve been coming her way. She headed to where she hid her motorcycle and quickly swung herself unto it, switching the engine on so that light spilled onto the littered concrete, and placed her helmet on her head. She kicked off, keeping her body steady, her reliable engine roared to life in the derelict alley.

She was about to pass the club she had just stormed out of when she saw Sly and Tara hurry into her path. She pressed down on the brake—knowing she could’ve kept going and they would’ve avoided it, but they would follow her—and it slid to a smooth and soundless stop. Sly spun around from Tara to face her, his nose elegantly tasting the air for her scent when he identified her. He automatically stared at the thin black glass that hid her eyes from his view, challenging her as he did inside the club.

Tara watched this happen before whispering, “ Qu’est-ce, quo s’est passé?”

Ni looked over to Tara shortly, then back at Sly who stood rigid as a predator in his place. She revved her engine, her message clear—move. He continued his hard study, before whispering something to her. She easily heard the question over the engine. “ Vous voundries en revenir ici?”

Ni remained quiet as if thinking, before climbing from the bike, the dagger concealed inside the folds of her jacket. The man watched her as she removed her helmet, placing it on the seat and her eyes turned hard as stone, the only sign of emotion was her nostrils flaring in anger. “ Vous revenir ici.” He said demanding—commanding—her, thinking she was still human.

“ Non.” She replied, her gaze strong, her voice hushed.

He smiled, if slightly and ‘intimidating.’ “Vous serez le mien.”

“L'enfer non.” She turned away after a moment only to feel Sly’s fingers curling around her arm, before he pulled her to him, melding her body against his. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck as he continued his ‘manipulation’ on her mind. He pulled away from her neck before turning to Tara. She followed his gaze and saw Tara was poised to attack one or the other, glaring at Sly for all she was worth. “
Partir maintenant.”

“Mais—”

“ Maintenant.” He hissed.

She gave him a final fathering glare before turning away with a huff and melted away within the shadows.

“ Maintenant.” He whispered to her again. Those black coal colored eyes were upon her as he spun her around. “Où nous étions ?” He purred, rubbing light circles into the small of her lower back.

“ We were no where.” She hissed in annoyance.

He continued as if she said nothing. His eyes were different than they were before. “ I will have you, you’ll see.” She watched as he leaned dangerously close to her, his lips mere inches from her own. She was watching his as they were teasing her, finding herself almost anticipating him to kiss her. “ You’re so different than any other human girl…woman I’ve ever met. Maybe…it’s your scent, or merely your essence.” He inhaled deeply as if proving it to himself. “ Oh, yes, your scent is cleaner…more refreshing and defined.”

Unexpectantly, she growled, pulling from him and resisting drawing her sword from its place on her hip. Her hand instinctively went to hold the hilt. He watched, his eyes fascinated with her movements. “ Ah, yes, you are so…braced.” He smirked, the darkness of his eyes promising to cause her fear.

She barely heard, or felt, the breeze of him appearing behind her when she already had her sword drawn, poised over his heart. He narrowed his eyes in thought, before gently nudging her sword away.

What was wrong with her?

“ I see you have great instincts and reactions.” He looked her up and down, before snapping out to grab her chin between his fingers. “ I wonder if you’re as observant.”

She pressed her lips together in a thin line, glaring at him. She studied him a moment, his face, posture, tone, eyes, scent, and then her surroundings. “ Before there was ring on your hand, jewels of power and gemstone of Topaz, that matched the color of your eyes from earlier. The ring is distinctly of a royal vampire family. Now your eyes are a shade darker than the Topaz color they were. My motorcycle is no longer running, and you hold the key in your right hand. Your scent is different from the musk you had earlier, it’s rawer and heavier.”

He gave a nod of approval after a few moments. “ More observant then I gave you credit for.” His arm snaked around her waist, his body melting into hers, his lips inches above hers. She could see his eyes growing darker. “ Vous voundries un revenir ici.” He whispered into her ear, his breath causing her hairs to rise along her neck and arms.

He purred in excitement, his eyes glistening darkly. “ Do I scare you?”

“ Non.”

He smiled as if in thought, his gaze smoldering, leaving a burning trail behind. “ hmm.” He released her, before circling around her like Tara, only more predatory He was circling her in a way a collector did to a intriguing statue. “ Magnificent.” He mumbled to himself. “ What a nice figure.” His hand lightly brushed her hip.

She spun around, intent on catching his throat when he disappeared from her line of vision. She stood silently, braced, ready to make a run for it if he proved hungry.

He grabbed her from behind, causing her sword to clatter nosily to the ground when he startled her. “ Do I scare you now?” His voice husky and raw in her ear, as was his scent. She moved to get away from him, but he slammed her back.

“ Non.”

He growled, his fangs grazing the shell of her ear, down her jaw, back to her ear, and then her neck where her pulse was. “ How about now?”

Involuntarily, she shivered, never being this close to a man, let alone a vampire in her entire life. He laughed when she did, his arm placed gently on her thigh, before creeping higher to the one holding her waist. “ Non.” Her voice was low, and breathy.

“ Then perhaps we need to change that then, non?”

“ Non.”

“ Is that the only thing you know how to say in French/”

“ Non.”

He smiled low in the crane of her neck. “ I see that your gemstone is a Diamond?” He took another whiff of her scent. “ I like Diamonds.”

“ Leave me be.”

“ And where’s the fun in that?” His voice was heavy in her ear. “ You’re going to be mine.”

“ Non.”

“ Oh, yes, you will.” His hand left her thigh, leaving it feeling cold from the lost of warmth. He put the hand that was on her thigh on her ear before removing it.

She hissed in pain as he did, then spun around, on hand clutching her ear, the other ready to hit.

He cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. “ I want you.”

“ Give it back.” Her teeth gritted together. “ Now.”

He frowned. “ That’s not very intimidating. However, if you wish for this,” he raised her earring eyes level so that they both looked to it in the silence. “ If you want it back, along with you sword.” She glanced around the place where she saw it last, then at Sly’s tall form where it stood at his hip, along with her sheath. She raised her eyes to his, his elegant eyebrow brow. “ Maybe not that observant. Nonetheless, this invitation is for the Endless Night Festival. All the information you need is inside.” He stepped close to her, not close enough for her to hit, a smile on his face. “ You’ll come won’t you?” He whispered as if trying to extract a promise from her. “ You’ll come to see me?”

She stared into his eyes, taken aback at the emotions she saw in them. Desperation, raw and real. “ Come to me.”

“ And if I don’t?”

“ A little insurance policy.” He lightly grabbed her wrist, biting into it, causing her to cry out in pain. Her heart beat wildly to the sudden invasion of her body. He sucked her blood greedily before suddenly drawing back, gasping wildly for breath. “ I will be calling for you. If you refuse, you WILL, without a choice, be mine.”

He licked her wrist, his tongue savoring the last of her blood as he sealed it. He watched the sitant look on her face, before placing her motorcycle key in hand. He close her fingers around it. “ Love, return to me.” And then he vanished.