Blood Feud Cpts 1+2

Blood Feud
By Emma Stevens

Ut animus of hostilis no.
Rutilus Porta recubo etiam.
Tamen subsido versus a igneus sepulchrum;
In Basilica a nex gelu.

Qua does atrum senior factum sic inhumanus?
Non subter supter medium nox noctis divum.
Pro hic est qua lamia sceptrum.
Quod hic , letalis intereo.

Brianne wiped her wooden stake clean with the end of her long black jacket. She looked down at the dead vampire at her feet, her eyes fixated on the wound she had inflicted. Its blood ran black and trickled down from its chest onto the pavement to where she stood.

‘Hm,’ she thought, ‘For every one I kill, a hundred more spring up from nowhere.’

She looked around at her surroundings. The cobbled street was covered in mist and only a few lights shone from the modern townhouse windows. No one was about. She had been lucky this time. Gathering all of her strength, she carried the vampire into a dark alleyway and disposed of his corpse amongst the bins. He’d be gone by the time they found him, his body dust, nothing remaining. She rubbed her hands together and walked down the narrow path to the road. Her boots made a tapping sound as she waited impatiently on the corner of the pavement when suddenly a roaring sound could be heard. Hurtling down the road at 60 miles an hour was a man on a motorbike. It was her brother – Will. He stopped dead next to her and took his helmet off.

‘All done?’ he asked.
‘Everything is taken care of.’ She replied, taking a second helmet from him.

She pulled her long black hair out of its bun and shoved the helmet on her head, climbing onto the back of the bike. Will started it up again and he made sure she was on right before riding off. ‘Let’s get going before anyone sees us.’ She said as the bike raced off into the distance.

Will dropped her off outside her apartment and adjusted his glasses. His dark brown hair had lost its spikiness thanks to the helmet and he was now trying to fix it. As she walked up the steps to the front door a dim light came on in the hallway. She looked back at Will, whose eyes shone in the dark.

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to stay tonight?’ he asked.

Brianne brushed the hair from her face and smoothed her clothes out. She looked down at him and smiled. It was a rare, sincere smile that only her family and very close friends saw.

‘I’m as sure as hell. Go home Will. You’ve been busy keeping watch all day and you need to rest.’ she replied.
‘Alright,’ he said, his voice going suddenly hoarse, ‘but if you need me…’
‘I won’t. You know I can look after myself.’ she replied, laughing.
He wavered for a moment the got off his bike. He walked up the steps towards her and hugged her. He sensed something was wrong and he wanted to make sure that she was prepared. When he let go, she looked at him strangely, cocking her head to one side. She waved one hand, as if to signal that he should leave but he stood firm. She was getting impatient with him.

‘Will for Heaven’s sake! What is wrong? You aren’t usually this protective of me.’ She asked.
‘I sense that something is wrong. Promise me that you will come home with me tonight, or at least let me stay with you.’ He replied quickly.
‘No. I can handle anything that I face. May I remind you that the vampire that I faced tonight was a particularly nasty one? Didn’t I vanquish him?’ she asked.
He sighed. It was true, she was strong, but as her big brother, he wanted to make sure she was safe.
‘Go Will. I’ll ring you later.’ She said.
‘Fine, just…keep safe.’ He added.

She watched him get onto his bike and put his helmet on. He started the engine, which was surprisingly quiet and waved as he sped off back to their family house. Brianne had moved out when her father had gone missing, unable to bear the memories inside the house. She opened the door with her key and walked inside. The dark walls mirrored her feelings. Will wasn’t the only one who had a horrible feeling tonight. She decided to take the lift in case anyone caught her walking up the stairs and when she’d reached the floor her apartment was on, she hesitated. The landing (which was usually warm) was ice cold and her door was ajar slightly. She pulled a gun from her belt and held it tightly in her hands, aiming it at the door and proceeding forward with caution. She pushed her door open and quickly spun from behind to confront anyone who may have been in there. When she saw her apartment, she gasped and dropped the gun. The place was a mess. Tables had been over turned, glasses and plates smashed in the kitchen, her furniture and bed were slashed to pieces and the window was wide open, the curtains blowing in the wind. Who could have done this? She thought, picking up the gun again and searching every inch of her house. As she moved into her bedroom, the front door slammed shut and a woman in black appeared. She had blood red eyes and teeth only associated with the vampire race. Brianne spun around and aimed the gun at her.

‘Who are you?’ she asked, forcefully.
The woman stood still making no noise.
‘Who sent you? Who are you working for?’ demanded Brianne, the gun still aimed at the woman.
‘My name is Serena Christianson and I have come looking for you, Brianne Banks.’ Replied Serena.
‘Me? Why me?’ she asked.
‘You are a valuable… weapon, shall we say, that the master craves to know.’ replied Serena. She started to move towards Brianne, who stumbled backwards.
‘Come any closer and I’ll shoot!’ she said.
Serena didn’t seem to hear her and lunged towards her throat. Brianne fired the gun several times, and each time Serena dodged the bullets. Her path led her towards the open window, and smiling at Brianne, she jumped out. Brianne ran towards the window and looked down. There was no sign of the vampire anywhere but at her feet lay a small, silver knife. It had intricate markings on the handle, and a large red ruby encrusted in the top, but what caught her eye was a name engraved into the blade. Siegfried Balfour. She recognised it, but couldn’t place it in her mind. She put it in her pocket along with a scrap of Serena’s garments.
After a careful survey of the streets below, she decided that the woman had fled and she closed the window and locked it. She looked back at her apartment and sighed. There was too much mess to clean up tonight and decided to call Will to tell him what had happened. She picked up her phone and pressed the numbers with trembling fingers. As she waited to hear his voice she thought about what the vampire had said. What valuable secret did she hold inside of her and why did the master want it so much? More importantly, who was the master? Did the secret have anything to do with her father’s disappearance? Her thoughts vanished when a voice came on the other end.

‘Hello? Who is it?’ said a woman’s voice.
‘Aurelia? Is that you? It’s Bri.’ She replied.
‘Bri? Is that really you?’ cried her younger sister in disbelief.
‘Yes…Aurelia what’s wrong?’ asked Brianne, a little uneasy. It had been seven years since her last point of contact with her family, (apart from Will) and it was the day she left the family home.
‘Brianne I thought you were dead! My God, in all these years I never believed…Wait, what’s wrong? What’s happened?’ questioned Aurelia, suddenly changing from surprise and relief to fear.
‘Some vampire’s gone and ransacked my apartment, searching for me. She’s just fled.’ replied Brianne quietly.
‘What? Are you serious? They’ve never done that before…did you kill any today?’ asked Aurelia, probing deeper, as if to find clues as to why it happened.
‘Yes, but I don’t think…Aurelia, I’m coming home tonight. Get my room ready. I’ll be there within the hour.’ replied Brianne in a worried tone.
‘All right. Um, I’ll see you in a bit then. I’ll gather Trey and James. Take care and be careful Bri.’ She replied.

Brianne hung up and walked back into her ruined bedroom. She looked under her bed and found a large, dusty suitcase, which looked like it hadn’t been used in years. She pulled it out and opened her wardrobe. Most of her clothes had been slashed to shreds too but she found a few remaining garments at the bottom. She pulled out two pairs of jeans, one pair of leather trousers, her trench coat and a large, square box. She lifted the lid and pulled out a blood red dress. It had been her mothers and had been given it when she died. It was one of her most treasured possessions and she packed that too, being careful not to crease it. From the bedroom, she proceeded to the kitchen. She looked in one of the cupboards and found her dagger and another handgun. Finally she returned to the living room and pulled a rifle from underneath her sofa. Things were not well hidden in her apartment and in the last few months, she had become so preoccupied with getting revenge for her mother’s death, she had lain all housework aside. She hardly spent time in there nowadays, spending most of her time in old run down houses or in grimy little taverns, hunting her prey. She packed everything into the case and zipped it shut. She opened her door and as she walked out, she looked back at her apartment. She couldn’t return there, not now that they knew where she lived. She dragged the suitcase along the corridor and into the lift again. The place had warmed up a bit, but still no one was around. Not even the watchmen. She looked at the clock above the lift. It said two thirty. No one was allowed out till at least six am, but she decided that she would walk the mile to her family home. As she got out of the lift, she noticed that it was snowing outside, so she put her black hood up and proceeded into the frozen hell beyond her safe house.


Chapter 2.

‘Where is she?’ demanded the master for the tenth time. He held Serena’s arm tightly in his grip.
‘I…I don’t know my lord. Please forgive me…I will try harder next time.’ She whimpered. His fingers curled tighter around her wrist.
‘Who said that there there’d be there next time?’ he asked, looking into her eyes. They were full of fear and not their usual fire.

‘Please my Lord, I beg you!’ she cried. By now Serena was in tears. Her long hair lay across her face and she stared at the ground.
‘Prove to me that I can trust you with a job like this.’ He said, loosening his fingers.
‘How my Lord?’ she asked, looking up. She dried her eyes with her hair.
‘Attack them again, only successfully this time. Lead them somewhere and get them thinking. Keep them occupied.’ He replied, pacing up and down his dark hall.
The windows were darkened and the only light in the room came from a few candles. It was cold and eerie, with pictures of past Vampire Lords hanging from the walls – their eyes peering into the darkness. There was a dead smell about the place and in the daylight you’d think it hadn’t been cleaned for centuries. His steps echoed throughout the room.
He was a vampire, and a seemingly young one at that. He was tall, thin and pale with his dark eyes sunk into his head. Roberto wasn’t without charm or good looks, but his nasty side usually overpowered them. He had dark, short hair and his mysterious personality was the reason Serena had been drawn to him. His black trench coat billowed after his steps as he continued to pace the length of the room.
Serena ran after him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Her purple nails dug into the leather and he ceased his pacing.

‘Roberto…My Lord, you need to rest.’ She whispered soothingly.
His tense shoulders relaxed a little.
‘No…I need to…’
‘Rest. One day will not make any difference.’ She replied.
He turned to face her and smiled for the first time.
‘I guess you’re right…’he replied, relaxing completely.

She started to pull him towards the door but he stopped and spun around. His face contorted and his charm vanished. Instead he was frowning, angry and there was a fire in his eyes.

‘No!’ he growled, ‘This cannot wait.’
‘But Roberto!’ she cried.
‘No, you do your job and I’ll do mine. Go, get out of my sight before I change my mind about giving you a second chance!’ he screamed.

He stormed to the back of the hall and out of a small door. Serena stood terrified and confused in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around her to keep her warm. What was he up to? She didn’t know his plans; he didn’t trust her that much. She had a vague knowledge of Brianne’s history – Her ancestors had mainly been vampire hunters, her mother was killed by one and Roberto was nearly destroyed centuries ago by her seven times great grandmother Celeste Blacke, but she couldn’t understand why he wanted her alive. If she was the hunter, what could he possibly want with her?
She went to sit in the corner of the darkened room, the fire slowly dying and wrapped her cloak around her. She would have to prove herself to him, and then she’d finally know the truth about Brianne Banks.