The Vampire's Keeper

The Vampire's Keeper1

Backstory...

Have you ever held a vampire's essence in your hand?... Ever even seen one? What about if it invaded your soul, and you were forcibly, forever attached to said vampire? What would be the consequences of such a union?

Well you're about to find out...

Read on.

.:*~*:._.:*~*:. The Rubicon.:*~*:._.:*~*:.

Archer watched her, with such intensity that his eyes glowed an ebony black. Everyone knew to steer clear when his eyes reached this particular hue. True enough, everyone seemed to avoid him altogether unless they had some particular business with him, which was not often. But she did not. How come?... The question burned in his mind, scalding his tired senses and creating a dull ache behind his temples.

Closing his eyes he imagined the events of the other day... the one in particular that forever changed his existence. Special was not a word that ran into his vocabularly often. Being a vampire was an interesting feat altogether, but being a special vampire just seemed odd. The one downside of being special, was it could be hard to keep it to yourself. Shaking his head, he cleared the useless banter and focused on the memory. It had been dark, as usual, and he had been following his meal for quite sometime. He enjoyed the chase, tasting the fear of his victim on the air and smelling his blood, flowing thick through his body, pumped by his heart. Hunger urged him on and slowly as the night wore on, Archer moved in for the kill. The victim was leaving a bar, and moving down an alley to return to his home, when Archer's pace quickened. Just about the middle of the alley, where the moon's light did nothing to keep the shadows at bay, the victim stopped. Standing behind the man, Archer breathed on his neck, and whispered his favorite words before sinking his teeth into the richly deserved meal, "Welcome home, my brother."

.:*~*:.

Gillian walked out of the back entrance of the club. Holding her thin zip-up hoodie closer to her and placing the hood upon her head she quickly made her way through the alley. Everyone at the club hated she went home this way, but the neighborhood was not altogether bad. Just the occassional ruffian... She idly commented to herself. Hurrying down the alley, she saw someone ahead of her and decided to keep her head partially down. The moon was low tonight, not giving off much in the way of light. As she neared the middle she caught sight of the man from earlier and she remembered how he had flirted with all the other staff and bought plenty of girls drinks, to no avail of course. He was much too old to be going to a club deemed the '20-somethings hangout,' if you asked her opinion. Continuing along the way, she stopped about one-hundred yards from the man, a glimmer caught the corner of her eye. Raising them to see another man appear from the shadows behind the gentleman from the bar. "Welcome home, my brother." Was all she heard before the man's scream echoed in her ears, making her back stiffen and shiver, and her blood run cold. Oh my gods... She thought to herself, now realizing why her friends at work had not wanted her coming down this alley. The screams died quickly, as she watched the newcomer drain the life from him.

Backing away at first, she wanted to melt into the shadows hoping the second man would not see her. Much to her chagrin, just as she gasped and stepped backwards, his glowing, ebony eyes settled on her. Unstopping in his apparent meal, his eyes took in her petite form. A soft blush crept into her cheeks as she realized he was checking her out, in the midst of his meal!!! She silently screamed to herself. Not that she did not approve of his looks, however dark, foreboding, and rogue-like he appeared. Grasping the tiny knife she kept in her purse, just for such emergencies, she squeezed it in a desperate attempt to draw strength from the inanimate object as she removed it from her purse and held her arm down, hopefully out of the view of the stranger. The man seemed to be shocked as well at seeing her interruption of his meal, he released the now dead gentleman and clenched his fists, slowly walking towards her until he stood a mere five or so feet from her. Without even thinking, she plunged the knife into his side, wanting to disarm him so she could properly run away.

The instant the knife settled into his side, she felt the energy hit her. A mist like substance ran the length of her hand, quickly covered her before bursting and coating her entire body. She gasped and breathed in deeply once more before taking back the knife and running like a madwoman. Unable to think, scream, or process what had happened, she simply ran with some small hope she would find her way home.

.:*~*:.

Wincing slightly, as the knife entered his side, he prepared for some negative sensation, instead it was of warmth and something else he could not fashion as to what off the top of his head. Gasping and drawing back, he did nothing except watch the dazed and shocked expression of the girl, and then he saw her leave. Having a faint idea of what had just happened, he quickly cursed himself for his stupidity and asked the question to anything in the vicinity, "Why me?"

Instead of following the poor girl, he had opted to find out why the Essence myth had come true, and what it really meant for them. After conferring with several elders, he had returned to the girl's apartment, watching her movements inside and recognizing the signs of shock and disbelief as she simply paced the apartment, unable to complete a single task she started. His latest question being, "Now how the hell do I get her to talk to me?..." It hung in the air as he watched the girl, forever branded as his Keeper.

.:*~*:._.:*~*:. To Accost or Not?.:*~*:._.:*~*:.

Entering her apartment, Gillian managed to close the door, drop her keys, knife and purse on the table nearby and head for the kitchen. Her entire body shook from the inside out; in part from the extra distance she had to go in order to get home, and from the encounter in the alley. Images floated throughout her mind everytime she closed her eyes. Like a slideshow that kept getting faster and more frequent she saw him over and over. His eyes were branded into her memory, pulling her in as he watched her.

She started a pot of coffee and poured in water but unknowingly forgot to add the coffee grounds. Watching the sink fill up with water and suds, intending to wash the dishes, she realized there was nothing to wash. Her hoodie and the rest of her work clothes were slowly removed, left where they landed upon the stairs, as she moved up to her bedroom. Starting the shower and waiting as it got hot, she stared at herself in the mirror. For the first time in her life, she felt like she saw someone else.

Ashamed, shocked, and dismayed at what happened, she casted her eyes downward and away from herself. Raising her hands from the sink counter, she cupped them together. Then she saw it. Her right hand which had previously held the knife as she plunged it into his side, held an unfamiliar, circular marking in the palm of her hand. Tracing its edges she felt its slightly raised surface. What?... A brand maybe?.. But how?.. Questions surfaced, and her mind swam as she grew faint. The knife... She realized she had to get to it, as her body numbed and her eyes closed.

.:*~*:.

Seeing her begin to move upstairs, he slipped inside. Stepping upon the threshold, he paused a moment, realizing the oddity of that simple act. Hmm... No permission necessary, I suppose... He thought to himself, realizing even more the breadth of the Essence myth and how much it changed things. Archer traced her steps within the house, before he stopped at the end of the stairs. Having fixed all the half started chores, he waited there, debating on climbing up to her. She might need sleep, and time to process this... His maze of thinking had begun. His need to not intrude into her life was large, due to the fact that his own life desperately ached to go back to the way things were, but knowing the gravity of what had happened, his debate continued. But there is no time, this must be handled delicately and quickly.. Go up... Be with her...

He strode upwards, taking the steps two at a time. After he slipped into her room, the door clicked behind him as he shut it. The shower ran, he observed, and strangely nothing else. His senses ran wild with caution while he crossed the distance of the room and waited at the bathroom door. A short intake of breath made him pause a moment, while he wondered if he had heard correctly. Archer opened the door just as Gillian was growing faint.

Within a matter of seconds he had caught her fall and now rested, on the bathroom floor, with her naked body in his lap and a towel draped over her curves for when she woke. Kneeling there, his senses attuned to her breathing and the faint heartbeat in her chest, while his own breathing was choked and seemed to be caught in his throat. Their circumstances baffled him. He did not know her name or anything about her and yet their existences were forever combined. The connection between them as strangers was staggering, he could only imagine it after they had spent more time together. Yes... That is exactly what I must do.... Because now, her acceptance is paramount... 

.:*~*:.

Footnotes
1  A work in progress... Check back often!