The Veil's Convergence (pilot)

Chapter 1

For years, I've prepared for this day. A masquerade ball in the rumored hidden estate of the Eastern woods. Many would remain oblivious to this event, but not me. I've been tracking this place down for years. Or more like I've been tracking down Her: Anfisa Duskborne. The vampire who slaughtered my family six years ago. She killed them all. My beautiful wife, and my two young kids. Anfisa took my life that night, and tonight, I would take hers.

I walked into the grand estate, a mask covering my face and a silver dagger hidden in my coat. There was a vial of vampire blood around my neck that would mask my human scent. But it could only do so for so long. I had to be quick.

My eyes scanned around the ballroom. They were vampires everywhere, dancing and gossiping amongst themselves. They made me sick. How could they act like everything was normal knowing what they had done? They were monsters. Cruel and savage beasts. As angry as I was, I knew I couldn't let myself get distracted. I was here to slay one vampire. I could deal with the others at a later date.

I swallowed my hatred and continued moving. I tried not to make it obvious how much I was looking around. I couldn't afford to let my cover get blown now. Luckily, the savages around me were too focused on themselves to notice my behavior. Or so I thought until one suddenly approached me.

"Join me for a dance, dear guest?" She asked in a sultry voice, flashing her fangs with her smile.
It was her. The mask she wore covered her eyes, but I knew it was her. She had that same platinum-white hair that glowed in the moonlight that night. Undeniably, the vampire standing before me was Anfisa Duskborne.

It took everything in me to keep my cool. The "woman" before me murdered my family. But if I wanted revenge, I had to play along until I got her away from the crowd.
"Why not?" I replied, returning her smile.

Anfisa's smile grew as she took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Her hand was as cold as ice. Her long nails dug into my skin despite how gentle her hold was. I had to ignore all of this and indulge her in a dance.

Anfisa didn't say a word as we danced. Once in a while, the light would hit right, and I could see her eyes through her mask. Every time our eyes met I felt shivers down my spine. It was like she was staring me down. The stare itself wasn't what worried it. It was the meaning behind it. Why would she be staring at me like that? Did she know? Did she know who I really was? No, no way. How would she know? I've trained a long time for this. I made sure to cover up my human scent, and act exactly like all the other vampires around. So there was no way she knew.

"You look nervous. How about we get some air?" Anfisa said suddenly.

I couldn't respond before she started dragging me away. Not like I would have declined her anyway. If we could be alone, I could have an opportunity to finally enact my revenge.
Anfisa led me out to an empty balcony. Now, we were alone, surrounded by the dark night. This was finally my chance. I turned around to face Anfisa and found her sitting on the banister with her legs crossed.

"Well, vampire hunter, won't you take the chance?" She asked in a careless voice.

Dammit. She knew, after all. And she was so carefree about it: sat back on the banister all innocently, as if she wasn't even a vampire. Her innocence and beauty were all too irresistible. It was almost hypnotizing. But I knew better. I wasn't going to let her tricks deceive me now.

"So you knew all along?" I asked.

"Of course," Anfisa replied. "You humans have a certain smell. Try to cover it as you might: a skilled vampire will always notice. I guarantee others noticed it as well. You're lucky I approached you first. Otherwise, you would already be dead."

That wasn't good, but I wasn't about to let her think she won.

"So what, should I be thanking you?" I asked.