Blood Passage

'Night come quick,

Night befall,

I have journeyed far,

and am ready for the fall.'

Chapter One (A Century earlier)

DEVLON

"Come to me... my pet" I demanded, extending my hand out to the air, as I awaited her ever present head to rise up to meet it under my silent demand.

She casually stretched out of her laying position at my feet to curl her way up my body until she was seated firmly on the arm of my throne with my hands threaded through her overly long luscious hair. She was a succubus I had found many years ago and she has been one of my faithful mistresses ever since.

I looked out to the throng of people with disgust as they surrounded my altar talking amongst themselves, as if they were important, as if they were a pure-blood or anything close to my royalty. They meant nothing to me, nothing more than wealthy followers that held no importance to me other than presenting a good show.

I constantly needed an audience, what was the point of making rules and setting examples of my 'people' if no one was there to witness them and understand how powerful I truly am.

Coming out of my own thoughts, I noticed my head emissary, Jardef was headed my way, pass the mounds of people in this grand hall. Once he was at the end of my altar he bowed awaiting my permission to come up, I nodded as he walked up to my black marble throne with gold running through it as If they were veins. I had prized myself in the collection of my things and didn't allow many to breach my space but Jardef was a close friend who I respected and trusted.

Once stood in front of me he flipped through his agenda for the day keeping his face expressionless as always, he then let me know that I had three affairs to address this morning and the first one had just arrived. I gripped onto my succubus's lean thighs and pushed her onto my lap as Jardef explained that James, my head seeker had arrived back from the pillars, unsuccessful. With ought bringing me back the runaway servant that had mysteriously escaped, this upset me greatly. Escaping from the palace is not possible, there is a barrier surrounding my enormous estate that was molded through my blood. It's impossible to breach without my knowledge and acceptance but for some reason, four people witnessed a girl run right through it into the woods without my knowing. Immediately hearing this I sent twelve seekers to retrieve the mystery women and now they have returned...empty handed.

Right when I could feel my anger rising to the surface. The grand doors opened in front of me as Jardef then stood off to my side. Twenty guards walked straight through the middle of the gathering towards me. Once all twenty were through the door they split pushing away all the people casually mingling about, knocking over a few people and shoving people as a few of their drinks spilled in their hands until there were 10 men on each side and a clear passageway from my altar to the double doors. A big brute of a man with cropped hair and bruises covering him then walked up the aisle fear written on his face. When he was close enough I stated simply "explain yourself."

"Master...please forgive me for imposing, but please give me more time I will get the girl soon enough and bring her to you on her knees begging for forgiveness." My excuse of a seeker pleaded. You see in this realm vampires ruled, 'seekers' as we called them were used as nothing more than pawns to bring us people we needed. Originally seekers were used as helpers, friends even, to find humans with the ripest blood so we wouldn't find the urge to feed daily. The purer the blood the less we need to feed, could be an hour to a few years depending on the human. But that relationship had changed due to the war, as things often do.

"Well James, you have let her get pass the pillars, which means she has now successfully escaped." I spat at the swine. "When I ask for something to get done I expect it to be taken care of." Pushing my succubus off me, I rose as she bent low back to her place on the altar. In mere seconds I was down by the seekers face, much to his fear and surprise as he began to tremble. I could only imagine the ferocity he found in my eyes, after the hundreds of years of torture I had inflicted on others it came naturally.

"And now, you will be punished for your impudence." I slashed him across the eye before he noticed me even move, carving a big gash through his face from his left cheek to his right eye. As he bled all over the floor I spat "take him away" to the guards before walking back to my throne. The guards knowing I meant to kill him; slowly and painfully, hastily took the man away. But before he was dragged out the door he yelled to the stunned crowd, no longer able to see where he was facing, "PLEASE MASTER, PLEASE, IT WASN'T OUR FAULTS!!!!" he said on behalf of his men. "WE HAD HER CORNERED... BUT...BUT THEN SHE DISAPPEARED... INTO THIN AIR" he wailed, hoping for pardon. The crowd then roared with laughter at the man's plea, but I stood frozen almost back at my seat, there is only one person who deals with that sort of black magick. "ENOUGH" my voice boomed through the room ending all movement and sound. "Get out" these two simple words had everyone dispersing out the room like roaches. I turned to see James held up on either arm by my guards now wide eyed with a tear stained face and a quivering lip. Quickly without warning, I delved into his mind, making him arch his back against the guards and cringe as he screamed in pain. I sifted through his memories, recalling the exact moment he saw the girl running. I recalled through his eyes...

... "Quickly she's getting away... faster... go around, block her before she can get past the pillars." I yelled at my men. We almost had her. We had been running and tracking her for hours before she sped pass us making this grand chase through the woods, she was fast. My men and I were the fastest and quickest seekers in the land and yet we were struggling to speed up to her pace. Mid run one of my men, Simon, jumped onto her back and I thought we had finally got her. Until she flipped him over her and sped past the trees once again. Not bothering to check his welfare I sped up as well wondering who or what this girl was, she didn't have the mark of a seeker or have been blood-bound but yet her powers exceeded us completely. I was right on her tail, just as I noticed my men had already secured a place at the front of the pillars as we began to close in on her I realized we had got her. She may be fast but no way could she take on all of us men at once. All of a sudden she looked up at me as if she had heard me, her eyes blazing a fiery yellow as she smirked and mouthed "I'll be waiting" before vanishing never to be seen again. I dropped to the ground in exasperation and astonishment but then it hit me... she had escaped... she was gone... I failed my mission and she got away.

... Brought back to the present I then looked at the man who I had just intruded and saw him now slumped on the ground with staggered breathing "take him away" I repeated. Dragging his body out, the guards exited the room shutting the grand doors behind them as I turned towards the back of the room. In double time I made it over to the back doors that led to the dungeon with Jardef following suit. "Looks like I've been summoned, you know what to do" hearing Jardef's gasp of surprise did nothing to help the ping of pain I felt deep in my gut. Jardef quickly scurried back up the stairs as I continued down. You could only ignore her so long before it caught up to you, just as I reached the bottom of the stairs a portal opened up. "Deluana" was all I gasped before it swallowed me whole and I felt myself drowning into the sound of a women's bitter, humor-filled voice..."Come to me...my pet."