A Shadow From The Past

Mika's P.O.V.

I twisted through a series of halls and corridors, occasionally bumping into startled rebels who would grumble and get out of the way. But I never once paused or slowed down until a chilling voice stopped me in my tracks.

"You've been a bad boy, Mika."

The voice was familiar to me, the voice of royalty. A statuesque man with a lewd smile leaned leisurely against the wall behind me, shrouded in shadows and cloaked in white. The uniform of the crown stuck out like a sore thumb from the black and green I'd grown accustomed to seeing.

But what was worse was that I recognized the voice. Ferid. The King, and my guardian.

I stood there shaking, Yuu's words echoing in my head:" Well, there are rumors that the whole royal populace is actually made up of--" I wondered what he would have said, if we hadn't been interrupted, and took in the sight of Ferid's glinting, prominent canines and gleaming red eyes.

"You've been clever enough to escape for all of these years, but I knew that you'd eventually end up here, what with all of the increased action of the Imperial Demon Army. And I know that that other insufferable Seraph, Yuuichiro, ended up here, though I haven't been able to locate him, as he blends in with all of the other little nobodies." Ferid fluttered his gloved fingers as if dismissing Yuu as unimportant.

My temper hit volcanic levels. "Blend in?! Yuu doesn't 'blend in'! He's like an oasis in the midst of a barren des--!" 

"Poetic," he  interrupted snidely, "but not as poetic as a vampire like me, of course."

I froze. A vampire?

"Yes, a vampire," he repeated, taking pleasure in my shock. "Did you really believe I was human?" Ferid unsheathed a silver sword and pointed it at me. Veins sprouted from its handle and buried themselves in his flesh, sucking out his blood and steadily coloring the blade red. 

With catlike agility, the fiend lunged at me. I only narrowly managed to get out of the way. I knew it wouldn't be long before he got in a lucky shot. I was unarmed and out of practice, while he was in peak physical condition.

Pain arched through my shoulder like a rampaging wildfire. I cried out in pure agony as the vampire retracted his sword, blood coating its blade. I tried to move my arm, but it wouldn't respond, and with a gasp of horror, I watched it flop onto the floor as if in slow motion. The thud as it hit resounded through my ears as I gagged and fell to my knees. Warm blood soaked through my new clothes.

A crimson haze clouded my vision, interrupted by Ferid's smug face. "Oh, dear me, it's just like the first time you tried to run away, isn't it."

The sound of a gunshot ricocheted through the room.