Alejo [Vampire]

Alejo- Chapter 2

::CHAPTER 2::

Not to toot my own horn as the humans say, but I was an inventor and artist of the greatest kind. Well that sounded more arrogant than I’d thought. In my defense it was true. I had centuries to perfect my craft into a signature blueprint so unique that anyone who knew anything of art or innovation could tell an Alejo Veracci design at a glance. No two designs were ever alike but there was something about each one that was identical and even I was not sure what it was. A person didn’t have to be a connoisseur of sorts to appreciate it. Even a child who couldn’t tell a finger painting from a Van Gogh knew that a Veracci painting was something worth collecting.

These weren’t my words. I’ve read them time and time again from all sorts of critics and inventors over the years. I had to have a hobby to pass the time after all. Waiting for eight strong, very immortal, very pro-life beings to die was so tedious that I had to think of something to take my mind off the wait. Never had I imagined that it would become a pastime that I enjoyed or even needed when too many thoughts plagued my mind.

Standing in solitary, I paced the room. It was my studio and every corner was cluttered with new and old masterpieces that I had created, art supplies, scraps of paper and post-tantrum broken brushes. The most valuable things in the world were the rare things. I couldn’t produce new work every week. If I did, the paintings wouldn’t be worth nearly as much. Every five years I released something to a gallery of my choice and let them marvel and squabble over who the new owner would be. I even attended auctions to see how well some were doing. I took pride that there were criminals who, as much as they tried to duplicate the pieces, could never catch the signature that I had subtly imprinted into everything I created. A person could always detect that something was off.

Now I was studying a different signature. It was the mark of someone as skilled and, dare I say, more adept at inventing weaponry than myself. Loki, Loki, Loki. As much of a mischief maker as your name suggests. I smiled down at the slender dagger.

It was a weapon that held the coldest seduction. All dangerous curves and sleek sensuality. I could taste it. The power to bring a man to his knees. It was sexy, yes, but it was nothing flaunted or overt. There was a modest sex appeal about it and any male of any race could tell you that modest sexiness outshined the in-your-face sexiness without a doubt.

The blade had a platinum handle with a crude and yet magnificent piece of sculpting around the edge, working as a sort of grip. From that handle protruded a blade born of a material that was completely new and other. Its glow was violet in the darkened room, bouncing light off the walls. Some might have described it as eerie but I found something about it fascinating. I may not like Loki but I admired his craftsmanship. He had somehow managed to capture the effects of the ultraviolet rays found in the sun and then style it into a deadly weapon like the master blacksmith that he’d been whilst alive. Hats off to you my good man. Hat’s off to you. You are a true professional.

Even through the loathing that passed between Loki and me, we had a respect for each other’s talents. I would quicker marry a human than admit it to him, but I wondered how he created such weaponry. I often thought of one day working with him to fashion an entire arsenal. I could only imagine the work we could accomplish side by side if he wasn’t so intent on my death and vice versa.

By now I had decided that Loki had to have known that I would be away when he staged his attack. He was aware that I had as many weapons as him designed to kill our kind and I wouldn’t have hesitated to use it to protect myself if I was present. He had been bidding his time…waiting for me to leave.

The bad blood between us was only rivaled by his hate for our father. I was surprised that he hadn’t taken care of him personally when it seemed that he was waiting to do just that with me.