The Legend of Levi Hill

Part 3

Levi sits up, growing frustrated with the man.

"Your money means nothing to me. Why do you care about my story?" Calming himself, he motioned to the waiter, "bring me a bourbon on the rocks."

"Well, shall I continue?"

Well, I had just met the man who would become like a brother, Luke. I use the term man very loosely because he looks like a man but is something entirely different. Luke is an ancient entity. He once lived in Heaven and served God but during a war among the angels, he was cast out and cursed to eternally walk the earth. That was over 5000 years ago. Luke would become my savior and friend. He would restore some humanity to me after I was a demon for 100 years.

"Come with me, Levi. I will show you your path to redemption."

"Who are you? Why would you help me?"

"My name is Luke. I've been on this Earth much longer than you or your master Robert has been. I was once an angel who served God in Heaven. However, a war among the angels broke out and many choose the wrong side. I did not side with the outcasts but I also did not stand up for God. For my doubts, I was cast out, forced to live the life of a human for eternity. I've seen every level of atrocity this world has ever dreamed up. For centuries, I walked alone and wished I could die a mortal death. Then, I saw the true evil in the world. The demons, the vampires, and other supernatural beings were both influencing and destroying humanity. I decided then, I would spend the rest of my long life fighting those forces."

"So, what do you want with me? Am I not one of these monsters you speak of destroying?"

"Yes Levi, you are. I see something else in you though. I see someone conflicted with their own being. You never asked to be turned on that cool night in Arkansas, 100 years ago. You were as much of a victim as the people you have fed off of since. I've been watching you for awhile and initially, I wanted to kill you like the rest of your kind. However, I began to notice you were trying to target those who preyed on others instead of the weak. A vampire with a conscience. I've never seen such a thing. What would you say if I told you I could partially heal you?"

Hearing those words sent shock waves through my body. "How is this possible?

"I will show you. You will have to make a choice though. Come with me."

We traveled to a lab in Manhattan. Once there, Luke explained that a serum had been developed which could give a vampire some measure of their humanity back. It was an attempt to cure vampirism but it had never been tested. I agreed to take his serum and in turn help him. He needed someone who could fight the evil alongside him. I had no problem killing vampires, as I had done so already. The serum didn't cure me. It did change me though. I've become the worlds first and only hybrid. I don't have many of the weaknesses traditional vampires have any longer. I can walk in the sunlight once again. Wolf bites hurt me but don't kill me. I can go longer periods without feeding which allows me to control the thirst. Having an endless supply from the blood bank does help too. The reality is I have become a super vampire and ordinary ones don't stand a chance against me now. It wasn't exactly what Luke intended but he has benefited from the mistake. Since I don't die from standard things which kill most vampires, I would seem indestructible but I can die from having my heart ripped out. There was an anti-serum out there as well which can reverse the effects of the original serum and return me to my original forum. I destroyed the stock before it could be used by the witches who conspired with the original scientist. I then relieved him of his head for his treachery.

Owing my new found strength to Luke, I agreed to help him. I told Luke that killing Robert was still my number one goal. I would let nothing stand in the way of that task. We traveled around the United States first and killed countless vampires and demons who plundered the weak. The first time I fought against an actual demon, I was shocked at their strength. It was shadow demon in the Midwest. To kill a demon, you must separate their head from their body and then burn the corpse. Now, that might sound easy but let me tell you, it is not. This thing had razor sharp claws which cut through flesh like a butcher in a meat market. It had fangs like a vampire but it didn't bite to consume blood. It devoured the flesh of its victims. They could take on the form of a human and blend in but it got its name from being able to jump from shadow to shadow at night. As you might imagine, that type of creature is somewhat difficult to capture and destroy. Luke and I tracked this shadow demon to a small town in Iowa. It was terrorizing children and stealing their souls. One thing I've never tolerated is mistreatment or harming children. The human skin it wears will mimic people you know so when I faced it, I saw my Sadie. It tormented me and almost killed me. Luke saved me by showing me its true face. I ripped its throat out and put an end to its miserable existence.

I've spent the last 90 plus years fighting creatures like that. In fact, it is because of spirit demon that I returned to New York. I was tracking it to this very bar. You see, spirit demons have the ability to inhabit humans for a period of time. They draw strength from the human spirit to allow them to manifest into their true form. See that guy over there, he's not who you think he is. With his super vampire speed, he quickly moved from his seat to the doorway stopping the demon from fleeing. "Oh, now demon. Don't worry. I am sending you back to your master soon." The demon screamed out an ancient language which no one understood. With his long knife, he took the head off in one swipe. Motioning to a man in the back corner, the body was removed and taken away.

Returning to the table, my apologies. I knew that spirit demon was here and spying on you. You see, it wanted to inhabit your body, Morgan Keating.

Shifting forward in his seat, So, tell me, Morgan Keating, why do you care about my story?

Morgan sat forward with a smile on his face. "How about I tell you a little story?"

"See once upon a time, I was in the Army and deployed to Afghanistan. We were on patrol one night. The night was beautiful. The black sky was full of bright dots which danced above our heads. We had gotten reports of a force near a village which was taking out everyone. We didn't believe foreign fighters could do something like this. We had a patrol of ten Rangers who moved towards the village. It was in the early twilight hours and we were attacked by something we couldn't see. Nine of my comrades fell leaving myself to fight alone against this threat."

Morgan grabbed his drink, clearly shaken, and downed his bourbon before continuing.

"This creature was a man. Someone you're quite familiar with."

"No, it couldn't be," Levi's eyes glowed as his anger grew.

"Yes, it was Robert who attacked my men. He slaughtered them, and I only escaped because the sun was coming up. How would you like to exact revenge on him for the both of us?"

To be continued in the sequel chapter Levi Hill's revenge