Mascarade

"Have you come to die?"

"I came to kill."

* * *

Deep in the night. A grand ballroom lightened up by thousands of old wax-dripping candles. An almost mechanical rhytm of waltz played by a quarted, that was nowhere in sight. Like puppets, the pairs down under the golden balcony moved in unison, uninterested in each other, dancing for the sake of the melody being played. As if in mourning about it being done so. Heads thrown back, not looking at their partners but not taking notice of others either. It was a miracle none would colide.

How do they find this fun? Zhao Yunlan thought, looking at his prey the same way he knew they would look at him. White pale bodies, in heavy dresses and stuffy tuxedos moving in circles, the only hobby they'd know would be hunting. And they would gladly put him on tonight's dinner list.

However, this all will soon be over. In approximately 2 hours, everybody will be in place and then hell will break loose, ending the monsters plagueing the world of humans.

Suddenly, a cold hand rested on the back of Zhao Yunlan's neck. Involuntarily he shivered which was a huge mistake. Knowing he'd given himself away, he turned around swiftly, drawing out his silver gun, Zhao Yunlan reacted immediately. However, even through years of honing his reflexes and nurturing strenght, the inhuman power of his enemy totally overshadowed him. The gun flew out of his hand and his waist was seized by a strong arm, pulling him close to an icy corpse-like body. For a split of a second, he could see two fangs, sharp like needles glisten in the dim candle lightening, a sparkle of blood-red eyes shining in a sort of maniacal victory.

Then all the motion stopped. Zhao Yunlan felt the hand at his waist grip him steadily, just like the one that forced his hand with the silver gun to the side. He felt cold breath against the right side of his neck and only a slight graze of two sharp objects against the sensitive skin there as the other person spoke.

"You're good... a move worthy of the Chief of SID, I guess..." The cold breath slightly tickled.

Zhao Yunlan clenched even harder the dagger in his left hand that pointed at his opponent's stomach, sizzling slightly when the tip came in contact with the other man's clothes. "Really? Am I that famous?" Zhao Yunlan smirked despite having his neck in the mercy of a bloodthirsty animal.

"Sure... We do have our information network as well..." Something soft pressed against his skin, then the vampire let go of him, taking two steps back.

Finally, they both could take a closer look at their opponent. The vampire was an extraordinarily beautiful creature. A man of flawless, pale, marble-like skin. His eyes seemed slightly unfocused but enchanting, glowing with a dark red tinge. Lips slightly parted in a mischievous and lustful manner. He was dressed in a black suit with a red turtleneck, perfectly outlining his slender yet muscular body.

"So, Mr. Vampire Hunter... have you come to die?" He asked with a hint of playfulness in his tone.

Zhao Yunlan smirked. "As you can see," he nodded towards his weapons, "I came to kill."

"How adorable..." the vampire smirked as well. "You cannot shoot the gun now. Your friends have not yet arrived. Even if you shoot me, there is a whole ballroom that's only waiting to tear something appart... limb by limb... and when it comes to the dagger... let's say that worked once."

"Heh..." Zhao Yunlan was weighting his options. Not like his opponent wasn't right, he was pretty much fucked right now... he pointed his gun back at the vampire. "At least, I will take one motherfucker down."

"Oh, I have sinned, but definitely not like THAT."

Zhao Yunlan raised his eyebrows, that sounded more like his own joke...

"So... seems like a stale-mate, huh?" One thing was clear, this vampire seemed to be open to negotiations or Zhao Yunlan would already be fighting for his life.

The vampire laughed shortly. "That would indicate us being on the same level. Well, if you just want to wait here until your back-up arrives... I'm sure, someone else will soon pass by and notice..."

"Ok, ok..." Zhao Yunlan chanced a quick look around. Good, still no one. "You obviously have something in mind. Out with it." Damn it, Zhao Yunlan, are you making a pact with the devil right now?

"Hnnn... You know, it's not everyday we get to talk, right. I mean, a vampire and a vampire hunter..." the vampire said finally.

"You want to talk? Are you that lonely?" Zhao Yunlan smirked.

The young handsome man in front of him frowned. Seems like he was right. "I guess I'm supposed to lower my gun to talk?"

"Yes. You hide your weapons, I hide mine." The strange enemy turned his back towards Zhao Yunlan and started walking. "Come, there's a room we can use. You have some time to spare, right?"

As strange as it sounded, Zhao Yunlan complied. He prided himself in being able to read people. Though this one was no ordinary person, the only thing he'd heard from him was genuine interest. "I think I won't be able to mention any secrets, though..."

"Hmm... you know a lot of them?" The vampire looked over his shoulder with a cunning smile. "Don't worry, secrets are meant to stay secrets. I have mine as well."

Zhao Yunlan lowered his gun and hid his dagger, then followed the strangely intrigued man. They walked through a stone-cold hall before arriving in front of a wooden door leading to what seemed like a guest bedroom. A usually unused room, only made inhabbitable for this annual occassion.

A huge cherry-tree wood double bed with red satin sheets was situated to the right, in front of the entrance, there was the only window in the room, and a desk with books and papers on it, to the right, there was a fairly sized fireplace, somehow making the atmosphere more friendly. A persian carpet on the floor and velvety baldachine drapes...

The vampire hunter raised his gun again. By the window, there was a motion, as another person moved to look at who had entered.

"Ye Zun... who's that?" He asked and made a step into the light. Damn, this vampire had looked exactly like the one who let him in, except for the red tinge in his eyes. His were simply black. The colour of the deepest darkness.

"It's funny, right?" Ye Zun grinned at his twin brother. "I brought you a vampire hunter, Shen Wei, are you glad?"

"What?" Shen Wei raised his eyebrows. "Wait, how have you managed to bring a hunter here? Now of all times? They can kill him!"

That was surprising. Zhao Yunlan raised his eyebrows. This vampire... what's wrong with him? Why should a vampire care about a hunter? And why should he be caring about anyone and anything at all? By the way, what's wrong with both of them? He started taking small steps back in an attempt to escape. Better get to some ordinary mindlessly killing creatures!

Bam! The door behind him slammed shut and both brothers looked at him with distaste for his action.

He sighed, putting his hands up, hiding away his gun. "Alright, alright... no need to get your tight pants all hot and bothered, boys..." Damn, what has he gotten himself into?