Sands of Time (Hellsing•AU)

Absinthe & the Elder Vampire (8)

• Brutal Violence

Lilly arrived at David's and was glad, this was the house he bought, after the split up. He was tired but alert. The elder vampire made her realize, she had let her guard down, for far too long. She sighed loudly then proceeded to think about what to do, after David died. Egypt was usually her answer, if she had caught the attention, of a vampire.

It was not often but it did happen.

About ten years ago, she went to Mardi Gras, in New Orleans. A couple of female lawyers she had hired, invited her to join them. Lilly had heard there were vampires but nothing strong enough to concern her. The weak, baby vampires couldn't even sense her and she didn't draw attention, to herself. She decided to just take in the event, eat good food and drink good drinks.

Towards one of the last nights of Mardi Gras, the lawyers, named Tiffany and Lisa, entered an old establishment. It had a dark feel but not a particular theme, like goth or such. Lilly looked at the drink menu and saw they serve absinthe. She smiled and thought it was probably, a non alcoholic knock off or fake drink using that name. She knew it was legal once again to drink in certain European countries.

Oh what the hell she thought. One of the barmaids, noticeable under the influence of something, in a fake French accent, asked what Lilly wanted to drink.

"Absinthe please."

The young woman looked confused and said, "We don't serve that!"

Lilly glanced again and it was on the drink list. She pointed her finger to show the shocked waitress, that indeed, it could be ordered. She walked wobbly back to the bar and told the bar keeper.

Lilly didn't observe the silent conversation, going on between, the bartender and the waitress with another man. The man, behind the bar, grew pale but started putting together on what was needed, for this particular drink. The waitress just stared dreamily, at a gorgeous male, sitting at a booth. She subconsciously touched her neck.

The booth was slightly shaded from the club lights. The man was wearing a Victorian style black suit, including an ornate cane, with a claw grasping an orb. His right leg was crossed over at the knee while his right hand grasped the cane. If one looked closely, his finger nails were long, perhaps a little too long. His shoulder length, straight hair was the color of moonlight.

The man nodded his head and gave a small smile, to the "glamoured" employee.

The female employee returned, unsteadily back to the table and gave Lilly the glass, instead of putting it on the table. Lilly thought that was just a little off. She took the drink and thanked the spaced out girl. Lillia was bent over slightly, at the table, when she took a sip of it. Her eyes grew wide and she gulped the liquid fast. It was the real thing!

'When did it become legal here?' she thought.

Her eyes raced around the club but she could see nothing, out of the ordinary. Then her eyes stopped, at a corner of the club. It was unnaturally dark and she could not see well, into it. Lilly hated to do, what she needed to do, as if a human noticed they freaked out and screamed endlessly.

She closed her eyes and proceeded to reopened them, to reveal nothing but blackness, none of the white showed anymore in her eyes. Her vision could see in ultraviolet spectrum to locate the unusual man. Lilly's first thought is indeed vampire. She hopes her guess is wrong.

Her heart skipped a beat, there was someone sitting in the booth, but the colors weren't right for looking, at a human or animal. She blinked again and switched her vision to Infra-red.

Ah there he was...

His aura couldn't hide him. It was hard to make out, detailed features like skin color, as all she could see in the room. It being Infra-red, it is green and blue with eye reflection from the others in the club.

(Author's note: near IR red wavelengths become green and green turns to blue)

Lillu wanted him to move so that she could get more details, as he was sitting perfectly still but he just stared, at her. The two just stared at each other, for what seemed, a lifetime. Lilly looked away and finished her drink. She needed to prepare her mind and eyes,for what was to come next. The blonde kept her vision at IR but then the room spun, for a moment, as she opened them a third time. The room went from the normal range, of a humanoid field of vision to 360°.

There were no more blind spots in the whole club.

Lilly directed her eyes, to the local band playing but she still could see, what was going on in the club. It is then, she saw the male vampire grinning, a malevolent smile so to reveal that he had two sets of incisors. Ones on the top and on the bottom. It just showed that there was no "cookie cutter" brand of vampire. Some flew, some disolidied, shape change and the strongest could do a type of dimensional travel. Lilly had not personally witnessed it, but didn't care to, all the same.

She finished the absinthe and rose from her seat. Lilla leaned over to tell the female lawyers, she was going to go dance. The drunk women grinned stupidly and went back to checking men out. Lilly listened to the music and noted it was blues like. It was a version of ZZ Ward's song "till the casket drops ."

Lilla swayed to the music while closing her eyes, as dancing was good enough to disorient, her for a moment. One had to concentrate hard, with no blind spots, to filter out the visional information. Her eyes flew open, his aura was gone!

He had thought he could slide up next to her, by lowering his aura but her altered vision, still sensed him. She tried to appear, slowly moving around the dance floor but she was really placing herself, at any kind of an exit. Lilla had to get out or she would be forced, to fight and many innocents would be killed, in the fight.

Then it happened, her fear rolled over her control, and a faint golden moving aura appeared. The gold 'shield' glided from the top of her head, down her body and finally finished, by running up her hair. It was so quick, that usually humans couldn't see it. Oh but the vampire noticed it and his eyes glowed slightly, in a vivid orange color. He grinned, showing fangs and licked his lips hungrily.

Lilly glided over to a large window, that would allow her to jump through, turn a corner and flee. She would use the darkness and obstacles like garbage bins and such, to confuse the old vampire. Her reaction was too late, the male vampire's left hand grasped down on her left shoulder. His thumb was pressed into the collarbone and the fingers across the shoulder. In the beat of a heart, Lilly heard her collarbone and shoulder make a snapping sound as they broke. The sound switched and she felt a rush of intense pain, course through her left side.

Her arm was useless now until it healed.

The vampire turned her gently, considering the damage he had already dealt. That was his mistake. He leaned in to kiss her, with his eyes closed and she was gone. If any of the drunk humans had seen it, would have been white wispy streaks like smoke, without the smell. The elder vampire cursed in Russian and stormed back to his booth.

The wobbly waitress became the attention of his wrath. Her blood sprayed all over the walls, ceiling and the booth. She had been torn into four pieces and the drunk humans just kept drinking and dancing, obviously, Lilly NEVER returned to New Orleans or the state of Louisiana, for that matter.

That night, Lucius Russo told his twin sister, about an intoxicating immortal, that gave him the slip.

The moon is my sun,
the night is my day,
Blood is my life,
and you are my prey.
~ unknown