Broken Warrior

Shades of Sin

Eirene

I don't know why I chose Las Vegas.

The city of sin, despite it's ready access to inebriated humans looking for a good time, wasn't a large hang out for supernaturals. I had no intelligence on the city, nothing that stood out and told me I should go there. Maybe that's why I chose it. I still wasn't sure if my data was compromised, I had not yet gone to my alternative location to pick up my back ups. I wasn't sure if I was being followed, so I went somewhere I had no reason to go.

The first few days I remained in the shadows, watching, licking my wounds and reeling with the aftermath of my decisions. I was free. I was alive, I had survived something I was sure would have killed me. I had been prepared to die, almost wishing for it as I searched for a purpose to exist But I was now adrift. I could not go back to the life, the mindset, I'd had before. I didn't feel the righteous fury any longer.

I wasn't ready to give up and die but I had no clue what I needed to do. I noticed the Knight Corp employees a lot more than I had before my imprisonment. I recognized their training and movements and steered clear from the teams of young vampires and shapeshifters that moved easily through the world, protecting or hunting rogues as they called them.

The garish and outlandish human culture of Sin City grated on my soul, causing my inner dogmatic zealot to cringe as I watched half naked people strutting down the streets in feathers or cheap costumes. The billboards and flashing lights were worse and it was nearly unbearable to step into one of the casinos, with the sound of the slot machines, the smell of human desperation and the taste of alcohol on the air. But still I stayed, as if using this as a way to punish myself, or shock me into realizing that the world was not made for my ilk any longer.

I would have to adapt to society, or I would lose all relevance, though I suspected I already had. What does an assassin kill, if they are no longer opposed to their enemy? The other vampires from my time and before had adapted, had built empires to live within and protect them. They had surrounded themselves with their disciples whether that be good or ill. My loneliness made me feel older. There were several times that I debated the wisdom of turning down Knight Corp's request to join them, though despite my depleted fury, I still chafed at the idea that I would work for or with Alesky.

And I was too much of a coward to chance meeting Rurik's judgement day after day. Nor could I stand to be so close Eliza, who called to my heart and soul, every day, knowing that whatever fate had wanted for us would never happen. Her memory was bittersweet, love when I didn't know I was capable of feeling it but a grain of sand rubbing me raw and stopping me from healing.

I could not forgive and thus I knew I had no right seeking forgiveness from her either. I also feared that even if she did forgive me, my presence would put her at odds with Alesky and Rurik, and I could not bring myself to destroy her family connection. She was loved and she loved there, I knew that if what I was feeling was true, she would be feeling as bruised as I was, but I had faith that she would find happiness without me.

I wandered Las Vegas with these thoughts and contemplations in my mind, slowly gathering supplies out of reflex more than a solid plan of action. I knew how to get the things I needed to protect myself and hunt if I so chose and even when my path was unsettled, I fell into that habit.

Then the air, the pulse, of the city changed and I noticed the ones called Hunters move in.

Supernaturals were aware and fled as quickly as they could but there were some caught unaware, some of the young and vulnerable, lost out amidst the confusing population of humanity that would be easy pickings for the company that reminded me of an advanced form of the Knights I had served. Whether or not they were aware of their similarities to the Teutonic Order, they had the same goal.