Reyna: Vampire Queen

Chapter 1: 5 Years Later

Reyna's footsteps echoed off the intricate stonework of the alley in the rich part of Chicago. She moved with purpose for she knew where she was headed. She had sensed a dark energy coming from this part of the city and she was after its source. A cold wind blew down the alleyway, chilling her slightly. It didn't bother her, however, as she had spent the last five years training her body and her abilities.

After Reyna had left the cave, she had walked quite a distance. She would hide when the sun began to rise, and travel only after the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon. She began to start figuring out her new powers that the vampire had given her. It was shortly after leaving the cave that she discovered human food made her sick. She also discovered that she could smell human blood and made her cravings go crazy. She almost got into serious trouble within the first month when her craving got so bad that she went into a feeding frenzy at a campsite in Michigan and left remains of humans everywhere. Luckily, law enforcement thought that some sort of wild animal had been the one to wreak that havoc.

It took almost an entire year for Reyna to gain full control over her cravings. It wasn't until the second year that she learned she could transform into a bat. She found out that she could also control the essence of darkness itself and use special abilities that would drain her so much that if she hadn't fed prior, they'd kill her. One of these abilities was the ability to create a blood moon. She was clueless as to its purpose. She could also use darkness to cloak herself during the dead of night so she could stalk prey. On her fifth year and very recently, she discovered that she could fly without transforming into a bat, but she couldn't do it if she was in a weakened state.

Reyna had entered Chicago only a week ago, coming out of hiding at last due to confidence in her newfound abilities. She hadn't been in Chicago for an entire day yet when she felt it. A dark energy so pure and malicious, it drew her towards it. No matter how much she tracked it's source, though, it always seemed to be on the move and just out of reach. She had to know what had caused this dark energy signature. It felt almost demonic in nature.

Reyna reached the end of the alleyway and stepped out onto the sidewalk bordering the street. She closed her eyes and moved her head from left to right, letting her senses take over. She sensed a lot of things all at once, but was able to filter through them easily. Even though it was night, she heard people. Hundreds of people milling the streets. They browsed 24 hour shops and street vendors that lined the street. She smelled the food cooking at the food stands. Hamburgers, hotdogs, and even some Chinese food. But most of all, she smelled blood. It was everywhere that people were, and it made her mouth start watering.

With a great effort, Reyna forced her mind off of the people and began to search for the dark energy. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually managed to pinpoint it coming from a nearby hotel. She smiled to herself. Her journey to find the source was almost over. She hoped to take the source for herself, but wasn't even sure she'd even be able to, depending on what it was.

The hotel was only half a block down the road. Reyna walked among the people without raising any suspicion. She had mastered the art of blending in with people a couple of years ago for when she absolutely needed to gather intel or stalk someone with especially delicious smelling blood. She usually wore black skintight leather clothes, but when she went among humans, she always donned normal looking outfits.

Stopping about twenty feet from the hotel, Reyna scanned the outside of it. Security looked to be very tight. Two guards stood at the entrance. She watched a man walk up to the guards, show his ID, and then scan a card into a reader at the actual door before the doors slid open and he walked inside. This was going to be tricky to circumvent.

Noticing an side alley running around the hotel to the back, Reyna walked along it. Examining the walls very closely, she noticed one maintenance door, but there was a security camera with a wide angle lens right above it. The door itself was made out of very thick steel and she knew it would be securely locked. Walking around to the back, she saw an employee entrance next to a loading dock for supply trucks. The loading dock was shuttered and the employee door was closed. A handful of guards patrolled the area, keeping an eye out for intruders. This many guards must mean there was something inside they wanted to protect.