THIS IS PART 2 OF A DOUBLE UPDATE, MAKE SURE TO READ CHAPTER 5 FIRST!!!!

ENJOYYYYYYY

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Aiasthlyn

˚

Sweat gathers above my brow, and my finger twitches with the urge to clear it, but I have swiped at my wet skin too many times to fall for that trick again. Besides, I can not risk unnecessary movements. Though as the bead travels down the length of my forehead, it feels wholly necessary.

There were no warnings about the heat. The oppressive, weighted heat. Given how unforgiving it is, it should have been at the top of the accounts, but there were none I could recall. Perhaps I should have checked for such things myself, and if so, then that was an admitted oversight, but amongst all the preparations, what the weather would be like was the least of my worries.

Now, because of my oversight and a former Protector’s negligence, liquid seeps from my pores in places they never have before.

As if I do not already loathe this hellish realm enough.

I, at least, am in the shade, under the metal roofing that arches overhead, the aged remnant of a structure once grand. It is old and broken now, but still my shade from both the sun and the vampires that do not yet know that they are being watched.

The vampires were… how could one put this kindly…

I was not callous enough to judge the entire species by the three I currently stalked. These were not the first vampires I found, only the most promising in my journey, but even so, I was trying my hardest to withhold judgment until I encountered more aged kin. 

Though, even this felt wrong as I always found that the truest representation of a people was to be found in those lowest amongst them, and thus far, the weakest of the vampires were, ironically, anaemic for a bunch that gorged so frequently on blood.

Half of them seemed more like animals rather than people, and the others, like lost, venomous lambs.

My expectations for the species had not been high to begin with; the accounts assured that they were listless and castrated, but somehow, they managed to drag those expectations to new depths.

It was my fault for assuming that they would carry bounds of wisdom at the very least, but it had seemed only right, given their age. My fault as well to think that their power would be ingrained into the land and customs as well, as perverse as they were. But there was none of that.

There was no culture and no history, nothing but the fringes of a dilapidated people that grew in number like a plague. Not to mention the feeding. It was animalistic, at best, and at worst, it was a nightmare I found myself fitfully compelled to watch each time.

It was fascinatingly horrific, the way they all fed, always the same, as if they shared one mind in those moments. They would heave over an open neck, their bodies caving in as if spreading to create more room for the blood that sated them. For some time after, they were sated, and ‘normal’, and then they would get a whiff of blood and the cycle would repeat itself once more.

In those feverish moments, they looked far from another supernatural being and closer to demons hiding within familiar skin. The demons are tucked away now as the three vampires slip between buildings, using back alleys to avoid the sun.

From what I have witnessed, the younger they are, the more the sun’s light affects them, and while these three are not ‘newborns’, they are still fresh enough to hiss every time a sliver of sun catches them.

The sun only seeks to make my skin moist as I follow after them, a distance away on the other side of the large, bustling road. I use the structures above and their shadows as my cover without the aid of my magic. It still felt wholly wrong using this planet’s magic, even if it did seem to favour me more. It had so little to give with no one to replenish it, I could not take it so cruelly. What little I had gathered, I used sparingly and made sure to feed back whenever I could.

Training is what masks my presence to the other ambling bodies that fill this city, both low and high. It is a large one, teeming with people, smells, arts, and sounds, all crashing together to make one roaring, indomitable beast.

I do not mind that so much— the city and all its contents. At first, it had threatened to drown me with all its moving parts, but then I grew accustomed to it, learned to filter, and… it had compelled me as I finally succeeded in ‘taking it all in’.

That moment of simply observing had been a mirror to when I first escaped the forests I had been deposited in and saw what I now knew was a ‘diner’. I would come to learn that it was a simple place to eat, a minor structure compared to all that existed on this planet, but before I had known that, I had been entranced by every new detail that came into view.

A brightly lit array of colours and people, without restriction or factions, all blended within their private lives. Their skin was not restricted to pale creams and blues, but ventured into blends of brown strong enough to reflect certain light.

There were no pointed ears or sharp teeth, for they were human, I came to realise, and I was fascinated enough by them to stand as a still observer until the planet’s sole sun rose, illuminating a sky like nothing within my wildest dreams.

Blue. A blue sky. It was heavenly.

That was the only time I allowed myself to get lost in my observations. Since then, I carefully slotted every new detail that shocked into a portion of my mind to sit in until I was home again, with the time and safety to peel its layers back. Until then, I did not have the time for it.

My charge awaited, and the sooner I completed it, the sooner I could escape this strange realm.

The vampire in the front, a stocky, brown haired fellow with a stern face, stops suddenly, and the rest are quick to follow. I do the same, watching for what takes his notice. It is a symbol, etched into a wall and doorframe, and it is a perfect match of the one carved into their skin.

An elm, of some kind of house, only that mark had not been given with care, for each of theirs differed with one sharp line here and deep cut there. It is apparent they hold no fondness for the house either, for the sight of it makes them all share one singular shudder.

I notice before them the new vampire who already waits for them. He stands above, on the edge of the building before them, the sun shining on his back. Older then. He is better kept as well, with combed, black hair and a clean-shaven face. There is no bloodlust that compels him as he steps off the ledge and falls to the ground.

He lands soundlessly, as nimble as a yellow lynx, and while the fledglings scatter back with gasps, it does not have any effect on the way he slowly rises, lengthening his spin as he does so.

The world continues around them, unaware and uncaring of the four nestled within the depths of the dark alleyway, and it is increasingly obvious how the humans remain kept willingly ignorant.

I inch closer, pushing back the sounds of the city while I strain my ears to follow their conversation alone.

“Alive,” the new vampire surmises as his eyes flick between the cowered three before him, taking the time to witness them each. “I am surprised, pleasently so.”

Not one replies, not the stocky one, nor the thin woman beside him, nor the stiff-backed girl beside her.

“You succeeded,” the man states, another statement not made to be questioned. Confusion pulls my brows closer together before he speaks again. “You would not be so foolish as to return if you had not.”

“Y-Yes, sire,” the girl replies, braver than the rest and the most acclimated to this hierarchy by the way she remembers to bow. “They are close.”

The eldest vampire hums, his lips curling over a long fang in the corner of his mouth before he speaks again, and this time, with uncaged delight. 

“Show me then.”

˚

I know where they are going before we near, and feel the beginnings of dread gathering in my stomach.

It is the building I followed them to the night prior, the very one they had emerged from only two hirts ago with less than half of their former company.

I had assumed, rather hoped and selfishly willed, that the unknowing humans they had led inside with coaxing smiles and sweet words had been killed. It seemed a kinder faith than what else waited in the shadows of this species.

When the door had shut behind them, I smelt blood, heard cries that were promptly and violently put to an end, and thought that was the end of it. I had been naive and pointedly selfish to not investigate further.

If I had, then perhaps I might have saved them from what is to come next.

Up until this point, I had not seen it— proof of what I’d discovered in my work suite with Babis, of the only culture the vampires had cultivated for themselves— and I was in no rush to do so. I was well aware that I had to, increasingly so in this moment, but that did not make me any more keen for my first glimpse at slavery.

I ignore the perch I had filled when the moon was still crested in the sky, too exposed now in the daylight, and instead scurry across the closely stacked rooftops until I find a shaded section directly opposing the building.

I root myself in place while I let my magic and senses sail, slipping into the very foundations of the unused building so that I am properly attuned to every word, breath and step.

My magic clears the thick brick outer wall to my eyes, turning it transparent so that I may see through each floor and each barricade. I find the victims easily, seeing them the same moment my ears tune into their scattered hearts.

There are six of them, and they have been laid on their sides, bound and lined up in one oppressive line. Scraps of their own clothing have been shoved within their mouths, muting their desperate calls to the world outside.

Hundreds pass beneath them, on foot and in cars, so close and yet so terribly far as the noise of this world drowns out their terror.

If I moved quickly enough, I could reach them and free them, and if the vampires found themselves upon my path, I could kill them with none being the wiser. I dally with the idea, play it out in my mind, but force myself to dismiss it with the reminder that it is not my right.

I am an outsider here, not meant to tamper any more than I must, and not at all, until I have found and uncovered the objective of my charge. If it were a part of my charge, I could excuse it, but until then…

I remain still, allowing my magic to observe and do nothing else, as I reluctantly watch the four vampires slip inside from the bottom floor.

With speed that truly baffles my mind, they reach the top floor in a second, if that much, standing in front of the trapped humans who immediately panic. My stomach sours as I watch them squirm and scream, unable to escape but not daring to stop trying for even a moment.

They might know what comes next. I hope they do not, for their sakes, but even if this is the case, they begin to put the pieces together as the newest vampire smiles for the first time.

He, more than any I have seen before, is truly a demon. He sheds his pretences as anything else as his true glee breaks through the surface, morphing his face into a chilling display of greed. His red eyes glow, and it takes all my strength not to pluck them from their sockets with a thought.

I will, eventually. I already memorised his face as I did the others, and would do all the rest I found on my path. There were rules for the Charge, what was to be done during it, but there was nothing to be said once it was completed.

All who were left alive would die when it was done. I would not leave this realm until I saw it was so.

The vampire steps forward, purposefully dragging his foot along the ground to deepen the humans’ fear as he steps towards them.

“Young, strong and—” he pauses to inhale and his eyes fall shut a moment later, “healthy.” He purrs that word with disgusting reverence, that none of the others seem to share.

They cringe away from him, taking a step back as if that might help them escape. Of the three, only the girl looks at the humans. She does not seem to like the vampire before them—she fears him like all the rest, but she does not seem to feel guilty about her actions either. 

She faces the humans while the two others keep their heads down and their gazes averted.

“Very well done,” the vampire praises as he opens his eyes. His gaze refuses to leave the humans as he speaks, letting his words fill the air as if they might be treats. “You have earned yourselves a month. No.” He pauses to think, and as his gaze settles on a red-headed girl, his grin widens, “Two.”

All three of the vampires exhale, their relief palpable with their freedom obtained… That was what this was… an exchange, and not an entirely willing one.

Was this how it worked? How the vampires continued feeding themselves and their disgusting chain of slavery? They turned certain humans—time still had to share how those were selected—and then used them to find other humans to add to their cattle.

But then, what happened if they did not succeed? Nothing promising by the fear that cascaded off the three fledlings as much as it did the humans.

If that were the case, then it made sense how this jagged, mecha-like system functioned. They tossed their youngest into the cruellest parts of their regime and weaponised fear to make them oblige. But it then created a new question of how they maintained it.

Surely, this fostered resentment internally. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands, just waiting for the chance to escape or fight back. Was my charge one of those waiting? Or was he part of the system?

Frustration brews inside of me, bubbling over the vat of patience I have always prided myself on. Piecing it together from the outside was doable, but it would cost too much time— time I was not willing to spend witnessing these horrors and not being able to help. 

I needed a way to slip into the vampire’s world and piece together the gruesome nature of their society from there.

“Better perks come with better offerings,” the vampire muses while he slides his tongue out to wet his lips. “Wolves will get you more time, and witches, one of your own.”

The man and woman do not seem at all moved by that sentiment, but the girl… her eyes brighten tellingly. The vampire notices, even without looking at her, he sees her as I do. I know by the way his scent bitters into something repulsively appreciative while the stench of disdain gathered for the others.

Ah… this made more sense.

Not every one of the vampires they turned would acclimate to their new life, and they could not have seeds of resentment in a society so volatile. They needed them to at least lust after some part of it.

The girl would survive amongst them, the other two… it was only a matter of time.

A plan unfolds within my mind with staggering ease, and I thank Ythene for it when my mind immediately cools, washing away my frustrations as if they were never there at all.

Virion had always said I had a mind for strategy. It seemed he was right, either that or I simply wanted an excuse to start my killing early.

—

There is a moment, when I first arrive, before I even make my presence known, that they all seem to sense me. Both the vampires and the humans feel me. They tense the muscles in their bodies, hold their breath and wait for my arrival.

It is… heading, that brief moment, the rippled sensation, but I slide it to the back of my mind as I free my Sael and start my killing.

I start with the eldest vampire, of course. He does not see me coming, and why should he? A creature so abominable did not deserve to view my face or the grace of his death by my hands.

I am forced to view his though, but only for the brief moment it takes to slice his face open from one corner of his lips to the next while my hand tears the stagnant heart from his chest. 

My studies said there were only two ways to kill a vampire— to rid it of its heart or its head. The heart seemed my cleanest option, but my overindulgence with his face causes blood to spray freely across the large room. It is too thick and too dark to be healthy, but it does not taint me or the humans that I protect with a shield to match my own.

I leave the vampires to be sprayed in it because this is the filth they have chosen, and only one of them will live anyway, and even that time is borrowed and measured. I contemplated which on the way over— this being the only part of my plan that did not come automatically.

The girl seemed the obvious choice. She would run the fastest and the furthest to share the news, but she would likely be rewarded for it too, and she seemed too eager for the promise of a reward and this life.

The thin woman would do. She appeared meek, and so maybe she would be believed quickly and escape punishment for not being able to face me. But this too was with fault, because why did she deserve to escape death by my hand?

None of them did. How they were coerced into this life, I did not know, but I knew they had the space and time to cut it short before they inflicted such wickedness on others, and they had not.

As far as my corners lay, that made them equally as awful and equally as worthy of death.

I kill the woman swiftly. I take her heart from her chest and do so without preamble, but the girl… I take an extra moment with her— with her heart. 

I bring her close, as I might a lover so that she can see me as I see her. While her large eyes stare up at me, darting all around with horror and disbelief, I squeeze her heart rhythmically, reminding her of the pleasure of a heartbeat.

I remind her what it is like to live, to feel, to breathe. I remind her what it feels like when fear is what is pumping one’s heart. I make her feel what she made these humans feel, and when the tears gather in her eyes, I pull the muscle out.

All that is left are the sobbing, hysterical humans—it appears that the species may not be accustomed to violence— and the man.

He stands limply against one wall, shaking from head to toe like a leaf afloat in treacherous winds. Tears pour endlessly from their sockets, and there’s a babbling sound that falls from his lips. He does not even try to run. He seems to know there is no use, and that is helpful because I am in no mood to hunt down my messenger.

The man is perfect. Built as he is, on first appearance, he seemed the strongest to fight, which would give the ones he told pause. And if my theories were right about the way this all worked, then they— whichever vampire he found next that handled the younger ones—would feel some level of resentment to know I’d killed the girl, a potential one of them.

Of course, if I were wrong and composing fiction based on nothing but pride and too much self-assuredness, then it did not matter because the tongue would sing the same tale that would attract them like moths to a flame.

An elf was here, on Earth, and he seemed to have a personal vendetta against vampires.

They would come and I would let them.

I would let them rain down on me and kill as many as I could until it seemed adequate to let them think they bested me.

I would let them take me, and from there— within the deepest pits of their society— I would find my charge.

In the meantime… heads would roll.

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I know I got issues cause Violent Aias got me 🥵

Thoughts?????

Thoughts on this chapter??? On our first look into vampire society from Aias’ eyes??????

It’s a big jump from what we’ve seen so far but I didn’t want to fuck around here cause I know Aias isn’t. He has a job to do and he’s very serious about getting it done!!!! 

PLease comment, and share all your thoughts for these last 2 updates and if you liked it, pleaseeeeee vote!!!

Next up, is a Virion chapter on Patreon and my website (I write the short story in my spare time and I will share publically on all platforms when its done) and then an extra.

Until next time,
Byeeeeeeeeee Humansssssssssssss