The Slow Seduction

[grim137]

((Closed. The thread contains mature content, reader discretion is advised.))

It was early in the morning when Xanbata Grim was summoned into the lair of his dark master, Do'negh, deep within the mountains of Salvar. A place that was dark and dreadful place and looked like Frankenstein's lab. The stone walls were lined with machines, stained with chemicals and chained together with many of Do'negh's experiments. The ones that were alive and physically capable of screaming or begging for an end did so. The powerful necromancer was not working on the secrets of life or death, Xanbata knew that Do'negh already knew those, no these poor, mutilated creatures were the result of experiments to alter and manipulate life on not only a genetic but also a magical level. It was enough to make even the cold hearted vampire Xanbata Grim a bit uneasy. Hopefully Do'negh wouldn't keep him here long.

“You called for me?”

Do'negh was busy with a scalpel and a book of magic, working on one of his experiments chained to an an adamantine table. The twisted drow (if he could still be called a drow) paused only for a second when he heard his servant, Xanbata, speak. Without even giving the vampire the courtesy of turning around Do'negh responded.

“Yes, Xanbata, how's the new body? I have a mission for you, well, two actually but they are intertwined.”

“Go on.” This statement stemmed merely from the fact that the livelike vampire felt the need to say something. In reality, he knew he had no choice in the matter of what the mission was or whether or not he could accept it. Telling Do'negh to go on was just a way of assuring the demented creature that he was listening.

“Have you heard of a girl by the name of A'rai Dienn Salaturn?”

“The last name sounds vaguely familiar but other than that I can't say I have.”

“She's the youngest daughter of the family and she's managed to catch my attention.”

“This can't be good,” thought the livelike vampire though he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He knew better than anyone what it meant when you caught Do'negh's attention. It usually meant a lot of hardship, misfortune and twisted experiments were coming your way, all so that the playfully sadistic drow could fulfill his curiosity. Of course it also meant that whether you liked it or not you were going to become more powerful than you ever expected in ways and for reasons you never, ever wanted to.

“One of my servants is also serving as a high ranking servant to the family almost like a personal advisor to the house hold. Up until now he's sort of been helping me keep an eye on our subject. But she's going to Alerar to meet a dwarven gun maker by the name of Bakeg Stoneskull and she needs protection,” continued Do'negh.

“Let me guess, thats where I come in right?”

“You learn quickly Xanbata. My servant has convinced Ms. A'rai to let him hire an appropriate body guard, that would be you. As far as Ms. A'rai knows, you're a servant of the family, which means not only mush she think you're human but you must be on your best behavior around her.”

“Well isn't this just fucking great? I get be a babysitter for some spoiled little cunt,” thought Xanbata bitterly but once again kept his thoughts to himself and instead let his master continue speaking.

“You are to meet her in her family's manor, I will have one of my slaves give you directions. Protect her well but don't be too protective of her. I want you to give her a chance to exercise her power some and I want to see how well she handles herself in certain situations. Just make sure she suffers no permanent phsyical damage.”

“You mentioned something about a second part of the mission?”

“Yes, Mr. Stoneskull owes me something, I can't reveal what it is but he'll know to give it to you when you come to collect it. If he refuses to give it to you, you are authorized to do what you must to take it from him,” then he added with a wave “you have your orders. Go now.”

“Yes sir,” responded the Xanbata coldly, turning sharply on his heel and retracting his fangs back into his skull. He was not looking forward to the few days.

[Dark Temptress]

When it came to summoning demons and learning ancient spells and texts that most people never bothered with any more, A’rai had mountains of patience. In fact, it seemed to endlessly come from within her as she spent the hours and days and possibly even weeks to memorize the way a circle needed to be drawn and the exact order of an incantation. But, when it came to waiting on someone else, her patience grew thin rather easily. People should be prompt when they were dealing with her. They should know their place when in her presence. She was a noble after all, she made people wait, she left people standing there pacing and nervously playing with their clothes. Not the other way around.

This was far beyond frustrating and had turned into something irritating long ago. She wanted to leave, to get out of this stuffy house and find the open roads between Salvar and Alerar before her. But she couldn’t. Not until her escort arrived. Not until some man she’d never met before was going to come waltzing into her home like he owned it and tried to command her as if she was kind of disgusting peasant. He was the peasant, he was mercenary for hire, the bodyguard that had no interest in her other than the amount of money she could toss his way. Filth. He was just filth and if kept her waiting any longer...

The tirade stopped as she looked upon the mirror. Her face had twisted from the perfection that it was into a hideous and disgusting glower. She had lost her calm and her beauty had gone with it, lost in the angry look that broke across her porcelain skin and darkened her forest green eyes. Taking a deep breath and watching her bosom rise and try to spill out of the low neckline of her dress, A’rai began to calm herself. There was no point in getting angry, not when the source of her anger had yet to arrive. Maybe then she could chastise him and show him exactly who was in charge of this little mission. She was paying him after all and she was paying him quite the amount as well. Seven hundred gold there and another one thousand when he safely returned her safely to her home. The amount to bring her back was always higher; it gave the person more incentive to actually bring her home instead of just killing her and keeping what they had already earned.

Tucking a strand of wayward blonde hair back into the neat and braided bun upon her head, the seductress rose. She tired of the reflection in the mirror staring back at her. She had seen it a hundred, thousand times already and nothing about it had changed. Standing and smoothing down the clinging material of her blood red dress, she turned away from the vanity and moved towards the door. She had barely made it halfway there before the deep, resounding thud of several knocked echoed out from the dark wood and into her silent room. Instead of commanding an entrance, she opened the wooden barricade and looked down to see her personal maid standing there, her head bowed and her eyes cast to the ground.

“What is it?” Her voice was smooth, but cold and yet showed the slight bit of irritation she was feeling.

“Your bodyguard has arrived, my lady.”

She felt the tension streaming along her spine relax slightly as a smirk began to pull along the corner of her full lips. Perfect.

“Thank you.”

The servant took that as her opportunity to leave and bowing even more, she turned and headed out into the hallway, past the sight of A’rai as she entered a set of servant stairs. Once the woman left, the seductress slipped from her room and walked down halls she had seen too many times to care about anymore. There were paintings and candles and tables and chairs, all the things that a noble house needed to make itself seem better than those that surrounded it. Petty things that A’rai rarely paid attention to. Material was comfort, but it was not everything. Power was.

The hallway broke off and the seductress found herself confidently striding towards the main staircase. It opened into a grand foyer with a ceiling that towered even high above her from her position on the second floor. At the centre of the ornate peak and small arches was a crystal chandelier, lit by too many candles and casting a soft and yet bright glow down upon the ground. It even reflected the multiple facets of light that crystals do, shedding rainbows across the grey stone, the red carpets and the many ornate and ugly yet beautiful things that her father had bought for decoration. As she reached the edge of the staircase, she cast her eyes down to the main floor and saw there the man that was to protect her.

Nothing special.

It was the first thought that passed through her mind. He was not particularly bad looking, yet he was most certainly not the best looking man she had ever seen. In fact, he appeared to be rather rough around the edges, like she suspected of a warrior. The facial hair was something she could do without, but he was not a servant in her home and thus she did not have that much control over him. Shame.

“Glad to see you finally decided to arrive...” The words could have been interpreted as friendly, if not for the fact that they were spoken with such sarcasm that it practically dripped off each syllable. And yet as she began to slowly make her way down the staircase, her small hand caressing the dark wood of the banister, a smile lit her face.

"My sincerest apologies Miss A'rai, but it seems some of the staff is rather incompetent, and it took longer than expected for me to receive proper payment," he said politely before bowing his head.

This time her face truly did light up with a few rather interesting thoughts. “They shall be punished accordingly.” From her expression, one would easily surmise how great of pleasure she would extract from punishing those servants involved.

Reaching the bottom of the long, and slightly curved plane of stairs, the seductress moved closer to her hired help. She circled the marbled floor her dressed dragged upon, walking slowly around the man and taking in all she could from his appearance. He was dressed well enough and clearly cared to some degree about his appearance.

“I do believe you have yet to introduce yourself to me, mercenary.” The words spilled forth from her throat, soft and cold as she finished walking her circle around him. Her form standing but a few feet from his as her eyes lazily fell upon him with neither interest and yet not complete repulsion either. He appeared to be adequate.

“Pardon my rudeness, ma’am. My name is Xanbata Grim, at your service.” He laced the words with a phony smile, the kind that was supposed to seem polite to her, but she saw right through it. He was mad if he thought he could trick a manipulative like her.

The words seemed so hollow her to. A name and an apology. Nothing more. It was then she began to see through the facade that he had placed upon himself. The show of being civil and the fact that there was most likely something greater and far more interesting that lay beneath such a show. She just needed to not so gently bring it out in the man. And if the seductress possessed one skill above all others, she knew how to get underneath someone’s skin.

“Due to your arrival, it is too late in the evening to leave.” She said rather bluntly. “You shall join me for dinner and then we will depart in the morning. Come.”

Her voice turned from the soft tone it had taken to one of a more commanding nature. Placing her back to the man, A’rai began to lead him to the back of the foyer with a large set of double doors lay. The dining room, which also served as their ballroom when her father decided he wished to entertain. Opening one of the doors, she walked into the room, set aglow by the distantly setting sun, which reflected pink and purple in the growing darkness of the sky. She could see it perfectly through the large, floor to ceiling windows that practically made up the entire opposite wall of the room and almost gave off no reason for candles. But there still appeared to be some lining the long wooden table and casting gentle light upon the many pristine dishes and silverware.

[grim137]

Xanbata arrived later than expected having actually taken time to make sure he looked like a noble, and to be fair, dressed in a fine white cotton coat with a thin silver lining on the edges, a pair of white silk gloves and white leather boots, the vampire did indeed look the part (though the fact that the arrogant vampire was in no particular hurry didn't exactly help make matters better. It was a bit of a shame then that his temporary mistress (as he now thought of A'rai) turned out to be an impatient little bitch and as a result he was immediately greeted with a not-so-subtle lash of her tongue.

It was all the normally, sharp tongued vampire could do from insulting the insolent little female monkey back. Instead he swallowed his rather sizable pride, bowed his head and acted like a polite little servant, blaming one of her staff instead. And as a result she revealed something about her personality that immediately struck his interest.

“So the little cunt isn't just spoiled, she actually has a bit of a sadistic streak. Do'negh's going to love toying with that,” thought Xanbata Grim smugly.

When she asked his name he simply smiled and gave it to her, this time slathering on the false politness a bit more lightly, after all he just needed to make sure the other servants in the household, as well as any guests that stopped by, thought he was your standard, run-of-the-mill sword for hire then all would be good. If she suspected something then so be it, it mattered not as long as she kept him in a position where he could observer her as per his master's orders and took him to Bakeg Stoneskull. His mission was to observe, protect and gather, not make friends.

The next order the A'rai barked was obeyed with Grim uttering nothing more than a flat “Yes ma'am”. A'rai's body guard followed closely behind her. He ignored the posh interior of the household, adorned paintings, pottery and furniture. Not only was Do'negh's newest interest more interesting that the extravagance in which she lived, but to a predatory creature such as Xanbata Grim, she was also much more pleasant to stare at.

The vampire eyed her closely, scanning over the skimpy, nearly strapless dress, lingering slowly downwards. He wasn't just admiring her figure, he was looking for markings, runes, scars, tattoos, anything that might be of interest to somebody trying to discover her potential. Some staff would likely notice his staring but they'd just think he was perverted. Besides, if anybody said anything, the professional killer could deny it and then make sure the offending staff member suffered some sort of fatal 'accident' after A'rai went to bed.

The girl had some odd sigils on her back, faint though they were. So faint in fact that the partly crazed vampire thought for a second that his mind was trying to deceive him. Xanbata didn't recognize the markings, in fact had it not been for his spirit sense and his affinity towards the supernatural the he even saw them at all. He didn't recognize them though he made a mental note of them. There would be times when he could find out more on the subject later.

“Sit down.”

With out realizing the vampire had become absorbed in his own thoughts because A'rai's command jostled him back to reality. Immediately Xanbata noticed the incredible spread. Spiced and roasted deer meat (cooked rare of course), finely steamed vegetables of various types and the finest wine money could buy. All spread out on an ornate table with many chairs.

Xanbata and A'rai sat next to each other while the other servants filled the rest of the seats with the most important ones sitting closest to A'rai and Grim. Dinner was uneventful with Xanbata and A'rai focused on each other. A'rai had clearly taken a sort of suspicious interest in her bloodsucking body guard and with her questions and her eyes she probed him for answers through out the dinner. In turn Xanbata fed her a combination of truth and bullshit, hoping that if he mixed it well enough that she wouldn't be able to tell the difference. By the time the food was gone Xanbata had lied and said he was born in Corone, yet told the truth about serving as a lieutenant in Raiaera's army alongside the legendary Damon Kaosie. He told truth when he admitted that he'd been accused of multiple crimes but lied when he said that the courts had deemed him innocent of the charges, and this was all just the tip of the iceberg. Eventually A'rai grew either bored, tired or frustrated with the little game the two were playing (Xanbata couldn't tell which) and as a result, the questions stopped and something else happened.

“Well its late and I'm tired, Eirwin will take you to you room. If you need anything else mercenary, feel free to let her know,” said A'rai as Eirwin, a young 15 year old, skinny red head with a mostly flat chest appeared at her side, before exiting the table.

The fanged predator looked at the young servant closely, a devilish smile crossing his face. A lot of thoughts crossed through his mind, all of them very bad for the poor, unwitting young girl. A'rai seemed determined to figure out what he was. Perhaps tonight he'd give her a clue, especially since he now realized it could be a few days before he got a suitable chance to hunt again.

“Please follow me Mister Grim,” asked the innocent girl politely. Her voice was so tender, so submissive, so polite. The monster would have fun with her tonight.

The vampire did as he was told, making sure to pocket the stainless steel steak knife in the process, something that with his speed, was easy to do without the others noticing. He followed the young servant closely, down the hallway and up the stairs to the second floor and down yet another hallway to one of the many extravagantly decorated guest rooms.

“Good night, Mister Grim. My room's down the hall, come get me if you need anything,” said Eirwin softly.

“You're too kind miss,” said Xanbata with more false politeness, not wanting his next prey to suspect anything “if anything comes up, I'll be sure to let you know. Good night.”

He then closed the door, removed his armor and weapons and laid down in the large, goose feather bed. The predator would not hunt yet, no he would wait a few hours first, that way the rest of the manor would fall asleep and the hunt would be easier. Instead he simply laid there in his bed, soaking in silent anticipation of the what was to come. With his spirit sense he could detect every presence in the house and tell where they were. When they were all still, the blood sucker would make his move.

[Dark Temptress]

Dinner had been nothing special. The food had been good but the conversation had left a bad taste in the back of her mouth. She could see the lies that he wove throughout the small pieces of truth, trying to mask the fact that he was feeding her bullshit and stringing her along like she was some kind of dull minded nitwit. It was pathetic and made her irritable, to the point that the food barely tasted good upon her tongue and the wine was the only consolation. It caused that lovely feeling to engulf her mind where the drunken haze was not yet upon her, but she felt the tension leave her.

In the end, she had concluded dinner and dismissed him with a few simple words and the wave of her hand. The game was done for the night, she had learned a few things about the man that may prove helpful to her, but otherwise she’d had enough. All he had done was further prove her suspicions that the man was indeed hiding something from her. And all that had done; was further her curiosity in figuring out just what lay beyond the cool and calm demeanour. She knew not her method, not yet anyway. Seduction did not appear to be an option in this case; the man seemed to have far more of a need to be in control. That would cause a problem, unless she pull off the diminutive and naive little girl act, but considering her actions around him already, she doubted it would work.

As the room emptied and Xanbata left with the young servant girl, A’rai filled her glass one final time and then left the large dining room for the servants to clear and clean. She took the servant stairs upstairs, it was quicker than using the main ones and didn’t care much about the fact that it was below her to use them. She never had been one to follow the rules set before her anyway. If she was, then she wouldn’t be in a secret group that summoned demons simply out of sheer boredom and the male need to exercise their ego. She was going to free herself from Kings and Shadows eventually, after she had drained all the information she could out of Markus and his precious little library. Then, she would turn one of those creatures he enjoyed playing the master of, the ones that she subdued and chose for him, against him and watch it rip him and all of the others to pieces, feasting on their flesh.

Sighing softly, the seductress opened the door to her room and slipped into the lavish interior, filled with things that her father thought she needed. True, she would miss the comfort and ease of living like this if it were to be suddenly taken away from her, but the overly extravagant ways she saw some nobles live disgusted her. They used money as if it meant nothing and they had all of it in the world.

Taking a sip of her wine, A’rai rested the glass on the stand beside her massive and posted bed. Then she reached behind her and pulled along the string holding her dress flush and tight against her body. As it loosened around her form and pooled around her feet, she stepped away from it and moved towards a large armoire set against the far wall. Opening it up, she slipped into the cool, red silk of her nightwear and then grabbed the book off her dressing table she had been reading earlier that day. Slipping under the warm covers and settling against the dark headboard she began to read about the possibility of permanently enslaving a demon and attaching it to her own soul.

After a time her glass became empty and the candles about her room pooled into piles of molten wax barely holding a flame. She curled up and fell asleep with the book still in her hand.

[grim137]

Nightfall. A time when most creatures of prey were fast asleep. For the predators that feasted on the prey, it was a time to eat and indulge in their natural urges. For a creature such Xanbata Grim, a predator living in a mansion full of prey, with one in particular already picked out, it was a good time, especially now that the place was quiet and he was alone.

For the past few hours he'd lied awake in a state of relaxation on queen sized bed complete with goose feather pillows and fancy blankets. He'd been observing those in the house with his spirit sense, waiting for all the human life forces he felt to become still. He paid attention to two in particular, A'rai's and Eirwin's though he did so for two vastly different reasons. When all became quiet and the humans, all still completely ignorant of what he really was, had ceased most of their movements, the predator smiled a gleeful smile, it was time for him to make his move.

Casually he got up from the bed and grabbed the stolen steak knife off the ornate nightstand. He was shirtless now and, unless you were to count the stolen knife, unarmed. It didn't matter though. He doubted a fifteen year old serving girl would be able to put up much of a fight, though the twisted creature certainly hoped she would put up a bit of struggle. It was more fun that way.

Xanbata retracted his fangs as he exited his room and walked out into the vast hallway. He decided it was best to keep up the appearance of your standard noble guard in case anybody ran into him unexpectedly. If this happened he would simply lie and say he was looking for the bathroom. Luckily this proved to be an unnecessary precaution as he found his way to Eirwin's room without any trouble.

“Can I help you Mr. Grim?” asked Eirwin politely Xanbata appeared at her doorway. Oh this was going to be fun.

The monster didn't say another word, he simply entered her room, closed the door behind him and gave her a very sadistic looking, fang filled smile. He quickly grabbed the now very frightened young lady and spun her around so that her back was against him. The girl tried the scream but one of Xanbata's hands quickly clasped over her mouth and muffled her. His second hand slid under her nightgown and with his finger he opened the slit of her vagina. By now, even if she hadn't felt the bulge his groin through his pants against her leg, she knew what was about to happen.

Eirwin was now sobbing. The teenage human female had never done anything wrong in her life, why was this happening to her? Why was her body about to become the play thing of this monster? She sobbed and struggled against him but her frail body didn't contain near the amount of strength of his. The struggle was hopeless, in fact it seemed to egg him on.

The creature leaned in and kissed the tears off her face. “Do not worry child. Before the night ends your suffering will be over and I promise you will never suffer again,” he said mockingly. This only made her weep more, much to his sadistic delight. He loved playing with his food.

With her fear arousing him so much it wasn't long before his lust boiled over and he grew tired of simply fingering her. The lust filled murderer quickly forced the girl onto the the bed face down so that when she screamed (and she would scream) they would be muffled by the thick padding of the mattress. He didn't even bother to remove her nightgown completely, he simply moved it up enough to see what he was doing. Once this was done he dropped his pants and forced himself inside her.

Several minutes later, when he had finished and climaxed inside her the psychotic creature lifted his hands off the head of the sobbing, violated young woman and with out even bothering to pull out of poor, young Eirwin he grabbed the pillow of her bed and with one hand on the pillow and one hand on her head he pressed the two together so that he smothered the unfortunate servant.

For a moment the violated little red head gained a sudden burst of energy as she struggled in vain against her murderer. After about a minute the struggling stopped and Xanbata Grim felt the girl's life force fade into the other realm.

With a slight grin, the vampire pulled out of his now dead victim and pulled his pants up. He then grabbed the stolen steak knife off the floor where he had dropped it and slit her wrists. He pulled both wrists to his mouth and proceeded to suck the rich, crimson fluid from the Eirwin's body. When the deed was done, he wiped his mouth off on one of the bed sheets and threw the knife at her side. Forensics on Althanas weren't exactly top notch so he wasn't too worried about the placement of the knife. The people who found her body would think she had committed suicide with the knife and that would be the end of that.

With both lusts, blood and sexual, thoroughly satisfied the twisted monster retracted his fangs and exited the room. It would be awful hard for Xanbata Grim to hide the smile on his face but at this point he couldn't have cared less.

[Dark Temptress]

Sound sleep broke away like a shattering of glass on a hard surface. Fragments of it still flew through her mind, forcing her to grasp at them with bloody fingers, trying to reclaim the dreams that had been lost. She wanted them back. They had been interesting, entertaining even. And she was rather certain quite sinfully delicious as she had dreamt of being fucked rather forcefully by none other than her hired bodyguard. The man had forced her against a wall and torn her clothes from her body. He’d whispered words in her ear she could no longer recall and then entered her roughly, his strokes long and slow at first until they turned into a pounding fury that left her gasping and whimpering. The feelings elicited by the dream remained, leaving her hot and wet and irritated as she felt no relief in sight. At least not anytime soon and she was certainly not about to fuck her bodyguard.

As the dreams wore off, A’rai realized her slumber had not been disturbed in a normal way. There was someone hanging over her bed and she felt the irritation grow as she wondered what for. Her forest green eyes flew open to her darkened chambers. She could see streams of light daring to enter beyond the heavy, crimson curtains hanging in front of her window. They illuminated the room enough to show the familiar face of a servant before her, peering down at her with worried dark eyes and a tight frown. It creased wrinkles upon a face that was aging and ugly, a face A’rai knew she would never possess.

“What...for what do you disturb me for?” A’rai grumbled. Her voice was less than soft and less than pleasant. Her dry throat wishing for water.

“My lady, there...there has been an accident.”

The worry in the voice disturbed her, the hesitation bothered her and the disposition of the woman downright confused her. What the hell was going on in her home?

Grabbing the edge of her blankets, she threw them from her body. It removed the warmth that she had been drench in and left her arms and her back and chest where the low hanging material did not cover bare to the cool air. Bumps broke out across her skin and she shivered, running her small, thin fingers across her arms.

“What accident?” The noble asked tersely. She did not enjoy being disturbed from her slumber.

--------------------------------------------

A’rai stood over the bed of the dead servant girl, Eirwin. She had been loyal and easy to manipulate and quite good for the money that the family treasury had been paying the girl. Such a waste. It would not be particularly hard to replace the girl, there were plenty of people looking for work in Knife’s Edge, it was the fact that she had to. That irritated her.

“It appears as if the young girl slit her wrists...”

The voice floated from behind her, the old butler that mainly took charge of many of the goings on in the estate; Forin.

“Yes, it does appear that way...” A’rai said her voice rather flat.

The girl was splayed across the bed with her arms out at either side of her. Her eyes were closed and her hair dark hair looked so much darker against her now deathly pale skin of the beautiful young girl. It was tangled behind her head and fanning out across the light blue spread of the bed.

“Something wrong my lady?”

“Of course there is, a servant in my household is dead.” And she has not killed herself either.

A’rai may not be very well versed in suicides but she certainly knew death and this pale, beautiful dead beauty had most certainly been killed. The problem was, whether by suicide or by the hand of another, there was far too little blood staining those sheets. But where it had all gone appeared to be a mystery to her.

“Clean up the mess, pay for the funeral and give the family two months in exact wages for what their daughter would have made.”

“But my lady, she ki—”

“Did I not make myself perfectly clear?”

She didn’t need to see Forin to feel the sudden tension in his body, it practically permeated the air.

“Yes, my lady...”

She turned and looked the older man in the face, her vibrant green eyes staring into the murky depths of his grey ones, so flat looking, so lifeless. But beyond that dead look on his face, a strange will lingered, one she had contended with many a time. The man could stand up to her, but only enough to not lose his job. Leaving the drab and boring room, the noble called out one last order before she began to make her way back to her chambers.

“And send in Xanbata Grim to my chambers, I wish to speak with him.”

[grim137]

Xanbata Grim was a light sleeper. Even tired and satisfied from his actions with poor Eirwin earlier that night. Personal paranoia, subconscious guilt and a whole host of other problems, combined with the fact that after many years of battles and dangerous missons Xanbata had become used to people looking to kill him. Between these facts and the surprisingly good acoustics of the manor he had picked up on bits and pieces of the conversation between A'rai and her servant as well as his foot steps on the floorboards coming towards his room.

“Miss A'rai wishes to see you in her chambers,” said the servant in a very proper manner, fitting of his position to the family. He didn't bother to knock, he simply walked in. Xanbata was hired help, and as such didn't get the same courtesies afforded to him that other guests might.

The vampire feigned tiredness which mixed well at his natural annoyance towards being ordered around by somebody that he considered so far beneath him. Without even looking up at the servant he responded “Very well, tell Miss A'rai that I shall be there shortly. I need to get dressed first so as not to offend the lady.”

“Understood,” said the servant before wheeling around and heading out the wooden door.

Xanbata Grim took his time getting dressed, making sure his cloths were on straight, his armor and sword were both shinny, his poisoned knife hidden properly on his person and that is fangs were retracted. He already knew that his little mistress was the impatient type, that part hadn't been too hard to deduce. Still, she'd pay him either way and the bloodsucker seriously doubted there was anything she could actually do to him. Do'negh had said she had potential...not power.

As Eirwin's murder strolled down the long hallway towards Miss A'rai's bedroom he took note of the dim rays of light shinning through the drapes, it was a sign that morning had just come. Rhat meant that whenever the inevitable interrogation ended it would be time to leave for Alerar. He also noted, as he walked by the room of the recently deceased, the stares he got from servants. They weren't the mindless sheep Grim liked to think they were, they suspected something from him but knew better than to risk their lives or jobs by confronting him about and therefore likely angering A'rai. It was all the monster could do to keep the solemn look on his face and not crack a toothy grin from ear to ear.

“You requested my presence ma'am?” asked Xanbata politely as he entered the room of his current employer.

A'rai leveled cold green eyes on the man as she turned her him, her maidservant at her side and clearly displeased with her current state of dress. "Yes," she said sharply, "one of my servants was murdered last night, Eirwin as it happened to be." She paused here and watched him carefully for any kind of reaction.

“That would explain why one of your guards stopped me in the hallway as I was coming here,” said Xanbata flatly without a hint of surprise, or a break in the polite routine he was putting on. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Her eyes narrowed upon him slightly, but she did not accuse him. The lack of surprise she noted and tucked away into the recesses of her mind for now. "Did you call for her at any time last night?"

“No ma'am I did not.”

"I understand." She said, as she feigned the tension slowly leaving her body. The truth was she had never been tense at all and she knew he was lying to her. About whether or not he killed her was another thing, but he had at least called for her. Had the man done the deed or was he merely scared of her implicating him? "We're leaving for Alerar today, you may return to your room and prepare, you have at most one or two hours."

“I'll be waiting for you in the courtyard ma'am,” responded the livelike vampire, “just let me know if there is anything else I can do for you."

And with those words the monster bowed and exited A'rai's chambers. He could tell she was still suspicious of him, but for now there were no serious implication of his discretions last night. If there were further issues, well, then he'd deal with those as needed.

[Dark Temptress]

She watched him leave. She watched his receding back until he left her chambers and the very presence of him could no longer clench her hands into tight fists that felt like slamming into something hard and covered in a layer of pale flesh. Beneath that calm and submissive demeanour she could see what brewed. She could see the rebellion and the barely hidden irritation at him having to answer to someone else other than himself. It was all there for her to witness as if he could hide it from someone like her and it in turn irritated her. He thought he was above her. He thought he had manipulated her. He thought too highly of himself and she was going to enjoy teaching him otherwise while they were on this little journey of theirs. After all, he’d have to behave himself if he expected to get paid. Half now, half when he returned her in one piece and without a single hair on her head misplaced. Because if he fucked with her she would enjoy having one of her little demons tear him limb from limb!

Drawing in one deep breath after another, the seductress slowly calmed herself and the tumultuous thoughts running through her mind until only the mission remained. She needed to prepare herself on more than just one level. Clothes and supplies were just one part of the preparation; she needed a certain something she could trust to ensure her safety more than the miscreant staying just down the hall from her chambers. And only one thing could be trusted to protect her in such a situation, a demon of her own conjuring. One that would blindly obey her orders without question or concern for its life. A shadow demon. The lowest form and sadly also the weakest, but she lacked the power to freely control the higher level demons. She had tried once, it had worked but he had been defeated anyway by a brute of a man named Godhand; the devil that he was. If only she could summon a demon like him she would never need to worry over her safety again.

“Bring me my travelling garments.” A’rai snapped abruptly to her maid servant.

The girl practically squeaked as her still ice cold voice echoed throughout the confines of her large chamber, but she dutifully did as she was told. Moving to the large closet along the far wall, she pulled out a few items of clothes and quickly set them down on the bed. Then she began to undress A’rai and help her into clothes she had never worn before. A few minutes later the seductress was within something that her butler had considered ‘suitable’ to travel across the lands of Salvar and Alerar in. They were odd to her, but rather flattering in an adventurer sort of way.

Before the mirror she stood, admiring her own reflection. She had on a pair of thick, skin tight black pants with black leather boots that came up to her calf. A small knife lay along the inside seam of her left boot, easy for grabbing at she supposed, but in a dire situation she doubted she’d even remember it’s presence. Not to mention she didn’t even know how to use it. Her upper body was covered in a flimsy and flowing white peasant shirt that scooped low to just reveal the top of her breasts and give the men something to think about. It was cinched tightly around her by a black and red lined corset that hugged her curves and knew just what to accentuate. Snugly fit around her full hips rested two brown leather belts, one of which held a rapier, simple and without ornamentation. She deduced it remained that way so no one would want to steal the thing from her, plus they’d obviously assume she knew how to use the thing, which was far from the truth. The extent of her knowledge appeared to be, that the pointy end went in the other person and not her. Below and just in front, another sheath held the reason for this entire mission, a broken gun. To anyone that looked at it or even down the barrel of the sleek piece of metal, it would appear to be in working order. They didn’t need to know the thing couldn’t even fire. But hopefully by the time this was all over and done with, it would be.

With only one last thing needing to be accomplished, A’rai slipped into the most private area of her chambers where no one but her had a key to go, not even her father.

An hour later, A’rai confidently walked out of the front doors of her manor and into the cool and crisp day. No clouds lined the sky today allowing the sun and the bright blue to permeate everything into an almost blinding fashion. Snow had already left the land of Salvar for this season but her butler had seen fit to pack her a warm cloak in case the nights were of a particular chill that she could not handle. There were also camping supplies, food and a change of clothes in there for her. She was travelling light and it was high time to prove to more than just her that she didn’t need servants waiting on her every move in order to survive.

In the carefully tended gardens with the manicured lawn and bright blue flowers barely coming into season, A’rai found Xanbata waiting for her as well as two horses prepared from the many in her stable. Thankfully, they had prepared her horse for her, Firnin. The black stallion was one of the most noble and loyal creatures that she knew. Walking with a slight swish to her hips that caused the sword to bounce slightly, A’rai reached out and laid her black gloved hand gently upon the side of her horse’s neck. As the white shirt covering her shifted and moved, one could see a strange design wrap around her shoulder and collar and barely begin to dance towards her breast. It was tribal looking and ancient and almost anyone that looked at it would feel a shiver race down their spine for it held within it something not to be trifled with.

“Hey, Firnin...” She whispered softly to him as she gave him a soft and genuine smile. Turning her eyes to Xanbata she inclined her head. “Ready?”

[grim137]

The frosty morning air out in the courtyard felt good to the vampire, much more pleasant than the stuffy inside of the manor. The day was still young and icy dew clung to the grass and the leaves, sparkling in the morning light. Xanbata legitimately smiled as his boots crunched on the ground and he felt the pleasant sting of the crisp cold air flowing through his nostrils. The manor was nice but it for a hunter such as him, it was much more pleasant outside.

For a few moments Xanbata just stood there, inspecting his weapons, observing the surroundings and generally enjoying being out of the manor and away from any nosy, bossy or otherwise troublesome humans. It was while the monster was enjoying this brief state of euphoria when he was approached by one of the high ranking servants.

This one was different from the rest, though not in a way that many would notice. The servant looked harmless enough. A well groomed, older looking gentleman dressed in fairly nice cloths, including a jacket that had the family seal engraved in the cuff links. Yet to those such as Xanbata Grim, those who could read the contents of any soul they encountered like a wide open book, would be able to tell this particular servant was tainted beyond repair. It was a taint that all of Do'negh's permanent servants contained. He was bringing over two horses so as to look inconspicuous but it was clear that from the way he looked at Xanbata that he had other motives for making his way outside.

“What the hell were you thinking? You nearly jeopardized the mission last night,” said the servant angrily.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” responded Xanbata Grim, clearly agitated by the tone in which the servant spoke to him.

“The Eirwin incident you arrogant prick. The whole damn place suspects you, hell Miss A'rai probably knows it's you. If you needed to feed that badly why couldn't you have gone out and picked yourself a nice vagrant off the street instead of killing one of the more well liked servants around here?”

“Calm down,” responded the clearly agitated Xanbata, he didn't like the way the servant was speaking to him but he was also smart enough to keep his temper in check given the current circumstances of his mission “every one of those goddamn sheep thinks it's suicide. The girl slit her wrists with a steak knife she stole from the kitchen, remember? Besides who gives a rat's ass if they suspect something? As long as Miss A'rai continues to keep me hired as her bodyguard it doesn't matter to me what the rest of them think.”

“Speaking of which, have you found anything about A'rai yet?”

“Not much. The bitch seems to have a slight sadistic streak but from what I can tell, aside from a few markings that could just be some fancy tattoos, I haven't seen anything strange. Of course if she has the kind of potential Do'negh's usually interested in then I doubt she'd have any real reason to exhibit it here. Don't worry, between bandits that tend to roam well traveled path ways, the fact that this entire fucking continent is at war and the fact that I can be a shitty bodyguard when I want to be,” said the livelike vampire with a slight chuckle “I'm sure she'll find ample reason to use whatever power she may have.”

“And what if she doesn't?”

“Then I'll give her one and if it turns out their really is nothing special about this woman then I doubt Do'negh will have any further interest in her. Now be silent, I sense the little bitch coming.”

“Yes sir,” said the servant, bowing his head as Do'negh's two minions resumed their respective acts. The unnamed servant turned and walked away just as A'rai arrived.

By the time the young noble addressed him, the vampire was already mounted atop the horse appointed for him. The vampire looked over his noble young escort with interest. She was beautiful, he'd give her that, enough so that he felt a bit of a primal lust stirring as his gaze lingered a fraction of a second longer than he had intended. He ignored this feeling, if he was to be her protector then indulging in such uncivilized desires would have been unfitting of him. Besides there was something more interesting about her than either her looks or the weapons she now carried.

The female now carried a dark presence about her, another life force. To her twisted protector the life force felt a lot like some of the demons he'd encountered in his earlier travels, though he couldn't tell. The source of this dark sensation was definitely come from her but he could still feel her life force intact, so it wasn't the result of some dark transformation or anything. The monster didn't quite know what to make of this revelation yet, though if perhaps he could bait her into telling him.

“I'm ready,” responded Xanbata to his employer's question “lead the way but stay close to me unless you actually know how to use those weapons. This journey hasn't even begun yet and I already sense a dark presence near by.”

Hopefully that last line would get her to tell him something useful...

[Dark Temptress]

Few things in this world surprised A’rai. The fact that Xanbata could sense the life of the demon merely interested the young noble, but appearances needed to be kept. Her face showed no surprise, her eyes showed no worry, in fact they furrowed slightly and the green depths of her irises took on a worried tone. She could pretend to be the big bad noble in her own home, but outside the safe walls she needed to pretend to be the hapless young woman. Xanbata was there to protect her and even with her demons she knew there was a chance she’d need him. She locked eyes with him and drew her hands back in close to her body as if trying to protect herself. Almost the perfect picture of femininity.

“Will it still be safe to leave?” She asked him softly. A’rai didn’t want to pound in the scared little girl act too much or it would come across as fake. She knew that. What she wanted to do was give Xanbata the feeling that she needed him. He may not be the kind of man that enjoyed the need to protect, but it didn’t matter. She still needed to give him the persona of that power over her.

“It should be. The presence is fairly weak, like a minor demon. Just stay close so that if it gets the jump on us, I can kill it before it causes too much trouble.”

He could tell it was a demon? Now she really did want to know more about the powers the man possessed. Just what other senses did he have and how strong was he? She knew her servants would not have hired her an incompetent bodyguard. After all she paid them; with her dead they would have no income. But just what kind of battle prowess did Xanbata possess beneath his barely kept civility?

A’rai nodded her head slowly to him and slipped her foot into the stirrup on the side of the horse. Then without any need for help, she pulled herself up and quickly grabbed the reins. The hard leather of the saddle was cold between her legs and though the seductress had worn riding pants before, she was more accustomed to wearing heavy and long dresses. Travelling like this was something she would need to grow accustomed to.

Wishing to be a bit more daring, A’rai decided to see if she could fish any information out about her bodyguard. “You can sense it is a demon?” She asked him, as if curious and still slightly worried. After all, any noble would be slightly scared to hear there was a demon nearby, Haidian or otherwise. They had an uncharacteristic fear for the creatures. Digging the heels of her boots into the side of Firnin, she urged the horse closer to Xanbata. “Are you sure you can stop it if it approaches?”

There was a slight annoyance in his Xanbata's voice as he spoke. He knew what game the woman was playing with him, he wasn't stupid, and didn't wish to reveal too much, at least not yet. "I'm being paid so well for a reason Miss, you seem to forget that and I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I've fought demons before and I've done business with some demon summoners in the past. This thing is likely nothing to worry about, probably some mage's little pet that escaped while its master wasn't looking. Truth be told Miss A'rai, unless you happen to be completely incompetent in battle—which I'm assuming by the way you're armed that you're not—then you could probably kill it yourself with only a little trouble. Now please, let’s get moving, I'm not being paid by the day."

She’d tried to be a little more pleasant around him. Her curiosity had not been faked, her general interest in him was genuine, but he had to turn around and insult her.

Tensing slightly and squaring her shoulders, the seductress turned away from him and kicked her horse ahead. “As you wish.” She said tersely. The heavy clomp of Firnin’s hooves echoed in the still courtyard. This was possibly the last time she would see the manicured grounds of her home in a long time. Oddly enough, she didn’t feel any distant pangs of longing or sadness at leaving the confining walls of her home. Her father tried to trap her here and keep her as his own little doll. She could prance and dance and do as he wished. Then he would marry her off some year and be done with her like that. She knew the dynamics of the noble world, which was why she did not plan to fall victim to it.

Leaving through the open gates of her home, A’rai heard the servants closing them behind her but did not look back to watch. Her eyes scanned the open and vast lands in front of her. The wilderness of Salvar. The farms of her home lay behind the estate, farther from the view of those who lived inside and the destroyed remains of the Salaturn church were much farther out. What lay before her were hills barely clinging to the last legs of winter. Dead grass warred with that now alive and beginning to peek up between the beige, the brown and the stone. The land was not generally very flat either, she knew that not far from here would begin the rolling hills as they made their way towards warmer temperatures. Native to the land, A’rai led but Xanbata stayed close to her even though she would prefer he march his haughty little behind back from wherever it had come from. Just because she needed him, didn’t necessarily mean she wanted him there anymore.

Men, ne’er a descent one.

[grim137]

“You should apologize.

Why?

Because don't want to deal with some bitchy little noble brat's temper the whole trip.

Still that's degrading. I could make her be polite and obedient. Force some manners into that little cunt.

That'll go well. Do'negh gave you explicit orders to protect A'rai from harm, not harm her yourself genius. Besides if you want to find out any more about her it might actually help if likes you, or at least doesn't wish she could kill you.

I hate this fucking job...”

For several moments the two disgruntled figures rode in silence along the poorly laid road to Alerar, neither saying a single word to the other. A'rai had chosen to give her protector the silent treatment while she stewed in her anger where as Xanbata chose to ignore the girl he was forcefully obligated to protect as he argued silently with himself. Unfortunately at the end of the argument he had to admit that he was right and that he should indeed apologize to the girl, if for no other reason than to make her far more pleasant to be around.

“God damn, lousy, insufferable, little spoiled cunt...”

Swallowing his pride was never easy for Xanbata Grim, especially not when it came to something as self degrading as apologizing for apparently insulting some bratty little noble girl. Worse a noble woman, whom he had long since decided would make a far more pleasant meal than companion. Still it had to be done, Do'negh's punishment for failing the mission would likely be far worse than anything than anything the half insane bloodsucker wanted to think about, and it was a long trip, so getting on A'rai's good side really wasn't an option.

“Miss A'rai!” called out the vampire speeding up his horse since he'd fallen a bit further behind his mistress than intended “Miss A'rai, I apologize for stepping out of line. It was not my place insult my employer,” he then added with extreme reluctance “please forgive the sharpness of my tongue. My words were not meant with malice.”

Her eyebrows rose in a slight bit of surprise. The seductress had never expected Xanbata to be the kind of person to apologize, but the words were genuine to her ears. With a soft smile she inclined her head slightly to him. "Thank you, you are forgiven."

“Don't mention it...ever,” muttered Xanbata before falling back behind her.

And for the remainder of the evening there was little talk between the two. It wasn't until the until day turned to twilight as the sun began set on the land that had by now started to make the transformation from flat farm land into rolling hills (it is worth noting that this transformation was not yet complete) that anything of interest began to happen. Xanbata and A'rai were certainly making good time, but the land was showing signs that something was wrong.

At first these signs were small. On the horizon the vampire could make out the faint outlines of houses, lots of them, many of which had thick black smoke coming from them. For awhile the veteran warrior thought nothing off this. There were a lot of reasons villagers could have smoke coming from them; wood fire kennels, brush fires to remove trash and brush off the roads, rituals or festivals or any number of other reasons. Yet as the they moved further along the road and came closer to the village, to the point that they were among several out cropping farms it became far more obvious that things were anything but normal.

All the farms and their lands were burned, some were still burning. The ground was trampled, and mutilated, signs of a major struggle. The monster could sense no life forces coming any of the houses which could easily be explained by the ever strengthening smells of blood, gore and gunpowder. There was no need to guess who had done all this because nailed to each door in a crucifix position was the head of each household, stripped naked of cloth and dignity and branded with the sign of the Church of Ehereal Sway.

Xanbata sped up his mount so that he was ridding along side A'rai. His body was tense now, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He wasn't close enough to the main village for his spirit sense to pick up the life forces of any remaining soldiers or survivors of the apparent massacre (if there were any) but that didn't make the grisly scene nor the smell of gunpowder (that meant the soldiers had guns, likely purchased from Alerar) any more promising especially since all signs pointed to it being recent.

“Miss A'rai, stay close to me,” commanded the hired swordsman “and tell me, does your family have any connections to the church?”

[Dark Temptress]

The smell hit her first. It felt like metal touched the tip of her tongue and caressed down her throat, flooding it and filling her lungs. She breathed it in, greedily, savouring the scent she had not experienced so fully in such a long time.

Not since that idiot Johan had been removed from the ranks.

She well remembered the spray of blood as it flooded the air. The mist, the metallic smell and taste as she inadvertently breathed it in, greedy for more. Beautiful. This here was nearly the same. The real difference was the acrid stink that also permeated the air like a heavy fog. Smoke and ash created by burning fires. She could see the homes, the farms and the livestock as it all went up in flames. In some areas there was nothing left but the skeletal remains of both human and home. And it was exquisite.

Unlike her bodyguard, A’rai remained completely calm and composed in her saddle. Her emerald eyes scanned the naked bodies with only mild interest. She noted the technique and how each thick nail was driven into the ankle and the wrist instead of the palm and the foot. Flesh was more prone to rip and tear in the palm than the wrist. This guaranteed that the body would remain in place for travellers such as them to gaze upon. This was not a mere killing; this was a message for all those who happened upon it. The church would not back it, it was here and it planned on staying here and fighting for what it believed in. She heard it and shrugged it off. The noble had taken very little interest in the war since the incident in her own backyard.

Turning her gaze upon Xanbata, the seductress took in his tense posture. Perhaps he was not as powerful as she first thought.

“My family has connections everywhere.” She said matter-of-factly.

Keeping her back straight and her posture impeccable she sped her horse up. She moved ahead of her hired help, showing no fear in the face of an unsure danger. The fires were no longer raging in this village and from the looks of it, everyone was already dead. As long as no church assassins remained behind, no danger could possibly lurk in this place. Moving deeper into the village only caused the smell to increase. Only this time the faint traces of blood she had enjoyed were replaced with that of burning flesh, something that turned her stomach. It smelt too close to cooking meat in her mind. Reminded her too much that humans were only one rung on the ladder of life. Being reminded of one’s mortality was never a pleasant experience.

Most of the houses within the inner part of the village were in shambles. If bodies had been nailed to the front door, they had fallen away as the foundations and beams collapsed and buried them. By now, she could not tell the different between charred bone and charred wood. From the wreckage of one house she saw the clear and distinct patterns of a body dragging across the ground and the blood trail that came with it. It seemed out of place in her mind. Her eyes followed it. Feet ahead of her, they rested on the prone figure of a man. As she approached A’rai could see the pool of blood beneath him mixing with the earth and turning into a sick and thick soupy substance. He stirred. His head lifted slightly and allowed her to see the face of a young man who may have once been handsome. His pale skin was now splattered and smeared with blood and his entire left arm was burnt. The smell was disgusting.

“P-please...” His voice was ragged and rough. It sounded like rocks grinding on each other and irritated her ears. “Help...me...”

She pulled the reins on her horse and brought the beast to a stop. She looked down upon the pathetic excuse of a human. The more he tried to lift himself, the greater A'rai could see the wound upon his shoulder and chest. Vicious and precise, the clean cut of a sword.

“Why?” She asked him. “You’re already dead; you just haven’t realized it yet.”

Even if A'rai were the kind of person to help a man like him, her words were true. The wound was too great and judging by the amount of blood beneath him, he would be dead soon enough. The man held on by mere will alone. A strong will, but at this point in time it was pointless.

Digging her heels into the sides of Firnin, she spurred her horse forward. Her eyes broke away from the sorrowful glance given to her by his deep brown ones. He was probably the only one left alive in the village. Part of her wished to ask Xanbata if it were true. But when she turned her head slightly to look at him, the words did not emerge. Considering how testy he got last time she inquired about any of his abilities, A’rai decided it would be best to not ask.

“I had planned on us spending the night here.” The seductress said to him, her voice even. Together they moved through what had been the centre of the village. “However, as we seem incapable of such a task now, I’ll leave our sleeping arrangements to you. I assume you have travelled before and would be more than familiar with how and where to set up a camp. Or is this too much to expect of you?” The last of her words left her mouth in a seductive smirk, giving him a brief glance at her true personality before it fell away as if it had never existed.

[grim137]

Grim's tense posture was not one of fear, like A'rai suspected, nor of any sort of anxiety for that matter. It was simply a state of readiness one honed from countless battles and numerous wars. The signs of battle, recent battle for that matter, were all present and Xanbata knew that often the winning side of a battle would keep troops stationed to kill off any last minute reinforcements or allies that might inconveniently show up. This was especially true for strategic points of any war, which for all the predator knew, this village was. It was simply a matter of caution. If something went wrong, as they tended to do in such an environment, he wanted to be ready to make things right again.

As the two rode further into the village and it became more and more apparent that this had been a simple massacre, a message of sorts sent by the church, and not some key battle, the vampire began to ease up again and his powerful body once again became steadily more relaxed. In fact as the two rode deeper into the village, and the war tested veteran began to develop a better idea as to the details and nature of the slaughter he actually began to feel a bit of admiration towards the church.

“You know, for a bunch of book waving yuppies these church soldiers seem surprisingly good at what they do...” said Xanbata, thinking out loud more than actually speaking to A'rai before going back to his thoughts of admiring the carnage.

The vampire ignored the old man, saying nothing and simply letting his young mistress deal with the situation. Something that he had to admit, she did quit admirably. After all he had been ordered to protect A'rai Dienn Salaturn, and only A'rai Dienn Salaturn. The life of some unfortunate old coot was not even remotely his concern.

“Our living arrangements don't really matter to me, you may go ahead a pick them Miss. I'm sure a young noble woman such as yourself is likely considerably more picky as to where we sleep than I am. However I would suggest finding a building that's not too badly damaged and camping out in that. Though now that I think about it, it might be a better idea to find one of the isolated farms on the outskirts of the village and camp out there. There's nobody left in this village as far as I can tell so it should be safe but all this blood and smoke in the air is a basically a bright glowing sign to any predators in the area such as wolves, or worse, bandits. And just to make sure that old coot doesn't alert any scouts or bandits of the presence of a beautiful, rich noble girl and her body guard in exchange for food, protection or medical help...”

As the vampire's words trailed off he lifted his right hand so that the back of it faced the old man. With a cold, nonchalant look in his eyes the monster's appendage exploded with a blackish blue burst of energy and a pulsating, cackling, only semi-stable mass of energy sped towards to old man. The poor old coot grew wide eyed as he met the mass head on and it devoured his head, stripping flesh and bone from his skull, burning off his few remaining hairs and turning at least one eye into a foul smelling, cottage cheese like substance.

“Much better, me and you are now the only sentient creatures alive in within a half mile radius,” said the vampire glancing at his pretty little escort.

He wanted to see her reaction to his little display of power, and not just because he was a narcissistic asshole with an ego problem. Her actions of sadism, combined with the dark presence that continued to be with her made the vampire suspect she had a very evil side to her, one that she was keeping well hidden. That would certainly explain Do'negh's mysterious interest in her. Her reaction to such an outright display of power, violence and half justified cruelty would provide a big, big hint as to the nature of her potential, assuming she even had any at all.

“Assuming you have no objections Miss A'rai,” said Xanbata hoping off his horse “I'd like conserve our rations since there it seems that the church barely touched the live stock with their little message here. Now please go find us a place to stay while I get us a suitable meal. And don't worry, I'll be able to find you. If you run into trouble just scream. Hopefully that other presence you've got with you will be able keep you alive long enough for me to get to you,” he turned to walk off but stopped and turned back around when he remembered something else he wanted to ask her “also, what are you in the mood for; pork, chicken, or beef?”

[Dark Temptress]

Wide eyes stared at him. Round and large looking against the porcelain features of her face, the pitch black of her pupils dilating and looking incredibly dark against all her natural white tones. They searched his face, his calm and composed expression and calculating blue eyes. They dared to stay upon him instead of looking away when it became painfully obvious that she was overtly staring at him. But it wasn’t horror that shifted her expression. Nor did fear dare to cross the gold flecked depths of her eyes. No, instead A’rai stared at him in utter amazement. The emotion coloured her cheeks, flushing them in a light blush as the blood rushed and pumped below the surface. Her perfectly shaped lips parted slightly as she regarded him with shock and astonishment, which came out in slightly shallow breaths.

His actions were unbelievable to her and lay somewhere between admiration and jealousy. Why didn’t she have such a power? Why couldn’t she kill a man with a mere flick of her hand like he had? Surely it was more complex than that. Years of training and practicing and slowly growing stronger were most likely just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It was impossible for him to start out as strong as he was now. There had to be a way for her to grow as powerful as he, if only she could get more information out of him about the extent of his abilities. Not to mention what exactly that energy was he harnessed and how she could ever dream to control such a thing.

“Uhh... n-no objections...” A’rai said rather breathlessly.

She continued to watch him, intrigued, her sudden and intense interest never seeming to stall or fade. It even took a moment for his words to sink in and the damning information behind them. Only when she realized he knew without a doubt that dark presence came from her did she finally snap out of it. Her face hardened, covering up her fascination behind a mask of indifference even though it was far too late by now.

A’rai needed to control herself better in his presence.

Despite what he said, she would never admit to him that the dark presence was her demon. Information was power and this noble would never give Xanbata that kind of power over her. As hired help, she already had a small amount of control over him, but not the extent she wished for. She’d control his mouth if she could and some of those wonderful little abilities of his, but sadly, he did possess such a thing as free will.

Keeping her back straight, the seductress dug her heels into the side of her horse, spurring Firnin forward. “Beef will be fine.” Her voice was smooth and even, as if she were merely talking to another servant. “Shame there’s no one left alive in the village for you to kill and drain the blood from. At least a church assassin would make far more sense here than a sudden and unpredicted suicide.” So close to being a challenge. What sort of challenge she had no idea, but it was still there for him to see.

Leaving his horse there—she was no stable hand—A’rai began to leave the centre of town and move out towards the more isolated areas. Her eyes scanned the farmland that began to spread around her, watching as the oblivious animals still feasted in their fenced in areas. Their eyes watched her with disinterest and she barely paid them any mind. Her confidence at being alone only bolstered by Xanbata confirming they were the only living sentient creatures around. Not that she was about to let the thought of church soldiers and bandits scare her.

Eventually, she spotted a farmhouse that just stood out in her mind. It was far enough from the village that it had escaped the fires of the church, yet close enough that it didn’t raise any suspicions. Pulling the reigns, she steered her beast towards it. As she moved up the dirt path, she noticed several lumps along the road feet from the house. It didn’t take her long to realize what they were. Bodies. Four of them, one male, one woman and two young children. Their bodies were sprayed and covered in blood. The woman was lying on her back and her lifeless blue eyes were staring up at the sky, her wide mouth filled with blood that flowed across her pale skin. Protruding from her chest was an arrow. One of the children shared the same fate and the other two appeared to have been killed by way of sword.

Moving her horse around them, A’rai first went to the barn. There she took the harness off Firnin, used the equipment in there to rub the beast down for a bit and then put water and food in the stable. She may not have to work back at her home, but she enjoyed taking care of Firnin. He was her horse after all. Once she finished, she left Firnin to rest and moved towards the house, bringing her rucksack with her. Inside was quaint and normal looking and nothing like that of her home. No complaints issued from her though. Far better to sleep inside than outside.

The home was surprisingly large. The kitchen was smaller than the one at her mansion, but for a farmhouse it was far bigger than she had pictured. Even the lounge was rather big. Sadly exploring the downstairs had revealed no library or much of anything particularly interesting. Just a regular home. So she moved upstairs, ignoring the bedrooms for the moment and instead moving towards the bathing room. She wanted to freshen up while she waited for her bodyguard to find his way here.

[grim137]

He had noticed her reaction. She had been so clearly broadcasted that it had been damn near impossible for him not to and to be perfectly honest, he liked what he saw. That amazement and jealousy in her eyes. It was clear as day. She envied his power, wanted to claim it. He knew that look because there had been times when it he as well had had it. This was a good sign. It meant she was power hungry yet her lack of fear proved that she was not weak willed and wouldn't back down when faced with it. Greed and courage, two traits Do'negh so often coveted in his minions because they would strive to make themselves greater and would often be willing to do what was necessary to get there.

“Beef it is,” responded the vampire nonchalantly, hiding his amusement at her reaction behind a mask of indifference.

If his assumptions were correct, then the fact that he was obviously more powerful than her, regardless of what talents she currently possessed, would anger her and drive her mad. Then, theoretically, that anger and that madness should grow the more disobedient he acted and the less control he allowed her to exert over him. The cunning creature hoped that in due time, if he applied the right amount of pressure so to speak, that he could get her to show off her abilities, likely in an attempt to prove to him that he wasn't that much greater than her.

Her last response, the one about a church assassin, was ignored by him. He heard it alright. In fact he actually stopped for a second as if he was going to give her a response of some sort. But in the end he simply ignored it. He was hungry, slightly tired and, because he hated riding, glad to be on his own feet after traveling all day. To him the idea of eating ranked far higher on the scale of enjoyability than a tongue battle with his witty little escort. So he simply walked off, leaving her behind to search for shelter in his quest for that night's meal.

“Pig, pig, chicken, several chickens, lamb, dog...ah there we go, veal,” thought Xanbata as is mind raced through the various life forces of all the animals that had been left alive in the ruined village.

The predator found his way over the dead bodies on the streets and through the burning buildings towards an old farm. Its white picket fence was now charred and destroyed, and most of its grass still burnt, but for the most part it was left unharmed. The cattle had remained oblivious to the fact that the farmer had been nailed to the barn door, the fact that his wife was now dead, struck down by blade of the sword on the dirt driveway and of course the fact that the farmer's son now lay among them having bled to death from two arrows in his back, one which pierced his shoulder blades and another which had mercifully dug its self through the back of the nine year old lad's throat. But luckily the cattle had no sense of fear, they just kept on grazing.

Even as Xanbata himself moved among them with his blade drawn and a hungry look in his eyes, the cattle didn't move. Such stupid animals, they had no concept of fear nor of predator and prey. In someways this was envious. After all who wouldn't like to live with out fear, but then again, as one fat little baby steak was about to learn, fear was often a useful survival mechanism.

Grim moved quickly picking a target and thrusting his prevalida blade into its side. The sharpened metal pierced its vital organs and the poor, stupid creature let out a squeal of pain that sent its brethren running, trampling over the burnt down damaged fence. He pulled the blade out and its sad little eye slowly began to gloss over as its life bled out through the hole that Xanbata had poked in it. In a few seconds the little baby cow was dead and Xanabata and A'rai now had fresh veal. Now he just needed to find her.

Slinging the slaughtered cow over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes Grim stood still for a second and simply concentrated. He was familiar with A'rai's life force by now, the way her soul felt in his mind. Unknowingly to her that meant that now, no matter where on this planet, in this dimension, she traveled, that he could find her with just a bit of concentration. Once he got a lock on her location he started to move again.

He didn't go straight back to the cabin, no, instead he moved back to his horse, thankful this time for her bitchy ways. He was strong but he still didn't like the idea of moving an eighty pound sack of beef around, not when he had a work animal to do it for him. With a slight grunt Xanbata slung the dead creature off his shoulder and onto the back of his horse before heading off, with the smelly beast and dinner in toe to the house that A'rai had chose

[Dark Temptress]

The bathroom was tiny. Tiny and cramped and boring. She didn’t understand how anyone could have washed themselves properly in such a room. It just barely fit the brass tub, the basin and the privy. The only good thing about the small, white walled room happened to be how clean it was. In fact, despite the size of the rooms and their boring and plain decorations, the whole place was rather clean. That dead woman outside must have had some kind of pride in her home to keep it like this. And A’rai appreciated that. If the home had been falling apart at the seams and disgustingly dirty, she’d have wandered off to find another one.

Dumping the water in the wash basin out, A’rai filled the plain white porcelain basin with some water left in a plain white pitcher. It was cool to the touch, enough to wake up her tired senses. Hours of riding had left her feeling sore, especially her legs. Though she was used to riding Firnin, she never did it for such a prolonged period of time. In the morning, she had the feeling her legs would be even worse. And there was nothing she could do about it, nothing besides perhaps a few days of rest, but she would not stop for such a trivial thing.

Using a clean cloth in a small cabinet, the noble quickly set about washing the day’s travel from her. Her body longed for nothing more than a hot bath, something she could soak and relax in. Had the town not been torn asunder from some damned church soldiers, she’d be able to have that too. But as it stood, A’rai felt far from comfortable bathing in a strange house, even if the occupants were all dead. Or perhaps that was the reason she could not draw herself a warm bath. Whatever happened to be the issue she didn’t particularly care. She made due with washing her face and neck and down her chest a bit, as well as her hands and her arms. The cool water sent slight chills racing across her porcelain skin and turned the smooth surface into a myriad of bumps. Far from the muscle relaxing experience she had been hoping for.

After she finished, she continued to explore the rest of the home, having nothing better to do with her time until Xanbata came back with their dinner. Sadly, the rest of the house was just as boring as the areas she’d already seen. It was plain furniture filling plain spaces that were decorated to the bare minimum. Just enough so that they weren’t staring at the white walls watching boredom induced insanity slowly sink in. She knew these were simple farmers making a simple living, but she’d though they could at least afford some luxury for themselves. She didn’t even see any toys for children lying around.

“Somehow I’d expected more...”

Not knowing what else she could do, the seductress went back down stairs. Xanbata should be coming back soon. As much as she enjoyed the idea of taking care of herself, she didn’t appreciate being left alone for long periods of time. Especially considering the current state of the town.

“Demons, I can more than handle. Ghosts are rather simple creatures too. But church assassins and soldiers are an entirely different matter.” She knew her limits. Fear may not be a prevalent part of her vocabulary, but neither was stupidity. Xanbata was with her for a reason and she planned on using him to the extent of his abilities, whatever that extent may be.

She stayed in the lounge for an unknown amount of time. It felt like eternity dragging past her even though she knew it could not have been that long. Finally, annoyed and bored and wondering if Xanbata had over exaggerated his skills, she moved to leave the house. Outside she paused, more than a little surprised. Her bodyguard was in the front yard, having set up a spit and was roasting what looked like a baby cow. Though he said he would be able to find her, part of A’rai had doubted the ability. She just didn’t think it was possible for someone to be able to sense things around them so clearly. Having been surprised more than once by the man though, A’rai showed none of her true feelings, instead she hid them behind a mask of indifference.

“Found something else to kill.” She said to him evenly as she moved across the rock path and onto the thick grass. The closer she moved to the spit, the more she could feel the heat of the orange, licking flames against her clothes, warming them far more than her body could.

“Yeah, the village was full of farm animals,” responded Xanbata nonchalantly, “medium rare good for you?”

He didn’t even bother turning around to look at her.

“That’s perfect; I like it when it still bleeds.” Her mouth turned up in a slight smirk as she continued to watch him.

“Good to know. Do me a favour miss and go grab a knife out of the house.”

A’rai blinked at him a few times, unsure if she had even heard him correctly. He wanted her to go get him a knife. Normally she would never even entertain such an idea. He should be able to get the damn knife himself. But he had asked her nicely and she had no reason not to get it other than being confrontational. Nodding her head, the seductress went back into the house and after a few minutes of rummaging around in a drawer—and accidentally stabbing herself with some kind of pronged thing—she found a large knife. With her finger in her mouth and the taste of her own blood on her tongue, she went back outside and presented the knife to Xanbata.

“Big enough?” She asked him as she still continued to suck on her finger.

“That'll work.” responded the vampire as he lifted the cow off the fire by the spit, being overly careful so as not to let his fingers touch the flame before putting it on the ground and grabbing the knife from her. “What part of the animal do you want?”

She looked from the animal to him and then back to the animal again. “Whatever part steak comes from.” She stopped sucking on her finger and looked down at the slice upon her skin. It was still bleeding, but she figured it would be fine.

“This whole animal is a steak,” said Xanbata as he slowly skinned one of the forelegs around the thigh before crudely ripping the whole appendage out of its socket and handing it to the noble woman “Here, beef drumstick.”

“Umm... I uhh...” A’rai rather tentatively reached out and took the proffered piece of ‘beef’ from Xanbata. Did he not want cutlery, plates, and a bloody damn table? Did he actually expert her to eat it like this? It was just a giant chunk of meat still on the bone and now warm and in her hand.

Carefully holding as little of it as possible, the noble turned and began heading back towards the house. “You can stay out there and eat like a barbarian if you want, I prefer to be a bit more civilized.” She told him coldly.

[grim137]

“Not a bad choice...”

The farmhouse A'rai had chosen wasn't a bad spot and still relatively close to the village. It provided shelter and several comforts, was far enough that if any bandits or other such annoyances attacked the village that it would be spared but not so far that if retreating into the village for whatever unforeseen reason became necessary that it wouldn't be impossible. It seemed the young noble brat had a powerful brain to match her sharp tongue.

As the sun began to set and Xanbata pulled up to the house he ignored the dead bodies of the wife and children. By now the beauty of the slaughter and worn off on him and it was simply part of the scenery. Thus he ignored them and simply took his horse to the stable before gathering the flint and steel packed in one of the saddlebags by the servants before grabbing the the little baby murdered cow off the horse's back as well.

“She's in the house and her life force hasn't faded any. Good, no trouble while I was gone, at least none I need to be concerned about.”

The next several minutes of Xanbata Grim's time were spent simply preparing dinner. Clearing debris away from the fire pit, carving a rather crude yet suitable spit, putting the baby cow on the spit and starting the fire, etcetera and by the time he was done the sun had already set and there was nothing more for him to do except sit there and watch the cow cook and soon Xanbata found himself lost in thought again.

A'rai's presence did very little to knock the vampire out of this state of mind and he went through the conversation in a fairly uninterested manner. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, he was just...thinking, period. When she called him a barbarian in protest to the rather uncivilized way in which he served dinner, he simply snorted and tore another one of the legs off for himself. It wasn't that he didn't know any manners or how to act civilized, it's just that such things seemed pointless so he only acted like a noble when there was a reason for him to do so.

“Storm's coming,” muttered Xanbata Grim as he looked up at the sky and noticed the dark clouds slowly covering the stars and moon.

Sure enough within a few minutes a light drizzle had started and within the half hour that light drizzle had turned into a torrential downpour accompanied by wind and lightning. With a grunt Xanbata got up. He didn't mind the cold or the storm too much, but he didn't feel like getting soaked tonight. Thus, before he wound up looking like a drowned rat, he tossed the gnarled cow leg in his hand to the side and entered the house his temporary Mistress had chosen.

Closing the door behind him the vampire stepped into the small home. It was a quaint place, but not terrible. Xanbata had certainly taken residence in far worse, yet it wasn't exactly luxurious by any stretch of the imagination either. Not like it mattered either way. The blood sucker moved straight to the liquor cabinet of the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cheap whiskey before heading into the lounge where A'rai could now be found.

“Miss A'rai, what time do you plan on leaving tomorrow?”

"Early in the morning would be the best. Probably just shortly after sunrise."

“And if the storm hasn't subsided by then?”

"I suppose the smart thing to do would be wait it out then, wouldn't it?" She said a bit agitated.

“Depends on whether or not you mind getting wet.”

“The nights in Salvar are still cold this time of year, Xanbata. I prefer to travel in good health and not risk getting sick by soaking myself in the rain."

"Fair enough. Goodnight Miss, I'll be in the master bedroom should you be in need of my services before tomorrow."

"Good night, Xanbata. Try not to leave your room this time, I'd prefer to make it through the night and past another one of your interesting... hobbies. One of these days, you are going to tell me where all that extra blood went."

“And one of these days you might find out.”

This time there was no response from A'rai. And Xanbata couldn't help but smile a little inside. She was an inquisitive one, he'd give her that, but it was not impossible to dissuade, or at least delay, her searches. So with nothing more to say the bloodsucker went upstairs and went to bed.

Outside the storm continued to increase in violence and the winds began to howl ever louder as the sky began to darken. A wise man might say it was an ominous sign. And that wise man might be right, but neither of the house's occupants that night were exactly what one would call a wise man (or woman).