• Title: The Dark Prince



    It was morning. Damian lay asleep in bed with a cold sweat that trickled down his forehead. He was weakened from his last mission and injured from the strain of battle. Bandages were firmly wrapped around his chest, legs, and his right arm. Despite being so weak and defenseless, Damian was a half-blood vampire.
    After the sun faded behind the clouds, Damian’s crimson eyes came alive. His eyes studied his surroundings of the canopy bed carefully and he shifted his body slightly to his left. Once doing so, he was able to grab hold of the bar beside him and sat up slowly. Breathing heavily, his eyes caught the sight of the blood stained bandages on his chest and abdomen. Damian relaxed fully and swatted his long black hair out of his face. His body was pulsing strongly but as weak as it remained, staying alive was an only option.
    A slight knocking came from the room door. Violet, Damian’s big sister, came into the room carrying bandages and a glass of ice cold water. She made her way over the canopy bed and pulled back the thick purple and crème curtains. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at her brother.
    “You’re the same today,” Violet mumbled as she eased herself toward her brother who flinched slightly. “I wish someone else could do this.”
    Damian shook his head, allowing his mane to hit his neck slightly. “If someone else did it, I’d be in the infirmary, barely alive or moving. Now, would you want that of me, big sis?” His voice was a hushed whisper. Violet reached deep within her skirt pocket and pulled out a small, steel pair of scissors. She began to cut through Damian’s bloody bandages.
    “I know. They’d suck you’re blood since it’s so pure. I for one wouldn’t suck your blood even if the smell tempted me.”
    “Well that’s good to know.” Damian shook tensely at his sister’s cold touch. Violet carefully unwrapped his bandages, revealing dark purple spots, open cuts and bruises. Blood seeped slowly from the cuts and rolled down his back. “Is it still bad Violet?”
    “From the looks of these god forbidden injuries, it looks worse than before. I need to get a hot towel and clean the blood up. Trust me, you don’t want anyone smelling your blood from a miles day.”
    Damian sighed and Violet removed herself from the canopy bed and left the room. She left the room door open, only an invitation for unwanted guess on the premises. Damian reached up toward the bar on the side of his bed and took hold of it with his sweaty palms nearly slipping on it. There was no doubt that the sculpted features of his god like face could hide the pain that sent every never in his body to infinity. He dried his tears and took a deep breath, being careful not to take to much of one. After a brief moment of starring into space, something cold and slippery ran up and down Damian’s bare back.
    “Oh my, such a rare taste.” The voice was sinister but deeper, forcing out vowels of crying agony.
    “Don’t touch me.” Damian growled. He reached blindly, knowing that it was Louie and brought him down onto the bed.
    “You can’t kill me, you’re weaker than you normally are. Combat isn’t a wise choice for you right now.” Louie whispered in Damian’s ear. He knew that Louie was right about that and there was practically no way that his condition would allow him to fight for his life.
    Louie pressed his pale lips against Damian’s back and took hold of his shoulder. He carefully and slowly sank his fangs into Damian’s wound, beginning to suckle his blood an then slowly drink it.
    Violet rushed back into the room, immediately pulling Louie off of her shaking brother and slamming him to the floor. She then walked to him and picked him up by his scrawny neck, allowing her finely manicured nails to sink into his skin.
    “Keep your bloody hands off of my brother or I’ll skin you from head to toe.” Violet whispered softly in Louie’s ear. His eyes went blank and his pupil seemed to trembled even though the rest of his body didn’t. He struggled to get loose, only to let Violet throw him again to the floor and wipe her hand of his stinking blood.
    “Medicate the half-blood,” Louie growled. His eyes flickered with agony. He slapped his hand against his bleeding neck and stood up straight from the floor. “I’ve did my damage but a meals worth would’ve been possible if you hadn’t interrupted.”
    Violet rolled her eyes. “If you touch him, if I find one speck of his blood on your face again, you’ll wish your father was a saint.”
    At that very moment Louie ran off from the room. Violet turned toward her brother who had eased himself down into bed. He was breathing heavily and trembling. She went to him and eased herself at his side. Carefully she ran the hot rag that sat on her shoulder across his back and cleaned off the blood seeping from his wound.
    “What is it about my blood?” Damian asked softly. He pondered that question like a dead guy pondering his murderer for questioning.
    Violet picked up the roll of bandages that sat on the pillow beside her. She knew that she did not want to answer her brother but just changing the subject, he would want to know more. “Damian, you’re a half-blooded vampire. Your body is mainly human but as a vampire you are immortal and you can endure fatal injuries but as I can recall Damian, you were weak at birth. Father kept you in a special room with me and almost ten nurses for three months tops. He was afraid that you weren’t going to make it. I was afraid too.” Violets voice cooled Damian’s insides. She began to wrap the fresh cloth bandages around his neck and work slowly down to his chest and abdomen.
    “What was I like as a baby?”
    “ You didn’t cry. You were always sleeping. You drank as much blood as a mosquito. I didn’t know if you were my brother or not but you were. Father explained the situation and I knew you were my sibling.”
    Damian sighed and closed his eyes, thinking about himself from a whole different way. He and Violet shared the same father but each had a different mother. Each mother had a different story with their father. Violet’s mother, Agatha Roe, was a rouge vampire whom Alister had fell in love but it wasn’t exactly what he had expected. He fell heartbroken after she gave birth to Violet and abandoned him without a cause of interest. Violet resembled her mother, which brought Alister to not love Violet as much as he was suppose to. That was only because as Violet got more older, she resembled every spitting image of her mother. Damian’s mother however was the true love of Alister’s. She mended and caressed his broken spirit until one night where everything was all about passion. Though they stayed together until a night she gave birth to Damian but died in the process, leaving the love of her life with a sickly child of only some hours old. Damian possessed all things good and natural about his mother which only made his father miss his love more and more. Though, after he reached ten, Damian had a sex appeal that only his father could recognize as his own.
    Alister von Louve’ sat in his library with his eyes planted on the dead rose that sat in a vase on his desk. He surveyed the untouched book on his desk and the parchment that had sat in the same spot for days while novels from all over the world piled up around it. Ink pens scattered on the far corner of the desk, the ink dried up because of missing tops. Alister’s hands twitched slightly. Jolts of electrical impulses were firing off nerves in his body like tiny bombs.
    Sebastian, Alister’s butler, entered the room carrying a tray of assorted international tea. He stared at Alister as he made his way in, he noticed that this was another day that Alister sat and did nothing in his library.
    “Master Louve’?” Sebastian spoke tensely. He set the tray of tea down on the nearest and emptied coffee table he could spot and picked up the cup of steaming hot ginseng tea.
    Alister looked at Sebastian then stood up from his desk. His legs were extraordinarily wobbly, he had almost forgotten how long he had been seated in his chair. Despite the numbness in the lower half of his back, Alister walked over to Sebastian and looked him in the eye.
    “ Sebastian, there is something wrong with me.” Alister sighed. His muscular hands took hold of the steaming cup from Sebastian, letting his cold and clammy hands be warmed by the heated cup. “I’ve never felt this way before. I can barely think and reading has become of absence to my mind.”
    “Sir,” Sebastian began as Alister took a sip from his cup. “ I can’t really say but I don’t think anything is wrong with you. You may need new genres of books to read or maybe you aren’t getting what you need.”
    Alister set his cup of tea down and held his head. A headache had erupted. He backed into his recliner and sat down. “Sebastian, I can’t take it much longer. I need something to relax me.”
    “I agree Sire but I think you just need rest. As someone as restless as you are, you haven’t been able to sleep in days. I’m sure by now you’re on the verge of…”
    “That’s not it. I haven’t been able to hunt in days and I’m tired. I can barely hold my stance.”
    Sebastian laid a hand on Alister’s shoulder and took a deep breath. “Lyric would’ve made you go to bed.” he spoke calmly.
    Alister nodded his head and got up from his chair. He yawned like a lion and shook his wild white mane of hair. “I miss my love…” he whispered and left the room. His heart beat calmly as he let himself drift back into the memories of his true love. He could actually feel her in his arms again but as he looked down he saw nothing. It was feeling inside him, a place within his heart that no other woman could fill. Only Lyric Love could fill it.
    Violet held her brother carefully while she let the nurse pierce his skin with a needle. She was having trouble locating his veins but Violet was able to map out three of the main ones in Damian’s arm. Damian was having his monthly blood transfusion done. Every month he required a blood transfusion to treat his extremely low blood pressure. It was either that or spend twice as many days in bed as usual. Violet and Alister had already agreed to keep Damian in solitude since while having blood smothered back into his body, he was more of a target for food than ever. The nurse punctured Damian’s skin with the needle and began to let the new blood flow into his veins. Violet let go of her sibling and laid him back down in his bed. Damian’s crimson eyes flickered slightly while the nurse gave him a large dosage of morphine.
    “I wish I could change your life. I hate seeing you like this every month. How do you even take going on missions that the committees assign you.” her voice became a stone cold heartbeat but it was understood why her mood had depleted.
    “I sometimes wish I wasn’t even alive…” Damian whispered. Even though his eyes were closed he surveyed the outside of his room which had some of the others clawing at the door. He could hear them cursing under their breath from not being able to break through the steel infirmary door.
    “Don’t say that!” Violet raged with a couple of tears flowing out of her eyes. “You are fathers love child. I know it’s hard dealing with your condition every stinking day but trust me, you aren’t going to die.”
    Damian nodded his head and looked at his nurse. He mapped out every inch of her veins and arteries and sighed. He had not the heart to suck blood like his sister and the others but he was able to take the life of a living creature once every three months to restore a balance of his strength.
    “You need rest, I’ll be back later on to check on you but the nurse will stay here with you just in case something happens. Would you like the curtains drawn?”
    “Yes.”
    As Violet took a deep breath she secured all of the curtains around her brother while his nurse took a seat in the recliner across the room.
    “Julie, watch him carefully. I’m taking the window because I can hear them.”
    “Be careful lady Violet.”
    Violets astonishing agility to jump was incredible. She used that whenever she hunted and used it whenever she had put herself in danger. Her feet carried her to the open window and she jumped up to the rail. Carefully she dived out of the window leaving a slight breeze in her place of absence. However it was the middle of the day, time for hunting for a drink and right not it was her second time today leaving her sibling alone but most of the time she dedicated herself into caring for her brother until he got up and went on a mission with a group composed of two medical specialist and two other team mates. That wouldn’t probably happen for another couple of days.
    Lester, Alister’s older brother, entered the mansion that afternoon before Violet had returned from her hunt. He bore his signature gentlemen’s smile on his face and scratched at the stubble along his muscular jaw bone. He was almost his brother’s double except for the streaks of midnight in his long white hair. Sebastian greeted him at the door with a frown.
    “Sebastian, I didn’t expect to see you with a frown on your face today. What’s going on, did I miss something here?” Lester asked.
    “Master Alister hasn’t been himself lately. No sleep or hunting in a while. I for one think he’s getting sick.” Sebastian explained.
    Lester sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He stuffed both of his hands in the pockets of his slacks and kept them there. “That sounds nothing like my brother. How long has this been going on?”
    “A week now Sire, he has not been able to read any of his books or write any literary works of his. I’ve been concerned because usually he lets me read his artwork. Maybe this is a phase.”
    “This isn’t any ordinary phase. Alister will get very sick if he’s not eating. Sebastian, where is my sibling?”
    “Resting, I told him to go to bed. He should be in his room.”
    Lester nodded his head walked off. In his heart, he knew that his brother would never go through something so unremarkably impossible. He sped up his pace and took the dim corridor on his left. This was an emergency, for a vampire could only withstand so much with their laws of nature.
    Damian ran a heavy sweat that couldn’t even be shaken off by a wild animal. His heart raced and he clawed at the sheets around him. He was having a nightmare. The dream wreaked pain all over his limbs and soft whimpers poured from his lips.
    “Run Damian, or we’ll get you! Blood so creamy and delicate should be spilled to perfection!”
    His heart skipped a beat and he awoke with a scream.
    Julie rushed and peeled the thick curtains opened to find Damian pushing himself up struggling to breathe. She laid him back down on his left side and place an oxygen mask over his face. Her eyes caught the sight of blood on his bandages.
    “Master Damian, are you breathing well?” Julie asked softly. She took her stethoscope from around her neck and placed them in her ears. Sweat ran off of Damian chin as he nodded his head slightly. Julie pressed the chest piece of her stethoscope against Damian’s mid back while he took deep and laboring breaths.
    “How, do I sound?” Damian gasped. Julie shook her head and placed two fingers upon his bandage neck.
    “Not so well master Damian. You need your rest. You’ve got a small amount of blood on your dressings. That means that your blood is clotting up well. I’m going to get you some hot water and clean you up. I’m leaving the door locked when I leave but I have a key. To get back in.” Julie explained softly. Damian nodded his head as his nurse got up from his side and left the room. He brought his hand up to his face and held the mask completely until he could catch his breath. Images from the dream continued to flash through his memory bringing more terror to his pain.
    “Damian!”
    Violet jumped into the window and came toward the bed carrying a sack of oranges on her back. She peeled opened the curtains and stared at Damian, breathing from the oxygen mask on his face.
    “What happened Damian? Why aren’t you breathing normally?” Violet took a seat at Damian’s side and took an orange out of the bag. Her nails ran carefully over the peeling, skinning the orange in seconds.
    “I was gasping…when I woke up.” Damian was wheezing now. Julie soon came back in the room carrying a basin full of steaming water and another roll of bandages.
    “Master Damian, are you ready?” she asked as she pushed the door shut and locked it. Julie turned and saw that Violet was at Damian side. “Lady Violet, when did you return?”
    Violet sliced through the oranges and handed Damian a slice that dripped with juices. “Not too long ago Julie, I just got back from a feast and I found an orange tree on my way back. Everything was satisfactory and I knew that Damian would need some of this to boost his pressure.” Violet spoke. Julie nodded her head and brought the steaming basin toward Damian.
    “You were thinking about his blood pressure Violet, it was a good call. His blood is beginning to clot up for you see there isn’t a lot of blood on his dressings.” Julie looked at Violet who handed Damian another slice of orange. She got up from his side and set the orange on the nightstand beside the bed, her eyes wandering over to Julie.
    “I’ll be back Julie, keep giving him the oranges. It’ll boost his immunity so I heard.”
    Violet then left the room through the window again. Damian shook tensely as he took hold of the bar on his left. He carefully pushed himself up, slowly not to move too quickly.
    As a nurse, Julie took pride in caring for Damian since she could practically trust being around a half-blooded vampire. She knew that her patient barely suckled blood from any human he could seduce in seconds but she also knew that Damian did not posses the heart to murder for nourishment like the other bloodthirsty vampires who stalked the mansion walls. Anyway, Julie placed her hands on Damian’s shoulder, slowly relaxing him and calming him down. As she began to cut away at the bloody dressing, her mind wondered about the first day.
    Alister lay in bed with a cold sweat covering his torso. He was shaking and everything in his surrounding were making him chilled.
    Lester knocked on his brother’s room door. There wasn’t any answer so he suspected his brother to be sleeping. He gripped the silver door knob and turned it slightly. The door opened, allowing him to go inside. He eased himself within his brother’s sanctuary, closing the door behind him and making sure no one had come in with him. Lester looked at the large canopy bed that rested in the middle of the room. The curtains were drawn thickly around, making sure that no one could see what was going on. Lester walked over to the canopy bed and peeled open the curtains.
    “Alister!” Lester’s eyes surveyed his brother carefully seeing how pale he was and how much he trembled in his sleep. He closed his eyes and peered into Alister’s body. Every vein he saw was a light purple, nothing that he had ever saw before. Though his beating heart, was glowing a dark purple. Lester opened his eyes and placed his hand on Alister forehead, he was burning up. “Alister please, I need you to wake up.”
    Alister’s eyes peeled open and were immediately planted them on Lester. A weak smile came upon his face, but it soon vanished.
    “Lester…what going…on?” Alister asked softly. Lester shook his head and stared into his brother’s crimson eyes.
    “You are what’s going on. Alister, something is wrong with you.”
    “I need you to get…Rem Lester…I need you to get her and tell her that its an emergency.” Alister whispered softly.
    “Isn’t she your old care taker? What can she do?” Lester asked.
    “She knows.”
    Alister moaned as he closed his eyes. A cough emerged from his mouth only to let blood, splatter onto the pillows piled next to him. Lester removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from Alister’s pillow. He knew that it was been decades since Alister had ever gotten so sick. There had been only one time that Alister had gotten sick and that was before their mother had perished in a fire. He had gotten sick from consuming three day old blood and it had almost taken his life during the gruesome week. Now for Lester, it seemed that his sibling was sick for some serious reason that was effecting him worse than ever. There was no way he would locate Rem but he had to at least try. After a brief moment, Sebastian entered the room carrying a letter.
    “Master Lester, its time.”
    The day crept by slowly while Violet helped Damian out of bed. Dr. Creeds was stopping by to give him a full checkup and it was so that Violet stayed away but somewhere close. She stood with her uncle Lester in the Organic garden picking vegetables and herbs and dropping them in a basket.
    “Violet, have you seen your father lately?” Lester was quick to ask. Violet shook her head
    “No, why do you ask? I haven’t seen father since Monday. He likes to be in privacy when he’s working on something but usually by now, he would’ve hinted me on his progress.”
    Lester looked at Violet and then too a bite of the carrot in his muscular hands. “ I was just curious. By the way, how is Damian doing? I heard about his last mission but I never got the full detail about it.”
    There was a short silence before Violet could answer. Her mind swindled her thoughts back on the topic of his checkup. “ His last mission left him severely injured. Too much blood shed had gone one and not enough fighting. Damian was injured in battle and brought back to the mansion for emergency treatment. Father was furious but in the last two weeks, Damian’s body has been able to withstand the breakdowns and severe blood lost.”
    “He’s getting better, that’s good to hear. I’ve been thinking lately about Alister, he hasn’t been himself lately. Violet, I need you to do me a favor tonight?”
    “And what would that be?”
    “I need you to find Rem for me.”
    Violet pushed her uncle to the ground and wrestled him into a knot. Anger was coming over her. “Alright. What’s going on with my father, I know he hasn’t been himself lately. Why do we need Rem and what is going on that you’re keeping it a secret?” Violet’s hand slipped over her uncles neck and slowly began to crush his throat.
    “Alister is very ill Violet. He needs you and I to find Rem but I can’t. I have to stay here with him because so one else knows about his condition. If you could just see…”
    “I want to see him. I need to see how sick he is. My father is stronger than this. He shouldn’t be so ill like this ever. How bad is it Lester?”
    Lester looked at his niece and pushed her off of him freeing his arm and throbbing neck. “He’s developed a fever and this irregular beating in his heart. If you close your eyes and look right into his body, you can very well see that we need to get him medical attention.”
    “But why his old care taker?”
    “Because he thinks she knows what’s going on within him. We need to find her but you need to see him.”
    Sebastian stood at Alister’s bedside holding a tray of tea. Alister sat at the edge of his bed drinking ginseng tea and trying not to fall asleep. There was silence in the room but as a Vampire himself, Sebastian was looking into Alister’s body, taking note of the strange presence in his blood stream. Alister stared at Sebastian who opened his eyes and sighed deeply. He was worried about his master so much but he knew nothing of what was going on.
    “Sir, you need all of the rest you can get. Do you remember that your brother was seeing you not too long ago?”
    Alister shook his head.
    “Well, he was utterly concerned about you. I for one think that you at least get rest. Your condition is slowly getting to you. There is no telling how long you’ve been experiencing this ailment. Sire is there anything that you need me to do?” Sebastian took hold of the sup of tea from Alister and set it on the tray.
    Alister closed his eyes and laid back down on the lump of pillows that encircled him. His fever was getting heavier and it was becoming a burden to sustain consciousness. “Some ice would be nice Sebastian, no more hot tea, it’s making me sick.”
    An awkward look came over Sebastian’s face. “Very well, I’ll make a note to bring ice tea instead. In the mean time, I’m going to the infirmary to get you some medicine to…”
    “Don’t…it won’t help me.” Alister whispered.
    There was a feeling of discomfort that aroused Sebastian’s insides. His body shook tensely as he pulled Alister’s legs into bed. He carefully pulled up the covers and then took the tray of tea out of the room. There was no need to stay with Alister much longer for he knew that he required rest more than anything. Sebastian closed the grand bedroom door behind him and walked though as he did Violet and Lester approached him.
    “Sebastian, what’s going on?” Violet demanded. Lester shook his head and moved in front of Sebastian.
    “Please, has his condition gotten any worse Sebastian?” Lester asked. His voice had gotten deeper and even more serious than before.
    “His fever has gotten worse master Lester. He refuses any medicine I offer to go get for him.”
    Lester looked at Violet and swallowed everything in the deepest and darkest space of his mind. He was trembling in his steps, not able to move for images of his younger brother and he bothered his thoughts like migraines. There was fear in every inch of his body that made him jump. Not even Violet, who watched her uncle like a hawk, could tell what was going on inside him. Thought he soon gave her the look.
    “I understand.” Violet said. It was time to go and find a savior for Alister’s sake.
    The corridor was silent while Damian walked down the hall carrying a vomit stained handkerchief in one hand and a peeled orange in the other. He was able to sustain his breathing but just doing so was making him tired. Julie trailed far behind him but was careful not wander off and instantly become a young vampires feast for the evening. She insisted that Damian get out of bed and try to walk off any cramps he had come over from being in bed all week. Thought she saw how Damian staggered as he walked but at one point in time, it was worse. Julie remembered that as a toddler, Damian was even more vulnerable to becoming ill than ever and it had had a devastating effect on his nervous system. At the moment, Julie began to drift into her memories of that day.
    “How long does he have to wear those braces on his legs Julie?” Alister asked gently. He held Damian in his arms, fondling the sleeping toddler.
    “Until he’s able to walk on his own. If he doesn’t wear them, his nervous system may grow weaker and he may not be able to walk at all. It’s best to do this now before it’s too late.” Julie whispered. Alister nodded his head as he handed Julie Damian.
    “Take him and put him to bed please Julie.” Alister said. Tears rolled from his eyes.
    “Yes sir but be not upset. Damian will walk soon. He is a fighter. Just like you Master Alister.” Julie had a touch of hope and encouragement in her voice as she gave a warm smile to Alister. He returned the smile with a soft weak one and headed off to his study with Violet.
    Julie took a deep breath and stopped in her tracks. Damian was leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths and hurling into the handkerchief. Julie rushed toward him, nearly tripping on her long skirt, and laid her hand on his shoulder.
    “Damian, do you want to go back?” Julie asked. She gently patted Damian’s back as he let out small coughs.
    “No, I’m not ready yet.” Damian coughed. He regained his trembling balance and stood up straight. “ I’ll be fine Julie.” Damian didn’t cough this time and now he was gaining a little more control over his breathing. Julie took his hand and walked with him further down the hallway. She could barely trust herself to follow instinct over Damian’s health since Damian was older than her in human years than he was in vampire years. After they had reached the end of the corridor, they turned and something seemed to explode. Julie pushed Damian to the wall and looked around. The tiles on the floor of the mansion seemed to vibrate underneath her feet. This had never happened before. Julie glanced down at Damian who had gone unconscious. She set him down on to the floor and took out her pager. Dr. Creeds was still in the infirmary preparing antibiotics for Damian. Quickly she began to send him a message hoping that he’d get it soon. A brief calmness settled over Julie but the moment she stood up she could feel hot air blowing down her neck. She turned around and there stood Lex.
    Lex’s heart thundered for pleasure as he listened to hers screaming silently. He took hold of her hand pressed it against his lip, gently running his tongue across her skin. A tear ran from Julie’s eye and a soft whimper escaped from her lips. Her face became paler than Damian’s skin as Lex ran his finger down her cheek. His eyes were studying her closely, slowly trapping her in her own fear and impure thoughts.
    “I can smell you… a vast scent that makes me sing on the inside. Tell me good woman, are you ready to die tonight?” Lex whispered in Julie’s ear. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer.
    “No…I don’t want to…” Julie cried. Lex place a finger over her lips.
    “Shih, don’t speak, let me do all of the talking.” Lex voice echoed in her thoughts while she began to feel his lips pressing against her cheeks and slowly descending to her neck. Julie was becoming enticed by Lex, no longer thinking about death but thinking about making furious love to him. She began to groan as he came back up and began to loosen her blouse. Her heart was no longer screaming but begging for mercy.
    Damian slowly opened his eyes, he was dizzy and seeing double. He glanced up at Lex and grabbed him by his ankle after seeing what he was doing to Julie.
    Lex felt the light grip on his ankle and kicked Damian in the center of his chest. His heart` began to tremble and Damian began to spit up blood. He curled up into a tight ball and tried to regain control over his breathing but it was no use. After a moment he reached for Lex’s ankle again only to receive a powerful blow to the spine, knocking him out cold completely.
    Lex knew that it was time. He had seduced Julie to his max and now he was moving in for the kill. He pressed his lips against Julie’s chest and slowly sank his fangs a little below her collar bone. Julie let out a shrill scream but in a matter of seconds it was too late.
    Dr. Creeds came down the corridor rushing to Julie’s aid but he was too late. He could she that she was dead but he could also see that Damian was about to drown. Dr. Creeds kneeled down beside Damian and ripped open his shirt. There was intense bleeding and the bandages on his chest were completely soaked. He gloved his hand and placed two fingers on Damian’s neck. There was barely a pulse.
    “Damian, god why did this have to come?” Dr. Creeds picked up Damian and stood up from the floor. He peered down at Julie, her body was pale, lifeless and her eyes were open staring up at the ceiling. It was a murder of greed but this was just horrible.

    Chapter 2

    The evening fell into disaster when the house found out that Damian’s nurse had been murdered. There were plots of getting at Damian while he was still weak but Dr. Creed was someone too hard to try and get by. He was a vampire who had a 24/7 functioning sixth sense that allowed him to seek danger. However Dr. Creed didn’t prey on humans since he had worked with human nurses from time to time. Instead he found nourishment from animals which made him feel less guilty. Dr. Creed kept every bolt lock on the steel to the infirmary looked completely while he paged three of his nurses for an emergency protocol. He needed them to bring medicine and syringes before Damian went into complete shock. His body shook tensely as he stared at Damian. He wondered what could have possibly driven one of the vampires into killing the only medical expert that was studying Damian’s condition over the years but it was useless to even bother. It was just hunger that could drive them to killing. Dr. Creeds stood up from Damian’s side and walked over to the window. Though as he did. Damian let out a soft moan.
    “Oh god, what am I going to do?”
    The phone rang out loudly that it echoed in the room like an evil laugh. It was Dr. Creeds phone that rang, he snatched it from his pockets and answered it.
    “Hello?”
    “Xia, I’m on my way. How’s the patient?”
    “Critical condition. Is Grace with you?”
    “Yes”
    “Put her on the line”
    Dr. Creed took a deep breath and placed his hand in the pocket of his slacks until someone came on the phone.
    “Creeds?”
    “Grace, be ready to do a spinal procedure for me when you arrive. There’s some bleeding in Damian’s lower back that I can’t relieve.”
    “Is that so, I thought you were great with something like that?”
    “Not this time, there is too much blood and it could paralyze him if I do it.”
    “Okay but what’s his condition.”
    “I’ve given him eighty percent oxygen to help the fluid built up in his lungs, he’s got a broken rib cage, his fever is over it’s limit, blood pressure is critical, and…”
    “Alright, all right I get the idea. Keep him sedated his condition is scarring the hell out of me. By the way, where is Julie, she’s not answering her pager?”
    “She was murdered.”
    “Alright then, give us five minuets.”
    Dr. Creeds hung up the phone and threw it to the floor. What else could happen, just to make things worse.
    Midnight struck and the entire mansion stood still. The infirmary was kept lit with a lamp but the curtains around the canopy bed were drawn together tightly. The corridors echoed with sounds from the haunting. Everything seemed great though something wasn’t too great. Violet and Lester had returned from their hunt, barely successful and barely able to confront that they had looked in the right places. Violet had went to the village of the elders to look for Rem but no one had any ideal of where she had placed herself. Lester had picked up from each village a map of where she could’ve been but nothing seemed accurate. The two of them sat in the dinning hall of the mansion plotting down all the places they could search, though as they did, something happened that made Lester’s heart jump. There was a pounding on the door that warmed an angry feeling of antagonism and loathsomeness.
    “It’s midnight, do you think she might have found us?” Violet asked out of the bloom as Lester dropped his pen on the table. He looked at Violet and shook his white mane.
    “No,” he grunted, “I’m betting that it’s one of the others who did some extra fills for the night. I thought everyone hunted together?”
    “They can’t. it is forbidden to go in such large groups because it’ll seem too suspicious and it wouldn’t work out if they all crossed over to the human boundaries of the country side. We couldn’t all sneak into an alley house for people would question our authority.”
    Lester made way out of the dinning hall and down the hall. The pounding of the door continued yet it grew louder as he grew near the door. His hand slipped on the knob while he opened it and when he did, he received a powerful blow on the shoulder. Dazed and staggering, Lester swung a punch and knocked out whoever had hit him. Something grabbed his ankles but he managed to power kick his opponent in the stomach. He ran back down the hall but ended up tripping. His hand reached for his leather buck skin belt and pulled out a crimson colored sword. His opponent, all dressed in white pulled out a dagger, the length of the average tree limb and looked up at Lester. The fight began.
    Violet felt something warm on her neck. She doubled back in her chair, nearly falling to the flood but managed to draw her sword without warning. There standing behind her, Agatha, her mother who had left her sometime dearly ago. She wore all black and looked as if she was Violet’s twin sister. A sinister smile appeared upon her face and she bared her sharp pointed teeth as is she were hungry for nothing more than flesh and blood. Violet stood her ground as she ripped across the room trying to attack. She had never seen her mother before but she was attacking.
    “Where is the prince?” Lester’s opponent questioned as he dodged.
    “He’s not here, what do you want with him?”
    “I know he’s here, don’t play games with me.”
    “He’s not here. What do you want with the Prince?”
    “That’s none of your concern!”
    A clash of the swords versus a great release of energy caused them both to be pulled backward. Lester lunged forward and pierced his enemy’s heart with one finishing blow. With doing so, he dragged the body outside and drained it out the remaining blood. Lester doubled back and went back into the house. He ran quickly, hearing Violet’s screams until he found himself lunging his sword into Agatha who struck Violet, wounding her arm. She fell to the floor shaking until there was a puddle beneath their toes. Violet slapped her hand over he arm and looked at her uncle who had a wound on his back. She watched as he leaned against the wall, allowing his flesh to mend itself back into place. Violet did the same, letting her wound heal rapidly within a matter of seconds.
    “How’s the injury?” Violet blurted out. She bent down and picked up her sword, sliding it back into the snakeskin sheath on her buck skin belt.
    Lester shook his head and staggered while he straightened out his posture. “ I can’t feel my legs, think a nerve got severed. Give me a moment would you.” Lester eased himself to the floor, making sure he didn’t sit in blood. “She’s not dead, just temporary.”
    “I know that. What the hell was all this about?”
    “They want Damian. It’s something that had been on pause since his birth but they want him. I’m thinking someone has snitched about your father’s sudden breakdown but when the creatures of all over find out that the king can’t protect his son, they’ll be waging war soon. Alister has fallen ill at the wrong time.”
    “Then my brother is in trouble?”
    “Worse, Alister is in trouble.”
    “Can you feel your legs now?”
    “Yeah, why”
    “We need to wake the house, we need to tell them what’s going on. We need to get a group together to go out and search for Rem. In the meantime, I’ve got to make a deal with my friends in the meantime. Go check on my brother, make sure he’s okay. Report back to the main hall with any news on his condition. By now Julie should have managed to break his fever.”
    “Alright.”
    The two separated with their swords resting on their hips but their fists reading to punch out any other intruder that they were ready to encounter. Lester’s gut was as tight as a devil’s tongue knot from a discomfort that left a knick in his brain. Violet had a throbbing sensation going on in her legs that made her squeamish about the whole situation, there was no way the news about her father could’ve gone done like that but she had a feeling of who could’ve blabbed about it.
    Anesthesia was administered slowly to Damian when his eyes opened to the sight of the three different nurses, seeing that none of them were Julie. He was curious on the inside as they worked on him slowly. At first they had relieved the fluid in his chest and now they, were helping Dr. Creeds remove blood from his lower back. Damian could feel them all breathing against his neck. He could tell Dr. Creeds hands from anyone else’s since they were cold and smooth like Violet’s, except for the clamminess of his palms. Needles plunged in and out of his back, making him feel as though they were killing him slowly without any warning at all. Besides the silence in the room, Damian was listening to everyone’s hearts beating wildly in the moment hat passed. He was not pleased with his own at all.
    “Hang in there Damian, just a few more needles to go and this will be over. Once it is, I’ll let you sleep. Grace, hand me some gauze, would you?”
    “Here, Damian I’m sorry for this.”
    “It’s not you’re fault…” Damian whispered. Coolness struck his cheek and made him feel a bit better.
    “Great gods, you’re pressure is rising. I expect that by morning, I’ll be able to get you out of bed and get you outside for some good environmental medicine.”
    “Non-sense Xia, he needs rest and a good sponge bath to clean off all this dried blood. I can’t say that he’ll be able to move in the next hours but all I know is that you need a change of robe.”
    Dr. Creeds looked down at his white lab coat and sighed. “ I know, it’s got blood and vomit on it, I’m sorry for being a doctor Yvette but that is just how I am.”
    “Well excuse me.”
    “You’re excused and we are done. Damian you pulled through this greatly. Now what I’m about to give you is a powerful anesthetic that will put you to sleep for a matter of hours. You will wake up but if you do, then that means….well I can’t explain it but you’ll get the idea.”
    “Where’s Julie?”
    “She taking a break,” Grace lied between her tongue. Damian listened as her heart rate increased telling him that she was lying. He didn’t say anymore once something sharp had pierced his skin allowing his entire body to go numb. Every one of his senses seemed to shut off all at once and every nerve in him body seemed to go limp.