Other Fan Fiction ❯ Yami Tenshi: Angel of Darkness ❯ Dark Discoveries ( Chapter 2 )

"Yami Tenshi:

Angel of Darkness"

Chapter 2: "Dark Discoveries"

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the Legacy of Kain games are not mine. Rayne and any other characters you recognize from the game BloodRayne are not mine. The only characters that are mine are Adrian, his mother, his friends, Lilin, and anybody else you don't recognize from any form of media.

Author's note: Don't worry, people. Raziel, Rayne, and all their friends will be appearing soon enough, either in this chapter or the next. A brief warning, the first scene in this chapter is somewhat incestuous. Now let's go.

Timeline: Same as chapter one

Adrian woke up from his dream, intensely thirsty. He got up out of bed and walked down to the kitchen to drink some water. To his surprise, the water wasn't enough to sate his thirst, no matter how much he drank. Finally, he put the water back in the refrigerator and went back upstairs. That was when he noticed something odd.

He realized that he was more perceptive of scents. Specifically, the scent of living creatures. And the only living creature he smelled right now was his mother. Something drew him to her room, as if her scent was a magnet and he was metal. He opened her door wider and slipped in like a ghost.

Mother . . . he thought. When did he realize just how beautiful she was? Her lustrous black hair, her soft dark eyes, and her high cheekbones . . . Dawn's light was just beginning to break through and it made her absolutely stunning.

Oh, for the love of all that was good in this world. He actually desired his own mother!

How sick is this? he asked himself. I don't believe this . . . but I want her, and God help me . . . I need her.

Helpless to stop himself, he bent down to kiss his mother's neck. She moaned, but didn't wake up.

He felt the thirst rising even higher, as if anticipating some kind of relief. To his surprise, he bit her neck, right in the vein. The feeling he got when the blood began to flow into his mouth was akin to complete and absolute ecstasy. He eagerly lapped at her blood, drinking it like it was the nectar of the gods. The sound of her moan was the only thing that stopped him from drinking further.

But it didn't sound like a pained moan. No, it sounded like she was taking pleasure in what he was doing to her!

What did I just do? Adrian asked himself, panicked. I bit my own mother and drank her blood and she was enjoying it!

But she was still sleeping. She was obviously having a dream, and a pleasurable one, too. That much was true as his newly amplified sense of smell registered the scent of his mother's arousal. Horrified at what he had done, he left the room and went to the bathroom. He pulled his lips back in a smile and saw fangs where his canine teeth would be. He also saw that his teeth and his lips were red with his mother's blood.

"What the hell is happening to me?" he asked. "Am I actually becoming some kind of vampire?" He paused. "No, no, I'm still dreaming. I'm just going to go back to bed and when I wake up, the world will be normal again."

Alas, when daylight was in full session and he woke up, the world wasn't exactly normal. The sun's light shining through the half-closed blinds of his window didn't burn him, but he didn't really notice since he didn't believe what he was becoming. He got up out of bed and showered.

When he came back out, he put on his deodorant and dressed himself, this time opting to wear a black shirt with a red dragon design on the front and black jeans. He came downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning, Mom," he said, not daring to look at her directly.

"Morning, Adrian," she said, smiling.

Adrian noticed two small, round holes in his mother's neck. "Where'd you get those?" he asked.

"I don't know," his mother replied. "I just woke up with them."

Adrian looked away in guilt and self-loathing. So it wasn't a dream. It really did happen. He really did feed off his mother's blood like he was a vampire. And he'd enjoyed it, too. When he'd been drinking his mother's blood, he'd felt the terrible thirst in him being sated. When he'd pulled back, it had screamed for more.

But why wasn't the sun burning him? Why didn't water sting him? I guess the old myths aren't that accurate. But how the hell did I get like this?

He remembered the dream. That very dream where he and the mysterious woman he had met last night made love and she mixed her blood with his. But that was only a dream, wasn't it? Dreams couldn't manifest in real life, could they?

As Adrian ate his breakfast, he noticed something. The cereal tasted unusually good. Or perhaps it tasted the same as it always had, only now he was more sensitive to it. Come to think of it, all his senses seemed unusually amplified. He could hear his mother's breathing and heartbeat, the rhythm that told him that blood was being pumped through her veins. The blood lust surged in him again, but he suppressed it this time. He'd already noticed that he could smell his mother's scent, and his sight had improved incredibly. Things that used to look distant to him, he could now see as if they were right in front of him, and the nerves that enabled his sense of touch seemed unusually sensitive, too.

Well, they do say that vampire senses are more acute than human senses, he thought.

After finishing his breakfast, he slung his backpack on his shoulders. The strange thing was, it didn't feel heavy at all. In fact, it felt as light as it would be if there was nothing in it.

"I'll see you later, Mom," Adrian said.

"Bye, Adrian," his mother said.

Adrian got on his motorcycle, put on the helmet, started the motorcycle, and drove away. When he finally got to school, he met up with Pandora, T.K., and Keith.

"Hey, Adrian, what's up?" T.K. asked.

"Nothing," Adrian replied. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Yeah," Pandora agreed. "Then again, what guy wouldn't be fine after dancing with a dark, mysterious, sexy woman?"

"I still say she's jealous," Keith mumbled.

"Huh? Why?" Adrian asked.

"You heard that?" Keith asked.

"Nothing," Adrian replied. "I'm just really wired today for some reason." He didn't mention what that reason was. As he put his books in his locker, he could feel someone approaching him. Whoever it was, he sounded angry. Not from his speech, but from his breathing. Adrian instantly identified him as Jake Carter. "What the fuck do you want from me now?"

"I've had it with you, Evans," Carter said.

"And what the hell did I do to you this time?" Adrian asked.

"I've gotten tired of you thinking you're so damn hot," Carter replied.

"Who said I was hot?" Adrian asked.

"Quit being such a wise-ass," Carter snapped.

"Oh, you noticed my ass?" Adrian quipped, baiting him. "Weren't you the same person who asked me if I was a fag?"

"Not funny, Evans!" Carter yelled.

"So what?" Adrian replied. "Obviously, I make you nervous, don't I? You wouldn't waste your precious time on me if I didn't."

"It ends now, Evans," Carter said. "Either you keep your hands to yourself when around my girl, or I'm gonna get very nasty."

"One, you're already very nasty," Adrian said. "Two, what reason would I have to do anything with your girl? Did your punk-ass friends hear it from those gossip freaks and then tell you? Ha. Third-hand information. How reliable."

"Ok, smart guy, you asked for it!" Carter shouted and aimed a right cross right at his face. "Let's see how pretty you are after my fist hits your face!"

Unfortunately for him, his fist never met Adrian's face. Because Adrian had apparently vanished from sight.

"What the fuck?" Carter asked. Then he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He whirled around and saw . . .

Adrian.

"Hi," Adrian said. "What's up? And what did you think you were going to accomplish with that punch? You hit as if you were stuck in slow motion."

Carter snarled and tried to hit him again. This time, Adrian simply moved to the side in a quick, fluid motion, taking the time to trip him in that same movement. Carter's forward movement assured a nasty landing on his face.

"Nice face-plant," Adrian sneered.

A crowd of students had gathered to watch. "Did you see that?" a student asked.

"How the hell did Adrian get that fast?" another student asked.

"It's all that ninja fighting stuff he knows," a third student chimed in.

"Come on!" a fourth student shouted. "Do some kung fu! Some karate! Do that jujutsu stuff!"

"Such a bloodthirsty crowd," Adrian muttered to himself.

Carter got up and swung at him again.

"No more playing around," Adrian said softly and caught his fist faster than anybody could see or react. He smiled evilly, forgetting that his fangs were probably still there. Carter gasped at the sight.

"What the fuck are you, man?" Carter asked.

"Right now, all I am is quite tired of you," Adrian replied, the sinister smile still on his face. The smile grew wider when he started to squeeze Carter's fist. The more he squeezed, the more Carter gasped in pain. Wicked glee shined in Adrian's eyes.

"Ahhhhhh," Carter uttered. "Stop, man. I ain't gonna bother you ever again! You can have Tami if you want! Just stop!"

"You're pathetic," Adrian replied, his voice cold and barely human. "You pick on those weaker than you, and then you beg like a little bitch when you finally find someone stronger than you. But I won't break your pathetic bones. I'll settle for your spirit." That said, he dropped Carter's hand and kicked him into a row of lockers. Adrian then walked to his first class, leaving everyone, his friends included, to wonder just what had transpired.

In class, Adrian spent more time brooding over the fight with Carter. How did I do all that stuff? he asked himself. I was moving like lightning with the grace of a jungle cat and it was nothing! I had enough strength to break every single bone in Carter's body and it was nothing! What the hell am I becoming?!

After school, Adrian put all the books he'd need for his homework in his backpack and slung said backpack on his back. As he walked out of the school building, he was confronted by T.K., Keith, and Pandora.

"What the hell happened back there, man?" Keith asked.

"What do you mean?" Adrian asked.

"The fight with Carter," T.K. clarified. "How the hell did you move like that?"

"Like what?" Adrian asked.

"You were like liquid lightning," Pandora replied. "And the way you handled Carter . . . it was like he was made out of toothpicks."

"I actually heard his bones crack when you held his hand like that," Keith added.

This conversation went on as they walked away from the school building. Adrian's eyes narrowed and went dark emerald.

"What's wrong, Adrian?" Pandora asked.

"I'm getting the feeling that something nasty is about to happen," Adrian replied.

His "hunch" turned out to be quite accurate, as a black car whirled around a corner and came right at them. A hand holding a gun emerged out of the window of the passenger seat. Two more gun-holding hands emerged from the back seats of the car.

"Carter," Adrian muttered to himself.

The three gun-wielding hands fired those guns at the four of them. With lightning speed, Adrian tackled his friends in a domino pattern, knocking them out of harm's way. He whirled to face the car and noticed that the windshield was shaded, something that would have prevented normal eyes from seeing through it to locate the driver and his three passengers. Alas, Adrian's eyes were no longer normal, and the shaded windshield might as well have not existed to them.

As he suspected, it was Carter driving the car and his three jock friends who had fired at Adrian and his friends. But Adrian realized that they'd been firing at him the entire time and any injury to his friends would've been merely incidental.

Dark rage boiled inside Adrian. If his friends had gotten hit because of that thick-headed jock's desire for retaliation . . .

Adrian leaped onto the hood of Carter's car and punched the windshield, shattering it. Carter and his friends shielded their eyes, leaving Carter unable to drive properly, causing the car to careen through the streets. When they were sure it was safe to look, they saw a supremely angry Adrian Evans.

"You bottom-feeding sons of bitches," he snarled, his voice inhuman. Carter's three cronies immediately pointed their guns at him, but with inhuman speed, he kicked the gun out of the hand of the jock sitting in the passenger seat. He swung through the empty frame that once housed the windshield and knocked the guns out of the hands of the two jocks sitting in the back seat. "Hello, there. Wanna drive me home?"

"What the fuck are you, you freak?" the jock on his left side asked.

"Let's not worry about what I am," Adrian replied. "But I know what you are. Finished."

Carter continued struggling to get the car (and his own fear) under control.

"You idiots," Adrian sneered. "Do you think you'll be able to get away with trying to kill me?" He grabbed the two jocks on either side of him and threw them out through the back window of the car, unheeding of the fact that that window did not open. Demonstrating incredible flexibility, he reached over and kicked the passenger side door open and threw the jock sitting in that seat out through said door. He then replaced the jock in that seat. "Now it's just you and me, Carter."

"What the hell are you?" Carter asked, his voice tinged with fear.

"Oh, you're scared of me, now?" Adrian asked mockingly. "You were scared when I beat you in school. But you got over that pretty quickly. And now you cower again." He grabbed the steering wheel and pulled the car over, then removed the car keys and threw them out the window. "I'm guessing by now someone's noticed what's going on and has called the police. Can't you hear the sirens?"

Of course, Carter didn't have supernatural hearing like Adrian and so that fact escaped him. Soon enough, the police sirens were close enough for him to hear.

A police car parked behind Carter's car and two police officers got out and walked over to him and Adrian. "You wanna explain just why you were driving so recklessly?" the first officer asked.

"This freak sitting next to me jumped into my car and terrorized me and my buddies!" Carter yelled.

"Really," the second police officer said. "Someone called in and reported that a car matching the description of yours came down the street and three of the occupants started shooting at a group of kids walking home from school." She peered inside the car. "But I don't see those other three now; I just see you and this other guy in the passenger seat."

"Officer," Adrian replied, "Carter's cronies shot at me and my friends. If I hadn't acted in time, they would've been seriously injured or killed."

"Then you're obviously a brave young man," the first officer said.

"I'm not brave," Adrian replied. "I was just pissed off that this 'person' sitting next to me saw losing a fight as a good enough reason to try to kill me."

"A fight?" the first officer asked.

"Yeah," Adrian replied. "He'd been harassing me for a while now because of rumors that I was after his girlfriend. For the record, I wanted nothing to do with her, but he was so angry today that he tried to beat me up. I beat him instead, and this is what resulted."

"The both of you are coming downtown for questioning," the second police officer stated. Adrian and Carter got out of the car. "Since both of you are guilty of disorderly behavior, you're both going in handcuffs."

Adrian quietly submitted to the cuffing, but Carter was protesting quite loudly.

"Tell me what happened from the beginning," a detective instructed.

"It goes like this," Adrian explained. "Carter tried to beat me up because he thought I was after his girlfriend Tami. The end result is that I beat him up. Truth be told, all I really did was dodge his punches, but I'll admit I nearly broke the bones in his hand and I kicked him kinda hard."

"And what happened after school?" the detective asked.

"I was walking home with my friends T.K. Blaize, Keith Hariken, and Pandora Alivier," Adrian continued. "They can all verify that if you want to ask them yourself. They can also verify that Carter and his thugs came tearing down the street in that black car he and I were arrested in and tried to kill me. In fact, those bullets that missed us could've hit someone else. I was angry, furious. Furious enough to jump on Carter's car and smash up the windows, not to mention throwing his friends out."

"That's enough," the detective said.

Adrian's mother soon came for him.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Evans," the police captain said. "Adrian wasn't harmed in any way. In fact, he's pretty much innocent in the whole matter. The only thing he's really guilty of destroying property and misdemeanor battery. Of course, in light of the fact that Jake Carter and his friends --- whom we currently have in custody --- committed attempted murder, we're inclined to go easy on him, especially since it's only a first-time offense. The worst we'll have to subject him to is a $1,500 fine or 40 hours of community service."

Adrian's mother sighed with relief. Then something occurred to her. "What about those boys that tried to murder Adrian and his friends?"

"They'll all go in for attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms," the captain replied. "They'll probably spend the rest of their teenage years and a good portion of their twenties in a juvenile correctional facility. Like I said before, Adrian won't get into very much trouble, but he will be required to testify at Jake and his pals' trial."

"Don't worry, Mom," Adrian said, smiling reassuringly but carefully concealing his fangs. "I can handle it."

Adrian's mother just hugged him in response.

"It's ok for you to take your son home, Mrs. Evans," the police captain said. "But come back tomorrow afternoon so we can discuss the actions we'll be taking regarding him."

"Thank you," Adrian's mother replied.

Once they got home, Adrian's mother spent much of the remainder of the day fussing over him.

"Are you going to go out?" she asked him.

"Yes," Adrian replied.

"I'd tell you no, but it's not like you wouldn't find a way to get out, anyway," Adrian's mother said. "So go out if you must. Just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Mom, I can handle myself out there," Adrian said. "And besides, Carter and his cronies are currently in jail. He's no crime lord, so it's not like he can still call someone to come over to this house and shoot me. In fact, he's not even that smart."

"I still can't help being worried about you," his mother said. She smiled ruefully. "I am your mother, so it's my job to be worried about you."

Adrian hugged her. "I know. Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied.

Adrian went up to his room and exchanged his jeans for leather pants and his sneakers for buckled boots. He added a second studded belt and a studded collar to his attire, along with buckled wrist bracelets, gold chain bracelets, and a pair of studded leather buckled armbands around each arm. Satisfied with his outfit, he went downstairs.

His mother smiled at him. "Well, no one'll accuse you of wearing designer clothes just to fit in."

"No, they won't," Adrian replied, smiling back. "See you later, Mom." He went out the door.

"See you later, Adrian," his mother said just before he closed the door.

When Adrian came to Dark Angel, the music was unbelievably loud. At least, it was loud to him with his supernatural hearing. The song that was currently playing was "System," one of the five original songs written for a movie about an ancient vampire queen being awakened by a vampire who had arisen in modern times to become a rock star. (A/N: Vampire fans, I'm sure you know what movie I'm talking about, but since I'll probably include elements of the vampire mythology depicted by Anne Rice in this story, I won't name names.) Adrian began to dance.

"You fell away, what more can I say?

The feeling's evolved, I won't let it out.

I can't replace your screaming face.

Feeling the sickness inside . . .

Adrian's motions were slow and sensual, much like the rhythm of the song itself. He moved with an inhuman grace and a dark sensuality.

"Why won't you die?

Your blood in mine.

We'll be fine.

Then your body will be mine. . . ."

As he danced, his three friends walked into the club, where they noticed some people watching a leather-clad figure's seductive motions on the dance floor.

"Who is that guy?" Keith asked.

"I don't know," Pandora replied, "but he looks familiar." She looked closer at him. "Hey, that's Adrian!"

"I'm not surprised," T.K. said. "That boy always did know how to charm the ladies, despite the fact that most of the time he wasn't even trying."

"So many words can't describe my fate.

This feeling's evolved, so soon to break out.

I can't relate to a happy state.

Feeling the blood run inside . . ."

Pandora's eyes focused on Adrian. He's so sexy . . . and I wish he were mine, she thought.

"Why won't you die?

Your blood in mine.

We'll be fine.

Then your body will be mine. . . ."

As the song picked up in intensity, so did Adrian's movements, lending him an even greater sensuality. Hypnotized by him and the music, she moved onto the dance floor and began to dance.

"Why is everything so fucking hard for me?

Keep me down to what you think I should be.

Must you tempt me and provoke the ministry?

Keep on trying; I'm not dying so easily. . . .

"I will not die.

(Why is everything so fucking hard for me?)

I will not die.

(Why is everything so fucking hard for me?)

I will not die. . . ."

Adrian and Pandora danced, the former completely oblivious to everything, the latter completely focused on him.

"Why won't you die?

Your blood in mine.

We'll be fine.

Then your body will be mine. . . .

"Why won't you die?

Your blood in mine.

We'll be fine.

Then your body will be mine."

Just as the song ended, Adrian opened his eyes and saw Pandora. "Hello," he said.

"Hi, Adrian," Pandora said. "Would you like to dance with me?"

The song "Slept So Long," also from the aforementioned vampire movie, began to play.

"I would be delighted," Adrian replied. Pandora turned around and Adrian wrapped his arms around her, her back resting on his chest. They began to dance.

"Walking, waiting.

Alone without a care.

Hoping, hating.

Things that I can't bear . . .

"Did you think it's cool

To walk right up

To take my life

And fuck it up?

Well, did you?

Well, did you?"

Keith and T.K. watched. "Is it just me, or does it look like Adrian and Pandora are seriously into each other?" Keith asked.

"Yeah," T.K. replied. "Though I think it's been obvious from almost since they were old enough to like members of the opposite sex in that way."

"I see hell in your eyes.

Taken in by surprise.

Touching you makes me feel alive.

Touching you makes me die inside. . . ."

Adrian and Pandora moved as one to the erotic rhythm of the music, losing themselves in both it and each other.

"Walking, waiting.

Alone without a care.

Hoping, hating.

Things that I can't bear . . .

"Did you think it's cool

To walk right up

To take my life

And fuck it up?

Well, did you?

I hate you. . . ."

Adrian's senses were on fire. He could hear the music and Pandora's breathing and heartbeat. He could smell her intoxicating scent, both her own natural scent and the scent of her blood. He could smell the shampoo that she used on her hair and the soap that accented her own natural scent and made it all the more intoxicating. He could feel her body . . . so close to his own.

"I see hell in your eyes.

Taken in by surprise.

Touching you makes me feel alive.

Touching you makes me die inside. . . .

"I've slept so long without you.

It's tearing me apart.

How did it get this far?

Playing games with this old heart.

I've killed a million petty souls.

But I couldn't kill you. . . .

"I've slept so long without you. . . ."

Pandora could feel Adrian's body pressed against hers, could hear him breathing. God, she could smell him, and his particular fragrance was something darkly rich, or was it richly dark? She lay her head back on his shoulder, baring her neck.

Adrian's breath and heart nearly stopped at the sight, as the blood lust reared its head once again. This time, he didn't even try to fight it, hypnotized by the rhythm of the music and drunk on his need for Pandora.

"(Touching you makes me die inside)

I see hell in your eyes.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Taken in by surprise.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Touching you makes me feel alive.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Touching you makes me die inside. . . ."

Adrian lowered his lips to Pandora's slender neck and softly kissed it. Pandora's only response was to wrap one arm around Adrian's neck from behind and press him closer. He sucked on her neck and then his fangs penetrated her neck. His lips remained attached to her neck, parting for him to drink Pandora's blood.

Pandora's moans of pleasure snapped him out of his trance.

"Adrian?" Pandora asked. "Why'd you stop?"

"I'm sorry," Adrian replied, his lips stained red with her blood. Fortunately for him, the flashing lights of the club concealed that fact. He detached himself from her and fled Dark Angel.

"(Touching you makes me die inside)

I see hell in your eyes.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Taken in by surprise.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Touching you makes me feel alive.

(Touching you makes me die inside)

Touching you makes me die inside."

Adrian retreated to the shadows cast by the club building, then collapsed into a sitting position against the wall. The music was so loud he could hear it perfectly through the walls. Then again, that may very well have been his supernatural hearing at work again. He even knew the song that was playing now, "Not Meant for Me," a third song from the aforementioned vampire movie.

"You think you're smart.

You're not.

It's plain to see,

That you want me to fall off.

It's killing me.

Let's see,

You got the gall.

Come take it all. . . ."

Adrian had never hated himself nearly as much as he did now. Pandora was someone he deeply cared about, and he had hurt her. Oh, she wasn't aware of what he'd been doing, and in a way he was grateful for that. If she had known what he'd done --- as she mostly certainly would after a good look in the mirror --- she would hate him.

"The jury is coming.

Coming to tear me apart.

All this bitching and moaning.

Come on, it's on. . . .

"I'm trapped in this world,

Lonely and fading,

Heartbroke and waiting,

For you to come.

We are stuck in this world

That's not meant for me,

For me. . . ."

The words cut through to his very core. This world wasn't meant for a thing like him.

So why did he exist? How had he come to exist as the demon creature he was now?

"So what you got?

One last shot.

It seems to me that you're not needed.

Come on, it's killing me.

Let's see, you got the gall.

Come take it all. . . ."

"Hello, Adrian," a voice said to him.

"Who's there?" Adrian asked. He sniffed the air. Despite the hatred he felt for the thing he had become, he couldn't deny that it came with some compensation. And what he smelled wasn't human, but it wasn't quite anything like what he was. He peered into the shadows, and saw a winged man. "You can come out. Not like I bite. Wait, I do." That last phrase was tinged with bitter, self-loathing sarcasm.

"The jury is coming.

Coming to tear me apart.

All this bitching and moaning.

Come on, it's on. . . ."

The winged man stepped out of the shadows, and Adrian found him to be undeniably striking in appearance. In fact, he supposed, one could find him beautiful. Adrian noticed that his wings were like an angel's, only silvery instead of white. He had night-black hair and gold eyes that shone with kindness.

Adrian looked more closely, and saw that another man, this one tall, muscular, and possessed of long silvery hair and golden eyes, accompanied him. He also noticed that he was unnaturally pale and didn't smell human.

"I'm trapped in this world,

Lonely and fading,

Heartbroke and waiting,

For you to come.

We are stuck in this world

That's not meant for me,

For me. . . ."

"So who are you, anyway?" Adrian asked.

"I am Janos Audron," the winged man replied. "My 'friend' here is Kain."

"Hello," Kain said.

"Yeah, hi," Adrian replied. "Wait. How do you know who I am?"

"I know a lot of things about you, Adrian," Janos replied. "Including why you have become what you are now."

"I don't get it," Adrian said. "I had this dream about this woman I met last night, one where we exchanged blood, and now I'm changing into something . . . not human."

"You're not a vampire, that's for sure," Kain said.

"Then why do I feel like I need to drink blood?" Adrian asked. " 'Cause I'm losing control of myself, and it's driven me to bite two women I love very much!"

"That dream you had was not a dream, and that woman was not a woman," Janos explained. "Your dream lover was actually a Hylden demon, and that dream was a fog placed over your mind to make you submissive to her."

"What's a Hylden?" Adrian asked.

"The Hylden are a race of demons that sought, and still seek, to dominate this world," Janos explained. "Millennia ago, in a land known as Nosgoth, the Hylden and my race, the Ancients, fought for the fate of this world. The ancients were triumphant, and we sealed away the Hylden with the magic of Nosgoth's pillars. As revenge, they cursed us to be rejected by the light and to feed off blood."

"Come on, it's on.

Come on, it's on.

Come on, it's on.

Come on, it's on. . . ."

"You mean that you became vampires," Adrian deduced.

"Yes," Janos replied. "That is how Kain exists as he is now."

"So you're a vampire," Adrian said to Kain.

"Yes, I am," Kain replied. He smirked. "Undead and loving it."

"I could tell you the history of our land and the history of the vampires, but that is largely unnecessary," Janos said. "The point is that the Hylden once again threaten to end the world as we know it . . . and remake it in their own vile image. We cannot allow that to happen."

"I'm trapped in this world,

Lonely and fading,

Heartbroke and waiting,

For you to come.

We are stuck in this world

That's not meant for me,

For me. . . ."

"What do I have to do with this?" Adrian asked.

"You are the Soul Reaver's destined wielder," Kain said. He removed a large sword from his back. It had a skull handguard and a blade that curved a few times before forming a straight point at the top.

"How did I get to be that thing's wielder?" Adrian asked, having already deduced that the sword Kain currently possessed was the Soul Reaver.

"Destiny has foretold it," Kain replied. "The Hylden know this and that is why they sent that harlot to seduce you and bind you to her. The more your new abilities grow, the closer you get to being one of them."

Janos walked to Adrian and moved to remove the studded collar from Adrian's neck. "What are you doing?" Adrian asked.

"I can't purify your blood if that neck ornament is blocking it," Janos replied as he unbuckled the collar and removed it. He tilted Adrian's head so that his neck was exposed and bit him. Adrian hissed in pain, then his thoughts began to blur into each other as a strange clouded euphoric feeling intruded.

"I'm trapped in this world,

Lonely and fading,

Heartbroke and waiting,

For you to come.

We are stuck in this world

That's not meant for me. . . ."

Once Janos had drained Adrian almost to death, he pulled away and bit his wrist, which bled a strange silvery-white fluid. "Now drink from me."

Adrian closed his mouth around Janos' wrist and drank his blood. It didn't taste like mortal blood. No, it tasted purer.

Janos began to tense, preparing to pull away from Adrian if necessary. After a while, he tugged at his wrist. Understanding the silent message, Adrian pulled away. He collapsed and began to contort in pain.

"What's happening?" Adrian asked.

"My blood is purifying you," Janos replied.

Adrian continued contorting, then struggled up onto his hands and knees as he felt an awful pain in his back, like something trying to tear its way out. Actually, it felt more like there were two somethings trying to tear their way out of his back.

Finally, crystal-feathered black wings tore out of his back, faintly bloodstained from their struggle to escape the confines of his body.

"For me.

For me."

"What just happened?" Adrian asked. He turned his head and saw his new wings. "What am I? Some kind of dark angel?"

"Yes and no," Janos replied. "You see, the vampires that we created after our transformation, and the vampires that were spawned from those firstborn, are a mixture of human and immortal. You, my child, are a mixture of light and dark, of holy and unholy, of heaven and hell. You are, now and forever, an angel of darkness."

Adrian saw his reflection in the Soul Reaver's blade. His skin was pale, as white as snow, or the moon, he faintly remarked. He also noticed that while he was far paler than a normal human being would be, Kain surpassed him in that area.

"How come you're paler than me, Kain?" Adrian asked.

"I'm older," Kain replied. "You see, in the beginning, vampires evolved in such a way that in time, they would look more like demons than human beings. After a number of millennia, we shed our evolutions. In fact, our only 'evolution' now, so to speak, is that our skin becomes whiter and harder as we grow older. But one thing has remained constant with us, the older we grow, the stronger our abilities become."

"What can we do?" Adrian asked. "As vampires, I mean."

"To begin with, we are far superior to mortals in terms of physical capability and perception," Kain explained. "I'm sure you noticed this, even in your prior state. Also, we have some telepathic power, that is, we can read thoughts, transmit thoughts, and even mesmerize others. As we grow older, these powers increase, and we even develop other abilities. The older vampires, like myself, can glide short distances, manipulate objects with the force of our thoughts, and we can even use a sort of invisible attack to bring death."

"How does this 'invisible attack' work?" Adrian asked.

"With vampires, the invisible strike ignites their blood and incinerates them," Kain replied. "With other creatures, their hearts and brains are fatally ruptured, causing them to bleed to death from the inside."

"And what are the weaknesses?" Adrian asked.

"I figured you were going to ask that," Kain replied. "You see, vampires cannot be killed by anything, save for what burns or what impales. Sunlight, water, and fire can all burn a vampire. At least, that is how it was in the beginning. Eventually, we learned to overcome the water. As it is, as we get older, exposure to the light of day becomes less lethal. But fire is always a threat."

"The eldest of the vampires are strongest," Janos replied, "but many of those first vampires are gone now. And now it is time. Kain, give him the Reaver."

Kain wordlessly gave Adrian the Soul Reaver. Upon grasping it, a sudden agony penetrated him. It made him scream. The Reaver itself shattered, leaving behind blue energy that swirled around him, raising him above the buildings. He remained suspended in the air for sometime, as the Reaver became a part of him, binding itself to his soul.

When the process was completed, he was lowered back to the ground. He raised his head . . .

. . . and his eyes were completely white, without pupil or iris.

To be continued . . .

End Notes: I think you know what's coming now. Raziel has arrived, and there's going to be some serious bloodshed in the next chapter. Till next time, vampire gamers.