Yami Tenshi:

Angel of Darkness

Chapter 3: "Soul Reaver Reborn"

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the Legacy of Kain games, or from the game BloodRayne, do not belong to me. Everyone and everything else is original.

Author's note: Now we're getting somewhere. Janos and Kain are in town, and Raziel has just arrived, so you know there's going to be plenty of bloodshed. And even more when our deadly and delectable vampire huntress Rayne enters the scene.

Timeline: This is set in modern-day America.

"Adrian" smiled. "I'm back."

"Yes, you are, Raziel," Janos said. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has," Raziel replied. "Millennia, if my memory serves me correctly. But then, you don't really get much of an idea of the passage of time when most of your soul is trapped in a sword and what's left is floating in the spectral plane."

Raziel began to touch his --- no, Adrian's --- face, feeling the unfamiliar contours. "So this is the boy to whom I am now eternally bound." He looked at Kain. "Hello, my maker . . . and my destroyer."

"Raziel . . ." Kain replied, smiling faintly. "Still bearing a grudge?"

"Of course, you bastard," Raziel replied. "Your greed and power lust condemned me to my fate."

"Yes, but you were the one who killed yourself, so to speak," Kain retorted. "And you know as well as I do that without a past, you have no future."

"Enough," Janos said. "The threat of the Hylden has returned."

"I know," Raziel said. "I have seen this boy's memories. I know that Hylden bitch infected him with her evil and that you gave him your blood to prevent him from fully becoming one of them. I even know that thanks to you, this new body of mine is more powerful than my old one."

"Yes, it is," Janos agreed. "In fact, it is so powerful that the weaknesses of the vampire do not afflict it at all. The only thing you truly need to fear is the fire."

"Yes," Raziel said in acknowledgement. "The blood thirst is strong in this body, but it isn't 'thirst.' It is more akin to wanting fine wine even when you've already had water, only amplified a hundredfold. However, the thirst for souls is stronger in me."

"Then go, Raziel," Janos said. "Explore this city. Learn this new world's ways."

Raziel glided into the night sky on black crystal wings, exploring the city. Such unusual splendor! It was easy to see why the so-called "skyscrapers" had been given their name. If you looked at them from the ground, it was like you could touch the heavens if you went to their very top. People traveled in sleek creations of metal and plastic that moved on wheels, or gathered in large numbers on transports made of chains of smaller vessels. If they wished to, they could actually take to the sky inside metal creations that had wings like birds.

And the people themselves were remarkable, healthy and vibrant, untouched by famine or plague. They had invented such wonderful things!

He searched Adrian's memory for what they were called. Ah, yes. People watched stories, whether they were real or imaginary, unfold on screens built into boxes they called televisions. They used similar screens known as computers, but they could interact with them, affecting the information that went in or came out. They could even interact with each other through the Internet, a network that connected people all over the world together through computers.

Raziel swooped lower and landed on a building. He saw people coming and going, and the people that exited the building were carrying bags filled with goods. He searched Adrian's memory once again and learned that this building he was crouched on was called a mall, a place filled with various stores that sold various products. One store could sell clothing, another could sell games, yet another could sell toys, and there were even stores that allowed you to buy recorded music and images. Again, he searched Adrian's memory and learned the names of the disks that contained recorded music and images: CDs and DVDs.

Such a wondrous new era, free of the decay that Kain's selfishness and greed had visited upon the world that he had known.

Raziel took to the sky again and flew to a place called a theater. According to Adrian's memory, it was a place where recorded images could be seen in front of a large gathering of people. Those images, he discovered, were movies. He wanted to see one of them, but remembered that the people of this time no longer lived in fear or resigned knowledge of supernatural creatures like himself. In fact, they weren't even aware that such creatures existed anymore!

He began to focus, willing his wings to disappear back into his body. Now looking like any other mortal, he jumped down and blended in with the mortals entering the theater. He remembered that his eyes were probably blank white like they had been when he'd been transformed into the Reaver of Souls, but then, the mortals of this time went to great lengths to look different. He ought to look no different from them.

Raziel looked at the list of movies, and saw one that particularly intrigued him. It was a movie called X2: X-Men United. He searched Adrian's memory again, and found that it was the sequel to a rather successful film that had been released in the year 2000, a film based on a series of books made of sequential pictures about a team of "super heroes" who were outcasts among normal humans because of genetic differences, the same differences that gave them their powers. Instead of using their power to harm the humans who feared them, they sought to teach the humans to understand and tolerate them, not fear and hate them. Raziel also remembered that Adrian was a fan of the X-Men, and routinely collected their comics. He also seemed to be a fan of a colorfully clad super hero who climbed walls like a spider and fought crime.

Uh-uh, he heard a voice say.

Is that you, Adrian? Raziel asked in his mind.

No, it's the freaking Tooth Fairy, the voice replied sarcastically. Of course, it's Adrian, you undead nitwit! And by the way, we're not watching X2 without my friends being there to enjoy it with me, got it?

Ah, your friends, Raziel said. I understand that you care deeply for them. Especially the pretty one with the hair of amethyst.

Yeah, but not in the way you're thinking, Adrian contradicted.

Do not deceive me, Adrian, Raziel intoned. It's foolish to try. I'm bonded to you, to your very soul. Everything you've ever felt and experienced is an open book to me.

Just don't do anything unusual while you're using my body, all right? Adrian requested. If we mention anything about our bond, people will simply think I have multiple personality disorder and they'll put me in a mental asylum. By the way, this time isn't the utopia you think it is.

Yes, I know, Raziel replied sadly. This time is fraught with danger and suffering, as much as my time was. The causes are different and far more pervasive, I've noticed. Children are abused by those that gave them life, women are violated by men or forced to service them for money, people turn to crime to survive in a world where they have nothing, greedy men become richer at the expense of the poor, evil men prey on the innocent, and religious fanatics kill in the name of their god.

Sucks, doesn't it? Adrian said. And yet, it's our world, no matter what time we come from. We gotta do everything we can to save it, right?

You're right, Adrian, Raziel agreed.

Just then, the ticket person interrupted their conversation. "Sir, have you decided which movie you are going to see?"

Raziel cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said, and departed. Once he was out of the sight of mortals, he willed his wings to sprout and he took to the sky once again.

Just where the hell was that Hylden whore, anyway?

"A whore, am I?" a familiar voice said. "My, Adrian, your opinion of me has changed in such a short time. You've been talking to Janos and Kain, haven't you?"

Raziel looked down and saw Lilin, standing on top of a skyscraper, wearing a leather top that was held together by little metal hooks on the side with complementary leather pants.

"Or is it that you're not exactly the sweet boy I seduced last night?" Lilin asked, looking up at him.

Raziel landed on the skyscraper, some distance away from Lilin.

"Hello, Hylden wench," he said.

"Hello, pawn," Lilin replied. "That is what you are, Raziel. A pawn. First, you were a pawn of those Sarafan fools, then a pawn of Kain, then after his condemnation of you, a pawn of the Elder God, then a pawn of Moebius. And now it seems this process will be repeated with your soul partner."

"You're going to die, bitch," Raziel sneered.

"You first," Lilin replied. A bony protrusion emerged from just above her exposed navel. She grabbed it and pulled on it, groaning as she did, but Raziel couldn't tell if those were groans of pain or pleasure. The more she pulled, the more obvious it became what she was pulling out of herself. A sword.

"You wanna play with swords? Fine," Raziel said. "I can play, too." He extended his arm and blue energy formed rings around his forearm, becoming a sword. The Soul Reaver in its spiritual state, as an extension of his own soul.

"Let's do this," Lilin said and ran at him with her sword. Raziel countered with the Soul Reaver. The two fighters, demon and dark angel, pushed against each other. Finally, they broke away and Lilin went at Raziel again. This time, the Reaver of Souls simply sidestepped the sword thrust.

Raziel then thrust the Reaver at Lilin, who blocked with her sword. Their respective swords clashed against each other, wraith against demon metal. Finally, Raziel tried a surprising tactic. He simply dropped his sword arm. Lilin slashed with her sword, intending a killing blow. Raziel dropped underneath her blade and kicked her feet out from under her. Lilin merely turned her fall into a backwards flip, getting back on her feet.

"You're good," Raziel said. "Problem is, I'm better."

"We'll see," Lilin retorted, and the fight resumed. This time, they weren't just using their swords; they were also fighting with their bodies. The fight seemed to go on forever.

Finally, it began to rain. It started with a drizzle, then became a little rain, then finally a downpour. Thunder boomed in the distance. Raziel smiled, getting an idea.

It'll only have a chance of working if lightning strikes here, he thought. And what are the chances of that happening?

"Are you thinking of how you're going to die, pretty one?" Lilin asked mockingly.

"No," Raziel replied, rising to his --- no, Adrian's --- full height. "I'm thinking of how I'm going to kill you." He heard thunder very close to where he and Lilin were fighting. I have to take this opportunity now. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place.

Raziel raised the Soul Reaver and lightning struck it, charging it with its power. Once the Reaver had absorbed all the lightning, it became electric blue, with white sparks flashing in it.

"This, my dear dead Hylden bitch, is the Lightning Reaver," Raziel said. "And it's time this fight ended."

Lilin charged at Raziel. This time, he struck her with the Lightning Reaver, its power having enabled him to move at even greater speeds than before.

"How did you do that?!" she asked, feeling like she had just been struck by lightning.

"The Lightning Reaver enables me to move at the speed of lightning itself, and that is 129 million miles per second," Raziel replied. "With that kind of speed, I'm pretty much invincible. Too bad for you." He lunged at her with the Lightning Reaver and impaled her on it, its electrical force burning her from the inside out. Once her soul tried to escape from her body, he consumed it. "Ahhhh. That's much better."

Can we go home now? Adrian asked. After all, it's probably past my curfew by now. And I'm probably to be grounded for life for coming home late!

Relax, Adrian, Raziel admonished. We will be home in less than the blink of an eye.

Using the powers of the Lightning Reaver, Raziel flew to Adrian's home with the speed of lightning. He landed between houses, and fortunately for him, the rain obscured him enough to render him unnoticeable, given his dark clothes. He willed his wings to slide back into his body. He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, they were green.

Adrian had resumed control of his body.

Adrian let himself inside, expecting to be confronted by a very peeved mother. That wasn't what he got, though.

He sniffed the air. He could detect his own scent, and his mother's, but it was merely the scent that one left behind after departing from a place. So she wasn't there currently.

He walked to the phone and saw the answering machine's light blink. There was a new message. He pressed the button to hear the message.

"Hi, Adrian. It's your mother. After you left, I decided I could use a break from worrying about Jake Carter and I'm out with my co-worker Sylvia. You remember her, right? Anyway, here's hoping you're home safe now instead of out in the rain getting wet. See you tomorrow morning . . . you'll probably be asleep by the time I get back home."

Adrian sighed in relief. If his mother had still been home when he'd gotten back, and considering it was a quarter to midnight, he would've been in a world of trouble. That said, he went up to his room, removed his drenched clothes, put on his sleeping pants, and crawled into bed for a good night's sleep.

Such an amazing invention the telephone is, Raziel thought as Adrian's mind slept. With it, mortals can communicate with each other in real time from miles, continents, even oceans away. They have a similar invention on the Internet, called an Instant Messenger, I think.

Somewhere in Europe . . .

A group of cloaked figures sat at a table, waiting for someone.

Just then, a tall girl --- no, young woman --- wearing a black leather duster closed over her figure entered the headquarters.

"Hello, Rayne," one of the cloaked people said. "We've been waiting for you."

"Yeah, yeah," Rayne replied, rolling her eyes. She removed her duster and discarded it, revealing a black-and-red leather bodice and black leather pants with red-sided thighs and a sewn-in crotch, the outfit held together by garters between the bodice and pants. The outfit was accented by spiked platform heels and black ribbons in her short, fire-red hair. "What's my mission now?"

"An interesting new phenomenon has occurred in the United States," the cloaked man said.

"What?" Rayne asked, apparently bored.

"A vampire of unusual lineage and power has been born in America," a cloaked woman said. "He is a newborn, and yet he is every bit as powerful as an ancient vampire, partly due to the fact that he has inherited a weapon called the Soul Reaver. In fact, like you, he can walk in daylight."

"And I should be concerned about him because . . ." Rayne started, clearly uninterested.

"This fledgling is the child of both Janos Audron and a Hylden demon," the cloaked woman finished.

"Who's Janos Audron and why should I care?" Rayne asked.

"Janos Audron is the last of the first vampires," a second cloaked man explained. "He was once a semi-divine being called, for lack of a better name, an Ancient. He and his people banished a demonic race known as the Hylden from Earth many millennia ago and as revenge, Hylden sorcerers cursed them to hide from the light and feed off blood to survive. But that is not the point. The point is that a Hylden female seduced this boy who now has the Soul Reaver and gave him her demonic blood, which would have eventually made him more demon than human. Fortunately or unfortunately, Janos was elevated to fallen angel some thousands of years ago and he found this boy and gave him his own blood to prevent such a transformation. What resulted was the creation of a new kind of vampire, a vampire that would be, for all intents and purposes, immune to the inherent weaknesses of vampire-kind."

"So you mean to tell me that there's a vampire teenager in the States, with all the power of an ancient vampire and the Soul Reaver?" Rayne asked. "Hey, wait. What the hell is a Soul Reaver?"

"The Soul Reaver takes the souls of whomever it cuts," the cloaked woman replied. "In its spiritual form, it is bonded to its wielder's soul."

"And what the fuck do you want me to do about this kid?" Rayne asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

"We wish him no harm," a second cloaked woman replied. "We wish to study his abilities and offer him a place with us."

"Oh, so this is going to be a diplomatic thing," Rayne said. "I hate diplomacy. So hard being nice."

"There may very well be some physical confrontation," the first cloaked man said. "But only to examine his powers for ourselves."

"How do you expect me to get close to him?" Rayne asked.

The first cloaked man slid a folder to Rayne, who picked it up. "Read the contents of the folder and you'll have all you need to know."

Rayne looked inside and saw a picture of a platinum-blond boy with brooding, soulful green eyes. "Cute kid," she commented. "Is this the same kid you were talking about?"

"Yes," the first cloaked woman replied. "His name is Adrian Evans. If you look more closely inside the folder, you'll see what you need to get close to him."

Rayne looked further inside the folder. "Transcripts? For school?"

"Yes," the first cloaked woman confirmed. "Your story is that you're a transfer student by the name of Rayne Locke. You'll be in almost every single one of Adrian's classes, enough so that you have a chance of getting close to him."

"School," Rayne said. "You do realize I don't play well with others."

"You should fit right in," the second cloaked woman said. "Lots of teenagers are like you --- antisocial and disaffected with society."

"Fine," Rayne said. "When do I leave?"

"Tonight," the second cloaked man replied. "You'll arrive just in time to go to school, while we set up everything for you."

"So who are my 'parents' going to be?" Rayne asked.

"Iriden and I will pose as your parents," the first cloaked man replied, gesturing to the first cloaked woman, identifying her as Iriden.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rayne asked.

The next morning, Adrian woke up. Was it all some freaky dream? he asked himself. But it wasn't. The unnatural paleness of his skin and the fangs he felt in his mouth told him so. The new powers surging through his body told him that as well, as did his newfound partner.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Was there even a point to brushing his teeth? After all, wouldn't the dark blood simply cleanse his body of any impurities that would contaminate it in any manner? He parted his lips to reveal his teeth and saw the fangs in his mouth.

Toothpaste, Raziel said in his mind. You mortals love to keep every part of your bodies clean, don't you?

Yes, we do, Adrian replied. And since we have indoor plumbing, we can clean ourselves whenever we like.

Wondrous things mortals have created, when they wish to make their lives easier, Raziel said.

After brushing his teeth, Adrian removed his sleeping pants and stepped into the shower, then turned the knobs for the shower, adjusting them until they were just the right temperature. He stood underneath the water and let it cleanse him.

Water no longer burns, Raziel said. Of course, after I killed my brother Rahab and absorbed his powers, water never burned me.

I know, Adrian replied. Our bond is a two-way street, Raziel. What I know, you know. And what you know, I know. We can keep no secrets from each other.

After a shower that lasted a maximum of ten minutes, Adrian got out of the shower and dried himself off. Putting on a robe, he returned to his room and dressed himself. Of course, he did this after putting on deodorant.

Ah, deodorant, Raziel said. So mortals have figured out a way to keep themselves from smelling bad when they exert themselves. Interesting. Mortals today are so obsessed with keeping up a pleasant and attractive appearance.

Maybe because most of them don't have to worry about vampires preying on them at night, Adrian replied.

Yes, Raziel conceded. Lack of fear has left humans freer to create, to invent. Unfortunately, it has also left them freer to degrade themselves and others.

The clothes Adrian had picked out for the day were simply a black shirt and jeans, along with black sneakers. After brushing his hair, he walked downstairs to eat breakfast with his mother. After doing that, he got on his motorcycle and drove to school.

Wouldn't it be safer to drive a car? Raziel asked. At least in a car, you would be far safer from injury.

Yeah, right, Adrian replied. More likely, I'd be trapped in the damn thing if it crashed and I'd end up in a hospital or dead. Of course, there's no real chance of either happening now. Besides, on a motorcycle, you have the option of ditching it quickly if you can't avoid a crash. Also, that's why I'm wearing the helmet, to protect my head from getting bashed in the event of an accident.

Finally, Adrian was at school, where he met up with T.K., Keith, and Pandora.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey, Adrian," T.K. said.

"Hi, Adrian," Keith said.

"Hello, Adrian," Pandora said.

Out of sheer morbid curiosity, Adrian looked at Pandora's neck and noticed a black chiffon scarf covered it.

"Of course, I had to cover my neck," Pandora said. "After all, that was some hickey you gave me last night." She caught the remorseful expression on his face. "Don't worry. It was a heat of the moment thing; I understand."

"Oh, I think something more happened than a simple 'heat of the moment' reaction," Keith said.

"Yeah," T.K. agreed. "I think you two are seriously into each other, and that's why everything that happened between you two at the club last night happened."

"Says you," Adrian said.

"Yeah, 'says me,'" T.K. said. "And you both know I'm right."

"We should get to class," Pandora suggested. "We don't want to be late for homeroom."

When the quartet got to their classroom, they found an unexpected surprise.

Standing at the front of the classroom was a girl with flame red hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a stunningly gorgeous figure. Said figure was accented by a black mesh/leather shirt over a black halter top and hip-hugging leather pants, with spike-heeled black boots. Despite her obvious beauty, there was something about the girl that was almost forbidding.

The teacher then began to speak to all the students. "This is your new classmate, Rayne. She's a recent transfer and will be staying the rest of this school year."

"Hi," Rayne said. Her voice was low, dark, and sensuous. And apparently, along with her body, catnip to certain oversexed teenage boys (and maybe a few lesbian or bisexual girls).

"Rayne, could you take a seat behind and to the immediate left of Adrian?" the teacher asked.

"Which one's Adrian?" Rayne asked.

"Adrian, could you please raise your hand?" the teacher asked.

Adrian raised his hand, and the teacher glared at all the boys to keep them from trying to raise their hands just so that Rayne could get a seat near them. Rayne herself took the empty seat in the immediate upper-left-hand radius of Adrian.

"And after class, could you show Rayne around the school, Adrian?" the teacher asked.

"Sure," Adrian replied. He noticed that his hypersensitive nose had caught a strange scent from Rayne. It didn't quite smell human, nor did it quite smell like a vampire. Rather, it smelled like honey, with the metallic tinge of blood. What is she? She's not human, but she's not a vampire, either.

After class was over, Adrian showed Rayne around the school.

"We've got all the classrooms, but what's the point of showing them to you when they're all the same?" Adrian asked rhetorically. "On the upside, we've got the chemistry lab, where we occasionally get to mix dangerous chemicals and potentially kill or injure people with them."

"Sounds like fun," Rayne said, her voice a dark monotone.

"Then we've got the gym," Adrian continued. "Purgatory to those of us who have no physical talent or endurance." He smirked, hiding his fangs carefully. "Not that I'm one of them. The gym's also the place for the basketball team to practice and play their games. Of course, it's also the practice room for the cheerleaders."

Rayne caught the sneer in his voice upon the word "cheerleaders." She allowed him to continue.

"We've got the lunchroom, where all beings great and small congregate for the sole purpose of eating," Adrian said, introducing her to the lunchroom. He took her to the auditorium. "There's the auditorium, where everybody congregates for boring and pointless assemblies. Assemblies." He laughed. "Sometimes, I think that assemblies are nothing more than an excuse for 'asses' to come together."

"You have a perverse sense of humor," Rayne said.

"That I do," Adrian said. "At least the plays are somewhat interesting." He moved on to the swimming arena. "And here is the swimming pool, where the swim team practices and competes." He took Rayne to the art room. "There's the art room, where we're encouraged to express ourselves through our artwork."

"I don't think I have much to express," Rayne said.

"B.S.," Adrian said. "Everyone's got a part of themselves they express through something they like." He moved to the computer lab. "Here is the computer lab, purgatory to those who think themselves 'above' such 'nerdy' practices as being good with computers. Idiots. They won't succeed in the real world with that attitude."

"Yeah," Rayne agreed sulkily. "Damn near everything relies on those computers."

"Ironically enough, they pressure the so-called 'nerds' into doing all that stuff for them," Adrian added. "The way I see it, they're just too lazy to give a crap about computers and pass it off as being 'too cool' for it. Now let's move on, before I start ranting about those jackasses." He showed her around some more, until he finally reached his next class. "I guess this is where we part."

"Not quite," Rayne said. "This is my next class, too."

"Oh," Adrian said.

At lunch, there was a quiet uproar about Rayne. The boys obviously thought she was hot, and the jocks were talking about "scoring" with her. The girls seemed largely envious and that envy made them somewhat spiteful.

So this is what a high school is like, Raziel said. Filled with frustrated youths constantly trying to survive by going unnoticed, giving in to their "superiors," or by elevating themselves above the others through beauty, athletic talent, or intimidation.

Yup, Adrian confirmed. Perfect summary of high school, and those really are most kids' only options here. Me, I prefer to go for the fourth option.

Make it clear, sometimes painfully so, that you're not going to stand for any disrespect, Raziel clarified. Or to put it in the vernacular of today, "Take shit from no one. Stand up for yourself."

Exactly, Adrian agreed.

"Yo, Adrian," Keith said, waving a hand over his eyes.

"What is it, Keith?" Adrian asked.

"Are you all right?" Keith asked. "You just zoned out there for a minute."

"Sorry," Adrian replied. "Had a lot on my mind."

"Would 'a lot' be code for a tall, leather-clad, and gorgeous new girl in our class?" T.K. asked snidely.

"I don't like her in that way," Adrian replied.

"Be sure to tell Pandora that," T.K. suggested, still snide. "She might get jealous if she thinks you've got a thing for Rayne."

After school was over for the day, Rayne came up to Adrian as he was packing his backpack. "Something I can do for you, Rayne?"

"Yes, there is," Rayne replied. "Could you take me to your place so we can study together?"

"Sure," Adrian said.

"Cool," Rayne said. She pulled out a cell phone. "Just let me call my parents." She hit a button on her speed-dial and was soon talking to someone Adrian assumed to be her mother or father. The call was brief and Rayne hung up. "They're cool with it."

Adrian got on his motorcycle and slipped on the helmet, with Rayne right behind him. "Hold on tight," he said.

Rayne wrapped her arms around Adrian's waist and held on as he drove to his house.

"Here's my house," Adrian said upon parking his motorcycle. He removed his helmet, as did Rayne. They walked up to the front door and Adrian used the duplicate house keys his mother had given him to open the door.

"Nice place," Rayne said as they walked inside.

"Thanks," Adrian said. "My mom won't be back for a couple of hours, so we have the house to ourselves until then."

That said, the two teens began to do their homework. After over an hour's worth of time, Adrian spoke first. "So where'd you transfer from?" he asked.

"London," Rayne replied.

"What's London like?" Adrian asked.

"It's ok," Rayne replied. "Kinda stale compared to here, though. What about you? Why didn't you mention your dad?"

"He's dead," Adrian stated simply. "Has been since I was six years old. Mom says I look a lot like him. Well, except for our hair. We're both blond, but his was golden and mine's platinum."

"You sure you didn't just dye your hair?" Rayne asked.

"My hair's been like that since I was born," Adrian replied. "Well, not really. Every baby starts out blond and blue-eyed, but that changes when they get older. In my case, I stayed blond but it got really pale, and my eyes are green."

"Yeah, like emeralds," Rayne said.

"Yours, too," Adrian said. "Though they remind me more of green crystal than emeralds."

"Are you flirting with me, Adrian?" Rayne asked coyly.

"Who knows?" Adrian retorted lightly. "Are you flirting with me?"

Rayne smiled. "You have any idea how many girls in our school would kill for a chance to be this close to you? To be in your house with you?"

"I prefer not to think about it that much," Adrian replied. "Besides, they're all just infatuated with me. I want a girl who'll be interested enough in getting to know me. And, a girl who interests me enough for me to want to do the same."

"Any particular girl in mind?" Rayne asked, smiling.

"Not really," Adrian said, half lying and half uncertain if he was telling the truth.

"What about that girl you always hang out with?" Rayne asked.

"Pandora?" I asked.

"Yes, Pandora," Rayne replied. "I see the way she looks at you. I see the way you look at her. You want her, admit it."

"Fine," Adrian conceded. "If you must know, I've been in love with Pandora for a few years now."

To be continued . . .

End Notes: Sorry to end it there, but it was getting to be really long. So I'm going to continue where I left off in part 4. There, you'll see for yourself whether a dhampire female or an ancient soul-devouring vampire is stronger. You can review to vote for who should win: Rayne or Raziel.