Other Fan Fiction ❯ Yami Tenshi: Angel of Darkness ❯ Dark and Light Intertwined ( Chapter 4 )

"Yami Tenshi:

Angel of Darkness"

Chapter 4: "Dark and Light Intertwined"

Disclaimer: Raziel, Janos Audron, and Kain from the Legacy of Kain series are not mine. Rayne from BloodRayne is not mine, either. Everything else belongs to me, mostly.

Author's note: I'll probably end this story with the fifth or sixth chapter. I don't know. When I work on a saga, it tends to be pretty long. Anyway, Rayne and Raziel will fight --- and maybe have sex --- in this chapter. Let's continue, shall we?

Rayne smiled at Adrian, as if gratified by his confession.

"It's true," Adrian said. "I love her. Pandora and I have known each other since we were in kindergarten. The time we started high school was when she dyed her hair and went Goth. I recognized her immediately, though, and I just thought she looked cool."

"Lovely girl, isn't she?" Rayne asked.

"Yeah," Adrian replied. "I love her, but I'm not really sure about taking the next step. Y'know, from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend."

The phone rang. "I'll get it," Adrian said, getting up and picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Adrian," his mother said from the other end. "I'm on my way to the station, and you gotta go there too, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Adrian said. "I'll meet you there. Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Adrian," his mother said, and hung up. Adrian hung as well.

"So where do you gotta meet your mom?" Rayne asked.

"At the police station," Adrian replied. "To keep a long story short, I got into an ugly conflict and it turned out bad for both of us." He paused for a moment. "Y'know . . . I can't just leave you here . . ."

"I know," Rayne replied. "If your mom sees me here before you have a chance to explain, there's going to be a lot of trouble. So yeah, I'll come with you."

"Cool," Adrian said. He put on a black leather jacket and went out to his motorcycle, Rayne following. Adrian gave her a spare helmet and she put it on. Adrian put his helmet on and they climbed onto the motorcycle.

"I always liked motorcycles," Rayne said.

"You have one, too?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah," Rayne replied.

"Maybe we'll race some time, you and I," Adrian suggested, starting the motorcycle.

"Oooh, dangerous," Rayne said. "I like that in a man." This last part was said in a low, sexy voice.

"Let's go," Adrian said, pretending to pay no attention to Rayne's flirtatious comments. He drove to the police station. Once there, Rayne waited on a chair outside the police captain's office.

Inside, Adrian, his mother, and the captain were talking.

"You've got two choices, Adrian," the captain said. "You can either pay a $1,500 fine, or you can do 40 hours of community service."

Community service is not a good idea, Raziel said. We need our schedule to be free of unnecessary impediments so that we can be free to finish off the Hylden.

"The fine isn't beyond my means," Adrian's mother said. "We'll pay it."

"All right, then," the captain said. "One more thing."

"What is it?" Adrian's mother asked.

"The trial starts in three days," the captain replied. "Adrian, the defense attorney is going to go for you full force. He's relentless when it comes to defending his clients. But you have to stick to the truth of what happened, as exactly as you can remember it."

"Sure," Adrian said, "but we all know that Carter did try to kill me."

"Yes, that's true," the captain said. "The defense attorney can't deny that in any way, but what he can do is try to de-emphasize the seriousness of what he did. He'll argue that Carter felt that he was persecuted by you, and was driven to the edge of desperation."

"B.S.," Adrian replied. "Everyone at school knows Carter was paranoid when it came to his girlfriend. Despite the fact that I never had anything to do with her, or wanted anything to do with her, he persisted in believing that she and I had a thing going on. And he's going to argue that he felt persecuted by me?" He let out a short laugh. "You have a future in comedy, sir."

"I'm perfectly serious, Adrian," the captain said. "Though I do understand your viewpoint. And I'm also aware of the ridiculousness of the defense. Still, you must take this seriously."

"I know," Adrian said, any trace of cocky annoyance gone from his voice.

"In the meantime, you're free to go home," the captain said.

"Thank you," Adrian's mother said.

Meanwhile, Rayne was waiting impatiently outside the captain's office. Her supernatural hearing had caught everything that went on inside, though. According to the information she had garnered from that exchange, some jackass named Carter had tried to kill Adrian over apparently unfounded claims that Adrian was after his girlfriend.

Obviously, Adrian defended himself from Carter, or to be more accurate, beat the shit out of him for fucking with him in the first place, Rayne thought.

In the middle of her musings, the door opened, and Adrian and his mother stepped out.

"Thank God," Rayne said. "I was getting bored waiting for you, Adrian."

Adrian's mother glanced at her, then turned her eyes on Adrian. "Is she a friend of yours?" she asked him.

"Sort of," Adrian replied. "She's new at school."

"I'm Rayne," the fire-haired girl said.

"I'm Adrian's mother." (A/N: I have no need to say who said that, do I?)

"Do I call you Mrs. Evans?" Rayne asked.

"That would be all right," Adrian's mother said.

So Adrian's mother returned to work, and Adrian and Rayne returned to Adrian's home, where they finished their homework.

"Mind if I take you home?" Adrian asked.

"No problem," Rayne replied. "I'll give you the directions as we go along."

"Sure," Adrian said, getting on his motorcycle with Rayne. He started it up, and then rode to Rayne's house. Once he got there, he looked up at the house. It was a large, beautiful house not unlike Adrian's own house, or the houses he'd seen in his neighborhood. The house was colored beige-white with light red frames for the windows and front door. In the driveway, there was a black Mercedes. "So this is your house."

"I know," Rayne said. They got off the motorcycle, and removed their helmets.

"Should I go, or come in?" Adrian asked.

"Come in," Rayne answered.

"All right, then," Adrian said. They both entered and Rayne unlocked the door with a key from her pocket. Then she opened said door and entered, Adrian following.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home," Rayne called.

Adrian looked around, immediately realizing that they were in the living room, which was decorated with leather sofas, couches, and loveseats. It also had a soft red carpet covering the floor.

A man and woman, both in their early-to-mid-forties but seeming rather healthy, entered. Adrian faintly noticed that neither of them looked like Rayne at all.

So? Adrian reasoned to himself. Perhaps they adopted her. After all, no one would guess that my mother's my mother just by looking at us.

Yes, that's true, Raziel agreed. But I sense that there is much about this girl we don't know.

Did you try to look inside her head? Adrian asked. 'Cause I know we've got telepathic powers, too.

I didn't have to use them to look into her mind, Raziel replied. Just by the general psychic atmosphere around her, I could tell she's very guarded by nature. That kind of nature often leads to naturally strong mental defenses.

"Uh, Adrian?" Rayne asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Yeah, Rayne?" Adrian asked.

"I just got done introducing you to my parents," Rayne replied.

"Sorry," Adrian said to Rayne's supposed parents, bowing respectfully. "My mind must have been elsewhere. It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Locke."

"It's nice to meet you, Adrian," Mrs. Locke replied.

"So would you like to stay over so we could get to know each other better?" Mr. Locke asked.

"Yeah," Adrian replied. "May I call my mother so she doesn't get worried about me?"

"Sure," Mr. Locke said.

Adrian found a phone and dialed his mother's number. After two rings, she answered. "Hi, Adrian."

"Hi, Mom," Adrian said. "I'm going to be staying at Rayne's house for a while. Don't worry; I'm not sleeping over. We're just going to get to know each other better. Her parents are home, by the way, so it's not anything you might be thinking."

That was answered with a laugh on the other side. "Adrian, Adrian. You really think I'm the kinda mother who thinks her kid's off getting in trouble just because she's not there to watch over him? I trust you, Adrian."

"Thanks," Adrian replied. Then, just to rag on her a little, "But usually that's followed with ---" he made his voice as worried as possible "--- 'It's her I don't trust.'" He chuckled on the other end.

"Very funny, Adrian," his mother said. "Just for that, Rayne's parents better feed you, 'cause I won't." She chuckled. "Love you, Adrian."

"Love you, too, Mom," Adrian replied. "Bye."

"Bye," Adrian's mother said and hung up. Adrian hung up the phone as well.

Adrian smiled.

As Adrian made nice with Rayne and her parents, Raziel watched everything through his eyes. That was the fun part of being bonded to another, he supposed, being right in the middle of it all yet being able to stand back like a detached observer. And he was making many observations.

For example, Rayne and her parents didn't really seem that close. To his eyes, it was as if they were together solely by necessity, not actual affection or love. Then there was the matter of their behavior toward Adrian. Rayne's parents were friendly enough, but it looked like they were keeping too close an eye on Adrian. From a regular person's view, they just looked like a pair of somewhat overprotective parents making sure their little girl's new friend didn't have any less-than-savory intentions toward her. To Raziel's eyes, it looked as if they were a little too interested in Adrian.

Later on, Adrian was helping Mrs. Locke wash the dishes.

"Why, Adrian, it's very polite of you to help," she said.

"Thanks," Adrian replied.

"You're welcome," Mrs. Locke said.

Adrian couldn't help but sense that the last compliment was simple flattery, probably an attempt to win him over. But he couldn't let her see any hint of suspicion. No, he had to pretend that he had no idea as to the deeper meaning of it all.

You're learning, Raziel said.

After he was done washing the dishes, he said his good-byes to the Locke family and exited the house.

"Now let's see what they're up to," Adrian mumbled to Raziel. As he walked away from the house, he focused with his mind and made a silent link to Mrs. Locke. This particular link enabled him to perceive through her senses, not to actually look inside her mind.

"He's a nice boy, isn't he?" Mr. Locke commented.

"Yeah," Rayne said. "Hot, too."

"Nice and hot or not, he still possesses the powers of the Soul Reaver," Mrs. Locke said. "Let's not lose focus."

"We haven't lost our focus, Iriden," Mr. Locke replied.

"Well, we won't know what he's capable of until Rayne engages him in battle," Mrs. Locke, identified as Iriden, said.

"Fine," Rayne said.

"But the point is not to kill him, Rayne," "Mr. Locke" said. "We want him with us, not against us."

So they don't want to harm us, they want to recruit us, Raziel said to Adrian.

We've learned enough, Adrian said.

I suppose so, Raziel agreed and cut off the link. In the meantime, we should meet with Janos and Kain.

Adrian returned home briefly, just long enough to assure his mother that he was fine, then changed clothes. Now he was dressed in a sleeveless black shirt and black leather pants, with a studded belt, studded choker, studded bracelets, and two more belts wrapped around his left leg. With a good-bye to his mother, he exited the house. Once in the shadows, he let Raziel assume control of their shared body.

Raziel sprouted his wings and soared into the sky. He flew to an isolated mansion close to the outskirts of town. Once there, he landed and entered the mansion.

"Hello, Janos, Kain," he said.

"Hello, Raziel," Janos said politely.

"Greetings, Raziel," Kain said neutrally. "So what brings you here?"

"Adrian got himself a new classmate who has taken quite an interest in him," Raziel replied. "This interest is shared by her so-called parents. For some reason, they want Adrian to work with or for them. And they know about the Soul Reaver."

"This classmate," Janos said. "What is her name?"

"Rayne Locke," Raziel replied, "but I'm sure her last name is strictly an alias. In fact, I'm also certain that her parents aren't actually her parents at all, in either the biological or adoptive sense."

"Rayne . . ." Kain said to himself.

"Familiar, is she?" Raziel asked.

"She's a dhampire, Raziel," Kain replied.

"Dhampire?" Raziel asked. "You mean she has a vampire father and a human mother?" (A/N: Dhampires exist for this reason and this reason alone: Vampire females are not fertile. They can have sex, but they can't conceive children. Vampire males on the other hand are capable of siring children, but only with human females for the reason I already mentioned.)

"Yes," Kain confirmed. "In 1932, an American teenager was arrested for a series of gruesome murders all over Europe. She claimed that all the people she'd killed were vampires, and before the case could be settled, she vanished without a trace. Now, this girl works for the Brimstone Society, but only so they can lead her to her father, the vampire who raped her mother."

"She still looks like a teenager," Raziel said.

"Have all those millennia in the spectral realm eroded your brain?" Kain asked. "Dhampires are not strictly immortal, but they age far more slowly than humans do. Roughly, once they complete puberty, they'll age only one year for every five centuries of their life."

"Right now, she still has the appearance of a girl approximately sixteen or seventeen years old," Raziel said. "So if what you're saying is accurate, she'll only appear to be in her late twenties after six thousand years."

"Exactly," Kain said. "Dhampires can go on for an extremely long time. Oh, they'll still die eventually, but they're extremely long-lived."

"If that's the case, why don't we hear so much about them?" Raziel asked.

"Dhampires have all the powers of full-blooded vampires, but none of their weaknesses, except for the fact that they have to drink blood," Kain replied. "Also, they tend to migrate a lot. That's the price of being so long-lived; you can't stay in one place for too long or they'll get suspicious."

"Be careful of the Brimstone Society," Janos said. "If they intend to have you on their side, who knows to what lengths they'll go to ensure your cooperation?"

"I'll be careful," Raziel said. He exited the mansion and flew into the night --- to hunt. As he flew, he considered just who his prey should be. He couldn't be so thoughtless as to feed off just anyone; that might have worked back in the days of Kain's reign, but it wouldn't work now.

Find yourself a nice criminal, Adrian suggested. That is, if you wanna feel better about having to devour souls for nourishment.

I suppose that would be best, Raziel conceded.

Sure, Adrian said. Kinda freaks me out myself that I'm going to have to kill people to survive now. If I have to, though, I'd rather do some actual good while doing it.

And of course, when you drink the blood, you can always make it look like some other criminal killed your victim, Raziel added. If all else fails, we can always incinerate the body. No evidence for your police to trace back to us.

Speaking of that, I think we may have a prime target, Adrian said.

Raziel looked down, and saw a hooded man shove a young woman against an alley wall, holding a knife to her.

"Stay still and I won't hurt you," the man whispered. "Now, give me your purse!"

The woman, terrified, gave him her purse. The man looked through the purse, took out her wallet, and examined its contents.

"Heh, bet most of these credit cards haven't even been used yet," he remarked. "And what do we have here? A few hundred dollars. You get by all right, don't ya?"

The woman was too terrified to reply. The man put the wallet back in the purse.

"Still, I'm thinking you look kinda hot scared," the man continued. "So, you know what? I think I'm gonna take something else from ya."

With that, Raziel and Adrian knew exactly what this despicable creature wanted from his victim. Rage darkened their shared expression. Silently, they swooped down and landed behind the mugger/would-be rapist, retracting their wings as they did.

"Men like you disgust me," Raziel sneered. "You think you can take whatever you want from whomever you want. So much shit can change over a few thousand years, yet it can stay so very much the same."

"You lookin' to get dead, kid?" the man asked.

"I'm already dead," Raziel replied. "The only difference between you and me is that you're not going to get to experience the kind of death I live."

The man looked at Raziel, square in the eyes. "What the fuck's wrong with your eyes? Can you even see through those?"

"Yes, and I see many things," Raziel replied. "I see the woman you were about to violate for the sake of your own perverse wants. I see the others you've injured for the fulfillment of those same wants. I see a dead man standing right before me."

Raziel looked around, and saw that the woman had already fled.

"If anyone's dead, it's you, you fucked-up brat," the man challenged. "I can kill you and get to that bitch in no time."

"Then prove it, sir," Raziel sneered.

The man lunged at Raziel with his knife and tried to slash him. With the speed of light, Raziel dodged and grabbed the knife-holding hand, breaking its wrist and twisting the attached arm. He unceremoniously shoved the man to the ground, then pulled him back up by his collar.

"You think yourself a predator, when you're really just a weakling," Raziel said. He leaned over to whisper in his ear. "But I am the true hunter." Without any further ado, Raziel viciously bit right into the man's jugular vein, as violently as his victim had intended to victimize the young woman he had robbed. He eagerly drank the warm blood, and not just the blood, but also something else. As he drank the lifeblood from the man's veins, he also devoured his very soul.

Once finished, he dropped him. He was dead, no two ways about it. Raziel formed his telekinetic power into a blade and slashed the man's throat where he'd bitten him. There. If anyone saw his corpse, they'd think some mortal with a knife had killed him. He looked around and saw the purse. He slung it over his shoulder and leaped into the air, landing on the roof of the building next to him. He ran across the rooftops at incomprehensible speed, catching up to the woman he had saved within mere microseconds.

He jumped off the roof and landed in front of her. She let out a gasp of terror.

"Relax, it's only me," Raziel said.

"Sorry," the woman replied, catching her breath. "You startled me."

Raziel extended his hand, giving the purse he held to the woman it belonged to. "I believe this is yours, miss."

"Thank you," she said, taking the purse.

"Don't worry," Raziel said. "He didn't have the opportunity to take anything and even if he did it wouldn't have done him any good." He turned to walk away.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"It matters not," Raziel replied. "Go home."

Once he was in shadows, he let his wings sprout and flew in search of the next evildoer.

How ironic that it wasn't that many thousands of years ago that I wouldn't have cared at all, Raziel thought. I'd have just let him do what he wanted with her, then killed them both to satisfy myself. I sure have changed.

Perhaps it's just me, Adrian said.

Maybe, Raziel said.

Meanwhile, Raziel was being watched by a young woman in black-and-red leather. She kept to the shadows, but she knew that if he had cause to suspect something, he'd easily be able to find her.

"There you are," she said to herself. She scaled an alley wall, then ran across the rooftops, tracking her prey.

Her shadowing led her to two parked cars, one of which belonging to a police officer. Said police officer was questioning a sixteen-year-old girl in the other car. Said girl had another girl, slightly older, in a dead sleep in the passenger seat. Obviously passed out from too much drinking. Rayne listened to the conversation, her supernatural ears not missing a syllable.

"You don't have a license, do you?" the cop asked. "Not even a permit?"

"No," the girl admitted, shamefaced.

"What about the girl next to you?" the cop asked. "She have a license?"

"Yeah, she just turned 18, but she got drunk so I had to drive," the girl confessed.

"You do realize that driving without a license or a permit is a serious misdemeanor?" the cop asked. "However, there is a way you can get off clean."

"How?" the girl asked, hope in her voice and eyes.

That was when Rayne knew.

That bastard! she thought. He's going to make her let him fuck her so that she won't get into any trouble that would require the knowledge of her parents. Miserable pig. She leaped out of her hiding place and silently stalked toward him. Fortunately, she was adept enough at walking on spiked platform heels that she didn't make a single sound.

"Get out of the car," the cop ordered. The girl, in a mix of fear and resolution, stepped out of the car. "Turn around, hands on the car, and bend over."

The girl complied, and the cop leered when he saw that the girl's already very short skirt hiked up even further when she bent over. Rayne's hyper-acute eyes spotted the girl's thong panties.

The first thought that leaped through her head was, Royal purple. Silk. Nice. Despite the perverseness of said thought, she kept walking.

The cop began to unbutton his pants, stopped only by a crimson-nailed female hand.

"You know," Rayne said in a throaty, sensual voice, "you need a woman to get you off, not a helpless little girl."

The cop looked her up and down, starting with the black ribbons in her scarlet hair. His eyes soon moved down to her crystal jade ones, then down to her full red lips. They moved further downward to her tight leather bodice, which emphasized her breasts and waist, and down to the toned stomach exposed by said bodice. Further down the cop's eyes traveled, taking note of her leather pants, which had a sewn-in crotch.

He looked back up at her. "You some kind of hooker?"

Rayne smirked devilishly. "No." She flicked her wrist, letting the blade resting on her arm swing on its hinge into killing position.

"What the fuck is that?" the cop asked.

"You like putting it in little girls?" Rayne asked, smiling a poisoned smile. "You like making them suck it?" The smile turned deadly, and a killing light entered her eyes. "Suck this." She pushed the blade right into his gut, running him through. She turned to the girl and whispered one word.

"Run."

The girl pushed her skirt back down, got back into the car, started it and drove away as fast as she could.

As for Rayne, she smiled. She hadn't impaled the perverted cop right in his liver or any other vital organs, but he was definitely going to die from all that internal bleeding he was doing now. Just not before she got what she came for.

Keeping the blade in him, Rayne leaned over and kissed his neck before piercing the jugular vein with her fangs. She drank deeply, moaning in an ecstasy akin to orgasm as she drank. Once she'd had enough, she released him, pulling the blade out as she did. She smirked wickedly as his blood gushed out of the wound she had created. She lifted her blade to her lips and licked off the blood that currently stained it.

"Well, well, well," a familiar yet unfamiliar voice said. "No wonder I suspected something was off about you."

Rayne looked up and smiled, seeing the boy she'd met this morning. He was dressed to kill in sexy black leather with buckles and studs adorning it. But she couldn't help but notice something very unusual about him. His scent was the same as it had been when she'd first met him, but his stance, the way he moved --- it was definitely not the same person.

Then she saw his eyes. When she'd met him, they'd been a brooding, soulful emerald green. Now they were a cold blank white color, without iris or pupil.

Definitely not the same person, Rayne thought. But it's the same face, same body, and same scent. Even the same voice, but it doesn't really sound like him. Then the answer came to her. Some kind of demon or spirit was currently using his body. Nothing new to her; she'd encountered similar cases of possession before in her missions from the Brimstone Society.

"You're the one with the Soul Reaver, aren't you, pretty boy?" Rayne said.

"That I am," "Adrian" replied. "Mind telling me why you killed a cop?"

"I don't plan on explaining myself to you," Rayne replied. She flicked her other wrist, and the blade on that arm swung on its hinge, locking into killing position.

"Nice blades," "Adrian" said. "Impressive craftsmanship. Must've cost some major coin." He smiled, revealing fangs. "Wish to see my blade?" That said, blue energy swirled around his arm, forming into an ethereal sword blade.

"The Soul Reaver," Rayne said to herself. Then to the creature who currently bore Adrian's face and form, "Cool blade."

"I'm glad you approve," "Adrian" replied.

"Let's dance," Rayne said and lunged at him with blinding speed, her blades out and ready to skewer him. "Adrian" blocked with the Soul Reaver. Rayne's response was to swing her leg between them and kick him hard in the gut, hard enough for her heel to pierce his gut. "Adrian" didn't even seem to notice or care at all. Then she saw why.

Almost as soon as the wound had been made, it had sealed itself again!

Shit, Rayne thought. Just then, she was lashed by the Soul Reaver. She gasped in shock and surprise, feeling a piece of herself being drained into the Reaver. Determined to win, she made a fast strike with her blades, tearing his shirt and the flesh beneath it. To no avail, though, as the wounds sealed themselves.

Keep going, whoever the hell you are, Rayne thought. Just keep pushing; see what happens to you.

"You're good," "Adrian" said.

"Thank you," Rayne replied. "So are you. But you wanna know the difference between you and me, kid?"

"What?" "Adrian" asked, faintly curious.

"I've got decades of combat experience over you," Rayne replied. "You might be stronger, but I've got tricks you've never heard of. Tricks that could snap you in two."

"Decades, huh?" "Adrian" asked. "That's nothing to someone who has been around for centuries."

"Centuries?" Rayne echoed. "How the fuck could you be around for that long?" She scoffed. "Of course. You're not Adrian at all. You're just some demon or spirit or whatever using his body."

"No, vampire wraith," the entity replied. "I'm a vampire, but also a disembodied spirit. You see, since Adrian took the Soul Reaver and its power, he and I have been eternally joined."

"So what?" Rayne asked.

"The Soul Reaver is my weapon, and now that Adrian and I are merged, the weapon belongs to us both," the spirit-vampire replied.

"What's your name?" Rayne asked. "I can't call you Adrian because I know damn well that you're not him, and I can't just call you 'spirit boy.' Actually, I think I will, spirit boy."

"The name's Raziel," the spirit-vampire replied, smiling. "And I know who you are, Rayne."

"Bring it on, spirit boy," Rayne challenged.

Raziel smirked. "Fine."

Thus the battle continued. They fought for what seemed like forever, striking, slashing, dodging, blocking, and countering. Finally, their fight was interrupted by a female voice saying, "Enough, BloodRayne."

Both Rayne and Raziel turned to see the owner of that voice. Iriden.

"That is enough, Rayne," Iriden said. "We've seen enough of his abilities." To Raziel, "Your speed, strength, and grace are incredible to behold. As is your weapon, the Soul Reaver."

"You're from the Brimstone Society," Raziel said.

"Of course," Iriden asked. "Come with me, Reaver of Souls. I will explain all in due time."

To be continued . . .

End Notes: All right, all right. So Rayne and Raziel still haven't done it yet. But we got to the fight scene, and that's good. Expect things to wrap up in either the next chapter or the one immediately following it.