Black Roses (Mature)

"Mama!," cried the girl with a laugh. "Where are you mama?" The girl could not have been more than seven years of age. A long flowing dress that fell to her ankles waved around her as she ran through the house. "Mama!" Stopping short, the girl looked around and frowned lightly, muttering, "Mama...? This isn't fun anymore Mama... where are you?"

"She's sleeping now, child."

The girl jerked around to face the figure that had spoken, and stepped back against the wall. Sitting on the couch, was a young male figure, long black hair tied back into a ponytail, with his bangs hanging down the sides of his face, framing it eerily. The man leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. Laying at his feet was the girl's mother, struggling for breath and twitching.

"Mama!," the girl cried, starting forward.

The man raised his hand and shook a finger, whispering, "No, child. No. Your mother has many things to tell me. And you're coming with us."

Suddenly, the girl gasped as she was snatched up from behind, drug up by her hair.

----------

"Where's my daughter!," the woman screamed, beating her fists against the stone walls of her cell. "Where the hell is she, you monsters!"

"Patience. You will have your daughter when you tell us what we want to know," said the man from earlier, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, one of his legs crossed over the other, with his hands folded comfortably in his lap. The woman jerked around as if slapped and screeched at the man, falling back and throwing her head against the wall, sliding down to sit and grab at her hair. "Where did your family seal him?"

"What the hell are you talking about, damnit!? I don't fucking know anything about what you're saying, just give my daughter back! Please, oh God, please give me my daughter!," the woman screamed over and over, pleading with the dark haired man.

The man sighed softly and stood from his chair, carefully looking her over. "This brings up a dilemna for me... you see... If you don't know where it is... I'll be forced to kill your daughter."

The woman jerked her head up, tears running down her face, and stared at the man in horror. The man simply shook his head and started for the door, but the woman cried out, "Wait! ... Wait..."

Looking back over his shoulder, the man smiled and asked, "Yes?"

"I'll... I'll tell you where he's sealed..."

The man only answered with a vile smile that spread across his thin lips.

------

Later that night, the woman, the man, the girl, and four others walked through a cemetary, their steps slow and footfalls quiet on the dew softened grass. The song of the night accompanied their trek, crickets and owls creating their symphony. To the woman, however, they were the noises of her and her daughter's doom.

"In a fucking graveyard...," asked one of the men traveling through the cemetary. "How goddamn cliche is that? I mean really?"

The man from earlier prodded the woman along, who clutched her daughter tight to her side.

"Mama, I'm scared...," whimpered the girl.

"Shush baby, I know... It'll be over soon," she said, trying to alleviate her daughter's fears. The group of seven made their way deep into the cemetary, until the gravestones became ancient looking, the letters far faded and beyond recognition. The woman stopped before a great masoleum, pointing at the large doors and muttering, "There..."

The doors were marked with a huge symbol that almost resembled a pair of scythes facing one another.

"Well," said the black haired man, walking up to her as he gently drew her daughter from her arms. "Open it."

The woman shook and contemplated just allowing herself and her daughter to die rather than release what she knew lingered within those doors. But one look at her baby girl's face, and all thoughts of such a thing flew from her. With a cry, she lunged for the doors and took hold of the handles, jerking it open. Before she'd even pulled it fully open, the doors blasted open, sending her flying back and into the group of men that had followed her, knocking them all to the ground.

Slowly pulling her and themselves to their feet, they looked into the darkness of the tomb. Nothing could be seen and nothing moved. One of the men slowly began advancing towards the opening, looking into it with bright eyes. He took two steps into the tomb and looked around, seeing only a coffin sitting at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Looking over his shoulder, he called, "Nothing."

Or he started to call. A hand wrapped itself around his throat, lifting him from the ground. A tall figure, bathed in shadows stood behind him, and all that could be seen of the figure was its ghastly white hand and long, black claws that dug into the man's neck.

The other men all gasped and shouted, drawing pistols, while the black haired man only held up a hand, shouting, "No! Stop, you fools!"

But the men fired anyways, the quarrels ripping into the man that was held aloft. Something, glowing red, appeared from the darkness of the crypt, flying out towards one of the men. The whirling energy of red ripped through him, tearing his very skin from his body, leaving nothing but his red muscled body, which dropped to the ground. The man closest screamed and turned to run, but stopped suddenly, held aloft in the air by some invisible force, before he was sent flying through the air and smashed into a nearby wall. He fell to the ground, neck bent at an odd angle.

"STOP! You idiots, stop it!," the black haired man cried repeatedly, waving his hands in the air, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The men continued to fire repeatedly at the figure. The first man in lay quite still and dead, and his corpse was flung aside as though it were a sack of potatoes.

Finally, the men stopped firing as a pair of glowing amber eyes were revealed from the shadows. Slowly, the figure stepped out from the darkness and revealed himself in the lamp light.

The figure wore dark black armor with red chainmail, the same crest that had been adorned on the door emblazoned on his breastplate. Only the fingers of his hands were exposed from his otherwise encasing gauntlets, and his claws slowly retracted, leaving just normal black nails. Great, flaring pauldrons rested on his shoulders, each decorated with murals of hooded figures wielding scythes. Draped over one of these pauldrons was a long, flowing shoulder cloak that glided behind him. As the figure moved, it seemed as though he were simply gliding despite the armor he wore. Long, ivory hair hung down past his shoulders, falling to the lower back, the end tied into a knot. Along his hairline, there were ridges, formed to appear almost as horns. Strapped on his back was a long sword with a serpentine blade, with what appeared to be a human skull set in at its hilt.

The figure's eyes sweeped across the area, and fell on the man with black hair. He took a long breath of air and blew it through his black lips.

"Freedom, at last," he said in a smooth, but foreboding voice.

"Lord... Lord Cain," the black haired man said, falling to his hands and knees. "I am-"

"Of no consequence," finished the creature, Cain, before his eyes swept over to the woman, who stood cowering and shielding her girl. His lips pulled back into a vile smirk, lips pulling back to reveal long, pointed canines. "So, the bloodline has continued to this day? How... revolting."

The woman cowered and held her daughter tight to her body, nearly begging, "Don't look, Katelyn... Don't look... Oh, God..."

Cain sneered and advanced on the woman, holding up both of his hands and moving them apart, lifting both the woman and her daughter from the ground and pulling them away from one another. The girl screamed and reached for her mother, while the woman only struggled, trying to stiffle her sobs.

"God? Why would you call to that thing you call God?," came his callous question. "Tell me, where is your God now? Will he strike me down with lightning? Will he... I digress." Pulling his left hand closer to his chest, the little girl moved forward through the air, wailing for her Mama to save her from the monster. Setting his hand on her head, he slowly lowered her to the ground and turned her face up to look at her mother's eyes. "Child... call to your God..."

The girl sniffled, but quickly clasped her hands in front of her face, muttering, "Our Father, who art in Heaven-" She stopped short though, as she suddenly faced Cain. She seemed confused for a moment, wondering why she'd been facing her mother one moment, and was now looking at the monster the next. Falling to her knees, the girl dropped to the ground, her head twisted completely around.

"NOOOOO!!!," screamed the woman. "You monster! You horrible, sick, bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill-" She stopped short as Cain clenched his right hand, cutting off the life giving oxygen flowing to her lungs.

"Shhh," said Cain as he stood from the child's broken body, advancing on the woman, lowering her until she was within arm's reach. "You'll join her... soon enough." Yanking his hand towards his chest, the woman flew at him, being crushed in his powerful grasp as he held her against his chest, burying his fangs deep into her neck. The woman tried to scream as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, but it came out as only a blood choked gurgle. Cain drank deeply, draining her of her life's blood. The woman clawed and scratched at his armor, her fingernails bending back as they caught on his chainmail, but soon she grew still, arms falling to her sides. Cain let her go then, letting her simply drop to the ground as he threw his head back, letting out a gasp.

Slowly, he turned his amber gaze to the black haired man, and sniffed deeply. Suddenly, making a face, he hissed, "Vampire! You?!"

"Y-yes," said the black haired man, the vampire. "I... I am. As you can see, much has changed since your time, my lord. Not-"

"Silence!," roared Cain, shaking the other vampire to the core. "What mockery is this? You appear as our food! Revolting."

The vampire shook softly at the berrating lain upon him, and cried, "My Lord Cain, please! Your people need you! The humans... they hunted us to near extinction. We have become mere shadows of our former glory..."

"How old are you, revolting one?," Cain asked, as the blood from his victim simply faded into his skin.

"I... Its been a century since I recieved the Gift..."

Cain lifted his chin up and strode towards the vampire, lifting him up by the collar of his jacket. "Tell me... fledgling... What precisely did you hope to gain by freeing me?"

The vampire flailed for only a moment, and the human guards, what remained of them, lifted their crossbows yet again, each one of them shaking and staring at the back of the imposing figure of Cain, the eye sockets of his sword's hilt glowing red for a moment and stealing any courage they had once possessed from them. "My Lord! I- I only sought-"

"You sought to USE me!," roared Cain, shaking the terrified vampire. "I can see it in your thoughts. You cannot hide them from me. Nothing, can you hope to hide from me, young one."

"Lord Cain! I beg of you!"

Cain's only response came in the form of fangs ripping the younger vampire's throat out. The vampire turned to dust in Cain's hands, and the Vampire Patron only laughed, turning to face the shaking humans. Slowly raising his hand to the hilt of his sword, he drew it from the leather strap that held it in place on his back, pointing it at the two remaining men.

"I've no love for humans beyond my meals," said Cain slowly, lowering his sword till the tip of the blade rested against the ground. "But for you two... I offer a choice... Join me. Serve me in any way I would command. Or die."

The men slowly looked to one another and lowered their crossbows.

-------

Cain stood at the entance to the cave complex he had chosen as his lair. While a farcry from his former holdings of Castle Perilous, it would have to do for now. A perpetual sneer remained on his face as he heard the digging of the servants in the cave complex, as they hallowed out the chambers and built steadying beams and laid out stones.

It had been only three weeks since his awakening, and already the vampire patron had gathered two dozen servants from the surrounding villages along with the two he'd taken as servants when he'd first awoken. As the vampire contemplated his next course of action, he saw the eastern sky begin to brighten. Being the first of his kind, he had no fear of the sunlight, but the thought of sunlight brought another matter to his mind; children.

The vampire, while powerful on his own, would need to start an army before he could begin conquering the lands that were rightfully his. And thus far, he had not found a single competent human amongst the stock of servants he held to serve as one of his children.

"Lord Cain...?," came a soft voice from the doorway, drawing his attention away from the matters at hand. Looking over his shoulder, he found a young girl standing there, her soft, red locks hanging down to about her shoulders. The girl looked down slowly and said, "It is time for your meal, Lord Cain..."

"Ah, so it is," said Cain. Holding one hand out for the girl, he carefully took her hand in his, and leaned down, kissing her wrist, before he held out a glass underneath and sliced his claw along her veigns. She flinched, as she always did, and watched morbidly as her blood spilled into the glass. Pressing his finger over her wrist as she began to grow pale, Cain muttered a quiet spell, and the wound healed. The woman bowed lowly and turned to leave while Cain raised his glass to his dark lips, drinking in her blood.

Turning into the cave, Cain strode in with all the majesty that a king would his throne room. For that was what he was to these poor wretches, each wearing a collar bearing his insignia. He was their king. No. He was their god.

Closing his eyes as he made his way to his private chambers, Cain wondered again on the thought of children. Who to turn? Who to turn...?

"Catch him!," shouted a voice to his right. Snapping his eyes open, Cain looked over to the way the voice had come from. Running down the hall, was a man dressed in steel armor, wielding a broadsword. Cain tilted his head to the side and looked at the man curiously. What madman ran into his lair? Turning to face the man, Cain slowly drew his serpentine blade and faced the man, who screamed and jumped at Cain.

Side stepping quickly to the left, he dodged the attack and snapped a hand out, catching the boy, for it was merely a boy, by the wrist and twisted around, slamming him into the side of the cave. The boy groaned, but rolled away as Cain's sword came in, sinking deep into the ground. Jumping up, the boy slashed at Cain, but the vampire turned the blade aside with his large arm-guard, catching it in the divets and turning the sword aside. Snapping his sword out of the ground, Cain brought his weapon to bare on the boy, slashing across towards the foolish warrior's neck.

The boy fell back, just barely avoiding the tip of Cain's blade and leaped forward with a thrust. Slashing down, Cain turned the blade aside and out, before rushing in, grabbing him by the throat. The boy dropped his sword and snarled at Cain, kicking and punching his arm.

Frowning for a long moment, Cain slid his sword into the boy's chest, the blade easily biting through the armor.

The boy gasped and coughed out a bit of blood, before Cain simply dropped him to the ground. Laying there, curled in a ball, the boy hissed, "Damn you! Blood... sucking... fiend..."

Cain raised his sword slowly, ready to deliver the final strike. But something gave him pause. Something in the way the boy glared up at him defiantly till the last of his breath poured out of his lungs. Slowly sheathing his sword on his back, Cain reached down and picked the boy up with ease, noting the defiant look that still remained in his lifeless eyes.

Looking him over, Cain took in the boy's features. Hair blacker than a raven's wing rested ontop of his head, cut into a messy hairstyle. Stormy blue eyes stared out distantly.

Looking over his shoulder to the group of servants that had gathered, he commanded in a tone that left no room for debate, "Bring him to my chambers."

-----

"Oh...," he softly moaned, looking around. He was in a room, lavishly decorated and with stone walls. Dark red tapestries hung from the walls, each one bearing the same strange symbol of two scythes. Swallowing hard, the boy sat up, rubbing his head, but suddenly gasped as he felt a pressure on his chest. Looking down, he found himself stripped to naught but pants, and resting on his chest was a long, dark scar. He didn't remember having such a hideous scar before... where did it...?

"Ah, you're awake," came a frightfully calm voice from the side. Jerking out of the bed, the boy rolled over and came to rest in a crouched position, staring hard at the vampire.

"You! You killed me!," cried the boy.

"And now... you are reborn."

He almost shouted something else, but whatever he had planned to shout died in his throat. Reborn...? What...?

"No...," he said softly as realization dawned on him. The vampire chuckled and circled the bed, still dressed in his fine armor.

"Yes, Micheal. You are now my son. One of my Children of the Night... My First-Born lieutenant," said the vampire.

"How do you know my name...?," the boy, Micheal, asked as he crouched, looking around for any form of escape he could possibly find.

The vampire laughed softly and answered, "Your blood yielded to me many secrets, Micheal. How your family were killed by scum, how-"

"How my family was killed by YOUR kind!," Micheal shouted, but instantly he was lifted off the ground, seemingly by the vampire's will.

"Never, refer to those... broken husks... as my kind," the vampire interrupted, "My kind do not skulk in the shadows. No... Our kind rule the humans, as it should be. And you Micheal? You have much to learn."

"No! I won't accept this!," Micheal cried, grabbing a knife from the bedside table. He charged at the vampire, holding the knife high and ready to drive it into the vampire's heart. The vampire looked not the slightest bit concerned as the knife descended towards him. Just as the knife came close to the vampire, Micheal's arm locked up, unable to move, and a sudden feeling of vertigo washed over him. Dropping to the ground, the knife clattered for a moment. Looking down at the knife, he swayed on his feet and fell back, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Looking up to the vampire, he muttered, "What... what happened?"

"You are my fledgling. My child. You cannot strike out against me, your Dark Father. Now rest, Micheal. Tonight, I take you to learn the ways of your new life..."

-----

"Come, Micheal," said Cain from the entrance of the cave, calling to his fledgling. "Now is the time to learn of yourself and the ways of our kind."

Micheal hesitated for a few moments, before slowly stepping out of the cave, standing next to Cain. The world was so different than he remembered. Though it was black as pitch in the night, and no moon hung in the sky to illuminate the region, everything was vivid and bright to him. He could hear the distant rustling of a rat in the woods surrounding the cave. No, not the rustling. Its fast heartbeat, pumping in its chest.

An owl hooted, and the sound exploded in Micheal's ears, though it caused him no pain. Looking around, the young vampire marvelled at the world, slowly looking to his hands and watching as his nails elongated to black claws. Pulling his lips back, the vampire ran his tongue along his now fanged canines, before he looked to Cain. His Dark Father stood there, smirking all the while as the sensations washed over Micheal.

"Do you hear, the song of the night, Micheal?," asked Cain as he circled the fledgling. "This is your world now. You and I rule it. We are the masters of the night, and the humans simply exist in it, waiting for the time that we will drain them. That we will claim that which is truly ours."

Micheal nodded slowly, and followed Cain off into the woods, to where he would teach him to hunt...

Micheal and Cain walked amongst the villagers that night, Cain with a mask over his face that hid his nature, giving him a more human appearance. It was a celebration of sorts on this night, a carefree, joyous occasion.

Several women danced their way over to the pair, two of them wrapping themselves around Micheal, squealing in delight. Cain had told him to always keep his hair covering his now pointed ears, and to at all times keep his claws retracted. His hair had straightened as well after his change, leaving it bone straight. That, coupled with the unearthly appearance granted by his vampirism, heightened his attractiveness it would seem.

The women seemed to drape themselves around Micheal, while only a single one took to Cain, who bore ebony hair under his guise, and creamy pale skin, along with golden-brown eyes. The woman took his hand and started to lead him towards the dancing, but the vampire patron pulled her back gently and whispered something in her ear. The girl giggled and followed him away, while Micheal just stared helplessly after his Sire.

Cain led the woman to an alley, and Micheal, taking the cue, extracted himself from the women and took only one with him, following to the same alley. Once there, he found Cain holding his woman up against the wall by the throat. Micheal's woman nearly screamed, but the fledgling had her throat tightly wrapped by his hand, choking off any form of circulation or breath she might be able to take to scream. Micheal watched, terrified, as Cain's woman was drained his Dark Father's teeth buried in her neck.

After he was finished, he simply dropped the woman to the ground, and the illusion of humanity fell away from him. Cain turned his amber eyes to Micheal and hissed, "Feed, my son. Nourish your dark hunger."

Micheal hesitated for several seconds, looking at the terrified woman in his grasp, before he slowly leaned in and sunk his teeth into her neck. The woman froze as he held her against him tightly, pressing her against his body in a tight embrace. As he felt the first drop of blood touch his tongue, he felt an ecstasy he'd never known before. His eyes glew red and the young vampire drained the woman dry, taking every drop of blood she had to give, before simply dropping her to the ground. Shaking and gasping, he fell back against the wall with his eyes closed.

"It feels good, does it not?," asked Cain with a smirk as he watched the younger vampire bask in the taste of his first kill. Micheal barely opened his blue eyes and stared at the vampire, wiping the blood from his mouth on the back of his hand.

"More..."

Cain smirked and strode forward, setting a hand on the fledgling's shoulder, answering, "Soon, my child. But for now... we must wait. I do not wish to hide in the shadows as the vampires you once hunted did. I will restore the world to its natural order, with vampires reigning over the humans. As it should be. But for now, we return to the Sanctuary."

Micheal nodded and followed Cain from the village after his Dark Father had recast his spell of illusion. They walked from the village then, and Micheal truly began to appreciate his new station as he walked amongst the humans. He was in hiding, yes. But not for long. He and his Dark Father would rule over these humans in due time, and they would cower before their power.

They travelled for several hours through the forest surrounding the Sanctuary as Cain called it, searching for anymore vampire hunters that dotted the land. When Cain was satisfied that none of Micheal's former troupe remained in the area, they returned to the Sanctuary, where Micheal retired to his quarters.

Cain had another hunger to fufill though...

Calling one of the serving girls to his chambers, Cain waited in naught but a pair of black leather pants that corded in the front and clunky black boots. As the girl entered, she shuddered at the sight of Cain, looking to the ground quickly. She knew that the vampire master had fed already, and wondered what would be of such importance that he would call her to his chambers.

Cain approached the girl and rested his ice cold hand on the side of her face, pressing it against her skin. The girl slowly looked up with haunting green eyes, frowning as the vampire leaned in close, his breath tickling her nose.

"Tell me, child," said Cain softly, "Do you fear death?"

The girl frowned and looked away, nodding slowly. She watched with a shiver as Cain's hands came up to her serving dress' strings, her eyes widening as the vampire pulled the strings loose, letting her dress fall to her ankles.

Cain watched as a resigned look crossed the girls eyes, standing bare before him, and smirked softly at her acceptance of her fate. "What is your name, girl?," he asked softly as his hand trailed down from her shoulder to cup one of her breasts, the coldness of his flesh causing goosebumps to appear across the girl's body. She could not have been more than eighteen, barely a woman, and Cain could tell she'd never known another's touch upon her body.

"L... Lilith... My Lord," the girl breathed out as he squeezed her breast gently, fingers pinching her pink nub. Looking away, she gasped as she felt his other hand trailing down her stomach to rest against her womanhood, one finger trailing along her lips. Snapping her gaze to Cain, tears sprung to her eyes and she barely breathed out as the trailing finger invaded her, "Please... I've... I've never..."

"Shhh, child...," said Cain softly. Picking the girl up slowly, he carried her over to his bed and lay her down on her back, where the girl drew her hands up to her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest as she closed her eyes. Cain only smirked and reached down to his leather trousers, loosening the straps that held his pants aloft. Kicking the boots away, he stripped himself bare and climbed atop the girl, who shuddered and shook her head quickly.

Before she could begin to protest, he began to probe her with the head of his member. The girl froze and looked at him with a stricken gaze, but Cain just continued pressing forward, pushing himself into her inch by inch. The girl curled into herself as she felt him pressing against her barrier, arms snapping out to wrap around Cain's shoulders as she whispered and begged for him not to continue.

But continue he did, pushing right through her fleshy barrier, breaking the girl's untouched womanhood. The girl gave a muffled cry against Cain's shoulder as the vampire master tossed his head back, sighing in relief of the feeling of her clenching tightly around him, as though she were trying to make it impossible for him to move inside of her.

Pulling his hips back, he felt her clenching and unclenching on his pulsing member, he gave a low growl and thrusted forward, rocking her insides and making the girl cry out again. Tossing her head to the side, she stared at the wall with wide eyes, scratching her nails down Cain's back, wishing that the burning would simply stop as the vampire began a slow series of thrusts into her. Her mind clouded, her body racked by pain, she wondered for a moment if the minutes turned to hours as the vampire continued to ravage her body.

And then the unthinkable happened for her; she began to enjoy his thrusts. Shuddering in revulsion, the girl bit her lower lip to stop from moaning out as a particularly hard thrust rocked inside of her. She could feel herself tightening around him, and damned herself for enjoying being raped by the monster that had stolen her from her family. She grunted and groaned as the vampire master began to thrust viciously into her, catching herself moaning more than once at the feeling.

Her stomach felt very warm for a moment, and she tried to fight the rush of euphoria that took her as her very first orgasm tore through her, screaming and throwing her head back against the pillow as the vampire grunting and groaning above her threw his head back and spilled his cold seed inside of her.

Cain slowly pulled out of the girl, leaving her a shuddering mess as she felt his essence spilling out of her. Closing her eyes, the girl cried softly before she heard a deep gutteral growl come from the vampire. Turning her eyes to him, she saw him crouched low, his lips pulled back in a snarl. She knew what was coming next before it even happened. She barely had time to scream before the vampire was upon her, his teeth sinking into her neck.

Crying softly, the girl grabbed at his shoulders, weakly trying to pull him off of her as she felt her essence draining, her lifeforce fast fading from her. The girl shuddered for a few moments as Cain pulled away from her, her eyes fast fading into death.

Cain simply watched her fade, his eyes low with his sated physical and blood lusts. Watching as the girl died, he chuckled softly, moving to retrieve his pants and boots. Sliding the pants on, he tightened the leather cords that held them up, and placed his boots at the foot of the bed, watching as the girl's soul pulled from her body. Slowly, the soul began to move upwards, and through the ceiling, he could see a hand reaching down to take her. What joy it would bring her to go to Heaven after such a horrible end, Cain thought.

The soul almost reached the hand, before green tendrils of energy spewed from her body, enwrapping the soul and pulling it back down. Cain chuckled and realized that he was never a bringer of joy as he pulled his sliced wrist from the girls mouth, where a few drops of blood had spilled in. Watching as her soul descended fast back to her body, he looked up to the ceiling and muttered, "This one is mine. You cursed me with eternity, and now I will share this hellish existance with your children. And we shall curse you from that eternity, forever more."

The hand tried to reach for her soul, but Cain drew his sword and its eyes glew red for a moment, and he slashed at the hand of light. The hand recoiled and dissipated into nothingness as the girl's soul fully re-entered her body.

The girl's body twitched for a moment, before her green eyes opened slowly. They lightened just a touch and took on a golden hint around the edges, and she looked around, confused, touching a hand to her bare chest. Cain had his second Lieutenant.

The girl slowly pulled herself off of the bed and stared with mourning eyes up to the vampire, before she fell to her knees, sobbing tears of blood, muttering, "No," repeatedly.

"Yes, my child...," Cain said as he knelt beside her, gently trailing his thumb along her cheek. "You have become one of my children of the night." The girl looked up at him, shaking her head slowly. "More importantly, you have become... my bride."

"Noooooooo!"