Ayven

The Year Two Thousand Four
The Present
~~~

   Ayven shut her locker with a clang and then turned to the front door of the building to go home. Today in English class, they had been watching a movie based on a terrifying mystery story about an old man who kept seeing the dead rise up from their graves and walk forth as if they were normal people. Ayven had always believed that ghosts could be real and so she was especially jumpy after watching the movie.
   Ayven had been walking for a few minutes before she reached the park in the middle of her town. She could hear her mother saying, “Don’t cut through the park after dark, Ayven, it’s not safe.” Well, it wasn’t dark yet, and it was a quicker way home than going around. Ayven decided to take the path through the park to get home.
   As she walked, Ayven continually felt like she was being watched. Yet, when she checked, no one was there. However, she couldn’t get the feeling that something was watching her and the images of the ghosts in the movie out of her mind. Which was stupid, right? There were no such things as ghosts, or spirits, or anything.
-
   Lirit eyed the girl hungrily. He hadn’t eaten in days and this one looked particularly delicious, despite her thinness. He could tell that she sensed something. He moved closer and waited for the moment to strike.
-
   Ayven spun around. There was definitely someone here! She had heard the rustle of fabric, the slow steady breathing of someone moving closer to her.
   “Come out! Show yourself!” She said. A tall figure, dressed all in black, launched itself from the trees and knocked her to the ground. Ayven tried to scream, but all the breath had been knocked out of her. She could see the man’s face now. His hair was untidy and quite black, standing out sharply against his deathly pale skin. She met his dark eyes, trying to hide the fear in her own.
   She struggled, but the stranger had her wrists pinned. Ayven stared at him.
-
   Lirit held the girl down. He eyed her fair skin greedily. He looked into her frightened green eyes and, suddenly, could not move.
   “Who are you?” The girl’s voice cut through his thoughts.
   There was no harm in telling her, she’d be dead soon anyway. He flashed a grin at her and heard her gasp at the sight of his fangs.
   “My name is Liritar Michael Donovan; though most just call me Lirit.” He continued to gaze into her eyes. “Who are you?”
   “My n-name, is, uh-”
   “Ayven Danara Juliarc,” he finished for her, his face close to hers and his voice hushed. Her eyes grew wide.
   “How do you know my name!?”
   “I know a lot about you Ayven.” He leaned closer, breaking their eye contact, and bringing his lips so close that they were nearly touching her neck.
-
   Ayven felt his chilling breath on her neck. Her eyes grew wide. The tips of his fangs grazed her skin and Ayven screamed. Lirit jumped off of her and ran away, his long black coat trailing behind him as he went.
   Ayven lay there, unable to move for a long time, her heart thumping in her chest. She reached up a hand and brushed her fingers on the spot where his fangs had touched. She felt strange, and she wanted them back.
   “Lirit,” she said, breathing the word out slowly. She hoped he would come back.
-
   Lirit stayed close. He felt her longing for his touch again. He grinned. A simple maneuver many vampires used. Make them want you, and then they don’t scream when you bite. He went back to her and, taking her hand, which she held up to him, he pulled her to her feet.
   “Ayven,” he whispered. He felt her warm body shiver under his cold touch. “Come with me.” He led her with him, away from the place where they had met, and back to his home. It was a tall, two-story, Victorian style house.
   He led Ayven inside and sat her on an old black couch. Sitting beside her, he caressed her cheek and neck.
   “You called me back,” he said. The girl nodded. Lirit leaned close again and brought his lips to her skin once more. He sunk his fangs into her neck. The vampire drank deeply, a feeling of ecstasy overcoming his body. As he drank, Lirit drew out his dagger. He had owned this weapon for hundreds of years. It was beautifully carved and the blade gleamed. He brought it to her arm. Sliding her sleeve up her arm, all the way to her shoulder, Lirit slid the sharp edge along her flesh, making a deep, yet narrow, cut. He drew his fangs from her neck, and watched as she fell unconscious.
   Lirit turned his attention to her arm. He began to carve flowing, intricate patterns into her skin. The cuts, starting at her shoulder, went all the way down her arm, and Lirit ended the patterns with a large flourishing L on her wrist. He watched as the wounds healed quickly, leaving pink, then white scar tissue. The scars turned a dark brownish-red color, like nearly dried blood.
   Lirit then repeated the patterns on Ayven’s other arm. He wouldn’t turn or kill her yet; human blood was too wonderful to waste. He was only marking her, so that other vampires would know she was his; claimed by him.
   Lirit looked at Ayven’s beautiful face. He leaned close to her and, gently, kissed her soft, rosy lips.
   “Awaken,” he whispered. Ayven’s eyes flew open. Lirit recognized this reaction and hurriedly clapped his hands over her mouth. A muffled scream attempted to ring through the air, but was stopped by Lirit’s hands. When Ayven’s eyes drooped and she relaxed again, Lirit pulled down her sleeves and watched as she came to. This time, she opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She spotted Lirit.
   “You,” she murmured.
   Lirit grinned. “You should go home now. Let me walk you to the door.”
   Ayven nodded and stood. Lirit took her arm and walked with her to the front porch of his home.
   “I will see you again,” he said. Ayven looked at him for a moment and then nodded. She turned and walked away. Lirit watched her go. She was his now, and she could not fight it, not now that she had been marked.

   Ayven walked in the front door of her house and started through the kitchen, heading towards her upstairs bedroom.
   “Ayven! Where have you been? You should have been home at least an hour ago!”
   Ayven turned to see her mother, holding a book, which she had obviously been reading, and sitting at the kitchen table. “Sorry mom,” she murmured, “I was… uh… walking in the park, and I got distracted.”
   Serra Juliarc glared at her daughter and stood up, walking over to her. At that moment, the air in the room seemed to go frigid.
   “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
   Ayven shook her head. Suddenly, the woman’s body went rigid. Her eyes were locked on the back of Ayven’s left hand.
   “Ayven…” The woman moved closer.
   Ayven looked where her mother’s eyes were directed. A thin, dark line, which spiraled at the end, was peaking out from under her sleeve. It was the bottom of the L that Lirit had carved. Before Ayven could pull her hand away, her mother had grabbed it and had pushed up her sleeve halfway up her arm.
   Ayven’s mother swayed as if she were going to faint. “Oh goddess,” the woman whispered.
   “Pardon, mother?”
   The woman dragged her daughter over to the kitchen table. “Sit,” she ordered. Ayven sat immediately, knowing this was not a time to argue.
   Her mother placed the tip of her pointer finger at the middle of the large stone bowl centerpiece, which had sat in the middle of that table since the day they had moved into this house. She muttered something that Ayven couldn’t understand and moved her finger in a circle. The bowl filled with something that looked like water. Ayven stared, eyes wide, but did not say a thing.
   “Master Raven,” Ayven’s mother said to the bowl. A face appeared over the water. It was a man’s face, middle aged and quite wise looking.
   “You called Lady Serra Juliarc?” The face said.
   “Master Raven, I have called you to share some very grave news.” The woman looked over at her daughter. “The Juliarc Heir has been…” she paused, wincing, but continued. “She has been marked.”
   “Ayven has been marked!?” The man’s face had gone shocked and stern all at once.
   Serra nodded.
   “Show me.”
   Ayven’s mother pulled Ayven to her feet again and held out her arm for Master Raven to see. The Man’s image studied the marks carefully.
   “This is very serious,” he said, “Serra, you must tell her now. I know you wanted to follow tradition and wait until she comes of age, but in this situation, we will have to break our custom.”
   “Yes sir.” Ayven’s mother replied, bowing her head. Master Raven’s face inclined a bit in response and the image faded.
   “Tell me what?” Ayven looked at her mother.
   The woman sighed. “I was going to tell you when you were 18 and then have you start your training. Do you wonder why I sent you to learn fencing and hand combat? Not just for self-defense, you are to be the head of the Juliarc line, head of our clan of vampire hunters. After the last Lady, my Great-Aunt Catherine, died childless it was declared that the first of my generation to have a child would be named Lord or Lady of the clan. I became pregnant with you only two weeks later. Since no one else of our clan was pregnant yet, I was named Lady. You will become Lady after me because you are my daughter. Though now, circumstances have changed dramatically.” The woman shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion. “How did this happen Ayven?”
   “I…” Ayven searched her memory, but could not come up with an answer. “I don’t know,” she finally said.
   “I can’t let you go out alone anymore. I don’t know how you’ll finish school.” Serra was silent for a few moments. “I’ll have to call up your cousin Ruth. She’s out of high school already, but she can pass for your age.”
   Ayven said nothing, only stared out the window. She wasn’t listening to her mother anymore. She was holding an image of Lirit in her mind.
   “Ayven! Are you listening to me?” Her mother’s voice brought Ayven back to reality with a jerk. “Go on up to your room Ayven,” the woman said, returning to her seat at the kitchen table with a sigh.

   Ayven went up to her room and lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, the lavender walls of her room seemed so frustrating to her. She would just have to paint them sometime soon.
   Slowly, Ayven drifted off into a troubled sleep, full of visions. She saw a younger Lirit in a place she didn’t recognize. He had no fangs and she guessed he had not been turned yet. He was a handsome young man, full of potential. He carried a thick book and was dressed quite nicely. From the looks of everything, the vision was taking place in the 1800s, during the Victorian Era.
   Ayven awoke to a darkened room. She checked her clock, it was past 10:30 and the house was quiet. She guessed her mother had gone to sleep already.
   There was a rustle of leaves outside Ayven’s window and she sat up quickly. She knew who it was before she looked.
   “Lirit,” she whispered, as he pulled the unlocked window open and climbed into the room. He came to her and ran his hands through her long, dark brown hair. Ayven smiled at him and looked into his mysterious eyes. He said nothing, but Ayven knew what he wanted, what he had come for. She tilted her head, bearing her neck to him. He grinned, showing his fangs again and leaned down to her neck once again.
   Ayven’s blood flowed between his lips and she held her arms around him. His tall body was just the right height for him to drink from her warm neck.
   When Lirit drew away, a few minutes later, Ayven was reluctant to let him go and kept her arms around him
   “Don’t stop,” she murmured.
   “If I don’t, you could die,” he said.
   Ayven sadly released him and he walked swiftly over to the window, disappearing down one of the trees near her window. Ayven went back to her bed, lightly touching the spot on her neck where he had drunk from with the tips of her fingers. She lay back down and fell asleep once more.

-
   Lirit returned to his house and sat in his bedroom with his favorite book in his lap. He couldn’t concentrate on the reading; his mind kept wandering back to Ayven. To her eyes, which had captured his the first time he had met her. He could still feel her warm skin touching his cold fingers, and pressed against his lips.
   His mind constantly returned to her. Since he had met her, he had stopped having as many visions of his past and began to have visions of her. She was his, and his alone.
   Lirit stood up and, putting the book down, walked out of the room. He went to his attic where he kept trunks of all the things he had saved over the years. He opened the trunk that held the items that had belonged to the last woman he had marked; she was dead now.
   He pulled out some of the clothes she had bought after he had marked her. Ayven would look great in some of the items he was pulling out. Lirit paused as his mind, once again, returned to Ayven.
-

   When Ayven woke up in the morning, the sunlight falling through her window made her want to scream in frustration. She drew the curtains shut quickly and went to her closet to get dressed for school. Digging through her clothes, she found a pair of black trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt. She dressed quickly and hurried downstairs to the coat closet.
   Her mother owned one black coat. It was long and tied around the waist with a sash. She put it on, throwing the hood up and started towards the door.
   “Wait just a minute,” her mother said, walking into the room. “Ruth is coming over, she should be here soon. You didn’t ask to borrow my coat, it’s ok though, I never wear it; you can keep it.” She held out a bowl of cereal. “Breakfast?”
   “Not hungry,” Ayven said, pushing her way out the door. “I’ll wait for Ruth on the porch.” She sat on the porch swing and waited. A small, blue car pulled up to the house a minute later and Ayven’s cousin Ruth walked out. She had changed a lot since Ayven had last seen her. Her once bleached hair was rich and brown again, falling in wavy-curls to her shoulders. She walked up to the porch, her strides long and graceful.
   “Ayven!” Ruth said, climbing the porch steps.
   “Hi Ruth, it’s been a long time, you look different.”
   “So do you. What’s with the black?”
   Ayven shrugged. Her mom had obviously not told Ruth why she was accompanying Ayven to school today.
   “Well, your mom asked me to come in and talk to her for a moment before we go, so you just wait here and I’ll be right back.” Ruth walked inside and Ayven was left alone on the porch again.
   When Ruth came back out, Ayven noticed that she seemed to be trying not to look at her too much. The look on her face was of repressed shock and disapproval. They headed to the car and Ayven climbed into the passenger side. Ruth started the car and they drove off towards the high school’s building.

   After checking in at the office, Ruth followed Ayven to her first class and stayed with her until lunch. The two went to the lunchroom and bought their food from the grouchy cafeteria lady.
   “I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back. Stay here,” Ruth said.
   Ayven nodded and watched as her cousin ran out of the room and towards the bathrooms. Once Ruth was out of sight, Ayven stood and went the opposite direction, towards the exit. She ran across the courtyard, trying to stay unnoticed. She ran the route Lirit had implanted in her memory, to his house. He was waiting for her at the front door and pulled her inside.
   “I got you something,” he said once they were inside with the door shut. Lirit held up a long, velvet, black skirt. It was very elegant and beautiful. Ayven reached out for it and held the soft fabric in her hands.
   “I love it,” she said.
   “I have something else.” He walked over to the couch and picked up a coat that looked similar to the one she was wearing, but more elegant. The sash was held on by thin black ribbon, the buttons were made of black glass and the collar and cuffs were covered in soft, dark brown fur. Ayven rubbed her hand on the fur lightly and smiled.
   “It’s beautiful.” She took off the coat she was wearing and slid her arms into the sleeves of the new one. She pulled it around her and tied the sash around her waist.
   Lirit grinned at her. “I’m glad you like it,” he said.
   Ayven moved closer to Lirit and tilted her head slightly to the side. “Just once?” she whispered.
   Lirit shook his head. “You need to get back.” He brushed his fingers along her inviting neck, but resisted the urge to bite and, instead, led Ayven back to his front door. “I will come to you,” he whispered as she turned to go.

   Ruth was waiting when Ayven got back.
   “Where have you been?” she asked.
   “Nowhere, I just went for a short walk.” Ayven didn’t look at her cousin.
   “Show me your neck, Ayven.”
   Ayven knew there were no fresh marks. She tilted her head bared her neck and Ruth inspected the older marks of Lirit’s feeding.
   “Is that the same coat you were wearing before?”
   “Yes,” Ayven muttered. Ruth fell silent and the two ate quickly and returned to class.
   Ayven’s cousin kept a close eye on her for the rest of the day and then escorted her home. Ayven walked through the front door and saw her mother waiting on the couch.
   “I can’t believe you gave me a babysitter!” she muttered as she walked past the woman.
   Ayven, once again, returned to her room. She sighed and flopped back on her bed again, throwing her schoolbooks in the corner. She hated her room now. It was just too cheerful and happy.

   Later that evening, after her mother had gone to bed, and as the sun was setting outside, there was a light tap at Ayven’s window. She got up and rushed over to open it. Lirit was perched outside. He handed her the skirt he had shown her earlier; and then gave her a bucket of paint. He climbed in the room, bringing with him paint rollers, plastic containers, and a tarp.
   “Wonderful! I’m so sick of this lavender room!” Ayven said as they moved all the furniture to the center of the room as silently as they could. As she passed the door, Ayven pressed the little button in the doorknob that would lock it.
   The two opened the bucket of paint, a midnight red color, and poured a bit into the plastic containers for the rollers. Lirit handed Ayven a roller and they started painting the walls.
   A while later, Lirit painted the ceiling as Ayven finished the last wall. The paint can was nearly empty and so Lirit closed it again and said he’d take it with him later and toss it in a dumpster somewhere. They moved the furniture out of the center of the room and rearranged it so that the morning sunlight from her windows would not bother Ayven when she woke up.
   When they were finally finished, and everything was back in place, Lirit grabbed Ayven’s hand and drew her to him, his eyes feasting on her gaze. He pressed her warm body against his cold flesh and brought his mouth to her throat. He bit with his fangs deep into her neck and gulped down the blood that flowed across his lips from her body.
   Ayven held herself against Lirit, the pleasure she felt flooding throughout her body. She could feel his cold hands on her back, and the cold of his lips as they pressed against the skin on her neck. His face buried in the crook of her neck as he drank.
   A few minutes later, minutes that seemed like only seconds to Ayven, she began to feel lightheaded.
   Lirit drew away; licking his lips clean of her blood. He continued to hold her body to his as he stared deep into her pale eyes. Neither Lirit nor Ayven spoke for a long time. Finally, Lirit broke the silence.
   “Come, I want to take you somewhere. Put on your new skirt, and try on this blouse.” He held up a deep purple, button-down, blouse.
   Ayven took the blouse and walked over to her bed where the skirt and her new coat lay. With her back to Lirit, she removed the black trousers and long-sleeved shirt, and slid the skirt up her legs, securing it around her waist before putting her arms into the sleeves of the blouse and buttoning it up.
   Halfway up the row of buttons, Ayven felt Lirit’s presence at her back. She turned and let him help finish doing up the blouse. He left the top button undone and handed Ayven the lovely black coat. She put it on and followed him to the window.
   Lirit climbed out and onto the tree branch, holding out his hand for Ayven to take. He helped her out the window and then directed her to sit near the trunk while he closed the window to her room.
   Ayven did as she was asked and watched Lirit close her bedroom window and then leap down from the tree, landing as gracefully and soundlessly as a cat. He stood and turned around, looking up at Ayven.
   Lirit held out his hands and Ayven slid from the branch and fell the relatively short distance to his awaiting grasp. He caught her and then set her on her feet on the ground. Then, offering his arm, and seeing that Ayven took it, he led her away from her house and down the darkened streets.
   Arm in arm, they headed towards Lirit’s street. Nearly all the houses on that street were like his; large, Victorian style, and old. Ayven thought they were heading for Lirit’s house, but when he passed by it, she looked at him questioningly. Lirit only smiled down at the girl and continued walking.
   Lirit steered Ayven onto the walkway of a huge, old house. He led her to the porch and then dropped her arm to ring the doorbell. Then he knocked three times and the door opened. A tall man with bleached blonde hair stood in the doorway.
   “Lirit!” he said, “Come on in! Who is this lovely lady?” The stranger eyed Ayven greedily.
   “This is Ayven.” Lirit took her hand and gestured to the stranger. “Ayven, This is Nikolas. He owns this house.”
   “Nice to meet you, Nikolas.” Ayven gave a tiny curtsy.
   “The pleasure is all mine,” Nikolas said. “Come in, come in! You’re missing all the fun!” He gestured them inside and Lirit hurried in, dropping Ayven’s hand and leaving her alone with Nikolas.
   Ayven walked in a few steps and Nikolas shut the door. The girl looked around at all the thin, pale, darkly clad figures in the room. There were a few who looked different than the pale ones, however. A few plumper, rosier skinned, lighter dressed people were standing awkwardly here and there.
   Some of the darkly dressed figures were also not as pale as the rest. Ayven guessed these were humans who had been marked by some of the vampires here.
   “So, my lady, how are you this evening?” Nikolas said, kissing her hand.
   Ayven felt his cold lips brush against her skin and she felt herself blush slightly. “I am well,” she replied.
  “Do come in and find a seat.” He helped Ayven out of her coat and led her towards the dark colored couches. “I love your outfit,” he said, “you look quite attractive in it.”
   “Thank you.” Ayven found herself seated on a deep purple couch next to Nikolas. He held her hands and was whispering sweet things to her, most of which Ayven didn’t hear, her thoughts still dwelling on Lirit.
   Ayven, still blushing after Nikolas’s flattering words, looked around for Lirit, but he was nowhere in sight.
   “Excuse me,” she said and stood to leave.
   “I do hope you will return to talk with me some more.”
   Ayven nodded and walked off to search for Lirit.
   She found him, some time later, in a back room, flirting mercilessly with a female vampire who was wearing a very revealing leather outfit. Ayven felt her face flush with anger and something else. Jealousy.
   Lirit turned and saw Ayven standing in the doorway, her cheeks flushed. He nodded to the female vampire with a wink and walked over to Ayven.
   “My dear Ayven, have you tired of Nikolas’s company already?”
   “I was curious where you had gone,” Ayven said.
   “Do you not trust that I will return to you? I would not leave you alone with Nikolas for too long. He is not to be too well trusted.”
   “I was lonely for your company.”
   Lirit smiled. “I was only gone for ten or so minutes.” He took her hand. “Come, Nikolas is the host in this house, go back and talk with him. I will stay near. If you need me, I will know.”
   Ayven nodded and let Lirit take her back towards where Nikolas still sat. He stopped nearby and let Ayven continue on alone.
   “I knew you’d be back,” Nikolas said, “I am glad.”
   Ayven blushed and seated herself, once again, next to Nikolas. She saw his eyes look her over, taking in her blush.
   “If you ask me,” he whispered, “you are the most beautiful woman here.” Nikolas leaned close, his eyes gazing into Ayven’s. He took her hand and held it gently in his.
   “Thank you.” Ayven’s blush deepened. The vampire released her hands and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a crystal pendant and held it up for Ayven to see.
   “Do you like it?”
   “It’s lovely,” Ayven said, her eyes on the pendant, caught by its beauty.
   “May I?” Nikolas was close now. The clasp to the pendant was open and he held each end with a hand.
   Ayven nodded and moved her hair out of the way, exposing her flushed neck.
   Nikolas moved his arms around her neck as if to fasten the pendant. He brought his lips to her neck and revealed his fangs.
   The pointed tips grazed Ayven’s soft skin and she closed her eyes.
   Nikolas opened the pendant’s clasp to secure it around Ayven’s neck.
-
   Lirit, who was chatting with one of the unmarked humans, a plump woman who was acting quite nervous, felt something from his link to Ayven. He turned to look at the couch where she sat with Nikolas. The vampire had his arms around her neck. Lirit saw the glitter of a crystal pendant. He saw Nikolas lean his fangs down to Ayven’s flesh.
   In a flash, Lirit was standing by Nikolas, his dagger out and against cold flesh.
   “Get your hands off her,” Lirit said, his voice a dangerous whisper.
   The room had gone silent, watching Nikolas and Lirit.
   Nikolas moved the pendant back into his pocket swiftly and stood up. “Is there a problem Lirit?” he asked. “I was simply giving your human here,” He gestured to Ayven, “a gift. She was very appreciatory, unlike you.”
   Lirit snarled and made to stab Nikolas, but the vampire stopped him, grabbing his wrist in a tight grip and twisting his arm around. Lirit lashed out with his other hand and managed to knock Nikolas so that he released his wrist. Before anything else could be done, Lirit grabbed Ayven’s hand and hurried her out of Nikolas’s home.

   Once they were on the street, heading back towards Lirit’s house, Ayven turned to him.
   “What happened? Why did you run?”
   “Nikolas is over 2000 years old, Ayven. He knows much more than I do. He’s stronger and has more active powers. I could not beat him in combat. At least not fair combat.”
   Ayven was silent.
   “That pendant he tried to give you,” Lirit whispered, “It’s his way of marking humans. If I were a mach for him in power, the pendant would not work, but since he is so much more powerful than I, he can override our connection.”
   “Not that I want to be his, but there were plenty of other humans at the party, you could have marked one of them and left me to him.”
   Lirit looked at Ayven. “Many other vampires would have done just that. But I could not let him take you from me.” He stared at her for a moment and then turned away hurriedly.

   Lirit took Ayven home and helped her up to her window. He sat on the windowsill and Ayven stood just inside.
   “You’ll come back tomorrow?”
   Lirit nodded. “I’m sorry about tonight, if Nikolas hadn’t been the host of that party I wouldn’t have let you talk to him.”
   “It doesn’t matter now, it’s over.”
   Lirit took Ayven’s hand. He was lost in her eyes again. Their green depths were so beautiful and mesmerizing. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he whispered.
   “I will be waiting.” Ayven’s eyes were staring back into his.
   Lirit pulled Ayven’s hand to him and she stepped towards him, following the motion of her hand. Lirit brought his lips to hers, caressing them softly in a kiss.
-
   Ayven’s eyes closed. Her body was shivering with desire. As Lirit ended the kiss, and as Ayven felt the sweet coldness of his lips draw away from hers, she opened her eyes to whisper a thank you to him. But the vampire was already gone, the curtains framing the window blowing lightly in a night breeze.
   Ayven, in a daze, walked to her bed, and lay down. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, and couldn’t think. As she drifted off to sleep, images of Lirit swam through her mind.

   Another week passed before Lirit took Ayven out at night again. He brought her to his home once again and sat her down on his couch. Lirit sat beside the girl and caressed her hair lightly.
   “You’re so beautiful, Ayven.”
   The girl blushed slightly.
   The sight of the blood turning Ayven’s cheeks red awakened Lirit’s desire. He pulled the girl to him and, swiftly sinking in his fangs, drank greedily from her flushed neck. Ayven’s breath caught in her throat. She shut her eyes and leaned closer to Lirit, her passion growing with his.
   In one swift motion, the vampire swept the slim figure into his arms, removing his mouth from her neck. He carried her in his strong arms up the stairs of his home, across a hall and through a doorway.
   Lirit laid the girl gently down on soft sheets. He caressed her warm skin lightly and felt the tainted innocence in the girl’s soul. Tonight he would teach her of lust and passion. No longer could he resist the desire he felt for her. His greed for her took over his body and his gentleness took second place to lust.

   Long hours later, Lirit awoke and gently shook Ayven. She opened her eyes and grinned at the vampire looking down at her.
   “You will be missed at your house if I do not take you home now.”
   Ayven nodded and got out of Lirit’s bed. The vampire watched her put her things back on and then did the same. Then, he led her home as the sun began to peak over the horizon.
-
   At her windowsill, Ayven bid farewell to Lirit for the day. A gentle kiss on his soft lips and he was gone. The girl turned and opened the door of her bedroom. She started down the stairs and stopped suddenly when she heard her mother’s voice in the kitchen.
   “He comes to her room at night, and nothing I do could stop him. And last night, he took her out. I went up to check on her and she wasn’t in her bed! The window was open. What do you suggest Master Raven?”
   “I don’t know what to suggest. You could try something to break his hold on her. But you’ll need to find a way to weaken her first. She wont let you do anything unless you have the upper hand.” Master Raven’s voice joined her mother’s in the kitchen.
   “What would you have me do?”
   “I know you don’t like this idea, but I think an asylum is our best bet. The Marked cannot stand light things. The white padded walls would be perfect for this.”
   There was a sigh. Then her mother’s voice again, “I’ll call them today.”
   “Good luck Lady Juliarc.”
   Ayven sat on the stairs unable to move. Her mind was locked on the images of white padded walls. Her instincts screamed run, but her body would not move.
   The beeping sounds of a phone being dialed reached her ears slightly muffled. But still, Ayven sat, her mind locked on one terrifying image.

   Almost ten minutes later, Ayven still could not move. She heard a truck pull into the driveway.
   The doorbell rang and Ayven’s mother went to get it.
   “Come in,” Serra’s voice said, “She’s in her bedroom.”
   They came into the hallway from the living room and Serra saw her daughter on the steps. It was then that Ayven’s mind let her body go. With a shriek, she scrambled up and raced for her room and the lock on her door.
   Two men dashed after her, their white doctor’s coats flapping. The caught up quickly and one grabbed her around her middle, stopping the girl.
   “Get the syringe!” he shouted to the other man.
   Ayven shrieked again as she felt the jab of a needle in her arm. Then her head swam, her vision growing hazy.
   “Lirit…” she mumbled in desperation as darkness enveloped her.

   She woke slowly and then let out a piercing scream. White hit her like a wave of shock. She looked down at herself and saw she wore a white hospital gown. She threw herself against one of the walls, screaming till her lungs nearly burst. Then she collapsed again.

-
   Lirit lay on his couch, a book in hand, when he felt a horrible pain. He knew right away, Ayven was in trouble. Sitting up straight he shut his eyes and traveled along their connection to her location.
   As soon as he knew where she was, Lirit walked out of his house and towards the asylum where Ayven was being held.

   When he got there, Lirit found a little tiny window in the top of Ayven’s white room. He knelt beside it and saw the girl. She was huddling in the corner.
   “Ayven!” he called quietly.
   A low moan of pain was the girl’s only response.
   Lirit tried to get closer. “Ayven, I’m going to get you out!”
   “There’s so much white!” Ayven whimpered and pressed herself as close as she could get to the tiny, high window where the darkness of the night was visible.
   “Just hang on.” Lirit reached his hand down as far as it would go and Ayven reached up. She touched his cold fingers and closed her eyes. She could see his face in her mind, surrounded by the darkness she had come to love.
   His voice drifted into her thoughts. “I must go, but I will be back. I’ll get you out of there.”
   Then he was gone. Ayven fell back down to the soft, white floor of this terrible room, and cried.

-
   Serra folded the still green herb leaves into tiny squares and shoved them into the amulet’s hollow core. It was made of black onyx and it had a sterling silver moon on the front. Serra hoped this herb amulet would work like Master Raven had said it should. She fastened the cover to the hollow center of the amulet and stood up.
   Serra Juliarc grabbed her coat and ran out to her car. She started the engine and drove towards the hospital where her daughter was.
-

   Ayven woke in the morning, huddled in the corner. Her sleep had been fitful and she was still exhausted. There was a click as the lock to the door of the white room was opened. A doctor came in followed by Ayven’s mother.
   “Ayven,” the doctor said, speaking slowly, “Your mother is here to see you.”
   Ayven glared at him, but nodded.
   The doctor walked out, closing the door behind him, and Ayven was left alone with her mother in the white room.
   “Good morning sweetheart,” the woman said. She walked foreword.
   Ayven didn’t move or speak.
   “I brought you a present.” Serra held out the amulet. She slowly moved closer to her daughter. “Here, let me put it on for you.”
   Ayven looked at her mother. “Can you get me out of here?”
   The woman flinched at her daughter’s cold voice. “I think I can, just take the amulet, I brought it here especially for you.” She slipped the chain around Ayven’s neck.
   A strange, herbal smell wafted into Ayven’s nose. She shook her head violently. “No!” she cried out. “Stop! No!” Her body grew weaker and she collapsed.
-
   Serra caught her daughter before she hit the ground. She shook her shoulders lightly.
   “Ayven?” she whispered.
   The girl stirred. “Mother?” she murmured, her voice weak.
   Serra smoothed the hair away from her daughter’s face. “I’m here sweetie, would you like to go home?”
   Ayven nodded.

   Serra took Ayven home the next day and set her up in the guest bedroom where visiting family members usually stayed. The walls were a cheery yellow, but Ayven didn’t seem to mind so much.
   Ayven slept for a few days, only waking to eat briefly and use the bathroom. When she woke on the fourth morning of being home, her mother came into the room and, seeing Ayven awake, sat on the foot of the bed.
   “Do you remember everything?” the woman asked.
   “I do,” Ayven whispered.
   “You know who and what you are, Ayven. You know what you are obligated to do.” Serra untangled her fingers, which had been twisting in her lap. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautiful dagger. The weapon was made of sterling silver and carvings covered the handle, showing leaves and tiny budding flowers. The shining, polished blade was engraved with ‘A. D. Juliarc.’
   Serra held out the weapon to her daughter and then gave her its sheath. “This is for you. I was going to give it to you on your 18th birthday, when I told you of the clan and of your place in it.”
   Ayven took the dagger. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
   “You can still become Lady of the clan, Ayven. I know how honored you would be. I can see it in your eyes now that you are able to think clearly.”
   Ayven was silent. She stared at the silver dagger.
   “There’s only one way to release yourself from his hold without having to wear the herb filled amulet.” Serra said. She stayed for a moment and then left her daughter to think about this alone.
-
   Lirit sat in his bedroom. He was staring at the wall blankly. Fear, an emotion unusual for a vampire to feel, had crept into his body. He had not told Ayven this, but she had awakened his soul, something nearly impossible to do. Lirit’s mind searched frantically for Ayven, but he couldn’t sense her. He hadn’t been able to sense her for the past three, nearly four, days. His hold over her had been broken somehow.

-
   Ayven came to her mother that same day, late in the afternoon. “I’ll do it mother,” she said.
   Serra, who had been cooking dinner for the two of them, turned to her daughter. She looked at the girl for a moment and then pulled her into a hug. “I’m proud of you Ayven. I really am.”

   Ayven walked towards Lirit’s house, the dagger concealed in her coat pocket. When she reached the front door, she opened it and slipped inside. The old feel of the Victorian style house was familiar, yet strange to Ayven at the same time. Her mouth opened and she meant to call out to Lirit, but no words would come. And then he was there.
   “Ayven!” His eyes grew wide and he rushed foreword. Ayven was swept into his strong arms. She felt his cold flesh and his chilling breath against her skin.
   Ayven reached into her pocket. She felt Lirit brush his fingers along her neck as if to move aside her hair and bare her skin. She drew out the dagger swiftly and pushed the vampire back. Ayven held the dagger pointing at his chest.
   Lirit stood away, his eyes filled with shock and hurt. “Ayven, what’s going on?” he asked.
   “I have to honor my heritage. I am a Juliarc, a vampire hunter.”
   “I knew you were a Juliarc…” Lirit whispered, “I knew before that first day that we met. I was hunting you. I wanted to keep you for a while and then kill you, revenge for someone who was once close to me.” He paused, his words seeming to catch in his throat. “I knew you were a hunter, and I was going to kill you, but I didn’t know you would change me so much.”
   “What do you mean?” Ayven kept the dagger’s point against his skin.
   “You made my heart beat again… not literally, but you awakened my soul.” His voice had become very quiet, it was almost pleading.
   “Impossible.”
   Lirit took Ayven’s hand, the one that was not holding the dagger, and held it to his chest. He placed her palm and fingers over where his heart should have been, where his button-down, silk shirt was open. “Tell me that you cannot feel the warmth of my awakened soul.”
   Ayven’s hand was resting next to the cold blade of her dagger. It lay, lightly, on what should have been cold flesh. The skin beneath her fingers was warm.
   “I love you Ayven… If you want to kill me, I will not fight you.” Lirit released her hand and bowed his head.
   The dagger fell to the floor, clattering loudly. Ayven’s hand had not moved from his skin. She stood, still and silent, staring at Lirit.
   A few moments later, she touched his pale cheek lightly. He looked up at her and their eyes met. Ayven slid her arms around his neck and in one swift motion Lirit had drawn her close, holding her tightly against him. Tears were falling down his face and wetting Ayven’s brown waves of hair.
   Tears poured from Ayven’s eyes as well. She couldn’t speak and, when she pulled away, Lirit held her gaze for just a moment and then pressed his lips to hers.
   Lirit caressed her lips gently with his, not daring to pull away, afraid she wouldn’t be real if he did.
   “Go now,” he whispered after they finally parted. “What will you tell your mother?”
   Ayven shook her head. “I don’t know…”
   Lirit picked up the dagger and handed it to her.
   Ayven reluctantly released Lirit’s hand and left to head home.

   The dark of night had descended completely now. Ayven walked, dagger in hand, back towards her house.
   “Where are you going Vampire Killer?” a female voice said.
   Ayven turned around. Behind her stood a beautiful woman. She was tall and pale. A vampire, Ayven guessed. Rich, dark hair fell to her waist. It was straight and silky. And in the moonlight, Ayven saw that it was brown, however, darker than her own hair.
   “Who are you? What do you want?”
   “I want revenge for my sister.”
   “And what does that have to do with me?” Ayven held tight to her dagger.
   “You are a Juliarc. A descendant of the vampire hunter Clanin Juliarc.” Hatred was visible in the woman’s gaze.
   Before Ayven could respond, the woman was at her back, holding a blade to her throat.
   Lirit appeared. “Alimai! Release her!” Lirit stepped foreword and grab the female vampire’s wrist. She let Ayven go and the girl stumbled and fell.
   “Lirit, so you’ve found her too. Want to kill her yourself? Or maybe you just want to do it together in a more interesting way.”
   “I don’t want to kill her Alimai.”
   Alimai moved towards Lirit, confused anger on her face. She ripped open his shirt, exposing his bare chest. She pointed to the marks, the double roses with the two A’s on each side. “Do those mean nothing to you now?” she placed her hand over them and then shrieked. “Warmth! There is warmth in your soul! What have you done!?”
   Lirit grabbed Alimai’s wrist, his open shirt flapping. “I have done nothing. I will not allow you to kill Ayven. She had nothing to do with Arila’s death.”
   “She is a vampire hunter Lirit! Or have you not noticed?” Alimai’s voice was cold. “I don’t care if she’s never killed anyone or if she had nothing to do with Arila’s death. I want her dead!” Alimai wrenched her wrist from Lirit’s grasp and pushed him aside, heading for Ayven.
   Lirit leaped foreword and grabbed her arms, holding her back from Ayven.
   Ayven scrambled foreword, her dagger in hand. She looked to Lirit as if asking for permission. His face was expressionless. Ayven looked at Alimai.
   “Filthy mortal!” She reached as if to wrench away from Lirit and lunge at Ayven.
   Ayven threw her arm foreword and pressed her eyes shut as the blade slammed into Alimai’s chest.
   The vampire screeched and Lirit let her go. Alimai fell to the ground and her body turned to ash.
   Ayven shivered. “I can’t believe I would have done that to you…” she whispered.
   Lirit stepped over Alimai’s remains and wrapped his arms around Ayven. She pressed her cheek against his warm chest.
   “Lirit,” she murmured, “I love you.”
   “As I do love thee,” he replied.
   Ayven smiled at his response and held herself closer.
   He then lifted her slim body into his strong arms and carried her back to his home. He took her up the stairs and laid her gently on his soft, deep red sheets. His hands brushed across her body.
   Skin against skin. Gentle caresses. Ayven looked up at Lirit. Never had he been so gentle before. She saw his love for her in his dark eyes. She felt his love for her in his gentle touch. And she felt it in her own soul as well.

   Ayven awoke beside Lirit. She turned to him and gently caressed the bare skin of his arm. She rolled out of the bed and pulled on her clothes. Then, taking her dagger from the spot where Lirit had placed it the night before, she tiptoed out. She stopped at the door and blew a kiss to the sleeping vampire before leaving his house and heading home.

-
   Only hours after Ayven had left, Lirit was awake and sitting in his bed, thinking. He knew he wanted Ayven to stay in his life. But, as a human, her life span would end and Lirit’s would not. He knew the only way to keep Ayven with him as long as he was around. But he wanted to give her a choice.
-

   Ayven managed to avoid her mother almost completely that day. She stayed in her room and, surprisingly, her mother didn’t bother her. Ayven assumed that her mother was giving her some time to calm down and think about the events that had happened since Lirit came into her life.
   When Ayven was around her mother, she managed to avoid the subject, and her mom didn’t object. She seemed to be aware that the subject made Ayven uncomfortable. Though Ayven knew her mother was going to ask her about it at some point. She wouldn’t just assume that she had killed Lirit.
   As Ayven sat in her room that evening, her mother stuck her head in the door.
   “Sweetie, can we talk tomorrow?” she asked.
   “I guess,” Ayven said and yawned.
   “Thank you. Goodnight and sleep well.”
   “Goodnight.”
   The door shut and Ayven was left alone again. She looked around her dark room, which she had returned to without protest from her mother. It was the room she had lived in most of her life. Ayven sat on her bed and waited for Lirit. She knew he would come to her as he always did.

-
   After night fell, Lirit came to Ayven’s window and brought her to his home once again. As soon as the two were sitting on Lirit’s couch, he turned to face her.
   “Ayven,” he began, “I want you to stay with me, join me, become like me. I will let you choose, however. I could not force you into my lifestyle.” He ran gentle fingers through her lovely hair and held her gaze with his eyes. “Would you like to stay as you are? Or would you let me turn you, make you like me, with a soul like the one you awoke within me?”
   Ayven was silent. Lirit waited. He saw her staring into nothing. He knew she was thinking, her mind racing with the choice.
   “You don’t have to choose now.”
   Ayven blinked and then turned to look at Lirit once more. She smiled at him slightly. “Turn me Lirit, make me like you.”
   “Are you sure?”
   “Yes.”
   Lirit took out his dagger. He leaned to the lovely girl’s neck. Fangs pierced skin and he drank like never before. Now, he drank for a different purpose.
   Pulling away when he felt Ayven sway a little, Lirit slit his wrist, Ayven’s palm and his own. He clasped his hand to hers, their blood mingling. Then, he held his slit wrist to the girl’s mouth.
-
   Ayven drank, timidly at first and then with a strange thirst and hunger for it. She felt cold spreading over her body and then her heart raced and slowed. Suddenly, she couldn’t feel it beating anymore and she gasped.
   Her bleeding palm was clasped tightly to Lirit’s and her ears rang. Ayven wanted to scream, but held it back.
   Painful power flowed through her muscles.
   She felt Lirit press his hand against her chest over her dead heart. And she could feel the warmth of her soul, which Lirit had kept awake, in that spot.
   Then all noises and feelings ceased. Ayven fell against Lirit, her body weak for a moment. Then her new strength returned and Ayven felt like never before.
   “Eternal life…” she whispered. Ayven felt cursed. She was to spend eternity as a creature of the night. She looked over at Lirit and, as soon as she saw the grateful look in his eyes, she did not feel cursed anymore.
   “I love you Ayven.”
   The soft voice made Ayven smile. Lirit no longer had to face eternity alone, and she would never have to either.

~ The End ~