Chapter Two

The clergyman struggled against my iron tight grasp. I knew he had taken her but this deception of his would not get the better of me. I wrestled him to an arm. Tearing his dark black robe I tied his arms firmly to the chair and slowly paced over to Jean's wounded accomplice. The sad excuse for life whimpered as he once again caught a glimpse of my luminously white skin; he shivered in angst at what the future held for him. My daggers were my tools and these two men my task – I knew that if I should fail I might never see my beloved once more.

'You're up first' Adair said cynically as he eyes directed him to the unknown man.

I paced over to him slowly and calculated my next course of action. He was weak, this would be used to my advantage, though deep down inside, the little part of me that remained human, felt a distorted empathy for this poor soul. Before the man could speak, my boot slammed viciously onto his knee shattering the bone releasing a ghastly wail from the victim's mouth – the clergyman watched helplessly in the corner uttering a pathetic prayer in Latin. I grabbed the man's mangled leg, by the thigh, and pulled close it to his head and asked him the same question repetitively, 'Where is she'. He would snap. I knew that before I began.

'She's in Tuscany, in the Church, in the centre of town' he whined.

I grabbed my dagger by the hilt and slowly began peeling the exposed flesh surrounding my victim's knee. 'Are you sure?' I asked simply.

'Yes!' the man shouted looking in horror at his leg.

I believed him, but I had second thoughts. I left the helpless man bleeding in the corner, Jean-Baptise was my next 'task'. He sat there motionless waiting for what he assumed to be a grim fate.

'I run under the impression that blood is thicker than water – but you aren't my family. Freya means the world to me; I give a meaning to her existence, you do nothing but squander her talents and see her but as an asset for your political position. For your knowledge she has been made a happy bride. She will not have the of time scar the perfect body which is her own. I did not turn her until it was completely necessary. She was going to pass but I have postponed her judgement for eternity. You are not able to comprehend that my kind is not much different for your own. We serve but as mediators of your expanse by keeping a watchful eye on all you do. Your kind constantly meddles with what should not be touched. Dark forces plague my kind but I do not tempt myself with their vices. I have lived for many centuries in Europe – I watch as your kind kill each other senselessly over land and power. You know nothing of my kind. You only know what we are in myth. This is but a curse that I am burdened with and must endure for my own survival. I prey on the wicked – your church preys on the vulnerable. You keep the truth from the people who drive the very society you call your own' I said in a fit of anger.

I could not control myself; the appending rage which had once buried itself had once again emerged. I did not think, I acted – his fate was now sealed and I would live forever with the consequences of my actions.