Nightwalker Fan Fiction ❯ End of All Hope ❯ The Lieutenant ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

“The New Empire is ruled by seven High Lords, each having their own territory and central court. When I lived there, the lords constantly squabbled and fought with each other for dominance, but in recent days, they have put all their differences behind them and have united in order to protect their land from the attacks by the humans. Anyway, every High Lord has four lieutenants directly under him. Think of them as four vice-presidents under a CEO. The lieutenants are high-ranking master vampires handpicked by the High Lord, and their courts are made up of other master and common vampires that live within their respective territories.

“Each has their own court and small province within the Lord's own. Each lieutenant has control of their own territory even though they are all under the ultimate power of the High Lord. Their subsidiary courts are situated at the four cardinal points and the courts and lieutenants are titled as such. For example, the court of the north is ruled by 2nd Lieutenant so-in-so of the North, the court of the south is led by 4th Lieutenant so-in-so of the South, and so on. Now that the lycans and fae have also joined the Empire, they have their own small areas to live, and have a voice in the Superior Council, but the vampires definitely are the dominate species in the Empire.”

Shido had spent the last couple of hours explaining to Riho about the world of the nightwalkers and what type of society she could expect once she got to the Empire. He would stop every so often and she would ask questions, or ask him to go over something again. It had been three days since they had left the cover of the little copse of trees and headed closer and closer to their destination.

Riho walked by her guardian's side, mentally chewing over what he had said. “And what about the nightbreed, Shido-san? Where do they fit in?”

The violet-haired male frowned at the thought of the slimy monsters who hid in the shadows and crawled into the gutters. “They have always been thought of as disdainful parasites by vampires, just as they have been by humans, but for different reasons. Humans hate the nightbreed because they fear them, just as they fear all the walkers of the night. Vampires detest the nightbreed because they are more often then not, mindless creatures with no sense civility or cultivation and hid within their host rather than be proud of what they are. The nightbreed are not to be bothered with in the Empire, and are not considered to be a threat or an asset. They simple are left to their own devices.”

She thought of this, and wondered if this was why the vampires they had encountered thus far, had not cared two cents about the nightbreed that Shido-san had destroyed for a living. As she went over all the facts now running around in her head, she came up with another question. “All these ranks that a vampire can have, what do they mean, Shido-san?”

He shifted a stray hair that the wind had blown out of place, back behind his ear. “There are essentially four types of vampire: a fledgling like you Riho-chan, a common vampire, a master vampire, and lord vampire. All of the undead are reborn as fledglings and eventually grow in power to become one of the other three. I became a common vampire.”

Riho blinked in surprise, “You're incredibly strong to me, Shido-san. Why are you only a common vampire?”

He laughed for what felt like the first time in a long time, “Well common vampires can have a lot of freedom despite being the weakest of the three. And we're not bound by so many rules and protocols, even if we can't have out own land or participate in politics.”

He didn't think that now was the time to tell her that he was not actually a regular common vampire. To tell her that, he would have to explain how common vampires could become higher in rank if they had a stronger mate, and he didn't quite want to approach the subject of “mating” just yet. The thought of de facto ranks gave way to sudden sad memories as his friend—his tovarishch—came to mind.

The companion he had left behind in his old life so long ago, had been mated to one of Cain's lieutenants. He had often wondered about Gwyn during all those years apart, and if he had missed him as much as he had him. What would he do when he saw him again? For he knew that Gwyn would be drawn to his presence, just as surely as Cain would, and he hoped that when the time came, that the raven-haired vampire would at least speak a word to him. Even if that word was one that would dissolve their friendship and give Shido the reward he deserved for deserting his comrade as he did.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, when unexpected sounds pricked his ears. They had been running through the abandoned streets of some empty, abandoned town in the western extremity of China, when he had heard the distinct sounds of fighting—flesh hitting flesh, scuffling on the pavement, and even the unmistakenable zapping sounds of a UV rifle. Someone was chasing a creature of the night…

The first thing he had wanted to do was go the opposite direction, survival foremost in his mind. However, one look at his childe, and a small sliver of his forgotten principles came back to the surface.

She looked at him pleadingly, “Please Shido-san, we can't leave whoever it is to die. They will kill him if we don't do something!”

He thought about the situation, and even though the idea that the victimized creature was simple another ravenous nightbreed crossed his mind, he decided that no creature deserved to be played with and tortured by the humans.

Moving carefully towards the sounds of the skirmish, Shido looked around the corner of the building, all the while keeping himself and Riho out of sight. What he saw made his stomach churn and his claws and fangs extend in anger.

Six human soldiers stood jeering around a young male vampire, who was struggling tooth and claw against their taunt chains of silver that held him pinned to the ground, and under the constant shots from their cruel UV rifles. Every hit of concentrated light burned the male's pale skin to the bone, and even with the vampiric ability of fast healing, it was apparent that the vampire was suffering.

One of the soldiers, the leader it seemed, kicked the captured male's side violently. His voice was just a vicious as his actions, “How the tables have turned monster. You and your kind hunted us for years, and now—it's time for you to be the prey.”

The trapped male didn't respond except with a sneer and a snap of his feral canine teeth.

Not able to get a rise out of their quarry, the leader pulled out a hunter's knife and quickly straddled the nightwalker's chest. Ignoring the thrashing jaws, he slowly began to trail the blade's point along the male's chest, watching with cruel glee as the blood escaped in response.

The vampire snarled even louder as he felt the knife point dig deeper and another hand pulled back on his long azure colored locks, before putting another knife to his revealed throat. Despair began to hit him as he realized that this might actually be the end for him. How did he get to his point? What would his lord do in response to his death? Of all the ways he had expected to die, this was not one he had imagined, even when he had volunteered for this mission.

Suddenly, a low-pitched whine sounded twice through the air, unheard by the humans, but ringing clear as a bell in the male's sharp ears. He recognized the signal instantly and let a ghost of a smile light upon his face. He gathered his strength and became a still as he could, coiled like a cobra ready to strike any time, even as the soldier carved up his torso and a blade tip was tickling his jugular.

One of the other observing soldiers took notice of this. “What? All the fight out of you, vampire?”

The male's smile got even wider as he spied the glint of two golden eyes peering from directly behind the soldiers back. He spoke for the first time since he had been captured, catching the humans by surprise.

“Well now, that would be telling now, wouldn't it?”

Before the man could even question further, he gasped as his ribs were smashed into and his lungs and heart ripped out! Before the dead corpse had even fallen to the ground, a second soldier's neck snapped under mysterious hands, coming out of the darkness.

The remaining four soldiers stood up and went into fighting stances, searching around them for the unknown assailant.

“Spread out men, that nightbreed isn't going to get away from us.” The leader barked out, raising his rifle.

The captured blue-haired vampire mentally snorted in indignation at their words. It was no mere nightbreed that they faced, but a child of darkness, a walker of the night that hunted them. While all their attention was distracted, the captured vampire pulled harder on his bonds, trying to withstand his pain as he fought to get free.

Out of the blue, a soft hand touched his shoulder in reassurance, before moving to his shackled right wrist!

A lovely, whimsical voice whispered in his ear, “Do not worry, we'll get you out of here.”

Looking towards the owner of the voice, he blinked at the sight of the female, who was under an invisibility veil, working through his shackles. He could tell she was a very young fledgling, and a very beautiful one at that. She seemed scared but determined to free him. He found her innocence rather cute. He hadn't seen that in any vampiress he had ever met before.

“What is your name, young one? What are you doing out here alone and unprotected? What province do you belong to?”

She smiled at his questions and he suddenly felt as if the North Star had decided to envelop him. She pricked her finger on her sharp canine and let the resulting blood form into a knife's blade. Quickly breaking apart his chains with the blood-knife, she answered him. “My name is Riho. I am not alone but with my guardian, Shido-san. And I don't belong to any kind of province anymore. I'm traveling from Japan to the new Empire.”

He nodded, quickly gathering that vampire keeping the humans busy was probably this Shido person. He watched the auburn-haired vision of exquisiteness continued in her task, while he used whatever power he could muster to reinforce her invisibility shield. It wasn't much but it was clear that it helped, as she smiled at him in gratitude. Man, it was worth it, if only for that smile…

He had been on the edge of starvation when the humans had found him, and thus was the reason for his capture. In any other situation, the mortals wouldn't have even been able to touch him. But even now, he struggled on the edge of consciousness as his precious blood continued to drip down from the cuts on his chest, the wounds slowly taking their time in healing.

Shido watched Riho set the male lose out of the corner of his eye, as he played a game of cat and mouse with the remaining four soldiers that he had yet to kill. He interrupted his thoughts by grabbing a man around his jaw, using his claws in a quick lethal twist, and pulling out the man's entrails, his hand muffling the dying screams.

Better make that three soldiers…

He watched from the shadows as the other three men were beginning to get spooked. He let a small leering smile appear upon his face. It was about time the hunted became the hunter once again.

He shifted his body and quickly took care of the last two lackeys, with quick swipes across the throat cutting the arteries and veins in their neck, killing them instantly. As their bodies dropped to the earth, he had to dodge quickly as the leader fired upon him. He laughed aloud, his voice the epitome of patronization. “Oh come on! Is that all you got? I guess you're only good at anything, when it's against the weak and defenseless, huh?”

The human began firing even more rapidly, “You can only run away for so long, nightbreed!”

Shido laughed once more, evading the bullets and light rays with ease before pouncing on the lone soldier from behind. Easily disarming him with a kick, he restrained the soldier in both arms with a steel grip, sinking his bloodied claws into the man's neck for good measure.

He whispered into the man's ear, watching all the bravado drain out of the human's face. “Now see, first, I wasn't running away. And two, I'm a nightwalker, mortal. It would be good for you to remember that—at least for the remaining time of your life that is…”

Shido didn't loosen his grip one bit as he turned around to look back at Riho, who was approaching him slowly, the stranger supported weakly on her shoulders. “Is he alright?”

Riho looked at the blue-haired vampire who slumped against her shoulder, “He's totally drained, Shido-san. I've healed him as much as I could but, he needs to feed and fast. Do you want me to give my blood?”

He shook his head, “That is unnecessary, Riho. I'll feed him.”

Shido moved towards her, jerking the soldier along with him none to kindly, causing the human to complain and cry out. He quickly silenced him by driving his claws in deeper, cutting into the man's windpipe.

He then bent down and looked at the unfamiliar vampire. He was probably about a century younger then him, about the same height and build, with hair the color of cornflowers. His skin was as white as a sheet showing how dire the situation was, but the fact that the male was still semiconscious showed the amount of potential power lay beneath the surface.

He spoke to him, switching back to the customary Romanian that all vampires from the old country could speak with fluency. “Dvs aprobaþi fratele meu?”

The male blinked and looked up at him with hazy brown eyes, the golden light having left them. “De asemenea eu eventual aº putea sã fiu, fratele.”

Riho looked back and forth between the two, unable to understand a word. “Shido-san?”

Shido looked up at her and smiled, remembering that he had yet to teach his childe how to speak the language of the motherland. “I asked him if he was okay, and he answered that he's as well as can be expected.”

She looked down as the man she was carrying, “How come he could understand me, when I first talked to him?”

The blue-haired stranger laughed charmingly before looking up at her. “I can speak…many languages…it is just custom…for two nightwalkers to speak in…Romanian…upon first meeting.”

Before Riho could even think about becoming embarrassed for not knowing undead protocol, the man's eyes rolled back into his head and he totally collapsed upon her sending them both to the ground!

Knowing he had very little time to work with, Shido began to act fast and pushed his captive mortal to the ground, not even bothering to listen to the man's whining and pleading.

Yanking his claws out of the human's neck, he watched the blood flow out in gushes and quickly pressed the other vampire's mouth against the wound. “Drink, my brother of the night, for I will not lose you now.”

He continued to hold on stubbornly until he made sure that the male had latched on of his own accord. When the other vampire had taken in enough sustenance to be able to support himself, he grabbed the dying human with both hands and drove his fangs in deep, lapping up every bit of the life-giving blood into his starving system.

Shido stepped away and watched the life flow from out of the human and into the nightwalker. It was true that it took death to give another life; that was just how everything worked. Death and life lived hand in hand, and it just so happened that for once in a long time, he could see true justice being served…

As he turned to look at Riho, he caught her starring at the stranger they had just rescued with a funny look on her face. “Riho.”

She jumped lightly and looked at him with her bright blue eyes, wide as double full moons. “Y-Yes, Shido-san?”

“It's rude to stare at someone while they're eating.”

She blushed even heavier than before, and completely did an about face before searching for something—anything—else to talk about. “U-Um, Shido-san, how did you know that he would recognize the signal you made?”

He looked at her curiously, “Any vampire would. We are all taught the signal as fledglings, that that particular sound means one thing: hang on, for help was on the way. Two high-pitched whistles for “need for assistance” and two low-pitched whines signals that you heard and that help is coming. Make sure to remember this Riho-chan if you ever get into trouble, okay?”

She nodded in response, “We should get out of here soon. The night is almost through and other soldiers will surely come looking for their missing comrades.”

Shido picked up an abandoned UV rifle from off the ground, and with one quick movement and utilizing his superior strength, he broke the gun in half!

Throwing the pieces to the ground, he looked at the littering corpses solemnly. “Ever since the Bloody Constantine Massacre, the world has goon to Hell and we are but trying to simply survive the flames.”

The sound of another gun breaking in half reached his ear, and he turned to see their new companion, now at least somewhat recharged, throw another broken weapon of pain and torture to the ground. “Your words are elegiac, poet. And sadly they are very true.”

Walking up to them, the strange vampire elegantly bowed, looking very aristocratic despite the torn, burnt clothes, and dried blood upon his now fully healed skin. “I owe my life to the two of you. I hope you can accept this humble gift of thanks until we reach the Empire. I then will be able to thank you in a more substantial way.”

Shido stepped slightly in front of Riho and bowed himself, easily falling back into protocol. “No such thanks is necessary, it was my pleasure and my duty to help you. My name is Shido Tatsuhiko, and this is my cohort, Riho Yamazaki. We are refugees, traveling from the Far East.”

The other nodded in response, “Many have come from that direction, but only the lucky make it to the safety of the Empire. I can tell that you have been to the Empire before, Tatsuhiko. Yet, you are a common vampire? What are doing so far away from the homeland, and with a fledgling in tow?”

Shido narrowed his eyes in response, his voice becoming a degree colder. “My secrets are my own, master vampire. I have my reasons, and Riho has never seen the lands of the Empire. We too wish to be away from the bloodthirsty humans that would kill us in an instant if we were caught. You should know this better than anyone.”

The stranger watched as the lovely young female hid behind the rifled male in fear at the words he spoke, and instantly he was regretful for his harsh language. “I apologize for prying, I meant no offense. You two are my saviors and I am interrogating you as if you were criminals…”

He then bowed low again, this time a golden amulet fell from between his shirt folds, hanging on a golden chain by his neck. “You must also pardon my rudeness for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Azrael, 4th Lieutenant of the East, faithful servant and deputy enforcer to High Lord Aeon.”

Shido looked at him in surprise. The man was quite young to be a lieutenant, but the amulet around his neck proved it. He could tell at first glance that the male had been a master vampire, just as the other could tell right off that he was a common vampire in nature. However, he knew all the High Lords, and could easily recognize Lord Aeon's crest.

Azrael noted Shido's surprise a laughed slightly, “I know. You're asking yourself how a master vampire, a lieutenant at that, could get captured by some weakly mortals.”

“The mortals aren't weak anymore, Master Azrael. The constant slaughter of our brethren night after night has proven that. However, while that question did not really come to mind immediately, I do wonder as to what you are doing caught on the other side of the Empire's border?”

He sighed and moved even closer to the couple, obviously slightly embarrassed. “Save the niceties for court, Tatsuhiko. You can simply call me Azrael.”

“Then I insist you just call me Shido, agreed?”

Azrael nodded in response, “Agreed. As to what I am doing here, I was sent on a mission by my lord to do some reconnaissance. My team was lost in a human ambush in Nepal and I was the only one left. I traveled on foot all the way back to the empire with the information that our people so desperately need, not stopping for anything and constantly evading my pursuers. It got to the point that I had not feed in so long, that my body began to betray me and led to weakness, which ultimately led me to being captured by these trackers. I'm indebted to you, Shido and Riho, and so are our people, since the information I have may prove to be invaluable in our battle against the mortals. The border to our land is not far away, and to know that the humans have moved this close, means that we might have to speed up our plans.”

Before Shido could respond, he heard a small feminine voice speak from behind him, full of hope. “So we'll be in the new Empire soon? We won't have to run anymore?”

Riho was suddenly surprised when the handsome, blue haired lieutenant appeared in front of her, taking her hand in his and placing a chaste kiss upon its surface. “Yes, little one. You shall be safe in the Empire soon, and I shall take you to my province where I will find a place for you and Shido to live. It is the least I can do after all you've done for me.”

Azrael inwardly smiled at the delightful way precious Riho's cheeks flushed. However, he also looked in his peripheral vision at Shido and was relieved to see no hint of jealousy or fury, arise from the older male. Only a careful look of scrutiny came upon the common vampire's face. Interesting…so Shido was not the girl's lover, but only her protector… Hmm, this could be very interesting indeed…

An inner smirk appeared as a plan cultivated within his mind. He looked toward Shido and spoke out the first part of his idea. “I have an idea. We should all go together, since there is more safety in numbers. What say you, Shido?”

The violet-haired vampire nodded, “Your idea has merit. However, dawn is quickly approaching. We need to find a safe place to rest before the next rising.”

Azrael thought about that for a moment, “There is an abandoned farmhouse about twenty miles west from here. Will that suffice?”

Shido nodded before putting his arm around Riho's shoulders and leading her in the proposed direction.

The master vampire began to follow them, a touch of envy hitting his heart as he watched the close contact the two were having. Under his breath he muttered his inner thoughts, “L va fi vã va urmãri cu privirea, Shido Tatsuhiko.”

I'll be watching you, Shido Tatsuhiko…

He was suddenly surprised, when Shido himself answered back. “Pe mãsura ce eu vreau, locotenentul.”

As will I lieutenant…as will I…