Made in Death's Image 02

It was then she noticed a woman across the bar who had been staring at her the entire time. The woman was attractive for a human, with large breasts and long black hair. She had makeup plastered to her face and wore a dress even sluttier than Grace's. The urge to sink her fangs into the pretty woman overcame her and so, while sending the human a seductive look, Grace prowled towards her, swaying her hips as she did so.

"Hey!" The woman yelled over the music, "Come here often?"

Grace chuckled at how dry the pick up line was, "No. You?"

"Sometimes," the woman replied, "My name's Alex."

The woman, Alex, positioned herself closer to Grace, her hand lightly running up and down Grace's leg. Grace inhaled sharply, her desire peaking for this woman. She knocked back her cocktail quickly, before leaning into Alex's ear.

"Grace," she purred, "Shall we dance?"

Alex gasped in delight before nodding. Grace placed her drink down and the two headed to the dance floor. For the next hour, the two lit up the small space to dance with a mixture of lust and elegance. Sweat clung to both their bodies, and Grace eventually leaned into Alex's ear, nibbling lightly on the woman's lobe.

Alex moaned, "God, you're so fucking hot."

Grace giggled, "Let's go to the bathroom."

The woman blinked in confusion, "The bathroom?"

"Let's go to the bathroom," Grace repeated, pushing her power over the woman.

Alex's face glazed over and she nodded. In a dazed state, the woman began walking towards the bathroom. The two were the only one in the bathroom when they entered, and so Grace gently pushed Alex into an empty stall before locking the stall door behind them.

Instantly, Alex was on her. Pressing her lips to Grace's they kissed full of a throaty desire. She moaned against the human, pressing her against the wall as she slipped her tongue into the human's mouth. There, their tongues swirled and danced. Pure- unfettered- head swimming- horny delight, filled Grace. Alex's hands came up, and she groped Grace through her dress.

Her hands massaging Grace's breasts, her thumb grazing Grace's nipple. Somewhere along the makeup session, the vampire's control broke. She let out a snarl, grabbing Alex by the throat before biting into her soft jugular. Alex's eyes widened in fear, her hand coming to clutch Grace's hair, a noise of panic leaving her lips as Grace began to drink deeply from the woman and her hand lost all its strength as it reached her hair. All she could see was red, all she could feel was the crushing debt of hunger. She couldn't stop, not when Alex's hand fell limply to her side nor when the woman's heart beat grew faint.

However, when a sharp knock sounded on the stall, Grace snapped out of her indulgences. She let out a small curse, pulling away from the woman and sloppily wiping her face. Another knock and quickly, Grace shifted into the form of a rat, scurrying to another empty stall before transforming back into her human form.

"Darling I think the woman in there passed out drunk," Grace said stepping out into the bathroom, "Perhaps it is best to let her rest..."

She trailed off when her eyes widened in disbelief. The woman at the door turned to face Grace, a perfect brow arched, and a smirk on her face. Grace blinked a few times as if blinking more would cause the woman to disappear.

"Hello Gracelyn," the woman finally said.

"Zara?" Grace gasped in disbelief.

Zara motioned to her body, "In the flesh."

The fellow vampire Zara had long, jet black hair with deep honey brown eyes. Her skin is a rich deep brown. Her smile a mix of enchanting and mischievous. Her cheek bones were pronounced. She was a beauty not dissimilar to the enchanting beauty Grace has. Perhaps it was the eyes that had united the two into Codrin picking them. Or perhaps it was because they both had such peculiar personalities. Grace would never know, all she knew is that the first time she met Zara in 1950, both their lives were permanently tied together.

FOUR

It was 1950, the dresses were puffy and the hair was even puffier. The first time Grace met Zara was when the poor girl was just turned by Codrin. During this time, Grace was bent on rebelling against her maker in foolish little ways, and when she arrived back at his side, he had freshly turned the young woman.

Grace remembered feeling angry, she was angry Codrin had turned another young woman. Grace was angry at the idea of being replaced. She wanted to be Codrin's only one. When she arrived at the now dead vampire king's dominion of Poppel island, there was Zara. Dressed in a dirty polka dotted dress. She was covered in blood, unable to control her own hunger.

"Master," Grace had whispered in shock.

Codrin hummed, "Ah, my Grace returns to me. Meet your sister? Though I should rather say you stand in."

"Stand in?" Zara whispered, her voice hoarse. Her vocal cords healed from being torn out of excessive screaming.

Grace had felt utterly sick from the scene, "Why? Why her? You know I always come back."

Before he could answer, Zara had let out a scream. Tears flying from the young vampire's face. She flew at Codrin, clawing at his body. She however, did no damage, but he allowed her to act out for a moment, his gaze locked with Grace's own gaze.

"You bastard!" Zara screamed, "I will not obey you!"

His eyes never left Grace's as he acted. Punishing the woman in front of her in horrible ways. His strikes were more brutal than the last. Zara was left sobbing, curled in a naked ball upon the floor, her body covered in her own blood. It was then Codrin walked over to Grace, using the skirt of her dress to clean his hands.

"I do hope this reminds you of the consequences of lashing out and misbehaving. You have my blood and are bound to me."

Grace bowed, shaking in fear, "Y-Yes master."

"Good," he mused, "Hidden, get this pathetic creation out of my sight. My point has been made, our Gracelyn has remembered her place loyally beside me. Isn't that right pet?"

Grace nodded, "Y-Yes master."

That hadn't been the last time she saw Zara, but it was the most defined. After that, Grace had made sure to become heartless and cruel, always obeying Codrin's command. Grace might've not known it but she almost killed herself at that moment. To not be a beaten bruised woman on the floor. And yet standing there very much alive was the same Zara from back then. Sure her hair was longer now, and she looked in much better spirits but Grace knew it was the same woman. Horribly bitter and one who refused to be trampled on again.

"What are you doing in New York?" Grace asked her trying to mask her nerves.

Zara hummed, turning to fix her hair in the mirror of the bathroom, "I came to congratulate you sister! The Queen of vampires, I always knew you'd kill that bastard one day, and might I say, royalty looks lovely on you."

"Zara," Grace breathed, "I am so sorry for everything--"

Zara waved her off, "The past is merely a fog in which we glimpse tomorrow vaguely through. You were loyal and heartless, nothing different from Codrin's other minions. You needed to be to survive. We all do what we must to survive and gain power. I simply got tired of it all much faster than you, and I was lucky to fall in love. Such love gave me the escape from Codrin I had been waiting for. Now, how shall we celebrate your new position?"

Grace shook her head, "I haven't accepted yet. Nor do I want it, Zara."

The other vampire frowned, "Why not? It is the least that man owes you. He rendered your existence and contorted you into something I doubt you ever would have been. But alas maybe he hadn't from what I now see. Actually, speaking of unusual- I heard a hunter helped you kill Codrin. Is that true?"

Grace smiled faintly in thought of Michael, "In a way, yes. He showed me a life where I didn't have to be under Codrin's abusive control. He showed me a life where I could be my own woman with my own life and choices."

"I'd love to meet the man who convinced the great and terrible Grace to settle for love," Zara said brightly, "When can I?"

Grace paused, "I'm not sure. Things between him and I are rocky at the moment. I do not think he'd be willing to see one of Codrin's creations so soon. He almost died at the cunt's hands."

Zara nodded in understanding, "No rush farm girl, I'm sure I'll meet him sooner than we both think. Shall I buy you another cocktail? We have so much catching up to do."

Without thinking of the deeper meaning behind Zara's words, Grace nodded. Excited to catch up with her long-lost friend. As they left the bathroom, Zara smirked to herself, excited for more than just catching up.

FIVE

"Perhaps I can come up this time?" she whispered.

He hesitated, stepping away from her touch, "I-I'm not ok tonight."

"Oh," Grace sighed, disappointment filling her, "Ok. Take care of yourself?"

"I will. Goodnight Grace."

"Goodnight Michael."

"Damn it," Michael grunted, the scene replaying in his head over and over.

He opened the bar a little while ago with the hopes it would clear his mind from last night's event. He knew his rejection hurt Grace but he also knew that was the best thing to do. But they were both still hurting from the incident and turning their relationship sexual now would only contort the healing process for the both of them. He didn't want them to heal through lust, he wanted them to heal together emotionally.

He busied himself with cutting limes for tonight's shift, while he did, a few normal customers walked in for their usual afternoon drinking. He waved at them, before making sure they had their beers. These usual customers were mainly night workers, as he always made sure not to serve anyone with a bit of a problem too early into the night. The few people then left, and he was alone again, cutting lemons now.

The door swung open and Michael looked up briefly, noticing a woman step in with Hispanic features and short black hair. She wore tight black trousers, and a black sports bra, on her feet were black Adidas. He paused for a moment, putting down his knife, as she entered, giving her a customer service smile.

"Hola!" She said, moving to sit at the bar, "Quiet in here."

He nodded, "It's normally quiet until ten PM."

"Ah yes," the woman hummed, "The nights are alive more than people think."

Michael paused, her words strange, "Uh, yeah. I guess so."

"You speak Spanish? Looks like you got a little of a Latino parent in you " she asked curiously, "I'm Ceila by the way."

He shook his head, "My mother is Mexican but we don't talk. Uh, I'm Michael."

"Well I'll order a water, I don't drink alcohol, at least this early," she chuckled.

His brow went up, "So you decided to go to a bar? For water?"

"I heard this place is good for chatting."

He said nothing as he got her a glass of water, adding ice and a slice of lemon to the glass before sliding it over. His guard was raised as he suspected something amiss about the woman. He placed his hand on the underside of the counter, beside his tray and near the knife.

"Chatting about what?" he asked, chuckling with a false coyness.

She smirked slightly, taking a sip of her glass, before putting it down, "Well Michael DeLeon, I've heard you learned about a new topic as of late. The story of the vampires, and other things that go bump in the night."

A cold chill went down his spine, "Is that so?"

She nodded, leaning over the counter, inches from his face, "I heard you even got close to Codrin. The former lord of a large group of Vampires."

His hand moved to grasp the knife, her eyes flickered at the movement. She chuckled, placing her hand on top of his, before taking the knife, and sliding it out from his grip. He didn't move, his eyes watching her actions carefully.

"Those I trust call me Ceil," she said slowly, "I hope you can be one too."

He paused, "Why?"

"Because we're both Hunters."

Michael's eyes widened, "W-What?"

She sat back down, stretching her arms, "Those of us who strive throughout the night, we all heard about Codrin's fall and your name became whispers in the wind. I just got to you first, and it is good that I did. You can relax, we're on the same side."

He sighed, shaking his head and moving back to cutting limes, "I can't talk about this. It's been months, how're people only finding me now"

"Well I'm smart. I knew what to look for based on some clues," she seemed a little annoyed at Michael's insinuation she wouldn't be able to find him, "The next thing is the proximity of events. Most Vampires don't actually know what happened if it happened at all. I found out from some baby vamps who weren't clued into keeping shut quiet. But again it was a matter of time until this information spread like wildfire. You are a hero, and one without proper hunter training. Our kind would be kind. This is what we were destined to do. You did it. Slayed one of Vlad Dragulia's generals!" She went back to whispering after her grand proclamation, "that was a near impossible task and yet here you are killing the upper echelon of supernatural creatures."

"To kill supernatural's?" he said incredulously, feeling slightly angry, "Innocent ones too? I'm a person not some cudgel formed by destiny."

Ceil reared back slightly, "We keep a balance between us and humans. We don't hunt down innocent beings. We aren't instruments of genocide- whatever you've been told to believe. We hunt down murderers, and horrible beings. We deliver justice the humans cannot. Had you been raised properly with our culture, you'd know this."

That made him pull back but the anger sat in his throat, "So you don't kill random creatures? You don't kill with impunity?"

"No," she reassured, "there might've been a time but our symbiosis with the supernatural world is needed to function. Although it can be argued most vampires are the same and purely devil spawn. They're not all evil. But it was easier for them to believe that about us."

He sighed tired of the games and unwarranted compliments, "I didn't kill Codrin. A vampire did. So you're wrong. I didn't even do that."

Her eyes widened in disbelief, "What?"

"Yeah," Michael sighed, "Are you sure you don't want a drink? It's a long story."

Ceil sat back in her seat in total shock, "Fine. But make it a double, if I'm going to drink then I want to be fucked up especially for a story as unbelievable as this. Whiskey please."

Michael turned to the shelf behind him and grabbed something off the top, "One double."

As he told her the story, the twilight of evening turned into the deep black of night. Near twelve AM, Fran arrived and excused Michael for the night. So the two moved to a booth at the back of the bar, both drinking. Michael was fully loyal to Grace, but this was the first time he was meeting another of his kind and after all that had happened, he wanted to know more about his bloodline. The company of a beautiful woman might have totally been misinterpreted however.

"There's more of us like a lot more?" he asked, sipping his own whiskey.

She chuckled, pressing up against him, "Yeah! A whole secret society. No dickhead, a few thousand but many families intentionally abandoned their heritage for normalcy."

Michael moved slightly away from her when Fran walked over. Fran seemed to be glad and relieved that Michael was hanging out with someone other than the vampire that almost got him killed.

"Hey darling," Fran said, "I'm going to close up now, you guys can stay longer. I'm going to put the closed sign up but I'll let you lock up."

He smiled, "Ok Fran, thank you."

Ceil leaned into Michael's ear, "I don't sense any hunter blood in her."

"She's not my mom," Michael replied, watching with a smile as Fran left, "Just a very close friend. Are there other hunters in New York?"

Ceil pouted slightly, "No, many wouldn't dare with Codrin's presence. We've been talking about hunters all night. I want to know more about you. I want to teach you about our kind and that starts with what makes you tick."

Michael sighed slightly at her drunken demeanor, "Right."

She leaned against him, to the point he could feel her hardened nipples through her sports bra. Her hot breath fanned against his cheek and before he could move away, she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into him.

"What makes you tick?" she whispered in his ear.

Before he could comment, the front door slammed open. The two jumped apart and Michael slid out of the booth. His eyes wide as they fall on Grace. She looked different, dressed in black jeans, a white t-shirt, an indigo baseball cap and black boots. But that red lipstick on her lips was recognizable anywhere.

"Is that her?" Ceil gasped, moving to grab Michael's arm, "She killed her own maker and oh! Look at her face, you're fucking her. Michael you dog, you're fucking the vampire who killed Codrin."

Grace's eyes narrowed, and silently, Michael groaned, knowing this wouldn't be good.

SIX

In Michael's mind, the beating he suffered in that damp cold dungeon still ached in his bones. When he closed his eyes, he could feel the iron tang of blood coat his mouth and make him nauseous as he swallowed, the scent of stone and cold musty basement with blood embedded in his nose. When he took a breath, he could feel his throat hoarse, metal chafing his wrists, and the hiccup of oxygen in his lungs from his ribs sticking at each of his soft delicate organs. And yet, those memories that haunted his every being did not compare to the fear he felt looking between these two women.

"Ooh," Ceil taunted, pressing her breasts onto his arm, "She looks angry."

If Michael wasn't frozen in his feet, he would have begged Ceil to be quiet.

"Hunter," Grace seethed slowly, "You seem to have your claws in something of mine."

Ceil smirked, "And my tits pressed against him, but he doesn't seem to mind it at all. Well, with a vampire as a girlfriend, I'm sure you're both unsatisfied. Tell me, did you kill your king in hopes to take over? We know all about you, The Last Lord of Translyvannia's Vicious Pet. He should know all about who you really are. How we know you."

Michael groaned, pulling away from her embrace abruptly, "This is getting out of hand. Ciel how about you stop this "

Grace took a step forward, "And why are the hunter's only getting involved with him now then? I find it hard for you brave lot to be too scared or Codrin to claim your own kind?"

Ceil smirked, stepping forward from the table and away from Michael, "I didn't think bloodsuckers liked to talk so much shit? I thought they all just sucked"

"You're right," Grace snarled, "We don't really talk to our food."

It happened faster than his eyes could track. The two seemed to move at the same time, both lunging across the room at each other. On one side, Michael was kind of impressed that, even drunk, Ceil could hold her own against Grace. Grace's hand came off like a claw, slicing forward. As she did, Ceil dropped into a crouch, her foot swiping out towards Grace's legs. Grace dodged it with a shirt hop, and responded by throwing her own foot forward.

For a moment, Michael could only watch as the two moved, as if dancing a violent dance. He only snapped out of the trance as Grace scratched Ceil's cheek and Ceil punched Grace's nose that these weren't strangers fighting. These were two experienced killers.

"Ok enough!" he yelled in a booming voice.

They didn't stop. So, he moved over to the bar, frantically looking around before his eyes landed on a pitcher of water. Moving quickly, his hand fumbled to grab it, before rushing over to the two and tossing the water over them. They both jumped apart, dodging the water as it splashed onto the floor. They both turned to look at him, neither seeming too guilty about the ordeal.