Return of the Blood Reaver Ch. 01

"How long will you be?" he asked.

"A few hours, tops. If the news is as serious as Aldrich claims, then I may have to inform my clan about it. If not, I'll probably shoot the shit with Aldrich for a bit! You know how that man loves to talk!" Cristania snickered.

"So very true! Aren't you going to shower before you meet up with Aldrich?" Joshua asked.

"We'll shower together when I get back," Cristania told him as she licked her fangs suggestively.

"You are insatiable, you know that?" Joshua laughed.

"You know you love it!" Cristania giggled.

"Did he say anything else about the information he had for you? I know it's usually on a need to know basis, but it would be nice to know what it is you're dealing with," Joshua asked her with a worried look.

"He mentioned that there is a new player in town, one who could tip the scales of power in any direction. But that depends on who's willing to deal with the man," Cristania told him.

"Well... that's better than not knowing, I suppose! Hopefully, all goes well, and you get back here safely!" Joshua stated.

"Don't you worry, babe! I'll get back as soon as I'm done, OK?" she assured him. "I'll call if anything changes."

"All right. I know you can handle yourself out there, but I still worry. It's in my nature," he said in a boyfriend voice.

"I know, hon! I know. Now eat your sandwich before it gets cold!" she commanded him and Joshua started, having forgotten that the sandwich was there. He dug in with gusto, enjoying the unique flavors of the meal. Cristania smiled and walked out of the apartment, locking it up behind her. The vampire woman skipped her way down the stairs, giggling like a schoolgirl, and sighed as she hit the ground floor.

Cristania always wore a big, goofy grin every time after an encounter with Joshua. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that just... set her off. Being over a hundred years old, Cristania had some pretty wild experiences. Some of which were beyond human imagining, and the kinks she had were quite... demanding! Yet Joshua could always put her over the edge like no one ever could!

She smirked to herself as she navigated the darkened streets, heading toward the park. It was Aldrich's favorite hangout and the one place she was guaranteed to find him. Cristania's mind wandered as she moved, thinking about the man who she called her friend.

Cristania often wondered how Aldrich had convinced the people of the streets to spy for him. While she knew how well informed the man was, how he did it was a mystery to her. There were many theories that were passed around, but no one in the vampire world could ever agree on one.

Cristania's theory was that he had probably let some of them know what he was. If that was the case, then he had probably saved a few of them from hungry vampires when they were attacked. It was the one theory that she went with, as it made the most logical sense. She didn't truly know, as Aldrich never told her, despite Cristania asking on numerous occasions.

The vampire woman sighed as she crossed into a seedier part of town, close to the outskirts of the park, when she heard a scream. If she had normal hearing, there was no way she would have been able to hear it. But being a vampire enhanced every sense she possessed, making her something more than human. The scream came again and Cristania knew it was the sound of a woman in distress.

Looking about, she saw that there was almost no one on the streets, aside from a few hookers working a nearby corner. But they weren't paying attention to her, as their focus was trying to attract any Johns that were passing by. Seeing her chance, Cristania picked up her speed, racing by at an unnatural speed towards the sound. She reached it not even a minute later and was appalled at what she found.

She was facing an alleyway and inside it stood five men, who were standing around a woman on the ground. Her clothes were torn, and it was clear that she had been assaulted, going by which areas of her clothing had been ripped. She still had her panties on, which was a good sign, but they wouldn't be staying on for long. Not with these men standing above her like they were, with their dicks hanging out.

"Not a bad start honey, but we've got more in mind than just being blown!" the leader of the group laughed as he stroked his still hard dick.

Cristania growled as she saw this, her anger rising to where it felt like her blood was boiling. She calmed herself though, as she didn't want to drop into a blood rage and kill these men. No, killing them would let them off too easy. Because they had already assaulted the woman with the intent of fully raping her, Cristania would make them pay.

She carefully stowed the carry bag full of blood by some trash cans before moving into the alley. Cristania moved closer and as she neared, the smell of these men assaulted her nose. She wrinkled it and thought it smelled familiar, but paid it no mind. She reached the one to the furthest left, walking so silently that none of them heard her behind them.

The girl noticed something, as her face, while still lined with terror, wondered who would be bold enough to approach these men. Using her superior strength, Cristania grabbed the man by the shoulder. She spun him around and punched him hard enough that she not only broke his nose but shattered it. The man screamed in pain and tried countering, but Cristania was already moving, flowing around his attack, and sucker punched the man.

He dropped like a sack of beans while the nearest assailant charged her, thinking to teach her a lesson in interrupting them. Scoffing at the crude and clumsy attack, Cristania gave his crotch a fierce slap, which was hard enough to split skin. The only reason this man wasn't picking his balls up off the ground was because of the jeans he wore, which kept his sack safe from mutilation.

That didn't mean he didn't suffer, as he howled a few octaves higher than even Cristania thought possible before collapsing to the ground in pain. The other three men tried rushing her at the same time and they though they thought they had her. Cristania, being a vampire, made even odds like that seen ruinously unfair for them.

The other two of the far right charged at her simultaneously, thinking to overwhelm her with a double attack. Cristania almost yawned and laughed at the absurdity of this, and launched a double punch, smashing their faces hard enough to crack bones. The men clutched their faces, howling in pain as she then hit them both with a cockshot. They mewled like day old kittens and dropped to ground, writhing in agony.

"You fucking bitch! You'll pay for this, you twat!" the last man growled as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans.

Eyes widening for a split second, Cristania dipped into her vampiric speed, evading each shot the man fired. He only got three off from his six shooter before she closed the distance to him and slapped the gun from his hands. The man yelped in pain and turned to run, but Cristania was in front of him in an instant. As she faced him, recognition hit her as she saw his face and scowled.

"You!"

"Wha... who... oh fuck!!" the man cried out, as he was the same one that she had decked in the club earlier that night.

"I figured you were a scumbag, but you went and proved me right! Now, it's time for you to pay for doing fucked up shit like this!" she rumbled. Cristania rushed up to him and gripped his gun arm with one hand and his still hard cock in the other, squeezing hard.

"Oooooohh!! Fuck!! Please!! Stop!! Stop!! Stoooooo----" he howled as twisted his arm viciously, snapping bone and tearing muscle. She then squeezed his dick ever harder, then jerked her hand to one side, snapping it in half.

The blood-curdling scream that erupted from his mouth sounded like that of a man dying a most painful and horrible death! This sort of fate was one that was worse than death! He continued to scream until his lungs were raw, trying to cope with the unimaginable pain his body was enduring at that moment.

Cristania just stared at the man as he writhed on the ground, stepping over him as one might step over fetid trash. She then approached the woman, who was still on the ground, looking fearful that Cristania might do something similar to her. The vampire woman the kneeled and extended her hand to the woman.

"It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you," Cristania told her softly.

"You sure hurt those guys pretty bad," the woman said with fear lacing her voice.

"I only punish those guilty of violating other people. Innocents, they are spared my wrath," Cristania replied in a reassuring voice. Seeing the gentle look on her face and in her eyes, the woman decided to trust her and took her hand. Cristania helped her up and guided her through the alley, back to the street.

"Thank you! They followed me from the club and told me they were going to have some fun with me. I tried to outrun them, but they cornered me here," the woman told Cristania.

"Do you know how to defend yourself?" Cristania asked, thinking the woman should have fought, given the chance.

"Hardly. I know the soft spots to hit, but I'm no fighter. Can't afford the lessons," the woman confessed.

"Why can't you?" the vampire asked.

"Because I have a little one to look after and no one to help. Except for my mom, who also works. Thought I'd come out and have myself a fun night for once. Turned into a fucking nightmare!" the woman told her.

"Stop by when you have some free time. You should at least learn the basics," Cristania told her, handing the woman a business card. She took it and looked it over and almost scoffed, but still smiled at the thought.

"I pretty much have no time between work and everything else," the woman reminded her.

"There is a small daycare there, for parents who are students. Also, don't worry about the cost," Cristania told her with a smirk.

"What's the catch?" the woman asked, thinking she was being put on.

"No catch. I know the owner and she owes me a favor or two," Cristania said with a smile. She then scooped up the bag containing the blood, slung it over her shoulder and was gone. Cristania raced to the nearest phone booth, and upon finding it empty, she dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" came the 911 operator's question.

"Yes, I heard some God-awful screaming coming from an alleyway on Seventeenth Street. It sounded like someone was being tortured, maybe even being murdered! Oh God, the screaming!!" Cristania said over the line, making it sound like she was severely distressed, before dropping the phone and taking off.

She knew it was a gamble, as 911 got an awful lot of prank calls, but her acting had become much better over the years. Maybe she convinced the 911 operator to send a unit to investigate. Either way, the men would either pick themselves up and leave, or be caught by the police for what happened. She only hoped that the woman stuck around to recount what happened to her.

It was most likely that she had beaten feet, as even in this day and age, rape or sexual assault allegations rarely stuck. There was also the bit where they had to face the shame of it, along with allegations that she was making it up. Neither option was appealing, but regardless of which one the woman chose, she at least had that choice now. Cristania had saved the woman from what would have been a brutal gang rape and possibly being murdered, which would have nullified that choice.

Putting the incident out of her head, Cristania crossed into the boundaries of the park and raced to her meeting point. There were few people walking the pathways this late at night, which is what made it ideal as a meeting place. With so few people around, especially with how dangerous the city was at nights, no one wanted to linger.

Cristania made it to the meeting point and checked her watch, happy to see that she was a few minutes early. She idled around for a few minutes, wondering when Aldrich would show up. She didn't have to wait long, as Aldrich was already there, hiding close by and watching his young friend. Ever so quietly, he walked up behind her and whispered into her ear.

"It's good to see you made it early," he chuckled. Cristania jumped where she stood, screaming like a little girl, before turning and glaring at Aldrich, who was laughing so hard he was crying.

"Could you stop doing that??" she groused, giving him a glare that would have murdered lesser beings.

"Never! If you could... see the look... on your face!!" he cackled, holding his sides as he laughed.

"How do you do that??" Cristania asked him for the umpteenth time, wondering how it was he always got the drop on her.

"Respect your Elders, add a century or two of unlife, and I'll tell you how," he stated, still chuckling from his little prank.

The man who had been an outcast from his clan looked a bit odd from what most people dressed like. He wore a trench coat over a long sleeve shirt and baggy cargo pants, coupled with a pair of hiking boots. It wasn't just the combination that was odd, but also the fact that every inch of exposed skin was wrapped up in bandages. This was finished with a hat he wore on his head that looked like a fedora. It almost made him look like the fictional comic book character, Darkman.

"You were nearly late to our meeting," the bandaged vampire told her.

"Sorry. Got a little sidetracked in dealing with some scumbags," Cristania said in a satisfactory tone.

"Heard some truly awful screaming a few minutes ago that sounded like a man was being murdered. Was that you?" he asked, giving the woman a chastising look.

"He's not dead, but I'll bet he wishes he was. Snapped his manly bits in half for attempting to rape a woman," she said in a singsong voice. She then relayed the entire encounter out to him, telling him what had happened. The man winced at the recounting of what she did to the one man, but then nodded after hearing every detail.

"A fitting punishment for rapists. Especially since what you did to the man will make it nearly impossible for him to have any sort of... happy times," he chuckled.

"It will probably be years before he regains any semblance of happy times, which should be how assholes like him are punished," Cristania growled.

"You can't change nor take on the entire world by yourself, Cristania. The only thing you can do is change that which you can directly affect. Anything outside your sphere of influence, don't fret about it, because you are not there to change it," Aldrich told her gently.

"I know! Gotta take what victories I can, with those I can affect," she replied, pushing herself to calm down a little.

"Very good!" Aldrich said, glad to see that Cristania was evolving in her mindset.

"So, you called me here because you had some information for me?" she asked, bring the focus back to the reason she was called there.

"My payment?"

"Right here! Should still be hot," Cristania told him as she unzipped the bag and pulled out the blood.

His eyes gleamed when he saw it, and Aldrich licked his lips in anticipation. He was always fond of Joshua's blood, as of all the humans he had drank from, Joshua's blood held the sweetest savor. She handed him the blood and a straw, which he used to puncture the bag, and took a long pull from it. He moaned happily at the taste, knowing that Cristania had probably sexed the man up, giving it an extra oomph to the taste.

"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Cristania asked as Aldrich took slower sips, wanting to draw the moment out.

"Something to show you, more like. You will want to let your clan know about this," Aldrich told her as he handed her a rolled-up piece of paper.

She took the paper and unfurled it, looking at what lay on it. It was a drawing of a man who stood at about six-foot four and was quite brawny. He was handsome, if not for a trio of similar scars that went from the top of the left side of his face to his jawline. The man was possessed of Balko-Slavic features, which added to his appeal and manliness. His hair was cut short and looked to be shop style perfect in the drawing.

He was in a battle stance, with a sword in one hand and a battle axe in another, and was decapitating what appeared to be zombies. It took Cristania a moment to register the features of this man, and when she did, her eyes widened in alarm. Normally, her heart beat slowly, since she was a vampire and a vampire's biology differed from a human's. But upon seeing this drawing, her heart hammered in her chest like she had just run a marathon.

"Where did you get this?" Cristania ground out, her voice going hoarse from the shock and fear that permeated her entire being.

"One of my... subjects was being accosted earlier on in the day. Zombies from a local vampire necromancer that you lot need to rein in. The poor man would have died if it wasn't for him. He did a drawing of the man after he had killed the zombies and walked away. He didn't know who this man was, but made a drawing of the man, because he thought I'd want to know about it," Aldrich explained.

The man in the drawing was a man who was widely feared in the supernatural world. No one knew his name, but he went by a more well known and fearsome moniker; the Blood Reaver. The man wasn't a traditional man, not like in the sense that he was born, or turned like most beings were. He was a construct, which were known as Ghouls.

Ghouls, while constructs like zombies or skeletons, were different in many ways. Unlike zombies or skeletons, Ghouls weren't made to be simply guards or sentries. No, Ghouls were made with the express function of being the hidden arm of the vampires and their covens. They were made to be spies, assassins and occasionally enforcers for the covens.

When a Ghoul was constructed, many runes, sigils and spells were placed upon them, to give them many benefits that vampires enjoyed. Supernatural speed, strength, agility, just to name a few. Once this was done, a human soul, one of a recently deceased servant, was placed into the construct. This was done to give it the ability to think and adapt as sentient beings would, making them able to carry out their missions, no matter the obstacles.

They were also granted an advanced sort of healing factor that would allow them to heal any injury, so they would look and pass for a human. The only catch was that in order for this to work, they had to consume the flesh of the living, or freshly dead. This ability to pass as a human allowed the vampire lords and ladies to deal with daylight threats with little issue.

To give them full control over these beings, powerful spells of containment and binding were placed upon them. This way, the vampire lord/lady in question could control them and direct their fury accordingly. With a living soul inside of them, many would have broken out of this control and turned on their masters. The first time it had ever happened was when the Blood Reaver had been created.

At first, he turned out to be a standard sort of Ghoul, adapting to his new life as most Ghouls did. He quickly distinguished himself from the rest, carrying out each kill like it was nothing, while always hungering for more. No one knew how or why, but the man had eventually shattered his bindings and turned on his masters. Few knew the details of the massacre that had taken place, but the general word was that he had annihilated the coven who commanded and created him.

There were many rumors about what the man was now capable of. Some abilities he had as a Ghoul also allowed him to absorb the strength, power and even some abilities of those he consumed. Some claimed that he was stronger than an Elder, almost on par with that of a demon. Others claimed a whole host of other abilities, like being able to fly, but most of these were utterly ridiculous.