Bloodlines

Epilogue

Far up north, all the way to Castle Doom, a blizzard raged on. The snow pelted down, covering everything in it's path with harsh, white fluff. The trees were battered and beat, whipping wildly in the wind as their branches struggled to hold on. The blizzard was so thick, the human eye could not see a foot in front of them.

But for vampires, this was the perfect storm.

Those who were strong enough after the recent battle gathered in small groups in the castle foyer. The castle had been badly destroyed, and some of the vampires who were wounded were in the process of trying to hold the creaking mess up. The walls were shattered, large dents in the cobble floor from the golems strikes. The wounded vampires were sweeping up the debris, trying to repair the castle so that if it did last the storm, it would be stronger than ever.

The groups of vampires who were fighting fit were sent off, disappearing into the white snow. Their footsteps were silent, and they glided gracefully across the crunchy downfall in a puff of black smoke. Their destination was the cities and towns nearby, for they were on a mission. The Orb had given their leader a prophecy, and they intended to see it to fruition.

Their leader had seen man kind in the previous cycles. Over and over, humans destroyed the world, created war, death and destruction. And so their leader, in all his wisdom, had a realisation. In order to end the infinite cycle, the humans had to be exterminated. They were a plague on the world, a pest to the continuing cycles. That is what the Orb wanted, the destruction of man kind. And only the vampires would be strong enough to execute that order.

"My brother is still in there. He saved my life, he killed Ava he avenged our parents. He isn't just a mindless killing machine, he's still my Anthony,"

Tony watched from the foyer as the flocks of vampires tore off into the night. His hands were crossed behind his back, hair slicked back with a single braid hanging in front of his face. He puffed up his chest, sighing happily. He felt great pride at his accomplishment. He had been the only one who saw the Orb's vision to survive, and so no one could question him on the prophecy he declared. Truth was whatever he wanted it to be.

With a gentle smirk on his face, he swiveled to march boisterously towards the cellar door. Hands still clasped behind his back, he struck the door square in the centre with the butt of his boot.

BANG!

The door made an awfully loud noise that eachoed down the twisting corridor into the darkness below. He loved eachoes, the idea of an endless echo left him giggling as he descended the first step into the darkness. The stair case twisted tightly downwards, spiralling into the earth below.

As Tony took the steps slowly, he noticed the lower he went the warmer it got. Although vampires hated sun, they didn't mind the warmth of a fire, the heat from the ground, or even the warm embrace of a living victim. It was only the sun they opposed, yet Tony did miss being outside dearly.

He missed the warm kiss of sunlight, the feeling of his bow on his back as he meandered through meadows and woodlands. He missed water, lakes, rivers and the ocean. True, running water. Instead, all he had was a landscape of white, frozen lakes, and dull boring vampires.

Being a vampire all these years had created a rift in Tony's mind. To go from being a hunter, to the thing you hunted, conflicted with so many of Tony's instincts and morals he had simply gone mad with it all. Now, it took all his strength not to have a full blown mental breakdown. Yet he had persevered, for his plan must succeed. It had to, it was his only purpose for existing now.

Tony reached the end of the stairs, pausing at the last one. This was his favourite part. He took a deep breath in, tipping his head back comically as he did so. Then in an explosion of expiration he jumped, slamming his feet harshly on the bottom of the stairs. The sound echoed back up, bouncing off the walls of the stairs before coming back down to meet him. He loved echoes so much.