Undying

Chapter 3

Valdis forgot all about hunting that night, she flew back home, at least once she was out of sight of the large gathering of people, and didn't land as she scoured the city for any sign of Master Vampire. She searched over every street, every alley, and even in the subways for him, still he was nowhere to be found. People would occasionally glance up as she went passed, and Valdis couldn't blame them, to them she was a large horde of bats flying around the city... not that it wasn't unusual... many bats came out at night to feed, most just stayed near the quieter parts of town though.

Realizing she wasn't going to find Master Vampire on the streets, he had probably gone home, which was someplace no one knew about. Wherever he was, Valdis knew she wouldn't be finding him tonight, the sun was beginning to rise and she needed to get home before it got too high in the sky. She landed in an alley about a block from the apartment she stayed in and began walking towards it hurriedly as sunlight began to trickle over the buildings and over take the shadows where she was forced to live. She walked into the old building and began trudging up the stairs in a miserable state, she had lost the last member of her family, what was she going to do now? He father had always told her to avoid Master Vampire at all costs, his exact words had been: 'The Master Vampire is an evil man. Do not let him near you, if you do he will only try to use you for his personal gain in revenge.'

Knowing that, Valdis could guess that was why Master Vampire had killed him. That also meant she could be next. As she reached the nineteenth floor the old lady that lived in the apartment below hers started coughing, she froze for a second and glanced at the door before continuing up the last flight of stairs and into her own apartment. Inside it was completely dark, boards had been nailed to the windows along with light blocking curtains; in here Valdis and her father could walk freely at any time day or night. Now though the darkness seemed menacing, she swore she saw red eyes flash in the dark as she walked towards the couch, too tired to go all the way to her room.

"My, my, we are a foolish one are we not?" A man's voice spoke up quietly from the other side of the room.

Valdis sat bolt upright and turned her head towards the voice but whoever had been there was already gone. Of course she could already tell who it was. "How dare you! You killed my father!"

A flash of silver blinded her for a moment as it flashed by her face and Master Vampire stood in front of her, one gloved hand holding a spear of pure silver. "Dear child... I only did what I had to. When I created your father he swore to help me, when I called upon him to do just that he backed out. What more was I supposed to do?"

"You ruined his life!" Valdis felt her vampire side begin to take over as her fangs lengthened and her senses increased as her temper rose. "All you ever did was kill the people he loved!"

"I didn't kill you."

"Because Vlad was always there to keep you away, because he kept me hidden from you until I could defend myself, because now you think I'll let you use me to get your vengeance on the demon that you summoned and cursed you!" Valdis temporarily forgot about the silver spear at his side and lunged at him in a wild frenzy.

Master Vampire simple moved to the side and let her stagger passed him before turning and facing him again. "We do not have to fight. Just agree to help this once and I promise to leave you alone forever."

"Liar." Valdis snarled at him like a rabid animal as she made to take another swing at him.

The circled each other, Master Vampire keeping the silver out of sight as much as possible, he would use that after she forgot all about it. In the meantime he had to keep trying to convince her... or keep her distracted until he killed her. "Why would I have to lie to you? I am just asking a favor of you... friend to friend."

"We are not friends! My father was not your friend! Leave now!"

Master Vampire shook his head and waved a long nailed finger in the air while humming a warning. "I would not tell an adult what to do child."

"I am four hundred thirty-five years old! I am not a child!" She snapped, once again lashing out and missing.

"And I am much older." He hissed back, beginning to lose his patience with the half-ling before him. "Meaning you should do as I say, I hold authority over you."

"No... you don't." Valdis stopped circling to glare at him. "I am not a puppet for you to control like you tried to treat my father as."

"You seem to be too much like him. Master Vampire sighed and swiftly swung the silver spear into the side of her head.

Valdis screamed in pain as the silver made contact and burned her skin, she staggered away from the old man standing before her and shook her head to clear it. By then it was too late to avoid the next attack, she was kicked onto the ground where she lay on her back with the breath knocked out of her. Master Vampire stood above her and raised the spear above his head.

"Do you change your mind?" He questioned, though he already knew what the stubborn girl would say.

Sure enough Valdis snarled up at him like a cornered animal. "Never!"

The pure silver was a blur as it was trust downward and slid easily through her ribs and splintered the floor. She let out a howl of pure agony; it felt like everything inside of her was catching fire and burning her from the inside out. Blood was bubbling up from around the spear, quickly sliding into a gathering pool around her. Valdis felt her vision grow fuzzy as she tried to breath. Master Vampire sneered down at her and began to walk away, before he made it to the door however he turned around.

"Any last words before I leave you to die?" He inquired, though he really could care less.

"I hope... you burn... in the sun." Valdis choked out as she tried to pull the spear out, only managing to burn herself more.

He watched her pathetic attempts for a few seconds before glancing at the window and walking over to it, another idea forming in his mind. "What an excellent idea Valdis... you have your mother's intelligence."

Her black eyes widened in shock as she realized what he was going to do and she struggled harder to get free. He kicked her in the skull as he passed, causing her head to snap to the side, earning him another cold glare from her glowing red pupils. Master Vampire ignored this and began ripping the curtains and boards down and throwing them aside to allow the new sunlight to come in. He quickly backed away to avoid burning himself and placed a hat on his head and raising the collar on his trench coat to cover up his skin before going back to the door.

"Be happy, maybe you'll end up in eternal flames with your parents." With that he left and closed the door behind him, leaving Valdis to suffer, her tortured cries of pain following down the stairs. It was times like this he could be thankful Vlad had always chose more remote places to live, it made killing people he cared for so much easier.