Breaking the Veil

2 ~ The Taste of Death (Part 1)

I am Lilith, and I hunt monsters. My life was relatively simple, as most of the time, all I had to do was go out in the field and kill any monsters that threatened innocent, mortal lives. Until, however, one mission came about that changed my life. And maybe even the world.

A simple enough mission, Ruse, Niamh, Jonas, and I were to go to the Mosswood Estates in the northern part of the city. It is a big estate, and it's apparently a front. For what? Well, it is nothing more than vamps that are kidnapping young girls and draining them dry until they are dead, or worse, turned into a Revenant.

Revenants are monsters. More so than most vamps. The Revenants are soulless beings with a craving for souls, blood, flesh, and fear. They are evil, and they are to be killed on sight. But the thing is, they are hard to keep dead. Because unless you decapitate and dismember them, then bury the remains separately from the others pieces, they will resurrect.

As we ride in the Jeep, the black vehicle silent but for the soft sound of the tires on the pavement, Jonas smokes his cigarette. Humming a haunting tune no one's had the balls to ask him what it is. His hazel eyes are clouded over with his disassociation, as this guy is usually off in what our friend Deliliah calls La-La Land.

Niamh sits across from him, her head bowed as she reads the pamphlets that Command gave us. Niamh's dark hair hangs over her face, her flawless, dark skin is speckled with the odd tattoos. Niamh likes thorns and blades, and instead of using guns, she uses any bladed weapon she can get her hands on. And because of that, her tattoos are mostly blades and thorns.

As for Ruse, the tall, dark, and handsome guy with scars all over sits beside me. Ruse's long, black hair falls by his strong shoulders, and his amber eyes wander around the back of the Jeep. He doesn't speak to any of us, but as we ride, I can't help but look to him.

My pale skin is freckled and otherwise relatively free of scars. My pale hazel eyes are dull in comparison to Ruse. And my auburn hair isn't as pretty as I wish it would be. All in all, I am wholly unremarkable.

The Jeep pulls up a few doors down from the house we are to enter. The place that is all a facade for the truth — they have taken girls from all over and used them as food. Or worse.

Niamh puts her cloak on that also has a dozen or so pockets and sheaths for her daggers and knives. Jonas loads each of his six guns, and he puts a dagger in each big, black boot. Ruse doesn't have any visible weapons, but I know why. He is a vamp himself, and so, as he is one of them, he doesn't really need a weapon.

Ruse's amber gaze meets mine. He smiles. "You ready, Lili?"

I chuckle.  "Lilith. And yes."

We move out, and Jonas and Niamh peel off, hiding in the shrubs just out of sight of the door. Ruse and I walk up to the door, and I make sure my daggers are well-hidden. Ruse knocks thrice, and after a few moments, the door is thrust open. A huge, burly vamp glares down at us.

"Can I help you?" he asks, his voice a deep rumble.

"Hey," says Ruse. "My name's Alek, and I was wondering if my girl, Judy, and I could come in?" He flashes his fangs, and I lower my head and gaze, making sure he sees the submission on my face. The fear I feel isn't from him, or even Ruse. But instead, it is from the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Maybe it was some strange kind of premonition for the future.

"Well, well," says the man, who then reaches out and grabs my chin. I flinch and he laughs as if he's heard the funniest joke ever. "Nice girl you got here, Alek."

Ruse lashes out, shoving the vamp back through the door. He crashes into the wall, then slides to the floor. Ruse is a blur as he appears in the room before the man. He aims a gun right at the man's face.

"Take me to your boss," he snarls.

"Fuck you, bastard!" shouts the vamp.

"Wrong answer." Ruse pulls the trigger, and the bullet slams into the vamp's chest. Ruse nods to me, and I follow him inside, and in comes Jonas and Niamh. They split off from Ruse and I, and as we walk through the house, searching for any signs of life, or undeath, we keep coming up empty.

Suddenly, there's a loud screech in the room, one so loud that I cover my ears, and still can hear it as though I haven't done so at all. I look up, but Ruse is gone. My heart pounds as the screams end, and I whirl around. But too late, as a hand ending in sharp, jagged claws wraps itself around my throat.

Images flood my mind. The Revenant Vamp that killed my parents. The vamp as it choked me, as it dragged me by the hair.

The vamp throws me across the room. But then, a sharp, wet pain bursts in my chest. I scream, and everything fades to black.