Bathe In Fire - Shadows of the Night 2

Chapter 36

Hi!

Now that Alexander is here everything's fine, or at least that's what Anna, and I guess most of you, thought. Not so much. Here's the next one for you! Even though it wasn't easy to write, I loved doing it :DPlease let me know what you think!

Lara

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Chapter 36

Despite my clouded senses I knew exactly when they arrived. The scent of blood came to life and all noise died. The night around us stretched and darkened, shadows rearing up and elongating into mist-like quality. One moment the night air was empty. In the next they were beside us. It was as if the suspense-filled air finally found a release, the power they were carrying with them the trigger for an explosion of forces.

There were five of them, their figures appearing out of the darkness as if they had been born there. Their shapes were hidden by hooded veils of cloth, cloaks that moved and shifted like liquid silk. In all my years as a witch working for the Circle I had never encountered one of them. At this point in time I knew I had to be grateful that I hadn't.

They were what the Circle unofficially referred to as Occulta Mors. 'Dark Death' in plain English. They were under the direct command of the Council, the highest authority of the Vampire League. And they were assassins. Slick and powerful killers that glided through the night effortlessly. I had heard of old legends, tales of blood and death that had been whispered on the quiet. If they were to be believed, Dark Death had marched into the night to destroy whole villages and cities in centuries past. Walking cataclysms.

Alexander had informed me beforehand that Dark Death could 'not only bring death.' It was their duty to maintain order and justice in vampiric society. I wasn't buying it. Even before seeing them in the flesh, I knew just what they were: dark mercenaries, soldiers of the apocalypse hiding under the mantle of what vampires called justice.

I stared at them, feeling every nerve in my body driven to the edge and beyond. Their power was destructive and suffocating by its very nature. Coldness seeped into my bones, sharp and painful, and I felt the urge to back away and run.

It was then that Alexander put his hand on my shoulder. I realized that he was somehow shielding me from their oppressive power. And still I could feel it. So much power. It went beyond anything I'd ever encountered, or even dreamed of.

The first vampire walked up to Alexander and pulled away his hood. Afraid to look, but wanting to look, I held my breath. One glance was enough to realize that he wasn't anything remotely close to human. Shadows stirred and nestled up to his skin like black mist coiling around an eerie white shimmer. Black, long hair tied behind his back. A nose that was too long to call him handsome. A hardened face with sharp angles, black eyes that were pools of a luring darkness I had no name for.

When he spoke, I was reminded of blood falling on winter snow. The smell of frozen death and the first beginnings of decay entered my nose as if both were palpable, tangible things. The longer I listened to the creature, the more I was convinced that they were.

"Alexander of New York."

The master vampire in question bowed his head in a graceful manner. "Erebos," he said.

Erebos. The name slithered through my mind like a faint echo.

The other figures removed their hoods in unison, finally baring their faces to the moonlight. Hardened faces, white skin, and things that moved and slithered in their eyes. Immortal death had a name.