Blood and Dust

Chapter 1

The boy backed away, hitting his back on the wall behind him as he desperately scanned for a way to escape the white suited men who were closing in around him. How did he manage to go from peacefully walking home to being cornered once again? Up until now he had managed to avoid the white-clad men but it seemed like luck wasn't on his side tonight.

"Now, guys," Nathaniel said, his eyes still trying to find a way out of the current predicament, "can't we just have a civilized conversation about this?"

His heart racing, he caught sight of a figure behind the men. His vision was blurry but he continued talking.

"You guys have been following me, I'd like to know why," he stuttered as the men drew in closer, a wicked, almost murderous look in their eyes.

Nathaniel held his breath when a pink puff of smoke and glitter suddenly enveloped himself and his attackers in the dark alleyway. His brain struggled to recognize the smoke, rushing through everything he studied at the school he'd attended, and then it clicked, it was fairy magic.

The men opened fire, stray bullets from his frantic pursuers grazed his forearms while the figure who Nathaniel had seen earlier yelped from behind him as they must have been injured as well. He didn't remember there being a girl around, but that would explain the fairy magic. Suddenly, small arms made their way around his torso and off they flew into the night sky-- he and his savior?

He glanced up at the figure who'd rescued him. He froze at the sight of porcelain skin and dusty blue locks. The girl's eyes were halos of amber dew, kissed by the moonlight.

"Such beauty." He thought as he stared in awe, and then he felt something drip onto his lips.

Blood. The scent filled his senses, his entire body screaming at him to find more, yet he resisted, tensing up slightly as the two continued flying.

Drool began dripping from his lips as he couldn't control his salivary glands. More of her sweet blood dripped onto his lips, but this time he couldn't resist the urge to lick it. His tongue lapped up the red liquid and a wave of ecstasy washed over him. It was illegal to drink the blood of a living being, but it felt so right. He was reaching a high he had never known and he needed more.

His fangs began protruding from his gums and ached to be plunged into the warm flesh of the girl who saved him. Remembering the smoke bomb and how the girl likely got her injury from saving him in the first place, Nathaniel tried to retract his fangs.

"Are you okay?" the most angelic voice brought him out of his trance momentarily as he wasn't used to hearing a girl's voice so close to him.

"Mhmm." he grunted, his heart began to race even faster than before.

Heat seemed to generate in his thumping heart and run up to his face. He squeezed her arms in his hands, trying to control himself from reaching up to slash her throat and have a feast right there as they were flying. Suddenly, warm liquid formed at the base of his palms, but it wasn't sweat; it was blood. His nails were digging into her arms. Immediately, she dropped him before he could hurt her further.

The wind rushed against his hair and clothing as he fell. The momentary rush of falling that would never end was somewhat peaceful to the vampire, his brain snapping him out of his thoughts as he saw the ground getting closer and closer. Perhaps he would survive the fall. He was a vampire after all, with enhanced physical features and mild regenerating abilities.

He hit the ground, a sharp pain spreading throughout his body as he winced at the impact. The burning urge subsided faintly, long enough for him to get his sanity and hunger under control.

The boy's throat burned as he staggered to his feet, his vision spinning as he tried to steady his feet. Looking around frantically he tried to locate the beautiful girl, but to no avail. He could sense her, crystal clear, he just couldn't see her. In hopes that she would show herself, he sighed and laid back down on the concrete, his messy brown hair splayed around his head as he stared at the night sky.

"I'm sorry." He said, to the girl who had saved him, if she was still there.

The faintest fluttering of wings could be heard as she revealed herself above him.

"No worries, I know some medicinal magic. But, hey, look, we both have injuries on our arms now!" Instead of fear on her face, there was a smile and an excited gleam in her eyes.

Sitting up he smiled and chuckled. "Seems we do..." he trailed off as her scent reached him again. When his eyes landed on her arms he licked his lips, restraining himself from lunging at her. To distract himself from the scent he focused on her, her face, her short wavy hair, he flashed a smile, hoping that his fangs weren't sticking out too much.

Nathaniel watched her with keen eyes as she landed next to him and pulled out a small bottle of green liquid and a small folded paper. She opened the paper to reveal some type of white powder and sprinkled it into the bottle.

"Now, we shake it well. Then voila! Healing potion, good only for the first five minutes it's made before you drink it," The girl's golden wings fluttered in excitement as she poured half the potion down her throat. "My name's Axia by the way."

Nathaniel got up, looking at the girl that stood in front of him as he extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you milady." The boyish smile now seemed to be glued to the vampire's face. He tried to open his mouth to introduce himself yet he felt a wave of dizziness overcome him.

His vision got blurry as her scent made his body go haywire once again. Despite his efforts to stay stable he felt the world spinning. Staring at his outreached hand, Axia giggled and placed the leftover potion in it. She could see that he was not able to stand well for some reason, so she held his arm to help him steady.

"Make sure to drink that." Axia gestured to the potion.

The young vampire nodded, his vision now becoming unclear as he tried to focus. Yet the scent was too much for him, and once more he felt his world tilting, and then darkness overtook him.

His body crumbled over but Axia caught him in time before he hit the ground for the second time. It occurred to her that his injuries must have been worse than she thought. So, she dragged him to the side of the alley and laid him down gently. In her pouch, she had a few more mixtures that she could use to help his wounds heal.

After Axia patched him up as well as she knew how, she was a bit surprised at how his blood had already clotted a few seemingly deep wounds. With a wave of her hands, she summoned a pink fluffy blanket from her room and placed it on him.

"That should be good enough." the fairy sighed in satisfaction and flew back home, hoping that the young lad would be okay on his own.