Daniel shook his head as he walked alongside the hunter, looking up at the man every so often to make sure he was real.
"...How did you know...?" the youth stammered.
"Lucky guess," the hunter jeered.
"By the way... I'm Daniel Xavier." He said this, hoping to learn the hunter's name.
"I applaud you for it." The hunter was sarcastic.
"And who might you be, or do I just call you hunter?" the man halted and looked at the boy, then burst with cruel laughter.
"Ah, aha, I've forgotten such formalities." He shook his head and tried to contain laughter. "If you ever ask a hunter his name, say 'Brother, what guild do you herald from?' and he will answer with name, rank and guild."
"Uh... okay..." Daniel was secretly laughing at himself as well. "Brother, what guild do you herald from?"
"Samael of Dominais, Knight of the Silverine Blade, and Guild of the Sanctuary of the Masters," the hunter responded coolly. "In other words, I'm Samael Dominais."
"...Nice to meet you." Daniel grinned slightly.
"Pleasure's mine." The hunter's tone bore no enjoyment now. He changed moods so fast that Daniel was somewhat flabbergasted. It was more than a little disturbing.
"...Um... so..." Daniel was unsure as how one should address a hunter.
"I'm not one for conversation." Samael relieved the boy of any such burdens, and a comfortable silence fell about the two. "Makes it too hard to listen to the world around you."
"Alright." Daniel relaxed a tad.
"No, not alright." The hunter seemed to be smiling as they reached the inn he'd been staying in. "That just shows you how deadly the night is." Then, with a snicker of laughter, he disappeared inside.
=+=
"Damned fools, all of you," the hunter hissed as he strode up the stairs to his room and gathered the few possessions he had. The ones important enough to be kept safe and not on his person.
If I ever become so pathetic and suspicious, let me kill myself. Samael smirked at the thought of even attempting that. All right, this is a bit too dramatic; stop it now! he ordered himself as he hurried down stairs, then to the stables where his cyborg horse awaited, pawing nervously at the ground.
"His name, before you ask," Samael said coolly as he led the horse over to Daniel, who stood by the door still, "is Despin. Or just Des for short."
"Despin?" Daniel said the name carefully, one eyebrow raised. "Interesting name."
"In the hunter language, it means Vengeance'." Samael grinned and mounted gracefully, in one fluid movement. "Come on, give me your hand." With an easy pull, Daniel was in the saddle in front of Samael, a startled expression present on his face. "Hey, you ride faster than you walk, don't you?" Samael said simply, before clicking his tongue to urge the cyborg horse into an easy trot. "There's no point in always going slow."
"True," Daniel agreed quickly, secretly overjoyed to have a chance to ride a hunter's horse... even if it was riding double. "I guess I'll tell you the way there?"
There was no time to respond as something sped in front of the cyborg, causing it to rear up onto its back legs. Samael swore violently and fought for footing, one arm clasped tightly around Daniel to protect the boy. He felt a sting across his arm, running up to the shoulder, where the boy's throat would have been had it not been protected by Samael's arm. He winced and felt blood pour from a sudden, deep wound.
"Leave him alone! It's a battle with me you want!" Samael shouted, forcing Despin back down to all fours. His black cloak spread like a pair of demonic wings before flapping back down to his shoulders. Something charged them from behind, before Samael could get his sword, and he hunched over Daniel to protect him from a strike to the head. It connected with Samael's shoulders and upper back, causing the man to shudder in pain.
"Shit!" he gasped as he kicked Despin hard and managed to draw his sword. Daniel watched the hunter swing at enemies unseen, then gasped when he saw black blood fly from thin air, and a twisted body fall. He turned his attention to the road ahead, and cried out in fear at what he saw there.
"Our dear friend is back again!" he shouted, pointing frantically.
"Not for long!" Samael shouted, pulling back on the reins as they drew close, forcing Despin to leap over the vampire.
Safe... for how long? Samael thought bitterly as they escaped.
=+=
Samael finally halted outside the mayor's manor, dismounted fluidly, then helped Daniel dismount. Daniel noticed that while the injury didn't hamper the hunter's strength any, he flinched visibly when supporting Daniel's weight.
"...Sorry," Daniel blurted suddenly. "I... This shouldn't have happened."
"You're far too diplomatic," Samael replied in a strangely good-natured tone. "It's expected of my job; I've had worse injuries than these. Maybe I'll tell you about them sometime." He attempted to grab a saddlebag, but swore and slammed a hand over his injured shoulder.
"Let me help you." Daniel quickly grabbed the bag and led Samael inside, then saw his father coming downstairs. "Father, he's hurt!"
"What happened!" Darius demanded as he rushed down and halted near Samael.
"Another attempt in one night, sir," Samael replied coolly. "But I've had worse. All I require is a first aid kit." Darius said nothing, but nodded to the hunter. There was an obvious tension between the two, as though one of them disliked the terms of the other. Daniel saw his father tense, the hunter's eyes narrow, and feared a confrontation between the two.
"I'd like to get these tended to, then get some sleep," Samael said finally. "If that's too much trouble..."
"Not at all," Darius said through gritted teeth. "Daniel, get the first aid kit, and I'll show Sir Dominais to his room."
=+=
"You intend on backing down from our terms of agreement?" Daniel halted outside the door as he heard the hunter and his father talking heatedly.
"Look, I didn't think when I agreed to your terms of payment!" Darius' voice was frantic. "And I didn't know how dangerous it could be!"
"No, sir, I warn you that backing out of a deal with a hunter, a debt of honor, is even more dangerous than my terms of payment." Samael's tone was icy. "The last mayor who backed out of a deal with a hunter was never able to show his face in public again."
"What's that supposed to mean!" Darius was outraged and Daniel felt a cold twist of fear in his heart. "Are you threatening me, hunter!"
"Not physically."
"I never should have gotten involved with your kind!" Darius was livid. "Scheming, disgraceful cowards, all of you!"
"I'll remember you said that," the hunter replied calmly. "There is no way to back out of the deal. And since I've claimed Hunter's Law over my payment, you can't do a damned thing about it."
"...I can't believe the stories make your kind out to be honorable and compassionate!" Darius' tone had grown defeated.
"Oh, not all hunters are like me." Samael's tone bore a hint of victory. "Most are compassionate, but this world has shown me no compassion and I give none. As for honor, I live by the code. But there's nothing in there that says I have to change my payments due to the fancy of my employer."
=+=
Daniel knocked on the door and the conversation stopped. He entered and handed over the first aid kit, and was nearly ushered out by his father when Samael spoke.
"Let him stay, I want to speak with him."
Darius left angrily and Daniel remained, watching the hunter. Samael bade the boy sit whilst he treated his wounds.
Daniel watched the hunter remove his hooded cloak and mask, and was astounded by the man's beauty. He couldn't have been older than nineteen. His face was feminine and refined, noble with barely a hint of masculinity, only made more so by the fact his upper lip was, strangely, black. The skin was perfect, and white as marble, contrasting sharply with Samael's black eyes, where the iris could not be distinguished from the pupil. Long black hair was held back in an intricate braid, but the bangs fell about his face and framed it perfectly.
"...Geeze," was all Daniel could blurt out, and Samael began to laugh.
"Ah, I startle you," Samael remarked. "Well, best to get used to me, as we'll be together for some time."
"Huh?" Daniel was mystified, and Samael lost his humor.
"I see you've not been informed," Samael said emotionlessly as he removed his armor and the shirt of his uniform, revealing his well-shaped, delicately muscled torso, and a number of scars. Around his neck hung a pendant with a blue stone, and a small gold crucifix. "You are my payment."
"What?" Daniel didn't understand.
"Hand me some of that antiseptic and those bandages," Samael ordered, and it was several minutes before he continued. "I need an apprentice, a scholar to instruct in the ways of the vampire hunter." Samael winced as he cleaned his wound, bringing a fresh flow of blood that Daniel noticed was certainly not the color it should have been. "Your father needs a hunter to be employed, and the hunter needs payment. When I heard the mayor had a son, I took you as my pay."
"Wait just a damn minute!" Daniel exploded. "What if I refuse!"
"...Ah, but in your heart, you have always wanted to be a hunter." Samael's tone was mysteriously knowing. "Deep in your heart, you want the thrill of the hunt and the rush of adrenaline that only comes from putting one's life on the line and one's abilities to the fullest test.
"So I chose you," Samael finished with the wound on his arm and began on the shoulder injury, tending it with ease and skill. "My student, companion, and assistant."
"...How dare you!" Daniel continued to yell, his hands balled into fists and tears brimming in his eyes. "And you expect me to agree automatically!"
"You haven't a choice." Samael's tone became dangerous as he rose to his feet. Daniel realized how slender the hunter was, and how strong he'd seemed. Samael was obviously a dangerous opponent, and a useful ally. "You are my payment, and I will not retract," Samael continued coldly, turning his back upon Daniel. Daniel noticed a tattooed crest there; a stylized sword enwrapped with vines and what looked like roses, as well as the strange appearance of Samael's shoulder blades and back itself. It was almost as if...
Almost as if there was something under his skin.
"You're not..." Daniel trailed off, and Samael turned to face him in amusement. "You're not..."
"Human? Oh no, I'm not human in the slightest." Samael's tone was relaxed. "But I'm one of the best hunters in the world, a hunter of both vampires and demons alike."
"Uh..." Daniel was indeed disturbed by the realization. "Your back..."
"All in good time, my apprentice." Samael smiled cruelly, showing brilliant white teeth. "All in good time."
Daniel would hear no more, and fled the room.
=+=
Samael watched his defiant new apprentice as he ran. Perfect hunter material, if he could be taught to stand and face his problems.
"...The night is young," Samael muttered as he pulled on his shirt and armor then fastened his cloak. He exited his room with unearthly silence.
"I'm going to have to ask you to wait a moment, Sir Dominais." The voice of Darius caused the hunter to whirl into an about-face. "...My son knows?" Darius' tone was distraught.
"Yes."
"...Good of you to tell him, and not me." Darius shook his head. "There's been another letter sent to me." He handed the note to Samael, eerily written in blood. "And one to you." He handed the other. Samael opened them both.
The first read-
Darius-
You have ignored the warnings and have hired a hunter, a bad move on your
part in the game. Send him away, kill him, get him out of my way, or your
son is the price to be paid. I don't take kindly to threats to my life,
nor will I hesitate to eliminate the things that threaten me. Branbury
could always get a new mayor.
The second-
Hunter-
You are indeed brave, as befits one of your status. But I advise against
aiding Branbury. In fact, I could easily pay you to leave. However, if
you ignore the generous offer, this misunderstanding becomes war. I have
quite a grudge against your kind, so my punishments will be very unkind.
Samael chuckled briefly before crumpling the letter sent to him. "He's bluffing," Samael informed. "Those words are hollow in threat. I'll proceed as planned, and I'll show no mercy to him for this insult."
=+=
Daniel watched sullenly as Samael rode into the darkness, angry and hurt. He was confused; yes he wanted to be a hunter, but no, he didn't want to leave home.
"Daniel..." he heard his father at the door. "I'm sorry." Daniel turned and wiped his tears.
"If it is to help the people of Branbury," his words were tearful, but brave, "I'll gladly become the hunter's apprentice."
=+=
Samael rode the darkness like it was a road in itself, eyes alert and scanning the surrounding night for any threat. He rode into the center of the city and spotted what he was looking for. His quarry held the body of a young man, lips pressed to the throat, drinking his fill. Samael uttered a hunter battle cry and leapt from Despin's back, slamming full force into the vampire, forcing him to lose hold of his victim. The vampire snarled and tumbled, while Samael rolled to a graceful halt and lifted the moaning youth into his arms, then laid him over Despin's back.
"Now," Samael crooned. "We have better manners than that."
"Silence, hunter!" the vampire shouted, and Samael got his first good look at his opponent. Long gray hair tied back in a ponytail, strong features, clad in the garb of the nobility. With a rapier at the waist, he stood taller than Samael.
"Correction," Samael drew his sword and bowed. "Samael of Dominais, Knight of the Silverine Blade and Guild of the Sanctuary of the Masters."
"Moresenth, of the Nobility," the vampire replied, drawing the rapier with a flourish. "Your destruction."
"And I should be impressed?" Samael smirked as he lunged at the vampire and met blades with him. The two men remained for a moment, eyes locked and filled with hatred; then Samael shoved Moresenth away. The vampire responded with a quick slash, which caught the cloth of Samael's cloak and managed to barely scratch the hunter's unprotected lower abdomen.
"First blood!" Moresenth crowed.
"Is not so important as last blood!" Samael growled as he lunged in with another and struck the vampire through the shoulder. The dark nobleman howled in pain and etched a slash across Samael's cloak. The hunter twisted his blade and lunged back, pulling the sword from the vampire as he did so. He moved to strike again, but the vampire moved quicker than Samael's eyes could follow and disappeared.
Samael wheeled suddenly and met blades once more, this time with a dark-cloaked, monstrous servant rather than the vampire. The thing growled at him, and was silenced by a harsh fist to the mouth. Samael threw the thing aside and spotted his prey finishing off the young man.
"Akshanteila!" Samael uttered his battle cry once more and lunged, but Moresenth threw the dead shell of the youth at him. Samael faltered and stumbled beneath the weight of the youth, and was struck violently from behind by another creature he'd obviously ignored.
"Another night, hunter!" Moresenth hissed. "I want to kill you slowly!" With a hissed word, he disappeared into the mists once again, and Samael shouted an oath to the skies.
