Chapter 4 When were you Human

Alexander's elite army resided at the outskirts of a small village. The entire village was masked in blistering flames. Screams echoed in the distance. The members of the army fanned out feasting on the residents. Soon, this village would be reduced to mere ash another casualty to this war.

Their commander Angel stood at the feet of three graves. He wore a white long sleeved shirt with a solid black shirt over it. He had on a belt with a skull design on the buckle. He wore a pair of distressed blue jeans and black converse shoes. His pale hazel eyes stared at the graves as he marked them with three curses. The curses were all of the same drawing. The shape of an elegant black rose. This particular curse had no purpose. He used it to mark the graves of those that held a special place in his heart.

"Forgive me," He kneeled before the graves paying his respects.

The gentle currents of the wind rustled through his soft mocha hair. The long strands of his hair stopped just before reaching his shoulder blades. In his hand, he held his most prized possession. It was a platinum ring which he kept attached to a chain around his neck. The front of the ring was shaped like an enraged wolf head. The beasts' fangs were bared. The eyes of the wolf were filled with tiny sapphires. This ring reminded him of the man he was before he took on the cursed life of a vampire.

"What's with the graves?" Selene ran her fingers through her sunflower blonde hair. The stream of her locks parted resting at the center of her neck. Her slightly pale skin was covered by white long sleeved shirt with a cropped black shirt resting over it. She wore distressed blue jeans and black converse shoes. Her pale blue eyes were fixated on the graves Angel made. "Were they someone important?"

"It's nothing," Angel slowly rose to his feet. "There's not much time left." Angel's eyes stared up at the sky.

The light of the moon was blocked by several clouds. Soon, those clouds will part and a full moon will dawn on them. He and his team had to return to Dusk castle before then.

"Changing the subject?" Selene chuckled. "Oh well," She crossed her arms. "It's none of my business anyway." Her pale blue eyes glanced up at the sky.

"Should I," Selene reached into the pocket of her jeans. She casually took out a vial and tossed into the air. "Give the signal?" She caught the vial showing little effort. Inside it, she kept some of her blood which acted as a deadly explosive.

The gentle currents of the wind rustled in Angel's hair. His eyes lingered on the parting clouds only for a second. "Do it, there's not much time left." He ordered.

"As you wish," Selene tossed the vial into the air. She snapped her fingers. In an instant the vial shattered unleashing a violent explosion. The entire night sky began to ignite in a dark red light. "That should get their attention." She crossed her arms leaning against a tree.

"How's training going?" Selene asked. "Rumor has it that Lord Alexander has taken you on as his student." Strange, that was supposed to be a secret. Then again, the Vampire Lord's daughter is among her best friends. She most likely told Selene about her father's little secret.

"Typical Blaire move," Angel let out a sigh. "I was asked to keep our training sessions a secret." He replied. "My only request is that you keep it that way. You know as well as I do. What will happen if word gets out that the King is training me. People will start asking questions and sooner or later."

"People will start to think that you're going to be his replacement." Selene pointed out. "A rumor like that gets out and," She ran her thumb across her throat. "Blaire will see to it that her spot on her father's throne is secure." She ran her fingers through her hair. "She's been wanting that throne since birth. I'd hate to be the guy that stole it right from under her."

"Exactly," Angel agreed. "Which is why rumors like that can't get out." He pointed out. "It's not even true, Blaire is getting the throne. It's her birthright, Lord Alexander promised it to her. I doubt he'd go back on his word." He leaned his back against a tree.

"It's just," Selene crossed her arms. "It's rare for Lord Alexander to take interest in anyone." She glanced up at the sky. "Not even his own daughter gets that kind of recognition." She let out a sigh. "I'm still not even sure why he thinks you're so special." She stared into Angel's eyes. "I was hoping that maybe," She walked up to him. "You could clear that up for me. So," She ran her fingers through her hair. "Any ideas?"

"I'm not sure," Angel stared at his hands. "The only thing that separates me from the other vampires is my ability. Even so," He closed his hands. "It's only curses." He explained. "Besides, if you want answers." He walked up to her. "You're going to have to answer a few of my questions." He crossed his arms. "You could have told me that you were second in command when we first met in the hall. Instead," He paused. "You waited." He stared into her pale blue eyes. "Why?" Selene let out a deep sigh.

"I didn't want to, simple as that." Selene walked past him. "Let me break this down for you in a way you can understand." She turned to face him. "You are Blaire's play thing. I always place second to her play thing." She leaned against a tree. "It doesn't matter how much stronger I am than him. It doesn't matter how much knowledge I have over the position. I still place second. Second, never first," She shook her head. "Most of the time," She laughed. "The guy is a complete asshole and doesn't give a shit about us. We're just his pawns. So tell me," Selene crossed her arms. "Would you like to place second to a guy like that?"

"I see," Angel let out a sigh. "Well I'm not like them. Or at least," He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to be," This team, they are the closest thing he was ever going to get to having friends. Given his situation, he needed all the friends he could get.

"I can tell," Selene removed his arm from her shoulder. "You are nothing like her other suitors." She pointed out. "Unlike them," She stared into his eyes. "You don't just assume authority and well," She chuckled. "You do things in a different way. I thought you were strange at first."

"Strange is being a vampire," Angel's eyes lingered on his pale skin. "I'm not exactly used to any of this." He glanced over at her. "Was I really that bad during the introductions?" Selene laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Come on," He reasoned. "I couldn't have been that bad."

"You weren't bad," Selene replied. "You were just different." She added. "Usually when I try to introduce the commander to his team." She glanced over at him. "I try to do it from a distance. It's much safer that way," She reasoned. "He's less likely to get his head chopped off." She smirked. "Still meeting them in person," She laughed. "That takes some balls."

The two of them faced the burning village as two of their teammates emerged. The first to catch Angel's attention was Ziek. The right side of his raven colored bangs stopped just before reaching his pale blue eyes. He often wore a solid black muscle shirt to show off his well built physique. He had on black leather fingerless gloves that had a solid diamond plate on the knuckle. He dressed distressed blue jeans with a studded belt. He wore standard black tennis shoes.

Angel knew Ziek from his previous life. He was once known as Eric Ravenheart. The older brother to his best friend Erika. The proof of his lineage rested on the left side of his neck. He had a tattoo of a raven with its wings spread out encased in a heart. It was no surprise to Angel why Lord Alexander sought to turn him.

Ziek is no doubt skilled in combat. The guy used to compete in tournaments. He had a record of never losing a match. It was that record that landed him in high demand. Even though he hung up the gloves when his sister moved in with him. His reputation precedes him, which is why Lord Alexander forced him to change his name from Eric to Ziek. Like most Vampires, Ziek also has a special ability.

Ziek's ability is progression. The longer the fight drags out the stronger he becomes. It doesn't take him long to even the odds. With each passing second, his speed gets higher, his durability gets higher, and it never stops growing until the fight is over. He's even found a way to significantly increase the results. It's as simple as taking a deep breath and focusing. That ability combined with his natural skill. It's no wonder, Lord Alexander claims him as one of his favorites. It was part of the reason why he was given those diamond plated gloves. Well that and he was able to kill the vampire that turned him. Not an easy feat when undergoing transition. Most would deem it impossible.

The second to arrive was Scythe. He has long black hair that he keeps tied in a ponytail. The ponytail reaches his lower back. His pale jade serpent eyes are laced with black eyeliner. He wears a black cropped muscle shirt revealing his toned abs. On his back, he keeps three swords sheathed, two crossing and a katana kept in the center. He has a black dragon tattoo swirling around his left arm. He wears black leather fingerless gloves. His nails painted dark green. He dressed in black pants with a side pouch he kept stocked with sharp poison laced throwing darts. He wears black sandals. Despite his youthful appearance, Scythe is the oldest vampire on the team.

Scythe is Lord Alexander's best friend. He didn't want Scythe to join the war, the King feared losing his dear friend. Scythe put the decision to a game of chess, Lord Alexander's favorite game. He beat him and being a man of his word, Lord Alexander agreed to let him join the war. Now, he is one of the most dangerous assassins and the best strategist on the team. He is also one of the greatest swordsman Angel has ever seen. His special ability complements this skill to perfection.

Scythe's ability allows him to manipulate and control whatever his blades can cut. He swings at the air. He can attack at a distance with sharp gusts of wind. He cuts the dirt, he can make a sandstorm. He cuts flames, well, now, he can wield them. The most and by far the most dangerous is when he cuts someone. One drop of blood on his blade, Scythe gains the ability to manipulate the person's blood. Once that happens, it's best just to give up.

"Yes," Ziek raised his fist in the air. "I won," He lightly punched Scythe on the shoulder. Scythe shot him with a bothersome glare. "Take that Scythe," He went to punch him again but Scythe casually caught his fist like it was nothing. "Did you just-," He jumped back. "Oh," He glared deep into Scythe's eyes. "I know you didn't just catch my fist."

"What," Scythe shrugged. "Did I do something to offend you?" He didn't realize that he caught Ziek's fist. It was that easy for him to do. This is not going to go over well, he just hurt Ziek's pride. "Oh, I must have." He rubbed his chin. "Would you mind telling me what I did to upset you?" Ziek's anger fumes were starting to build.

"That is it," Ziek yelled. "You," He pointed at Scythe. "Me," He pointed at himself. "Training grounds, ten minutes, be there." He started to walk away from Scythe.

"I would but," Scythe took out one of his swords. "I wouldn't want to waste my precious time." He grabbed a cleaning cloth from his pouch. Ziek's feet stopped and he turned to face Scythe. He balled his hands into fists as his anger continued to build. "I must apologize." Scythe wiped off his sword and put it back in its sheath. "That was rude."

"Yeah it was," Ziek agreed. "Very rude." He crossed his arms. "So I'm going to give you a chance to fix it. Alright, so let's try that again." Scythe rubbed his chin.

"Let me think for a moment." Scythe rested his back against a tree. "I don't want to spar with you because," He rubbed his chin. "Well let me try to put it in words that a simple minded person like yourself would understand." Ziek glared into his eyes. Great, he just insulted Ziek's intelligence, this just got bad. "When you cut someone they bleed." He explained. "You see so if I were to cut you with my sword." Ziek tightened his hand into a fist. "I would then get blood on it and well," He let out a sigh. "Blood is just so hard to clean." Scythe placed his hand firmly on Ziek's shoulder. "I hope you understand."

"I understand that you're about to get your ass kicked." Ziek challenged. "You're just mad that I got here before you." He pointed at him. "Know what Scythe," He put his hands in his pockets. "Nobody likes a sore loser." Scythe let out a deep sigh as if he were bored.

"Nobody likes a sore winner yet," Scythe shrugged. "Here we are." He let out another sigh. "Excuse me but I must speak with the commander." He walked past Ziek who's eyes were glaring at him. Angel knew Ziek well enough to know. This was going to turn into one hell of a rivalry.

"Commander," Scythe spoke. Angel cringed, he disliked titles of supremacy. He preferred to be treated as an equal. "Forgive me," He apologized. "I have an important task to do for a dear friend." This dear friend, it's Lord Alexander. "I will return to the castle when I am finished." He vanished leaving no trace of his figure.

"Time's up," Selene groaned. "He would make me fetch him," She started walking toward the village. "I'll be right back." He figured she was referring to her siblings mainly Brandon. He didn't seem like the type of person to follow orders given to him by his older sister.

"Tell me Angel," Ziek put his hands in his pockets. "When you were human," Angel clenched his necklace. "The day my sister left to be famous," He walked closer to him. "Did you...miss her?" He laughed. "Forget it," He waved it off. "I shouldn't have asked that," Angel eyes lingered on the moon.