BLOOD MOON RISING
Youkai Fire Fox
IV


It’s not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story... -Nickelback


Leaving the restaurant in haste where a very odd confrontation happened between Nasuti and her mysterious friend Raphael headed towards his apartment. He tiredly stopped before his stoop and swore softly. What was there about that man that made him uneasy? He was suave, arrogant and sinister. Raphael shook his head. He just described himself with the exception of sinister.

Raphael decided that he should look into Nasuti’s ‘friend’ if he wanted to put himself at ease. Date Seiji simply interested him. He was not sure just what kind of man Seiji really was. He cursed himself again. He was looking too much into this. However, Seiji’s icicle eyes told a completely different story of a normal man. A story of mystery, intrigue and maybe even ‘evil’. Nasty’s relationship with Seiji boggled him as well. Obviously, they were friends, how they met was probably an interesting tale. He knew that the young men who use to live with her were three to two years younger. What an odd arrangement.

He walked away from the shadows of his stoop and continued to take the steeps one by one until he reached his door. Pulling his keys out he instantly was overcome with a deep primeval fear that went beyond terror as an image of blood-red eyes shinning within a cavernous skull rose in his mind. Death’s image came with an overwhelming sense of doom.

Raphael blinked, and blinked again, unable to believe his eyes. One minute he saw a deathly image of a skull and the next his eyes replaced the image with a silver haired woman. Chills crept through his body. He quickly opened his door and ran in to blot it behind him. He reached out to grab a nearby chair in the hallway, placing the furniture under the latch of the door.

~*~*~

Two nights later Seiji found himself wondering the streets downtown in search of a quick bite. Murderers, rapists and drug dealers always roamed the streets. Forgotten men, men who did not deserve to walk among innocent civilians. Those who feed upon the flesh of man were doing a favor for these scum’s, a quick painless death delivered by an angel of death. Much better then the hard life these men had to live.

He felt a presence when he stepped into a darken alley-a presence he recognized. And, loathed.

She was wearing a dress the color of fresh blood. Her hair, silver and glossy, fell over her shoulders in loose waves. Her complexion was glowing, and he knew she had fed recently.

“What are you doing here?”

“Gabriel, ‘mon amour’, is this any way to greet an old friend?”

“My name is Seiji, and we are ‘not’ friends,” He retorted sharply.

“Lovers then,” Jacqueline purred. “Even better.”

Crossing the distance between them, she ran her hands across his shoulders and down his arms, appreciating the solid feel of him. She felt her blood stir as she gazed up into his eyes.

“Ah, Gabriel I’ve missed you.” Seiji looked at her, cursing himself for still carrying a torch for this cursed angel.

He took hold of her hands and pushed her away. “What do you want, Jacque?”

She pouted prettily. “Do I have to want something? It has been a long time since we last met, cara mia. I just wanted to see how you are doing.” She smiled seductively. “I see you have gathered information on a man by the name of Gabriel. I am sure you were very interested in his story. Unfortunately, some of it was inaccurate. I am sure you would like to hear more about ‘his’ past, wouldn’t you?”

“Following me are you?” he spat. Jacqueline played with her hair innocently. “I’m fine Jacque. Now go away.”

“Don’t be rude, Gabriel.” She walked around him, running her fingertips across his back until she stood in front of him again. “Who are you hiding from?”

“I’m not hiding from anyone,” He replied. Except you… Except myself. She glanced up to his eyes. “You can not lie to me, Seiji.” She stared deep into his eyes, and even now, he felt the heat, the power of her gaze.

“Gabriel-“ she started in a husky voice.

“Stop calling me that damn despicable name!” Seiji backed away from the hold of her eyes, she simply laughed at him. “You still want me…”

He glared at the wall avoiding her gaze. “The only thing I ever desired from you was your body. Never you! I thought, no-; you were too damn upsets Jacque. Always was and always will be. I see that now. You’re not what you pretend to be.” Seiji inhaled deeply. “The very angel that turned me into a monster. “

She shrugged. “You were already different from others Seiji. Just like your friends…”

He whirled around. “How in the hell do you know my friends! If you’re going somewhere with this Jacqueline, mark my words, I’ll rip your head off.”

She waved her finger, “Seiji, Seiji, temper, temper. Anger is not becoming of you.” She looked at him disapprovingly. “I know nothing of your friends personally; only the names of the armors you carry……….and your ancestors.”

As their eyes met, he felt a shock run through him. “Yes Seiji. I knew your Ancestor…..Gabriel De`Mont.” She pulled him into his arms, whispering in his ear. “Now do you whish to hear about my beloved lover?”

“Jacqueline,” Seiji whispered, “Gabriel is not here.”

“Yes he is. He’s standing right in front of me.”

“Why?”

“Because we can’t be separated.”

Seiji shook his head and tugged her away from him. “Whatever you want to believe, I have no way of changing your mind. But Jacque, you should not love this Gabriel, especially I…he created you…you should hate him.”

“NO!” She growled. “I made him! Gabriel was a vampire before he even moved to that pathetic village. He ran away from me, but I found him.” She smiled sadly. “Do you whish to hear my story now, Seiji?”

“I don’t know anymore.”

“Yes you do. I know about Korin and his connection with the other armors. The burden you carry the fear within, you whish to hear this, whish to know why you look so much like Gabriel, why I say you’re him, and more than anything….you whish to know why I chose you. Have you not wondered why the armor picked you?” Seiji’s face clouded with uneasiness. “It never picked you Seiji. It was always yours to begin with. You are only an heir to its power…a mere recreation of your ancestor. You are Gabriel.”

He struggled to maintain an even conciliatory tone. “Tell me, Jacqueline…”

~*~*~

I am a vampire. In the three hundred and fifty years of my dark existence, I have trusted no one to know where I take my rest. And you would not want to see me then, my body hard and unmoving, with the stillness of sleep that is like death. You don’t want to see me when I rise, when the hunger is upon me, when my eyes look like death and no mortal is safe in my presence. . .

TBC




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