by Mikel Wilson
"You're strong, but you are not trained to use the powers you have been gifted." She then lifted Lillith high into the air before slamming her down hard, shards of asphalt flying up at the pure force behind the slam. Dawn grabbed Lillith’s hair, wrapping it around her hand and lifting Lillith’s face to meet hers. “You will learn your place soon enough, I swear it.”
Lillith’s mouth busted open from the force which her face met the pavement was now pouring blood and she felt pain unlike anything she had ever felt as a human. Her mouth trembled as she smiled just before spitting blood in Dawn's face, which caused her to be punched again.
Prince Christian clapped and yelled, "Enough!"
Dawn lifted Her up by her throat by one hand before punching her one last time before dropping Lillith who landed face first in the pavement, who began coughing up more blood.
"Skank," Lillith said weakly. Mackinzie rushed to her fallen friend as Prince Christian offered his hand to help her up.
“You are strong like your slayer mother. Help me take my kingdom back, and I will see you want for nothing,” Christian bargained before turning to Mackinzie. “I am drawn to you, Mackinzie, and it would be an honor to be your husband. I promise you won't regret it.”
“We will see, Christian. This is all happening so fast,” Mackinzie answered while holding Lillith up. She looked to her parents who had stepped forward.
Susan placed a hand on Mackinzie’s shoulder. “Alisha will come for us soon, and we may be killed.”
“Alisha would never hurt us,” Mackinzie said, incredulous.
“She is a slayer, that's her job. I promise you, she is very good at it. I’m afraid we cannot stay here. This realm has slayers and hunters to protect them from our kind. We must leave, or we will be hunted,” Susan explained.
“Then, I guess it's settled,” Mackinzie stated. “I will go with you. I don't know about being your queen, but I won't be hunted in my own home.”
“Lillith, will you help us? We need all the friends we can use,” Christian asked.
“I don't know quite yet, but I do know that I'm not serving anyone. You got that, Christian?”
“Fine, you will not serve anyone. You are to be an equal lady, Lillith,” he acquiesced as he bowed to her.
"That's so much better. Where do we start?" Lillith smiled confidently.
In a dark location, a group of white cloaked men were conversing about what exactly had to be done as Alisha stood before them.
“You know your job; you must once again save this world from those who would make it a dark place. We have trained others to assist you. Go and do your job completely this time,” the council members instructed. “You must not fail us this time.”
Alisha looked up at them and nodded in agreement. “I will need to train a bit before going after them. It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to fight these monsters.”
The council agreed and were obviously prepared for that because they brought in two men who looked battle-ready. The men both smiled at Alisha as they promised to get her back into fighting shape before pulling out their respective weapons.
A week passed, and as Alisha trained, so did Mackinzie and Lillith. Mackinzie's
parents had disappeared, and no one would tell her where they had gone, so she threw herself into the training. Lillith did very well, and her powers grew more and more rapidly the further they got into the training. Dawn had brought gold with her, helping the vampires purchase a home and other necessities to protect them. There was even enough to purchase a few cars and a decent stockpile of weapons.
The local news stations began covering the strange disappearances of people as Christian turned to stronger men and women for his fight against Maximus. He would need every hand he could get. The twelve that Maximus led were the best warriors they had.
Lillith had quickly become even better than Dawn at hand-to-hand combat after only a week of training. She was then knighted by Christian, and she seemed very pleased with herself. Mackinzie was also growing in strength. The relationship between her and Christian was better after a while of training with him, but his eyes had shifted toward Lillith, and Mackinzie noticed. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but the change in how Christian looked at Lillith was starting to cause feelings of jealousy in Mackinzie.
“Time to build an army,” Lillith said to Christian. “We have a start but not nearly enough to fight a trained army of twelve who have done nothing but train for a century.”
As weeks passed, Lillith's plans were soon put to the test as they slowly turned many more young men and women, each being trained by Dawn and Lillith to fight and use their vampiric powers. Teaching them to control the thirst was far harder, and some began to feed on cattle to avoid drawing attention to their mission. Lillith's rule over them was impressive as Christian’s first in command. She was a born leader, and they believed in her. Christian believed in her. The only one who had her doubts was Mackinzie. Her powers as third in command and future queen were well respected, but she still struggled with the attention Christian gave to Lillith.
Meanwhile, Alisha was in a hidden location surrounded by other slayers. Her face bloodied and bruised from the rigorous training she was being put through. Screams of agony could not escape the padded location, her senses returned to her as she pushed herself harder day by day. Sword meets sword creating sparks as her blade technique was once again sharpened and taken to another level, her hand to hand combat was drilled with several martial artists as well as a few MMA fighters. This training was to prepare her for anything and if she was anything other than a slayer her body would not have survived, but now her body had become adjusted. Now she was taking complete control of the sparring sessions, her form, flawless. Her slayer healing factor now reignited as the threat of the vampires had pushed her back into the true height of her power. As she and her trainers left the secluded area they travelled back to the council who were awaiting them. Standing before Alisha were several large highly trained combatants, as the council gave a signal all three went on the attack. Alisha had a split second to gather her thoughts, her body reacted to her mind's heightened senses as she slid under the first ones wide stance kicking his calf with brute force snapping his leg in the process. The other swung with precise form directed at her head, she dodged it without a second to spare. Ducking under the outstretched punch she found her opening and her fist found the chin of the behemoth with a beautifully placed uppercut. But she was grabbed from behind by the last man. His arms squeezing her arms in a bearhug! He then lifted her feet from the ground squeezing with all his might her bones began to crack at the pure force. As the council members stood up looking to signal for him to stop, Alisha slammed the back of her head directly into his face. Blood spewed from his nose as he released the grip, her opening now found Alisha went on the attack with a well placed kick to the body nearly crumbled him. She then grabbed his head and with all of her might jumped into his chin with her knee. His body lost consciousness before he hit the ground. Alisha had done it; the three warriors lay on the ground defeated. The council couldn't be more pleased as they began clapping in unison, her orders were then given to her and with a nod she knew what she must do.
Alisha's training was completed. The vampire presence had not gone unnoticed, and the slayers were now prepared to get them under control. Alisha along with two others would be sent after them.
The council asked many questions about the vampires, their strength and their weaknesses that Alisha had encountered, and she told them all about Prince Christian while neglecting to mention Mackinzie or her daughter, Lillith, and their affiliation. The omission was unnecessary because the council informed her that they knew all about the girls. They explained that Lillith and Mackinzie must be stopped by any means necessary just as the vampire prince.
Alisha's reinforcements joined her in front of the council. Trey was a tall man whose scruffy light beard and skin stood out against his coal black hair. He wore a black ta
nk top with tactical pants and tennis shoes. His weapon of choice was a bow staff with both ends sharpened to turn vampires to dust. The other man, Cortez, was an African American with long dreads. He wore a long denim trench with a sword draped across his shoulders, a spiked belt with knives, and boots. Unlike Trey, who had come to the council’s attention as an adult, Cortez had trained since he was a young boy. Despite their differences in weapons, fighting style, and experience, the two had worked together for a number of years, and their teamwork was amazing.
Both Trey and Cortez swore their allegiance to Alisha as the slayer, and as they left the council, they were given their mission. The men were to take out Christian, and Alisha would go after her daughter and Mackinzie to try to stop their delusions of an honorable mission.
The duo tracked the vampires for hours, finally setting their sights on two that looked to have some authority. Searching for any weaknesses, the men watched from a distance, and within a couple of days, they saw what they needed. They reported back to Alisha, who was having a hard time locating Lillith and Mackinzie, informing her that they had found two of the leaders and asking for the go-ahead to take them out. Alisha gave her blessing not knowing that her own daughter was first in command, and the men had been watching Lillith and Mackinzie.
Trey and Cortez watched for another day while planning their strategy. They discovered that the blonde was the weaker of the two and without her at the other’s right hand, it might be possible to take down the stronger vampire once and for all. They got their chance when the blonde ventured out on her own.
It was a cold rainy night, and Mackinzie was out doing a recon mission, searching the gym for new potentials when the two men struck from either side. A blade covered boomerang whizzed by her head, taking a few pieces of hair with it. Backflipping to safety, she took her stance and focused on the direction the blade had come from. Instead of another weapon, the two warriors now stood face to face with her, their battle-scarred bodies signaling skills and experience she hadn’t even imagined. However, the obvious capabilities along with how quickly and easily these men had very nearly killed her didn’t deter the creature she had become.
"Do you know what you have just started? Now you must face something that is not human, something stronger and faster." Mackinzie grinned as her face changed. Her fangs extended from her gums as she allowed her bloodlust to take hold, and with her strength now magnified, she ran wildly at one of them.
He smiled as he dodged her wild advance and had the arrogance to introduce himself. “We feel it would only be proper to introduce ourselves before we kill you. I am Trey," he even gave an old-world bow before removing a sharpened bow staff from its holder on his back as he pointed toward his fighting mate. "This handsome fellow is Cortez.”
“We are here to end you, bloodsucker," the proud warrior proclaimed as he unsheathed his sharpened katana which slid like a knife through butter.
Mackinzie held both of her hands up to her face taking the only fighting stance she knew, hands up, as they began crisscrossing and running at her. One went high as the other went low. Mackinzie jumped high above them, throwing a punch at Trey, which he dodged. Suddenly, the rain that had only been a drizzle turned into a downpour.
“You two should join us," Mackinzie sneered, but neither even acted as if they’d heard.
The duo attacked once again, one drawing her attention away as the other threw a boomerang which spinned at a remarkable speed, striking Mackinzie's arm with a slicing satisfaction. She grimaced in pain as blood began to pour from the wound, eliciting satisfied grins from the slayers. Mackinzie, seeing she was outmatched, decided to flee. She used her vampire power and jumped, scaling the building to escape just as Christian appeared at her side.
“You did well, my soon to be queen. I had to watch to see how far you’ve come. I was set to step in if either of them came close to killing you. I promise you; this will be their last time facing you alone.”
Watching the vampires flee, the slayers felt a sense of victory. "Next time we see you, you will be dust! You hear us? Dust!” they vowed.
When Mackinzie finally arrived back at the hideout, she told Lillith of the two men. Lillith’s anger exploded.
“Now humans are after us? Christian, we need to go! My mother told us about hunters, and if there are a lot of them, we may be in trouble.”
Christian kindly patted her shoulder and tried to calm her anger.
Lillith’s eyes turned red as she turned to Mackinzie. “They may have been too much for you, but with my enhanced powers, I will drain them dry,” she proclaimed. Mackinzie took a knee as the blood loss started to get the best of her, and Lillith called out to some of the brood, “Get her some blood, quickly! She needs rest, and I have some hunting to do!”
Lillith smirked as she called, “John-Henry, come with me.” The former linebacker that most of their group had started calling JH for short had quickly become one of Lillith’s greatest warriors. He was chiseled and muscular with long brown hair and hazel eyes. His six feet four-inch height made him a juggernaut of a man, and when that was combined with his enhanced vampiric powers, it made him a formidable foe for anyone who dared to challenge them.
“I hear they use weapons,'' John-Henry said.
“Well, we just won’t play fair, now will we, JH? You know what to do.” The two vampires jumped into Lillith’s black corvette and sped off into the night. “The hunters have become the hunted,” Lillith spat, a ruthless grin on her face.
Chapter Four
As the Corvette's large V8's mufflers bellowed through what were now her streets, Lillith smiled. Many of her kind saluted as she drove by.
"We will find them soon enough," JH commented, and before Lillith could respond, the whine of a sport bike coming up fast interrupted them.
"One who doesn't realize we own the streets. I suppose we must show him," she said with a giggle.
As the bike went to pass by the black corvette, she accelerated to keep him from it. He upshifted, raising the front wheel off the ground, and the sound of the bike changed to an even higher pitch as he went flying by her.
Delighted, Lillith licked her lips and smiled as she said, “Him, I like. I must meet him, JH. Let’s go.” With that, she pushed the accelerator to the floor, racing after the bike.
As the lines on the road seemed to grow smaller, JH grew nervous. “Lillith, we’re still in the city,” he warned, but just as the words left his mouth, blue and white lights flashed behind them. "Great," he observed, placing his hands on his head.
"This is perfect. I’d love a snack before I meet the man on the bike.” As Lillith pulled the car over, she fixed her hair, then she leaned out the window, waiting for the officer.
The young black officer who emerged from the car seemed very athletic and well built. Lillith began licking her lips as he approached and asked, "License and registration please, ma’am; any idea why I pulled you over?”
“Well, it could be because I was speeding, or maybe it’s because you had to see the beautiful woman driving such a beautiful car.”
Just then, the staticky voice of a dispatcher came through his radio, “Proceed with caution. That care is registered to an attorney who has been reported missing!”
The officer drew his gun and ordered, “Step out of the vehicle! Right now!” He kept his gun trained on Lillith as he spoke into his radio, asking for backup.
Lillith slowly exited the vehicle, hands up and all smiles. “Please, don't shoot, officer. I mean, the attorney isn't alive anymore, but I can take you to him.” She dropped her head just a little and pretended to cry.
The officer's hands shook even as they held the gun, and his breathing became labored. He asked, "Are you admitting that you killed the attorney?”
“No, not really, but I will take you to him,” Lillith responded, twirling her hand into her kinky hair. Then, lightning quick, she moved toward the officer, scaring him so badly that he shot her right in the chest.
> JH, still on the passenger side of the car, covered his face and shook his head. "Here we go."
Lillith looked up at the officer in disbelief. "You shot me. I actually liked you, and you shot me!"
The officer, now terrified, began stepping backward toward his car as he pleaded for backup.
"They can't help you. No one can help you,” Lillith said, a teasing lilt to her voice, just before allowing her vampire side to show.
“Please, don’t hurt me. I have a wife and a newborn child at home. I promised her I would be back home tonight.”
His pleas seemed to strike a nerve with Lillith, and her face calmed and looked more human again. She stepped close to the officer and gave him a small hug, then whispered into his ear, "You lie!" She grabbed him by the throat with her left hand and pulled him to eye level.
Terror filled his eyes as tears fell, his mouth trembling. He knew these were his last moments before death. He pleaded once more, but it was futile. Lillith merely giggled before ripping his throat open with her nails. He grabbed his neck and fell to the ground, his body convulsing.
"What a waste,” Lillith stated, visibly annoyed. “Let’s go before the cavalry arrives, JH.”
"Yes, let's get out of here."
She spared the young officer one last look, and when he met her eyes, he croaked, “What are you?”
“I’m a vampire, and you got to see me firsthand. You should feel honored.” With a sinister laugh, she left him lying there, bleeding, as she moved back to her car and climbed in. She cranked the engine and turned to JH. “Now, where is that cutie pie on the motorcycle?”
They drove for a few hours, but the motorcyclist was long gone. Aggravated, Lillith went back to her brood only to find one more annoyance. Her mother had tracked them down and was waiting at the entrance of the vampires’ mansion. Alisha stood fully dressed in vampire slayer attire: long black trench coat and a sword draped across her back.