This is a story I'm working on from time to time. The idea came to me so I decided to try it out. Here's what I have so far:

Legacy of the Dark Ones

Prologue

Tobias arose early that night, willing his body from his resting place beneath the ground. He didn't sleep beneath the soil as did most of his kind. He had simply created a chamber for himself beneath the earth to rest in the womb of the Great Mother and recouperate his great strength. He no longer was a vampire, not in the sense of the kind he had been born into. He was different, his story as ancient as the stories of his birthplace, Atlantis. Yet he rose every day, aware of the world and that he had no place within it. Even the vampires had a symbolic place in the world, curtailing the rising threat of human over-population. Their Councils controlled their kind from overfeeding and causing an inbalance to the world. Yet him, he had no place within the world except for the goal he awoke to each day.

To hunt.

He rose quickly, opening a hole in the earth above him and flying out into the main part of his house. Three-thousand square feet, his house was luxurious with everything he needed and could ever want. Yet he was alone, and nothing could fill the emptiness that existed within him. None of the luxuries he had would ever keep him occupied enough to block out the cold truth that he was a killer, a destroyer, and his existence was a black stain on the fate of the world. Prince of Darkness, he'd been called. It was true, he guessed. No one in the dark realms would ever match him in power, and no one would ever outmatch his deceptive nature.

Sighing, he moved to the east part of the house and walked out onto the wrap-around balcony. He drew in a deep breath, scenting the air and realizing, as he always did, that he felt nothing, no fleeting depression, no feelings of real longing, just a cold emptiness that was his core. The only thing he ever really felt was hatred, but only of himself. He hated himself for what he was and what he was called on daily to do. With his powers, he could rule this realm, not just this planet. He was feared by many as the Avitar of Death. Yet he was not allowed, not yet, not until he finished his mission.

Taking a deep breath, he took to the air, flying fast and high, his vision so keen that he could focus in on anyone or anything. He could see a small beetle miles away. He could feel the energy of the city teeming with life, yet he could also feel the energy of the Dark Ones. Vampires ran rampant through the city, yet they were nothing compared to the Dark Ones. They were vile creatures bent only on destruction, whether they be human, vampire or another form of creature. And they changed everything they bit. They were the demonic undead...

...and he was their Prince.

Chapter 1: the Trap

Tobias landed in the middle of the city, his presence invisible to all but the most advanced senses. He was in the city square, the tall metal and glass buildings rising high around the small vestige of nature left standing in the city of filth. The Square was just that, a city block near the center of the city that had been made into a park, with trees scattered around, a man-made stream of purified water flowing down the middle. Two planted maze bushes were on either tip of the block, a tourist attraction if he'd ever seen one, but still fun for the young ones who still ventured out this far from their homes. It was one of his most frequented places because of this fact. Children were most preyed upon for their usually untainted souls.

He wasn't there long before he heard the telltale sounds of trouble. He felt a ripple flow over his skin, a definite sign of the presence of a Dark One. He was used to the urge to change to his true form, which instictively kicked in when a Dark One was nearby, having dealt with the urge for years now.

Tobias settled down to earth and leaned against a tree nonchalantly, waiting. A few moments later he was rewarded when a child not more than nine years old passed by almost in front of him, and behind him was one of the most despicable creates he'd ever seen. The Dark Ones. Not entirely Vampire, not entirely Demon, they were a mix of the two, bringing out the evil tendacies of both races, and expounding the thirst for blood of the Vampire and ravenous hunger for flesh of the Demon by a hundred fold. Their true form was forbidden in the human realm, but this one had opted for full scare effect while he toyed with this food. His wings, which came from his Demon form, were streaked with pulsing red veins, small, thin black scales covering them in a form of armour. The scales continued down the wings and across the creature's skin, its body a mass of black and red streaks, its body massive with bulked muscles and its mouth spread wide, filled with two huge rows of razor sharp teeth, its Vampire fangs wide and thick, meant for a much more serious bite than the small, twin dots they normally left. Its eyes were pure black, no white at all in them, the only other color evident was the small bead of red at the center that only appeared while they were hunting. Its ears moved much like that of a canine, spinning side to side, catching all sounds from around it, its eyes eagle-sharp in their clairity. Most Dark Ones chose to focus on enhancing their physical strength and didn't focus much on the magickal and energy gifts that were theres for the taking, which made the younger Dark Ones easy enough. He hated when he found one that was balanced between both physical and metaphysical power.

Bored already, Tobias reached out from this place beside the tree and caught the Dark One by the throat, slamming him hard to the ground with a close-line maneuver. He saw the shock and heard the yelp from the creature as it shifted back to human form. The newer created Dark Ones found it difficult to hold their main form when they were caught off guard. Already the Dark One in Tobias's grasp was regaining his bulk, his skin changing color again. Tobias tightened his hold on the creature, cutting off its air and crushing its windpipe, causing it to gasp and panic, again losing its bulk.

Tobias reached his hand back, changing it into claw form and was about to deliver the killing blow when he noticed the child moving closer and closer. Growling, he turned to tell the kid to get the hell out of there, when he noticed the kid's eyes. They were turning black, his body expanding quickly as he shifted faster than any Dark One he'd ever seen, his wings expanding to battle threat length. Before Tobias could react the Dark One in his hold laughed and kicked him hard in the ribs while he was distracted, sending him into the air, pain vibrating through his body from the blow.

He arrested his ascent and hovered in the air with barely a thought, sizing up his opponents. The first Dark One had changed back to his demon form, both glaring up at him with lustful menace. Yet the second Dark One held his hand out to his companion, staying his movements. He addressed Tobias in a deep, gutteral voice.

"Ah, mighty hunter, I do believe you have become the hunted it would seem." It was a taunt and an obvous one at that. "You like hunting our kind, but now it's time for you to get a taste of your own justice." He gestured and a wave of energy errupted from his hand, whipping the wind around Tobias, trying to rile him and egg him on. They were stalling, he knew, but for what he couldn't figure out. He could easily take the two of them, yet they must have had ulterior motives if they had studied him enough to lay this trap for him.

He expanded his senses to the outlying areas, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. And there it was, popping up in his mind's eye like numerous blips on a radar. They were moving in, multiple Dark Ones surrounding him in the hopes of their numbers taking him down. They hadn't counted on his power, though, and so with a laugh he flashed himself to in front of the second Dark One, looking up at him as he shook his head and took a step back, uncertanty evident on his evil face.

"Oh, but you're wrong, my demonic brethren." He made a tsking noise and smile grimly. There was a loud thudding noise, then he was standing behind the second Dark One, the creature's decrepit and decayed heart still beating in his grasp. "I don't like hunting your kind." He crushed the heart in his hand for emphasis, the organ instantly turning to dust along with the Dark One's body behind him. "I live for it!" he said this last gutterally, his voice changing as he felt his power flow through him. The thrill of battle overcame him and he felt his eyes turn bright red, turning on the other Dark One that he'd held at first. The creature was looking around for his escape, but Tobias never allowed him a second thought. Another burst of speed and a thudding noise and he again held another heart in his hand, crushing it with satisfaction, watching the body reduced to dust.

He scanned the area again, feeling the growing aggitation and fear and outrage of the Dark Ones surrounding him. Yet there was only one energy signature he was looking for. The one pulling their strings. There had to be a Master behind this attack. They were the only ones smart enough to even attempt an organized strike against him. Yet it seemed this one had underestimated him.

He could feel the Master's control over the Dark Ones around him slipping as their fear and uncertainty grew. Tobias allowed his voice to lower an octave, throwing his full power behind the soundwaves. "Come to me, Dark Ones, and seek your justice." Then he waited, the creatures trying to fight off his compulsion but failing. They came to him a few seconds later, clumsily stumbling into the clearing of the Square and, upon seeing him, threw themselves at him in anger, blind to their own approaching end. And he dispatched them that quickly, calling upon the forces of darkness at his command and sending black lightning into the chest of each of the approaching creatures, incinerating their hearts, their bodies crumbling to dust.

He heard the outraged cry of the Master as his puppets were disposed of like so much garbage, then the energy signature disappeared instantly, the Master fading into a bolthole. Tobias sighed and called up the wind, gathering the mass of ashes around him and scattering them evenly across the grass of the park, returning to purity that which was evil.

Tobias looked to the sky then, not allowing himself to think of the beings he'd just so coldy and methodically destroyed. They'd been honest people once, changed by one man's obsession and his biggest mistake. And now, Tobias, Prince to Evil itself, was called upon nightly to dispatch those that threatened the balance of darkness on the Earth plane.

His mood sour, Tobias took to the sky again, feeling that his patrol that night was going to be a long one.

This is incredible!!!! It gripped me to the last word!!! I can't wait to hear more! GREAT JOB!

Thanks, I'll see about writing more later.

Chapter 2: Chaos Renewed

Tobias stood in the middle of the crowded sidewalks, visible only to those he wished to see him. Something was off in his city, he knew it. Could smell it on the air, could taste it like trash on tongue. The Dark Ones didn't organize that often, and when they did it was an easily squashed attempt. Yet Tobias sensed he was missing something. A detailed he'd overlooked or some piece of knowledge he hadn't acknowledge. Whatever it was, the niggling sensation at the back of his mind would stop.

He began walking then, allowing himself as he often did to mingle seemlessly into the human traffic. They didn't even bother to blink at him, so obsessed with their own lives that they didn't stop to realize that death walked among them. He was the true Harbinger of Death to those who dared to sacrifice human lifes for their own gain. Yet he couldn't deny his own guilt. How could he, when he in fact traded off on that lifeforce to remain in existence. No, he didn't kill, but he did have to take human blood to remain alive and at full power to keep the Dark Ones at bay. And this he hated himself for almost as much as he hated his breathren he hunted.

Carelessly, he forced a man in his way to change directly by a simple excertion of his will. It was all to easy to manipulate humans and the rush of emotions one could inspire in them was an addicting high he had avoided throughout his existence, yet now he used it as needed, no longer even able to feel that dark swirl in his mind that told him he was heading in a bad direction. He was far gone, no longer moral or detatched. He only had his own sense of honor that dictated that the Dark Ones deserved mercy delivered at his hands. He truly was a dispicable creature.

He heard the scream long before it reached the ears of the humans around him. A woman, off in the distance. He quickly flashed himself over a block, using the wave of energy from her voice to zone in on her location. In a deep, dark ally laid a woman, cradling a small figure to herself and sobbing uncontrolably. There was little blood left from the gapping hole in the child's neck. The Dark Ones didn't waste a drop of the precious lifeforce. Tobias knew immediately that this had been a retaliation aimed specifically at him by the Master who had organized the earlier attack.

He couldn't stop the emotions then, the blinding hatred that had him choking back a feral growl. Memories swamped him, taking over his mind and knocking the wind from his longs in a long, strangled sigh. Children playing, a field with lush grass and toys scattered about. A dark, hideous shadow plunging their world into blackness. The screams, endless screams of pain and terror. The fear, so raw and powerful, washing over the creature, an evil laugh escaping him. Then, Tobias stood there afterward with blood-red tears streaking his face, the demon inside him sated and sleeping, leaving him to deal with the aftermath of his evil. He was evil, always had been from the day he'd been turned.

Tobias wrenched his thoughts away from those memories and quickly put a lid on the dangerous rage bubbling up inside him. This is what the Master wanted, to test Tobias and make him lose his cool. To bring back the true demon that lived within him. He wouldn't let it happen, not again.

Tobias took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then another. He looked to the woman who had a group of humans gathering around her, yet she was looking past all of them, her eyes locked directly on his. As soon as he met her eyes the earth shook beneath his feet. No doubt she was seeing the glowing red of his eyes, the beast so loosely caged within him. Yet he saw every detail of her, her blood-red hair, the slash of green eyes that were now tinged with red, swollen lids and tear-stained cheeks that encompassed lush lips and a small, pert nose. She was very pale, scared and weak with fear, anger at the small child's death, and he realized then the reason she was looking at him. She thought he was the one who'd killed the child. The Master had taken his form while he slaughtered the innocent one.

Tobias immediately flashed himself out of the ally, up on to a nearby roof so he could observe the woman. He reached out to her mind, carefully connecting with her mentally and observing her thoughts and emotions. She was in chaos, total chaos. There were no coherent thoughts, only the need to move, the need for revenge, for justice. It was so deep-seated a rage that felt he would burn just from the contact with her mind.

He sent her soothing calm, wanting to reduce the painful ache within her. He didn't want to examine why, exactly. After all, he was truly the demon that made up his being, and had proved it time and again. He was certainly capable of taking a child's life. Yet this woman needed him and he had the unexplainable urge to sooth her.

While in her mind he left a loose link to her that he could follow if he needed and took to they sky, choosing to soar back to his house instead of flashing there. He needed the night air to clear his head, and he would just make it back to the house before the sun rose.

Yet one question remained with him: Why did that woman worry him so?

Dang, It just keeps getting better and better.....Way to leave us hanging...haha I just wanna turn to the next page and just keep reading...serious suspense!!!

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That was awesome. I enjoyed reading every word.

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Seduction is the greatest power we possess.

Tobias you are truly a writer. These are skills I yearn to have. Thank you for posting it for us to read, and you are doing very very well.

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Thank you, both, for your kind words and encouragement. I'll try to post more soon.

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VF Mentor and self-proclaimed know-it-all!!!