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The rain started to pour down harder, forming puddles under the hunter’s feet as she staggered through the deserted streets. Every step, every breath, sent pain through her as she struggled to press her hand against the wound in her shoulder, trying to hold her blood in.
Ariadne looked up through the pounding rain, blinking it from her eyes. She didn’t even know where she was, had gotten turned around after retreating from that nest of vampires. Some hunter she was—couldn’t even take out three fangs by herself. All she knew was that she was far away from home, and unsure if she would even make it back in her condition.
A dark building loomed ahead of her and a flash of lightning illuminated a steeple above.
A church, she realized in relief as she dragged her heavy feet toward the building.
As she got closer, she realized how old and in disrepair it was. It was too late to turn back now, though, even if no one was there it would provide shelter from the rain. And she could maybe find something to tend to her wounds with.
She pushed open the dilapidated door and staggered inside, shivering as rainwater poured off of her heavy oilskin coat.
To her surprise, the glow of candlelight greeted her, flickering on an altar at the back of the church.
A figure knelt in front of it, as if in prayer, but at the sound of her arrival, he stood, eyes widening in shock at the sight of her.
Ariadne, swayed, relief at finding a sanctuary causing all the exhaustion to hit her at once. The figure’s footsteps sped up as she began to collapse and the last thing she was aware of were strong arms catching her before darkness took hold, pulling her into unconsciousness.
~~~~~~~
Ariadne awoke, body stiff and sore, head pounding. She groaned and pried her eyes open, shifting against the hard surface under her.
“You’re awake?”
She blinked at the figure appearing in front of her, leaning over to look at her, brows furrowing over the tinted spectacles he wore despite the already dim surroundings.
Ariadne slowly remembered finding the church before passing out. “Father?” she guessed, though the man’s dark clothing wasn’t quite priestly as if it had been modified a long time ago.
He shook his head a little. “Just…Zayne,” he told her.
She didn’t have the energy to ask, though her eyes lighted on the shape of a cross that looked like it had been branded into the back of his hand.
She tried to sit up but he placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder, pushing her back down. “Stay still, I need to make sure the bleeding has stopped.”
She lay as still as possible, allowing him to pull back the coat covering her and inspect the bulky bandages that had been wrapped around her shoulder. She cringed slightly as he probed the wound, then pulled back in satisfaction.
“It looks alright, but I would advise seeking medical attention.”
Ariadne glanced out a cracked stained-glass window and saw that it was still raining heavily.
“You may stay until the rain stops. You are quite far from anything out here.”
She sat up slowly on the worn pew she was resting on and started to realize this church must be abandoned. Globs of candlewax coated the floor around the altar, prayer books lay scattered among the pews. Ivy, and oddly, jasmine, had grown around the walls, clinging to the cracks.
Her eyes trained to a rack against the far wall, catching sight of familiar tools—stakes, silver chains, flasks of holy water. The tools of a vampire hunter.
“Are you also a hunter?” she asked the mysterious man who had busied himself at a small camp stove, heating water in a kettle.
“Something like that,” he said.
She frowned, but he didn’t seem to offer any more information. He was likely a freelance hunter; they usually worked for bounty and liked to keep to themselves.
Zayne poured the steaming water into two cups and mixed something up before bringing one of the cups to her.
“Some tea to warm you.”
She took it gratefully, fingers still frigid, sighing at the warmth of the cup seeping into her hands. “Thank you.”
She sipped the tea and almost choked, teeth aching.
“Mmph!”
“Is it too hot?” Zayne asked, sipping his own.
“It’s…so sweet,” she said.
“It’s good for your blood loss,” he said.
“Are you a doctor too?”
His lips pressed into a thin line but shook his head. “Just things I’ve picked up on over the years.”
Despite the sweetness, Ariadne found the tea comforting and drank all of it, feeling warmer and more energized afterward.
“What were you doing out here on such an inclement night?” Zayne finally asked her. “I thought Linkon hunters usually stayed within the city limits.”
Ariadne sighed. “I’m looking for a particular vampire. I assume you have heard of the recent murder of one of the men from the city council?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ve been tasked with finding the vampire who did it,” Ariadne replied. “But as usual he’s proving very illusive. People only ever see him before dawn—hence why they’ve taken to calling him Dawnbreaker.”
Zayne didn’t reply, simply went back to cleaning up.
The death of the councilman had put a lot of people on edge, especially when it came with swirling rumors about potential scandal. Dawnbreaker never killed without a reason, even if it was a reason only known to him. An entity of judgement, who left the corpses of his murder victims with a message of warning.
“We’ve all been working non stop. The mayor has been insistent that we find this Dawnbreaker and bring him to justice.”
“I see,” Zayne finally replied.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s nice for you, I’m sure. You can take jobs whenever you want to.”
“That is true,” Zayne replied. “But the city hunters like you are very important to the safety of the people.”
Ariadne began to feel lulled by the tea and her taciturn companion. The rain still beat down, making her sleepy.
Zayne walked over to a chest and rummaged around in it until he found a worn blanket, bringing it over to her.
“You may rest here tonight. I will keep watch if you’re worried.”
She hesitated but the idea of sleep was a lot more tempting than she realized. “Thank you…”
She pulled the blanket over herself and watched as Zayne sat on a stool a little bit away, beginning to clean his guns, carefully preparing shot with tweezers.
“Were you ever actually a priest?” she asked, unsure of why she thought of the question.
Zayne’s brow furrowed. “Once, a long time ago.”
She looked around at the church again. Had he served here? It had to be impossible—after all, he wasn’t nearly old enough to have served here. This church had been abandoned for decades. Maybe he just felt more at home here…
Those thoughts swirled in her head as she felt her eyelids grow heavy and finally drifted off to sleep, listening to the familiar sounds of gear being checked, almost comforting on that rainy night.
Ariadne didn’t wake until the next morning, the sun streaming bright through the windows telling her it was many hours past dawn.
She groaned as she sat up, letting the blanket pool onto the pew as she stretched experimentally. Her shoulder was still stiff and sore, but it wasn’t quite as bad as before. Her weapons had been laid out neatly at her feet, looking like they’d been cleaned and serviced as well.
She stood up, gathering her gear, and looking around to see if her mysterious rescuer was around.
She finally spotted him lying on a pew pushed against the back wall in the shadows, sleeping deeply, a gun held across his chest.
Ariadne took up the blanket and crossed the old church to lay it over him.
“Thank you,” she whispered before she left as quietly as possible, wishing all the best to the mysterious hunter.
~~~~~~~
Ariadne didn’t think that she would meet up with Zayne again, at least not so soon, but one night on patrol, she made a discovery.
Two more deaths contributed to Dawnbreaker had been discovered within the last week and Linkon City was in an uproar, the hunters forced to work overtime to track him down and find him.
It seemed like many of the city’s important figures had become targets of the vampire’s wrath. Found in the snow, bloodless, wrapped in silver chains, a stake through their hearts like a warning.
Ariadne couldn’t help but think it was odd. That everyone seemed to be missing something when it came to these cases. But the mayor was insistent that justice be served. Ariadne’s captain had reason to believe that the mayor could be a potential target as well, so he had directed the hunters to keep an eye out around the man’s property just in case.
It was Ariadne’s turn to be on patrol. The night was cold, winter setting in, and her recently injured shoulder still ached a little on nights like this, making patrol even worse. She was about to crack open the thermos she had brought with her when she heard a shout of terror not too far away.
Adrenaline kicking in to bring her some warmth, she rushed in that direction and saw a young man cowering away from a figure dressed all in black, looming over him.
“Please! I’m just like you! I-I just need to feed as well!”
“Your very existence is an abomination,” a cold, yet strangely familiar voice replied.
A blade flashed in the darkness and the young man was backed into a corner. Ariadne could see his red eyes, indicating he was a vampire, but then, who was the other man?
Despite the fact the young man was indeed a vampire, Ariadne couldn’t stand to see him so terrified. She rushed forward, ready to intervene.
“Hey!” she called to the mysterious hunter. “Leave him alone.”
The dark figure froze for a second before he turned.
Ariadne stopped in her tracks. Under the moonlight, she could clearly see the man’s face. It was the same face she had woken up to in that abandoned church, except now, without his tinted glasses, she could clearly see Zayne’s red eyes.
“Don’t interfere,” he said sternly and turned back around, raising his blade over the cowering young vampire.
“Stop!” Ariande jumped forward and grabbed his wrist, hauling him back. “What did he do that you need to kill him for?”
“I swear I did nothing,” the young man blubbered. “I-I mean…I did steal some chickens to eat, but I haven’t drunk from any humans, I promise!”
Ariadne frowned, seeing the fresh bitemarks on his neck. “You weren’t turned very long ago, were you?”
He shook his head. “I was attacked late one night and woke up on the street, burning. Before I realized what I was doing, I had broken into a butcher shop and drank their cast off blood.”
“Did you see who turned you?” she inquired.
He shook his head. “No. I didn’t.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Zayne’s voice was still cold. “Our kind…they don’t deserve to live.”
The young man cowered again and Ariadne placed herself between him and Zayne firmly. “Leave him, he might have important information.”
Zayne’s jaw tightened, but he turned, glancing over his shoulder. “If you ever cross paths with me again, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
He strode off into the night. Ariadne took a step forward.
“Zayne!” she called, but he had already disappeared, melting into the shadows.
She turned back around and took the young vampire’s arm. “I’m going to take you back to headquarters with me so you can answer a few questions. I promise no harm will come to you.”
He slumped, seeming defeated as she led him down the cold streets.
All the while though, her mind was reeling, putting things together.
That night after she had delivered the vampire to the hunter’s headquarters, she went back out on her own mission, taking up position on the outskirts of town, knowing Zayne would need to pass the area if he were to head back to his decrepit church.
And sure enough, as the sky began to lighten with the coming dawn, she spotted him appearing out of the fog.
She stepped from her position and stood there in his path.
Zayne came to a halt, staring at her warily.
“Did you come to arrest me, then?” he asked her quietly.
She didn’t reply instantly, considering her words carefully before speaking. “You didn’t try to kill me when I sought shelter in the church.”
Zayne gave her a frown. “I didn’t consider you a threat. We aren’t on opposite sides.”
She mulled that over for a moment before asking, “Why do you speak of other vampires like that if you are one?”
“You think I don’t consider myself an unholy abomination?” he asked coldly. “Vampires are aberrations of humanity. They should not exist.”
“So do you think you also should not exist?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said with such sincerity that her heart ached a little. “But I have a duty to fulfil before I am taken out of this world. My penance.”
“And what sins have you committed that deserve such penance?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t concern you.” He strode past her. “Do not seek me out again.”
She swallowed hard. She didn’t want to speak the words on her tongue, but they came out anyway.
“You’re Dawnbreaker, aren’t you?”
He paused, boot scraping on the street. “If you wish to kill me, I would appreciate it if you waited until I finish what I need to do.”
She turned, but he seemed to already have vanished into the silvery early morning gloaming.
Ariadne knew what she should do, but there was a part of her that didn’t believe Zayne was doing wrong, at least not entirely. He wasn’t really doing anything different than she was at the end of the day.
She found she wanted to know how he had gotten like this and who had been responsible for turning him.
So instead of chasing her target down, she headed back toward her place to get some sleep before her next patrol shift.
~~~~~~~
Winter set in heavy that year, and storms blew in without warning, sleet battering windows of those lucky enough to be inside.
Unfortunately, Ariadne was not so lucky. She had been on a hunt all day, and her target had evaded her right before the storm hit. The snow was blinding, the sleet tearing at her numb face as she staggered through the drifts, trying to find shelter to wait out the rest of the storm.
A structure appeared out of nowhere and, as she approached, she soon realized what it was.
She always seemed to end up here.
She hesitated outside the old church, wondering if she would be welcome. But as she shivered, she decided to risk it and ask Zayne a truce for the night at least.
However, as she forced open the door, nearly frozen closed with ice, she found only a dark church. Zayne didn’t seem to be there.
She shakily found matches and lit the candles placed around the building. Then started the little camp fire, taking the kettle outside to fetch fresh snow with her frozen hands.
She finally sat down at the fire, melting the snow, and waited for the water to heat so she could attempt to warm herself up a little.
She hadn’t seen Zayne since that night when she had come across him threatening to do away with that young vampire. Since then, things had only seemed to get worse.
The young man she had taken to the association headquarters for questioning hadn’t been able to give them any usable information before he was found dead. She knew in her gut Zayne hadn’t been responsible for it, but everyone was claiming it was Dawnbreaker sending a message.
No, Ariadne had begun to suspect that there was corruption within the city and perhaps even the hunter’s association. That Zayne had been right, at least on that front. Though even he seemed to be unable to fully stop it, despite more powerful figures ending up dead in the streets.
She didn’t want to say that she missed him, but in some ways, she did. She wanted to ask his side of things, because she honestly wasn’t sure if she was fighting for the right side anymore.
And the church would feel a lot less lonely with him there.
She sipped at her hot water and was finally able to stop shivering, peeling her dripping coat off and hanging it over a pew to dry.
The storm continued to rage outside, wailing against the rickety building, but it stood firm. She wouldn’t find better shelter if she tried to go back out there.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as the door slammed open. Ariadne assumed the wind had broken the latch and leapt up to try and barricade it closed, but a figure stood there, silhouetted in the dark before staggering inside.
The door was slammed shut, and Ariadne stood there with her blade in her hand, as she listened to the labored breathing from the hunched figure.
“You…should not have come…here.”
Zayne’s voice was rough, strained. The soft dripping sound was not melting ice from his clothes but blood, dropping dark and sinister on the ground.
“Zayne,” she breathed, stepping closer to him.
He whipped his head up, eyes flashing red, fangs bared. “Don’t…come any closer,” he gasped. “I don’t…know what I’ll…do to you.”
“You’re injured,” she said, but kept her distance.
Zayne set his jaw and limped over to a crate set near the altar, nearly falling as he knelt beside it, unlatching it clumsily and digging around until he found a leather wineskin.
It didn’t look very full and he growled, squeezing the contents into his mouth before bracing his hands on the chest, head hanging between his shoulders.
Ariadne cautiously approached. “Zayne, let me tend your wounds.”
“I told you not to come near me!” he snapped, turning further away. “You smell…delectable.”
She swallowed hard, but knew that a vampire in a blood frenzy would be worse than this, and that’s exactly what was going to happen if he didn’t get more blood soon.
“Zayne…I’ll give you some blood—”
“No!”
“Don’t be stubborn!” she snapped. “You and I both know that the state you’re in right now is more dangerous than anything.”
“I can handle myself.”
“You’re torturing yourself,” she pointed out.
He shook his head but still refused to look at her.
Ariadne did something stupid and stepped around him, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at her. When he tried to pull away, she dug her nails into his flesh and held him still.
“Look at me,” she demanded and his eyes finally met hers, pained, desperate, and full of self-hatred. “You don’t need to suffer like this.”
He took a shuddering breath and raised a shaky hand to clamp around her wrist. “If I drink from you…I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”
“You seem to have restraint,” she said.
“Yes…but…with you I’m not sure I can restrain myself.”
Her stomach flipped at his words, seeing his cheeks heat, eyes growing fevered. He tilted his face to nuzzle his nose against her wrist, her pulse throbbing under her skin.
“I might turn you,” he whispered hoarsely. “Or leave you a mindless thrall.”
Ariadne reached up and undid her collar, pulling it aside to show him several fang marks in her flesh, raising her arm to show more. Zayne’s eyes blew wide.
“You want to know my secret?” she asked quietly. “I’m immune.”
“How…?”
She shook her head. “I’ve always been like this. It’s what makes me a good hunter.” She smiled wryly and cradled his head again, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer.
“You’re not taking, Zayne, I’m offering,” she told him firmly. “Let go just for a little while and allow yourself what you need. I trust you to stop.”
He took a shuddering breath. “Ariadne…”
She shivered, hearing her name on his lips, hearing the need in his voice.
She pulled him closer to whisper in his ear. “Take what you need, Zayne.”
He shook against her, then took her chin, leaning even closer still.
“Once I start…promise me that you’ll stop me if you have to.”
She nodded. He hesitated still, and she pulled him close, pressing her mouth to his.
Zayne inhaled sharply, at first freezing at the kiss before hauling her against him and breathing her in like he was going to devour her whole. She felt his fangs prick her lip and she gasped into his mouth as he licked the blood away, moaning.
He forced her backwards, Ariadne’s hip hitting the altar. Zayne swept the candles from it with his arm, sending hot wax across the floor as the flames were snuffed out. The scent of candle smoke filled the air as he lifted her onto the altar, a willing sacrifice, and pulled her flush against him, pulling back just slightly licking her blood from his lips as he asked with his eyes.
Ariadne reached to pull her collar open, exposing her neck and Zayne didn’t seem to need a second bidding.
He leaned in, sinking his fangs into her veins. Ariadne whimpered at the sensation, clinging to him as he fed, swallowing mouthful after mouthful.
As she began to feel the heaviness of blood loss she dug her fingers into his back.
“Zayne,” she croaked.
He growled and she tugged his hair a little. “Zayne.”
He pulled back with a gasp, less pale and eyes less frantic. He surprised her by slumping against her, cheek pressed against her shoulder as he nuzzled into her gently.
“Thank you,” he whispered before he slid from her grasp, falling to the floor in a stupor.
~~~~~~~
Ariadne built a bed for Zayne on the floor where he fell out of all the blankets she could find stored around the church. She bandaged his wounds which already seemed to be healing, and tucked him and herself in under their coats, huddling against his side as she dozed off, also exhausted after her blood donation.
It was much, much later, as the howling wind finally began to die down, that Zayne stirred, blinking in confusion as he saw the hunter lying next to him before an undeniably soft look crossed his face.
Ariadne woke with a start as he stirred and instantly flushed as she realized just how close they were.
“Oh…sorry, did I wake you?”
“No,” he said simply, looking away briefly. “Though I am happy to know you can still flush. I must not have drunk too much from you.”
She bit her lip and fought the urge to cover her face, instead clearing her throat. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. My wound is almost healed.”
She nodded, then finally asked. “What happened? Why were you even out there last night?”
“Why were you?” he asked, then sighed. “I was hunting a particular target, but he was prepared even on a night like this. Thankfully, due to the inclement weather I was able to escape, but my mission still remains unfinished.”
She wanted to ask him what his true mission was, but decided to ask something else first.
“Zayne…” she hesitated, before pushing on. “How did you become like this?”
“A vampire?”
She nodded.
He was silent for a long moment. “I used to be a priest, yes. In this very church, actually. But one night, I let in a traveler and found that he was hiding a secret. He attacked me, left me for dead, but ended up turning me instead when he drank my blood. When my fellow men of the cloth found me, they instantly tried to do away with me themselves. I don’t know how I escaped—I don’t even know why. I just felt that…maybe I should live. So I swore off a life of piety and became a killer instead—what I had been made into.”
“I’m sorry, Zayne,” she said sincerely.
He shook his head. “Perhaps it was better in the end. I long since came to terms with it. That my lot in life was to be an avenger, to rid this town of its disease. But…somewhere along the line, I lost sight of that. You were the one who reminded me when you stopped me from killing that boy that night.”
He met her eyes gratefully. “You reminded me that there is still humanity in us, even like this. But like humanity, there are those of our kind that are twisted beyond redemption as well.”
“Who are you after, Zayne?”
He was silent for a long moment, before he said, “The mayor was turned a long time ago. That’s why people rarely see him. He’s been responsible for the majority of vampires turned in this city, and he’s been killing anyone who might speak out against him and reveal his secret.”
Ariadne thought of the young man killed in his cell at the association headquarters and felt a pit in her stomach. And yet, she realized she had been considering the possibility for a while now.
“Zayne,” she said with certainty, propping herself on an elbow and glancing down at him.
“Hm?”
“I want to help you.”
He stared at her incredulously. “Help me?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “I’ve long since lost my faith in justice and knowing that it’s being dictated by the man causing the harm…I don’t want any part of it anymore.”
She took his hand, threading her fingers through his, locking their hands tight. “Let me help you put this city to rights. I want to see that true justice is done.”
“It could have grave consequences for both of us,” Zayne said pointedly.
“So?” she shook her head. “There will be grave consequences for everyone if we don’t try to stop this.”
Zayne exhaled slowly and pulled her hand to his lips to kiss it.
“I would love to have you by my side in this fight.”
Relief flooded Ariadne as she settled back into his arms. “Then let’s do this together.”
