Duncan, Chad, and I ran through trees and bushes in search of our quarry. The terrain started to flow up hill and our progress became more difficult. The cold in the air started to make breathing more difficult and I gagged more than a few times as I kept up with their pace. My glasses fogged up more than once, and I had to control my breathing to get that back under control. Even Chad appeared to be struggling with Duncan’s inhuman pursuit.

I was concerned for him. I hadn’t known him more than a couple of weeks, but he had always remained in control, even scolding Chad during his emotional outbursts. But this Duncan was completely different. He had an inexplicable fury towards these vampires, mutilating their corpses in a blind rage after the kill. It was completely out of character for him and the sense of honor he always displayed.

After what felt like hours to my aching lungs, but was probably only minutes, the rocky hill we were marching up finally leveled off and we cleared more trees before stopping dead in our tracks. My eyes widened in horror at what I saw before us.

“Ah, Duncan! Glad to see that you’re still alive and you were also thoughtful enough to bring me some treats!” The girly, high pitched greeting came from a smaller elf vampire merely a few paces ahead of us. She gave us a toothy grin, “And here my friends were telling me you didn’t have any manners!”

She was surrounded by a slew of the elf vampires, her lieutenants, I guessed. The taller one that had bantered with us was on her right. Most of the rest of them were also from our initial encounter but were joined by a few fresh faces. The original ten hadn’t been all of them after all.

I turned my gaze back to the girl. She was much shorter than the rest of them. She was still taller than I was, but not by much. Carmilla, or my form as Amelia, would have towered over her. She had a youthful appearance too. Had she been human when she was turned, I would have guessed no older than my age, but in elf years, that could still have been a hundred for all I knew.

She was beautiful, but in a twisted way. Her skin was a creamy chocolate, her eyes a beautiful violet. Like her men, her ears were pierced multiple times with jewelry. She had long hair that flowed down past her hips in twin ponytails and straight bangs outlining the side of her face down to her chin. It was such a deep shade of purple it was almost black. Her lips were enticing, a shimmering ruby red, and she was biting her lip seductively. She was thin, as the other vampire elves were, completely flat chested, her only shape were the still narrow hips that flared out from her waist.

One of her hands rested on a cocked hip, the fingers long and smooth with manicured nails, and for a moment I had an inexplicable ache to have them slide down my body. I quickly shook that feeling away when I saw the bloody mangled head of one of our soldiers in her other hand. This hand had much longer nails, almost in the shape of claws, and they pierced into the crown of the man’s skull as she gripped it tightly.

She dressed provocatively, a tight blood red cloth wrapped across what breasts she did have, and a snug fitting black coat worn open to display her nonexistent chest and the rest of her exposed torso. She wore extremely low cut, form fitting black leather pants which wrapped snuggly on her hip with a red silk sash woven through the pant loops in lieu of a belt. Down impossibly long slender legs for her height were slits in the pants running from hip down to ankle, exposing even more of her rich skin, with a thin interlacing red rope laced down either side to keep the pants snug on her legs. Her intoxicating look was finished off with elegant black heeled shoes. She looked more ready for a night at a club then hunting humans through an enchanted snowy forest.

But what caught me the most off guard about her were the horns on her head and the long tail that swung dangerously behind her. The thick black horns started back near her ears and wrapped up the side of her head before flowing up into points, almost like a demonic crown. Golden bands wrapped around both horns near the tips for decoration. The tail was another matter entirely. It was longer than she was tall and, like the horns, was jet black and thick. It looked hard and scaled, like the carapace of a scorpion and tapered to a point towards the end. It lacked a stinger, but that didn’t make it any less menacing.

Ok, what are we supposed to do about her?

I took all of this in and tried not to start shaking, in fear or arousal I wasn’t sure. Something about her was compelling. I knew she was a threat, but she radiated a feeling of safety and calm. All my tension was ebbing away, my defenses lowering. I wanted to run to her and have her embrace me in her arms and tell me everything was going to be alright. I shook my head to clear it and raise my defenses again, but the feeling returned as soon as I looked at her again.

Confused, I looked over to Chad and Duncan. Duncan appeared the same as ever, but Chad was blinking heavily and his eyes kept darting away from her for moments, before looking back at her again. It looked like he was struggling in her presence also. She was doing something to us, and if we didn’t stay focused, it would take hold and we’d give in to whatever it was that she wanted.

She slowly walked towards us a couple of steps, the heels helping her non-existent hips sway ever so slightly, her tail dancing around from side to side behind her. Duncan again brandished Minerva in front of him, as threateningly as I had ever seen, attempting to deter her from getting closer. Whether due to Duncan’s response at her approach or her own decision, she stopped and tossed us the man’s head. It bounced off the ground just a few feet from her and rolled to rest at our feet.

“I wanted to return this. I know you humans are ever so fond of your respect for the dead and all that. Curious why you don’t admire the dead who are much older and more powerful than you.” She quirked a black eyebrow at this. “Of course, Duncan, at your unnatural age, one would expect you to appreciate the idea of respecting your elders. Too bad you can’t age as gracefully as myself. You were probably very handsome once! As a last request, would you care for a final fling in the snow?” She gave Duncan a flirtatious wink and a coy smile.

“There is nothing to respect about you, demon!” Duncan hissed. “You are a blight on the natural order of things, and you should know your place is in the ground where you belong!”

She pouted, a look of hurt on her face as she puffed up her cheeks childishly.

“Why must you ruin first impressions with such an attitude, Duncan! I thought you were more gentlemanly than that! Your men spoke so highly of you before they died.”

Duncan roared and charged, Minerva above his head for a death dealing blow.

The vampire girl didn’t move, but a blur from her left flashed over to protect his mistress, and Duncan didn’t hesitate as he quickly cut him down. The axe cut into his shoulder deeply, plunging almost to his sternum. The vampire didn’t cry out, but his face grimaced for a moment before Duncan smashed a gauntleted fist into it.

The vampire’s head flew back, but with Minerva planted deep in his torso, he was still anchored in place. Duncan then grabbed a fist full of the lieutenant’s hair and pulled him forward as he again threw his weight into the axe, plunging the rest of it through the vampire, dark blood spilling everywhere. The torso of the vampire hanging by its hair in his fist, he then turned and slung it brutally over and over into a nearby tree trunk, smashing the tree and what was left of the vampire into bloody chunks.

Another lieutenant rushed to his fallen comrade’s aid, only to have Chad get in his way. Brandishing both his swords, he deftly swung at the vampire to force him to keep a distance from Duncan. The vampire dodged effortlessly, but underestimated Chad’s capabilities. On a slide to his right, the vampire moved directly in the path of a cross swing from Chad and caught the sword right in his temple. Chad’s swing had enough force that the top half of his head spun off and into the trees, and the body hit the ground with a thud.

With both of their effortless victories, I breathed a momentary sigh of relief, only to have a shiver crawl up my spine with the sensation of a soft hand running through my hair. I froze in place as I realized, in the distraction of the moment, the vamp girl had moved beside me and was playfully fondling my hair. I kept eyes facing forward, not willing to risk making eye contact with her.

I watched her tail swish around me, the tip of it brushing dangerously close to the front of my face, my eyes tracking it as it slid back and forth across my vision. I couldn’t breathe. I was terrified that any sudden movement would be the last I would ever make. It was then that I was caught off guard by an extremely pleasant smell. Lovely, even. I was surprised to realize it was coming from her and she… she smelled good?!

Just as she had with her physical appearance, she had made extra efforts to appear alluring. She probably even bathed regularly! A perfume of lavender and vanilla wafted past my nose, and I risked inhaling it deeply.

My attention quickly snapped back to reality as I felt the hand run from my hair down the side of my face and under my chin and down my throat to my sternum, not clawing but resting softly.

“Why would you idiots bring a girl here, of all places!” she lashed out at the two men.

My eyes finally dared to glance over to my right, but she wasn’t looking at me, her gaze instead angrily aimed at Duncan and Chad. They had whirled back to me, eyes wide with terror for the first time all day as they saw her exploring me with her touch.

“Which of you disgusting men were so desperate for some pleasurable company that you brought your plaything along with you?” she snarled.

She sniffed the air before a delighted smile appeared on her face.

“Wait, what is this now?” Another sniff, this time near my cheek. “Oh really? She hasn’t been claimed by either of you? How fascinating!”

“Don’t move, lass!” Duncan cried.

Before I could say anything, I saw her eyes widen in shock and she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close and burying my face in her chest, which was much softer than I had expected. She further wrapped her tail loosely around us as an additional layer of defense.

“You brutes! You dare imply that I would harm this beautiful creature? I’m not a monster!” she cried back.

She released me from her grip but kept a hand on the small of my back. I jerked away to separate myself from her, which she surprisingly allowed, but I dared not further push to get out of her reach.

Duncan sneered, “Not a monster?” He jerked a chin at the head she had tossed our way. “Our dead beg to differ.”

I felt more than saw her zip away from me, reappearing back at her original position with her lieutenants, one of the bodies of the vampires Duncan or Chad had just disposed of cradled in her hands.

She purred softly to the corpse, as if to reassure it that it wasn’t forgotten, like a mother soothing a crying child afraid of the dark. After a moment of this, she dropped it nonchalantly with a plop to the ground and addressed us again.

“I could say the same for mine. I love the hypocrisy dripping from your lips as if you aren’t also a blood thirsty killer, Duncan. It’s both amusing and disturbing.” She ran a tongue seductively across her red lips. “Monsters can wear many faces, but not all of them are unpleasant.”

A chord struck me at her words. The Goddess had said much the same the last time she had spoken to me.

“Monsters come in many forms, as I am sure you learned today.”

Duncan had enough. Again, he roared and charged. This time, no vampire stepped in the way of him and his goal. Minerva sang enchantingly through the air as she was brought down with an executioner’s zeal toward the girl’s head, stopping as Minerva hit her target.

Or so I had thought.

The axe blade seemed to vibrate in place at its abrupt stop, clamped tightly in the vampiress’ grip. A sly smile on her face, she thrust her other hand forward and wrapped a hand around Duncan’s face, claw like nails digging into the side of his head.

“Would you two like to know the secret to beheading a man with your bare hands?” she asked excitedly, ecstasy dripping from every word.

I heard a muffled sound from Duncan, as he tried to speak around her hand clamped tightly around his mouth.

“Run! For the God’s sake, run!”

Chad and I stood frozen in place, terrified at what was about to happen. We couldn’t run now even if our legs would have listened to our pleas. We were powerless to stop the horrific scene in front of us.

“You merely give it a sharp twist and the head pops right off!”

As she spoke, she viciously twisted Duncan’s head to the left and pulled as she used the tip of her tail to push his body away. His head came off cleanly, like a cork from a bottle, his headless body falling backwards, blood erupting out of his neck like a fountain, spewing blood everywhere.

“DUNCAN!” Chad and I both cried out.

I could feel the tears boiling to the surface, a violent cocktail of sadness, fury, and hatred. I forced them back, not wanting to give this sadistic creature the satisfaction of the emotions flooding my brain.

Chad, however, did not choose control.

As she held Duncan’s lifeless head in her hand, staring into his now empty eyes, Chad rushed her, both swords trailing in the ground, screaming with a murderous intent.

“Chad, no!” I managed to squeak out, but it was too late. The tall vampire took action to protect his mistress and smashed Chad in his rib cage with a powerful kick. Chad left his feet, flying to the left and off the side of the hill, and I hoped he avoided any trees on his way down.

I was now alone, and the red snow, again, started to fall.

The tall vampire looked to his mistress, a look of pleading on his face for permission to chase his prey. She nodded in the direction Chad had flown.

“Go, but bring his head back as recognizable as possible, please? That’s the heir to the Crown you just tossed away like a rag doll. I’d like to send his daddy our condolences.”

The tall one bowed and cocked his head to the others. He and three more of them dashed off and out of sight to finish off whatever was left of the prince.

Goddess, what do I do now?

There were still six of her lackeys staring me down, and Duncan hadn’t been able to put a scratch on her! I had so many emotions I was juggling: horror, anger, despair, worry, sadness. I set my jaw and hardened my resolve. Now was not the time to be paralyzed with inaction. I needed to find a way to survive to fight another day.

The vampiress had yet to turn to me, still eyeing her prize.

“What do we do with her, Duncan?” she cocked her own head inquisitively, still engrossed in her conversation with his head in her grasp.

“Oh, wait! You don’t get a say anymore!” she cackled as she tossed the head behind her, then licked the blood clean from the tips of her fingers. I noticed her claw like nails had receded back to her manicured fingertips, giving her hands an attractive appearance once more. She caught me staring at her and flung her hands in the air triumphantly.

“Now, my lovely, you’re safe! The men who burdened you are no more!” She made with an embellished curtsey, her hands holding a nonexistent dress. “And soon, I will free you from the perils of your mortality as well!”

Crap.

She stood and rested a hand on her chest, “In all the excitement, I forgot to introduce myself! And here I mocked your kind for your lack of manners, while displaying none of my own! My name is Belladonna, but you may call me ‘Mistress’ if you wish.”

I found my tongue at last, heavy and dry in my mouth.

“Why would I do that?”

“Why I’m going to turn you, my darling! I’m going to give you the strength you most certainly crave and empower you to take control of those who would otherwise see you kneel! I will give you the ability to carve your own path that your men would not allow!”

She clenched a fist hard enough that some dark blood trickled out of her palm and dropped to the red snow gathering below.

“Freedom.”

I glanced at the unnatural snow and, with all the vampire and human blood blending with it, it was becoming difficult to tell which red was blood or snow on the ground. I gulped and forced myself to continue the conversation.

“Forgive me for saying, but having you as a mistress kind of defeats the purpose of freedom, don’t you think?”

She shrugged and grinned, “It’s not so bad. I’m a very passionate and loving mistress.” She gestured a hand to the vampires still with her. “These males are all happy to serve me!”

She turned and walked over to one of them.

“You, give me your ear. I desire it!” she demanded.

I gasped as he unflinchingly reached up and ripped his right pointed ear clean off the side of his face and extended it to Belladonna, bloody in his open palm.

She studied her present for a moment before finally saying, “Never mind, it’s not as pretty as I thought it was. It’s actually disgusting!”

She crossed her arms and ordered, “Eat it!”

Without hesitation, he shoved the entire ear in his mouth, jewelry and all, and chewed for a few bites before swallowing.

She clapped and spun on her heel. “See? Happy!”

I blinked several times, not knowing the first thing to say. She was terrifying! She was sadistic! And yet since first seeing her, I hadn’t been able to willingly take my eyes off her. Part of me desperately wanted to take her up on her offer. To let her bite me and drink deeply, while she held me close, her soft skin brushing against mine and I could drown in her scent again.

I fought to clamp my eyes shut and pinched my leg hard. I even contemplated lightly poking my thigh with Lily, which up until now I had completely forgotten was still in my hand.

By the time I opened my eyes again, Belladonna was walking towards me again, dancing around the pool of blood that spread out from Duncan’s body. She saw me watching her and exclaimed, “Blood? On these shoes? Please!”

I couldn’t help it, and I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t like dirty laundry?”

She made it past the danger to her fashion and kept approaching.

“How did you know?” she asked in surprise. “If I’m going to live forever, may as well do it in style, am I right?” She paused for a moment and spun in a pirouette to show off her look, using her tail to help spin her and maintain balance. I hated it, but I couldn’t help but notice how good her form looked in the tight leather. Finished with her fashion show, she strode closer and made eye contact with me.

“Please, I have told you my name. Now, you will tell me yours.”

It wasn’t a request. Her demand rang in my ears. I felt a pinch in the back of my mind, like she was inside it and searching for the response. I started mentally shutting doors to things I didn’t want her to find, but she effortlessly kicked down every barrier I put up. I never felt her in the same place long, as if she was only interested in the one thing. Anything else she discovered in the moment she deemed uninteresting and moved on.

She was trying to compel me. It was an older vampire trick I knew from my fantasy books back home. I tried to break eye contact, but my brain was too focused on wrestling with her that it wasn’t listening to my other commands. I put more effort into resisting her and my mind finally lurched into action and obeyed, my defenses strengthening.

Suddenly, I realized that if I played along and gave her an answer, she would think she had won, and I would have an ace up my sleeve. She pushed again and I mentally relented, pride in her abilities written on her face as her smile grew.

“My name is Amy.” I replied.

She rolled the name around on her tongue, “Amy. Quite bland, isn’t it? Kind of like the rest of you.” She ran her eyes over my body and clothes, brown mixed with even more brown.

“Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll fix that. I’ll give you a new name for your new calling. My master and I will show you how to dress too! You’ll be able to have any man you desire and watch them grovel at your feet for your affection and attention. They will kill each other just to be with you!”

This thing had her own master!? Something else existed in this realm even more powerful than her? Duncan had been a whirlwind of death and destruction in his final moments, and she had turned his attack away like it was a minor annoyance! She must be ancient, but the thought of what spawned her still lurking about was horrifying!

But I stayed focused and continued to play along.

“Well, when you describe it that way, Bella, how could I possibly resist?”

I saw her left eye twitch. She then turned and walked back to the one eared vampire she had tortured moments before and looked him up and down.

Without warning, I saw a smokey flash of color disturb the falling red flakes as she punched him directly in the face. It happened so fast and with such a velocity that his face crumpled in on itself with the impact before the rest of his body even had time to react. I heard the bones in his face crunch and shatter with the blow. Once the reaction to the blow caught up to the rest of his body, the vampire flew backwards and out of sight. How the head hadn’t flown off his shoulders completely was mind boggling, but I was certain he was dead, his brain turned to paste in what was left of his now misshapen skull.

She turned back to me and studied the dark blood and viscera on her knuckles, then wiped her hands off on the cape of the vampire that had been standing next to her victim. The rest of the vampires hadn’t flinched and continued to stare at me in silence. Finished with her outburst, she dropped the cape and sighed at me.

“You see what you made me do?” she asked disappointingly, “It’s Belladonna.” She slowly mouthed the name again, enunciating each syllable. “Bell-a-donn-a. Not Bella.” She laced the nickname I had given her with a venom I had yet to hear.

She sauntered back over to me, again taking great care to avoid Duncan’s remains. “But I’m pleased you’re accepting my proposal! We’ll make such a lovely pair and be fast friends, I just know it! All the men of Eitania will tremble at our presence, human, vampire and elf alike!”

She clapped excitedly before clasping her hands together. Her mood had shifted back to elation, and I saw the flash of her sharp teeth in her big smile. The sudden shift to innocence and genuine happiness from the thought of making a new friend was disturbing.

She got in my face again and held eye contact once more. “Let’s seal our newfound friendship with a kiss.” The words slid off her lips enticingly, practically pulling my lips to hers without a second thought. I dug my feet into the ground in response and forced myself to stay put. I could smell her again. Why was she so irresistible at the worst times?

She started to lean in, and it was time to drop the act. I reached up and slapped her as hard as I could in the face with my empty hand. It was like hitting solid rock, and a shooting pain lanced up my right arm, my hand going completely numb.

Bella didn’t even flinch from my sudden strike, but it did stop her advance.

“You can resist me? Really? Now that is interesting!”

She reached up slowly and traced a finger down my cheek, the same as I had just struck on her. There was suddenly a sharp pain and I felt something hot running down my face. She had cut me!

Her expression shifted to slight disappointment as she breathed, “That wasn’t very nice.” She then drew her claw down and I felt a sharp pressure under my jaw as she leaned in to whisper in my ear. “All I wanted… was a small kiss…” she panted. She lingered for seconds that felt like an eternity, before softly running her tongue up my cheek, tracing the cut and blood trickling down it.

She pulled away, my slap seemingly forgotten, the smile on her face restored. Her lips shone wetly, the color of my blood now on them. Where I thought she would have stayed furious, she instead leaned back and looked me up and down again.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re fun! The games we’ll play together!”

She reached out and ran a hand lovingly down my now paralyzed right arm.

“If you wish to play first, I am more than happy to join in.” she purred. “But if I win….” She caught my eye again, but I didn’t feel an attempt to push into my head this time.

“Run,” she growled happily. “Run, my lovely, and I will find you.”

She turned and walked back to her lieutenants, who were now grinning. A couple of them had even started bouncing on their feet.

A hunt.

I had no choice. The die had been cast and it was time to play another game.

I turned and ran.