Kings of Awakening Vampires and Purebloods

by Arantes

  “Dante are you stupid or crazy, we’ve been training all day and have no more strength left.” Axil was right, for this test Angelione had not given them any blood supplies.

  “C’mon Axil we can take them. With your strength and my ability this will be easy,” said Dante.

  One of the men must of heard them talking and pointed out that they were being watch. There were at least twenty of them. They attacked Dante and Axil. Dante quickly froze one of them. But Dante was weak from training all-day and was weak. Axil tried to help but he himself was too weak. They pinned Dante and Axil to the ground and were ready to kill them. Axil and Dante locked eyes and thought this was the end. Dante’s eyes read forgive me and Axil’s eyes read I do. Earlier that day they had talked about being on their first mission together. Their dream was to become a Black Reaper one day, not apprentices forever. Now this was the end for them. Two men held Dante’s hands and the third had an axe in his hand, he swung it towards Dante’s head and Axil screamed to help his friend.

  The man with the axe felt an arrow pierce the back of his neck, killing him instantly. At that moment the king’s guards surrounded them and attacked. Axil saw a man jump down from a tree and slice the two that was holding him. He then ran towards Dante fast and killed the two that was holding him with his giant sword.

  “Master Angelione!” said Dante.

  The fight didn’t last too long. These bandits were no trouble for the king’s men to handle. Angelione was disappointed; he had been watching them all along.

  “But Master, they were planning an attack on the capital!” said Dante.

  Angelione explained to him they had known about the attack, one of the bandits was a spy working for them. These bandits were low-level vampires who thought they might have stood a chance against an army of vampires and Purebloods. Ultimately he failed Dante and Axil for not making the right decision. They should have came to find him and told him instead of acting on their own. Axil had felt the reason Angelione was upset was because they could have gotten themselves killed. What if this was a mission and they chose not to follow his orders? What if he wasn’t secretly watching them? They had learned a great lesson that day.

  ***

  Albedo left and climbed to the top of the roof. He lay down and before he knew it he was asleep. A couple hours passed and he woke up. Why do I like sleeping outside so much, he thought. He got up and stretched his arms and yawned and headed for bed. As he was about to make his way down from the roof, he sensed something. What was that?! The Elder just activated on its own. He felt something odd coming from the forest. He concentrated on the Elder and felt a strong presence coming from the woods. He jumped to the next house and so on. The more he could prove to them Ethan was innocent then the better. Albedo got closer to the woods and there he could see a light coming from the forest. The light was small, but just enough for him to see. He ran pass Ethan’s house. It was nighttime and he couldn’t see clearly, but the light was guiding his way.

  Albedo stopped by a tree and spotted a deer that was badly hurt, and next to him was someone. I wonder who that is. Albedo could see clearly now, he saw a person touching the deer with a light emitting from his hand. It’s a Pureblood! Could he be responsible for what’s been going on? Albedo decided to get closer and, as he got closer, he could see the person’s face more clearly. It was Ethan. “Ethan!” said Albedo, “You’re a Pureblood?!” He sensed no evil from him with the Elder.

  The deer’s wound slowly healed and the light in Ethan’s hand was gone now. The deer got up and went about his business. Ethan gave Albedo a look and said, “Yeah, what’s it to you? Are you going to report me to that old geezer Frank?” said Ethan.

  “No no, I know you’re not the killer, you have a great ability, can you show it to me?”

  No one had ever asked Ethan that, most people would be afraid to see his ability. This was the first time he met another Pureblood. This guy, what’s with him? “Is this some kind of a joke? Most people who see my ability would be afraid of me,” said Ethan. They treat me as if I was an abomination of this world.

  “Sorry but I’m not most people,” said Albedo.

  Not most people?

  Albedo raised his right hand and fire lit up.

  Ethan was mesmerized as he saw Albedo’s ability. He wanted Albedo to show him more of the fire but was afraid Albedo wasn’t true in his interest in him. He replied casually, “Whatever,” and left.

  ***

  Sonia and Angelione had woken up to investigate; the best way to start was the cemetery. They had chosen not to put their cloak on with their mask, not wanting to scare the people even more. They arrived at the cemetery to see the graves and to see bodies that had already been removed from their old graveyard. The tombstones were broken in half, dirt all over the place from someone digging the dead back to life. The old gate had made a squeaky and scary sound when they opened it. The metal was rusty from rain pouring down on it for years. It was so old that part of it broke in half when Sonia pushed it open. The chains had been broken into small pieces, leaving its rusty metal to rot on the dirt. The undertaker had told them he had never seen anything like this for as long as he’s been working there. He was so scared that he refused to go back to work after witnessing the corpses coming back from the dead. Sonia looked around her to see the worms and maggots making the place its new home. She watched them eating away the flesh from the body; this had to be one of the most disgusting missions she’s ever been on.

  “How can someone insult the dead like this,” said Sonia. “Angelione, is there anything left we can use to track it back to who’s behind all this?”

  Angelione hoped he could use his ability to track the energy like he did with Samuel. He used his ability to examine the scene; any sign of a trail will help. After a long search he said, “I’ve got nothing,” said Angelione with a disheartened face. This is strange. He tried again but nothing.

  “What do you mean nothing, surely you can find some small trait?” said Sonia. She wondered if the residue had disappeared already.

  Angelione had no other way to explain it to her. But the trail was gone. He had thought that this would be an easy mission, but he was wrong. The person behind this has to know we’re here by now, maybe that’s why they haven’t strike yet. From what I was told they strike at night, early dawn sometimes, so why not now? “Let’s go back and figure this out.”

  Dante, Axil, and Albedo were told of what happened as they all stood in their room. They were part of the team and Sonia and Angelione felt they needed to be a part of the discussion.

  “Digging bodies and bringing them to life, it’s hard to believe someone possess such ability,” said Dante.

  Albedo was hoping for good news, he had hoped to prove to Michael that Ethan was innocent. “The trail is gone? I thought you could track anyone?” said Albedo. Albedo was still curious about Angelione’s ability. He was told the man was better than a bounty hunter. “I still don’t understand how your ability works?”

  “Let me explain since you and I never work together before. When a Pureblood uses his ability, he leaves behind traits of energy, like a finger print. I can see that energy and track it back to its user like a string. But I must be quick because it only lasts for just an hour or less.” Since the enemy knows we’re here, it will be more cautious showing itself. This ability may be useful to find my enemy, but there are limits. “Understand this, there are those who can use their ability and not leave one string of energy behind. Those like Aleister and high ranking Purebloods with the power of the Excitaret Quad,” said Angelione.

  Albedo still didn’t fully understand. Dante and Axil had seen how Angelione’s ability worked from training with him.

  “Well it had been a few days since the zombies showed up, maybe the string is gone. You said it yourself, it only lasts an hour or so,” said Dante.

  Angelione looked at Albedo and wondered if his power might find something he was missing. “Albedo, you think y
ou can try and use the Elder and see if you sense anything I might be missing.”

  “Lately it’s been hard for me to control the power of the Elder, but let me try, “said Albedo.

  Dante and Axil looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Wait, am I hearing this right? You possess the power of the Elder?” said Dante. So he does possess it after all.

  Axil though this was good for him to know this, he could now push himself extra hard to be stronger.

  Albedo focused his eyes to see if he could find anything, he exhaled and relaxed as master Jarvis had taught him. He felt all the humans around him, and his teammates. The only Pureblood besides him and his friends that he felt was Ethan, and he was not going to reveal to them he was a Pureblood. If he does then Ethan would be put under suspicion. “I don’t sense anyone else besides us.” I can tell them about not sensing any evil from Ethan, but somehow I doubt that would do anything. The town’s people already hates our kind, let’s not give them any reason to hate Ethan too.

  If there was another Pureblood here, he should have sensed it. “There is another way they could hide their powers,” said Angelione unexpectedly. “I’m not saying we’re dealing with one of them but we might be dealing with a Bloodhound, that’s the only thing I can think of.”

  “Are you sure?” said Sonia.

  “A…what?” asked Albedo, wondering where he had heard that word before?

  Dante was ready to explain, he had read enough books to know what a Bloodhound was.

  “Let me explain. A Bloodhound is a half Pureblood and half vampire. Under the normal circumstance vampires and Purebloods can’t have children together, but every once and a while, they produce a child together. That child is half Pureblood and half vampire. They are known as Bloodhounds,” said Dante.

  You would think he spent his life at the library, thought Axil. Soon enough Dante is going to be wearing glasses like Angelione.

  “When did you become so smart!” said Sonia.

  “And that gives us more reason to kill it,” said Angelione with an adamant look. “If we allow this Bloodhound to continue breathing, then it will become too powerful for us to contain. You all know about the Excitaret Quads’ powers, a Bloodhound is one of them. A Bloodhound can become as strong as the Elder and the Twin’s Blood depending on its wielder.” He fixed his glasses, “Bloodhounds however are different, when they reach a certain level of power, they lose their sanity. They become nothing more but an empty shell of ravaged animal,” explained Angelione.

  So this was the qualification for a Bloodhound huh, thought Albedo. The Excitaret Quad is more perplexed than he thought. “They become insane,” said Albedo.

  Angelione explains to them that they were too young to know of such a thing, except for

  Dante who loved to read almost as much as him.

  Albedo began to wonder if Ethan was a Bloodhound.

  “If we’re dealing with a Bloodhound, which I hope we aren’t, then your Elder won’t be able to sense it. Only the Reawakening can sense a Bloodhound’s presence,” said Angelione.

  Ethan wasn’t a Bloodhound after all. Albedo had felt his presence in the woods with the Elder.

  “Wait, maybe the person we’re dealing with has the power of the Elder like Albedo. Like you said before, people with those powers can’t be seen by your ability,” said Dante.

  “If we are dealing with someone with either of those powers, we must be vigilant.”

  “Maybe they choose to turn off their senses from someone like me finding them,” said Albedo. He had remembered Jarvis told him a Pureblood with the Excitaret Quad has the ability to turn his energy off, which he has yet to learn. If they don’t want to be found then they’re not going to.

  Sonia remembered her first mission; it brought joy to her face to see their sharp minds at work.

  Angelione begins to explain, “Someone who possesses one of the Excitaret Quads has the ability to sense the presence of other people. But a Bloodhound’s energy can’t be detected by the Twin’s Blood or the Elder, only the Reawakening can sense them. Think of it this way, an Elder can find an Elder, or a Twin’s Blood, and vice versa. But a Twin’s Blood or Elder cannot find a Bloodhound or a Reawakening. Those are the only ones out of their reach.”

  “Can a Bloodhound sense any of the other three,” asked Axil.

  “No, Bloodhounds don’t have sensing ability like the others. But they are as strong as the others, but inferior to the Reawakening like the other two.”

  Angelione hoped they learned something new about the Excitaret Quad.

  Chapter 19

  Zombies?

  Angelione and Sonia had gone to do more investigation on their own, leaving Dante and the others behind. While they were gone, the three decided to go ahead to the market. Dante had gone to see the “beautiful ladies.” They arrived at the market and were being stared at. The market wasn’t as big as the one in the capital, not even the one in south Inferno.

  “I’m guessing these people have never seen vampires before. They’re acting like we’re going to bite them,” said Dante. He had tried to talk to the beautiful women, but none would talk back. The people were afraid of them, “We’re here to protect them, and they hate us.”

  “It’s easy to fear something that you don’t understand,” said Axil.

  “Whatever,” Dante continued to try to talk to the beautiful women he saw selling ropes up ahead.

  Axil saw a necklace that caught his eyes; maybe he could get it for Natalia. He walked up to the seller and instantly the seller was nervous and scared. He saw this blue necklace with white diamonds in the middle. He pulled out his gold certificate and made an offer.

  “Sorry but I can’t sell it to your kind,” said the seller.

  Axil saw the fear in the man eyes; it must have taken all his courage to say that to him.

  Albedo had left to wander on his own. This market was much different. Eyes were watching every move that he made. He walked by the meat section and saw a man selling deer. He wondered what a deer would taste like, but its blood might be better. He had remembered Dante told him that there were vampires and Purebloods who drink animals’ blood. But of course Dante had also said a true Pureblood doesn’t drink that kind of filth. He said only a low level Pureblood would drink an animals’ blood. As Albedo got deeper in the market, he could hear someone refusing to sell to a customer. There was a crowd of people around him. What’s going on over there?

  “Get out of here, we don’t sell to killers!” All the people nodded their heads and shouted “Yeah!”

  Albedo looked to see that it was Ethan, he wanted to buy groceries, but no one would sell them to him. Albedo shoved his way through the crowd and approached Ethan, “Is everything ok?” said Albedo.

  Ethan responded, “What do you think? These people think I’m some kind of killer because I live in the woods.”

  Someone saw Albedo and said, “Hey kid, there’s the killer you’ve been looking for.”

  Albedo was quick to respond, “We don’t know for sure and can’t jump to conclusions!”

  One of the traders grabbed Ethan’s hand, “Don’t touch me!” he shouted and pushed the man back.

  One of the men looked at Albedo in anger and said, “What are you guys waiting for, the monster is right here! Why don’t you people do your job quickly and get out of here!”

  The people were angry at Albedo. He wishes Sonia was here, she would know what to do. They were now tired of him standing there and not do anything, and began throwing rocks at Ethan.

  “Stop this!” shouted Albedo.

  One hit Ethan in the head and the second one hit his arm as he just stood there and took it. These rocks were about the size of an apple, and were very sharp. Albedo continued on his attempt to stop the people. He thought they might have listened to him since he was a Black Reaper. Ethan’s forehead started bleeding; the blood ran down his face. Albedo could no longer watch as he stepped in front of him to shield Ethan
from the rocks. He stood in front of Ethan with his arms spread out and shouting at the people to stop.

  “Why are you protecting me?” Ethan wanted to know why Albedo would risk his life for someone he hardly knew. He was used to being mistreated like this.

  A rock hit Albedo on his stomach, his arm, and his head. Albedo had not attempted to block the rocks that were coming his way.

  “Why are you people doing this?! STOP IT!” yelled Albedo.

  Ethan watched in disbelief, wondering why a stranger would protect him.

  Axil and Dante showed up at last, and quickly rushed to help. Axil was ready to fight, even if it was an unfair match with the humans. With his fist ready to punch the next person he saw, he said, “Let me handle this.”

  “Axil, no, these people are scared, let’s not give them any more reason to hate us,” said Dante. He saw Albedo’s face that was marked with the scars from the flying rocks. He just stood there and took it. “Get out of here all of you!”

  The people were howling and angry.

  Dante needed to come up with a plan to stop the people from throwing the rocks. His right hand begins to steam from his ice and the people saw it and began to get scared. “Leave now or I will freeze all of you!” Dante threatened them. With that the people stopped and began to scatter at last.

  Albedo turned to Ethan and said, “Are you all right?”

  Ethan could see the bruises on Albedo’s face and placed his hand on his face. “Don’t move.”

  Dante and Axil watched the light emitting from Ethan’s hand. His healing ability was different from Dante’s, his healing was faster and he was better at controlling it than Dante was.

  So I was right, he is one of us, thought Axil.

  “Does it hurt?” asked Ethan.

  The pain only hurt a little. Albedo was a Pureblood, his physical body can endure much more; the real pain he was feeling was not physical, but emotional. He hated how much the humans hated Ethan, it hurt. Albedo knew the feeling of being alone, but Ethan’s pain was much deeper than his. If the others back in Inferno had found out he was a Pureblood, would they have treated him just like Ethan? And then he thought about Natalia. How she had become his friend after finding out what he was.