Basements are where many stories start. A story such as this one starts here too, in a particularly dusty one, well after dark. The room, shrouded in shadows and mirages from the darkness playing with vision, was filled with echoing moans and sobs. The person in the cold room followed the sounds of sobs easily, not in the slightest confused by the echoing sound seeming to come from everywhere. In fact, the figure wasn’t even listening to the sound to know where to go. It seemed to simply know...

The source of the sounds was a little girl, clutching her stuffed animal, and crying, clearly afraid. The figure smiled.

“Are you scared of the dark, little girl?” asked the figure, shrouded in a dark hood and other fabric, making it impossible to tell what they looked like. The voice was sweet, almost melodic, and oozed calm and serenity, causing the child the ease herself a little.

“Uh-huh,” said the little girl, stifling back another sob. The figure opened its arms in a welcoming way.

“Would you like to see your parents?” it asked. The little girl nodded mutely. The figure smirked, and drew the little girl close, sniffing her humanity and salivating with delight.

Then, the figure bit the little girl’s neck, and the girl relaxed into the embrace of her parents in the afterlife…

…

Julian awoke with a start, driving herself out of her nightmare. She’d had a dream where she’d seen… Who had she seen? She’d seen her father, she assumed, staring down at her with disappointment evident in his face. That was all there was to the nightmare, and yet somehow this scared her more than her real life, which consisted of, well, to put bluntly, vampire hunting. She’d never even met her father, being raised by her mother and sister. Both of them were dead now though, and still… it was her father’s face bearing down on her, disapproving of her choices. Damn it all, she didn’t like that at all…

She shook herself awake, and forced her mind away from the dream, as she’d been having to do every night when she woke. She washed her face, and stared at herself in the mirror.

She had a striking appearance, though not often thought of as beautiful, it was pretty in its own way. Her build had little to no fat, yet her limbs were thick with muscles easily seen through her skin. She had pale skin from spending very little time in the sunlight, and she had dark burgundy hair, in smooth locks that would come down to the small of her back when in a tight rope, and down to mid-thigh if left loose. Julian, however, almost always had it in a bun so tight it could crack rocks so that it didn’t get in her way, or provide anyone with a handle to pull her over. She stared into her own green eyes, working up her strength to face the night… It was a very important one, after all. Tonight she would try out for the position of Silencer, which was a higher rank among the hunters she bunked with. There was the Father, who ruled over the four cohorts like a king. There were the Lords, the organizers for each cohort, whose powers were absolute, unless otherwise stated by the Father. There were the Captains, two to each Lord, who went about doing whatever needed doing by someone high raking. Then were the Trainers, who were, naturally, in charge of training and doctoring, the Silencers, who were in charge of the hunts. Then the veterans and the newbies - who were call various different things, what with not having a specific name for them – who were not in charge of anything, but they were the Hunters, as their life and breath. They were what made the vampire hunting so great.

The Father had only changed once in the entire history of the Hunters. First it had been a man named Dorrin, who was the first Hunter, training his children to hunt, and his neighbors, and other trustworthy people. But he had died. Then, the true Hunter blood began. From Dorrin’s blood, and vampiric blood, the Hunters, led then, and now, by Hastin, Dorrin’s heir, had managed to forge something that made them have many of the same advantages at vampires – Strength, speed, senses, longevity – but not to such a degree as the vampires. It also didn’t give them the drawbacks, such as a tendency to burst into flames in sunlight, the lust for blood or the ability to outlive their bodies… That one was something everyone was thankful for. Though it did make it more likely that they would choose to be nocturnal.

But now the Hunters weren’t simply a covert job. They were a race, like the vampires. They were the counter balance, loving humans was built into their blood, while at the same time hating them for their weakness.

No one chose a Hunter carelessly. If you were to be a Hunter, it was a lifetime commitment, and as soon as you were a Hunter, your life got a lot longer, or – as in most cases – a lot shorter…

Julian yawned, and left her quarters, going to train, liked everyone did in the early evening when people were just waking. In the halls of their building, kept secret from humans just like their entire society, the sounds of Hunters waking from their sleep, or returning from the sunset hunts could be heard.

Finally going through the winding halls of the Stronghold – known as Thipist – Julian made it to the training hall.

It was a large, sweeping room, with ropes tied to the ceilings, mats littering the floor and walls, ladders, punching bags, sparring rings and weapon racks… Everything the budding Hunter needed to perfect their skills.

“Hello, Julian,” came a voice behind her. Julian smiled. And everyone a Hunter needs. Julian turned to see her Trainer, Cameo, standing behind her. She smiled at him in a greeting.

“Hey, Cammi,” she said. “What’cha got for me to do today before I’m tested?” she asked.

“Get older,” said Cameo. Julian laughed. It was true, those who achieved higher ranking that the veterans were usually at least fifty… Julian, however, was only twenty-six, and had only spent seven of those years as a Hunter. Cameo, who stood in front of her, was eighty-nine, though he only looked about thirty. Julian had been a special case… Usually Hunters weren’t’ let in at such a young age as nineteen, but Julian… Julian had been dying, at the time, and her skills were so promising that they couldn’t simply loose her to leukemia, so against the general code of conduct, Julian was Admitted. It’s said as a capitol because it’s the same thing as Sired, but the Hunters refuse to ‘cheapen’ themselves by using Vampire words.

Julian turned away from Cameo, and began climbing one of the knotted ropes to warm up. Cameo had been calling up suggestions, like he always did when she – or anyone else near him – trained.

When Julian got off the rope, she wasn’t breathing heavily, but her heart was pumping faster.

“All right, now let’s go for the mental tests. I doubt they’d stop you because of any physical thing, what with how good you are,” laughed Cameo. Julian smiled along, but her stomach clenched slightly. It was true, she really had nothing to fear from a physical point of view. Really, she was worried about her chances when answering question…

“Name all four cohorts’ Lords and Captains!” said Cameo sharply. Julian grinned. An easy one, to be sure.

“Lord Frost, Captained by Parsley and Shimmer, Lord Lilac, Captained by Bane and Nightwing. Lord Mirror, Captained by Burn and Watchful, and finally Lord Basil, Captained by Rubix and Dominic,” said Julian smartly. Cameo nodded happily.

“Ding, ding, ding!” he said. “Correct, next question. What facilities do the other Cohorts live in, and where are they located?” asked Cameo. Talk about you easy questions…

“Trick question,” said Julian definitely. This entire facility was for all the cohorts, and the closest to separating that the Lords felt was necessary was giving them all their own dormitories. Which hardly mattered anyway, since nearly everyone had a private room…

Feather trotted up to the two. Feather, like Julian, was a veteran, but Feather was a much younger Hunter. They were both twenty-six, but Feather had only been Admitted a year or two ago, and like many Hunters, she looked up to Julian.

“When are you testing?” asked Feather eagerly, her yellow eyes dancing with delight, her chin-length brown hair bouncing as she did with curiosity. Julian smiled, looking at her watch calmly.

“Oh, I guess about an hour and a half…” said Julian, hiding the nervousness in her voice the best she could. Cameo smiled reassuringly at her.

“Kiddo, they’ll let you pass, or they won’t ‘cause of your age, not your ability. You’re one of the most talented fighters I’ve ever seen, and you’d do well under Rubix and Dominic. They like you, you know. They’ll have no objection, I’m sure of it,” finished Cameo. Julian smiled back, not half so sure as her Trainer.

“In the mean time,” said Feather hopefully. “You would like to spar with me?” she asked.

“Sorry, Feath, I can’t. I’ve got evening hunt, and I gotta get out, and get back in here in time to train,” said Julian, only now remembering, and thankful that Feather had reminded her. “I’d better get going. Bye, Cammi, bye Feath!” she said brightly as she trotted to fetch her weapons for the hunt.

Once suited up with the weight of her sword at her hip, and whip at her side resting comfortably and reassuringly, Julian felt like she could do anything, dashing to the rest of her cohort to hunt.

Rubix was there, coordinating the hunt tonight, because they were short on Silencers, which was one of the only reasons Julian even considered trying for the position. Ranna, the former Silencer, had died a month or two ago, so they’d been three Silencers instead of four for the past while, and Rubix, among her other duties, had been having to fill Ranna’s role. Julian, when she’d been in the infirmary with a broken leg, had helped Rubix when the lode became too much, so she was sure she was ready, and so was Rubix. However, naturally Rubix couldn’t tell anyone that, because it would be a breach. Perhaps she could say that she ‘followed some of Julian’s advice,’ but to outright say that she let Julian plan three entire hunts, and help with several more, would have been bad for both of them…

In the meantime, Rubix had been lobbying strongly for Julian to at least have a chance to show the Lords what she could do. She’d been warned by several people that her age was a problem, and practically guaranteed her a failure, but Julian wanted to try, nevertheless.

“Form up!” came Rubix’s command. And the Cohort obeyed. So the hunt began. However, it was remarkably dull, as almost all evening hunts were. The streets having been just cleared by Frost’s cohort for sunset hunt, there was almost nothing to do. All the boots knew that evening hunt was a waste of time, but it seemed that the Silencers and above didn’t realize.

They marched to the outer door, where they were given their orders for the night. Many times they were told to keep incognito, going around with a group and talking of human things, or perhaps the better Hunters would be assigned just one person as a partner, to pretend they were a lover, and go the placed that vampires would frequent in the same charade, such as dark corners in a loud club where no one could tell what’s going on anyway, or Make Out Point, or, as Julian had been assigned, Laurel Park. She’d also been told to take off the weapons that she couldn’t conceal. With a heavy sigh, she’d stashed away her sword and whip – her favorite weapons – and snatched up her glock. She’d been assigned this stake out with a good friend, and one that she’d been specially trained to fight with, so they were almost always together on a hunt.

His name was Scale. He was taller than she, but only by a bit since she was about six feet tall herself, and tended to tower over everyone around her. He had dark green hair wrapped into a twist coming from the side of his face that joined into a pony tail on the back, and that was how he often wore his hair. Sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. He had dark, glimmering brown eyes, and pale skin like Julian’s, what with the lack of day in their lives…

They were holding hands as the slowly walked through the park. It wasn’t because they were intimate, but because they wanted to pretend they were. Anyone around a park this time of night was either a runaway, and someone a vampire would come close to for feeding off, then their cover would be blown and they wouldn’t have the element of surprise, or they were lovers, seeking separation from the rest of the world, thus they were easily ignored by a vampire, or they were in a gang, something vampires steered away from for safety. So, naturally, the best things to pose as were lovers, and the best of the Hunters had a recurring partner that they would pretend this with. Scale was Julian’s.

Neither of them particularly liked these stakeouts, but it gave them a chance to catch up. Julian and Scale purposefully ran in nearly opposite circles so that when they were on this hunt they could always double their gossip, and have something to talk about. Tonight, however, all the gossip everywhere was about her… Julian couldn’t escape herself. It seemed half the Hunter community believed she could do it, regardless of her age, and the other half wanted her to pass, but didn’t think it likely. Julian sighed, not having anything interesting to tell Scale either.

“So, that’s that, then,” he said. “We’re officially bored. Our technique has failed, you loose, Jewel,” said Scale. As he said it, he drew her closer like a boyfriend might, but she knew it was the equivalent of a noogie at this point, what with their act. And, being in that act, she knew she couldn’t save her own dignity by shoving him off her, so instead she leaned in, pretending she was whispering some sweet nothings, and said,

“You’re an ass, you know that, right? Only you could ever get away with calling me ‘Jewel’…” said Julian, distastefully, though her expression betrayed nothing.

The act was pushed. Both of the Hunters knew it, and they had to either appear shy, and pay attention to the world around them – something vampires around would be wary of – or appear entirely distracted by one another. Naturally, being the professionals they were, Scale and Julian locked both hands, facing each other closely, and kissed. Neither of them were paying attention to the kiss, it wasn’t something they cared about, that was what the job was requiring in this type of weather, and spring break. Also, given their appearances, that was what the two had been trained for. They were teenagers, in appearance, so doing this looked the least conspicuous.

While their lips were locked, they both let their other senses – smell, hearing and more spiritual senses – roam around as much as was possible.

There… The pause that followed in Scale’s breathing showed he could hear it too. There was movement – the scuffing of boots on pavement – but no breathing. Just a silent person. Julian shifted, moving her hand to the small of Scale’s back, and he did the same to the line of her bra where they hid their weapons. Julian felt the handle of her handgun, letting her finger roam to the trigger. She kept her thumb on the safety mechanism to ease any worry. She felt Scale’s hand withdrawing his firearm from between her breasts.

In range of their auras now, they could feel his presence, the shape of a human, but no life, no heartbeat. The two ‘lovers’ let their lips part for a moment to whisper a plan of action into the other’s ear.

“You take him straight on. I’ll get his flank,” said Scale. Julian grinned, thankful that her face was the one father from the vampire.

“You always make me attack straight on. Is that cause I’m better than you?” she said, pulling her gun out all the way.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he said. Before she could retort, however, he’d drawn away, and in an instant Julian held her glock aimed right at the figure. Now that her eyes were free she could see, quite clearly, that it actually was a vampire, with no mistake. The creature was one of the craven kind, either starved, or snapped for other reasons. Its skin was hardly covering its bones, which jutted out everywhere. It wore no clothes aside from some scraps that covered nothing. Julian shuddered with revulsion and shot the thing as it lunged. The bullet hit clean, a hole in the forehead that didn’t bleed. The creature fell, its age catching up with it all at once. It turned into compost, right there any then, as vampires always did.

Julian whirled around. Craven vampires weren’t around much, vampires wanted to keep secret as much as Hunters did, so Craven vampires were either rehabilitated, or put down. Or, as a third option, they were used to lure Hunters into traps. She held her gun, the only reassuring thing around her in the darkness of Laurel Park, and tried to find Scale. She couldn’t feel his breathing, or his heartbeat. She couldn’t hear him anywhere. She called out.

“Scale!” she screamed, trying to find him.

“Yes, Jewel?” he said from behind her, leaning over her slightly. His skin was pale, as always, his green hair a neat form framing his head, but… His eyes. She knew instantly, his lack of breath, his heartbeat being muted… It was almost unheard of to have a Hunter become a vampire, or vice versa, by when they did they could fool the others around them for a short time. Clearly, Julian had been played.

“You know you’ll die,” she warned him, her voice shaky as she backed off a few paces. “Having both races in you is unstable. No one’s made it past three months,” she said. How long? How long had Scale, her trusted partner, been one of them?

“Yes, I know, but I will die for the glory of my sire, and that will be enough for me,” he said. “This, however,” he motioned, and several vampires came out of hiding just out of range of her senses. “Was a sort of present. You see, I will infiltrate again, after you die, and I will set a trap for the Father, and the Lords, and you are only a bonus to me,” said Scale, his dark eyes that were usually warm to her and open were now cold, closed off and dead… “I’ve always wondered what you would be like to bed,” he mused aloud, advancing on her. She took another step back. Why the hell was he telling her this? She could shoot him right there and then. She had a gun in her hands, for Christ’s sake! She squeezed the trigger, knowing there was no way out that would leave her with all her limbs anyway.

It didn’t fire. Shock spreading through her body like wildfire, and fear for her Lords and Father, she tried again, but it still didn’t fire. She didn’t have time to reload, nor did she had time to see if it was jammed. She looked back into Scale’s eyes, trying to wipe the look of shock and betrayal off her face.

“I was so glad that it only took you one bullet to kill the Craven,” said Scale smoothly. “After you checked your gear, I removed all your ammo. Not even enough left to shoot yourself before I have my way with you. Come now, Jewel,” he said, advancing on her more. Julian backed up. And more, and more until she was backed into a wall. Scale’s fingers caressed her cheek, going along the line of her jaw, down her neck. Scale had done this to her many times, but this was different. This wasn’t the detached, professional, and above all living Scale, this was an undead mockery of him. Julian’s heart fluttered as she searched for what to do. No answers presented themselves.

Then, all went black.

She woke up several hours later – She assumed – bound tightly to a bed, with Scale watching her.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he said brightly. Julian felt indignation flow through her as his tone, his voice, his very appearance made her angry. To think that he had once been someone she respected, and now he was going to… to play with her. She hated him for it, more than she was afraid of him at the moment. His hand touched her ankle, then lightened the contact until it was just a fingertip.

“I’m going to enjoy myself so much,” whispered Scale softly, even by Hunter standards. Her skin suddenly felt cold, goose bumps appearing all over her. She was frightened, and angry. Scale’s finger danced up her shin, caressing her skin as it went.

“All those years, Julian…” murmured Scale as he hand moved. “All those years of touching you, kissing you, holding you, and you never returned my interest…” he said, his fingers rising above her knee along the outside. Slowly it went down again, trading sides to the inside of her thigh. “You never cared, and you distanced yourself from me whenever we weren’t on the job,” he said, moving closer to speak into her ear.

“You never objected,” spat Julian. “And you never asked. How do you know I wouldn’t bed you, if you’d wanted to? Not that I would now, if I’d any choice,” she said, forcing venom rather than fear to show through her tone.

Scale smirked. “I know you better than that,” he said, unbuttoning her shirt with one hand, his finger moving even slower now on its trail up her leg. “Look at all the muscles,” he said, his eyes on her skin. He touched her abdomen, his whole hand feeling its way up to her chest where he placed his hand firmly on her breast, tearing off her bra.

She clenched her jaws, willing herself not to enjoy this. She fought, and fought hard, but his hands… His fingertips had left her leg, and were now exploring elsewhere.

“We’re being watched,” whispered Scale into her ear. It was so quiet that Julian almost missed it over the drumming of her heart in her ears. She swallowed, and tried to respond in some form of code he’d understand.

“Oh yeah? Untie me and say that,” she barked. He caught her meaning.

“There isn’t much time, the Lords’ potion is going to wear off soon, and they’ll be able to tell that I’m not a vampire. What do you recommend?” he asked. His body hadn’t stopped doing what it was doing, and his tone was the same sensual whisper – just in case anyone was listening in on them, but is words were that of a Hunter.

“How long are you going to go on?” asked Julian, and though it sounded like the snarl from someone held captive, it was simply the question, ‘how long will they still watch?’ and Scale knew that. They’d worked together too long to be misunderstood.

“I think they’ll go away if I start maiming you,” he offered. “But that would make you useless in combat.” He was right about that. Also, she didn’t really like getting maimed. “Or, I think they’ll go away as soon as I show some sign that I’m not simply bringing you here as a sting, like I am,” he said. Julian sighed inwardly, though her expression was still set in a grimace. In the slighted motion, Julian raised her pelvis to his, not visible at all. It was a suggestion, and Scale knew that all too well. Julian set her face – very carefully – into an expression of grimacing against a torture she knew was coming, and pretended to be fearful of it. In reality, she was, just a little. Despite their years together, Julian and Scale had never gone beyond inappropriate touching and French kisses, even on the job, and Julian had kind of hoped they wouldn’t have to, but she knew that it had to look real. The vampires had to believe it.

“Are you sure?” asked Scale in her ear. He, too, had been uncomfortable with the idea. He’d known, like her, that they may have to, but he’d never wanted to, and nor had she. She forced her face to look pale, as if Scale had just said something that triggered fear in her yet more, but she did the same motion to assure him.

Suddenly, the Hunter above her leapt into action. His hands grabbed forcefully at her clothes, and yanked off her skirt, raised her shirt to touch, and feel what most people weren’t allowed. Julian screamed, from real fear. She trusted Scale, with her very life, but this was causing her fear. He had to rape her… He was her best friend, and the way that both of them had to have sex for the first time was rape. Well, so what if it was sort of consensual? It was still the same feelings.

His hands clawed up and down her sides, his mouth on her breast, his legs forcing hers open, and even though she was honestly resisting he managed it. One hand was pulled away to fumble with his belt… His pants were down, and he pressed his entire body against hers. She could feel his cold form, the form of someone who’d been turned into a vampire, but thanks to the potion the Lords had made, Scale would only be a vampire for a few more hours, since he’d taken it before he went out to get sired.

Her mouth was smothered with his, her rapid breathing felt only like her chest pressing into his more, then less. It almost felt like she was teasing him.

Her legs were forced open enough to let him in… And he entered with a moan from him, and another panicked scream from her. She could tell that his moan was almost an apology to her, though she wasn’t sure if he could tell that her scream had been her attempt at covering a moan. Despite herself, and despite her fears, her heart raced, and her body felt alive for the first time. As he thrust himself into her, over and over, her screams of panic had to hold, though each time she couldn’t help but want it again. There was no way to communicate to him, though. There was no way to ease the guilt that he surely must be feeling for having to do this.

She simply hoped they both made it through afterward, so she could tell him it was alright.

His mouth moved from hers again, allowing her to scream un-muffled, and it bit down – with vampiric teeth – onto her breast.

Then, without any warning, he stopped. Sweat beaded on top of Julian’s whole body, and she could see her own sweat on Scale.

“Let’s go,” he said, getting on his clothes. “They’ve stopped, and we can get their Master, if we move fast.” Julian dressed, cursing herself for being even a little slow on realizing that, and they moved out, searching for the Master here.