*Chapter 132 – Yup, that’s me!

Chapter 132 – Yup, that’s me!

Many weeks ago…

Far to the south of Shrubeth in the elvish nation of Lumenorei, Yastiel sat in meditation alongside her brother and sister Vetteresies within a secluded temple dedicated to Agnude.  Her pointed elf ears tingled as the jungle breeze blew her brunette hair about her, the sun beat down onto her warm tanned skin.  Hidden within the jungle this hidden sanctuary had long been the holiest of places for worship to their deity, and according to their legends upon this very spot was where Agnude had ascended to become a numen.  He had once been an elf, the legends say, but had found a way to surpass his mortality.  Because of this the elves were by far Agnude’s favored people.  They were often blessed with bountiful yields of crops, many children and resistance to most diseases.  There was even debate that Agnude was responsible for their long life.  It was most unfortunate that their elvish brethren across the sea did not worship him, and it even saddened her slightly to think about it.  They viewed him as evil and rejected him, saying he was a false god.  They were fools.

Looking up to the statue shrine of Agnude, Yastiel touched two fingers to her head and then to the ground in a sign of respect.  As one, all 50 Vetteresies followed her movements as she stood up to turn around and marched out of the temple.  Green tinted form fitting holy armor of the order shined against the radiance of the sun as Agnude’s elite came down the temple steps.  Their barbuta styled helmets boasted silver and green wings on either side with silver embroidered designs - only Yastiel’s helm wore the galae styled white horse hair down the middle much like what the romans on earth had done.   Priests and priestesses wearing green silk robes with gold and silver stripes straight down the backs and fronts bowed in respect as the Vetteresies glided by.  The ranks of the Vetteresies spanned many nations and they primarily consisted of elves and humans as were exemplified by the Vetteresies here; though other races were somewhat present.

Mounting her muscular war horse and turning to her second in command, Yastiel gave the order to move out.

[Elvish] “I have been given a vision…” said Yastiel as the jungle about them flew by – hair swept back against the wind.

[Elvish] “What is it that the almighty Agnude desires of us?” said her second in command and fellow Vetteresie, a male elf by the name of Lueth, as he rode next to her.

She briefly looked over her shoulder.  [Elvish] “We will engage in a holy crusade against the enemies of Alkir. We have joined forces with the ancient goddess… as the other mouthpiece shares kindred blood with the Vatosis Inferna.  After getting back to the capital we will send word out to the rulers of our lands and will begin with the infidels to the north of Lumenorei, the dwarven kingdom of Kag’Dul.  Those who do not convert... will die.”

Lueth grinned.  [Elvish] “The armies shall be prepared.  For the glory of Agnude.”

“For the glory of Agnude,” Yastiel repeated.

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A host of 18 vampires from the noble house of Okt had followed Trey to one of the largest fighting pits in the city, through the dimly lit streets of the ancient volcanic cavern.  Kagdor had invited everyone present in the house to attend lunch together that day in the great hall as he had an announcement to make, and Nothel along with Rusoe and Osi had participated in gathering everyone there. Upon gathering well over fifty of the present members, Kagdor had announced the terms of the deal with Trey.  He had specifically pointed out that Nothel was now under Lord Okt’s personal protection and was to remain unharmed - looking specifically at Nami when he mentioned this - and that she was to be given to Trey as a personal slave upon performing well in the games.  If he made it through Kagdor’s pre-game judgment that is.  Many cheers and congratulations were given to Trey from the majority of the vampires present, while Nami seethed beneath a fake smile and quickly turned to leave the room.  Trey took the congratulations in turn and politely accepted them all with thanks of his own.  He had noticed though, upon turning around, that Nothel stood trying to conceal a vast smile as she stared at the floor of the manor.  She failed in time though, and even the other vampires were quick to point it out as they made sexual jokes at Trey’s expense.

In time they had all left for the first pre-game that Trey was already on the schedule for, and excitedly began to talk amongst themselves in betting on how he would do.  Furdom and Tenke - seemingly always together - were already standing at the fighting pit entrance when the others arrived.

“I see you brought Nothel with you!” mentioned Furdom, the blonde nephew of the Okt manor’s head of household, with a grin as he turned to Kagdor.  “Did he take the bait?”

“He absolutely did!” laughed Kagdor, brushing his fingers through his black beard.  “You were right.  He has real feelings for this one.”

Nothel blushed furiously against her pale white skin as she continued to follow Trey closely behind, hands clasped together in front of her, while the other Okt vampires laughed.

“Vegetarians.  Oh well, I suppose Nothel came in quite handy this time.”  Furdom winked in a rare display of affection towards the scantily clad, collared slave.  “You did well in seducing him, Nothel.  No doubt that it will be thanks to you that we get him on our side if things go as planned.”

“Thank you master Furdom,” Nothel bowed low before straightening up again to look downwards.

“Yeah yeah, come on and tell me where I need to go already.  Stop giving Nothel a hard time.” insisted Trey with his arms crossed and an eye roll.  Little did they know that he and Nothel weren’t going to be staying around this place for very much longer if he could just find a way in to that temple to get his hands on the high priest.

Nevertheless… This was an opportunity to do two things.  First, to make a name for himself.  Perhaps if he became famous enough by killing things it’d give him an opportunity to meet with the priest.  The second - to appease Lord and Lady Okt, who were the only ones he personally knew that could get him in to see the priest.

Either way, he was growing tired of not seeing sunlight and hoped that if it didn’t work out on his end - that Ezdeath would find a way herself.  Perhaps she’d even take the priest out and the amulet with her without him having to do anything if all went well.  A two-pronged advance on the matter was better than one though, so he did his best to forward the agenda while pretending Ezdeath wasn’t there.  Even if it did mean he had to wear this ridiculous set of heavy armor and mace while impersonating one of Maltetious’ followers.

“Aren’t YOU the one that gives her a HARD time!?” replied Tenke with a wink, to which the other vampires once again laughed.  Trey smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever man.  Just show me who I have to kill.”

“Your match isn’t for another fifteen or twenty minutes,” replied Furdom.  He brushed out his long black and red cloak before pulling his blonde pale hair into a ponytail.  “Let us finish watching the current battle, I believe it just started.”

The match before Trey’s was between vampires representing the house of Yoque and the house of Opab.  Many of the fighters participating in the upcoming games were going to be house-free, and Tenke said that many of them used this opportunity to display their prowess to the great houses so that they may be picked up afterwards.  A kind of talent show, with killing as the skill.  Joining one of the larger and richer covens often added many perks you would otherwise not have, and it was a highly sought prize amongst the others handed out in the games.  Thousands of vampires and just as many slaves filled the large colosseum-type pit with a ruckus of noise as the two warriors came at one another.  Betting stands alongside concessions were also commonplace amongst this larger fighting pit.

The Yoque vampire was heavily armored with a large battle axe and the Opab vampire wielded a long scythe with a hooded robe to make him look almost like the grim reaper.  As the fight started the Yoque man roared a challenge and dashed forward swinging his great weapon.  Closing on the smaller vampire he brought the giant axe down, but it passed through the air as the Opab man was no longer there.  A split second later and the smaller vampire had rematerialized behind the armored giant in a burst of shadows and swung a scythe with deadly accuracy into a weak spot at the neck of his opponent.  Channeling magic through his weapon he unloaded a series of spells directly into the other man’s body - causing him to explode from the inside and tearing out his throat in a spray of blood.  Just that fast and the fight was already over, very one sided, with the crowd eating it up in a cheer.  The armored man fell down to the ground and healers rushed forward to make sure the man was still ok as the robed Opab vampire held up his hands in victory.

“You see how he’s not dead even after his throat was torn out?” mentioned Tenke.  “They place wards on you prior to entering the arena.  The wards are always checked beforehand twice to make sure they haven’t been tampered with and then you are allowed in.  That way they don’t have to perform the harder and more dangerous resurrection spells - but sometimes the wards are broken in the fights and they have to resort to more drastic measures anyways.”

“That fight was way too fast.” muttered Kagdor.  “I’m sure the house of Yoque is embarrassed beyond belief for that display.”

“As they should be,” muttered Furdom.  “That lasted a couple seconds.  Pathetic.  He shouldn’t have even entered the ring.”

“Well hopefully Trey puts on a better display than THAT!” laughed Kagdor.  “At least if he wants that slave of his.”

Furdom nodded confidently.  “He will most certainly do better than that.  I have no doubt.  Trey, you should probably head down to the ring now.  They’ll be setting up for your fight any moment, the last one didn’t last and  people want to be entertained.  So you’ll likely start earlier than expected.”

Trey nodded and took a look around as the Okt vampires wished him luck.

“Good luck, master Trey,” said Nothel as he passed by, he pale skin and long brown hair seeming to glow as she looked up at him submissively and filled with an obvious hope that brightened her features.

Trey grinned at the girl.  “I’ll do my best.”

He started down towards the bottom of the fighting pits where the ring had been set up, but looked back once more at the slave girl.  She fidgeted nervously until she noticed him looking and gave him an encouraging smile.  Taking a moment to realize that she probably had a lot on her mind considering her potential future was on the line here, Trey got his head in the game.  He wasn’t just fighting for himself anymore, he was fighting for her too.

What was it about her that he liked so much?  He couldn’t place his finger on it.  He didn’t even view her as a sexual plaything like he did the others, rather he enjoyed simply talking to her.

As he finally made it to the bottom of the pit and stepped into the walled arena, the arena judge came up and stopped before him.  “Are you Trey, representing house Okt?”

“I am,” replied Trey hesitantly as he felt all eyes on him.  His large relic tier mace was strapped to his back and he unlatched it to hold at his side.  “Though technically I’m not a member yet, this kinda decides that.”

The judge shrugged.  “It really only matters in the great games.  Anyways your opponent is already ready.  You’ll be fighting a man called Torekoe from house Zakil.”

As the judge spoke a series of vampiric mages and healers walked over to Trey and started enchanting his person with wards of various sorts.  “Would you mind starting early?  The crowd gets rowdy if we have breaks that take too long, and the last fight hardly provided any entertainment.”

The judge was right.  Already the crowd was starting to get louder and calls for them to begin echoed amongst many of the people attending the show.

“Not a problem.  I can start whenever.”

“I appreciate that,” replied the robed judge with a bow.  “Please wait here until I give the signal.  Your match will begin shortly, after your enchantments are sealed and the barriers around the arena are reset.”

Barriers around the arena?  Trey raised his eyebrows in surprise.  It made sense though.  Having magic and other things fly out of the arena to hit unprotected spectators probably wasn’t something they wanted happening.  But it also meant that he could go all out, something he had thought unwise up until this moment.  From across the arena Trey saw a rather large vampire dressed in intricate ebony plate armor wielding a similarly crafted ebony claymore.  The weapon sparked with what Trey felt and assumed to be lightning enchantment, though he thought he detected dark magic as well.  Thinking about how much the weapon and armor set cost, Trey pondered at how many tarts he could buy with that kind of money.  Many thousands if not more, to be sure.  Mmmm.  Lemon tarts.  Blueberry tarts.  Strawberry tarts.  His mouth watered at the thought.  He was now a tart addict since living here in Zekul.

Another minute passed by before the judge took a stand in the middle of the two opponents.  He raised his hands and the crowds started to settle down.  “Good citizens of Zekul!  I bring to you two warriors.  The first is named Trey, who is a newblood according to the house he is applying to.  He represents house Okt today in the pre-games, and hopes to be welcomed into their fold.”

Many cheers mixed in with boos followed the introduction as he waited for them to quiet.  “The second man is well known to many of you.  Torekoe from house Zakil will be Trey’s opponent.  He is a high quality battlemage and one of the best warriors  that house Zakil has to offer this year!  Possibly even a challenge that the reigning and defending champion of house Quetile will have a hard time overcoming!  Be sure to keep an eye out for him in the upcoming great games!”

A massive roar of applause followed the second introduction as Torekoe waved his sword in the air to increase the applause twofold.  He was obviously well known and well liked.

High above Trey in the stands, Tenke turned to Furdom.  “He probably doesn’t have a great chance against someone like Torekoe.  He’s definitely a great fighter, but it’s hard to envision him beating someone like this.”

Furdom shook his head.  “I disagree.  I have faith in the newblood.”

“I’m interested to see how this turns out,” noted Kagdor.  “I have to report every detail of the fights to Lord Okt, so you two help me keep an eye out for anything you see interesting here.  I do hope you’re right though Furdom, but I agree with Tenke.  I haven’t seen Trey fight anyone yet, but it’s hard to see him beating Torekoe.”

Kagdor saw from the corner of his eye that Nothel was incredibly tense and fixated on the fight beneath them.  He merely smirked.  “Do not worry Nothel.  I don’t expect him to win this one, but losing one or two fights won’t disqualify him from joining.  You’ll likely be his soon enough.  He just needs to be competent, we don’t expect a champion out of him.”

Nothel’s eyes flicked from the arena to Kagdor briefly before returning to the impending fight below.  A second later and the judge had left and the fight had begun with a deafening applause.

Trey was able to identify the armor-clad opponent of his just before the fight had begun.  Torekoe was level 55, meaning he likely had a lot of killing under his belt with significant body improvements from his stat points.  His HP, MP and SP were all on nearly equal numbers as he observed them briefly, meaning he was probably pretty well rounded in terms of magic use and physical fighting.

Taking up his ebony claymore and pointing it towards Trey, the vampire shot out three seperate dark attacks that torpedoed their way out towards him in zig-zag patterns before hitting their target.  Clouds of magic and dust shot out upon impact, and Trey could feel a coldness spread out from the magic as they came.

When it cleared though… it was seen that Trey was unharmed and openly laughing at his opponent.

“Are you joking?” asked Trey seriously, expecting more firepower than that from a supposedly worthy opponent.  Perhaps… perhaps he’d been putting too much emphasis on the potential power of these vampires.  “You’re much too strong to be playing around with attacks like those.  If you don’t get serious soon, I’m just going to end this now.”

Torekoe cocked his head to one side, snarly as he did from underneath the ebony helm.  “I am merely testing your fighting capabilities, newblood.  I do not want the match to end as the last one did.  People come to the games for entertainment, not a one sided beating like you’d receive if I truly wanted it.”

“Is that so?” asked Trey thoughtfully, smiling slightly and twirling hsi mace.  “Very well.  My turn then.”

The problem with these fights is that he simply couldn’t go all out - lest he be identified for who he really was.  He couldn’t use Talsh’Noc’Un, nor could he use any of the more unique powers he had.  He’d consulted with Eleknar, and narrowed it down to just a couple that were viable and likely wouldn’t draw attention.  Chains of Chaos were a no go, as were any of his demonic features and their associated abilities.  No shadow blades, no shadow form, no recently learned necromancy and definitely not any roar of the banshee - which was an extremely rare ability.  In fact, Eleknar had recommended he stick to only two: Chaos Ball and Shadow Step.  This combination would give him the power and mobility he needed to win these games, but keep his profile low enough that he not be drawn into questioning.

Thinking about it more, Trey quickly realized he needed to expand his knowledge on the types of abilities he had.  With his newfound title of Vatosis Inferna, he was able to learn all types of black magics… and considering he was now part vampire - even if modified by Alkir - he should likely get on to learning blood magic along with the necromancy.

Ezdeath could even teach him some of that blood magic if he asked nicely enough.

He snapped back to the present.  Holding up one of his hands, Trey began to alter the air around him.  Rippling red flames encompassed by black lightning took form and roared to life, exploding and radiating power as he condensed mana into a core.  It happened so fast that the vampire had no time to react before a giant ball of chaos torpedoed out and slammed into the ground where the man had been only a second before - letting out a shockwave of power that rippled through the ground and caused the barrier of the arena to shake.

The crowd went wild.

Trey didn’t know what type of movement ability the man had used, but he was nevertheless impressed.  It’d been a serious attack that one, and he’d meant to end the fight right then and there to impress Nothel.  Briefly glancing up at the slave, she was wide eyed and in shock in the stands as Kagdor stood open mouthed and gawking from the immense power Trey had just displayed - looks that pleased him greatly.

It took a few seconds for the enemy vampire to climb out in a blast of the dust kicked up, but as he re-emerged to the surface and stuck his head back up to breathe - Trey’s foot connected with the vampire’s helmet and sent his head backwards with a loud crack.

Torekoe was stunned but quickly ripped his body from the earth in a mass of rubble - jumping high into the air to land with a loud thud in his heavy armor.  He looked up, pissed off and groaned like he had a huge headache.

“You seem mad.  Are you mad?” mocked Trey with a chuckle.  “Come at me for real this time and I might do the same.”

The vampire sneered, roared, and in a blur of motion and flame dashed to clear the ten yard gap instantaneously with the sound of metal on metal and sparks of magic igniting against one another.  The crowd for the most part hadn’t been able to keep up with Torekoe’s movement, but neither had they seen Trey’s equally fast counter attack as Torekoe’s claymore clattered to the ground far away from the two combatants.

Trey gave a low content hum and then sent his mace flying into the side of the armored battlemage with as much power as he could channel into the weapon and all the strength he had.  A clash echoed against the ears of all present, and the next thing anyone knew - Torekoe’s mangled armor and body were embedded in the nearby arena wall with another shockwave rippling through the domed arena barrier.

Slowly skipping over to the broken man, Trey snickered.

“Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.  It’ll get you eventually, you just won’t know it til it happens…” stated Trey slyly with a bow and a quirky thumbs up.  “If you hadn’t charged me blindly in a rage like that, you might have had a chance.”

Far up above the Okt vampires were going crazy as the crowd went from a shocked silence into hysteria.

“HOLY SHIT!” exclaimed Tenke excitedly as he shook a snickering Furdom back and forth.  “He just beat Torekoe like it was NOTHING!”

“Told you.” stated Furdom snobbishly.  “He IS champion material.  I have a keen eye for these things.”  To Furdom’s right Kagdor clapped slowly with a bewildered and amused look.  Behind them Nothel began to silently cry and tried to hide her tears and smile, but was fighting a losing battle on her own front as Trey looked up to her and gave a thumbs up with a grin.  Trey would win three more fights that day before heading home with no one landing even a single blow on his person.  By the time he left the fighting pit, he was an official Okt coven member and rumor had circulated around the city of an upcoming newblood that may give the reigning champion a run for his money.

***

Wrapped under the warm sheets of the bed in the Okt household, Trey snuggled up to Nothel’s bare body and sighed.  “What do you think the meaning of life is, Nothel?”

She giggled slightly, pleased at how the day had gone and already having had this conversation once before with him.  “We’ve talked about this, haven’t we?”

“Bear with me then.”

The smiled, a little sadly this time, and nodded while cupping his head in the crook of her arm as firelight flickered along the far wall.  “I don’t know… perhaps there isn’t one.  I have a hard time believing there is a meaning to life with so many gods having different agendas.  Even the legends speak of how the great creator, first of the ancient gods, didn’t find the answer to that question.  I’d like to hear your opinion on it again though, I’ve forgotten what you said.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Have you now?”

Nothel rolled her eyes and kissed him on the forehead.  “No, but tell me again anyways.  It seems to be on your mind a lot lately.”

He slung his arm around her thigh, pulling her body closer to him, and let out a long sigh.  Thoughts of his parents, of Carol, of his brothers, and of the friends he’d made seeped through the dim lighting and into his brain - making him genuinely curious about it all himself.  “I think… I think it is what you make of it.  There isn’t a true meaning to life for everyone, but for me… I think it comes down to only three things.”

“And what are those three things?” Nothel asked, playfully tugging at his hair as she ran her fingers through it.

His eyelids lowered, enjoying the feeling of having someone who really saw him for who he was instead of for what he was… or at least, that’s what he hoped.  “Friends, family, and finding happiness.  I think that because there isn’t a true meaning to life as an overarching concept, these are the three things I want to focus on.  Those who are loyal to you, your close friends and family, should be most important.  Sometimes you’re born into a family, but you get to choose who becomes your extended family by the friends you make.  Loyalty is a hard thing to find, and most people only want to associate with you because of what you are - not who you are.”

He thought of his ex girlfriend Amanda, and then about the various women that were throwing themselves at him now that he was officially named Vatosis Inferna.  How even Eleknar and Alkir truly didn’t give a rat’s ass about him personally, rather they associated with him because of the power his soul held.

“Next in line is finding happiness for yourself.  However you achieve that is up to you… but doing so is the only other thing that matters.”

Nothel glanced down at him curiously.  “Even if it means hurting others?”

He shrugged indifferently.  “People are shit.  If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that people are the equivalent of cannibalistic animals that’ll shove a dagger in your back when it suits their fancy.  I take them all for what they are and at face value.  Unless they’re my friends or family, I could care less what happens to them.  I will kill them, use them, or manipulate them however I feel.  Not that I intentionally want to do those things, but if it comes down to it - it wouldn’t bother me if it gets me what I want.”

“That’s sort of a cynical viewpoint.”

“It certainly is.”

Nothel’s pale face fell into a frown, and she pushed his chin up to look at her.  “You’ve had a rough life… haven’t you?”

Trey merely scoffed and rolled his eyes.  “If you do anything, please don’t pity me.  I’m not a good person and have hurt many people for my own gain.”

“You’re good to me though.”

“That’s because I consider you a friend.”

Nothel’s expression gently fell into that of a sweet smile.  She sighed, shrugged, and continued brushing her fingers through his hair.  There was a very long silence, only the sounds of the fireplace crackling and people passing through the hall reaching them, until Trey broke the silence again.

“So it’s official then…” Trey whispered as he ran his fingers up Nothel’s naked thigh.  “You belong to me now.  So says the coven.”

Nothel grinned, wrapped her legs around Trey’s back and her hands around his neck to kiss him before he began.  Upon feeling him enter, she tensed up and moaned lightly before he began to pull away and looked her in the face.

“Are you ok with this?” asked Trey with a worried frown, looking far more unsure than she’d ever seen him before.

Nothel was hence confused.  “What do you mean, master Trey?  Or should I just call you ‘master’ from now on, since I am only in your service?”

Trey laughed with a wink, but then became solemn again.  “Just call me Trey.  What I mean by that is… well, didn’t you have a husband before you were taken?”

Nothel’s eyes shot open wide before furrowing her brows and taking Trey’s face in her hands.  “What would make you ask about that?”

Trey sighed and pulled out to lay next to the woman.  “I’m just… I don’t know.  It’s hard to explain how I feel about all of this.  I want you to stay, but… what I’m trying to say is you can go if you want to.”

“Go?  I can… go?  Go where?” Nothel’s heart was beating fast now, and her chest began to heave.

“Go back home.” replied Trey bluntly, a sad expression dawning.

Nothel sat up to stare at her master.  “You mean, out of Zekul?”

“Well, yeah.  That’s what I mean.”  Trey sat up next to her and stared at his feet.  “You’ve been through a lot.  I get that.  And I’ve come to really like you Nothel.  I don’t want you to continue being a slave here while you could be back with your family.”

“You misunderstand what I told you, Trey.” retorted Nothel, suddenly seeming angry.  “My family is dead.  They are all dead.  My parents, my siblings, my children, and everyone else.  Dead.  When I said I was taken from my husband, it was over his dead corpse.  YOUR kind killed EVERYONE that I had loved!”

Tears, this time of sorrow and anger, began to seep out and onto Nothel’s face.  “It’s so strange now that you’ve come… For so long, I’ve just been numb.  Afraid to move.  Afraid to sleep.  Afraid to live.  I was a shell of who I used to be.  But now that you’re here… I can… I guess I can feel again…”

She looked Trey in the eyes.  “I didn’t mean it when I said it was ‘your kind’ Trey.  You are nothing like the rest of them.  At least in regards to me…  I know that… It's just hard, thinking that I’ve fallen for a vampire.  A monster.”  She smiled weakly.  “A handsome monster at least.”

Trey sat next to Nothel in silence for quite a while until she re-positioned herself and pulled him down to lay next to her.  “Thank you for the offer Trey, but I’d rather stay here… with you.”

Again, there was a bout of silence.

“So you’ve fallen for me huh?” asked Trey after gathering the courage to do so.  Nothel smirked.

“Yes, I suppose that I have.  Of course, I don’t expect things to change between us.  It was an admission of guilt.  Nothing more.”

“You don’t expect things to change between us?” repeated Trey absentmindedly.  “What sort of things would have changed?”

Nothel didn’t reply for a long time.  “Nothing, Trey.  As I said, nothing would have changed.”

Trey turned onto his side and looked the woman over.  “Are you talking… like, dating?  Courting?”

Nothel seemed flustered.  “Well, I mean, that is prohibited between vampire and cattle in the Okt household - isn’t it?”

“Were you hoping I would change you?  Turn you into a vampire too?”  Trey was genuinely curious.

“I… I don’t know.  But the thought of…”  Nothel trailed off into nothingness.

“Continue,” Trey urged.  “I want to hear you say it first.”

Nothel seemed timid, back to the girl he had first come to know.  But in time she gained the courage to say what was on her mind.  “The thought of being with you makes me very happy.”

“I’m with you right now though.  You’re officially my own person slave now, I own you.  Is that what you mean?”

“You KNOW what I mean!” protested Nothel.  “You would have me say it!?  Fine!  I want to one day be your wife!  There, are you satisfied now that you’ve embarrassed me!?  Are you going to spit on me for being a lowly SLAVE not worthy of sharing your bloodline!?  Am I only here for you to fuck at your every whim!?  Am I not GOOD enough to be turned!?”

Nothel was visibly upset and she shook as she stuttered the words as fast as she could get them out, covering her face in her hands to hide from the world.

Trey gently reached out his hands and touched Nothel’s own.  Pulling lightly on hers, he took her hands off of her face to reveal the tears that had once again come pouring in.  Pulling the woman in close to him, he softly caressed the woman while she calmed down in his embrace.  They lay in his bed, alone, holding one another as Trey felt her heart beat.

“If I was not a vampire, would you still want to be with me?” Trey asked hesitantly.

Nothel giggled, wiping away a tear.  “What kind of question is that?  Of course I would.”

“You don’t just want to be turned then?  To gain status here in Zekul?”

Nothel glared up at him.  “You can forget I said any of that.  I don’t actually expect you to do it.”

“Answer the question Nothel.”

The woman sighed before extending her neck up to kiss the earthborn man.  “Of course not.  I didn’t lie when I said I had fallen for you.  If you choose to keep me as I am, I will be happy to remain by your side as a slave until the day I die.”

“That’s good to hear Nothel, because I’m not entirely sure I could turn you even if I wanted to.  Maybe I could, but I definitely have my doubts.”

Nothel looked up at him confused, disappointed, and obviously hurt.  “What do you mean?  Do you not want me as your wife after all?”

Well, he certainly did in some ways - but he felt like they had to get to know each other far more than what they’d come to see before that route was ever explored.  He didn’t say that though.  It was time to spill to beans.

“That’s not what I’m saying Nothel.  What I’m saying is I’m not really a vampire.  Or, at least I’m only partially a vampire.”

Nothel grimaced.  “To lie so blatantly is insulting, even to a slave such as I.  You don’t need to make up falsehoods like that, if you don’t want to turn me then just tell me so.  I know that Nami has had her sights set on you for-”

“Nami is the LAST person I would want to marry!” Trey laughed loudly, covering his face with a hand as he continued to laugh.  “I’m telling you the truth.  I’m only part vampire.  It’s why I only eat tarts and chicken.”

“How can you only be part vampire?” asked Nothel hesitantly.

“You know of the mark I bear on my mace?  Maltetious’ mark?” asked Trey.  Nothel nodded.  “Well I know her and am impersonating one of her servants.  Maltetious and a goddess named Alkir worked together, changed my body so that I have all the positive perks of being a vampire, like enhanced speed and strength, night vision, enhanced smell, etc., but only better.  On top of that, I’m more demon than I am undead.”

Nothel snorted, obviously amused.  “Alkir?  One of the Infernal Crowns?  So the mad numen Maltetious is somehow in league with Alkir, working with you… for what end exactly?  They just came down from the heavens and changed your body for the good of all mankind?  Your story is getting out of hand.  I can deal with it if you don’t want me as-”

Her words were stuck in her throat as Trey’s features began to change.  First came the horns, then the sclera of his eyes began to turn a pitch black as the centered pupils began to glow brilliant crimson.  His facial features shifted just slightly, showing the long scar across his face that he’d hidden with the shift and regaining his more handsome jawline.  It only took about thirty seconds, but as his tail extended out from his lower spine - he propped his head in his hands and grinned with a mixture of nervousness and hope.

“Uhm… do you recognize me now?”

Nothel looked like she was about to puke, and it made Trey even more nervous as she just stared dumbly back at him.  She tried to speak but couldn’t get the words to come.  Quickly, she looked to the door, hopped over to it and made sure it was locked - to Trey’s amusement, and then whirled back on him to point incredulously.  “By the gods almighty!  You’re the vatosis inferna that everyone saw kill Vorganoth!”

Trey pooched his lips, cocked his head to the side, and mischievously widened his smile.  “Yup!  That’s me!”