It was a huge comfort to be told about the past that I couldn't remember. Although, at the same time I tried to imagine it and all I could see was paint on a canvas. It was like a picture with nothing more substansive than the emotion that went into it.

But, it was still good to hear. It made me wonder what would become of me when my memories returned? Would I hate myself for the deal with Sabin? Would I cry for my sister, trapped in this life?

I had so many more questions. What happened to my.. our dad? Why was she offered for sacrifice? What was it like learning to fight with my sister? But, none of these question had any purpose as I would know all the answers when my memory returned. Or at least I hoped I would!

I moved my mind on from the past and toward the future. To my future and my sisters. For a moment I wondered what it would be like, growing old while my own sister watched from the shadows. Perhaps she would even be sent to kill me and she would be powerless to resist as she...

I shook my head as that thought crossed my mind. Sabin would honor his deal from what Daffney had said, and I would honor mine.

"Who else has Vlad's blood? What is going on here? Why do I feel that there is so much you arent telling me Daffney?" I asked. "I know you probably don't want to tell me everything you know but I rather want to get out of this with my skin still attached"

My lips quirked slightly, a small bit of humor in a otherwise crap situation.

“The woman I had heard about that had a sample of Vlad's blood coursing through her veins had been killed ant turned long ago. Remember -” then that statement died as she chuckled. “Of course not ...”

Daffney shook her head as she spoke. “There were a string of killings, a vampire went on a killing spree displaying animalistic tendancies. It was Kurt's first hunt and I had to show him the ropes, fast forward a few years and I encountered the master of said vampire. Apparently she became feral when she was turning, something in the blood about resisting control was stronger in her blood than mine and thus when Sabin tried to control her she broke out from under his command but became even more dangerous as an independent vampire … there was no choice but to put her down at that stage.”

Daffney reflected back to that moment of her past. How she ended up in this position she did not say. How did a ampire hunter become a sacrifice, or perhaps it was because she was a hunter that Sabin or another demanded that she would be the next sacrice. Anne did not know more than her sister revealed at that stage but at least she did not hae to defend herself againt at attack. Her skills were already tested as it were and all knew what she was capable oof but Daffney seemed, well unconcerned …

If she taught Anne then she had to be so much better if she was unconcerned about her skill. Especially now if her abilities had been enhanced by being a vampire.

“You should be able to get away with things with your skin intact if you are able to deal with Demetri that is.”

It was actually fascinating to hear about other vampires, more than I thought it would be. It tugged at my mind though in a most peculiar way like I was trying to access those memories that were blocked off from me again. It was such an odd sensation! I mentally tried to tug a little harder but this time, as I wrapped my mental fingers around it it slid back into those dark recesses of my mind. Who knew there was so much empty space up there?

Quickly though, I moved my focus back to what I was supposed to be doing and thinking about. I didn’t want my sister to think I was becoming unscrewed, no matter how strange things seemed even now!

“Demetri? That would be Sabin’s master I would assume. Can you tell me about him?”

The request was in part for knowledge. I needed to know what was expected from me… and what I was getting myself into. But also it was really really nice to have a friendly voice! Someone that really seemed like she wasn’t going to do bad things to me (although I still hated the thought that if ordered, she would. But I was trying not to think of that!)

“Yes, Demetri was the one that turned Sabin many decades back, I'm not sure when exactly it happened Master does not speak about it much. I have come to find that Sabin is a distant relative of Sabin, hundreds of years old who saw something in Sabin that he could use.

“It was his influence mostly, for Demetri had his own wealth and influence though Sabin had influence in other spheres. Suffice it to say to quickly add those spheres of influence to his own he turned Sabin and made him a thrall instead of infiltrating that circle of influence and taken months to win a place in the inner circle, years at times. Thus turning Sabin was quicker but Demetri was unlike Sabin. Both are nobles but whereas Sabin will keep to the spirit of his agreements Demetri keeps to the letter of them … when he decides to keep it that is. He cannot be trusted and sees Sabin more as a tool though Sabin or course cannot disobey him or openly plot against him.

“He couldindirectly do something though, and with your attention he is planning something of course. With just me he was a bit reluctant to try though now Sabin sired me and thus Demetri sired him so indirectly I cannot do much, and oversight that Sabin overlooked in his haste to turn me … I still can do things, not as much though and Demetri knows I'm a vampire so I cannot even spring the element of surprise on him.

“I could still attack him and what not but if he delivers a command I must obey it too, even if it supercedes Maste's. We will all be better if he is gone though … Sabin will no longer be a slave and tied to this area, he can move off and the village wouldn't have to keep sacrificing girls to keep him at bay as they have been and it would make my job easier. How I hate Demetri, probably even more than you hated Sig … I could see the look on your face when you got him to explain himself … there was something there that was a mix of hate, of piety, I could be wrong, I could not see your eyes at the time and thus only had body language to go by but ...”

Daffney suddenly stopped as she stepped away from the wall shaking her head as if it did not matter if she had or not. “I am unsure what Master has planned or is considering but no doubt he wishes to remove Demetri from existance.”

My mind turned, assimilating the information that was there. I found myself rather enjoying talking to my sister, not in the least because she seemed genuinely chatty.

"Have you ever met Deimitri?" I asked. "What is he like from your eyes... and what is he capable of?"

I felt a little guilty as I asked these questions. It was like I was quizzing her but at the same time what else could I do? I needed information and as much as I would have loved to ask about us. about our relationship, about what we were like, about our parents and kurt it would be wasted, as when my memory returned I would know it all!

IF my memory returned. I just hoped I knew what I was doing when I drank whatever it was, and that it wasn't permanent! After all... Kurt did say I wasn't entirely in my right mind.

That aside, there was one other question that I wouldn't have known...

"What do you know of my... our heritage?"

Daphney did not really mind talking to her. An element of her former life? She had not been ordered not to speak with her or keep things from her should she ask only to keep an eye on her, which she was doing seeing that she could clearly see her younger sister.

She shook her head a little as if trying to throw out an errant though before continuing on to answer the question posed to her.

“Yes, I have met him on occasion. He is stronger, older than Sabin and Sabin is perhaps as powerful to him as a newborn babe would be to us … well if I were still human … that is why nature makes them so cut! Other animals are born and can walk a moment or two after birth. Not just that the are not blind either …

“Granted, other animals like birds have to be weened. They have to be fed, have to learn to hunt from parents, learn to fly but you get the picture. We take months to learn to walk, weeks to see, we are born utterly helpless and at the complete mercy of our parents and you can say as powerful as Master is he is the infant, Demetri the adut.

“As powerful as he is he tends to keep only his word when it benefits him … who could force him to do otherwise anyway?”


There was a pause as she thought over the question a little bit though Anne used that pause to ask another question.

“Sadl not much. I learned of our lineage after I got here. As a result I learned a few things, that those with Vlad's blood cannot be dominated, or even fully controlled when turned … we are suppose to have gifts within normal human parimeters though, well in my case supernatural now since the bar has been risen.

“I hadn't even considered my stealth being a skill … and since I did not know about it until I got here I don't know what your's would be … the knife fighting was learned, perhaps that because you are so quick with it or something pertaining to reflexes you always were quick as a child I could hardly catch you in a race, now though I doubt that will be the case.”

"Is it possible that a child becomes stronger than the father though? Is it at all possible that, given time, sabin will be able to do something about demetri?"

I already knew the answer. It seemed that the "gift" of vampirism came with more than one curse. In this case, always being under your parents thumb!

"What you say does give on more problem sister-mine" I said, a small smile on my face. "It means that I'll be facing this demitri all on my own, since all he needs to do is ask Sabin for my death and suddenly you will be an only child. So, what you are saying is that I have to fight a vampire that makes Sigfried look like a day old kitten, on my own, with no backup at all."

my smile remained, as I was laughing at myself. What a deal I had struck! Perhaps it would have been simplier to just jump off the building!

“Yes, the child can get stronger than the parent but it hardly matters since the parent can control the child with but a command … well there is an exception. The blood of Vlad though that only works prior to the transformation though there is a bloodline that is resistaint not immune to commands after the transformation, such was the case with Sig but these are too excptions and the only two I am aware of.

“Will you have to face Demetri alone? Indirectly Sabin cannot be any help save for in the smallest of ways, nor can any of his prodigy. But no. Not alone. You'll probably prefer it, and I don't know if Master has considered it but there is a vampire hunter downstairs that Sabin has not had turned. He is still vulnerable to the dominating gaze of a vampire though. Unless you can figure out something to make Kurt useful. A blind fold stops the dominating gaze since it is gaze dependant and I suppose it would not be unusual to blind a hunter in such a fashion as a precaution.

“We know that your knife fighting skills and immunity to the dominating gaze will be a factor here, though I'm not sure how they are to be used.”

I laughed, a short bark of laughter. I didn't mean too and felt rather bad the moment it escaped my lips but I simply couldn't help myself. The thought that kurt was going to help properly after him being captured as easilly as it seemed, and then his woeful attempt at escape, even after I had tried my best at keeping him in one piece.

"I just hope that Sabin has a decent plan" I said, still feeling guilty at my reaction. "I would rather come out of this alive, as i'm sure Kurt would too, even if he seems to currently have a hard time listening to people. I don't suppose you could have a word with him?"

I smiled, trying to take any sting of my words away. "How would you go about this? You have met Demitri. What other sorts of powers does he have? You also know Kurt and I better... well.. better than myself!"

Daphney chuckled a little walking closer to her sister. “He is usually quite good though I suspect grief has clouded his better judgement. Of course seeing me now turned might cause him to despair or want to put me to proper rest but I do not wish for that to happen. I rather enjoy these gifts I have been blessed with. Granted, I don't like being the thrall to another though I can't imagine that most would not enjoy that state. Still, it is not so bad … I will talk to him though and make him understand, even if I have to dominate his mind I shall do so.”

She gave some thought as to a plan not sure if Sabin had anything remarkable. She considered what she knew of the other vampire as she thought.

“My best guess is that Sabin will attempt to use you in a sexual way, present you, maybe even Kurt as gifts. He can't dominate you though I doubt he will do so. He may even dominate Kurt's mind to cloud it, to make him temporarly forget or may employ him to cause a distraction. I would say the later since clouding his mind is not always effective. Draw off Deimetri's security and allow you to strike unexpectedly with a concealed weapon. I do not know of Sabin's mind. Though I suspect that I or Gustav might be sent, we cannot disobey Sabin and indirectly Demetri too but if you can keep him distracted he cannot relay orders ans so his security can be picked off though the risk being that if he is not distracted then he would have more forces to draw upon.”

She had thought for a moment then frowned. “A piety Sigefried is dead. He ban Van Helsing's blood flowing in his veins while he was alive at least and could shrug off commands sometimes though in retrospect I doubt he would have been so useful, nor would Sabin had risked him if he did not have something else planned.”

So.. .it seemed that I was going to have to kill another vampire. AND be a distraction. If that’s what Sabin wanted then I could actually see it working. Occupy the leader while you remove his guards and then you leave him vulnerable. I was actually rather proud of my sister for coming up with something like that! It was rather sneaky and it somehow appealed to me. Although I wasn’t so certain about the slightly underhanded part of ordering Kurt to behave… On one hand it would likely save his life but it was still a push against his own free will…

Ignoring that however, the problem in my eyes with the plan was the entire distracting element. To distract a vampire, especially one that had just been offered a sexual “toy” meant that I would likely be distracting him with my legs open. Goddamn it! Why me? What was I? Some sort of Vampire catnip? Why did the dead have this interest in jumping my body! I wasn’t even that good looking!

I said as much to my sister. I know that I sounded whiney, it coming out as a “why meeeeeee?” but this really hadn’t been a good day for me!

“I will admit I’m not unhappy that Sigfried is not with us… I think he would happily betray me to watch me be dismembered… but, Daphney… You want me to have sex with Demitri – distracting him before I try to kill him? Have you any idea how that sounds? What is it with you vampires and sex? Aren’t you supposed to swear off that kind of thing? And why are you all so damned interested in me and my body?!”

I sighed and flicked a glance across to Daphney. “You know I’m kind of glad you are here sister mine… You are the first vampire that hasn’t tried jumping me and fucking me!”

“I would but there's all that incest stuff,” she actually joked. So she had not lost her sense of humor with her transformation, not completely that was.

“But thank you, I will take it as a compliment. I too am glad that Sig isn't with us any longer though since I met him I felt he was on borrowed time. Not only is he a hot headed savage but he had the blood of Van Helsing in his veins and could do things against Master's better interests from time to time which tended to get him into trouble more often than not.”

She considered. “No sis, I have no inclination in seeing you with Demetri but these are suspicions of mine as to how Sabin will act. I do not know his entire hand but suspect if he was willing to throw away Sig he has some sort of replace or one in mind so I am guessing …

I don't know the full extend of the plan but can assume that while you are busy with Demetri he cannot command his men or us so we will keep them from assisting their Master while you kill there's. You are the only one that has a reasonable chance of pulling this off he could dominate or command everyone else so you are in a position to deceive him.

I don't think Sabin would loose any sleep over it if you choose to seduce then kill Demetri or if you killed him in the act of seduction before anything happened of course.

“Sabin showing up with an enterage of servants is not unusual either so we will be in position to deal with the guards and seduction or the appearance of it is probably the easiest means that you'd have of clearing the room of other guards too.”

"Incest Necrophillia. They would have to start an entire new set of perversions for that one!" The humour, as bad as it was made me feel a lot better, a smile back on my face and a small chuckle in my voice. I suppose it was true what they said. Laughter really was the bed medicine!

"Well, I guess we will find out soon enough. I really aught to ask you about Demitri's weaknesses... How to kill him and what advantages I could get out of him, but I feel more thana little strange asking such a question despite the fact that I need to know it. It feels like i'm asking the same about you and that feels wrong."

It was truely impressive. My mood, that had just been improving had managed to collapse again.

I suppose that I have to ask though... Otherwise nothing going to get done aside from me having a really bad day." My lips quirked into a faux-smile "If you don't want to tell me things like that then tell me about yourself. Tell me what its been like being under Sabin, with powers of your own and what you've been getting up to"

She was calm about matters on the question. She considered Demetri for a moment. Vampire strengths and weakness were easy enough to determine … she had access to Kurt after all and so she had focused more on Demetri's flaws at first.

“In addition to those normally associated with vampired you mean?” Daphney paused for a moment. “He is old and thinks others, even vampires are children and that he always knows best … he is therefore over confident most of the time it appears that way at least. He is impulsive and if he wants something he wants it now. You would imagine that over the years he would have learned a measure of patience but he has not, if anything he has become impatient.

“Since he's so old and powerful he doubts that he can be hurt and acts accordingly. He also has a taste for the flesh though I do not know if this will be much help … in addition to vampire strengths and weakness I can tell you that presenting holy symbols won't keep him at bay and while sunlight still kills him he can function in it for a good five minutes before succumbing I hear though obviously I myself have not see this. Immersion in running water works quicker though and he still needs to be invited to go into any private dwelling. He is an accomplished fencer but does not carry a blade. Is this helpful?”

I mulled over what my sister told me. Yep. It would be a minor miracle if I got out of this in one peice! My only real strength seemed to be relying on his lusts. And therefore, my body.

God DAMN it. Why me?

As I thought it a chuckled escaped my lips. How many times had I said that today?

"So.. with all that you know, how would you go about killing him?"