A Vampire’s Christmas Flame

Into the Darkness

"You can’t save me. You have no idea what you’re up against."

Like a razor, his strong, warning-filled voice sliced the suspense from the air. My heart pounded, each beat a drum in my chest. Ravyn's blazing silver eyes appeared to be enhanced by the darkness, which also drew me more into his perilous and mysterious existence.

I couldn't, nevertheless, turn back. Not here right now.

"I don't care," I responded, my voice more forceful than I felt. "I'm not going to merely witness you get killed here." Though forceful and hefty, my words hung in the air and right now there was no turning back. Not doing as I had seen.

He shook his head, fingers brushing my cheek, his touch so cold it froze my spine. More to himself than to me, "this isn't something you can fix," he remarked. You have no idea who you are working with.

I could see his eyes reflecting agony. He meant to drive me away, far from this horrible world he lived in; I was not some delicate damsel eager to be rescued.

Unquestionably, and with every instant, I could feel the relationship between us growing far stronger.

"Ravyn, I have no idea what happens next for us. It pulled me to him in strange ways and even with the risk I didn't want to be apart from him.

I am nowhere to be heading. I said, every phrase more precisely than the next: I am not leaving you.

He stared at me, and for a moment my heart sped up before the cold mask he usually wore quickly took front stage. His eyes carried something soft. He turned back, his mouth closed and his fingers fell from my face.

"Fine," he said, his voice constricted. "Then stay close." And whatever unfolds, steer clear of attempting to be the hero.

Although his voice was urgent, I could not ignore the tension between us—the electric spark building—too powerful. I pulled to him while knowing all the risks.

I could not argue the draw I felt, even if I felt the weight of the situation weighing on me. We seemed as two halves of the same whole meant to meet.

Before I could respond, there sounded a wail far away. That sound chilled my own very bones; it was blood-curdling, piercing and cruel. With his hand shot grabbing my arm, Ravyn brought me close.

Mumbles under his breath, "They're here." "Stay close."

Every step we took seemed to increase my heart rate; the scream that had frozen my spine still echoed in my ears.

Now the streets of the city appeared darker, more sinister, as though the shadows were closing in on us just waiting for the ideal prey.

I raised my head to Ravyn, but his face was blank, his eyes darting the shadows as if he were right now expecting an attack.

There was choking friction between us. There are many unspoken words flying around, and I could not properly pinpoint the feelings.

We were walking cautiously between risk and something far more fatal.

I could not ignore the way my body responded to him—how my heart raced every time he was near, how my skin tingles at the least touch.

This transcends simple existence. It concerned something more deep than anything I could have prepared for.

"Ravven...?" I began, my voice a little softer than before, my words hanging in the air as we strolled down the alley, the only sound upsetting the silence our step was generating.

He stared at me, not the kind glance I had hoped for. Something wicked in his eyes advised me not to keep on.

Then why are you not asking? My heart hammering in my chest, I pushed.

He halted, his calm crushing down on me. Finally he exhaled, but his voice hardly raised above a whisper. You definitely do not understand a lot here. many things, should you know, would tear apart your universe.

Ignoring the threat in the air, I walked closer to him. I wonder.

What is happening interests me.

My comments felt like a confession, as if I were exposing a side of me I had kept private for far too long.

Ravyn, though, was already shaking his head as his grip on my wrist tightened.

You will not. Not today. That is absolutely quite dangerous. His eyes met mine, brimming with something I could not identify.

"I want not to see you damaged since of me."

His remarks struck me as a gut check. He was trying to push me away to keep me safe even though our relationship was irrefutable. I get ready to leave.

Not when I felt like I was at last seeing the damaged, vulnerable man lurking behind the frightening front.

Whispering, my words more clear than I had ever felt, "I'm not leaving you." You cannot make me leave. Not according to events as they have happened.

Ravyn turned away, teeth locked. "You should," he said furiously. You have no idea the extent this covers.

Still, I was nowhere really noteworthy. I was not going to let him leave to face whatever monster was prowling our house alone.

Footfall seemed more close and louder. Ravyn's speed quickened as his eyes jumped from one darkness to the next as I drew into a little alleyway. I heard the animals—the ones he had warned me about—snarling and growling just around the bend.

"Ravyn," I whispered, dread spilling into my voice. "Who are they?" Whose desire what?

He turned to inspect his shoulder and gripped me harder. You do not want to know. Not exactly right now. His eyes were keen, almost feral, and I could feel his muscles strung like a coiled spring nearly ready to break.

"I need to know," I continued, voice growing louder. "I need to be aware of the tools I am handling. If I am sticking with you, I have to know our enemy.

Though it lacked entertainment value, Ravyn's lips turned into a thin grimace. His voice was dark, "What we're up against is a war you're not ready for." he said. a struggle between beings far more lethal than anything you could possibly imagine. considerably older.

He broke off with a loud scream. It was right here, nearby. too precisely. Ravyn drew me behind him as his posture altered and every muscle in his body tuned in to hold the silver blade in his palm.

Gritted teeth let him utter, "They're here."

Emerging from under cover three enormous and horrible creatures hissed with teeth bared and flaming crimson eyes. Their faces twisted and bent in ways that defied reasonable possibility. And at that moment I realized Ravyn had meant—these were not just ordinary creatures. These were stuff ancient, designated for trash.

One of them growled; its voice was harsh and stuttering. You honestly believe you can keep her safe? Ravyn, for millennia you have been fleeing this. But you cannot run this time.

Ravyn tightened his grip on the blade, then paid no mind. He was slinking too much in the direction of the impending threat. Every second I could feel the tension rising; the air seemed to be dangerous.

Of course I felt afraid. Still, there was another, clear element in the air. The way Ravyn stood in front of me shielding me from all the obstacles defied what he had taught me.

I was anxious, but also. It was something much more personally intimate. One thing I knew nothing about handling.

"Stay behind me," Ravyn said with great force. Not only never move, until I tell you.

Heart thumping, I nodded and stayed as close to him as I could. His almost gentle gaze at me made me wonder momentarily whether he thought of me as more than just someone to watch over.

The item then shot forward, though.

Ravyn struck in a blur, the faint light flickering the silver sword. Though it was not enough, the creature cried in agony. Still another charged, its claws cutting into the air.

I gasped, the wind whirling past me as Ravyn struggled with lethal and fluid motions. But I could see the strain this was wearing on his eyes. He lacked exactly perfection.

The monsters kept turning up.

Raven: Rising in my breast, I yelled as I watched him just avoid a collision. "You cannot continue to do this alone!”

Though he did not respond. He is unable of. He was too focused trying to survive.

And then, just as the last of the creatures rushed toward Ravyn, a tall, covered, brightly fluorescent man walked out of the shadows.

Stopped with its growl dead on its lips, the creature stared up the human with scared eyes.

"No;" Ravyn murmured, his voice full with terror. "Not now..."

The person rushed ahead, its presence strong and commanding. And the air surrounding us seemed to pause as it lifted its hand.

The man proceeded deliberately and gently, as though he were savoring the occasion and came up closer. Every muscle locked, every breath shallow, my heart pounded in my chest. The beast that had raced at Ravyn stopped in its tracks, its glittering eyes wide with horror. I could hear the strain cracking in the air, much like before a storm.

"Who are you?" Ravyn's voice was only a whisper, but it conveyed a raw, desperate strain I had not previously heard.

The number did not show right away. Instead, it raised a hand, and the shadows all around seemed to twirl and twist as though under its control. With hairs on my back of neck standing on end, I shook as a frigid, unearthly breeze blew up.

"You've been running from your fate for too long, Ravyn," the man spoke at last, his voice strong and deep, as though from many directions at once. But your period is running short.

As I tried to walk, to step toward Ravyn, my legs felt as though they were composed of stone. Ravyn could sense the tension separating him from the mysterious man; fear saturated the air. There was going to happen something neither of us could flee from.

"What do you want with me?" Ravyn hissed, his voice frail but laced with rage. His hand clutched a still knife while his body tensed, waiting for the next movement. Still, he wasn't sure he could combat this one.

The man added, "You should have never crossed paths with her," his gaze straying momentarily toward me and sending a cold shudder down my back. But now that you have, you will both pay the cost.

I felt a sharp flash of uncertainty and anxiety. Cover the cost? It suggested something. In just what capacity was I involved? I was simply another normal woman who happened into Ravyn's reality. This exceeds what I had signed up for.

Ravyn's eyes radiated fury. "If you think I should just let you pick her—” His voice sounded like a vicious snarl.

The figure inclined its head, a smile playing at its borders. It said, rather clearly, "You won't have a choice."

The man silently raised both hands, and the temperature dropped drastically. A chilly gust tore across the lane, the world blacking around us. I exhaled.

Then everything stopped too.

The breeze, the animals, the shadows vanished all at once.

I thought we were alone for one little, horrible minute.

Still, the melancholy returned once more just as quickly. And I listened—soft, horrible, like a whisper in the breeze.

"This is only the Beginning."

The voice persisted in my thoughts, then before I could react, a stinging, unbearable pain shot over my chest and threw me stumbling back.

My vision darkened; the world raced around me as Ravyn's grasp on my arm tightened and pulled me toward him.

Desperate, he said, "Stay with me," but the ground was already sliding away.