Elaina was a deer in the headlights. Not a single muscle of hers twitched. If it wasn't for the night breeze blowing and shivering the leaves of the trees, time would appear to have been frozen. Just as quickly as the apparition appeared to Elaina, it was gone.
It was the face she could never forget, eyes that burned with an unquenchable lust for blood. Fangs that had stolen her previous life from her. Elaina's thoughts had raced. Had she really just seen him or was she so hellbent on hunting him down, she imagined him? Why now? Was he the one who sent the letter to the Duke? With each thought that passed through Elaina's mind, a weight on her chest crushed her more and more. The thumping of her heart increased until it was the only sound that she could hear in her ears. Elaina tried to take a step forward to pursue the man she saw, but she lost her balance and fell to her knees, light-headed. All these years she prepared and hunted him down, only to find no signs of him. She never imagined she would've been so unprepared or unready to actually face him for even a few brief seconds. Perhaps the truth is, one can never be ready to face the person responsible for the murder of someone she loved.
Elaina bit the inside of her cheek until the taste of iron filled her mouth. Now wasn't the time to get overwhelmed. She pushed herself back to her feet and began running in the direction that the man had fled. It had been a few seconds that had passed while Elaina was starting to shut down in turmoil, giving him a head start. He was fast, but Elaina was determined. She took in her surroundings and focused on the sounds around her or broken branches or footprints. Any sign of life that had been through there within the past few seconds.
Elaina spotted some footsteps and crouched down next to them. She studied the shape and the ground surrounding it. The print was still sharp around the edges, the wind and rain haven't had the chance to try and get rid of it yet. The track was still fresh and pointed further into the foliage and trees. Elaina took off in that direction, keeping a close eye on the tracks and allowing them to lead her to wherever the vampire may be. At least, she had hoped these were the vampire tracks. They looked human, and it was unlikely there would be anyone else out here at this time of night.
There was only a singular thought on her mind, only one thing she was focused on and that was to find him. No matter the cost. Elaina narrowed on the path ahead of her like a cat hunting its prey. The seconds that went by and with no signs other than the prints she was following only managed to frustrate Elaina. How could he have disappeared like that?
A twig snapping nearby made Elaina jerk her head in the general direction it came in. She stopped in her tracks to listen to the sounds around her. Silence at first, then a second twig snap. Elaina turned to face the sound that had come from behind her.
"They're dead because of you." A disembodied voice rang out from the darkness of night. She assumed this voice came from the vampire she was hunting for years now.
"I'm not the one who killed them!" Elaina called out into the darkness.
"If it wasn't another vampire, It would've been you. You're a monster too." This time, the voice seemed to come in another direction.
"I would never." She turned to face where it had come from, gritting her teeth. The vampire seemed to be keen on taunting her.
"Stop lying to yourself. You're no better than the thing you claim to despise."
Elaina knew his words had some truth to them, however she had no need to hear it from whoever this man was. It wasn't who was saying it that bothered her, it was the fact that it seemed as though this man in the shadows could read her mind and was reading her own thoughts aloud. She got tormented enough by them without someone else relaying them to her. "Show yourself!"
Silence. He did not respond to her demand verbally or by showing himself. Elaina figured this was some sick game this man was trying to play with her.
"Hide all you want. You're dead when I find you."
Her words evoked an amused laughter that echoed through the surrounding area. He was still there in the shadows hiding in the trees. "That won't be today."
"Doesn't need to be. Your time is running out." Elaina reached for her flintlock pistol. She waited for him to respond once more.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you.."
Elaina's fingers wrapped around the handle of her pistol before she whipped it out. She aimed in the direction of where the voice came from and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang could be heard seconds later. The shot she had fired moments earlier had missed. There wasn't even the smell of any blood. Elaina rarely ever missed but that was literally a shot in the dark.
A shadow rushed by Elaina and was gone. It had knocked into her, and pushed her off balance but she quickly regained it. Blood trickled down her cheek. The cut was shallow, only a warning from the other vampire. It would heal rather quickly.
"We will see each other again soon."
"Only a coward hides in the shadows!" Elaina growled out. No response came, he was gone.
She looked around at her surroundings only to realize she was quite a bit ways from the manor. She had let the ghost from her past lure her all the way out here. Kalyn likely would have been distracted and it was unlikely that Silviu could handle an attack alone. Elaina began to mentally kick herself for allowing herself to get lured all the way out here. She needed to return to the masquerade in case anything happened. A feeling of minor nausea washed over her at the thought of anything possibly happening while she was gone. Not that she thought she had been gone that long, at least she thought. Elaina wasn't so sure how long it had been anymore.
"Fucking damn it!" She cried out in frustration. How could he have just disappeared like that? She had lost her chance to get her revenge. Elaina was beginning to question if he had ever been there in the first place. It could have been that she had wanted to find him so bad that she had just imagined him being there. The fresh blood was a reminder that someone, or something was indeed out here. Confusion from the night's events made her head spin. Elaina pushed her thoughts aside so she could refocus on her goal. She already got distracted enough.
The scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils the closer she got to the Duke's manor. Her heart sank to her stomach at the thought she may have failed to protect the guests of the masquerade. She hoped that there was some other explanation, but the only way to find out was to follow the intoxicating sweet smell of blood. Elaina followed it to the source to find a man lying dead. Based on his attire she could tell that he wasn't one of the guests from the masquerade. He was wearing linen underneath wool and leather turnshoes. She sighed in a moment of brief relief. It was just a hunter. An arrow was stuck in a tree right beside her coated in the blood of a feral. Based on the scene Elaina assumed he was attacked and tried to fight back only to lose. Most common folk like him didn't know how to kill a vampire and yet they still tried to fight back instead of running. It only resulted in more deaths, not that many could escape a vampire in the first place. The adrenaline from their prey running in fear and the excitement of the chase is only more thrilling to a vampire both lesser and higher alike.
Elaina approached the man but once she was at his side she found herself surrounded by eight lesser vampires.
"Just great.." She muttered under her breath. The ferals circled around her, hunger glowing in their blood red eyes. They seemed to think of her as their prey. Elaina made the decision to show them that she was in fact the true predator in this situation. The gray irises of her eyes brightened until they became pure white and glowed in the night. She waited patiently for one of the ferals to make their first move. Fresh blood dripped from about half of their mouths. Elaina made an educated guess that they were the ones who had killed the hunter. The scent of fresh blood is likely what drew the other ferals to this area.
With each circle they made around Elaina, they closed in. It wasn't long before one of them started their assault. The first of the eight lesser vampires pounced but a silver bullet penetrated it in the heart, dust and bone fell to the ground. Milliseconds after the sound of Elaina's pistol went off.
Four bullets left of the six she originally had, Elaina made the mental note.
Seeing that one of their own had fallen the remaining seven of the ferals ran at Elaina who rolled forward beneath one that was trying to jump on her. While directly underneath it, She fired her gun once more. Vampire dust showered her from above. Elaina hadn't realized one of the lesser vampires managed to sneak up on her. It took its chance to strike and managed to draw some of Elaina's blood.
The scent of the crimson fluid dripping down her arm seemed to send the remaining six of the ferals into a frenzy. Each one of them let out a high-pitched screech that seemed to echo. In quick succession they all clawed at or tried to pounce on Elaina. She didn't get a chance to attack another when she was focused on trying to dodge their attacks. Survival was her priority at that moment. She knew she would have another chance to attack soon. Elaina didn't manage to escape entirely unscathed however. She had a deeper, although still rather minor gash across her collarbone.
Elaina waited until she saw an opening and fired two more shots, hitting two other vampires perfectly in their hearts and dusting them along with the others she killed.
"One…" She whispered, in reference to her last remaining silver bullet. There were still four ferals still standing. Elaina noticed that another one was preparing to attack, crouching low to the ground to pounce. With a bang she fired her last bullet through its back and penetrated it through the heart. The feral was dead before it got the chance to attack. Elaina returned her pistol to the leather garter around her thigh and traded it for a stake. Another lesser vampire had tried to attack her while she was switching her weapons but was dust before it could be successful.
Elaina hissed at a burning sensation that she felt across her shoulder blade. She reached up to feel her back wet with blood. One of the last two lesser vampires had attacked at the same time as the other did. She wasn't sure how deep the wound was but she knew it was much deeper than any of her previous wounds. Elaina turned to face the other two vampires before jumping back just as one of them landed where she was just standing. She took that chance to drive the stake through its heart. The last standing feral turned on its heels to begin fleeing.
Excitement filled her eyes at the sight. She simply stood there for a few seconds to give it a head start before running after it. The cool night air almost seemed to sooth her wounds and for a second she had forgotten that she had a few gashes across her flesh. It didn't take long for her to catch up to the lesser vampire. Before it could get any further or flee once more the vampire was dust at Elaina's feet. The fact that there were so many ferals this close to the Duke's manor concerned her. It led her to believe they were part of a nearby nest. How large that nest was she had no idea. Elaina finally turned to make her way back to the manor.
Elaina was nearly back when a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"You shouldn't be out here alone this late at night." Angelus approached her. The smell of Elaina's blood was intoxicating and made it hard for him to control himself. "You're injured."