Isaac's POV
Against my own will, I walked on, as fast as I could, doing my best to escape the torment that I felt in my heart. When you have sold your heart to your employers, it's difficult to get a hold of it anymore. I felt really sad; I didn't always feel sad, but I did, on this occasion. Yet, there was a job to be done.
I walked towards the chapel which was just a few blocks away, throwing cursory glances at my watch as I walked. I couldn't afford to fail. The consequences were going to be lamentable.
Just as I got close to the chapel, I heard the sound of the bells and a smile shot right across my face. I took one last glance at my watch to confirm what I already knew. It was midnight. The bells were only rung by midnight. That was also the cue I needed to carry out my assignment. It was the only time the priest ever stepped his feet out of the church alone. It was my moment.
There he stood, at the closing of the large gates. He wore his customary white regalia. I hated that piece of clothing. All those who wore it always seemed to have this sense of superiority. They always thought they were better than others. Just like this priest. They felt that the white colour stood for purity but it didn't. It was just a dress. The bastard was about to find out.
This was nothing new. As I saw him gradually step out of the building, I felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through me, just like it always did whenever I set out to do my assignments. That feeling could never be compared to anything else. Yet, there was a slight difference.
I was known for being very focused. Everyone I killed could have attested for it if only they were alive. Sadly, they weren't, leaving me to be my only witness. Whenever I had someone to kill, I thought of nothing else but his death. Somehow, it made me do the task better. I already saw them dead before I even killed them. I saw their fate. My job was to help them get there.
This time, it wasn't the same. For the first time, I didn't have the urge to kill. Well, I did want to kill him but not as I used to. My mind failed to be held down in one place. The picture of this extremely beautiful woman wouldn't let me think straight. With my prospective victim right in front of me, nothing else seemed to matter except her.
I stealthily moved, walking on the tip of my toes as I aimed to catch the priest off guard. He wasn't so young himself. He was probably used to assassination attempts so I had to be careful. If he screamed and the people inside the church heard him, I'd have been in big trouble. I couldn't let that happen. I was a seasoned assassin, unlike any that he had ever met. I wished people were able to know what they were against when they faced me, but all they had were rumours. No one ever lived long enough to tell my story.
He walked a few metres away from the church and I followed him closely behind. Then I remembered that I hadn't taken my most potent weapon against him. I reached out into my bag and there it was, amongst a pile of other things; a red oak. I took it out and kissed it. I hadn't used it for a while and I had begun to miss it. It was the only weapon potent enough to kill the priest.
He seemed to notice something as he paused a bit and began to look around. I quickly ducked and held my breath. The sound of the crickets who never seemed to know that the night was for serenity was all that filled the air. He paced around, probably trying to make sure no one was around him. I always wondered why he had to leave the church by midnight. I'd always thought about following him to the place he was always headed to. I wished this was the night. Sadly, it wasn't. He just had to die.
I was hired to do the job by an old client and whenever I was hired, I always had to deliver. This wasn't going to be any different. Right there, where I lay, I looked up to the goddess and smiled at her. It was my ritual. She always smiled back at me whenever I did that.
After about two minutes, he kept on walking and I knew he had completed his check. I followed him closely behind, knowing the time to strike was near. I needed to make it quick. I needed a head start. I just didn't know how to do that.
The priest got to a point, close to a small pool of water and he dropped the bag he was carrying and sat there. I listened carefully to him but he said nothing. He just sat there, looking up to the skies and back down at the pool of water. It was my time to strike.
I dashed toward him very quickly and in the twinkle of an eye, I was right in front of him. I didn't meet a man with his back to me; I was face to face with him. He must have sensed me somehow. I could also see the droplets of sweat begin to form. He was terrified of the red oak I held in my hands. I held "death" in my hands.
"I see you're the one they sent this time," he said, broadly smiling at me and trying to mask his obvious fears. I could spot some meat particles in-between his lips. So gross. This bastard had no manners. I wasn't buying his antics either.
"You've had several of them?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Quite a number of them, I must say."
"And you're still alive?"
"Well, I guess so. You do know that we're not really alive, don't you?"He asked.
"I do," I replied. "I'm here to make sure you stay dead."
He charged at me as quickly as he could but I moved to my right and tripped him. That was more effective than I thought as the speed with which he attacked proved quite helpful. I quickly dashed to where he fell and began to punch him in the face as hard as I could, setting him up for the inevitable.
He held my hand and fought to roll me over but I was too strong for him. There was no escape in the cards. I was going to stay on top, beating him so much that he'd barely have the strength to protect himself. Then I'd utilize the red oak to finish him off.
"Ahhh!" I screamed as I felt a sharp pain in my groin. He had snuck out his right hand and driven it into my groin as I raised my hand to give him another punch. This caused me to roll over and he gained the upper hand, dishing out a few punches of his own.
I never loved to be at the receiving end of a beatdown. Yet, I knew all about it. I'd lived long enough to enjoy the good times and the bad times. This was only one of them. I needed to quickly get out.
I bucked my hips thrice to great success. He fell off briefly and tried to regain the position, but all he met was a knee to his groin. One good turn did deserve another. I made up my mind to finish him off.
I grabbed him by the neck and looked right into his eyes. "There can only be one of us," I said to him. "Now, you'll see what happens to those who stand in my way."
I dug my claws into his neck and he screamed. Thankfully, we were a bit far from the church so there was no one to save any of us. I watched as blood shot out from his neck and it felt good. The look on his face told the whole story. His eyes got wide and his mouth went agape. He knew he was close to his end.
I stood, walked slowly to where I had dropped the red oak and picked it up. There was no way he could leave as he was exhausted. Killing him was mercy and I had a lot of that.
Walking to him, I raised the oak and lowered it to his heart. The priest flashed his fangs as his last act of defence but it was already too late. It pierced through his heart, taking the life out of him as I smiled in delight.
I stood up from my latest victim, quite satisfied that I took him out but a bit sad I didn't get to use my favourite move. He was a vampire, just like me and people didn't like vampires. Once they were discovered, they had to be taken away at all costs. Just like this priest; I was paid two times the normal amount just so he'd be dead. This was probably going to be my fate whenever I couldn't do what they said. They still needed me. I guess that's why they didn't bother trying to kill me or I was just too strong for them.
I was disappointed too. I had felt that after living for so many years, the priest would have put up a fight. It was far too easy for me. It'd been that way for quite a while. None of my targets looked like threats. I just killed them at will and the ease was simply ridiculous. I placed a white handkerchief over the head of the Dead priest to show that I had completed the work and stood up to leave.
As I walked away from him, my mind went back to what happened earlier on. For 300 years, having a mate looked like a fairy tale. I never believed it was possible. I thought it was all made up. I was wrong and I didn't know how to feel about the whole thing.
I was overwhelmed by the unfamiliar feeling, yet, I craved it so much. It was as though I was made for it; like it was destiny, brought right in front of me. It was a mixture of joy and fear of the unknown. I didn't know what to do with all that. Yet there was something I knew too well.
I needed to find out a lot more about this human whom the goddess had made my mate