Gabriel watches from the shadows as the memory of his childhood plays before his eyes. Memories he wished he could forget; the early steps to the life he has led till now.
His skin boils like the lava of a waking volcano and he grits his teeth while he wishes he could kill those vampires all over again. If he could, he would find their families and every strand of their existence in the world and vanquish them like the evil that they are.
Watching it play before his eyes makes him realize how dissatisfying Dracula's death was.
He went too easy. He didn't suffer enough.
He clenches his fists, wishing and cursing behind his tongue the name of the man that turned their lives into hell.
"Your anger gives you away, dead thing" a silent and terrifying voice speaks as the cabin begins to dry out like an old wood. The thick wooden floors shrink into wretched and thin lines of wood and everything in it turns to dust.
The armor and swords of the dead vampires fade away, washed out of a reality that exist only to dead things.
Gabriel runs and hides in the bushes of the forest as the rain gradually comes to a stop.
The sun comes above the forest, smiling down with heavy light but it holds back its warmth. The air is cold, so much so that he sees his breath in form of a cold smoke.
The leaves begin to dry out and freeze with thin layers of ice crawling on the bark of the trees.
"You are not suppose to be here. Come let us cross the threshold of life and death. You no longer belong to this world," the strange voice says in a whisper as if it were just under his ears.
Gabriel lies on his belly as the bushes dry up and shrink, reducing his camouflage but not taking it away.
A darkness floats above the ground as a creature in black cloak walks through the mid air, turning its head left and right, searching for the lost soul.
Its eyes glow like fire and its lights showcase some traces of a skull within it's hood. The creature holds a scythe in one hand as it floats and it brings with it a coldness that send shivers to everything around it. From the leaves to the stem, from the stem to the branches, from the branches to the roots, from the roots to the ground and from the cold grounds to the soul that hides still; watching cautiously and awaiting a chance to escape the dreadful fate this creature brings.
A grim reaper.
The reaper snaps its head at one direction as it hears little movements but Gabriel stays still like he has become part of the roots that penetrate the ground.
He does this while enduring the pains of the cold.
"Why do you try to escape your destiny? No one can escape death Gabriel Stone, not even immortals. For everything that has a beginning must have an end," it says.
The grim reaper flies above the bushes where Gabriel lies and it looks left and right while Gabriel prays in the comfort of his heart that the creature should pass.
He holds in his chilled breath until the reaper passes over and goes into the deeper parts of the forest.
He gasps and pants as the air gets warmer and easy for him to breathe.
He comes out from his spot and begins to move in the opposite direction as the reaper.
He moves slowly; as light as a feather and as gentle as a baby's touch. Patience is the name of his legs as he doesn't rush to push the distance between them, for he knows, the slightest noise could mean the end of this little game of hide and seek.
When he is sure the reaper is far, he begins to run as fast as his legs can take him in this strange realm. The reaper is quick to his sudden change of pace and flies through the bushes and trees, turning everything in its path to dead things as it goes.
Gabriel can hear the rustling leaves behind him but he doesn't turn back.
A huge tree comes into view; its roots are big and thick and they protrude from the ground. They raise the legs of the tree above the ground and form a little doorway.
Gabriel runs as fast as he can toward the tree and dives through the doorway and just like that he disappears out of the presence of the creature.
The reaper wails and swings its scythe, cutting down the protruding roots like scissors through paper. It's screeching voice echoes through the forest as it must accept that he has lost the soul of Gabriel stone; for now.
Meanwhile
The meal was nice, macaroni, tomato sauce and some chicken on the side but she could not enjoy it to her heart's content as her mind plagued her with thoughts of the brothers.
One is dead and the other is unconscious.
She wears a long white and sleeveless night gown that is thin and fluffy at its ends, letting the hill breeze blow all through her body as the night sings in its windy voices; the flames on the candles dazzle and wiggle in tune with the night's breezy song.
There are two people on each exit of the dining room, they stand with towels in their hands like servants waiting for their masters to give an order.
There is an old phonograph on one end of the room on a black table.
Rachael empties her cup of water before Amanda snaps her fingers together and points at the dishes and the servants move to clear the table.
Amanda wears short black night briefs and a sleeveless black top. The candle lights do no justice to the brighter colors of her hair. She eyes the human who looks tired and her shoulders drop lower than usual, "You worry too much," Amanda says.
"You can't blame her, she has lost almost everyone she loves. Samuel may be the last one," Elma says as she walks into the room with a bottle of Glenfiddich and three glasses.
She wears a big striped color shirt with folded sleeves.
The shirt stops at her thighs and her bare feet makes little thud sounds as she walks to the table. She drops a glass in front of Rachael, "Don't worry love, Samuel is going to be fine. If he could die that easy I would have done him myself," she says.
Amanda scoffs at her comment and collects a glass from the vampire.
"Have you fed?" Amanda asks, "Yes, it's surprising how the servant's here store so much blood," Elma says.
"Well, they are all vampires and the twins don't feed them so Gabriel created a hunting system. Some of them go to hunt every now and then and they rotate their rosters," Amanda says.
"Samuel wouldn't have come up with that, he cares too little about my kind," Elma says as she fill the glass cups for the girls.
"What is it with Samuel and vampires or is it a thing between sphinx and vampires? I heard you say your kinds can never be real friends a while back," Rachael says.
"Don't worry love, there is nothing to it" Elma says as she stretches to give Rachael a glass.
"I'm not in the mood," Rachael says and pushes her glass away but the vampire pushes it back to her, "I can compel you to drink but I'd rather not. Besides, I am tired of seeing that sad face of yours." Elma says.
"Come on, get drunk with us" Amanda says and stretches her legs on the table.
Rachael raises her head to see a bull's head hanging on the wall behind Amanda.
"She is too scared of revealing her dark thoughts. Which is mostly about fucking Gabriel and Samuel," Elma says as she draws out a chair and sits, "No, it isn't" Rachael says, "Come on, we know you want to climb that tree,".
"Oh, I'm sure she has already fucked Gabriel. I can pick up his scent all around her," Amanda says with a mischievous smile and sniffs into the air. "Was he rough or gentle?" she asks, "You guys should stop it," Rachael whines.
"Did he pull your hair or spank you?" Elma says, "It has to be spanking, she looks like she is into that" the blondes banter about Rachael's sexual life and her cheeks begin to heat up with embarrassment.
She takes a huge gulp of her drink and begins to cough, "Fuck you two," she says and they begin to laugh.
"I know this is weird coming from an immortal but you should enjoy the moments. Don't get all down by the troubles that come, many have died but you are still here. Enjoy life, live because at any moment your life may be taken away," Elma say and looks down into her cup before she sips from it.
Rachael sees some emotion in her eyes, she doesn't quite get it but she feels something personal behind those words.
"That includes the sex. When you have fucked for a 100 years you can hardly get entertained," Amanda says. Rachael's raises her brow, "Immortals don't enjoy sex?" she asks.
"We do but how many guys do you know with 100 or 200 years of experience that doesn't have a limp dick? At some point you start looking for other creatures, gods, demons, giants and so on," Amanda says.
"Giants? You sleep with giants? I wonder what that is like," Rachael says, "Don't try those just yet," the sphinx says.
"Stick to the twins for now. I'm surprised they haven't torn you in half," Elma says, "I can take more than you give me credit for," Rachael says and folds her legs on the chair.
The girls laugh, "Wow, you are much more feisty than I thought," Amanda says, "This one is full of surprises. There is a whore behind all that sad face and vengeance," Elma says, "No there isn't," Rachael says sheepishly as she hides her face behind her glass.
"Are the um...servants, vampires?" Rachael stammers, "Yes, they are. Most of them were created by Gabriel and Samuel when they waged war on the previous owner of this hill," Amanda says.
"Now that you mention it, I noticed that you no longer have a scent of a human," she says, "Yes, it's some powder Samuel bought at a market," Rachael says, "Pike market?" "Yes,".
"What happened to him, the previous owner of the hill?" Rachael asks.
Elma scoffs and laughs a little, "Have you met the twins? They tore him to pieces by pulling his body apart in opposite directions," Elma says.
"Oh. They don't seem like the type that can do that. I mean, I know they are strong enough but they are quite nice," Rachael says, "To you McQueen. They have a soft spot for you. You've even started to grow on me," Elma says and emptied her cup before grabbing the bottle for a refill.
"What about treasures? These treasures Elijah spoke of. Its not the first time I've heard about them. Marcel spoke of treasures that sphinxes protect as well," Rachael says, "Marcel? Who is Marcel?" Amanda asks.
"Some old vampire that betrayed us when we were fighting Dracula. I wonder where he is now," Elma says.
"Every sphinx has a treasure that they protect in the spirit realm. It can be small, it can be huge but it is tied to us and the creator. It is the most valuable thing to every sphinx," Amanda says.
"The creator, as in God?" Rachael questions, "Some call it that," the sphinx says, "Okay,".
"What of Gabriel's? He was no longer a sphinx so what would happen to his treasure? " Elma asks and Amanda pauses as she thinks.
She stares at the table in deep thought before she finally speaks, "I don't know but it can't be good," she says.