Silver Revolver

The Treaty of Transylvania; 1479
This treaty was written on the thirteenth day of December in the year One Thousand Four Hundred and Seventy-Nine. The sole purpose of this pact is to keep peace between vampyre brethren. The stipulations of the treaty are to be carried out by the head vampyre of a county. Any brother who believes himself to be above these stipulations will be punished by nothing short of torture, followed by a shameful death. There are twenty requisites on the Treaty of Transylvania. No stipulation is less important than the other.

1) No vampyre should practice the faith of Christianity.
2) If there is war between two covens, the victor is free to claim the possessions of the losing coven.
3) Unions between humans and vampyres are not to be tolerated under any circumstances.


A solitary rooster crowed, disrupting the blanket of slumber which cloaked the town. The sun began its steady ascent into the sky. Dust flew up into the air as tired feet pounded the unpaved road. Crucifix was deep in thought, his heavy bag thrown over his shoulder. It was as if it weighed nothing, because his walk was nowhere close to that of a struggling man. Jabez was a few feet behind him, his steps unsure. The vampire hunter had barely said a word to him before they ventured out. In fact, he’d woken up to the alarming sight of Crucifix hesitantly aiming the revolver at his heart. His frightened eyes bore into the demon’s own unreadable orbs. Jabez had been too afraid to speak, wordlessly hoping for a merciful death. But then Crucifix shook his head and lowered the pistol, and instructed him to clean himself up. That had been the extent of their interaction for the day.

There was hardly a soul at the county’s old, Victorian train station. Bums were occupying the benches, using them as beds and nestled beneath newspaper to keep warm. A few commuters stood on the platform, impatiently peering down the tunnel even though they did not hear the roar of the steam train. The large clocks ticked stridently as the second hands bypassed the roman numerals. Crucifix signalled for Jabez to stay put as he acquired their tickets at the booth.

The redhead resisted the urge to lash out at the curious gazes casted in his direction. It was unusual for vampires to be out during the day. The myths people chose to believe concerning vampires and sunlight were mostly incorrect. Sunlight did not kill them as long as they were not exposed to it for extended periods of time, but they were quite sensitive to it as nocturnal creatures. Most avoided it for that reason and not because of some melodramatic death.

Nowadays, the vampires and humans coexisted with poorly veiled tension; vampires needed the blood of humans to survive, and that would never change. When darkness fell it was every man for himself. Laws were created to keep some sort of peace. A vampire was allowed to feed as long as it was not in a public place and they did not take lives, although it was rather difficult to enforce such a thing. Most vampires did not cause more trouble than necessary, though, but some were bloodthirsty and cruel, yearning for the domination of years past; true dangers to society. Every county had a militia which worked in conjuncture with the police department to kill vampires when they breached the rules. However, not many people were willing to join the militias because of the extreme danger and the high death-rate associated with the job.

So this is where the vampire slayers came in. When the county was unable to control their vampires, a high bounty was placed on their heads. Vampire hunters, enticed by the money, would crawl out of the woodwork and take care of the mess for them, one man doing the task an entire militia failed to complete. Not much was known about the vampire hunters or their methods. All that mattered was that they got the job done.

“Here,” Crucifix’s voice brought Jabez from his musings. The bounty hunter stood scant inches away from him, offering him a train ticket.

“Thank you.”

Crucifix leaned over and spoke in a voice so low that only Jabez could hear him. “Let’s get a few things clear. You belong to me now. You won’t get in the way of my work. You will do whatever I tell you to do without question. Don’t give me a reason to kill you, because you know I will. A good fuck isn’t enough to make me trust you. Understood?”

“Yes, master.”

An odd smile stretched across Crucifix’s lips. “Good boy.”

More curious eyes were glued to them as they made their way onto the platform. Other commuters stood back, not wanting to attract the slayer’s or the vampire’s attention. They were too busy taking in the extremely peculiar sight; the hunter and the hunted. Questions silently brewed, but no one dared to say a thing. Crucifix obviously had the vampire controlled for whatever reason and he was (disputably) the best hunter in the land, so there was no need to cause a commotion. He had their trust.

The steam whistle warned of the locomotive’s approach, even though one could hear the noisy clatter from a mile off. Jabez was once again in his own little world as they embarked the train.

Absentmindedly, he watched Crucifix kick the bulging bag as far as it could go underneath the wooden bench. They were the only passengers in the third class carriage other than a decrepit, old couple and their boisterous grandson who sat as far away from them as possible after exchanging a few disapproving whispers.

Black smoke billowed into the bright sky as the train grinded along the railway tracks. Crucifix’s head was bowed, dark blue hair falling over his closed eyes. The even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed made it look like he was sleeping peacefully, but the vampire knew he was awake. Orange eyes followed the dark, tribal tattoos wrapped around the powerful biceps and slightly vascular forearms. Crucifix really did have a powerful, beautiful body beneath the cumbersome vest he wore. An old gash which had healed many moons ago suddenly flashed in Jabez’s mind. He’d barely had time to glimpse it last night, but he remembered that it had bothered him. It ran directly over the demon’s heart, extending below his ribcage. It was somewhat upsetting to see perfection marred by scars, but in Crucifix’s line of work such things were to be expected. That didn’t stop Jabez from being curious about it, though. Something about that one injury stood out to him, perhaps because of its precarious location.

“Why do you fight for them?” he suddenly enquired.

Crucifix raised his head slowly and faced him, a bored look on his visage. “Why do I fight for whom?”

“The humans. And please don’t try to underestimate my intelligence by telling me it’s just for the money.”

“Why do you think I would lie to you? If I don’t want to tell you, I won’t lie to spare your precious, little feelings. And unfortunately for you, I don’t want to tell you. So fuck off.”

“Is it so wrong for me to try to get to know you better?” Jabez tried to keep the annoyed edge from his voice, but failed miserably. Crucifix was being unreasonable to him all day, and there was only so much bullshit the vampire was going to stand for.

“No, it’s not. But it’s just not something I want to tell you yet. So drop it.”

“Fine,” was the icy reply.

Jabez kept his head straight, much too irritated to attempt any more conversation. Crucifix watched his quiet fuming with unbridled amusement. For a bloodsucker, Jabez wasn’t too hard on the eyes. Long, fiery hair hypnotised with its ethereal glow and delicate features undermined the brutal nature vampires were known for. As stoic and refined as he appeared to be, Crucifix could see straight through him; Jabez was a spoilt brat. It was painfully obvious he was used to getting his way with one bat of his long eyelashes and pouting those plush lips.

“Are you mad at me?” the demon laughed as he tilted Jabez’s chin so that they were once again facing each other. “Because I’ll tell you right now that I don’t give a fuck how much you sulk. That might have worked on Vladimir, but it doesn’t affect me.”

“You don’t know what our relationship was like, so don’t try to assume things you have no idea about,” Jabez snapped, glaring defiantly at the other man. Neither of them paid any mind to the old couple dragging their grandson into the second class carriage to avoid witnessing a heated confrontation.

“Why don’t you enlighten me then, Reds?” their noses were mere centimetres apart, almost touching.

“Until you can talk to me about your past, mine is off limits, as well.”

Crucifix outright erupted into a fit of laughter, which only incensed Jabez further. He was becoming surer and surer still in his resolve that he’d made a mistake by handing himself over to the vampire hunter on a silver platter, but the life he would’ve faced if he’d stayed in Vladimir’s coven was certainly ten times worse.

“You’re so cute, talking to me like you’re in charge…” Crucifix’s amused smile morphed into a frown, “I think you need to learn your place.”

“Excuse me?” the redhead scoffed. “You don’t give me any respect and yet you expect me to grovel at your feet. I may be subservient to you, but you are being unrealistic.”

“My respect needs to be earned. So far you’ve got a shitty attitude and you’re a slut. Please tell me why you deserve to be treated better than this.”

“You were a lot more pleasant to be around last night…”

“And you were a lot more obedient last night. It’s not my fault you stupidly gave your soul to me without the foggiest idea of what you were doing. Just shut the hell up and live with the consequences…”

The redhead slapped the offending hand away which was still gripping his chin and turned his back to the other man.

“Oh, feisty…” Crucifix laughed throatily, the corners of his mouth quirked upwards at the challenge. “It turns me on when you’re so pissy; makes me want to fuck you raw until you learn how to behave.”

Calloused fingertips grazed the pale neck as they moved the long, cinnamon tresses out of the way. Crucifix’s chapped lips brushed the sensitive nape. He chuckled at the poorly restrained shudder that went through the smaller body as he ran his tongue across a fading bite-mark he’d made the previous night. Jabez was doing a piss-poor job of pretending to be indifferent.

“Do you want me to stop touching you?” he slid his hand over a leather-clad hip and down taut thighs, caressing them roughly as his other hand rubbed the vampire’s cock through his pants.

“Yes.”

“This,” he squeezed the stiffening member, “says other wise.”

“Then do whatever you please. You’re my master, aren’t you?”

“We’re really going to have to do something about this attitude of yours…Seducing me into owning you and now you’re the most miserable creature in existence. Tsk, tsk.” When Jabez said nothing he continued, “I’ll leave you alone if you answer my question.”

“And what question would that be?”

“How do you know what I am?”

Jabez looked over his shoulder and gave a smirk of his own, “It’s obvious to someone who’s been around demons before. Most people these days have not.”

Crucifix’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Just how fucking old are you?”

“That’s a question pertaining to my past. And we already know how that goes.”

“Stubborn cunt…” the dark haired man grumbled, sidling back over to the end of the bench. “I’ll play along with your game for now. But I hope you don’t forget that I hold your life in my hands. I get nasty when I’m impatient.”

There was no reply to the threat; they both knew it was far from idle. Crucifix was well aware of the fact that he could torture the vampire into telling him whatever he wanted, but he chose not to. Simply put, Jabez intrigued him. He was obstinate, calculating and ill-tempered, and while those were not typically good personality traits, they only made him all the more appealing. It seemed his submission was mostly limited to the bedroom. And Crucifix was quite fine with that prospect; there was nothing sexier than fucking someone into reluctant surrender. But he couldn’t help but wonder what the redhead was running away from. Why would he go to such extreme measures? A vampire owned by a hunter was illogical, unheard of, fucked up.

About ten minutes later, the train came to a stop at their destination.

They stepped out into a much more modern environment. Electric trains, security checkpoints, cameras… Such a great contrast to where they’d just left. Crucifix strode confidently despite being unfamiliar with the town. Jabez followed him, a healthy distance between them. Truthfully, he was frustrated and tired. He wasn’t used to this diurnal activity and Crucifix wasn’t his favourite person in the world at the moment. A hiss escaped him as blinding sunlight drenched them outside of the busy station’s shelter.

“Don’t worry; I’ll get you a room somewhere while I go kick some ass. I figure you wouldn’t want to be around to watch that anyway,” the demon said without looking back.

“How considerate of you,” was the caustic reply.

Unlike the rural citizens of the previous county, not many people paid them any attention. They blended into the bustling crowd effortlessly; people were simply too busy going about their own affairs to take notice. They stopped by the sheriff’s office to get information on the rogue vampire before reserving a room in a nearby motel to spend the night at. The demon was so confident in his skills that he never assumed he would need more than a day to locate and eradicate his prey.

For a cheap motel, the room was clean and tidy. No roaches or rats were visible; there were no questionable stains on the walls or sheets. There was only one bed, but Jabez figured that wasn’t a big surprise. He collapsed onto the bed, sleep threatening to suffocate his senses instantaneously. A lazy glance down at his body reminded him that he was wearing the same clothes he’d worn yesterday. He shuddered in repulsion. He hadn’t thought too far ahead about such a trivial matter, but now it was disturbing him greatly.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any clothes I could borrow?” he asked, turning to face the other man.

“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing now?” Crucifix didn’t look up from his crouched position on the floor, sorting out the weapons he was going to use on his next bounty.

“I’ve been wearing it for almost twenty-four hours…”

“Man, you’re a prissy bitch, huh?”

“It’s called practicing good hygiene,” Jabez glowered at the crusty, dried blood on Crucifix’s boots.

“I don’t travel with many clothes. I guess you could just wash what you’ve got on now and lounge around naked all day. Unfortunately, I won’t be here to enjoy it, but that’s your only alternative at the moment. When we go home, I’ll take you shopping.”

“Home?”

“I do live somewhere, you know.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I always hear about you moving from place to place, but no one ever mentioned where you usually go.”

“That’s because they’re not supposed to know. And if you plan on telling people,” he paused to form the shape of a gun with his fingers and made childish clicking noises with his tongue, “you know what happens.”

A bemused grunt came from the vampire. He chose to ignore the trigger-happy bastard. He sat up and unbuttoned his shirt. There was no way he was going to sleep in dirty clothes. He tossed the garment to the ground and then after a few moments of ambivalence, he removed his pants, too. The rustle of fabric falling to the floor caused Crucifix to look up and his eyes widened slightly as they landed on the nude figure curled up on the bed.

“What are you doing?” he enquired.

“Sleeping; it’s daytime.”

“You’re naked.”

“Does it bother you?”

“The opposite, really.”

The reply was an amused scoff.

The vampire hunter was suddenly looming over the prone form, his bag once again slung on his shoulder. Jabez craned his neck to observe the other man.

“You’re going to tease me like that before I leave?” Crucifix purred, drinking in the pale skin greedily and feeling smug about the bruises he’d left on those narrow hips. “It’s almost as if you want me to be distracted. You’re supposed to be on my side now.”

“You over think your importance at the moment. I simply refuse to sleep in filthy clothes.”

“Yeah, your prissy attitude just killed my boner. We’re really going to have to work on that. Anyway, I’m leaving now. Don’t leave this room while I’m gone, and no funny business. I get crazy when people disobey my orders,” he smacked an ass cheek warningly, tearing a startled and undignified yelp from the redhead.

Then there was there was the sound of the door opening and then closing with a resounding click. Jabez shook his head and closed his eyes, sleep clutching him immediately.

==

Night had fallen and Crucifix had yet to return. Jabez was still sprawled on the bed, clothed again since he’d gotten the lonely, slightly kooky maid to wash them for him by catering to her need for socialisation and her obvious pity on him (to be fair, he was naked and he’d told her his lover had stolen all of his possessions while he was asleep). She’d even brought him up some cupcakes which were still on the bedside table; pastries were not generally part of a vampire’s diet. He was feeling a bit faint with hunger, though… the hunger for blood. He could probably go the night without it, but tomorrow he’d definitely have to feed. He hadn’t had enough time to drink a sufficient amount of Chanel’s blood thanks to Crucifix barging in.

With thoughts of the bounty hunter, he couldn’t help but feel an illogical pang of worry in his chest. Crucifix had been gone for hours. What if he’d lost the battle with Alexander? Yes, he knew who the head vampire of this county was. Vladimir and Alexander had been fairly good friends until Vladimir offered Alexander a whore from his harem and he chose Jabez. Then their friendship came to an abrupt and bitter end. He hoped Crucifix killed the slimy prick. He’d never liked that man. He was of the subspecies of vampire who resembled monstrous, humanoid bats a bit too much with his bald head, freakish features, and borderline transparent skin.

Restlessly he toyed with a few strands of his hair which now smelled of the generic, motel shampoo. Boredom, hunger, and anxiousness were humming in his veins. Finally loud, heavy footsteps came from down the hall and the unique smell of demon blood mingling with that of a human permeated the air. Crucifix was back.

“Good to see you’re still here,” the blue haired man smiled at him with a now busted bottom lip. It was soon fully healed anyway thanks to his genes. He threw his bag unceremoniously onto the floor.

Jabez observed the new bruises on the man’s grimy skin before saying, “Where would I go?”

“Good point. You smell good. Washed those clothes? I’m impressed; figured you were too snobby to do that yourself.”

He would’ve been offended if it wasn’t for the fact that the maid was actually the one who did the work. So he just kept his mouth shut.

“Where’d you get cupcakes?” Crucifix parked himself on the bed next to him and opened the plastic container, stuffing his mouth with a whole cupcake. He was famished.

“The maid brought them up.”

“They’re good,” he commented as he wolfed down another. Jabez shook his head; only a demon could make eating vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles and pink icing look barbaric. In less than a minute, all six cupcakes had been devoured.

“How did your mission go?”

“The fucker ambushed me. His whole coven was in on it. Luckily another vamp slayer was in for the kill, too, or I would’ve been a goner. We killed most of ‘em by teaming up. The downside is that I had to split the bounty.”

“Hm.”

“After I shower, we’re meeting Judas at a bar, so make sure you’re ready.”

“Who’s Judas?”

“Judas Ankh; the other slayer I was talking about. Said I owed him a round of shots for saving my ass. I guess it’s the best I can do.”

“What unusual names you hunters have…”

“Your name isn’t much better, sweetheart.”

Crucifix chuckled at the glare he received as he plodded over to the bathroom.


A cloud of cigarette smoke hung from the saloon’s ceiling. The vampire had been expecting the place to be seedy and filled with prostitutes, but instead it was clean, had nice, vintage furniture, and relatively normal patrons. Crucifix had changed out of his tattered jeans and vest and into a sleeveless, black shirt which hugged his muscular body perfectly, snug, dark pants, and those omnipresent combat boots. Jabez grudgingly admitted to himself that even though Crucifix was an asshole, he couldn’t wait to have sex with him again.

They approached an extremely bulky man who was slumped over in one of the barstools, obviously drunk from the way he was blabbering loudly to a group of amused waitresses. That must’ve been Judas Ankh. He had long, black hair and a devilish smirk on his rugged face.

“Crucifix! I thought you weren’t gonna come, man,” Judas beamed once they were within earshot.

“Took a long time to find this place thanks to your shitty directions,” Crucifix responded amicably.

“Oh my god! This is my dream come true! I always wanted to meet both of you,” a cute, blonde waitress gushed, jumping excitedly, knowing full well her breasts were jiggling as she did this.

“Tonight’s your lucky night then,” Judas wriggled his eyebrows before turning back to the other slayer. “Who’s the vampire chick you’re with? She’s kind of hot.”

“I’m not a fucking woman,” Jabez snapped, folding his arms petulantly.

The waitresses all giggled and Crucifix did his best to stifle a laugh.

“Well, pardon me! It’s not my fault you look like that. Don’t get too offended; after a few more drinks I’d probably bang you anyway. You’re close enough.”

“That’d be hot,” one waitress piped in.

“I like where this is going…Why doesn’t everyone come back to my hotel room for an orgy?” the raven haired man rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“I’ll think about it,” Crucifix laughed as he took a seat on the barstool next to Judas.

“I didn’t know you were into guys. You’d fuck anything, huh?” Judas smirked as he slid a glass of whiskey in front of the demon.

“Pfft. It’s not like that. He’s more like my bitch; begged me to spare his life so I figured a slave isn’t such a bad idea.”

“This is why I love you! I think I’m gonna order a round of drinks in your honour… which you’re paying for, by the way!”

Jabez raised an eyebrow at that cockamamie story. That was certainly not his recollection of their situation. Ah well. Crucifix liked to play up his own hype, so who was he to ruin his fun? The urge to ruin said fun suddenly struck up as that blasted blonde waitress planted herself in Crucifix’s lap and the prick had the audacity to caress her thigh. Noticing Jabez’s sour expression, Crucifix said, “What’s the matter with you? We’re not married. Why don’t you go amuse yourself somewhere? Don’t wander off too far.”

Orange eyes glared holes into the men and their fan club before the vampire stomped off. He couldn’t believe the nerve of that man! Placing limits on him whilst he felt up some bimbo right in front of him? Bloody unbelievable! Jabez had never been so humiliated in his life. First Crucifix treated him as if he meant nothing, and now he was fucking other people and ignoring him. He was not used to being ignored! Vladimir had a harem, but his brothers made use of his concubines; Vladimir was much too smitten with Jabez to care for the others.

He found a lonely booth at the back of the bar and sat, wishing he’d brought a drink with him even though he’d never cared much for alcohol. How long was he expected to sit waiting while Crucifix engaged in his debauchery?

“Hey, Carrot top, someone at the bar sent this for you,” one of the waitresses announced, placing a neon-coloured beverage in a glass before him.

“Thanks…”

“No problem, hun.”

And then she was gone.

He regarded the glass with contempt, assuming this was Crucifix’s idea of a joke. Remembering his earlier thought about wishing he had a drink, he downed it anyway. It was surprisingly delicious, tasting of fruit and lacking the strong burn he’d associated with alcohol. Almost immediately, a strange feeling overtook his body. Everything in the room suddenly looked different; beautiful and enthralling. He hadn’t even noticed his pupils had dilated.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t everyone’s favourite traitor,” an all-too-familiar voice cooed. He looked up and found his eyes meeting with two pairs of icy blue eyes. They reminded him so much of Vladimir’s… Actually, one of the men in front of him looked almost exactly like Vladimir with his flaxen hair and angular features. The other had dark hair, but a very similar facial structure. He knew them from somewhere, but his brain was ceasing to function.


Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks.

These men were Vladimir’s brothers; Nicholas and Dominic. He tried to get to his feet, but his motions were sluggish and he found himself being shoved back into his seat.

“Hasn’t anyone told you not to accept drinks from strangers? Now look at you, you’re drugged and you don’t even know it,” Nicholas, the blond one said as he slid into the booth beside Jabez.

Dominic sat on the other side, wrapping an arm around the redhead’s shoulders. “We’re very angry with you, Jabez.”

“Why?” Jabez’s voice was nearly inaudible. The feel of their firm bodies so near to his was arousing him for some reason, and he’d never felt any sexual feelings towards them. He really didn’t understand how he could’ve been drugged. Drugging was something humans did, why would vampires have extensive knowledge of such?

“You’re a traitorous whore. You let that man kill Vladimir after all the suffering he has put himself through to get you to even return a quarter of his love. And instead of feeling guilty, you run off with the man. I can smell him all over you. He’s fucking you isn’t he?” Dominic spoke.

“Of course he’s fucking him. What else is he good for?” Nicholas spat, burying his face in the thick, red hair and inhaling. “My brother would never let us touch you, but now he’s not here to protect his prized possession. You have no idea what we’re going to do to you when we go back home.”

None of this was making sense to Jabez; whatever they’d given him made logic virtually impossible to comprehend. He had no idea what kind of trouble he was in store for.

==
The Munez Feed:
There’s more to this story after all. I’m overwhelmed by the response to this story. Thank you all so much! I hope you like future chapters.
Randomly, I was listening to Britney Spears while writing this. I’m embarrassed, but for some reason that fact amuses me so I thought I’d share.
Munez