Chapter 2-Meeting of Worlds

Karin felt her eyes go wide and she began trembling fiercely. "This can't be real, this can't be real," she thought. They're gone! This is a dream! I must have fallen asleep while doing this extremely boring homework and this has been brought on by reading to much about them.

"Believe me," said the voice again. "This is real." The voice was husky and obviously male but there was a slight melody to it, as it the owner was about to break into song. Suddenly, she spun. The chair she had been sitting in was attacked to the desk but could spin in an entire 360 degrees and beyond. It was attached with energy beams, another product of the war. They had originally been discovered to keep weaponry on shelves and had since been used for a number of practical, everyday purposes. The force of the push had made her spin around dozens of times before she finally came to a gentle stop. Karin had never been good with going quickly around in a circle. She threw up on anything as fast as a carousel that went in circles. The spin caused her head to whirl and she forced back the urge to vomit.

After a moment, the affect of the ride wore off and she realized she was no longer being held. Her eyes made out the shape of a pair of polished black leather boots and she let her eyes trail up slowly, putting off the facing of reality. Tucked into the boots were a pair of loose navy blue pants. A dark blue shirt, made of a material that looked silky but was somehow tougher, hung loosely over his tall frame. The dipped neck revealed a fairly well muscled but very pale chest. Karin took a deep breath and raised her eyes for the final step.

Her eyes looked upon a face. It was a face unlike any other she had ever seen. Photographs of vampyres ended up the same as reflections, nothing but an outline of their subject. The face was human but somehow not. It was white, not simply pale like humans who avoided outdoors, it was flawlessly white. Like the voice, the face was male; however, the curves of his face were soft and sloping, giving it a distinctly feminine look. Most of his was swept back but two thick pieces curved up from his natural part and then hung down his face, ending at, those eyes. They held her. Again, they were like none she had ever seen. People had tried to paint vampyres but they never could quite get the eyes. Karin was a painter as well and she understood why they couldn’t. The color was a dark blue, not unseen in human eyes, but it was the way that the seemed that was different. They gave Karin the feeling that the vampyre knew everything about her and everything else for that matter. There was humor in them as well and interest.

The eyes held her but she finally tore away and she glanced to the stake. The vampyre noticed her glance and an amused expression popped onto her face that said she wouldn’t.

"I would," she said, her voice shaking. "I could grab that stake and end you right now." What was she saying? Why wasn’t she doing? Something in the vampyres gaze stopped her though.

"I know you would," the vampyre said. "And I could stop you."

"No one is that fast," Karin said, but her voice betrayed at even she didn’t believe it.

"No one?" asked the vampyre with an amused expression. "You humans, always thinking your abilities are the maximum potential." Then he walked over to her bed, his back in full sight with frustrating confidence. He whirled around and sat on the edge, staring at the paintings around her bed. "Did you paint these?" he asked, tracing one with a pale finger.

"Y-yes," replied Karin.

"They’re good," his eyes were focused on them and Karin took the opportunity to grab the stake. As soon as she had it, the vampyres eyes were on her. She hadn’t even seen his eyes change focus. She pointed it at him but didn’t fire. He didn’t make a move to defend himself, simply wore that frustrating smirk. "Go ahead," he said. "Fire." She swallowed slowly and stared at him. Though she wanted to fire, something was holding her back. She slowly pulled back the setting bar and then placed a finger tip on the firing button. Ever so gently she applied pressure to it but suddenly, the stake was gone from her hand. The vampyre was examining it. "I haven’t seen one of these since the war," he said. "A Prima Hunter weapon. My guess is that someone in your family was one?"

Karin was still in shock but she nodded dumbly. "My, my father," she replied. He turned from her, stake in hand, and started looking around her room. Away from the power of his gaze, Karin began to regain more control over herself. When he finally finished looking, she made sure to look away from them.

"Tell me about yourself," he said, lounging back on her bed.

"Why don’t you get it over with?" Karin asked him bluntly.

"What?" he asked amusedly.

"The moonlight kisses," Karin said. "Or whatever you call your own feasting."

"Moonlight kisses?" asked the vampyre with a laugh. "So that’s what you kids call it these days." Kids, it seemed odd for him to call her a kid. He looked near enough to her own age but she knew he could be centuries old.

"Yes.." trailed Karin. "Embracing is still embracing but I know you wouldn’t do that."

He paused and glanced at her. "What makes you so sure I wouldn’t embrace you?" he asked.

Karin’s gripped the edge of the chair to keep from reacting. The thought that he would embrace her was terrifying beyond words. Death would be quick and painless compared to the embrace. To be a vampyre until, possibly, the end of time. Worse, to have to take in blood to keep herself alive that long. "You have no reason to," she ventured.

He shrugged and smiled. "Perhaps I have no reason," he said. "Perhaps I have every reason."

"I beg you," she said. "Please, don’t embrace me. I beseech whatever tiny spark or raging bonfire of humanity is left in you not to. Kill me, slowly and painfully, but don’t…"

He stared at her seriously and his expression was a bit sad. "Don’t worry," he assured, his voice was sincere. "I won’t embrace you but I won’t kill you either."

"Why are you here then?" she asked, confused.

"I saw you in the window," he said. "And I thought, ‘I have to talk to her.’ Its not something I’ve ever thought about a mortal and so I couldn’t ignore it. Curiosity I suppose." Karin knew she looked shocked and he chuckled.

"You’re crazy," she said.


He gave a small bow. "Guilty as charged," he said. "Some have said it is one of my more charming attributes."

"Why would I seem so interesting?" she asked.

"I don’t know," he said. "You’re so plain and boring looking that I was shocked myself." Karin’s glare made him laugh out loud. It seemed like an oddly expressive movement for him. Then he appeared beside her, a finger touching her lips. "You’re so full of life. Even more than most humans."

Her lip trembled under his touch. "I think I have about as many pints of life for you to hunger over as most humans," Karin said stiffly.

Suddenly, there was an almost menacing look to his face that made her blood run cold. "Humans," he spat. "Always the same."

"The same?" asked Karin angirly. "The same in that we justifiably fear our lives from you monsters?"

He looked at her, a tinge of hurt in his eyes. "We were all once human," he said. "Just like you. It isn’t gone from all of us. I’m sorry I frightened you." He gave her a final, sorrowful look that made her regret what she had said and then he vanished. Her curtains flapped silently, moved by some unseen force. Karin found herself walking over to the window. She didn’t know why she was going. He was a vampyre and she should be calling out the guard. Yet, she felt connected to him and she didn’t even know his name. Karin reached the open window and stuck her head through it. Outside, the vampyre stared at her in the pale moonlight from the shadowed ground below, then, he was gone.