Malik was surprised by what he saw. He had to blink slowly to collect his thoughts as his blood red eyes surveyed the woman who had freed him. She was a spitting image of Elizabeth Chesterwood, so much so that the pang of longing stabbed more deeply than it had before. He knew it wasn't her of course, witches weren't immortal and Elizabeth had surely died long before now.
Stepping out of the coffin he walked closer to the woman who wore a look of confusion and fear. She slowly straightened up as he drew closer, he could tell that she was undecided on what to say or do. He honestly didn't blame her yet at the same time, he was curious about why she had chosen to free him.
He was taller than she was by far so he leaned down until he was eye level with her, she flinched as she stared into his slitted eyes.
"What is your name?" Malik asked in a curious tone of voice.
The woman hesitated before responding, "Sarah Chesterwood. Descendent of-"
"Elizabeth and Johnathan Chesterwood." He finished, cutting her off.
She nodded silently, her eyes shone with interest and Malik knew she was dying to ask him if he had known her ancestors personally. He had in fact known both of them since Elizabeth and Johnathan had been siblings. She looked so much like Elizabeth he felt like he was staring at the reincarnation of her.
Malik straightened up suddenly and without another word strode past her. Losing interest in her was the best course of action he decided. Repeating the past was not something he wanted to experience.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Sarah called out in a high pitched voice. The sound of her feet quickly tapping against the stone floor followed him as he moved towards the stairs that led to the outside world. He said nothing in response.
He quickly ascended the steps, taking them two at a time with his long legs. He could hear Sarah behind him struggling to keep up. It wasn't long before the warm summer night air greeted his pale face. He stood, staring up at the star filled night sky, taking in the sounds and scents of nature all around him. He hadn't realized how much he had missed this, the stale air of the mausoleum was quickly forgotten, replaced by the scents of trees, flowers, animals, and blood. All around him life was present and he relished it.
"Hey, I need your help!" Sarah called out, anger coloring her voice.
Malik opened his eyes and turned to face her, despite his desire to ignore her and explore the modern world, he was intrigued. This little witchling was risking everything to set him free, she had to have a good reason.
"Spit it out." Malik said curtly, his European accent made the words sound harsh.
Sarah blinked at him, taken aback by his attitude and direct approach. Swallowing visibly she worked up the courage to respond, "vampires killed my little brother. I want to kill them in return."
Malik grinned and Sarah took a few steps back, his smile showed his sharp fangs that glinted in the moonlight. His eyes were intense and his face screamed predator. Of course she wanted to use him, the same as everyone else. He was done being used.
"You want me to kill vampires for you? To avenge the death of some brat? Not interested."
He began to walk off, suddenly aware that he was wearing nothing but a pair of loose cotton breeches. Finding new clothes was the new priority he decided. His footsteps made no noise as he traveled down the overgrown path, the worn down tombstones a welcome sight compared to the endless darkness he had experienced in his magical slumber.
Sarah quickly caught up to him, "you don't understand. I want to kill them to make the world a better place, to keep humanity safe."
Malik ignored her, he wasn't interested in playing the servant to some mortal. The sound of distant roaring reached his ears, an odd sound he had never heard before. He could see the lights of the city glowing in the distance and he was excited to see how much progress had been made over the last couple centuries.
Malik reached the edge of the cemetery, stepping through the open gateway and stretched. He could feel his power roiling beneath his skin, ready to be unleashed after laying dormant for so long. He crouched down and his leg muscles tightened in response as he prepared to launch himself towards the lights in the distance where he knew he would find clothes and wonders he never thought would have been possible.
"I freed you, you owe me!" Sarah angrily called out, her voice rising in the night.
Malik turned and saw that her face had gone bright red as she fumed at him. He chuckled at that and seemingly vanished right before her eyes. In truth, all he did was use his supernatural speed to move behind her.
He leaned in close next to her ear and whispered, "and what will you do if I refuse to honor the debt? You see me as a weapon but can you control me, little human?"
Sarah jumped in surprise and quickly turned, her hand covering her neck as she stared at him, shivering at the maniacal grin that greeted her. Malik chuckled again and shook his head.
"I'm not your weapon. I don't care about you or your cursed family. Humans, vampires, you are all nothing more than ants to me."
"Why are you so cruel?"
The image of Elizabeth floated to the surface of his mind again, unbidden and unwelcomed. His grin vanished and his face took on an odd look of hurt and anger. "Ask your precious family."
Malik wasted no more words as he crouched once more and shot out in the night, vanishing once more before Sarah's eyes. She stared at the empty space and tears welled up in her eyes. Not only had she made a terrible mistake but the vampire she unleashed was just as cruel as the one that had murdered her brother. What would he do when he reached the city? How many humans would die and how much blood was going to be on her hands?
***
Sarah made her way back to the heart of the city, she didn't stop until she was in the historic downtown section of Tyler. Her mind was heavy and her thoughts were filled with horror at what the vampire might be up to. Conflict dominated her thoughts as she struggled to figure out what to do about the situation she had created. The police would never believe her which left her grandmother and aunt. Perhaps they could restore the spell and return the vampire to his slumber. Shaking her head miserably, Sarah also realized that she had never even gotten his name.
She felt like an idiot and her hands shook at the thought of breaking the news to her family. Wishing she was twenty one years old so she could calm her nerves with a stiff drink, she continued to walk and ignored the people milling about the square. It was a calm night and some people were out enjoying the evening at the movies and the bars. Scanning the area she desperately looked for the vampire, hoping against hope that she could find him before he murdered anyone.
Her search led her deeper into downtown and before long she arrived at a small underpass. No sign of the vampire and no sign of any bodies either. His tone and the way he had spoken about her, her brother, and humans in general made her think that he didn't care about the value of human life. That meant a strong possibility that a pile of bodies would soon appear and make the news. Not having fed on blood for two hundred years must have left him ravenous. Then again, she didn't really know anything about vampires despite hating their existence.
"Where you going?" A thick southern drawl came from behind her as she made it to the other side of the grey stone underpass.
She put her head down and shoved her hands into her pocket, thinking quickly of any spell that could help her should the man try to rob her or do worse.
"I'm talking to you, don't be that way, sugar tits! C'mon!"
She broke into a run, wanting to put as much distance as she could between herself and the creep. She quickly looked back to see if he was following her and didn't see the man standing in front of her. Landing hard on her butt with an 'oof' sound, her eyes quickly scanned upwards and saw a man in his late forties beaming down at her. His eyes shone with a look that said he had terrible things planned for her.
"Now that's much better. I like you down there. Seems like you already know your place," the man drawled as he ran a meaty hand through his dirty blonde hair. Steel grey eyes met hers and she grabbed at the safety pin in her pocket. Combat magic was not something she had been trained in, spells to harm or kill were unknown to her. She had to try something though, anything to get this guy away from her.
She pulled the safety pin out and quickly jabbed a finger, the blood welled up dark red and she could feel her magic rising, it was similar to the feeling of pressure building before a thunderstorm. Opening her mouth to unleash the only spell she could think of, she found she couldn't talk as she was slammed brutally against the stone wall of the underpass. The man was staring at her with a strange hungry look on his face, his eyes were fixated on her bleeding finger and he was practically drooling.
"So kind of you to offer yourself to me. Conquering you humans will be easier than we thought if they all act like this."
Baring sharp, deadly fangs he leaned in slowly as her heart pounded in her ears, fear rising to replace any thought of unleashing a spell or curse. She didn't want to die here, she couldn't die here. She closed her eyes as tears fell and struggled for all she was worth, it didn't matter. The man had his hand around her throat and his arm was like a steel beam. The sting of those fangs was inevitable. Yet… nothing happened.
Sarah opened one green eye, vision blurred from the tears that had been falling steadily over the last few seconds. She gasped audibly despite being pinned by the throat to a wall. The vampire she had freed, tall with messy black hair, was standing there with one of his hands gripping the other vampire by the jaw. His red eyes and slitted pupils were filled with hatred at the vampire caught in his grasp. Sarah watched, unsure of what was happening here.
"I'm glad I decided to follow you. Caught a little mouse."
The vampire that had been about to eat her suddenly let go and she slid down the wall, landing on the ground. She curled her knees up to her chest and tried to think of a way out of this scenario. Were they going to fight over who was going to kill her?
"Why are you saving her? We are royalty, gods of the night, we could split this woman between us. They're cattle ripe for the taking." The older looking vampire managed to choke out.
"Cattle? Gods? Do you really think you are a god?" The voice was cruel, cold, mocking.
"We can do anything we want!"
"Is that so."
The older looking vampire was suddenly flung across the street where he crashed into the opposite wall of the underpass. Dust and dirt trickled down from overhead as the underpass somehow managed to stay up despite the damage it just sustained.
"Get up. Show me your god like powers."
The middle aged looking vampire rose to his feet slowly, his eyes were uncertain and Sarah could see the fear in them. Despite the danger she was in there was a strange feeling of satisfaction blooming in her chest.
"What are you waiting for? SHOW ME!" His voice roared out, bouncing off of the walls of the underpass. Sarah covered her ears and shrank down as small as she could. The roar had rattled her bones and made her heart skip a beat in response.
"You're insane! The boss will hear about this, he'll hunt you down!"
The laugh was loud, cruel, and full of disdain. "I hope he tries."
Sarah watched as the vampire that she had awoken disappeared, at the same time there was a horrible squelching noise and blood sprayed over her as she saw a long arm sticking out of the chest of the vampire that had been trying to eat her only a few moments ago.
"If you are a god, you should be able to live without a heart."
A moan of pain and a look of confusion was the only response given. The dying vampire was suddenly shoved forward, made to move as if he was a puppet being played with. The pale face of the middle aged looking vampire was suddenly thrust into her own face. A pair of red eyes peered from behind the dying vampire's shoulder as blood poured onto the ground all around her, soaking into her jeans. A heart dropped into her lap, covered in gore, a dark offering that made her briefly think of a cat bringing its owner a dead bird.
"You wanted them to die right? Wanted a weapon? Go on, tell him how much you hate him and want him dead."
The dying vampire choked and more blood rushed out, coating her in a warm spray that reeked of iron. She quickly lunged to the side and vomited up everything she had within her. Her arms and legs were shaking as her breathing became rapid. Panic began to set in as she tried to crawl away, tried to run.
"Why are you fleeing from me? This is what you wanted!" the body of the now dead vampire landed in front of her with a sickening thud. Lifeless steel colored eyes stared back at her and she watched as the body quickly began to decay, the smell of rotting flesh filled her nostrils. She vomited again, unable to stop herself as the world swam around her.
"Guess he wasn't a god after all."
The sensation of floating occurred suddenly as the monster she had unleashed lifted her from the ground by her shirt, holding her up as if she weighed nothing to him.
"The weapon has a name you know, it's Malik."