It took a long time before either of us made a move.

The pit had transformed itself by now from something dangerous to something entirely revolting. It took great effort for me not to vomit all over the place. 

The stench of dead vampire filled the pit, and it clung to everything. I was covered in vile and putrid vampire flesh from head to toe. Even my hair was caked in vampire blood. Each step I took was a slippery one. It was impressive how Stephan maintained his poise throughout.

At least I could see.  This time around there was more than enough light now, for me to see my surroundings..

The trapdoor had been left open, and the darkness that consumed me before was no longer a stifling presence.

Still, Stephan was unnerving. I looked at his graying hair and distinguished features. A rather prominent hawk-eyed nose stood out amidst intense-looking gray eyes. It was hard to tell what the man was thinking. I might have been imagining it, but I felt like I detected just the slightest hint of a smile from the man. 

“Tell me at least, what I came here for,” I said.

Stephan chuckled at that and shook his head. “Oh, I aim to fulfill my end of the bargain, Death Angel.”  He raised a finger at me. “But not a second before I get what I want.”

I stared at him coolly for a few moments before speaking.

Yes, that’s right. Rattle him, Vanessa. Don’t get sucked into his rhythm.

“What is it that you want?” I asked in a neutral tone, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the trepidation in my voice. 

The slime dripped from my clothing as the stench continued to grow to unbearable proportions. My scythe glowed brightly at this point, having gorged itself on vampire souls. The nausea had returned too. It exacerbated the situation. Being sick was one thing, but being sick amidst a sea of smelly and disgusting decapitated vampire refuse was another thing entirely.

“Fight me,” Stephan said simply.

“Why should I fight you?” I demanded. I grew tired of the games.

“You have no choice. I can give you what you seek, Death Angel, but not until I am satisfied.”

“Fine,” I said. “Do your worst.”

There it was again, just the faintest hint of a smile on Stephan’s lips. He looked down on me the way a grown man looked upon a child. His towering frame an imposing presence.

I had barely blinked, when I realized Stephan had moved behind me. I hadn’t even noticed the movement. He had his hand on my neck.

He was fast.

Brutally fast. 

“I could have snapped your neck right now, Death Angel,” he said, “had I wanted to. It appears you are not taking me seriously.” 

I searched my mind for a way out of this. I had to do it, I realized. I had to invoke the Nether Void a second time. Stephan moved far too quickly for me to even deal with him. I would need to slow him down.

Stephan ran his hands through my hair. “It’s such a shame, that we left you in such a state, Death Angel. Your consort,” he stopped to pause for effect. “Your consort would certainly not have appreciated your current condition.”

He was referring to Daniel of course. Dammit. Daniel was in danger now that the Vampires knew about his association to me.

“Activate,” I said, as I brandished my Scythe in front of Stephan. But the tall vampire was nowhere to be found.

“Well, it is good to see you mean business, Death Angel. All talk and no action to back things up make for a very boring encounter.” Stephan’s voice filled the room.

He was clinging to one of the walls now. His speed was terrifying. I moved fast. That I knew. But even during my training with Death, nothing had prepared me for this. The speed was frightening. This was the power of a Class-B Vampire. I hated to see what a Class-A would look like.

I did notice, in fact, that Stephan dressed impeccably. I guess that was something I always noticed. From the fine fabric of his suit, to the beautiful patterned tie that he wore.  It was almost a shame, because I could see how the vampire refuse from the scene was also having an effect on his appearance. Blood clung to his pristine clothes, seeping into the fine fabric. Such a shame. 

Were this anything other than the current situation, I might have deluded myself into thinking that Stephan was a model from one of the top fashion houses. Someone who put on Ermenigildo Zegna suits on a daily basis and walked the catwalk.

The man had grace, and poise despite his age. A Silver Fox. But a deadly one.

Don’t space out now, Vanessa, the threat is real.

Stephan moved toward me again without warning, but I anticipated it this time. He moved in, once again behind me, and I whirled around in response. I saw his right hand reach out to me, sharp claws protruding from each of his fingers, but the claws failed to connect.

I brought the blunt end of my scythe toward him, hitting him squarely in the stomach. I pushed out quickly, trying to keep my distance between myself and him. I knew Stephan’s speed could close the gap at any moment. I took my right hand and gripped my scythe, moving it blade-up so I could respond further to any potential attacks. I immediately reversed the scythe, righting its position so that the blade arced forward unnaturally. I was hoping to catch Stephan off-guard. No one really swung a scythe with the curved portion inward, but I was hoping that the unconventional move would catch Stephan off-guard.

The tall vampire saw it coming and parried the blade, brushing it away from him, his massive clawed hands guiding the blade aside and away from him. The blade whistled in the air from the force of my swing but it failed to connect.

Damn it. This wasn’t going to be easy.

I scanned the area for opportunities. If I was going to unleash a second Nether Void, I needed a diversion. But it wasn’t going to be easy to distract an experienced vampire that moved faster than the wind.

I was in Stephan’s realm right now. I was forced into his zone. I needed to find a way to force him into mine.

Asking him to chase me around the room was out of the question. That might have worked for unintelligent Class-D’s but Stephan would find me out almost immediately. I needed to make Stephan back off, force him to defend himself. That wasn’t easy when he already knew how to fight against Death Angels.

I decided to take a gamble. I breathed in deep and hurled my scythe with all my strength, letting it go as I let if fly toward him. 

I was hoping against hope here. I knew Stephan would know the implications. The weight of the blade had changed, that much I was certain of. The souls absorbed within had granted it more power than it had before. I did not have a good handle on how much power it had, but I was banking on Stephan’s experience.

My bet paid off.

I learned that during the battle with Azazel, when she had dodged Death’s blade rather than parrying it. The power of a Death Angel’s scythe determines how an entity reacts to it.

I could hear my blade continue to whistle in the air as it struck an empty wall. 

But I was one step ahead, this time. The scythe itself wasn’t the objective. I was hoping Stephan would move out of the way; that he would dodge the scythe and give a good read on what his capabilities were. 

He moves to the left far more often than he does on the right.

I had guessed correctly in this case. Stephan was a southpaw. That meant that he could be blind to my attacks if I placed them right.

I quickly moved to his left, anticipating that he would properly defend that. He did in fact, react much quicker than I was anticipating, considering the scythe was nothing but a decoy. He blocked my advance, but I anticipated that. I quickly latched on to his left arm, applying as much force as I could on it to immobilize it. I then took my right hand and opened my palms, asking the scythe that I let loose to come back to my hand. 

The scythe came flying into the air on a return path to my hand. I let if fly for a few moments and didn’t catch it. It flew past my hand and right into Stephan’s right shoulder, decapitating his right arm.

Stephan looked down on his right arm and smiled. Blood spurted from the open wound, but I stared in horror as a new arm grew out of the empty socket that once held it, almost immediately.

“That was well, played, Death Angel,” he said. The new arm he grew was drenched in blood. Stephan proceeded to clench and unclench his fist, as if to give him feeling in the newly grown arm.

Just moments before I launched myself into a new attack I heard a series of claps in the room above me. The claps echoed all around me the dark room.

Stephan was now unmoving. He stared at me, but did nothing.

“Well done, Vanessa Hunter, well done.”

A voice spoke from above.

A second, shadowy figure was looking down at us.

“Perhaps it is best if we all went back above.”

“And why should I bend to your demands?” I asked. Whoever this new entity was, he had the gall to be telling me what to do.

“Perhaps it is best that you do, Death Angel.”

There was something about the way that the words were said, something that made me pause. It was the voice of authority, of someone who was used to getting their way.

“Who am I speaking to?” I managed to say.

“Come back above and you shall find out,” the voice said. “Along with the very thing you came here for.”

I was fine with that. I stopped moving. A truce had been declared and I would now have the opportunity to find out what the note really meant in the first place.

Before I could even blink Stephan had moved on up to rejoin the other vampire, and I was left alone, standing in vampire refuse.

I didn’t need any more encouragement than that. I jumped up, through the trapdoor. I was painfully aware of how I would appear to the beautifully dressed crowd that greeted me as I emerged from the Hell Hole. 

“What, you’ve never seen a Death Angel before?” I challenged the crowd, who actually didn’t appear to be fazed over my appearance in the slightest. Just as I suspected. Everyone in the room was a vampire.

I scanned the crowd, almost haughtily. I saw, for the first time, fear in their eyes. When I first came in, I was an unknown entity. But I had passed the test. I had demonstrated the abilities that I had and I had proven myself. I now saw respect, concern in their eyes. I could feel their fear. 

The air in the lounge felt cool. After having been trapped in the pit for so long, it was refreshing.

“I have to apologize for the way we have welcomed you, Death Angel.”

The same voice spoke with authority. I had thought Stephan to be the ring leader but it appears I was mistaken.

I turned toward the direction of the voice expecting to find the real leader, a man far more experienced than Stephan was.

I was more than a little surprised to find myself staring at a man with a rather youthful appearance. He was almost even just a boy. He could not have been more than sixteen to my eyes. He wore a luxurious silk shirt, unbuttoned and casual as his well muscled physique showed through it.

Let me introduce myself, he said bowing to me.

“My name is Gregor Vincent. And these,” he said, indicating the group of vampires that surrounded him, “are my companions. Welcome to the Brood.”

I sighed. A Nether Void wasn’t going to get me out of this one.

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