Damien

Damien
Damien sharply turned his attention away from the man, lavishing it
upon the only other occupant of this godforsaken tavern. Hmmm....She
was a vampire, unless he was mistaken. It made sense. After all, this
was the vampire tavern. Such nuances always intrigued him. The fact
that people should go where they do not belong willingly. Where they
are the outcasts. And in this case, Damien was the one who did not
belong. He was a mortal in an immortal's place. A mouse caught in a
room with a cat, a casual observer might say. Though, he did this for a
simple reason. To damage. To scar. To injure the unwary. For those that
payed enough attention to him should be free from his torture...but
those others...they would be punished for their dimwittedness.
But suddenly, Damien was pulled from his reverie of thought as the man
returned with Damien's wine. Damn. Always when he got to the good part.
He turned about, and wrested the glass from the bar, the whole time a
murderous look in Damien's eyes. No, this man should not be punished.
For he was not worthy to have Damien's time, even if the time was spent
to destroy him. No, he would concentrate on the other...on the
woman.
Damien slowly pulled himself around to look upon her. Yes, she was
beautiful. But was her mind as good as her looks? Perhaps he should
find out... The rain fell outside, as if a liquid blanket were
descending upon the otherwise dry ground. A bolt of lightning caught
Damien's eye for a moment, but it did not seize his attention for long.
His intent was upon the woman, not upon the petty little storm raging
outside. It interested him not. For it did not serve his purpose.
Damien slowly rose from the seat, with his glass of wine cradled within
his palm. He caught the woman's darting gaze upon his form for just a
moment. And then it was gone. Seemingly she had returned to whatever
had occupied her time before he had entered into her thoughts.
But Damien knew better. He knew the woman was thinking of him, rather
than the blowing winds. Rather than on the deadly lightning. Damien
felt a small, evil little smile tug at the corners of his mouth. Such
irony...To be concerned with the remote possibility of lightning, when
he was as close as he was? The woman knew not of his thoughts. Of his
innermost desires.
But suddenly, a man burst into the tavern. Damien's gaze flew to the
doorway, taking the drenched man in. He gazed upon the man's face,
interpreting every staggering breath the man took. Judging by the way
that the man's eyes darted nervously about him, Damien knew that the
man wasn't exactly an extrovert. He had simply come here for...for
what?
He curiously watched the man's eyes flutter behind the soaked, matted
hair that covered his forehead towards the vampiric woman near him. Ah,
yes. Of course she was the reason. Why else would one come such a
distance in this horrendous rain? Hmmm...The evil smile returned to
Damien's lips. This would be even more entertaining. He could mangle
both of their lives at the same time... How pleasant. Damien felt
himself retreat backwards to the bar, and watched the man approach the
woman. Hmmm...It seemed that the two were on amiable terms, and the
man's affection was returned to him. But he could tell the slightest
hesitation from the woman...What was it for?
He shook the idea from his head. It mattered not. All that mattered was
that the both of them should be stricken down for their punishment. And
he should be plotting how to go about it. If...Yes. That was perfect. A
dark, quiet chuckle emanated from Damien's lips, cutting through the
couple's conversation like a knife. This was perfect...If only those
halfwits knew what he had in store for them...But no, they would not
know.
For Damien was a terribly good actor. And they were terribly stupid
people.
His finger trailed along the edge of the wineglass, his eyes set upon
the pair. They didn't notice him, and they wouldn't until he wanted
them to see him. Until he let them see. He raised the wine to his lips,
taking a deep draught of the drink. Damien returned his gaze to the
couple, after licking the last of the crimson liquid off of his lips.
The wine was sweet...but his ultimate victory would be sweeter.
He had the perfect plan...their lives would be ruined in only a matter
of time by a perfect stranger. But this would not be accomplished by
simple violence. His plan had a bit of violence in it, but it was not
the main part. And the psychological aspect was much worse than the
physical...
Damien's gaze was caught by a sudden glint from their table. Was it a
dagger, a sword? Damien shook his head slightly, though the motion was
as unnecessary as a burning a man on a crucifix. It was simply to
reinforce his thought. With this man, it couldn't be a sword. He was
incredibly meek and shy, but the man knew that he wouldn't be able to
use such a thing even in a situation demanding a weapon. He'd be scared
or frightened, and the man knew it. Best not to spend money
foolishly.
If not a weapon...A ring. It made such sense now that the idea had
sprung into Damien's array of thoughts. The man had more courage than
he thought. His eyes fell upon the woman, piercing her mind as easily
as a honed edge might. Damien could tell that she was happy with the
man, yet...yet she was unsure. She would agree with him, as she cared
enough for him not to cast aside his feelings like a broken blade.
After a moment, he heard a single word. The vampiress had said yes. And
that was enough to satisfy Damien's mind.
He had been right. He knew the woman perhaps better than she knew
herself. This thought caused the dark chuckle to leap from his lips
once more, the sound of it cleaving through the happy moment. A sudden
jolt of thought struck Damien's mind. Was the man a vampire as well? He
looked intently upon the man, trying to answer the self-imposed
question. Perhaps...But if so, he had been recently turned...Most
likely for her. 'Twas amazing he hadn't proposed to her earlier, in
that case. He thought for a moment more, coming up with another idea.
The man must have been turned recently. For vampires had no concept of
marriage...So the man must still have a bit of his old self within his
newly undead flesh.
Damien nodded slightly, again simply a worthless gesture. He was right.
He was always right. Hmmm...But how should he approach the pair? Or
should he let them approach him? Transform himself to appear in need of
help? Hmmm...perhaps. In any case, he must make a friendly impression
upon them. Or...at least the man. Damien grinned broadly; his smirk
seemed broad enough to split his face in two. The thought of his plan
returned...and what a devilishly good plan it was at that. He never
confided his plans to anyone...not even those that dared to call him
their friend. But in any case...back to making the thing work.
His eyes flew to the once meaningless storm raging outside. Ahh, yes.
It would be perfect to draw himself into their world. The woman would
be kind enough, wouldn't she? It only took one glance at the vampiress
to know that he was correct. Damien banished the smile from his face as
he slowly set the wine upon the bar. He pushed himself off of the bar,
moving towards the door, all the while smirking mentally. This was
perfect...As soon as he had set foot inside the doorway; he heard a
soft, feminine voice behind him. "Mister?" it intoned, though not in a
nagging way at all. It implied what he had been thinking all along.
That this woman was an extremely kind sort of woman.
But nonetheless, Damien had to act surprised. He whirled about, a bit
of his long raven-colored hair flying before his face as he did. His
hand rose to brush it away, and he looked upon the woman. "Hmm? Might I
ask what you want of me, young woman?" Damien responded with a question
into turn, if only for her to question her motives. Damien's voice was
a bit like a sword coated in honey. At first, it seemed sweet and kind.
But when one took it into account, one could see the potential harm
that was hidden amidst the kindness. He was giving her the perfect
opportunity to escape his clutches, but he knew she would not realize
it.
"You mustn't venture out into the rain like that," she said
matter-of-factly, "For you haven't even a good warm cloak about you.
You might become deathly ill...what with all of the rain and wind and
all." Inside, Damien was laughing as no man had ever laughed before.
This woman...was concerned for the man that would eventually inspire
her too meet her demise? So, incredibly ironic...But he would continue
the charade, though it would be difficult to contain his utter
amusement.
"Perhaps so...But how else is one supposed to get to his home? I don't
believe that I could teleport there, do you?" Damien chuckled lightly,
glad that he could provide a small port for his laughter.
The woman looked for a moment to the man, then back to Damien. Her
voice was a bit unsteady and unsure, as she hadn't the approval of her
'friend.' "Well...no...But Torahn has an extra cloak, don't you?" The
woman's gaze flew to the man, who was obviously a bit unsure about the
woman's proposition.
"Erm....uhhh..."Torahn, as it seemed to Damien, was not one that was
known for his acquaintance with words. "I do...but it's not in that
good of condition, I don't think. But you're free to have it if you
wish," Torahn stammered at Damien. Either the man was stupider than he
thought, or much more intelligent than Damien had first ventured to
guess.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude..." Damien said, skillfully
weaving in a bit of unsuredness into his voice. For he wouldn't want
his planning to go to waste on account of bad acting...All he needed
was a glance at the woman to know that she would 'force' Damien to keep
them company until they left...
"Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise," she
retorted, and it was fairly obvious that she meant what she said. And
to Damien, it was also fairly obvious that she was sending herself to
her doom just as surely. "Now, Torahn...Be a nice man and go and
fetch...Hrm. That won't do. I can't go about calling you him all the
time, can I? Might I ask your name?" the woman quickly inquired.
"My name? Why...Damien. Damien Iceblade...'Tis a pleasure to meet you,
miss...?" Damien looked at her, letting the utter rage that boiled
within his heart be visible to her, if but for a moment. He smiled
faintly at her shock. Abrupt, but slightly repressed. As though she
didn't want him to see here response. And that meant she didn't know
what it meant herself. Excellent.
She glanced for a moment to Torahn, her gaze implying that he should
indeed fetch the stranger a blanket, and do so immediately. Torahn
smiled warily to Damien, and slowly picked himself up and out of the
seat. He nodded to him once more, and moved towards the door. Damien
needed not to turn around to know that Torahn's eyes never left the
pair.
"Lorana Craven&;#8230;" She announced, as if it was actually of any
importance to Damien. She extended her own hand, and Damien grasped it
within his own. Damien smiled warmly to her, the warmth of her hand a
bit unnerving. For the contrast of their hands was immense. One was
deathly cold, the other extremely warm. It seemed she had fed before
Damien entered&;#8230;Very soon, indeed. No doubt she was hoping for
her to release her hand and let it return to it's own
heat&;#8230;
Their moment of silence was annihilated by the sound of the heavy door
slamming shut like the sound of an axe forcefully meeting a block of
wood. Both of their gazes wandered toward the door, waiting for the man
to return. Sure enough, after a moment of only the quiet pitter-patter
of rain dancing upon the roof, the door reopened, and Torahn stumbled
back in. Cradled within his arms was a bundle of cloth, presumably
Damien's new cloak. Another bolt of irony struck Damien's mind. They
were essentially paying him to mangle their lives. How fun. Damien
paused for a moment in though, not speaking to either Torahn or Lorana.
Was it really worth it? To hide his own amusement simply to destroy
what little joy these two people had? In less time than it took to ask
it, the question was solved. Of course it was. For once he was
finished&;#8230;he would have all the time in the world to laugh
about their misfortune the hilt His hand fell briefly to the dagger
hidden behind his belt. This dagger was not ordinary, by any means. For
instead of the typical iron dagger, this was constructed entirely of
wood. Of what kind, Damien had lost that information years
ago&;#8230;Damien struggled to contain the grin that threatened his
ideas. And upon one side of the dagger, there was a carving of a man.
Jesus Christ, to be exact. His small wooden dagger was in actuality a
cross that was sharpened to a point for exactly these
circumstances&;#8230;He had designed such intricacies as to save
himself time. Rather than return to his home to retrieve such a relic,
he would rather keep it upon his person, and no one but he would be any
wiser of his thoughts.
Torahn shivered his way over to the table; water was dripping off of
him and leaning on the hardwood floor with a slight plop. He shifted
his arms, and the cloak plummeted down into Damien's lap. Damien
greeted this action with a warm smile, more than a bit unlike his
current thoughts. "Why, thank you, Torahn&;#8230;That is your name,
isn't it?" Damien inquired, again forcing some apprehension into his
speech. If they knew what he knew&;#8230;. Damn, this was amusing.
Such irony&;#8230;but they would never know of it.
Well&;#8230;perhaps one of them would, but they wouldn't have nearly
enough time to process the events into amusement&;#8230;
It seemed as though Torahn was struck dumb by the "guessing" of his
name. From what Damien could tell, Torahn knew that Lorana wouldn't
give such information to a stranger. After all, it was highly
unnecessary. "Well&;#8230;erm&;#8230;. Yes, it is," Torahn
mumbled in shock. "But&;#8230;But how on Earth did you know
that?"
Damien simply shrugged, letting the question fall to the ground like
bent and worthless blade. For it would not do any good for the man to
know...Well, it wouldn't do any good for Damien in any case. ?"Once
more, I thank you for your kindness. But&;#8230;I'm afraid I might
be in need of some more hospitality on such a dreadful evening. For you
see, my home is much too far away to travel to in such harsh
weather&;#8230;" Damien said this with an unnatural ease, implying
that he was in this situation often. Which, of course, he was
not.
"By all means, you shall stay with us!" The woman abruptly said,
though it was on the borderline from yelling. Even Damien hadn't
foreseen such enthusiasm to come forth from this woman. Torahn looked
to Lorana incredulously, as he was also amazed and startled by her
sudden burst of philanthropy. Damien sensed that Torahn glanced to
Lorana, as a last attempt to make sure that this is what was wanted of
him.
"Are you sure? Again, I wouldn't want to intrude upon
Torahn&;#8230;" HE smiled faintly, looking to Torahn. He knew this
simple glance would pressure Torahn into making the 'right' decision.
For as he already knew, Torahn was a fairly submissive person.
"Erm&;#8230;Yes, you could stay with me&;#8230;That
is&;#8230;if you would wish to&;#8230;" Torahn barely managed to
say. It was fairly clear to both Damien and Lorana that this was not
something Torahn wished to do. "But, I must remind you that we would
make it there just before daylight&;#8230;And that under only the
best conditions&;#8230;"Damien restrained a smirk from crossing his
lips. That idiot was trying to lie to him. Well, perhaps not
lie&;#8230;. He was just masking the truth. Same thing. And now he
would pay even more dearly for it.
"No, 'tis fine&;#8230;For it is hospitality one way or another, is
it not?" Damien nodded his head slightly, a bit of his hair falling
before his face in a sign of thanks and respect. Though, signs are
sometimes quite misleading&;#8230;
Lorana grinned broadly, and threw a shawl about her form, and moved
towards the door. All the while, her hand moved frantically about,
motioning for the two to follow her. What a stupid
fool&;#8230;Damien felt the twisted, hideous grin grace his features
once more. Ah, how wonderful it felt&;#8230;to be so close to the
utter destruction of these happy people's lives. It would be very fun
to witness the demise of them&;#8230;especially with his malevolent
details. Damien slowly cast the cloak about his form, and lifted from
his seat. His eyes never left Lorana, but his steps followed Torahn
closely. Close enough that one might assume he was watching his every
step. The trio stepped out into the rain, moving towards a small
carriage by the road. Judging by the fact that the carriage even
existed, it seemed that these people were rather
wealthy&;#8230;Damien smiled lightly. It made sense, after all. A
vampiress would have plenty of time to amass a large state of wealth.
After this, Lorana's relatives would be squabbling left and right for
her money. As soon as they stepped inside, all three were hastened
towards the depths of hell.
They rode out the distance in silence, except for the occasional cough
from Damien. The carriage halted suddenly, and they were pulled forward
with the inertia. Damien thought of this for a moment, and a small
smile crossed his face. They had arrived. Oh, how much fun this would
be&;#8230; He waited politely at the back of the carriage as the two
exited first. Damien then pulled himself out of the seat, a wicked
smile crossing his face like a deep wound.
"Come along, Damien&;#8230;I'm sure you must be dreadfully
tired&;#8230;" Lorana said, though it was clear she simply wanted to
get inside. For there wasn't all that much time remaining before
sunrise. And that would be when his fun would begin. Damien simply
nodded, and plodded along after her, like a dog idly following it's
master. But such was not the case here. It was far from the
truth.
Lorana shoved the doors to the manor wide open; strutting in proudly.
And she had a right to be proud. Such was the wealth that only an
undead might acquire. This proved yet another one of Damien's ideas.
How wonderful it was to be more intelligent than those about him. For
it was great fun to torture their tiny minds. He smirked a bit, all the
while trailing behind Lorana. Assumingly, Torahn had gone off to his
"'bedroom.' Ehhh. It didn't matter. He didn't enter into the equation
until tomorrow night. Lorana opened a door in a confining hallway,
revealing a grand, luxurious room within. Damien nodded politely to
Lorana, and stepped inside. As soon as he had, she muttered some sort
of greeting, and after the door locked him into solitude, his ears were
graced with the pitter-patter of her feet as she hurried off to join
Torahn in sleep.
Damien stood in that chamber alone for some time, waiting...waiting
for the perfect time to strike. He waited for what seemed to be hours,
before he opened the door with a small creak. Ah, yes...now would be
perfect. He chuckled darkly, for once letting the good intentions drop
from his form like a dirty cloak. Damien slowly pulled the cross-dagger
from it's confinement, smiling warmly at the pointed tip. This smile
was not fake; but the tools of his hate were some of the few things
that actually made him happy.
Damien absorbed his surroundings, immediately sensing the layout of
the place. It was rather simple in design, even a beginner could make
such a place. But that was not what mattered...Hmmm...Lorana was the
first one living here, as Torahn was a new addition to the family. That
meant she would have the main bedroom...and that wasn't too difficult
to find. He walked towards it, calmly and self-assuredly. Nothing would
go wrong now...Another sinister chuckle flew past his lips.
Damien's hand rested for a moment upon the handle of the door, pausing
for a moment. This would be the moment that would be remembered, rather
than the actual moment. This...this indeed was the ultimate moment of
triumph. Rather than the deed itself, but instead the moment when all
was lost for his victims.
Damien let his hand move down, slowly turning the handle. This action
was rewarded with a barely inaudible click, and he pulled it open. It
seemed to be a normal room...but it wasn't all that difficult to know
where she was. He stalked forward, his eyes moving about him, even
though he knew that it was unnecessary. Perhaps Damien was just stupid
that way. This thought forcefully pulled a laugh from his throat; a
laugh that was not timid or hesitant, but bold and
self-righteous.
All that Damien needed to do was cast a large, rose-embroidered sheet
off of what appeared to be a long, upright cabinet. The smile returned
to his face as he slowly raised up the dagger which he had made. Taking
a deep breath, he opened the lid to the coffin.
---------
A slow chuckle emanated from Damien's lips as he left the main hall
and moved back towards his bedroom. Ah, this was perect&;#8230;It
had taken him a few hours to procure the necessary materials, but it
was done. His plan had worked perfectly so far&;#8230;Damien paused
for a moment in mid-step, thinking for a moment. Perhaps the man would
blame it on him. Damien knew that even he was no match for an enraged
vampire. Should he leave at once? No. He would take his chances, just
to see the utter grief that Torahn would be wallowing in as soon as the
discovery was made. For Damien still had his sword&;#8230;he
couldn't kill the man, but he might be able to fend him off if
necessary.
Damien resumed his course, proudly swaggering his way down the narrow
corridor. Ah, this was a good day&;#8230;And he hadn't much longer
until it was night&;#8230;and then the fun would really begin. He
stopped suddenly, but his long, raven hair swung in front of his face,
uselessly masking the grin that spread across his face. His
outstretched hand rested for a moment on the doorknowb before a harsh,
sudden twist opened it. He stepped slowly inside the room, slamming the
door behind him. Hmmm&;#8230;perhaps loud enough to wake the dead.
He shrugged, and moved towards the bed, dropping his tired form onto
the bed with a creak. Evidently this room wasn't used too
often&;#8230;not surprising. And that was the last thought beofre
Damien gently drifted off to sleep.
-------------
Sobbing was the first thing Damien heard as he rejoined the conscious
world. Evidently Torahn had indeed founf his doing. Now that Damien
thought more of it, Torahn's rage would be directed at him. But given
the man's evident lack of combat expertise, it shouldn't be too hard to
avoid him. Nonethelss, he would pretend to have nothing to do with it.
Merely to enrage the hysterical man further. To push him to the edge. A
bit like taunting a man behind bars. Torahn would be imprisoned by his
rage, even if he didn't realize it. Damien chuckled slgihtly, and rose
from his prostrate form. Last night had been fun&;#8230;but this
would at least match the amusement. To see the effects of his
toying.
Damien pushed the door open, wandering his way down the hall. He
paused for a moment, and decided to ruffle his hair a bit, if it was
only just for effect. He smiled broadly, and continued walking. This
was the best part&;#8230;He put on a tired look, and wandered out
into the place he had been last night. Torahn took little notice of
him, as he was too busy being enthralled in his depression. Damien's
eyes moved from the sobbing man to his 'creation.' He still liked the
touch he'd put&;#8230;Well&;#8230;it was more than a touch. The
irony was what attracted him to this morbid sort of idea, in
retrospect.
Torahn's eyes were cast to the ground, as he was unable to look at
what lay before him. His beloved Lorana was suspended there, with a
cross through her heart. That wasn't the only thing pircing her body.
There were also two seats of nails, one for her arms, and one for her
feet. Blood lay beneath the hastily constructed cross; drying upon the
floor bentath her in small puddles. These puddles were rather large by
this time; each one comparable to the size of a mud puddle that a child
would splash and play in.
Damien simply stood by the doorway, grinning at the result of his fun.
Damn&;#8230;he had to do this more often. He smirked broadly, though
he dared not make a sound. Mustn't alert the poor man to his
prescence&;#8230;not yet anyway. Perhaps after a few more minutes,
the time would be right. The time in which Torahn could be molded to
Damien's plan. And so Damien waited; the whole time an intense feeling
of glee filling his mind.
After a long moment of listening to the man's sobbing, Damien spoke.
"I'm sorry&;#8230; I haven't a clue what sort of enemies your friend
has made, but I'm sorry such a horrible fate has befallen
her&;#8230;" Damien bowed his head, as to conceal his happiness with
the dark hair that adorned his head.
But Torahn did not turn to face Damien, and continued his sobbing.
Damien smirked slgihtly; and he began to think his options over. He
could wait here to see if hi plan worked as he thought it should from
the beginning, or if he should simply leave, and let the man be alone.
Perhaps&;#8230;Yes, that was a good idea. He would stay around here
for awhile, until he knew whetyher or not the man had killed himself in
his grief. But not too close&;#8230;if the man knew he was there, he
wouldn't go through with it. Damien's grin broadened, and he nodded to
Torahn's back as he turned and moved for the door.
Damien quietly left the manor, pondering the whole time as he did so.
Where should he go now? What should he do to occupy his time? His eyes
flickered in the direction of the town. There was always the
tavern&;#8230;he felt the chuckle escape from the cage which were
his lips. Yes, the tavern. With that thought, Damien began his trek
down the road&;#8230;