London, England 1551
Old Watcher's Council's Headquarters
.....The move had gone very well and Jonathon was now all that was left of the Watcher's Council still remaining in the old headquarters. He had remained as he wanted to say goodbye to the old castle that had served as their home as his home for quite awhile. The move was certainly necessary with Europa being a vampire like her Watcher Sir Crommel who Alasha had staked a few weeks ago. Emotional attachment was a concept they frowned down on, but no matter how distant a Watcher were, there would always be a sadness when a Slayer fell.
.....When a Slayer died, it was bad enough, but when she died and became a vampire herself, it was always twice as devastating. Not only that she had become the very demon she fought against, but also she would have to die again, at the hands of the new Slayer. Europa would be dealt with, Alasha would have to kill her once Gordon felt she was ready. He hoped that it would be soon as Europa was simply too dangerous to allow her to live for long.
....."Hello Jonathan," said a voice from the shadows outside of the window set in the conference room hall. "Are you going to invite me in?"
....."So I was right that this location had become compromised," he replied to the vampire lurking outside of the window. "Since you know who I am, you should know that I will not invite you in."
....."I thought as much," said Demos as he leapt in through the window uninvited and landed softly on the floor in front of Jonathon. "I am a Vampire Lord, we are too powerful for all of the rules to apply to us."
....."Demos I would presume, so I suppose you plan to bring me across?" Demos simply laughed at Jonathon's remark. "You find that funny, then what do you plan to do to me?"
....."Why Jonathon, for one you are simply too old to be an attractive vampire, though the becoming would take tens years off of your looks. No, I am not going to kill you, in fact, I have come here to help you."
....."I am only 54, but I guess I have never seen an old vampire. Now, you said that you want to help me, why would you want to do that?" Jonathon was certain that it was a trick, but as to the purpose, he was still in the dark.
....."Why would I want to help you, let me see," he said as he smiled at Jonathon. "Well, helping you suits my needs of course. Now, I want to tell you about a small city in Scotland called Dundee. You see, one of the Bloodstones is located in Dundee and I plan to obtain it, well Europa is going to help me."
....."A Bloodstone, one of the five," said Jonathon in disbelief that Demos would actually share his plan with him. "So, you are after the Bloodstones, do you plan to open a Hellsmouth?"
....."That is one use of the stones, however there is another usage for them. You see, the Bloodstones play a role in the creation of Vampire Lords and it is said that a special vampire made by a Vampire Lord can become a Vampire Lord if she can reunite the Bloodstones. That vampire would also be in a good position when the prophesied vampire wars begin."
....."Europa, you made her special? Dear God, what have you done to her?" Jonathon was actually scared, not for him, but for the world as Alasha was not ready for this and yet she was going to be their only hope.
....."The Vampire Lords are not dead as you had believed us to be. We all survived the Dark time and are waking up now. Soon there will be many of us loose and this silly Slayer tradition will be dealt with on a more permanent solution. However, Europa is the chosen one, you see all of the Vampire Lords are named after the prophesied moons that circle the planets. Europa is a moon that circles Jupiter, so you can see that her fate was not to be a Slayer, but rather a Vampire Lord."
....."Why have you told me all of this?"
....."Simple, now you will send Alasha to Dundee, and I will be expecting her. You see, it is time to kill her and I wish to do it on my terms. Oh and if you don't send her, fine, I get a Bloodstone and the world will be oh so ever closer to ending. You see, you really have no choice and within a few days, Alasha will join Europa as a vampire."
London England 1551
Gordon's House
....."Alasha, we need to find you something to wear more suitable for when you are out slaying. Your dresses, though as lovely as they are, are more of a liability than anything else," said Gordon as he handed her a tunic. "Here, this would be much easier, you can wear it almost like a short dress, or perhaps even with some pants."
....."Women do not wear pants, however, this tunic is long enough to cover any of my parts that mustn't be shown," she replied. "Besides, as it is now, Silvae spends too much of her time sewing up rips and cleaning out dirt from my clothes. I guess being that I slay in the night, it would be a good idea as it would make me less conspicuous and make my kicks a little more fatal."
....."Well, yes, that is the idea," replied Gordon with a smile. Now, why don't you put this on and perhaps go out for a quick patrol to see how it feels." Alasha picked up the tunic and headed towards the back of Gordon's house to change in privacy. She knew that he was absolutely right, the Slayer was a warrior, not a princess and it was about time that she looked the part.
.....Europa waited patiently outside of Gordon's house for Alasha to leave. She was not here to face Alasha, at least not yet. Her Watcher, he was a different story all together as she was planning on paying him a visit and perhaps she would recruit him into her plan. That would involve changing him into a vampire, but that was fine as one more undead, especially another undead Watcher could actually be useful.
.....As Alasha left Gordon's house in her new tunic, which did give her a meaner look, Europa moved quietly up to the threshold of Gordon's door. She had to gain entrance and she was sure that Gordon was not about to invite her in. However, she was a special vampire, she could overcome the cross, she would overcome this barrier too. She reached out and felt a slight crackle as an invisible force field repelled her. It had hurt, but not as much as she could imagine and that meant that she could overcome it. She smiled and then cleared herself of all thoughts save one and that was her desire to pass through the barrier.
.....She slowly moved forward and she felt the same crackle as before, but it didn't push her back this time, it was merely uncomfortable. The unpleasant tingling engulfed her as she crossed the threshold into the front lobby of Gordon's house. She had done it, this was certainly a positive thing for her as if she could overcome some of the mortal world's defenses against her kind, and then she would be able to overcome the rest in time. Perhaps she would even walk in the sunlight someday, that would make her unstoppable.
....."Alasha, is that you, you are back sooner than I thought," said Gordon before he noticed that the girl standing in the doorway to his main foyer was not his Slayer. "You are not Alasha, though you are inside my home so I must assume that you are not a vampire either. However, something tells me that my reasoning is wrong on that case." Gordon looked over the girl noting her beauty and the draw he felt towards her.
....."You are a very smart Watcher, perhaps if you had been my Watcher, I would not have become a vampire," said Europa as she stared back at the Watcher impressed with what she beheld. "In case you are thinking of it, crosses repel me about as much as the uninvited rule."
....."I see, well then what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Gordon hoped to stall her until Alasha returned though he was certain that would not be for a while and if he was going to survive, he was going to have to get himself out of his predicament.
....."Interestingly enough, I have come here to kill you," replied Europa with a bright smile. "However, I may not do that if your intellect turns out to be anything even close to your handsome good looks. In fact, I think that if I find you interesting, I would never consider killing you as it would be a travesty for us to lose that trait."
....."Oh, well, I will try my best to amuse you," he responded wondering just how much of her Slayer abilities she still retained. If she had only a fraction of her Slayer skills, any form of attack would be useless against her.
....."Okay, in case you do not know this, I have been made by a Vampire lord named Demos, and he claimed that I am not like other vampires in that I still have my soul, only it is married to the demon within me. Now, what I want to know is if that is even possible and if it is, what it means for me?"
....."Ah, I see, an integrated soul, half human half demon. I have never heard of this happening before, though I have heard of the occasional vampire possessing a soul due to some curse or a few other even more exotic methods. However, these vampires tend to be all conscience and some even commit suicide not wanting to face up to what they had done as a demon," replied Gordon still taken in by Europa's beauty even knowing that she was the enemy. "Europa, your case is certainly different and I can hazard that you have a conscience, but that it too is half demon making it perhaps not as strong as it would be for a cursed vampire."
....."Yes, that is exactly it," said Europa with a smile. "So, this might explain why I don't mind killing though I have no desire to end the World. Demos thinks he is my master, but I will turn on him if his schemes go past my twisted sense of ethics and my conscience will not allow me to carry things too far. This is insane, but you know it actually makes sense to me."
....."Well, even still I am certain that your boundaries would still be considered great evil by most of us," said Gordon as he decided that honesty just might be his greatest weapon against Europa.
....."Very true," she replied with an even wider smile that almost lit up the room. "You have been a great help Gordon, I will leave you now, unharmed as you have gained my respect."
....."You're not going anywhere except to Hell," stated Alasha as she walked into the room holding a stake out ready to attack.
....."Alasha, I have no qualms with you or your Watcher," said Europa as she quickly appraised the new Slayer. "Though perhaps someday it would be nice to sit down with you and compare Slayer journals." Europa turned and began to walk towards the doorway to make her leave.
.....Alasha reacted quickly and moved in to attack the former Slayer then vampire. Europa could sense the Slayer's attack and she side stepped it letting Alasha sail through the air past her. Alasha then turned and lashed out with a quick kick that Europa handily blocked. Europa retaliated with a punch that knocked Alasha off of her feet and backwards towards the front door. She noticed that Gordon was scrambling for something behind them. She assumed he was looking for holy water or some other weapon to help Alasha win the battle. She was not going to give him the chance, she would have to defeat Alasha quickly so that she could deal with Gordon.
.....Europa stopped and opened her arms up to give Alasha a chance to stake her, which was her trap for the novice Slayer. She had to smile, as even an experienced Slayer would have trouble avoiding the open invitation she was offering. Alasha raised her stake and moved forward so that she could drive the stake deep into the vampire's heart. However, the stake only made it to her chest and was stopped by something unable to plunge into Europa's heart. Alasha was taken off guard and this gave Europa the opening to punch her in the side of her head with enough force to kill an ordinary mortal. Alasha being the Slayer was merely knocked unconscious by the hit, which was exactly what Europa, had intended.
.....Europa turned and then advanced on Gordon who had found the holy water yet simply stood there as she advanced on him. She was ready for him and if he raised the flask of holy water, she was ready to neutralize it.
....."You should be dead," said a shaky Gordon. "How is it that the stake didn't go it?"
....."Chain mail," said Europa as she reached out and took the flask out of Gordon's hands very gently. "I had a heart sized protector made for under my clothes as I have no intention of ever being staked. Your Slayer is rough still, you need to work with her some more."
....."You are not going to kill her?"
....."No, I have no reason to kill her and besides I have no desire to see a frown on your lips," she said in almost a whisper as her face moved closer to Gordon's. He could feel her breath on his skin and he was not repulsed as he though he should have been. "Her, something to remember me by," she purred as she moved in and kissed Gordon softly on his lips. He responded opening his mouth and their tongues danced together for what seemed like an eternity and not long enough once she broke the kiss. "We will meet again my dear Watcher." With that Europa wandered out into the night and Gordon just stood there in a daze until he heard a moan coming from Alasha on the floor.
London, England 1551
New Council's Headquarters
....."Please sit everyone, we have a lot to cover and a lot that is going to demand action. I need not remind everyone that time is certainly of the essence," said Jonathon as the Head Watchers sat around their new table located in the new headquarters that just the night before Jonathon was certain he would never have seen them when Demos entered through the window.
....."I am sure that you are all familiar with the Bloodstones, the five stones that represent the five elements, water, fire, air, earth, and ether. Well, one of those stones has been found in Dundee, Scotland and what makes this even more urgent is that the Vampire lord Demos is already on his way there."
....."I will send the Slayer there immediately," interjected Brent Gilbert. Jonathon weakly smiled at this as Demos was going to get exactly what he wanted, they really didn't have any other option.
....."I lost a Watcher in Dundee, it was the one who had been tailing Europa," added Boyd Waters. "Somehow I would have to conclude that this is related. If we send Alasha to Dundee, she will be going up against not only Demos, but also Europa. This sounds like suicide to me."
....."I know," said Jonathon. "However, we don't have any other option as we can't let Demos assemble the Bloodstones as he would certainly create a Hellsmouth and open it which would end the world as we know it."
....."I agree, we have to send her," said Franklin Tupper. "I will make sure that the next Slayer is ready to be called just in case Alasha fails."
London, England 1551
Beckett Estate
.....Silvae peeked around the corner to make sure that Charles was no where to be found as she didn't want him to see her carrying Alasha's travel bag out to the nearby coach where Gordon was waiting for them. They were going on a trip to Scotland that would cause trouble for Alasha with her family, that is if Charles found out. Alasha's parents were still away which was perfect and she doubted that they would be back anytime soon.
.....Charles though, he acted like he owned the estate, as if Alasha were his personal property. He fancied himself to be the great warrior, which was quite laughable as Alasha could defeat him quite easily, even blindfolded. She wished that Charles were not so immature, but then maybe he would grow up one day once he was old enough to take a wife.
.....The coast was clear and she rushed through the main hall and out into the afternoon sunshine not noticing that Charles was indeed watching her. He had suspected that something was up, in fact he was certain that Alasha had been up to no good for quite a while and he was going to find out just what it was and then put a stop to it. Alasha was only a girl and she was not going to spoil the family name by whoring around with some middle-aged man. He knew about Gordon, though he suspected him to be her lover as there was no other reason for them to spend so much time together. Well, soon he would make sure that this Gordon was dealt with, perhaps a beheading for messing around with nobility.
.....Charles smiled as this thought as he pictured himself beheading Gordon with his sword. He then heard Alasha as she tried to sneak across the main hall as Silvae had earlier.
....."So, you are going somewhere?" Alasha stopped dead in her tracks to see her brother emerge from his shadowy hiding spot. "Don't think I don't know about you and Gordon. You will not be going anywhere with him today Alasha."
....."Oh really, well Charles, I don't think you can stop me and whatever you think is going on, well you really have no idea," she replied tempted to tell him the truth. "I am going Charles for a few days, we will talk about this when I return."
....."You underestimate me sister, I will have Gordon arrested when you return, I will have your lover beheaded," he said with a nasty smirk on his face.
....."You will do no such thing Charles because if you do, you will have to deal with me," she said putting strength into her words. Charles opened his mouth to respond, but Alasha's punch silenced him as his body slumped to the floor. She then turned and left going out to join Silvae and Gordon in the carriage. She was certainly going to have some consequences to deal with when she returned home, but too much was at stake for her to have done anything else. Europa was going to be in Scotland and Alasha owed that vampire some major payback for the fiasco at Gordon's house the previous night.
