March 1917
The night started off simply enough, as a young man in his twenties and his family sat down for a nice quiet dinner. It was their second day in their new England cottage, and they still had yet to arrange everything to their liking.
Rhys looked around at his loved ones: his attractive young wife, Lysette, their six year old son, Lysette's uncle, and the nanny he had recently hired. He had never felt more complete than he did now.
This is exactly what a family should be like, Rhys thought. Warm, loving, and togetherness. How did I get to be so lucky as to obtain it all?
Lysette had just finished saying grace, and they hadn't even begun to eat when there was a knock at the door. Startled, the four adults glanced at each other, all wondering who would come calling this late.
Gentleman that he was, Rhys stood and went to the door to greet the uninvited guest. Much to his surprise, it was a young woman, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties.
She looked up at him with innocent, sparkling navy blue eyes, face framed by a cascade of light blonde hair. But she wore the oddest clothing: a lime green outfit that resembled a tightly fitting dress. And the sleeves, when he caught a glimpse of them, were enormous, several inches too big to fit her arms.
The girl gave a nervous giggle, aware of his scrutiny. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said quietly, in a musical voice soft as bells. "But I was hoping you could help me... I was out with my family on a hunting party, and I got separated from them. Do you know where I could find the Jamisons' house?"
Rhys paused, then nodded. "They live more than four miles from here though," he answered. "It's too far to risk riding in the dark." Graciously, he extended his arm in a gesture of hospitality. "You're welcome to have dinner with my family and I, and spend the night if you like."
With a soft smile, the girl stepped inside, introducing herself as Darla. Rhys led her to the dining room, failing to catch the mischievous glint in her eyes as she followed. Nor was he aware that he had just invited death into his home.
Darla did a lightning-quick scan of the room, delighted that a large meal awaited her and her two companions outside. Faster than the human eye could see, Darla went for the nanny, taking on the demonic visage that would allow her to feed.
Rhys barely knew what had happened until he heard Lysette screaming. He looked up, terrified at the scene that was playing out before him.
Darla's first feeding of the night was over in an instant, and she dropped the nanny to the floor, wiping at her lips with the back of her hand. Before anyone could act, she then went to the child, hands placed on his shoulders in a motherly gesture.
Lysette screamed again when she saw where this evil girl had gone next, while Rhys remained frozen in terror. "Please," he pleaded at last. "Don't hurt him."
Darla smiled, which made her vampire face look all the more wicked. She gently stroked the brown hair at the boy's scalp to further unhinge the parents. "That all depends on you," she said methodically. "And on how quickly you're willing to walk out of this house."
Terrified, Lysette reached for her uncle's hand, prodding him to help her up and start walking with her to the front door. Rhys soon followed, all too aware that Darla, with his son in tow, was right behind him.
Much to his dismay, Rhys found two other creatures like Darla were waiting beyond the threshold. But these two were both male, and somehow looked even more compassionless.
The one on the right was short and frenetic in his movements, as if he couldn't wait for whatever lay ahead. With his demonic face, it was impossible to tell the real color of his eyes (they were yellow like Darla's), but his hair was a glossy shade of vermilion.
The third of these monsters, on the other hand, was tall and lanky with dark ebony hair, exuding a disturbing sense of calm. Yet, he too looked almost eager for whatever awaited, wetting his lips with his tongue.
With a smile and although it wasn't necessary, Darla introduced her two kin, referring to the frenzied redhead as Thierry. And from the way she looked at the tall one, Rhys caught on to the fact that she loved him, if such demons could be capable of love.
Darla's words confirmed it for him, as she pointed to the idle dark-haired one. "This is Angelus, my one and only mate," she said, obviously not caring how vulgar her statement sounded.
Thierry looked on impatiently, her remarks winning a response from him. "Are you done playing with the food, Darla?" he asked. "I'm ready to eat."
In the blink of an eye, Darla reached out for the uncle, tearing him from Lysette's grip and thrusting him towards Thierry. "Help yourself," she answered, watching as Thierry disappeared around the corner of the house.
With that done, Darla once more looked down at the child in front of her. Then, she picked him up, holding him close in a nurturing way and ignoring how he screamed and began beating at her helplessly.
Her instincts were far from maternal, and Rhys knew that he'd never see his son alive again if he didn't act. He took two steps forward, intending to snatch Toby from Darla's arms. Only he had forgotten that a third vampire was present. Before Rhys could reach Darla, Angelus grabbed him from behind and threw him in the direction of the cottage.
The fight was over in an instant. Rhys lay on the ground in a daze, his head hurting where it had hit the stone wall. On the verge of conciousness, he hardly noticed that Lysette was at his side, holding him to her and wailing.
Lysette could only look on helplessly as Darla took off with her beloved son, tear streaming down her face. But her attention was soon caught by the slow approach of the third monster, the one called Angelus.
"No!" Lysette cried, pulling Rhys even closer as if to shield him from this. "Please don't hurt him!" She didn't care what happened to her, as long as her husband at least was given a chance.
Angelus ignored her pleas, his mind only focused on one thing. He pulled Lysette to her feet, sinking his fangs into her neck. Once he was sure he had drained her fully, he discarded her like one would a chicken bone or sour milk.
Angelus then started towards Rhys, but stopped short when an unfamiliar noise filled the air. Looking around, Angelus was startled to see a big black crow perched on a nearby fence, staring at him and Rhys as if in expectation.
For a moment, Angelus wasn't sure how to act, as this was the first time any animal had dared come this close to him (most of God's creatures tended to steer clear of the undead). But then, the vampire remembered that he still had one last meal awaiting him, and immediatly turned his attention back to his victim.
Rhys had no fight left in him as he noticed Angelus' approach, but not due to his injury. Lysette and Toby, his wife's uncle and the innocent nursemaid, he knew, were all gone, and it filled him with infinite sadness.
Only twenty minutes ago, we were together and we were happy, Rhys thought as he felt his life slipping away. How can it end like this, when we didn't have a chance to defend ourselves?
In the instant before death, Rhys' gaze drifted to the crow. A dozen thoughts suddenly flooded his mind at this last sight, among them the bizarre sense of knowledge that his time for vengeance hadn't yet passed.
Not even as he slipped quietly from this existence into the next...