Pain, agony. She didn't feel it anymore. She was numb, or as numb as a Vampire could get. Closing her eyes, she willed it away. The endless days and nights. Draven hoped that Absolute Death would take her soon. The Mortuus Vampires had taken their time. Cutting her flesh, removing the growing fetus from her womb, the child that had been Rancor's. What they did with that child, she did not know, but the grief that struck her was unmistakable, unshakable. She kept her eyes closed during the rapings, praying for whatever Gods there were to make it stop. This was the night she was going to snap. Draven had shut her mind off completely, severing Dasani from sensing her pain.
It was something she didn't want to share with the rest of the Council. They didn't need to know that their Eldest member was about to break.

Once in a while they released the chains from her wrists and ankles and let her feed. This was a time when she prefered Blood. Mortal or Immortal. She didn't care. Draven timed it perfectly. Her eyes remained closed when they came in. She didn't move when their fingers unlatched the shackles at her wrists and ankles. The moment they turned their backs, thinking that she was too weak to move, Draven attacked. The first one she grabbed had its heart ripped from its chest. Male or female, she didn't know, nor did she care. The Vampire didn't even had enough time to scream. Nor did the second as its throat was ripped out by the canines that had exploded in Draven's mouth. The taste of Blood, especially Immortal sang sweetly against her tastebuds. Already she could feel the shudder of Power flowing through her veins. The sheer pleasure of it was nearly overwhelming. This sensation she openly shared with Dasani. Letting him know that she was still alive.

Her victory was short lived. She needed to get free of this burnt out shell of Carpe Noctem. The heart Draven still held in her hand was brought to her lips. The Blood here was the richest. She would definately have a euphoric high. Grabbing the nearest garment she could find, she wrapped herself in the black silk robes of the Mortuus. Draven shut down her metaphysical shields, blocking her very presence from those Mortuus that she would encounter. Her veins felt like they were on fire after being starved for so long. It was utterly amazing at how powerful she felt right now. There were whispers reaching her ears. Whispers of Markus. Eyes narrowing beneath the shadows of the hood, Draven made her decision.



The hallways were silent. An occasional passerby here and there, but otherwise no one paid her any attention. The tips of her bloodied fingers created a trail of crimson along the stone walls leading into the very room that she sought to find. His presence was like a beacon of light to her darkness. Her nails dug into the wood, talons bursting from the very ends of her fingers. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain that she had been through these past few months. He was the only one in the room. Silently, Draven glided in, making sure that the door shut firmly behind her with a simple telepathic command.

Markus whipped towards the door, emerald green eyes wide in alarm. He was a strinking man. Quite attractive really, or he would have been if he wasn't such an assmongrel. The long strands of black hair seemed to blend in with the shadws edging the room. The very shadows that Draven stood in, masking who she really was. His skin was pale, no lighter than her own. Some say Markus was the very Vampire who had created Reiko. The candle light in the room flickered brighter, the flames shooting straight up towards the ceiling. A flash of bright neon green shimmered beneath the shadowed hood of the cloaked figure waiting in the darkness.

"Draven?" Markus' voice held amusement. "I'm surprised you managed to escape."

"Don't lie, Markus. You're not surprised in the least. You knew I would one day."

"Did we break you so soon? Are you eager to join us?"

Draven shifted in the darkness, letting the cloak fall to the floor, fluttering in a whisper of silk. She stepped forward then, her lithe and pale body seemingly flushed. The Blood that she had consumed and spilled over her, soaked into her very flesh, giving it a more Human quality. Draven slowly closed the distance between herself and Markus, reaching out to let her fingertips trace along the line of his jaw. A shadow of a beard framed the contour. "Eager to join only you, Markus."

His green eyes flashed with something primitive, something akin to desire. He stood from his chair swiftly, his fingers digging slightly into Draven's hips. He pulled her lower body firmly against his, letting her feel the evidence of his desire poking at her stomach. She bit back a wrench of revulsion in her stomach. "Kiss me, Markus." Her voice was a breathy whisper, her lips a mere hairbreath away from his own.

A small growl passed his lips, or maybe it was hers. She couldn't tell. Either way, he took it as permission. His lips crushed against her own. Draven fought the instinct to pull away. Instead she opened her mouth to his, letting her tongue delve into his waiting mouth. Her fingers crept beneath the material of his shirt, a loose linen. Her skin came in contact with hard muscle. The ripple of his abs would have been an enticement if she were feeding, but now, they made Draven want to cringe. Shoving all that loathing aside, even if briefly, she let herself into that kiss. Everything that made her a Requiem Vampire was poured from her body and into his. Markus groaned, his fingers pressing into her hips hard enough to bruise had she been Human. Then, without warning, her had shot through his chest. Her deadly fingers gripped onto that pulsating organ that lay just beneath his rib cage. The bones splintered like wood. Draven ripped Markus' still beating heart from his chest. For a moment, he stood there stunned.

"I told you that I was going to kill you if I survived. I didn't lie, Markus."

He tried to grab for her, but Draven was quick, Powerful on fresh Vampire blood running through her body. It would repair months of damage in a matter of an hour. Lifting that pulsing heart to her lips, she added Markus blood to the mix. Tossing the now empty heart aside, she turned on her heel, returning to the shadows to retrieve her robes.

"One day, I will see you in the afterlife. Until then, give Reiko my reguards. And say hello to the tourment that Karise and Rancor will put you through. I was merciful giving you this kind of a death, Markus. They will not be as merciful."

Draven pulled the hood of the robes up, concealing her visage in darkness once more. "Good Hunting." The door to the room closed as she slipped out into the hall. A sense of releaf asailed her. Her sense were so high. The blood of three Vampires. She would heal quicker than most, more than likely a half an hour instead of the full sixty minutes.



Draven had escaped the Compound, which had been nothing more than the burnt ruins of Carpe Noctem. The Mortuus had built underground tunnels. They had obviously been working underground for years, weaving the pathways through the dirt, setting up rooms. All because of Reiko. That bastard. She hoped he was frying in hell for this. Even though she was elevated on blood, the releaf of having escaped with her life sent her to her kness upon the wet soil of what she had once called her home. She opened the metaphysical connection that she and Dasani shared, hoping that he was not shutting her out. To her surprise, he wasn't.

Dasani...

Draven?!

The ruins of Carpe Noctem. Hurry...

Darkness decended upon her almost instantly. The months of tourment, emotional, physical and mental had taken their toll. It was only when she had aquired freedom did she break.