Gabriel stood at the edge of the tree line, contemplating his chosen prey.  The other vampires he'd spoken to had made the hunter out to be a competent threat.  No vampire ever came back from the forest, but they all knew he was there.  It was a challenge enticed from the first frightened whisper.

  The whole lot of them deserved to die.  Cowering in the relative protection of the gas lit city, they spouted brave words while the stink of fear lingered beneath their false bravado.  He would return soon enough to finish them off, but for now, he refocused his attention on the seductive threat of danger lurking somewhere in the shadows.

  Taking a deep breath, he sifted through the scents of the forest.  Wolves, rabbits, birds, he thought, closing his blue eyes to sharpen his focus.  Suddenly, he smiled and opened his eyes.  Human.

  Solitary and very faint, the heartbeat sang the teasing chorus of challenge and Gabriel answered.  He tore into the forest, his blonde hair trailing wildly behind him as his muscular frame dodged the trees and made a beeline for his reward.  His arrogance dared fate to make it a trap.  The closer he got, the more his anticipation grew.  He had not wanted to kill the hunter outright, but his desire was tearing away at his resolve.

  He leapt over the first trap he encountered with a sharp snort of derision.  It would have captured one of his less experienced brethren, most notably, the ones left behind in the city.  A stab of disappointment slowed his pace.  He drew another deep breath as he came to a full stop.  He caught the faint stench of old blood and turned to look for it.  No more than a dozen feet away, Gabriel saw the tree bark covered in coagulated blood.  His shoulders slumped.  No vampire in his right mind would chase old blood.  So much for a challenge, he thought sadly.  He would have to settle for simply killing the human hunter.  He blew out a breath of exasperation and grudgingly pinned his hopes on the cowardly group of vampires.

  Gabriel rolled his neck on his shoulders and swallowed his frustration.  The sing-song heartbeat was now mocking him for falling into its deceptive trap.  He took a step forward, deciding to punish himself for his gullibility.  The breakneck pace he'd been traveling at would finish things far too quickly.

  He continued slowly onward, grinding his teeth as he side-stepped more amateur traps.  Patience, he warned himself, as the steady heartbeat grew closer.  He could hear the creak of the wood floor beneath the pacing footsteps in the cabin.  He took a deep breath to reclaim his sense of smell and wrinkled his nose at the pungent odor of rum.

  Idiot.  Gabriel didn't know who the thought was directed at more, the hunter, or himself for his impetuousness.  He scanned the foliage and found the well-trodden path left behind.  How no vampire made it back alive was a mystery.  His heart nearly leapt at the curiosity, but he pushed it away.  He could smell the ashes of the dead, mixed with kerosene and gunpowder.  It was intended to inflame, but he would not bite.  He felt no outrage at anything but himself.  The light from the cabin glowed faintly in the distance and he continued steadily toward it.

  Suddenly, something reached inside him, pulling at his soul and jerking him forward.  His eyes were wide as his body moved without his consent, racing, not toward the cabin, but away from it.  He fought the surprise with the energy he'd been beating himself down with.  Another trap sprung up before him, but he found the rein of control within himself to force himself into a tree.

  He dug his fingers into the bark of the tree and pressed his head against it to gather himself.  His mind was racing, hindering his efforts.  He'd never felt anything like that before, and he was scared.  His paranoia darted his senses outward.  He bit back a yelp when he heard a heartbeat below.  He froze.

  The pace was faster, yet it was not racing with anticipation.  A strange strangled noise mixed with it, making Gabriel snap his attention downward to the brush next to him.  His eyes widened with outright disbelief.  Hidden within was a sleeping child, tears drying on her tear-streaked face as her petite chest rose and fell in fitful slumber.

  He could feel her, but each scent laden breath sat heavily on his tongue.  He could taste her.  He was inextricably trapped in her tiny life force.  Instinctively, his body knew what his mind was only beginning to realize.  She was the one, the mythical one who held the magical gift of eternal life.  True immortality.

  Being a vampire did not mean being immortal.  It only meant the luxury of a few extra lifetimes, and sometimes the ability to remain ageless.  They could be scarred, change their appearance, and to their dismay, could be killed.  Granted, it was a difficult task, but it was an inevitability.

  Vampires had three phases to their existence, and each could last anywhere from decades to hundreds of years.  No vampire knew when their change would happen, yet they feared it all the same.

  At first, they each needed to drink blood to stay strong and survive.  Many perished during this phase for overestimating their power, whether by the hands of their kind or by vampire hunters.  If a vampire drank too little blood, they would grow weak, but of course, starvation never killed them.  The beast within would rise up eventually to violently remind them they could not refuse the hunger.

  In the second phase, the beast fell dormant.  A vampire no longer needed to drink blood to survive or retain their strength, but some did, having become accustomed to the taste.  However, most vampires did not, fearful that the taste of blood would wake the beast within, bringing on the third and final stage.

  The third stage was the most feared of them all.  The beast would reawaken and turn on the body of the vampire, causing a slow and painful death.  There was no amount of blood that could stop the beast at that stage.

  Unless the prophecy of the essence was true.  The bearer, upon their embrace, would set free the supreme immortality, the one that vampires would kill each and every one of their kind to possess.  The essence would give true immortality, provided they continued to drink from the bearer.  The essence could not be taken from the bearer; the bearer could not die, for the bearer was one with the essence.  The hunters knew of the tale and believed it.  However, vampires dismissed it as a fairy tale.

  A choked sob broke through his shock.  He pulled back, not realizing he'd nearly left the safety of the tree to touch her.  The bruise across her face stirred his hunger and he drew a sharp breath to instinctively smell the blood.  His control wavered as her scent flooded him and he forced himself to climb higher.

  It was a severe blow, the realization that the myths were indeed fact.  His eyes snapped in the direction of the cabin.  The hunter knew what she was.  If the rum had not distracted him, he would have had Gabriel as well.  He lured vampires out into the forest and picked them off, one by one, when the child rendered them senseless.

  As if on cue, she shifted in her sleep, forcing him to fight for control once more.  When the moment passed, he dared to look down at her.  Understanding began to set in as he scanned the other bruises, ranging from yellow to purple and even black.  He licked his lips when he saw the blood from the cut at the corner of her mouth.  His stomach clenched, provoking his anger, and with it, his focus.

  The smell of rum wafted from the house.  The hunter was not prepared.  He'd thrown out his lure and believed he'd caught nothing.  Keeping her so far away from the city-dwelling vampires granted him the advantage, but it didn't net many victims.  Obviously, frustration drove his abuse.

  Gabriel straightened, his mind finally starting to return to normal.  He pondered dropping down and taking her away, raising her, teaching her of her worth, and preparing her for what she was to become.  The idea was quickly dismissed; she would leave him, no matter how he might have pampered her or loved her, she would have left him.  His thoughts drifted back to his mortal wife, and he angered quickly, shaking her from his mind.

  A twig snapped and he looked behind him, wrinkling his nose at a wolf that passed.  The animal sensed his presence and growled low and deep, yet continued on his journey.  The child whimpered again and he returned his gaze to her once more.  The hunter abused her, and therefore the girl would willingly pursue anyone who treated her with the slightest bit of respect.  But that would take time.  He looked at the house again.  At least ten years, perhaps fifteen.  He smiled.  Yes, that was it.  The hunter intended to use her as bait, but it would no longer work as well as it did in the past.  Gabriel would make sure any who ventured near her would die, whether by his hand or the hunter's.  When she grew into a young woman, he'd seduce her and then the prophecy would become true.  She would be born to darkness, and she would be his, only his, giving him the power to survive forever, and he would rule them all.

  His eyes scanned the darkness, searching for any other that might have found her as well.  He did not notice the shadow upon the hillside, watching him as he searched the horizon.  The shadow smirked and turned slowly back into the woods.

  "So that's his plan."