DISCLAIMER:
The following story is adult fiction. This story will contain elements of a sexual nature. If it is illegal to view this sort of material in your area, or if you are not old enough. Please leave now.

WRITER'S NOTES:
Wow. The responses have been amazing. I have received so much positive feedback that has fueled me to chapter three. There are so many people who like this story, and so many people who are pissed at my cliffhangers (:P) Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I hope to have chapter four ready in a week or so. Got allot of stuff to do and not much time to do it in!

Feedback is welcomed, please send to: blue_sunn@msn.com - Aim: x7bren

O N  E   Y E A R    L A T E R 


     Blood. Sweat. Tears. Fluids mixed and swirled in the street as Lee clung to Jesse. It was his fault as tears rolled down his face. No sound escaped Lee's lips, as he held on tighter to Jesse's broken body. If Lee was paying attention, he would of actually heard the snaps of the broken bones as his grip got tighter. But he didn't, he just slowly chanted to himself that this was his fault; that in some-way, he could of prevented this.

      "This is your fault Lee" a voice said coldly from the distance.

     Lee looked up at the familiar face in front of him. How could this be? He asked in disbelief, as he looked from Jesse's body in his arms to the one standing in front of him.

      "What, how?" Lee sputtered out.

      "You killed me, you did this to me you bastard!" Jesse screamed out.

      "I tried, Jesse I'm sorry. Don't do this!" Lee cried out even more.

     The look in Jesse's eyes immediately silenced Lee. They were cold, vicious, but also deeply sad. Lee was lost in the turmoil he saw looking back at him. Lee pulled the lifeless body closer to him as he looked away from the Jesse that stood mere feet away from him. Before he could speak, Jesse brought his sword down swiftly ending any life that stood before him.

      "Fuck!" Lee shouted as he lurched out of bed.

     Lee struggled to get from the tangled bed sheets. Half-way through the nightmare, the covers and pillows had been knocked off the bed. Lee's upper torso was drenched in sweat as he walked into the bathroom. After starting the shower, Lee glanced at his bedroom clock. 3:00 A.M. Lee muttered as he stripped off his boxers revealing eight inches of cut perfection. The water embraced Lee's tanned body as he moaned from the nearly scalding temperature. After washing his dirty-blonde hair, Lee replayed the nightmare in his head. It had been over a year and they weren't any closer to finding Jesse. The guilt and disappointment were constantly eating away at Lee's insides. After his return from Scotland, Lee had pretty much given up hope. There was a lead from a werewolf pack in Dundee; apparently someone with the Knight's fighting abilities was killing higher elders of their pack . After days of search crews, nothing was found that could lead anyone to believe the knight had any involvement.

     While Lee was just starting to face the early morning. Samantha had been up for over two hours, and she still was going strong. Being pregnant was one of the most scariest things she had ever been through. Samantha knew everything she did could cause some future outcome to her child. So she had spent the last four months doing everything right. Samantha was on the verge of going nuts. Lee wouldn't allow her to fight and she barely could use her powers around him without him scalding her about it. Motherhood sucked, she thought as she sipped her tea.

     Lee slipped into the office wearing a faded pair of blue jeans and a grey sweater. He was in no mood to be "formal" today. Especially after the nightmare, he was having more of them lately now; would they ever stop? Lee thought quietly to himself as he took a seat behind his desk. As he got himself settled, a figure appeared at the door.

      "Hello Lee" spoke a young man.

      "Aleksandr. No" Lee said in disbelief.

     Aleksandr was only twenty-six, but he had acquired a rather high-position in the order. One would think with a russian name, he would be in fact russian. But Aleksandr was as american as they came. Thanks to a russian father and an american mother, Aleksandr had become a instant choice for the order's liaison. Unfortunly, whenever he was around; bad news was to follow. Aleksandr took a seat and crossed his legs; his blue eyes showing great sadness. He really didn't want to be here today.

     A year of constant feeding had taken it's toll on Jesse. The spell kept his body in a balanced state. Jesse would never have to eat, use the bathroom or shower for that matter. The idea seemed questionable to some of Gavin's guards, but it was perfect, no one would ever have to tend to the knight. Unfortunly, months of feeding was giving Jesse's body less and less to work with. Gavin jerked back from his nightly feeding; the blood was causing a near-orgasmic experience as Gavin tried to regain his composure.

      "Your becoming an addict" John spoke sternly as he entered the room.

      "If you want to be an elder like myself, I"I'll need to be as strong as possible. The knight's blood doubles my abilities" Gavin replied as he ran his fingers through his snow-white hair. Just one of the many side-effects of knight's blood.

      "Look at him Gavin! He's wasting away, there's sores and bites all over his body" John spat back.

      "So? I don't care if he lives or dies anymore. I did at first, but I plan to take his death. I'll be the most powerful vampire in the world" Gavin said with dark excitement.

      "The order will know when his soul is released! My spells keep him off the psychic radar, but even I cannot mask his death" replied John as he felt Jesse's wrist for a pulse.

      "What makes you think I won't consume his soul as well?" Gavin asked with a laugh.

      "Only a soul snatcher can do that and even they can be driven insane. Are you strong enough?" John replied with a dark stare.

      "I used to care about the repercussions of killing a knight. I saw them four-hundred years ago, but now after tasting his blood; feeling his powers within myself. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep those gifts just for myself" spoke Gavin before he exited the room.

     Samantha munched away on a hot pocket as she walked into the office. She just couldn't control her cravings, just ten minutes ago she was slurping down a milkshake. As she tried to eat and not bump into anyone, the look on Lee's face killed her appetite instantly. Samantha threw her meal into the trash and walked into the office quickly shutting the door. She had become the top witch of the order; it was her duty to be in on this "meeting."

      "Samantha, a pleasure to see you again" Aleksandr said as he stood up pulling out a seat.

      "Cut the pleasantries Alek" Samantha snapped back as she sat down.

      "Right, directly to the point" Aleksandr replied as he tried to address this situation in the best possible way.

      "Go ahead Aleksandr, we might as well get this over with" Lee said right before he held his breath.

      "I've tried to hold off their decision, but I cannot. The elders wish to close his file" Aleksandr said before slumping down into his seat.

      "What! No!" Lee and Samantha shouted in unison.

      "He's been gone for over a year. We have had the leading psychics and witches look for him. No one has turned up anything" Aleksandr stated before being interrupted.

      "We have no signs of his death either or turning" Lee said trying to keep his cool.

      "Listen, Jesse's knight abilities protect him from the bite of a werewolf or vampire" Aleksandr stated. "He cannot be turned and even if he was, we would of been alerted by an elder"

      "If he wasn't bitten and if there's no signs of him being alive, maybe he is?" Samantha said softly trying not to believe her own words.

      "He was our first knight in over four-hundred years. The elders feel if he's gone, then we must begin searching for the new knight. He or she will need to begin training at once to fill Jesse's absence" Aleksandr said softly, trying not to focus on Lee's cold glare.

      "Get out. Leave now!" Lee shouted before throwing his coffee cup at Alek. Samantha reached out and stopped the mug mere inches away from Alek's head.

     Aleksandr left the office feeling horrible. He hated his job at times, this was one of those times. Why did he have to be the one to give such bad news? He was just as much of a friend to Jesse as those two were. Aleksandr had been trying to keep the elders off of Jesse's case, but soon enough they caught on. He knew this would be the final straw, the actual action that would tell the world. The knight was no more, that Jesse was gone from the world; and no one knew why or how.

      "He can't be serious" Lee mumbled to himself causing Samantha to look up.

      "What if there is a new knight Lee? It is our job to find him, or her for that matter" Samantha suggested trying to prepare herself for Lee's reaction.

      "What are you saying!?" Lee shouted back at her.

      "What if he's right Lee? What if Jesse is gone?" Samantha asked trying to hold back the impending tears.

      "I won't accept that Samantha. You shouldn't either" Lee replied coldly.

     John sat there beside Jesse's bed. The pain in his chest becoming more and more unbearable. For over a year he had kept the secrets and his betrayal hidden. There was too much at risk if he were ever to be caught. John had broken the order's oath and forsaken the knight for his own dark desires. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty. To be honest, John never thought the plan would work. There surely wasn't much faith in his plan, but somehow destiny smiled upon John and he was rewarded leverage. A knight was not supposed to have no weakness, no friends or lovers to get in their way, no dark desires unlike John. But Jesse had one weakness and John had discovered it. This "flaw" as John liked to call it was the knight's demise. As John remained in deep thought, Jesse's eyes began to flutter violently; his hands clutched the bed like a child to it's mothers breast.

      "What in the hell?" John asked in awe as he stood over Jesse's body.

     Jesse's eyes fluttered open and he released a high yell as he tore off the gate from the bed that protected him from falling. Without any further thought, Jesse brought the gate down several times. Soon ending John's life that night. The gate dropped to the floor covered in blood and heavily dented. Jesse stood there panting as he wiped the sweat and blood from his brow. The sores and bite marks were open and slowly began to bleed from Jesse's sudden period of activity. Jesse allowed his body to calm before he bent down and looked in the cold lifeless eyes of John. Snatching his bloody shirt, Jesse broke.

      "Bastard! You son of a bitch! I protected you, I protected all of you. This is how you repay me?! I gave up my life! Jesse snarled his words at John's corpse.

     Even though the spell, Jesse wasn't totally cut off from the world. Everytime Gavin fed from him, their minds would connect. Jesse would be flooded with all of Gavin's memories. For over a year, Jesse had struggled with each thought. The killings, nights of brutal actions, even the plan for the knight. Jesse had seen everything, he knew everything that Gavin knew. The thought repulsed Jesse. Whether he liked it or not, Gavin was now a part of him as he was a part of Gavin.

      "That's odd" Samantha said softly as he placed her hand to her ear.

      "What?" Lee asked looking up from his dinner.

      "This" Samantha replied as she held her hand up to show Lee.

     Samantha's milk-white hand was covered in blood as she tried to stay awake. Lee spit out his food as he looked at the blood flowing freely from her ear. Sam let out a light gasp as she fell from the table onto the floor.

      "Samantha! Please. Not you too!" Lee shouted as he remembered the events of Jesse's return so very long ago.

     Gavin paced back and fourth in Alisha's posh apartment. The moonlight added a slight shine to his ivory skin, his white hair flowed freely down his shoulders as he continued to pace. Alisha entered the room and tossed her jacket on the couch as she walked up to Gavin. Tonight Alisha wore tight leather pants with a white blouse that revealed a pierced belly button. Gavin smiled as her appearance before he spoke.

      "The knight has awakened. Finally" Gavin said in an annoyed tone.

      "He's what?" We must find him!" Alisha replied before becoming confused at Gavin's humorous look.

      "My dear child. I wanted the boy to awaken. He's too weak for me to complete my feeding. I need him at full strength before I can take his death and finish the transformation" Gavin replied as he ran his fingers through his hair.

      "But no one can take the death of a mortal life. The effects could kill you my elder" Alisha replied bowing her head.

      "Your concern is noted my protege. But when I consume his soul, I'll be strong enough to resist the sleep" Gavin said in a voice of awe, as if his very plan was even taboo to think about.

      "How did he wake up? Wasn't John's spell powerful enough?" Alisha asked trying to learn as much as she could in the short time before Gavin would leave again.

      "The spell weakens if the host weakens. I've fed off that boy taking more then I should. It was only a matter of time before the spell would weaken and break" Gavin replied darkly.

      "What do we do now?" Alisha asked.

      "Your going to make a meal off of the Guardian" said Gavin with a grin.

     The grass was cold and wet beneath Jesse's feet as he ran. He was weak, sore and ached all over. But this was freedom. Jesse wept softly as he ran, the images in his head flashed showing visions of death, fear, and evil. It was horrible, he couldn't control the flashes in his head. Jesse kept running, he was running home, if he still had one.