The right of the author has been asserted. All characters in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

No part of this story may be reproduced, by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author.

Do not read this if you are under the age of 18 or the legal age in the country or state you live in.

This story contains scenes of explicit homosexual sexual acts between two individuals, if this offends you, please leave now.

Author's Note: I want to thank everyone for their encouraging emails. I apologise for posting this chapter so late, I've been really busy. I'll try to get the next chapter out a lot sooner, though I'm not promising anything. Please keep sending your comments and suggestions to mystories92@gmail.com, they really keep me motivated.

Darken Lightment

Chapter 4

Alex sat in the limousine awkwardly as it made its way up the driveway. A few hours ago he was sitting in a waiting room at the social services building and fearing for his future.

His parents had died and he had no other known relatives, so it was a surprise to him when the social worker came in and told him he had a godfather. He didn't remember any such person from before and was sure it must have been a mistake. His father was very secretive though, so it could have been possible that his father had made arrangements in case of death.

Alex didn't know what to think. On the one hand he was relieved that he wouldn't be placed in an orphanage or foster care, but he was also fearful of what this unknown man could be like.

When Alex's Godfather stepped into the waiting room, Alex didn't know whether to dissolve into a million tiny butterfly hearts, or to melt into a puddle of yellow fear.

The man standing before him looked formidable, arrogant, steely eyed and, surprisingly, extremely young looking. He couldn't be older than twenty-six or twenty-seven, which was puzzling seeing as his father was well into his forties when he passed.

This young man couldn't be his godfather. The man swept his hand roughly through his neatly trimmed, dark blond hair and pierced Alex with a stare. Alex couldn't decide if it was irritation or anger that flickered through those steely grey eyes.

The social worker cleared her throat and stepped closer to where Alex was seated. "Alex, I'd like you to meet your godfather... Ignius Rowe."

Alex puzzled at the name. It should seem familiar to him but he couldn't remember from where. He managed a shy smile for Ignius while looking towards the ground. His long, floppy black hair shielded his deep brown eyes, so he didn't see the flicker of surprise in Ignius's eyes.

Now, sitting in the limo as they made their way to Ignius's mansion, Alex made the connection. This was Ignius Rowe, founder and chief executive officer of Ignius Gaming, one of the biggest gaming production companies in the world. How did his father know Ignius Rowe?

Ignius's face was a mask of neutrality. Alex couldn't tell what the man was thinking. He was staring out the car window. Ignius hadn't said anything at all, even when they had met for the first time. He was shown to the limo, and that was it.

The limo came to a stop in front of large ornate doors. The mansion was huge. Alex couldn't tell how many rooms there could be. It was built in the late Victorian style and oozed opulence. There was a large garden in front with flowers blooming in all sorts of colours and he could see a gardener tending to weeds.

The limo door was opened and Alex stepped out first, followed by a silent Ignius.

Alex sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and stepped towards the front door.

At this moment, anyone who looked at Ignius would think he was the calm collected business tycoon he was. But in truth, he was in inner turmoil. When he stepped into the waiting room that afternoon, it felt like he was sucker punched in the gut, and he didn't know how to handle it. It was like he was seeing Peter again as he was when he was a boy. Alex favoured his father greatly.

The boy was nervous and scared, Ignius could tell. Not only was the boy pretty, but Ignius knew that he had a good heart.

But this would be a big change in his life, and he wasn't sure of he was quite ready for it.

Ignius's mind flashed back to the moment Alex had greeted him in that quiet, shy demeanour. Something happened inside him that he could not explain in a hundred years.

The front doors opened and an elderly man came out. He cleared his throat and bowed form the waist. "Welcome back Master Ignius."

Ignius grunted non-committally and moved to enter. He stopped when he saw Alex's apprehension. He put his arm around the boy awkwardly and pushed him forward gently.

There was something about Alex, something that, strangely, made him want to comfort him, to take away his worries. This had never happened before. This couldn't be good.

Alex entered the mansion, his mind going a mile a minute. Why was this man taking him in? What was going to happen now? Was he going to be made a slave to this man? All these worries rushed through Alex's mind. In a daze, he allowed the butler to lead him toward his room.

***

Having dinner with Cooper and his family was an awkward affair. I still had plenty of things going through my mind, like what happened to my mother, and what was the real story behind the existence of modern day vampires. It seemed as if they were more sophisticated than what my mother had told me. Something told me that I was only going to encounter stronger vampires from now on. And how was it that vampire hunters existed without my knowledge. Surely I would have known something about them! What exactly were vampire hunters capable of? And how strong did they get. I could already tell that I was far stronger than Cooper and Shane, possibly Beth was a little stronger than her sons. This was all a little confusing to me. Everything I thought I knew about the world just got turned upside down.

"If you don't stop glaring at your meat like that it's going to burst into flames," I heard Cooper say across from me.

I smiled and took a bite of the meat on my fork. Time for further investigation. "Tell me more about the vampire hunter clans."

The three of them looked at me for a moment, before Beth started talking haltingly. "There are eleven clans spanning the world. One clan monitors Canada and Greenland, two clans monitor the United States of America, one clan monitors all of South America, and two clans monitor the African continent, while one monitors all of Europe. There is a clan that monitors Russia as well as a clan for Asia, the Middle East and Australia each.

"Each clan adopts potential hunters into their family either through blood relatives or adopting one with latent abilities into the family. They are trained to sense and vanquish vampires from an early age. Once they are old enough they are assigned a specific territory within that clans allotted area, they then start their own sub-branch of the clan, training and doing the same. In this way, clan leaders are able to spread hunters all across their allotted area to maximise the amount of vampires being hunted down," Beth stooped for a moment, seemingly gathering more of her thoughts.

I thought this whole thing sounded a bit like business talk. I truly did wonder how their presence eluded me. I felt a little green behind the ears, which I've never felt before. With my existence made known to them, they had to throw a lot of their previous beliefs away, and that included me as well. Although I seemed to know a bit more about vampire history than them, I still did not know everything, and I started to resent my mother for keeping such a huge secret from me. It did make me wonder what other secrets were out there. It made me eager to go exploring. But first and foremost in my mind was finding my mother, not because I wanted to save her, she could take care of herself, but because I wanted answers.

"You mentioned two clans for America. I assume the one is your clan. Who is the other?" I asked.

Shane answered. "Our clan represents the people that essentially immigrated to America from Europe, mostly with Irish and British ancestry..."

I followed Shane's train of thought and continued myself, "So that means the second clan represents the natives of America," I finished.

Shane nodded and downed the last of his drink.

"So how does the territory get divided up between your clan and the other one?"

"With us it doesn't," Cooper spoke up. "Our clan is on very friendly terms with the Native American clan. Sometimes we share territory and help each other out. It works best for us."

I nodded understandingly. The rest of dinner concluded in relative silence. Everyone felt exhausted after today's revelation, and I wanted to get some rest. I excused myself from the table and made my way upstairs. Once inside Cooper's room, I tried searching for my mother before I made a move to get ready for bed. I concentrated and cast my mind out, searching for her presence, which I could always find, wherever she was. After a few minutes I started to become distressed. I could not find her presence anywhere. Her presence always made me feel safe and secure, but now that I couldn't sense her, I felt an acute sense of loss and emptiness. I was alone.

Why couldn't I sense her? Was she masking her presence? If so, why was she? Didn't she want me to find her?

I was startled out of my trance by a hand on my shoulder. It was Cooper, and he was looking at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I can't find her, Cooper. Her presence is completely gone."

I think that was all I could take, before I felt myself black out.

***

Later once he'd settled into his new room which the butler had showed him, Alex had a little time to himself to wonder about things, like why his father new this rich man and how he came to be his godfather. Alex couldn't think of any answers to the questions burning through his mind.

There was a knock on the door, and then Alex could hear the butler speaking. "Young Master Alex, dinner will be served in five minutes. The master will be joining you." and the butler left.

Five minutes later, Alex was sitting at the long dinner table in the exquisitely designed dining room. Ignius was sitting across from him, with a brooding expression on his face. He held a solid copper goblet in his hand. Before Alex, the butler had spread a variety of gourmet dishes for him to eat. It was far too much for Alex, but he decided to fill his stomach as much as he could. He'd apologise for anything that was left over. He looked curiously toward Ignius again. Besides the goblet that Ignius held, he ate nothing else. This puzzled Alex. Why was Ignius not eating?

"Is that all you're having, Sir?" Alex asked hesitatingly.

It was as if Ignius were noticing Alex for the first time since they had come down to dinner. His eyes widened at Alex's soft question. "What? Oh, uh, I'm not hungry. This is fine for now," Ignius said, wiggling the goblet slightly. He paused to take a sip, and was grateful for the metallic, sweet taste that slid down his throat. He was starting to wonder if it was a good idea to take Alex on...

Alex wondered what Ignius could be drinking. It was probably wine, he thought to himself. He shrugged inwardly and continued eating.

***

Lilith stopped in front if an old abandoned warehouse. She looked around the area before unlocking a side door and steeping into the dark, dusty place. She flicked a switch and few dim lights popped to life. She walked toward another door which opened to reveal a staircase going down into the basement level of the warehouse. She went down and flicked another switch.

Inside was all of Lilith's gear that she had acquired throughout the centuries. Spears were lined up against one wall from every past era; swords were sheathed in little pockets within another wall. There were shelves filled with shields, armour, gauntlets, gloves, and everything else a warrior could want. The only armament notably absent from the room was guns. Lilith had not deigned to stock up on guns of any sort. It was a waste of time. The only effect guns would have on vampires was to make them angrier. Therefore, bladed weapons were best when battling vampires. Slicing a head of probably wouldn't kill a vampire, but it did give one enough time to dispose of the body properly. Also, inflicting wounds insured that the vampire lost energy much quicker.

For present purposes, Lilith chose black gear. She dressed herself in a black bodysuit, black boots and gloves. She added gauntlets and belts to attach swords and knives, leather protective gear was added as well.

An hour later, finally done with preparations, Lilith dove back into the night, casting her mind out for the presence she needed to find.

***

The being stepped through the old doors of the morgue. The lights were dim and that place stank of death. The being pulled a face in disgust. He must really hate his job, the being thought. The being entered another room quietly to find a man sitting at a desk with a grin on his face.

"Welcome to my humble workplace, brother. What brings you to a wretched place like this? Oh, wait, let me guess, you want me to bring someone back," the man said, lifting his hands and placing it behind his head.

"You are correct in one aspect, though you won't be bringing anyone back. It is I who will bring someone back."

The man's grin vanished and he straightened up, a look of consternation on his face. "What do you mean, you will bring someone back?"

The being smiled benevolently at the man. "Come now... Samael, is it not obvious? Your work has paid off a thousand fold."

All trace of bravado had vanished from Samael. He stood up and rounded the table. His face held a look of awe. "Is it true, brother, has he forgiven me?"

The being could only smile at the joy that radiated from his brother. "I, Raziel, Keeper of Secrets, welcome you, Samael, Angel of Death, back to your rightful place among the stars, in the name of our Father, the all powerful creator of the universe."

Samael began to glow ethereally. Raziel now revealed his true, angelic form, and waited for his brother to complete his transformation. Samael's wings burst forth from his back, and Samael moaned in ecstasy. After millennia, Samael felt the presence again. The presence of his father.

After a minute, Samael turned to Raziel. "What happens now?"

"There is one person you still have to make amends with, and then we shall meet up with our brothers, and strengthen the barrier. The Son of Adam is awakening."

So there you have it, chapter 4. I've introduced a couple of new characters. Tell me what you think of them, and if you have any predictions on how they fit into the story, I'd like to hear them. Send comments and suggestions to mystories92@gmail.com.

Thanks