Chapter 3: Greetings of the Hunt

Gesturing toward the man to come in,

he gave me a careful stare, before scanning around

my apartment from what he could see from the doorway;

he then slowly made his way inside once he assessed

it may be safe, as he nodded towards me.

I waved my hand over my lush couches as I took a seat

gracefully on the opposite side of the larger couch,

"Would you like anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Wine?"

He sat on the far side of the couch facing me as he

removed his hat, placing it on the marble coffee table,

revealing his shortened dark chestnut brown hair that was now ruffled,

"Whiskey?" I held back a short laugh as I gave him a nod.

I went towards my bedroom where the whiskey cupboard was hidden.

Sangui was a big fan of whiskey as well.

I did a quick brush over on my hair and wiggled into

a more appropriate yet still revealing silver sequin dress,

instead of my nightwear.

I came out with a small glass for him and one of

Sangui's many hundred-year-old whiskey jars.

I plopped the glass down in front of him

and poured the bitter drink halfway up.

I could tell he was suspicious of me, so I took a

short swig from the jar itself, cringed slightly

and set the jar down beside his glass, capping the lid over it.

He had an amused smile on his face and nodded thanks

as he grabbed the glass and downed it quickly;

his face made no signs of the bitter taste and he licked his lips slowly,

"That's some damn good whiskey."

I smiled sweetly as he gave an impressed smirk,

"Leave it to a vampire to have finely aged whiskey, right?"

He gave a sweet chuckle as he went to pour more.

He leaned back comfortably as he trailed his eyes to mine,

"The names Zadkiel, madam." All the character in my face had

dropped as he spoke his name, a vision formed in

my mind as I read his name in my book.

This was utterly impossible for a being

such as himself to be upon the Earth.

Did he even know who he was or where this name came from?

"Impossible." I whispered slowly to myself, but he noticed,

"You know… I get that reaction a lot. Especially in this line of work.

My mother definitely picked a striking name."

I sighed a long low breath as maybe it was just named

after the archangel himself and not the actual being,

for they could not have been birthed from a human.

Leave it to the mother of a hunter

to give him a fear inducing name,

"Yes, it is a unique and marvelous name at that,

and I am Azrael."

He choked on his next sip of whiskey slightly

as my own name left my lips,

"And an interesting name for a vampiress."

It was strange having someone openly refer to me as a vampire,

for that was never how I looked at myself;

or how the world looked at me for that matter.

"Okay, let me explain, technically I am only partially a vampire;

I am more of a fallen angel." He scoffed at me,

"Is that what you're all calling yourselves now?"

He was testing my patience, but I kept calm and brushed it off.

"So, hunter…what brings you here?",

I decided to prod him for information.

"You don't have to call me hunter…Zadkiel is fine."

He took another swig of whiskey then set it down.

"Last time I left Sangui a few years ago right before

I almost drove a dagger through his heart,

he explained to me a gift that had been bestowed upon the Earth.

One that may help us hunters. He told me to give him seven to eight years.

If I killed him, the gift may have been corrupted over time.

Don't ask me why I trusted the monster but I did

and said if he's wrong I'll dismember each portion

of his body and disburse it throughout the world."

He gave a curt nod, signaling that he was finished.

I was not sure how to react but with wide eyes,

and so I decided to explain my whole beginning to him

from what all I could remember and what I do and who I was as a being.

He sat still and listened intently to the words I spoke

and nodded a few times between and as a few hours passed,

I had finished explaining my life up until this point

yet leaving out certain bits, such as my relationship with Sangui

and the demon I held within myself.

"How very interesting. Also, quite ironic given your name;

it is a possibility that you very well may be the true Azrael."

The first chapter of the book I was given was also my name

and it had explained that I was the Angel of Destruction and Renewal,

which at first didn't make sense to me until I put pieces of what I do together.

I shrugged at Zadkiel and nodded an understanding,

"Yeah, I guess it kind of is isn't it. So, you see,

I should be of no threat to the hunters."

He rubbed his thumb and index finger across his stubbled chin

as he pondered this current information and whatever thoughts were forming,

"Technically, no, but not all of us are as merciful and understanding as I am.

I would still tread lightly if I were you ma 'lady."

"Well of course, I strive to live lightly. Now if I may ask…

what brings you here exactly, besides to meet with Sangui?"

My curiosity finally caught up with me as he seemed of no threat to me now,

"Hunters have been ordered to track down and kill the vamp King

since the dawn of time, but he keeps changing and relocating…

it seems he doesn't even exist any longer though, thanks to you."

Technically his demon still lived inside of me,

but this hunter did not need to know that,

"You do realize though, you are going to be labeled as

the Queen or Empress of all vampires now that you have taken the King himself?"

I had to look away from him for the look that had dawned

over my eyes as I suddenly became aware of such a thing.

The thought had not even once crossed my mind;

what did it even mean to have such a title.

What new responsibilities would this bring.

"What if I don't?" He gave a short chuckle at my response,

"It doesn't matter, vampires from all over will see it in your blood,

they will feel it within themselves to bow before you.

Even if you don't want to, there is literally nothing you can do about it.

Surely you had to have known before killing him?"

Sangui had never mentioned anything about this to me

nor have I seen him meet with many other vampires,

although I had no idea what he did in his spare time;

I heard nothing of him being the vampire King either.

"May I ask you something a bit out of line?"

His voice pulled me from my thoughts as I nodded with a petite smile.

"Do you mind if I stay here for a while? In case any other hunters

pick up on the trail…to keep the both of us safe."

I blinked a few times at his request and thought about the

extra room Sangui had here that I used to stay in.

I had not stayed with another man since or had one's company

for that matter, but I genuinely didn't see much harm in it,

as I was already growing to trust him and to be honest,

I was quite thrilled at the idea.

Then a small demoness smile appeared on my lips

as I thought about the potential, I had to use him for seduction practice;

I turned the smile into a sincere sweetness,

"Of course you can; I would be honored,

for I have not had much company for quite some time.

You can stay in the other spare room, it is fully furnished

and has a comfortable bed." Zadkiel gave me a charming smile

that made my body all worked up and I had to suppress myself from blushing.

Not noticing how late it had become from us talking

I figured he had decided to ask because he must've been tired.

As Zadkiel downed his third glass of whiskey he followed me to the spare room,

"Let me know if you need help finding anything or need anything in particular."

I beamed him another sweet smile as he tipped his hat and

moved closer to me, his lips making contact with my cheek.

My body jolted slightly at his touch,

"Thank you very much for your hospitality ma 'lady."

He shut the door gently behind him as I turned to walk towards

my own room letting out a long breath, I had not noticed I was holding.