She could feel her head bump into something soft. She pressed her hands even tighter to her chest in shock as she stared towards the heroes who now looked directly at whoever stood behind her. The group looked blanched pale from fear, which didn't help to calm her quivering nerves. The humming continued, it came from the man who stood directly behind her. She could hear how he moved and corrected the black-clawed gloves he wore as he continued to sing the wordless song to himself.

“You!” The red-haired man shouted, pointing towards the man with his spear. “Who are you and why do you defile this place?!”

The humming stopped and the room fell silent. It felt colder and the fire in the brazier flickered.

“Hmh?” The man behind her spoke and she could feel her entire body tremble and her gaze slowly moved upwards to look at whoever he was. It was a very tall man. Looking up at him, it felt like he was twice her size, though he was surely no more than a foot taller. His chin was sharp, his eyes glowing like red embers as they sat on each side of his sharp nose. Black curls of hair ran down the sides of his head and one strayed off across his face which was so pale it almost looked like ash. He wore a black hood which was part of the flowing black cloak that poured off his wide shoulders, pushed aside by an equally dark shoulder guard with three spikes that pointed outwards.

He didn’t look at her, instead his eyes were aimed forward; towards the man who spoke. The man in black gestured around himself. He didn’t move so she was still tightly pressed against him as if he was the wall itself.

“I didn’t know you owned this place, sheep.” The man uttered, his voice was a mixture between pride and utter boredom. He added a cocky smile and the girl pressed against him could feel her cheeks changing colour as heat rushed into them. She then spotted something at the corners of his mouth and her eyes grew wide. Two pearly white sharp fangs gently showed themselves as the smile turned into a smirk on his face.

“I am the Dusk.” The man then said and she felt how his hand was placed on her shoulder. Her body trembled at the touch, a shiver running down her spine. She pressed her hands even tighter against her chest, digging her fingers into the cloth. She could feel the claws moving down over her collar bone, one finger at a time as the man spoke. “A night creature the likes of which you have never seen.

The group looked between each other and the red-haired man took a strong stance with his feet firmly against the floor and placed both hands on the body of the spear. 

“A vampire.” He said. “You will be gone from this place, foul beast!” He shouted and slammed the end of his weapon into the ground with such a force that the stone below would crack, and a light spread from his person which was nearly blinding before it faded out.

She could feel the hand on her shoulder loosen its grip as the vampire flinched and moved backwards, hitting his back against the wall behind him. She turned to look at him for only a brief moment before facing the party of heroes. She spread her arms wide, as they were all ready to attack the monster that stood behind her.

“Stop!” She shouted, her light voice carried through the chamber. Everyone stared at her in surprise and the man with the spear snarled.

“Get out of the way girl! That is a night creature, a monster of undeath who will stop at nothing before we’re all dead.

“You-... you don’t know that!” She responded, her chronic stutter becoming all too evident. “Please, he hasn’t done-... done anything wrong. He hasn’t attacked us. You can’t just murder someone for what they are without knowing-... knowing who they are.”

The man with the spear stared at her, his brown eyes studying her every detail before he looked upon the vampire who stood behind her. “Very well. Speak, demon!”

She could feel the creature move behind her and as he walked past he brushed his index finger against her arm. She could feel the sharpness of a claw breaking through the cloth and gently scratch her skin.

“Mortals walk into this old tomb as if they own it… almost every day. Now tell me, who are you all, hmh?” He walked slowly with one hand behind his back and stopped in front of the man with the spear.

“Marcus Dwaner.” The redhead said as he grit his teeth, his polished steel armor reflecting the fire from the brazier.

“And who do you kneel before, Dwaner? What god do you follow?” The vampire asked. Marcus growled towards him, showing his teeth. “The Sun god. It is my sworn duty to destroy all children of the night.” 

The Dusk chuckled to himself, a low rumble from his throat. “I see… how quaint. And you?” He walked towards a tall woman dressed in a purple robe. She had grey skin and long flowing white hair. She was cowering, stepping backwards as he came closer. He merely stopped as she huddled in fear and allowed her some space.

“Yria, sir. I follow Thorin, the god of the mountain.”

The vampire shook his head and as he moved between the party of heroes he continued to ask the same question. He walked with his back straight and head held high, as if he was royalty.

It was then her turn. He turned around, his cloak moving behind him as he spun on his heels. He moved with such grace, almost as if he was dancing.

“And finally, we have you. The little girl in white and gold. Who are you, hmh?”

He walked towards her and she pressed her hands tighter to her chest. She closed her eyes and wouldn’t open them until she felt the chill of the cold claws as he ran the back of two fingers over her cheek. He had bent his back forward so he could look her in the eyes. He gazed at his own fingers, head slightly tilted as he watched them move upwards over her cheek until they caught a stray curl of blonde hair. She noticed a black ring with a red symbol of an eagle which tightly sat around his finger, it seemed to have burned through his black glove. He would circle the hair around his fingers, gently and loosely, while watching the light bounce against each strand before he looked back at her. Their eyes met, her golden innocent naivety reflected behind hers while the burning red embers flickered behind his.

She could see the corner of his mouth slowly move upwards into a slight smirk as he waited, feeling her hot breath against his face as he was so close she could feel the coldness of his skin without actually touching it.

“I’m-... My name is Lysithea.”

“What a pretty little name you got, youngling.” He answered in nothing but a whisper. His eyes moved towards the curl his fingers were slowly playing with. Speaking louder he added. “And who is it you worship, hmh?”

“No one.” She said, her eyes quivering as she stared into his. The vampire's gaze instantly sprang away from her hair and they locked eyes again. She shut her eyes tight, as if the speed of his attention toward her golden orbs was enough to harm her. Slowly, she then dared to open them back up again.

“I worship no one. I-... I kneel before no one. I stand alone.” She added, her voice low. He then smiled towards her as he let her hair go and stood back up straight. He danced around, arms outstretched as he turned towards the party of heroes.

“Did you hear that? She stands alone! Alone here in the Veil.”

Lysithea shivered and her hand slowly grasped at the string of hair he had played with, almost impulsively so.

“Thanks to this little girl.” The Dusk pointed towards Lysithea without looking at her. “I will allow you all to go if you give me an offering of blood. I am not hungry, this is merely a token of gratefulness, respect.”

“Never, beast!” Marcus shouted and before anyone could react he rushed the vampire with his spear in both hands. His adversary danced out of the way at such speed that the man almost pierced the young girl instead. She stared at the flashing of the sharp point of the spear that came towards her like lightning. Lysithea closed her eyes shut, pressing her hands tightly together, digging the fingers into her chest. She pulled her lips together, biting into them as hard as she could so she wouldn't scream. A second passed, then two and instead of the cold agonising pain the room echoed with the sound of steel hitting the stone wall. She opened her eyes and watched the frowning face of the vampire as he held his open palm towards her. The room had fallen into a strange red hue and it took her a moment before she realised to her surprise that she was trapped within a red bubble. It had caused the weapon to be reflected with such force that it went flying out of Marcus’ hands and through the air. The orb which imprisoned her had a stench of iron and she slowly realised that the red droplets which stroked it's surface were nothing but blood.

“You choose death then. Very well.”

Lysithea could only watch from her prison of red as the Dusk moved between the party one by one. He grabbed Marcus by the neck and threw him across the room with such strength that the man passed out as his head hit the far wall. The vampire was then rushed by the others and rolled his eyes. “Idiot cattle, all of you. Fine - allow me to reward your stupidity and let you join your companion in the afterlife.” He pulled his hand through their chests, one by one as they ran towards him with their weapons held high and ripped their hearts out with one swift movement, it was as if he was dancing a dark waltz.

Their dead bodies fell, one by one against the ground and, then, the only one left stood Yria, trembling as she fell backwards. The vampire walked towards her slowly, licking the blood of his claw as he approached. “What about you, sheep, are you going to fight me too?”

Yria swiftly shook her head, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Then will you sacrifice your blood to me?”

She nodded quickly and he pulled her up by the arm. “Good girl, at least you have a resemblance of intellect inside that skull of yours.”

Lysithea closed her eyes tight as the screams of Yria filled the crypt. The tall man was standing over her, still with extraordinary grace as he pierced the skin on her neck and drank himself content. He would then simply drop her unconscious body and allow it to hit the floor, blood still trickling from the two piercing wounds.

The bubble around the blonde girl popped and she yelped out in surprise. The Dusk wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth with a finger and slowly turned towards her, his eyes glowing brightly. He didn’t have a single speck of blood on his person, almost as if he hadn’t gone through a whole pack of heroes in mere minutes. Dusk looked directly at her as he slowly approached, wiping dust off his shoulder as he moved.

He gave her a smile and as he walked closer he slowly turned into mist, leaving two burning red lights where his eyes had been to slowly flicker out as he vanished without a trace.