Chapter 1 - Flying through the air

11th February 1994

Walking through the hallways of the airship, people were everywhere, dressed in the finest garments available, they were parading around the white marble floors. The men, dressed in their fine black suits, often wearing pocket watches which shined like stars during this night. The women, beauties in their long gowns, most were wearing jewelry which seemed like colorful suns under the white moonlight.

In between people, a single lady stood out. Her hair was carefully turned into a spiraling tower which rested upon her head like a crown. She wore a purple gown embroidered with dark blue sapphires. But the most captivating aspect was her neck, three giant purple stones were attached to a necklace which consisted of hundreds of small diamonds. Without a doubt, that was her. The famous Countess de Mar. Her husband was none other than the owner of the biggest airship company in the whole of Europe. The count had made himself a fortune by monopolizing the airship travel, his competitors either went bankrupt or had "accidents". Everyone knew of his ruthless ways, but none dared to stop him, he had too many connections and was simply untouchable, even by governments.

Continuing forward, I stopped a couple meters away from the countess. Out of sight behind a few decorative plants. I quickly gave a waiter a signal and promptly one came to my aid, before he could even speak, I said "One cigar and a martini Blanco." he quickly nodded and answered "Of course, I will immediately bring them immediately."

A minute later he came back with what I had requested, I gave him 200 Francs and thanked him. He smiled happily and left. I lit the cigar, the sweet taste filled my mouth. Oh, how I had missed smoking.

"Showtime" I murmured to myself, before I emptied my martini. Afterwards I dropped the still burning cigar on my coat which I had purposely placed next to me. I stood up and walked away, to gain a couple of meters distance. Soon my coat started burning and a few panicked screams erupted. Then there was a loud ringing, the fire alarm, my chance. Suddenly everyone was in panic, the countess was quick to leave, hastily she walked outside. I immediately followed her, eyeing her valuable necklace. As I arrived outside, I saw her walking down a couple of stairs in front of me, I quickly started descending the stairs as well, tripping on purpose so that I would crash into her. She let out a small scream as we both tumbled to the floor.

"I am so sorry your ladyship, let me help you!" I quickly said as I was on my feet again, helping the countess regain her footing. "Watch where you are going imbecile!" she snipped angrily, to which I answered "I am terribly sorry, please forgive me your ladyship." She let out a frown, before turning around and walking away. In her eyes I was nothing more than an insect, not worthy of her time. As she left I pulled out the necklace, purple stones so big that they seemed not from this world, their beauty was truly supreme. With a grin I tucked the necklace into the pocket of my suit, I needed to leave, fast.

Making my way up the stairs I had fallen down, just a couple of minutes prior someone yelled "Stop right there! Thief!", I froze, looking around for where the voice had come from. That's when I spotted a tall man, dressed in a white suit, his skin was a little bit darker but not that dark, more like a light brown. Scarlet red eyes were looking directly at me, I answered "You seem to be mistaken, I am no thief.", with a grin on his face the stranger relied "Purple necklace, left suit pocket.", I was dumbfounded. How could he have known that? Was he watching the whole time? Before I could even say anything, he said "Surrender, there is no escape.". As he spoke I could clearly spotted the fangs in his mouth, most people couldn't see them because Vampires often used illusionary magic to conceal them from prying eyes. But those simple tricks wouldn't work on me. He was simply another fool in my way, I have no time to deal with such a nuisance, quickly I turned around and started running as fast as I could. He was right behind me but with enough distance for me to be safe. I ran around the outside deck until I reached the end. Panting and out of breath I gripped the railing, hoping that I had lost that stranger.

Sadly I was wrong, as he came around a corner seconds later. I had no route of escape, on one side, the stranger and on the other, the railing and beyond that the endless night filled with clouds. "You can't escape now! Give up." he said grinning as the hopeless situation before him. "When there is no other way, one must simply create a new one!" I said laughing as I climbed the railing, he came rushing forward realizing what I was about to do. 

"Au revoir." I said and bent slightly backwards, immediately falling. I was falling through the skies as I saw a pair of red eyes, dammit he had jumped as well. Weirdly enough he was gaining speed, coming closer and closer. Now I truly couldn't outrun him anymore.

Warm arms embraced me midair, just before I was about to hit the ground. But to my surprise I landed on something relatively soft, as I opened my eyes, I saw the face of the stranger. I was lying on top of him with his arm around my waist, tucking me in neatly. That idiot had thought I that I tried to kill myself, he was becoming a bigger nuisance by the minute.

"Let go of me!" I yelled trying to free myself from his grasp, he laughed before tightening his grip around me, I was now forcefully pushed against his warm chest. I stopped struggling after a minute, realizing it was hopeless. "You wouldn't have survived a fall from that height, no human would have ... so why did you even try?" he asked with a look of curiosity. "Look at my mouth idiot." I responded annoyed as I opened it to show him my teeth, two fangs were now clearly visible, he looked surprised "Interesting, I have never met a vampire who could hide their scent from me." he paused for a second, before continuing "I did plan to let you go before, but now I am definitely taking you with me.". Before I could even react, his lips touched mine, as his tongue entered my mouth, violently claiming it, my vision grew dark and I fell asleep.