Cursed and the Damned(Working title)

*Note* this is part of an ongoing series.  It piece is out of order and  am ensuring that there will more to come.


The Cursed and the Damned
Crossroads
J. Princess

         It has been nearly twenty-five years since the United States passed the bill to allow the shadow folk to be treated equally as every other citizen within the country.  The vampires and werewolves were given their boundaries to prevent any farther conflicts among the races, but some humans were opposed to the ideas of such beings to be viewed as equals.  It wasn’t until the time when the shadow folk have saved lives, rather than take them, that humans were not just viewing these beings as the storybook monsters, but respected people in society.
         In the more recent years, the country was in near peace amongst the shadow folk and humans.  The government had kept this particular bill out of the international eyes.  In fear of foreign conflicts, the United States kept the secrets of the shadow folk.  But now the time has come to break open the secret to the rest of the world.
         
“Why did you come to me, Agent Quigley?”  Antonio sat in an opposite booth seat of the government official; drinking a glass of milk.
         Agent Quigley nervously drank his coffee.  “W-we are searching for a group of your ‘folk’ to act in as ambassadors,” he said.  “We want to branch out to the world about the shadow folk.”
         Antonio went quiet for a moment; thinking of what this coming out would mean for his kind.  “Did you ask other before approaching me?”
         The agent shook his head.  “I was given specific orders to seek you out.” The agent continued to drink his coffee.  “You have worked for the FBI all those years, making you both respected and feared amongst your people.”
         Antonio chuckled.  “Believe me when I say this, Mr. Quigley.  Being in the FBI did not change my role in society.”
         “No, but amongst your kind, you seem to be the only one, along with some of your friends, that would be willing to do what we ask, if with the right forms of reward.”
         “Not a money reward I hope.” Antonio raised his eyebrow.
         “We were thinking the reward to be leaned towards the chance to travel, all expenses paid.”
         Antonio has not been out of the country in hundreds of years.  He had been keeping to protecting those of this master’s bloodline, never given the chance to return to Europe.  With Seth grown up and living on his own, he could take advantage of this opportunity.  “And if I were to accept such a task, what would I have to do as an ambassador?”
         “Seek the audience of the other countries’ ambassadors.  Convince them of this movement.”  The agent handed Antonio a vanilla envelope.  “Look at this information and then contact me if you are interested.”  The agent then finished his coffee before he stood up to leave.  “I hope you will consider.”  The agent then made his leave of the small diner.

That night, Antonio opened the vanilla envelope at his apartment.  The packet within outlined everything that Agent Quigley had spoke of at the diner.  Listing all the counties that the government was seeking to gain, for this movement. 
         Looking down this list, Antonio spotted a country of personal interest.
         Germany.
         Antonio got to thinking of his pass life in the late Renaissance of Berlin.  Born into the life of a petty thief; living off the streets.  Then Jens soon came to mind.  The creature that saved him only to take Antonio’s life for his own.  Nearly four hundred years and Antonio could not say if his master was still in existence.
         A knock at the apartment door disrupted Antonio’s deep thoughts.  He caught the scent of another vampire.  It was Xander.  “It’s open,” he said loudly.
         Through the door walked in Xander.  “Evening,” said the vampire as he kept pushing back his hair out of his face. 
         “And what do I owe this visit for?” Antonio stood up and walked over to Xander.  “Surly BJ isn’t done with her college semester.”
         Xander pulled back his coat sleeve, baring a bad case of sun poisoning.  “I was testing to see how long I could go without-“
         Antonio put his hand up to silence Xander.  Antonio knew all too well about being a newly turned pure blood vampire.  Xander has only been turned only a few short years before, by Antonio’s own fangs.  “How long did you manage to stay out?”  Antonio looked the burns over.
         “About ten minutes,” said Xander.
         Antonio walked off to his first aid kit in the kitchen.  “That’s without the sun block right?”  He dug out a tube of ointment.
         “Yes.”  Xander spotted the opened vanilla envelope.  “What is that?”
         Antonio glanced over at the envelope.  “A government agent came to me this evening,” he said as he started to apply the ointment to the blisters on Xander’s arm.  “Spoke of the shadow folk to come out to the rest of the world.”
         Xander growled in pain as the ointment was being smothered on his arm.  “What does that have to do with you?”
         “He wants me to be an ambassador for it.”
         Xander left out a sigh of relief when the ointment started to feel cold and soothing on his arm.  “What would that involve you to do?”
         “To travel to other countries and try to convince them that we as a whole are safe to be exposed and not be a real threat.”  Antonio handed to packet to Xander.
         Xander skimmed through the packet.  “So pretty much mercenary work, but without the converting being involved?”
         “Yeah, something along those lines.”  Antonio was feeling a bit parched.  “Would you like a drink?  I got this small jar of B positive from the morgue.”
         Although not a fan of old blood, Xander couldn’t say no.  “Sure.”
         For more than an hour Antonio and Xander discussed the ambassador packet while they drank the blood from the morgue.
         “To be honest,” Xander took a sip of blood from his cup, “It may be well worth it to go.  It would be a good way to explore the different cultures.”
         “I only worry about the shadow folk more than the humans, Xander.  The vampires and werewolves outside of our own country are not as… accustomed to such a change.”  Antonio rubbed his neck; once where he was bled nearly dead by Jens.  “There are very old creatures out there.”
         Xander could see the concern on Antonio’s face.  “It’s Jens, isn’t it?”  Xander himself did not know much about the vampire, but Antonio had spoke of his maker on many different occasions.
         “I have my doubts about him being alive still.”  Antonio finished off his glass of blood before he walked over to the sink.  But what if he was alive? He thought.  Jens was not just a vampire; he was a very old vampire.  He was smart too, so would Jens really have gone and do something out of character that could have killed him?
         “Antonio?” asked Xander.
         Antonio quickly returned to the present.  “Yes?”
         “It says you can take others with you as ambassadors.”  Xander pointed at a paragraph within the packet.
         With this new information, Antonio glanced up at Xander and grinned.
         “What?”  Xander could see the wheels turning in Antonio’s head…

It was a quiet evening within the airport.  The echoing of the intercoms and music was all that could be heard.
         “Now boarding Flight 225, Berlin, Germany,” spoke the voice over the intercom.
         “That’s our flight,” said Antonio.  “You three ready?”
         Xander, Seth, and Kristy followed Antonio.  “I can’t wait to get there, Antonio,” said Kristy.  The young slayer carried with her a pillow and her smart phone. 
         “I am as ready as I can be.”  Seth held his Iphone in hand.  This would be his first time out of the States.  Antonio had to explain to the young werewolf that he couldn’t just expose his other half during this trip due to the dangers.
         “Should I keep the sun block handy?” asked Xander.
         Antonio chuckled.  “We should be there in the wee hours of the early morning Xander, but if you feel the need to, please do.”
         “I’d rather not blister up again.”  Xander pulled out the arousal can of SPF 70 sun block from his carrion bag.
         The quartette stepped on board of the airline, ready to take on the mission ahead of them.

Atop of the old cathedral, the cool early morning breeze ruffled through a man’s long locks of hair.  Jens sat and watched as the morning started to get brighter, as he did for many years.  Many years of deep thoughts; and great change.
         The vampire was not alone this morning.  “What is bothering you, my dear Jens?” said a wispy voice from the cathedral’s many shadows. 
         Jens glanced over his shoulder.  “Cameron is getting restless,” he said.  “It is as though he senses something big will be going on.”
         “It is getting close to the full moon.  Cameron is trying to get to you again.”
         Placing his hand on his forehead, Jens closed his eyes as a shot of pain exploded in his frontal lobe.  “I don’t feel so sure about that this time, Ally.  Cameron may have… many flaws, but he has made sure to keep me in check by reminding me that anything can and will happen...”

“We have reservations at the Radisson Blu Hotel.”  Kristy pulled out the receipt, for the hotel, from the mission file.  The quartette arrived at the airport safely.  Waiting for their luggage, Kristy continued to look up information on the hotel.  “Oh nice they have an aquarium in the middle of the lobby.”
         “And what of the living arrangements?” asked Antonio as he spotted one of his suitcases.
         “Looks like to be a suite.  Four bedroom, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and living room.”  Kristy went quiet for a moment.  “How long are we to be here, Antonio?”
         “As long as it takes to get what we came here to get done.”  Antonio then paused for a moment.  He smelt a werewolf.  “Come, grab you luggage so we can go get a rental car.”  He scanned around the area, looking for anything suspicious.  He spotted a man that looked like a janitor, staring right at him.  With great haste in his voice he encouraged his friends to hurry.
         Seth and Xander soon picked up the scent as well.  Not wanting to poke around they quickly found their luggage and followed Antonio. 

With the use of their GPS, Antonio was able to find the hotel in the rental car.  Passing the Berlin Cathedral, he was reminded that he was at home here at one time.  It was still dark enough that the lights showed the dramatic design of the cathedral.  “I am shocked that building has remained after all those wars,” he said as they passed the cathedral. 
         “Perhaps we could go on a tour when we are not busy?” asked Kristy.  “Would be nice to learn about some of the history.”
         “Perhaps,” said Antonio as they turned into the parking garage.  “Maybe after we get settled in we can go out for dinner tonight?”
         “Yeah, the jetlag has left me feeling sleepy,” yawned Seth.
         “Sounds like a plan then.”
         After speaking to the hotel front desk, the group was all given key cards for the suite.  The suite was not a disappointment.  Each of them had their own room, but would have to share a bathroom per two rooms.  The kitchen came full and the living room was equipped with a sixty inch high depth flat screen television.  There was also a balcony that faced out to the city.
         “Whoa,” Seth said in awe as he stood out on the balcony with Antonio.  “This is nice.”
         Antonio looked out to the city, seeing that the sun was starting to break the horizon.  “I remember it being a lot smaller city.”
         “Times change, Antonio.  People can live longer and babies are born every few seconds, it only shows how well humans adapt to time.”
         “Humans are like any other creature on this planet- too many can be a bad thing.”  Antonio then went back in to the suite.
         Seth watched as the sun rose over the city skyline before he followed Antonio back into hotel suite.  Before considering venturing out into city, Seth went into his room and took a nap.

The sun warmed Jens’ pale skin as he walked down the deserted back street of the market district.  After a thousand years, the sun has little effect on the vampire.  At times though the sun did irritate his eyes, nothing that a pair of sunglasses couldn’t fix.
         “Schauen Sie sich diesen Kerl,” whispered a not so trust looking young man.  Jens was passing the man and his small group of comrades.
         Jens could hear the sound of footsteps following him as he rounded a corner, heading for his apartment.  He felt his fangs start to extend, knowing he will get a snack before he sleeps for the day…

“… In breaking news this afternoon,” said the news reporter on the television, “police have discovered the bodies of three young men in the market district of the city.”  Antonio turned his attention to the television.  He was awake earlier than what he wanted.
         “Report says that two of the young males had broken necks while the third was drained of his blood…”  The reporter then stated more details will be stated in the evening edition of the news.
         Antonio could only think of one thing- he and Xander are not the only vampires in the city.  The need to check out this murder was burning a hole in Antonio’s mind.  Seeing that his friends were still napping, he quietly slipped out of the suite with his sunglasses in hand.
         Despite the modification of the city, the street layout changed little over the last four hundred years.  The market district was a district that Antonio knew too well.  Many a days has he stolen food from the merchants. 
          It did not take long for Antonio to find the crime scene.  The excessive amount of humans and police in the area was a sure giveaway.  The smell of death lingered in the air the closer he got.
         “What could have done such a thing?”  Antonio heard the voice from the closed off area beyond the yellow tape.  “No signs of struggle, or any sort of evidence to even collect.”
         Keeping at a safe distance from the taped off area, Antonio did not need to get closer to see what was going on.  His hearing and sense of smell were his eyes.  The bodies were scattered down the narrow alleyway; two were near one another by a back door to a store.  The third was propped up against a stack of pallets, the body that was drained of its blood.
         This was not a murder scene.  A vampire had fed off one while the other two were just victims of bad luck.  Perhaps the three unlucky humans were trying to take advantage of the vampire, thinking that he was just another person?  The vampire could not risk being seen so he killed all three of them.
         “These three men have been known to harass and rob passing pedestrians around the district,” reported the leading investigator.  “Must have harassed the wrong person this time.”
         A ringing soon caught Antonio’s attention.  His cell phone was going off.  It was Kristy.  “Hello.”
         “Antonio?” said Kristy on the other end of the call, “where did you go?”
         “I am checking out this murder investigation.”
         “Oh?  Suspecting something out of the ordinary?”
         “Indeed. “  A breeze soon came from the direction of the taped off area that stopped Antonio in his tracks.  That smell… He thought.  He couldn’t tell if his mind was playing tricks on him, but that smell was enough to send a chill down his spine.
         “Antonio?” said Kristy
         “Y-yes?”
         “Is it a vampire?”
         Antonio glanced around at the crown as well as the rooftops.  “Yes.”
         “Great…”
         “I’ll be on my way back to the hotel shortly.  I need to check out something.”
         “Alright.”
         Antonio then disconnected the call.  Turning attention back to the crime scene, he left his mind wonder for a bit longer before he decided to return to the hotel.

“At this time we do not have any word on suspects,” said the television news reporter.  “Police cannot list a possible motive behind the killings leaving them with little to work off.”
         Jens sipped his coffee as the new report finished.  “Thinking I should have been a bit more careful with those boys,” he said.
         “Not one of your more clever cover-ups, Jens,” said a wispy voice from the bathroom.  A sleek, fair skinned woman then came walking out.  “I would be worried if they catch on.”
         “It wouldn’t be my first brush with the law, Ally.”
         “Yes, but last time they nearly caught you.”  The woman combed her fingers through Jens’ hair.  “They could have killed you.”
         “That was because of the werewolves.  They tried to frame me for something they did.”  Jens put his arm around the woman’s waist.
         The woman then looked up to Jens.  “Why are you up so early?  It’s nearly three in the afternoon.”
         “It’s Cameron again.  He wants to be free.”
         “When does he not want to be free?”  The woman placed a kiss on Jens’ cheek.  “He knows very well why we don’t allow him to roam free.”  She then walked back into the bathroom.
         Jens returned to the television.  Continuing to listen to the news, he waited to see the weather report before he turned it off.  “Another clear night,” he said loudly.  “Low wind speeds.”
         “Good,” said the woman from the bathroom.  “Those easterly winds were absolutely tiring last night.”

As the sun set, the night life quickly rose.  Antonio and his comrades got ready for the evening.  Antonio slipped on a blazer over his un-tucked dress shirt and denim jeans.  Taking his nine millimeter revolver, he placed it in the holster under his blazer, keeping the magazine of silver plated rounds in the inside pocket.
         Kristy wore a nice top with her pair of black khakis.  She placed two of her favorite hardened wooden stakes in her purse while using a smaller one to pin up her hair in a bun.
         Being a werewolf, Seth did not need much except a nice turtleneck and jeans.  Xander was just as simple with his button down shirt and black jeans.  “This is sad that we need to go to dinner armed,” said Xander as he hid his switch blade in the leg of his boot.
         “We are not at home, Xander,” said Antonio.  “The vampires and werewolves may be far more hostile than what we had to deal with in the past.”  He ushered his friends out the hotel suite.  “It’s like being thrown into a mosh-pit, we risk getting hurt.”
         The evening was brisk; early autumn weather.  The walk to the restaurant was merely a ten minute walk from the hotel.  “Gerichtslaube,” said Antonio with a smile.  He approached the restaurant.  “Tells you how long I’ve been around.  Use to be a town hall.”
         “Wow,” said Xander in awe.  “Were you a frequent visitor?”
         Antonio laughed.  “The guards had the hardest time trying to catch me.  I surely would not be here otherwise.”
         “Guten Abend,” said the hostess as the group entered the restaurant.  “Wie viele sind zusammen dinning?”
         Antonio cleared his throat.  “Es wird vier von uns sein, Madme,” he said.
         “Auf diese Weise dann.”  The hostess grabbed four menus as she guided the group to their table.  The hostess sat the group near one of its arched windows, giving them a nice view of the local nightlife.
         “That was impressive, Antonio,” said Seth.  “Though you sounded very formal in the way you spoke.”
         “Thank you, Seth,” Antonio said as he opened his menu, “but don’t forget that I from a much different time when people didn’t speak in complete slang.”
         Taking the time to read off the many entrees to the group, Antonio gave the entire order to their waitress, Nora.  Both Xander and Antonio stuck with soups, Kristy went with a turkey salad, and Seth got a bratwurst dinner course.  “I am so glad we are not sleeping in the same room, Seth,” said Xander after he saw what was all part of the meal that Seth was getting.
         “Don’t be jealous because you don’t eat the same things I do,” said Seth.  “Could have easily gotten the pork roast with the prunes.”
         Xander sneered at the thought of prunes.  “That is just disgusting.  Wait, you don’t even like prunes.”
         “Oh course I don’t.  I rather choke on a bone then to eat a prune.”
         Antonio and Kristy chuckled at the moment as they waited for their dinner.

The scent was strong.  Jens stood there yards away from the crime scene that he helped create, only to smell a familiar scent that he had not smelt in many years.  Could it really be? He thought.  Taking in an air full of the scent, Jens quickly pursued it…

“This is absolutely wonderful,” said Seth as he finished up his last bite of his bratwurst.  “Never have I tried such delicious food.”
         “Don’t be saying that in front of you mother then,” said Antonio as he poked at his soup.  He was hungry for something off the menu.  “You would break her heart if you say you don’t love her cooking.”
         “I was referring to the terms of foreign type foods.  The bratwurst tasted as though it was freshly cut this morning.”
         Antonio rolled his eyes in sarcasm.  It was a nice dinner from what he could pick up from the food he could smell.  The smells…  Antonio suddenly gasped.  “Seth.”  How could he leave his guard down so easily?  “Remember that janitor from the airport?”
         “Yeah?”
         “He found us, and he is not alone…”
         The table got real quiet quickly.  “How many?” asked Xander.
         “About six.  I can sense them around nearby, watching, and waiting.”
         “We dealt with six before-“
         “They are not like the ones back home.”  Antonio paid off check and handed it to the waitress.  “These ones are older, making them stronger.”
         “They must want something of Seth,” said Kristy.  “I don’t think they like it when there is an outsider in their territory.”
         “Let us get back to the hotel,” said Antonio as he did his best to not draw attention to his party as they left.  “If we cut through the park we can make it.”
         “That’s open area, Antonio,” said Xander as they got back outside.
         “Well, I am done with going down a dark alleyway after the many times I’ve been ambushed.  Besides it will safer to scatter if we need to.”
         Antonio led his party down the street at which they came in the direction of the hotel.  He could sense the werewolves, but he could not see them.  They kept well hidden, leaving Antonio and the group unsecured about what to do if they are expecting a confrontation.  “Once we cross the street to the park, be ready to run.”  The park was dark and practically deserted; the werewolves could be anywhere, hiding in the shadows.
         Waiting for the passing cars; the group quickly cross the street and into the park.  “Hang on Kristy,” said Seth as he scooped up his cousin before he started to run.
         Antonio and Xander broke out in their sprints across the open area, feeling the werewolves’ presence closing in on them. 
         “Feuer!”  Yelled a scuffed up voice.
         The gunshot like sounds filled the air around the park.  Antonio then heard the sound of chains being launched.  “AHH!!!” cried Antonio as a sudden burst of pain went through his chest.  A steel tipped blade came out from his shirt, covered in blood.  Then in great force, he felt as though he was being pulled back suddenly before the back of his head hit the pavement.
         “Antonio!” cried Xander as he ran back to his friend.
         “Xander,” yelled Seth as he came running towards Xander and Antonio, “watch out!”
         Xander heard the whistling sound of a crossbow being shot.  With his quick reflexes he snatched the whizzing crossbow arrow that was aimed for him.  Several more arrows came at him and he quickly deflected them.
         “Get this damned thing out of me,” Antonio said in great pain.  He had a harpoon lodged in his chest and was losing blood fast.
         Seth quickly went to work on removing the harpoon.  Before he could go to snap it in half the sound chains being pulled were quickly being a concern.  The harpoon was attached to chain, and it was about to snag Antonio!  “No!” he yelled as he quickly grabbed the harpoon, doing his damnedest to keep Antonio from being dragged.
         “Loswerden, dass Vampir!” yelled the scuffed voice once again.  “Vergeuden Sie auf die Pfeile!”
         Xander soon saw three unusually large werewolves running at him.  “Oh shit!”
         Kristy grabbed her stakes from her purse.  No use against these werewolves, but she was not about to go down without a fight.  “Come on!” she yelled in vampire tongue.
         “Seth…”  Antonio was feeling the blood lose.  “…I… don’t care how…but… get me off this harpoon rather than worrying about that chain…”
         “But that thing will leave a huge hole-“Seth was cut off.
         “Just get me off this damned harpoon, damnit!”
         Without questioning the vampire, Seth grabbed Antonio around the abdomen, planting his feet firmly on the ground.  Fighting the force of the tugging harpoon, Seth retained his grip on Antonio.
         “Argh!” cried Antonio as he felt the harpoon start to dislodge from his chest.
         Meanwhile, Xander and Kristy danced around the three werewolves, keeping them from getting close to Antonio.  Xander had already taken a few slashes from the werewolf claws and was starting to feel weak.  “This is not what I had in mind about being ambassadors,” he said.
         Kristy had little damage done to any part of her body.  The werewolves were far more interested in the vampires she was helping.  “Not now Xander,” she said as she jabbed her stake in one of the werewolves’ hands.
         After a few more seconds, the harpoon went flying out of Antonio’s chest.  After leaving out a painful screech he went limp in Seth’s arms.  “Antonio?” Seth shook the vampire’s body.
         “Seth!” yelled Xander as he dove for Seth and Antonio.  The whistling sound of several crossbows being shot had put Xander on his last effort of defending his friends.  Several arrows soon flew into Xander’s shoulder and back. 
         “Oh, no!”  Gasped Seth as Xander fell beside Antonio’s body.  Xander grasped his shoulders as he started coughing up blood.
         “They… missed my heart…”  Xander grasped his stomach as he curled up in a ball; shaking franticly.
         “Ah!” squealed Kristy as she was knocked back to the ground.  “Seth…”
         Seth whipped his head at the werewolf that was towering over his cousin; leaving out the deepest growl of displeasure.  “Get away from her!”  He quickly transformed and leapt at the werewolf.
         The werewolf chuckled.  With great ease he snatched Seth’s throat as he leapt at him.  “No one can save you now.”  He tightened his grim on Seth’s throat.
         “Haben Sie keine Zählung mich aus, dass!” roared a voice beyond the trees.
         The werewolf then dropped Seth.  “Unsterbliche!” he growled.

Jens sprinted into the park, charging at the standing werewolf.  “You beasts have no respect!”
         The werewolf readied himself for Jens’ incoming.  “This has nothing to do you with blood sucker.”
         “You are greatly mistaken!”
         The two other werewolves quickly surrounded the vampire, but even they were terrified to do so.  Jens dug his elbow into the first werewolf right before he whipped around and drop kicked the other two.  He then vanished.  The three werewolves searched around franticly, knowing the vampire will come from any direction.
         “You can try to keep up!” yelled Jens.  “But you won’t see anything!”  He then reached around one of the werewolves’ necks and quickly snapped it.
         The two remaining werewolves quickly backed away from the vampire.  Jens left the limp corpse of the werewolf fall to the ground.  He then looked into the darkness of the surrounding trees in the park.  “Get your pathetic excuse of a pack out of my sights, Haas!” he yelled, baring his fangs.  “Have the nerve to attack these foreigners with your weapons, but can’t even come out and face me like a real man?”  The two remaining werewolves quickly retreated back into the trees of the park, fearing the vampire.
         “Don’t think of this over, blood sucker,” said the scuffed voice.
         “I never do.”

The vampire turned his attention to Seth and Kristy.  “Sprechen Sie deutsch?” he asked.
         Kristy shook her head.  “No, we do not,” said as she checked her cousin’s throat.
         “English zen?”  The vampire had a heavy accent.  “Forgif me, but my English ist poor.”
         “It’s not a problem,” choked Seth as he returned to his human form.  “Thank you.”
         The vampire walked over to the limp Antonio and the bleeding Xander.  “Do not be zanking me yet, boy.  Zes two need help.”  The vampire kneeled down next to Antonio.  He could see that Antonio was in a coma.  Xander was fading in and out of consciousness.  “Are you two able to valk?”
         “Yes,” said Seth as he got to his feet.
         The vampire put his arms around Xander’s and Antonio’s waists.  “Come vif me zen,” he said.  “You are not safe if you return to your hotel.
         “What about that body?”
         “Do not verry about ze body.  It vill be taken care of.”
         Seth and Kristy have no reason to not trust this vampire after he saved them from certain death.  Gathering their belongings they went with the vampire.

~End of Part One~