She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 3 (A **** Ton of Trouble)

Keone

           Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone. I swear. Just leave.

          Keone walked up the steps toward the house. The door was unlocked, though it was never locked to begin with. He paused before entering and simply stared at the door for a while. He knew exactly who would be waiting. It was difficult to miss that kind of presence when so near.

          Just as anticipated once Keone entered the house, Angel stood waiting.

        The house was covered in darkness, and there the man was, a shadow formed into the shape of a monstrous being, a force unlike any other. Keone straightened his stance, unafraid of Death—as much as any sane being could be. "You should be out."

          "You've done something." His voice was level, calm even, but it was a lie.

          "You left me with no choice." Keone refused to back down. He did the right thing. She would have presented a threat down the line. He did Angel a favor. He saved them both from an unrelenting headache.

        Angel stepped forward, into strips of moonlight that escaped through the blinds. Those black eyes were seething with unhinged rage. Keone had never gone behind Angel's back before. It wasn't a complete betrayal but it was disobedience. "You killed the woman. I felt it."

           Keone frowned. "She's one out of billions. She's insignificant, Angel."

           Angel looked down briefly to examine his nails. "I suggest you stop talking."

           Keone closed his mouth but was certain his face said everything he didn't verbalize.

          Angel took another step forward again. He was always so fucking still, unbothered. Keone knew better. "I told you to stay away from her until I discovered more. And what did you do?" He smiled. "You killed her...get out of my sight."

       Keone didn't move for a couple prolonged seconds. While he wanted to continue the conversation, Angel made it clear he'd just drawn a line. So, he said nothing else and walked past Angel and up the stairs. His heavy feet thudded throughout the quiet house. If he looked back, Death would have been gone as though never there.

           When he made it to his bedroom, Keone carefully laid out his weapons on top of his dresser.

          He removed his clothes until he was down to nothing but his second skin, a thin and impassible armor laid against his flesh. It was created and perfected over the centuries in order to preserve the integrity of a vampire's original blood. It was possible to wear constantly, but Keone just couldn't. He peeled it off, exposing the thick scars scattered across his body that he acquired as a young, human warrior.

         Naked, he walked into the bathroom with a dagger in hand. No one dared cross this property unless they craved the end. Still, he could not ever be unarmed.

          He caught sight of himself in the mirror. Seeing the crimson splatters on his face and body shouldn't have meant anything. It wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last. Yet, her face flashed through his mind. Her tears. Her defiance. The woman Death could not take. Renata Jiménez.