Damon was late, big surprise. It had been more than a year since she'd seen him, and he
couldn't even be on time. Then again, it was Damon...
Shadow growled, and pulled her sunglasses down onto the tip of her nose and surveyed the
dark alley, wondering where the hell Damon was. She tapped her foot impatiently, enjoying the clicking
noise of her boot on the sidewalk.
Shadow was admiring the pure white skin of her slender arms, stretching them behind her
back as Damon appeared behind her and grabbed them, pulling her close.
Shadow glared back at him, "You're late."
"And your manners haven't improved, doll," he whispered in her ear before freeing her arms.
"Damon, I was in Boston, not a finishing school."
Her master smirked, chuckling a bit, "Ooh, now there's a fun little idea..."
Shadow rolled her eyes before she pushed her sunglasses up to the bridge of her nose. Damon
cocked his head to the side, swiping the glasses from her.
"Why are you wearing those ridiculous- Ah," Damon noticed her crimson red eyes and
nodded."You haven't been feeding, my lovely?"
Shadow scowled at him, "I've fed plenty."
"From blood banks, that's not even close to the real thing."
"What the heck do you even want from me, Theo? My time's not up yet, I shouldn't be here.
This isn't fair."
"Life is not fair, my darling. The sooner you learn that, the better. Anyway, I have a job for you.
Something only my little Shadow can do for me."
"Details, Damon. Details." Shadow tapped her foot impatiently. She hated the way he called her
Shadow. You see, he calls her that because when she was a mere fledging she followed Damon around
everywhere like his Shadow. She used to think it was cute. Now that she realized Damon wasn't using it
to show affection, but to mock her, it wasn't so "cute" anymore.
"A powerful vampire went missing last week. I want you to go retrieve his ashes from the
vampire hunter that murdered him."
Shadow eyed her maker curiously, "Who went missing?"
"Raven..."
Shadow froze. Raven was Damon's maker. They'd been through everything together. How could
someone have killed him? He is the king of Brooklyn.....well, was.
"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. Erm, I'll take the job." She smiled at him a bit and he smiled back.
He pulled her close and brushed his lips against her own. Shadow's eyes widened. If she could blush, she
would have been cherry red.
Damon laughed, "I knew it. You've always fancied me, haven't you?"
"Shut up," the girl looked up at him, snarling.
After Damon gave her the little tidbits of information needed to track the hunter, Shadow left. She
couldn't bear to look at him anymore; it hurt too much. She hated him almost as much as she loved him.
Shadow sighed as she stepped off the city bus, looking around. The hunter lived in a ritzy
neighborhood. It was obvious he got paid for killing vampires. She singled out a particularly fancy
apartment complex and sprinted towards it.
"Let's just get this over with," she muttered. Shadow slipped into the building behind a man no
older than 23 with a strong build and, in her opinion, a handsome face. It's not every day you find an
attractive human, she mused.
Shadow tensed when she noticed something in her peripheral vision. A mirror was hanging on the wall
of the lobby. The man in front of her was reflected while she, on the other hand, was not. She quickened
her pace, practically running to the stairs. Damn, she thought, I have to be more careful. As she reached
her goal, she noticed the man was staring at her strangely. She looked, giving him her best New Yorker
glare. She almost got lost in his chocolate brown eyes. He seemed to catch her vibe, because he turned
away and hurried into the elevator. If this guy is living the life in style, he's probably residing in the
penthouse, Shadow thought. She sighed as she ran up the seemingly endless flights of stairs. She
actually felt a little spent when she reached the top.
Shadow felt a dull pain in the pit of her stomach, probably because she desperately needed to
feed. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. After this I'll make a pit stop to the blood bank,
she decided as she turned the knob to the apartment, pushing the door open with her foot. She took a
few steps inside hesitantly, and then it all went black.
"Awaken." A deep voice commanded. Shadows eyes sprung open and she winced in pain. She
was kneeling in front of thousands of bright florescent lights. The girl squinted and looked around, her
eyes immediately locking on to the dark figure in the corner of what appeared to be the study. He
stepped forward so his face was illuminated by the lights, the corners of his mouth were turned up in a
playful smile. He was wearing her sunglasses. Shadow tried to lunge at him but found that her arms and
legs were chained down with silver. Was he the vampire hunter that killed Raven? She was afraid to find
out.
"Who are you?" Shadow glared at him, pulling on the chains. She winced again as her flesh
burned under the silver.
"Are you here to seek revenge on my father?" His lips were pulled into a thin line, his expression
grim. "If so, he's away for the next month or so. I'm here if you'd like to leave him a message, though."
He clicked a button on the small remote control he held in his hand and another set of lights turned on.
Shadow looked down and closed her eyes, everything burned.
"Your father's a vampire hunter?"
"Yes. He's trained me well, has he not?" The man's tone was mocking; he was enjoying this.
Shadow gulped as she heard his footsteps grow closer.
He chuckled, "Are you afraid?" His voice was in her ear now, and she felt the blade of a knife on
her flesh. He pressed the knife against her neck, making a thin slit. Shadow's tongue danced behind her
lips as the dull pain in her stomach grew. His blood smells amazing, she thought, if only I could have just
a little taste....
Shadow bit down on his neck and began drinking his sweet plasma. The crimson liquid burned in
her mouth. The young hunter grew limp, and she took this opportunity to yank her hands and legs free.
She pulled away from the man's neck and set him down on the floor.
Now, if I were an urn, where would I be hiding? Shadow pondered a moment before taking a
wild guess. Under the kitchen sink. She shuddered as she walked in the direction of the kitchen, but
something caught her leg. She looked back and sighed, the cute guy was moving again. Yay. He pulled
her leg, pinning her to the floor under him. She dug her nails into his arms, biting his shoulder. Fine, she
thought, I'm going to have to drain you then. She began to drink again, rolling over on top of him. He
squirmed under her, but she kept a firm grip on him. She could feel him getting weaker.
Shadow paused. What am I doing? This isn't me. She pulled away and the hunter fell
unconscious. She stood and went over to the kitchen, opening the cupboard under the sink. What do
you know? There were the urns with all the ashes of every vampire the hunter and his son have ever
killed.
"Oh wow. That's kind of morbid," she said to herself as she pulled a few out. She looked
underneath each one. None of them were Raven. She pulled out another urn, the bottom read 'Raven
VI.' She smiled, hopeful that Damon would be happy with her for completing her mission. Oddly enough,
though, Shadow didn't really care. He didn't give a damn about her, so why should she?
"Bravissima, my lovely," Damon clapped when she presented Raven's urn.
"I quit, Damon. I'm done working for you," Shadow said simply as she turned and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked, but didn't come after her.
"Back to Boston," she smiled.
