Vampire's Assassin: The Original's Forbidden Vows

Shadows and Sparks

“Lena, try not to get yourself killed out there.”

If only he knew how many times I had danced with death wearing a smile.

We moved through Eclipse Manor’s shadowed corridors with deadly purpose, Luther’s long strides forcing me to run his pace. His inner circle had already assembled in the reinforced hall. Turned operatives checking silver-edged firearms, hired human mercenaries living with them calibrating scopes, and a handful of loyalists whose eyes gleamed with the faint red hunger of controlled bloodlust. The air hummed with violence, the kind that came from beings who had survived purges and now refuses to die. Elvira Johnson stood at the forefront, her silver-streaked hair pulled into a severe braid, a custom rifle slung across her back like an extension of her spine. She wore a bulletproof vest as the others. Her sharp gaze locked onto me the moment we entered, staring hard at my borrowed hoodie and steady posture with the qualities of a rival who had spent years carving out her place at Luther’s side.

“Luther,” she said, her voice respectful toward him, but filled with obvious frost for me. “Scouts confirm three Obsidian vehicles moving around the northern cliffs. Heavily armed, with night-vision equipped. They’re testing our response time again, pushing closer since your... acquisition.” The subtle emphasis on the last word made her territorial dominion crystal clear. Elvira wasn’t merely jealous; she was a survivor who had stood beside the last Original through centuries of attrition. She had earned his trust through blood and loyalty, only to watch an unknown woman show up to threaten the delicate balance she guarded. In her eyes, I represented instability, a pretty cockroach she needed to crush.

Luther’s jaw tightened. “Marcus, take the eastern flank and secure the overlook. I’ll join the primary response once Lena is positioned safely.”

Elvira’s lips curled into a thin, skeptical line. “Safely? With an untested outsider in the mix? She’ll slow us down at best, expose weaknesses at worst. Let her remain in the command room. This isn’t amateur hour.” The challenge hung heavy, rooted not just in personal ambition but in genuine fear for the fragile vampires who depended on Luther’s survival. She saw me as a liability, or naive distraction that could cost lives she had sworn to protect.

“I’m not slowing anyone down,” I responded coolly, meeting her stare with the unflinching calm Shadowveil had taught me. “I’ve handled worse than these in tighter spaces.”

Luther shot me a look that blended warning with something perilously close to respect, the acknowledgment of a fellow predator who recognized steel when she saw it. He didn’t argue my presence. Instead, he claimed my hand in a firm, possessive grip that sent that made my feelings flare to life, and as he led me toward a reinforced side exit he said, “You stay behind the main line. It's not negotiable.”

Like hell. I got angry hearing him say that.

Outside, the coastal wind was stronger, carrying salt air and the distant rumble of engines. Moonlight glowed through gathering clouds so bright I could see vampires and operatives moving out with disciplined coordination, some ran into the dark night while others held elevated positions. I kept to the instructed but positioned myself where I could see clearly. This looks familiar to me, the Academy had trained me for exactly these moments of calculated intervention when people invade our academy territory.

Gunfire cracked in the distance like thunder, then shouts erupted. Luther moved at the speed of light, very deadly, in a blur as he directed his people with hand signals and low commands. His skin didn't fully change into whatever form I had glimpsed on the highway, but shadows seemed to cling to him more, I think it enhanced his already terrifying presence out here. One Obsidian mercenary broke through the tree line ahead, weapon blazing. A loyalist went down with a loud cry, blood spraying across wet rock as others were also taking fire.

Something fiercely protective surged in my chest at the sight of Luther charging forward, exposing himself to take fire. Not on my watch, not when this my mark still owed me answers, alliances, and the blood price that could free me.

I whispered the incantation under my breath, hands concealed in my hoodie pockets. A swarm of night insects, moths, biting midges drawn from the coastal undergrowth all rose at my silent command, forming a choking, disorienting cloud that descended on the lead attackers. They become disoriented, their aim disrupted, curses filling the air as their visibility collapsed.

It wasn’t enough. The Obsidian forces adapted with possible brutal training, laying suppressive fire. I pushed harder now, my eyebrows curving as my heart tightened up with anger, weaving a second layer of subtle illusions. The rocky outcrops seemed to shift and multiply, ghosts of reinforcements appearing where none existed. One mercenary screamed and emptied his clip into empty air, panic rippling through their ranks. I noticed they were moving back even if Luther's people are now firing back.

Elvira noticed the anomaly. She spun in the middle of the fight, cutting down an enemy with ruthless efficiency, her eyes narrowing toward the disturbance. “What in the hells—?”

I pulled my magic back quickly, letting the illusions dissipate before traceable magic could form. The disruption had bought them the seconds needed. Luther roared a command, leading a coordinated counter that sent the remaining Obsidian scouts retreating into the night, their tires screeching over gravel as they fled toward the cliffs.

Cheers and low, growls rose from the defenders as the perimeter was secured. Luther returned back toward me, so fast his chest heaving, I notice a graze along his arm dripping dark blood that he ignored. He crowded me against the rough bark of a pine. The tree pressed into my back; his heat and presence dominated the front, smelling of cedar, and the metallic scent of fresh violence wrapped around me.

“You did something,” he said quietly, voice straight for my ears alone. His hand came up, bracing beside my head on the trunk, caging me without touch. “I felt the shift in the air, there was power, not from my Council tech and definitely not my Turned. You did that.”

My stomach dropped, but I kept my chin lifted in defiance, pulse racing. The magnetic attraction between us pulled like a live wire in the aftermath of battle. “I don’t know what you’re imagining, Luther. Adrenaline plays tricks. I stayed low that’s all.” The lie tasted bitter, especially with his gaze opening layers I couldn’t afford to lose.

He leaned in closer, lips brushing the shell of my ear, and sending shivers running down my spine. “Don’t insult my centuries by lying to me, Lena Winchester. I can smell the residue of your magic on the wind, taste the echo of it in the shadows you bent. Every instinct I possess tells me you’re exactly where fate intended you to be.”

A shiver traced through me. The near-kiss from my suite returned with ferocious intensity, amplified by adrenaline I was battling to stop. His free hand settled on my waist, thumb stroking a possessive path over the curve of my hip through my cloth. My magic responded eagerly, reaching toward him like flame seeking oxygen. Heat pooled low in my belly in ways I can't deny.

I placed both palms flat against his chest, feeling the rapid, powerful movement of his ancient heart as it felt alive in ways that made my training feel monstrous. “You’re letting the fight cloud your judgment, Original. This is a contract. It's something temporary. I feel nothing beyond mutual understanding. Don’t get attached to illusions.”

His low growl vibrated against my hands, sending fresh heat spiraling through me. “Keep reciting that script if it comforts you, shadow witch. But I see the truth in your eyes, I see the war you wage with yourself. I protect what’s mine. Never forget that. And whether you admit it or not, the pull between us marks you as someone I must protect.”

The possessiveness in his voice should have made me think of survival only, Instead, it ignited something deeper, a yearning the Academy had tried to stop me from knowing. For one wild, reckless moment, I wanted to pull him down, taste the centuries on his lips, and damn the consequences. Our breaths mingled, our lips a fraction apart as we literally forgot the world around us.

Elvira’s voice came through the clearing. “Luther! We need you at the overlook for full debrief and casualty assessment.”

He didn’t retreat immediately. His eyes stayed on mine, dark with promise and desire. “This isn’t over.”

Only then did he step back, his fingers trailed down my arm in a deliberate caress that left my skin burning. As he moved to rejoin his people, Elvira shot me a venomous glare that promised future complications. She was jealous and with the very real fear that I might succeed where she had positioned herself for lifetimes.

I leaned against the pine, breathing hard, the reality of danger and forbidden desire thick on my tongue. One mistake, I thought, watching Luther’s powerful form cut through the moonlight. One uncontrolled flare of magic, and Vesper’s enforcers will descend. One moment of weakness, and this fragile empire pays the price for my ambition. I'm lucky he didn't find out what I did here tonight.

Yet as the magnetic attraction in my blood grew stronger, I wondered if the real threat wasn’t the Obsidian Council or my Academy handlers.

It was Luther Hernandez himself, the last Original who was slowly, relentlessly stealing pieces of me I could never afford to give.

And the most terrifying truth? I wasn’t sure I wanted him. Maybe this is me feeling sorry for him because he has more enemies now than he even realizes.