Book 1: Honor and Grace Part 1

Honor is a demon hunter traveling with Alexander, the vampire prince. Looking for information on Rinzer, the Demon Lord, she decides to go visit her sister, Grace, who is a preist of the Great Goddess Ashnye.

A young woman stepped out of the bathroom attached to her room. She had spent several hours getting cleaned up for her trip to the Matra-Ashnye, the first and largest temple of the goddess of life, love and light. She wore her favorite gown, a plain but elegant gray velvet masterpiece that outlined her hourglass form well and matched the gray of her eyes. She had tried in vain to do something elegant with her wild red curls, which were currently winning the battle with the gray ribbon she had tried to tie them back with. She hadn't even bothered with make up. She would only have made a fool of herself if she had.

 

She sat in a chair before the vanity. She put on her freshly polished boots. The spiked heel gave her a good three inches, almost making her average height. Once the ankle boots were zipped she sat up and looked in the mirror. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw a pair of green-gold eyes studying her.

 

“Blast it, Alexander!” she yelled as she threw her favorite brush at the man standing in the shadows by her bed. “What have I told you about sneaking into my room! I should gut you for this!”

 

Alexander chuckled as he circled the bed. He twirled her brush expertly with the long, thin fingers of his left hand. He wore what he normally wore; loose white dress shirt carefully tucked into black trousers and always polished black boots that covered his chafes. His long black hair was as straight as hers was curly and it stayed in the tie that held it at his nape. He was pale, but she thought he looked paler tonight than normal.

 

“But, Honor, my love,” he said with his most dashing smile that could make most young maids swoon, “if I did I would never have seen you in such a wonderful dress! I knew you had a lovely figure. Those black robes you love so hide a treasure.”

 

Honor gaped wordlessly at him, then spun to grab the dagger she had put in one of the vanity drawers. Finding it empty, she glared at her tall companion. “You sneak! What did you do with my dagger?”

 

Alexander pointed with her brush to the dresser on the other side of the room. Her horde of knifes and daggers, twenty-three in all, were neatly stocked on it. Her sickle, a black wooden staff with an opal embedded in the top and a wickedly curved silver blade was leaning against the wall next to the dresser.

 

“My dear, you know if you tried to attack me I would have to restrain you.” His grin was devilish. “Who knows what kind of interesting things could happen if I have to restrain you.”

 

Honor felt her cheeks warm and sat in the chair again. She kept her back to him, as she looked for one of her other brushes. She felt a light tug on her head and she looked up as Alexander placed her gray ribbon on the tabletop in front of her. She watched as he skillfully brushed and parted her wild hair. In ten minutes he was done.

 

“Oh, Alexander, how did you do that?” Honor asked in awe. Her wild mane had been tamed into a half-ponytail that looked elegant and casual at the same time. A few bits of short curls were allowed to hang free from the rest of the bond hair on top of her head and framed her face.

 

Alexander's reflection smiled at her. He set the brush down and she let his hands settle on her shoulders. “My younger sister Isabella had wild hair like yours. It was white, but just as unruly. Three of my older sisters decided to come up with a method to teach even the most incapable to tame wild locks. I was the first test audience.” His smile saddened. “Being the only son in a family with fifteen children was strange at times.”

 

Honor rose and hugged her friend. She could count on one hand how many times the last member of the vampire royal family spoke of the loved ones he had lost. The fact that he spoke of them at all proved how close he was to her.

 

Sometimes Honor would admit to loving Alexander.

 

“My dear one,” he whispered as his arms tightened. He lifted her off the ground enough to bury his face in her neck without bending over,” you smell so delicious.” She felt his fangs lightly scrap against the tender skin on her neck. “Simply mouth watering.”

 

Most times Honor would admit to wanting to murder Alexander.

 

Her creative threat, however, was never spoken. They were interrupted by a short, round, and balding man who busted into the room red-faced and frantic.

 

“Lady Honor,” he panted. Alexander released her and they both grabbed his arms before he fell over.

 

“Timothy!” Honor said, surprised. The pair half-carried, half-dragged the old man to the chair before the vanity. “Timothy, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be with Grace.”

 

“Milady,” he said as he grabbed her arm. “Lady Grace has gone missing!”

Author's Note

Niffty, right? I love Alexander! He is soo cool!
^_^
Honor is my new obsession.

Reviews

[HorrorMaster]

Pretty awesome chapter you got there. I love it

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The vampire genre is exploding.

I've yet to see Twilight, or read the novels, but I must admit it has really taken hold of many imaginations.

Your narrative is good; it flows. It's also appreciated that you double-space between paragraphs. It helps. There seems to be a little disconnect with verb tense: I was thinking that the many 'hads' here could be removed to bring the action more immediate close. Hmm. Not sure. In any case, I was held beginning to end, which is a good sign.

I look forward to reading more soon!

[Philosophile. (Maddy)]

I'm in love with Alexander too. I just want to eat him! He's so sexy, he reminds me of one of Anne Rice's vampires. I'm loving this story so far!