It was a dark and stormy night. The throbbing pulse of the city ground to a halt, the insignificant mites rushing home to their caves of wood and stone, metal and glass to huddle in primordial fear from the elements that racked the neon jungle. Wind and water streamed through the concrete canyons. Electric fire tore the sky apart to reveal years of trash and filth being washed away before air thundered together to return the cover of darkness.

On the streets walked a lone man, bundled in his ankle length duster, shoulders hunched and head ducked against the rain. In the faded yellow light of a streetlamp, the wind blew back his hair, streaming it behind him in white blur, whipping about like a living thing. His right eye had been lost long ago, the skin sewn shut over the empty socket. Old newspapers flew by as he muttered to himself and continued walking.

A scream split the night as he passed by a dark, trash strewn alley. The man continued walking, oblivious. When a second scream pierced the storm's noise, he seemed to wake from his trance and glance around, as though unaware of his location. Stepping back to the entrance of the alley, he peered into the gloom.

A dead end alley, high brick walls on either side, a tall chain link fence topped with barbed wire at the end of it. Not much to maneuver, but at least it provided some shelter from the rain. Small comfort, perhaps, to the young woman being assaulted by three large men at the end of the alley.

The man with one eye closed his other eye and concentrated for a moment. His right hand pointed to the central rapist and a blue beam of light shot out, smashing into the thug and throwing him into the chain link fence. Mrlynn walked down the alley, the wind flaring his duster out behind him like wings. The remaining rapists shoved the girl aside, drawing a knife and a gun while backing away from Mrlynn. He helped the girl up and pushed her behind him, never taking his gaze from the attackers.

"Get out of here," he said quietly to the girl. She scampered off toward the street sobbing as Mrlynn slowly backed away from the rapists. Far from the expected anger or surprise, the thugs faces showed… amusement.

-Click-

"Where ya going, hon?" asked the girl, as she shoved a gun against her rescuer's back. "Hero like yourself surely wants to help the poor and unfortunate… and we could surely use your help."

Mrlynn shook his head in disgust and spread his arms as the men approached to search him. When they were about a foot away, a blue flash surrounded the group. The men's eyes went wide and they crashed to the ground. Mrlynn doubled over in pain, clutching his head, as blue sparks flew from the socket of his right eye. The muggers began to stand up and he screamed in pain.

"Real stupid, hon. I was gonna kiss you for saving me, but now…" began the woman he had saved. She finished by smashing the butt of her gun into his face. Mrylnn crashed to the ground as the men stood up, shaking their heads to clear the grogginess.

A black clad figure suddenly dropped from the top of the alley into the center of the scene. For a few moments the only sounds in the alley were groans of thugs and muffled thuds which were accompanied by flashes of a pinkish, purple light. The woman backed toward the street and fired, the noise of the shot being drowned in the crash of thunder. Another flash of purple light accompanied the sound of a nose breaking. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the alley, showing the muggers unconscious on the ground and the black clad figure helping Mrlynn to his feet. As the two emerged from the alleyway into the teeth of the storm, Mrlynn groaned and passed out.

With a faint giggle, the black clad figure lifted him into her arms and ran off into the darkness.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, and it has been long since my last confession"

"What is the nature of thy sin, my son?"

"Oh, I have thought of doing unholy deeds, father." The sinner pressed his face to the woven barricade between him and the priest, curled his fingers through the holes. The faint candlelight glinted off his maniacal smile but somehow left the rest of his face in shadow as he slowly tore the barricade down. "I have taken the lords name in vain." The priest's screams cut off when the sinner wrapped his hand around the priest's throat. The air was filled with the sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh; a sickly sound like the ripping of wet leather. After a few moments, the sinner exited the cubicle, licking the blood from his fingers.

"I have… killed… a man," said the sinner, looking back at the cubicle with a laugh. "Come to think of it, I think I've broken every one of your commandments and you know what, Father? I enjoyed it!"

A small trail of blood seeped from under the confession booth door as the sinner left the church, shrouded in an eerie silence.

Sarah McDaniel screamed in exhilaration, throwing her hands into the air as the roller coaster sped down another hill in its convoluted path. Her long red hair streamed behind her, revealing the pure joy that lit her face. Her companion sat with his arms crossed, his long white hair also streaming behind them, his left eye squinting nearly as closed as the sewn over socket of his right eye.

"Wasn't that a blast?" asked Sarah as they staggered off of the ride. "C'mon, you're gonna love this one!"

"I can't believe you call this fun," grumbled Mrlynn as Sarah tugged him towards the next roller coaster.

Moments later, Sarah's long red hair shrouded his face as they whirled around in a device that he couldn't decide whether it was a death trap or just a sophisticated torture device.

"I am NOT having fun!" he screamed, spitting her hair out of his mouth.

As Sarah pulled him towards each new ride, his face began to take on a greenish tint, until finally he rushes off their final ride to hug a trash can and empty his stomach. Sarah stands by, half smiling and raising one eyebrow as her companion blew chunks of funnel cake into the trash.

"Feel better?" she asked when he finished.

"I need a drink."

"Holy Mumph-Dumph," mumbled Detective Simon Bartlett, catching himself but looking up expectantly just to see if anyone upstairs had noticed. When no bolt of holy vengeance struck him down, he looked back down and into the cubicle at the body of the priest. Barely recognizable as a body, that. A pile of meat with a few bones poking out of it, sitting in a pool of blood that slowly oozed over the lip of the booth's entrance. Simon sighed and rubbed his perpetual five o'clock shadow. He pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it when a glass of water thrown in his face ruined that idea.

"No smoking in church, Detective," scolded a pretty woman in uniform, holding a dripping glass.

"Clearly you've never been to Bingo night, boss. What've we got on this?"

"Nothing. No prints, no witnesses, no obvious motive, nothing."

"Cool. Bag him, tag him, get an autopsy. I'm going home," said Simon, whirling around and stalking out of the church. She followed him outside, rushed up to him and slammed him into the wall of the church, balling her fists in the collar of his trench coat.

"Stop, Simon! What the hell was that all about?" she demanded. Simon casually lit a fresh cigarette and sucked in a lung full of blue smoke before replying.

"I work nights. I had just gotten undressed for my weekly shower when you called me in on this. I've been up for over thirty hours now and I'm tired. Call Frakes or Johnson. I'm going to bed." He blew the smoke directly in her face.

"If you'll stop feeling sorry for yourself long enough to listen I might just tell you why I called you in on this. And if you blow that stinking smoke in my face again, I'll have you suspended for a month without pay," she said. Simon looked at her impatiently, blowing smoke past her face and pointedly not talking. "Good boy. Last night one of the acolytes had a vision. He saw Father Brian being murdered by a… vampire." She looked at Simon as if waiting for an answer.

"Point being? Sounds like your man ate some bad fungus and had a nightmare," he replied, pulling his coat free and turning to leave.

"Dammit, Simon, I know you know more than you let on!"

"NO!" he shouted, spinning to face her and nearly shoving his finger into her nose. "You know nothing!" She backhanded his hand out of her face and grabbed the front of his coat again.

"Ignore it if you can, Simon, but we both know that there are things out there that go bump in the night. If what we ran into six years ago was real, then why couldn't a vampire be behind this murder? It sure as hell wasn't anything human that tore that priest apart, and there are no signs of a weapon used. Whatever did this wasn't human - we're just not strong enough to rip a person limb from limb like that. What can you tell me?" He started at her blankly for a few moments until she broke their stare and turned her face away. "Damn you," she sighed.

"It wasn't a vampire. Well, probably not at least. Most of them are terrified that the Holy Power will incinerate them if the step foot on holy ground. It won't, but they're usually too superstitious to test the theory. If you're lucky and can find some DNA, you might even match the perp - if it's a new vamp." Simon flicked his cigarette into the gutter. "Now… Let. Me. Go" He pulled free and walked off down the street, lighting up another cigarette.

"Come on!" shouted Sarah, pulling Mrlynn along. Mrlynn was burdened down with several large stuffed animals.

"Haven't you won enough?" he asked.

"Fine. You win me something," she challenged. He grinned and walked up to a booth where a man was running a card trick.

"Nothing to play, you loose you pay!" said the vendor, laying down three cards. "Pick the Ace of Spades and win!" He flipped over the Ace and two others. Flipping them back over he slid them around on the table. Mrlynn watched him intently. When the vendor finished Mrlynn shook the man's hand and pulled the Ace of Spades out of the man's sleeve. The man looked shocked.

"Play again? Double or nothing?" the man stammered.

"Shut up and deal," Mrlynn replied. The man did.

"Ace of Diamonds," said the vendor. Mrlynn drew the top card off the deck and showed it to the man, then laid it down. He drew the second and showed the man again, laying it down to form a plus sign on the table. Mrlynn waved his hands over the cards, gathering them up. He then whipped the top card off. It was the Ace. The man scowled.

"Deal again," smiled Mrlynn. The man did.

"Hearts," said the man quietly. Mrlynn flipped the center card over. Ace of Hearts. Mrlynn then flipped the other two over. The Ace of Spades and the Ace of Diamonds. The vendor shuffled through his deck and looked up in amazement.

"How..." he began. Mrlynn laughed.

"So pick your prize, Sarah," he said. She looked at him reproachfully. "What?" he asked innocently.

"You know, my dear, there is such hype about the importance of virginity in magic," said the sinner to the girl he held crushed to his chest. "I've never understood why. Truly, the sins of your life taint your soul, and that taint can seep into the blood, but only fools attribute the procreative dance to sin. Though I must say… virginity does often accompany the avoidance of other taints. Which leaves you… delicious."

He let go of her and she slumped to the ground, a faint trickle of blood flowing from the puncture marks in her neck.

"Eh, kids today. No attention span. Ha Ha Haaa!" he laughed and walked out of the alley.

"You were right, Sarah. The amusement park was fun at times," smiled Mrlynn as they drove home.

"Mrlynn, using your powers to win wasn't very fair. No matter how fun it was."

"Powers? No, I just beat him at his own game - slight of hand."

"It looked like more than that."

"It wasn't. I've just had a lot more practice than he has."

"I bet."

They drove in silence until they reached a seedy little apartment complex. Sarah parked and they walked up the stairs to Mrlynn's apartment.

"So what do we do now?" Sarah asked.

"About what?" Mrlynn countered, opening his door. The apartment looked barely lived in, rickety, cheap furniture, minimal comforts.

"About our powers."

"Whatever you want, Sarah. You could easily be an Olympic Gold Medalist. You could make an excellent model or actress, if you wanted. Or you could go on with life like normal and never think about your powers. Finish school, get married, have kids, die," he responded seriously, digging around in the fridge. He popped up with a canister of cottage cheese and got a spoon. "Ya want something to drink? Got pop, hmm... red juice, and beer."

"I'm not twenty-one."

"So?" he asked. At the look on her face he remembered. "Right," he said and tossed her a pop. He plopped down on the couch next to her and began eating.

"I wouldn't feel right doing any of those things. Shouldn't we use them to help people? Fight crime, or something?"

"Read a lot of comics, don't you?"

"I found you trying to help someone."

"My point exactly. In a moment of weakness, I yielded to my weaker half and got the shit kicked out of me. It's real out there, Sarah. You got lucky. Most gangs fight better than you. You're fast, but you can't outrun a bullet, and you can die. Very easily."

"Boy you're cheery." She leaned closer to him. "So train me, help me. We'd make a great team. Why not?"

"Sarah, power does not necessarily mean responsibility. We are not obligated to do anything with our powers. They were not invested in us by the people we'd be hel-"

-Briiing-

Mrlynn picked up the phone. "What?" he growled into the receiver.

"Mrlynn."

"Sarah, it's time for you to go," said Mrlynn quietly.

"Why?" she asked.

"Now," he said to her sternly. Sarah ran out in a blur. Mrlynn turned back to the phone. "Why are you calling me?"

"I need your help."

"Fuck. You."

"Mrlynn, we have a problem. Something up your alley."

"Simon..."

"Meet me at the usual place. Believe me, you want to know this."

-Click-

The little dive of a coffee shop was as shabby as Mrlynn remembered. The inside was lit dimly by hundreds of real candles. Mrlynn swallowed and entered. "God, it even smells the same," he thought, his face contorting with pain.

"Hey! Marlan! Long time! The usual?" asked the bartender. Mrlynn nodded. "It has been a long time... almost 3 years. Not since... no. Don't go there. Find Simon." There he is, back table, just like usual. Mrlynn walked up and sat down with his drink.

"I'm sorry, Mrlynn. I know what this must be like for you."

"No, Symnn. You don't. Get me out of here."

"Right. You seen the news? No, of course not. Last night a priest was murdered at Saint Vincent's..."

"Pity," Mrlynn said contemptuously.

"...no finger prints, nothing. Found some foreign skin cells though. DNA tests came up just different enough from human that the techs think we have a contaminated sample. I know that whatever killed him just doesn't match what they're looking for - it doesn't exist in their reality. This evening we found a fifteen year old girl with damn near no blood in her, no blood around the scene, and a suspicious looking bite mark on her neck."

"So you're saying we have a vampire on the loose."

"So it appears. Most vampires are psychotically afraid of churches."

"Most. Symnn- it's a vampire. Kill it. Why are you bothering me with it?"

"To warn you."

"You're too kind. Thanks. I'm outta here." Mrlynn stood to leave. Simon grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Mrlynn," Simon said forcefully, "The priest had Faith. The girl had an un-Awakened avatar. Get it now? This thing is taking out the Empowered. Weak or untrained ones so far, but you know that eventually it will come for all of us."

"The girl. Was she...?"

"A descendant? Yes. Yours and Lethel-siis'."

"Damn. Thanks Symnn. I'll keep you posted." Mrlynn got up to leave.

"Thank you, Mrlynntha'ana." Mrlynn paused. "I'm sorry for calling you, but you know why I had to."

"Symnn," said Mrlynn, his back still turned. "Fuck you."

"Come out and play!" shouted the sinner, standing in the center courtyard of St. Vincent's. "I know you're in there!" He leapt up, soaring to the third level and crashing through a window. The young man standing in the middle of the room suddenly flashed and a white beam shot at the sinner. The sinner screamed in pain.

"You shouldn't be able to do that!" shouted the sinner.

"You of all people should know better than to deny Gods' Will," responded the priest, baring his cross at the sinner. Another pulse of light shot from the cross shot out at the vampire. The in a blur of motion the sinner leapt at the priest, smacked the cross out of the priest's hands, then grabbed his victim by the throat, lifting him the ground.

"I'm no simple vampire, fool. You cannot destroy me with your petty little beliefs," snarled the vampire in the priests face.

"I can try," gasped the priest defiantly. The priest began to glow with a soft white light. The faint sound of bells and trumpets slowly echoes into the room. The sinner screamed in pain, dropping the priest and clutching his scalded right hand to his chest. The light of the priests' shield illuminates the vampires face, breaking through the shadow that has occluded his features.

Except for having both eyes, the vampire could be the twin of Mrlynn.

"Dammit, Mrlynn, where are you?! I've been trying to get a hold of you for two days! Call me as soon as you get back!"

"Sorry, Sarah," thought Mrlynn. -Beep-

"Mr. Nalla? This is Father Robert at St. Vincent's. Please call me as soon as possible at 555-3962. This is very important."

-Beep-

"End of messages," squawked the machine. Mrlynn picked up the phone and dialed the church.

"Yes, Father Robert please," he said.

"The Father is in confession right now, may I take a message?"

"No. Pull his ass out of there and throw another rag doll in. Tell him it is Mr. Nalla."

"Sir!"

"NOW!"

"Please hold," said the subdued, shocked voice. Mrlynn grimaced.

"Mr. Nalla?"

"Father Bob. You called me. Blather at will."

"It's Robert, if you please. The other night I was attacked by a creature resembling a vampire. Detective Simon said I should contact you."

"Damn him and you. I can't help you."

"I disagree. We are willing to pay for your services."

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Yes, Mrlynn. And I know that you are eminently capable of helping us."

"I don't work for the Church."

"I know."

"No, BOB, you don't. I watched as your religion raised the Holy Fires of Hell and burned my people... my friends on your damned crosses! You destroyed my kinds' power. Your religion brought this evil to light and allowed it to flourish, so you have only yourselves to blame. Don't whine to me for help. My time has come and gone. You deal with this."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. My Faith drove it off and hurt it, but did not destroy it as it should have. What effect will your powers have? Can you destroy it? You may need my help as well."

"Not even." Mrlynn hung up.

"Where is he?" mumbled Sarah, pacing around her room. "He should have been back by now. I'm going over there and breaking his fucking door down!" She grabbed her duffel bag with her costume in it and ran down the stairs.

"Sarah?" called her mom.

"I'm goin' the gym to work out, Mom!" Sarah called over her shoulder as she left. It took her about fifteen minutes to get to Mrlynn's apartment. She thundered up the stairs and hammered on his door. It swung open after the first punch. She glanced around but saw no sign of Mrlynn. She called out his name.

"I'm in the bedroom, Sarah," came the soft reply.

She walked in and stopped in shock. Mrlynn stood in front of the mirror, wearing only a loin cloth. His back was covered in a web of scars. He turned to face her. He was thin, gaunt even, and his right nipple was pierced all the way through behind the areola with a small pin of bone.

"Why, Mrlynn, I had no idea," she said, semi-seductively, slouching against the door frame.

"What you don't know would fill volumes," he replied, deadly serious.

"Does this mean you'll train me?" she asked, soberly.

"Yes. Lesson one begins in twenty minutes. You have your costume?"

"Yes."

"Get dressed."

"Right here?"

"Or in the bathroom. I don't really care."

She took up the challenge and began to strip. Mrlynn raised one eyebrow at her boldness then turned back to the mirror. He drew a symbol on the surface and the mirror went dull. He reached into the dull mirror and pulled out a midnight blue robe, a silver medallion and a sacrificial dagger. He raised his hand to the mirror and it flashed back to normal. Sarah's reflection made Mrlynn's eye's widen. He shook his head and pulled the robe on. He turned to Sarah when she was dressed and handed her the medallion. She slipped it on.

"What's up boss?"

"A Hunt."

"For what?"

"A vampire type of creature."

"A vampire? They do-"

"Don't exist? Neither do superheroes or mages."

"Point."

"We go to Daniel's Lake. I'll draw our prey then."

Sarah drove them to the lake quickly and quietly. Mrlynn got out with a sigh of regret and walked to the water's edge. He pulled out a bag and sprinkled some fine power on the surface of the water. He held his hand out to Sarah and she gave him hers.

"You are a virgin, aren't you?" he asked.

"Mrlynn!"

"Answer it!"

"Well- yes. Why?"

He grinned and drew the wavy dagger. She gasped and drew away.

"Relax, I only need to draw a little blood. You won't even feel it. Trust me."

She swallowed and held her arm out. He turned it over and cut the back of her hand. She gasped and a drop of her blood fell onto the dust. Mrlynn then cut his palm and dropped his own blood onto the dust. He placed his hand over hers so the cuts matched and sealed. A single drop of their mingled blood fell onto the dust. When that happened, the dust burst into a blue-white flame. Mrlynn pulled Sarah down to her knees and held their hands in the flame. When he pulled them out the cuts had healed, leaving a fine scar.

"I don't feel so good..." Sarah moaned.

"Then go rest in the car, Sarah," Mrlynn murmured. He felt a little faint himself. Sarah walked back to the car while Mrlynn knelt there by the water. He waited.

"So- the great Mrlynn himself," said a voice in his head.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find me." Mrlynn looked up at the man leaning against a nearby tree.

"It wasn't hard with that spell. Does she have any idea what you have done?"

"No."

"How lucky you are that you won't have to explain it to her." The sinner moved forward and dropped Sarah to the ground. Blood poured from her neck and from the vampire's mouth.

"You bastard!" exclaimed Mrlynn, getting up and running towards Sarah.

"Indeed I am. Born of woman by an unknown father. Infected before birth with the vampiric curse."

"You're a Dhampir."

"Very good. I can see why you choose this mortal, Mrlynn. She looks a great deal like your woman back in Britain in the second century."

"How do you know that?"

"She was a Vampire, but you knew that. You loved her, wanted to spend eternity with your Lady of the Night. You gave her a child, even. But you never knew that. Your order called you away shortly after the conception."

"Who are you?"

"They said she was gutted to death."

"Shut up!"

"Don't you recognize me?" whispered the Dhampir fiercely, leaning into the light. Mrlynn stared at his own face in shock. "I remember her too. I clawed my way out of her womb through her belly and feasted on her blood. Her womb, Mrlynn. I am that child. So, how about a big hug and kiss... Father?"