We walk out of the apartment complex and towards a sewer drain. She points down at it, and I kneel and try to pry it up, only to be nudged aside by Vincent. He picks it up like it is a poker chip and tosses it to the side. Damon flips on a flashlight and shines it down into the murk before going down the manhole. I start down the ladder, but Jane tugs at me insistently, and I slip, falling backward only to have Vincent’s strong arms there to catch me. When did he even get down here?

It smells like rot; my shoes are immediately full of sewage. It is about ankle high, but the smell is covering me like a cloak. I don’t have time to be disgusted as Jane pulls me forward. I begin to feel the others trailing with her; I can’t see them in the light of Damon’s flashlight, but I know they are there. I swear I can hear the maggots from their eyes dropping into the water as we walk.

“Charming place,” Damon mutters.

“He has access to any place in the city, can move during the day without detection. This is an ideal location for him to dwell,” Vincent says.

“Where do you sleep?” I ask.

“In more comfortable conditions, I assure you. I have little reason to hide,” he replies.

There are so many twists and turns. I can’t keep track of where we are going. I’m lost after only a few turns and hope the other two are better at tracking where we are going then I am. Jane comes to a sudden halt, and I nearly trip over my own feet, but I catch myself at the last minute. I feel the tendrils leaving my arm, and she turns to face me.

“He allows us no further. He is ahead,” she says, and I watch her as she begins to vanish.

“Wait! Why are you trapped here?”

“He is death. Do not become one of us, Amy,” she says before I can feel nothing but the coldness.

“He’s ahead,” I whisper, but the words barely get out of my mouth before I feel strong arms dragging me forward at a speed much too fast to be natural. Claws dig into my arm painfully, and I let out a scream because there is little else I can do. I hear Damon and Vincent call my name, but they seem so far away. The tunnels become a blur before everything turns black.

Then there is light, a curtain of red, a bed of black. The sewage in this area seems to be blocked out, forming a river around a strange living quarters. Still, the smell permeates every molecule, and I suddenly understand the stench that accompanied Bella’s mutilated remains. In the center of the room, there is a chair with straps attached to it, and I’m thrown into it. Before I can let out a word of protest, I feel my legs being strapped down to the chair’s legs, my arms to its arms. It’s made of metal, and I look down to see it is bolted to the floor. Whoever is doing this, I can’t see them, they’re moving so quickly.

“Let me go,” I manage to get out, but all I hear is laughter.

“So, she comes to me,” says a voice. The shadows seem to part, and I look at the figure of my nightmares. He is bald, his face looks as if it has half been burnt off. He wears a leather jacket, a white shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. But there is something off about his proportions, as if I’m viewing his through a funhouse mirror. The creature does little to hide his canines. They are thick, sharp, discolored, lacking the precision of Vincent’s fangs. I want to look away, but he grabs my head and forces me to stare into yellowing, deranged eyes.

“Amy, you couldn’t have made this easier. Following the ghosts right to me. And all this time I thought you were trying to ignore them. Don’t worry, you can join them…after a few hours. I’m feeling leisurely today. I have so much time to play with you,” he says, tangling his fingers in my hair and jerking my head back. I am immobile, I can’t struggle as his canines brush against my check. His breath smells of rancid meat. Another harsh tug makes me cry out, and he shoves his tongue down my throat. It tastes metallic, of fresh blood.

“I’ve been holding that just for you,” he says as he stands straighter. “How do you like the taste of your dog?”

I begin to gag. I try to spit it out, but he holds my jaw closed, bruising my face. My fear is through the roof, my heart beats so fast it might give me a heart attack. I plead that it does; I don’t know what else this monster will do to me. I’ve already decided I’d rather die than find out. I swallow just so he will let go and try to keep the bile down.

“Crying already? Oh, we have just begun,” he says, moving his hand to catch a tear that trails down my cheek. He licks it off his finger.

“So sweet. Now I see why Vincent has such an interest in you. You’re not entirely human; I can’t take over your mind. You have seen my dead. It may be lonely now, but it won’t be when I’m done. You’ll stay close to me forever. The best part is I can’t block the pain. I won’t even try, I want the screams to echo through these tunnels.”

“I have two people following me. They’ll stop you,” I spit out at him. Try to be brave, Amy.

“Ah yes, a hunter and a vampire who hasn’t been able to catch me for centuries. They may find me, but it won’t matter much to you,” he says.

“Why?”

“Because,” he says as his claws rip through my shirt, shredding the material and leaving my breasts and chest bare. The silver necklace suddenly flares to light, and he backs off. The metal pulses, and it seems to be burning into my skin it is so hot. I cry out in pain, but clench my jaws together – this is keeping the creature away.

“So, you are not completely defenseless,” he says, with a touch of amusement in his tone.

He takes a sword that has been sitting by his bed and walks closer to me again, shielding his eyes. I hear the crackling of his own skin as he moves the tip of the blade under the chain. The cross sticks to my skin and burns brighter as he pulls the chain up. There is a sucking noise as the cross comes off my skin, then the necklace is jerked, the chain broken, and both chain and charm go flying somewhere into the sewer, losing their glow. I can smell burning flesh and look down to see what looks like a brand on my skin.

“Now that we have that out of the way,” Elric says as he leaps forward towards me. I begin to struggle as he breathes down my neck. It’s like my nightmares, but I am unable to move. Past him I can see the dead girls, looking at me with remorse, holding out their arms to me as if welcoming me to their sisterhood, even though I was their last hope.His elongated canines tease the flesh at the side of my neck.

“If I bite you, you will become one of my kind.” Elric laughs, and then he scrapes his claws along the side of my neck. He plays with the blood leaking from my neck with his claws and his tongue and I am revolted. I am in agony. I can’t move, I can’t get away. I want to escape from this anguish – I’ve never wanted death so badly before in my life.