"Once you enter the caves, tracking it down should be easy, just follow the trail of bodies," that's what I'd been told anyway. It was an awfully dramatic thing to say, but the provincial governor was absolutely one for theatrics. What really hammered that home for me was the distinct lack of corpses—emaciated or otherwise—inside the cave. Mostly it was just rocks. Stalagmites—which were the ones you might trip over—and stalactites—which were the ones that hung tightly to the cave ceiling—the echo of dripping water and my own footfalls. Light was lackluster, but between my lantern and the sporadic natural skylights I was able to at least avoid losing my footing. And, more importantly, I was able to get a clear enough view of the ground to see a distinct lack of bodies strewn about. But hey, the townspeople had reported a vampire living in the caves, and everyone who had gone after it never came out, so obviously it was only a matter of time before someone called in a professional.
Still, I was a professional monster killer, not a professional spelunkerer; I wasn't even sure if spelunkerer was the right word. It probably wasn't. Regardless, navigating caves didn't exactly come naturally. While I may have been able to sort of see where I was going, that didn't keep me from stumbling around in the dark. At some point though, I got lucky, sort of, anyway. Lucky is relative. If you consider tumbling ass-over-head down a steep chute and belly-flopping directly into your target's lair lucky, then I got pretty damn lucky. I came to a halt on the cold, hard, wet, but fortunately fairly smooth stone and pushed myself onto my hands and knees. Across from me was a sight that made my blood freeze. Hanging upside down off the ceiling of the cave from clawed feet was my target.
The vampiress had folded herself up in her brown, leathery wings, allowing only her long bat ears and dark hair to peek out below. She was big, taller than most men, taller than most tall men. At the sound of my rapid descent her ears perked up, turning to follow the noise. The rest of her followed suit shortly after; pale reddish eyes opened, glowing faintly in the dark of the cave as they caught the light of my lantern. Her eyes focused and, after a moment, she seemed to take in just what was going on. She unfurled her wings and flipped down onto her feet. In the dim lamplight I saw all of her. Aside from her eyes, wings, ears and feet, she was entirely human, and she was absolutely beautiful. Also naked. Her face was curious and apprehensive, lacking any of the animosity or aggression I'd come to expect from her kind. It also didn't have the distinct, shallow gauntness of most vampires, Instead her cheeks were plump and rosy. Her lips were full, her eyes big and round, her jawline delicate and smooth. Then there was the rest of her.
She obviously didn't get much sunlight, being a vampire aside, living in a cave didn't exactly allow much exposure, even if she could feel the sun's rays on her skin without burning to ash. Nonetheless her skin was flawless and smooth. Her toned arms were partially attached to her wings at the base, but could mostly maneuver independently of them. Apparently she had also been gorging herself on her victims, as, along with a voluptuous frame came a slight, attractive plumpness around her belly and hips. The trend continued with her breasts, which hung heavy and full; dark, pert nipples stood in proud contrast to the porcelain flesh around them. I couldn't help but stare. Lady monsters had always been a bit of a problem for me. Women in general, really. They made me feel things, unwelcome things, wistful things. And I'm not just talking about the obvious attraction, though that was definitely a factor. Moreso, though, I had this bizarre fixation on women, they were fascinating, living these rich inner lives of beauty and elegance that I knew so little about.
The duty of the monster-hunter was to live among strife and violence; to constantly balance on a razor's edge between life and death. So admittedly, I sometimes envied women, who got to just be pretty and spend their time doing far more interesting hobbies than carving a path of blood and grime. Regardless, I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of my duty. I squared up to meet her as she in turn approached me. "Hello human, are you lost?" She called cautiously. Her voice was silky and sweet, but laced with apprehension. Still, it was so pretty, the sort of voice I could get lost in. But no, I wouldn't let myself be charmed by her and fall into thralldom. Not bothering with a response, I drew my hand crossbow and loosed a bolt. She yelped, and dove behind a thick stalagmite, before I could finish drawing my blade for a followup she had risen into the air and bore down upon me, pinning me to the ground with her hands and talon like feet. As I crashed into the cave-floor below I felt and heard a wet squelching noise. Oh Goddess, what did I land in? Some half eaten corpse? "Stop this at once!" She hissed. "Why do your kind insist on killing me?"
"Why? Why do you insist on killing us? I know what you are, vampire," I shouted, struggling in vain.
As though slapped, she recoiled, "vampire? You think I'm a vampire? Do you think all bat-people are vampires? That's awfully ignorant of you," she huffed.
"Make up whatever lies you like, fiend! At least five other men have been sent here to kill you and none of them returned," I spat, baring my teeth as I thrashed beneath her grip, trying to ignore the other feelings I got from being pinned down by a very beautiful naked woman.
At that, her face fell a little, she sighed. "I tried to help them get out, okay? But they were so intent on killing me they wouldn't listen. And they just kept chasing me further and further into the caves."
