“This is no ordinary cross, beast.” The vampire turned around, only to see the cross had begun to glow murder bright, “This cross represents everything you do not. This cross represents the mercy and sacrament of the one true god. And by its holy name you will fall.” Suddenly the cross sent a bolt of light that struck the vampire squarely in the heart. The vampire shrieked in agony as the bolt cleaved cloth and seared flesh.



“You fool!” the vampire yelled, and punched the priest in the jaw. The cross fell from his hands and the vampire picked it up, ignoring the smoke that immediately billowed from his hand. He jammed the cross into the stomach of his would be assassin and the priest gasped as gouts of blood began to billow out from the wound, “I told you to go home. Now look at you, crucified by your own convictions. But I was honest when I said I had no quarrel with you. As a matter of fact, I respect what you’re trying to do. That’s why I’m giving you a choice. As it stands, you will bleed out and die within the hour. The nearest hospital is an hour and a half from here assuming you catch all the green lights. To be blunt, you are dying, priest. That means never seeing the vampire who stole your daughter from you.” The priest groaned, “Alternatively, I can offer you something besides death. I can offer you a way to cheat death and forsake the grips of your mortality. Offer your soul to me, and you may live. Or deny me, and embrace your fate. Choose quickly.”



“I choose neither,” the priest said, gasping.



“This isn’t a negotiation. You have two choices; live, or die. Now which is it?”



“I choose salvation, and a place at the right hand of God. I choose victory over you and your kind, and a soul eternal.” The vampire blinked, shocked at this remark. Then he began to chuckle, and suddenly mad gusts of jovial laughter bellowed from him.

