6 comments/ 5984 views/ 12 favorites Under Watch By: CrystalinRose I leapt and knelt onto the ledge of a ten story building, surveying the chaos below. Now where was-. 'Dusk?' Glancing shortly across, I saw Ravin and Charlotte kneeling next to each other on a slightly shorter building across from mine. Ravin was the curvy one, the one who invaded my thoughts. I knew they could see me nod my head once as I turned my attention back to the hectic Manhatten street. Luna skipped playfully down the crowded street twirling passed speedy pedestrians; her target acquired. She could feel our eyes on her as she gracefully increased her speed toward the man, spinning and weaving out of the nightfreaks. Her long blonde hair twirled in wisps down her petite body. Her loose blue blouse and loose skirt would certify to anyone that she was a hippie. It's our own inside joke. Right as she passed both of our buildings, she looked up to me and smiled wide throwing in a bit of fang for my benefit. I let out a hiss to warn her, my eyes flashing. She knows I hate it when she does that. Exposure is the least of her worries as she twirls through an elder couple holding hands. She did not even give a backward glance to the lovers she just threw apart. Oh Luna. I watched her approach the target, but something kept tearing my eye. The old couple. When Luna broke their hand hold, the older woman stumbled. Her reflexes were not quick enough to protect herself. She just about fell face first onto the concrete sidewalk when the old man, her husband I guess, gripped her upper arms and stopped her fall completely. Anyone watching could see he didn't have the strength to pull her back up. I could see his muscles straining, hear his labored breath. All of the people surrounding them kept walking by, bumping into them a couple times. I almost lost position to stand and yell at one of the ignorant passerbys to help the poor man. I heard his sigh of defeat with my enhanced hearing and watched as he gently set the old woman onto the ground. She had her hands up to protect herself this time. The old man sat down next to her and held her for a moment. How much intangible agility had it taken to grab her in time? How does it feel to be so weak and slow? Ugh. I hate it when my human intentions kick in when I need them least. A tiny red light on my eye caused me to snarl visciously. I don't know why they need that damn little laser everywhere. I clasped my hand over my eye to see Charlotte and Ravin looking at me increduously. I realize they had been shouting at me mentally for quite some time. Oh shit. 'Luna!' I called to her mind. 'Yes Boss? I have the target in set destination.' Her voice sounded deep and manly. 'Ummm... when are you coming?' She giggled and her internal voice changed back to being innocent and girly. 'I am sorry Luna. I got caught up. I'm coming' I shot back to her and stood. I turned around and took off at a dead sprint. My paces quickened as I took my last step on the buildings ledge and dove straight down. Face first towards the fast approaching alley. I always loved the adrenaline that courses through my dead body. It forces my heart to beat while it stays dormant the majority of my exsistence. Again my thoughts went back to that old couple. Funny how your head can process so much in such a short amount of time. I did a flip, letting my long black hair cloud my electric green eyes for a fraction of a second as I touched down to the middle of the black alley kneeling to lessen any impact. Which of course, there was none. I stood with a bounce. Oh how sweet endorphins can change a vamp! Luna was standing towards the back of the alley with a business man staring in fear pressed against the wall. It was always funny on Luna's nights to pick. A tiny little "girl" making a powerful tycoon quiver with fear. She does love the power hungry meals. She held her hands to the targets face and I could hear her chanting. My black knee-high boots started to clack against the cold cement. Luna broke her chant when the man slumped unceremoniously to the ground. My long black trenchcoat fluttered backward as I heard the soft landing of Ravin and the not so graceful landing of Charlotte. "Good job Loon. Nice touch using your power. I am sure Dusk will bite your ass later." Ravin's tongue poured sarcasm as she lifted the man with her fist and observed his face. Luna looked at me with wide blue eyes. I tilted my mouth to the side in a way of saying that it was inevitable. Her expression became downtrodden so I added, "But excellent taste and great work luring him in. You are doing fine dear." I patted her shoulder. Charlotte, being Luna's creator, gathered her fledgling into her toned arms and swung Luna's tiny body in circles. They're giggles filled the air. "Hey! If you are going to be loud, atleast point it towards the sewer." I barked. Now that the mans good as dead, we could use our powers freely. "I'll do it. They are too busy playing Ring-Around." Ravin said grumpily. Yeah, they needed to feed and soon. Ravin closed her eyes and called softly to the wind, casting her arms up ever so slightly. I watched Char and Luna's hair twist upward as they're giggles and voices traveled up the side of the building and scatter the voices away from the alley. "Well. Ladies first?" Ravin didn't wait to hear a response as two crystaline fangs elongated from her open jaws and clasped onto the business man's neck. Her eyes, normally dark brown, turned charcoal black as she sucked greedily from the man. I turned to Luna and beckoned her over. When Luna approached the man, Ravin growled furiously. Her black eyes making her into a bedtime monster. I smiled, my natural instinct telling me to rip her head off for challenging me. Me, the coven leader and Ravin's creator. "Ravin!" I snapped, sending a silent call to the wind to mask it with the traffic. She cowered slightly at the commanding voice of her creator and sighed deeply. She released the man's neck and walked back to stand beside me. Ravin's eyes turning back to the chocolate color I was used to. "Better?" She nodded and then turned in disgust as she saw Charlotte and Luna each drinking from a wrist. Ravin always had a problem with sharing. It is a deep rooted problem that reaches back before we met. 'Meet you at the house.' Ravin called to me in my mind. She waved an ebony finger once at the rest of them and slipped into the darkness. I could feel the dawn coming on as a shiver of weariness coursed through my body. I watched Luna's eyes turn back to baby blue as she yawned wide, fangs retracting slowly. Charlotte stood and held her hand out for Luna to take. I nodded to both of them and they took off being swallowed by the darkness of the alley. I froze when I heard a groan. This puny man is still fighting? A sinister smile curls my lips upward, revealing more of my pearls. I turn back to see beady eyes looking at me in confusion. His body was whiter than chalk. Ooh, I do love it when they are awake. The endorphins from the adrenaline in his system will be going crazy. It is quite tasty. I call the wind to me to have at the ready when I kneel next to him and smile a lovely fang-filled smile. His face paled even more and his mouth opened into a high pitched screech. The wind took his voice upward and sent it to another alley as I stroked his tear streaked face. "Tut. Tut. This won't do." I whispered in his ear. When the wind took all of his speech away and all that was left was a hoarse squeal, I cupped his cheek and said bluntly, "I never did like 9 to 5 jobs." Biting into his adams apple was a sweet haven as he choked on the blood bubbling in his throat. I suckled out what was left for me, which was not very much, and tossed him to the ground. I called to my favorite element: fire. I torched the body before me and asked the wind to sweep the smell and embers away. I have been channeling the Earth for most of my vampiric life, so not much effort went into covering my tracks. All that was left were a couple of scorch marks on the crumbling abandoned building. No one would look twice. I yawned and stretched by body. I would say thirty minutes til sunrise. Not too bad for a lazy night. Maybe I would walk with the human population home tonight. ------ "Yes sir, I have sight. CL442 is leaving the alley between 760 and 762 on 19th Street." "Keep eyes. Do not approach. We will set up a crime scene as soon as it's light." "With pleasure." The dark haired man leaned back onto his heels from atop the tall building admiring the black haired woman grace the sidewalk amongst the early risers trying to get to work. He smirked as he thought of the day his employer would let him attack; she would never see it coming. They never did. His eyes flashed to a feral charcoal color anticipating the hunt. However, for now he would wait. For now, he would watch. ------ The people I passed by are my true friends. Some of them are literally too crazy to pay attention to anyone besides their white rabbit and then the rest just don't give a damn. Times are so much more simpler it seems. A hoarse, ill-drenched cough sounded from a nearby alley causing me to shudder and relive one of my worst tragedies. "Alyssa. Alyssa, you shall prosper for the better. The doctor is to arrive any moment." The room is deathly quiet. I clasp my sister's hand and sponge her pale forehead. She is whispering to me. She whispers to me things I can not hear. Withso, I talk over her and promise falsities. Anything to give her enough hope to hold on. My pale blonde hair swung to one side of my face tickles her arm as she shakes and whispers things I should hear. The last breath I should hear. I have to hear her words. Graced by the devil, I heard not a word. If I had, I wouldn't still be alive. "Ugh." I sigh out loud and am tempted to go kill that wrench in the alley that brought back such a horrid memory that I suppress so well on a daily basis. I probably haven't thought about Alyssa in a couple of years. Not since Luna was created. I am very good at suppression. On humans, and on myself. When you live forever, however, there comes a time when even the smallest noise can trigger a powerful memory, almost hallucinogen. They call it the 'vampires' remorse'. Ironic to say in the least. I finally venture into the industrial district of town where no one is bustling. I see a few street cats and the streetlamps are always dimmer it seems. I turn left onto Cherry Lane (another ironic joke- cherries are juicy and red) and head past well groomed houses with trees lining the sides. The current view from the center of the street are trees marking where concrete will follow, leaves blowing about, and a definite dead-end sign at the far end, about half a mile down. Leave it to us to live at the very last house on the right with the neighbor across and beside us vacant and the streetlamp dead. How horribly cliché. I yawn again as I open the front door and slam it shut behind me. I am not shocked to see Ravin standing there clicking her talon toes at me. My sigh makes her nails leave scratches on the ground as she starts, "What the fuck, Dusk? You really don't care about us, do you? Ah! La dee dee! I'm just going to skip the fuck home and not worry about being FOLLOWED! Let alone the GOD DAMN SUNLIGHT!" Her chocolate eyes flash once and I see a hint of fang before she remembers who she is talking to. I let her breathing calm after she says a few more things about my tardiness and then casually intercede, "Ravin. It is time to draw the curtains. I need not a lesson on punctual happenings as I am sure you are aware of your past and how punctual I was that I just happened to have enough punctualness to save your unpunctual ass. Now help me draw the curtains. I assume Charlotte and Luna are already downstairs?" I let a little bit of hissing slip into my words. She ruffled during my speech, but had a slightly guilty look as she nodded her answer. We flew about the house locking doors, pulling our triple layer blackout curtains shut, and making sure Cressa had food and water before we went downstairs. Our "keep" as Ravin and I like to call it (considering we are the only two old enough to have seen one) is a spacious basement decked out with black carpets and blue fuzzy walls. All of the rooms have no doors, only curtains, and no windows. There's a stereo room with electronics out the ass, a jacuzzi and sauna in another room, plus a massage table but we never use it. Then there is our rooms. Down a hall off to the left is Charlottes' which is hung up with a bunch of Krav-Maga posters and tacky wall hangings. Her bed is the standard four poster, but it is surrounded by gauzy black see through curtain bunched at the center, atop her bed. The second room on the right is Luna's. Hers makes me feel like I'm on acid. It has bright colors splashed on the walls. Random parts of the wall feel fuzzy and other parts feel like paint. The carpet is rainbow and so is the comforter on her water bed. She says she likes to "Float with the moon." I check on them both to see each asleep in their beds. "Come on Momma Dusk. They're fine and we have a busy day tomorrow." Ravin teased. "Who sounds like the Momma now?" I bantered back laughing quietly. Ravin goes into her room next to Luna's and I see the glint of the 300 something records on the wall. The strange thing is that Ravin does not even have a record player and she'll never answer when I ask her why she has them. "Good feast tonight. Sleep well and maybe we'll see about us having our own individual meals tomorrow at Shotsarrati." Ravin's eyebrows shot up. "You think Loon could handle a meal by herself?" I can see the concern there and it warms my heart to see her taking such a (somewhat) strong liking to Luna. "Luna can handle more things than we think." I wink and go to my room at the very end of the hall. I enter my sanctuary and observe my obscenely plain walls. If only I had more time to myself instead of leading this coven...I could have a little slice of normalcy. Instantly, the old couple springs into my mind and it makes me worry. I have been dwelling on humanoid things lately. First the old couple and then memories from a different life. . .something is going to happen and I won't be thinking of normalcy for quite some time. Maybe we should just stay home tomorrow. Everyday appearances can jeopardize the girl's safety, even though they love them. What is the point of living forever if you're not going to embrace every day? 'Never growing old', whispers through my mind and the old couple become the burden of my nightmares. Why do they bother me so? Why do I have such a sudden attention to this couple? A couple millennia ago, I would have killed them without remorse. Am I becoming soft? What is it that they have that I want? I have everything! I sigh into my pillow and drift off to my erratic thoughts. ------ "Target approaching nest. Orders sir?" "Keep watch. Stay at property 307. It is too close to daylight to retreat to cabin. The property is prepared for your needs." "Yes sir." The bulky vampire watched the woman float against the concrete, hardly hearing the smallest of footsteps. He smiles big, fangs extended. I can not wait, Dusk, until we meet fang to fang. He chuckles under his breath and like a viper, snatches a squirrel next to him going up the tree. He drains the petrified creature and drops it to the ground just as his target closes her front door. ------ I awaken first, per usual, and check my alarm clock to make sure its past sundown. 7:54pm. I sigh and go to my bathroom and turn my shower onto the hottest it will allow. Dressed in a black tank top and leather black pants, I strip them off one by one critiquing every inch of pale skin. Sometimes I hate the gothic, Underworld look, but it's so accurate to not give enough of a care to dress appropriately. Plus, it's perfect night clothes. Ravin always likes to dress slutty and tight. Charlotte and Luna love skirts and free stuff, but I have just been alive to long to not care if I fit in or if my hair is styled. I stare into the full body mirror after I've shed my clothes. Nothing has changed. I look exactly as I was four hundred years ago...and then, I look nothing like I was four hundred years ago. My hair was once blonde and had golden waves, much like Lunas', but my best guess is that it died with my soul and all its left me with is long, black straight hair. My body is curved at the hips and my breast are big, things that used to cause me pleasure now just bring back memories of some other time. Like, the last time I had a guy grab my nipple with his teeth made me think of two hundred years ago when the same thing happened. Nothing New Happens! Fuck the remorse shit. It's always the same fucking situation! Maybe I'm just too old. No person is meant to live this long. My thoughts drift to darker places and it takes a moment to shake myself out of my reverie. The girls need me. Newness is around the corner, atleast it should be with us moving just last week. This is the very reason that we needed Luna to join the coven. She was the light we lacked. Things will progress smoothly; that's all I ever hope for. I get into the shower (which is more steam than water), dress in my usual tank, pants, boots, and head upstairs to undress the curtains and let in the moonlight. Cressa follows my every step meowing about her day yesterday. We found her with the new house here and I've been offput with what to do with her. Cats are nocturnal, but if the inevitable happens then Cressa would be abandoned again. Honestly, she wouldn't be able to find a better home because black cats normally get killed and shunned from the dumbasses we call humans. However, the girls love her. Cressa's meowing goes up an octave as Charlotte scoops her up into her arms and makes baby noises and scratches her ruff. I laugh when Charlotte freaks Cressa out by purring loudly with her. The cat's eyes shouldn't, but they open wide and she scrambles to get down. Poor thing. Death by petrifaction. . .well atleast it would solve my problem. I sense Luna dragging up the stairwell. "Luna? We never got to talk about last night." I hear her stop and try to head back downstairs. I smirk when Charlotte senses it too by her horrified expression and see her streak to the staircase and down the few steps. "Luna! How dare you!?" Char shouts at Luna. I smile slightly as I hear slow footsteps dragging up the steps, knowing she is in worse trouble now. Luna comes to stand in front of me with her wavy golden locks, a headband on her forehead, and a multicolored skirt and shirt ensemble. She has her head down slightly out of shame and respect. Charlotte huffs behind her and is shaking her head. I smile at Char, 'Thank you m'dear. Please leave us.' Char nods once and goes off to find that poor cat. I turn to Luna. "Escape artist?" She winces and laughs awkwardly. "Come sit down and look at me in the face. There is no disrespect worse than conversation with zero eye contact." I scold lightly. We move into the living room out of the hall way and I sit on the love seat with its back to the front window as Luna sits on the tri-seat couch with its back to the hallway. The whole living room is a pale yellow, even the flooring. The couches are a light blue. The only color in the room is the little wooden table beside the bigger couch. The lack of belongings prove how lazy we are. Boxes upon boxes stack in one corner of the room, all labeled LivingRoom. "Luna, you did extremely well last night." She perks up visibly under the positivity. "You were very graceful in luring him into the alley. You ensnared him like a moth to a flame. Let me tell you, my first time leading bait to a set destination was gruesome and I ended up almost getting caught. You did good, but that brings me to my next point. Exposure. Loon, you know the rules inside and out. I'd hate to say them over. I know that these powers seem godsend and you just want to play with them all day, but it's important that you don't do these things. So no more looking up a building and fanging me." She bites her lip and glances away. "No more chanting in front of food. No feeding when they're conscious either, because if we let him go without knowing to erase memory then he will tell and we will die." Her eyes open wide and her mouth forms a little O of horror. Under Watch "Oh no! I really didn't mean-" She began in a begging tone. I continue, "Shh. It is alright. I knew he was not going to live because of all of us feeding from him, but let's just be more careful. Okay?" "Yes Dusk." She says lightly. I smile big and stand, "Oh Luna? Will you be a dear and fetch the paper from the drive?" She nods and skips outside. ------ He stands on the front steps as the youngling skips down the driveway. He watches intensly as she picks up the paper and stops and looks around curiously. Yes, she is quite young. An older vampire would have recognized the scent of another immediately. He watches her look at him and freeze becoming still as a statue. He smiles slightly as she hesitantly goes back up the porch steps and inside, shutting the door behind her hard. No doubt Ms. Dusk will appear. He flashes down the street and heads to the cabin to await his next orders. ------ "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FUNNY MAN'?!" Ravin screamed at a terrified Luna. Luna's body presses against the kitchen table, wide blue eyes frantic. They can't have one confrontation without Ravin screaming or Luna crying...actually both. I step between the two and stare Ravin in the face, "Back down. Let me hear what she has to say." Ravins' eyes are still dialated and transfixed on Luna when I let out a soft hiss. The quieter I made it, the more deadly my warning became. Her eyes snap back to chocolate and she huffs away. I turn back to a shrunken Luna. I laugh slightly as I see her unmolding her body from the table. "Dusk. I saw somebody." My laughter haults and I straighten my stance. "My guess is that the person wasn't a martyr?" She shakes her head and I nod for her to continue. "He was across the street to the left. You know, the abandoned house with the wrap-around porch? Well, I went outside and saw him on the driveway of that house sipping coffee and I thought 'Oh that's nice. New neighbor. Now we can have actual people around-" "Luna." I rapt. She became flustered slightly but continuued, "Yeah, so then I grab the paper and the wind blows towards me and that man. . .he smelled funny." "Like what?" I demand. My eyes intense on hers. "Enticing, glorious, slightly burnt wood. . .and blood." I hiss loud and race outside and onto the driveway. I smell him. That bastard didn't even try to mask his scent. I smell the wonderful husky smell of him. The best fragrance in the world is that of a vampire. I want to burn my nose. How does one hate a smell so like their own? Ravin speaks from atop our Hummer H2, "He is going South away from the city." She crosses her legs clad in Gucci sweatpants and matching jacket. Her dark lioness hair sweeps to one side with the wind. "Possibly. Or he could be backtracking to lead us on a false trail. We won't follow him. Maybe he was just stopping for the morning. If we see him again, we can try to find out as much as we can. For now, there isn't much for us to do. Obviously, it isn't safe for anyone to be alone and I'm not so sure about tonight's plan. " I sigh and look down our lonely street, so flat and devoid of life except for the leaves that trundle along. Ravin sighs exacerbated, "Come on Dusk. Tonight is what all of us need to unwind and relax. I think that if this person turns out to be one of them then they won't attack for at least a week or a month!" "Yeah because that makes me want to throw Luna out by herself for one night for the first time." "Maybe she can stick with Char." Ravin says uninvolved. I perk up and nod excitedly. "Perfect Ravin! That's a great idea! I'm going to go tell them." I hear Ravin ask what she said before the front door closes behind me. ------ "Now you know what to do and how to handle yourself? Oh, and how to dispose? AND not to use your-" "Goddess, Dusk! Luna is going to be with Charlotte! She shouldn't screw up too much" For a moment I thought Ravin was giving a compliment when she added, "...unlike last night." I sigh and nod for Ravin to go. She slips out of the alley and disappears into the bustling crowd of nightwalkers. No doubt she'll be going to the club we almost always self-feed at. Charlotte, wearing a modest dress and converse, looks like a sophisticated older sister to little Loon. Char, cleverly, made Luna dress similarly to her, so that they would appear to be related. "One more time." I state. Luna rolls her eyes as Char recites in a monotone voice, "We go to the apartment building on States Street. We knock on a door whose occupant we've already sniffed out. They must be alone, pet-less, and older than a teenager. We must not kill them or use magic in front of them. Ughhh! I'm so tired of repeating this!" "Yeah! Can we go?" Loon and Char's eyes are annoyed but pleaing. I sigh again and think about how many times a day I sigh, "Yes. Connect to me if you have ANY trouble. I'll keep my kinesis open to you both." They both smile big, hold hands, and run out of the alley almost knocking into a Chinese couple. How much am I going to regret this? I kneel down and propel my way straight up the side of the building on my left I catch the ledge with my fingertips and swing my legs up and land in a crouch, facing the building skyline. It was only a four story building, like most in Manhattan, but it still amazes me that I am able to accomplish such an insignificant task. I suddenly get a sinking feeling in my stomach and stand quickly whipping around to see the building's four corners. Nothing but vents. That feeling was like someone was standing right over my shoulder. Like they were watching me so intensely that I could hear their pupils dilate as they glanced over my body and face. It wasn't romantic. It was scrutiny. A shiver passes over me as I shake the thought away. I am just paranoid. There hasn't been someone on this roof in months. I take off at a dead sprint jumping over buildings and streets with packed cars. I'm running so fast that if anyone were to see me, it would be a black mass and then nothing. Blinking speed. Oh Shit. I stop abruptly in the middle of a six story building causing the gravel to skip and fall off the edge. My stop was three buildings back and across the street. One can get lost in their own prison and get locked out of reality too easily. I hop back over the buildings and jump down the side of Husken & Jacobs Lawyer Firm. This is my normal indicator that I've made it to my favorite snack bar: Shotsarrati. I land in a crouch and dust my leather jacket off and straighten my already dead straight hair. My eyes gleam as I see all of the candidates waiting behind the red rope. As I approach I point them all out in my head and sing, Eenie Meenie Minee Moe! I am delirious with happiness as I advance on the outside of the line. And when I get to the front I see T.J., our normal bouncer, has been replaced by a bald, smaller guy with an earpiece. T.J. never wore an earpiece or the fancy suits this guy is wearing. Where could he be? He always works tonight. I made sure of it when I hypnotised him to let us in every time he saw us. My gut clenches the same way as before when the man shifts his focus to me. I can see them behind his mirror glasses. I stop walking towards the front and casually walk past the earpiece man and turn right into the alley of the club and some other building. Whatever. Maybe he got fired for only letting in the ladies and no men. It was turning into a gay bar. ------ "Michael? Do you copy? over." "Michael here. Target has avoided contact, circled building. over." The "bouncer" took his finger off his earpiece to admit a fiery little vixen that he would be targeting himself a little later. "Permission to pursue? Current location is above, strike zone is nearly perfect." A new voice came onto the earpiece. "Azazeal. You will get to play cat when we say so. We can not risk exposure due to an almost, nearly perfect strike zone. Infiltrate inside and spread your scent around. Make the fucker think she has no where to go." "Which will lead her straight to us. Yes sir, copy. over" The dark haired man smiled a bright smile against the moonlight as he watched his prey enter the club through the exit in the alley. I can't wait to formally meet you, "Dusk." The wind carried his hiss through the darkness. He disappeared down the side of the building and prepared for the funnest night of his life. ------ Ravin was in the corner of the club, per usual. "Did you say my name when I walked in?" I questioned her. She looked up, her eyes fierce due to the fact that I was interrupting her pre-game. He was currently suckling her neck and I could see him trying to delve deep inside of her with a couple fingers. I motioned for the boy to go with a flick of my wrist. Ravin huffed, "No Dusk. I was actually shouting your name in ecstasy while my meal fingered me under this very table." She looked frazzled. Her natural lioness mane was transformed into lucious light curls that complimented her coffee skin. Her track suit from earlier was replaced with a Vera Wang evening gown. She looked delicious, one could say the least. "Oh darling. Enough with the sniffles. Every man around tonight will only have eyes for you." I winked at her and turned away, trying to hide the unease in my eyes. Who the hell said my name? Could I have just heard it...in my mind? Am I becoming mentally ill? These thoughts continuued to rattle my brain as I approached Reggie the bartender. I figured I could ask a couple of questions without seeming too suspicious. I pushed my way to the bar and forced some slut out of her seat. "Ahh! Miss Poppy! I see me favorite customah is back, yes?" Reggie gave me a huge Jamaican smile and slammed a Long-Island iced tea in front of me. "My love, it has been a while." I smiled as he kissed my palm and gave me a not-too subtle wink. I took my drink and held up five elegant fingers. He nodded and went about serving the drunks. I walked up the short staircase and went down the club's dingy hallway, away from the bathrooms. I entered the DJ's room, hypnotized the guy like normal, and continuued across the room until I opened a door marked, Supply. The sign on the door used to say, Employees Only, but Reggie (the owner) had it changed so that we could have our own special meeting place. Apparently, the only way his employees would let him turn their chill-spot into a supply closet was to let them have free drinks after a certain hour. Seemed like a good deal to me, however Reggie realized he had hired a bunch of alcoholics so none of them work here anymore. Therefore, every single employee thinks this is a supply closet. I could laugh at irony, but she's been a bitch to me too. I left the door cracked as I turned on the lights. This room always reminded me of blood due to the redlighting and fuzzy red carpet. The blue walls really accentuated the reds, like two personalities and one prevails. The orange couches were as old as Charlotte and the posters were cracked. Yes, this place could use a little renovation. I sank into the cleanest couch and sipped on my tall glass. I smelled him before he entered. Reggie came bounding in and shook his head saying, "I'll a never know how my DJ focuses so much when you're around, me angel." He laughed and swept me into his big chest. "It spurns from the art of persuasion." I retorted as he set me back down. "Or deception." He contemplated. I nodded as I regarded his comment with interest. I've always considered him an equal, never as a puny human. I have seen his hearts desires, passions, and felt his very soul. Of course, it tasted delicious, but I kept him around because of his uncanny ability to view a situation in an entirely different light. I took a deep breath and focused my eyes downward, "I need your advice." He straightened when he felt my urgency. "What can I help you with, my sweet cherube?" I thought about the impossible way to phrase the dangerous question on my mind, "What is it called when... you look upon others with jealousy, yet you see not the reason that caused...such emotion?" I squinted at him, hoping he could understand my ramblings. This question has been gnawing at my very body. A good chunk of hair fell out this morning in the shower. My ribs have been clinging depserately to the top of my skin, poking out sickly these last couple weeks. There are still too many questions left unanswered about the world and not one vampire will ever uncover them all. So what is the point of it?... but that is an entirely different question. He nodded his head slowly and his reply was completely unexpected, "Why has me DJ stopped the jams?" I gasped when all of my vampiric senses came flooding back in a nanosecond. I must have blocked everything and everyone out while I was talking to Reggie. The very first thing I experienced was thought. Everyone was in my mind at once yelling and cussing. The second thing I experienced was smell. The most intoxicating, horrifying smell I would ever encounter a second time that day, and the source was 20 feet away. The third thing was noise. The supply door slamming to the ground and Reggie being thrown across the room, only to be picked up and held high atop the wall. I gasped as my friend was suffocated and all I did was stand there paralyzed. What is happening?! 'Ravin! Luna! Charlotte!' 'We are safe.' Ravin vehemonously spat into my mind. That was all I needed. I sped toward the shrouded figure and caught Reggie as the vampire released him. I laid him on the ground and stared at the puncture wounds in his neck and the bone sticking out of the side. I hissed loudly as I transformed into the terrifying creature that I was. I faced the masked man and smiled a glorious fang-filled smile. A low growl escaped his throat as he challenged my very existence. My hiss followed me as I lunged for his throat, the same way he killed my Reggie. He danced in a circle around me and artfully tripped me by putting his hands on my thighs and slamming me back toward his body. I felt the wind on my face as I gracefully swung my body back upward and clenched my feet behind his neck. My hands slapped the ground and I threw his body with as much vampiric strength known towards the broken door. He never touched the ground. He simply made an arc in the air and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. Then he spoke. "You are quite the fighter. I cannot wait until I break your spirit." His voice was deep, rich, and sinister. He chuckled darkly. His dark hair swung across his face, leaving one dark blue eye and one crystaline fang to mock me. "State your business." I said warily. He smiled brighter with every word I said. "Look Fucker, if you want to claim this area as yours then you have, my coven and I will leave this place forever" Maybe a proposition is what he wanted. "Hmm...actually I was thinking of claiming something else instead." His dark, evil grin followed sent chills down my spine. Dare I encourage this conversation or run? "...and what is it that you wish to claim-" I hissed low as he appeared right in front of me. He bent down slightly and inhaled. "Is that the question you want to ask me...Cherube?" I lost it then. I lost complete control of my composure and saught out his eyes with my nails, slammed my leg into his groin, bit his chest and tore out chunks upon chunks. How dare he? How dare he call me that name? That name was reserved for one man and now he's dead. I guess they'll have something in common. I chuckled histerically as I continuued my assault. However, I noticed something. The vampire wasn't dead yet. In fact, he seemed to be learning from the moves that I baraged at him and countered them with small offensive jabs and slices that were slowing me down and causing me to back away. "No!" I growled as I backed toward a wall, the wall. I stumbled over my lovers body and felt my head hit the bloodied wall. His dark smile returned as he finally secured my arms and legs against his body. I was paralyzed as his strong grip controlled every part of my body. I could feel the sticky wetness of the blood against my back. We stood there, our bodies heaving from the damage it received. His cheek had flesh hanging and his eye was scratched, his shirt was shredded and marks ran down his perfectly chiseled body. I assumed I looked worse for wear considering my injuries were taking a lot longer to heal than his. A blood red tear streaked down my face as my eyes absorbed every last detail of the only old-soul I had ever known. The vampire put his face dangerously close to my neck and whispered, "I win." I let a small hiss of defeat escape as he towered back over my body. My eyes never left Reggie until I closed my eyes. ------ She looked toward her ex-lover and it almost seemed that she accepted her fate. No vampire has the capability of giving up. It is what keeps us alive! She is different. His eyes clouded in confusion as he reached into his pocket and shook his head. He quickly shoved a shard of wood into her heart and watched as she gasped and fell to the ground. "Cobra to Tango. over" The vampire tapped his earpiece a couple of times. "Tango here. over." His robotic boss stated. "Subject acquired and restrained. Bring in the clean up crew. over." Azazeal stood tall and broad above the little vampiress. He walked back over to the Jamaican and drained him dry to heal his injuries. Then he bent down and picked up the dark haired vampire, studied his prize, and disappeared into the night. ------ Ravin paced inside of the small, cramped safety room of their old den and growled loudly while Luna cried like a babe. "CHARLOTTE! Shut her up!" Ravin commanded. Charlotte cowered next to Luna and petted her head like a dog. They made Ravin sick. Where was Dusk? Why would they take her? Ravin hissed as she paced two steps and turned around to do the same, back and forth. Luna tried to speak but Ravin's growling got louder. 'Ravin. Luna is trying to say that it was the man outside of the house from this morning.' Charlotte tried to plead Luna's case to Ravin. "Of course it is Charlotte! I think we've all figured out who took her, the question is WHY! so until you have an answer for that, shut the hell up." Ravin shouted. Everything was suddenly quiet. Ravin realized she would go mad with their blubbering or with their bated breaths. She had to get away from them before she tore them to pieces. 'Charlotte, I am going to track her. I will find the place she is being kept and return to you both as soon as I do. If it takes longer than 3 days then move. You know what to do.' Ravin shot to Charlotte only as she left the safety of the den. 'But what if it's a trap? Can you go tomorrow night?' Char frantically called after Ravin. 'Dont care and they have cleaning crews that swipe scents. I'll find her and return. Just remember what to do, just in case.' Ravin called and then shut everyone out. Everyone except the one person that mattered, her creator. ------ The sharpest pain I have ever felt. That's all I could think, all I could understand, all I could focus on...if this is considered focusing. I'm pretty sure I was making some form of anguished cry, but all I could register was the smallest sliver of wood coming out of my chest. My hands were bound above my head. My legs were chained spread across the bed they threw me on. People had swarmed me and simply stared and said things I couldn't hear. All I could do was feel, and it wasn't pleasant. I wished they would just knock me out again or kill me already. There didn't need to be torture involved. I felt the bed shift, as did my body causing me to relapse into a deeper pain. This pain was almost as critical as when the bastard stabbed me the first time. I couldn't see. My vision was black. My hearing was ringing and screams in the distant. I guess thats me. Under Watch I sputtered up blood when the person yanked the shard out of my chest. I'm pretty sure I thanked the person, maybe heard a chuckle and then fell into a horrifying sleep.