Prologue

It was dark, and my eyes could barely see through the blackness, as I heard a scream. My mother’s scream, I noticed with an instant rush of fear. Rushing into Mason‘s room, I hurriedly shook him and urged him to get up. “Mason! Hurry, its time!” I yelled. He quickly got up grabbing his coat, and
running out the front door, with me behind him.


Mom and Dad had already told me what to do in this situation, Dad even made me practice for it. But when it was actually time for it to happen, fear washed through me. I wanted my mother to comfort me, wrap me in arms and say it was okay, and Dad to kneel down beside my mother, and tell me to be strong. I have to be strong. You have to protect Mason. Hand in hand, me and Mason ran toward our hiding place. Aunt May would be there, and would protect us from the horrible dark creatures my family was trained to fight. That I would be trained to fight.


We arrived at the wooden cabin, knocking on the door so hard my hands hurt. My Aunt May quickly pushed us into her little house, beckoning for us to go into the closet. “You’ve practiced this. You know what to do. If one of the creatures get into the house, I’ll attack them.” We nodded closing the closet door tightly and sitting in the corner. Mason snuggled beside me, trying to be brave, as I was. “Aria, I’m scared.”

“We have to complete our mission, remember?” I said trying to comfort him, even though I didn’t even feel comfortable myself. If we didn’t stay quiet, it could be a matter of life or death. He nodded slightly, wrapping his finger around the golden cross around his neck. I sent a silent prayer to God, and sat quietly, with my terrified brother.

It wasn’t long, until we heard the shattering of glass, and a head pang against the wall. My heart banged in my chest, as I silently took in a breath. Mason didn’t talk, he knew that he had to be quiet. Just to make sure though, I raised my finger to my lip, as a sign to be silent. This creatures could hear so well, that they could even hear you breathe. They were as deadly as a Warrior. I heard the satisfactory of a creature screaming, and a large thud, which meant that the thing was dead.

Dad had told us to wait until he came, or at least someone we knew. It didn’t take long for someone to open the closet, but it wasn’t my father. It wasn’t a Warrior either, without hesitation, I took my sword that Dad had given me, and slashed him with it across the neck. This was only one of the creatures that I had prepared to fight for, and it wasn’t the most deadly. This creature had four legs and a tail. He snarled ripping the closets door off its hinges. He didn’t know that I was quick enough, or strong enough to strike him again. But he was sadly mistaken. I did strike him, it wasn’t the best blow, but it was enough to make him stagger, and for me to grab Mason and run. Dad had said how fast they were, but I thought he was underestimating me. Turns out that I was the one underestimating them. He lunged forward, right when I stepped to the side. Mother had said not to let them know that you were frightened. By God, I wasn’t showing it, even if I knew I was going to die. I had at least get Mason out. If he got out, then I would be fine. Heart still pounding, I lunged for him again, but missed. I lunged again and again, finally slicing his shoulder very slightly. He whimpered, baring his teeth, and stared at me with it’s glowing yellow eyes. I grinned and delivered a deathly blow to his chest, causing him to scream in pain. He fell to the ground, and went still. At first I thought he was tricking me, but then I looked closer, and saw that he was dead. I didn’t even have time to comprehend what happened next.

I heard a laugh, turning around to see a man I didn’t know, I again lifted my sword.

“Don’t be afraid child, your safe.” He lifted his arm to show his mark that meant he was a Warrior. The little tattoo wrapped around his wrist, in a well designed, intricate pattern. His tattoos were different from my father’s.

“Who are you?” I asked, not letting one single shred of any emotion coming into my voice.

“Friend of your father’s.” That’s all he said, he looked sad, as he said the words.

“Where is my mom and dad?” I asked still guarding me and Mason with my bloody sword.

He looked down as he said his next words, and I swore I saw tears swelling in his eyes. “I’m sorry to say this…but they died. They asked me to take care of you and your brother.”

My world shattered, I shattered. All I had left was Mason. No Mom to tuck me in and give me hugs. No Dad to teach me how to fight anymore. Nothing except this stranger.

“Did they kill him?” I asked tears running down my face.

“Yes, now we must go.”

He led me and a crying Mason into his car, and drove off. My world would change. Everything would change. I swore from then on, that I would become a Warrior, just like my loving parents. My dead parents. I would kill these evil creatures until I died. I wouldn’t stop. These creatures had to be stopped.

Chapter One

Aria walked through the familiar metal doors to Leader McCray’s office. She had been here so many times that she could probably get through here, without being asked for her identification card. The Warriors had known her long enough since her first year, the month of her parents death.


“Ah, Warrior Aria Smith. Please sit down.” He commanded, gesturing to one of the black leather seats, sitting in front of his dark metal desk.

“McCray.” Aria answered back, seating herself in the black seat.


“I have a mission that I thought you would be perfect for.” He said placing his strong arms on the desk and leaning forward.

“Always happy to complete missions, McCray. You know that. So get on with it.” Aria said crossing her legs and sighing, flipping back her dark, black, long hair.

“There seems to have been a lot of vamp kills around the area of Orlando, Florida. More than usual, and the leader of the vampires there, must be informed that if he keeps this up, then we will take this into our own hands. Think you can handle this Smith?” He said eyeing her, undoubtedly.


He knew Aria could complete this mission. Hell, she could probably do it with her hands tied behind her back. He had trained her himself, and made her a deadly Warrior. One of the most deadliest, McCray thought.

“Your kidding right? Of course I can do this. I will share what I have learned when I get back.” She said grabbing the black folder off his desk, and leaving the room, confidently.

“Oh, and Mason is coming with me.” She called as the metal door slammed shut.

Aria went to find Mason, knowing he would be in the Lab, learning all he could on the computers, which he was very good at. Mason could track down someone in a matter of seconds, hack accounts…set off bombs.

“Hey bro, off the computer. Get packing. We have a mission.” She said grabbing him by the shoulders a little too tightly, making his shoulder sore.

“Already? C’mon! We just got done with one, two days ago. Another werewolf?” He asked walking hurriedly down the white, plain walls of the lab, up to the rooms where the Warriors slept. Aria ahead of him, always on the move.

“Nope, bloodsuckers this time. Harder to kill.” She said sighing and opening the door to their room they shared.

“Damn, I hate them. Their always so cocky,” He commented throwing his clothes into his black bag.

“Their hard to fight yes, but I love a challenge.” Aria said a grin playing on her lips, as she put her stake into her black belt.

“That’s because you kick ass. I, on the other hand did not enjoy getting bit in the ass by that mutt.” He complained, putting on his boots.

“I told you they were quick.” She said pulling her hair long black hair into a ponytail.

“Ready?” Aria asked putting three more weapons into her belt. She preferred knifes. Although, she could totally blow someone’s brains out with a gun, if she wanted to. But she was more trained with knifes, and more hand-to-hand combat. Mason could fight, but lets just say he prefers computers to knifes and blood. Weird boy, Aria thought.

“We just got here and your already packed?” Mason asked raising his eyebrow.

“Not everyone takes forever to get packed, Mason.” Aria said placing her tan hand on her hip.

“Obviously.” He muttered, gathering his white underwear and putting it into the bag.

Aria smiled. “White underwear Mase?”

Mason rolled his blue eyes. Like father’s eyes.


“Okay, lets kill some monsters.” Aria said once again quickly running out the door, pulling on her black leather jacket, that went along with her dark jeans and boots that could poke an eye out. This is going to be fun, she thought, getting into the black Porsche that she had bought with her money from her last mission.

“Should I be wearing a coat?” Mason asked as he pulled the door shut.

“Nah, I just wanted mine. I look good in black…plus I had to have more knifes.” Aria joked, as the engine came to life.

“You know, I don’t know why you carry so many. You only use like three of them.” He said brushing the blonde hair out of his eyes.

“I like knifes.” Aria said as she sped down the road to her destination. Get ready to get your asses kicked vamps, Aria thought pleasantly.

Chapter Two

The Leader of the vamps of this area, were in a club. Nightlife. It should have said Bloodsucker Central. Mason had tracked some information on this, Gregory Michael Darksy. He’s been in a lot of trouble. Time to warn him, and if he doesn’t listen…well that’s his mistake. Aria personally want to kill all vamps, but the vamps earned their rights. So she can only kill those of them who break the laws. Now werewolves…they were a different story. They usually attacked you right when they saw you, and you would kill them without thought. Their hard to kill…but vamps are even harder to kill. Their undead.

They walked to the front door of the club, cutting in front of all the skanks that were waiting in line, all gussied up for strangers they wanted to get lucky with. They wouldn’t turn out so lucky when these creatures bite into there perfumed necks, Aria thought grimly.

“Hey lady, back of the line. Wait your turn.” The buff man said grabbing her shoulder. She showed him her wrist, tattooed with a intricate design of swirls. He understood, giving her and Mason death stares, but still allowing them to pass through.

Aria and Mason had changed into some party clothes. Her in a black mini-dress with long sleeves, one of them sliding just enough to show her tanned shoulders. She knew that she looked good. Mason on the other hand, felt uncomfortable. He was wearing dark jeans and a black band tee. Aria had helped with his disguise.

Without hesitation, Aria, with her ungraceful brother by her side, confidently walked over to the bar. The bartender was pouring red liquid into the glass, and handed it to a blonde woman. “I’m here to see Gregory Michael Darksy. Private matters.”

The blonde turned around revealing herself. She was quite beautiful. Straight blonde hair, bright blue eyes, slender pale body. You would have thought she was a vamp at first, but closer inspection and you could tell that she was a fairy. Mason was quite interested in them. He had flirted with one once, and boy did those fairies love that. They were absolutely gorgeous. They could just stare at you, and you could be under their spell. Of course, he wouldn’t tell Aria about that. She hated anything that was immortal, especially vamps. She’d freak, and probably stab him with her deadly throws, of one of her many knifes.

“Who are you exactly?” The blonde asked in a silky voice, Mason had to refrain himself from wanting to step closer to her. Aria stood firmly in her black high heels.

“None of your business, fairy.” Aria said grabbing a drink off the table. She checked to make sure it wasn’t laced with anything before drinking it.

She rolled her eyes, and led them to an upstairs room. The man had a lady with him. He was getting ready to bite her jugular, Aria noticed disgustedly. She quickly ran over to him, grabbing his neck. Just the right position to kill him.

“You have visitors, Michael.” The fairy said, not caring that her “friend” was in deadly danger of meeting his final death.

Michael smiled, looking at Aria. “Jealous? I could drink you instead. You smell…divine.” He flirted, getting on the girl’s nerve. She was quite beautiful. Long, black hair, blue eyes, she looked like she was from the medieval times. It would be nice to drink from her.

“Lay one hand on me, and I’ll have the pleasure of killing you.” She snarled, still gripping his neck. He quite enjoyed this. Michael loved girls with attitudes. He grinned.

“I’m sure you can.” He opened his mouth, to let his fangs go back to hiding.

“She can.” Mason added. Michael thought the boy was a little nerdy. But he could tell, by the nerd’s scent, that he was related to this woman, that currently had him a death position.

“Can you release me? We might be able to talk better then.” Michael said grabbing her hands. He knew that he could throw this little Warrior against the wall and kill her. Good thing that she wasn’t a threat.

She twisted his hand, making him groan. “Don’t try anything, bloodsucker.”

“Wasn’t planning on it. So what bring you here, beautiful?”

“You do notice all the killings that have been committed in your area? Know whose been behind that?” The girl asked, her hand resting on a knife in her dress. Should have known that she would come with weapons, Michael thought. Smart girl.

“I’ve been taking care of that. No need for the government to interfere.” The vampire said, annoyed that the boy had pushed his dinner out the door.

“Your not doing such a good job of that obviously.” She commented. The girl looked about eighteen. Warriors stopped aging at twenty-one. They could not die, until their parents or legal guardian chose to kill them. Tough love.

“Well, trust me. I will kill whoever has been killing the humans.” Michael promised. He already had a good lead on who was killing them anyway. Michael never killed…just drank from humans. Someone was breaking the laws, a lot lately.

“You’ve got two days to track this sick bastard down, before I come back.” Aria said leaving the room.

“Whats your name Warrior?” Michael asked taking a cup from the tray on the table.

“Aria.” She gestured for Mason to follow her, and they both left the room.

Hmm, he had some work to do. If he was going to track down whoever it was killing the humans, he had to do it quickly. He knew exactly who it was too. Or he thought he knew. Good friend of his actually.

“That vamp was hitting on you,” Mason said laughing.

“Yeah so I noticed. Too bad I don’t date bloodsuckers.” Aria grinned going to sit at the bar, with Mason. She ordered Mason a drink, and herself one too. They needed some time to relax. McCray didn’t say when they needed to be back. Usually they checked into a hotel for a few nights. They had enough money to do it, killing for a living makes a lot of cash.

“What hotel are we staying at tonight, Mase?” He always picked the 5 star rated hotels. Aria loved them. But he had something else in mind…

“I was wondering…since we’re so close…” He looked at Aria, pleadingly.

“Mase, that place only brings back…bad memories.” Aria said sadly.


“We haven’t been there in a while…please?” He begged grabbing his sister by the shoulder.

She looked at him. His eyes were filled with hope, and sadness. “Okay fine, one night. That’s all.”

They both walked out of the club, and drove to the only place they knew was home.

Their parents house.


Chapter Three

Michael had been searching for hours, and was extremely hungry. That little nerdy boy had pushed his meal right out the door, without asking him whether or not he had eaten. Although that was to be expected of a Warrior. But he didn’t concern him as much as, the beautiful Warrior, Aria. Nice name too. It would be very nice to drink from her. Even if her blood wasn’t exactly human--superhuman really. Their race was created to kill vampires, werewolves and such. Kind of sickening really that they think they need to keep watch over us, after so many centuries. Around this area though, Warriors seemed to be everywhere. Aria seemed like a deadly one at that, but not as deadly as himself. Michael had been a Warrior too, before he had been kidnapped and turned into a monster. He quite enjoyed being one now.

Michael walked into a club and had quietly taken a feeder to drink from before attempting to find his, soon to be dead, according to the Warriors--friend. He talked to the bartender first, asking if he had seen anything strange lately. It would not be unusual behavior for Michael, he was a Leader of the area, and had to be kept update on what was going on within his grounds.

“Well, we did have a feeder that has been missing. Ya know the blonde one? I think you fed from her a couple of times.” Indeed, Michael only fed from pretty women. It made his feeding more pleasant.

“If I think correctly, you said that last time. Is this the same woman, or is this a different one?” He asked looking for any signs of untrustworthiness in the mans brown eyes. He was human, a privileged one at that. He was Mrs. Night’s “boyfriend”, as the new ages called it. Which meant they were on an intimate level. Disgusting, really. Vampires and humans who were being used to more than just feed. Maybe it only disgusted him because he was Mrs. Night’s lover. Indeed, that might have something to do with it. That immortal woman hated Michael. More than she should, he supposed. But then again, lots of people hated Michael, for some reason he could not understand. Maybe their jealous.

“No, Michael. A different one. I told you last time, that the lady was named Veronica.” he said annoyed. Many people were annoyed at him, really. But since his was Mrs. Dark’s lover, he had a right to be irritated. Anyone would with that woman.

“When was she killed?” Michael asked outright. Might as well get to the point instead of chatting. He seemed annoyed, and didn’t really want Mrs. Night to come out and say “hello.” Then his night would be ruined.

“Hmm…about two days ago.” The man said wiping the counters of the bar with a rag.

“And I’m just now being informed of this because?” Michael asked angrily. He should have heard about this immediately.

“Because I hadn’t had a chance to report it. Anyway with all these Warriors buzzing around…well you see what I mean.” Mrs. Night said coming to his side. It didn’t frighten Michael, vampires seemed to show up all the time without you knowing it.

“Well Mrs. Night, given the circumstances, it is your duty to report it. Your club isn’t that busy either.” Michael said truthfully. Truly, he was just wanting to piss her off. It would lighten his mood.

She frowned giving him a death stare. Michael changed the subject, ignoring her. “Mrs. Night, where did you find the body?”

She did look at him then. Piercing him with her sharp gaze. “She was in the middle of the Transformation. I gave her my care, but I’m pretty sure you have questions for her. I will let you know when she is physically able to be questioned…” It was a delicate subject, the Change. Every vampire knew that, and even Michael, would never make the Change any worse that what it already was. It was an agonizing and terrifying process.

“Very well, send her my regards.” Michael said softly, and went out the door. Well the girl might be safe, but he wasn’t. The Warriors had said that they would be there to hear an update. Since it already was two days…well lets just hope he could persuade Aria to let him live. That would not be easy, he thought going down the busy streets of New Orleans, the biggest vampire hangout ever. Literally, the movies and such were not kidding.

It didn’t take him long to get to his house--mansion really. Most vampires were rich, but unlike them, Michael preferred to live alone. Vampires being around him usually just annoyed him. He much rather preferred the company of beautiful women. Something he didn’t have tonight so he was just going to watch TV before dawn. Wonderful technology really, humans could be smart…sometimes. Not often though, they think they want to join the Shadow Life, but Michael knew for a fact that they would regret it. He was living proof, of course he didn’t want to become a vampire, but it did have some positive outcomes. You were strong, quick, had irregular beauty…but had to drink blood. But--it was quite enjoyable once you got use to it.

Michael wasn’t expecting to have company. But as soon as he opened the door, a knife flew near him, he ducked and it was stuck in the wall. He looked around looking for the thrower--but noticed the scent of the thrower--Aria. “Nice shot. But I’m a little bit more trained than you.” Michael said grabbing her knife and giving it back to her.

“It was worth a shot. Any news Michael? If not…well…I’m not in a good mood. I don’t feel like giving you a second chance.” She took out another knife--larger than the other one. Michael though that she had about six of them on her…his guess being that’s her deadliest killing object. Most people prefer guns. He himself didn’t like using guns, although he never head to. He could take someone’s head of in a second if he needed to.

Mason came to stand beside her, “I think he’d feel more comfortable if you would put your knifes away.” Very much so.

“Its not my job to make him comfortable Mase, and its not yours either. So stop being so tenderhearted.” She said still holding the knife.

Michael smiled. “Hmm, feisty are we?” Most people would go off guard with his outrageous flirting. But not Aria, he soon learned. She didn’t even smile, to his surprise.

“Stop avoiding the subject. Did you find anything?” She said tightening her fist around the knife. Michael didn’t think she was in such a good mood. Maybe it was best not to mess with her, no matter how pretty she was…well. At least for today.

“Actually, I did find something. The vampires aren’t going missing, their being turned.” Michael said going over to the couch and sitting down. He gestured for Aria and Mason to sit down. Mason sat on the other side opposite of him. Aria stood up, declining his offer. She hated “bloodsuckers.” That word always seemed to hurt when someone called him that, but he had grown use to it, over the time of his immortal life.

“That can’t be true. The vampires are disappearing…” Mason said furrowing his brow, deep in though.

“Actually, Mrs. Night found one of the bodies. She’s in the middle of the Change though, it would be wrong of you to interfere with it. Its already bad enough going through it without a maker.”

“But what about the other bodies? Where did they go?” Aria asked eying Michael with a death stare. Being under her gaze made him quite uncomfortable. For some reason those dark blue eyes of hers, seemed to be looking through him. Something else that made Michael interested in the beautiful girl.

“Aria, don’t you think you should tell McCray? He’d be mad if you didn’t…and you haven’t exactly been on his good side lately…” Mason said looking at her worriedly.

“The hell with McCray. He’d send more Warriors, and they’d just try to take over our work. I don’t like to be ordered around.” She said fumbling with the ring on her finger.

“Aria--” Mason began but she held up a hand to stop him. “I said no, Mason.” Her voice had a finality to it, and Mason shut his mouth and leaned back in the black leather chair. She must be the leader of the two.

“You two are an odd pair. Aren’t you Warriors suppose to be in large groups?” Michael asked amusingly. The Warriors he’d seen had always had about four or five--sometimes more than that--in a group.

“Aria likes to work alone. She doesn’t play well with others.” Mason said frowning at her.

“I can work with others, Mason.” She said sliding the ring back onto her finger. Michael could see the silver of the ring glistening, he wondered why a Warrior had a ring. Most didn’t wear them. But he was beginning to see that Aria wasn’t a normal Warrior. Neither was Mason.

“Aria, you punched Tyler in the face the last time we were in groups.” He said accusingly, crossing his arms. Michael looked from one to the other, trying to hide a smile.

“Hey, he shouldn’t have been so controlling. I had explained to him I’d be the one leading the group…he just didn’t listen,” and knowing what he was going to say next, Aria spoke again, “and I said sorry to him. He only had so stay in the hospital for a little while.” Michael was beginning to like Aria even more.

“Remind me not to mess with you, Aria. You seem to be quite a dangerous girl.” He smiled at her.

“Oh you won’t have to be reminded. You’ll learn.” Mason said a grin on his face.

“But aren’t you going back?” Michael asked looking at Aria as she grinned.

“As much as I hate to say it, we might need your help, vampire.” She said sighing and holding up her hand, as Mason started to protest. Michael stared at her in shock.

“It might help your case too. I might not kill you, when you help us.” When? She was quite sure of herself. But then again with all those knifes, he didn’t think she should be underestimated.

Chapter Four

　It wasn’t as if Aria had a choice. It was her duty to protect the humans--no matter how much she hated how much she had to sacrifice for her job. Aria liked her job--most of the time. She got to fight and kill creatures from hell, and by doing so making the world a better place. But she had her own dreams too. Aria wanted to go on vacation--for once in her life, she wanted to own a house, get a normal job--but she couldn’t. Mason had said he wanted the same things, and Aria had thought about running away a few times, but it wasn’t the smartest idea either. The Warriors would probably drag her right back--although she could probably kill them.

Michael had allowed them to stay in the upstairs guestrooms, which was a surprise. Aria wouldn’t want deadly Warriors sleeping in her house, especially if she was a bloodsucker. That’d just be stupid. But Michael had a confidence that she’d never seen a vamp have. Of course all vamps had that smart ass thing about them, but Michael’s confidence was more real. Like he actually knew that he could rip your head off, and she wasn’t doubting he could. She’d just kill him first before he got the chance.

Aria jumped out of bed, still in a little black spaghetti strap shirt and her black shorts to match. Warriors almost always wore black--quite depressing really. But Aria knew she looked good in black, hell she looked good in what ever color she was wearing. It really didn’t matter. She shut the door behind her and crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. She really wanted some coffee, and the last time she’d had it was when she’d had to go early in the morning to take care of a ghost problem a week ago. Humans were so skittish. One ghost couldn’t do that much damage, all the damn thing did was knock over a few pictures. But still, she’d taken care of it. Looking around the kitchen she spotted the coffeemaker that was currently on and running. Going through the cabinets she finally spotted a few mugs. She randomly picked one that said “Fangtastic”. She’d seen these mugs in the club she’d found Michael at. While she poured the hot liquid into the mug she heard footsteps behind her. Knowing that it was Michael, her relaxed mood went to alert. Dumping milk and sugar into the mug she said, “You can’t sneak up on me.”

“You probably have one of your knifes on you.” Michael said pulling out a stool and drinking a red liquid--Aria knew what it was even before she saw it. Blood. Vampires might need it to survive, but from her point of view it was just disgusting.

“It’d be wise not to mess with me then.” Aria threatened, sipping her coffee that she had loaded with sugar. She put so much sugar into it, it barely passed as coffee. She heard footsteps on the stairs, and was grateful that he had came. She might’ve killed Michael a few seconds before he came down, Aria has a very short temper.

“Hey Mase,” Aria said going to sit at the table with him. His hair was a mess and he had bags under his eyes, which meant he probably stayed up on that damned computer.

“Did you stay up on that computer all night?” Aria asked worriedly. Usually if he hadn’t stayed up on his computer, he’d have these horrible dreams. Sometimes Aria did too…just even worse.

“Yes, and lost a whole night’s sleep because of it, but I did find something.”

“What?” Michael asked from across the room.

Aria glared at him, but Mason politely said, “A list of missing persons in this area. Most of them are being turned and disappearing, but I found a string of murders committed, all meeting their deaths by a bite mark.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that their the bloodsuckers we’re looking for, Mase.” Aria said running her hands through her messy black hair.

“There was a witness though, and I tracked her address.” Mason said grinning. Aria should’ve known Mason would find something useful. This was very, very useful too, if they could talk to the witness, perhaps she could describe the appearance of the vampire who’d started this mess.

“You don’t think this is a trap? A vampire would use compulsion on a human to make them forget. So even if by chance we did find the witness--you probably wouldn’t get much out of them.” Michael said matter-of-factly.

“There’s ways around your stupid mind tricks, believe it or not.” Aria said washing her empty cup and dropping it into the sink--a little to hard. Hopefully it hadn’t broken.

“Mason hurry up and get ready, you too bloodsucker.” Aria said stopping to clean up the rest of her mess she’d made with the coffee.

“By the way, nice pajamas, they fit you perfectly.” Michael flirted, giving her a huge grin. Aria would not fall for his vampire charm of course.

“In your dreams, jack ass.” She said sighing and gracefully exiting the kitchen to go upstairs. She heard Michael laughing on her way up. Was he laughing at me? She thought entering her room and pulling on a pair of dark jeans and a black spaghetti strap--which she usually always wore. Being a Warrior, you didn’t have time to shop and buy the newest fashions of the season. She pulled her dark hair into a pony tail, her hair brushing the back of her neck. After putting on her black high-heeled boots and putting one of her knives into it, she closed the door and went downstairs. Mason wasn’t in the room, so he was still getting ready.

“Well don’t you look nice. Planning to use your own charm on the witness?” Michael said from the couch, he had his feet sitting on the table in front of him. His brown hair was still kind of messy, and Aria thought that was probably the way it stayed, no matter how much he brushed it.

“I don’t need charm to get my answers.” Aria said pulling out her knife, and flashing a dangerous grin. Indeed she didn’t need her looks to get answers, she could use violence. It worked just as easily.

“Aria, can I borrow a knife? I don’t know where mine went.” Mason said coming down the stairs in his gear. His blonde hair messy, which meant he had rushed out of the room. Aria didn’t like it when he took too much time to get ready.

“And you wonder why you always end up getting hurt.” Aria muttered lifting her shirt a little and pulling out one of her knives. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Michael staring at her--or her lifted shirt. She wasn’t showing anything, but it didn’t stop him from peeking. After retrieving the knife she threw it to Mason, who caught it sloppily. Someone needed more training, she thought. “Okay, lets go.”

“How long is the drive?” She asked getting into her car. She wanted to take Michael’s but his only had two seats. Mason let Michael sit in the front seat, surprisingly. “Hmm, about two hours from here.” He said taking out the GPS and punching in the address.

“Great, two hours in the car with jack ass.” She murmured putting the key in the ignition and following the computer voice of the GPS to her first turn.

“Ah, you know you like me.” Michael said grinning a flirty smile.

“You wish.” Aria rolled her blue eyes. This was going to be a long trip when she was with a vampire she hated very much. She wished he’d stop flirting with her so much, it made her temper heighten by the minute.


By the time they arrived at their destination, it was twelve thirty. Aria was grateful to get out of the car and walk around. One more minute with Michael and she was sure she’d lose her temper and kill him. Aria stood looking at the two story house in front of her. It was a nice house, white exterior, the grass a dark healthy green…but she knew that car in the drive way from somewhere. She just couldn’t remember where. They walked to the door, and Aria toyed with the ring on her finger, waiting for someone to answer. Finally the door opened, revealing a man about her age, Aria thought. The man eyed Aria for a moment before cracking a smile…a familiar smile. “Aria?”

“Will?” She said in astonishment cracking a smile of her own. She had dated Will before when she was about sixteen. He looked just as she remembered. Goofy smile, dark hair, and green eyes. Memories flooded Aria’s brain. She’d went on her first date with him when she was fifteen, they’d went to a football game together, then they’d went on a couple of more dates, eventually reaching the title as a couple. Before that night…the night her parents died. That moment had changed everything. She’d left her old life behind.

Will hugged her tight spinning her around. The warmth of his arms sending shivers through her body. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Michael raise an eyebrow and Mason was smiling. “Gosh, its been such a long time! Where the hell have you been hiding?”

“Umm…I…”

“She’s a cook. She loves to cook.” Mason finished for her. Obviously that was a lie. Although her mother use to let her cook dinner sometimes--Italian food mostly. Their mother had been always been in the kitchen almost all the time, the memories lightened Aria’s mood just a little. You’ve never had spaghetti until you try real Italian sauce.

“Oh, well that’s great! I’m a doctor.” That wasn’t a surprise. He’d always been the smart one and had made all A’s through school. He probably had went to a big college to get his degree. Jealousy flashed through Aria.

He invited the unusual group into his house. The fireplace was the first thing that caught Aria’s eye. The stones and the paint of the wall matched perfectly. The dark hardwood floor made the room look even better. Mason on the other hand, noticed the Plasma Screen TV hanging on the wall. He stared at it longingly before turning back around and smiling at Aria. She rolled her eyes.

“Gosh I can’t get over how different you look.” Will said breaking their silent eye contact. Aria could feel the vampire’s gaze on her from across the room. Mason was suppressing a grin. When they’d dated in high school Mason was about twelve. He’d liked Will too. Aria wasn’t the only one who was happy to see her friend.

“Not to be rude or anything but why exactly are you here?” Will asked gesturing for them to take seats in his well decorated living room.

“Actually we came about…” Aria trailed off when she noticed the picture sitting on his desk. It was Aria, much younger and vulnerable than she was now. Beside her, was Mason smiling a nerdy grin and Will smiling his cute little boy smile. That picture had been taken the year before her parents had died.

“Do you know about the disappearance of a girl named Olivia Lynette in this area?” Mason said finishing Aria’s sentence. He gave her a confused look that she saw out of the corner of her eye. She tore her eyes away from the picture and waited for Will to answer.

“I’ve heard about it…but I can’t remember…”

“Where do you work, exactly?” Michael asked quickening the speed of their long process.

“The only hospital in town, Jefferson Hospital.” He replied with a smile, his expression was a look of confusion. Your long lost girlfriend out of the blue turns up on your doorstep and asks about the disappearance of a girl in the area. Sure, never mind the fact that he had two assassins in his house…and Michael, who could probably do some damage too. Yeah, real ice breaker.

“Okay thanks. We really must be going…” Mason said jumping up and giving him a smile. He eyed Aria again who had looked almost pale. Impossible for his perfectly tanned and beautiful sister.

“Oh yes, I understand. Almost time for me to go to work anyways.” He said before leading them back to the front door of his place. Before Aria could walk out he grabbed her shoulder. His touch made Aria want to melt into his arms.

“Oh Aria, I was just wondering if we can talk over dinner tonight? Maybe around six o’clock?” The question stunned her momentarily before she smiled her irresistible smile.

“Sounds like a date.” Michael and Mason walked in front of her and she could tell they were talking about her. Usually Aria was always mean…but as soon as Will opened his door she’d been an angel. One of the weird things about crushes…

Chapter Five

Michael had been watching Aria very quietly as she made her way to her closet, for about the hundredth time. It surprised him that she cared so much about what William thought. But then again, Aria was a very surprising person.

After deciding on a dress she stopped and stared in the mirror. Michael couldn’t help but to realize how good the dress looked on her. The dark blue material hugged her in all the right places. Her hair was twined into a bun and she’d let a few strands hang loose. She looked beautiful. Again the thought of drinking from her entered his mind.

“You know, I really don’t like you staring at me.” She said twirling around and crossing her arms. When she was mad it made Michael want her even more, and from the time he’d met her she’d been either sarcastic, mad, or glaring at him. So he’d wanted her the whole time.

“Mmm, but your so nice to look at.” He joked, slowly walking into the room. As her aggravation grew, Michael smiled. This was his game. Making people aggravated for his entertainment.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror. Undoing the catch of her necklace, she picked up another one. This one was the same color of her dress, Michael suspected it was made of sapphire. Her tattoo around her wrist made her look unusual. Only other supernatural creatures could see it; humans couldn’t. The design was on all Warriors, marking them as property. They didn’t get their tattoo until their first killing. Michael wondered when her first killing had been. The way she handled those knives of hers proved that she had started at an early age. He had no idea about Mason. They boy was very intelligent but he looked as if he tried to stay away from fights. He’d just stood in the doorway as Aria had talked and threatened him.

“How long have you been standing there?” Aria asked turning around again and putting her hands on her hips. She snapped him out of his daze.

“Long enough.” He replied.

She bit her bottom lip and looked down. Michael could tell that she was nervous. When your more than a century old you tend to pick up on emotions a lot more than a mortal. Her emotions however, he had learned, were jumbled. She could be aggravated one moment and ready to kill you the next. This girl was so interesting to him, but he imagined she was like that with everyone. Something about her draws you to her, he thought.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were nervous.” Michael said leaning against the wall. He loved to get a rise out of people. Especially Aria. He hoped she’d stick around awhile, Michael enjoyed the company. And the boy, Mason, was nice too. Perhaps, they could become friends.

She looked up. Her cheeks turned pink. “I’m not nervous, why would I be nervous?”

“I think you loved him at sometime in your life.”

She stood there silently and turned around, sighing. “Your wrong.”

“Then why get all dressed up for him? And that smile you had on your face when you saw him--priceless. You like him and you know it.” Michael said slowly coming towards her. The closer he got the more nervous she got.

“You just don’t want to admit you care for someone.” Michael said. That did it. Something in the Warrior snapped.

She whirled around and pushed him against the wall so hard and so quick he didn’t even have time to react. She gripped his shoulders tightly and looked at him with her dark brown eyes. They pierced him like a dagger. Like she saw through him, to his soul. No one had looked at him with such intensity in his long life.

“You know nothing about me. Do you hear me? Nothing.”

“You did love him didn’t you?” Michael asked still pinned to the wall by the angry Warrior. He could easily dispatch her from himself but something told him that wasn’t such a good idea.

Her response was shoving him against the wall even harder. He groaned. If he was human he was sure the momentum of which she had shoved him would have broken his bones.

“Don’t ask me those kind of questions, Michael. Ever.” Those brown eyes of hers burned with intensity as she said them. His gaze traveled to her lips and he wanted to kiss her. Thankfully, she didn’t notice.

And she walked away.

Soon after that, she left for her date with William. Her little outburst had a interested Michael even more. The girl was practically made of stone. He’d never seen her laugh or even smile. Well except around Will. Although he didn’t particularly like the boy he would back off. Michael could let one girl get away from him. She obviously didn’t like him very much. Which amused him. Most girls would be flattered that Michael would even look at them. But Aria…

Two hours later Mason and Michael were in the parking lot of Jefferson Hospital looking for evidence of the sick bastard who was making new vampires. So far, they’d had no luck.

“Dude, the attack was near here, not actually here.” Mason was saying as Michael irritatingly circled the hospital again. He sighed.

“Maybe your right…”

“Look, let’s walk down the road a little. There’s bound to be something.”

With that, they walked down the road a few minutes. Carefully scanning every inch of space. Nothing. No blood. No signs of struggle. Just concrete and rock. Michael would’ve been able to smell if there was blood but he still checked. The possibility of there being no evidence once so ever was just…impossible.

It had been four hours since Michael had thought that. The sun was setting and casting an orange glow. Mason’s brow furrowed in confusion as he turned around and looked at Michael expectantly. The vampire shrugged again, answering Mason’s unspoken question. The answer was the same.

He smelled nothing.

“Maybe we should have waited on Aria.” Mason suggested.

Aria. Her name made Michael tense as he gave up and started walking back to Jefferson hospital. The buildings exterior was plain and cold. The morgue had to be more colorful than this building. Not many people were there but every once in a while he’d heard the sirens of the ambulance. On the way back Mason was talking about calling Aria.

“Leave her alone and let her have a good time, she doesn’t look like she ever gets to.”

“So you’ve noticed. Will showing up is probably the best thing that’s happened to her in a…long time.” There it was again. The secret that made both of them the way they are. The one that made Aria mean and cold and what made Mason the way he was. Aria wasn’t the only unusual one. Mason was the warm hearted one who could cheer her up but deep down knew that his sister had a big burden to carry. Michael couldn’t help but to feel sorry for them, even if he was suppose to be a cold and heartless vampire.

“How does she know him?”

Mason grinned. “When she was in high school she dated him.”

Michael tensed again. Of course, he should have known. The way she smiled was not friendly, more intimate.

“And I had to tell him some lie to help her out. Telling someone that you kill evil creatures of the night is kind of…”

“Insane?” Michael offered.

He nodded and took out his phone. Someone had text him. Humans and their stupid little cell phones. Those things annoyed the hell out of Michael. Or any technology really--except for the television, he kind of enjoyed that. But he still missed actual plays on stages. To him, that would have been something he normally would have done. But things had changed, much to his disappointment.

Then Aria called.

“Mason, you don’t listen very well do you?” His eyes widened as he turned around. There she was with her hands on her perfect hips and a frown on her beautiful face. She flipped her phone and stood there. Aria had the element of surprise--even on Michael, a vampire with heightened senses.

“I didn’t expect you. What happened to your date?”

Michael clenched his jaws as she smiled. But the smile vanished just as quickly. “Did you find anything?” she asked looking around the sterile hospital. Avoiding questions…something must have happened.

They arrived back at Michael’s house. Mason slumped onto the vampire’s black leather couch and Aria had went back up to her room to do something. Michael sat on the couch with Mason as he rubbed his temples and was deep in thought.

“I don’t get it. Will was at work on the night the vampire came…” Mason muttered.

“Ever thought maybe he went somewhere after work?” Michael asked going to the kitchen to get himself a red beverage. As soon as the warm liquid touched his lips he felt better. Energized yet calm. The ultimate high for a vampire, well, unless it was a human he was feeding from. An urge for human flesh went through him. Fresh blood, was way better than the stuff he’s been drinking since the Warriors had invaded his home.

“I thought ahead of you, Michael. I called the hospital, he was there the whole night.” He replied.

“Hey, for all you know he could have went to a strip club after work. If I worked in that boring place that’s where I’d be going.” Mason laughed and shook his head. Aria descended down the stairs and entered the living room.

“Okay perverts, we gotta go.” They turned and looked at her in confusion. She was dressed in a tight black shirt and a short black skirt and to complete her look she was wearing her black boots. Her black hair hung against her back. Michael’s fangs popped out.

“Do I look hot to you, Michael?” She put her hands on her hips and spun around. She looked like she was joking but then her face went back to serious and he knew she was being sarcastic. “Fangs back in or I cut them off.”

He obeyed her immediately, knowing she probably would. Usually, he would have been in the mood to harass her. But since the incident earlier today, he didn’t think it was such a good idea to mess with her. “Aria, you’ve accomplished looking like a stripper,” Mason says, “but what the hell are you doing now?” Dirty thoughts of Aria as a stripper entered Michael’s mind. He wondered what she’d look like in red. He’d fed off of strippers before; their blood was tainted somehow. By consuming to many cigarettes, alcohol, and most of the time, drugs. And then again, they were definitely not virgins. Still, they were tasty in their own way. Dressing like that though, really is what Michael liked best.

“We’re going to Nightlife. I want to see the newly turned vampire and see if she has any useful information since you idiots couldn’t find any. I told you to wait and you went right ahead and went against my orders.” She chastised. Mason looked like it was perfectly normal for her to react like this. To Michael, the way she was chastising them, made him want to laugh. He managed a smile and Aria glared at him. So much for not harassing her.

Aria drove this time. She sped down the roads and Mason had warned her that she’d probably get pulled over. Her response was, “Mason, I’m not in the mood to talk right now.” He looked at his sister worriedly. He’d asked her if she was alright but they’d pulled into the parking lot of the club and she didn’t answer.

“I’m summoning my clan, I want to see if they know anything.” Michael says as they walk in. He thought it was a good idea. Aria ignores him, and Mason nods slightly following his sister.

“Master,” they say as they enter the backroom at the nightclub. The pale figures enter and then he slams the door shut. The clan silences immediately. Their pale faces looked at him expectantly.

“Are any of you aware,” he says coldly, “of the murders recently? Oh wait, their not murders, their Changes!” He snaps at them. They are rigid with fear as Michael glares at them. Still, their was silence.

“Do you know who did this?” Each word he said was with anger.

“Master, perhaps it is the mainstreaming vampires?” One of them said, it was Vanessa. She was one of his youngest ones; almost too young, he thought sadly. Of course, he didn’t Turn her. It was the Leader before him who’d turned so many. Her blue eyes were filled with terror but she’d spoken up. Her courage is what made Michael like her so much.

“Mainstreamers. I hadn’t thought of that, Vanessa.” She bowed and then the place was silent again. Vanessa was only Mason’s age. Her blonde hair and blue eyes made her look innocent and vulnerable. He remembered the night his Leader had turned her. She had been found in an alley, barely alive. A gang member had stabbed her repeatedly. But when she was turned, Michael had helped her go after the gang who’d ended her human life. She’d always been Michael’s favorite. Almost like a father to her. He remembered her crying as their Leader had told her she was a vampire. She was probably the only one worthy of respect in the bunch.

“Arthur and Daniel, your going to watch the mainstreamers for now on. When they come in for a feeding, make small talk. Do not let them know we might be on to them.” They nodded. Arthur and Daniel were a little younger than Michael in vampire years. He’d met them while in France a few hundred years ago and they’d followed him here. He’d summoned them to be in his new clan when he was made Leader. The two were also brothers, and they reminded him a lot of Aria and Mason. They way one moved and the other followed, the protective natures.

“As for the rest of you, if I found out that you know something and have not told me, there will be serious consequences.” They knew Michael wasn’t harsh on punishment except for when they’d killed purposely. Accidents always happened with the newly turned ones. He dismissed them soon after but Vanessa had stayed. She waited until the others were gone before smiling shyly.

“Vanessa, how have you been?” Even when they had a different Leader, the girl had always gone to Michael when she had problems. Rather it was not being able to stop feeding or just emotional distress caused by the Change, he’d been there for her.

“Very good, Michael. I was wondering…the boy who was here the other night. The blonde one…”

Michael smiled at her. “Yes, he’s a Warrior. I told you after some time you’d be able to sense it.”

She laughed nervously. This was the way Vanessa was, always shy. Even if she’d known him for years. “And the girl, she’s a Warrior too?”

Michael tensed. Not because of Vanessa, but because of they way she said “the girl”. “Yes, she’s one too. I’m helping them with a case.”

The shy girl smiled suspiciously.

He didn’t have time to reply because Mrs. Night came in. “Tell that little bitch that she just can’t come in here and--”

Aria ran in, knife in hand, Mason trailing behind her. He also had a weapon. “Michael, we gotta go. The new vampire isn’t here.” Her breath was ragged as if she’d been running.

“She escaped,” Mason exclaimed.

Chapter Five

“Must you cause so much trouble Aria? Or do you just like to have a grand entrance?” He was standing beside another vampire who neither Mason nor Aria had met. One of his clan members, Mason thought.

And she was beautiful.

Her long blonde hair streamed down her back in almost a too perfect way. The blueness of her eyes reminded him of the sea. Although she was slightly slender compared to Aria, she made up for it with those eyes. God, he could get lost in them. Her lip was quivering--slightly. Not enough for a human to be able to see but Mason wasn’t human. Her complexion didn’t have one blemish, not one whatsoever. The paleness of her skin made her look peaceful, and one look at her gave you an overwhelming serenity. She was a vampire. A beautiful, angelic, vampire. How was that even possible?

Mason’s heart beat so fast he was sure that the vampires could hear it.

“You’re one to talk, bloodsucker.” His sister’s raised voice brought him out of his trance and he looked away from the girl, blushing slightly. Oh dear God, he thought.

“This is not a time to quarrel, Aria. Leave him alone,” her brother snapped.

“Fine,” she said looking at Michael, who was smirking at her, “I’ll kill him later.” He cocked his head to the side, no doubt thinking of some way to annoy his sister even more. At times it was funny, but now? With a newly turned vampire on the loose? No.

“Michael, as I said before, Warriors aren’t allowed to walk into a place without your permission. So if you would please remove this sad excuse of a woman--”

Aria turned slightly glaring at the vampire with her hard blue eyes, gritting her teeth, trying not to lose her temper.

“It’s alright, Mrs. Night. She has my permission.” Michael said with that superior air he had about him. It was almost like Aria’s but just a little different. He didn’t threaten to kill you like Aria did, you just knew he could.

“The best thing we could do is split up,” his sister said guiding her knife back into the small of her back. She was in killing mode, ready for a fight.

“We don’t even know what she looks like, much less where she would go. We need someone who knows her--”

The vampire eyed the girl beside him.

“Vanessa, did you catch the scent?”

“Yes, Master.” Vanessa said softly. Aria’s brother turned his head to look at her, the female’s lips were a rosy pink, and he suddenly wanted to go up to the girl and kiss her. Kiss those delicate, pink lips…maybe part them slightly with his thumb.

Dear God, something was wrong with him for thinking such things.


“Someone needs to stay behind,” Aria said running a hand through her long black hair, something she did when she was thinking. Or just frustrated.

“I will,” offered Mason. Aria’s head snapped around quickly and she shook her head back and forth.

“No, there’s no way--”

“He’ll be safer here then he is out there,” Michael interjected.

She sighed in defeat and pulled out a dagger, handing it to her brother. Pausing for a second, he saw her eyebrow furrow and she started biting her lip. She was worried about Mason. “I’ll be fine,” he says reassuringly, giving his sister a nudge to the door.

That’s all it took. She ran out the door, Michael and Vanessa following behind her.

***

Vanessa was curious about the blonde boy she’d met before going with Aria and Michael. He was a Warrior, strictly off limits.

But God if he didn’t affect her. She’d stayed quiet to hide the fangs that were threatening to make an appearance. Vanessa was fairly new to the concept, sure the canines had popped out before. But only while feeding. Something told her it wasn’t because she was hungry.

“Vanessa, do you smell anything?” Michael asked, as they continued walking down the busy sidewalks of Orlando, Florida. Teens were dressed in name-brand clothing while parents dressed as they always did: presentable and out of style. But every once in a while you’d spot an outsider with tattoos that showed too much or a lady without a bra who should really be wearing one. Laughing couples, bickering families, amused tourists. Same as it always was.

“No, Master,” Vanessa said respectfully. Aria snorted, and Michael’s eyes returned to look at her, like they’d been doing since the little group had started out on their little mission. Since when did he care about a Warrior so much? Maybe he was just watching her in case of a surprise attack, even if it did seem unlikely.

Michael stayed close to Vanessa, like he always did when she was around. It wasn’t a sexual thing, Goodness, Michael was like a father to her. She respected him and loved him as a daughter would. There was always this protective air around him though, or that’s what Vanessa thought. Maybe all fathers were like that. She wouldn’t know, her scumbag of a father left her at an early age. When she was turned, if it wasn’t for him, she couldn’t have made it through the Transformation. Plus, the vampire just made her feel like she was at home, always so gentle and loving. To her, at least. Vanessa had heard stories about him, she just chose to ignore them.

Tried to, at least.

“I can’t believe that Mrs. Night wasn’t aware that the changing bloodsucker was gone,” Aria said as she took in her surroundings like only a Warrior did. So very observant. Vanessa was beginning to understand why Michael said she’d be able so spot them over time. But now that she thought of it, Michael did the same thing. Maybe it wasn’t just a Warrior thing.

“I hate Mrs. Night, but not even she would purposely let a vampire escape,” said Michael.

“Are all vampires assholes like you?”

“We prefer the term ‘superior’.” He said, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, annoyed with the vampire. For some reason, and Vanessa could see it clearly--this Warrior was different. She just couldn’t put her finger on why she was.

They crossed a street, going over to the quieter side and a car beeped at Aria as she cut through. She ignored it. “Have anything, Vanessa?”

“Being nice to her and mean to me, how rude,” commented Michael.

“I like her better. She isn’t an arrogant bastard,” replied Aria.

“I have nothing…maybe we should go into the clubs? She could be seeking cover,” Vanessa said, unsurely. It had to be worth a shot though. If she was a new vampire and was running away, the first place she’d want to go was in a crowded place to hide, somewhere with--Oh God. What if she was feeding?

Vanessa went back to the night she was turned. When she had awakened…she was alone. In pain, bleeding to death. Left for dead in the back of an alley, with no one to tell her what was happening to her body, why she was so hungry. She pushed the thoughts away. That’s in the past, don’t think about it.

The Warrior cursed under her breath and pulled her jet black hair into a ponytail. She was quite beautiful, no wonder Michael fancied her. As she lowered her hands the vampire looked away, his hazel eyes burning with lust. Vanessa suddenly felt like she shouldn’t be watching him as he had his secret moment, but she couldn’t help it. The way he reacted to her just fascinated her.

“We’re screwed. There’s no way we can find her tonight,” Aria said dryly.

“Have a little faith, Aria.” She bit her lip and crossed her arms looking around again, then headed straight into a club that Vanessa wasn’t familiar with. The outside was pure black, the door’s red paint was chipping off, and the huge man guarding the door looked like he could break someone’s neck. The man looked at Aria and was momentarily stunned as she gave him a fake smile and swayed her hips as she walked past him. When they entered a girl latched onto Michael like a puppy almost instantly, the fake blonde was drunk and looking for a good time. And Michael looked like he wanted to accept her offer.

Aria shoved her away from Michael and proceeded into the club. Numerous guys looked at her. While she was making her way through the crowd a guy grabbed her around the waist, pressing her into him. Michael growled beside Vanessa, something that was unexpected. The Warrior removed his grip easily and shoved him hard, she didn’t seem dazed as she pushed farther into the crowd. Vanessa noticed uncomfortably the way the guys watched her as she made her way through the crowd. Pigs.

“These people are so rude.”

“I could think of other things to call them,” Michael growled, hovering behind her protectively. Indeed like a father. It was fine when they threw themselves at him, but not when it was Vanessa and Aria. So very male, but she wasn’t surprised.

Fortunately, no one bothered Aria again. She scanned the crowd, raising her eyebrows at some who were doing only God knows what. Vanessa didn’t smell anything at all, so eventually they ended up walking down the street again. Aria was ranting something about the “nasty bastards” at the club. Michael agreed, and although Vanessa didn’t curse--she had to admit that it was totally true.

Eventually after walking for another hour, Aria called Mason to check in. No sign of the vampire, he’d even started asking mundane if they had seen something out of the ordinary. Aria seemed angry about that, but she hung up eventually, cursing under her breath.

The next club they walked into was called The Lair, and by the name, it was pretty obvious it was a werewolf bar. Michael seemed hesitant for a moment, and Aria even bit her lip. “I could go in here alone. It won’t take long.”

“Yeah, a Warrior going into a lycanthrope bar isn’t insane at all,” Michael said grabbing onto Vanessa’s arm, a protective gesture she thought.

“Michael, trust me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of whatever they throw at me.” It was the first time Vanessa had heard her use his name instead of “vampire” or “bloodsucker”. It caught him by surprise for a second but then he met Aria’s glare with one of his own.

“We’re coming.”

They glared at each other for what seemed like forever and Aria turned around and sighed deeply. “Fine. It’s your funeral.”

Inside The Lair was just as scary as the club they went into earlier; when they walked in, heads turned, voices silenced, and werewolves followed their bodies across the wooden floor. Vanessa wanted to squirm under their gazes, she felt like a child compared to Michael and Aria who weren’t even fidgeting, just meeting their glares with one of their own. The grip on her arm tightened as they went farther into the club.

Then Vanessa caught her scent. She went rigid as she took in another scent--blood. Vampire blood. Leaning towards Michael, she softly whispered to him, “She’s here.”

He nodded slightly to her and a grim expression crossed his face. Michael looked to his left where an old door was probably used for storage, suspiciously. Aria was making a move towards a corner table and she was yanked back by Michael. As she looked at him angrily, he leaned closer to her ear, so close that she saw her stiffen, and whispered, “The door.”

Her brown eyes scanned the room before landing on the door, she made it look casual, like it was something that just caught her eye. She had only eyed it for about five seconds, tops.

“What can I do for ya sweetheart?” A southern voice drawled from the table in the corner. He was a burly man with red hair, green eyes, and tattoos that almost made him look like his was wearing a second skin. He obviously didn’t see Aria completely, because if he did--his reaction would have been different.

Or maybe it was a bluff.

“Just out patrolling,” she lied.

“Well if you’re just out patrolling, why’d ya have to brang’ your pets?” The Were snarled, green eyes gleaming.

“Who said we were her pets?” Michael interjected.

“Anybody who hangs out with a Warrior has to be a pet,” he answered.

Michael was about to reply when Aria cut him off, “What are you hiding?”

“Cuse’ me?” The lycanthrope looked at her, startled. His green eyes looked confused. But something wasn’t right.

“I asked what you were hiding. So even get off your drunk ass and show me, or that’ll be the last drink you ever have, Billy Boy.” Aria emphasized on the last two words, and recognition crossed over the man’s face. He shot up, fists clenched.

“You’re the one who cut off Tommy’s ear!” Vanessa stayed silent, listening curiously. She noticed, with her keen hearing, that the Were’s heart was beating astonishingly fast. Michael on the other hand, looked like he was ready to bite the man’s head off. His posture suggested he was ready to fight, his hazel eyes gleamed. This was why he was their Master. He could protect them with godly skills, and always did good for his people. Vanessa thought of what a good Master he was compared to the one before….

A high pitched scream sounded through the club, making Vanessa snap out of her daze. Aria had taken her knife out and another Were had tried to pounce on her.

That Were was now hugging the floor, desperately.

“Yeah, well, Tommy shouldn’t have bitten my brother.”

“You better be happy Tommy ain’t here, little girl,” Billy said.

Michael squeezed Vanessa’s hand to get her attention. She turned to him, her blue eyes filled with terror. Without saying anything he handed her a knife. She quickly put it into her pocket.

“I’m not going to ask again, what are you hiding?”

The Were smiled darkly, green eyes turning yellow. “What do you think we’re hiding?”

“You have five seconds to tell me, Billy. Before I start killing.”

“Are you threatening me?” Billy growled. He took on a pouncing stance, and began inching towards the Warrior.

Aria smiled, “Yes, yes I am.”

“What ya gonna do? Get your vamps to tear us apart?”

“I’m quite capable of doing that myself,” she said taking her own stance, poising her knife with dangerous skill.

The Were’s body began to twitch and after a moment, he was in Werewolf form. His yellow eyes stared at her hungrily, angrily. Vanessa’s eyes widened.

Then he made his move on her. Chaos started.

“Vanessa, go!” Michael barked and shoved her towards the door. Then he was beside Aria in a flash. She had been thrown to the ground, her face inches away from the terribly sharp canines, but she was holding him off. Michael grabbed the Were with one hand and threw him against the wall. Aria had took advantage of those few seconds to get to her feet.

Vanessa jumped over the bar and made a run for the door where the vampire was--most likely--being kept. She was stopped by a female who was a little older than herself, the woman had red hair and blue eyes, and was probably related to Billy. She made a move to grab Vanessa but the vampire dodged it and shoved her. As she kicked down the door, the Were pulled her back and threw her against the wall, then wrapped her hands around Vanessa’s neck and squeezed. Vanessa silently reached down and grabbed her knife and stabbed the Were in her lower abdomen. She shrieked and her body hit the floor, and Vanessa was off through the door. Gasping, she looked around. All she could see was boxes of alcohol, cups, and two chairs up against the wall. She went farther into the small room and heard a whimper. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Vanessa whispered.

Another whimper. Vanessa spun around, panicking. She didn’t have much time, she had to do this quickly. She pressed her ear against the wall, nothing was heard but the thrum of electricity. “Where are you?”

A groan. “Crap, crap, crap!” Vanessa said, exasperated.

A board squeaked under her feet. Looking down, she saw that the wood was different from the rest of the floor, like it was faded almost. Kneeling beside it, she dug her fingernails into it and pulled. Then another. She ripped the boards up until a stair case was visible. What is this?

Eyeing the place one more time, she inched down the stairs. Darkness surrounded her, but her vampire senses allowed her to see where she was going. Vanessa heard the soft sound of crying as she rounded the corner of a small room.

A woman with short auburn hair was spread out on a table, hands tied down. And she was cut in numerous places. Vanessa gasped as she ran over to the girl.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Vanessa’s voice cracked as she looked into her violet eyes. She had to keep herself from turning away from the woman. She was so like Vanessa used to be. Scared, hurt. She vividly remembered feeling like she was dying only to discover she was already dead. Vanessa blinked, and focused on the vampire in front of her.

“N-no, I’m so…hungry.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here.”

“H-hurry, he might come back.”

“Who? Who will come back?” Vanessa asked, heart pounding.

The girl didn’t answer, because she lost consciousness. Vanessa tried to shake her awake, but the female was in a dream state no one could wake her from.

Vanessa knew that feeling.

“God what have I gotten myself into?” She muttered as she undid the restraints on the woman’s wrists. They had been so tight that they’d left marks. Poor woman…

As she was fixing to pick up the limp body, she heard a scratching noise and she paused, looking around the dark room. The scratching got louder and then--

Yellow eyes stared at her from the corner of the room. The thing snarled and inched towards Vanessa till it was dangerously close. She wanted to run, she really did.

But she couldn’t leave the woman for dead.

She screamed as the beast jumped on her and took her to the ground.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.05.2011

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Widmung:
To Jesse Griffin, my best friend.