The fall was cold and it seemed that the leaves died far earlier then they had the year before, not that there were many trees to be seen in New York. This night was particularly cold, she was unsure if it was because of the moonless, starless sky that seemed to forewarn a coming storm. Wrapped up in her long brown coat she stepped out of her apartment building’s warm hall. Her black hair fluttered behind her, and she rubbed together her dark brown hands. Taking a quick look around into the darkness, not paying any particular attention to what was around her. Turning around she wanted to make sure the door locked, of course it didn’t. The manager kept saying he would fix it when she moved in a year and a half ago, despite her constant complaints for him to repair it. The building had had twelve break-ins in the last three months alone.
    If it wasn’t for the fact that she had to meet up with some of her friends, she probably would of woken the lazy man up to give him a piece of her mind. He already didn’t like her, and was looking for ways to get her kicked from the building. Giving a quick kick to the door, she turned back around and rubbed her upper arms, then checked her watch. She was already an hour late, they would never let her live this down.
    Walking down the cement stairs, she began the short journey down the sidewalk. The bar wasn’t far from here, and she wasn’t about to pay for a cab to take her ten blocks. Had she not been in such a hurry she might of noticed the two men across the street, in jeans and heavy flannel shirts, staring intently at her when she kicked the door. She would of also notice that as she walked down the street they followed closely behind. It wasn’t until she accidentally dropped her gloves when she pulled them from her pocket, that she noticed them across from her, walking behind her. There had been several murdered rape victims lately, of course there was always something to be afraid about, especially in this neighborhood.
    Shaking her head, she decided that she was being silly as she picked up her gloves, when she turned back around she speeded her pace. The only sound that could be heard in the abandon street was the sound of her high heels, clanking along, as she sped down the sidewalk. Trying to take her mind of the fear of the strangers behind her, she watched the fog that formed around her lips because of her breath.
    Slightly turning her head she saw them walking along the street with her, keeping with the pace she set. When she looked back a second time, they ran across the street towards her, letting her know that this was not just her being paranoid. Fight or flight was her decision now and she settled with flight, before fight even played across her mind. Her high heels slowed her down not to mention her short stride from being of below average height. All she could think of was that she should of taken a cab, which should have been the furthest thing from her mind. Her heart raced, as she turned her head again to see the men were gaining on her. The louder clanks of her heels echoed throughout her mind, as she came closer to an alley. Maybe it was because it was familiar, or that it just seemed dark enough to hide her, but she decided to run down it, despite the fact she knew it was a dead end.
    As she turned into the alley she could barely make out the garbage filled ground, the only light was from the flashing light bulb directly above the dumpster in the middle of the alley. Keeping her stride she continued down into the darkness as she leapt over the scattered boxes and fast food containers. Once she realized her mistake in coming down the alley it was to late to turn back, as she turned her head, she saw them standing in the light of the street. They knew just as well as she did that the alley was a dead end. The brick wall revealed itself when she came to stand three feet from it, looking back she could see the shadow of the men walking down towards her. Their taunting laughter gave a slight echo bouncing off the bricks of the buildings.
    Her heart throbbed, and it felt like it was trying to push itself out through her throat. She couldn’t of screamed if she wanted to, and the feeling of her eyes tightening as they tried to hold back her tears, show no fear she thought to herself. Pressing her back up against the alley, she felt her pink plastic nails dig into the brick, as she unintentionally tried to dig her way through. The nail from her right middle finger popped off, landing with a soft thud onto a wooden box beside her. Fear had completely taken over her mind, as she climbed onto the box and turned to place her back against the wall, still digging with her nails into the brick.
    Both men came to a stop in front of her, looking her over as if they were enjoying the moments they had with her before them in total fear. One of them had wild brown hair, deep haunting dark eyes, and when he smiled, he revealed that he was missing his front teeth. He was shorter then his friend, but all she could think about was that fact that he was smiling. His chubby cheeks giving her a large grin as he licked his lips.
    The other was a bald man of large height, and a very slim build. Under his eyes were dark circles, and the coloring of his skin was off, like an almost bluish hue. He didn’t even grin just gave her a look that sent a shiver of fear up her spine.
    "Hey, pretty lady, we just wanted to talk to you." The wild haired man said, his words were stuttered several times, as if he had spent a lifetime on cocaine.
    She released a deep breath, the air in front of her lips turned white which for the moment told her she was still breathing.
    The bald man said nothing, just reached out his hand and rubbed her cheek. His hand slid down her arm, and as she felt him about to yank her to him the wild haired man spoke.
    "Hey, you went first last time. I’m sick of being second."
    The bald man let her go, and walk over next to his friend. They took a moment to whisper to one another, they weren’t even afraid to waste time in fear of being caught. "At the same time?" The wild haired man said audibly.
    Taking a huge gasp of air, she searched for the words, any words. "Please, don’t kill me." She begged, her eyes filled up with tears as she realized what she was begging for. "Please, God, save me." She had never been the type to go to church, but she prayed never the less in hopes that she might receive a miracle for a lost lamb.
    Closing her eyes, she let the tear fall down her cheeks and when she opened them to look at the men, she thought she saw a bird take off from above the building to the right. The men chuckled at her and began their approach, she closed her eyes again and when she opened them she saw the dark figure land behind them. She knew then it was her bird, it had made no sound when it landed after jumping off the three story building. Slowly it walked behind them, reaching out both of it’s hands. The hands went straight for the necks of both men, she heard a snap and the wild haired man fell limp to the ground.
    The bald man did not fall instead the dark figure pulled him towards it, he screamed as it went into the darkness, but only for a moment. After a short live silence, she heard another snap, sucking in her breath she waited wondering if she would be the next to fall. The shadow form stepped into the light revealing a woman wearing a black cocktail dress and black over coat. Her dark blonde locks had appeared to have come undone.
    "Thank you." She said to the woman in the cocktail dress, hoping that this truly was her savior. Giving her a once over, she placed her index finger over her lips. Letting her know that she should never speak a word of this moment. She felt safe in the strange woman’s presence, and from the gesture alone knew that she was out of the forthcoming darkness that had almost taken her.
    "Did God send you?" She didn’t know why she asked, perhaps it was to get reassurance, or a logical explanation. "Are you an angel?" The woman only smiled, and without a single word, she jumped into the air and vanished over the brick building to her left. Leaving her alone to stand in the alley, but alive, unsure as to call the police or go home. Remembering her savior’s request to remain silent, she began her journey back to her apartment, she would think of a reason why she couldn’t met her friends in the morning. As she stepped out of the alley, she looked over to the building where her angel had disappeared. Deciding she wanted to place this on God, she thank him for saving her, and promised to return to church.

    Kailin stood in the elevator of her apartment building, the smells of cleaning detergent stung her sensitive nose. Carefully she inspected herself, making sure that she hadn’t spilt any of her meal when she fed from the man in the alley. She stroked down her black dress, pulling the wrinkles that had accumulated from levitating onto the buildings out. Next, she straightened out her black overcoat, and when she yanked on the collar she could make out a few blood droplets. Being that the coat was black, she decided that it would probably go unnoticed by any human eyes. In the two hundred years she had been alive, she realized how nosey humans were when they spotted blood on another being.
    Looking at the floors, she saw that she was nearing her floor, and gave herself one more glance before the doors would open. Her black handbag still had dust on the bottom from when she left it on the roof, while her right black heel had scraped along the side of one of the buildings, and now carried a scuff mark. She sighed as she reached down to pull it off, to see if she could rub the scuff off with her fingers.
    She heard the ding of the elevator doors opened, and placed her still scuffed shoe back on. Bringing her eyes to the dark brown hallway, she stepped out onto the soft green carpet. Again, her nose was met with the pungent odor of cleaning agents, she hated weekends when they scrubbed down the building. Walking down the hall, she passed Mrs. Kraig’s apartment, she could hear the old women open the door before she saw it.
    As the door opened, Mrs. Kraig revealed her short withered form, white curls stuffed together into a hair net. She wore a white robe with blue flower prints, and a pair of blue slippers. The last thing Kailin was in the mood for was to entertain the old woman’s complaints.
    "There you are, Miss Drake." A droplet of saliva left the old woman’s lips after she spoke her name.
    "Yes, Mrs. Kraig?"
    The old woman stepped out into the hallway and looked her over, "What are you a hussy now? Dressing like a street walker, I thought you were the good one."
    "I just came from a dinner meeting, I had to dress nice."
    Mrs. Kraig gave a disgusted look, "You girls, these days, think that you have to show off all your parts in order to get a man. In my day, you left everything to the imagination. Then the man felt like he earned something..."
    "Did you need to speak with me?" Kailin interrupted her. She was much older then the woman, but still felt she needed to respect her elders, those that looked it anyway. Besides it was a long gown, the only thing it showed was some of her cleavage and her arms, it was hardly a revealing dress.
    "Yes, your hussy girlfriend..."
    "Roommate."
    "You know what I mean, she brought another man in there tonight. That girl is going straight to hell, bringing all these men into her bed. Woman needs to be properly married before she gives herself to a man." She huffed, "You girls just don’t respect yourselves anymore, don’t understand there are plenty of men..."
    "Mrs. Kraig, I am very tired. I have work in the morning, but I will talk to Gabrielle about bringing men into the apartment."
    "Alright, you tell her that if she doesn’t stop being a tramp, she’ll go straight to hell!"
    "I’ll tell her you said that. Have a good night, Mrs. Kraig."
    Kailin watched the old woman slip into her apartment without another word, and then returned to walking down the hallway to her own apartment. As she stopped at the door, she turned her attention to her handbag and began searching for the keys. Locating her key chain, she fondled around trying to find the apartment key. Her elbow tapped the door, and it slowly squeaked open exposing the peach colored living room. Kailin sighed, before cursing Gabrielle under her breath for not locking the door again.
    Sticking her head in, she looked over the floral couch near the door, no one was sitting in it and the TV was off across the room on it’s white metal entertainment stand. Instead the stereo placed next to the TV was playing a Barry White CD, she grinned to herself as she stepped in the rest of the way. Quietly as she could, she shut the door and locked it, then placed her keys back in her purse, setting it on the end table behind the couch. Almost instinctively she reached for the blue lamp on the end table, but stopped when she heard a familiar giggle coming from the kitchen.
    Looking up the kitchen was out of sight, being divided off from the dining room by a breakfast bar. She rolled her eyes when the familiar giggle became a laughter. Making her way towards the kitchen, she peered around the wall as she saw a human male kissing Gabrielle’s neck. As soon as Gabrielle saw her, she bit into the flesh on the man’s neck, ripping the skin off with her teeth and spitting it to the ground. She turned her mouth back to the open wound, and began to drain his body of blood. When she was content with the amount she had taken, she broke his neck, allowing his corpse to fall to the ground.
    Gabrielle’s thin dark red hair flowed down over her shoulders, as she crossed her arms, giving a glare to her companion. She always reminded Kailin of a glass doll with dark red hair and porcelain white skin only a slight hint of a pink hue. "Damnit, Kailin! What are you doing home so early?”
    "I excused myself from the meeting, I had to feed. When I went back they were gone, so I just came home."
    The angry look on her friend’s face vanished, and she gave a grin. "Your hair is a mess. Should be glad they weren’t there with it looking like that."
    Kailin had small tight waves of hair, which had always been hard to control. Whenever she hunted, some of the hairs seemed to come out from the wind mostly. "It wouldn’t of mattered." Reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a small hand gun and placed it on the counter.
    "Kailin! I can’t believe you took that with you!”
    She ignored her friend’s comment, mostly because Gabrielle was afraid of guns. A bullet could pierce her heart and kill her almost instantly.
    "It works to keep the Mephis back, you know that I don’t go anywhere without it." She said as she checked the barrel, "Mrs. Kraig wanted me to tell you that you are a tramp and are going to hell."
    Gabrielle laughed. "She caught me on the way in with this one," She pointed at the corpse on the ground with her thumb. "Was saying that he didn’t want used goods, and that he should run away now before I take him to hell with me."
    "The sooner she dies, the happier we will all be." Kailin smiled as she placed the gun on the table, "You are going to clean that up, right?"
    She nodded looking at the corpse on the ground, "Don’t worry, it’ll be gone before you wake up tomorrow."
    Kailin glared at her Pyrrhonian friend, letting her know she didn’t believe her.
    "It will be." Gabrielle’s hands went to her hips, "I just have to wait for Mrs. Kraig to fall asleep, so I can dispose of it." She looked down for a moment then back up, "So, what did Mark want?"
    "Some author wants me to fact check his novel, and for some reason his agent wanted the four of us to have dinner. For as long as I was there we never discussed business."
    Kailin was a historian, and like most vampires had put herself in a place of employment where she could stop working and no one would notice. She hired herself out as a fact checker for history textbooks, she became so well known for it in only one year that authors writing historical fiction began asking for her by name. And before the second year was even up she had been on several movie sets, checking screenplays, clothing, and even the sets themselves for accuracy. Except for an occasional business meeting or having to go to a set, she didn’t even have to be in the public eye. As a matter of a fact, there were no pictures of her. Though she was famous it was only among novelist and producers.
    Gabrielle on the other hand was a dancer at a gentleman’s club, it was one of the many reasons that Mrs. Kraig didn’t like her. She enjoyed her work, however, because she got to enjoy her food for a while. Gabrielle often blamed her love for her food on the fact that she was French, but it was a common Pyrrhonian trait. "I spent all evening picking my meal, and you came in and ruined it before I even had the chance to fully enjoy him." She looked down at the corpse sadly.
    Kailin cracked a grin, "I’m going to bed, I have to get into my office tomorrow and do a few last minute checks, before I give the script to Mark."
    "Finally done with that one?"
    She nodded, "Yes, and of course as soon as I announced I was almost finished, Mark popped that new author on me."
    Giving a sigh she turned to walk into the living room, heading towards her bedroom door. Her bedroom was next to the TV center, while Gabrielle’s was across the living room by the kitchen. Kailin praised that arrangement, as it made it harder for her to hear when the Pyrrhonian had late night guests.
    Reaching for the knob of her door, she opened it slowly so that the crosses that hung on her wall wouldn’t bother Gabrielle’s eyes. They had many arguments about her flinging the door open, which would cause Gabrielle to scream, and in turn made Mrs. Kraig run over to find out what the matter was. Slowly slipping behind the door, she looked over at her roommate and smiled.
    "Night, Gabby."
    "See you in the morning." She said before she walked over to the TV and took a seat on the couch. Grabbing the stereo controller and she turned off the music, then turned on the TV.
    Kailin chuckled to herself as she shut the door. Gabrielle didn’t sleep much, but most Pyrrhonians didn’t. The only time she slept was when the sun was high, causing her to be bothered by the amount of sunlight slipping into the windows of the apartment. At most, she got five hours of sleep, it was another reason she chose a night time profession.
    Kailin made her way across the wooden floor, and to the sliding closet door on the right. The doors had full length mirrors, and she took a moment to stare at her wild hair for a moment, before she open it and pulled out a knee length night dress. Walking to the door to the right of the closet, she opened it to the bathroom. There, she brushed her hair out, before running a hot bath for herself.

    Crawling in between the gray satin sheets, Kailin closed her eyes. As her body began to recharged itself, the memories began to flood back. Her little sister, Leila, sitting next to the window in a small wooden chair, her eyes vacantly watching the people ending their day. Kailin softly stepped into the door, shutting the door behind her, a sword gripped firmly within her hand. The gentle breeze from the window blew Leila’s tight curls loose from her bun. Watching her little sister with her hand on the window sill, Kailin inhaled deeply several times before approaching her.
    Kailin placed the sword on the bed beside them, then kneeled down before her. Leila didn’t even look at her, as her eyes stared out towards the setting sun. There was no emotion on her face, only a single tear rolled down her cheek.
    "It will be alright, Caitlyn." Her soft voice said, "I don’t want to be like this anymore."
    She placed her hand on her knee, "I’m sorry, Leila. I am so sorry that I did this to you."
    Her light green eyes turned to Kailin, "I never thought it was your fault, never." She sniffled, "I don’t understand, how I can lose control of myself like that? I never wanted to hurt those people. I’m dangerous, Caitlyn, to all those people out there.” Leila looked back out the window for a moment, before turning her eyes back to her sister. “They don’t even know how much danger they are in. It’s becoming stronger, starting to control all my thoughts, I can’t go on like this. It’s not who I am or who I want to be.”
    Leila’s eyes went over to the sword on the bed, and then back to her sister. "Not here, under our tree, that’s where I want it to happen. That way, I’ll become part of it, and then you will always know where to find me."
    Kailin gave a nod, before pushing against her thighs to stand herself up. She didn’t have the words for what she wanted to say, and as she walked with her beloved sister to their favorite place, the words became more distant. She wanted to tell herself that she was removing an evil from the world, and this would be no different then killing a bowery. Yet, she couldn’t, because every time she looked over at the evil, she had seen her sister, her best friend. The only person she had ever been able to confide in, and even though the evil was there, she was blind to it until it was to late.
    Without a hesitation, Leila kneeled down in front of the tree, keeping her back to Kailin. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, and Leila looked upon it. The others she had created couldn’t see the sunlight, but Leila could, and she had often made mention how she hated herself for creating beings who couldn’t look upon the sun. Kailin couldn’t see her smile at the sunset, but she could hear it in her words. The words she spoke was of a conversation that they had had for many years, even as children. It was like her death wasn’t near.
    "It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?" She said.
    "I will never grow tired of watching the sunset." Kailin respond, as she held up the sword.
    "Neither will I." Leila smiled, and with those words her life ended.
    Kailin tied her body to the tree so the blood could drain over night, and buried her head next to the trees roots. She didn’t shed a single tear, and when she returned to the brothel, the Pyrrhonians said nothing to her. Except Gabrielle, who came into her room, and told her about the days events trying not to speak of Leila.
    The Pyrrhonians kept a dimness about their existence while Kailin healed. That remained until their deaths, when those who worshipped her sister wanted revenge.

    Slowly her eyes opened, and she stared upon the white ceiling of her room. She had decorated it with crosses that she had collected throughout her life. Some were as old as two hundred years, while others she had bought the week before off some street vendor. In the darkness she could see the mirrored make-up stand, and at the end of her bed was her dresser. She always checked her room before getting out of bed, to make sure there were no others in the room with her.
    Since she created the Mephis, and then killed her sister, there had been no peace for her. The Mephis hunted her, yet they could not kill her because she was their creator. A vampire could not kill their master, and it seemed a race could not destroy their creator. Mephis, however, were not intelligent beings, and they didn’t understand the concept of master and peon. There had always been something that bothered Kailin, her sister was suppose to be the only intelligent Mephis, and they had hoped that when she died, all the others would die as well.
    Being that they couldn’t produce complex thought, there was no way that they could do the compound ceremony it took to produce more. Mephis couldn’t create themselves, they needed another vampire, a Hallowed, to create them. First the Mephis, who had to have extreme self control, had to bite twice without killing the human. Then and only then could the Hallowed bite, and create the Mephis. The Mephis were killers, who had no remorse, they would simply destroy anybody they came into contact with. Biting and not killing had to be done by someone who understood the process, which meant to Kailin that there was an Alpha Mephis out there.
    She shook her head, her mind had always been on the Mephis ever since she understood what she had done to Leila. Placing her feet on the ground, she walked over to the door and flipped on the switch, it wasn’t as if she could see any better or worse in the darkness, but light made her feel more human. She had met too many vampires over the years that kept their homes lit by candles, if not in complete darkness. That was the last thing that she wanted to become.
    "Kailin?" Gabrielle said, after seeing the bedroom light turn on.
    "Yes?" She answered, knowing that Gabrielle couldn’t come into her room, due to the mass quantities of crosses she kept on the walls.
    "Something on TV, you should see."
    She rolled her eyes, and walked out of her room taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "What?"
    "Commercial is almost over, they said it was coming up next." Gabrielle said, brushing some of her red hair from her face. She was dressed in a short red night gown.
    "Is this really important, Gabby? I have got to get ready..."
    "Shhhh." She said, then pointed at the TV.
    A man standing in front of a court house, holding his microphone began speaking. Kailin recognized the court house right away, and understood the importance of the news story now. "In this courthouse, twenty years ago, Damon Anderson, the self proclaimed Vampire Hunter, was pronounced guilty of attempted murder on both Kailin Marley, a resident of LA, and James Stark, a LA police officer. Anderson claimed that Miss Marley was a vampire, and that Detective Stark was in his way of killing her.
    Today, Damon Anderson, will be released from prison, after serving a twenty year sentence for the attempted murders. The early release is due to both witnesses being unable to testify at his hearing. James Stark has fallen ill and is unable to communicate, while Kailin Marley disappeared shortly after Anderson’s sentencing. No remains or trance have ever been found, Anderson claims no connection to her disappearance. However, many blame the false accusations surrounding her to be the reason of her disappearance. The case, however, remains open. This Gregory Baulman, channel nine news, New York."
    The camera went to a half screen where the male reporter was on the right, and the head anchor woman, a blonde with dark red lip stick on was on the left. "I remember this case, when I was a little girl."
    "Yes, Clara, it was a big story. The media had wanted to place cameras in the court room, but that request was denied."
    "There was no other evidence to hold him?"
    He shook his head, "No, both Marley and Stark were the only witnesses to his crime, and there was very little proof. The entire case was based on their testimonies. He was sentenced to life for some of the crimes, however, he appealed and without the victims there to persuade the judge, he was released. Another interesting fact about the case, is there was never any photos released of Kailin Marley. Even to this day, the police claim that they have none, only a rough sketch from James Stark’s memory. Not even the court room artist drew any photos when she was giving testimony.”
    "That is interesting, thank you, Greg." She said, and he gave a nod before the camera went completely to her. Shuffling together some of her papers, she cleared her throat and looked back at the camera. "This morning, a warehouse was discovered with an estimated two hundred human remains. The bodies are said to be dismembered, and much of their blood missing. Officials believe this is another sacrificing of the cult that has been nicknamed by world officials as The Bloody Hands. Miranda Valdez is on scene with more on this report."
    "Mephis are at it again." Gabrielle said, trying to ignore the Anderson news.
    Kailin nodded her head, Mephis were known for throwing large parties, and killing all those who attended. It was another reason, Kailin knew there had to be an Alpha Mephis, they couldn’t come up with an idea that complex.
    "I’m going to get ready for work." She said standing up and walking back towards her door.
    "Are you alright, Kailin? About Anderson."
    She nodded, "I should of killed him when I had the chance." With that she walked into her room to prepare for work.
    Most vampires didn’t work, they were raised by their masters for two hundred years, and then given enough to begin a life on their own. Kailin had been abandoned by her master, leaving her to discover the truth of her "rebirth." Gabrielle, who had been turned in 1578, had been a poor French peasant, her master had left her and her friends to die. They didn’t die in turn they hunted for him for several decades. When they received word that he had escaped to the new world, they too left for America, where they never found him.
    They had money saved up over the years that they had been together, but they knew that they had to continue to work. Of course, for Gabrielle her job gave her the satisfaction of playing with her food before she consumed it. While Kailin enjoyed being needed by others, she had always chosen a profession where people relied on her, but gave her enough ease to slip away when she needed to. They only lived in each area for ten years before they had to move, due to Mephis or the fact that they didn’t age. When they relocated they changed their last names, the vampire society had many who could give them a new life with nothing more then a couple minutes of their computer.
    Putting on a brown skirt suit, she put her hair into a bun, then slid on her high heels. The alarm clock held the time at seven in neon green lighting. She didn’t have any exact time that she had to be at work, but it made her angry to be any later then eight. Stepping out of the room, she shut the door and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
    Every type of vampire needed blood to survive, because they could no longer supply their own. However, like humans, their bodies were still mostly water. It cleansed their bodies, of course they drank much more then the humans did. Kailin had eight glasses of water for breakfast. Before Gabrielle vanished into her bedroom to hide from the sun, she told her to be careful.
    Kailin finished her preparations by slipping on her black over coat, grabbing her purse, and taking her gun from the breakfast bar. Giving the apartment one last look to make sure she had turned off all the lights and closed the blinds for Gabrielle, she stepped out into the hallway and locked the door. Knowing Misses Kraig would still be fast asleep, she made no attempt at being quiet as she walked down the hall to the elevator.

    The streets bustled with humans who packed themselves on the sidewalks on their way to work. The sounds of cars honking at each other as they tried to get through the busy cross walks. Kailin blocked out most of the noise, as she walked holding her dark coat around her. She wasn’t cold, but felt she should act so, since most of the people were beginning to bundle up. The worst part of walking to work was when people bumped into her. She was much stronger then them, but had to pretend to be knocked off balance. On a morning such as this, with much on her mind, she often forgot. Which caused the unfortunate human that bumped her to fall to the ground or into another person.
    Reaching the office building, she walked in and smiled at Henry, the security guard.
    "Hello, Miss Drake." He said, smiling back and giving a quick wave, before he returned to helping the man in front of him.
    Walking to the elevators, she put her hands into her pockets and looked up to check which floor the elevator was on. She hated the lobby of the building, it was too crowded, and there were several artificial plants blocking paths. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped in, and pressed the eighth floor button.
    Mark, her agent, had inherited the office from his father who had been a lawyer. He didn’t make it into law school, and when his father died, the other lawyers left when he didn’t accept the offer they gave him. It was then he began his career as an agent.
    He found two others to help take care of clientele, and though they didn’t host any huge names, they had a few smaller names on their list of clients. Kailin happened to be one of their larger clients, and she had asked for one of the empty offices.
    The elevator stopped and she stepped out heading to the office down the hall to her left. It was at the end of the hallway, and then down a smaller hall. She had to be shown the way the first time that she came to visit Mark.
    The door read Halford, Lyman, & Sanchez Agency, Literary, Fine Arts, and Athletic Agents. In smaller print at the bottom of the glass window read Kailin Drake, Historian. She smiled as she looked down at her name, and then opened the door.
    The room was a large rectangle with 3 small offices on each side, at the back near the windows were the fax machine, the copy machine, and many other office supplies. Towards the front door were the chairs for waiting clientele, she didn’t understand what they were for, she had never seen them in use. Out of the six offices only four were being used, the other two were storage.
    Bethany, the secretary, sat behind the large desk and smiled as Kailin walked in.
    "Good morning, Miss Drake." She said, putting the nail file away.
    "Morning, Bethany."
    In the far right office Donald Lyman, athletic agent, stuck his head out of the door and frowned at Bethany. He was a tall man, who she had heard, had been a professional football player for a few years, before an accident. Donald didn’t talk to her, and she felt no need to speak with him. His dark eyes looked up at Kailin and gave a greeting nod, and then back down to his secretary, "Where are my coffee and donuts?"
    "The donuts haven’t arrive yet, and I will bring your coffee in a moment, Mister Lyman." She said, and then turned back to Kailin.
    "What are my appointments today?" Kailin asked, as Donald pulled his head back into his office.
    "You have a ten o’clock with a Mister Kristian Milborough, an author. A lunch with Mister Halford, and a dinner with a..." She frowned, "The name is all smudged. Maybe, Mister Halford will know, it looks like his hand writing."
    "No problem." Kailin’s eyes drifted to the first door on the left.
    It was Mark Halford’s office, he was sitting at his desk, speaking with a young woman. She looked like the romance writer type to Kailin, and she grinned as the old man rubbed his graying eyebrows. He did that when he was speaking to a client that he didn’t respect, it was either that or he was giving her bad news.
    Turning to her left, she went to the middle office, that had her name on the door. Stepping in she was welcomed by several piles of books, and her cluttered desk. The office wasn’t big enough to hold more then three people, and even that was a tight squeeze. Sitting down behind her desk, she let out a large sigh. She had to get this mess organized, of course there was really nothing she could do, besides stack them better.
    Searching her desk, she tried to get ready for the Milborough appointment, but couldn’t find a manuscript anywhere, perhaps it was a new client. Turning around, she opened the small fridge behind her. It was stuffed with bottles of water, it was the only thing she asked Bethany to do. Not that Bethany could bring her a meal, but she kept the fridge stocked with water. Kailin didn’t even ask anymore, she knew every morning that whatever water she drank the day before would be replaced.
    She took one out and opened the white lid, taking a large gulp, and then trying to locate her coaster that she had been using just yesterday. Digging under folders, and piles of papers on her desk, she couldn’t find it. Finally, she found a spare piece of paper and folded it into a fourth then cleared out an area on her desk, placing the container on it.
    She didn’t use a computer, even though Mark had offered to purchase one for her. She hand wrote everything and then had Bethany type it up for her, and fax everything. She tried to locate her appointment book, thinking that she had left herself a note about this Milborough, but again she came up empty. Giving a sigh, she leaned back into her chair, crossed her arms.
    Mark stood at the door in a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt. He was a rather handsome older man, strong jaw and gray streaks of hair above his ears. She had heard many say he aged well, and she agreed. He was a good man, and she enjoyed his company, had she not liked him, she would of never gotten into this business. He was smiling at her, while she had been searching her desk.
    "Lose something?" He finally asked, as she stared at him, trying to figure out what he wanted.
    "Who is Milborough?" She asked, when she picked up another folder and looked under it.
    "Some kid, he’s got a few non-fiction world war novels out. Apparently he is writing a fictional historical romance, and needs to make sure his settings are correct." He folded his arms and leaned up against the wall.
    "Don’t you normally meet with them first?"
    He nodded and grinned at the word ‘them’, "He won’t even speak to me, said it’s none of my business. He already has an agent, all he needs is a historian."
    She sucked on her inner cheek, and looked out the window and the girl who was crying in his office. Bethany was giving her a Kleenex, and walking her towards the door. "What happen?"
    Looking over his shoulder, he looked at the young brunette. "I turned her down. Her writing isn’t mature enough. She uses terms that wouldn’t be used in a romance, more like in a elementary school.."
    "What if she changed the terms, would the story be alright then?"
    He shook his head, "That’s another problem, there is no story. It was four hundred pages of nothing, there was no plot. Even a romance novel has a plot, this was completely about the characters’ day to day life."
    Kailin nodded, "Did you tell her to take some classes at..."
    "My job, do your own."
    She rose an eyebrow, "Well, excuse me."
    "Sorry, Kailin. I told her three days ago that I couldn’t help her, and she shows up at the door this morning in tears. I just can’t help her, it wouldn’t be a profitable to either of us."
    Again she nodded her head, "Milborough didn’t give you a script or anything, just made an appointment?"
    "Yep. If you need me, you know where I am."
    "What should I do to get ready for the appointment then?"
    "Clean up your office?" He shrugged.
    "Thanks."
    "That reminds me, how would you feel about working out there with Bethany for a couple months?"
    "Why?"
    "Javier, Donald, and I were thinking that we need a ‘meeting’ room. Cause sometimes our clients bring people, and etcetera. So, we want to tear down these walls, and rebuild this side of the offices to make a board room." He pointed to her wall with his thumb.
    "I wouldn’t mind, if my office got bigger and came with built in bookcases."
    Mark grinned, "I’ll talk to the guys about it, and let you know."
    "Alright, go away, I have work to do." She shooed him away with her hands.
    He laughed, shutting the door behind him.

    Fifteen ‘til ten rolled around rather quickly, and Kailin had done her best to clear off her desk. However, she found that she had forgotten where she put some of her folders, and was stuck looking for them. Taking a break, she stepped out into the main room to stretch her legs.
    Bethany grinned at her, while she wrote something down in Javier’s appointment book. "Not much to do today, huh?" She asked as she continued to write.
    Kailin grinned, "Some days I am swamped, other days I wonder why I bothered to come all the way down here."
    "Mister Halford said that you turned down that author last night."
    "Did I?"
    "That’s what he said. That you left the table and didn’t come back for an hour, so he thought you were telling him no."
    Kailin crossed her arms, "When I came back they were gone, and it hadn’t been an hour." Looking over at Bethany’s desk, she saw a few envelopes with her name on them. "Is this my mail?" She asked walking over, and picking them up.
    "Oh, yes, sorry. I couldn’t find your in box under all that clutter, I meant to give it to you when you came in this morning."
    "No problem." She bumped it against her thigh, and looked up at the clock. It was ten ‘til. She gave a deep sigh, and then turned her head as Donald walked out of his office with a tall dark man wearing a sports jersey.
    "Alright, Wayne. I’ll call around see what I can do for you, advertising wise." Donald said, walking him towards the door. They shook hands, and when Wayne had left the room, Donald flipped around to face Bethany, his smile gone. "Where the hell were those donuts I ordered three hours ago?"
    "The delivery guy never came, I’ve called four times, and they said that he’s stuck in traffic."
    "Ever think about going out and getting them yourself?" Donald poked himself in the forehead, "No, you didn’t cause you never think..."
    "Enough, Donald, she’s got other work to do, besides getting you donuts." Kailin interrupted.
    He blinked twice, and then straightened himself out. "I don’t recall asking you, Miss Drake."
    "I don’t recall when slave labor was made legal in the United States again. If you want donuts for a big meeting, why don’t you pick them up before you come into work?" Kailin pointed at him with her pile of envelopes.
    "Kailin..." Bethany objected, but was shut off by Kailin’s hand.
    "We have a secretary so that I don’t have..."
    "We have a secretary to fax, take appointments, and make phone calls. Getting you donuts is a favor, not her job."
    He snorted, "You don’t belong here anyway, this is an agency, not a library."
    Mark voice interrupted, "That’s enough you two. Donald, go back to work."
    "But..."
    "Just go." He pointed toward his door, "Kailin, don’t you have a meeting you need to prepare for."
    "That’s what I’m doing." She said, as both men slipped back into their offices.
    "Thanks, Miss Drake." Bethany said, then turned back to her computer.
    It was then Kailin noticed it, the feeling had been there before, but fighting with Donald, she had ignored it. The sense was that of another vampire nearby, a hallowed. She could feel the presence coming towards her. Another fresh made her uncomfortable, and at times, it was even painful.
    She could see the outline shadow at the door, as the door slowly began to open reveal the man behind it. He wore a black overcoat, a dark gray suit with a black shirt, sunglasses, and no tie. His platinum blonde hair was combed to the side, and looked as if it had been freshly cut. His face was rather boyish, and he grinned when he looked at Bethany, and then gave one to Kailin.
    "Hello, can I help you?" Bethany asked, giving a larger grin.
    Halloweds appeared more attractive then they actually were to their human counterparts. It was the reason they were thought of as angels for so long.
    Walking up to the desk, he removed his sunglasses, and gave her another grin. "I’m Kristian Milborough, here to see Kailin Drake." He said, placing his briefcase on the edge of her desk.
    "I’m Kailin Drake." She said, she was surprised that he didn’t study her more, considering she was another Hallowed.
    "Great, where..."
    "In my office." She pointed with her thumb, and walked back towards the door.
    Kristian gave Bethany a grin, and then winked at her as he walked to Kailin’s office.
    Kailin opened the door, then walked behind her desk, allowing Kristian to shut the door and sit in the hard plastic chair across from her.
    Putting the briefcase on his lap, he began to open it.
    "What are you doing?"
    "Sorry?"
    Kailin frowned as she dropped the window shades, so that Bethany couldn’t see them. "I’m not going to help you."
    "Why not?"
    "Uh, because you are another Hallowed. I can’t work with you, why don’t you go find yourself a nice human historian."
    His blue eyes stared at her for a moment, "I didn’t know you were, and I wanted the best for my novel. You are the best."
    She looked the young vampire over briefly. "How old are you?"
    "Fifty three, and seventy one if you include my human years. Why?"
    "And you are making yourself famous by writing novels?"
    He grinned, "You made yourself famous by checking facts. I know what I am doing, besides I use a pen name for each individual book."
    "Please, leave."
    "Oh come on, Miss Drake. I can fax revised manuscripts to you, and you can send me your notes, if you are so bent out of shape about actually seeing each other."
    She glared at him for a moment, "Give me your manuscript, and then leave your fax number with my secretary. I’ll call you and let you know if I am interested or not."
    His eyes fell down to his briefcase for a moment, before returning to Kailin. "Fair enough."
    "Good, now get out." She said, snatching the manuscript from him as soon as it cleared his briefcase.
    Standing up, he scowled down at her, "Very rude, Miss Drake, very rude." He pushed his chair in, and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind him. He wrote down his number for Bethany, then tossed it over at her, causing her to catch it from falling down her shirt. His long black jacket barely made it through the door, as he stormed out in a huff. As soon as he left, Bethany shot out of her chair and ran to Kailin’s office.
    Kailin looked up from the manuscript at Bethany, who stick only her head into her office, giving her a questioning look. "That was a rather dramatic exit, he should think about becoming an actor." Kailin chuckled.
    "What happen?" She asked, looking back towards the door, "That was the shortest meeting, I’ve ever seen."
    "He’s upset that I want to read his manuscript first before I commit to it."
    She glared at her and then grinned, "He is a very handsome, I wonder if he is seeing anyone."
    "Bethany, I would suggest staying as far away from him as humanly possible."
    Her dark eyebrow rose, "Why?"
    "You don’t want to get involved with his type." Kailin looked up at the clock, "Well, I don’t have anything else to do. I am going to head home early, tell Mark that he and I can have lunch another time."
    "What about your dinner meeting?"
    Standing up, Kailin slipped on her jacket, "Find out who it is with, and then give me a call."

Let me know your opinion on this novel. It helps me out a great deal. There are two places to leave a message. On my forum and on my blog.
Forum:
http://s8.invisionfree.com/hunts_forum/index.php?act=Post&CODE=02&f=11&t=47
Blog:
http://rkphunt.com/blog/?page_id=50

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Book Cover is done by a great artist Luis Royo. He didn't do this work for me, and it's his copywritted material.

The Novels on this webpage are absolutely free, and are complete, though changes and updates are made occassional. Copyright ©2002 All right reserved by the author, any unauthorized use of these works is punishable by law.