Stepping outside, the sidewalks were just as packed as that morning. Kailin had packed herself a briefcase with Kristian’s manuscript, and a few books she thought would come in handy while she was reading it. Sticking her free hand in her pocket, she began her journey back to her apartment, making sure to hunch over as if she were cold.
    She could still feel him nearby, and her eyes sorted through the people on the sidewalk, looking for the vampire. Keeping her pride in tact, she tried not to act like she was worried, and kept her normal pace as she walked. Halfway home, when the sidewalk gave in population, she heard her name called out.
    "Miss Drake?" Kristian said again, when she turned around. He was wearing his sunglasses, but his briefcase was gone.
    "I told you, I will contact you with my decision, please leave me alone." She said, holding up her hand in an effort to try and stop him from moving any closer.
    "I know, but I need to speak to you in private."
    "I am not with anyone at the moment, what do you want?"
    He looked at the humans that passed them by, each gave an annoyed glare as the two blocked the traffic on the sidewalk. "It’s not for sensitive ears, if you understand what I mean." He said and looked at another human that walked by.
    She stared into his light blue eyes for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to trust this vampire. "Fine, Mr. Milborough, come to my apartment." With that she spun around, and continued her march home.
    "You can call me Kristian." He said after a few moments of walking by her side. When she looked back over to him, he could see the puzzlement on her face. "You called me Mr. Milborough, but I prefer to be called Kristian."
    "Does it matter? I hope to never speak to you again after today."
    He gave a quick nod, "Fair enough."
    "How did someone like you get authorization to be turned?"
    Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, she could tell he was annoyed by the question. "My master is Lord Tzion, he selected me to become his peon. I do not know what the reasons were."
    "From what I understand, Tzion makes many strange decisions."
    "You know of him?"
    Her look told him that she thought his question was obtuse, "Tzion is the prophet of the Halloweds, it’s common knowledge among our kind."
    "It may be common knowledge, but not many people know what he prophesizes. Most don’t even care, although most of what he writes is for Elder’s eyes only."
    Kailin stopped at the front of her building, and opened the locked door with her key. She allowed Kristian to step in first and then walked in behind him, heading towards the elevator. They both fell silent, until the elevator doors closed.
    "Is it true that you created the Mephis?" He asked out of the blue.
    "What a peculiar thing to ask." Kailin said a little shocked, but hid it underneath the irritation in her voice.
    "I am going to be blunt with you, Kailin, I was sent by the Hallowed Elders."
    Kailin looked at him blankly, and he was a little surprised that she didn’t seemed upset or even curious. The ding sounded as the elevator doors opened, Mrs. Kraig stood in the hallway, speaking with another neighbor that Kailin wasn’t familiar with.
    "Miss Drake!" Mrs. Kraig called out, and turned towards the elevators. The woman she had been talking to took the opportunity to escape the old woman’s clutches.
    "Good morning, Mrs. Kraig, is something the matter?"
    The old woman still dressed in the same clothing as the day before looked Kristian over, "What are you bringing men over now? You will be joining that hussy roommate of yours in hell, Miss Drake."
    Kristian looked both amused and applaud, as if he wanted to laugh, but knew he should be insulted.
    "No, this is a business partner of mine, Kristian Milborough. Kristian, this is Mrs. Kraig, my neighbor."
    "Business partner, eh? Is that what you hussies are calling them these days?" She said, spraying spit onto Kailin’s face as she spoke.
    "Is there something you needed?" Kailin asked, wiping her hand over her cheek.
    "Did you talk to that roommate of yours about bringing men here all the time?"
    "Yes, I did. She’s going to join a twelve step program for hussies at some local church, if I heard her right."
    Mrs. Kraig stared at her for a moment, as if she were trying to figure out if Kailin was telling the truth. "She should come to my church, we can whip her into shape. Maybe even find a man willing to marry a used woman."
    "I’ll let her know your offer. Now, if you will excuse me, Kristian and I have to discuss some business." Kailin said, walking past her, and Kristian followed close behind.
    "Follow your path of abstinence, don’t stray, Miss Drake, it’ll only lead to hell!" Mrs. Kraig shouted.
    "Alright, Mrs. Kraig." She nodded as she unlocked the door, and stepped in allowing Kristian in before locking the door behind him.
    He stared at the door for a moment, still able to hear the old woman’s screams. "What a strange woman."
    Kailin gave a partial grin, "What did you want?"
    "Like I said the elder’s sent me to speak with you, although I do want you to help me with my novel."
    "What do the elders want from me?"
    He looked over at the couch, and then back to Kailin. "I don’t know if you have watched the news or not, but the Mephis have been attacking the city. They killed over two hundred last night." He waited for a reply and got none, "They wanted me to ask you to begin killing them, their populations have sky rocketed and you are the only one who they can’t destroy."
    "Ask me or command me?"
    He gave a blank stare, offering no answer.
    "I have been fighting against them my entire life and that’s all I can do. No one is more sorry for their creation then I am."
    "Yes I have heard the story going through my training. You lost a sister and your lover." He looked around the apartment, "They believe that you are not as active as you should be in their destruction, and that..."
    "Well, I am sorry, but it’s not like I have a master who gave me money to get started in life. I have to pretend everyday that I am a human, and make money to keep myself comfortable. I am not going to live in the fucking sewers, so that they can feel safer. Now get out of my home!"
    Gabrielle’s bedroom door opened as Kailin stepped closer to him, in an effort to intimidate him. She gave them both a grin, as she rubbed her eyes. Kristian returned the grin, and was about to introduce himself, when Kailin snarled.
    "I said get out!" She pointed at the door.
    Her thunderous voice startled him, and he scrambled towards the door. Opening it, he stepped out, and grinned at Gabrielle who was still smiling at him. Kailin’s hand reached out, and slammed the door into his face.
    "He was cute." Gabrielle smirked at the door, and then looked over at Kailin who was frowning.
    "You act like a teenage girl, sometimes, Gabby."
    "Every vampire keeps a piece of who they once were. So I kept my hormones, so what? It’s better then whatever you kept stuck up your ass."
    Keeping her frown, Kailin walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. The shades for the dinning room and the kitchen were pulled down, so that the sun wouldn’t bother Gabrielle. Opening the cupboard above the sink, she pulled out a glass and filled it with water.
    Gabrielle came around the corner, and sat on the bar stool at the breakfast bar. "You are home early, I just went to bed, when I heard you yelling out here. I thought you were yelling at me."
    "There was nothing to do, I went in because I had a meeting with an author and that lasted a whole five minutes."
    "The Hallowed?" Gabrielle asked, stroking her finger between the tiles on the counter.
    "Yes, he is a peon for an elder. Tzion, no less. They want me to start killing the Mephis more, because of their population increase." She drank the entire glass with one gulp. "Who do they think I am? Insulting me by sending that child to give me orders."
    Gabrielle giggled, "I doubt the outcome would have been any different had Tzion himself came to speak to you."
    Pouring herself another cup of water, she looked over at her red headed companion, and gave a partial grin. "Perhaps not, but I wouldn’t be so insulted."
    Ignoring their last few moments of conversation, Gabrielle cleared her throat before speaking. "I was thinking that we should go out tonight for a little game of cat and mouse, what do you say?"
    Shaking her head, she frowned, "No, thank you, Gabby. I have a lot to deal with right now, and..."
    "Pish posh, Kai, pish posh!" Gabrielle slapped her hand on the counter, "I don’t have to work tonight, and you need to relax. Take your mind off the elders, the Mephis, and the fact that Damon is running loose again. You need to hunt more, keep up your strength. We always have a great time hunting together..."
    "No." Kailin put the glass in the sink, and turned to lean on the counter. “You have a great time abandoning me the moment we get there, and then bringing people over to laugh at my anti-social behavior. I don’t want to go.”
    "Tough, how’s that? We are going out as soon as I wake up. So, when I get out here, you better be all prettied up. I mean dress, hair, make-up, the works! I want to hunt in style!"
    Kailin tried not to grin at her friend’s enthusiasm, but failed. "Where do you want to hunt?"
    She shrugged, "You always have an invitation to some sort of get together or another. I am sure there is one in your mail stack."
    Gabrielle stood up, and walked into the living room, where next to the lamp was a mail sorter that Kailin used to separated bills, personal, and junk. Pulling the personal stack, she walked back over to the counter and picked up the first one in the stack.
    "Hmm, Philip Everhart..." She thought for a moment, banging the envelope against her chin. "Oh, that’s the director that I liked. Remember he and I went shopping a couple of times, great guy!"
    "Isn’t that the one that took you man hunting, and he almost caught you feeding?"
    Gabrielle grinned, "Well, he would of caught me, had he not been so busy with a man of his own."
    Reaching over Kailin took the envelope, "I don’t remember taking this out of the mail." She said as she opened it, "I would of opened it to see what it was."
    "It’s an invitation..."
    "Well, it’s on the top and so that would have been yesterday, cause I remember putting two envelopes in that slot."
    "Who cares! Is it tonight?"
    Kailin looked at the invitation, "Yes, but that doesn’t make any..."
    "Shh! Who cares, Kai? I don’t." Gabrielle jumped to her feet, "Ok, when I wake up we will go."

    Spending the afternoon reading Kristian’s novel, Kailin set her alarm to go off right before dark. When the buzz of her alarm told her that it was time to dress herself for the party, she gladly threw the manuscript down onto her bed. Kristian may have been a great non-fiction novelist, but he was terrible at character development and creating real conversations.
    Taking a quick shower, she pulled out her white lacy dress. She knew Gabrielle would harass her about anything but perfection, and she would rather get this evening over with.
    She placed her hair in a bun, and used a curling iron to make large curls around her face. If she didn’t they would become little fuzz balls, after the curls were set, she spray her hair with as much hair spray as she thought she would need. Sometimes, she was glad to of made it to this century, when she was a little girl, all she could do was hope it didn’t frizz up.
    After her make-up was on, she checked her hair one last time, and made sure the lace of her dress fell over her knees and shoulders correctly. When she was satisfied, she placed on her white heels, and went out into the living room. Gabrielle had called to her several times, so she knew that she was awake and ready to go.
    She found Gabby in front of her door in a long red dress and heels, she asked immediately for assistance with her hair. Which Kailin reluctantly helped her with by placing large curlers and moose into her hair.
    "You look so conservative, Kai, only showing a little bit of your legs and your arms."
    "Your legs are covered."
    Gabrielle grinned, "But my cleavage isn’t, and only have spaghetti straps." She snapped one of the straps against her skin in demonstration.
    Kailin rolled her eyes, and walked over to the phone to call a cab. "Let’s just go. I’m not changing."
    "Fine, fine. Be that way then, but don’t complain to me when..."
    "I won’t, let’s go, cab should be here soon."
    Kailin grabbed her purse, and then opened the door and looked down the hall to see if Mrs. Kraig was in the hall barking at anyone dumb enough to walk to or from the elevator. The hall was empty, so Kailin rushed down to the elevator with Gabrielle close at her heels. Pressing the down button, they both stood stomping their feet, and looking over their shoulder. When the elevator doors dinged, they both heard the sound of a door opening behind them. Practically jumping into the elevator, Gabrielle pressed the lobby button, right as they heard the voice.
    "Miss Drake! Miss Montre!" Mrs. Kraig voice called out, as the elevator doors began to close.
    Gabrielle pretended to try and stop the doors, but was too slow to catch them. She grinned when the doors closed on the old woman hanging half way out her door.
    "I hate that old bitch."
    "Gabby!"
    She shrugged, "What? There is no other word for her."
    Kailin grinned towards the elevator doors, when Gabrielle looked away a little ashamed of her choice of words.
    When the doors opened, Gabrielle looked down at Kailin’s black purse and sighed. "I can’t believe you are using that purse with that dress!"
    "I can’t believe you care!" Kailin retaliated as they walked out of the building to wait for their cab.

    After an hour and a half drive, they pulled up to a Victorian mansion, Kailin liked the stylish look it had to it, while Gabrielle mentioned that it was a little old-fashioned for Phillip. Stepping inside, her coat was practically ripped from her body by a coat check. Another set of double doors stood before her, as she walked in, she spotted the short man in his black suit, greeting all the guests as they entered. His smile widened as Kailin entered into his view, she returned the grin.
    “Kailin!” Phillip screeched as he wrapped his arms around her, and then stepped back still holding her upper arms, “I didn’t expect you to come, with your invitation being sent so late!” As he spoke he reached back to a one of the servers holding a basket of yellow and white carnations. He pinned a white one to the strap of her dress.
    She rose her eyebrow at him, “What?”
    “Your invitation fell between my desk and the wall, my cleaning lady found it the other day. A friend of mine took it to the mailbox right then, I didn’t expect it to actually make it to you. I should of called, but… busy, busy, busy. You know how it is.” He smiled and looked over at Gabrielle who was grinning beside her. “And you slut! Now, you I expected, you could smell a party a continent away!”
    She laughed as they hugged, then he pinned the same colored flower to Gabrielle’s dress. “You look fantastic, Phillip.”
    “Oh thank you.” He turned to look at the tall man behind him with graying hair, “This is my father, Robert.”
    “Nice to meet you.” Kailin smiled, and shook his hand, and Gabrielle followed her lead.
    Phillip’s finger went to the younger man beside his father, another man dressed in a black suit and tie. Kailin hadn’t noticed him before, if she had she would of left immediately. He looked so much like him, but it couldn’t possibly be him. He had to be in his sixties by now, and this man before her was barely in his thirties. Every feature nearly the same, the strong jaw, the dark almond hair, and the soft brown eyes.
    “This is Lucas Stark, the son of a dear friend of my fathers. He was my friend growing up back in California.” Phillip said.
    James Stark’s son, the police officer she ran from Damon with. Kailin swallowed and she shook his hand as well, “Pleasure to meet you.”
    “Pleasure is all mine.” Lucas said, as Gabrielle forced his attention to her, by grabbing his hand and giving her most seductive smile.
    “Well, that’s everyone. Why don’t you two girls go mingle, plenty of men around here to bite into.” He said jestfully, then growled and snapped his teeth at Gabrielle, who mimicked him. Quickly, they exchanged kisses on the cheek, then walked towards the back of the large dance hall.
    “Was that who I think it was?” Gabrielle asked, referring to Lucas.
    “I think so, James told me about his son once, but I didn’t pay any attention to his name.”
    “What the fuck is he doing all the way out here?”
    Kailin looked over at the red-headed friend beside her, “His family bloodlines are vampire hunters, he could sense them here. Whether he knows it or not, Gabby.”
    She ignored the answer as she really didn’t care that much, and began surveyed the room, “Well, as Phillip put it, plenty of men to bite into, I’ll see you at the end of the night.”
    “I knew that you would just abandon me, why did I even bother coming?”
    “Cause it would of looked awkward had I showed up alone. Anyway, I don’t hunt in packs, deal with it, Kai.” Gabrielle giggled as she walked away, and into the crowd on the dance floor.
    Kailin’s eyes searched the white room, there were several tables lined out with appetizers, and waiters carrying both wine glasses and more food. The room was packed, even the small rooms that were connected were filled with people who preferred to chat instead of dance or speak over the large crowd.
    She found her way out to the balcony that was empty because of the chilly nights winds. Placing her purse, that she had refused to let the coat check have, on the bench, she walked over to the edge of the balcony. Her breath formed around her lips, as she looked over the balcony into the backyard. A pool as well as other average backyard equipment were laying about neatly. Beyond that were trees, bushes, and flowers, she thought she heard the sound of a fountain but couldn’t see it.
    The creek of the balcony doors called out behind her, she turned her head in time to see Lucas standing at the doorway.
    “Mind if I come out here?”
    She shook her head and returned to leaning against the railing.
    He stepped in and shut the doors behind him, locking out the nose from the party. “Cold night.” He said rubbing his arms, and then came to stand next to her.
    “I’ve been through colder.”
    Silence fell over them for a few moments, as they looked out over the backyard. “My name is Lucas Stark.” He said, and then lowered his head. “But you already know that.”
    “Kailin Drake.” She replied, and ignored his hand when he offered it.
    “Phillip told me about how you helped out a lot in that civil war movie that he directed.” He cleared his throat when he got no response, “Must be exciting to work on movie sets, and help create a movie. You must meet a lot of famous people.”
    Turning her head, she watched his speak. “I don’t work with people as much as you would think.”
    He rose his eyebrow, “Oh?”
    “People annoy me, it’s why I mostly work with books, and let my manager deal with the human counterparts.”
    Lucas grinned, “That’s rather honest of you to say so.” His voice held his amusement.
    “And what is it that you do, Mister Stark?”
    “Please, call me Lucas. I am a detective, I moved out here a couple months ago from LA.”
    “Why go from one hell pit to another?”
    Again he grinned, “I don’t know, always wanted to see New York. When I heard they needed some help with some murders I couldn’t resist to apply.”
    “You mean the Bloody Hands’ murders?”
    He stared at her for a moment as if he was trying to sum her up, “Well, yeah.”
    “Why do they call them that?”
    Again his eyes fixed onto her own for a moment, “Because most of the crime scenes have bloody hand prints all over the walls, floors, and anything else in the building.”
    “Same size hands every time?”
    He chuckled, “Strange for you to be interested in such a thing. Most people want to know if there are any suspects, or how far we’ve…”
    “Well, I ask because if they aren’t then it could be the victim’s handprints instead of the killers.”
    Lucas bit his lower lip for a moment, “What makes you think they are victims?”
    “Cause I don’t believe they could convince that many people, that quickly to kill themselves. People are being murdered by the hundreds every week, and I heard that there are many who aren’t from around the area, a lot of them are tourist.”
    “Media gets a hold of information, and tells too much. It hurts our case…”
    “Could also help civilians come forth with new information.”
    Lucas smiled, “This has to be the most interesting first conversations I’ve ever had with anyone, normally it’s all small talk. You just jump right in there, don’t you?”
    “You are trying to change the subject.”
    “Yes. Yes, I am.”
    “So, you just felt like you should be out here?” She asked, trying to keep the conversation off of her.
    “Yes, sounds strange doesn’t it?”
    Kailin shook her head, there was a small percentage of humans born carry the vampire hunter gene. One parent had to be one themselves, there are no throw back genes. If the parent is one, then the child will become one. Not all vampire hunters were alike, and it isn’t a matter of choice either. Some could understand the difference between a Hallowed and a Mephis, while others could not. James Stark was one that could see the good in some vampires, while Damon Anderson was incapable, and believe all vampires should die to stop the burden on the human race.
    He cleared his throat again, when Kailin returned to staring out into the darkness.
    “Not much of a party person?”
    “No, I would prefer to be home with a book.” She let out a loud sigh.
    “Your friend seems to be more the type.”
    “Who Gabby?” Kailin looked at him then nodded, “Yes, she is very sociable.”
    “Excuse me.” A waiter said from the balcony door, neither of them had heard it open. “Could I offer either of you some wine?” He asked, holding out his tray with several wine glasses left.
    “Sure.” Lucas said, before Kailin could answer, and took both of the glasses. “Thank you.”
    Looking past Lucas to the tall, slender waiter, she didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed him before. This man would be her meal tonight, she decided as she grinned at him; taking the glass from Lucas’ hand. The waiter had beat his wife until she had a miscarriage, she could see the haunting of that moment replaying itself in his mind. He felt neither remorse nor sympathy for what he had done, and in Kailin’s mind that made him a perfect meal.
    When he shut the door, Kailin turned to Lucas and offered him her glass, “Could you hold this for a moment, I need to run to the restroom.”
    “Of course, you are coming back right? If you aren’t say so now, so I don’t stand out here in the cold, holding two glasses of wine like a drunkard.” His voice tried to sound like he was joking, but Kailin could hear the seriousness in his voice.
    She really didn’t plan on coming back, but now knew she would feel guilty if she didn’t return. “I said I would come back and I will.” She snapped, and with that walked back into the main hall to locate her prey.
    The slender man passed out the last of the wine. Then headed back into the cellar after, what Kailin assumed was, his supervisor whispered into his ear. Following him down into the darkness of the cellar, she stopped short when she heard another person in the room across from her.
    “Greg, take out the trash will ya?” He asked.
    Her prey gave a nod, “The asshole already told me to.” He snapped back, as he lifted up two trash bags full of wine bottles.
    “No smoke break, we are too busy for that right now.”
    He rolled his eyes, and then headed towards the back of the cellar. Watching the man across from her check wine bottle labels, she waited until he turned his back and slipped past the door into the darkness.
    The waiter had already opened the cellar door that led out into the backyard, and was on his way to the trash bins. Silently, calmly, she stalked him waiting for him to be the perfect range away from the house, so that no one would hear him cry out, if he did. When she was satisfied, she merely reached out and touched his shoulder. There were times when she wanted her prey to look into her eyes, just before she took their lives, so they knew who was punishing them for their foul deeds.
    Greg was startled by the sudden touch to his shoulder, and jumped forward while dropping the trash bags. He tripped over them, and fell to the ground with a thud as the bottle made crashed then broke against each other. Flipping over to his back, he propped himself up on his hands.
    “Wha…wha…what do you want?” he stuttered.
    She could heard the sound of his heart beating with fury, he was scared and unsure, even though she posed no threat, not at that moment.
    “You… you were on the balcony.” He swallowed when he felt the threat had vanished, “Listen,” standing up he snapped, trying to expect the damage of the bags, “I’ll bring you some more wine in a god damn minute, lady.”
    Reaching out she grabbed his collar, and yanked him towards her. The scent of blood entered her nostrils, and she looked down to see that one of the bottles had stabbed him in the leg when she pulled him over. The fear returned to his eyes, and it seemed he felt no pain in those moments.
    He didn’t have to look down to know he wasn’t touching the ground anymore, and he felt as if his heart were beating inside his throat. His hands wrapped around her own, to support himself up so that his clothes didn’t choke him.
    “Tell me, Greg, when you beat your wife, did she beg you to stop? Did she beg for herself? Beg for her unborn child?” Kailin’s words were a low hiss.
    “Oh god, my wife sent you to kill me.” His voice was shaking.
    She grinned, “Answer my question.”
    “Y…yes.” he said with a large gulp.
    “Then beg, Greg. Beg for tomorrow, beg for next year. Beg to look into her eyes again, beg for it.” She shook him once harshly, and he sequenced with pain as the shard of glass exited and re-entered his wound. “Beg for your life.”
    “Please God, don’t kill me.” The words made his eyes close, and tears began to stream down his face. “I won’t tell anyone about this I swear to God, just please, don’t kill me.”
    “You speak of God, yet you don’t act like a man of religion.”
    “I am, I am, I swear it.” His nose sniffled, “Please, I promise…”
    “Greg, when your wife begged, did you stop? Or did you continue until sanity final revealed itself to you once again?”
    “No.” His gray eyes opened to look into Kailin’s and then closed again. “Please, don’t kill…”
    From the corner of her eye she saw a movement in the darkness, turning her head, she looked towards the bushes. The dark shadow figure fled, leaving no trace of who the masculine figure was other then the outline of a sword at his side. Kailin had seen the figure before many times, and though it made her curious as to why she never felt another vampire or human near. She looked back at the waiter, who was looking at the bushes, most likely seeing her mysterious shadow stalker.
    “Why should I show you any more mercy then you showed her?” She asked, giving him a quick shake to turn his attention back to her.
    Slowly looking back to her, he gave a slow gulp. He had no answer.
    “Fear not, your pain will be short lived, hers will last a lifetime.” With that she brought him close to her, the glass shard ripped through his skin, leaving a large gash. He felt his feet touch the ground, and thought for a moment he could escape. But her arms surrounded him, and all he could feel was a small pinch at his neck. His eyes refused to show anything but the blackness, then he went numb. There was no pain, no emotion, there was no life or death. There was nothing but darkness, and emptiness in this vampire’s embrace.
    His heart stopped, with that his life had ended. Kailin picked up his body and laid it as if he were carrying the bags and collapsed. Humans had made it so easy for vampires to survive, except for Mephis all fang wounds healed leaving no trace of their existence. Humans had decided that it was a disease, that one didn’t know they had until it was too late. She never caught the name, but they believed the blood creating cells ceased to function, and the person eventually would pass out and die. It was suppose to be a quickly occurring disease, most likely within a few days of being contracted. She laughed when they had announced their theory in it being genetic, and how they could only study cadavers to find a cure.
    The theories always came to mind when Kailin was finished feeding, but they fled quickly. Checking her clothing over for any spills, and ensuring their was no blood on her face, she turned her back on the dead man.

    Kailin snuck back into the mansion the same way she had exited, and found her way back to the balcony. Lucas sat on the marble bench looking down at his feet, most likely trying to decided whether he should wait for her any longer. His head shot up with a grin when she stepped outside, and closed the balcony doors.
    “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.” He said offering her the wine glass.
    “I would have to come back for my purse.“ She pointed at it on the bench, then looked at the glass of wine that he was offering her. “I do not drink alcohol.” She told him, holding out her hand to stop him.
    His dark eyes looked down at the glass of wine, and then back up to her. “Guess, I’ll drink it then.” He cleared his throat as she walked to the end of the balcony, “So, you are having dinner too?”
    “Why would you think that?”
    Lucas took a step closer to her as he drank the glass of wine in one mouthful. “You are wearing a white carnation, so that the waiters can help pick you out.” He pointed at her flower, and noticed a slight imperfection in the flower. One of the petals had a L design cut into it, most likely from a bug.
    “And how am I suppose to know that through a flower?” She frowned, looking at the white carnation attached to his dress jacket.
    “It’s in your invitation, the flower should match the card.”
    Kailin picked up her purse from the bench, and pulled the invitation out. “Kailin Drake and guest.” She shrugged and offered it to him.
    He didn’t take it. “White is dinner.”
    “Once again, how are you suppose to know that if it doesn’t even say it in the card?” She held back a growl.
    A grin played on Lucas’ face, and she realized that he found her amusing. “It’s in the card, but they are different colors.” He said taking the card from her, and opening it up. “Kailin Drake and guest, are invited to a dinner gathering.” Releasing the grin, he handed it back to her.
    Kailin snatched it from his hand and stuffed it back in her purse, and little embarrassed from being corrected by the human. “I see.” Composing herself, she decided to turn the conversation onto him, “Why did you want to know?”
    "I’m having dinner, as well. I was just curious to whether or not you would be joining us at the table. Perhaps, we can sit..."
    "Ah, there you are, you naughty girl." Gabrielle called out as she busted through the balcony doors, allowing the cacophony noise of the ballroom to flood in. "Look who I found." She pointed to the blonde man behind her with her thumb. It was Kristian from that afternoon, dressed in a black suit and tie, still wearing his sunglasses. "He was just standing all alone in a corner with nothing to do. So I said to myself; Kai, didn’t properly introduce us earlier, and we just can’t have that, now can we?" She gave a devious smile to Kristian, letting him know that she was purposely provoking her friend. Her eyes then wandered over to Lucas, as if she hadn’t seen him standing there beside Kailin from the moment she walked in. "Well, well, if it isn’t...um...Lucas, right?"
    "Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name from before."
    Gabrielle frowned, "I remembered yours"
    "Gabby, what do you want?" Kailin said trying to stop her and save Lucas at the same time.
    "Just wanted to drag Kristian here to see you, and here I find you with a man. I am shocked, Kai, shocked!"
    Both Lucas and Kailin gave her a questioning look, which she made her satisfied.
    Turning her head to Lucas, she answered their stares. "I expected Kai to go lurk in the shadows somewhere and then complain for the next week about how bored she was. Actually, mingling, that’s just... well not right."
    Kailin rolled her eyes, and then turned her attention to Kristian. "What are you doing here?" She tried to hide the venom in her voice, but it was all too apparent.
    "My superior was invited, and he asked me to join him."
    She crossed her arms, "I suppose I have you to thank for the invitation here."
    He looked shocked for a moment, and then seem to abandon his original plan. "Well, Phillip asked my boss to drop it off in the mailbox on his way out. Since he knew I was coming to visit you anyway, he thought you’d get it..."
    "Yeah, I can fill in the rest. How did you know I would actually come?" She turned her eyes to Gabrielle, "Are you part of this?"
    She sighed and threw her hands up, "Yeah, Kai, we are all part of this evil, world dominating plot to get you to come out of your room and have fun. Devious, I say!" She stopped when she realized that Lucas was watching the conversation with intensity. "Ahem, anyway, this isn’t the place nor the company in which we should discuss such matters." She mumbled the words, but they were audible.
    "Are you?"
    "No, damn it, Kailin, no!" Gabrielle tried to keep the friendly tone in her voice. "It was on the top and probably the only party happening tonight, so I picked it."
    Kailin’s cold facial features softened, "Alright, be calm."
    "Kristian and I are going to head back out there. It was a pleasure meeting you again, Lucas." Gabrielle extended her hand and Lucas shook it.
    "Pleasure was mine."
    "That’s so sweet of you to say." She turned to Kailin, "And you, have fun? Won’t kill you to pretend your life isn’t a chaotic hell for once." Twirling around she headed towards the balcony doors, "Come now, Kristian. Time to introduce you to more people that I don’t know."
    Kristian trailed behind her, and closed the door, shutting out the noise. Kailin waited wanting to read Lucas’ mind to see what he was thinking, but decided not to intrude on his thoughts. And though it was only a few moments, she wondered what he was going to say, after all that had occurred in front of him.
    "Not the person I would expect to be your best friend." Lucas finally said.
    "Who says she is my best friend?"
    He shrugged, "Got that best friend, say anything you want to each other and not get hurt, vibe."
    "I see."
    "She’s quite the social butterfly, isn’t she?"
    "She’s some kind of bug, not sure if it’s a butterfly." Kailin said, and then turned to lean on the railing again.
    The sound of the ballroom flew out onto the balcony, both beings looked at Phillip who grinned at both of them. Kailin didn’t like the look he gave, it reminded her of when they were on the movie set and he got a great idea for a scene. Normally, she had to tell him no because it didn’t work with that time period.
    “Lucas, I have some people I want you to meet.” Phillip turned his eyes back to him.
    “Alright.” he nodded, and then looked at Kailin. “Well, it was a pleasure talking to you.” He held out his hand for Kailin to shake, “Perhaps, we’ll meet again.”
    “Perhaps.” Kailin answered, then turned back to look at the backyard, she could see the waiter from the basement walking towards where she had left the body. His strides were angry as he was probably on his way to chew out her victim for taking a smoke break.
    Lucas walked past Phillip, and when he was out of earshot, she heard Phillip chuckle. “He’s a good man.” Phillip said.
    Kailin turned her head to him and gave a nod.
    “Like him?”
    “Don’t try anything, Phillip.”
    He chuckled again, “Alright, dinner is in ten minutes. You should find the dinning hall, it’s near the coat room on the right.” With that he shut the door.
    She looked back to the yard, and watched the waiter running back to the mansion. She hoped that it would disrupt the dinner, so that she could go home. Giving a deep sigh, as the man disappeared from sight, she began the short journey to the dinning hall.

    Gabrielle appeared at her side, as she stood looking over the large tables in the dinning hall. The three dark wooden tables sat thirty people each, and were adorned with candles, flowers, crystal glasses, china plates, and linen napkins in the shape of what Kailin assumed was a swan. Turning her head she looked down at the red head who met her at her shoulders, and tried her best to give a smile to her as she stared up.
    “Is it really that horrible, Kai?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
    “That horrible?”
    She thrust her head forward to look at the room, “That you have to give fake smiles.”
    “Let’s just do this, and go home.”
    “You’ll have to go home alone. Kristian and I are going to hit the town when this is all over with. You know for a Hallowed, he’s a lot of fun.”
    “Are you saying that I am not?”
    She didn’t have to say anything, just gave a glare. “Are you having fun with the human? He looks terribly like his father, doesn’t he? Maybe, he’ll bring some excitement into your dreary existence.”
    “And just what kind of excitement do you think I need?”
    “Right now? A Ferris wheel excitement would do.” Gabrielle grinned. “Maybe a Ferris wheel ride with a certain human. Don’t roll your eyes, Kai. And you need to be nice to him, he’s probably the only person here who doesn’t know you are a…” She watched an elderly woman walk past them and to look for her seat. “bitch.”
    “Don’t get Kristian killed, you don’t want to deal with the elders.”
    She giggled, “You mean that you don’t want to deal with the elders.”
    “That too.” Kailin folded her arms and glared down at her once more.
    “Oh come on, Kai. Lighten up just a tad, this is no way to be at a party.” She then giggled again, as she pointed at Lucas, who was taking his seat at the far end of the table. Gabrielle walked to the other side of the table, where Kristian had gathered with a few others. Kailin walked in behind her, and knew immediately she had become the butt of some joke. Phillip who was standing next to Kristian, looked up giving a devilish grin.
    “Oh, Kailin, you aren’t sitting with us tonight, darling.” Phillip spoke the words as if she should of already known that.
    “What?” Kailin’s face dropped, as she looked over to Gabrielle, who obviously knew what had been going on by the shameful look she tried to hide.
    “I switched your and Kristian’s sitting cards, so that you can sit next to Lucas.”
    She was about to object but realized it would do no good, so she bowed her head in defeat. Giving a sigh, which she hoped she passed off for a deep breath, she walked over to the Lucas, who smiled as she approached.
    “Looks like we are eating together as well. Luckily, we’ve already met.” He grinned, then stood up to pull out her chair.
    It took a good fifteen minutes for everyone to find their seats. It came no shock to her that another vampire took his seat across from her, after all Kristian had mentioned that he was here with Tzion. Guests and their accompaniment were suppose to sit next to each other, therefore Kristian would have been sitting near him.
    He was a thin man about average height, with short dark hair and a black goatee. His eyes were an odd grayish green color, like the upset sea thrust about within. He was an elder Hallowed vampire. A vampire was considered an elder once they reached their one thousandth year, for Halloweds this birthday included a special gift. Each Hallowed would be blessed with a very special ability, Kailin had heard of many types, from telekinesis to mind control, some effected the bodies and others the mind. It seemed it was very rare for elders to have the same kind of ability. Other vampire breeds, didn’t get the special ability or powers as some called them, but they became powerful foes or allies.
    Tzion was the only prophet vampire in the world, as the Higher Being only allowed one to be alive at a time. Kailin wasn’t exactly sure what he prophesized, no one but the elders spoke to him about such. And what he wrote was not for the eyes of the public. Kailin wasn’t interested in the vampire world anyway, it had forsaken her long ago. She had met many Hallowed vampires, and most would not help or teach her.
    She tried to ignore his presence, and the occasional glances he would give her as she spoke to Lucas. Elders often thought anything that came from a fresh’s mouth was ignorant, and she somehow felt that she had to watch what she said. Least, he interrupt them to correct or insult her.
    To much of her surprise, Tzion remained very quiet, while he ate the meal before them. Though it wasn’t common practice for a vampire to eat human portions, they occasionally indulged themselves. Very little was actually eaten, and most of the time the food was pushed around the plate to give the appearance of being eaten.
    Lucas seemed to be starving, and gulped down the soup before Kailin was even halfway finished with her own. But it wasn’t the human that interested her, it was the elder sitting across the way. She watched him take two sips of the soup, and then pretend to take more, until his bowl was taken away and replaced with the main course.
    Before the desert was brought Kailin looked down the table at Gabrielle, and decided that she didn’t need to be here any longer. Standing up, she looked at Lucas who stood up with her.
    “I am leaving now.” She told him.
    “Before desert?”
    She gave a slight nod, “It’s late and I have important things to do. It was nice meeting you.” Though her words were pleasant, her voice was empty. Pushing in her chair, she continued, “If Gabrielle asks you tell her I went home.”
    “Alright, goodbye, Miss Drake.” He said, as she disappeared out the door.
    Gabrielle took notice of her departure and looked down at Lucas, who sat down to finish his meal. Her attention went to Kristian, “Kailin left.”
    Kristian looked down the table to see if she spoke the truth, and then looked at Tzion. His master wiped his mouth on a napkin, while staring at the door that Kailin had made her exit with. Standing up, he excused himself from the people around him, and began to walk the opposite way of Kailin, towards the kitchen.

    Placing on her jacket, she declined when the coat drop asked her if he should call her a cab. She felt like walking home, well, more like jumping from roof-top to roof-top. Cars has always made her uneasy, she wasn’t in control of them, and she couldn’t drive one of her own. Placing her life in someone else’s hands was uncomfortable, and she tried to avoid it.
    Stepping outside onto the porch she began to journey down the driveway to the front gates, which were open for the cabs to come in and out. The drive way was lined with bushes that were squarely shaped, stopping near her hip. In the center of the half circle driveway was a large lot of grass, and she could see the plain fountain toward the middle. For a short time all she could hear was the sound of her high heels clanking against the concrete driveway.
    It wasn’t until she got halfway to the gate, that the darkness engulfed her eyes. She stopped, as a vampire she could see very clearly in the dark. Something had to be blocking her sight, and it was probably best to stay where she was. Turning around she looked back towards the mansion, and couldn’t see anyone. Standing and waiting for only a few moments, she decided that she didn’t have time to play this game and began forward. A dark shadow figure appeared before her then, not expecting someone to be there, Kailin stepped back a couple feet, and gasped.
    “I apologize, my intent was not to frighten you.” She could barely make out his dark hand reaching out towards her, then dropping to his side when she steadied herself. “I am Tzion of the Elders,” he continued “I wanted to speak with you alone.”
    She wondered why he felt it necessary to block her sight, she had seen him while they were eating dinner. Most elders had to ability to block certain senses of fresh vampires of the same species, so it came as no shock to her that he could do it. She decided that it had to be a show of power. She stepped forward, and with her head cocked to the side, she squinted her eyes, something she hadn’t done in centuries.
    Crossing her arms, she prepared her voice to sound intimidating and strong. “What do you want?”
    He was not use to such a response from his subjects, and seemed to be taken back for a moment. “I have spoken with Kristian about your decision not to hunt the Mephis at this time.”
    “And you think that you can make me ‘decide’ otherwise, right?”
    His voice took on an annoyed toned, “On the contrary, Duchess Bramwell, I do not believe that you are even ready to take on such a task. You are far too weak…”
    “Are you trying to use reverse psychology on me?” She chuckled.
    “Again, you have judged before you hear me out, milady. I am merely stating that I am on your side, you shouldn’t begin fighting the Mephis until you are much older or at least more evolved then what you are now. Though you may be able to fight the weaker Mephis, I doubt you could survive an encounter with their master.”
    “So, the Mephis do have dominant beings.”
    Tzion sighed, “Of course, don’t be foolish. They couldn’t of possibly survived without a being of higher knowledge. But that is neither here nor there. My reason for approaching you was merely to state that not only I but a few other elders stand beside your decision.”
    “Well, thank you, I suppose. Although, it matters little to me whether I have no elder or every elder on my side, I won’t fight them not now, not ever.”
    “Be careful, Duchess, you do not wish to say things that you will have to eat later.” He rubbed his face, “I also wanted to invite you to be my special guest at the convention this year.”
    “I don’t go to those events. I think they are ridiculous…”
    “You’ve never been invited to one, and as a fresh it is an honor to even be considered.”
    “I don’t care. I don’t…”
    “You may bring your friend, what is that Pyrrhonian’s name?”
    “Gabrielle?”
    He clear his voice, “Yes, bring her. I will pick you up from your home it is in two months time. Kristian will be there as well, so he can take the Pyrrhonian.”
    “But…”
    “This is not a request, this is a demand from an elder. Now…” The sound of Kailin’s name was being called from the porch, they both turned to see a man running towards her. “Two months, Duchess Bramwell, I will see you then.” She heard Tzion say, and when she looked back he was gone.
    Feeling the other being approach, she turned back to look upon Lucas. He stopped short of her, not really know what he was going to say. “I didn’t expect you to still be here.” His eyebrow rose, “What are you doing standing out here?”
    “Looking at the fountain, what is it that you want?”
    Lucas looked around, “What fountain?”
    “The one in the center of the grass island there.” She pointed.
    He looked towards her finger and then back at her, “Your eyes are better then mine.”
    “Was there something you wanted?”
    “Yes, well… Could I escort you home? I mean just to make sure you get home safely, the coat drop told me that you didn’t take a taxi, and…”
    “It’s a long walk.” She said trying to detour him.
    “All the more reason that you should have an escort.”
    She stared into his eyes for a moment, trying to understand what it was he truly wanted. “Very well, but when you are freezing near to death do not say I didn’t warn you.”
    Lucas gave a grin, “No problem.”
    They began walking towards the gates in a moment of silence, while Lucas tried to come up with another topic to touch upon with her. He began to bombard her with questions about herself, and like any vampire, she was reluctant to answer. She gave the shortest answers possible, most were lies anyway. Keeping them small and to the point was the best way to keep them straight, she had discovered long ago.
    “So, how long have you lived in New York?” he asked her.
    “All of my life.” she lied slightly. It was true that Kailin Drake had lived there all her life, even though the Drake persona she had made was really not much older then four years.
    “Then you must know this town pretty well.”
    She nodded. “Well enough.”
    “You don’t have a typical New York accent though, at times you even sound British.”
    Kailin smiled falsely, and then said, “Yes, my parents were from England.”
    “Oh, do they still live in New York?”
    She shook her head, “No, they died a long time ago.”
    Longer then he could have of imagined, she could not even bare to think of the last time she had seen her mother and father together. After she had been made a vampire, she practically disappeared from all of her loved ones. Lucas saw the pain in her face when she spoke those words.
    “I know what it’s like, my mother died when I was nine. It happened so fast, she got ill and then four months later she was gone. They still don’t fully understand what killed her. I went to live with my father after that, he was a detective as well. One of the best that LA has to offer. That is until the Marley case happened.”
    She was afraid it was about the head in that direction, and so she said nothing.
    “Some lunatic was trying to kill this woman, kept saying she was a vampire. My dad tried to protect her, I mean they ended up in the sewers just to hide away from him. He lost contact with everyone while it was happening, he was paranoid didn’t trust anybody. They caught the stalker and convicted him, and then Marley disappeared.” Lucas stopped for a moment seeming to decide what he was going to say from there.
    “My dad just engulfed himself in work trying to find her, ignored everyone, even me. He just wouldn’t admit that she had probably been killed by one of the ’vampire hunter’s’ followers. He’s not that old of a man, in his late fifties and his mind is already gone. I had to put him in a home, I couldn’t move him out here with me. Besides, he gets more one on one attention now. Kind of wish that I could of gotten to know him better though.”
    “Did you try helping him search for her?” Kailin asked as they passed a bush that seemed to grab Lucas’s attention for a moment.
    “I tried, but he wouldn’t let me touch anything. Before I took him to the home, he threw everything he had collected into the fire. You know what’s strange about the case?”
    “What?”
    “No one has a picture of Kailin Marley, not the press, not the police, she didn’t even have a state ID on record. It was like she never existed. And what adds to the mystery is all the people that saw her for the trial, when they try to do a composite on her, everyone remembers her to look differently. I mean we even get Asian and Indian portraits.”
    “That’s very odd.” Kailin was trying to keep her input to a minimum.
    The information was a surprise to her however, someone or rather another vampire had to be meddling in her affairs. But it wouldn’t of been the first time one of her own kind involved themselves within her life for reasons unknown to her.
    “Yeah, I kind of got caught up in the case for a while myself. It’s just so frustrating, because it seems like the woman that my father obsessed over and a man was sent to prison for never existed. A big news case like that and there is nothing to prove she was ever alive. The news tapes that showed her were accidentally destroyed, it’s just all to much of a coincidence. I think there was more happening then my father knew or told.” Lucas took a deep breath, causing fog to form around his lips.
    “Perhaps some things are just meant to be buried and never found.”
    As they walked several police cars drove past with their lights flashing, Lucas looked back for a moment seeming to decided if he wanted to check it out for himself. They weren’t that far away from the mansion, and were able to clearly see the cars pull into the driveway. Kailin sighed, a little upset that it had taken them so long to get there. Not only because she was already out of the building, but that Lucas probably would of stayed there to investigate.
    “Does that interest you?” Kailin asked pointing at the police cars.
    “Well, I am a little worried. After all, it is my childhood friend’s house that they are pulling up to.”
    She saw her opportunity to escape the man’s presence, “Why don’t you go and make sure everything is alright? I can manage to find my own way home.”
    His eyes turned to her own and he seemed to think it over for a moment, taking a swallow along with a deep breath, he found his words. “I have my beeper turned on, if it’s important then they will contact me. Besides, I need to make sure you get home safely.”
    “Not the answer I would expect from a police officer or a man who just witnessed police cars drive into…” Her voice was hushed as an ambulance drove past and into Phillip’s estate.
    “Maybe I should go.” Lucas said taking a step towards the mansion.
    Kailin bowed her head, “Farewell then, Mister Stark.”
    “Are you sure you’ll be alright? Why don’t you come back to the mansion and call for a cab? It would make me feel a lot better.”
    “I will be fine, I have nothing to fear.”
    He rose an eyebrow, “You live in one of the biggest cities in the United States, murder, rape, among many other crimes run rampant here.”
    “Fear of death does not control me, only those who have a life to lose. Now, make haste, Mister Stark.” With that she turned and began to walk away from him.
    Lucas watched her for a moment, then turned around to walk back to the mansion. She had confused him greatly with her last words, and the thought that she might be suicidal crossed his mind as he walked through the gates. With that he shrugged her memory off for the evening, while he went to investigate what had occurred.

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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.

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