by Megan Parker
Serena clucked her tongue, unsure of how to explain the situation without sounding like part of a strange, ghostly date-raping.
“Look, call me ‘old fashioned’, but I make it an effort to remember how I come to be naked with somebody!” He gave up on retrieving his belt and ducked into his jacket, a growl emerging from his throat.
“Oh? I'm so goddam sorry to have interfered with your obviously detailed and intimate list of skanks and whores!” she countered, “I'm sure it’s very confusing to wake up in this sort of a situation and not have to PAY your partner!”
“You bitch!” he bared his fangs, “I can guarantee that they’re a better lay then you could ever hope to be!”
Serena's breath caught in her throat at that and she bit her lip, looking down.
He paused, his enraged features softening as he took in her reaction. After a silent moment, he cleared his throat and calmed his tone, “So, did we…?”
“We…” Serena blushed and dared a glance at him, seeing his confusion and understanding his apprehension. She nodded once, “Yes. We did.”
“Dammit!” He rubbed the back of his neck and turned away from her, “This was not supposed to happen!”
“I… I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t exactly planned.” The sincerity felt strange to Serena. “I mean, I don’t even know your name!” A morning breeze began to pick up and the vampire looked over to meet her apologetic gaze; a gaze she had a hard time maintaining. She had no right to blame him for his reaction. There she stood, still smelling like him and not even knowing his name!
“Zane,” He said with a sigh.
Her eyes shifted back towards him, “Wh-what?”
“My name. It’s Zane. It’s only right that you know that much.” He frowned at her confusion. He frowned and glanced towards the shadowed depths of the forest, growling. “We're not alone.”
Serena turned in that direction and squinted against the rising sun. “I don’t se—”
At that moment, four therions—already shifted into their bestial bodies and snarling through dripping fangs—leapt into the clearing and raced out towards them.
Zane solidified his stance and bared his fangs, “STAND DOWN OR I WILL EXECUTE ALL OF YOU!”
The four snarling beasts didn’t falter; didn’t even respond—not even on an auric level—to the threat.
“Shit! They’re not stopping! Keep your guard up!” Zane growled, his eyes narrowing and his body shaking with rage as the familiar energy flared up.
Serena stared for a moment as his tattoos began to glow brightly, mirroring his growing rage. “R-right!” Serena nodded, mimicking the action with her purple energy and taking a fighting stance.
The nearest therion focused on Zane and pounced, leading with its massive claws and coming down in a vicious arc with its unnaturally large fangs gaping and snapping hungrily in anticipation of his flesh. Serena gaped as Zane hissed—baring his fangs as his face started to warp and shift and his tattoos glowed brighter—and pulled back his hand. As Serena watched, Zane elongated and locked his fingers like the tip of a blade and drove it into his attacker’s throat. As the beast’s momentum forced it downward, Zane’s hand sank deeper and deeper into its body and Serena watched in horrified awe as it collapsed to the ground with her ally’s arm buried inside it to his elbow. Slowly and methodically Zane withdrew his hand and tore the fallen therion’s still-beating heart through its chest and back out through the wound. Appalled by his own prize, he threw the organ to the ground and brought his boot down on it. Still convulsing and writhing in pain, the therion collapsed at that moment, finally dead. Seeing the ease with which Zane dispatched of their comrade, the others thought better of their plans and turned to flee.
“N-not… getting off—ahh! Fuck!—THAT EASY!” Zane roared, his voice growing deep and gravelly as the tattoos continued to glow. In the blink of an eye, he’d crossed the distance between them and cut off the remaining therions, easily ripping the head off of one as he lifted his hand in the direction of the other two and wrapping his aura—as it shifted unnaturally from blue to red; the same aura from the night before!—around them and pulling them off their feet. In the grip of Zane's inexplicable power, the two whimpered and writhed before the last of their life was choked from them, and he cast their corpses aside like toys.
Though the four were already dead, his body continued to convulse and twitch as he dropped to his knees, clutching his head and whimpering in obvious agony. Though worried, her concern for what was happening held her back; the mystery of what was happening to him—what he was becoming—too terrifying to approach.
After a moment his aura began to deflate and turned back to blue, and she dared the first step towards him. As she drew nearer, he looked up with exhausted eyes.
“What did you… y-your aura! It… it changed! That was you last night?” she shook her head, still not believing what she’d just witnessed. “H-how were you able to do that?”
“Because,” he looked over, his mismatched eyes shimmering brighter than ever before, “I'm not what you think I am.”
“Okay! I’ll bite, Mister Wizard! If you’re not what I think you are, then just what the hell are you?” Serena asked as she followed Zane through the forest towards the city.
“That’s not really important right now,” Zane answered quickly. Then, obviously wanting to change the subject, “I was sent to find you”—he looked over his shoulder at her with cold eyes at that moment—"by your father.”
“Wait! My father?” she stopped and sneered, shaking her head, “Some nerve that asshole has to send one of his jerk-off lackeys out here to try and get me to come back to the clan! Screw that and screw you!” Serena pivoted on one heel and started back towards her cabin. “Tell the old man to go die and rot in he—”
“He is dead!” Zane’s voice was low and even, but there was more than enough venom and malice in those two words to sink into Serena’s heart.
Though she was sure he’d seen the shift in her posture at the news, she kept her back turned. “I don’t care!” she lied, hoping it sounded convincing enough, “Do you think that’s going to make a difference?” She cried out, the feeling of guilt piled in her stomach even as she spoke the words.
Zane stepped in front of her as she started to storm off again, his body shaking as though he were having some sort of seizure. Eyes widening in surprise, Serena backed away, noticing that the complex designs of his tattoos had begun to glow red.
“Listen to me! Your father died protecting you and everything—everyone!—he cares about! And he entrusted me with the task of getting your spoiled ass back in the clan’s walls! You will take your place where you’ve always belonged or you’ll let down a shit-load of fellow clan members who are depending on you!”
Serena froze as the thought that she might have even been important to the clan slapped her in the face. Looking up at the Zane, she realized how close he must have been to her father. She frowned, seeing the glowing designs on his neck begin to fade as he began to rub at them; remembering how the tattoos had reacted when Devon had taken over. She tilted her head and studied him for a moment.
“Your tattoos…?” Though she was trying to steer the conversation away from something that was clearly upsetting him, her curiosity about him was too great to shift entirely. And, even if it was only somewhat, she was still concerned by the pained look on his face. Though it was only somewhat. She sighed and shook her head. She didn’t need all this new chaos.
“DON’T!”—He frowned, averting his enraged gaze from her worried one—“Just… don’t worry about them. They’re nothing important to the situation. Right now we have a lot more to talk about.” As his tone and breathing calmed, the tattoos began to fade back to their normal hue.
Serena watched the phenomenon, scrutinizing both the tattoos and their owner. Finally she nodded, letting out a heavy sigh, “I’ll come. It’s been a while since I’ve been around other people. I guess it mig
ht be nice.” She smirked, strolling by him, “Might be.” After a moment she looked back over to his now-startled expression and realized that her words had appeared to calm him a great deal.
Somehow, knowing this made her feel at peace.
They reached the clan’s headquarters faster than Serena was ready for and she found herself frozen at the entrance, staring at the once-familiar surroundings with a growing sense of nostalgia and dread. Though the entrance still seemed like nothing more than a normal parking garage entrance and to any human walking by it would appear to be just another office building standing amongst many others like it. That, however, was exactly how the Clan of Vail and its members wanted it.
Though she could’ve easily stood and stared at the immense parking garage for several hours more without beginning to fathom what lay beyond, Zane’s patience wasn’t committed to such indulgences and a firm grip pulled her forward. Stumbling to keep up with the warrior’s well-trained pace, they entered the service elevator at the other end of the corridor.
As the doors slid shut behind them, a wave of claustrophobia knocked the air from Serena’s chest and she gasped in a panic.
“Stop it! You’re fine!” Zane said, sounding more annoyed than assuring as he flipped open a panel near the row of buttons. His fingers moved rhythmically over the hidden dial, and as he entered a final keystroke a mechanical chime sounded and the buttons shifted from yellow to red.
Still trying to get control of her nerves, Serena stared as her escort stabbed his calloused thumb onto one of the now-scarlet levels and there was a jolt as they began to descend.
“Th-that’s… that’s new.” She inhaled deeply and tried to let it out slow to ease any future stutters.
“Yes,” Zane nodded, standing ramrod straight and staring blankly at the doors, “Your father felt the need to boost security due to some recent incidents.”
Serena bit her lip, “Does this have something to do with the Odi—”
“It has something to do with many things that your father felt deserved his attention.” His gaze shifted towards her and he shook his head slightly.
“I see…” Serena looked down and wondered to herself what else she had missed.
As the elevator slowed and stopped, the two doors opened to reveal the headquarters’ main lobby, Zane showed no hesitation in stepping past into the room, Serena again found herself frozen at the familiar-yet-foreign scene. Realizing that he had exited alone, he turned and stared expectantly at her, signaling with his eyes for her to follow. Though her pride was quickly beginning to fracture, she couldn’t shake the familiar and crippling feeling.
A feeling like…
Just go, Serena! Devon’s voice echoed in her mind and enveloped her in his warmth. She sighed, glancing over at Devon’s ghostly silhouette for one last nod of support before turning to Zane, who was staring impatiently at her.
She finally nodded and stepped out of the elevator.
The subterranean complex was as massive as she’d remembered. As the elevator doors slid shut with a soft hum behind her, she accepted with only a minor tremor of panic that she was underground. Despite this, her father and his efforts had transformed their headquarters into something befitting royalty, and she was reminded of this fact as she caught sight of a large marble fountain a short distance away. A series of colored lights surrounded and adorned the monument, lending a sense of beauty and serenity to the otherwise barren setting. Past this, the room forked off into several corridors where the clan member’s rooms were kept.
Despite her father’s eye for décor, it was all still the same.
Serena couldn’t help but smile at the wave of nostalgia that flooded her at the sight of her childhood home. Though she couldn’t honestly say that they’d all been good, it was still the site of many fond childhood memories. As a little girl, she had always thought of the clan’s headquarters as her own, personal five-star resort, and as she welcomed the various flashbacks she stepped towards the fountain. Despite the rush of emotions, the rhythmic and serene sound of flowing water over the intricately carved marble had a soothing effect and she casually ran the tips of her fingers across the surface and watched the ripples echo out from her touch.
When she was young; she had always been fascinated with the fountains in the park and had often asked to go out to see them. However, due to the dangers that came with being both a part of such an influential clan and the daughter of its leader, casual outings of any kind were few and far between.
“He said it was built for you.” Zane stepped over, his purposeful stride resounding on the tile floor and pulled Serena from her own mind. “He never said too much concerning it, but we all knew. I used to find him sitting here when things were quiet enough and he thought he was alone.”
“My father… did this… for me?” She pulled her fingers away from the water hurried to rub away a burning pool that had begun to well in her eye, “I wouldn’t’ve thought, after everything that had happened that he’d even want to remember me.” Zane shrugged and sat on the outer edge of the fountain’s foundation. Letting out an exhausted sigh, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, suddenly looking very exhausted. He stayed quiet, keeping his gaze locked on the floor as Serena finished her thoughts, and, while she appreciated it, it wasn’t a comfortable situation to be in with company. Dragging her focus away from the fountain, she turned her back to it and sat next to Zane. “How did you and he meet anyway?”
The question forced a smile to his otherwise sullen face and he rubbed absently at the back of his neck. “It’s a long fuckin’ story…” he chuckled and shook his head, “I guess you could say he adopted me.” He scoffed at his own choice of words and shook his head. For the first time since their meeting, Serena saw Zane offer a genuine smile. “Your fathe—”
“There you are! I was starting to worry you’d skipped town, Zane!” An excited, warm voice chimed from behind. Zane let out a small growl and cupped his face in his hands, beginning to grumble incoherently into his palms, as the source’s soft footsteps plodded towards them. “Is this her? Did you really find her that fast?”
Zane grumbled and pulled his face from his palms, “No, Zoey. This is a hooker that I wanted to hire for our warriors! Perhaps leap out of a cake and—”
“Oh stop! Like you’d ever get something this classy! I’d recognize Gregori’s lively aura in her anywhere!” The spritely girl hopped in front of them, her short, cartoon-like blue hair bobbing and swaying as she traded glances from her equally-blue eyes between the two. “I can’t believe it! You’re really here!” she clapped excitedly and Serena blushed and chuckled nervously. She wasn’t normally one to be put off guard, but this girl was so damn chipper. After another moment of giddy bouncing, she smirked over at Zane, who had retreated back into the comfort of his palms to continue his grumbling, “Aw! Poor Zaney, are we still cranky about being scolded earlier? I thought you were all better.” Serena didn’t pretend to understand what she meant, but knew from Zane’s reaction that there was no point in questioning it at that point. “So”—she shifted her shimmering eyes back to her—“this is Gregori’s daughter! Wow! She looks just like Rose! Did you know you look just like your mother?”
Serena felt a twitch in her eye at the mention of her mother.
Zane frowned and shook his head at her, “Zoey, that isn’t really a—”
“Oh hush!” Zoey stuck out her tongue at him, “You’ve seen the pictures, too! You can’t deny it! You and I have both heard all his stories!”
Zane growled and looked away, not offering a response. Serena watched him for a moment, wondering what he was thinking, before turning to Zoey.
“How do you know so much about me?” Serena asked, not trying to hide the venom in her tone. She’d noticed instantly that she had no aura surrounding her petite body, which meant she was an auric or dead, and she was far too lively for that to be the case, and that meant she had the ability to read minds. And while she hadn’t felt
the familiar tug of an invading aura in her head, she wasn’t ruling out the possibility that this Zoey-girl could’ve taken the liberty when her guard was down.
Zoey’s exuberant smile remained as she shook her head, “No need to worry! Your father just told me a lot about you and your mother. He spoke very highly of you.”
Serena frowned, “Are you one of the clan’s warriors?”
Zoey shrugged, “More or less. I can get a job done when I need to, but your father was more interested in my research.”
“What kind of research?” Serena cocked an eyebrow.
“Hematology, magic, and microbiological development.” She giggled as two sets of eyes went glassy, “Blood. I make blood. Well, fake blood; fake, enchanted blood. Zane, do you remember when The Gamer wa—”
Zane groaned, “Zoey. Babbling!”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She giggled again, “Anyway, your father was interested in a synthetic blood substitute with nearly ten-times the potency.”
“Don’t mind her,” Zane rolled his eyes, “Zoey gets chatty when she’s nervous.”
Zoey pouted and stuck her tongue out at him again.
Serena sighed again and looked over at the two. They both were so welcoming to her. Well, Zoey was at least; Zane didn’t seem like he cared much one way or the other. She looked down and tugged at her skirt a bit, remembering their night together.
“You still with us, Princess?” Zane narrowed his gaze at her, his eyes burning into her, “Now that you’re here, we can’t have you slipping off into la-la land at your leisure.”
She frowned, again questioning just what he was and wondering if he had actually read her thoughts or if he was just perceptive.
“You see that, Zane? You scare the poor girl! She’s already been through a lot, so why don’t you give her a break?” Zoey smiled warmly and turned to her, “Serena, would you care to go for a walk with me?”
