Shortly after breaking down in front of Brian a second time about the girl in the hotel, Casey volunteered a cryptic answer to the big man that only made her life hell afterward. “I didn’t kill her, but I was the one that ended her life.”

Brian let go of his girlfriend and stood up, a confused and concerned look on his face. “What does that mean, Casey? How do you end someone’s life and not kill them? You weren’t dreaming were you? Did this Vivienne person make you kill someone? Fuck the NDA, we need to go to the police? Don’t just sit there, you started this.” He showered her with a barrage of questions.

-You are a Moron, Rivers.- Casey thought to herself as she tried to wave off what she’s just said. It was the comment about the police that caused her to leave the kitchen and dig out clothes. “There is nothing to tell them, Brian!” She screamed at him. “There is seriously nothing to tell the cops, what can I say? When I say there’s nothing, I mean there’s nothing. Anything that could have been is gone. No more. Erased.”

“How do you erase a person, Casey?!” Brian responded harshly.

Pulling her blouse over her big chest, Casey marched over to the television and turned it to the news. “There. That’s how.” She pointed to the ongoing coverage of the Ocean Lilly in shambles.

“You were there! I knew you were fucking lying to me again!” Brian also started getting dressed.

Casey was about to respond when her phone started ringing. “Brian that is my mom.” She pressed the button opening the line as Brian kept talking, “I can’t believe I fell for your shit again!”

“Well. I can hear that Brian is being his usual self, Casey.” Her mother began. Casey looked at Brian, her chocolate eyes clearly annoyed with the big man. -Here we go with her too, Rivers.- “Hey mom. Yeah, I guess. He and I are having a heated debate.”

“Sounds like a fight, Casey darling.” -If you only knew, mom.- Casey quickly thought. “I meant to call you when I got home, mom. There’s been heaps going on and I just forgot.”

“Are you coming by this evening, Casey?” Her mother inquired. -Fuck- “I don't know mom, I meant to.”-And now comes her guilt trip, Rivers.-

“I would hate for you to pull your hair out, darling.” The elder voice started giggling in Casey’s ear.

“Right…I did say that, didn’t I?” Casey pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You mentioned you were hurt?”

“Yes and no, Mom. I thought it was worse than it was.” Casey quickly deflected.

“Come on over and give yourself a bit of a break from Brian.” Her mother added.

“Just like you took breaks from everyone?” Casey complained..

“We all need breaks from time to time, right my dear?”

“Alright, mom. I could use the time to think and clear my head. I will be over in a few minutes.” Casey said goodbye to her mother and finished getting dressed. “Mom’s right, we should take some time and cool off.”

“Or what, I pack my shit, Casey?” Brian used her line against her again.

-Fuck. Why did I ever say that to him? He’s never going to drop it.- “No. I told you I was sorry for that.” Casey walked back over to Brian and cupped his cheek softly. “We will work this out, we have for two years, right?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “You can stay as long as you want. I mostly want to stop fighting and talking in circles.”

Angry with herself and Brian, Casey barely registered the cars and trees zipping by on the highway as she pushed the needle on the Italian sports car between eighty and ninety miles an hour. Heading towards her mother’s house, Casey weaved through traffic hoping to make herself stop thinking about the mess she’d once again made with Brian. -How do I get out of this mess? Yep you’ve landed yourself right back in it, Rivers.- She thought and pushed the car to near one hundred and twenty miles per hour, almost missing her mother’s exit.

A few minutes later, Casey pulled into the driveway of her mothers one story beach bungalow. Putting the Lamborghini into park, she took a moment to admire the simplicity of her mom’s house. It was blue and tan, with a concrete porch that wrapped around the first half of the home. Her mother had planted sunflowers in small beds in front of the porch, so that it added a hint of yellow and made the house warm and inviting. Casey shut off the engine and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell.

“Since when do you ring the bell?” Her mother opened the door and invited her daughter inside.

“I grabbed the mail on the way inside Ms. Jennifer Rivers.” Casey chuckled and handed her mom the few items. “I ring the bell because it’s not really home mom.”

“It’s my home so it’s your home. Quit being silly.” She pointed to Casey’s pocket. “You still have the key, right?”

“Yes.” Casey muttered while thinking about the home she’d grown up in. “Mom, I haven’t even put furniture in the room you gave me.” She shrugged. “I always think of home as the house on the lake, and dad.”

Jennifer walked into the kitchen and returned in short order with a tray with two cups and various teas. “I loved that place too, Casey.” She pointed to the packets and walked over to the fireplace, tossing another small log on the cozy fire that kept the living room warm. “I am sorry that I left your father, You have never been alright with it.” Her mother sat beside Casey and made herself a cup of herbal mint tea. “Sometimes things just don’t work out, dear.”

Quickly scanning the room, the two occupied, Casey felt her mother's presence all throughout. Walls were painted a soft tan, with various ocean themed pictures and decorative wooden sculptures depicting mermaids, starfish and other cute sea creatures. Her mother made the stone fireplace the center of attention for the space and had arranged the white leather sofa and loveseat so that they would absorb the warmth and relaxation a fire would provide. A few bookshelves and bookcases were placed to show off the vast expanse of works that she’d collected, Casey giving a brief smile noticing the titles that were sectioned off. “I can’t believe that you put my favorite books on a shelf by themselves, Mom.”

“You have read them all at least three times.” Jennifer walked over and grabbed one thick book and brought it back for Casey. “The Count of Monte Cristo. You read this one more than the others.” She pointed to the small fingerprints on the leather binding. “I rebound this for you in middle school when you had broken the spine after reading it so much.” Her mother smiled and took a sip of her tea, “You can see your fingerprints in the leather.” The older woman winked.

“I do like all of the windows here; they seem to let sun in from all sides.” Casey mentioned, mirroring her mother in sipping tea. “Is that a rope chair?” Casey pointed to a pile of netting attached to a heavy hook near one of the windows.

“I got it in Kitty Hawk a few weeks ago. They sold all sorts of things there, you might like going down there with me one weekend.” Jennifer ran over to the chair and jumped in it, making it swing gently.

“Who’s the kid here?” Casey laughed.

“This isn’t the first time you have been here, Casey.” Her mother hopped out of the swing and made her way back to the sofa. “You seemed a bit grumpy when you came in, quickly changed to the lake house and your father, then to the windows?” Jennifer took one more sip of tea and placed the small cup back on the tray before settling back against the sofa. “I haven’t seen you scatterbrained in years, what’s going on?”

Casey wanted to tell her mother everything and just burst into tears and let the events of the past few days empty out on the sofa, then forget about the drama. “I guess the pressure of graduation creeping up in May.” She paused to drink more tea, pushing the problems of the last few days back. “I only have one class before I am done, I thought I told you.” Casey moved to the other side of the couch and pulled her knees up. “Just SCUBA left.”

Raising one of her finely plucked eyebrows, Casey’s mom shook her head, “That is certainly part of it, but I get the feeling there is more to this. I doubt that you and Brian would be in .. a heated debate..” Her mother chuckled, “...over your SCUBA class, Casey.”

Casey pursed her lips, because she knew the answer she gave wouldn’t work on her mother. “No. You are right. There is more.” She paused, “I started a new job a few nights ago. I work for a doctor now, as her… personal assistant. Brian doesn’t like it because I have to spend more time away from him.”

Jennifer leaned up and finished her tea, then looked to Casey who just shook her head.

“Alright, tea won’t solve this.” Her mom packed up the tray and headed back to the kitchen.

“Well, come on.”

“Where are we going?” Casey flopped her feet on the floor and begrudgingly stood.

“That was the biggest load of crap I have ever heard, girl. It just means you aren’t ready to talk yet.” She wiggled her eyebrows and her brown eyes widened, “So, we just do something to take your mind off everything.”

Casey followed her mother into the kitchen, “That would be great, mom.”

Trailing her mother to the kitchen, Casey found it easy to see their similarities. Jennifer had the same long auburn hair with the added addition of violet streaked to hide her gray, the same shape and color eyes and her build was almost identical with one physical exception, Jennifer didn’t have the bust that Casey possessed.

Casey stood at the entry of the small hallway sized kitchen and leaned on the door frame that hid a pocket door. “What’s the plan, mom?” She asked and folded her arms.

“You know me, I don’t have a plan.” Jennifer replied and pulled out a package of ground beef from the refrigerator.

Snickering lightly to herself, Casey nodded and knew her mother well enough to know what the older woman said was fact. Like a butterfly, Jennifer embraced the essence of the little fluttering insects she adored. Floating from place to place, never keeping to a direct path and randomly changing her mind and life course on little more than a whim. Casey knew that this was especially true when it came to her mother and the attitude the older lady had when it came to relationships. Bisexual and open, when Jennifer met someone it seldom lasted more than a week before she flittered off to another new lover and new experience.

Once Jennifer had gotten pregnant at twenty-two, everything changed. Priorities shifted and she’d married Casey’s father to raise their daughter in an open and loving home. The couple never seemed to have the same problems that other couples did and constantly showered each other in love and devotion, which in turn passed into Casey. So it came as a complete shock to Casey when her mother filed for divorce the day Casey had been accepted to college five years before and returned to her butterfly ways.

“Casey.” Her mother raised her voice to get her daughter’s attention.

Snapping back to reality, Casey blinked and pinched her nose. “Sorry, mom. I was just thinking.”

“Deep in thought, apparently.” Jennifer paused, “I have to check on something in the studio, can you watch this for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, sure, mom.” Casey muttered and walked over to the skillet.

If there was any drawback to her mother, Casey considered it the fact the older woman was an artist. Obsessed to the point of ignoring everything else, Jennifer threw all she was into her art and it took many forms. Tattoos that spanned both arms in vibrant flowers and the small one that Casey had on her right shoulder, all came from her mom’s intensity. Every time it was something new, Jennifer mastered it and moved on. Pottery, sculpting, charcoal, glass blowing, painting and even digital art had been a few of the things Casey recalled losing her mother for days at a time, hunkered in her studio.

“The artist’s flaw, mom.” Casey whispered to herself. “Art above anything else.” Casey tossed a pinch of salt, shook some pepper and sprinkled some onion powder in the pan before spotting the homemade taco seasoning.

Her mother entered the kitchen once more, smiling. “Casey.” She pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “I only follow my passions; I am not ruled by them.”

“Say’s the woman with paint all over her hands.” Casey giggled and slowly backed out of the hug.

“Oh, baby girl.” Jennifer’s eyes slowly filled with tears, “You are the best sculpture I have had the honor to shape. I loved every minute.”

Casey started to cry about the same time as her mother, “No fair mom.” Casey cleared her tears with the collar of her blouse, “You were in that studio so much, I felt like I didn’t have a mom.”

“Not true, Casey.” Jennifer took over with the skillet, “I was with you every step of the way, until you started closing your door as a teenager.” She pointed to her studio as reference, “The door was always open. You knew where I was and I always stopped when you came

in.”

Anger swelling up once more Casey blurted out, “Liar! You never paid attention once you were in your fucking studio, Dad even told me you lost all reality in there!”

Jennifer turned off the burner and moved the taco meat off to cool. “Come on.”

“I am not going anywhere.” Casey leaned back and folded her arms once more, “Fuck that, I am not going to your hiding place.”

“Fine. Stand there all you want and be mad over something that never happened in the past.” Her mother turned and headed back into the studio, “This little session has nothing to do with me, Casey. You are still grumpy and mad.”

Casey waited about two minutes before she caved in and trudged her way to the back of her mother’s home and into her mother’s sacred room. A seat in the back for her body art, a small artist kiln by the window, carpentry tools on a peg board, paintings both complete and incomplete scattered all over. Little glass butterflies even hung from the ceiling that sparkled perfectly in the sunlight, creating the illusion that they were flying all over the room.

Casey spotted a couple new additions, “A 3-D Printer and weed, mom?”

Jennifer, who was already getting high, let out a plume of smoke. “Hey, don’t judge. Best thing this crappy state ever did was make it legal to get stoned.” Waving Casey over Jennifer pointed to the bowl she was using and a small cartridge. “You pick.”

“Mom! I can’t get high with you, what if I get tested? I am on a swim team.” Casey shook her head disapprovingly.

“You graduate in May. You have what, maybe three swim meets left?” She pushed the items closer. “Trust me, you will forget your problems for a few hours and relax.”

“Your solution is to get me stoned? Some mother.” Casey followed suit and took a heavy hit from the packed bowl, holding it until she got lightheaded before letting out her own smoke.

Jennifer giggled a moment, “You are an adult, Rivers. I am done being an example for you.” She took another hit and looked down at her ringing phone. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, April.” She clicked the ringer to silence and looked up to her daughter. “What?”

Casey picked up her mother’s phone and looked at the screen. “Twelve calls, all from different people.”

“What can I say, dear?” Jennifer started to giggle uncontrollably, “Casey’s mom has got it going on.”

Casey squinted her eyes, shook her head slowly and let out a disbelieving groan. “Jesus, Mom. That…was..just no, mom…that was bad.”

The remainder of the day passed a quick haze for Casey. She remembered laughing with her mother, eating a huge messy pile of nachos and waking up on the sofa in her mother’s lap after a cozy and relaxing nap.

“Thanks, Mom.” Casey yawned and sat up, gathering her things. “You were right and I needed that.”

Standing up, Jennifer took a moment to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Anytime, dear. I love you.” She cupped her daughter's chin, “I am always here, Casey.”

Picking up the keys to the Lamborghini last, Casey nodded and smiled. “I know, mom. Sorry about that mess earlier.”

Her mother waved and headed once more into her studio, “Lock the door behind you, and use that key I gave you.”

When Faye said she wanted to sprint, Vivienne didn’t realize that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her fast newborn. She’d finally caught up to Faye as she was cleaning her face off in the cold salt water lapping lightly on the beach. Catching the scent of salt and blood mixing together, Vivienne slipped behind Faye and started pressing small kisses over the length of the Korean vampire’s neck. Hearing a quick heated gasp, Vivienne molded her body into Faye’s and clutched her partner’s tight tummy and began to sway lightly.

Feeling Faye’s hands work their way around her hips, Vivienne wrapped her free arm over the top of her partner’s chest and continued their dance. A few more desperate kisses trailed up to Faye’s ear before Vivienne whispered, “Beautiful in blood, my love.” She licked the thinning streams of blood that still lingered on Faye’s neck. Vivienne’s fangs locked into place and she raked the points over her girlfriend's neck.

“Go ahead, Vivienne…” Faye panted desperately.

Vivienne slowly danced the couple in small circles as she kept teasing with her teeth, “See what you are doing to me, mon amour?”

Faye purred and followed Vivienne’s lead while they danced in the surf. “Mmm…do..doing t-to you?” she stammered and let out a little rumble from her chest.

Pressing her fangs through Faye’s flesh, Vivienne took a few seconds to enjoy the luscious scent pouring from the four tiny holes. “Tu es si difficile à résister, mon amour…” Vivienne whispered and took Faye’s blood into her once more, reliving the taste of love on her tongue.

“Yesssss…” Faye hissed through her teeth and shook all over. -How did I live before this? Her voice..her breath…have mercy, her fangs..- Faye’s mind rushed through the confusing thoughts before she was spun in Vivienne’s arms and lightly dipped. “W..hat…” Faye flung her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders and kissed Vivienne lightly.

Vivienne pulled Faye upright and kissed the bite closed. “I said you were difficult to resist, my love.” She spun Faye away from her then back into her arms, “Dancing with you in the moonlight..” Vivienne exhaled a small ‘ahhh’ then continued, “...Is a dream come to life.”

Faye blinked her shimmering green eyes slowly and felt the rush of love warm her undead body, “Vivienne…” Her voice cracked, “...I-I love you.”

Vivienne heard the words crystal clear and realized that was the first time Faye had come out and said it. She’d listened to her partner’s confessions of devotion and completion. She’d heard love in her voice and seen it behind her verdant eyes. She’d felt the love between them in the tub and in bed, the graceful and light touches, and even now in the way Faye trembled during the dance. -You are no longer alone.- Vivienne’s mind sent a wave of loving relief pulsing through her. “So many lifetimes I have watched and listened to others profess and confess love to one another.” She folded a few locks of the pink and black hair behind Faye’s ears, “I-I wanted to know how this felt…I have said ‘my love’ to you since the initial three minutes we knew each other…” A hot blood soaked tear careened down Vivienne’s cheek, “Hope was all I had that I would find the one person to complete me.” A second tear flowed, “I am holding the one. My Faye.” Vivienne took a deep breath and smeared the bloody tears onto her fingers and offered them to Faye, “You are my first and only love, Faye…” The moment Faye licked the blood offering, Vivienne spoke with her delicate French accent, “Je t'aime, Je t'aime … I love you, my first and only love.” Vivienne broke down and kissed Faye over and over, “Mon amour, Je t'aime.”

A few minutes passed before the couple stopped their first dance of confessed love. Hand in hand the couple walked up to Vivienne’s home and witnessed Casey making a huge pile from the scraps from the partially destroyed kitchen.

“That’s her huh?” Faye inquired and looked between Vivienne and the ward.

“Indeed it is. If not for her, I might not have saved you.” Vivienne noted and watched Faye take off into the house at random. “Alright, Faye.” She chuckled and walked up to the pile Casey had made.

“Hey Viv.” Casey tossed a large stone on the pile. “I think you have a problem in the kitchen.”

“It would appear that is the case.” Vivienne reached up and fixed the bun her hair was twisted in. “Faye got a little zealous with Drake.”

Faye returned with the remainder of the parts torn from the kitchen. “This is the last of it all.”

“If you are gonna burn this, now is the time to do it.” Casey pointed in the direction where Faye first hunted. “The cops and fire department are up there trying to put out that fire. I had to take a detour to get back here.”

Turning on her heels, Vivienne walked inside without a word and left Faye and Casey looking at each other. “Um..” Casey looked in admiration as Vivienne disappeared from view.

Faye shook her head and smiled to the ward, “I think she just does that.” Faye curled her eyebrows in concern and walked close to Casey sniffing her.

Casey took a careful step back and looked at Faye strangely, “Wha-da fuck?”

Faye put up her hands and took an equal step back, “Sorry. That was strange is all.”

“You’re telling me? A stranger comes up to you and sniffs, what would you do?” Casey frowned.

Faye started wiggling her finger at Casey, “I-I…” Faye closes her eyes and focuses a moment, “Okay. I can smell your blood and it's delightful. It’s like smelling baked apples, almost. With a sweet rust behind it.” Faye sighs and shrugs. “The strange part is I don’t feel the need to drink your blood. I know that I could, but I don’t need to.”

“THAT, is the strange part?” Casey reiterated her surprise.

Shaking her head fast enough that her short black-pink locks flew around her face, “No, no..I didn’t mean it like that. Shit.” Faye rattled off quickly. “Let’s start over.” She outstretched her hand, “Faye Park, thank you for finding me Casey.”

“No problem. Vivienne told me to find you, that was my mission when we went in.” Casey said and lightly shook Faye’s hand. “I saw the look in her eyes when she mentioned your name.”

“I wish I remembered what happened, but my mind has been in a fog since I woke up on the bed.” Faye shrugged. Her green eyes widened in delight and a smile broke out on her face when Vivienne returned. “Casey was just telling me she saw your eyes while thinking about me.” She winked.

“Yes. Casey is rather adept with that sort of thing, Faye.” She winked once before sauntering over and spraying lighter fluid over the pile of kitchen rubble. “I am pleased that you both have finally met, even if it was a bit clunky in the beginning.”

-She did that on purpose.- Faye thought after seeing Vivienne and her little swagger walk. “You heard me mess that up? Of course you did.” Faye rolled her eyes and looked toward the ocean to hide her embarrassment.

“There is no reason to turn away, mon amour.” Vivienne lit the fire and then started rubbing Faye’s shoulders. “I did find your description of her blood intriguing.”

Casey crushed some of the wood from the table into smaller pieces of kindling and used it to light different parts of the pile. “I would really like you both to stop discussing my blood being tasty. I’m not sure if I should be turned on or scared to death.”

Both vampires turned to face the young ward and almost in unison, “It's delightful though.” Vivienne and Faye looked at each other oddly for a second then shared a quick kiss.

Casey waved her finger back and forth between the couple. “Okay, that was freaking adorable.”

Vivienne clasped Faye’s and Casey’s hands, and walked to the deck where the three of them sat down watching the fire. “I am intrigued. Faye, you have said something that I did not expect.” Vivienne kisses Faye’s hand quickly. “You said you had no need to feed.”

“Yeah, so?” Faye let out a light sigh after Vivienne kissed her hand, sending little sparks through her body. “Wait.” Fay snapped her fingers and tapped her temple. “I’m a newborn and should be almost in a frenzy like I was with the others.”

“Exactly, mon amour.” Vivienne looked over to Casey who had a glazed look in her chocolate eyes. “Casey?”

“Huh?” Casey blinked and smiled at the two vampires. “Oh. I drifted out for a minute.” She looked into her mistress's crystal eyes and confessed, “Vivienne, I got wasted with my mom earlier. I have had visions of that little girl, and it's been bothering me since I left the hotel.”

“I did indicate that I would assist you with that memory at a later time.” Vivienne pointed at herself and Faye. “Allow the two of us to get cleaned up quickly and I will be happy to address the girl vampire for you.”

Faye stopped looking at Vivienne’s perfect gray-blue lips and down at her torn and bloody blouse. “Carrie. That’s who I look like.”

Vivienne looked between her progeny and ward expressionless and smiled, “Race you, Faye.”

Casey watched as Faye bolted off with Vivienne following close behind. “I was thinking of Sidney Prescott, myself.” Casey chuckled and picked up the chair where Faye had flipped it over.

“Good one, Casey.” Faye giggled from the top of the stairs. “What do you think, Vivienne?”

The French vampire responded flatly, “Think of what?” Vivienne’s voice lightly echoed from the restroom.

Casey heard Faye start laughing harder just before the sound of the shower starting. The ward began looking at red from the licks of flame that were pushing upward and once more the twin red eyes appeared in her mind and the one single word that the little girl uttered without emotion -Hunger-. She’d just put her head down and started to cry once more when she felt the two vampires return. Sniffling lightly Casey turned to face the couple. “I-I sorry, Viv.”

Tossing the bloody clothes on the fire, Vivienne raised one eyebrow. “Sorry for what, Casey?”

“I should be stronger than this.” Casey wiped her eyes clear and sat back in her chair, looking at the cedar deck.

“Why would you believe this is the case?” Vivienne calmly asked. “You and Faye are in the same situation, adapting to your new reality.” She reached out and patted Casey’s hand. “I can lock the memory away so you won’t suffer, if that is what you want.”

Casey looked up and shook her head, the auburn locks bouncing softly. “That’s okay. I prefer to keep my memories, thank you.” She pointed to Faye. “She was just complaining about the lack of her own.” She started rubbing her temples with one hand, “You told me it was mercy before. I want to see that.”

Faye seemed to go into a quick trance and then looked at Casey with her bright green eyes. “Little girl?” Her memory flooded back to her, “I-I answered the door to a little girl knocking on my door. Sh…she sounded so frightened.” Faye reflectively put her hand on her forearm. “She and a couple others broke the door down when I…I…mistakenly answered.”

Vivienne looked between her two creations and started rubbing her chin lightly. “It was mercy, Casey. That little one had no comprehension of what or who she was.” She pointed to her progeny, “Even Faye thought she was in a dream at first. That little girl was locked in a dream, hungry beyond measure.” Vivienne patted Casey’s hand, “You didn’t kill her, Casey. The band did, Drake did.” Pulling out the letter from Franco Tarsey, she handed it to her ward. “This was why Drake caused all that damage.”

Reading the note then handing it back, Casey cast a look of disbelief to Vivienne, “The

Flying Cannibals did all that to get your attention?” She started to whisper solemnly, “Murdered them all.”

“Just to try and capture me, Yes.” Vivienne looked worriedly between them both. “Casey, perhaps considering it from another angle can help you cope.”

“What Vivienne? What angle?” Casey sighed defeatedly.

“Did she scream or make any noises when you shot her with the crossbow, Casey?”

“No, Vivienne. She looked at me and said, hunger.”

Faye’s eyes lit up in excitement and she blurted, “Casey, the girl wanted you to stop her. Can’t you see that?” She bounced excitedly in her seat, “If she didn’t attack, or scream for an alert, or even whine when you killed her, then it’s what she wanted.”

“Impressive, Faye.” Vivienne subtly interjected. “Amazing.” Vivienne reaches over to squeeze Casey’s hand a moment, “Faye is right. I was just about to say the same thing, and offer the means to reinforce it.” She paused to string her long black hair over one shoulder. “If you want I can make it a triggered command to see the incident from the angle Faye presented.”

“Thanks but no, I have enough problems with the commands I have in place already.” She starts tapping on her chest, “The rapid healing gave away part of the puzzle to Brian. I didn’t say a thing.” Casey then explained the encounter and what had occurred until she’d left for her mothers house.

Absorbing the information that Casey just gave her, Vivienne leaned back in her chair and slowly ran her index finger over her bottom lip. “I am inclined to believe that Brian is the least of the problems overall.”

“What do you mean, Viv?” Casey perked up and watched Faye crawl onto Vivienne and settle in her lap. “Adorable.”

“Thanks.” Faye beamed.

Wrapping her arms around her partner, Vivienne gently kissed Faye’s newly cleaned cheek. “Based solely on what you have told me, Brian doesn’t have any solid evidence.” She paused, “The only thing that is left over from the hotel is your clothing. So let’s consider that tangent dead. That is the easiest to clean up.”

Faye looked away from Vivienne’s blue eyes and revealed, “No, Vivienne. There is more.

Casey and the hospital, I remember you getting the call from the nurse.” She looked to Casey, “Was there anything about your rescue that could be a complication?”

Casey closed her eyes and drew the memory to the forefront and played the scene in her head a couple times. “I am trying to hear beyond the sounds of the emergency crew clearing the rubble looking for survivors.” She opened her eyes briefly, “I didn’t know it would be this confusing.” Casey took a deep breath and played the events one final time in her mind. “Yes, there was a news crew there. I remember seeing the microphone above the crowd when they strapped me to the stretcher.” Casey paused and squeezed her eyes shut focusing intently. “Channel 14, lady reporter mentioned I had risen from the ashes, called me a phoenix.”

“Wendy Richards.” Faye snapped immediately.

“Amazing, mon amour. How do you know this?” Vivienne tucked a single pink braid behind Faye’s ear.

“Mom and Dad kept the news on fourteen, and she’s the main field anchor these days.” Faye snuggled deeper into Vivienne’s arms, then blinked in surprise. “I-I remembered!”

Vivienne squeezed Faye a little tighter and kissed her ear lightly, “You seem to do everything quickly, Faye.” Turning to look at Casey once more, “So, the reporter and the nurse at the hospital. Which means footage and hospital records.”

Casey nodded, “Officer Martin. He could be a problem.”

“How do you know about him, Casey? I met him before our rendezvous at the Ocean Lily.”

“The car, Vivienne. When I was coming here.” Once more pointing to the soft glow behind her, Casey explained further, “He pulled me over when he saw the car. Thought it was you driving, and thought I stole the car.”

Faye shook her head and looked at Vivienne, “Probably pulled her out of the car while he searched to see if the car was listed as stolen.”

“Yep.” Casey flatly commented. “I answered his questions and another officer came over and introduced himself as Gemelli. Said I matched the description of a missing person named Karen Collins.”

“They released you, so the questioning couldn’t have been overly difficult, Casey.” Vivienne noted.

“Stupid questions really. He asked the same question in six different ways, just stupid cop double talk.” Casey shrugged, “Just thought you should know.”

“How can Karen Collins be missing when you signed the release, Vivienne?” Faye questioned softly.

“Incredible, Faye. I think I know what is going on with you.” Vivienne smiled and looked between the other two. “You mentioned earlier that Casey’s blood didn’t make you hunger.” “You are bringing that up now?” Faye chuckled, “I can’t keep up with how you think.”

“I disagree, mon amour.” Vivienne winked at her progeny. “You have the uncanny ability to make connections easily and can even out pace me while hunting.” Giving Faye another quick kiss on the cheek, Vivienne kept going. “It was why I said I would race you upstairs earlier, mon amour.”

“Sneaky.” Faye purred as Vivienne started braiding the black locks closest to the pink in her hair.

“Allow me to explain what I mean.” Vivienne drew a breath, “The two observations are invariably linked.”

“Go on.” Faye and Casey said together.

“Faye. It would appear that you can adapt to your surroundings almost seamlessly. That has manifested itself quite a few times now.” Gathering her thoughts so she would be clear, Vivienne continued. “I do believe that you held back how intelligent and adaptive you were when we first met.”

“I’ve been a nerd my whole life.” Faye sighed and blinked slowly, “I told you before that I remember everything about our meeting, that includes the fear that was in the back of my mind.” She nuzzled into Vivienne’s neck and kissed her lightly. “I am sorry I held back what I had figured out, Viv. You are right, I have always learned quickly.” Faye kissed Vivienne’s hands quickly, “I do have parts of my memory that are in a fog, that much is true. I have been pretty aware and struggling since you told me it wasn’t a dream.”

“Nothing to forgive, Faye.” Vivienne returned the kisses to her hand with a light and soft kiss to Faye’s lips. “Adaptive and fast. You do them almost in unison. I suspect that is why you sniffed Casey earlier and mentioned that you didn’t need her blood, but could smell it.”

“Yes, Vivienne. If I am right, then the reason is because you made us both. I won’t hide anything from you again.” Faye looked at Vivienne worried.

“A very good pledge, mon amour.” Vivienne winked, “There is nothing to worry about, or be forgiven for. While you do adapt fast I am certain that nothing you have done has been disingenuous.” The song “In The End” started playing from Vivienne’s phone and she looked back to the others. “How fortuitous. It would appear that one of our problems is contacting me.”

Wendy took a bite of her turkey sandwich bagel and placed it back on the plate, “Alright…” She swallowed her food quickly, “...I have a little test for you, Brian.” She pulled out her small notebook and started scrawling on it in pencil.

Wiping his own mouth clean from the messy bagel, Brian took another sip of coffee. “You are going to test me? How does a test-”

Wendy held up her finger for a moment, then slid the paper to Brian. “There. Tell me what that says, Brian.” She smiled and took another bite of her sandwich.

The big man looked at the paper and then back to the red-headed reporter. “You have to be kidding me? What about superstitions is real?” Brian flicked the paper back to Wendy, “No, I don’t believe in vampires.” He got up to leave, “Now I know you are crazy.”

“Sit down, Brian.” She held up her glowing green palm, “That wasn’t written in English. Look at the paper again.”

Brian looked down and picked up the note again, then stared blankly at Wendy. “I-I don’t understand. It looked like English a second ago, I can read it like..”

Brian fumbled around for a second, then grabbed his chair once more and sat down. “Magic? It looks like runes or something, Wendy.” He looked at his birthmark on his hand. “It has to be a parlor trick of some kind, you are using fluorescent paint or something. Look, mine isn’t glo..” Brian watched as his birthmark started turning green, the color moving like water through the contours.

“You were saying?” Wendy sipped her decadent chocolate once again, “Welcome to the Awakened, Brian.”

“A-Awakened?” Brian mumbled while rubbing his glowing palm. “C-Can they..see this?”

“Unlikely.” Wendy finished chewing, “It has been my understanding and experience that the magic only works for those it picks.” She grabbed Brian’s hand and traced the rune on it gently. “Yours is different, you were born with the rune and I have never seen that before. Perhaps the Darla would know more.”

“Enough!” Brian swung his fist down and hit the table. The plates and cups hovered in the air for a moment and settled down back in their places as though nothing happened. Brian first looked at the shocked look on Wendy’s face, then turned to see what the cafe employees were doing. Relieved to see that neither of the workers stopped what they were doing, Brian sat back and tried to regain his composure. “Alright…” He took a deep breath, “...Magic doesn’t exist, neither do vampires.” He looked down at his hand, still glowing. “You.” He pointed to Wendy, “You promised whatever this is could help Casey. Tell me how.”

“I believe that she is under the influence of a vampire.” Wendy bit into her sandwich again.

“Assuming that I think any of this is true, what do we do to stop a vampire?”

Wendy felt her phone vibrate and she quickly pulled it from her purse and looked at the screen, then once again held up her finger. “Hello there Nick, I was just looking at the time. I think you have stood me up.”

“That is part of why I am calling.” Officer Gemelli’s voice came over the speaker. “It has been another crazy evening so far. I don’t know when I am leaving. I am at a random fire with what looks to be four missing people and I just had word that two other people were fished out of the water near First Landing overpass. I am going to be very late, if not all night.”

Wendy put her finger over her mouth for Brian to see, “I can meet you over by the overpass if you’d like, off the record of course.”

“I will be busy as hell, and the bodies aren’t a secret, Wendy. It was another news crew that called us after the pair washed up on shore. However, I could use the distraction.” Gemelli’s voice lightened and sounded relieved.

“My friend Brian and I will be there very soon.” Wendy and Nick said their goodbye and she pressed the button to end the call. “Look at that, Brian. Ask yourself, where is Casey right now?”

“Her mom’s.” Brian looked at his birthmark again.

“Are you sure? Call over there and find out.” She finished off her coffee, “A hunch tells me that she’s not there, but off with her vampire.”

Brian’s rune started pulsing and the man had a wary sensation run the length of his spine. He looked at Wendy, who seemed to suddenly have a black outline pulsing from her. He blinked once and pulled his phone out and called Casey’s mother, Jennifer. “Hey, Jen. I was looking for Casey. Oh..oh, okay. She told me she was going to your house since we kinda got into it earlier. She took off in a fancy car, huh? Yeah, you go ahead. I didn’t mean to interr-” Brian looked at the phone as it went dead. “You’re right, she wasn’t there.”

Wendy smiled and shrugged, “I hate it when I am right.” She finished her sandwich and stole a bottle of water from the cooler. “Come with me Brian, I want to get this story in to make my boss happy then we can go try and help Casey.” Wendy watched the big man finish his food and coffee and headed for the door. “By the way, I meant to ask. What obsession did you say she traded?”

“What?” Brian put on his jacket and zipped it up.

“You said Casey traded one obsession for another.”

“Oh, that.” Brian followed Wendy out of the door and to her news van. “She traded listening to some creepy band called Flying Cannibals for working with a doctor named Vivienne Moreau.”

“Is that so?” Wendy nearly sang as she started the van. -Gotcha.- She whispered internally and started driving towards the small bridge officer Gemelli mentioned.

Brian sat quietly in the passenger's side of the van contemplating what he’d seen, learned and heard over the last hour or so. No matter what way he thought about it, every possible angle he could fathom, it all kept coming back to what he’d always known. Monsters aren’t real. Magic isn’t real. Pulling out his phone, Brian brought up his web browser and couldn’t believe what he was typing. ‘Are vampires real?’ He rolled his eyes and sent the question into cyberspace. The results popped on the little screen nearly instantly. Scrolling quickly through the results, Brian confirmed what he already knew. -No, No, No.- He told himself when the initial three sites confirmed that vampires were mere legends. He reached the fourth one and it seemed to be strategically worded. ‘In modern times, the concept has largely been discredited, but some cultures still persist in belief.’

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead for a few seconds before clearing the screen and punching in the next question. ‘Is magic real?’ While the little computer did its search, Brian looked up and once more looked at Wendy. -You still see it. That black outline.- A history of listening to his gut had served him well in the past, and he planned to do so at this point. Let’s just see where this is going. Casey is my priority.- He reasoned and looked at his screen once more. What he saw was less than helpful, since all of the topics seemed to blend the idea of magic with science and a person's beliefs. Sighing to himself, Brian shut off the screen and jammed the phone back into his pocket.

“Didn’t work, did it?” Wendy confidently questioned.

“What?” Brian looked away from the white caps on the bay that he could barely see, and to Wendy’s almost sadistic looking brown eyes. -Are they swirling?- Brian once more pinched his nose and grunted. “This isn’t real, I have to be asleep.”

“How does your tongue feel?” Wendy laughed and looked back at the road.

“Excuse me?” Brian squinted confused at the red head.

“You burned your tongue on your coffee when you took a huge gulp. If this were a dream, you’d think that would be amplified or something else crazy. It wouldn’t be sensitive to think about or have a dull ache.” She glanced over and gave Brian a quick wink.

“No, it’s a dull ache. Thanks for that.” Brian leaned to the side and resumed looking out of the window. “You’re fuck’n weird.”

“I have heard that many times, Brian.” Wendy pointed to the man’s pocket. “You didn’t find the answers you wanted.” She paused to make a turn towards a public boat landing with lights flashing all over the place. “I did much the same thing after I was awakened, Brian.” She paused and pulled the van over to the side of the road, placing it in park. “I used the agency's resources and investigated claims of magic and vampirism. Turns out that if you dig enough, you find out things you didn’t know, or didn’t want to know.” Wendy pointed to the line of flashing lights. “I assure you vampires are real and what you did back there was real. Telekinetic ability is what many of us experience first. Out there, I bet that is the work of a vampire.”

“Telekinesis!?” Brian nearly shouted. “All that happened is that I got pissed and hit the table, making everything shake.” Pursing his lips and taking another deep breath, “I don’t even know why I did it. I never hit anything.” A quick vision of Casey smiling made Brian smile. “Casey’s told me that I am mostly even tempered.”

“Let it sink in, Brian.” Wendy shut off the van and unbuckled her seatbelt. “I will prove it.”

She pointed at the big man, “I see a blue hazy outline around you, I typically see white ones.” She shrugged, “I have always thought the white was meant to be a sort of plausible denial. You know lights all over have a white hue. I don’t know what blue means, ‘The Darla’ has a deep orange around her.”

“Your’s is black.” Brian offered, sounding defeated.

“Makes sense. I am what we call an infiltrator.” Wendy mentioned and hopped out of the vehicle, closing the door behind her.

Following the reporter, Brian left the warmth of the van and immediately felt the wary feeling creep over him again. -For Casey.- He reminded himself and walked to stand beside Wendy. “Infiltrator.” He mocked once, “I am delusional, that is the only explanation. What is an infiltrator?”

Wendy started walking towards the crime scene and the gathering of other reporters, all broadcasting. “There are a few of us, and we do exactly what it sounds like. We get in, gather information, attempt to awaken others and find out where vampires are hiding so the captains can plan and finally remove the coven that is present.”

“Coven? Isn’t that witches?” Brian snorted, “You know, I am humoring you here. I don’t believe a word of it.”

“I have already done part of my job with you, dear.” Wendy pointed at Brian’s softly glowing rune. “You are awakened, whether or not you believe it.” She paused as she watched Nick approach. “Most people are not ready for the truth, so it’s probably best that you not mention this to him.” She pointed at the officer.

“No problem.” Brian shrugged.

Officer Gemelli reached Wendy and gave her a hug and a passionate kiss before taking a step back. “I hope that makes up for the dinner, Wendy.”

“It’s a start.” Wendy winked and patted Brian on the shoulder. “This is my…cousin, Brian.”

“My you are a big fella, Brian.” Nick chuckled, “Looking out for Wendy are you?”

“Not exactly. Just having coffee and talking about vampires.” Brian casually mentioned.

Wendy turned quickly, her brown eyes piercing and swirling once more. “Brian has a strange sense of humor, Nick. Just ignore him.”

Scratching his head and squinting, Officer Gemelli let out a half-snort. “The irony of you saying that, Brian.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else was in earshot. “I shouldn’t be telling anyone this, but the only injuries to both of the bodies pulled out are two holes in their necks, right over the carotid artery.”

Wendy raised one eyebrow and cast a glance to Brian, “What were the odds?” Wendy slid her arm around Nicholas’s waist. “I promise, I won’t say a word. Have you figured out who the two are?”

“Yeah, I knew them in passing. The guys used to tease them and called them J.J. The driver was named Jacob and the EMT was named Jason. Always together, hence the name.” Gemelli quietly stated and pulled Wendy into his arms. “You look amazing, by the way.” He winked and continued, “I still want to make up for the dinner, what can I do?” Nicholas teased.

“Let me get Brian back to his dorm and finish our little debate on…” Wendy paused to give Nicholas a soft and gentle kiss, flicking her tongue over his lips. “...Mmm…debate on vampires and I will meet you where you want.”

Excitement shone in Nick’s eyes and he quickly scrawled in his notebook and tore the page out, handing it to the red-head along with a key. “Here. Feel free to order whatever you want for us, and I will be there as soon as this is cleaned up.” He winked and ran his finger along one of Wendy’s cheeks before kissing her goodbye. “Nice to meet you, Brian.”

“Sure.” Brian looked at Wendy curiously as the officer walked away. “Are you really going over there?”

Wendy walked back to the van with Brian in tow, jumping up into the seat and starting the engine. “Yep. You and I still have plenty of time though. For Casey, right?” She giggled and turned the van around and headed back toward the university.

“For Casey, yes.” Brian muttered and began looking out of the window once more. “Tell me more about this vampire theory and Casey.”

Faye purred into Vivienne’s ear before nibbling it lightly, making the elder vampiress squeeze her progeny tighter. “Cute ringtone, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a Linkin Park fan.”

“That particular song is alluring and has an edge to it, don’t you think?” Vivienne smiled and answered her phone. “Dr. Moreau, speaking.”

“Good evening, doctor. Thank you for taking my call, it is Dr. Chris Smith.” He paused, “The head administrator for the hospital?”

“I recall who you are, doctor.” Vivienne looked at her girlfriend as she started poking her shoulder. “What?” Vivienne whispered as she covered the receiver of her phone.

Faye tapped her temple for a second, “I remember, I used to be called Cyberlily.” She beamed.

“I fail to see the importance of..” Vivienne stopped when doctor Smith began speaking once more.

“I tried to contact your office, but was told you took some time off. They kindly transferred me to your private line.” Chris paused for a quick breath, “I have a few questions about a release order you signed last night.”

“I have no intention of discussing my patients, Dr Smith.” Vivienne’s voice went cold.

“Vivienne…” Dr. Smith started.

“...Doctor Moreau. We aren’t friends, we are colleagues at the most. You will call me doctor.” Vivienne corrected.

Faye saw the callous look deepening in her partner's twinkling ice blue eyes, a small red ring beginning to rim the edges of her irises. “Viv. It means I remember what I used to do. Try and calm down, we need that guy.”

Vivienne angrily punched the mute on her phone, “What, Faye?”

Casey perked up, “We need him?”

Faye kissed Vivienne and nodded. “Yep. We get his card and pin, we can get access to the hospital, to include that server farm.” Faye cupped Vivienne’s cheek, lightly. “Come back to me, Viv.”

“I’ve seen that look before, Faye. It was about the same when she saw what Drake had done to you, it scared me then, and it’s scaring me now.” Casey excused herself and went inside the house. “I’ll be in here watching TV.”

Vivienne closed her eyes and leaned into Faye’s gentle touch and calmed down. “Thank you, mon amour.” She whispered just before Chris started speaking once more.

“I think you will once you hear why, Doctor.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “The police are looking for a woman pulled from the rubble of the Ocean Lily.”

“I am not discussing any personal information about a patient.” Vivienne once more added.

“Could you come to my office please? We can discuss the matter in..” Dr Smith snickered, “...private.”

Faye started nodding her head quickly, “Tell him yes.”

“I…uh..” Vivienne cutely cleared her throat, “Excuse me for that, Doctor Smith. I will be happy to come up there and listen to what you have to say.” Vivienne let out a tiny sensual sigh, “I can be there in say, thirty to forty-five minutes?”

“I look forward to seeing you again, Doctor.” Chris remarked and the line went dead.

“Thank you, Faye.” Vivienne pulled the hand cupping her cheek to her blue-gray lips, kissing it. “Amazing, truly fascinating.”

Faye slithered out from Vivienne’s lap and straddled her. “Mmm. Those lips are all mine now that Casey is inside.”

“Yes, Mon amore, they are yours.” Vivienne blew Faye a kiss. “So, possessive.”

“I can still hear you.” Casey laughed.

Wrapping her arms around Vivienne’s neck, Faye leaned forward and suckled on her partner's lip for a few seconds. “Now then…” Faye felt a familiar primal shiver traverse her spine, “...Like I said, I remembered my nickname and specifically what that entails.” She purred into Vivienne’s ear, “I remember most of what I can do with the right access.”

“Mon amour, I would love to indulge in this great fantasy you have concocted but alas, you have set me on a clock to meet with doctor Smith.” Vivienne playfully kissed Faye’s chin. “Tigerlily, what else do you want me to do while I am there?”

“I was hoping to come with you, Vivienne.” Faye pleaded and kissed her girlfriend.

“You aren’t supposed to be alive, mon amour. We can’t take the risk of you being seen by someone that might have known you.” Vivienne sighed and reluctantly wiggled free.

“Good point. You have a laptop I can use?” Faye asked quickly.

“I have four as a matter of fact.” Vivienne pulled Faye to her feet and walked inside. “Why do you ask?”

“Please tell me one of them is issued from the hospital.” Faye offered with excitement.

“That was the one I used to make the release order for Casey, so yes.” The elder vampire confirmed.

Faye followed Vivienne to the sofa where the two comfortably relaxed in each other’s arms. “Perfect. I have a little plan, but it will require some trickery on your part, Viv.”

Vivienne looked at the clock on her phone, “I don’t have much time, so give me the basic idea and I will call Casey if I need to.”

“We need to erase or destroy the camera footage of Casey in the hospital and the record of your signed release. It is a matter of finding the server it is stored on.” Faye started rattling off. “Get Smith’s card and pin, then use that to gain entry into the server farm or NOC…” She pauses a moment, “They might not have a dedicated NOC, humm…”

Vivienne’s soothing and light French accent cutoff Faye’s scattering thoughts. “...Faye. Focus. I have to get airborne soon.” Vivienne slipped away from Faye’s cuddled form. “Let me get the card and pin then I will just call. We go from there.”

Casey hopped up from the sofa, panicked. “Uh…Look at this you two.” She pointed to the television and the pictures of two men that had been found dead by First Landing Overpass. “Those guys took me to the hospital! I flirted with the young one, named Jason.”

Vivienne turned to face the television, “Unforeseen circumstances keep arising, do they not?” Vivienne opened the door and onto the deck. “All the more reason to clean what we can and get on the move.” Vivienne turned and seamlessly transformed into her raven form and fluttered off into the distance.

“You asked how to deal with a vampire, Brian?” Wendy casually asked as she made the final turn into the parking lot close to where the two had met. “I can see from the look on your face that you are far from being convinced.”

“I admit there is something strange going on with the little trance we both had at the same time and this thing on my hand, but that is just an oddity that I am sure can be explained… somehow.” Brian stopped looking at the university buildings and focused on Wendy. “Strange shit happens all the time, which goes unexplained. Seeing is believing, show me a vampire.”

Wendy pulled into a parking space in front of Brian’s dorm and jammed the gear into park, annoyed. “Strange shit? Look around you, Brian. Everything that has happened in the last few days is strange. When was the last time that you heard of a hotel being destroyed, four people dead, one missing survivor that matches the description of your girlfriend, and a rental house fire without anyone in it going up in flames?” The reporter dug out her phone, “Fuck it, you are awakened so I might as well show you this.” She opened the black hearted app named “The Darla” and showed the big man the alternate footage she was given the day before. “Explain that in the upper right corner.”

Taking the phone and watching the video, Brian stopped the little movie when he spotted the form jumping from the roof of the building holding a person in both arms. “Wait.” He handed Wendy back her phone and dug out his own, tapping the screen a few times and once the image popped up, he slowly gazed into the black and brown eyes Wendy possessed. “CCasey…she liked a-a-a band.” He held up the picture with Drake’s face and the tattoos spread across his arm. “S-s-she has a poster on her wall with that band on it.”

A wicked smile crossed over Wendy’s visage for a moment before she held the phone up to Brian once more. “That is Drake, the band leader. I knew it from the same tattoos, Brian. We knew that band was just a cover for a bunch of vampires lead by the guy you see being hauled off that roof. Care to rationally explain that away? A person carrying…you see it for yourself…carrying two people in their arms. Even as big as you are, you couldn’t carry two people and jump off a building. You’d have to drag them at best.” She tossed her phone on the dashboard. “Then what? You jump and there’s evidence of bodies on the ground?”

Brian replayed the events of the last couple days with Casey and then added in the events of the evening. “I am having a hard time with this, Wendy.” Brian paused and focused on the reporter, noting that the black hue around her had started to pulse with a deep purple.

Deciding to keep the new color pulsing to himself, Brian sighed and confessed, “I watched Casey heal tonight. She called it regeneration.”

“Thralls do that. Vampires take humans and subvert them into service, typically against their will.” Wendy added.

Barely registering what the reporter quipped, Brian kept going, “She said that Vivienne kissed her and that did it.”

“Matches exactly what we know.” Wendy added. “Depending on how old the vampire is, that bond can be broken without killing the vampire.” She lifted her hand and exposed her rune once more. “This and ‘The Darla’ provides the path for us to do it. The easy thing to call it is magic, as that explains it with a simple word.” She shrugged and put her hand down. Wendy turned off the headlights and started staring out of the windshield looking for clouds. “I see most of my messages in the clouds.”

“Tell me how we can save Casey.”

“Without your help, I can’t. I need you to fully embrace what we have before us. If you waiver even a little, that vampire can exploit it.” Wendy replied confidently.

“I-I… I just don’t know, Wendy.” Brian started rubbing his temples once more. “Part of me says this is impossible, and the other part can’t deny what’s happened so far. I just don’t know.” Brian took a deep breath and looked up once again. “Alright, Casey went from loving that band to hating them almost overnight. Which then was replaced by her new job with … this Vivienne… person. That was the obsession I was commenting on when we met.” “Vampires have many ways to deal with us, Brian. They are the perfect predator.”

“So all the legends are true then? So garlic, holy water, a stake in the chest? All of that is real?”

“Not the garlic, that is just a spice.” Wendy lightly giggled, “Along with the obvious.

Sunlight.”

“That’s it?! What about this supposed magic we have? Is that useless?” Brian huffed.

“No. It isn’t useless. It all depends on how it manifests itself. I told you, I am an infiltrator. We have commandos that do all the planning and attacking of covens. They go toe to toe with them. The rest of us use the tools we know about. I have yet to see a vampire not fall to a stake in the chest and fire.” Wendy quickly explained.

Brian mirrored Wendy and looked out of the window and saw the clouds highlighted in the moonlight. “Heart.” he muttered blankly.

“What?” Wendy looked at the passing clouds, “Are you seeing something Brian?” Wendy frantically scanned the rest of the sky. -Where the fuck is the message?- She internally shouted.

Blinking and shaking his head for a couple seconds, Brian finally spoke up. “That is still disorienting. That time I remembered what happened. I saw the rune tell me the word heart.” He pointed to the passing radiating white cloud in front of the moon. “Right there.”

“Heart.” Wendy swallowed the anger raging in her head. “I guess the message was for you.”

“I don’t have a clue what it means though.” Brian scratched his head briefly and shook his head, “I believe you now, Wendy.” He looked once more at the rune in the sky and nodded, “I get it. I am with you, until we save Casey. I won’t waiver.”

Wendy patted the big man's thigh. “Wonderful. We have two things to do. First, find where Vivienne lives and get you to ‘The Darla’ so we can figure out what you can do.” Wendy glanced over with her swirling brown-black eyes, “You go inside and I will get you in the morning, it is safer in the day.” She paused for a moment, “There are times we get dirty, but it's for the greater good.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point, Wendy.” Brian hopped out of the van and into the cold. “What time are we meeting in the morning?” he asked.

“Sunrise. We will have complete reign, and after I find out where Vivienne lives, I will contact ‘The Darla’ for the next part of the assignment.” Wendy smiled, “You and I will save Casey, don’t worry.”

Brian closed the door and headed to his room, glancing over his shoulder occasionally to watch the newswoman leave. “What have I gotten myself into?” He shook his head and walked into the night.

Vivienne relaxed as the wintery air rustled through her tiny black wings during the short ten-minute flight to the hospital. A very real part of the ancient vampire wanted to turn doctor Smith into chunks of quivering flesh like she’d done to the entirety of ‘The Flying Cannibals’. It was only the thought of Faye’s hand on her cheek calming her down, then asking her to come back, that kept Vivienne from following through with the impulse to destroy the nuisance.

-The dead can’t speak- She thought as she circled the building looking for a quiet place to land and change. Landing on a dark branch, Vivienne waited until a few groups of people hurried by in the vain attempt to avoid getting too cold. Once the area was clear, the vampiress quickly hopped down and changed seamlessly into her normal shapely form, adjusted her nearly useless purse over her chest and pinned her badge to her lapel before walking into the hospital.

Deep gray and white walls decorated the main part of the building, with winding stairs that led up to massive tinted windows for guests to look over the man-made lake and fountain that had been put in during the hospital's design. The walls had the current staff in little picture frames denoting where they worked and what they did. Vivienne passed a few people and nodded in response to their smiles as she followed the signs to ‘administration’ at the back of the building. Winding her way through the closed offices, Vivienne stopped at the door labeled ‘Doctor Christopher Smith’ with windows on both sides of the frame. Peeking in one of the windows, she noticed that the room was empty but had an open soda and a half eaten sandwich on the desk. Testing the door handle, Vivienne was shocked to find it unlocked. She let herself inside and initially sat down in the chair across from where her colleague would naturally sit. “Hummm.” She murmured to herself before standing up and walking around to his terminal. Shaking her head, Vivienne pulled doctor Smith’s access card from the tiny reader and watched it lock his computer screen. “Almost too eas-'' Vivienne stopped talking, and shoved the card into her purse and blurrily bolted back to her seat.

Doctor Smith walked through his office door and saw the beautiful brunette sitting in one of his chairs with her legs crossed and expertly painted red nails shining up from their position on her sculpted leg. “I didn’t expect you so soon, Doctor Moreau.”

“What pray tell is so urgent that you interrupted time with my family?” Vivienne asked politely, her French accent making her roll her “r’s” as she spoke to the man in front of her.

“Getting right to the point I see.” Chris retorted, “Very well.” He pulled out a form and handed it to Vivienne. “You can keep that one, I have other copies.”

“A release form. I imagine you have lots of these, given that doctors use them constantly.” Vivienne laughed and tossed the paper back on the administrator's desk.

“This one is a bit more unusual, because the police want it rather badly.” He pointed at the name. “You see, this says that you released one, Karen Collins, to your care.”

“She is my patient, yes. I am not going any further as it doesn’t concern you or this hospital in any way.” Vivienne calmly answered.

Wiggling his finger, Doctor Smith shook his head. “Well, not really. You see, the police are looking for this woman and I told them that I didn’t know anything about it.” He paused to get a small breath, “So, I did a bit of digging and found nothing but the ambulance crew’s notes and your release.” He turned on the television on the other side of his office. “Would you look at that? That same crew is now dead.” He tossed the remote back on his desk. “What do you think of that, Doctor Moreau?”

“If you are thinking about what I think you are, you might want to reconsider your options.” Vivienne flipped her long black hair over one of her shoulders. “I encourage you to forget that you ever saw any of this.”

“Everyone tells me you are the brightest cardiologist in the hospital.” Chris smiled and perked one eyebrow before holding up the release form. “Oh, You know what I am about to say, don’t you … Vivienne.” He said her name like a dare to the modelesque woman in the seat across from him.

“If you are like every other human I have seen try this, you are somehow thinking to blackmail me for sexual favors.” Vivienne rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Predictable. Your kind are always so predictable, and typically cowards.”

Clapping briefly, Doctor Smith nodded his head. “Amazing. It is this simple. You do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you and for as long as I tell you, and this paper disappears. Along with any video that has been caught of you here, ahem, bribing me.”

Vivienne was on the man before he could blink and slipped the knot on his tie so that his airway was partly cut off. She focused the turmoil of her blue eyes on the man, “I could kill you now, erase you so that you were never found in a thousand years of looking.” She lightly blew the hair from her face, “However, I am a generous woman and will give you one chance to use that brain for more than a petty threat.” She flipped out his keycard, “What is the pin?”

“F..fu…” Chris gasped and tried to draw more air into his lungs.

“Don’t complete that word, Christopher. You will not like what happens next.” Vivienne warned. “Just the pin.”

Gathering enough air to fuel one swing, Doctor Smith brought his fist to slam against Vivienne’s cheek, shattering the bones in his hand. Vivienne smiled and winked at him with one of her blood rimmed, hostile blue eyes as he started screaming in pain. “Intellectually you are inferior. I gave you fair warning, Chris.” Giggling softly, Vivienne whispered into his ear. “Stop screaming, You don’t feel a thing. When I loosen your tie you will tell me the pin and you will be right as rain, won’t you?”

The pain and fear dissipated from the look on Doctor Smith's face and he nodded slowly. “I…I am s..so..sorry.” He gasped.

Vivienne loosened his tie and gave him time to catch his breath, “Now then. That pin would be wonderful.”

“3971.” the administrator complied.

Vivienne shoved the card into the reader and tested the number provided and smiled when it worked. “Very good, Christopher.” She pulled the card free and stuffed it back into her purse. Vivienne blew lightly over the man’s face releasing him from her minor charm.

Doctor Smith fell out of his chair and onto the floor holding his hand and screaming “Help! Someone help me!” Stumble-crawling, Doctor Smith slammed himself into his office door frantically trying to turn the knob and escape. An icy feeling numbed his feet and calves just as he’d managed to partly open the door. The cold chill crept up his spine, and he heard the soft tears of his cashmere jacket just before an elongated claw clasped his jugular.

Vivienne slowly reformed from the black mist she’d become and held the man effortlessly in her grip. “Come now our fun isn’t over yet, Chris.” Vivienne growled and bit into his neck before refueling herself on his blood. Licking his neck closed she started dragging the injured man by the neck through the small office space, and into the stairwell. “Even your blood tastes like the little arrogant shit you are.” She climbed the stairwell and reached the emergency exit to the roof. Looking at the alarmed door, she quickly ripped the press bar from the door and squashed it under her foot, destroying the device. “That should keep everything quiet.” She looked at the doctor now limp in her grip and slapped him awake. “None of that, Chris. I thought you wanted to have fun with me.”

Chris blinked awake and spit out the teeth he’d almost swallowed from the slap. The man started having flashes of his past, the things he did to bully people, cheating on his wife, emotionally torturing his children. Doing things that he thought would bring him joy, toying with the feeling of power and anger to control everyone and everything around him. He knew that ego and pride caused it all. Fear suddenly gripped him. He saw those blue crystal eyes. Those dark blood hazed eyes. Those soulless ice blue eyes. Those eyes that hid a literal demon inside. Those eyes, “P..please…” Chris begged for his life.

Reaching the edge of the roof, Vivienne held the man over by his throat with ease. She watched him flail his legs and begin crying. “Please what, Christopher?”

“P-p-p-please don’t kill me.” Chris finally exclaimed and held onto Vivienne’s arm the best he could with his good hand. “I-I-sorry, so very sorry. I will make su-sure that it’s all gone…I won’t tell them anything, just let me live.”

Vivienne tilted her head and showed her fangs to the scared man. “Very well, I will not kill you.” She waited a moment. “However, since I can’t have you talking to anyone either…” Vivienne dropped the man from her grip and watched him fall four stories to the ground and hit with a hard thud and witnessed blood slowly flowing onto the sidewalk. Leaping down, Vivienne heard the shallow rasps from Doctor Smith indicating he was still alive. Looking over his broken body, Vivienne leaned in and whispered into the quivering man’s ear. “No. You don’t die today. You get to live in fear and in pain. Every possible wobbled step you take, every time you breathe, every time you close your hand, will remind you of this night.” Searching his jacket pocket, Vivienne found his phone and pressed the emergency button before placing it into his good hand, leaving the administrator to his fate.