Chapter Two

"Sumire," Carvers voice rang out in the back of her head. "Come to me."
She dropped the broom, then walked out of the kitchen. Her eyes were narrowed angrily. He didn't control him, but if she didn't do what he wanted he'd destroy her mind.

When she reached his room, a guard opened the door and let her in. She hopped out of the way with ease when he tried kicking her through it. Carver sat at his desk with his feet propped up on it, but he sat up when she entered. It wasn't out of respect; it was because she'd have to sit on the desk.

"Who'd you give Gerard to?"

Carver snorted. "Why do you care?"

"I care about Gerard."
The Vampire rolled his eyes and mumbled something about "human emotions." After a while, he finally answered. "The Vampire who just arrived here. Now come here, Sumire."
His voice was impatient, so she slid around the desk and sat on it. Carver, as tall as he was, didn't need to stand to reach her neck. He pulled her hair back from her shoulders, then let it fall over her left shoulder. His hands came around his neck, and when he opened his mouth and leaned in, his fangs were fully extended. Sumire closed her eyes, but didn't wince when his fangs sunk into the flesh of her neck. She clenched her teeth when he began drinking her blood, but she couldn't help but open one eye and look at the scar that Gerard got a nice view of almost every night.

After Carver had taken his share, he sat back and licked his lips. His eyes were gleaming, and a red tint was forming upon his cheeks. Sumire smirked as the small puncture wounds on her neck healed up at an alarming rate. Carver narrowed his eyes, and then sat up.

"What did Arrah give you?"

"Nothing, Master." Sumire made the word sound like a profanity.

"Liar," He hissed and stood. In a flash, he had her pinned to him with one arm. His free hand tilted her head to the side viciously, and he watched as the last bit of his marks disappeared. Then, he threw her across the desk. Sumire landed roughly on one of the chairs, and let out a cry because of her back. Carver just smiled, although it wasn't a friendly smile. "You made it, human. Didn't you?"

Sumire sat up and glared. "Yes, I did. It's too bad that you couldn't do anything about that pretty little gash on your face, Carver."

"NEVER speak of my scar!"

Sumire didn't flinch. He was trying to use one of his voice tricks which usually worked on the rest of the slaves in Phoenix. If she was anybody else, she'd be on her knees kissing his feet. Instead, she smirked. "Still a bit touchy about it, are we?"

She saw him move, felt her back hit the wall, but what stopped Carver from killing her was a simple knock at the door. He was gripping one of her wrists, and she was slowly sliding down the wall in pain. In an instant, he was sitting at his desk while Sumire was crumpled on the floor in pain. She was gripping her wrist, but her back hurt much, much worse.

"Come in." Carver smiled, and Sumire knew it was fake.
A Vampire entered, and Sumire guessed that he was the one Gerard was talking about. He was tall, but not as tall as Carver. His hair was a pure white, but it changed to a blood red as it hit his shoulders. His features were softer, and his eyes were gray like hers. At first, he didn't notice her, but then Gerard followed him in and glared at Carver.

The Vampire simply smiled and motioned for the new Vampire to sit.

"Please, have a seat, Wraith."

Wraith did not. Instead, he focused upon Sumire for a moment. In that moment, a silent rage filled his eyes, and Sumire was guessing that it was not towards her. His expression cleared, just like that, and he sat down. Gerard remained at the door, his eyes on Sumire the entire time. She could tell by the way he was fidgeting that he wanted to go and see if she was alright.

"Carver," Wraith's voice brought Sumire's attention back to the Vampire. It was cool, and almost to the point of sounding deadly. But for some reason, his voice was calming to her. It wasn't a Vampire trick, either, and she could feel his power bouncing off of her skin in waves. He was much stronger than Carver, that was for sure. "I thought that you said you don't harm your servants?"

Carver snorted. "Servants? Slaves more like. But this particular girl is arrogant and rude."

"I smell blood all over her, but yet she has no bite marks upon her neck."

Sumire blinked, then guessed that her back was bleeding again. Gerard couldn't put up with it anymore. "Carver—"

"SILENCE!" Carver stood, and a little breeze went over both humans. Gerard sunk back into the door and covered his face. Even from under his arms, Sumire could tell that he had little cuts all over his cheeks as if he had just stuck his face in a rose bush.

"Carver, enough. I am a guest here, yes, but I won't stand here and do nothing as you continue to hurt them. If you think that they're being rude, I think you just need to take a look in the mirror."

The Vampire had been smirking, but not he looked completely outraged. There wasn't a damn thing he could do, though. Phoenix had no house rules like the rest of them did. It was an open house, and any Vampire could come and go as they pleased. Wraith was just as strong as he, too.

"Very well." Carver motioned with his hand slightly, and the door opened. Gerard ran out of it, and after she was able to pick herself up, Sumire ran out as well. Just as she was leaving, though, Carver said to Wraith, "That was the filthy runt who gave me this scar."

She didn't wait around to hear what the other Vampire had to say. As her and Gerard ran down the hallway, three more Vampires appeared around the corner. One was Misery, the other two her "friends". Misery was tall, and she was damn proud of it. Her golden hair and amber eyes were very prominent, and you never saw her in anything put a short-skirt with knee-high boots. Her shirts ranged from anything to Victorian to a regular long-sleeve.

"Sumire!" Her voice rang out, harsh and clear.

The girl stopped in her tracks, but she motioned for Gerard to keep walking. He did, and slid past Misery and the other two nervously.

"What is Carver up to?" Her voice was still in a commanding tone. It always was, though.

"He's talking to Wraith," She explained, then lowered her eyes and kept walking. Surprisingly, Misery didn't stop her. As she turned the corner, though, she sprinted down the hallway and into her room.

Lira wasn't anywhere to be found, so Sumire turned her back to the mirror and pulled her shirt up a little. There was blood seeping through the bandage, and of course as soon as she took a look at it, it hurt worse. Muttering, Sumire left dropped her shirt so it fell over her back again, then left the room and walked uneasily down the hallways to go to the medical wing.

"Excuse me," A voice came out from the shadows of a corner, and Sumire started. She backed up when the shadow moved, her eyes searching it quickly. Wraith appeared in the light, and he had his hands up. "Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to scare you."
Even though he was trying to be nice, Sumire was still tense. She nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. Her eyes were fearful, but she didn't mean to show that. Over the years, she'd gained the ability to mask her emotions from Vampires. Unfortunately, Wraith was so strong that she couldn't.

Wraith opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then tried again. His voice was hesitant, and he took another step towards her. "Are…are you alright?"
Sumire blinked, and her expression dropped from scared to confusion. Wraith noticed it, and he dropped his hands. The movement made Sumire jump a little. "I-I guess…why?"

Now it was Wraith's turn to look confused. He took another careful step forwards, which brought them just a couple of feet apart. His eyes lowered to look at her, and his voice went low when he spoke. "They don't treat you guys very well, do they?"

Sumire shook her head, then stopped suddenly. She hadn't meant to answer, but why lie? Wraith was looking at Carver's number one punching back. "I'm basically the favorite to beat on, though."

Wraith nodded slightly, then stepped back and off to the side. His eyes had grown somewhat fierce, but Sumire had no way of telling what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he asked, "Do you want to get out of this place?"

"Of course I do. I hate it here. Carver's the biggest prick in the world, and his girlfriend isn't much better."

Again, the Vampire nodded. He turned his steely eyes back to Sumire, then offered her a small smile. "I'm here because of you, Sumire. Your mother…she sent a letter to me."

"What?"

"You mother wants me to help you get out of here. I will, I swear. But I also have to bring Carver down."
"Oh, okay."

Wraith blinked. "You don't seem very surprised about that."

Sumire smiled a little. "I want to hurt Carver more than you could imagine. He deserves it."

Wraith smirked and showed a bit of fang. "Yes, yes he does."