Chapter 2:
Shun sat on a plane, little over an hour later, a human woman in the seat next to him, chatting his ear off. He ignored her, staring out the window instead. The strange void in his mind, where Skyress normally was driving him insane, the thoughts of what he was about to do rolling over the sounds around him, drowning them in uncertainty and fear. Shun sighed and shook his head, turning to stare out the window again. 'you'll be fine, Shun. He's human how much trouble could he be? Human and old… Kai's not weak, yet the old bastard has overpowered him several times. He's not without guards so I'll have to be careful and then there's the other bastard, the lackey. He's stronger and there is a high probability that he will escape me, with his boss… I may have to return to Kai without having completed this job. I'd have to explain to him where I was too…' Shun sighed again and looked over at the human woman, his eyes landing squarely on the veins in her neck. His mouth watered and he gulped, turning away from her again. ' Damn, surrounded by humans, and there's two O's on this damn thing too. All right, Shun, focus. Remember Kai; you don't want to taste anyone less do you? There, now I can just drown the smell of them with memories of him and get through this damn plane ride without killing anyone.'
Skyress watched Kai go through the motions of his day-to-day life, dealing with Tyson being by far the least pleasant. She saw Kai with Ray, heard Kai tall him what had happened. Kai showed him the holes at the base of his neck and Ray seemed to grow rather concerned. "You say he's coming back for you?" "He said he was. I don't know where he is or how long it will be before he comes back, it could be tonight, or it could be twenty years from now." "What did he do to you Kai, I've never seen you worry like this." "He didn't really do that much, I mean he touched me, and he bit me, but not much else." "You seem kinda scared." "I am." Kai let himself be pulled to Ray, held in his arms. "What will you do if he comes back?" "What can I do? I can't fight him. If he wants something from me he will take it. And there's little that will keep him from it."
Shun approached the abbey, it was midnight, a few days after he'd arrived, his eyes were bright, almost red, as he snuck into the place. The smell of blood and hatred reached his nose and he cringed. 'I knew it was a hellhole but damn. I'm so glad Kai doesn't smell like this place.' Sticking to the shadows, Shun approached the sound of Voltaire's voice, a sound he'd heard only a few times before. Voltaire stood in a room, high above the dungeon Kai had known so well staring at the flame of a candle. Shun stepped into the room and wrapped one thin hand around the old man's throat. "You're gonna die tonight, Old Man." "You." Voltaire's voice held no fear, a fact that disturbed Shun. There was a metallic ring as something metal struck the back of Shun's head. The vampire stumbled away from Voltaire, seeing Boris standing there, with a pipe in his hand. Shun hissed and struck him, sending him flying against the wall of the room, and Voltaire took this as an opportunity to flee, leaving while Shun was distracted. Boris, to Shun's immense surprise managed to stand and came at him again. Shun ducked the pipe and plunged his hand into the man's chest, curling his fingers around his heart and ripping it out. Shun threw the still beating heart onto the floor and turned, ripping a piece of fabric from a chair with his unbloodied hand. He sniffed the scrap and smelling Voltaire, pocketed it, intending to use it to track him. 'Then again, perhaps it would be a better idea to just go back to Kai and wait for that wrinkled bastard to show himself. At least then I can protect Kai in person.' Shun looked toward the door and became a gust of wind again.
While Kai slept one night, later that week, Shun watched him, his sharp vampire eyes letting him see the human even in the darkness. While he watched, Kai stirred, his hands closing into fists and he sat straight up, very nearly screaming out loud. Shun crept closer and Kai saw him. Kai stood and walked toward the window the vampire stood outside of. "You're back." Kai climbed out the window, standing beside Shun. "It took me a bit longer than I expected to get back here." Shun reached out to touch him, smirking when he shied away. "Where did you go?" "I went after someone who has hurt you." Shun stated simply, refusing to specify whom. "There's blood on your sleeve." "I killed them." Shun's voice held none of the emotion a human's would at this statement, he sounded so casual, it almost scared Kai. Shun noticed this and met Kai's eyes. "You know I won't hurt you. I don't waste my time, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have by now and I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to keep you safe. They were going to come after you again, Kai, we both know that." "Who?" "Boris and Voltaire. The latter is still alive, but severely without a bodyguard." Kai nodded, and Shun smiled. " It's better that you don't remember, you know. I wouldn't want to remember that either." "Don't tell me. I don't want to know." Shun raised his hand to Kai's cheek, smirking at him. "I wasn't going to. I brought you a present, Kai." Shun pulled a beautiful silver medallion from a pocket and hung it around Kai's neck. "Shun…" "Not a word, just don't take it off." Then Shun was wind again and Kai was standing there alone.
Skyress landed on Kai's shoulder a moment later. " I've never seen him take to someone like he has to you. Even when he was human. Now it pains him so much to be around humans, the smell of them drives him insane. Yet he got on a plane, to go to Russia to protect you. He's rather fond of you now, and know that he's gone to feed and someone will die tonight, so you don't end up in the hospital again. Fighting with Boris drained him a little more than he thought it would. You saw his eyes, how dark they were, almost back to the color they were when he was human. I hate to see him this way, he tortures himself sometimes." Skyress turned her eyes in the direction Shun had gone and sighed. "Go after him, he needs you. The same way I need Dranzer." She chuckled. "He doesn't need me the way he needs you. We should both go after him." "But he'll bite me again." "He will, but it won't hurt you. He likes your blood better anyway." "He does?" "Yes. You keep yourself in such good shape, you taste better than the rest of them." "I needed to go for a run anyway, chasing after a vampire might be a good workout." Kai raced into the woods, chasing Shun.
When he found the vampire, he was sitting beneath a tree, a long slash across his chest. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. Kai ran to him, pulling the weak vampire into his arms. "Shun, are you alright?" "Blood…" Kai bared his wrist, pressing it to Shun's lips. "Not yours…" "You don't have a choice. I'm willing to wake up in the hospital again, Shun." Shun tried to pull away, but Kai held him tightly. "Just do it, Shun. You need it move than I do at this point." "I won't be able to stop." Shun muttered, succeeding in extricating himself from Kai. Shun stood, wavering and falling against the tree. "Shun, you'll damage yourself if you wait any longer to feed." Skyress chirped, flying to him. "I'll be fine." "You remember last time, when you were turned." "Yes. And I don't want to kill Kai. I'll go into the city, feed on someone less and then come back here. Will you wait for me, Kai?" "I'll help you get to the city, and then return here. You seem really weak." Shun nodded and Kai pulled one of Shun's arms over his shoulders, supporting most of the vampire's weight as he walked him toward the city.