Selene rose from the snow. Her hairline failed to conceal the stream of crimson blood that was coming from a wound.
"Marcus?" Michael said, confused. "You… Selene killed you!"
Marcus's grin grew ever wider. "Apparently you don't know that this new race, that OUR new race, that of the hybrids," Marcus indicated himself and Michael with the point of a finger, "have no limits. We are evolution. We, Michael, are the beginnings of something new, something completely different. We are unique, we are special. We are the answer to this pitiful world's problems." Marcus took a step closer to Michael and Selene. "We, my dear relation, are the SOLUTION. The solution of what humanity's largest hinder is – death. We cannot die, Michael. You were impaled back at the pier; yet you were able to continue living whereas other mortals and immortals could not. I was destroyed, scattered in many pieces," Marcus's eyes traveled up and down Selene's form for a moment, and then he continued, "and yet, YET I am here now, alive and well."
Marcus stepped even closer, his face now directly in front of Michael's. "We, my friend, are what it truly means to be… IMMORTAL." Marcus drew out the last word, enunciating every sound with extreme precision.
Marcus withdrew a few steps from Michael. "Come with me. Join me. Selene, you don't need her. She is an impediment of your true potential. Leave her and rule the world with me, Michael. Take your rightful place at my side."
"Where William's was?" Michael asked defiantly. No way in Hell am I leaving Selene!
Marcus looked up in disgust. "All that potential, yet no will to use it. What a waste." His eyes flashed in anger.
"I will get you." Marcus addressed Selene directly. "Both of you. Mark my words. Once I fully heal, I will come and find you. And you, you will regret this, Michael. When you watch Selene's life drain away, and believe me, you will… you will regret this."
Marcus Changed, faster than he had in previous times. Once his Change was complete, he unleashed his wings and flew off into the horizon.
Michael let out a breath he hadn't known he had even been holding.
Selene sighed behind him, one that was a mixture of relief and of exhaustion. "That's the last time I'm taking a walk by myself."
Michael chuckled. He sat down in the snow, and Selene joined him.
Michael finally addressed Selene's head wound, which was still bleeding, but only a little. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." Selene remarked. Then she added, "Which is the norm, I guess."
Michael smiled. He didn't doubt his decision against being Marcus's side-kick for a minute. It was much better to be Selene's.
"Now what do we do?" Michael asked, although he didn't really want an answer.
"Best thing we can do is go to the American Coven in New York."
"How are we gonna get there?"
"Well, first we have to let them know we're coming. We'll see what we can do from there."
"So how do we contact them?"
"Safe house. I mean, the more standard way would be in Ordoghaz, it has the strongest signal coming from the other Coven. But the secondary way to contact them would be through any safe house – they've all got built-in ways to communicate with either other safe-houses or the main Covens."
"Oh."
"The nearest safe house, if memory serves is right outside of this town, but through the other side."
"Okay."
"I think we should avoid the town now, because the Lycans, if there are any, living in this town would be… less civilized than the ones in the city."
"So, we're walking around the town."
"Yeah."
Selene and Michael walked for hours, all the way into sunset, in silence. It wasn't an awkward one; nevertheless it would have been better if there was something to fill the void. Alas, there was nothing.
After a couple of hours in darkness, Michael couldn't take the silence anymore. "Selene, are we going to keep walking all night?" He knew he sounded like he was whining, but he didn't care.
"Funny timing. We're here."
Michael looked up, and there was a building, about the size of a small house in the middle of nowhere. Typical.
Selene walked in first, and tapped in a code. Apparently it was the right one, because the door opened up and lights reluctantly flickered on.
Michael sat down, all of his fatigue catching up with him. Selene, on the other hand, walked up to the row of monitors. She hit a button. Something was wrong, because a looked of mild confusion entered Selene's face. She hit the button a few more times. When she got the response she wasn't looking for, she sat down on the chair.
"Strange." Selene murmured.
"What?" Michael asked, getting out of his chair and walking over.
"I can't seem to pick up the American Coven. I'm picking up every other safe-house, but nothing else."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that either there is a black-out in New York, or…"
"Or…?"
"Or they're all dead."
Mwahahahaaaaa cough, cough