(If you're enjoying this one, please check out my other titles… The Omen: rebirth and retribution 1 in Misc movies and Harry Potter and the Daughter of Evil in the harry potter section, and, Chronicles of Narnia: the red queen in C.s lewis….)

Cy was awake now. He could've sworn he'd felt her there earlier, with him, inside his head. But when he looked, she wasn't around. Darius, the Haven bouncer, had come in earlier handing him a pager and a secure cell phone. Cy almost choked when he saw him. Darius just grinned and winked, then left. He checked his own cell in his jacket. Fourteen missed calls and twenty three text messages. Cy laughed. It was all from Jake and Marcus. He was about to use his own phone, then he realised why he was given another one. They could trace his cell. So he turned it off and used the new one. He punched in Jake's number and waited for it to be answered.

"Speak it's your dime," answered Jake's voice eventually. Clearly half-asleep and hung over.

"Hey dude."

"Shit! Cy!" Jake shouted. He was surprised. "We've been trying to get a hold of you all day!" Cy had pulled the phone back from his ear for a moment.

"Easy on the volume Jay."

"Sorry dude" Jake paused. Cy could hear whisperings. The others were there. "Um Dude," Jake returned, "Where the hell are you? We've called, went by your place. Wait a minute, are you still with her? What happened last night?"

"Whoa, is this twenty questions hotline?" Cy joking. Jake swore at him.

"Calm down Mom. I'm at her place."

More wolf whistles. Cy rolled his eyes.

"Earth to Jake?"

"Yup I'm here. Have you been there since last night?"

Cy checked his watch. A little under twenty four hours now.

"Pretty much."

"What's been going on?"

Cy knew Jake like he knew music. Jake was transparent, he wanted juicy details.

"Now that would be telling" Cy teased.

"Don't hold out on me Miller" Jake pleaded.

"Dude drop it. Trust me, there's more to her than just a killer figure."

Jake was whispering again.

"Ok then" he said when he returned, "at least answer a few questions?"

Cy sighed and shook his head. He decided to humour him.

"Shoot."

"Ok, one, where she from?"

"Novgorod. That's in Russia Jake." Cy was being sarcastic, Jake clearly ignored that.

"Number two," a pause "what kind of underwear does she prefer?"

Cy wanted to bang his head on the side table. Then he had a evil idea.

"To tell the truth Jay, I don't think she wears them most of the time."

Jake hooted and carried on, sounding like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. Cy had a hard time controlling himself from laughing.

"Hey its Marcus." The phone had swapped ownership.

"Oh hey."

"Everything cool yeah?" Marcus asked. He was usually the sensible one to talk to.

"Yeah all cool. Just hanging out. That sort of thing."

Marcus was silent. Possibly telling Jake to put a sock in it.

"Ignore Jake and the boys ok," he started, "if she's cool and its all there then go for it."

Cy had to smile. Then again, how would he explain it too. He imagined himself in that scenario. Hey everyone, meet my girl, oh yeah, and did I mention she's a vampire assassin for a secret society that my family worked for that eventually got them murdered by Nazis. He shook his head. This really was messed up. Bu he couldn't deny that wanting inside either.

"You Ok Miller?"

Cy came back to reality.

"Oh yeah, just some family BS on my mind. Don't worry about it."

"Ok cool. Well, I'm going to go and subdue the retards anonymous over here, and I'll catch you later."

"Yeah, See ya."

"Later."

Click. Cy hung up. He wanted to tell someone what was happening. But he was afraid it would put them in danger too. And there it was. That terrified feeling, confusion, and sense of foreboding. The pager beeped and vibrated. He leaned across the bed to pick it up. The message was from Rayne. It said to go to the window. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head as he reached the window.

He'd barely begun to push it open when the strong night air pulled the shutters wide open. She almost seemed to have flew down onto the window sill. She said she dropped in from the roof. She was crouched in front of him, holding on with one hand. That coat of hers was flaring out and billowing in the air out the window. Rayne shrugged.

"I like making an entrance."

Cy smirked, staring at her.

"I noticed."

"Well its not like I have to worry about you finding out about me now is it?"

"No I don't suppose you do."

"It's a nice night, wanna come on out here?"

Cy's eyes widened.

"You want me to climb out there, this high up?"

Rayne nodded, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Cy closed his eyes and shook his head.

"This is nuts. I must be nuts" he muttered. Rayne reached out. Cy took a deep breath and took her outstretched hand. She pulled him close and put her arm tightly around him.

"Hold on tight. Don't want to fall do we?" she smiled that wicked smile.

She was toying with him again. From a semi-crouched position she sprang upwards, leaping from ledge to ledge, and then kind of somersaulted onto the rooftop, landing both of them on their feet. She let him go, and Cy teetered and fell back onto his rear. Cy was breathing hard. He quite possibly had held his breath the entire trip. He stood up finally and dusted himself.

"Best view in town." She motioned to the scenery.

Cy wandered to the edge and looked down. Then across the city landscape bathed in night cover and neon lights.

"How the…" he trailed off. She shrugged. Rayne took it upon herself, stilettos and all, to walk along the ledge of the roof. Cy, for a split second, was worried she'd fall. Then he reminded himself how they got up there in place.

"There's been a new development," she decided to tell him about Maxwell's plans. Cy could tell this wasn't going to be good.

"Bad news?"

Rayne nodded. She crouched on the ledge in front of him.

"Richter's son, Maxwell, a devious spiteful little…" she trailed, "well he's nasty. And he's going to try and do something rather diabolical."

She stopped for a moment, to check Cy's composure so far. He was relatively calm.

"He's going to try and take over Brimstone. He plans to murder his father. Then he wants to use you as a bartering tool and align himself with the enemy – as in theones who want you right now."

Cy shook his head and rubbed his temples. He exhaled heavily. Rayne noticed his heart rate picked up.

"This just keeps getting better and better." His sarcasm obvious. "I'm not even safe here."

"You're safe with me."

Cy looked at her. Those eyes, her skin, her power; for a moment he wondered if he really was safe with her. She was a vampire type after all. Were the stories true? Did the lust for blood always win?

"Cy."

She called him out of his thoughts.

"I would not take from you, nor change you against your will."

Now Cy wondered whether he could accept such a change. She held up her hand to say stop.

"Do not wonder. Do not trouble yourself."

Cy was looking at his feet, bare and a bit blackened from the soot-covered roof top.

"You were born human. It is no one's right to decide what you become."

He remained silent. After a while he spoke up.

"So you were always this?"

"Was I really born this way? Yes. As I said I'm one of the few who have. A Dhampir, a vampire of one mortal parent and one vampire parent, is oddity amongst my kind."

"So you're a rare one?"

"Yes. Hit the jackpot didn't I?" her dry sarcasm evident.

Rayne sensitive ears picked up an argument inside. Richter and Maxwell. Time to go. Rayne grabbed a hold of Cy, who looked both puzzled and surprised.

"Maxwell's with Richter."

"Not good," he replied.