I really like to listen to music while writing. My computer can play songs and let me type on Microsoft Word at the same time, which is sweet. I like to play music to help me get in the mood of the story – like, if I'm writing some sad emotional scene, then I'll pull up a sad emotional song. It helps, I think.

But sometimes I ignore the current mood of the story and just play whatever song I happen to like at that time. Thus, while I write about poor innocent little girls being attacked by vampires, some other young girl is cheerfully singing in my ears about how wonderful her new boyfriend is.

Anyway, please read and review as if your life depended on it.

KZSKZSKZSKZSKZS

Fourteen: Weakening Resolves

The rain came swiftly and suddenly in the middle of the afternoon. Zero stood leaning against the hard stone wall of a tiny bakery. Rainwater pooled on the sidewalk around his feet, seeping into his shoes. With listless eyes he watched humans on the street scurry every which way, frantically trying to avoid the downpour. None of them noticed Jewel perched on his shoulder, nestled into the crook of his neck. They were too caught up with their own problems.

Humans had such short lives compared to vampires, Zero thought idly. Perhaps that was why they always seemed to be in a hurry – there was so much they wanted to do, in so little time. Although he didn't dare risk it, he did wonder if any of them would notice Jewel even if he placed her right on one of their shoulders.

The rain plummeted down in buckets, soaking Zero and Jewel to the bone. Neither of them minded. Zero sang an old tune softly to himself, passing the endless stretch of time he had on his hands.

"You and I look so much the same

Yet to each other we seem so strange

Why are you running away from the rain?

The sun is the cruel one who can take our lives

The rain is the one who only closes our eyes

And I can't walk with you under the sun

But under the rain we can walk as one."

As he sang, he thought about the past. The first letter from Eileen had arrived a few months after Zero and Syl first ran away, almost six years ago. It had been brought by her bat, Auster, a letter that had implored Zero to return home to his supposedly heartbroken parents. Zero had instead freaked out; not realizing that just because Auster knew his whereabouts, it didn't mean Eileen and Louis did as well. He'd packed right up and searched for another place to stay.

It didn't seem to matter where he and Syl went, though. Auster always found them again eventually, though how he accomplished that feat was a total mystery to Zero. Zero tried to be hospitable to him. He didn't have any problem with Auster specifically, only with the bat's loyalty to Eileen.

When he finally realized that Eileen's bat wasn't going to leave them alone, Zero made an agreement with Auster: He could deliver letters all he wanted, but he had to do so when Syl was either asleep or not around. Zero didn't know what Eileen herself had said to this plan, but Auster acquiesced without complaint. To this day Syl still had no idea that his brother was in contact with their parents.

It was Auster that Zero and Jewel waited for now, standing outside the little bakery in the rain. The sun was currently well-hidden behind thick rain clouds. It was entirely possible for Auster to show up now, despite it technically being the middle of the day.

And there he was. Zero held out his arm and allowed Auster to land on his soaked sleeve. Shoving aside the drenched silver bangs that were clinging to his brow, he then untied the envelope wrapped around Auster's body.

Thanks, Zero murmured to him. You'll return at the usual time to pick up my sorry excuse for a reply, right? It was only out of formality that he asked; he already knew the answer was yes.

Auster merely replied, in an impersonal monotone, Standing in the rain like this is bad for your health, young man. Then he flapped his leathery wings and was flying away.

Zero tore open the damp envelope and pulled out the paper inside. A frown creased his face when he unfolded the letter. Every word had been reduced to a black, illegible smudge.

Zero stared hopelessly at the pouring rain. This shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise.

Jewel pressed herself a little closer to him. No big deal, I suppose. According to you, Eileen's letters are always the same anyway. She paused. Come to think of it, that makes me wonder why you bother reading all her letters in the first place.

Out of respect.

Respect? How stunning. I didn't know you found Eileen worthy of your respect, dear one.

The bat sounded so amused that it grated on Zero's nerves. Shut up. You know I hate every word Eileen writes to me.

Yes, you hate her words so much you read every single one of her letters.

It's only because of Auster. If he has to travel all this way just to give me a pathetic paper, I might as well read it for him.

What a courteous idea that you just that second made up.

It's true, though!

Sure . . .

Zero was growing increasingly indignant. For crying out loud, Jewel, your mind is linked to mine. You can easily see how I feel, and thus you can see that Eileen truly means nothing to me.

I think you misunderstand yourself. I think that, deep down, you're just as tired of this dead-end life as I am. In fact, I think it would do you good if I flew away to Eileen's house right now and informed her of where you are.

You wouldn't dare! If you do that, Jewel, I swear I'll –

What? she questioned. What could you possibly do to me? You know you would never hurt me.

I could hurt myself, couldn't I?

It was the worst possible threat he could make to her. Jewel turned to stone on his shoulder. He waited for her to speak, but no reply arrived from her mind. She was stunned into silence. Satisfied, Zero once again pushed away the wet bangs that had stuck to his brow and inhaled a deep breath of heavy, sodden air. He stared out at the falling curtain of rain, trying to see past the glittery veil even though he knew he never could. Raindrops looked transparent when they were alone, but when falling together they could create an opaque wall not even vampiric sight could penetrate. It was something Zero liked about the rain – it could hide its secrets.

Then Jewel's voice returned and shattered his momentary peace of mind. You know, I honestly would like to know why you read all the letters.

I can't stand you! Zero exploded, shoving her off his shoulder.

Zero! Jewel cried as he stormed away from her. Where are you going?

Anywhere! was his curtly hollered reply.

Anywhere? Jewel repeated incredulously. That is a pitiful answer. At least pretend you have some notion of where you're going, Zero.

He ignored her and simply strode down the sidewalk. But after only a few seconds, he abruptly halted and turned his head around. I think there's someone there, he mumbled, squinting.

A speck of color drifted somewhere on the other side of the street. Red, it seemed like, from either hair or a shirt. Though cold raindrops beat against his face, Zero ignored them and gazed, wide-eyed, at this strange person. What a curious human who aimlessly wandered outside during the rain.

The person drew nearer. Zero held still, breathing quietly, watching as the human crossed the street. He was vaguely aware of Jewel's voice speaking to him, seemingly from miles away, but didn't really hear what she was saying. He felt quite fascinated by the sight of this human, this other literal outsider who didn't run from the rain, who passively let it beat down on her body instead.

The human reached the end of the street. She turned down the sidewalk and trudged close, her head down. Zero stepped aside, planning to let her pass him by –

Grief.

She emanated anguish stronger than the sun radiated light. Zero's head snapped around, eyes locking on the human girl, mouth forced open with both shock and the fangs that had abruptly grown long. His heart, so quiet just a moment before, suddenly began pounding like a hammer, and his vision blurred as all thought was chased from his mind. The human was walking away with her back to him, unaware of his slipping sanity, thinking only about her own maddening grief.

He didn't even think about it. He grabbed the human's arm and yanked her close. She managed barely a gasp before his fangs pierced the skin of her neck.

KZSKZSKZSKZSKZS

Kalista drowsily rubbed her eyes as she stumbled out of her coffin. "Syl," she mumbled, voice thick with sleep, "what are you doing awake? It's the middle of the afternoon."

He didn't respond. She spotted him standing in front of the window and moved to his side, leaning her arms on the windowsill like him. Though the window was mostly boarded up, between slits in the planks the outside world was still partly visible.

Outside, it was dark enough to almost pass for nighttime. There was no sunlight today, Kalista saw. It was hidden behind gloomy clouds, from which heavy rain poured. Large lumps of raindrops spattered against the windowpane, coating it with a thick sheen of water. She realized that it was the pounding of the rain that had woken her – and probably Syl – up.

"When I was real little," Syl suddenly murmured, "I thought rain was the clouds crying. I got pretty upset when it rained, since I didn't know why the clouds were sad. But then Zero made me feel better about it. He sung this little folksong about how the rain was nice because it didn't kill us like the sun." Syl paused. "There were also some other things in there that I didn't understand. I think it had something to do with humans, but I'm not sure. That part made no sense to me, but then again, Zero's always been a little crazy."

Kalista nodded. "I knew that. I knew that ever since he forced a total stranger to live in his home."

Syl laughed. "Yeah, that was pretty weird, wasn't it? But I did some thinking on that, and the more I think, the less weird it gets. I think Zero brought you here to make me less lonely and him less guilty when he leaves."

She looked at him. His eyes stayed trained to the slivers of exposed glass, not revealing anything. "Do you miss him?" she asked cautiously.

Something flashed through his eyes, but he hid it quickly. He shrugged. "I guess. But I'm used to it, since he disappears a lot."

"Haven't you ever wondered why he disappears?"

"I used to ask him," Syl responded in a rather flat tone. "He never gave me a straight answer. If he wanted to keep quiet about something, I figured he had a good reason for it, so I decided to back off."

With the finish of that sentence, their conversation dwindled into silence. Outside, rain continued to fall, its many collisions with the earth creating a deep and mysterious rhythm.

"Zero talks in his sleep sometimes," Syl suddenly piped up. "I used to stay up all day and put my ear to his coffin to hear him. It's mostly just names, mumbled over and over. I hear mine and Jewel's a lot, but also a bunch of names that I don't recognize. Names like Eileen, Louis, Auster . . . oh, and Ruth. He says Ruth's name all the time, though I've got no idea who that is. Eventually I realized how pathetic it was to listen at a coffin and stopped doing that."

"Sounds like a movie plot," Kalista commented. In a booming voice, she grandly announced, "Now in theaters: The Secret Double Life of Zero Rowning!"

Once again Syl burst out laughing. "Boy, that's interesting to think about. Not that I'd care to think about it much – as long as Zero always comes back, I'm don't care what he does."

Kalista abruptly turned somber. "I wonder how my mom feels, waiting for me to come back." She stared at one of the raindrops on the window. It was sliding down the glass and streaking a little trail of water in its wake. "By now, she's probably had to give people some sort of excuse for my absence."

"I wonder what she told everyone," Syl remarked.

"I wonder who believed her," Kalista mused. She watched a raindrop on the windowpane touch another, and together they merged into one larger raindrop. "You know, I have a little cousin. Rosie. My mom and I visited her family a couple of years ago. I think Rosie knew something was up with me. She never questioned it when I refused to play with her in the sun, and she was always making jokes about how I was going to grow up to be a 'super-cool monster.' At least, we always thought they were jokes."

"How old is she?" Syl asked.

Kalista counted on her fingers. "She should be nine now, but she was six when I last saw her."

"Ah, no wonder. Little kids are always the best at finding us out. When they get older, they're too busy thinking about other stuff to notice us vampires anymore."

KZSKZSKZSKZSKZS

The human looked vaguely familiar, somehow. Zero scrutinized her for a few moments, but then quickly dismissed the thought. If she was important in some way, he figured he would've remembered her better. Kneeling down, he laid his hand on her face and began to erase her memory.

Jewel hovered nearby, gazing down at them with concerned black eyes. Zero? she whispered. Her voice was soft, hesitant.

What? he muttered.

I'm your bat, she murmured quietly. I'm your servant and I'm bound to you. You know that. I can lecture you about your screwed-up family all I want, but I could never act on what I say unless you allowed it.

He exhaled a deep breath. I know.

The noise of the rain was quieting. The falling drops of water were lighter now.

I hate her, he suddenly found himself saying.

Jewel shook her head. You hate what she did to Ruth. It's not quite the same thing, dear one.

He frowned but didn't bother responding. Jewel shifted her glittery eyes to his unconscious victim. How long are you going to take with that? she asked.

What? He abruptly realized that his hand was still on the human's face. He swiftly jerked backward. Damn it! I probably erased a lot more of her memory than I should've.

Nothing we can do about that, Jewel told him tiredly. Let's just go, Zero. We need to find a place to hide before the sun comes out.

Zero reluctantly agreed and stood. The sky was lightening; they couldn't afford to linger.

As he walked away from the fallen human, Jewel spoke suddenly to him. It just occurred to me.

Yes?

Auster is Eileen's bat, not yours. If he ever wanted to tell her where you are, he could.

KZSKZSKZSKZSKZS

Nelson Williams couldn't see his brother, but he could easily imagine the expression on his face right now – exhausted and lined with worry. Very uncharacteristic of Scott.

"Are you sure my daughter's okay?" Scott asked yet again. His voice sounded slightly hoarse, though whether that was due to fatigue or a bad phone connection, Nelson wasn't sure.

"Totally fine," Nelson reassured him. "Nicky's sleeping now – she seemed really tired when I found her."

"And she honestly won't tell you what she was doing there in Truze City?"

"She swears that she can't remember how or why she came," Nelson said. "It reminds me of that case we had back in October, when that Jane York girl couldn't remember why she was sleeping on the street. It's a real shame we had to close that case before we solved it – this amnesia seems to be spreading. It certainly would be bad if another kid –"

"Nelson?"

"Yes?"

"Just bring Nicky home."