Chapter 10

Heero held Jin as her tears subsided. She never thought, after years of searching, that she would find such a wonderful person. After this ordeal was over she and Heero would run away together and live. She leaned her head back onto his chest, her wet hair clinging to the strong, tanned muscles. He was comfortable, she felt comfortable, more relaxed than she'd felt in years. Everything about him was completely right and she smiled inwardly at the thought of them living together.

The sharp sound of Ashina's screaming brought her out of her revelry and she shot her head up from his abs.

"What was that?" Heero asked. Jinakel didn't respond. Instead she quickly donned her clothing and ran into the house. Heero followed her lead quickly on her coattails. When they arrived in the house, they saw the Oracle lying on her couch with two small bite marks on her neck and not a drop of blood anywhere. Jina knew that this could mean only one thing: Tainted.

"They followed us." She said and sniffed around the room, trying to pick up the scent of the Tainted.

"Do you see them?" Heero asked.

"No, but I can smell the faint scent of them lingering. Go see if you can find Duo or someone. I can't believe she didn't wake them up. I'll stay up here and see if I can find them." Jina said to Heero and they split up into different parts of the house.

****

Heero ascended the dark stairwell that led him to the underground bedrooms of the house. It was eerily silent and the Japanese man could see why those who slumbered couldn't hear the scream of Ashina. It was dark too, except for the occasional light in the hallway, but other than that it was impossible for a person to see past their own nose.

Heero's senses were kicking in. If there was a vamp in the house, he would have to be on his highest alert. Trowa was sick, Duo, Quatre and Wufei were distracted by the women and he was separated from Jin. She was able to see in the dark better than he and he needed her at that moment. Jin was also able to smell the Tainted, a scent that he'd not yet picked up. All in all, he was a bit frightened at the task he was faced with.

"You're scared. I can smell it." the sultry female voice came from the shadows. Heero stopped in his tracks. The voice sounded like nothing he'd ever heard, it was a mix of fire and ice, a shrill siren and a soothing piano, a deep musky tone that brought to mind sexy hentai thoughts of rugs and fireplaces and steamy nights with a lover. It had to be a vamp.

"Where are you?" Heero demanded. A feminine giggle escaped lips somewhere in the darkness.

"Like I'd give away my position. You're a soldier, you can improvise." She said. Heero growled in response and cocked his gun.

"Do you really think that the primitive weapon will kill me? Not even with the bullets you have in it." she said, stepping out of the shadows and into the pale light of one of the scattered hallway lights. Her black hair glowed against the pale vamp skin and her white teeth shown as she chuckled at Heero.

"What's so damn funny?" Heero asked, his patience growing thin with the vamp's teasing.

"Would you rather I eat you like I did the Oracle?" she asked, a smile creeping to her face.

"I rather that you die." Heero said rushing the female vamp with his large sword. She closed her eyes and unsheathed her sword countering Heero's attack and kicking him backwards into the wall effortlessly.

"Touché." She responded, a smirk creeping onto her face. She walked over to the spot that Heero was lying in and chuckled again, she held the sharp blade at his throat.

"Why don't you just kill me?" Heero asked, spitting blood from his mouth from where his face hit the wall.

"That would be a waste. Besides, we have big plans for you. UP!" she demanded, and Heero obeyed.

"Where are you taking me?" Heero asked.

"To the Master."

"Treize?"

"You are smart. Now, Sleep." She touched the middle of Heero's forehead with her pointer finger and he instantly fainted onto the ground, "Dorothy!" the blonde Bug appeared from the ceiling.

"Yes Commander Noin?" she asked.

"Take him back to the Master. I'm going to see if I can find Catherine, I have a score to settle." Noin said, handing Dorothy the body of Heero. The blonde girl quickly disappeared with the body of Heero in hand. Noin smiled victoriously as she watched the girl leave.

****

Jina was upstairs looking for the missing vamp. She could smell its Tainted blood, but whenever she thought she'd gotten close: nothing. She walked outside to the bathtub where she and Heero had been earlier, that's where the putrid smell led her. Something was different something was extremely supernatural about the way the moon hung over the bathtub. The gossamer veils that once seemed to glow a beautiful white were a dull cream and the Cyprus trees that were once tall and proud seemed to be dying right in front of Jina's eyes. The Tainted were definitely close.

"Looking for someone?" a voice shocked Jina and she turned around with a growl.

"Zechs. It was you." she said, her eyes narrowing at the blonde.

"My dear sweet Jinakel, was there ever any doubt?" Zechs asked a smirk covering his mouth.

"Why did you kill the Oracle?" Jina asked barring her fangs.

" Your naiveté shocks me, Jinakel. Do you really think that the Oracle is the larger picture?" Zechs smiled proudly and moved towards Jina. She grabbed her large sword in return and pointed it at him. Zechs continued to move forward.

"Quit talking in circles." She said, nervously eyeing him.

"Isn't that what Guardians do?" Zechs countered.

"Fallen Guardians shouldn't even speak our names, Zechs." Jina said spitefully. The blonde neared her and stopped, his neck just out of reach of the blade's point. Jina tensed and Zechs chortled.

"Are you still holding a grudge for that Jina?" Zechs asked.

"You betrayed us for a high spot in Treize's army of minions. You will never be forgiven. You were supposed to serve the Queen; she's the right one." Jina said, still focusing her blade at Zechs' neck.

"How does the saying go? Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven." Zechs said.

"Then to hell you shall go!" Jina screamed and thrusts towards his neck. He backed up and dodged her.

"Tsk. Tsk. Jina, if you kill me you'll never know the terms on getting your precious human back." Zechs smirked. Jina dropped her sword at these words. They had Heero.

"You didn't. This battle is between us Zechs, not them." She said, her voice trembling with emotion.

"It's about all of us, mortal and immortal alike. They have made it about the whole realm of spirituality, so don't pity your poor soldier, Jin. He will be fine just as long as you follow the terms."

"Which are?"

"Give us the Queen."

"You know I can't do that." Jina said looking Zechs directly in the eyes.

"Then, become one of us." Zechs said.

"I can't do that either, you bastard." Jina said, her voice strangely calm.

"Why not? You've tasted mortal blood before. The sweet, tingling flesh and the syrupy, sanguine liquid that flowed out of the veins of those slave owners. You can't say that you didn't crave more after you were finished. They filled you like no Tainted could possibly; it tasted better than any of our kind could. You know why that is? It's because we are supposed to feed on the weak, pathetic mortals. They are our food. We can feed on rats and deer and various other unsavory animals or we can feed on each other like cannibalistic savages, but our minds, souls and stomachs always crave the blood of the human." Zechs smirked at her. She growled at him.

"How could you ask something so vulgar of me?" Jina asked, her fangs clenched.

"Hn. Treize said that you'd be difficult to persuade, but you know that the speech I just made got you to thinking. So, I'll let you do just that, fair Jina, until next time. But remember, the longer you wait, the longer your precious Heero will be with us." Zechs said and disappeared into a mist that rose to the heavens and was taken away by the wind.

Jina watched as he disappeared, her blood boiling and bile rising high into her throat. She closed her eyes trying to hold down some of the deep-seated frustration that was rising into her mind. She'd lost Heero, she couldn't protect the Oracle and Treize had gotten the best of her once again. This was too much for her to bear; she felt like destroying something. She picked up her sword and charged the luscious grape vines, her mind reeling with thoughts of Heero. The sweet nectar of the grapes splattered everywhere like Tainted blood in her mind. She growled and hissed and screamed, the sweat from her tantrum falling into her face and down to her lip, mingling with the sweet flavor of the grape juice. She mutilated the once beautiful scenery, destroying everything that it ever stood for; its beauty would never be known again and the memories that it bore for she and Heero were completely lost.

Heero. The thought of his wet chocolate locks and his blue eyes that held such melancholy memories filled her mind. Just the sound of his simple name led her mind to thoughts of freedom from this time and from her crippling past. She was sworn to protect him, but she'd failed in that task, just like she'd done in her protection of the Queen. She fell to her knees, stunned by the emotion that the thoughts brought to her and cried. There was no one to help her now. She would have to negotiate with Zechs.

****

The room was dark and silent. There was no sound but those of two lovers moving in a dance of lust and passion. The low moans and grunts, pants and whispers letting the trained adult ear know what was taking place in this particular room.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." The sultry voice of Noin stopped the couple in mid-copious.

"Who the hell are you?" the tenor, irritated voice of Quatre broke through the silence. His remark was met with an iron slap to the face. Noin had Quatre in her arms as he recoiled from the sting. She held his arms behind his back and his neck within her mouth's distance.

"Noin." Catherine growled from deep inside of herself. She grabbed the sheet and pulled it tightly around her naked body.

"A human? I never thought you'd stoop that low." Noin growled back baring her fangs.

"It's better than mating with a Tainted." Catherine said standing and grabbing her knives.

"Are you still holding a grudge over Zechs?" Noin chuckled.

"Never, I have something more beautiful than his blackened soul." Catherine said. Noin sniffed Quatre's hair and licked the side of his face. She traced her long, sharp nail across his jaw line and drew blood placing the red liquid on her tongue and tasting it. Quatre didn't make a sound; he only looked into Catherine's eyes.

"He does taste good, sweet and innocent with a bit of danger. From what I saw, he is very spicy in bed; he sure tastes like it." Noin chuckled.

"Noin, this is between you and I. Let him go." Catherine said, staring into Quatre's aquamarine eyes.

"You would die for your mortal?" Noin asked looking fiercely at Catherine.

"Any day." Catherine responded.

"Then you shall." Noin thrust Quatre at Catherine and threw a knife into the redhead's stomach causing her to hunch over. Noin ran into the hallway and up the stairs. She was met by the pale moonlight and realized that it would be dawn soon. She transformed into a bat and hurried quickly back to the Headquarters.

*****

In a cave strategically placed on the beach, Treize awaited the news of the night's hunt. He sat in his throne room accompanied by Lady Une feasting on three young human boys.

"Do you think they got the human?" Treize asked looking at the way the moon hung in the sky.

"I'm sure. Noin would never fail me." Lady Une said, "worry not Master Treize they will be back soon, it is almost first light."

"Precious Lady, why do you follow me?" he asked, "you were once a most noted Guardian."

"Do you really have to ask, Treize? The same reason Zechs left and joined you."  If a vampire could blush, Une would have been at this moment. Treize moved from his throne to a closer proximity to Une.

"Is that so, Lady? You would die for me?" he asked.

"In a way, I already have." Une walked away from him deeper into the cave. Treize watched her walk down into the darkness.

"Sir." Noin's voice penetrated the silence.

"Commander Noin, where is the human?" Treize asked.

"He is in our custody sir." She said still standing at attention. Treize examined her disheveled appearance and the small stain of crimson on her uniform jacket. He took his forefinger and scooped the small blotch of blood off her jacket and tasted it.

"Guardian blood. You killed a Guardian?" Treize asked.

"I don't know, sir, I left before I could see. But she was bleeding profusely." Noin answered.

"Who was this Guardian?" Treize asked.

"The Guardian Catherine sir." She answered.

"Still a grudge. You are dismissed." Treize ordered. Noin saluted and quickly left the throne area. As soon as she was out of Treize's earshot Zechs grabbed her into a corner. He had her by the neck and was squeezing so hard that his nails were digging into her skin.

"What did you do to Catherine?" he growled at Noin.

"What does it matter, Zechs, you're with me now and she doesn't want you." she managed to choke out. He pushed her against the wall.

"You promised never to hurt her." He said, looking at Noin.

"Do you still love her, Zechs? Remember what I told you the day you left the Guardians, you should never regret." She said catching her breath. He said nothing; he just shook his head.

"You do still lover her. Do you want to know what I saw when I confronted her. She was in unspeakable carnal positions with a blonde mortal and she liked it." Noin said and walked away leaving Zechs in the dark, dank corridor alone.