Dealings with Lamias

Part Two

They pulled up outside Lamia twenty minutes later. Blade parked down the block from the club, which still looked like a burnt down building from the outside. Ann kept sending glances at Blade. She didn't know what he was up to, but this did not look like someplace Vassili would be seen at.

"So, are we just going to walk in?" Ann asked as they walked up to the club's entrance.

Blade gave her a confused look. "Yeah, what did you expect? Breaking in through the windows? Kicking down doors?"

Ann frowned. "Well, I'm not sure, but I'd have to think you're not a welcome guest." They were now standing outside the doors of the so-called club.

Blade had another large smirk on his face. Ann was beginning to hate that look. "Maybe they won't recognize it's me."

Ann groaned and pulled the door open. She was hit by loud music as soon as she stepped inside. She didn't understand how she could have missed this standing outside. The room was dim, but filled with bodies moving around either drinking or dancing. No one seemed to notice for the moment who the rock behind her was and they slowly began moving through the crowd, looking for Jamie.

Ann moved away from Blade after a few moments, towards a large group of women in the corner. They all seemed to be crowded around a man. It took only one glance for Ann to know who was the center of attention. Jared Vassili was perched on the edge of a seat, a beautiful blonde woman sitting on his lap. Her fingers danced around the collar of his shirt as he told a story, his fangs sparkling in the club's lights.

"The man didn't know what to do. The boys were surrounding him, I mean there was no where for the guy to go. So I stepped up and told him, if he could take me down, he was free to go. For a second I thought the stupid bastard was going to say no. He nodded his fat head and right off the bat, I broke his leg…" Vassili continued on, but Ann wasn't listening. Jamie had just appeared on Vassili's right, sending the woman on his lap a hard glare.

Ann couldn't stop herself. She broke out from the circle of fans around Vassili and called her sister's name. Jamie looked up, a look of shock on her face. Then it hardened and Ann wasn't sure what was going on. Vassili was grinning from the chair, the blonde standing beside him now.

"Jamie, my dear, do you know this lovely thing?"

Ann looked over at him, a look of contempt on her face. If he wasn't brainwashing her sister at the moment, Ann might have found Vassili attractive. Tall and thin, his skin was unnaturally tan for a vampire. Ann would have thought him to be fairly new to the world of the night. A few wisps of his black hair threatened to cover his steel blue eyes. Wearing jeans and a tight, black t-shirt, Vassili looked liked a damn dream. Ann could understand how he ensnared her sister so easily.

"She's no one," came Jamie's harsh reply.

Ann's vision snapped back to her sister. "Jamie…" she trailed off.

Vassili rose from his chair and took a few steps towards her. "Now, now Jamie. If she came all this way to see you, it must be important," he said sweetly as he studied Ann. She watched him as his eyes scanned up and down her body. "Who are you?"

Ann looked between Vassili and her sister. "My name is Ann. I'm here to take Jamie home." She heard a few laughs from those around her, but she continued to hold Vassili's gaze.

The laughter from the crowd seemed to register with Vassili. He grinned at her and let out a small laugh. "Well, Miss Ann, I do believe it's up to Jamie whether she stays or goes."

Ann closed her eyes and opened them again. She just wanted to grab Jamie and get the hell out of there. She'd never make it past Vassili though. They were both vampires, but Vassili had more experience in fighting then she did. She cursed herself for not working on her abilities more.

"Jamie, please, just come with me," she pleaded to her sister, but Jamie just turned away. Ann felt her blood boil and she took a step towards her kid sister. Vassili laughed and stepped between the two. He opened his arms and smiled at Ann. "Ladies, please, not in a public place. We wouldn't want to see any blood spilt here."

Ann was fuming, but she kept quiet and wondered where in the hell Blade was. Vassili turned Jamie around so she was facing her sister again. "Why don't we all get together to discuss this little matter?"

"Sounds like a great plan," came a very familiar voice from behind Ann. She couldn't help but smile a little at the look on Vassili's face.

Blade moved beside her and grinned evilly at the vampire. "Blade," Vassili stammered out. "What in the hell are you doing here? How in the hell did you get in?"

Every vampire that had been watching their little exchange had now taken a few steps back, inching away from the vampire hunter. "Now, I don't really think that's important Vassili. All that matters now is where you want to meet for later."

Ann couldn't believe the terror in Vassili's eyes, there was no mistaking it. He tried to smile, but his face seemed to be stuck on an odd mixture between a grin and grimace. "The invitation was for the lady only, Blade."

"Well, we're working together at the moment, Vassili, so where I go, he goes," Ann tried to say as sweetly as she could. She really didn't want to piss Vassili off anymore then she needed to, but she definitely didn't want him to think he had the upper hand in all this.

Vassili glared at her, but pulled himself back together. "Fine." With that, he stepped right up next to Ann, so close to her ear she could hear him breathing. "Two hours, down the road at the gallows." Then he pulled back and walked off, Jamie right on his heels. She didn't even give Ann a second look as she passed by.

Ann didn't understand what was going on. Why was Jamie so pissed off at her? Ann looked over at Blade and was about to tell him when Vassili said before she forgot, when she suddenly remembered where they were. Thirty or so vampires surrounded them, thirty or so vampires that did not look too happy with Ann and her rock.

Blade seemed to read her mind as he turned his head from left to right, looking at those around them. "Well," he said loudly. "I guess I'll be seeing most of you later." With that, Blade parted a few of them and moved away from the crowd. Ann followed closely behind him, trying not to get lost.

Ann let out a long sigh of relief as they stepped out of the club's entrance. "You always make friends so easily, Blade?" she asked with a frown.

Blade ignored her and started down the street to his car. "What did he tell you?"

Ann began trotting behind him, trying to keep pace. "He said we're to met in two hours, at some place called 'the gallows.' I've never heard of it."

"I have. It's an old warehouse where they used to hang humans." A sound of distaste had enter Blade's voice. "They'd bleed out their victims as they hung from the rafters." Ann frowned at the ground and followed behind him. She could picture the poor souls hanging above the vampires. "They closed it down a few years ago."

"Why?" Ann asked quietly.

"I staked it out one night," came the solemn reply.

Ann stood beside the door of the black car and looked down the street. "Well, we've got an hour to kill."

"I thought you said two hours."

"I did, but I want to be there earlier. I've never seen the place and I want to know what I've gotten myself into before Vassili gets there." Blade smiled at that and slide in behind the wheel. Ann was seated next to him.

"So what was wrong with your sister?"

Ann sighed and began to massage her temples. "I'm not sure. I don't understand why she was so mad at me. Maybe my mother…" she began slowly, then stopped.

"Your mother…?"

Ann looked over at Blade. "My mom doesn't know I'm a vampire, just my father. I never told her, well, because I don't think she could have handled it like my dad did. I don't know. Jamie might just be pissed I left."

Blade turned a sharp corner and brought them to a dark road with barely anything on it. The only thing Ann could see was a dark house set back away from the road.

Suddenly, Ann had a sharp pain in her head. She gasped and pressed her hand to her head. She hadn't drunken yet today. "Shit," she cursed under her breath.

"You alright?"

"We have to go back to my apartment, now," Ann said quickly.

"Why?" Ann was a little surprised at the concern in Blade's voice. She didn't have time to think about it at the moment though.

Ann closed her eyes and sat back in the seat, breathing slowly. "I need to drink. Damnit, I should have done it before I left, but I was so anxious about Jamie."

"So why your apartment?"

Ann didn't answer for a few minutes. Blade glanced over at her every once in awhile. "Ann?"

"I have blood at my apartment," she said bluntly.

****Notes****

"He had it coming, he had it coming, he only had himself to blame…" Sorry. We're listening to the Chicago soundtrack. Someone reviewed that I should have more action in my story, since, granted it does contain Blade. Well, I'm hoping you guys will like the next chapter. I'm not very good yet at writing action sequences, but I'm working on it. [Disclaimer is back at the beginning.]