Very busy this week, so messages are short. And mistakes are probably abundant, so forgive, please?
Pandie Kitten: Hello, I'm glad you decided to read my story. It's always fun when reviewers notice little things like the dialogue. Makes me happy. Oh and yeah, it's the same Fayth. Cool girl, decided to use her. Thanks for reviewing.
Skylark: Hey, I know it was short, but it has been very hectic around school. Still recovering, so messages are short. Thanks you though, and this one's longer.
Person with no name: Your compliment very, very, very gladly received, and I'll keep on keepin' on.
Tjones: Honey, half the things that come outta my mouth define lameness, so I wouldn't worry about it. But hey, I'm glad you reviewed!
Neona-deniker: Nice to know I made an improvement! Eh, but I'm pretty sure this will letyou down again. Can't help it; the ups and lows of chapters! Flashbacks of Rita was last minute decision, and I'm glad I did that. Thanks for reviewing!
Practikalmagik: Jeez, Bryan must hardly do anything but y'all still like him. I really don't see it, but to each his own, I guess. Any who, if it helps any, Adrian won't be smirking for long. That's it, and thanks bunchies for reviewing!
Fin: Hi, I hope I didn't guilt you into reviewing or anything. Thank you though for doing so, any way. I know, I feel bad for Jared too, but not so much Bryan. I know it's weird, he's my character, but I sorta don't like him. And if she had the capability, Maria would beat the shit outta Valdis, but pregnancy happens to ruin that scheme. I know it's boring, and this one will be too, until next chapter. Sorry!
Vague Verity
Chapter 9
"With that sweet look and lively tone
And Bright eye shining all the day
~*~*~*~
New York
"Hi."
"Hello."
"What are you in for?"
"Stitches. Andrea, Kyros' sister threw a fit,…and a vase."
"At you?"
"No, at Perci. I happened to be in the way."
"Fatal little goblin, isn't she?"
"The vase was the only casualty. What about you?"
"I've recently learned it is very difficult to slice a bagel."
"Oh."
"Apparently you're supposed to cut away from yourself."
"Sounds reasonable."
Maria nodded in agreement, and looked around the semi private hospital room for the third time. She had been in there for ten minutes when Kyros brought Verity in. Valdis had gone to call in sick for her at the day care. Kyros left in search of lime jello.
"How many stitches do you have?" she asked Verity.
"Ten. You?"
"Ten too! Look," Maria said, unreasonably excited, and showed her left forearm. Verity ignored the faded scars on the wrist and noticed that Maria's injury was similar to her own. "We're scar buddies now…Sorry," she said, noticing Verity's amused expression, "Wounds don't usually throw me in a Sponge Bob frenzy. I'm just so bored."
"Yes, well, so am I."
"I wish the guys would hurry up."
Verity appeared pensive. "I…"
"What's the matter?" Maria asked cheerfully, swinging her feet. "Are you finally seeing that, beyond Kyros' dazzling wit and sparkling smile, he just might be a little irritating?"
The old soul shrugged. "I've finally confronted him about letting me go back to Anomina. He didn't exactly agree."
Maria snorted. "Did you just say 'letting me'? When did we revert back to the Middle Ages? Wait, that's wrong, because during the Middle Ages New York City had Native Americans and no strict rules for women…come to think of it there was no New York City at all…I digress. Any way, just go. You don't have to have his permission."
"There's that little problem of money, transportation…"
"Oh yeah," Maria realized, but moved one with, "So you're saying you're willing to face small town life again? Are you sure you're ready for all the bright lights? The hustle and bustle of town square? Those rude cows who moo if you take too long crossing the street? Beware jaywalkers!"
"Do you ever tire of being sarcastic?" Verity huffed, turning away from an anatomy poster. Maria pretended to contemplate.
"Hmm…nope. Wait, wait, there was this one time…nope." The pregnant woman laughed when Verity scowled. "All right, I'll quit. Seriously, though, is everything internally resolved?"
"Good phrasing."
"Thanks, I like it myself. 'Internally resolved'…I'm great," Maria chuckled. "But guess who's avoiding a question…her name starts with Rita and ends with Glisscielle…"
"I wrote," Verity interrupted, disliking that knowing look her friend possessed. "It helped. Here, I have it with me." Rita dug a folded piece of paper out of her back pocket and handed it to Maria.
After a few minutes of perusing, Maria gazed at her with narrowed, glowing eyes. "This isn't what I had in mind." Verity shrugged. Aloud, Maria read:
"'Pros of Kyros : funny, dependable, older, well connected, tall.' Tall?"
"I felt it would be unfair to give him just four. Keep on reading."
"'Cons of Kyros: stubborn, childish, tendency towards denial, smokes, drinks, swears, presumptuous, foul mouthed, older…' Older? That's a pro and a con?"
"Pro because it's good to have a man of experience, who knows what he's doing…"
"Are you talking about…boom-boom experience?" That suggestive tone earned Maria a painful pinch in the side.
"Maria, please behave for five minutes. I don't want to date a man who's going through his post adolescent what-does-it-all-mean phase. How's a girl supposed to think about love when her date's pondering the reason of everything?"
"Good point. Con?"
"I'm pretty sure Kyros is breaking some sort of law. The man is like…three years older then me, at least."
"Another good point, you clever little jail bait, you. Next… 'Pros of Bryan: older…' Could there be a trend here? 'knows me, knows my family, well connected, able to focus on just one girl, does not drink, does not smoke, swears minimally, abides by my rules, rich…' I'm beginning to think somebody's overqualified."
Verity smiled.
"'Cons of Bryan: somewhat moody, somewhat emotionally paranoid…' That's it?"
"So you see, it makes perfect sense for me to go back to Anomina."
"Just because this Bryan has more pros than Kyros?" Maria asked, disbelief written on her face. "Well, examine their skin samples under a microscope, why don't ya? I meant some romantic, rambling poem! Not a scientific, impersonal lab write up."
"I get high scores on my lab write ups," Rita informed her coolly. There was a certain sensibility in Verity's eyes that Maria felt helpless against. She simply shook her head, knowing very well that any argument would fall on deaf, equally sensible ears.
~*~*~*~
Anomina
"I've spoken to Thierry," Winnie sighed, plopping on a recliner. Quinn, Fayth, Rashel, and Rik sat around her in the living room.
"So he'll buy the Glisscielle's?" Rashel asked. Winnie nodded.
"Whether Rita will want it or not is yet to be found," Quinn droned.
All heads turned to see Jared arriving, soaked through and through from the freezing rain. His face was flushed with warmth, however.
"What is it?" Rik asked, concerned. He hadn't seen Jared this worked up in weeks.
"The prick," Jared panted, peeling off his t shirt, "he's gone."
"Which prick would this be?" Fayth asked, knowing that many a class mate fit into this category.
"Smith. Vamoosed."
"Do you think he went to New York?" Rashel asked, alarmed. Jared shook the water out of his hair and made his way to the kitchen.
"It's the place to be," Quinn replied.
"Should we send a warning, or something?" Fayth asked Quinn, who didn't answer. She turned to Rashel, who shrugged, preoccupied with something. Fayth turned to Rik, who also shrugged at her leaders' indifference. She wished she could leave the suffocating gloom of the apartment, but the weather was not permitting. Surprisingly, it was the witch who answered.
"Rita'll be fine. Bryan doesn't want to hurt her." Rashel, nor Quinn, bothered to question. After a few more beats of silence, Winnie sighed. "Boss," she said quietly, addressing just Rashel, "can't we abort?" While the very word disgusted Fayth, Rashel was not so quick to judge. Instead, she kept her face neutral.
"No Daybreak mission has ever been aborted," the dark haired girl replied levelly.
"Well then can I abort?" Winnie asked, something like defiance in her voice. "I'm tired of screwing up in this town. I want to leave before I go and kill another family. Hell, why not just send the entire senior class to an enclave?"
"Be quiet, Winnie," Quinn ordered without emotion. "Nobody objected when they heard the relocation for the Glisscielle's. So nobody's to blame."
"Nobody or everybody?" Winnie already had a low opinion of herself, and the others, for not thinking clearly on that matter. Of course a safe house in the country was ten times safer than a safe house in busy Boston.
"Does it really help the situation?" Quinn snapped. "What are we going to tell Thierry? That his best agents don't like the feeling of failure, so find somebody new? That's not what we came here for."
"Oh, so you guys did come to ruin Rita's life?" came Jared's mock-surprised question. "Great job guys," he smiled, his voice cold, and gave them a thumb's up when he left the kitchen. "I knew I could count on you."
"Shove it, Jared," Rik warned. "Don't get pissed at us just 'cause you lost your girlfriend."
"And don't get pissed at me because you can't get one," he shot back, hurt by his best friend's comment. Rik hadn't even spoken a word when Cornelia broke off their three year relationship; instead he handed Jared a beer. It was a rule; Jared didn't comment about Fayth, and Rik didn't comment about whoever. It was a rule.
"Jared…wait," Rik growled in frustration when Jared turned and walked out, back into the rain that he had just dried off. "Damn."
"Let's just ignore Rita," Fayth suggested delicately. She hesitated when the eyes turned to her, full of dismay and incredulity at her words. "Oh, don't give me that shit. None of you liked her to be in the way in the first place. Now she's gone, and she's all you're worrying about."
"I'm seriously reconsidering my crush on you," Rik told her, perfectly grave. Fayth returned his black gaze.
"I'm sorry if I don't meet your standards, Rik Pinesworth." The vampire winced at the use of the full name. "But we, as agents, should refocus. I do feel sorry for Verity and her family, but that's three people…well, technically now one. There's still three hundred people to think about at Anomina High. Let's think about them first, and then worry about Verity."
"But Verity was the prime girl to find the threat," Winnie whined.
"Which was our mistake to begin with. Let's do this with Daybreakers, and Daybreakers only."
"Well good luck with that," Rik said wryly. "I mean, I don't have a card or anything…do I kicked out of the tree house?"
Fayth did not answer. Nor did any of the others. It was not a rejection nor a welcome of his presence. The fact of the matter was that no one cared whether or not Pinesworth stayed. While his work was no significantly helpful, it was not distressingly damaging, as Jared had been, on account of his silently disapproved attachment to the bait. There was a quiet and unanimous decision to adhere to Fayth's plan, although she was not the leader and relatively last in rank. Having no more arguments, the agents immediately, if not unwillingly, went to work. They severed ties with the doubtful supernatural species, and strengthened the bonds with the apparently "good."
Unfortunately, the renewed spirit and deeper in-depth investigation led to a variety of interesting, but futile dead ends, as dead ends usually were. Quinn was put in charge with their public relations, he drawing the most respect from the neutrals—it was rumored he set the cabin on fire, winning the honor of fiftieth or fifty first attempt on Hunter Redfern's life. Did you hear about the new possible leader, one werewolf asked excitedly. I heard it's gonna be a woman, a shifter supplied, inanely. But another had claimed that no, no, it was not a woman, but a very powerful warlock. A vampire contradicted; I have it on strictest confidence it is a dragon, the last dragon on earth. The Council wouldn't make the mistake of letting another vampire lead it…no offense, Quinn, another werewolf giggled.
And Quinn would assure that none was taken, that he was right, that the news was wonderful, that the info was very interesting… During the political discussions, Quinn wondered when in the world he became so popular. What happened to the days when everybody was afraid of the disturbingly unbalanced Boston vampire? Hunter even backed off sometimes. Had he gone so soft? Just when did his public image crumble? Shaking off the signals of what would be his third mid life crisis, Quinn cut through the unneeded details. "I just want to know about Orin's plan."
And the answer was the same. I don't know. Ask Adrian Amaro.
But there was no connection, damn it all. While Quinn was certain that Amaro had no shining character, he certainly wasn't the type to sit down with the obsequious Morice. In the levels of evilness, as Quinn remembered them to be, Morice was petty, and Amaro was somewhere far, far above. The sooner as he understood the relationship, the sooner he'd be able to find a chink in it.
During his dour musing, reverting between theories, and writing all characteristics of each on a note pad, Winnie sailed into his room. Because he did not answer her questions (at least satisfactorily) and, no matter how sad the situation, a witch's curiosity could not be leashed, the witch stole the pad away from him to read.
"Oh," she said, a large dose of disgust in her voice, "it's Morice."
"Not exactly Amaro's type. I've been trying forever to figure out why Amaro would talk, let alone help, Morice."
"You mean what's Morice got over him?"
"That's right," Quinn replied tiredly.
"Well," Winnie said airily, plopping on the bed beside where he sat, "I wouldn't be surprised if Morice pulled some unfair strings to get an advantage of Amaro. Plus Morice Orin doesn't have the leverage with the Night World people here that a dragon would have. I don't think anybody, even the humans, would trust him with a crayon. I highly doubt they'd follow his plan if he was in charge of explosives."
"You seem to know the vampiric pimple fairly well," Quinn commented, amused. "What else?"
"Other than the fact that he has the worst pick up lines in the world, he knows how to con a man—woman. I almost lost fifty bucks to him."
"Why?"
"We made a bet about how many times this natural disaster would stumble walking down the hall. Bastard had pre greased certain spots. Orin must have studied her for a while, to know. Thank goddess Bryan told me. He's just a slimy, yucky, gross snake."
"I wouldn't sit down for a game of cards with him," Quinn agreed, and resumed his character study. After a few unsuccessful minutes of trying to sleep, Winnie sat up and helped add some details about both, until Rashel entered and called Winnie to supper.
~*~*~*~
New York
"You can't just move out! I fell in love with you!" Here came the spirited echoes paralleling Kyros indignation. "We fell in love with you!"
Verity stopped just before she opened the front door. "Don't quote that movie. I found it offensive."
"Dude man, Dogma rocked…" Tro began, and the fellows immediately began recalling their favorite parts.
" 'Don't run! Don't run!'" Kyros laughed. They weren't too distracted, however, to fail to notice Verity's hand slowly turning the knob.
"Hey, no, this is just wrong. I take you in, feed you, clothe you, and this is the thanks I get!" Kyros sputtered, trying to tower over her. "I hope you realize that this lowers my opinion of Franco-Spanish teenage girls, all over America!"
Verity shrugged helplessly. Thankfully Mr. and Mrs. Snow was out, otherwise leaving for Maria's would have been totally impossible. She glanced at each boy, noting how each was shamelessly trying to appear as sad as possible. But when her green eyes returned to Kyros, he saw that they didn't have the qualities persuadable, quivering lime jello, but that of set, stubborn emeralds.
"Kyros Bob Steve Snow. You took me in, but then you refused to let me out. You don't just feed me, you seem to have the crazy notion that I eat as much as you. Nobody eats as much as you…All of the US doesn't eat as much as you. Do you realize how many times I've gotten sick from over eating?" Kyros shrugged, looking at his friends for support. They also shrugged in response.
"And you 'clothe' me? Kyros," Rita said, pulling out something from her…no his duffel bag. She held out a band of hot pink material, about six inches wide. "Giving me a head band and calling it a skirt does not qualify as 'clothing' me. I'm sorry boys, I really am, but…I can't always baby sit."
"Wait, no!" Verity had already made it out the door. She couldn't very well make it down the steps with Khepri clinging to her leg, though. "If you leave, Andrea will stop waiting on us hand and foot."
"But I told her to stop that three days ago…didn't you give her my message?" Verity frowned down at Khepri, who merely looked sheepish and shrugged. A few feet from them, Maria and Valdis waited in a taxi cab, speaking animatedly.
When the driver opened the door briefly, an "I hate you Valdis Eldson!" escaped, but silence resumed when all Verity's luggage had been placed in the trunk.
"Man, I wish you were wearing that skirt right now," Khepri muttered, still clinging to Rita's leg. Slightly disgusted, an emotion Verity had grown accustomed to, she shook the boy off and seated herself in the cab. Looking back, she saw the triplets half heartedly running after the car. She really didn't understand the big deal. Maria's apartment was fifteen minutes away.
Verity learned to tune out the Eldson arguments, unless she was particularly bored. While crawling through traffic, Rita decided the unhappy people outside the window weren't that interesting, and turned to the couple beside her.
"Screw you, Maria. Spoiled brat."
"Screw you and the horse you rode in on. Man-whore."
"Screw you and… Ceberus!" Which, Verity thought silently, Valdis really didn't mean. He loved that dog.
Not to be outdone, Maria retorted, "Screw you, and your mama, and the horse you rode in on, and the horse's mama!"
That wasn't nice. Valdis' mother was dead. "Maria," Verity interrupted calmly. It was impressive how fast their expressions changed from loving hatred to gentle attentiveness. "You're looking well."
"Thank you, you're very sweet," Maria told her sincerely. "Some idiots," she continued in the same, sugary tone, "think I'm as frail as a demented butterfly."
"You have the demented part right," Valdis told her with a tight smile. He kissed her temple tenderly, taking away any malice he had in the comment. "Drop me off here." They kissed each other good bye, leaving the two girls alone.
Maria caught Verity's questioning look. "Job interview. Our neighbors are starting to wonder where he gets the money. Pimp was crossed out by my pregnancy. But the drug dealer idea is being supported by all the things we've thrown…my baby could be a Yankees pitcher!" Maria realized loudly.
Verity smiled as Maria began to formulate her baby's future. She was glad she had another grown woman to talk to. Her reason for moving was partially because of Maria's audible plea for somebody sane to live with, and Valdis' secret request to have a friend around to help Maria with the little things. When they reached their destination, Rita immediately insisted on carrying her own two bags, and before Maria could protest, the pregnant woman's library books.
"It's all right really," Rita told her laughingly when she heard Maria grumblings on the stairwell. "You could fall or something…"
"Are you saying I'm clumsy? Or worse, are you saying I'm fat?" Verity didn't understand the rational path to the last question, and wisely avoided an answer.
~*~*~*~
Las Vegas, Nevada
"And, sir?"
"What is it Nilsson?" Thierry asked, not looking up from his desk.
"I have taken two messages in the last twenty minutes…is your phone broken?" Now Thierry did look up and gave a sheepish grin.
"Sorry Nilsson…Hannah came in and…" That seemed to explain it all. Nilsson merely smiled, understanding, handed him the messages, and left to uproot some remnants of Simon Savannah's visit. There should be a rule, Nilsson believed, that nobody under the age of seventeen should be allowed to even look at Ash Redfern or Kyros Snow; the influence was much too mischievous and shamefully incurable.
Thierry looked at the slips of paper. One was a request from Quinn and Rashel, on finding any information on a dragon named Adrian Amaro, or the Amaro family. The other was the somewhat laconic message from Valdis Eldson, urging a quick response. He thought it strange that Valdis should ask for him and not Hannah, because the Elder himself barely knew the man. He respected him certainly, for being able to live with the brat, but not enough to form a friendship.
Prioritizing, Thierry began to work on the Amaro case. Before the Battle, there would have been dozens of agents available for this sort of research. But now, some had taken that long overdue vacation they planned, some had found closure and no longer fought the good fight, and some were on extermination missions. Thierry felt an odd tug at his heart when he saw his Daybreakers pick up and leave two by two's; he supposed it would the closest he'd get to a man watching his children leave the nest.
The library, which had always been blissfully empty, was in the process of being entered into the Daybreak computer system. The task was immense, and only an eighth of the information Thierry possessed had been successfully recorded. So after five minutes at his desk, Thierry was forced to climb the ladders and manually search for the suspect's history.
He learned that, before the witches' coup d'etat, the Amaro's were a prominent dragon family. Noble blooded and, of course, feared. Known for their back stabbing, outside the family as well as within. The family motto was laughably arrogant; simply Cave Amaro; Beware of Amaro. And to think that the might dragon family had only one descendent left; the second to last, an older brother, fighting and dying in the Final Battle. Nothing in particular about Adrian's features, however.
As a matter of fact, this Amaro seemed to sporadically disappear off the face of the earth. Awakened just before the Middle Ages, he stayed in Europe for a few centuries. After the French Revolution, however, he vanished. Late nineteen nineties, he visited a few enclaves on the East Coast, and then vanished again. Flipping more pages of a journal of an enclave leader, Thierry noticed a curious detail. For four days, Adrian Amaro was on the same enclave as Ash Redfern.
Thierry promptly emailed Quinn the news, knowing it would give him an excuse to call his best friend in Arizona. He had almost left the library before he remembered Eldson's message.
The number the vampire left did not begin with a New York City area code, so Thierry suspected that it was his cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Eldson, this is Descouedres. What's the problem?" There was a long pause and the voice of an irritated man in the background. "Am I interrupting something?"
The voice stopped. "No, you just got me kicked out of a job interview. I'm glad though, I was only doing it because Maria wants me to…and you know Maria."
"The problem, Eldson," he prompted. He didn't want a social conversation right now; he just wanted to join Hannah in her nap.
"Yeah. You know Maria's condition."
"The bringing a new life into the world condition?"
"I always knew you were the smart Elder."
"Weren't you the one who tried to assassinate me for incompetence?"
"Of course not," Valdis replied, offended. "I was trying to get the guy next to you. And I did," he added, the tone of pride slipping in by habit, "a week after."
"Eldson…"
"Right. We need to visit. Not a social call, I just need your medical equipment."
"Are there no hospitals in New York?"
"Maria refuses to go, and you and I both know it's not exactly a normal baby. The little brat's weak as hell sometimes, and unnecessarily so. I figured I'd just take her to your house on the pretense of a visit, and then get her a check up."
"I'll have to call a midwife. And won't Maria object to leaving in the middle of the semester?"
"She'll have to leave any way."
"Does she know that?"
"No, not really. But I'll convince her…or kidnap, whichever word you prefer. We also have an extra guest, if you don't mind. A friend of Kyros."
Thierry grimaced, for he had met many friends of Kyros. "Which one?"
"A Verity Glisscielle. She's very helpful, very mature. Maria seems to like her. So will you send your jet?"
"Wait a second, I never even said yes!"
"Well it's not like you'll say no. And I don't want Maria to fly commercial."
"For the baby's sake?"
"Of course not, an Eldson baby is remarkably strong. She's liable to hurt somebody, especially if the flight attendants are too friendly."
"Eldson…" As much as he owed to Maria, and despite the number of times she was randomly kind, Thierry did not want to spend more than a week with her and her husband. Nobody would ever get sleep. All accents in each room would be thrown and broken at all hours.
"Maybe I should just tell Hannah how ungenerous you're being to one of the four people who saved the world from eternal enslavement."
Thierry sighed. "It is amazingly wrong how you let Maria influence you. Fine, fine…you know where my hangar is."
Valdis smiled, even when the Elder hung up without a warning. The smile stayed there all the way home, a sort of complacency in knowing that he would win this weeks long debate about a check up, without Maria ever knowing.
But when he arrived, however, Verity greeted him with an apologetic, apprehensive face.
"She's extraordinarily stealthy for a pregnant woman," was all she said, wringing her hands.
"Where did she go?"
Verity retreated to the kitchen before answering. "Um…walking." Nervously, she began to sort out the clutter on the counters, while Valdis tried, unsuccessfully, to mutter his ill opinion of his stubborn soul mate without frightening the girl. After a few minutes, he seemed to conquer his anger and cheerfully asked her out to a late lunch.
"All right," she conceded, now that the right side of the kitchen was clean. "But when will she come back?"
"Later tonight, maybe early tomorrow. When she goes jogging, she sometimes goes to Martha's. If it's too late, she'll sleep over. In the meantime, I think I better call your school."
She wasn't sure she heard that right. "My school?"
"Yes," he said, drawing her out the door, "You've been out for nearly two weeks. And I assume Kyros, nor any either Snow, hasn't taken care of that. Does a family emergency cover a few weeks out?" Rita still looked at him doubtfully, and he tried to smile reassuringly. "I am of age, and the oldest of the household. Does it cover it?"
"Not normally…but for me, probably. You'll want to speak to the principal." Valdis nodded and hailed a cab. The next question, she thought, was very strange and completely unrelated.
"Do you get air sick?"
~*~*~*~
Anomina
Two rings and then a cheerful, "Yellow?"
Quinn frowned. "Since when did you answer the phone with a crayon?"
His best friend sighed exaggeratedly. "Quinn, Quinn, Quinn…didn't you get the newsletter? Ever since leaving the Circle, Ash Redfern has become sickeningly cheerful, even in the morning."
"Quinn would like Ash to stop talking in third person now," the vampire said flatly, looking out the window. Still raining. Anomina had been that way since a few days after Rita's departure. All it needed was Noah and the boat.
"Well maybe Ash will continue since it bugs you. As a matter of fact, I…damn, I ruined it. What do you want?"
"October eleventh through the fifteenth, ninety five."
There was a long pause. "So what…you want me to give you the days, or something?"
"No stupid—"
"I'm stupid? You're asking for four days here. Freak."
"Shut up. A dragon was on your enclave for those days. Reportedly, you went to the same places."
"I knew you were stalking me back then! What, did my dad pay you or something?"
"Ash!" Quinn exclaimed impatiently.
"No, that's my name. You're—"
"Very tired. Listen, Ash, this is an immensely screwed up mission. But…"
"My little overachiever refuses to fail. How cute. I remember when I used to be like that, for dear old dad. Ah, the days of yore…"
Again, a few moments of silence. "My what?"
"Huh?" Ash asked, startled.
"You were saying the days of my something."
He heard Ash laugh. "No, I meant Y-O-R-E, not Y-O-U-R. You know, it means back then. Didn't you use it in colonial Boston?"
"No, I don't think so," Quinn replied, pondering. "That might have been a bit before my time."
"You mean the days of yore?" Ash asked, laughing again. Quinn joined him. Then, he heard:
"FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST GET THE DAMN INFORMATION!"
Tentatively pulling the phone back to his ear, Ash whispered, as if Rashel was in his room, "Quinn?"
"Yeah?" His best friend had the same cautious tone.
"Are you sure that girl's a keeper?"
"Positive, and she does have a point. What do you know of Adrian Amaro?"
"Keeps a low profile. Kind of quiet. You know…the dragon version of those humans who build home bombs and play with Barbies the wrong way."
"What would he have in common with Morice Orin?"
"Favorite tv programs, maybe?"
"Ash," Quinn warned.
"God, Quinn, how am I supposed to know? Their card table was all the way across the room from mine!"
Quinn let out a breath. "Ash—" He couldn't believe he had been so stupid.
"And it's not like I'd be sitting there, fold my royal flush, just to walk over and listen to their conversation!"
"Ash…"
"Poker's all about bluffing, you see, and if I looked like I was unsure for one second…oh," he breathed with realization. "Gambling."
"You always were a fast one. You see, we've been trying to figure why the hell Amaro would work with an Orin."
"Nasty lineage, I'm fairly certain there was inbreeding. Uncle Daddy's, and Grandmother Aunties and such. Why not just kill the Orin? One less bastard in the world."
"We've considered that, but decided against it. Orin might be holding information that Amaro needs. Kill the slug, piss off the dragon."
"You are ridiculously bright. Do you want a cookie for that rationalizing?"
"I'd prefer a tone of voice that wasn't condescending nor sarcastic. Think you can manage?"
"I'll stop being sarcastic once you're tall enough to ride the roller coasters… Mare's calling me. Gotta go."
Upon hearing the dial tone, Quinn hung up and left the guest room. Only to find the rest of the team listening outside.
"All for torturing Morice?" Winnie suggested and raised her hand. Fayth and Rik followed suit, and even Jared from the couch waved his enthusiastically. Quinn and Rashel frowned. "What? I said torture, not kill. Though…near death isn't taboo, is it?"
"You know Thierry doesn't like that," Rashel reminded them as they all moved the meeting to the living room. There they discussed all possibilities. Quinn reiterated that torture was out of the question, although Jared was not hesitant to suggest it constantly. Fayth proposed a raid on Orin's house, but the idea was abandoned when they heard of Orin's equally oily neighbors. It was decided long after supper that an agent should buy whatever Orin had, or make a bet in order to obtain it.
"But wouldn't that let another bad guy win?" Jared asked, mentally reviewing the plan for loop holes. "Adrian ends up getting what he wants."
Rik sighed and shrugged. "I guess letting a bad guy win is better than letting three hundred kids die."
Jared scoffed, "Three hundred kids. The loss of a teenagers. I'm pretty sure that, even if they did die, it's nothing complimentary vodka and Viagra wouldn't recover. Anomina could host the world's biggest orgy."
Winnie wrinkled her nose. "That's crass, Jared."
"Yeah," he agreed, not really understanding what she said, "but it'd work."
~*~*~*~
New York
Verity knew about the travel plans long before Maria did. They were to leave in about a week, and Rita knew that Valdis planned to tell his wife the day before flight. During the week, Verity played the part of ever faithful assistant. She cleaned and picked up after their clumsy dog. She distracted Maria whenever the college student took the notion of jogging or taking a walk in the late evening or early morning. Slowly and unnoticeably, Verity dominated most of the house hold chores. It was probably unnoticed because naps came more and more frequently to Maria.
Kyros visited, sometimes with his friends. Valdis withstood three nights before he frankly told them to behave or leave. Verity missed them occasionally.
They ate out less and less, and ordered in more and more. For a few days, she had the urge for all Chinese, after a bout of constant Italian. Valdis informed Rita that this was typical behavior, not the effects of pregnancy. Normally he never gave into her food demands, but this time if he didn't, she'd go out herself, at all hours. Verity and Valdis were sent on quests constantly, alone or paired together.
About midmorning on Sunday, after Maria and Verity had attended Mass, Maria spotted a new Chinese restaurant just two blocks from her home. It took much persuasion, but finally Verity was all but shoved in the general direction. With Valdis gone to another interview, Maria knew she would walk to an empty home. And it was about time, too, because she was sick and tired of having them fuss over her, thinking they were subtle about it.
"Hello!" she told the empty apartment. "I did get accepted into college; I'm not a total idiot!"
She grabbed some leftover sweet and sour chicken from the kitchen and walked into her bedroom, which she shared with Verity. Maria nearly walked into Rita's cot when she saw it wasn't Ceberus waiting for her.
"Holy shit!" she sputtered, dropping the Styrofoam container. "There's no such thing," she corrected herself softly.
It was a vampire, and an unhappy one at that. There was a certain determination in his orange eyes that frightened the bejeezus out of her. As she backed away, and naturally he advanced, Maria wondered whether it was she or Valdis who left the door unlocked. Just two minutes ago, she had been vocally confirming her intelligence
"You're a vampire. A bad one." For some reason, she was more afraid presently than the last time she found an uninvited leech in her home. Because this time, it wasn't just her life at stake.
The bad vampire seemed more surprised than herself. Unfortunately, he recovered quickly, and whatever intent he arrived with was replaced with something for her.
"And you're the fourth wild power. The bad one."
Good god, this was just a child. Common sense had never been her strong point, especially during possible attacks. Besides, she was sure her baby wouldn't want a cowardly mother. Her uncontrollable mouth said, "This is positively insulting. They're sending boys whose voice has barely changed!" Maria took a step forward, jabbing her finger at his chest. "Well you tell them this, punk. It's going to take a lot more than some fresh outta school rookie to get rid of Maria Yolken Tybal…Eldson! And Valdis Eldson Junior!"
The little "rookie" assassin made the mistake of laughing. During those five seconds, Maria turned around and grabbed her bat leaning against the dresser. Before he could let out another chuckle, Maria raised the weapon above her head and then let gravity do the work.
"Oh my…damn …" the vampire moaned in pain. He slowly sank to the floor, his hands holding the injured spot on his head. Maria frowned down at him; the strike was supposed to cause unconsciousness. She raised the bat again and this time slammed it down with all her strength, which, she was sorry to admit, hadn't been up to par lately.
A few moments later, she heard the front door swing open. Valdis called out to her.
"Maria, how many times have I told you to lock the door? And I can't believe you forced Verity to buy you food directly after church. I thought they taught you some morals in there."
"I'm fine," Rita assured her friend. "And come on before the fried rice gets cold." The only response either got was a shaky invitation to the girl's room.
The sight they found was not exactly dramatic, but also not entirely funny. Valdis let out a few chuckles before Rita hushed him and peered closely at the intruder.
"The little ass hole was just sitting here…who the hell came up with that myth about vampires not being able to come in uninvited?" Maria wondered as Valdis propped him up on a chair.
"Maria!" Verity wailed, trying to slap the boy awake. "This is Bryan!"
She had been extremely proud of herself until then. "W-what?"
"This is Bryan Smith, the one who has more pros than Kyros."
"There are a lot of guys who have more pros than Kyros," Valdis interjected dryly. Again, Rita sent him a quelling look and ordered him to get some ice.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Rita," Maria apologized sorrowfully. "Well, that's a lie. I'm partially sorry, he seemed impertinent. Had it coming."
It took almost ten minutes for Bryan to vaguely respond to Rita's pleas. Another five to open his eyes, and then three to form whole sentences. By then, Valdis had returned with the ice.
"Thank god she doesn't hit that hard," he mumbled. Rita delicately fingered his scalp, and caused him to wince when she lightly touched the bump.
"Bryan, whatever are you doing here?" she asked exasperated. Rita waited for his answer as she placed the ice bag on his head and heard Maria giggle at his grim expression.
"Looking for you. New York's a big city."
"Apparently," Rita replied, her anxiety gone. "Why?" She was about to sit back on the floor when Bryan's hands shot up to hold her arms, keeping her hands laced through his hair.
"I missed you," he told her simply, staring into her eyes. God, he missed those eyes. She looked perfect; glasses, sensible clothes, curly hair in that cute little bun. Perfect.
"Hey now, no hanky panky in this apartment," Maria warned.
"At least any more," Valdis added. The younger couple did not respond.
"Do you think they're stuck like that?" Maria asked.
"If they are, you're going to have trouble walking around them, aren't ya?"
Rita finally realized the impropriety of the situation, and pulled back suddenly. But not before Bryan placed a light, chaste kiss on her cheek when she turned to her hosts. Now even more uncomfortable, Rita maneuvered herself to Maria's bed, and stared at anything but her friend.
"How the hell did you get past my dog?"
Bryan gave a snort at Maria's question. "He's sleeping in the other bedroom. Took a helluva long time to convince that I wasn't here to play fetch."
"It's almost embarrassing," Valdis muttered, who then left to ensure nothing was chewed beyond recognition.
"All right, so you're not here to kill me. And if the drive took longer than four hours, I would have called this romantic. What are you doing here?" Rita studied her friend, and suspected Maria would always harbor a bad cop fantasy.
"I told you already—"
"Yeah, and I heard it. So she's here, you got your kiss, now scram!"
"Maria, really," Rita chided.
"He scared me!" Maria excused her behavior.
"Yeah, well you hit me! With a bat!"
"Thank you for informing me…as if I wasn't the one holding it."
"Children," Rita admonished. "Bryan, seriously now, what are you here for? Your purpose, I mean."
Now Bryan appeared nervous. He avoided her gaze and ran his hands through his hair, as if to clear his thoughts. "A few weeks ago, you said you'd go to the Soiree with me."
Rita was sure her eyebrows would rise off her head, she was so surprised. That was what he came for? After all that's happened, he came to make sure she kept her date with him?
"Things were a little different a few weeks ago, Bryan," Rita retorted, eyebrows now furrowed. She saw Bryan became a bit more frustrated. It was now that she fully took in the sight of him. He looked…sort of wrinkled. It wasn't just his clothes, but himself…worn out, over used. Bryan looked like he needed some help.
"I know, and I'm sor—" He stopped short. "I know, but I was hoping that you would come back for you know…me," he finished weakly.
"As I recall, you weren't terribly happy with me the last time we spoke," Verity pointed out.
"Yeah well I had reason, didn't I?" Bryan threw back without thinking. "Besides, what are you going to do here? Keep that shifter company?"
"And the circus," Maria added, but meekly hushed at Rita's glare.
"I can't believe," Rita said coolly," that you came all the way to New York just to reassert our date and then lecture me for something I've already apologized for."
A pregnant pause. "Damn," Maria muttered, "good luck finding a comeback for that one."
Bryan, however, did not waste time scrambling for a response. Instead he asked, rather confusedly, "You just said 'reassert,' right? As in…it's already and still asserted."
"Goodness gracious, Bryan. You take all this time to stalk me and then you don't even pay proper attention to what I'm saying? Yes I said 'reassert'!"
"You," he began, anger surfacing, "have the most uncanny gift of manipulating my words—" Before he could finish his argument, Maria cleared her throat, looking pointedly between Rita and her pursuer.
And naturally, Rita didn't understand. Maria continued with the expression, occasionally tilting her head towards Bryan and then towards the door. It would have gone on forever until Bryan exploded with, "For god's sake, just say it out loud!"
"Rita, I thought you said you wanted to leave New York," Maria said.
"Oh…that's right I did, didn't I?"
Bryan studied her, puzzled. "So you're unhappy because…?"
"I suppose your reason wasn't too noble, now was it?" she snapped. Bryan arose from his seat, still holding the ice pack on his head, and walked to her.
"I came because I missed you. That's it, plain and simple."
"But why?" Rita asked, utterly confused by his feelings for her, and stared up at him.
Bryan shrugged, then looked at Maria as if wishing her absence. Though she took the hint, the woman simply crossed her arms and leaned against the door way, silently stating her status as chaperone.
"I honestly don't know how to put it into words. All I know is that when you left, I kept thinking about you. That damn message made it worse, you know. Every little thought somehow led to Verity Glisscielle."
"Cheesy," Maria pretended to cough. Rita gave him a look that silently advised him to ignore her pregnant friend. Bryan continued.
"And most of the things I was thinking…I really shouldn't have been thinking of."
"Randy," Maria coughed again.
He shifted from one foot to another. "Please?" He then gave the melting look, hoping desperately that her immunity had worn off.
~*~*~*~
"Nope, no way."
Rik sighed, and looked around the club. He couldn't wait till some more agents came to tear it down. Maybe next year. "Come on, Morice, easy bet."
"What I got is worth more than what I make in a year. Besides, if I lose it to you, which is very unlikely my friend, what'll I say to Amaro when he does the deed?"
"Send him over to us."
"Yeah, but will I live to recommend you's guys once the words, 'I don't have it' pop outta my mouth?"
Rik shrugged again, and tried ignore the flirtatious grin from an overly friendly female. "You always said you were the fastest vampire."
Morice turned back to his drink. "Shut up."
"You can't even tell me what it is?"
"Nope. And why are you so interested any way?"
Rik pretended to recoil from the question, and partially turned away. He feigned a dark frown for good measure. "Amaro's been…messing with Fayth lately. I just need an advantage over him. Come on, Morice, we've been pals for a long time." The mention of friendship nearly burned in his mouth.
Rik felt two sympathetic thumps on his back. "You're right about that. And I'd be worrying, too. If a vermin's gotta choice between a dragon or a fat vampire, you know who'd she choose."
Fat? Rik wondered. "I'm stocky."
The silver haired "friend" gave a chuckle. "All right. Listen, because you seem to be on the right path again…I'll give you this much. Three months ago, I had a 'rematch' with Amaro. I beat him a few years back, and the guy don't like losin'."
"Did you beat him fairly?"
Morice gave a grin. "Are you really asking me that?" Rik shook his head, giving a false grin back. "You know what was in the pool that I won?" He paused dramatically. "A deed."
"You mean that's what he's killing a bunch of hum—vermin for? Property?" Morice nodded complacently, smiling. "What is it—beach front, pent house, Parisian…?
Morice shrugged. "Hell, I haven't even seen the place. Skiing kinda spot, you know. But apparently it's worth a lot."
"And will you give it up once Amaro's done?"
"Yeah, gambler's honor."
Well, if that wasn't an oxymoron…
Rik tersely thanked him and left immediately. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. Icy sidewalks were unavoidable. On his way home, Rik met up with a few of his classmates, and more teachers than satisfactory. It was relatively peaceful; few Anomina residents usually braved such conditions. And yet they refused to cancel school, Rik privately lamented.
He was standing on the corner of Walk and Don't Walk when he noticed a familiar Land Cruiser pass by at a disgracefully slow speed. The windows were tinted, but not so much so that Rik couldn't see who was driving so carefully. Bryan Smith and a remote Verity Glisscielle.
"Jared said that prick left," Rik wondered to himself. Then he hurried home to correct the werewolf.
~*~*~*~
"It's still here," she said softly. Bryan turned to her sharply, but all he could find in her eyes was the image of the house.
Without another word, she moved to the front door, slipping in as if all was well. Although uninvited, Bryan followed, fascinated by her behavior. From the edge of the living room, he saw Rita move about, doing nothing and everything.
She entered the kitchen, minutes later leaving to see to something in the bathroom. Her hands rearranged this and then moved that back to its original location. Rita moved as fast as possible, and at the same time almost slowly, as if she was reluctant to continue. Moving by a habits she hated.
"I'm sorry it's so dirty," she apologized, and gestured for him to sit. She left again, not hearing his refusal. Thinking resistance was futile, Bryan took a spot on the couch. It gave him a better angle of Verity, who continued to glide about like a ghostly maid. Her redundant cleaning of the neat house echoed randomly.
"Rita," he called. Sitting here, while she cleaned, felt very wrong.
For a while she didn't answer. Just moving to and fro, going into every room except one. Sometimes, with a glassy eyes, she turned to look at him as she passed through the living room. With the same expression, she'd glance out the window. Looking for images, not wanting to see others.
"Verity?"
"My cat's gone," she stated, her expression and voice colorless. His date moved away from the window, and he noticed the sky was now darker than before. How long had he been sitting here?
"I was worried that there wouldn't be food for him…It's dusty, isn't it?" By now she stood directly in front of him. Only a coffee table separated them, which was now studied sternly by the owner. "It's shameful to have a guest when it's so dusty…" she mumbled to herself and crossed the room to the broom closet. Bryan's eyes followed her, unsure, when she returned with a cleaning napkin.
"Rita." He smiled a little when she actually looked up and at him, not through him. "It's all right. It doesn't have to be clean…" She stared at him, uncomprehending. "You've seen my house," he explained further.
She didn't comply, she simply finished wiping the table. "You're right," she sighed, straightening. Rita looked around, and Bryan copied. Everything was in perfect order, besides the offensive dust. And yet, she began that nervous tour of the house again. All but one room.
"You're right," she called to him. "I've missed so much school…I'm going to have to catch up. I'll have to study—"
She stopped short when she spied Bryan at the doorway of her library. Her arms, full of textbooks, became paralyzed. He simply shook his head.
"Rumor has it…because of your loss…"
The look in her eyes startled him. Intense, waiting, a little panicked. All right, he thought, reading it correctly. I won't say I'm sorry.
"Any way, minimal make up work. Williams…he likes you, and everything…" he trailed off when Rita lowered the books back onto her desk. He tried to joke, "The school system in Anomina is very corrupt." Bryan suddenly wished he hadn't said anything at all; she looked so lost now. Verity gazed blankly around the room, and something unnamed flickered in her eyes. He barely had time to move out of the way as she rushed past him.
"Goodness," she exclaimed loudly. Being so tall, it was odd that her frame looked small and helpless in the shadowy hall way. "What am I going to do about this house? I mean, I don't have a job or anything. Maybe I should—"
"Bought and paid for…the Daybreakers pulled some strings," Bryan explained uneasily. Her already tired body just became even more exhausted. Her green eyes searched all around, and found only shadows and blankness. There was nothing to see; she closed her eyes.
Bryan watched silently when she opened them, resolve shining as she stepped into the room she avoided.
It looked almost like a prison.
He followed noiselessly, and said nothing as her hands delicately ran over the plain furniture. All sharp corners covered with rubber. No words came to mind when she absently drew the curtains in reverance.
Nobody could ever get hurt in this room.
Both had nothing to say as she lightly fingered the impressions in the pillows, and wordlessly folded the sheets.
It was a plain white room. Nothing more. There was less to see than the hall way, just beyond the door. All it took was one step, and they could leave the dismal, empty place. But Bryan knew Rita saw things in here he would never be able to see.
"So every thing's taken care of." Her voice was barely audible. Those slender fingers, once so capable, were shaking now. Smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles in the bed. Caressing the hair out of a dead sister's eyes. Fluffing up unused pillows. Holding a dead mother's hand.
"Everything's taken care of," she repeated, her voice a pitiful thread in the cool silence. They were gone, sister and mother, ball and chain. Verity's knees refused to cooperate for a moment, and she slowly sank to sit on the bed. Rita stared at the blank wall in front of her. "Everything's taken care of. There's nothing to worry about."
The darkness had engulfed both of them by now; he could see nothing remarkable, but the human looked down gently at the pillow. A voice so childlike, it couldn't have been the Old Soul's. "Is it the time to cry yet?"
Looking back, he wanted to hold her. Bryan would have given everything to walk up and take her in his arms. Who wouldn't? Something…perhaps the invisible images, ripping the sobs out of her. Something was pulling tears from her eyes. He achingly wanted to comfort, to lie and say everything was going to be all right. She slowly laid herself down, arms outstretched, holding an unseen loved one. Rita's tearful whimpers were quietly desperate. Watery, strangled cries, the vale of tears not only flooding the bed, but Bryan's mind.
He heard it, and wanted to stop it. He only took one step, just one step towards the bed. And her head shot up, and shook a firm no. No, don't come to me now. No, I won't accept it. Those glistening emeralds, just too damn proud. He wanted to comfort and shake her. Knock some sense into her, tell her there were times when pride didn't matter.
The second step earned him a murderous gaze. Get out now.
Besides that, she continued to cry, till the ungodly hours of morning. And through it all, Bryan sat in the living room, waiting for it to end.
~*~*~*~
They could not guess at midnight lone
How she would weep the time of away"
Emily Bronte
All right, so it's not totally action packed, next chapter will make up for it. At least this one's longer, though. I'd love to hear what y'all think!