6.

Christie led me to a large, lavishly decorated room. Sitting before me was a child. She couldn't have been more than 13-years-old when she died, and even thirteen was quite a hasty judgment for her human age. Her glossy, brown hair was cut in a boy-style haircut that brushed the top of small ears. She didn't betray the curves of womanhood; she'd still been too young to develop when she was turned. She was a striking child, reminding me of a rather effeminate boy. Tomboyish in a feminine way I guess you could say.

In fact, I wouldn't have been completely sure she was a girl if it hadn't been for the schoolgirl getup she was wearing. A dark blue, short, pleated skirt stopped around mid-thigh complete with a cropped crisp, white shirt and a yellow ascot. Britney Spears would be proud. So unless we had cross-dressing, prepubescent vampires who posed as girls, she was definitely a girl, and judging from the power that radiated from her, she was definitely the master.

Two human men stood behind her chair, their backs planted firmly to the wall. One had that same short cut as Sakura, hair nearly the same shade. He held the air of a man with a lot of dignity, and he was decidedly handsome. He seemed like the loyal type. The other man had blonde hair that just touched his shoulders, a half-smile covered his face, and he seemed almost mischievous in a way. His eyes held a roguish light the other man's didn't. He wasn't handsome, but he wasn't unsightly. He had the kind of features that could grow on you. I felt like I knew him from somewhere.

Christie walked away from me, going to stand by Sakura's left side, brushing her fingers intimately over Sakura's shoulders. Moments later, Vega entered the room and stood stiffly at Sakura's right side. He didn't look at me, but rather stared at a fixed point above my head. He seemed out of place – apart from the rest of them.

"Where is the rest of the hopscotch club?" I quipped.

Sakura laughed with childlike innocence. False gullibility. She may look young and harmless, but I wasn't fooled. "I heard you had a provocative sense of humor." Her voice was young and sweet, reminding me of a bright, spring day.

"Provocative. What a big word for such a little girl." I said. That statement should have been followed with me patting her on the head as if she was a good girl, but she might not like that much.

She tittered again with that same chimelike laugh. Who did she think she was fooling? I guess it was all part of her plan to get me to "trust" her. Well, I didn't trust vampires, even if they looked like they could be someone's kid sister. As far as I was concerned, everyone in this room had an ulterior motive.

"I'm betting you spent all night practicing your best innocent act for me. I'm touched, really." I said cynically. I knew I was being overly sarcastic, but I wasn't exactly in the best of moods. Vega curled his lip as if he were trying to decide to laugh or scowl. It would have probably been a mixture of both.

The charm slipped from Sakura's face. Her expression was now steady and dangerous like a snake before he attacked his prey. "You really shouldn't test me, mortal." The voice was still sweet – too sweet.

"Look, this hasn't been the greatest night for me. First, your idiotic henchman nearly bashes my skull in. Next, you have me left in a room with wererats, and I'm sure you can tell from my appearance," I paused to pluck at a tattered piece of my shirt, "we had quite a wild time. Now, I'm brought here where everyone acts as if I'm supposed to be thrilled to meet you. Well, pardon me if I don't act like Mary fucking Sunshine."

There was that rarely used swear word again. This was the second time in two—technically three—days that I had used it. This time it seemed justified, and I didn't regret saying it. I was hungry, scared, tired, and I just wanted to go home. I was tired of playing their games. My patience was wearing thin, and I was having a hard time controlling my surmounting anger.

Sakura sneered at me and said, "I see why Triage attacked you. You are very…"

"Stupid." Vega finished for her finally looking me in the face.

I held back the stream of words that threatened to flow from my mouth. The anger was continuing to build. I knew it wouldn't take much more until it was flowing over like flooding river, condemning everyone in its path. I had to control it; I had no other choice. "I just want to conduct business so I can go home. I did not come to make friends with the Vampire Brigade."

Sakura made a sound in her throat. "How old am I, mortal?" She asked, disregarding my statement. I wish they would stop calling me mortal. I definitely knew where Christie had picked up her affection for the word from though. The way they said it made it sound as if I were some diseased person. The world held a certain amount of contempt as it rolled off their lips.

"I don't know." I answered, and I truthfully couldn't tell how old she was.

Sakura turned her head slowly to look at Vega. "I thought you said she could tell." Sakura said to him, her voice tinged with irritation. So, Vega had been bragging on my superior vampire senses. I think that fascinated him (and maybe it fascinated all vampires) for some reason. It was almost as if I was running around the city saying, "My vampire-sense is tingling". That sounded very Spiderman-esque. I wonder if Spidey would be too agitated if I borrowed that phrase for a while.

"She can." Vega said in his defense.

"How old is Vega?" She asked me, turning to me again. Her voice was no longer sweet. Now, it betrayed age and knowledge. If I hadn't been looking at her, I wouldn't have believed the voice came from her.

"Around 500-years-old. Definitely no older than 550-years-old." I responded, promptly, studying Vega for a moment. He smiled in my direction, and I felt my cheeks flush at the thought of the kiss from earlier.

"What if I say he's older?" She challenged, and I stared at her with a hard expression.

"I would say you were wrong." I snapped.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "And why's that?"

"Because that's how old he feels." I answered. I hated explaining how it worked, but I felt obligated to tell her. It always made me seem weird. That thought is funny coming from a mutant. I embraced my mutant power, but this feeling about vampires made me feel like a freak – to put it bluntly. "I can feel a certain degree of power emanating from him, and from that, I am able to tell how old he is."

"Look me in my eyes, mortal." She said. There was that word again. I looked into her eyes. They were a dark shade of brown, nothing spectacular. Except, her gaze was tangible… if that makes any sense. It was as if I could actually feel it pressing against my skin. If I had sliced my hand through the air, I could have cut through it. No matter how physical if felt, I could meet her eyes, and I don't think that was I was supposed to do that.

She stood from her seat then and walked toward me. I wanted to back away from her, but I held my ground. She stopped a few feet away from me, and I felt a pressing pressure on my brain. I grabbed my head as thoughts attacked me like a pack of hungry wolves. I fell to my knees heavily, but the slight pain in my knees didn't measure up to the pain in my head.

The need to beg for her forgiveness, to tell her how insignificant I was compared to her, weighed heavily in my head. I should crawl on my knees and kiss her feet. I began to crawl to her like a disobedient child who wanted mother to forgive her. I should worship Sakura for the goddess… (goddess?) she was. I should do anything she asked of me because she was a… goddess.

"No…" I said, refusing to crawl any further. Images of my mother's dead body, clutching me, grinning at me with a toothless grin flashed through my mind, and I tried unsuccessfully to bite back a sob. Then, my throat started to constrict, and the terrifying feeling of being enclosed cause me to gasp for breath. I clutched my head again, opening my mouth to let out a silent scream.

This girl, this monster, was dissecting my mind, probing for my worse fears. "I will forgive you my child," her voice was smooth and tender, a spoken kiss upon my ears. The tension eased. She held out her arms in a loving manner, and I started to crawl forward for she was my… my…

"Goddess," I whispered, and then I stopped crawling again. "No!" I screamed this last word. I would not crawl to her. She was not my goddess. I slammed my fist again the concrete floor, still the pieces of my sanity continued to crumble. I slammed my fist again the floor until the blood flowed from my knuckles, the pain pulling me back to reality.

She is not your goddess, a voice said. Whether it was my own inner-voice or one of her mind games was unknown, but she was not my goddess. She is not your goddess, the voice said again. "You are not my goddess," I said contemptuously. I could feel something dark course through me, and it chased away pieces of her mind. This definitely was not her doing. Show her who is a goddess, who is to be feared, the voice said. I could feel myself giving into this voice, obeying its call.

No, I could not cross that line. I cannot lose hold of my humanity. To do so would mean destruction to not only Sakura, but also the world. "No…" I said again, this time fighting against the demoness that threatened to surface. Finally, I collapsed to the floor from the strain.

"We have found quite a few things the mortal fears. Her own power being one of them." Sakura said, her voice coated with that sugary-sweetness again. I glared up at her then. She terrified me, but she angered me as well. I didn't know how much more of this I could endure. I would either go crazy or lose control. Neither sounded particularly appealing. "Now, I ask you again. How old am I?"

I trembled like a leaf during a rainstorm. "1000-years-old. Maybe more," I said with exhaustion lining my voice. I sat up slowly, not daring to stand at that moment.

Sakura nodded approvingly, "She is good, Vega." She laughed again, and I felt the urge to slam her face against the concrete as I had done with my knuckles. The only thing that stopped me was the fear of what she might do to me. She put her face close to mine, breathing into my face as if taunting me. I curled my fists at my sides.

Her breath smelled faintly of Colgate. Well, somebody had brushed their fangs this evening. Underneath the minty smell of toothpaste, I could smell the essence of death. "Your breath stinks of blood." I said dryly, and she pulled away from me, covering her mouth with a dainty hand.

"The police only know about four vampire murders. There have really been six." She said, walking away from me. Was there some rule that said all master vampires should change the subject of a conversation every three seconds?

"Shouldn't you tell the police?" I asked.

"We may be equal to you mortals, but that doesn't mean that we can trust the mortal laws." She sighed, and I would've said it sounded regretful. I wanted to tell her to join the bandwagon. Mutants weren't exactly reaping the rewards of some of the recent laws made for us either, but I kept quiet. "Vega was the fifth strongest vampire in this city, but now he is the third."

I snapped my heard toward Vega quickly and he nodded, affirming her statement. "You mean something has killed vampires stronger than Vega." My heart actually dropped to my stomach. I didn't give a damn about them, but it was terrifying to think that there was something out there strong enough to kill powerful vampires.

"We have a witness to the second murder. He will tell us everything won't he, Ken?" She said with a commanding tone. The blonde man standing against the wall nodded. I did know him from somewhere; I just didn't know where.

I stood up as he walked to a small door across the room. Opening the door, he beckoned a man to enter the room. The man was around 30-ish, slender, apparently a businessman from the suit and neat haircut he sported. The man looked around the room lost. A frightened look pervaded his face when he saw Sakura. He looked human, but he smelled of death – a zombie.

Ken talked to the zombie slowly, "You will answer the master's question." He gestured toward Sakura, and the zombie nodded fearfully.

"We've been having problems with him answering our questions." Sakura said, clicking her tongue. "We tortured him to get answers, but he hung himself before we could finish. So, I had Ken animate him." Ken was an animator. That explained where I seen him.

Sakura seemed to take a sick satisfaction in the fact that she had tortured someone and he had killed himself. "I… what… hung…?" The zombie said, looking around the room for answers. Goddess, he didn't even know he was dead.

"Ask him what you will, Sakura." Ken said.

"Who killed Arkady?" She asked. I guess Arkady was the name of the vampire he saw killed. The zombie didn't say anything, and his fear was obviously building as the seconds passed. Sakura tapped a foot against the concrete impatiently. "Why doesn't he answer me?"

"The question is too hard for him." Ken responded, eyeing the zombie with palpable disgust.

"Then, you ask him." She snapped, her voice echoing through the room. Sakura reminded of a spoiled child. Everything was supposed to go her way. I actually hoped that whatever it was that was killing the vampires killed her next.

"Did you see a vampire die?" Ken asked, and the zombie nodded. "How did he die?"

"Head cut off, heart ripped out." He answered.

"Who did it?" Ken asked, and the zombie shrugged his shoulders. I could see Ken redden as the zombie continued to shrug his shoulders in a jerky manner.

"Ask him what killed the vampire." I said, and Ken shot me a dirty look. I was just trying to help. I know how some animators felt about their zombies.

"Ask her question Ken." Sakura commanded.

"What killed the vampire?" Ken asked, and the zombie shook his head not understanding. "Was it a vampire?"

"No." The zombie answered.

"A human?"

"No."

"What killed him then?" Ken asked with impatience lining his voice. The zombie started shaking his head, and Ken struck him repeatedly. "You will tell me!"

My stomach turned as I watched him beat on the zombie. It was a disgusting display of violence against someone who couldn't defend himself. The man hadn't asked for this. He hadn't asked to be tortured. He thought death was his only way out, and now, even death wasn't merciful to him.

"Stop!" I commanded, walking toward them. Ken turned on me, and I glared at him. I hope he didn't think he intimidated me. After the way this night had gone, I'd be more than happy to ram his head into the wall a few times.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" He said nastily.

I stooped down, hugging the zombie, trying to comfort him the best I could. He sobbed in my arms, and I wanted to tell him that I knew how he felt. I wanted to cry too, but I had shed enough tears tonight.

"This man used to be a human being. How would you like it if someone raised you from the dead and beat you? I don't think you would like it." I felt Ken hovering over me, but I did not acknowledge him. I turned the zombie's face toward mine. Fear was etched deeply into his skin.

"He will not answer your questions." I said once I cajoled the zombie. "He could have retained his mind for a week, but now, shock and ill treatment has destroyed his mind."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"In a literal sense, he broke him, and now, you'll never get your answers from him." I said flatly, turning my eyes toward her. "Any real expert would have known that, and any master should've have been smart enough to prevent that."

Sakura's rage began to fill the room. "Get her out of her now before I kill her." She said with quiet rage. Vega moved to help me I suppose, but Sakura stopped him. "You, stay."

She instructed Ken and the other human, Ryu, to see me safely to my car. I didn't know what was going on here, but suddenly, the tension was a little thicker in the room. I followed Ken to the door, turning to look back at Vega. I hadn't been able to get my promise of Jean's safety.

However, Sakura was now levitating, staring accusingly at Vega, and Vega… well… he no longer looked like the Vega I had come to know. He looked more dangerous now as he faced Sakura defiantly. What was going on? What had I missed? "Run." Vega said simply, not turning to look at me, but I knew he was talking to me. A strong grasp pulled me gently out of the room; the door slammed in my face. I turned to look at Ken and Ryu.

"We must go," Ryu said softly. I stood staring at the door as what sounded like a storm began to brew on the other side. "We must leave this place."

I turned away from the door, following the two men away, the sounds in the room becoming louder and louder. The smell of rotting bodies began to fill the air, and then the door blew, releasing the fury inside. I ran, latching tightly to the first hand that was shoved my way. I didn't know whose it was, but it didn't matter. The wind coming from the room was furious.

It chased us throughout the corridors of the dim, twisting hallways. My legs ached from the continuous running, but I wouldn't stop. Stopping could be dangerous. "What's going on?" I screamed over the roaring winds.

"The masters are fighting!" Ryu answered.

I didn't understand. Why were they fighting? It didn't make sense. I didn't get to ask my burning questions as we continued to run through the hallways away from the "fighting". We ran seemingly forever, eluding the livid winds that chased us. Finally, I saw a set of stairs looming before me. To my right, I heard carnival music.

"This is the way out." Ken said, his voice sounded relieved.

As we ran toward the stairs I looked down the hallway to my right, but I saw no carnival, just another huge door. The music was coming from behind the doors. "What is it?" I asked, slowing down my pace a little despite the current of air that was whipping my hair.

"The Circus of the Damned." Ken answered. The Circus of the Damned was where the city's most power vampires rested. There were not many humans who knew where this place was. "Come Ororo, we can't linger here much longer."

We began to jog up the stairs, the winds rapidly chasing us. We were almost at the door when Ken fell. Ryu stopped, calling his Ken's name, going back down the steps to help him. "You open that door. I will help, Ken." I said.

I didn't know if this was going to work, but I had to try. If it had an atmosphere, I could manipulate it. Let's just hope my strength lasted long enough. Ken was struggling against the winds that were dragging him backward. I concentrated, focusing my energy, using my own power to manipulate their winds, to push back their angry tempest.

"Ken! You must hurry. I cannot hold them back much longer." Ken stood quickly, running toward me, fear in his eyes. He grabbed my hands suddenly, breaking my concentration. He half-carried, half-dragged me up the stairs. Ryu was standing at the door waiting. He pulled us through the door, slamming it close at the crucial moment.

I breathed in deeply once we were outside. Freedom. Ken and Ryu walked me to my (rather Scott's) car. I couldn't wait to get away from this place. We stood by the car for a few moments. I think we all were reflecting on how close he had come to dying.

"Do you really hate them as much as they say you do?" Ryu asked me.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"The vampires. Do you really hate them?" He asked again. His voice was calm and nonjudgmental. It seemed like just a curious questions coming from him.

"I don't hate them." I answered, not meeting his eyes. Someone should paint the word "liar" on my forehead.

"Then, why do you kill them?" He asked.

"Because I am afraid of them." I answered, looking into the man's eye. That was the truth.

"Most people run from the things they fear."

"I'm not most people." I answered.

He nodded, understanding lighting his eyes. "We are your daytime contacts. If you need anything, contact us." He handed me a card, and I shoved it into my pants pocket. I exchanged a few more words with Ryu. Ken leaned against the trunk of the car as if he were deep thought. When there was nothing left to be said, I left.



After nearly wrapping Scott's car around a tree, I finally arrived at the mansion safely. I sat in the garage for a moment thinking about how lucky I really was. I shouldn't have made it out of that place alive, but I did. The fates must be on my side tonight. That assumption just didn't feel right though. I would have been long dead, my corpse in some early stage of rigor mortis, if it hadn't been for Vega. "The ultimate gift," that was what Christie had called it hadn't she?

My hands were still gripping the steering wheel tightly. My knuckles didn't hurt much, only a dull throbbing came from them, but they were still quite bloody from my fistfight with the floor. I wish I could say the same for the rest of my body. I couldn't wait to see the purplish bruises that would adorn my body. I say that with the utmost sarcasm.

I took a moment to look in the mirror, hoping I didn't look as bad as I felt. No such luck. My normally neat hair was standing on edge, giving me the appearance of a mad Ophelia, and my clothing looked as if it had just lost the war. It was still somewhat early. The sun hadn't even started to chase away the darkness. I could shower and rest a few hours before it was time for classes. That really wasn't anything new, but I never had to teach class after a long night of abuse.

I just had to be extra quiet tonight when I went into the mansion. The children and my friends should all be in bed. Sometimes, when I arrived home at this hour, Jean will wake up and ask me about my night. She seemed truly interested in the animation of the dead, and she even made me promise that I would take her with me to work on night. I told her I would see what I could do. I ran my hands through my hair tersely and retrieved my jacket from the passenger seat, putting it on, trying to hide the damage to my shirt.

I felt like a child who had just missed curfew. I entered the mansion as quietly as I could, nearly tiptoeing as I placed Scott's keys back on his "designated" key holder. I crept up the stairs, making a silent note to skip the squeaky ones. I just needed to get to my room. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally stood in front of my door. I started tugging at my jacket as I entered my room. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Logan sitting at my desk.

"Goddess, Logan, do you know how much you scared me?" I said, putting a hand to my chest. My heart was beating furiously in my chest. "What are you doing here?"

Logan turned around in my chair, holding a paper full of red marks. "Gradin' tests."

Tossing my jacket on the bed, I crossed the room and took the test from Logan. "Thanks Logan, but I don't think writing 'wrong answer dumb ass' is exactly very professional. I do appreciate the gesture, though." I said with a laugh, tucking the paper back in the pile.

"Who won? You or them?" Logan said, inspecting me. I knew what I must look like just then with my bloody knuckles, tousled hair, and torn shirt. He was thinking I'd been in some sort of fight. Well, I had sort of, but it wasn't what he was thinking.

"Me." I said quietly. I don't know if that was truly a correct statement. I stood up to the wererats by myself for the most part, but I know if it hadn't been for the rat king, I would have eventually been dinner. As far as the master went, I was nowhere near any competition for her.

"I hate to see what the other person looks like then." Logan joked. His voice sounded distant, and maybe this was because I wasn't really listening to him. My thoughts were with Vega. He was fighting her – the master. I wonder how he fared, and I shuddered when the thought of his death emerged. "You okay 'Ro?"

I looked at him and smiled. I patted his hand softly and said, "Yes, Logan. It has just been a long, trying night for me."

"I suppose it was. There's a rumor floatin' around that you just got to meet the most powerful vampire in this city." He said with a perfectly, unreadable poker face. "You're alive, so I'm takin' that to mean it went alright."

I let my hand rest on his for a moment. If I hadn't been caught off guard by his last statement, I might have taken the opportunity to reflect on how close we were, but at this moment, there was no time for unrequited doting feelings to surface. "Who told you that?" I asked.

"My sources."

"You don't have those kind of sources." I said. Mental images of Logan throwing people around, maybe even stabbing a few came to mind. He always had a rather confrontational way for getting answers. Logan was know for hanging out in some interesting—and I stress interesting—places, so maybe he did have his sources. Not likely though. I sighed and said, "Please don't tell me you maimed, slashed, or skewered anyone to find out that information."

"Okay, I won't tell you, then." He shrugged. I frowned at him. Excessive force, it was the way of the Wolverine. "I was just worried about you, 'Ro. You've been acting awfully damn funny. I know you said you had some trouble you need to sort out, but I was worried."

"I'm okay. I'm still in one piece, so there is nothing to worry about."

"And what about the next time? Will you be as lucky?" He asked. That was a good question. Sakura was so impulsive. She could've killed me tonight, and my death probably wouldn't mean anything to her. "You're in pretty deep, huh?"

"Drowning in it." I answered.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" It sounded more a command than a request.

I paused for a moment for a moment, mentally rehashing all the reasons why I couldn't tell him. Then, I decided what the hell? I needed someone on my side. So, I skimmed the events from the night before, not mentioning that Jean had been preyed upon. Instead, I told him that they threatened to expose me as a mutant. Not true because I would then share all the knowledge I have about their little playground, and I'm sure the vampires knew that. I didn't tell him about Vega either or the human servant thing. I stuck to the major points in the story conveniently forgetting the parts he didn't need to know. Half-truths otherwise known as lies.

"Is that it?" He asked when I finished speaking. He knew I was leaving parts of the story out. He could undoubtedly sense the lie. "You don't to do this alone. I can help you."

"I know you can, Logan, but I would be selfishly putting your life in danger for my own gain." I answered, shaking my head.

"It ain't selfish if I want to help." He stood from my chair with a half-grin. "You ain't the only one who should get to have all the fun around here. You're out killin' vampires, and I'm stuck playin' Monopoly with a kid who can move things with his mind."

I chuckled. "I'll think about it, but in the meantime, I need to rest. I have a busy day ahead of me." I said, ushering Logan to the door.

After Logan left, I took a relaxing shower, taking care to note the extensive bruising on my body. I wish I could wash away those bruises, this night… everything. The quicker I solve this case for the vampires, the quicker they would disappear out of my life. Sounds like a plan to me.