A/N: Thanks to FlowerChild23 and Tiffanylorain15 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are my most consistent reviewers, which makes you all sorts of amazing in my book! Thanks as well to everyone else for putting this story on your favourites or alerts list.
I'm going to stick more to Remy's POV from here on out. Though another character's POV might pop up every now and then if it furthers the plot.
Side-note: OMG, did you guys hear/see the Twenty One Pilots x Mutemath sessions?! LOVE 3
DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognise belongs to Warner Bros., Joel Schumacher, Janice Fischer, James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam. Everything else is mine.
Rated 'M' for strong language and vampire stuff.
Heathens
Under normal circumstances, Remy and the boys would have been too far away and not well lit enough to be recognisable. However, the look on Leander's face and the perking up of the panther's ears told Remy exactly who was making their way towards them.
"Shit," she repeated.
Thankfully, Leander was already springing into action, trying to herd the boys away from the animals. Unfortunately, they didn't seem all too eager to go anywhere. Remy normally wouldn't care if anything happened to them but Leander liked them for some reason. And she cared about Leander.
"Someone you know?" asked David. Now that they weren't arguing with each other, Remy found him far too close for her liking and took a couple of steps back.
"You guys need to leave. Now."
They didn't budge. Remy wished she'd paid more attention to those times Generys had tried to teach her how to flirt. That woman knew how to wrap a man around her little finger, making him do whatever she wanted. Jasna had her ways too, though that usually involved some rather inappropriate puns about her sword-swallowing prowess. She could feel another headache building up.
"Ok," she exhaled exasperatedly. "How about you guys go with Lee to see the Globe of Death? You guys like motorbikes, right?"
"The globe of death has bikes?" asked Paul; interest peaked at this new information.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Leander, tugging insistently on Marko's arm. "It has a whole bunch of bikes in this metal cage. You guys will love it!"
Remy hoped that was enough to get them to leave. Worst-case scenario, she'd have to teleport them somewhere else and then wipe their memories, but memory wipes were always risky. And wiping four of them in one go was not something she was too keen on doing; there was a higher chance of one or more of them ending up with their brains permanently scrambled. She could practically see David toying with the idea of just staying put. Paul seemed eager to go see the Globe of Death. Marko appeared conflicted between wanting to watch motorbike stunts and remaining with the animals. Dwayne – well it was hard to tell what he was thinking since he wasn't exactly the most emotive person. Just as Remy geared herself up to magic them out of there, David shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sounds cool." He held out his hand and leaned into her, smirking right in her face. "If I get my cigarettes back."
She slapped them into his outstretched hand, physically turned him around and pushed him towards Leander.
"Wonderful! Why don't you guys run along now. Grab a soda or popcorn or something. On me."
Leander was pretty much dragging Marko away now. Dwayne was watching the quickly approaching figure, quirking an eyebrow in question when he turned back to look at her. But he followed after Marko and Paul without saying a word. David threw one last look over his shoulder that made her feel like one of those frogs that people sliced open in biology class before making to catch up with the others and Remy knew she hadn't heard the last of it. She'd have some major explaining to do later. Sighing, she hurried to intercept the newcomer.
"Sylvie!" she called out, plastering a smile on her face. "Hey! Need any help with that?"
"Don't you 'hey' me, Remy," growled the older woman, dropping six buckets of raw meat at her feet. "Who the fuck were those guys?"
Remy knew better than to lie to her. Sylvaine had the uncanny ability of sniffing out deceit and was renowned for holding grudges. Besides being able to communicate with animals, the woman also shared some of their traits, like being able to see in the dark and being as strong as a draft horse.
"Just a couple of Lee's friends. You know how he is."
This seemed to placate her a little, though she was still glaring in the direction the boys had last been walking towards. She picked up two of the buckets and shoved them into Remy's hands.
"He should know better," Sylvie growled, picking up the other buckets and storming off towards the wildcat pens. Remy followed behind her as quickly as possible in her staggering heels. "Bad enough that the boy keeps taking them out of their enclosures, but bringing strangers around is just asking for trouble. What if one of them had provoked Dinah? If she had shown even the slightest hint of aggression, they probably would've insisted she be put down. People are so touchy about that these days. And furthermore…"
Remy let Sylvie rant, knowing that the more the woman talked, the less likely she would be to physically lash out in anger. She quietly emptied her buckets into the hyena and crocodile pens and watched the animals savagely fall on the pieces of raw meat. It always amazed her how Sylvie's animals could be so calm one moment and then be completely vicious when it came to feeding time.
"…wants to see you. He looked kind of pissed that you weren't at your stage. Remy? Are you even listening to me?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm listening."
"Really?" retorted Sylvie. "What did I just say then?"
"You asked me if I was listening to you," Remy replied smoothly.
"Don't be a smartass," Sylvie deadpanned, emptying her last bucket into the lion enclosure. "I said Mr. Belteshazzar's looking for you."
That certainly got Remy's attention.
"What's up between the two of you anyway?" asked Sylvie, annoyance replaced by curiosity.
Remy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me," said Sylvie, stacking the empty buckets. "Everyone knows you've been here the longest. You practically started the cirque with him, though I don't know how that works since you barely look a day over sixteen. And he treats you different."
"He doesn't treat me differently," Remy laughed uncomfortably.
"You're the only one who doesn't call him Mister Belteshazzar," pointed out the other woman. Taking back Remy's empty buckets, Sylvie tucked all six buckets under her arm and began walking towards her trailer. "Plus he's always seeking you out. People talk, you know. Just giving you the chance to tell your side of the story, since I really don't put much stock in gossip."
"Well you're kind of gossiping right now!" Remy called after her. "And there's nothing to tell because there's nothing going on!"
Sylvie waved her hand dismissively, not even bothering to turn around. Remy glared at her retreating back. Well, at least she hadn't turned violent. Remy hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said that Sylvie would've beaten up the boys if she'd caught them. She had a notorious temper and tended to throw punches before asking questions. The last time she had found an outsider near her animals, she had beaten the poor man to within an inch of his life. The entire incident had to be hushed up. Remy had to wipe his mind before anonymously dropping him off at a hospital. Belteshazzar had not been happy.
Speaking of which, Remy supposed she should go look for the man. After all, Belteshazzar didn't like to be kept waiting.
Remy made her way back towards the main thoroughfare, back to the lights and sounds. Children ran, seemingly unchecked, from booth to booth, marvelling at the impossible feats performed or the unbelievable oddities of nature. She noticed Fillin's stage was empty now. Hopefully he was getting some rest. The man's act involved staying in his half-wolf form, which was not only tiring but usually left him ravenous as well. Leander was the same way whenever he exerted too much energy switching back and forth between his human and half-cat forms. Which was why she had been so surprised when Belteshazzar had first written the boy into the main show, especially considering what had happened the first time Leander had to maintain his half-cat form for an extended period of time. It had been another incident that involved memory wipes in addition to disposing of a body.
Crossing to the other side of the thoroughfare, Remy made her way towards Belteshazzar's trailer. There really was nothing special to differentiate it from the trailer of any other cirque folk. It wasn't bigger or glitzier. It simply looked liked any other trailer on the lot, its only distinguishing feature being that there were metal shutters over the windows that seemed to be welded shut. She knocked on the door and didn't have long to wait before it swung open to reveal a candle lit interior and an annoyed looking man.
"Where have you been, young lady?" he admonished.
Remy rolled her eyes.
"Please. I don't have to answer to you." She pushed past him and entered the trailer. "It's not like you're my dad."
Belteshazzar dropped his stern act, grinning in amusement.
"That would make things a bit weird."
"I think the word you're looking for is 'gross'."
Remy took in the impeccably neat trailer, lit by a plethora of candles, both big and small. Belteshazzar always said he preferred it to electric lights as it reminded him of the 'good ole days'. The trailer was sparsely furnished but what it held was far more elegant than the typical built-ins that everyone else had in theirs. The bed at the very end of the trailer was a monster of elaborately carved mahogany draped in velvets and silks, with a steamer trunk at its foot. A matching pair of upholstered wingback armchairs occupied the other end of the trailer, sitting in front of a well stocked bar. He had gotten her to magic everything down back when they had first taken the cirque on the road. Remy poured herself a drink and settled into one of the armchairs. Belteshazzar shot her a disapproving look.
"What?" Remy snapped. "I've had a bit of a stressful night, ok? Now why were you looking for me?"
"How stressed can you be?" countered Belteshazzar. "Your workload isn't that heavy and you're in Santa Carla. It's a seaside paradise."
"There's something off about this place," said Remy, downing half her drink.
"Off?" Belteshazzar eyed her carefully from where he was leaning on the high back of the other armchair. "You'll have to be a bit more specific."
"I don't know," said Remy, irritably. "It's just…off. Makes me uncomfortable, like an itch just under my skin that I can't get at. It gives me a headache."
Belteshazzar smirked.
"You feel it too."
Remy narrowed her eyes at him over the rim of her glass.
"You've said that before. But you'll have to explain to me what exactly I'm supposed to be feeling here. Right now that's just frustration."
He laughed.
"What you're feeling is the presence of other vampires."
Remy levelled a flat, unreadable look at the man.
"Please tell me you're joking."
Belteshazzar crossed over to her, plucking the glass out of her hand before perching on the arm of her chair.
"I'm dead serious, my dear."
Remy buried her face in her hands and groaned.
"Bad enough that you're telling me you're not the only blood sucker in this town. Do you really have to be all punny about it too?"
Belteshazzar burst out laughing.
"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself."
Remy snatched her drink back, downed it all in one gulp, and got up to make herself another. But Belteshazzar intercepted her.
"Uh uh uh! You know alcohol taints the taste of blood."
She glared daggers at the back of his head. The two of them had an…interesting relationship. They'd first met during the 1870s, during the height of the Lapland Gold Rush. The prospect of gold combined with the harsh famine that had struck the country just a few years before drew people of all sorts to the Ivalo River where the gold had been discovered, and upon whose shores Remy had lived with her grandparents.
To simplify a story that even Remy didn't know all the details of, one day her grandfather was throwing a prospector off their land, angrily refusing to sell it to him, the next she was waking up covered in blood with Belteshazzar looming over her and the news that her childhood home had been razed to the ground. There were still things that didn't make sense about that night, like the fact that regular humans could overpower both her grandparents, who were magic wielders themselves. But no matter how hard she tried; Remy could not remember what had happened.
She knew she owed Belteshazzar her life. While all the injuries she had sustained that night had more or less healed by the time she regained consciousness, enough of the scars were still in the process of fading for her to come to the conclusion that someone had tried to kill her by setting her on fire. She'd been scared and confused and angry, and he had been the one to help talk her down. He'd explained how he had found her, floating down the Ivalo, pretty much burnt to a crisp. And then he explained how he saved her.
It was the first time Remy had ever come across anyone else, aside from her family, who was not completely human. The idea that he had fed her his blood was revolting at first, and only made worse when he revealed that it was going to spark changes in her body that would need to be supplemented by consuming human blood for the rest of her life. She had said no thank you, he had called her an idiot, and the two of them struck a mutually beneficial deal – they would travel together, Remy watching over him during the day and Belteshazzar supplying her with his blood to stave off the hunger for as long as her body could withstand the toils of being a half-vampire. Over time, the deal evolved to include an exchanging of blood, and they had been feeding off each other ever since.
She never did fully turn; a decision that both impressed and frustrated him. His theory was that it was her magic that kept the blood lust from driving her completely crazy. Certainly, her blood seemed to sate his hunger for longer than when he fed off regular humans. But it didn't stop him from pestering her about fully changing every now and then.
"Just be honest with me," said Remy. "Why are we here?"
Belteshazzar smiled sadly.
"What's with that look, Remy? It's like you don't trust me."
"No, I know you. That's the problem. You don't usually do things like moving the cirque halfway across the country unless you have a very good, specific reason."
That was the thing about living with someone for over a hundred years – you got to know that person really well, even if you didn't completely understand them. She knew that he kept secrets. After all these years she still wasn't privy to all of them. Remy eyed him warily as his smile turned into a predatory grin.
"I hear a rumour that you've been spending some time with several local boys."
"There seems to be a lot of rumours floating around lately," she grumbled. Belteshazzar shot her a quizzical look but she shook her head. "What about them?"
"I want you to spend more time with them."
"Why?" Remy couldn't quite keep the displeasure out of her voice or off her face. This only seemed to fuel Belteshazzar's amusement.
"Because they're some of the vampires you've been sensing."
Remy ran a tired hand over her face, annoyed at Belteshazzar's non-answers but deciding to humour him.
"Ok, why do you want me to spend more time with other vampires? Usually you're warning me to stay away from packs who don't share our blood."
"Yes, but this is different," Belteshazzar insisted. At her disbelieving look, he persisted. "If I'm right, and I'm pretty sure I'm right, they're not that far separated by blood anyway."
"What does that even mean?" exclaimed Remy, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Level with me here. What's really going on? You're asking me to subject myself to more physical discomfort for no good reason as far as I can see. Why do these particular vampires matter so much to you?"
The smile that had been lingering on his lips slid off his face and his eyes hardened. Remy refused to be cowed, stubbornly maintaining eye contact as Belteshazzar grabbed her by the shoulders and brought his face uncomfortably close to hers.
"I don't care about those boys." His voice was dangerously smooth, like a razor's edge dancing across her skin, both alluring and fear-inducing. "I want their leader, the vampire they answer to." A strange gleam entered his eyes. "And so should you."
Remy frowned.
"Why?"
"He was there that night," he said, releasing her and putting some distance between them. "The night you should've died."
Remy stilled. It felt like someone had just punched her in the chest and hit her over the head at the same time. Her headache was back and there was a growing ringing in her ears.
"Breathe." Belteshazzar's voice was soft and soothing. She realised that he was cradling her face in his hands though she could not recall when that happened. Her skin felt like it was burning up; his grip on her tightened. "Breathe, Remy."
She squeezed her eyes shut. There were too many emotions, too many sensations fighting for control. Anger replaced shock, only to be followed by grief, then confusion, and then sadness, before the entire cycle repeated itself again. Chills raked her body and yet she wanted to rip her skin off. There was too much, too much going on at once.
She took a deep, desperate, gasping breath.
And all the rage fuelled power that had been building up inside her burst forth in that single action, shattering every bottle, decanter and glass on Belteshazzar's bar. He didn't even blink, keeping his eyes on her and stroking her hair.
"Are you all right?"
No. She wasn't all right. But she was going to pull herself together. And then she was going to do exactly what he had asked of her. And when they found this head vampire that Belteshazzar was looking for, she was going to demand that he tell her why he had killed her grandparents. And once she got her answers, she was going to kill him.
Belteshazzar must have read her intentions for he released her and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"No time like the present," he said.
Remy stumbled out of his trailer. Each step felt like she was wading through quicksand. But the more distance she put between herself and Belteshazzar's trailer, the quieter the roaring in her head became. She just kept walking, one foot in front of the other, down the main drag, past the tents, booths and stages. By the time she reached the big top, the ringing in her ears had been replaced with absolutely silence. The deadly calm allowed her to put her thoughts into some semblance of an order. She still had questions. There were things that didn't make sense.
Leander and the boys were seated in the first row, cheering and screaming along with the crowd as the daredevils performed death-defying acts in the ring. Paul was the first to spot her, waving like a madman with an excited grin to match, the carton of popcorn he held in his hand showering everyone around him with the salty treats. This caused a light-hearted shoving match between him and Marko, who had ended up with more than a few kernels in his hair. David actually looked genuinely relaxed for once and even Dwayne was laughing at their antics. Leander fought his way through the crowd to reach her side.
"Remy! You're here! Come on! You took forever!" He grabbed her hand and began pulling her back towards where he had left the boys.
Vampires, Remy reminded herself. She had left him alone with a pack of vampires.
"Can you make the Globe fly now?" he asked in a voice that was just barely a whisper. "It's always so much better when the Globe's flying."
Remy looked down at his grinning face, the riot of blonde curls on his head more of a mess than they usually were. She tugged gently on a lock hanging down in between his eyes and forced a smile onto her face.
"That's probably not a good idea right now, Lee. We didn't talk about it before the show and it'll be incredibly dangerous if I just levitate the cage now without letting them know what I'm about to do."
Leander pouted petulantly. But a sudden thought seemed to cheer him up.
"Oh! Marko invited us to go see where they live." He had dragged her all the way to the boys now. David smiled indulgently at Leander's enthusiasm. "Paul says they live right by the ocean. Can we go? Can we?"
"Yeah, Remy," said Marko, wrapping his arms around Leander and resting his chin on the boy's head. "Can he?"
Remy dug her nails into the palms of her hands to keep from pushing the blonde off of Leander. She needed to play nice. For now.
"Sure," she said, as brightly as she could. David arched a curious brow. Remy made a mental note to more careful around him. He seemed annoyingly observant.
Half an hour later found her leaving the cirque with the boys for the second night in a row. Kakra and Zesiro spotted them as they walked by their tent. Kakra grinned conspiratorially. Zesiro waved shyly. Paul gaped at the twins. Jasna shot her a questioning look when they passed her. Generys emerged from her tent just in time to call out to Remy, but the girl simply returned a half-hearted greeting to the redhead and kept walking. She caught sight of Belteshazzar watching them from behind the ticketing booths just as they were about to exit the cirque grounds. He nodded in approval.
Seeing the man who had saved her; whom she had spent the last hundred years of her life with; whom she considered the closest thing to actual family she had left; reminded Remy of a thought that had popped into her mind as she had walked away from his trailer. He had skilfully evaded a lot of her questions that night, revealing just enough to distract her and push her in the direction he wanted. But why?
Just what had Belteshazzar been doing near her home the night her grandparents died?
A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was nice and relaxing. Mostly because I was sick, so I stayed home. I'm all better now though, so my New Year's will probably be…nice and quiet because I plan to stay home anyways. I hate crowds. But I hope everyone has an amazing New Year's, however you guys are celebrating it!
This is just a minor formatting thing but I'm probably going to just do one author's note at the bottom of the chapter from now on so you guys can just jump straight into the story.
So let me know what you guys think! I know it's more Remy backstory than interaction with the boys but it kind of sets up things for the rest of the story. Did you like it? Did you hate it? I'm kind of figuring things out as I go along, so any feedback is always appreciated!
Love,
Scribbles