Disclaimer: I do not own Midnight or Jaguar…they belong to Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

So sorry this chp. took so long!

Chapter 2

I was very cold when I finally woke up. For a while, I simply squinted at a dirty ceiling and tried to organize my thoughts. I thought about a yellow flower with pink leaves, and whether the grass it grows in tastes good, or, for that matter, whether or not the color green itself tastes good, or if the green in green eyes is good…. Green eyes.

Suddenly my memory came back in a rush, and with it came a burst of adrenaline. I shot upright, knocking off an ice pack on my head and instantly gasping as a wave of pain flooded through me.

"Ast, lay back down!" A sharp hiss came from somewhere within the room, and I quickly obeyed. I closed my eyes and trembled until the fierce pain subsided. Finally, I managed to open my eyes a crack, only to see a yellow, wrinkled face leaning over me.

"Who are you?" I croaked, trying to fight off the wild urge to jump up and run.

"Stupid girl. What's a name to you? Bet you couldn't even tell your mamma's tits apart," the face sneered.

Whoa, okay. Gather your wits about you Raina girl, I told myself. Take this slow. I forced my eyes open wider. I could see now that the face belonged to an old woman. She was leaning over me, her beady black eyes boring into mine. Raggedy gray hair frizzled out from around her head, and she was breathing heavily into my face. I scrunched my nose and tried to turn my head away. At least she wasn't a vampire…she was too ugly.

"Whatcha making that face for? Huh? Ugly face for an ugly girl?" The lady glared at me for a moment, before making a nasty sound and turning away to spit.

"Please," I turned my face back towards her, "where am I?"

"Here with me stupid girl. Where else would you be?"

"And you are…" I tried to raise an eyebrow, but even that hurt.

"Anita…your humble servant," Anita gave a sarcastic bow. "I'm here to tend all your little boo-boos."

Anita? I tried to think. There was no human in Midnight by that name. Wait… was I even in Midnight?

"Am…am I in Midnight?" I whispered, trying to keep the hope out of my voice.

Anita threw her head back and cackled. She was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her stained cheeks. I, on the other hand, didn't see anything funny about the question.

"Anita! Am I in Midnight?" I tried to make my voice hard, but it didn't really work.

Anita straightened and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Ooohhh! The stupid girl is getting demanding. Well stupid girl, you should be nicer to those who have worked hard to save your life. If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead!" She jabbed a bony finger into my stomach, and I winced. "And yes, stupid girl. You're still in Midnight. So don't get your little hopes up."

The excitement that had been fluttering about in my heart quickly died.

"Oh," I whispered, and then quickly added, "I've never seen you in Midnight."

"Of course not you little git! Does Rafe live in Midnight? No! So then do I live in Midnight? Come on stupid girl, you can figure it out. Yes you can! Come on! Give it a try…but don't hurt yourself thinking…."

I cut her off. The hag was getting on my nerves. "You're one of Rafe's pets."

Anita clapped her hands. "Hoorah! One for the stupid girl! But wait, I'm not just one of Rafe's humans…I'm his only human. So errr," she made the thumbs down sign, "stupid girl is still stupid."

I blinked my eyes. Things were too confusing, the pain wasn't letting me think straight…and that was dangerous. I counted on my wits to survive. Ever since Vampires stole me away I had depended on my mind to keep me alive. I had neither beauty to seduce, nor a quick tongue to glide me out of trouble. No, it was my cleverness and cunning that kept the Vampires from ever noticing me. I was a silent girl, a well-trained pet who displayed nothing but devotion to my Vampire…but inside I was quite different. Inside I was a churning pit of thoughts and devious ideas to tear the Vampires down from their mighty throne. Inside I had figured out a way to bring the monsters to their knees, a way to wipe them all out….

"Girl! GIRL!"

I was wrenched out of my thoughts by Anita's voice.

"Stupid girl! Were you paying any attention to me? Ast, why do I have to care for such a fool like you? Huh? Why did Rafe bring an idiot for me to save?

"Rafe brought me?" I asked, shocked. Since when did a Vampire care for another Vampire's pets?

"Ay he did. You were a disgusting mess," she paused to sneer at me, "you still are."

I ignored the jibe and waited for her to continue.

"You had bruises all over your ugly body, and your ugly face was all bloody. The edge of your tongue was split…stupid girl must have bit down on it when she was getting her beating."

I pressed my tongue against the roof of my mouth and winced. She was right; there was a tiny slit on the edge.

"Just tell me the permanent damage," I ordered.

"None," Anita huffed, "thanks to me. Stupid girl would have died if not for me and my medicines."

"Well thank you."

"You're not welcome. Oh, and don't go trying to get up and do a happy dance just yet. Stupid girl has a sprained wrist and wrenched shoulders. Plus, your ugly head has an ugly lump. Quite the wallop…explains why you've been fading in and out."

I groaned. It would take several days for the shoulders and the lump to heal, and maybe even a week for the sprain. I didn't have that much time to waste…Varl was sure to be looking for me...and doubtless he would want to finish what he started. I had to find protection, perhaps swindle my way into becoming another Vamp's pet. Jaguar maybe? Or Gabriel? Both were looking for another human.

"Can you help me sit up please," I asked, trying to sound nice. I couldn't do it alone.

"Can you help me sit up please," Anita mimicked, "Can you file my nails, drench me in gold, and perhaps lick my little toesies?"

I gritted my teeth. The old bag was lucky…if I wasn't so beat up I'd have knocked her yellow dentures out long ago. Breathing hard, I reined my temper in.

"Please?" I asked again. "The sooner I'm up the sooner I'll be gone…"

Anita threw her hands up. "Well when you put it like that!" She moved to my side and grabbed my left arm. I was expecting a gentle push…but no. Instead she reached down further, latched onto my sprained wrist, and tugged me up hard. I yelped at the sharp pain, and for a moment I thought I would throw up as the room seemed to spin around and around. Anita's hands were behind me, pushing me so that I wouldn't fall back again. She was surprisingly strong for her age. Finally, the room slowed, and eventually it stopped. My stomach settled, and I gingerly shifted my weight so that I could sit on my own. Looking down, I could see I had been lying on a dirty cot…one covered in white stains. Sick.

Anita moved so that she was facing me. She was shaking her head. "Not only is stupid girl stupid, but she's also a wimp."

"Oh shut up!" I snarled. My head was aching.

"Ohhhhh! So now stupid girl is snappy! Now that stupid girl doesn't need anything she becomes mean to poor Anita…despite everything poor Anita had done for stupid girl! You know what I think…I think stupid girl deserved the beating she got!" Suddenly Anita's eyes changed. "Say…why did you get such a beating?" Her voice had taken on a slick tone.

I stared at her a moment, breathing hard. Not only was the woman a total witch, but she was also nosey.

"That's none of your business. Just give me a moment to get up and I'll be out of here." I snapped, and watched as Anita's eyes hardened again.

"Ay, that's a good idea," she hissed. "You just get your dirty self out of here and backup stairs. You get your stupid self out of Anita's room…out! You just get out!"

I looked down at the cot again. Should I have told her? No. She might be on the vampires' side. I couldn't take that chance.

There are humans like that; humans that for some despicable reason love their hellish masters. Humans that would die for the Vampires, give up all their blood just to keep the horrid creatures a secret. But then…there are others. There are humans who fight the Vamps with tooth and nail. They resist the seductive darkness, and instead focus on finding a way to destroy the Vampires. Their efforts are great, but their results are small. The most one can do is be a "bad" pet. And really…what anguish does that cause a Vampire? However, there are rumors…rumors that a large group of humans have trained themselves to hunt the Vamps…but surely those are only rumors. So where does that leave the human race?

Ah, but I…now I'm something else. I don't resist my masters openly. I behave and perform as I should, always being the perfect pet, never drawing attention to myself. That's how I've managed to kill three vampires already. It's simple really; the way to kill Vampires is to pit a Vampire against another Vampire. That's what I did with my first three masters. I found their secrets, their lies, their betrayals…and I exposed them. Secretly of course, so that no one would ever suspect the humble servant. For example, my first master, Shar, was planning on overthrowing his partner Nicholas. So what do I do? I leave Shar's notes where Nicholas is sure to find them. And what does Nicholas do when he reads the notes and discovers Shar's betrayal? He flies into a kind of vampiric fury, runs to the study where my master is sleeping, and rips his throat out. Oh glory.

And so that's why I got such a beating. I was trying to expose Varl's dirty secrets; the beast caught me, and surely would have killed me if not for the other beast by the name of Rafe. You see how nice everything is?

So now what Raina girl? What to do? I shook my head slowly, very aware that Anita was still glaring at me. Well first things first, find protection from Varl. Become someone else's pet…preferably Jaguar's. He is, after all, the ruler of Midnight. Become his pet and then work things out from there. Perfect.

"Are you leaving? Stupid girl, piece of trash, flea-bitten carcass…" Anita was still screaming at me, but I managed to tune her out of my aching head. Slowly I pushed myself up from the cot. My knees wobbled dangerously, but thankfully held. I straightened slowly, took a small step forward… then another.

"Yeah that's right! Get out you little…." with Anita urging me on, I made it to the door. I paused for a moment to gather my wits about me, to ready my mind before reentering the world of secrets, Vampires, and survival. With Anita still screaming, I swung the door open and stepped out….

Rafe will be in next chappy…I promise!