A/N: I decided to hurry up and finish this chapter in time for Halloween. Not sure when I'll get the next chapter ready, because things are about to get intense in my other fic, and I may end up focusing on it for a while.
Disclaimer: Don't own Lilo and Stitch. If I did, it would still be on the air and have more episodes that don't involve finding and catching an experiment.
Soul of the Night
Chapter 6
Someplace Old, Something New
Lilo stood outside the bank where her sister was killed. The air was heavy, the night lightless, with no moon shining in the sky. She turned around in confusion. Had she been asleep? Had the whole thing been a horrible dream? She turned to see her sister standing at the other end of the dark parking lot, looking at her. "What's the matter Lilo, you look like you've seen a ghost."
"Nani, you're alive!" Lilo cried happily as she ran toward her sister, only to feel her body give out from beneath her. She looked up in horror as the two men descended upon Nani and began to beat her savagely. All Lilo could do was scream, but it seemed as if the dark night swallowed her cries. But she could hear the men's laughter, the cries of pain and fear from her sister. Lilo was more afraid than ever in her life. Then she heard the gunshot.
As the two men rose, there lay the corpse of Nani, just as Lilo remembered it from before. The two men were still smiling and laughing, as if it was all a game to them. As she stared at the two murderers, she felt something boil in her veins, something vicious and primal. The fear was gone; all that was left was the horrible hatred and anger she felt towards her sister's killers.
Suddenly, claws began to grow from her fingers, and her ears became pointed. Her canine teeth grew large and sharp, and her eyes dyed red. The feeling of anger consumed her; she wanted to make them pay. The men turned and stopped laughing. One let out a shriek of fear, the other opened fire with his pistol. But the bullets just went around her, and she charged the first man. She leapt upon him like the tigress on her kill, tearing into his flesh with her talon-like hands. She drove her fangs into his neck, and began to greedily suck away the blood in his veins. As he robbed his sister of life, as would she upon him. As she drained his jugular of fluid, he tried to scream in agony, his every nerve in burning, tearing pain. She maimed his body as she fed, wanting to maximize the pain, to make him feel her anger. In what seemed like only a few moments, he stopped struggling. She had slain the first, now only the second still needed to be brought to justice. Her justice.
She tracked the man by the smell of his fear, the sweat and urine from when he wet himself. She found him cowering in the back of an old house, obviously his hideout and home. He begged for his life, but the words were lost upon her ears, as she knocked him across the room and out of a window. As he tried to rise up and run, she leapt upon him with the same fury as she had with his partner. This time, she did not want to allow him the luxury of a quick demise, so she started by tearing the tendons of his legs with her claws. He screamed loudly as she worked her way up to his arms, cutting into the muscle of his shoulders. Then she could resist no longer, and sank her teeth into his neck. She listed to his muffled screams and death throes. Soon, as with the other, it was over. She felt a wave of satisfaction at her deed. She had made the men who caused her sister to suffer suffer all the more.
She heard a sound, like heavy, fearful breathing. She looked up, and her eyes met with those of her closest friend in the world. The terror she saw in Stitch's eyes brought back the fear anew. She held her hand out him, and he backed away.
"Stitch, it's not what you think. These men…"
"You kill them, Lilo. Monster!" He screamed. "Get away from Stitch!"
"No Stitch, please, understand." She said with tears in her eyes. But he ran, and she felt more sorrow than she had ever felt in her entire life. She turned to see the mutilated body of the man she murdered. Murdered. She was no better than they were. In fact, she may have been worse. Even if they did murder her sister, she had no right to kill them in turn. She was a monster.
As she fell deeper into sorrow, she heard another voice. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'm sorry it had to be you."
Lilo turned to see Victoria, with a mob of people behind her, all faces she knew. Mr. Jamerson, Pleakly, Jumba, even Cobra. And Stitch. She saw the look on his face and it broke her heart. She cried.
"It won't bring them back. There's only one thing that can be done." Victoria said as she took the stake and raised it above her head.
Lilo screamed aloud as she shot up, her breathing fast and heavy.
"Lilo, are you alright?" Adamar asked in a concerned tone. He had watched her toss and turn for quite awhile. Just as he had decided to wake her, she started screaming. Now awake, she tried her best to process what was going on.
She looked around and saw that she was on a plane. It had all been a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. She hadn't killed anybody, and a mob of her former friends wasn't after her. Stitch didn't know she was a vampire.
"You must have had quite a frightful dream. You have been tossing for some time now."
"Yeah, but I'm glad that's all it was, a horrible nightmare." Lilo replied as her breathing slowed down a little bit.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Adamar asked as he put his had around her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
"I killed them, the men that killed my sister. I saw them do it all over again, and I went crazy. My fangs grew out and I think my ears became pointed. I tore them apart, both of them."
"And this was a bad dream? I thought you had wished to be the one who did away with those two." Adamar asked curiously.
"Then I looked up, and there was Stitch. He looked horrified. I tried to explain what happened to him, but he didn't listen. He called me a monster. And he was right. What I did to them was monstrous. Then I saw Victoria, with a stake in her hands. She wanted to kill me. And everyone I knew was behind her, and they all wanted to kill me too. Just as Victoria held up the stake to kill me, I woke up."
"Hmm…now that was a nightmare. Relax, little one, no one knows you're a vampire, and no one's coming to get you. And as for those men, it was what they deserved." Adamar then drew his hand away from Lilo and turned to face the window. The two sat in silence for a moment, when Adamar turned back to her. "Lilo, you must realize that you will commit acts that most would consider 'monstrous' on nearly a daily basis for the rest of your existence. What makes the difference is not the act, but why the act is done, and how it is carried out. If you were to simply drain away enough blood to support yourself, without seriously harming the one you are feeding upon, is that not better than how you fed before?"
"I don't understand what you are talking about. I've only fed once before, and you said I did a good job restraining myself."
"No Lilo, you must remember the life you had before. Never forget what you were, and who you knew."
At the mention of that, Lilo remembered Stitch. She could only imagine how sad and afraid he must be right now, wondering where she was, if she was hurt. Then she thought of all her friends and family: Jumba, who was probably trying to create a way to find her; Pleakly, who was probably insane with worry; and Victoria, her only human friend. And all the experiments, what would happen with out her? She hoped that they would go on with there lives as they had before, but Lilo knew one experiment who never would. And thus her thoughts drifted back to Stitch.
"Stitch." She muttered.
"What about him, Lilo?" Adamar asked.
She turned toward the other side of the plane. "Will I ever see him again?"
"I cannot answer that. The Council strictly forbad me from bring back any of the experiments. They figured it would only do more harm than good." Adamar said, not turning from the window.
"But Stitch is a special case. He belongs with me. It's his one true place."
Adamar turned from the window, a tiny smile on his face. "If this is, and you truly believe it can be no other way, then trust in fate. Let it bring him back to you."
Lilo smiled gently in return. "Thank you, Adamar." But then the smile vanished. "But I know it won't happen. I don't want him to spend his life looking for me. I want him to be happy with Angel, and start a family."
"Your tone of voice tells me that's not what is in your heart." Adamar simply replied.
"What do you mean?" Lilo said in shock.
"I am over 600 years old. I've learned a thing or two in my time." Adamar said as he patted her forehead.
Lilo's head fell. The more she thought about, the more she missed her friends and family. Vampirism wasn't a way to stay with them; it was only an escape from a possible abusive foster home. But she knew that there was no going back. And the dream still haunted her. Would that be what they thought of her if they found out?
Adamar's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "If he cares as much for you as you know he does, he will find you. Stitch shows great determination and dedication. And besides, he's returned to you once already, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, he has. But how long will it take?"
"I do not know, Lilo."
"But, when he finds me, what will he think of me? I've become a vampire of my own free will." Lilo turned to face Adamar, with a tear coming down her cheek. "Will he think I'm a monster?"
Adamar sighed. "I cannot answer that Lilo. You know him far better than I."
Then Adamar looked down at his watch. "We will be landing soon. Let's hold this discussion until later. I'm sure there will be someone who is eager to meet you waiting for us when we land."
"Who?" Lilo asked.
"One of my roommates." Adamar replied. As if on cue, Adamar's phone rang. He looked at the id. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Who is it?" Lilo asked as she edged over the arm rest to try and see the id on the phone.
Adamar gave her a gentle shove back into her seat as he answered the phone. "Hello Sonya…yes the flight was delayed a bit…I figured you'd be waiting at the airport…yes, fine I'll see you in twenty minutes…Goodbye."
"Was that who's waiting on us at the airport?" Lilo asked.
"Yes, she's a lot more excited than she usually is. And I'm afraid that's saying something." Adamar said as he put his phone away.
"Really, I thought as a, you know, she would be kinda…"
"Like me? No Lilo, our kind have far more varied personalities than those you see on TV. Those are meant to project the emotions the directors and such wish their audience to feel. We, on the other hand, are how do you say, more real life."
"More realistic? How so?" Lilo asked.
"Well, I guess I can compare myself to one of the two others that I share living space with, at least for the moment. Sonya was born in the early 1700's, in colonial Virginia. She's was I guess you'd say the classic Southern Belle. Anyway, even now she still likes parties, where I and my other roommate find them dull or confining. Social places are where she normally goes to find prey."
"I can imagine that." Lilo replied. "I've seen some of the people at the hotel after a party. Some of them probably don't remember anything."
"Well, that and she says it's easier for her to find prey that way. And one can only wonder why." Adamar said with a sarcastic tone.
"Yeah, Nani used to work at a luau, and she had some nasty comments about the guys that got really drunk."
"You truly are mature for your age, aren't you?" Adamar said as he picked up his drink.
"I guess so. But go on, tell me more."
"Alright. Sonya is far more outgoing than myself, even to the point to where she has human acquaintances. She's cheerful while around others, but she's not immature or naïve. No vampire that has made it to her age is. She realizes the truth about the world she lives in, and what is required of her, although she will hardly ever admit it."
"You mean to hunt humans. How do we do that, anyway? I mean, I know we drain blood and use our moonfire and all, but what does that do, anyway?" Lilo asked.
Adamar smiled. "I told you before; the effects of moonfire can be very powerful depending on how it is used. For example, when I use it, it is often a bite of pain. This negative force often causes severe depression and regret, unnerving the recipient."
"Does it make people kill themselves?" Lilo said, her voice caring her feeling of concern.
"It can, depending on how it is used and how much. More often it just causes the victim to be overcome with deep depression and fear." Adamar replied as he took a sip from his drink. "Do not worry Lilo; you will learn in time what you are capable of. No reason to rush things."
"But I need to know how to feed properly, or I might kill someone."
Adamar just shook his head slightly. "Lilo, if you use the bite of pain, and your target dies; chances are you wanted him to. It has to do with you, Lilo, and what deep down you think the person deserves. It is how much you hate him and his acts." Adamar then turned his head slightly away from her. "And I assure you, you will find more than one person like that in your lifetime."
This caused Lilo to look away from Adamar, to hide her tears. I don't want to kill anyone! There's good inside every heart, I know it. There has to be.
Adamar took notice of the girl's tears. "Lilo, not all men in the world are good people. Not everyone is kind at heart like yourself. Some creatures think only of themselves, and what everything can be made for them." Adamar put his hand on her shoulder. "But I will admit, most people are not like this. They are not completely evil, completely selfish. The bite of pain can make them see the error of their ways. It can make them get help, or have them make peace with those they pushed away."
Lilo turned back to face her sire. "But how will I know what to do?"
Adamar wiped a tear from her eye. "I will teach you." He then turned to look at his watch. "But you should not worry right now; we will be landing soon."
A blonde woman, about 5'6 feet tall with a slender build waited for the pair as they got off the plane. "It's about time you got here sugar, any longer and I'd had to have Magicman find ya flight." The woman's head turned down towards Lilo. "And you must be Lilo. Well ain't you just the cutest little thing. Adamar told me a lot about you."
"Only because you haven't stopped calling me for 3 days. And I'm sure you've told everyone you can think of that I now have a ward." Adamar said with no lack of distain.
"Adam, she's your first ward, and such as little sweetheart." The woman replied as she continued to fuss over Lilo, as if she were a new baby.
Adamar just rolled his eyes, while Lilo looked over the woman. She defiantly looked the part of a vampire: her outfit was very gothic, however, the way she talked didn't. "Your Sonya, right? You don't sound like a vampire."
Sonya just put her hand to her mouth and laugh. "You watch a lot of TV, don't you dear? Not all vampires sound like their from Europe, deary, and after a few hundred years, most of us can sound anyway we want to."
"Is that one of our powers?" Lilo asked.
"No, Lilo, that just comes from years of listening and studying others. Not everything is a result of moonfire, much is just living so long." Adamar said as the three started walking toward the exit.
"And it helps to sound like the humans want you to sound. No need to be making them suspicious." Sonya added. "But don't you worry your little head off, sweetie, I'll make sure you know how to get your prey."
"I will be teaching her how to hunt, Sonya." Adamar replied, a bit ticked off.
"Sugar, there are some things she can't learn from you. She needs another lady to teach her how."
"I can teach her fine. Besides, she's too young for your method."
"She won't be for long. Your 600 years made you forget that it doesn't long for a little girl to become a little woman."
"I don't care. Even then yours isn't the only method."
"Well it's a safer method! And far easier."
"And it yields substandard prey."
"Substandard! Just because you have a fetish with playing superhero…"
It was clear that this was about to turn into a shouting match, but Adamar merely held up his hand. "We will continue this discussion in the car, where we can talk in private."
Sonya just huffed as she started to pick up her pace. It was clear she wasn't very happy with Adamar's attitude. She was just trying to help, and he had the audacity to blow her off. He was being stubborn, like always. He needed to realize that his way wasn't the only right way to do something. As she exited the airport, she saw a young man with glasses leaning against the car, with a wide smirk.
"He's back for ten minutes and you've already started fighting. Why am I not surprised?"
"Because he's a self-righteous asshole. I only said I'd help teach her how to hunt." Sonya replied as she popped the trunk.
"That's not surprising. After all, you and Adamar have entirely different methods of hunting and choices of prey. And your methods might be a little 'advanced' for her anyway."
"That's not the point. His method is dangerous and stands a higher risk of being discovered." Sonya said with a sigh. "I mean I know he means well, and he does hunt some of the most deserving of punishment, but he lets it run his life! I mean, when I feed, the victim wakes up at home or in a hotel, and a vampire attack is the last thing on their minds. With him, we're lucky if the poor bastard isn't in the psycho ward or leaping off a bridge."
"Now that's a little harsh." The man said as he looked up at the night sky. "Adamar's possibly the most careful vampire I've ever met, and as a paranoid hacker, that's saying something. He hasn't caused any deaths outside of the occasional rage since you turned me. And that's been at least thirty years. By the way, where is he?"
"I don't know what's keeping him." Sonya said as she looked back inside. "But Magic, I don't want that sweet little girl to turn out as paranoid and reclusive as Adamar is, but it looks like he's going to resist every attempt to socialize her."
"I wouldn't worry about it. If everything I read was true, she's probably going to be a far more social creature than her sire. And you'll still be around her a lot, seeing as you and Adamar are almost inseparable, so you should be able to teach her the finer points of taking advantage of drunks while Adamar is not looking."
"I wouldn't count on that Trevor." Adamar said as he emerged from the airport. "And Lilo should decide for herself which way she will conduct herself regarding that matter."
Magicman just shrugged his shoulders, while Sonya furrowed her brow. "Right. And I suppose your going to buy London Bridge next? Face it sugar, you ain't never been able to mind your own business."
"Look who's talking." Magicman mumbled under his breath.
"Quiet." She snapped back as she opened the car door. "And besides, she needs to be taught how to feed properly. It would be dangerous for her to go in blindly."
"I will teach her the various techniques for hunting and not getting caught, but how and on whom she executes them will be up to her. I don't want to force my method of hunting on her anymore than I want you forcing yours."
"That's fine, I was just saying…"
"Sonya, I know your method is far safer and easier. But Lilo is the type of person who isn't comfortable playing on the emotion of others. She also isn't too keen on harming others."
Magicman could tell that this conversation didn't include him, so he got in the car to wait for the couple to finish arguing. No couple went without fights, in fact Adamar and Sonya quarreled quite a bit. It was best just to let them figure it out and get out of the way.
"Then tell me something. Why did you turn her? I know it wasn't the whole foster home bit, because we've been thru that song and dance before. You'd see a poor foster kid, and then you'd proceeded to feed off his foster parents to punish them. You've never taken a closer interest before." Sonya said as she looked him in the eye.
Adamar turned his head away as he answered. "Because I've never met anyone so pure and unjudgemental before. I've witnessed her befriend creatures that most people would run in fear from. I've seen her do good things, and she didn't deserve the fate of a foster child."
Sonya put her hand to his face and turned it to face her again. "I know you sweetheart, there's more to it than that."
Adamar closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, he gave her the answer. "It's what she told me the night I turned her. She said that she wanted to choose her own fate that she'd rather take to life as a vampire than be subjected to what might wait for her in foster care."
Sonya cracked a smile. "So it was her maturity that lead you to do it? That's the Adamar I know and love. You chose her for what she thought as well as what she had accomplished."
"Yes, I did." Then he turned his head to face the door. "I wonder where she is. She said she had to go to the restroom, but it's been ten minutes. Maybe I should go look for her."
Just as he turned to walk into the building, Lilo stepped outside. She was looking at the two of them while messing with a lock of her hair. Adamar noticed it first: a noticeable part of her hair had starting growing lighter. It was currently a dark grey on a part of the left side of her head, spreading out from the small white area Adamar had noticed earlier.
Sonya let out a small gasp before quickly recomposing herself. Lilo noticed and looked at the pair. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no sweetheart, I just remembered that I forgot a friend's birthday, and that I need to call them tomorrow and apologize. Nothing important." Sonya said, making up and quick and hopefully convincing lie.
This lasted until Magicman got back out of the car and saw the little girl's hair. "Oh crap. Okay, I'm pretty sure everyone else notices, so how come nobody's saying anything?"
Adamar's face immediately showed his annoyance. "Because it's a non-issue."
"The Mark of the Scion is a non-issue? Since when?" Magicman replied.
"Magic, just get back in the car. I'll explain it." Sonya said.
Lilo immediately became worried. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no sweetie. In fact, you're very lucky." Sonya said as she took out a small mirror out of her purse. She held it up to Lilo.
"Yeah, my hair is growing lighter. I thought that was supposed to happen." Lilo replied as she looked over her hair. "Isn't it?"
"What gave you the idea that your hair would turn lighter?" Adamar asked, his face now showing concern.
"My dream. In it I had completely white hair." Lilo replied, looking over the completely white lock of hair.
Before Adamar could respond, Sonya interrupted. "I think it's time we hit the road. We have quite a bit of a drive before we reach home, and I'd like to be there before dawn. I haven't eaten recently and would like to get a quick bite before I take Lilo shopping tomorrow."
"But what about my hair?" Lilo asked, concerned that her hair was just a small symptom of a larger problem.
"I have plenty of time to explain it on the way home. It's at least a four hour drive."
"It is? But I thought you lived in a big city." Lilo replied as she climbed in the car.
"We do, Lilo. But I like to take precautions, so I had us land in a city to the west. That way, if anyone followed us, they would have no idea which city we lived in. They would think that we lived in this city." Adamar said as he got in beside her.
"Yes, Adam is nothing if not cautious. Aren't you sugar bug?" Sonya replied as she got in the front seat.
Adamar rolled his eyes. Sonya had a seemingly infinite amount of pet names for him, and it tended to get embarrassing.
"So what were you going to tell me about my hair? And when will my eyes start to change?" Lilo asked.
"Yep, that's the full Scion's Mark. Hair like snow and eyes like rubies." Magicman replied as he started the vehicle.
"What's a Scion?" Lilo asked.
Sonya began to explain "A vampire said to be favored by Selune herself. Sometimes, when a person is turned, they go thru changes that don't happen to normal vampires. Their hair becomes lighter and their eyes might change color. Magicman here was describing a true Scion, a very rare kind of vampire."
"Will I become one?" Lilo asked. The thought of becoming something special was no doubt exciting, but she couldn't help but realize that her sire was a bit worried.
"I don't know sweetheart. What happened in your dream?"
Lilo proceeded to relate her dream in detail. All the while the look on Adamar's face never changed, but Sonya knew he was becoming worried. Lilo had described a true Scion in extremely accurate detail. They were always female, and their hair did have a tendency to be extremely long, and if it were cut, it would grow back to its normal length within a short time.
"What does it mean? Is it something bad?" Lilo asked, worried again.
"No, Adam's just a worry wart. I guess he's a bit surprised that his first ward turned out to be a Scion." Sonya replied.
"Are Scion's different than other vampires? Do they have special powers?" Lilo asked she took a jar out of the cooler that was on the floor.
"Not that anyone knows of, thought the legends have given a couple of them a big ego. One of the Council members, Nina, is a true Scion. She'll be able to tell if you will become one."
"Then why are they special?" Lilo said as she looked at the contents of the jar. "This is blood, isn't it?"
"Yeah, we figured you might get hungry and Sonya visited a few of her 'friends' before we came." Magicman said just before he honked the horn. "Get of the road, ya drunk!"
"Ignoring Trevor's need to scream at people who can't possibly hear him, Lilo, they are special because it is said they are in the image of the goddess herself, thus the name Scions, or children. They say the first vampire was a Scion, and that from her came all others." Adamar said as he lay back in his chair.
"So they are special because they resemble the first one?"
"As I said before, no one knows. Vampire history may not reach as far back as human history, but most vampires living today are no more than 900 years old, and I can't think of anyone older than 1500. It's possible that the Scions were important for something in the distant past, possibly near the beginning, but it's been forgotten."
"How come no vampires are older than that? Don't we live forever?"
"That would be the Order's fault." Magicman answered.
"The Order?"
"Yeah, the Order. Have Adamar tell you their history, he knows more about it than me."
Adamar sighed. "You just had to bring them up. The Order was formed during around the 14th century, by a group of knights that had uncovered our existence. For years they hunted us under different names and guises, at first to avoid ridicule, and then to avoid recreating the hysteria of the Inquisition."
"You mean the one they started." Magicman added.
"No one can prove that, Trevor. But as I was saying, the wars had gotten us noticed, and the Order had been able to track down many of the old vampires that survived. After a while, we figured out ways to hide ourselves from them, and we have since lost only a few vampires each year. But between them and the infighting, at one time we were all but destroyed."
Adamar immediately noticed the frightened look on Lilo's face. He put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "Do not worry child, the Order has grown weak over the years. Men have all but stopped in believing we are truly real, so the Order finds fewer and fewer recruits. You do not have to worry about them."
Lilo wasn't totally convinced. "But what if one finds me? What do I do?"
"Well, then it's them or you." Magicman replied, and he was immediately struck in the back of the head by Sonya. "What did you do that for?"
"Cause you outta have enough sense to try and not scare little kids." Sonya replied.
"Sorry, but she's gotta know what's out there. But don't worry kid; I don't think Adamar would let them anywhere near you. They'd have to get thru him first, and I can tell you from experience, they don't wanna do that."
"Is Adamar really that strong?" Lilo asked as she looked over to her sire. He just sat in silence.
"He's the best I'd ever met. Only person to ever best him was Jonathan Harker, and that guy has to be dead by now." Magicman replied. "Come to think of the old softie, I guess not everyone in the Order kills vampires needlessly. He let Adamar live."
"Who is Jonathan Harker?" Lilo asked curiously.
Adamar finally broke his silence. "Jonathan Harker is the last of a long line of vampire hunters, and yes, he was the only person to ever defeat me in fair combat. He disappeared shortly after letting me live. Apparently, he had become disgusted with the Order. Like many of the vampire clans, some of the new blood in the Order was extremely violent and loved to kill. The last time I saw him was in Asia. No one in any of the clans has seen him since then. I don't think even the Order knows where their leader is."
"Or if he's even alive today." Sonya added.
"Someone like Harker won't just go quietly into the night. I have a feeling he is still alive and well today. As to what he might be doing, I don't know." Adamar replied.
Lilo listened to everything with complete interest. The world she had entered was more than she could ever have imagined. Ancient orders of both vampires and humans, fighting in the night for almost a millennium, vampires marked from creation as different, Scions, it was so much to take in. But there was no turning back, and deep down she didn't want too. Not because she loved being a vampire, it was cool and all, but she wasn't so sure about what lie ahead. It was because she felt safe; Adamar reminded her of someone. Someone she had lost long ago: her real father. He had always been sort of serious about everything and he had always been there to protect her, to catch her when she fell. From the moment he died until when Stitch came, she had felt alone and vulnerable. She never wanted to feel that way again, and she was sure Adamar would make sure she never would.
Adamar then became silent again, but only in his voice. His mind still raced with possibilities. Harker was alive, Adamar knew it. He had fought along side him and Cobra in Asia those years ago, and he was sure that Cobra was still in contact with him. What would happen if Harker got involved? He would most likely try to kill him: one of the reasons he was spared the first time was because he refused to turn a small boy when the Council had ordered him to directly. But that wasn't what really bothered him. What would Harker do to Lilo? Cobra wouldn't want her killed, but the alternative, locked away in some government facility as a lab rat or worse, could that be any better? No, Harker would kill her before he allowed that to happen; he believed that a quick death was far better than a life of possible torture.
Little did he realize that Harker was the least of his problems.
A shadowy figure had been watching them at the airport, and now he was typing into a laptop computer. The man had ratty brown hair and wore a black trench coat. He connected a small camera to it and uploaded several pictures, snickering to himself.
"I'm sure to get a promotion for this." He said as he finished sending the files. He then took out his cell phone and dialed a number.
A phone rang in the middle of an extravagantly furnished room. Paintings adorned the walls on all sides, and everything was made of the finest materials. A female servant picked up the phone and answered it.
"Yes, the lady is in, but I'm afraid she is busy…yes, I will tell her if it is that important."
The servant went to quickly to the door at the end of the room and knock on it. "My lady, Sir Raven is on the phone, he says it's important."
She heard a loud scream as a reply. "YOU KNOW NOT TO DISTURB ME WHEN I FEED!"
The woman cowered. "He says it has to do with an Adamar."
The voice behind the door quickly changed it's tone. "Indeed? I will see what he wants then."
The woman behind the door rose from her bed. Beside her was a man in his early forties, obviously very weak, like he had been drained over and over again for at least several days. The woman herself looked to be in her mid twenties, with flawless skin and a perfect figure. She ran her fingers thru her stark white locks as she picked up the receiver. "Raven, this had better be good…What! That's a lie. Adamar has never taken a ward, and I don't see how he'd start after 500 hundred years…Fine, I will look at your little pictures, and you'd better be right."
The woman walked over to her computer and opened the email she had been sent. She had to admit, for all their flaws, humans could be clever when they wanted to be. Of course, she would like it better if they were creative for their true masters. She opened the file and began to watch the footage of Sonya walking out of the airport. She hissed a little at the sight of her. She watched her and one of the hackers talk about Adamar. She then fast forwarded to Adamar stepping out of the building. "I don't see a ward, Raven. Where is it?"
"Wait patiently my lady, you will see her soon." Raven replied on the other end of the line.
The woman fast forwarded the footage until she saw a little girl, no more than eight or nine, walk up to the group. She immediately froze the picture. Her ruby eyes zoned in on a small lock of the girl's hair. Then she enlarged the picture and cleared it up so she could see that the girl's hair was starting to change color! Her lips curled up in an evil grin, exposing her bloody fangs. She then turned up the sound so she could hear what was being said. She only had to listen for a few moments to confirm her suspicions.
"Raven, I want you to follow Adamar. Do you know where he is headed?"
"Yes my lady." Raven replied.
"Good. I want you to follow him and his new ward. I want to know all about her. Everything."
"Yes my lady. Do you plan on killing her?"
"What I plan to do Raven is not of importance to you. You will follow them and await my next orders, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes my lady."
The woman put down the receiver and turned back to the video of Lilo and Adamar, her smile even wider. "So her name is Lilo. How exotic. My dear Adamar, I think I will finally be able to forgive you. Once your ward assists me in achieving our race's birthright, I think I will take you back. After I get rid of that hussy Sonya once and for all, of course."
The woman rose from her computer and put on a robe. She opened the doors wide with a huge grin. "Servant girl, where is Thomas?"
"He is in the gym, Lady Kara. Should I fetch him?" the young woman replied, not wanting to anger her master.
"I will fetch him myself. Have some of the others dispose of my plaything, I grow tired of him. Besides, an important matter has come up that I will see to personally."
The servant didn't even question why. She merely gave a nod and left the room. Kara then proceeded to walk down a series of several hallways in her large mansion until she reached her personal gym. Inside a muscular bald man was lifting weights. He was covered in tattoos of all different sorts, and had piercings in several different places.
"Thomas, something has come up that I want you to see to personally."
The man put away his weights and rose from the bench. "Yes matron, what do you wish?"
"It seems an old paramour of mine has finally decided to take a ward. A little Hawaiian girl." Kara said with a small amount of morbid excitement.
"Why does this interest you my lady?" Thomas replied. He had served Kara Burkinstein every since she had turned him over 50 years ago, when he was a solder in the German army, and he had never seen her this excited over anything, save a new human to play with.
"She's a Scion. A full Scion. Her hair has already begun to change color rapidly, and I've been assured that she has not been a vampire for more than a day or so."
Kara herself was a full Scion, and Thomas knew she'd been searching for another for years. Partial Scions, vampires with lighter hair, often white, were rare in that only 1 in 100 vampires would ever experience the change. Full Scions where extremely rare. In fact, the only other full Scion still alive was Nina Marcello, a vampire at least 200 years older than Kara. But Kara wanted a new Scion, a child if she could get one. Why Thomas was unsure, Scions didn't have any special abilities, at least none anyone knew of, but he did not question his creator. "Are you sure she's not just a partial Scion? Has she shown the Mark yet?"
"I don't need to see the Mark, Thomas, she had the dream. The Dream of the Shrine. She is a full Scion. It is only a matter of time before the Mark shows itself."
The mark of a True Scion was in their eyes. In addition to losing all hair color, their eyes would take on a special shade of red, a deep orange red not seen in humans. Their hair would also begin to grow out to an extremely long length, and nothing could be done to be rid of it. Even if shaved off it would regrow to an almost gown like length in a matter of hours. Kara kept hers in a various number of hairstyles, but preferred to keep it free when in private. After all, she was the image of a goddess.
"What do you wish me to do, my lady?" Thomas asked as he put his shirt on.
"I have sent Raven to scout and find out everything on the little girl. When he locates her and her sire, I want you to take all of your best enforcers and bring her back to me. Unhurt if possible, and alive regardless."
"All of my best enforcers? Surely her sire can't be that powerful."
Kara cracked a wicked grin. "It's Adamar."
Thomas returned her grin. He hated Adamar, and to take his first ward right from under his nose, it would be the sweetest assignment he'd ever been given. "Yes my lady. And you will want Adamar alive as well?"
"If you can. After all, it's no fun if he can't suffer. If at all possible, snatch her when she is away from her sire. I want Adamar to come to us."
"Yes Lady Kara. Consider the child yours."
"Good, be ready to head out a first notice." Kara said as she left the room. Finally, after all these centuries of searching, I've found a child Scion, and in the place I least expected it. Dear sweet Adamar, you have just delivered to me the last piece of the puzzle, and you don't even know it.
It had been several hours since they had left the airport, and Lilo was starting to get tired. The clock on the dash read 4:35 AM, and they had left a little after midnight. "Are we almost there yet?"
"Sure are, in fact, we're coming up to the ol' Mississippi River right now. Just gotta cross that and we're home." Sonya replied.
"The Mississippi River? Where have I heard that before?" Lilo said as she suddenly realized she had never asked where they were going.
"In school I'd imagine, it is the longest river in the US." Magicman replied. "At least I think they still teach that in school."
"They do, but I think I know it from somewhere else." Lilo said as she looked out the window.
"Well, there it is. The Mighty Mississippi. And just beyond it…" Sonya started.
Lilo's eyes went wide as she saw the large pyramid jutting out into the river. There was no mistaking where she was.
"Memphis." She said in a shocked tone.
"Yep, Memphis Tennessee. Ain't as big as where we use to live, but it has it's charms." Sonya replied as she looked at the excitement on the girl's face. "Look's like someone's maybe an Elvis fan."
"Oh that's just great." Magicman remarked sarcastically. "And I suppose she's going to want to see Graceland tomorrow. I've been there kid, and I've seen bigger houses."
"I've been there too, and it was wonderful." Lilo replied.
"So you've been here before Sugar?" Sonya asked as she turned back around.
"Yeah, with my sister and the rest of my ohana." Lilo said somewhat depressed. All the happy memories she had of this place were overshadowed by the fact she'd never see any of them again.
"What's an ohana?" Magicman asked.
"It means family." Adamar said. Unfortunately, what he said caused Lilo to start to cry.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Sonya asked.
"Family means nobody gets left behind." She managed to sniffle out.
"Or forgotten. And I don't think you will ever forget them Lilo." Adamar replied.
"How…how did you know the rest?" Lilo said, looking up at the older vampire.
"I saw a lot of what you and Stitch did on a daily basis. I picked it up when you were trying to convince your sister to forgive one of the experiments after it damaged the house."
"Yeah, don't worry. I still remember my folks, and it's been almost 300 years since I saw them last." Sonya added.
It worked. Lilo's tears started to dry up. "I guess you're right. And I know they will never forget me either."
"See, that's the spirit. Now dry those eyes. You're going to be alright."
"Thanks Sonya." Lilo then returned her attention to the outside, and all the lights of the city. She had a new life waiting for her. A life far away from a foster home and from all the bad memories of her old life. But she would never forget Stitch, and deep down, she believed what Adamar had said before, that she would see him again. Someday, somewhere.
End Chapter 6
Next Chapter
A New Life