So like. Merry belated Christmas and boxing day. And early happy new year. =D I know it's the holidays and all, but I'm hardly getting any reviews. Pleasee?? It makes me happier and confident-er. Rofl. But seriously. Please review?

Warmth in the Darkness, Chapter 8: Vampires, Werewolves and Singers, oh my!

Enter Calix, Jarius, Cedar, Lamar and Ramane

Adriel's P.O.V

"Hey, it's Adriel! My man!" A vampire sauntered up to Adriel, with the rest of the gang following.

The leader of the gang, Cedar, grinned and motioned for a blow on the cigarette that was in Adriel's mouth. Adriel gave it to him, and faded into a dark corner of the alley. He pulled up his hood cautiously, eyes flickering for any tell-tale sign of spying.

It was the middle of the night, and he was meeting up with the gang, his friends, to activate the plan. The plan was simple… wait for everyone to meet at the specific alley, go to the Circle Daybreak headquarters, let the guy witch, Lamar, remove any spells that were preventing entry, plant the bomb, then get the hell out of there. Entirely necessary, considering Circle Daybreak wants to reveal themselves to the humans again, so they can dance in a circle while drinking cocktails. The idea was as good to Adriel as being run over by a truck ten times. Unpleasant, leaving a sick feeling in his mouth. Not even cigarettes help.

"Are you ready?" Cedar asked everyone.

They nodded as one.

"Lamar, you've got the stuff?"

The burly witch in a black wife beater reached in his pocket and pulled out the bomb. His white teeth glinted in the dark. "We're good."

Cedar nodded and motioned for one of the guys in black to go first. He sniffed, and took off to the right. Adriel smirked. Werewolf. The stupidest ones of them all. But good as hunting dogs.

The group split into pairs – Adriel was with Cedar – and they all tread warily in the shadows, ducking behind walls whenever a Night Person walked by. Soon, the Circle Daybreak Headquarters rose before them… Aradia's newly built estate. Three apartments in total, circling a courtyard.

It would actually be cool to live there… if I knew it wasn't part of Circle Daybreak, Adriel thought. He dropped his cigarette on the sidewalk, stepping on it with his foot. He slunk farther into his hoodie, wanting some kind of protection from any unspotted prying eyes.

"We have to meet up," Cedar murmured.

Adriel knew everyone would hear perfectly fine, and soon enough, he and Cedar's corner was packed with the gang.

"Listen up. Lamar, Adriel and I are the only ones going in this time," Cedar whispered. His eyes darted around, looking for any hint of danger. "I'm the only one who has the power to reach you all, Lamar's the only one who can install the bomb and Adriel is the fastest and the most alert. No offence. So if I contact the rest of you in any way, come in quietly. It might be a false alarm. But for now, just stay at the corners of the headquarters. Got it?" Cedar's eyes finally met with everyone's and they all grinned, anticipated for what was to come. "But seriously guys, I don't wanna fuck this up. So pay attention to everything."

Adriel snorted, and pulled his hood the farthest it would go to cover his face. He waited for Lamar to remove the spells and traps before sprinting ahead, on guard for any sudden movements.

"Safe," he murmured, and waited for the two to catch up.

Lamar was first, grinning and admiring the estate. But Adriel could tell he was on guard, by the crease between his eyebrows. He's sensing for more traps and spells, too, Adriel realized. Smart. Cedar was very concentrated; his eyes were wide open, unlike the slits he always wears, and teeth clenched.

They walked to the middle apartment, where they knew by spies, was the main headquarters, where the computers, weapons and crap were. I really need a cigarette, Adriel thought dully. Halfway to the door, Lamar suddenly put his arms out.

"Trap," he whispered.

He undid the spell, and motioned for them to walk forward. They finally reached the glass double doors that were proudly standing before them. Adriel warily reached out and pulled it open. The doors let out a soft whisper. Perfect. They all warily made their way into the building, alert for the slightest sound.

Unknown Person's P.O.V

The moon was shining brightly against the dark black night. Stars twinkled down at me as I ran at top speed to my stupid older brothers. The calm cloak of the night was doing nothing to stifle my anger; it was too fierce. How I wished to be with her right now instead of doing this crap. Just the thought of my soulmate made me hesitate – I can always fly a plane back. But there are responsibilities I must fulfill.

I followed my nose to the smell of human flesh and to my brothers' scent.

The scent of pine trees and sweat.

The scent of a werewolf.

I slowed down when I was closer; I could hear them pacing and arguing about what to do with the victims. Damn them. I used my snout to push away low branches and tall grass, snarling under my breath. I don't want to be here. I guess I have to shapeshift back to my human form to be able to talk. I plucked a stray leaf from my spiky black hair and stuck in my lip ring and earring dully before treading carefully to the scene.

Holy shit.

"How the fuck did you guys do that?!"

My two brothers growled together at the sound of my voice. But they relaxed once they saw it was only me.

"Hey. Umm… we got into a little trouble," Calix said, laughing a little.

"I can see that, Calix! But what the fuck did you do to them?!"

"Uh…" Calix looked at my eldest brother, Jarius, helplessly.

Jarius grinned wolfishly, and winked at me. "We were a little hungry, that's all."

The smell of the leftover flesh drifted over, and my stomach growled. Betrayed again. Both of them grinned.

"You wanted some?" Calix asked, with mock sympathy. "We could've saved some for you if you'd told us."

Jarius smirked. "Don't be silly, Calix. Our dear brother has his 'soulmate'." He scoffed. "And, when you get to her, may I ask that you leave some of her for us as well?"

I snarled, my face twisted into a look of anger, jealously and guilt before I lunged at him.

I won't let her get hurt.

Adriel's P.O.V

Inside, it was every bit as enchanting as it was outside. Though it was dark, he could see marble floors, glass walls and doors, as well as silk drapes.

Marble, glass, silk.

Sunshine, flowers, singing birds.

Perhaps the comparison was downgrading, but at least to others it would sound flattering.

"Adriel! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

He turned, unaffected, to see Cedar and Lamar glaring at him.

"What?"

"Stop wandering off, dumbass!" Lamar hissed. "You're going to get us all caught, and who's fucking fault will that be, huh?" He advanced on Adriel threateningly.

No one like him talks to me like that.

Adriel just smirked and waited for him to come. Before, he had backed up into a drawer. He opened it now and slowly drew out an iron knife. When Lamar was close enough, he whipped out the knife and pressed it against Lamar's throat.

"You wanna go, man? Against this knife?" He breathed.

Lamar laughed. "What's so scary bout that? Just a cut. I'm a man."

Adriel laughed along. "It's made of iron."

Lamar froze, and then struggled against Adriel, only to have the knife wedged deeper into his throat. "Who's got the upper hand? Who's got the fucking upper hand? You move, just one cut would get you for good." He pressed the blade harder, hearing Lamar's breathing go shallow. "So now whose fault would it be?"

"Me," Lamar gasped.

"Good boy," Adriel said. How satisfying.

He let go of him and silently put the knife back into the drawer. When they were walking steadily – Lamar still trembling slightly – Cedar used his power and spoke to him.

Adriel. That wasn't the right time. You could've gotten us caught, man.

Adriel nodded curtly, still not agreeing.

Cedar rolled his eyes. At least leave it till later, when we're out of here.

Yes. Adriel smirked.

I will deal with him after the bomb is set.

Another Unknown Person's P.O.V

I listened to my music backstage as my helpers bustled around everywhere, checking if my mike was clipped on properly, if I needed to add more makeup, or if my hair was done well.

Of course everything was fine.

My lips formed the words I was bound to sing onstage, to practice the already rehearsed lyrics I wrote over two years ago. I remembered when I first heard the notes in my head when I was playing a few random notes on my keyboard. I recalled scribbling down those notes and coming up with a true melody. The melody that I later used in my first song.

My phone vibrated in my pocket – it must be a message. Curious, I opened it, and found familiar wordings.

hey gurl. i'm da restaurant near ur house. i'll stop by.

Again? She can't go, or else she'll find out. I quickly typed back a reply, saying that I was out with some friends. I shut off my phone and quickly gave it to a nearby worker, telling her to give it back afterwards.

Someone tapped me on my shoulder softly. Pulling out my earbuds, I turned around to see my favourite person in the world, Ramane. The one who talks to me like we're best friends, the one who doesn't really care when I spill things on her $3000 shirt, the one who defends me like a hawk does for her hatchling.

My manager.

She wasn't really older than me, I was 13 and she was 18. It made us closer than a singer and her manager normally would.

"What's up?" I asked, lips curved in a smile.

"You seriously didn't hear? The person who owns this place shouted for at least five hours!" She whispered.

"I was listening!" I protested, waving my iPod in her face. As I saw the logo on the back, I remembered when I got it for free, as thanks from Apple for doing their commercial.

"Alright. So you say." She patted my shoulder, and opened up her purse, pulling out a tube of lipstick and a handy mirror. "So anyways," she said. Her words were a bit distorted because of the lipstick that was being smushed onto her lips. "As I was saying, the woman who owns this place said that –"

The old overhead speaker crackled, catching their attention. "Attention everyone. Onstage in 2 minutes. I repeat 2 minutes."

Ramane dropped her lipstick and mirror into her purse again before looking at the speaker in exasperation. "We know. You told us that just a few seconds ago," she grumbled.

I laughed, trying not to stare at her redred lips too hard. "Maybe she's crazy," I said happily. I idly swirled my thumb along the iPod's Apple click wheel, feeling how smooth it was. Smooth and sensitive… fragile.

"Good point. Maybe she'll have to –"

"– go to a mental hospital!" I interrupted, smiling.

Ramane faked a pissed look. "I was going to say that."

We weren't really different, Ramane and I. We both enjoyed singing, even though she said that no one liked her voice, we both thought like each other, and we came from the same type of family – strict, one sister, parents from Hong Kong. We both have long black hair, pale-ish skin and big almond shaped eyes that we exaggerated in pictures.

I shrugged contentedly, sticking in my ear buds. Ramane raised an eyebrow accusingly. I made one my weird faces and turned away. Before long, Ramane pulled out one of my earbuds.

"Hey! I –"

"Listen," she murmured.

"– minute. I repeat, 1 minute."

Woah. That was fast.

I quickly turned off my iPod, and wrapped the earphones neatly around it. In sync with Ramane, she held out a hand for it.

"Phone?" she asked.

"Oh, I gave it to some worker called Hazel," I replied absently while taking out her compact mirror.

She tutted me as I fixed my bangs. "You never know if she would steal it or sell it on eBay for god knows how much." She poked me on the arm in reproof. "You gotta get used to being a star. Some people worship you, ya know."

I smiled, flattered. "Okay." I snapped the mirror shut. "Do I look fine?"

Ramane scrutinized my appearance while I fixed my homemade black lace skirt and white t-shirt expertly. She smoothed my long ponytail, tightened my black wrist choker and bent down to tug up my black and white striped leggings.

"You're good to go."

I hugged her happily before going into the moving centerpiece, where I would rise up. Just by that I was excited. Everyone came to check up on me, the technical staff person came and double checked if my mike was on right, my makeup professional came to do my last bit of makeup, my dance choreographer coming to give me my prop – a black baseball bat and my hair stylist came to make sure my hairstyle won't fall apart.

Ramane leaned against a wall, grinning.

Suddenly, the stage manager came running up. "I hope you have a great show!" He said brightly. "Remember everything we've taught you."He raised his voice. "Everybody! Come here!" They all crowded around me and Ramane like little children. "We've worked hard for this. Now's the time to relax and enjoy the show! Onstage in 5, okay?"

They all dispersed in a hurry, some wishing me luck. But the stage manager stayed, speaking on her mike. I guess she could communicate with everyone through that.

God, I hope I don't screw this up. I was starting to feel nervous, though eager to perform.

"You're going to be great," Ramane encouraged.

I nodded my thanks and paced around in the centerpiece, my black and white Nike 6.0 high-tops thumbing softly .

"4," The stage manager whispered.

I crouched down into my starting position, gripping the baseball bat.

"3…"

My stomach did flips.

"2…"

I heard the presentation start, the deep bass thrumming in tune with my heart.

"1…"

A roar of clapping and cheering made me smile.

"Have a great show," he murmured.

The moving centerpiece slid up slowly and silently. I saw Ramane's smiling face disappear beneath me. The higher I got, the darker my surroundings became. I heard the ending to the presentation, the part when I get out of the car with my baseball bat to whack the other gang. The stage was still dark, and I could see most of the glowing signs that were sold in the front foyer. They were all basically the same, in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, and I was glad that they were spelt correctly.

The music started and I could hear everyone chanting loudly, almost screaming my name.

Coraa.

How's that for a lot of P.O.V's? And a long chapter? = actually i don't know if that was long or not. Tell me the truth – do you guys like Vivienne's personality? It's not like I'm going to change it. I just wanted to know. And you can tell me by clicking that attractive button down there. =)