AN-Wow two updates in a month! (Author pats herself on the back). I hope you like it. Just a warning about language though. Thank you to all my reviewers! You guys are terrific! Now on to the story!
Chapter Six – Inside the Dark Menagerie, Part 1
Kierlan stared down to the floor below. There the throng pulsed to the erotic beat of the music. They were like a mindless mass, unaware of the dangers that danced amongst them. Some of them won't survive the night. He wondered who would be the select few, the "special guests," to be invited to the back rooms. Where real monsters laid in wait.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. Where did it go? His eyes scanned the crowd again. There! In the corner, by that column. The figure stared right back at him, unperturbed by the fact that Kierlan could see him also. Then just like that, he was gone. Who was that? Why was he staring at me? Weird.
"Kierlan, I'm afraid I've lost your attention yet again." The exasperated voice startled Kierlan, and he turned his head to stare into those pale eyes. The old man never failed to unnerve him, not that he'd ever admit that. Those eyes, they were a blue so pale it almost seemed colorless. However, despite that whatever the old man might seem to be feeling, those eyes always showed a different emotion: contempt and a tinge of something else...madness? They scared the hell out of him. Kierlan shifted his eyes from his, and instead locked gazes with the third member of their group. Ryviern looked at him curiously, and then sniffed as if to say that whatever bothered Kierlan was beneath him. Kierlan glared at him in defiance, which brought a smirk from the dragon.
Impudent pup, the dragon thought.
Turning once again to the aged creature to his right, Kierlan said, "I'm sorry, Cale. I'm just a little distracted tonight."
"I can see that. Care to tell me what the matter is?" Kierlan shook his head absently, his mind once again wandering. The image of hair of spun gold, and eyes of cerulean blue came unbidden in his mind. Sarah. Like always the thoughts of his soulmate triggered a pain in his chest, a reminder of the bond they shared, and of his betrayal. I'm sorry, Sarah. I pray to the Goddess that you'll be able to forgive me, someday.
A new voice, one with an undertone of animal savagery barely leashed, broke through his muddled thoughts. Kierlan fixed his eyes on the shapeshifter, one of Ryviern's lapdogs.
"Lord Ryviern, sir, there's trouble below."
Ryviern's eyes flashed with annoyance. "Can't it wait?"
"I'm sorry, milord, but I thought that you might want to know that the dissident has returned." Cale's eyes narrowed in suspicion while Ryviern felt like gutting the imbecile before him. Kierlan imagined that the room just got a little colder.
"And who may I ask is this dissident?" Ryviern could tell that by the old man's tone he was probing for information. He had to stop him.
The bite in his tone caught everyone's attention. "He is just a stupid incompetent. I should have killed him long before now, but felt he might have been still useful. It appears that I was wrong." To the guard he said, "Tell him I'll be right there." The guard left immediately with his message. Ryviern turned to Kierlan. "I'm sorry, to both of you, but as you can see I have a few things to attend to. Enjoy your meals." Kierlan just shrugged, and turned away. Cale, however, continued to stare after the retreating dragon. Something about Ryviern's behavior bothered him. That dragon had too many secrets.
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The figure in the shadows also watched Ryviern's receding back. The man bothered him, something just wasn't right. It was as if the very presence, or aura, of the man couldn't quite fit into his body. Even from where he was, the figure in the shadows could feel the power roll off the receding form. That was one person he did not want to tangle with. Returning his attention to the couple at the table, he felt his rage simmer as his eyes landed on the Cale. Just seeing the decrepit, old man brought the savage side of him. He'll need to learn to reign in his temper. Now was not the time to be rash, he had other things to do first. His honey- colored eyes locked on the boy, who stared out into space, lost in his own thoughts. No threat was coming from that corner. Then he turned his gaze to across the room where he knew another was watching the boy. Interesting, he mused. He had better get his business done soon; he had a feeling that tonight the show was going down. Too bad he'll be long gone to watch.
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"You damn, reckless fool!" Ryviern felt his power build as his anger threatened to explode. The fool, the idiot! Damn him! His mind screamed. He was so incensed that he couldn't really make out the gagging sounds coming from the throat he was crushing. He snarled as he felt hands grasp his arms.
Dashear gasped in pain as Ryviern's power flowed over his body. Gods, it felt like a freezing stream of rushing knives, all slicing through his skin. Tears leaked through his closed eyelids, and slid down his red face. The display of weakness only increased Ryviern's intense disgust and rage.
"Ryviern, get a hold of yourself!" This came from his second.
"No, he needs to be made an example of!"
"You will release my brother right now, Ryviern." The pain in his arm finally overwhelmed his blood lust. Ryviern slacked his hold, and then released his victim. The man slumped to the ground, clutching at his throat and gagging. Intense anger shone from the depths of his obsidian eyes. Then, he turned his eyes to his brother, and he held no expression. Darshane looked at him with contempt. He did not save his brother even in the pretense of sibling love. No, there wasn't any love lost between them. They were just so few in numbers already, and even though Dashear was a liability now, they would still need him in the fight to come. His brother glared back with equal scorn. No, there was definitely no love lost between them. Darshane slowly released Ryviern, who whirled to face him. The last shreds of bloodlust could still be seen in his eyes.
"How dare you stop me! I don't care if he is your twin, because of his foolery the Night World now knows of our existence!"
"I know that, but he may still prove useful in the future. We can't afford any losses right now." Ryviern clenched his eyes as the logic sank in, and he leashed his fury. He nodded resolutely. Then he heard something from outside. Sniffing the air, his lips pulled back in a sneer. Raven. Damn that interfering bitch! Good thing Darshane stopped me. The rest of his anger was gone with that thought.
He barely glanced at Dashear as he passed. To the brother, he said, "There's trouble in the hall. I'll be right back." Darshane gave a brisk nod, and watched as Ryviern exited the room.
Focusing his attention on Dashear again, he said in a voice that did not hide his disdain, "Do you have any idea of what your recklessness had cost us? Because of your little episode, the Night People now know of us! You may have lost us the element of surprise! Why in the fucking hell were you in Las Vegas anyway?" Dashear mumbled something under his breath. Darshane yanked his head up by his hair and spittle flying, yelled into his face, "Speak up! What did you say!"
Dashear stared up at him in derision. "I said that I felt someone..."
"What? You felt someone?" He didn't even try to hide the derision in his tone.
"A burst of power, so much power. It came from the West, so I decided to go see what it was." As simple as that, Darshane contemplated. Then he pondered. He never felt such burst of power, and Ryviern never mentioned of any such thing. The implications of that revelation alone made him frown. Maybe he was wrong to hinder Ryviern from killing his imbecile of a brother. If he was powerful enough to sense what they could not, then he could be a threat. He'll think about that later. Right now what mattered was what Dashear discovered. He chained his brother to the wall; Dashear's body so depleted that there was not even a thought of him escaping. Once outside, he sent a message to Ryviern, Meet me in the Library, we may have another problem on our hands.
I'll be there. With that Darshane quickly walked towards the "Library," a troubling thought niggling him in the back of his mind.
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Branna walked down the gloomy hallway. No one really used these pathways, or rather, tunnels. From far above her, she could hear the reverberating beet of music. Just then a scream cut through the darkness. Branna turned her head towards the screams, and shivered. Sounds like these halls are not as empty as I thought. Then she heard a voice, and instantly knew who it was. What is Ryviern doing down here? Another scream slashed the air. Goddess, how did I get into this mess? Oh yeah, Hunter, that fucking, lying SOB. Damn him! At that her eyes squinched shut, but it wouldn't block the sudden wave of sorrow the welled up in her. Goddess, I will not cry, I will not! I've shed enough tears for that cold- hearted bastard. Stop it! Get a hold of yourself, old gal. However, the pain of betrayal still throbbed inside her. It's a good thing you're dead, Hunter, or else I'll skin you alive four ways till Sunday for what you've gotten me into.
"You damn, reckless fool!" Ryviern icy voice thundered down the dank hallway. A terrified man scurried towards her. Branna ignored him at first, concentrating instead on breathing while her heart was in her throat.
"Hey, you there! What is going on here?" The werewolf gave her a disdainful look, before moving around her. When he was almost past her, she shot her hand out, and he wheezed as her fingers wrapped around his throat. Instantly she schooled her face, leaving a cold, blank mask in place. At least that's what he saw. Dragon forgotten, he stared into her deep blue eyes. She gave him a little smile, and felt his heart rate jump a notch. Oh yeah, being feared is wonderful thing. Gently caressing his cheek, she drew her finger nail down the side of his face, a line of blood appeared. He gulped. If he was terrified before, he was scared shitless now. "Now, I'm only going to ask again once. What is going on?"
"Nnnothing, miss, miss..."
"You know who I am, and you know also that I don't like being lied to. Now tell me the truth." Her soft Irish accent smoothed over her dulcet tones. Putting more pressure on his neck, she waited for his answer. It didn't take long.
"II'm sorry, miss, the the Lord Ryviern is just punishing someone. A disobedient shapeshifter. That's all." Hmmm...he sounds like he's telling the truth, but not all of it. This doesn't seem to be a regular punishment. Something is off here. What is it?
"Raven, would you please let go of my soldier." Ryviern's cold voice interrupted them. Shit! I hate it when he does that! I hate that I can't sense him. It's down right disconcerting. She slowly released her grasp, and the puppy slipped to the floor coughing. Some soldier, all I did was draw a little blood and he broke. That's just pathetic. The pup scurried away as fast as he could without another word, trying to put as much space between him and the mean beasties.
Staring into Ryviern's cold grey eyes, she guessed she couldn't blame him, and felt her own fear rise up again. Judging by the dragon's smug grin, he sensed it too. That did it; no way was she going to lose face in front of fire-breath here. Oh yeah, anger was good, and she encouraged it. Once again, she became the self-confident killer she knew she was. Let's play a game shall we. She gave him a sensual smile of her own. Sexy, but dangerous. Come on little fly, come to my web.
Ryviern was impressed by her transformation. However, his eyes narrowed in suspicion when she became the deadly seductress, and he suddenly felt the tendrils of uncertainty. All of a sudden, his caution was swept away, and he felt his guards shut down. A warm breeze seemed to flow through him, filled with the smell of desire and sex. He looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. Her dark ebony locks curled around her, framing her face. He new that in the light, they would shine with reddish highlights. Her cupid-bow mouth was lush, and her pale skin shined in the darkness. It was this realization that nearly stopped him, he was so close, yet not close enough. Just a few inches and he could...what the fuck was he doing! His eyes snapped in anger, as he recognized her power, which still rolled through his mind.
"Get out of my fucking mind, bitch!" He stepped away from her, heaving in anger. The satisfied smile on her face just made him even more enraged.
"What on earth do you mean? How could a lowly vampire possibly be-spell you, a great and powerful dragon?"
"Shut it, wench!" Leaning in close to her, he gave her a leer. "You think that you're so hot, little girl, what with your new powers, but don't you forget I have tricks up my sleeve to." Leaning in close to her again, he was satisfied to hear her breath hitch. "Then again, maybe I'll show them to you one day. What fun we'll have."
Okay, maybe playing games with him wasn't exactly a brilliant idea.
Raven, come see me. Never in her life had she wanted to hear the old man's voice than at that moment.
Still leaning into her, Ryviern gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "You better go." Unable to say a word, she just dumbly nodded, quickly did an about-face, and started to walk away. Not caring anymore about what lay in the room back down the hallway, she focused more on getting her shaking legs to work. I will not run, I will not run, I will not run. The she heard Ryviern's manic laughter rise up behind her. To hell with dignity, she fled, wanting to get as far away from the chilling laughter as she could.
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Keller was not in a good mood. Why did she have to wear freaking leather! She kept trying to tug the black mini-skirt down, but somehow it always rode up. Then there was her shirt, which showed too much skin for her taste. To its credit though, the red sparkling top did mold to her body, accentuating her curves, and she had to admit that the little growl that escaped from Galen when he looked at her did boost her ego a tinge. Fortunately, she won the battle over the boots. She was adamant that there was no way in freaking hell that she was wearing the high heels that Winnie had chosen for her. NO, instead she was wearing a safe, easy to run with, more practical pair. And tonight practical definitely seemed best.
Compared to Winnie, Keller looked downright conservative. The witch was enchanting in a short dress that not only showed off her assets but also made movement definitely easy. Even then, Keller was glad it was Winnie and not her that was wearing the getup. They were mostly counting on her witchfire for tonight, but just in case, she had three knives hidden somewhere in the dress. Nissa was the lucky one in Keller's opinion. She got to wear a nice pair of black velvet slacks, and a gorgeous, shimmering blue top. Gorgeous, shimmering blue top? Sheesh, when did I become a fashion critic? Winnie or Iliana must be rubbing off on me.
Right now, they were dancing in the giant throng of gyrating bodies. The others, were stationed around the room. All eyes were on the trio at the table. It wasn't hard to spot Kierlan; he just had a certain magnetism that drew everyone's gaze to him. Keller thanked whatever higher being that Kierlan had not seen them yet.
Turning her gaze to the others with him, she tried to contain her shiver. The old man seemed harmless enough, but the one beside him? She visibly quivered, and hoped that nobody saw her reaction. All she saw was his wavy dark locks. Then she saw his equally dark eyes, and stopped the second shiver from overtaking her body. Do all dragons have black hair and eyes? Azhdeha had been a tough one to kill, but somehow she knew in her gut that this guy would be even harder. He had an air of control and power that made Azhdeha seem like a spoiled toddler with a temper, who just happened to have an amazing amount of power to go with his little fist. Somehow she knew that this new dragon was not a child, not by a long shot. Shit, we're in trouble.
All of a sudden, the dragon got up and left. Instantly, she felt Dominic's presence in her mind. Vampires sure are good for some things. Walkie-talkies were just too conspicuous. Keller, the dragon's going towards the back. Me, Johnny, and Ramón are going to follow him. Think you can get the kid out without blowing the place to smithereens?
Can the sarcasm, Dom. Just make sure you don't get caught, Winnie sent, mock outraged at the implication of any incompetence on their behalf. Keller and Nissa shared a look, trying to keep the smile from their faces. If nothing else good came out of this mission, at least they got to watch the amusing banter between their dear teammate and Keller's second.
Why, Winnie, I'm really touched that you're so concerned about me. I knew that you had feelings for me! Have no fear I shall return to you.
I don't care about you, you smug bastard! Just don't blow our cover! Her indignation swept through their connection.
Keller struggled to keep the amusement from her tone as she sent, I hear you, Dom, don't worry about us. We'll get Kierlan out of here; you just focus on what you gotta do. Then just like he appeared, his presence was gone. It was risky using telepathy in a place full of vampires and other Night People, but Dom was pretty strong, and he seemed to be able to block all other listeners and interferences. At least, no one had caught them yet.
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The figure in the shadows watched as three others followed the guy with the creepy aura. Interesting. So the fun starts now, hmm. He waded through the crowd towards their direction, thankful that no one had recognized him. He already knew where the entrance to the underground pathways was. This hoping they haven't magically changed in the several months since he'd last been here. Wrapping himself in his cloak, he descended down a dark, long flight of stairs, and into a maze of passageways many feet below the surface.
He followed the three suspicious-looking men, until they stopped abruptly at an intersection. The leader whipped his head back and forth at the other hallways in disbelief, his frustration clearly written on his face. Well, I guess we've lost the target. Another few moments of following the trio, and he knew that they were lost. Even with the map of the underground pathways (Only Goddess knew how he got that), the leader couldn't figure out where they were, or more importantly, where the other guy had disappeared to.
Feeling that he had wasted enough time following these three, the figure in shadows slinked away from them. He gradually backtracked to what he thought was the right tunnel, and proceeded to his destination. It was later, that he realized that he too was lost. He cursed obscenities, which did nothing but make him angrier, and he didn't even have a freaking map to help him out. No, all he had were his memories, which were spotty at best. Damn it all! He had a mission, and could afford no more distractions. Unfortunately he barely noticed the other person, until it was too late.
Branna berated herself for her stupidity. Yeah, screw with dragon's mind, what a wonderful idea! Goddess, I'm lucky he didn't kill me, or worse. That's it, Branna; no more trying to show up guys you know can beat you to a pulp, not to mention other stuff as well. She trembled at the thought. So engrossed in berating herself, she didn't even sense the man, until she collided with him around the corner.
"What the fuck!" Branna yelled as she stared at the cloaked figure, who instantly went into a defensive position. Why are these hallways suddenly so popular? It's just my lucky day, first I piss off the dragon, and now this jackass and I still have to face Cale.
Through her haze of anger, she glared at the man, and took in his covered figure. He was still in a defensive stance. She just smiled at that, the fighter within her rearing its head. Okay, so you want to play as well, hmm. She gave him a sly smile before going into her own position. They circled each other warily. The cloaked guy struck first. His fists were like blurs coming at her, but she easily blocked them with her arms. He was testing her, hmm; this might be fun, a challenge.
They sparred like that, neither one giving an inch, and always testing one another. They were well-matched, and the fighting intense. This guy is good, really good. Her breath was actually coming out in pants, and she could feel a light glistening of moisture on her body. Usually she didn't even break a sweat. The guy was no better. Sweat gleaned his brows, but still he came at her.
The she felt an odd feeling of familiarity. It niggled at the back of her mind, like an itch that would not go away. Who was this guy? There was something about him that called to her, screaming at her to remember. This was getting annoying. The battle was quickly losing its fun, and she was tired of it. Quickly dodging a jab to her face, she caught the arm, rolled her body under, and kicked out her assailant's legs. She heard a crack, and he went down with a cry. However, he caught her in a swift blow to the gut, and suddenly she was going down with him, with him on top.
"Get the fuck off me, asshole!" But he wasn't moving. Instead, he was staring at her face, as if getting a good look for the first time. Well everything did go by so fast, maybe he didn't. Why wasn't he moving? That's it he has three seconds to get the fuck off me, or else he's gonna be missing some precious bits.
"Branna?" Her whole body froze at the sound of his voice. Oh shit oh shit oh shit! Her eyes took in what she was seeing, but she couldn't believe it. There were his honey eyes, which were now more yellow than before, and she could see wisps of blood-red hair that had escaped the cloak. Her breath was hitching, and she seemed to lose herself into those warm yellow orbs.
"Hunter?"
(A/N)- Hmmm...I actually had fun writing this chapter hehe. I think, that this is a good place to stop, don't you think (evil grin)? Anyway, I hope you liked it, and please leave a little contribution in the review box. I'm not desperate, I swear I'm not. Nah, it's just nice hearing any suggestions and comments. I'm typing away on Part 2, and hope to be done with it eventually.