Kuro: Heeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Steve: What the hell are you doing?

Kuro: ...no idea o.o

Darren: Don't mind her she's just being stupid again.

Kuro: Shut up! I am happy that I finally decided to update my story! xP

Darren: And you didn't update it before because...?

Kuro: I found new yaoi lovin friends, I'm obsessed with K-pop music, and I accidentally brainwashed my iPod.

Steve: Wait...how do you brainwash an iPod? O_o

Kuro: Well, I was trying to update it to the new software but it deleted everything from my iPod. I'm still in the process of restoring it so.......yea. FML

Darren: Awww... poor Jennifer. Her life is going downhill. :(

Kuro: What the hell are you talking about? I'm really happy today! xD Now, on to my (finally) updated story!

Steve: Jennif doesn't own the Darren Shan Saga.

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! please~! ^^

Chapter 16

"Here it is," I sighed as I approached the old house. It wasn't very wide but it was tall, sort of like a beach house. A haunted one. The windows were cracked. The walls were deteriorating. The door hung loosely on its hinges. The moonlight made it look even creepier.

I opened the wooden fence and was about to walk in when I heard something coming up from behind me. I froze in my tracks and listened. I heard sounds of someone breathing deeply.

As quickly as I could, I spun on my heels and flitted towards my pursier. Once I got a hold of something, I pulled him out under the streetlight. Or should I say 'her'.

It was Marisa!

"Marisa!" I gasped, profoundly surprised. "What are you doing here? I told you guys not to follow me."

"W-well," she stammered, feeling guilty, "I-I was really worried a-and…a-and…"

I sighed. "Marisa, go back to everyone else. You can't be here."

But she held her position. "No! I'm not leaving until you decide to!"

I tried to persuade her, but her eyes remained unwavering. Finally, I agreed to let her stay.

She smiled, then her expression changed when she looked over my shoulder. "Are you sure it's here?" Marisa asked.

"That's what Steve said," I replied eyeing the old creaky house.

"I don't like the looks of it. Maybe it's a trap."

"Maybe…" My voice trailed off. I took one step towards the door. Marisa followed.

"Marisa, you stay behind," I said not bothering to look back.

"Why?" she whined.

"It's dangerous," I sighed, and then cleared my throat, "Steve's not the type of guy you want to mess with."

Marisa opened her mouth to protest, but my voice made it clear. I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me.

"Fine. I'll wait out here," she leaned back against the old white fence.

I turned around to face her. "If I don't come back out, then go back to the Cirque and tell Mr. Crepsley what happened."

Tears began to form in her eyes. I slowly walked up to her and brushed one off with my thumb.

"You can't die. Neither can Jenn," her voice broke into sobs.

"It's okay," I assured her. "I'll be back."

Unsure of what to do, I gave her a kiss on her forehead. Then I walked towards the house where I would soon meet my fate.

(there's supposed to be a separation mark here but no matter how many times i try, it won't show up. So pretend there's a separation here and move on!)

"Jenn! Jenn! Where are you?" I continued walking through the house. I passed several rooms, all of them containing art supplies such as canvas boards, paint brushes, easels, etc. This house must have been owned by an artist. I looked at a few of the paintings. Most of them showed landscapes, a few were abstract.

I quickly shook my head. I need to focus more on finding Jenn. I climbed the stairs to the second floor and found that it only had one room. Curious, I opened it.

It was a huge dance studio. The floor was made of wood, with several boards missing. The top part of one wall was lined with five small windows. Three, of which the moon shone the brightest, made spotlights along the floor, leading towards a large mirror covering an entire wall. The mirror was cracked and broken in several places with bits of broken glass decorating the floor.

Suddenly, I began to hear sounds of whimpering. My eyes began to search the disheveled room. There was a small shadowy figure in one corner. I slowly crept towards the figure, taking long but silent strides. The shape moved and a loud agonizing scream shot through my ears. I froze in my spot watching half of the shadow rise from the corner, walking towards me in taunting manner. The figure stepped into the light and I cursed under my breath.

"Steve," my voice became harsher. He stood in the light of the moon with a smirk plastered onto his face. I took one step forward before his voice interrupted.

"Ah, ah, ah," Steve brought up a thin, ragged figure close to his body. At first the person was unrecognizable. But when her head lifted, I immediately knew the girl being held captive.

"Jenn!" I gasped, seeing a tattered version of the fox girl. Her dress was soiled with dirt and ripped to shreds. Cuts and bruises covered her arms and legs. Her hair was short and unevenly cut. Blood and tears stained her cheeks. And her face held a pained pleading look. It was a horrid sight and I quickly averted my eyes.

He chuckled. "I guess you can already see the sorry state she is in." He wrapped his arms tighter around Jenn, making her wince. I looked back for a quick second, just in time to see Steve lift her head and reveal the multitude of red marks embellishing her neck and collar. I grimaced at the sight, feeling the emotional pain build up within me, and was about to tackle him when a strong scent overcame me. It was the thick smell of vanilla and cinnamon. Jenn's blood.

My eyes immediately darted to her neck. There, right below her jaw, was a small, yet deep bite mark. A single drop of blood oozed out of the wound. It was small, but enough to drive my senses wild. I watched, in torture, as the sweet nectar slowly dripped down the pale skin. Steve noticed my tortured gaze and took the opportunity to catch the crimson droplet on his tongue. The intimate contact caused Jenn to shiver, her breath escaping her lips.

I was infuriated. Too infuriated to even think about how Steve, a half-vampaneze, managed to taste the blood of a hybrid vampire without feeling nauseated. Does he want to torment me? The answer to that was obvious but it didn't matter. I flitted towards him without a single second to spare crashing the three of us into the wall. His firm grip on Jenn was released in order for Steve to defend himself.

I punched him in the jaw, hard. Blood spat out of his mouth and I went to punch him again, but this time he caught my fist. He twisted my arm and I screamed feeling the pain surge through my veins. Steve kicked me in the gut, causing me to crash into the already broken mirror. The glass pieces pierced through my skin but I ignored the pain. He walked to my position and watched me with menacing, yet playful eyes.

"By now, I would kill you," Steve spoke, "but I'm still toying around so I'll let you live." He turned around to walk away, but before he disappeared behind the door, he added one more thing. "When the time comes, I promise I will kill you."

When he was out of hearing distance, I quickly ran to Jenn's side. She was lying on the floor, limp and weak. I lifted her torso up and removed several strands of hair from her face. She stirred and her eyelids fluttered before fully opening.

"Darren," she whispered hoarsely through her dry lips, "are you okay?"

"That's what I should be asking you," I replied, laughing a little to lighten the mood.

Jenn smiled and I could hear a small giggle bubble up her throat, but she immediately flinched and her hand went up to her contracting stomach.

"Jenn!" I gasped. My eyes darted towards her abdomen, checking to see if there were any bruises.

"I'm…fine," she answered, wincing from the pain. I took her arm and wrapped it around my shoulders and was about to carry her in my arms until she interjected.

"It's okay. I can walk on my own." She proceeded to stand up while clutching her chest. I stood up and lead her out the door. As we were walking through the hall, Jenn asked, "Did you come here alone?"

I looked over to my side, first seeing the red marks on her neck, the turned away. "Marisa followed me here."

Suddenly, she froze in her tracks. I looked back to see what was wrong. Her eyes widened in terror. "You brought Marisa?"

I was slightly taken back by her sudden outburst. "I told you she followed me bu-"

She immediately ran passed me before I could finish my sentence. I quickly followed her out of the abandoned apartment and onto the front yard. When I got outside, Jenn was frantically searching the field.

"Jenn! What's wro-" I stopped mid-sentence, noticing that Marisa was no longer standing by the fence. I could feel my hate boil as Jenn voiced my thought.

"Steve took her.

Kuro: So hopefully I'll update this soon cuz i really like how this story is turning out! ^^ So now I'm off to listen to some Korean pop music! Don't forget to review!

Ciaosuu~! xP