Chapter One: The Meeting
The front sliding glass doors of the Marriott Hotel in Orlando slid open, and a slender woman stepped into the lobby, a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a cluster of folders in the other. She was gazing at her drink, but she looked up in surprise when she didn't hear the usual "Good morning!" from her coworker. Green eyes flitted to the lobby desk, and the woman smiled and shook her head when she saw her friend, Serena Davis, sitting at the desk, rolling her computer mouse back and forth while she was engrossed in a novel, which was open in her left hand.
"I'm glad I'm so important."
Serena looked up from her book, startled, and then laughed lightly and put her book down.
"Good morning, Sapphire!"
"I'm offended," the woman said, opening a doorway to get behind the desk. "Your nose was so stuck in your book, you never even saw me."
"Aww…You poor dear," Serena tsked, her blue eyes sparkling as she patted Sapphire's head.
"Good morning, ladies!" A voice called, and Sapphire laughed, shaking her head.
"But as soon as he calls," she grinned, "You completely forget your stories and become absorbed in something entirely different."
Serena slapped her arm playfully before she turned her attention to the man who had just called out greetings.
Whisper Robinson was a resident of the hotel. He worked at Universal Studios, learning how to make movies and helping make them, and so he had more than enough money to stay at the hotel every day. He had explained once, to the girls, that it was really much simpler to stay at a hotel. You could just about destroy your room, but there would be a cleaner there every day to clean it up. You had a buffet for breakfast every day, fresh sheets and towels every day, all the hot water you could want, cable TV, and Laundromats in the building.
There was also, of course, Serena, whom Whisper had quite a liking for. Sapphire would never say anything, but the two went quite well together. Their characters blended nicely, their physical appearances were just perfect, and they had the same likes and dislikes. Serena also went for guys with ponytails (which Sapphire never understood) and Whisper had just the tiniest one, holding back his dark hair so one could see his deep, dark eyes.
"Any big news of the day?" Whisper asked, leaning on the counter, smiling up playfully at Serena.
"Yes!" she said cheerfully. "The movie based off this book is coming to theaters tomorrow night!"
"And guess who got us tickets for a first viewing of it?" Whisper grinned, pulling out three tickets from his pocket and fanning them in front of Serena. "One for you, one for me, and one for Sapphire."
"What movie is this?" Sapphire asked, rummaging through a list of names on her computer.
"Just another vampire one. This one has werewolves in it too," Serena said. "Oh, and the really good-looking actor that was in the last vampire flick."
"He'll be at the premiere tonight," Whisper nodded.
"The premiere? We're going to the premiere?" Serena gasped.
"Of course. I do work with the studios now. We're going to go to Universal Studios to watch it on a big screen. Several of the actors are going to be there," Whisper grinned.
"Yes!" Serena squealed, racing out from behind the desk and throwing her arms around Whisper, startling him. "Thank you! Thank you!"
"You do have to come, Sapphire," Whisper choked, gazing down in confusion at the girl squeezing him. "To protect me, of course."
"I'm not really into the whole vampire thing," Sapphire said, typing away on her computer. "Those guys are too dark and sinister." She took a sip of her cocoa and then jumped when the phone rang next to her.
Serena grabbed it, spoke into it cordially and then grinned at Sapphire as she whispered, "And speaking of sinister, guess who's on the phone?"
"Hmm…Ripper, perhaps?" Sapphire asked, holding out her hand for the phone.
Serena handed the phone to her friend and then chatted merrily with Whisper while Sapphire spoke. Whisper left before Sapphire got off the phone, and Sapphire turned to Serena once the call was over.
"Ripper's coming back early tomorrow morning. He'll expect everything to be perfect, as usual. The day after tomorrow, Wednesday, he's going to have a big meeting in the conference room with the manager of the Lux Atlantic. That means that everything is going to have to be spotless."
"Isn't it always?" Serena asked, smiling kindly at a visitor.
"Not when Whisper puts his elbows on everything," Sapphire chuckled, winking at Serena.
As soon as work was finished for the day, Sapphire and Serena made their way back to their apartments, not far from the hotel. Aside from being good friends and co-workers, the two women were also next-door neighbors. They lived in very well established apartments, in between Orlando and the beach. They had been hard to get, but they had bought their apartments for reasonable prices, considering the price all the other apartments went up to after the girls bought theirs.
Never a day passed when one of the women didn't go to the other's apartment, whether it was to talk, borrow eggs, or get a freshly baked cookie. They never shared clothes, for Sapphire was several inches taller than Serena, but they shared almost everything else. Many a story was told in those apartments that would never be told anywhere else, and many an unfortunate event occurred that the women could laugh at…after the accident was over.
The two women were very different, but they had similarities that made up for that. Serena wasn't a neat freak. Certainly she kept her apartment clean. There was a place for everything, and everything in its place, but that place could have been in a pile of laundry, or underneath the kitchen sink where nothing could ever be found. She enjoyed modern appliances and thanked God every day for the microwave, otherwise she would have starved to death. Electronics lined this young lady's home, and she was quite satisfied with that.
Sapphire, on other hand, preferred older relics. She liked things from different time periods decorating her apartment, and she was, in bold contrast to Serena, neat as a pin. She didn't flip out if something wasn't in its place, but the sight of dust bothered her, and she disliked having piles of clothes sitting on her couch, never put away. She also cooked, for while she was grateful for her microwave, she liked homemade meals, and so made them frequently and invited Serena over to share the food with her.
"What time is Whisper picking us up?" Sapphire asked as she unlocked her apartment door.
"At Eleven. The movie starts at midnight," Serena beamed. "Oh, this'll be too much fun!"
"What kind of stuff should we wear? I've never been to one of these things before," Sapphire asked, opening her door.
"Just something comfortable."
"See you later, then."
"Right."
Sapphire closed her door behind her and then let out a sigh as she put her purse on one of her leather couches and then moved to her bedroom. She stepped through a short hallway, gazing at all the pictures that lined the walls as she did so. She smiled sadly when she saw all the photographs of her family. There were several pictures of the whole group; dear friends and extended family included. Her eyes roamed over every picture, scrutinizing and remembering.
The only word that came to Sapphire's mind, as she kept walking, was the word "dead." She could almost see the word written in red across the foreheads of those who had, indeed, died. Across her father's forehead, across her mother's forehead…it was across the faces of over twenty people, leaving only eleven alive. There had been so much death, so much tragedy in Sapphire's life, and she shuddered when she thought about it.
She stopped at the end of the hall, right before her room, and studied the last picture that hung on the wall. Tears welled up in her green eyes as she studied the picture of her in the arms of a strong, handsome man with a gorgeous smile and beautiful hazel eyes.
"Freddie," she whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks as she gently touched the picture's cheek. "I'm so sorry."
She went into her room and then sat on the edge of her bed before moving to her closet. There were such painful, painful memories. They pretty much blotted out the good ones. Sapphire tried to be optimistic, thinking about all the good in her life, and those of her family who were still alive, but it was hard sometimes.
Sapphire nearly fell asleep before eleven o'clock finally rolled around. She opened her apartment door to see Serena outside, already waiting.
"You all set?" Serena asked excitedly. "Oh, this is going to be awesome!"
"What? Watching the premiere or going somewhere with Whisper?"
"Good grief already, Sapphire!"
"Well, which is it?" Sapphire grinned.
"How about both?"
"Sounds good to me."
The two women watched as Whisper's car, a Saturn, stopped in front of their apartments, and then they moved to the car. Whisper got out of the driver's seat to open their doors for them, and then he closed the doors and hopped back into the car.
"We all set?" he asked, strapping himself in and then backing the car out of the parking spot.
"Sure," Sapphire nodded. "I'll just sit back here and be quiet so you two can talk."
"You seem really tired," Whisper nodded, glancing into his rearview mirror as he straightened the car out and drove away from the apartments.
"I am," Sapphire answered. "I hadn't planned on staying up so late tonight. So what's the gist of this story?"
"Dorian plays a vampire who somehow gets transported from the 1400s into our time period. He finds a human girl and falls in love. It's all about how he bridges the gap between humans and vampires," Whisper said easily.
"So it's just about vampires and people, then?" Sapphire asked, leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes.
"I think there are some werewolves in there too," Whisper said.
"And what is their job?" Sapphire yawned.
"They're the bad guys."
"Ah."
"I don't think she's interested," Serena smiled at Whisper.
"That's just not her thing," Whisper shrugged.
It took Whisper a few minutes to get himself and the girls through security at Universal Studios, but once they were through, he led his group through masses of people to several seats that were placed near the big screen. Cameras were flashing everywhere, showing that there were indeed famous people in the midst of all the people waiting for the movie, and then the celebrities arrived.
Sapphire sat up a bit more as the actors and actresses stepped out onto a long red carpet in front of the screen and waved to their fans. She immediately caught sight of Dorian, the lead actor, and she was somewhat surprised that he didn't show the same enthusiasm as the rest of the celebrities. He was rather composed, actually, and merely nodded his head or slightly waved his cane at his hundreds of fan girls. He looked exactly like he had on the cover of Serena's book, with black hair down to his shoulders, a trim beard and mustache, and brilliant gray eyes. He wore a suit, unlike the others, and walked with his cane, using it just as a prop, perhaps to calm his nerves.
He glanced up into the audience and then waved to Whisper.
"You know him?" Serena asked, eyes wide as the actor moved away from the carpet and began to walk up the rows of stairs to where Whisper and the women were.
"Yes. I helped a little bit with this movie," Whisper said proudly, and waved back to Dorian.
Dorian stopped next to Sapphire and smiled down at her, showing perfectly white teeth.
"Well hello," he spoke, his deep English accent drawling. "And whom have I the pleasure of meeting?"
"Dorian, this is Sapphire and…my girl," Whisper ventured to say, pulling Serena close. "Serena Davis."
"A pleasure indeed," Dorian bowed, taking Sapphire's hand in his.
All the girls around them squealed jealously as the handsome man kissed Sapphire's hand and then straightened back up.
"Will you be watching the movie from here, then?" he asked pleasantly as Sapphire continued to stare up at him in awe, watching him as he moved towards Serena.
"We will be," Whisper nodded.
"Mind if I stay here with you?" he asked, taking Serena's hand in his and kissing it also.
"Sure, but let me sit next to Serena," Whisper said, scooting over so Dorian could sit in between him and Sapphire.
"Done," Dorian nodded and sat down next to Sapphire, resting his hands on his cane.
The lights went out, and Sapphire stiffened in her seat as light began to flicker on the screen. She felt cold, very cold, and uncomfortable. There had been something about that kiss, almost as if Dorian had been smelling her hand while he kissed it… And speaking of smelling, there was a faint, but undeniable scent about him that made Sapphire extremely disconcerted.
The film began, and Sapphire had immense difficulty diverting her attention between the movie and Dorian. The man didn't do anything. He was quite the gentleman, keeping an appropriate distance away from Sapphire and not even trying to touch her. He didn't even look at her through the movie, but kept his eyes averted to the screen.
That didn't satisfy her discomfort. His scent became more and more powerful to her throughout the film, and by the middle of the movie, it took all of her willpower to keep her from standing up and leaving. It wasn't a scent that anyone else would be able to smell, but Sapphire sensed it as prey senses its predator.
She didn't care for the film. The werewolves were horrific, bloodthirsty creatures, trying to kill off the vampire and the woman he loved without so much as one thought that it was wrong. As wolves, they were purely evil, baring fangs and looking like rabid animals. In human form, they were selfish and cold, and they bickered nonstop amongst themselves.
Sapphire couldn't help but laugh at several of the more serious parts in the film, simply because she knew how inaccurate those parts were. When she laughed, Dorian would turn his head and look curiously at her, confused as to why she found those scenes amusing.
The movie ended two hours later, and everyone applauded and stood up to leave.
"Well, that was better on screen than watching it in the making," Dorian said, rising and offering his hand to Sapphire.
She didn't take it, but stood up on her own and leaned back to look at Serena.
"What's the verdict?" she asked the younger woman.
"Absolutely terrific, except for the laughing in the background," Serena answered.
"I'm sorry," Sapphire sighed. "Some of those parts were just too funny for me."
"Indeed," Dorian spoke, and then stepped past her. "You'll excuse me, but the publicity seems to want my attention. It was good seeing you again, Whisper. Charmed, my ladies."
Sapphire let out a long breath of relief and then smiled at Whisper and Serena.
"Can we leave now?"
"You seem to be in a hurry," Whisper frowned. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm just fine. I just…I've had enough, that's all," Sapphire answered. "It's like getting a really strong whiff of a perfume bottle and then being dizzy after."
"What?" Whisper and Serena asked at the same time.
"I'm sorry," Sapphire said quickly, putting her hand to her forehead. "I'm just tired…"
Whisper and Serena exchanged a confused glance, but then Whisper took Serena's hand and led the women away from the bustling area.
"Thanks for bringing us, Whisper," Serena said as they got into the car and he began to drive.
"Oh, my pleasure," he said, flashing a smile at her.
"The movie wasn't too bad," Sapphire said, gazing out the window and catching sight of a full moon overhead.
Her eyes widened, and she stared at the moon, marveling at its brightness.
"You need to get to bed," Serena laughed, seeing Sapphire's transfixed expression.
"You're right," she nodded, never taking her eyes off the moon. "I'm sorry to have been such a pain, but I'm exhausted."
"What'd you think of Dorian? He's really something, isn't he?" Whisper asked.
"Oh, he's something all right," Sapphire whispered.
The vampires are back.
Once Whisper and the girls were back at the apartments, he bade them good night and then left. Serena went back to her apartment, starry eyed and happy, but Sapphire remained outside, gazing at the moon.
She turned her head, minutes later, and seeing that neither Serena, nor anyone else, was still in sight, she broke into a run. She rushed across the parking lot and then rushed across several streets, picking up speed as she moved and never losing her breath.
Vampires weren't the only ones who could run fast. How could their prey have evaded them for so long?
Without giving herself time to breathe, Sapphire rushed headlong into an empty parking garage and then grabbed hold of a hanging rafter. She used it to lift herself off the ground and then flip up, soaring over two damaged cars and then landing gracefully, in a crouched position, on the concrete floor. Her eyes glowed mysteriously in the dark place, and she rushed up the ramp, moving faster and faster until she reached the third floor of the garage.
Without a sound, she leaped over the garage's railing, soaring, for a very few seconds, above parked cars and one small office building.
As she neared the ground, her body abruptly changed, so that no human hands or feet touched the gravel floor, but paws, hardened, powerful paws pounded against the earth.
Beneath the light of the moon, the beautiful woman disappeared, and in her place, running well over seventy-miles-per-hour, was a pure white wolf.
The creature was still picking up speed, pulling for one hundred miles-per-hour, when her feet flew across the cold sand and she raced towards the water. Not giving herself time to think, the wolf plunged into the ocean, crisp water splashing up on all sides of her lean body, soaking her fur and making her yelp with delight.
There were benefits to being a werewolf.
Sapphire the wolf gazed down into the water beneath her treading paws, and there, barely visible beneath the moonlight, but as clear as a shark in a fish tank to Sapphire, was a silver fish. The wolf's stomach growled, but Sapphire had trained herself, long ago, not to eat fresh meat if she could avoid it, and so she simply pawed at the fish, playing with it, hoping the distraction would keep her mind off vampires, but it didn't.
The movie had been entirely inaccurate. Werewolves were not the villains. Vampires were. Vampires fed off of humans, killing them, seducing them entirely to satisfy their want for blood. Werewolves never attacked people unless the humans were foolish enough to try and stop the wolves during a fight. Werewolves didn't eat humans, but they went for animals instead.
While vampires longed for blood, from humans mainly, werewolves were their main objectives. There was an old legend that had proven itself true time and time again, that the werewolves were little more than slaves of the vampires. Once a vampire bit a werewolf, that werewolf became a slave to the one that bit it. It then had to perform whatever tasks the vampire wished, but even more frightening than that was the never-ending flow of blood the werewolves gave. Vampires were able to use werewolves as a never-ending blood supply. If they were hungry, they simply had to grab a werewolf, drink a little bit of blood, and they'd be satisfied. The werewolves could give as much blood as the vampires needed without dying…on most occasions. There were some vampires with venom so powerful; it only took a few feedings before their slave werewolves died.
Sapphire had lost her parents, brothers, sisters, aunt, uncles, playmates, and her husband to the vampires. Freddie had been the leader of Sapphire's pack, sheltering her family, his family, and the other werewolves that existed. He had fought bravely, and he had died, at the hands of a vampire called Valiris. He hadn't given Freddie a chance to fight. He had simply snuck up on the lead wolf while the creature was in battle, and had stabbed him. All of this was done in front of Sapphire. Nightmares haunted her every sleep, and images of that vampire, Valiris, plagued her memories.
The few survivors of the vampire barrage had fallen into Sapphire's command. She, being terrified and uncertain, had requested that the others flee, and indeed they had. The werewolves had split apart, moving into all different parts of the country, some even disappearing to Africa and Australia to stay away from the vampires that far outnumbered and out powered them.
Not one single wolf had stayed with another. Each one was separated, and each one was alone. Wolves were all about family. They traveled in packs, and if one was thrust out of that pack, he was depressed and desolate. Sapphire enjoyed Serena very much. She loved her like a sister. But there was a gaping hole inside of the werewolf that tore at her heart and hurt like nothing else. She longed to be with someone that could protect her and love her, that could care for her in the absence of her family, but there was none.
Sapphire clambered out of the water and then, starting with her nose and working all the way down to the tip of her tail, she shook her body, making water fly off her heavy coat and making her white fur puff out. Her green eyes flitted across the beach, wishing so much that there was someone with her, someone wanting to hold her, but there was none.
Lonely and discouraged, the wolf changed back into her human form, and Sapphire knelt on the sand. She cupped some of the sand in her soft hands and let it trickle through her fingertips.
There was a footstep on the beach, and Sapphire stood up and turned to see a dark figure standing near the palm trees, staring at her. Immediately, she shielded her face, hiding it from view, and she took a deep gulp of the air. Panic flowed through her as she caught his scent, but instead of panicking and fleeing, she stood her ground and gazed back at the figure, trying to see his face.
His hood covered his eyes, and his cloak billowed about him, making it impossible for her to see him.
"Why do you just stand there?" she finally asked, deepening her voice to disguise it.
"I'm no fool," he replied, his voice deep and quiet. "Were I to take one more step, you would transform into a wolf, and I'd have rather a hard chase on my hands."
"How long have you been hunting me?"
"I thought werewolves were more attentive than that?"
"Are we?"
The vampire chuckled, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
"You're a brave one."
"You'll never catch me."
"I have but to follow your scent," he smirked, stepping closer to her and watching, pleased, as she drew back towards the waves.
"Vampires cannot smell werewolves," Sapphire shuddered, her feet touching the water's edge.
"Because werewolves have no scent," he finished for her. "But you have a distinct smell to you."
"And what would that be? Blood, you murderer?" Sapphire asked, her voice growing louder.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You smell like…" He lifted his head and took in her scent, smiling when he picked it up. "Freesia."
"You should check your sense of smell. I smell like wet dog," Sapphire scowled, boldly stepping towards him. "And you can stalk all you want. I may not be able to outrun you, but I can certainly out swim you. And all I'd have to do is scream for help, and the police would be here in seconds."
"And since when have the police saved your kind?"
"Leave me alone," Sapphire whispered.
"It does you a great deal of good that I'm not particularly hungry at the moment. I've already had my fill. But consider this, wolf, you are mine. It will only be a matter of time before I've claimed you for myself. You may leave."
"I do not need permission to leave this beach!" Sapphire snapped, surging closer to him, rapidly losing her clear thinking and doing everything in her power to stop from transforming into a wolf. "I will leave when I very well please! And get this, rodent, I will not become your prey! Do you understand? I am the leader of all that remains of my people. I hope I've made that perfectly clear," she hissed, still shielding her face as she stood before him.
"Perfectly. You're terrorized. Good."
Sapphire sucked in a deep breath and then stepped past him, the bottom of her skirt brushing against his pant leg.
"My people have never given in, and they have never been caught easily."
"That makes the chase all the more interesting," her antagonist spoke coolly. "Good night."
Sapphire walked quickly off the beach and then glanced over her shoulder to see the vampire still standing there, cloak billowing about him. With a whimper in the back of her throat, she transformed into her wolf form and then ran, as fast as she could, back to her apartment, eyes wide with terror.