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Baron stands in front of his men with a stoic expression presented on his face. The hours had grown late and the sun had finally set. The hotel room felt stale, even in its luxury state. His mind had been made clear the last few hours of day light and he wanted to get the job done, lest he suffer from more morbid thoughts.
"I know that look. You have something to say right?" River says when he plops down on the leather sofa while resting his arms above his head in a relaxed position.
"I have something to say to all of you," Baron begins while the others listen. "We were given a full month to look for this Light Bearer and we were successful early on. I feel like it would be better use of our time if we took her and left."
Some share confused looks while others like Kane stay indifferent.
"But what made you change your mind? Not Sterling I hope." Cardinal says with a creased frown.
"His words were correct but I also had to come to terms on how this can benefit us. It is selfish for me to put the mortal's needs before our own."
"Is she even mortal? How does it work for Light Bearers?" Tristan ponders aloud.
"At the moment she can be harmed as easy as a human but when she starts to gain control of her powers she will be as tough as us or an Angel even." Cardinal answers intelligently.
"But will she age?" River asks with a raised brow.
"I'm afraid in time she will age. This is why Light Bearers are rare. Their gene can't be passed on like werewolves either and their powers have huge strain on the body and mind."
"Bummer…well should we go collect her than?" River says shrugging.
"I hardly think we all have to go. Two at the most should do, I mean she's a tiny thing after all." Tristan points out.
"I'll go and Cardinal can come with me. The rest of you pack up here and wait for our return." Baron says while shrugging on his jacket. His hulky figure marches to the door with Cardinal in tow.
Once out in the hotel hallway, Cardinal speaks.
"Was there a specific reason for asking my help?" he asks curiously.
"You wanted to know the reason for my sudden change of heart and I am to tell you now. Your words about doing everything for the better of the group was reason enough for me to change my mind. I had a moment of weakness to feel pity for this mortal and I cannot let that happen, not with all of the turmoil threatening to happen." Baron says with a straight face while stepping into the elevator.
"Though I apologize for my harsh tone earlier, I am glad to here you say this." Cardinal says with relief while stepping in with him.
"As am I. Is it not weakness to show kindness to these mortals?" Baron asks with uncertainty and a hint of distaste.
Cardinal looks thoughtful. "I do not think it is weakness. I don't find attachment or bonds to be a bad thing though they seem unnecessary. Now is the time to stay focused and that's what we will do."
"I respect your order of thought. I too have the same opinion but for a brief moment I felt this falter. Should we hand her off to Max as quick as we can?" Baron says to his comrade.
"Since when do you need help with large decision making such as this?" Cardinal says with scrutiny.
Baron gives a wry frown. "I don't but we only agreed to collect the prize, not raise it from the ground up."
"Than to Max is where she will go." Cardinal says jadedly.
The elevator doors slide open in the lobby while Baron heaves a sigh. He was not particularly fond of asking for advice. The feeling of being uncertain was foreign and somehow unwelcome. He only prayed that after tonight, the Light Bearer would be dealt with accordingly.
Cardinal and himself stride through the lobby, while women old and youthful alike stop to gawk at them. Humans truly were a vain race, though the line that separated them and vampires was thin. The world was about two main priorities; control and vanity. Money was a helpful hand in this case and those who had plenty would use it.
Baron stays confident in his posture while Cardinal observes the unfamiliar with an intellectual eye. He was eager to learn of the other race, it was transparent in his expression. Baron spares a chuckle once outside.
"Something you find funny?" Cardinal asks with a glance his way.
"You are more curious about humans than you let on my friend. I will let you know one key difference between them and us."
"Well if I am so see-through, than please share what you have to say." Cardinal says.
"Humans…they think with their emotions. It guides them but also blinds them to what is in plain view. They would seek to keep those feelings close rather than to throw them away."
"Do you mean to say we are heartless?" Cardinal says while processing Barons words.
"We don't hold on to such petty things anymore. All we have are baser instincts. We do what we can to survive and at the end of the day, that's all you need." Baron says coldly.
There is a pregnant pause while they walk in the night silently.
"Do you remember your life from before?" Cardinal asks after a time.
The question catches Baron off guard. "I…do not. Only fragments of moments past. All my feelings and memories were wiped throughout my time living in limbo."
"I remember slightly. I think I had a wife. She would smile whenever I was around and we were everything to each other. It might be my hopeful thinking filling in the gaps but I like to think I was happy once." He says with remorse evident in his voice.
"You're lucky, but as time lingers on you too will forget. I do not say this to break the humanity still in you but as a sound advice to not dwell on past transgressions." Baron says with comforting words and heeding advice.
"I already have no humanity left. I too cannot recall feelings from so long ago. It began slowly but I remember when I first drew innocent blood. The hollow of the corpses eyes looking into me as I stood above them. My heart was left cold and black. I have not felt love or joy after that." He says with hard eyes.
"Than we are one in the same my friend." Baron says with an empty tone.
"Where are we to find this Light Bearer?" Cardinal ask, changing the subject while keeping his head down.
"Her building is five blocks from here yet."
"Want to run?" Cardinal asks with a wicked grin.
Baron is about to agree but something distracts him. He pauses while sampling the air.
"There is a Demon near here."
"I smell it too." Cardinal says; the iris's of his eyes turning black with the urge to kill.
A scream erupts through the streets and both take off in lightening speed.
Rose keeps up with her screaming until her lungs burn for oxygen. Her eyes are shut tight in pain while the creature clutches on to her, biting through her neck. She could feel its tongue lapping at the blood pouring from the wound. Her senses were turning fuzzy and she felt herself falling. She kept her eyes shut while her hearing of the surroundings became muffled. The creature's mouth was pulled away from her neck and now the only remainder was the burning pain with the wet blood dripping from the wound. She was unsure if she was being saved or slipping away from life, but right now she felt peace and she was content with that. Her mind loses consciousness as she withers away into darkness.
Her body felt weightless as she sped through time. The light was blinding and she felt naked in its glow. Every little sensation tingled and sent sparks firing through her body. It was a feeling of bliss that she longed to soak in for eternity. Things started to slow around her and she began to feel heavier things again. She felt boxed in and there was no room for her to breathe. In her panic she shoots her eyes open. The air is hazy and dusty. The immense heat of the flames around her make tears spring to her eyes as she stands to walk with shaky legs. The wind whips her hair around her face and every step takes a tremendous effort. The ground begins to crumble beneath her and she topples down between the faults of the ground. Her fall is short and the surface she lands on is the palm of a hand. Her heart races and she turns to look at the giant face of her capture. Black eyes burn into her soul and she starts to lose consciousness once again. The last thing she remembers is the black eyes of the beast.
She wakes up with a start while gasping for air. Her lungs burned to be filled again and she chokes slightly while going to sit up. She calms her behavior and her breathing becomes regulated again. Observing her surroundings, she realizes she is in foreign territory. The bed was large with a heavy set of cotton sheets. There was no personal affect's to the room and she assumed it was a hotel. Why her savior didn't take her to the hospital was baffling. Than she gets the idea that maybe it was still the creature that had her. She pulls the blanket up closer to her chin but winces when she strains her neck. Gingerly, she puts her hand to the newly bandaged area. It still stun but the blood had been cleaned and the area looked perfectly bandaged together. Looking under the covers she sighs in relief to see her dress is still on though slightly ruined from her attacker.
She listens intently for another presence to make noise but the room is silent. Standing quietly, she pushes the covers back and stands in her bare feet on the shag carpet. Her shoes had been misplaced and she felt short and vulnerable without the extra height. Walking past a full length mirror, she notices how her hair had gone from tame curls to a messy mane. Most of the make-up had worn from her face and she had claw marks on her upper arms along with a small scar on the inside of her thigh. Her body ached everywhere and she just wanted to be safe back home in her bed.
Feeling more determined than ever, she makes for the closed door of the bedroom. Pressing her ear against the white wood of the door, she listens for footsteps. All is silent so she reaches for the brass handle slowly. Turning the knob in her hand, she pulls back the door an inch and peers out. The large sitting room was vacant. She pulls the door back the rest of the way and walks into the lone room. She recognized it from pictures in magazines. She was currently in the Presidential Suite of the Boston Plaza hotel. Whoever rented this place out must have money; more than she would even make in a lifetime.
The curtains are drawn open and it was still late into the night. Doing a three hundred and sixty degree scale of the place, she spots no one else. The way to her escape is down the hallway to the left so she takes slow, silently baby steps to the door.
The way seemed clear and just as she was about to grab the handle, someone appears behind her speaking.
"Where are you off to toots?"
She jumps and spins around while clutching a hand to her heart. She is greeted with the site of a smiling gentleman; a very handsome gentleman as a matter of fact. He had alabaster white skin and blonde hair almost as white as his skin. He had a toothy grin while holding a bottle of Jack in his right hand. He slumped casually over the doorway to the bar where he had most likely fetched the drink. His attire was strange but also appealing to the eye. Grey slacks paired with a pinstripe button up shirt. Expensive and old cufflinks shone in the light of the hotel room. He was in one word; gorgeous.
"I know the look. Many women have been rendered speechless to my good looks; I didn't expect you to be any different." He says with humor.
She scowls while turning to open the door, only to find it locked from the outside. She pulls and jiggles the lock but to no avail. Her mouth opens agape in curiosity while turning back towards the stranger.
He points a careless hand to the door. "Someone's guarding outside while I was left to baby sit you in here. Really how much trouble did they think you'd cause?" he says to himself.
"Umm what others?" she asks dumbly.
He wags his finger in her face. "Nah, I'm not allowed to tell you that Rose." He says while clicking his tongue in disapproval.
"Hey! How do you know my name?" she asks with a huff though feeling slightly nervous.
"It's on your name tag." He points out.
"Oh, right." She mumbles while feeling stupid.
He wanders off, losing interest. She turns to try the locked door again.
"You can keep trying that or you could come have a civil conversation in here." He calls to her in the other room.
Chewing on her bottom lip, she contemplates the situation presented to her. It's not like she could go anywhere and she wanted answers from this supposed savior. Huffing in defeat, she drags back to the sitting room where he smirks triumphantly when he spots her. She stands awkwardly while he looks relaxed in his position on the leather sofa. Legs crossed at the ankles while the rest on his profile lounged out on the piece of furniture.
"You can sit you know, I don't bite." He says with a grin. She gives him an unsure look while crossing the room to sit in the vacant chair.
"I knew you'd want answers. If you left now, you could never forget." He says seriously.
"Perhaps; what's your point?" she asks curtly.
"Do you remember what happened before you blacked out?" he swills the bottle around carelessly in his hand.
"I don't think you'd believe me." She says softly.
He gives a closed mouth chuckle. "Or maybe I would know exactly what you were talking about."
"Are you always so certain of yourself?" she asks with a head tilt.
"Enough to know you are telling the truth. I know better than to laugh at a person who just experienced misfortune." His change in personality was hard to keep up with. One minute he was joking and now he had a dull expression of a business man.
"I think I was attacked by something." She starts.
"So I could guess from the mark on your neck but what I'm curious to know is by what?"
Telling a stranger that you thought you were attacked by the devil sounded insane and would probably land her a one way ticket to the Looney bin.
"Umm I don't know." She says with a shrug. She couldn't help but notice the two little points of teeth that would protrude out when he spoke.
"Your lying sucks, something you should improve on Rose." He says in a mocking tone.
"It's not like I make a habit of it!" she snaps which earns a laugh.
"Well you'd best to hurry and tell the truth before Tristan comes here to baby sit next. He's boring and has no patience like myself." He informs.
Her gut dropped and she felt sick. There were more of these weird people? She didn't want to tell this stranger what happened but that would only leave her with Tristan; who ever that was. Her mind was feeling warped from the sudden onslaught of newcomers and she pondered the idea of perhaps being trapped in a coma.
"Can we make a deal?" she asks.
"Oh an opportunist huh? What kind of deal?" he asks thoughtfully.
"If I tell you the truth, than you tell me your name." she says with a smile while sitting back.
"Clever girl…alright Rose, you have a deal." He says while scoping her crossed legs.
"Do you want to shake on it?" she asks while holding out her hand.
"No I'm more the type to kiss and tell." He says with a suggestive wink. She retracts her hand with a disgusted look in which he grins.
"What I thought attacked me, looked like something red. I can remember its long claws and a tail too. It was like looking into the face of the devil." She says getting into her story.
"Consider yourself to be lucky it wasn't." he mumbles out of ear shot.
"So do you believe me?" she asks with concern.
"Why? Are you afraid you might be crazy or something?" he says teasing.
"Please just answer the question!" she beseeches.
"No need to get hysterical. I believe you Rose and so does everyone else. We just wanted to hear you say it."
"Who is this we you keep talking about?" she asks with furrowed brows.
"You'll know soon enough." He says standing.
"Wait we had a deal. What is your name?" she asks standing abruptly while feeling frantic.
"River." He says shortly.
"That's it?" she asks with a scrunched face.
"Sorry to disappoint but yes, that's it." He says continuing to the bar.
"Can I ask you something else?" she says behind him.
"Hmm two questions? That wasn't the deal Rose." He says disapprovingly.
"What is wrong with your teeth?" she asks, ignoring his previous remark.
"How rude it is to mock another's appearance." He says while walking away.
"Oh I'm sorry. I don't mean to make fun, I was just curious." She says apologetically while trailing behind.
"It's fine. There isn't anything wrong with them anyways, I'm just…let's call it special." He says with a firm nod.
"Special huh. I guess that makes two of us." She says absently while falling into the sofa.
He raises his eye brows in curiosity. "And how are you special my dear?" he says sitting next to her. She creates some distance between them by moving to the right arm of the sofa.
"I see things sometimes. I used to think it was an optics problem but the doctors confirmed I was fine."
"Well I think your special just the way you are." He tells her kindly.
To trust a complete stranger was unheard of but she felt somewhat safe here with this man.
"Are you with the Government or something?" she asks with big doe eyes.
He laughs. "I guess we sort of are. Why do you think that?"
"The way you dress, not to mention the Presidential suite." She says impressed while looking around.
"We like to have the finer things I suppose. My time to baby sit you is almost up. The others will be back soon and they want to talk with you."
She gains a look of concern on her face. "I'm not sure if I want to talk with the others." She says while playing with a loose thread on the hem of her dress.
"They won't hurt you tiny thing. Just be friendly and don't sass off." He advises.
"Do I look like the type to sass off?" she asks with a huff.
He raises a critical brow to her. "Well you're not so far off at the moment."
She looks sheepish at his remark and stays silent. Waiting for the others to arrive was nerve racking. What did they want from her and would they let her go. This River was rather sparse on sharing details, which only made her mind ponder more. She taps her foot on the floor while biting her nail nervously. The occasional glance would be thrown from River, which she would ignore.
She sits up to hearing the front door open and another gentleman walks in. His sleeves of his crisp button up are rolled to his elbows and he has blood stains on the shirt. He was shorter than River and had walnut brown hair that was combed back with pomade. He looked relieved to see her.
"Ah you're awake. We were afraid we'd lost you to Hell." He says with a gentle voice.
She scrunches her nose in confusion from his words. He looks to River in which they share inaudible words. She sees River shake his head while the other man nods in understanding.
"I'm sorry Rose. You must be terribly baffled. My name is Cardinal and I was the one to stitch you up and clean your wound." He says with much gusto.
She makes in O shape with her mouth. "Thank you Cardinal." These men sure had bazaar names. Probably cover ups for working with the Government she thought.
"We'll I would love to help clear this uncertainty you are feeling but alas it is not my place. Once the others arrive, we'll get to it."
"They should hurry; we're running out of time." River says looking to the time. It was late in the morning and she didn't quite understand what time they were wasting. Shouldn't they be sleeping at this hour anyways?
"You know Baron; he won't stop until the sun rises." Cardinal says while walking to the bar to wash his hands in the sink.
"Or maybe he is stalling on purpose." River says standing to follow.
The last statement confused her even more. Who was Baron and what happened when the sun rose. She looks between the two beautifully clad men. Cardinal had a pale complexion just the same as Rivers. They didn't get out a lot evidently. They looked like a pair of albinos who never went in the sun.
They were talking in the bar so silently it would appear as if they weren't talking at all with the exception of small mouth movements and glances thrown her way every so often. She must have been the topic of choice much to her dismay.
The door gusts open and two more men walk through. Neither throws looks her was, as if she was an insignificant flea. One had jet black hair and he was dress in much the same shade. He frightened her and she assumed him to be Tristan. The other with blood red hair looked innocent enough but his cerulean blue eyes capture her attention when she caught a glimpse of them. They looked pained and tired. Apparently it was common to not gain a tan in this group because the two new recruits looked liked the walking dead.
She hugs her knees to her chest while sitting in the sofa quietly; not making a peep. River takes note of her discomfort and speaks aloud.
"Gentlemen, did you meet Rose yet?" he asks while pointing to her.
"Charmed I'm sure." The dark haired one says with much sarcasm. He rolls his eyes and continues to look at papers at the table he was placed at.
The other gives a silent nod and she gives a half smile before it is wiped off her face.
The last contender of the party enters and she feels like she had been punched in the gut. The room seemed to shrink and she found it harder to breathe. Her eyes widen in fascination and horror; walking tall while shrugging off his black jacket was Bus God. His eyes were concealed behind a pair of dark shades and his hair was in perfectly groomed form. It was that lovely sun kissed brown and it looked soft to the touch. She hadn't noticed previously but he too was deathly pale. His shoulders were broad and he was dressed much like the others. A dark red silk shirt was matched with a black tie and dark dress slacks. His hand reaches to his face and the shades get pulled off. Sky blue eyes meet her hazel ones. She had been careless in her staring and she feels embarrassed to have been caught. They look back to each other and he sends a dark glare her way while she shrinks back. Her heart fluttered from fear and excitement. His look alone was enough to warn her of the dangers he could cause. She was lost in what seemed like his endless stare. His presence engulfed the room and she felt perilous while drowning in its blackness. What in the world had she gotten herself into?
So we got to learn more about the group. I especially loved writing for River this chapter and I hope you all take to him. This won't be a story where they all fight for her because I have my own stories planned for the other men later. Though there might be some conflict for her between Baron and another but you'll find out with whom later. I would like to get past 10 reviews before the next chapter.