Mounting shadows.... [Open]

[Trahir Trahison]

The sunlight was fading outside, the vampire could almost feel the last rays of coppery light casting tangerine and purple hues across the pristine wilderness surrounding Harper Rock. Once more the time of the humans was drawing nigh to an end and the torch of rulership was passed to the undying creatures of the night. Trahir had been awake now for the better part of an hour, his thoughts on the future being brought ever closer by the fall of the sunlight day by day, by the actions of others determining his fate, by the increasing numbers of disappearances which he had been party to throughout his brief tenure. It worried him. Soon, like the suns dying rays slipping behind the horizon, the veil of secrecy would fall away but instead of coating the world in comforting darkness he and all his kind would be cast out into a blindingly stark light.

They couldn't fit into the human world. Killers would kill, Allurists would enslave, the humans would be terrified. Those in power would rain down vengeance on the new perceived threat the vampires represented. The fact that most of the vampires Trahir met were sissified versions of modern literary figures, less a threat to man that a hippified Edward Cullen, would make no difference. There were still a threat to the power bloc. On Allurist enthralling the right person could quickly rule a country and truth be told, Trahir had considered doing just that. There was no way their race would be able to survive outside of Harper Rock once secrecy came down unless the mysterious power that continued to return them endlessly from the Shadow Realm was expanded to encompass the world. Then would all the vampires of old return? They'd bleed the world dry if they did. It would overpopulate the world with their kind instantly and the result, vampires killed by humans during the holocaust seeking vengeance on their former tormentors, armies rising from the grave to continue their wars, which would quickly include weapons of mass destruction... could be cataclysmic. After all, why not set off a nuclear bomb in one's enemy's territory when one could not die? If humans had the ability to survive literally anything they would have wiped the earth clean, leaving it barren and devoid of life in their ignorance. What were vampires but ignorant humans immune to death? He'd seen them at their parties. Gathered in numbers which could actually make a difference, could be the start of organizing their numbers, they chose to act like a band of school girls, gossiping about each others genitals and making jokes about who was going to **** who.

It was so depressing Trahir wanted to slip into torpor and reawaken in a few centuries once they had made it past whatever vampire puberty they were undergoing.

At times like this he was grateful he had wiped his human memories from his mind. His perspective was untainted by the remnants of his past life. Had he not done it perhaps he would be joining the others in their trivial and petty gossiping. His thoughts grew darker by the minute the more he pondered the issue. The Holocaust was doomed to repeat because people were stupid. Stupid people had been made into vampires, so stupid vampires were running rampant screwing things up, and you simply couldn't fix stupid as the saying went. The actions of others would damn him alongside them.

He likely would had slid completely into the deepening rift of hollow and empty rage seething and roiling within him if at that point Shadis hadn't stirred against him. It jolted him from his dark brooding into the now. Now it was time to begin their night. Now was their time. At least while their time lasted...

He reaches up, pushing the sarcophagus lid to the side, letting in the dim light cast from the fires in the braziers Nicolette has lit while they rested. Trahir is in the mood to see how Shadis hunts, perhaps that will snap him out of his growing depression.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis stirred from yet another restful slumber; one filled with absolute darkness and space. Although, she would be lying if she said that it didn’t help to sleep beside a man, one who was more than happy to oblige her darker needs. Ones that had surprised even her at first. Perhaps they were the dark urges that her mother had tried to pull her from, with the constant visits and the attempts at setting her up on dates with men that had steady jobs. However, it was those darker urges that she had been sating and the man who laid beside her now, one who was more than happy to help her in this endeavour. Slowly, she stretched, her hand sliding up along Trahir’s chest as she felt him jolt underneath her. Lately, it seemed as if they were in sync, at least for the time being. Her body may be bruised and bloody by the night’s end, but they had reached some kind of understanding through it.

Even as she stretched, she felt the soreness through her form and knew that although her body had healed most wounds, some were still present and still healing. Perhaps they wouldn’t finish healing until later on that night. A hunt was in order, to consume more blood to help with such a healing process and she yawned as she nuzzled into the naked man beside her. Waking up from restful slumber always had her in a good mood when she woke. Sometimes she wanted to just sleep in, to rest some more and enjoy in the continuous restful slumber, however it seemed as if her vampiric body refused to sleep anymore. The night had claimed the day and it was the perfect time to hunt, to feed upon the unsuspecting masses and watch her quarry leave without the memory as to how they arrived at their destination. Indeed, the night was for the predators and vampires were the predators of the night.

Trahir moved to reach up and push the lid of the sarcophagus off and the woman stretched once more as she felt skin slide against sore, pale skin. Light from the lit braziers flickered around the room, welcoming their wakening forms in the form of golden light and slight warmth. Warmth that didn’t even matter if she felt it. The temperature of the world around them, didn’t even phase her, it didn’t bother her, but for some reason, the welcoming flicker of light was wanted. Perhaps it was because it meant that she had survive yet another night’s worth of glorious pain and pleasure, only to sleep through the day so she could repeat such activities. ”Good evening Trahir,” She softly said as she reached up to lightly place her hand against his cheek, while her lips placed a soft kiss upon his own.

The woman enjoyed the simple silence before she pulled away from him so then she could move away from the man who claimed her as his own. Sometimes she wondered if he truly meant for an eternity, but with the way the man acted, it would be for an eternity. An eternity that she hoped that she wouldn’t end up regretting. Her bare feet touched the stone underneath them and padded over to the closet where she proceeded to dress herself. By the time she finished, she stood in a white halter neck top and a pair of black pants that flared out from the knees. Silently, she slipped on a simple bracelet and looped in some black and silver dangling earrings. She nabbed her phone from a counter then and peered at the message. Elena. The thrall that was mostly a happenstance and a thrall that she didn’t regret.

”I shall be off to go hunting before meeting with Elena later. The woman is incredibly efficient.” She remarked as she slipped on a light lace jacket over her shoulders. While the day had grown warmer, the seasons were still changing, so she felt it prudent to keep up the human facade. Especially considering that the nights still got occasionally nippy, not that it bothered her. Silently, she pulled on a pair of lace up ankle heeled boots before the woman stood. She swept black locks over her shoulders then and she turned to fish out a pocket mirror from her hand bag. The fledgling paused then, she would only see a corpse, even though she wished that she wouldn’t. So, she simply tossed the mirror back into the bag, satisfied that she was passable. ”Right, well, I shall be off then.” Indeed, she didn’t think much about the possibility of Trahir following. He hadn’t so much as entertained the thought with her before, so she hadn’t figure that he would be willing to do so now.

[Wearing]

[Trahir Trahison]

Trahir watched Shadis depart the crypt and makes his way to the wardrobe. The quickly dresses in a black suit with a white undershirt and a red and black striped tie. A pair of Oxfords are slipped into and he does the obligatory checklist in his head as he ensures everything is in place. Keys, wallet, phone, cuff links.

That being done, the Killer steps toward the entrance and out into the night, drawing the heavy door shut behind him.

He is only a minute behind Shadis and it is easy enough for the tracker to pick up her trail. He follows quickly until he catches sight of her stepping out of the cemetery gates and then slows his pace to match her own. His own feeding methods vary widely, though he is certain that Shadis' own preference will be like nothing he would use. Brute force, yes. He used that often enough. Intimidation, fear, blackmail and bribery of course. Those were standard fare for the vampire. His preferred method of course was to bleed out his victim, long and slow, savoring their pain and the taste of adrenaline flowing through their blood. On occasion though he starved himself for nights at a time just so he could glut, draining his victim to a husk.

He was fairly certain Shadis would employ none of these tactics. With the Masquerade on the brink of collapse, and Trahir himself now aware of certain... issues he faced by way of curses, he has decided he must learn some more... acceptable methods. Methods that didn't leave a string of murder victims behind in his wake.

The incident with Kaspar and Vienna at the Necro bothers him. Never before had Trahir simply snapped like that. He'd wanted to destroy the young man, Kaspar... and he wasn't sure if it was because he got too close to his lover Shadis, or his human employee Vienna, or both.

Worse than that he had a rising suspicion that it might not be either or those things. The Darkness within him had felt... pulled. Like being near Kaspar had brought out the aggression. Trahir needed a cure for that particular curse and fast. While it was unlikely that a simple change in feeding habits would help to push the growing Darkness within him back it was worth a try.

He couldn't simply go about threatening or killing his fellow vampires whenever he met a new face.

Shadis had been most gracious about the incident, accepting him for what he was. Trahir worried that the same reaction may cause him to lash out at her though. Unafraid, the Allurist stayed close to him. That type of loyalty was hard to find. Even as he stalked her through the streets of the city, Trahir admired her. No rage built within him, no mindless aggression threatened to overtake his senses. At this distance her aura was barely a whisper, soft and seductive to be sure, but it wasn't the siren's call that had brought out the savagery he displayed with her while they were alone.

He was in control of his faculties, damaged as they were according to Mortll. Well, you're a bit crazy....

Of course he'd protested without pause.

It never occurred to him that stalking his lover to watch her feed might just be crazy all on it's own.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis pushed through the gate and paused long enough to fish her phone out of her pocket. The woman knew that she had said that she would be meeting Elena later, but she had to double check. With the amount of things that had been weighing upon her mind, she wouldn’t put it passed her to think that it was upon a certain day, when in reality, it was on a different day. Elena usually made sure to remind her and sure enough, a message was sitting there, waiting for her to read it. No calls yet. At this early into the night, she made sure that Elena didn’t call. This was her time to hunt and feed after awakening from her day’s restful slumber. Lancaster’s was generally where she hunted as it wasn’t uncommon for her to be seen there. After-all, as far as the human patrons were concerned, she was a dear friend to the owner of the Bar, not to mention that the bar tenders had all grown used to seeing her there upon a daily basis.

Silently, she drew her light lace jacket over her shoulders as she walked passed the station that would have been much quicker to take to the Bar. Hell, toming to the Den, only to step through a fadeportal would be quicker rather than walking. However, the woman enjoyed the walk. It helped her to get some-what lost within her own mind, to think upon what she had seen through Trahir’s blood and the events before. As she certainly didn’t get the time to think upon such things before she fell asleep. That time was dedicated to Trahir and herself as they enjoyed themselves through physical pursuits. No, the evenings after she had just awoken, was her time. The time to think upon her own thoughts and the time to prepare herself for the day, which meant finding someone to snack upon. Never did she take more than she needed and always let the humans go. There was no point in killing them if it meant that they wouldn’t remember what had happened to them.

Her heeled steps echoed inside her ears, even if it was only a simply touch of heel meeting stone underneath her feet. It was music to her ears, something similar to that of a beating heart. Such a sound distracted her from the thirst that she felt after just waking from her restful slumber. The sounds allowed her to focus upon things that were not the hearts of humans. It allowed her to focus upon the task at hand until she reached the Bar, until she could sink her hungry fangs into some poor sod’s neck, just so she could continue living her life as a vampire. As of late, she had noticed an increase in her hunger. Whether that was only significant because her body was constantly healing during the day or not, was an experiment that she was going to have to try and figure out. That wouldn’t happen of course, unless she stopped being ripped apart by Trahir each night. Of course, she didn’t want that to stop, the simple pleasures of it all was her addiction.

So, with all of that in mind, she would have to rely upon memory of previous wounds before Trahir and with that in mind, she could safely deduce that such activities had increased her thirst. Luckily, it was something that she could address at least a couple of times during the day without killing the human that she drank from. Sometimes, she relied upon the occasional blood bag, but they were normally stored at the den and wasn’t as tasteful as it was straight from the vein.

As her steps brought her in front of Lancaster’s & Bunk Backpackers, she stopped for a moment, to gather herself. The usual early patrons would be there already and so would the loner types as they planned to scope things out as the night wore on. Or perhaps they had other plans? She didn't know, she never usually asked them before her fangs found their neck. Drawing in a simple habitual breath, the woman exhaled and pushed through the door, smiling as soon as she entered to the bar tender. It seemed like Samantha was there for now and she made her way towards Samantha. ”Evening Samantha, the usual if you have the time,” Shadis simply said as she leaned her forearms against the bar top and gave the other woman a friendly smile. The bar tender smiled and turned away to get her drink while the vampiress lifted her brown gaze to glance over the surrounding potentials as her brown hues lightly touched upon them

[Trahir Trahison]

Lancaster`s & Bunk Backpackers. The choice makes sense to him. Her sire owns the place. Why wouldn't she hunt there? Familiar territory, faces, and close to what Trahir imagines had been home. All the reasons why he would not hunt there. He prefers to hunt far from where he sleeps. He keeps his acquaintances at arms reach, staying away from them. Home is where he does on occasion bring a victim he plans on keeping for a while, like Stephen, Shadis' former tormentor, still changed the the wall slowly rotting from infections caused by his own filth. He had slipped into shock already. The vampire didn't think he was long for this world.

He had plans for the body though.

He doesn't enter immediately. He'll wait until a fuller crowd has gathered. He supposes that Shadis will wait too. Covering one's feeding requires enough people not to be paying attention to the others around them. Either she will wait for the crowd or she will pick a victim and leave with them. If that's the case he can resume following. For now though he hangs back, making his to the nearby park area, keeping his eye on the door of Lancaster's to see if Shadis emerges and get a rough count of how many people go in and out.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

As the night began to grow livelier, Shadis continued to remain standing by the bar, quietly sipping her scotch while occasionally checking her phone for messages. It was quiet and she guessed that it was a simple habit, due to the fact that her mother used to keep checking up on her. It was at this point however, when she looked up, that she noticed a man at the other end of the bar, watching her. A smile graced her lips as she moved away from the bar, leaving her half-finished drink to weave through the people, only to reappear next to the man. His blonde locks brushed his shoulders while his smoky grey eyes watched with what she could only describe as amusement. Slowly, she lifted a hand to rest upon the bar counter while she moved to lean in so then her lips brushed against the man’s ear. ”Hello there stranger, I don’t believe that I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet.” She purred as a chuckle brushed her neck and she felt hands slide around her waist only to bring her closer to stranger's form.

The man was dressed in a black suit, one that she could only guess was designer from the way it shaped his form just nicely. It was at this point that she felt the small of her back press against the edge of the bar while she felt his teeth graze her ear lobe. “That’s because I’m not from around here,” He said as she listened to his heart beat that thumped underneath her hand which was pressed against his chest. ”Well then, I hope that you don’t mind if we leave the rest of the information at that and simply… Get out of here.” The woman said softly in hopes that he tasted just as delicious as he smelled. He chuckled and she couldn’t help the smile that flitted across her lips when she felt him pull away only to grasp her hand to make sure that she followed him to the exit.

A soft laugh found its way to her lips as she felt his hand tighten around her own the moment that the night air caressed her skin. Was he afraid that she was suddenly going to run the moment that they left? Oh dear, if she wanted to run she would be able to over-power him easily enough. The stranger paused at her laugh and he turned suddenly as his hands pushed her against the wall beside the door and pressed his lips to her own. She lifted a hand to slide along his throat and felt his pulse as her lips responded against his. Suddenly, his head dipped so then his lips could trace the curve of her neck and she felt his tongue grace her pale skin. ”You’re so deliciously pale, it’s rare to find a pale and beautiful woman. I want to explore every inch of you.” Shadis allowed a soft gasp to part her lips as such words, pretending to be surprised by such words, but in reality, she doubted that he would ever truly know that she was faking at all.

Her hand dropped from his neck then, only to grasp his hand that was at her waist and she tugged him along towards a side alley as her brown hues peered into his smoky ones. Indeed, she walked backwards, almost as if she had done so on so many occasions and she watched his smirk play upon his lips. Oh the man was indeed full of himself and if she wasn’t attracted to darker men, then he might have been someone that she could totally go for. Charismatic with an air of confidence and self-importance. She could smell his after-shave, one that left a zesty impression with top notes of red grapefruit, Italian cedrat and cranberry which mix together with heart notes of red saffron and sage. Oh he smelled delicious and she couldn’t wait to sink her fangs into his neck, to taste his blood.

”You shouldn’t tease a man,” The stranger finally said with a playful tone as they ventured down the side-alley and into the shadows. His demanding hands found her form once more and she allowed him to push her body back up against the brick wall. She felt his lips claim her own and her right hand lifted to lightly run through golden locks. It was then that his lips left her own and her head tilted back so then his lips could trail down her neck. Shadis’s lips parted as she closed her eyes and the fingers of her right hand tightened within his hair. “We really should go to my room,” She heard as his breath caressed the bare skin of her neck and a soft laugh parted her lips. ”I’m afraid, that this is about as far as out interaction goes.” The woman finally said as her hand in his hair turned into an iron fist and yanked his head to his left shoulder to bare his neck to her.

A cry of shock, rose from the man, but as soon as her fangs slipped free from their prison, she leaned forwards so then her fangs could pierce through skin, flesh and vein. Her lips sealed over the wound, just so then no drop of blood would escape her thirst and she drank. The fledgling drank the thick, crimson liquid that flowed freely from his jugular. Liquid that coated her tongue and throat, only to slowly satisfy her thirst. By the time that her fangs retracted and her tongue slid over the puncture wounds that she had made to seal it; the man’s eyes had glazed over and his cries had died long ago. Both of her hands rose to grasp his shoulders so then her chocolate brown hues could watch him for a moment. Watch him while she listened to his heart to make sure that its beat was normal for a human that had just had blood taken from.

Upon being satisfied that she hadn’t taken too much and that he wouldn’t remember their encounter, her hands let go of the man before she leaned back against the wall to listen to the stranger’s stumbling steps leave the side-alley. Shadis lifted her right hand to slowly slide it along her lips to make sure that no drop of blood was left behind and finally, she sighed. For now, her thirst was abated, not completely, as the woman still wanted more. However, she didn’t want to take too much, for fear that she would kill him. Perhaps she would go to Voodoo and drink some bottle stuff, or maybe she would talk to Lancaster about more blood bags. Slowly, she rolled her head before she glanced upwards towards the night sky; another night had begun.

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

Lancaster had used to be her favorite bar to sneak into. That had changed a couple of months ago, and she hadn't gone back since - but she'd been different, then. Vienna passed through one of the sidestreets toward the bar. Maybe she'd head in, get a drink, maybe see if anyone she knew was in there.

She slowed when she saw a couple clung to each other in the alleyway. Making out, her first thought was She would have passed them by, but then the wrongness of the scene struck her like lightning. The man wasn't moving, not even making a sound.

And the woman, her hand in his hair, her mouth fixed upon his throat - she was no lover. Vienna only caught a glimpse of dark hair and pale skin, but it was enough. She felt a chill.

She recognized the vampire when she raised her head, releasing her prey.

The man stumbled past Vienna, his face slackened, his expression dull, doll-like. She couldn't see any blood on him - his suit was only a little rumpled, and he smelled like fancy cologne.

What kind of arrogant asshole wore a suit to a bar at this hour? She couldn't bring much rancor to the thought, watching as his shoe crunched on some shards of broken glass that littered the alley. He barely seemed to notice.

She tucked her hands into the pockets of her coat

"Is he going to be all right?" she asked Shadis. Her voice was calm, steady. Inside her pockets, her hands had clenched into fists.

[Trahir Trahison]

From his vantage point, Trahir was visible from the doorway of Lancaster's. That Shadis missed him sitting on the bench across the street as it waiting for a ride home was testament to how into the hunt she was. Trahir saw the method more of fishing than hunting. Throwing out a delectable piece of bait and waiting for the fish, thinking itself to be the predator, to turn itself into the prey.

He did appreciate the irony of humans, the smartest creatures on the planet being tricked consistently by a method they created to fool one of the dumbest. "Yes, and there but by the grace of the Blood goes I..." His voice is a breath, far too low for even someone next to him to hear. There is no one next to him though. He speaks only to himself. He is about to stand and follow when another catches his eye. She walked out of one of the side streets and recognition instantly blossomed in Trahir's mind. Miss Vienna. He considered interfering. One gunshot would solve the impending breach in Sedcrecy. But that one shot would turn him into a liar. He had given his word not to harm Vienna. She knew of their kind. This too would give him some idea of the characters of both women.

They were both very important to him for vastly different reasons. Everything he could know of them, he meant to know.

Rather than interfering, Trahir instead stays where he is, plucking a discarded newspaper from the trashcan next to the bench he opens it, covering most of his face from the view of the two women just as Shadis finishes feeding and releases the human to stagger off into the night. As the catch and release method is used and Vienna makes her way past the staggering human, Trahir marks the direction the man moves and heightens his own senses to eavesdrop of the two ladies.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

The vampire had been silent for the most part, lost in thought until a familiar voice brought her out of her musings. Her brown hues shifted to the woman and she paused for a moment, Vienna was here? Why was the girl here? Slowly, she shifted from her position by the wall to stand straight as she swept her hair over one shoulder. ”Yes, he will be fine, I made sure of that before I let him go. I took all that I could safely without killing him. Although, I have to admit…” Shadis paused as a sigh graced her lips, ”It’s never truly enough anymore. My thirst has increased as of late, I should hunt again later, but… then again, I shouldn’t.” A simple smile curved her lips then as her gaze slowly moved over Vienna’s face, ”Don’t worry, you’re safe though. You’re a… Friend. I don’t feed from those who are friends, even if they are human.”

A slow, unnecessary breath was exhaled and she approached the other woman, observing her for the moment before she began to move towards the entrance to the bar. ”You seem like you could use a solid drink,” She paused then and a frown descended upon her brow as she glanced at the woman, ”I haven’t seen you around Lancaster’s of late, but then again, you probably don’t remember as to how you left either.” A hand lifted to trailed fingers through her black locks. If she recalled correctly, she had fed upon the woman in front of her and left her to make her own way home. The woman hoped that Vienna would just brush it off as a simple fact that she had been drunk, but considering that she already knew about vampires, then perhaps she had already suspected what her loss of memory stemmed from.

She bit her bottom lip as she hummed softly, mostly to herself, an apology was needed. ”I apologise, for taking without your consent the last time. If I had known, I wouldn’t have touched you, I probably would have let you walk out the door like you were going to do.” The vampiress could still taste Vienna’s blood though through her memories and she had been delectable, a delectable that she shouldn’t have touched. ”I also apologise for Trahir’s behaviour the last time that we met. He…” Wasn’t he though? He normally kept it under wraps; he was normally not so… Reactive. Or was he? Mortll had said that whatever he considered to be his, was likely to set him off. ”Isn’t normally like that.” She could still feel his claws that had pierced her hips at the time. Although, she could always feel his claws that constantly ripped through her skin. Those claws that claimed her as his own.

Shadis had to admit, mostly to herself rather than anyone else, that with each passing day, she accepted him. The woman craved his touch, which would probably be seen more as insane rather than rational. ”However, for some reason, I still want him regardless of, well, everything.” No, I need him, she thought to herself while another smile graced her lips as she slowly made her way towards the door and before she paused. ”To be honest, I would die for him.” She said softly before she opened the door to the pub for Vienna. It was at this point that her gaze lifted and she glanced over the road, only for her gaze to find a man who dressed very much like Trahir, sitting upon a bench across the street from them. Had he been there the whole time? Had he seen the way that the human had kissed her? Seen just how handsy the human had been with her? If her heart wasn’t dead, she knew that it would have stopped a beat, because suddenly, she wanted to envelope herself into his arms. ”Trahir…” She whispered.”

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

Was there such a thing as gentle cruelty? Trahir was a sharp-toothed beast waiting to bite; Shadis was something else entirely: calm, contemplative, uncaring. Looking at her, you could believe that she was human, someone soft, comfortable - at least, until she spoke.

Even if they are human, Shadis said, as if she'd never been human herself. Or as if it had been a long time since she had been.

"Thanks," Vienna said dryly. She bit back a comment about how they'd known each other for just two nights, and both of them in the company of the psychopathic murderer who Shadis was dating. Or *******. Or married to. She'd never exactly clarified their relationship. Still, friend wasn't the word she'd use for herself and Shadis..

After a moment of hesitation, she followed Shadis to the bar. What the hell. And the more she talked with the woman, the more she could find out about her and Trahir. Knowledge was all she had to go on.

"I remember that I got drunk," she said. Her mouth twisted. "You know, I thought I'd have longer before my memory started playing tricks on me. So, what happened when we met?" She didn't want to know, but she had to - it had happened to her, and all she could remember was the haze of getting a drink, being upset at Grey, Kaspar, and Adley. Of course, she wasn't sure that she could believe Shadis's account, either.

She arched her eyebrows at Shadis's apology for Trahir. Even the mention that he wasn't usually like that. "Really?" He damn well seemed like that to her. "And you said you wouldn't have if you'd known. If you'd known what? That I was...associated with him?" She couldn't quite bring herself to call herself pet or property or slave, all of which were more accurate. Especially not now that they had left the security of the alley, heading toward the entrance of the bar.

"At the time, I didn't know anything," she said. Something clenched in her heart.

Going to the bar by herself had just been another way to rebel, to show that she was all grown up after all. Talk about ******* irony - now she'd both grow up far too fast and never would. She was eighteen: she should have been out partying and thinking about college by now, trying to talk her mom out of getting her to go pre-law. But maybe she should have known that it would have never work out that way, no matter how hard she pretended.

If she hadn't walked through the door, if she'd never met Grey and Kaspar again - would things have turned out differently? Probably. Likely, she would have still met Trahir, but she wouldn't have known enough to keep herself from ending up dead.

She listened, struggling to keep her expression blank as Shadis spoke.

That clinched it. Shadis was crazy. It couldn't be that Shadis didn't know what Trahir was - in one night, he'd attacked Shadis, he'd almost attacked Kaspar, and he'd ruined Vienna's life. Even if Shadis didn't know about the torturing and the murdering, how could she justify even all the things that happened in one night?

Just explain all about her...need? Lust? Perversion of love? As if that made it all okay, as if Vienna was just supposed to understand, as if Vienna was supposed to give a ******* damn and absolve her for everything she'd let Trahir do.

She gritted her teeth, trying to ignoring the bile that rose in her throat. Some part of her to claw out Shadis's eyes, to make her hurt. To yell at her, good, you ******* *****, I hope I live to see it.

But that was exactly the point. Vienna hoped that she would live. And if she was to do that, she couldn't afford Shadis as an enemy, she reminded herself. Shadis would never be a friend or an ally, but the ***** was at least a check on Trahir. Not much of one, but all she had.

Besides, death wasn't a one-way street. Kaspar had told her that, and the unfairness burned. Why did the monsters get to come back? She had thought herself jaded, but deep down, some part of her had still believed in fairness, in goodness, that there might be some kind of order to it all - that dragons could be slain, tricked, destroyed. If there was a God, he was laughing at them all.

She stepped forward into the pub. "How long have you known him for? And how much do you know about him?"

She could hear the ghost of a whisper in her head, the ravings of a hunter driven mad by pain - maybe the ghost itself, maybe just her imagining. Someone who hunted vampires had to be strong, and Trahir had broken him, crucified him, and left nothing but a voice in Vienna's head.

Did Shadis know about that? Probably.

The smile that crossed her face was bitter.

She whirled at Shadis's whisper, glancing out into the street. It took longer for her eyes to settle upon Trahir, but once she knew who she was looking for, it was easy to spot him - or at least, someone who might be him - even in the low light. His size was distinctive.

She forced herself not to take a step back, to breathe slowly even as she felt panic grip her. The bastards could hear her heart beat. Had she been careless? Had she said too much?