Lewis had known that there were going to be guards he had just not expected the man that stood before him. He had thought that she would have humans that still would be groggy with sleep as they came on duty. He had never seen a man like this before and now he wished that he had taken the time to get to know this place a little more. He saw the sword go up and the light flash on its surface. His eyes locked with the mans and seemed to bore into him. Those golden eyes that he shared with Vincent and Blaire, the ones that many did not like to look at for long. The sword swept down and the light in them when out. He had held all the pain of the attack back from Blaire, she did not need to know what had happened but he placed in her mind a seed of the knowledge of the layout of the place and of the big man guarding the door during the day. Maybe she or Vincent could find him and turn him againted his master in the end.

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Vincent awoke in his bed his mind waking to the knowledge that Lewis was no longer apart of this world. He had been expecting pain at the knowledge but now there was none. It was like a hole was there in him but it had been there for some time so it was healing. Slowly he stood and took stock of what was around him and who was there. He could hear her heartbeat up in the library there was no other sounds in the building. Sighing he faded out and reformed in the kitchen. He could smell the food that had been brought in. he would have to thank Warren again for his aid. Looking out into the living room he saw her lounging on the couch reading. He smiled happy to see that she too liked books. He wondered what else they had in common. Slowly and quietly he walked over to where she sat reading to see what it was she was reading. The white wyrm was embossed in the cover in a dark red color. One of the few novels he had picked up about vampires many years ago.

“I would not take what that man has to say about my kind as fact, he seemed to enjoy mixing his myths.” His voice was soft and kind as he spoke.

Blaire had not noticed at first that Lewis had sent her the information early in the morning but over the day she found her mind was wondering often to a large man whom she did not know. She kept seeing flashes of piercingly vivid green eyes as well as a scared face. She also had images of a dark place which flashed through her mind. Throughout the day, since she had been awake, she found herself wondering what this place was that she was imagining. Was it a dream?

When Vincent walked in she did not initially look up from her spot on the page where she was reading about the ways in which a Vampire could be killed but she did acknowledge Vincent’s presence in the room, “I didn’t really think there would be much basis in fact” she said though it was clear she was still only half listening to what Vincent had to say, after a few moments however she seemed to reach a point that was good to stop and marked her page before closing the book and looking up at Vincent. “I didn’t really think that there would” she repeated, “but it felt like a rather ironic choice so I figured I would read it anyways.”

She took a moment to sit up more properly in the couch and then once again looked up at Vincent, “Did you have a nice sleep?” She looked up at him with a more meaningful look as if to say, “Are you feeling any better?” She remembered quite clearly the studio last night and all that had happened, and of course the fact that he had collapsed in the end. She looked up at him now with a slight concern, but he seemed to be doing alright, she wondered vaguely, as the feeling of it had been blocked from her, if Lewis had made it out alive, but without having the feeling of it something deep inside her told her that she already knew that answer.

She shook her head as if to clear it and then once again looked back up at Vincent. “What are the plans for tonight?”

Reaching out he took the book from her and set it on the table next to the couch. His eyes were sad but not full of hurt as one might think they should be when an old friend died. “I will be well once I eat, I will need to make a trip to the pens for it. After that…” he stopped and looked her over more closely. “I have a few people that might know where she has gone to ground but that may take some time and I would prefer you not staying here alone while I am out. Even with Warren’s protections I do not trust that she will keep her hands from you. I cannot lose both of you this night.” Reaching out he gently touched her face, he seemed to be making sure she was there and not a illusion. His cool hand lay there as his thumb slowly rubbing gentle circles on her cheek.

After some time he stopped and pulled his hand back from her. “I would not call what I do during the day sleep, if you were to come look at me you would find me quite dead. I do not know what happens around me at that time, which is why I let only those I trust to come here to my home. Now I hope this place will become your home too.” With that he stood and turned to walk up the stairs. “I shall go change and then I think we should go out. Maybe we should catch a play or movie.” His footsteps made no sound as he walked out of the room and up the stairs.

His mind raced with thoughts of what could have happened to Lewis in the day while he was asleep. He unlike Blaire did not have the knowledge planted in his mind of Lewis’ last moments before his death. Lewis had been expecting that when the time was right that Blaire would do what was needed to keep Vincent alive. He wondered what live would hold for them in the next few weeks and maybe months ahead. He could take her and run for a new town, it would not be to hard to get a License again with her help. They could set up a new home where no one knew him or what had happened here. he had done all he could and she would carry the blood hunt make till she died or he did.

“I have a few people that might know where she has gone to ground but that may take some time and I would prefer you not staying here alone while I am out. Even with Warren’s protections I do not trust that she will keep her hands from you. I cannot lose both of you this night.” He had taken the book from her and she took that moment to look at him fully. He had reached out and gently touched her face. This simple movement made her shiver ever so slightly and only partially because of the fact that his hands where cold. She found herself smiling gently but took his hand for a moment and looked at him, amber eyes to amber eyes, her words where gently, comforting almost, “I’m not going anywhere”

She looked away for a moment, she would not let him see that the thought of that woman scared her a bit. She could still here the cold voice of that woman through the thoughts of both Lewis and Vincent and it caused her to shiver again. “I shall go change and then I think we should go out. Maybe we should catch a play or movie.” The words brought her back to the present and away from the woman. She looked at him and there was a smile once again in her eyes. “Sounds like fun”

She looked up at the stairs where despite the fact that she could not hear him she knew he must have gone. She smiled to herself for a moment. After the night they had had the night before she found the idea of a simple play or movie sounded refreshing and fun. She wondered for a moment if he had done that intentionally, to relieve her, and also his, mind a small bit off the subject of what they still would have to face. He wasn’t trying to drag her into the battle, she could feel it deep within her, but like Lewis had said to her in the moments they had contact, it was up to her to keep Vincent safe. His battle, weather he had wanted it to be or not, was now hers.

Returning down the stairs Vincent smiled at Blaire and walked to the door. “I don’t want you to feel like I am trying to smother you but I just don’t feel safe if your out of my sight.” He said as he held out his hand for her to take. His body had warmed slightly with the movement of getting dressed and moving around like a human. He never really thought about how cold he really was because none of his partners had ever complained about it. The only thing he knew about himself and the temperature was that it did not affect him as it did humans. He could walk down the snow covered streets and be dressed for summer.

They did not have to go far to find his car, the key had been placed on the doorstep under a small pile of stones. When first they had seen it one might have thought that it was a kids collection of pretty stones. Vincent carefully pulled out the key without disturbing many of the stones. “He always likes leaving it here when he brings my car back. I have tried to tell him it’s not the safest place to be leaving the keys but he still dose.” He smiled though his voice was not fully happy. He captured her fingers again as they walked to the car. “Do you know how to drive?”

He watched her as he climbed into the car. "First stop it the stock yards so I can feed. there is a little restrunt nearby you could pick up a dinner for yourself." He said as the car came to life. it purred under his hand and he in turn petted it like it was a cat he loved. "If you have any questions just ask them, the worst I could do is not answer them."

“I don’t want you to feel like I am trying to smother you but I just don’t feel safe if you’re out of my sight.” She thought about this for a moment, contemplating being under his constant supervision. How did she feel about that? It’d been a long time since someone had cared enough to watch out for her, for more than half her life she had been alone. She looked up at him for a moment, contemplating how she felt. She did rather enjoy his company and on the plus side, she could also watch out for him like he was watching out for her. Perhaps not to the extent that he was watching over her, but she could be his eyes in the days to come. She smiled for a moment, a smile that was very nearly a smirk, “I think I can handle that”

“He always likes leaving it here when he brings my car back. I have tried to tell him it’s not the safest place to be leaving the keys but he still does.” She looked down at the pretty stones and smiled, which turned into a soft laughter. “I’m sorry but, if I were looking for your key, not that I have any experience with breaking into houses, but if I were looking for a key that I suspected may be hidden outside, as a surprising number of people do, that would be precisely the first place I would look. No offense.” She had said it knowing, based on the slight tone in his voice that he knew all this as well, but she felt she might reiterate the point, “Perhaps someone might explain the situation to him again if you don’t wish your car stolen”

He took her figures again, and the small action made her smile. The fact was simple, for the first time in her life she did not feel alone, and the thought was reassuring. She had friends now, and was surrounded by them. “Do you know how to drive?” the thought brought cause her to she looked up at him at this point. She had learned to live on the streets, how to feed herself, how even to get from point a to point b in a hurry, but driving was not something she ever had the pleasure to learn. With a simple shake of the head she said, “I lived alone for many years, not as many as you of course, but when you’re worried about whether you’ll have food the next day driving a car sort of takes a back burner.” She had said it simply and without any sadness. She did not regret the choices she had made, but rather embraced them.

"First stop it the stock yards so I can feed. There is a little restaurant nearby you could pick up a dinner for yourself." She nodded a bit at this, it had been after all hours since she had last eaten, and that had only been something light. She smiled, “That sounds like a pleasant idea” she said after a moment but watched him as the car came to life under his fingers and he pet it. This caused her to smile at that little quirk about him. Something rather almost like a human quality, the love of material things. She thought on this for a moment, she had always pictured Vampires to be more, barbaric, not that truthfully she ever believed in them, but in her mind the thought of a Vampire was demonic and frightening. She was not frightened by Vincent at all despite the fact that deep down she knew she should be.

He told her to ask any questions she might have of him and she mulled this same question over in her head. Did she still have questions of him? She had asked Sasha a good deal the night before but here was the man, or rather Vampire, himself. She had been looking out the window when he said this but now she looked at him. Rather than wanting to know more about his race she found herself wanting to know more about him. She went back to looking out the window for a moment but then she asked the question she was most curious about, “How many others like me have there been” she said it in a curious way, “I mean, how many times have you had to look into faces like yours. What where they like? Did they all work for you willingly?” She thought about Lewis and looked down at the ground; it had been an insensitive question that she was now kicking herself for. Unfortunately the question had been out of her mouth before she could stop it and it was too late to take it back. Instead she whispered, in an extremely soft manner, “I’m sorry…..” and then went back to looking out the window.

Shaking his head Vincent sighed. “I have been trying to tell him that since the car first started having keys. The only thing I can think of is that he has a spell that he is using to make sure no one notices that it is there and its so well hidden that I don’t see the spell. Maybe if you were to exsplaine to him how much a risk it is he will stop leaving it there.” He looked off into the distance for a bit before speaking again. “then again he could decide that we are still just over reacting and that he knows better than we do. If you would like to you can, or maybe you can make it understood to his human.”

“food is always one of those things that surpasses any other want or need but for sleep. I never would have learned how to ride a horse but for my master teaching me.” He held the door open for her as she got in, he closed the door before appearing on the other side of the car opening his. “if you would like I can teach you or I could hire some one to teach you how to drive so that you can get to where you want to go without using a taxi. I might be helpful to you in the long run to drive. I see the automobile being the thing of the future. One day your going to have to have one or be driven around by some one.”

“That sounds like a pleasant idea” he smiled at her then set off down the road for a bit. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him and not be driven to fear like some of humans he had heard about had been. She seemed calm about him wanting to feed from the animals in the stock yards. For him the act of feeding was not that inviting to watch, maybe one day he might let her watch him if she wanted but until then she was going to be meeting him at little restaurants near the stock yards when he fed.

How long would she stand him keeping her close to him. How long would that woman be hunting for his position? Would he be able to keep her with him till the woman was dealt with. His mind wandered down that path as he drove. He only realized that he had said something to her after she asked how many like her there have been. He looked over at her quickly as he came to a stop not far from the stock yards. The traffic on the cross street speed through the intersection as he listened to her question before even thinking of answering. He wanted to make sure he knew what she was asking before he even tried to tell her.

“Why should you be sorry when you only know what you have been told by those that wish to make us into the monsters in the dark?” reaching out he gently touched her shoulder to draw her back to this world. “I have never forced someone to serve me, one of the reasons for that is I can’t keep forcing them too. Sooner or later they will break out of my hold and then they are more of a danger then they are an asset. The second is that if I were to do that is most of those in power in this city would hunt me down if I did, it is that way with most cities.” The car sputtered as he started it up again to move forward before stopping.

He looked out at the hood then back at her as he pulled the steering wheel to pull the car over to the side. “I do not at this time have the time to deal with this.” He parked it and stepped out to open her door. “There have been six since Sebastian, not all of them were PI’s with me. Most of them did not know what I was or why I needed a double. It has as technology advances gotten easier to find my doppelgangers. The time in between each on has gotten less and less.” Walking down the street he pointed out sites she might want to go to for dinner other days of the week. Places that she should avoid unless there was no other way of avoiding it. Finely he showed her to this little place that had he not pointed it out to her she would have missed it. Once inside the place seemed so much larger then the small alley the shop seemed to have been built in. there were a few people sitting around at tables covered in table cloths. “enjoy.” Was all he said as he handed her a small bundle of bills. It was her nights pay and then some.

“I’ll talk to Sasha” she said with a bit of a laugh but then rolled her eyes in what was a sort of playful manner, “being a Vampire is great and all,” she said it thinking about Warren and all that she had observed of him the night before. He seemed the really old soul with very little grasp of humans in the new world. She looked up at Vincent, with a soft smile, “but sometimes it pays to think like a human” She got into the car as he opened the door for her with a smile. It felt nice to have someone care. She listened at first as he asked her if she wanted to learn how to drive and thought this over in her head. It was a question she truly believed would never in her life be posed to her but she could indeed see the merits behind. After a few moments she looked over at him and nodded, “I’d like that”

She had been calm when he spoke about feeding, after all it went back to his own statement, other then sleep food was the most driving factor. He had chosen to feed off animals rather then humans so she felt calm about it. That didn’t mean that she ever needed to see him feed. She was grateful therefore when he had offered her the alternative of eating herself in a local restaurant. She gazed out the window after her question but was brought back to earth when he spoke to her again, “Why should you be sorry when you only know what you have been told by those that wish to make us into the monsters in the dark?”

She looked up at him then, thinking over this simple statement in her head. Monsters in the dark? She let this simple statement mull over in her head as he continued. He told her that he never forced his doubles to stay with him and this caused her to smile, in the very least she had that. If ever she wanted out she could leave freely, though she didn’t foresee this, it gave her a small comfort to know. She didn’t speak as he continued to answer her question. He had had six others besides her and she nodded her head a bit in understanding thinking about that. Six who looked like him, or more specifically them. She thought this over and an image of them came into her head. She wondered over the fact that some never knew what he was. This made her wonder just a tad more, and although she thought she knew the answer already a small shred of doubt peaked into her head, she voiced her concerns outloud, though hardly more then a whisper, “You would have told me…..right? Even if the events of last night hadn‘t taken place?”

He showed her the sites around the area for her use in the future and then showed her a nice little hidden gem down an alley. “enjoy” was the last thing he had said to her before handing her, her night’s pay plus she noted to herself more then she had expected. “Thank you,” she said in a bright manner, “I’ll be here when you get back” She found herself a table and waited while a man, clearly someone who worked for the establishment by his manner of dress, came over to hand her a menu. As she looked down at the menu to determine the sort of thing she would like to eat that night she couldn’t help but think she was being watched. She looked at the other patrons of the room and thought that none of them seemed to have the slightest interest in her so she went back to looking at her menu, however her mind was alert to her surroundings.

The walk from the old alley shop to the stock yard was not that long and was made shorter by Vincent’s ability to move faster than most humans could. He let her last question hang in the back of his mind eating away at him. Had he truly been going to tell her or was that just a thought he told that part of himself so that it would stop nagging him that he was evil and a predator. He had not been a predator for a long time now but still his mind told him that he was the most evil thing out there and that this farce that he kept was only harming more than it was doing good. His mind looked back at all the lives he had saved and those that had been taken as he walked in to one of the back pens of cows. The animals made no reaction to him coming there, maybe because they were so used to it or maybe because they knew that this was the end for them. no more happy green fields of grass, no more bright sun to lounge in.

Vincent shied away from the thought of the sun and all that its light brought beauty to. He would never again see those things in his time on this earth so what was the use of bringing up the pain that it caused him. Other memories floated to the surface of that still dark pond flooding his mind with the light and sound of them. He was standing in a doorway looking out on the night, it was not long after dusk and he could see as if the world was light by the noonday sun. he had been sleeping the day away in a barn not far form his last home. The presents of the area still would not go near the tower but they had built up farms around it, as if to say they did not believe the stories of their fathers and grand fathers before them. his hands shook as he looked out on the empty buildings of the farm. There had been a family here the night before sleeping gently away. Now all that was left was death. It had been at his hands that those children had gone on to their next life’s never knowing what they missed in this one.

Looking out on the moon he heard a small sound, almost that of a wounded animal. The thought of caring for that animal to repay those he had killed filled him with hope only to be crashed when he realized the sound had come from him. He fell to his knees as sobs overwhelmed him. Repulsion of what he had become sickened him as he hunched there in the barn door, his body heaved but nothing would come up. he knew from year of this unlife that there was nothing for his body to reject. Pink tears trickled down his cheeks as he prayed for the family to forgive him for what he had done. He had only been looking for someone to take him in and show him love. He did not want to be the cold creature his sire had become until they had put him down. The thought of that monster caused him to curl in on himself more.

They sire had been crying out that they were the devils works and all they were good for was to kill those that came in their life. He did not care if any heard them, they should be feared and held as gods by the people. They had all the power was it not right that they who lived forever would lead the people on in their lives. Control them so that they would have the best life they could? His rants had gone in like that till Warren, their brother and he had taken out their sire. Now the other two had left him to deal with what was left of their sire’s home he being the oldest. But he found that without any one there he was lost. He had been with Warren when they had been out in the world and before that it had been with their sire. What was he to do now that they were all gone?

As the tears and pain left him he moved on from that barn into the night, the creatures already wandered near the house smelling the bodies he had left. They could have them for all he felt, there was nothing left there. Miles and nights later he found another farm with a happy family in it, he watched them from the windows. They were happy there, the mother smiling down at the children and the father holding his wife close in a warm embrace. The children playing by the fire light before going up to their beds in the loft. The family cat made it known to him that if he wished to stay around he had to give her the attention she disserved. For nights he watched them longing to be held by the mother and father like the children were. Told stories and told not to fear the night. Over the nights he fed from the animals of the woods and found shelter in the trees, so unlike what he knew before but it did not matter to him. The family and their life caught him up completely.

Then he awoke one dusk to screams, the mother was in pain. He could almost tasted the pain, loss and sorrow in the scream. Something had happened. Rushing through the wood he found her over her husband’s body a group of men laughing around her. They all wore clothes that had seen much better days long ago but now were only held together by the threads. Their weapons were old but the only things about these bandits that seemed well kept. The children stood againted the side of the house, a man guarding them with a leering look. His eye wondered over the young girl who had just blossomed into woman hood. The mother did not see any of this for all she knew was that her world was gone without him. Then Vincent saw a second body nearby, it was that of the baby that the family had welcomed into the world not a few months ago. A rage he had never felt before boiled up from a dark place within him and he did not remember a thing after till a face so much like his as a boy filled with fear filled his sight.

Slowly looking around he saw every man dead their throats ripped out their blood watering the ground. The other children were dead or dying, the weapons that had killed them still in them and the hands of their killers. The mother lay there her eyes wide but her heart not beating. The only sound now in the yard of the house was the boys heart and his gasps. Slowly Vincent walked over and bent beside the mother, the boy croaked something out around the fear but Vincent did not hear it. He reached out to move her so he could see her but then he saw the bright red that covered him. He jumped back before he contaminated her with what he had done. Then turning he ran. The boys accusing eyes fallowing him into the darkness of the forest. How long he had watched them he did not remember but they had become family to him and now they to were dead.

Hours later it seemed to Vincent the boy found him, impaled on a broken branch that stuck out from a tree. He had not seen it as he ran and now he could not move for the wood was to strong to brake and he was to weak with it in the side of his chest. The boy slowly walked around him and the tree his eyes filled with tears. Finely he tried to pull Vincent off the branch, why Vincent did not know. It seemed to take him hours as the boy inched him slowly backwards on the branch. The pain beyond any he had felt before but unable to cry out. The branch had pierced a lung, not the heart. He was lucky that it had been a lung or he would have looked beyond dead when the boy found him. As he fell into the pile of leaves and branches the boy had made a small gasp escaped his lips. The boy jumped back in fear his heart racing, then slowly he walked back to Vincent to gently touch him.

“You’re not dead?” it was just a whisper but Vincent heard it and slowly nodded. His lung was filled with blood he could feel the dull pain from it. It would take some time before he could breathe without pain. The boy’s eyes were wide and Vincent worried that he would die the way his mother had, heart beating too fast to keep going. “you look dead.” Again Vincent nodded, this time slightly stronger. A warm finger gently poked at the place where the branch had been, he whimpered in pain. “You’re not cut?”

They spent the next few hours like that the boy asking questions and Vincent nodding, shaking his head or making sounds of pain. By the time dawn had come they seemed to have reached an understanding that the boy would make sure he was out of the sun the full day and at night he would watch over the boy as he slept. It was only for one night and day he thought, but the next night the boy had a gift for him he had not expected. The boy had trapped and kept alive an animal for him to feed off of. Somehow during the day the young man had found out what he would need to survive and found a way to bring it to him.

The memory released Vincent as he pulled back from the cow he was feeding on, the creature was none the worse for it and ambled off into the small herd. Shaking his head he forced the memory back into the dark pool. He did not need to remember what had become of Tomus or what it had lead to latter in his life. She did not need to know of this dark past of yet.

‘your lying to yourself if you think you would have ever told her about yourself. You might have let things slip but never told her outright if she never saw them.’ that little voice in his mind taunted. ‘she would have lead her whole life without knowing if she had been that bad.’

‘that’s not true.’ He replied back to the voice as he walked slowly from the stocks. ‘I would have.’

She could see in his face before he left that the question was lingering there. She knew she shouldn’t have asked it and yet the question had breached her lips before she could stop it. He chose not to answer the question and she had walked into the restaurant. Now she was sitting eating her plate of chicken parmesan and thinking over the other half of things. What would life have been like if that….woman…had never kidnapped Lewis. Would she have ever known about the darker side of the world? She shook her head and said to herself, “You need to have more faith in him then that if this is going to work”

She took another bite of the chicken parmesan and thought to herself that it was quite good. She thought about Vincent for a few moments and thought it felt like he was in pain…and yet it didn’t feel like it was physical. Was it a thought? Something around him? A memory perhaps? She quietly finished her food as she wondered on this, but she didn’t feel the need to race to his aid, it didn’t feel like that kind of pain. Sometimes people needed to be alone to deal with such kinds of pain, it was probable that it was the same with vampires, so she let him be. He would come back here once he fed and collected his thoughts, she told herself.

Soon she paid for the dinner and decided to walk around town a bit. Not far of course, lest he not be able to find her again, but enough to look at the different shops and places she might have to find in later months or days. She was willing to bet, due to the situation that she would be spending a lot of time here, not that she minded. It was an average town, but certainly better than some of the towns she had found herself a part of in the past. She was careful however to not go near the places that Vincent had warned her about.

It was some time that she had been walking about, when she felt it again, the feeling that someone was watching her every move. She looked around her in a bit of a panic and at first saw nothing. Calm, she told herself, you have to remain calm. Looking about her again this time more calmly she saw it, a brief glimpse of someone in the shadows of the alley way. When she turned that way again though she saw nothing. She wondered at this for a moment, but then made her way back to the café to wait for Vincent.

Sighing Vincent looked out over the city as he walked. Maybe that part of him was right and he would never have told her about what he was. If she was that bad then did she not deserver to be in the dark about him? It was not like he would have been harming her or others. On the other hand it would not have done well for him if she had never known and he needed to feed from her or they had to travel. She would have been asking to many questions about his travel that would not add up if she really thought about it.

This world was not going to be an easy one if things kept changing as rapidly as they were. Even with this depression that the people in government were talking about it was not going well for the vampires of the world. Soon word would travel faster than a letter around the world, stories would be known by everyone within a matter of moments. Shivering he stepped out into the night just letting it surround him. He wore it like a cloak, no one really saw him as he passed by down the street. The sounds of his shoes on the pavement muffled in the darkness.

He found her not long after walking quickly back to the Café. ‘She must have gone for a walk to stretch her legs. Was I longer then I had thought I would be?’ he wounded as he let her walk into the café before entering it himself. The shadows still seemed to cling to him, obscuring his face and parts of his features. “Did you enjoy the meal?” he asked quietly as he sat down next to her at the table. Then within her mind a whisper, ‘I many not have told you so soon but I know your bright enough you would have guessed before I got up the guts to tell you. And I would have answered you truthfully when you did ask.’

She was seated at a table only minutes when he appeared at her side. She had, as she had many times over the last two days, been thinking about the events of the last two days. More specifically she had been thinking about the conversation between herself and Vincent just before he had left and also about the mysterious figure she had seen in the alleyway. She had not seen Vincent come in due to her deep thoughts, contrary to what was usual for her and it was only when he said, “Did you have a nice meal?” That she realized he was there at all. She jumped ever so slightly and immediately hoped he hadn’t noticed, “Very enjoyable” she said sincerely.

He continued the conversation from earlier as if they had not gone separately after the question which lingered before them. It was almost as if he had been reading her mind, though she didn’t think so. ‘I many not have told you so soon but I know your bright enough you would have guessed before I got up the guts to tell you. And I would have answered you truthfully when you did ask.’ She looked up at him for a moment and smiled, a small smile, almost not there, but it was still a smile. To her that was enough, at least he wouldn’t have tried to hide it from her. She nodded slightly, ‘I can accept that’ she replied in the same manner.

She looked towards the door in that moment remembering the shadow in the alley, but she did not mention her concerns. Instead she smiled at him and put the thoughts from her mind, “and you, where you able to have a decent” she paused for a moment, also remembering the slight twinge of pain he had felt from some memory of his, but she continued as if she hadn’t felt it. But her eyes did show a bit of concern behind them, “Meal?”

Only because of his nature did he notice her jump as he spoke to her. He had not meant for her to be startled, he may have to work with her on that. He could not have her jumping about ever time he startled her. Also if they were going to survive life in the next few weeks she would need to pay attention to what was going on about her. "Very enjoyable." her voice was filled with a sincerity that brought joy to his heart. Lewis had loved this place, and if Vincent was correct he had invested in it when its owner was trying to get the money up to open it. "that is good to hear."

'I can accept that.' he could feel that she was pleased that he would have told her if she had asked. 'Maybe after the movie or play of your choice I will tell you of the first human that looked like me and worked with me.' He accepted that it would most likely open old wounds but he felt that she needed to know the story of his first partner and the life that moved on from there. 'We will also need to discuss what is to become of our partnership.'

As she looked towards the door he caught a fleeting thought in her mind but as quickly as it had formed it was gone. Now he woundered if she would tell him if there was danger or would she like Lewis before her try to hide what they thought they could handle and let him see only a rosy world? "and you, where you able to have a decent..." concern filled her eyes as she paused then plowed through what ever she had thought of. "Meal?" The smile that had been threatening spread acrossed his face.

"My meal was as it always is, dull and a bit green but I have grown used to it and would not try to find a better meal." Reaching out he brushed her hand with his. The last of the graves coldness he had had when he awoke now driven away by the cows blood. "With my problems I do not have the luxury of the selection you have, maybe one day we will have as close a bound as I had with Le..Lewis." Lewis name seemed to catch on his lips and only with a push come out. there was pain in his eyes at the lose without knowing how he had fallen.

['Maybe after the movie or play of your choice I will tell you of the first human that looked like me and worked with me.' ] She looked at him for a moment thinking this over in her head but then she smiled at him reguardless. She knew that in order for things to work, there needed to be trust between the two of them. To her it was almost like the final offering gesture of trust between the two of them to open up to her about his past. She thought about her own past and thought maybe some day she would let him in on her past as well. Someday she knew she would, but but probably not today, in the near enough future though. They needed to understand one another. She looked at him for a moment but then smiled, "I'd like that."

As they talked meaningless conversation about food normally Blaire would have felt very contented, especially in the circumstances from the previous night. Despite the fact that her world had gone from black and white to a vibrant shade of grey area over the course of twenty four hours. She hardly knew which was was up, which way was down, or the difference between right and wrong but she did know that the world she stepped into was a whole lot scarier then the one she just left. She was on the verge of telling him about her experience while he was gone. He had seemed real as she passed that dark alley but She could have imagined the man in the alleyway out of fear? At the time he had seemed very real but now, she half wondered it was paranoia.

In the end she decided she was not going to tell Vincent about it until she had some more concrete proof that something was a miss. Instead she turned the conversation to what they would be doing for the night, forcing the thought of the shadow out of her mind. He had told her it was her choice were they went. "Hmmmm......" she said in a long almost playful tone, "I think we should go to the cinima rather then the theater. Its been some time since I've been to a movie"

She stood from her table and walked in the direction of the doors. She was determined to have a good time that night. After all she knew both her and Vincent needed it to be a good night, a fun night, after the last one and who knew how many ahead. She had the looming feeling things were about to get more difficult for them in the days ahead, so tonight, they needed to not worry and have fun. Not that she was going to let her guard down though.

(Sorry that took so long, I'll work on reading Enemy today too o.0)

Offering his arm to her Vincent smiled as he stood to take her to the movies. It had been a few years since he had been into a movie theater, yet he had been hearing from Lewis about the many changes that had been happening in the moving picture business. To his mind they still were just nolvatys that never would become much of anything but he had a feeling deep inside that he was going to be eating his own word.

The movie theater only had three movies showing but in the end Vencent picked a movie just by the title alone. He had never seen a Clark Gable move but this one sounded of interest to him. The plot made him think of how he ran from many things and it also touched on the fear that one day a partner would decide to turn on him and be a reporter.

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Looking over the reports of the movements of the vampires under him Warrner sighed and looked over the hand written reports his Magical spy’s had filled for him. Both of the reports seems alike but still something was not right. Somewhere in the reports there was something not right.

As Vincent picked the movie she found she didn't really care what he had chosen, after all it was simply the time out having fun that mattered to her. Though she did feel that she, no they were still being watched. Something in her told her that that feeling was natural, after all she had been through the past night, but reguardless it kept her mind clear and astute. Vincent chose a Clark Gable film, something about a reporter and that caused her to smile, it was a good simple choice. As they headed into the cinima she threw one last anxious look over her sholder and saw another figure in the shadows, but again as quickly as she had looked, it was gone. Was she imagining things?

Deep in the Shadows he watched them, both the vampire and his companion. Something was different about this one though he could not yet place his finger on it. For now he simply had his orders. He needed to watch them, and keep on top of there movements. He didn't want anything to do with this plan of that witches but he had no choice, she freed him from that which bound him and that made him her slave. So orders were orders and he had to trail them. One of the two, the shorter one though not by much, seemed to know she was being followed. Was he being sloppy? Did he want to be caught? He thought of the old man in the hideout, how the life left his eyes with dignity. He hated to kill him, he was only loyal to one he loved he didn't deserve that death.

He waited for the two of them to enter the theater before asking the ticketmaster what movie the two had gone to see. It was clear by the look on the ticketmasters face the he was terrified of him and that it was only this that led the man to answer him. He bought a ticket for the same show and headed inside. Once he reached the correct screen he took a seat far to the back in the darkest of the shadows. From here he could see everything in the theater but couldn't be seen by any except perhaps the vampire himself, should the vampire sense his presence, but he hoped that would not be the case. After all, he wasn't here to fight them, only to trail them, keep tabs on them. He hadn't even brought his prized sword....not that he couldn't defend himself.

Blaire felt that tingle that someone was watching them through nearly the whole movie but she tried her best to put it from her mind while she watched the movie. It was a simple movie with a simple story that brought a smile to her face, which was something she needed. In fact by the end of the movie the feeling that she was being watch almost left her mind. Almost but not quite. She wondered briefly if she should tell Vincent about it even if it was probably just in her mind.

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Alice had felt the mark hit her the night before when the Prince had placed it but she still didn't feel movement of one trying to hunt her. She knew it was only a matter of time before Vincent hunted her, before they all hunted her. But it was exactly the way she had wanted it. She knew her tactics where unorthodox and she broke almost all the Laws, but still if it was for him then her life simply did not matter. For him she would have done anything. They say that a Vampire cannot love, does not have the capability in there very bones, but that wasn't true, at least not to her. Because it was true that she loved him.

Alice looked around the room she stood in before grabbing her packed bag. It was time to move away from this place, to run. It was only a matter of time before he caught up to her, but she didn't care, she would run for as long as she could. If the prince wanted a hunt he was about to get one, she was not going to make his job easy. However, there was a sadness in her eyes as she turned from the doorway to look back at the room behind her. "I hope its enough my master, my love, for its all I can give you"

With that she turned from the dark room and left, never looking back to that place.

Vincent watched as Blaire twitched as they bought the tickets. She had not really seemed to have an opinion on what they saw as long as they saw something fun. He hopped that she would enjoy the movie but something about the way she held herself as they walked into the theater. “they are selling some small appetizers would you like some?” he asked trying to think of something to put her at ease. Then they entered in the main room and she relaxed for a bit. Sighing he woundered if the death of Lewis had effected her that much that she was jumping at shadows.

They had been sitting there for a few moments as the people around them talked before the show when Blaire seemed to tighten again. Worried he started to wrap his arm around her protectively only to stop and put his arms back down. It was becoming harder to keep from treating her like a young woman when she was dressed like a man. Someone was going to learn her secret if he was not careful about how he acted. Leaning in to hide that he had almost wrapped his arm around her he whispered. “Are you feeling ok? You keep twitching as if you keep seeing something out of the corner of your eyes?”

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The spell was one he had not done in many years, he knew that it was a danger to him and any who took part in the spell but he could not do this alone. Looking up from the circle he smiled at Sasha and stood to start the spell. “you walk here on your own free will, what happens here may mean the end of your or I yet you will still walk this way?” His questions were all part of the ritual, she knew it as well as he did that there was only a small margin of one of them dyeing to complete this spell.

“I come open and ready to do what must be done and ready to pay the cost that would have to be paid.” Her voice quivered as she stepped into the circle and started her part of the ritual. The blood flowed from both of them and fallowed each and every symbol as if they were dug deep within the floor. Then the floor seemed to open up below Warren as he realized that the spell had taken more than he had thought it would. The world blurred as he was pulled between two places in the world.

The room was dark when he was finely able to see one room again. “I hope this is enough my master, my love, for it is all I can give you.” Her voice was quite as she turned from the room as if she would not return. His second spell took effect as he tasted the flavor of Sasha’s blood in his mouth and upon him. He was covered in her blood as he took the strings of the binding spells that would hold her.

“you have not done enough child. Its time you told me why you took and killed him.” His voice was cold as ice as he spoke. Not only was he angry for the loss of Lewis who had been Vincent’s life line but now he had lost his one human helper to a spell that never should have cost so much. “you have much to pay for child.”

[“they are selling some small appetizers would you like some?”] She smiled at the suggestion. Vincent was trying to cheer her up, and the thought caused her to have a feeling of warmth. She left her forboding feelings elsewhere so that she might have an enjoyable time in the cinima.
She began to wonder if it was alright for the two of them to be seen out together. Perhaps during the night she should once more assume the identity of a woman. Would it be easier for them to slip around unknowticed as a man and a woman. It was a question she would pose to him, but not tonight, not now.

[“Are you feeling ok? You keep twitching as if you keep seeing something out of the corner of your eyes?”] she had felt him lean in closer, and then whisper to her. She looked at him for a moment in contemplation but then decided it was best to come clean after all. She leaned in a bit to whisper to him as well, so as to not be overheard. "I feel like we are being watched. Like someone is watching me or perhaps you from the shadows. I thought I saw a giant man twice now, but each time I looked he was gone in the blink of an eye"

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[“you have not done enough child. Its time you told me why you took and killed him.”] She spun around on her heel to face the voice that had entered the room, so the hunt really had begun. She faced the man who had come for her. She had hoped that Vincent would come for her himself, but it appeared he sent another equally powerful Vampire to her instead.[“you have much to pay for child.”]

She was cornered. She could feel the spell that bound her to the room, and she knew better then to run so instead she simply watched him for a moment and did not speak, after all what was there to tell, she was willing to die. She would never betray her master. She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to keep up appearances, though there was sadness in her eyes if one knew how to recognize such emotions in a Vampire. "So the prince would not come to me himself, such a pity. Not that it does matter anymore. The hunt is up before it has begun, shame, and here I thought that your dear old prince and I were in for a little fun"

She turned away from him so that he might not see her face in the darkness. She had hoped that she could get away from this place before they had found her. She never wanted them to discover it, but no matter, it was merely the loss of a place. She collected herself before turning back to him once more, "Isn't it obvious why I did it? Your prince has become complacent, and the throne belongs with someone who will take it for what it is. Who will know those around him and protect those close to him. We are not a careing race, but even so the prince has failed in his duty."

Vincent stopped himself from tensing and looking around. It would do them no good if he were to alert their follower that he knew about them. Bending forward he cupped his hands in front of him. It had been a really long time since last he had used this spell but it was not one that could be seen that well by humans when he was in a dark place. The words whispered a tiny globe appeared in his hands showing the room about them. to him it was lit like mid day but to a human it was just another part of the darkness.

Would you like to look at the seeing globe through my eyes? He hoped that even seeing through his eyes she might be able to see the man she kept seeing in the corner of her eyes. His hope was that this man was not spelled or covered so that he could not see him. It would be a waste of magic and of their time if they could not see him, he would see them if they turned around to look about. But maybe if they left before the ending they might see him as they walked out. If Vincent was triling a pair of guys he would have sat in the back row so they would not see him inter and he could observer them both without them knowing.

He realized as he was doing this that this had been a bad plan to do this night. They should have gone to the office and seen if they had any cases, he was supposed to be teaching her how to be a better detective not acting like she was his girl. Mental he kicked himself for acting like a young boy and forgetting what she appeared to be. Acting like this was going to get them killed and with a new vampire on the seance it was high chance that he would be dead before the end of the year. Maybe it was time to move on to a new city.

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Warrer looked at the young vampire that he had caught in his spell. She was to young to be making a play at the throne yet she seemed to think that the prince should have been the one to find her. Raising his eyebrow he smiled softly. "Most would have accepted that they were caught by the Princes Sheriff and not complain that they did not get their fun with the prince. who ever taught you did not tell you that a prince rarely come hunting those he has called a blood hunt on. He leaves that for his workers who have not had the enjoyment of the hunt as he has." his voice was cold and spoke of murders in the night.

As she turned away he readied a spell that would stop any she might think to throw at him. Not knowing who she has studied under or what she knew he was prepared to fight her like he had his sire. He was surprised at her revelation when she turned back. what greavens had she that she thought he was uncareing and that he had failed. "If you wish to bring something to the prince attention you could have come to the club where he sits every Thursday night waiting for those of our kind to talk to him. He would not have turned you away like some of the old ones do to the young ones." Walking forward he called the bindings that were around her to his hands. Now he could lead her out of this place and to their prince to be judged.

Blaire felt her heart pick up a few beats, so then she wasn’t crazy after all, someone WAS following them. She looked at Vincent as he confirmed that he felt her fears were valid ones. He did a bit of magic, and a globe appeared in his hands that showed a better view of the theater. Good, she thought to herself, that way we won’t raise suspicions by looking around the room. She vaguely wondered whether people would notice the spell he had cast in the middle of a crowded theater, but did not question this choice. After all, surely Vincent would know better in this. Instead she merely just nodded her head in agreement when he asked her if she’d like to use his eyes. I think that may give me a better view of things. I only saw him briefly, but I think I would be able to recognize him.

She waited for a moment, but even while waiting she was eyeing the globe with her own eyes, trying to see in the darkness, but unable to. Once she was able to see through Vincent’s eyes she watched what he was seeing, surveying the whole room. When they swept past the corner where he was seated, in was all she could do to stop herself from gasping at the sight of him. The man was bigger than any man Blaire had ever seen. Standing at nearly two feet above the average height for a man, and nearly three times as wide, the man was a mountain of size and muscle. There! In the corner there, that giant man, that’s him, I can sense it. He’s the one that’s been following me!

He could not see what the prince was doing, but he could sense the magic in the room and watched them ever more carefully for a few moments. Did the apprentice to the prince notice her after all? It was an interesting twist, the human had a keen sense about her. The prince did do well in that regard. After a few more minutes he stood, after Vincent and Blaire had spotted him, unbeknownst to his knowledge, and left the theater, he would wait for them outside.

Blaire could see him leave, but knew better then to be relieved. She knew that although the problem left for the moment, it was not gone. Thought about the movie which was playing peacefully but shook her head and thought to Vincent, I think we had better leave, do you agree?
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["Most would have accepted that they were caught by the Princes Sheriff and not complain that they did not get their fun with the prince. Whoever taught you did not tell you that a prince rarely come hunting those he has called a blood hunt on. He leaves that for his workers who have not had the enjoyment of the hunt as he has."] She looked at him for a moment; she knew that, of course she did. With retrospect to him and the prince she was young, but she wasn’t stupid. It was all part of the act, the show. The distraction, she thought to herself, it was all part of the distraction. Instead she kept her front up and let out a small hearty, yet sarcastic laugh, “You mean the prince that cares so much about my capture that he sent his lacky to clean me up. I would have thought the great and powerful vampire Prince would have cared more about the one who killed his human then that. Shame though, he needn’t have died. Such a sad loss of someone so loyal” there was a hint of malice and sarcasm in her voice that did not reach her eyes. There was a harrowed truth in her words.

["If you wish to bring something to the prince attention you could have come to the club where he sits every Thursday night waiting for those of our kind to talk to him. He would not have turned you away like some of the old ones do to the young ones."] She looked at Warren for a moment, in a contemplating way. More calculating then the character she was trying to portray. When she spoke again it was in hardly more than a horse whisper, but she knew warren would hear her. “So the prince sits back on his throne and lets the problems come to him. I have been building an army under his nose for years now and not once did he notice. I stole the very guardian of hell and took him into my employ and still your ‘Prince’ noticed nothing. It would have continued as such without his notice if it were not for the fact that I stole his human. Surely you know that just as well as I do”

After that Alice fell silent again. When Warren led her forward she did not attempt to put up a fight. She came quietly though still pretending to glower at him. At least, perhaps, he would lead her to the prince, she would have a moment of fun before it was all over. To say she wasn’t afraid would be a lie, but she pushed these feelings into the pit of her stomach and did not let them show in her face. No, she would go to her death with her head held high.

He could hear her heart pick up as he caste the spell but he could not stop to let her know that he would protect her. Touching her hand in comfort he let her See. The globe slowly moved about the room showing them all that sat within the theater. Sighing he memorized each of the faces that were about them, he did not know whether there was more then just the follower. If there was a second or third follower that she had not seen.

As she watched through his eyes she tensed letting him know that she had seen the man. He was large for a man, one that he should not have missed yet it seemed that he had. Looking over the monster of a man he wondered where he had come from and for who he worked for. Never before had Vincent seen a man of that large stature, he was not fat by any means. Do not worry now that we have a face to him it will be harder for him to hide from us.

Laying a hand on hers Vincent smiled at her questions if they should leave. No, at least not you, if he thinks we have made him he will be looking out for us to come after him. Slowly as he spoke to her he started to turn into mist that seemed to lay low to the ground. If he is waiting for us I dont want him knowing we are fallowing him. What I would like you to do is stay here and enjoy the movie. I will return as soon as I can. With that he f aided the rest of the way and drifted along the floor to the doors out. by the time he reached the light he was so thin that his mist form was not noticeable on the floor.

[Do not worry now that we have a face to him it will be harder for him to hide from us.] She thought this simple statement over and it gave her a small comfort, yet she could not get the thoughts of what Warren had warned her about out of her head. You could not be to trusting, nor could you let yourself get complacent. She did however not argue with him when he told her to stay behind and watch the movie. She turned around and faced the movie as Vincent left the room and headed outside to were the Giant of a man was.

She faced forward towards the movie but was no longer actually watching the movie. Instead her thoughts raced a mile a minute on all that was happening, but mostly to the giant man. In the pit of her stomach she felt like she had seen him before, and not just in the shadows of that night though she couldn’t place why his face felt so familiar to her. Images flashed through her head of the giant man holding a sword. In fact the sword seemed to be a very extension of him as if it belonged with him. She wondered why she knew this. Why it was she felt like she’d seen him with that sword before.

While Blaire tried to remember from where she knew the man from, he was outside the theater just across the street sitting down on a park bench which sagged slightly under his weight. He was bored, if truth be told he didn’t really care about this whole business of the prince and who should next take the throne. If it wasn’t for the laws and restrictions of his race he would not have any part of it. But as it stood he had no choice, she had given him no choice. She was his captor, his keeper. He was strong, when it came to a match of strength there was no equal to one of the hell hounds. He leaned back on the bench, which moaned under such a movement, and looked up at the moon.

When Vincent came outside the man did not see him. He smelled Vampire, but to him that was one in the same. Whether it was the vampire he was trailing or the one who owned him he could not currently be sure, not with the tricks of their kind. He considered them crafty, and did not trust them. But that was beside the point. He was bound to his fate unless fate should intertwine. He may not know who was there with him but he sat up straighter, with another protest from the bench, and took to observing his surroundings without making it seem like he was watching. He stared instead at the door of the cinema across the way.

The harder she thought the more it slipped away from her. Each moment ticked by and the movie continued to play as people cluelessly went about their happy lives. She took a deep frustrated sigh and was just about to admit to herself that she was not going to remember when the thoughts from the previous morning came flooding back to her. The layout of the house as Lewis walked through on his path to escape, the man, that giant man with the sword. She sucked in a gasp of breath as she realized the truth, the hard truth. That man had killed Lewis. VINCENT BE CAREFUL! She thought as frantically as she could. That man, the giant one, I think he’s the one that….that….. She forced the thought from her head, not even willing her mind to think about it. Please…just be careful.

Moving slowly he stopped in the ally behind the large man and reformed himself trying to get a sense of the man on the bench. The smell of a wolf dog crashed upon him as he reformed. what is he? not a werewolf. Taking another breath he tried to mull over the scent and what he could be.

<My lord Prince I have the Vampire who took Lewis.> Warrens voice broke through his thoughts as he looked over the large man trying to understand why he smelled the way he did. <I have also retrieve Lewis body. What would you like me to do with it?> He sighed and then slipped deeper into the ally way.

<Take him to the funeral home and make sure that his wife is told of her loss and that I will cover all the cost.> Looking out of the alleyway he leaned into the brick of the wall. he did not want to deal with this at this time but he had to. opening his eyes he saw that he could watch the big man from this spot.

<Blaire I am going to stay out here and watch him. If he is hired by the one who had taken Lewis, then he has lost his leash. I want to see what he dose. so act natural when you come out.>

Blaire intentionally waited until the movie was done, but she had stopped paying attention to it long before that point. She spent each moment that ticked by waiting for something to happen. She was on the edge of her seat and she truly hated this game of cat and mouse. Not that she wasn’t prone to being able to wait, she had spent many nights just waiting, it was the fact that she couldn’t do anything useful to help that was truly grating on her. Eventually as the credits began to play she quickly stood up from her seat and raced towards the door. At the doorway she paused, took a deep breath to calm herself and then walked out of the theater in a more calm and collected way.

As she left the theater she cast a quick glance in the direction of the giant man, but in a calm way, almost appearing to look past him rather than at him. She turned in the direction the two of them had come to get to the theater and began to walk as if simply enjoying the evening air. She thought about Vincent, I’m just gonna keep walking for now, to appear normal. She continued down the street, every so often stopping to look at something in a window as if she were merely window shopping. Where should she go? The office? The restaurant? She was sure that most public places would be closed this time of night, so the restaurant was definitely out, but at least she could keep walking.

He watched for them to leave until the movie was over. One of the two exited the building, but was alone. Human, he thought to himself, the human left alone. Did his(doesn’t know blaire is female) keeper really not know that he had been following them. He cocked his head to the side ever so slightly, thinking this over. No, he thought, you did smell vampire before. He looked around him in a very non-chalante way before standing from the bench which crunched in a sickening way. He was not aware that Vincent was behind him, but he could have tracked him by the smell if he had wanted to. Instead he decided to follow the human. Why waste the energy to track when following his human would draw the vampire beast out to him.

As he followed her he noticed she stopped occasionally to look at something in a window or two but had no clear idea of where she seemed to be going. It was the sort of thing he would do if he knew someone was following him. She was either really smart, or someone had tipped her off. Either way, she was doing well, but not well enough.

As Blaire walked out of the theater Vincent moved up to the roof of the building and fallowed them as they walked from one street to the next. At frist he thought that she had a place in mind of where they could take him and deal with him. but as the time when on and she just seemed to wander he realized that she was at a loss for where to go. <usually dear when your being fallowed I would say for you to go to one of the night clubs and slip out the back with a change of coat if you can help it.but this time we need to take him along.> Quickly thinking about the places around here and how many places had buildings he could cross without problems the list became short of where they could take him.

<alright I need you to get him to Mulberry street.> an image of a map appeared in her head showing her where she was and how to get to Mulberry street. <when you reach there I will tell you the next place I want you to go. but before you just take off like a shot, I want you to act like you just remembered an errand that you have to run but there is no time limit on it.>

he hoped that she would understand what he was saying and do as he said. this was going to be the first test of her acting skills he could do. <also stop looking behind you, I dont want him spooked. I can see him clearly from where I am at, and please dont look for me.>