Kari turned around as she heard what sounded like a man's voice behind her. Her eyes quickly scanned the road and the few abandoned buildings on either side.

'I thought I just heard someone curse...'

Elburke Lane was a dead-end street leading up to the mansion. Everything looked deserted as usual, dust motes swirling above the road. Shaking her head, she stepped to the gatepost and was about to hit the buzzer when she saw Sato-san, the head groundsman, walking up to her.

"Hello Kari-san," Sato greeted her with a smile, holding the gate open for her.

"Good afternoon, Sato-san." Kari bowed her head at the older man. "I'd like to check up on the flower beds and help where I can."

"Of course, Kari-san. You do an amazing job! Come see me when you're finished. I think I have just the right task for you."

Kari was impressed at how much progress was made in the past few days. About eighty percent of the landscape and gardens were complete. Even the sprinkler systems had been installed. She stopped briefly to admire the large marble fountain and pond, with frolicking stone dolphins in the center of the sprawling garden. It had been fully restored as if just built yesterday. The entire place felt like she had been transported to a distant past, imagining carriages strolling into the circular, cobblestoned driveway bordering the waterscape.

Past the rose garden southwest of the house, she arrived at her assigned area, pleased to see the flowers and plants thriving. Stopping by the nearby shed to pickup her tools, she set to work under the late afternoon sun.

* * * * * * * *

The ornate, double doors to Evan Collins' office burst open with a loud 'bang!' as a very upset young man stormed in. Evan looked up calmly from the stack of ledgers he was perusing. He was used to the boy's outbursts that it was almost a normal occurrence in this house.

Taren's eyes, like searing blue flames, regarded him with barely contained anger as he strode to the desk, planting his hands on the mahogany wood. "Why didn't you tell me? Have you known all along?"

Evan leaned back in his chair, matching the youth's glare, wondering what had ticked him off this time. "If you could be more specific, I'd be more than happy to enlighten you."

"Kari Miyazaki." Taren said tersely.  "She works here. As a gardener!" He gritted his teeth as if the very notion was appalling. "And don't give me that crap about not knowing any of this!"

Evan gave him a look of surprise and incredulity. "Do you expect me to keep track of a couple hundred or so workers hired to rebuild this place? I have retainers for that task."

"You do realize this is the last place I'd want her to be. How did we miss something like this?"

Taren paced, running a hand through his unruly, silver hair. Evan noticed that his face was pale and his hand shook slightly. Really looking now, he saw a faint aura of power emanating from the boy, hardly noticeable by anyone other than a Kindred of the clan-- or a Guardian linked to the Kindred by blood.

Evan had only been Taren's Guardian for a few years, but those years were fraught with challenges and uncertainty as they both struggled to understand their own natures. He was the only Guardian born in nearly five hundred years. There was no one alive that he could rely on for guidance. And Taren was no better, a rare Kindred never before seen in a millennium. Even Alexander, the Clan Lord, was wary of him.

The boy was clearly on edge; something worse than the shock of finding the girl he liked turned out to be one of his employees. "Tell me what happened. And sit down before you fall on your face, you don't look too good."

To his surprise, Taren followed his advice and flopped on one of the lounge chairs. He must really be worn out than what he cared to show.

"They were after Kari. I don't know how they found her." The youth said, his eyes hollow. "Evan-- I just killed two Hunters today."

"Damn it!" Evan swore, getting up from his desk. He sat on the chair opposite the boy, his face showing concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Taren replied distantly. "I'm fine."

'No you're not.'  Evan thought. The kid had a bad habit of always downplaying what he felt.

"What bothers me more is that I couldn't think of anything else other than getting rid of them." Taren looked away. "It was so easy, almost like breathing. And after-- I felt nothing, no remorse—"

"They got what they deserved, and more." Evan's face hardened. "The girl is safe, and that's what matters. I just wish I had been there."

"It wasn't anything I can't handle."

"You haven't fully recovered from last year's events. Don't push it unless you have to. As for the girl, I think it would be to her advantage-- and ours-- that she remains employed here."

The boy opened his mouth in protest. "Out of the question! That's the craziest thing I've—!"

Evan held up a hand. "Hear me out. This is actually and by far the safest place for her. There are potent Shields around the house and surrounding grounds. No Hunter or Clanless would dare cross these wards on pain of death. The real danger is out there. And we both know that once they get their hands on her, they'll use her to draw you out in the open, or worse."

Taren stood up and resumed his restless pacing.  "Alright, I agree with your reasons. It just doesn't sit well with me that the girl I lo--  that she's working in my house." He coughed self-consciously. "As for whatever's out there, I can handle it."

Evan eyed the boy with a knowing look. "At any rate, when she leaves today I'll extend the house's protections around her, which should hold for at most another day. They won't be able to see her, let alone detect her presence. I'll dispatch a group from our security team to keep an eye on her. I'm not taking any chances."

Taren nodded in agreement, or perhaps he was just too tired to argue any further. He stepped to the tall windows, looking down on the estate's grounds.  "It's been several years since that day. I don't know how they found her after all this time. Unless— they knew of her existence all along."

Evan walked to his desk, the large monitor on the wall opposite flashed briefly before it brought up an image of an older man with wiry gray hair. The caption above the news article read:  

'Nobel Laureate Recipient, Kotaro Miyazaki'.

"It's a stretch I know, but this might have something to do with it."

Taren gazed at the man's image, and Evan noticed a faint smile cross the youth's face, as if he remembered a fond memory, before it was replaced by a frown. "Nobel prize...I wonder what he's up to?"