18 - Replacement

"Are you okay?" I asked Mei.

She nodded, forcing a sad smile, her pixie eyes a bit misty. "I'm just worried about Master Vladimir's health. And I really felt bad disobeying him." She sighed as we sat on the floor, trying to clean up the mess Vincent made out of the center table, deliberately falling silent as we picked up the chunks of marble.

"Sorry," I murmured, dropping my gaze.

Mei shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Things like these happen. Well not exactly like your situation but you get the point. We... Amyr, Byron Flynn and I, we don't blame you."

Through the ceiling to floor window, I could see the other familiars outside, cleaning the yard. They managed to make a huge pile of dead wraiths almost ten feet tall. With one forceful shove, Amyr knocked the pile into the hole. He kicked the remaining dead bodies like soccer balls, bouncing off the twisted trunks of the giant willow tree before they tumbled into the pit.

When he saw me looking, Amyr smiled and gave me a wink. With a growl, Byron Flynn pounced and tackled Amyr to the ground before he trotted away, seemingly pleased with himself.

"But Rosario does. Do you have an idea what Vincent's plan is?" I asked Mei as I stared thoughtfully at the dimly lit hallway where Vincent and his brother disappeared an hour ago.

She shrugged. "No. But if it was my choice, I would rather he complete your Resurrection and keep you." A smile played on her lips. "I've always wanted a sister. As you can see, Rosario and I don't get along much."

I smiled back, shooting a chunk of marble into the bin. "Yeah. I have no idea why she hates me so much."

"She's just being overprotective about Master Vincent, that's all. It's a long story but I don't think it's appropriate that you hear it from me. Give her some time. Hopefully, she'll warm right up to you and share the story." She stood up, shook the dust off her dress and offered me a hand.

With her help, I got up mumbling. "Yeah, I'll keep my fingers crossed. So, I just wanted to ask. You said your master is Vincent's older brother but it seems to me like I haven't seen him yet."

A soft giggle escaped from her lips. "Yes you've seen him."

"I did? Who?"

"Master Vladimir, who else?" When I knotted my brows, Mei just smiled. "He's older than Master Vincent by about eight years. I see why you're confused because of their appearances but he's definitely the older brother."

The boss is a little boy. Let's play toy soldiers as he ordered. Why not? Ugh. "Why-I know... Long story?"

"Long story," Mei repeated. "For immortals, it's always a long story."

"If you don't mind me asking... How old are you?"

As if pondering for a moment, Mei's forehead creased. "I lost count actually, but I was mortally born in the dawn of Ming Dynasty, just before the Great Wall of China had been reconstructed."

I wasn't really good in World History but the word dynasty must mean that she'd been around for a very, very long time. And bearing in mind that I was pretty much a zero at Math, I didn't try to count how many years either.

"Master Kyoshiro-the tenth son of Master Pilgrim-found me. I was dying of a disease back then and he bargained for my soul." There was a hint of longing in her voice, as though she was having one of those back-in-the-days moment. "The Tenth gave me to Master Vladimir for his thirteenth birthday. That was the day my Master Vladimir was immortalized."

"We can be given as presents too?" I mumbled with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Did The Tenth put you in a box and put a ribbon on top?" A hint of unintended bitterness rang in my voice.

"No," she replied. If I offended her, she didn't show a sign. "I can't say that I know how you're feeling, Aramis. For the rest of us-Rio, Amyr, Archie and even Byron Flynn-becoming Master Vladimir's familiars was a path we all chose. For you it's different. But you cannot change what has already been done. All you have is a choice to make the best of it."

Silently, I nodded. She was right. There was no use getting all sulky about the dilemma. All of a sudden, my stomach growled.

A soft chuckle came from behind me. It was Amyr. "Come on, let's feed the noob so she'd quit moping around." Smiling, he took the trash bin from Mei's little arms and gestured for us to follow. "I'm sick of having wraiths for breakfast anyway," he muttered.

"Disgusting," Mei commented as we moved along the hallway, passing by some of the strange assortment of doors before turning right into a vibrantly lit corridor. Small elaborate chandeliers made of white sea shells hung about every few meters as we went deeper, passing by more carved wooden doors made of dark wood.

Amyr rolled his eyes. "Uh... I was talking rhetorically, if you still haven't noticed." He pushed the narrow double doors at the very end of the long hallway, past three grand dining halls, one of which was bigger than the whole lot where our house was erected back in Ashland.

The doors led to a spacious kitchen; a combination of white and black cabinets hanging on the wall, modernized counters made of dark cherry wood and black marble, sleek stainless sinks, a six foot-tall two-door fridge, and pretty much everything I had imagined that belonged in a chef's kitchen and more.

Mei and I went to the kitchen table-a big irregular slab of smooth fair-colored wood, propped on a haphazardly carved tree stump as though the artist who made it got bored (or eaten by a bear) and left the sculpture half finished. Even the stools looked like tree stumps.

I watched Amyr pop something in the microwave, wondering how old he was. If Mei was as old as the Great Wall...

"What?" he asked upon seeing me stare. I shook my head and dropped my gaze as he pushed a plate in front of me. "Eat. I hope you like curry."

"Thanks. At this point, I could eat my own arm." I helped myself, not believing how hungry I was. Beside me, Mei nibbled on a chocolate cookie. They both watched me as though it was the first time they saw a normal human eat so I paused in the middle of chomping on a slice of potato and blurted, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," they chorused exchanging meaningful looks.

"I'll just... go check something," Mei muttered absently as she slipped out of the kitchen, clutching a big jar of cookies as she went.

"So, have you warmed up to the whole new world of familiars yet?" Amyr asked, sitting in front of me, elbows on the table. When I sigh-shrugged, one corner of his lips pulled up. "It's awesome by the way. What you did back there... For Flynn I mean."

"He's really cute. A little psycho, more like misunderstood. But I really wasn't much help."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips when I said the word cute. "Maybe. If he's not trying to eat you." He smirked. "Don't be so hard on yourself. For someone who's not fully resurrected, you kick wraith ass pretty well. I was able to summon my Cataclyst not until after a week of training."

"Cata-what?"

"Cataclyst," he corrected. "You know, the claw-like thingy in your left hand. That's basically what you use to catch or in most cases, kill wraiths. The lesser ones, at least. But you don't have to worry about these things. Vincent's orders. No wraith hunting for you."

For some reason, the thought didn't make me feel good at all. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Don't worry too much about Rosario either. She might be a big pain in the ass, and she got like this iron face and a big chunk of coal where her heart should be, but you'd get used to it in time. I know I did." We both laughed silently at that. "And don't get me started with Archie. Here's a tip. If you still value your life, don't ask him a question that couldn't be answered by yes or no. He'd go all out Archimedes on you and narrate excruciatingly long bookish explanations and I swear you'd kill yourself out of boredom."

"I'll try to remember that," I said. Oddly enough, I was smiling. "And what about Mei then?"

Amyr pressed his lips together, holding back a smirk as he gestured for me to lean closer so I did. "The thing about Mei is," he started in an undertone.

"Yes?"

"She can kick your butt." Amyr's hearty laugh filled the room. "And mine too so I'm not telling you that she's probably planning on turning you into a Barbie doll. Or that she'd tie you in a chair if you resist. And most of all, I'm not telling you to never eat anything, and I mean anything made by her. That is, if you still want to live. But I'm not telling you that either."

"Okay," I murmured chuckling. "I didn't hear anything. Thanks for the meal, by the way. It's really good," I said to him after hurriedly finishing my food and washing my plate.

"Anytime," he said giving me a smile before I went out of the kitchen with all intent of finding Vincent.

Amyr was sure nice. I wanted very much to ask him to accompany me but I didn't want him to think that I was the Queen of Lameville, or worse, too stupid to find my own way.

After several minutes, I regretted my actions. Needless to say, I was hopelessly lost. I should've taken a plastic bag and shoved my stupid pride in it. Ugh. I took several turns and whenever I thought a corridor was strikingly familiar, it always led to a dead end or a row of lots of odd looking doors. The more minutes passed, the more I felt lost.

"Are you kidding me?" I hissed when I reached yet another dead end.

I doubled back, noticing a normal-looking black door to my left. A quiet rippling sound came from behind it. Pressing my ear against the door, I closed my eyes and listened. The sound of gentle waves washing on the shore beckoned me to reach for the handle. Cautiously, I twisted the knob and opened the door. It was dark inside the room, I couldn't see anything. At first, a thin pool of clear liquid crept sluggishly on the floor as if someone had spilled a glass of water on the carpet.

Startled, I jumped back and stared at the pool. Then cautiously, I approached the door again, hearing a low rumble from the inside.

SPLASH!

A wave of seawater sprayed all over me, drenching me from head to toe. I blinked stupidly, coughing out salty water before hurriedly flinging the door shut. I shivered. What in the world was that? After that, I never thought of opening another door.

Feeling cold and miserable, I kept wandering aimlessly from one hallway to another. It was just a house after all. Most likely, I would chance someone passing by. Hopefully. Please?

I was about to make yet another pointless turn when I heard Rosario's livid voice reverberating against the stone walls.

"What was Vincent thinking? That the stupid girl could somehow replace Adrianna?" she hissed angrily at someone.

Taking a step back, I pressed my back against the wall and listened intently, trying to control my breathing, water dripping from the hem of my robe.

"She has a name, Rio." It was Mei's voice. "And Aramis isn't stupid. Just because she looks a lot like Adrianna doesn't mean she's a replacement. Besides, they are very different persons."

"Yes," Rosario muttered acidly. "Very different. For one, Adrianna's dead and the girl isn't."

A discomfited quiet filled the hallway before Mei answered with a shaky voice. "I... I need to be... somewhere," she murmured weakly before I heard her footfalls coming to my direction.

As fast as I could, I scampered to the next corridor, hid behind a bronze grandfather clock and kept quiet as she passed by without noticing me. Mei's face was pale against the incandescent light that radiated from the shell lamps bolstered on the walls. The sides of her feline brown eyes glistened with tears as she hastened her steps and took a left turn.

I followed her discretely from one corridor to another, maintaining a considerable distance, careful not to make any noise. At last, she paused in front of a maple door and went inside it. When I reached the door, I saw a sign carved in front-a number eight flipped horizontally. An infinity sign.

She left the door slightly ajar and I heard tiny muffled sobs. Mei was crying.

"Adrianna," she finally whispered in between the sobs after a while. "I know you're happy now that Master Vincent has finally found his Aramis. We miss you," said she before managing to compose herself.

I hid again behind the turn to the next hallway when I heard her approaching. Once I was sure that Mei was gone, I ran back to the door and went inside. Dust upon layers of dust stirred up with every step. Spider webs filled the high arched ceilings like white mesh curtains. Several hundreds of old paintings in gilded frames lined the walls from top to bottom, every which one unrecognizable because of the grime and filth that had accumulated on them throughout the years.

Only one painting did not have a place on the walls. It was propped on an easel, and was the only painting that wasn't covered in webs or dust. It was a portrait of a young woman about a few years older than me. She had cream-colored skin, fair hair the color of straw and clear brown eyes that appeared as though she was searching for something. There was a small timid smile on her lips and it occurred to me that she looked strikingly like a younger version of my mother. No, I decided. Despite the difference in complexion and the color of the hair and the eyes, we looked astonishingly alike.

Vincent's musical laughter filled the air as we both sat in Mira Webber's veranda, the raucous music faintly thrumming on the floor as the party went on downstairs. I couldn't remember why he was laughing but it sure was a good one. Once he was able to compose himself, he gazed at me for a while as though he was recounting a lost memory.

"Err... there it is again," I mumbled finally meeting his gaze.

"What?"

"That look. It's freaking me out," I whispered apprehensively.

Almost instantly, he withdrew his gaze and looked up at the night sky again. "It's just that... you remind me of someone I knew long time ago."

My knees suddenly turned to jelly. For a while back there, I, to some extent thought that somehow, I was special-that fate chose me for this life... or death, whatever. As it turned out, I couldn't be more wrong. It was a sick, cruel joke that I was standing here; that I was still alive because of this girl. Rosario was right. I was the stupid girl. The replacement. A big mistake. It wasn't much of a secret that Vincent didn't want to keep me.

Maybe he decided that I wasn't very much like Adrianna after all and decided to dump me back to wherever the heck I should be right now. Weakly, I stepped out of the room, barely even able to close the door behind me before slumping on the carpeted floor. In the darkness, I buried my face on my hands. It had been a long time since I last cried. The last time, I was eight and just found out that Mom was dying.

"Don't cry, Aramis," said she, brushing a trembling frail hand on my cheeks. "I never want to see you cry." So I stopped crying and never did. Ever. Ugh, yeah. Maybe once of or twice, I did.

But today, I held back the tears, steeled my guts and choked back the sobs. No matter how bad things were, they could always get worse.