Vladimir and the rest of the cabal draughted back to the Sinclair Manor, leaving me and Vincent behind. It was nearly dusk and the skies were about to take up an orange-indigo hue. There was no wind but the chill in the air was foreboding. Centralia was again a dead land with its smoldering sinkholes, rundown neighborhoods and deserted streets.

I stepped ahead of Vincent, taking a deep breath of the cold air with the tiniest hint of smoke when he snatched my hand forcefully. As I turned around to face him, there was a harsh look on his eyes as they bored into mine. They were so intense against the darkness it felt like they were sucking out my soul.

"Why the hell did you not answer me when I called you?" he growled, fingers tightening around my wrist.

Answer me. Aramis... Please say something... His quiet voice still lingered and reverberated inside my head like a broken record but I wouldn't mind listening to it over and over again.

Firmly, I met his eyes, trying not to blink so as not to appear intimidated. "Well, I was in a pretty tight situation and there's this horde of wraiths surrounding me. I didn't really think it was a priority."

"Not a priority," he echoed with a humorless chuckle. "What did you think I had these stupid earrings made for? Was it that hard to let me know you're still alive? Or were you just having a blast torturing me?" he yelled furiously, his voice almost shaking through clenched teeth.

"Torturing you?" I snapped, breathing out angrily.

Of course I couldn't complain that he left me in the midst of a legion of enemies without proper training or at the least, the ability to draught to safety. But I knew from the start that this was coming. Being a familiar came with its perks and drawbacks-one of which would be finding myself in near-death situations regularly. If something went wrong, I had no one else to blame but me and I understood that now fully. I should be protecting Vincent and not the other way around.

But how could I possibly do that when I could barely even stay alive? And what I could not understand was why he was acting this way. It confused me more than ever. Just the thought of it made my heart sink but I just swallowed the swelling in my throat and looked away.

"I'm s-sorry," I began, managing a steady business-like tone. "It will never happen again-"

"You scared the hell out of me," he said in a weak voice. "I thought..." He swallowed hard. "I thought something bad happened... to you. Please... Don't do that ever again."

Vincent's grip loosened and I felt his life-force slowly seeping into mine-warm and inviting like the feeling of home. My injuries were slowly healing but I was still dog-tired and ready to drop any minute. I found myself smiling at him for some unknown reason. Reluctantly, he disheveled his dark wavy hair and averted his gaze from me.

"Is that an order? Master?"

I laughed silently to myself, thinking that it was the first time I called him that. It felt like the right thing to do. Perhaps, it was the familiar instinct having its way with me yet again. Hopefully, he had already forgotten my vow that I would never accept him as my master ever. And yes, I would gladly eat my own words now. As unpredictable as Vincent was, maybe I did consider him as my master.

"What? Yeah... well, sure," he mumbled frantically which was weird, considering that he was the most arrogant, self-assured person I had ever met.

Just then, as the yellow-orange streaks of light took over the horizon, I saw a little white thing flit down slowly from the sky. I caught it in my hand, feeling its pleasant coldness as it melted on the palm of my hand. Snow fell in slow motion like a drizzle of tiny dandelions. It reminded me of my late mother and those innumerable happy moments we spent playing outdoors during the winter.

The smile didn't leave my lips as I stepped to Vincent and got on the tip of my toes to pick up a snowflake from his hair. Rolling his pale eyes, he turned away from me and bent down, gesturing for me to come closer.

"What are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

With a deep sigh, he glanced at me over his shoulder with a look that said I'd totally hate doing this but I'm doing it anyway. "Because it's your birthday Marion Aramis Rayne, I'm offering you a ride and I'm not asking twice. Now would you hurry up before I change my mind?"

I shook my head, forcing back a laugh before I stepped to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Is my birthday cake at home?" I teased.

He hoisted me up on his back and grunted irritably as he stepped slowly. "Don't push your luck. I'm not that much of a saint," he growled though I could see that he was trying not to smile.

No one had remembered my birthday-even Dad-for a good ten years now. We only commemorated Mom's death anniversary every eighth of December. I had never once celebrated my birthday, got a present or spoke of it to anyone. I had no idea how Vincent knew about it-the Archives, perhaps-but it just touched my heart that he took the little effort.

"Oh, crap. You're making me cry," I said making it sound like a joke, laughing hard as I buried my face onto his strong shoulder. I would rather die than sob like a three year-old in front of him.

"Well don't. Or I'll drop you in a sinkhole." A lighthearted snigger came from Vincent's lips as he walked leisurely across the grass strewn thicket. "Ready?" he asked, straining his left leg, crouching low.

"For what?"

"For this," he replied with a grin, kicking off the ground like a missile. It felt like my lips and eyelids were peeling off my face.

"Aaahhhhh!!!"

I let out the longest scream if my life as our surroundings turned all white with vague streaks of yellow and green. Vincent wasn't running. He was doing quick lithe leaps as though there were some sort of springs under his shoes that enabled him to jump from a half-mile block to another with so much ease. I couldn't even see in his face that he was straining or tiring. Behind us, all he left was a gentle gust of wind that hardly even ruffled the dried leaves scattered on the ground. My heart was doing flips while it rammed violently against my chest. I felt the urge to scream just like when I first rode a rollercoaster. It felt so surreal and exhilarating and scary at the same time.

I felt him slowing down. No. It was like breaking a fall, gliding slowly through the air as though we were parachuting down.

"Would you look at that..." he breathed as we landed on something.

We found ourselves on the very top of the belfry of an old dilapidated church about a hundred feet from the ground. As far as I could tell, we were still in Centralia. Like a playful child, Vincent hung on to the pole with one hand while keeping one foot lodged on the tiled roof. In front of us, the sun was just about to rise and we watched that for a while, feeling its faint warmth against our faces. It was breathtaking against the thin veil of falling snow.

"It's kind of funny how you still do normal things like this. You know... like watching the sun rise. Going to school. Driving a car when you clearly don't need to," I murmured smiling as I propped my chin over his shoulder.

It took Vincent a moment to answer. "We haven't always been like this. We used to work in the shadows; unseen by humans. But a few years back, I pointed out to Vlad that we could probably do a more effective surveillance in school. Honestly, I just suggested that because I was selfish," he whispered with a reflective smile.

It never ceased to amaze me how he could smile differently at different situations. As though every one of them had a unique meaning which was a lot deeper than what meets the eye.

"These normal things..." he went on. "These mortal luxuries... they keep us sane. They give us the illusion that we're somehow normal. When you have lived for as long as we have, you'll begin to appreciate little things in life."

Hoisting me up on his back, Vincent began draughting again, whispering instructions in my head through the link.

When you draught, you augment part of your Bind, focus it in your feet and use it to propel yourself from one place to another through small concentrated bursts. Just imagine a rocket. You'd want it to blast off. That's basically how it works. The better control you have, the longer the distance you can travel in one draught.

Then he began letting me take a peek inside his head, giving me a feel of his muscles, familiarizing me with the dynamics of draughting, letting me see through his eyes. All his movements were fluid, calculated and effortless they were almost as spontaneous as his breathing, perhaps due to many years of practice.

Easier said than done. I told him as we crossed the borders within seconds. We tore through the woods, leaping from one flimsy branch to another. We were near the tree tops, but the saplings didn't break as Vincent stepped on them.

When we reached the mansion, I instantly jumped down from Vincent's back as I saw Amyr, Mei and Rosario in the front porch. They were all smiling unblinkingly at me.

"What's with all the creepy smiles?" I asked, a bit weirded out.

Amyr shrugged and sniffed. "If you wanted a piggyback ride, you should've told me. Now I'm just... jealous!" he sneered to Vincent who didn't seem to take the joke so lightly.

"I... didn't. I was..." I stammered, avoiding their eyes.

"Happy birthday, Aramis!" Mei draughted to my side and gave me a squeezing hug. "My gift is in your room," she whispered on my ear with a wide smile.

"Okay, my turn!" Amyr pried Mei's little arms away from me and gave me a little red envelope. "It's a one-of-a-kind gift. And it expires before the month ends so you better make up your mind soon."

Smiling, I opened the envelope and found pieces of paper with Amyr's writing on it. So far I gota 1-Hour Foot Massage and three Free 1-Minute Hug coupons. Gingerly, I put the coupons back in the envelope.

"Nice. Very... creative," I said cracking up. "Thanks... I guess."

"Told you she'd be crazy about it," he said, nudging Mei who just nudged him back harder it made him flinch.

As we stepped inside, Rosario barred me from the door and held out a small round chocolate cake with a tiny red candle on top. There was an unreadable look on her stern face.

"I wouldn't mind being bound after smashing this on your face," she muttered derisively as she slapped the cake onto my hands. "But I spent three hours baking this stupid cake I don't want it to go to waste. No leftovers or I'll shove it into to your sorry gullets... forcefully," she threatened.

After that, she turned away from us, her black flowing gown flitting like a dark cape behind her before stomping toward the dimly lit corridors. Mei and Amyr just looked at each other meaningfully as they chuckled together. It only occurred to me how they were the total opposites.

Smiling, I blew the candle and whispered a single birthday wish, opening my mind to Vincent so he could hear my thoughts.

I wish to become a good familiar...

All of a sudden, Vincent's brows furrowed as he shook his head with a deep sigh. "Study hall. In twenty minutes." Then he marched after Rosario without a second glance at us.

I couldn't say I didn't expect his reaction but it was still a bit frustrating.

With her head bobbing up and down, Mei took the cake from my hands and hurriedly passed it over to Amyr who took it almost unwillingly as though it was some sort of explosive device. Like it would degrade his manliness. Impatiently Mei anchored her petite arm around mine and towed me to Vincent's room.

"Come faster, Aramis! We only have twenty minutes to open your present!"

"Wait! What should I do with this thing?" Amyr called after us as he poked a finger on the frosting and licked it. "Actually, this isn't pretty bad. Okay. Great! Ignore me again. Ah, girls!" he grunted exasperatedly.

I didn't know who was more excited about this present; me or Mei? And what present takes twenty minutes to open? As we arrived at the room, I saw several boxes stacked on the carved wooden side table. Mei skipped to it and handed me one of the colorful boxes.

"Don't you think this is going way overboard?" I asked, chuckling halfheartedly.

Mei looked confused as she tilted her head to me. "Why? Is there something you did not like? Master Vladimir and Archie helped me accumulate these presents to welcome you into our cabal. But they were delivered by Master Maximilian's familiars so late we had to give it on your birthday."

"N-no," I shook my head, not wanting to offend her. "It's just that... I never received anything for my birthday since god-knows-when."

Without a word, Mei stood on her toes and gave me another smothering hug. She looked like she was about to cry.

"In this cabal, we celebrate anything that is worth celebrating," she whispered on my ear before letting me go. Smiling longingly, she took both my hands and enveloped them in her little ones. "We do not know when we will face Death. It is times like these that we can be happy; that we can forget the burden of the world for even the shortest while. You are one of us now, Aramis and I am hoping that we will be together for a very long time. All you have to do is let us in here," she said pointing a slender finger onto my chest.

She was right. Life was, at the same time, too long and too short to waste. I had my deadline extended. But I didn't have a lot of days more left, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

I nodded to her with a smile and opened my first present. It looked like a small leather bound book. It looked really familiar but I just couldn't quite put my finger where or when I had seen something like it. The cover was blank except for three embossed symbols-a book, a chain by its side and a sickle at the very top so that they were arranged triangularly. The pages were blank too. Attached on the spine of the book was a strange-looking transparent glass pen in which tiny drops of black ink floated like that stuff inside lava lamps.

"It's a Memory Tome," Mei began. "It is very much like a diary. Only, you do not write on it. You just have to write your name on the very first page and think the rest of what you wish to enter in the pages and the book will do all the writing for you. This is my master's idea. You may record your memories in the Tome so that after a few hundred years, you will have something to look back on."

"Let's hope that happens," I mumbled, flopping on my bunk as I stared at the book. Then I looked up at Mei who seemed to be studying my face carefully. "Mei? Can you do something for me?"

"As long as I can do it. Anything for a friend," she replied, taking my hand.

A friend. I liked the sound of that.

I cleared my throat. "If-When I'm... gone, can you make sure that Vincent would read it?"

"I will." She nodded.

"Thank you," I said to Mei, a sad smile curving my lips.

The petite familiar fidgeted with her raven hair, almost like a little child and I just thought that I would definitely miss her when I leave. "You are not giving up, are you?" she asked.

"No," I answered, sounding surprisingly calm despite the sinking feeling in my chest. "But if it's my fate to die, I'll have no choice but to accept it. I'm just happy I got the chance to meet all of you."

Mei sat beside me. "You know... when one of us was killed many hundreds of years ago, Master Vincent did not speak or left his room for a year. It pained him more than anyone. He had always been a happy child, but after that, he had become emotionally unstable," she explained, gazing vacantly onto the floor.

"Adrianna," I whispered. She looked up with questioning eyes. "Rosario told me."

"Oh." She nodded, deep in thought. "So now, you know why he is reluctant to take a familiar. But I know that one thing is for sure, Aramis. You have saved Master Vincent."

"Me?" I chuckled dryly. "I saved him a seat in the execution line, that's what I did."

"That may be true," she said. "But before you found him, he was as good as dead. Countless of times, he fought carelessly, intentionally putting his life in unnecessary danger. I think it was only because of my master's wish that Master Vincent continued to live. But now, it is because of you that he can smile again."

I would like to believe that. It was comforting to know that I did something right for once in my life, though only by accident. But it came with a bigger cost-Vincent's life.

She took one box after the other and handed it to me, eager that I opened each one. So far, I got three new sets of plain Nysmic frocks that actually fitted me, a pair of low-heeled draughting boots (thank god), a long black hooded Nysmic cloak, a small concise seven hundred and eighth edition of The Law of Immortals courtesy of Archie and a pair of new training shoes.

I wished Archie could've given me a book called The Modern Day Familiar for Dummies, Vincent's instruction manual or something like that. That would probably help me more, but really, I couldn't be more thankful to all of them. They seemed to have considered thoroughly what I needed and what I liked.

It wasn't just the presents. It felt like I was being accepted by this weird bunch... by this family as one of their members. And slowly, I was accepting them too. I guess there was a first time for everything.

The Asian girl's smile widened as she took my hand and led the way to the Study Hall to await our next orders.