Chapter 8

I wake up in warmth, and stir a little, twisting the sheets around me tighter. I was ready to snuggle back to sleep, before I remembered that I had been at the beach, facing mainland California, trying to regain myself after a flashback. Had I fallen asleep on the beach? How had I gotten into warm, comfy sheets?

I opened my eyes and confirmed that I was in my own room in the only house on the small island. House was an understatement. Villa would be a better word.

Vampire clock tells me that it’s one hour into sunset. Though we don’t exactly have to follow the night schedule, the vampire body naturally tells the time, and it is quite effective when we don’t have watches, or during times like this when I am just too lazy to get up to look around for a clock, because I don’t have one.

I get up and stretch, feeling curious and confused. Putting the question on how I’d been teleported back in my bed aside, it was weird that none of my companions had waked me up. Ever since we touched down, my companions would wake me up every day at least an hour before sunset. It was early even for vampires, but they had insisted that some things should be best done in the setting sun. But why hadn’t they waked me up today, and allowed me to sleep in?

I took a quick shower, noting that I was still wearing clothes from yesterday, though missing my jacket and Kain’s coat. I changed into easy casual clothes for the night, glad that Mila had… well, stripped me on our meeting to get my measurements right. She had a good eye, for the clothes I ended up with were extremely fitting.

I try not to remember how Mila’s eyes had stayed on my breasts.

I come down the stairs –since only my and Kain’s room are upstairs –to find Ren sitting in the lounge, smoking and looking out into the sky pensively. I don’t usually associate the crazy mage with reflective moments, but I cannot deny that Ren sometimes have these moments where he just fades away.

I try not to bother him and go into the kitchen, finding it devoid of life. Still, I make my way to the fridge and get out a pack of blood. Ever since my first day, I had not been given anymore lycan blood. Human and animal blood replaced that, but always in packs. I asked why I wasn’t given anymore lycan blood, before it was revealed to me that lycan blood was extremely rare –considering lycans were close to extinction. The cup that I had was black market good. It turned out that lycan blood was extremely good at healing capabilities in vampires, and in extremely high demand.

I consider drinking the blood cold, but decide that I would like some warmth in me, so I left it in the microwave for a few minutes, sprucing up the kitchen and cleaning some of the dishes left in the sink that must have been left by the pig Ren, since he was the only one still human enough to eat human food.

I brought the cup of warm blood with me back to the longue, finding Ren back to reality, twirling his cane and waiting for me. Ren’s cane, as it turned out, was an effective conduit for channeling his mage powers. Think wands or staff. Then transfer that idea to a cane that was sharp tipped and looked more a weapon than something to aid an old man in motion.

“What’s the big deal? Why didn’t anyone wake me up today?” I asked as I took a seat opposite him, taking a sip from the heavenly sip.

“Good morning to you too.” He replied lamely. “There’s nothing planned out for you today. Mils and Gabe are off gallivanting. I heard them say something about checking perimeters, but we both know what they’re going to do.” He passed me a wink here, and I try not to think about it.

“What about Kain?”

“The Boy’s off the mainland meeting vampires again. I swear, that one has connections every god-damned where. But hey, he managed to get a mage to side with him. That’s something.” Ren sounded more like he was grumbling, but there was grudging admittance.

“So it’s just you and me?” I asked, sipping again.

He stilled his can, and leaned forwards, grinning widely. “Just you and me.”

I get his idea a little too late, and he chuckles when my eyes went wide.

“Baby girl,” He starts, voice going sultry and all seductive, “I know lots of magic in the world, but the best ones are the ones starting between my legs.”

I stare at him for a moment too long, then I break down laughing, clutching my stomach when the laughter is almost killing me.

“You’re kidding. Did you use that one on the air stewardess on our flight here?” I asked between tears of helpless humor, and he grinned, not even stumped that I’d just turned down his pick up line with hysterical laughter.

“Yeah. Got her panties off right in a second! You think it has something to do with the face?” He stroked his chin, trying to look charming. But knowing him and his character, I’d say that the action made him look comical.

“Oh, Ren, you’re killing me.” I was hugging my stomach tightly after my second bout of laughter, and I had to put the mug of blood down on the table to prevent it from spilling all over my laughing self.

“I’m glad to know that I’ve that sort of effect, even when we’re not undressed.” He didn’t even seem affected at all by my laughing, and I was terribly amused at his unfaltering, narcissistic ego.

“Believe me, Ren, it isn’t the sexual effect. It stems from humor, mostly from your words.” I wipe the tears and finish my mug of blood quickly just in case he lands another one on me and end me up in a laughing mess on the floor.

“Well, you’d better wash that mug, and then we’re off!” He piped up, jumping to his feet with his cane hitting the floor determinedly.

“Off? Where are we going?”

“Mainland California, baby girl. You think the girls there will dig my lines?”

I try not to recall this previous line on me. Okay, I admit that Ren has the face, but I’ve been in his company for too long to even think him charming. For someone who meets him for the first time, and is definitely human… I guess I could see some action happening for him.

“If you say the right ones. I’m going too? Finally?”

“Well, Kain did say that I was supposed to look after you, but no one said where. I figure you’d want to wander around Mainland California? I don’t expect a vampire princess to have gone out roaming the streets of humans much, have you?” Ren admitted, but I shrugged to his question.

“I don’t remember.” I reply, but rushed quickly back to clean up my mug. I disappeared and reappeared in my bedroom and spruce myself up, changing my outfit for the day for a more… eye-catching dress. I felt like I was being brought to a ball or a dance, even though this was only Mainland. Still, I wanted to look as pretty as possible, and I wanted to have a good time in my rare moments outside.

I disappear and appear again right on the front porch, and catch Ren in the midst of summoning a rabbit doppelganger to a rabbit that must have skittered on the yard. The doppelganger was a shimmering animal, but it mimicked everything the poor animal did, and the poor rabbit couldn’t understand why that weird shimmery version of itself copied its every movement.

“For a mage, you’re quite the ass, aren’t you?” I ask as I throw a stone at the doppelganger-image, watching as it disappeared into mist, dissipating the image. The rabbit turns its sad and confused eyes to me, but bounds away quickly, apparently having seen enough to shock its entire life.

Ren laughs a little, twirling his cane again. “Nothing like a little fun once in a while. I didn’t sign a contract with Santa. I just told the Moon Goddess that I’m going to use her power, and that’s that.”

“Just like that?” I asked as I followed him down the steps, following his lead towards the pier which I’d seen on the beach.

“Well, I had to slash my wrist first, offer my blood and allegiance to her. But mainly I told her that I’m going to harness her power, and I left things as that.”

“That sounds easy.” I said, but he gave me a look with a raised brow over his shoulder.

“Oh yeah?” His voice suggested that he felt challenged, and before I knew what was happening, he had the hem of his shirt rolled up and his back faced me.

Scars criss-crossed in intricate patterns across his back, the lines swirling and meeting at weird angles. I had the feeling that it made some sort of symbol, but I couldn’t understand what. All in all, the pain of the scars… it must have been very very bad.

“Getting her powers was the end mark. Preparation before that was the craziest shit. But hey, it’s over. No point getting all teary-eye over it, right?” He rolled down the shirt again, and continued down the road as if nothing had happened.

I didn’t ask more.

We reached the pier, which was actually just a platform that stuck out from the beach. There was a post and loosened rope around it, but other than that, I saw nothing else around the pier. Not a single boat in sight. I felt my heart drop ever so little.

“Don’t make that face, baby girl. Like I said, I know lots of magic in the world.” Ren grins at me, and he touches the end of his cane on the surface of the water beside the pier. Green mist explode from the point of contact, and covers a large surface right above the water. Ren mutters something beneath his breath, and slowly, I make out a distinct solid form hiding within the thick mist.

It is done in less than a minute, and Ren removes his cane from the side of the pier. The moment he moves his cane away, the mist fades away as if sucked away into vacuum, and in its place was a brand new boat. He chuckles at the wonder on my face and gets on gingerly, testing its sturdiness with a little jumping and leaning.

Then he grins and offers his hand towards me with a courtly bow, lowering his head humbly at me. It was entirely out of character, considering he had never really called me ‘princess’ or addressed me with any tone in even the slightest resemblance of humility.

Laughing softly, I accept his offer and jump on the small boat with him. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do with it, since I saw no paddle close by, but I guess the question was lost when Ren turns to the front of the boat, and raised his cane. He mutters something more, and then points the cane towards the direction of Mainland.

Wind began to pick up. Startled, I sat my butt down on the floor of the boat quickly, clutching to its side as it began to move ever so little from the blowing wind. I heard Ren’s laughter in the loud wind, and still in the wind picked up.

Little by little, the boat picked up speed, and we were sailing through the water towards the Mainland, with large wind billowing to guide us there. After getting past the initial shock, the rest of the journey was spent enjoying the wind against my face. Though I had spent the night before sitting on the beach feeling the sea breeze, this was something else. This was different; more refreshing.

“Baby girl, we’re here. We can go sailing around the island some other time, but I’m craving for some good food. Mila might be a good cook, but she’s a vampire, so she can’t really get the taste just right. Besides, I’m dying from the isolation from humans here.” Ren announced as the wind finally slows down, bringing us to a nondescript dock.

“I’m sorry that you have to be isolated because of me.” I said, feeling guilty all of a sudden. Mila and Gabriel had each other for company on the island. Kain often went out to Mainland to do his duties, leaving Ren alone. This would have done better to him if he was vampire, but he is still human, still craving for life. Instead, the poor mage has to spend his time in the island with a vampire princess who lost her memory.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, baby girl. You, of all people, know me well. I am but an eccentric man. Even if I were to land smack in New York City, I’ll probably end up in a mental asylum. There’s a reason I chose to hang around supernaturals, darlin’.” He must have heard my guilt, for he rushed to comfort, tapping the tip of his cane to the boat to make it disappear the same way it had appeared.

Whatever guilt or questions I had to Ren was erased when he brought me running up the stairs to street-level, and I was exposed, for the first time since losing my memories, to the sights and sounds of the human world.

It was noisy, bustling and teeming with life. Humans walked everywhere, bustling from place to place, shouting from their stalls, exchanging conversation with each other. A pair kissed on the bench at the far end of the street that led to an open field. A man in crisp clean suit held on proudly to his suitcase and passed by us without sparing a look. A young child ran and weaved through the people on the road, a few notes clutched in his hand, an excited glint in his eyes as if he were about to get his newest toy.

“Fascinating, ain’t it? They are such a lively bunch, so unable, yet so happy of themselves and their lives. Ignorance is their worst quality, but oddly enough, it is the very same ignorance that keeps them alive.” Ren definitely lowered his voice as he gently tugs me into the stream of people on the road.

“They are… so alive.” I could only whisper my wonder back. Everywhere around me, I heard heartbeats and blood flowing through veins. I thanked Ren for letting me take my breakfast first, for if I didn’t have a full stomach, I would be too caught up in the bodies full of blood around me. Instead, I now walked amongst them, eyes trying to take in everything.

I am not sure if I have been to this place before, but if I even if I have, I don’t remember it. The lights; the sights and sounds are all new to me, and I tried to take it all in like a wide-eyed child as Ren brings me through streets. I saw people, and though I talked to none, I had the feeling that their eyes were on me. Could they single me out as a different being? Could they feel my unfamiliarity to this place? Did they know I was not a resident?

“Ren, they’re staring at me…” I whispered worriedly to him, clutching tightly to him. I get the feeling that vampire princesses would rather be caught dead than be seen clutching on so tightly to a human –even if he is a mage –to show such weakness, but I don’t care.

Ren only laughs instead, a truly jovial and amused laughter as he takes in the eyes that are on me. It seemed as if that egoistical, narcissistic jerk had been bathing in the attention until I realized it.

“That’s because you’re beautiful, baby girl. We’re a beautiful couple; you and I. They think we’re a pair made in heaven.” Ren’s voice is like liquid velvet, trying to make me melt.

“But we’re not!” I protested, still trying not to meet those eyes as I stiffly walked beside Ren.

“Well, you’re holding me tightly enough to be slut for the day. I don’t mind.” Ren grins and I realize exactly how tightly and close I’m walking beside him, holding to him. Once that revelation strikes, I let him go embarrassedly, but he laughs and continue walking ahead instead, letting me chase after him.

He must have a lot of fun torturing me, for I realized we were walking in circles. It seemed almost as if he were parading me around; considering the way his ego inflated by the dew-eyed looks from girls standing on the sides, the turn of heads towards our direction as we walked by.

“Ren!” I exclaimed, hitting his back lightly as he chuckled again at himself and his self-satisfaction. Maybe this was a bad idea. I should have just stayed back on the island. I’m sure Kain wouldn’t want me out here. Kain had left Ren to take care of me on the island and took the boat to Mainland. He definitely doesn’t want me here.

As this thought strikes me, I look around cautiously for Kain, but I see no familiar silhouette anywhere, and breathe a small sigh of relief.

“Alright, alright, baby girl. We’ll just pop into a diner for me to grab a good ‘dinner’, and we’ll be on our way exploring the place, okay?” Ren asks, and I nod like my life depends on it. I can only trust Ren as my protection here. I don’t really know what I’m so afraid of, but I feel like I’ve been thrown somewhere entirely new, and everyone is staring at me.

Ren finally relents, and lead me to the entrance of an alley, hiding me in the darkness.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he readies his cane, pointing it at me. He ignores me, but mutters something under his breath. I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining a thousand and one things that could happen to me at the mercy of a mage’s cane. Then I feel something warm cover my shoulders, and open my eyes instinctively.

Around my shoulders is now a jacket that fits the color of my dress and suits it well. Sure, my outfit didn’t exactly demand for a jacket, but my new image is still pulled off well.

“You can pull the hood up if you feel really self-conscious. But don’t slouch or seem too suspicious, or people will stare at you more. Come on, baby girl. I’m starving.” Ren instructs, and then walks out of the alley, continuing down the road as if nothing had happened.

Surprised at his sudden act of kindness, I pull the hood of the jacket up quickly and hurried after him, feeling definitely more at ease now. The journey to a diner at the end of the street close to the field was uneventful, and though the waitress kept staring at Ren, I guess it went down well and soon my companion had his food.

“You should put the hood down here. It’s indoors, so it’s unnatural that anyone would still put a hood up.” Ren says between bites, and I obey because I don’t want to attract attention. I hope we don’t attract unwanted attention that might lead Kain to us. I don’t want to see Kain angry at me.

We share small talk while Ren finishes his spaghetti –which smells heavenly –and things are going well.

Until a chill sets in my spine, and I turn instinctively to the window, watching as two black-dressed men walk past it. They were wearing shapeless black trench coats and on their hats were similar black hats. Something about them struck me off and I froze a little as I watched them walk by the large window of the diner that showed the road outside.

They weren’t looking inside the diner, but I saw one of them stop right before they disappeared out of sight.

“Darlin’?” Ren asks, sounding a little concerned. I think I let my fear show too much on my face, but I watch them with wide eyes as the man turn around, giving his surrounding another sweep. I tried to look away, but it was too late –he met my eyes right before I turned away.

“There are two men dressed in black out there. They don’t look friendly, and one of them saw me.” I reported quickly, pulling my hood up as I kept eyes on the table.

I have to give it to Ren. He dropped his utensils immediately, without asking another question. He grabbed his cane, my wrist, and stood up noisily. The door to the diner opened, and the two black-dressed men ran in, a victorious grin written across their face.

I saw the tiny tell-tale signs of fangs hiding behind gum.

“Dragos!” Ren shouted, and pointed his cane at them. This time, though he didn’t mutter anything, something invisible must have shot out of it, for the two vampires flew back out the doorway. I didn’t have to be told twice as Ren dragged me out into a run. We made it out the door of the diner, amongst screaming, terrified crowd, but a look back confirmed that the two vampires were unscathed.

“Well, well. What do we have here? The missing Luciferian Princess.” One of them said as they appeared suddenly before us, making both Ren and I back up.

“There was news of your crash, but they never found your remains. Either you were dead or hiding; it didn’t really matter to us Dragos. But you will do better to us dead. Our King will be happy when we deliver your dead body over.” The other grinned even wider than the first one, but I didn’t wait.

If they expect the princess to be cowering behind her subject –in this case, Ren –then they were wrong.

I threw a heavy one on the vampire closer to me, and watched in satisfaction as he flew a few feet back, clutching to his shattered cheekbone. I tried to do another one on his friend, but met with resistance as he tried to counter the attack. I jumped away in time to escape being caught in his lock, but Ren was there. He did another blast to the vampire, but this time there was lighting shooting from the tip of his cane.

“Go, baby girl! Run! I will find you later.” Ren orders and I didn’t have to be told twice. I ran blindly away from the scene of the fight. I heard skin to skin contact behind me; I heard lightning being shot again. I heard curses –from both the vampires’ and Ren’s voice. I pray that a mage like him knows his work, and ran like hell for my life.

Where is Kain when I need him?

I ran towards the field, the only place I could see. At the other end of the field was a small playground and a park, and beyond that were buildings where I could hide in. Great.

I managed to reach all the way at the playground until someone’s voice stopped me.

“Seraphina!”

As if by natural instincts, my body stops at that voice. My mind is still screaming for me to run like hell and get my ass out of here, but my body doesn’t hear me. My legs don’t move.

“Seraphina! Is it you, Fina? Please, answer me if it is you!” The voice half begs, half orders, and hundred percent of it is filled with longing. Who is that, calling me with such pain? It is unfamiliar, yet so familiar.

I stood at the edge of the field –I could just run into the park and disappear behind trees. But no; my body turns and my hand draws back my hood, showing off my fire-red hair.

In the middle of the field stands him.

Him. Him.

The one that I wanted.