Rapscallion-3
1878 Words
Two Feet- I feel Like Drowning
"What did he tell you?"
"He told me to lay low for a while," I rushed out before glancing at Remus.
He didn't sleep any more than I did. I think this is the first time we agree on something. The first time we're in tune with one another. Remus' link to Diana is severed and because he's still in need of a master, I can feel it latching on to me. Our emotions are strong right now because the two of us are feeling the same thing.
"Are we?"
"For now. I want to follow up on the evidence. I downloaded the security footage before we left. I want to go back to see if we missed anything vital. Your sense of smell is a lot better than mine. See if you can pick anything up. I'm going to get a few things I'm going to need from the lab. I'll meet you there. Beck didn't let anyone go in there,"
"Okay, but I don't like that he said no to you," I don't either, kid. But I'm going to have to start to get used to it.
"Pay attention to your king, Remus. He has an important announcement,"
"You're not staying?" he asked.
"No, I have to pack. The king requires me to come back to the coven,"
"You're coming home?" he asked a little shocked.
I didn't answer him as I walked out into the early hours of the night. I pulled his keys out of my pocket and walked over to his bike. Remus should really pay attention to his surroundings and all of his senses. I need to teach him that. I took them out of his front pocket.
I remember the first time I saw Remus. I had just graduated with my fourth doctrine. He was an awkward little thing, bullied by anyone who came in contact with him. I never understood how humans still belittled their own when they surpassed one another. I walked by his perpetrator and shoved him back into his seat so that he could leave the kid alone. Remus stood up and sat behind me for the entire semester and his aggressor didn't bother him again.
Diana saw the whole thing. I regretted it soon after. It was the first time I had shown any kind of compassion to a human. He was twenty-five when she turned him. He took to being a vampire rather quickly. He loved the power it gave him. We all do. Who wouldn't like power the comes with becoming what we are. It's a really blissful transformation. Especially for someone like Remus who never had power before this.
William, Beck's youngest brother took an interest in him. He trained him all while Diana groomed him into a peacemaker. The two of them made the perfect soldier. Which is what Diana was originally. She fought countless wars for our royal family. She was Fraye's champion. The title didn't sit well with her once she broke through what we call the frenzy.
The frenzy happens when a vampire is driven by their instincts. There is no emotion. Just the sheer thrill of blood and the need to have more. Once we give in to the frenzy it's nearly impossible to get back. It's why Diana and Beck allowed the law to pass. Those who give in and are caught are to be put down. There is the fine print of course but that's the gist of it.
I started the bike and mounted it when a parade of black sedans came through the gate. From where I'm sitting I can see who's coming out. I had never met Kryssa Crimson. I met her parents before they went into hibernation. Kaleb and Monique Crimson are beautiful. So much power and I expect her to be no different. A woman dressed in all black stepped out of the sedan. Her eyes scanning the surroundings before they landed on me.
I greeted her with a slight bow in respect before I put Remus' helmet on my head. She smiled as if she knew exactly who I am. Which is fine by me. I am willing to let her know I won't be standing in the way of the future she plans to have with Beck. I have more important things to deal with than what she needs to become.
Things are going to change for me and I know it's not going to be an easy transition. She's going to hold the authority now. I'm just another general in her army and whatever else she's going to have me do.
There's someone else that caught my eye. The man behind her. He stood her guard as if he were willing to lay down his life for her and that made me smile. She has a Sage in her life too. I wonder what he thinks of her arranged marriage. Does it hurt him? Did she say goodbye to what they had? I could be imagining things.
I shook my head clearing my thoughts. It's none of my business. I revved the bike before kicking the stand back and finally getting the hell out of here. I don't really like being in the coven manor. Not because I hate being around everyone else but because it's kind of cheesy and a whole lot of dangerous. The Coven Manor is basically a massive target waiting to be blown up by hunter trash.
The lab is empty as I walk through it. Strange because this place is usually crawling with humans. I take what I need and put it one of the black leather company bags. In her office, I see my boss. Caroleen. I walk over to her leaning against the metal door frame. She looks up at me. She looks like I feel.
"Hey," she says. I can sense the fatigue coming from her. She hasn't had a good night's sleep in a while. She hasn't been eating right. Her scent is a mess. The energy in her body is barely functional.
"Hi,"
"Sage, I am so sorry about what happened you your maker. You can take all the time you need," she's always been like this. She cares for those she's in charge of. For most things really. She reminds me of Diana at times. It's why it was so easy to work for her.
"Thank you," I say clearing my throat. "You should go home. You need some rest. Maybe get something to eat. Your iron levels are really low. You don't want to get sick,"
"Thank you," she nodded looking down at the table.
"Caroleen, I don't know when I'm going to be back. It's not safe for you to be out on your own. If you need anything and I mean anything. If you feel like you're in any kind of danger call me. Don't hesitate. They're not just going after us. You're a sympathizer in their eyes you might as well be one of us,"
"You think it'll get that bad?" she asked fixing her glasses.
"I know it will. It always does,"
She nodded before turning around to face her computer. I didn't say another word as I walked out of the building.
Remus was standing against his bike, his arms crossed over his chest when I finally made it out. He looks upset. I really don't have the patience to know what he's going to say. I tossed his keys at him. He was quick to pick them out of the air. He climbed on and waited for me to get on behind him. I put the helmet on.
We don't need them but we play by the rules. We abide by the traffic laws and their rules. It was our way to show them we didn't want this war any more than the innocent people who just want their lives to go back to normal. I'd like to go back to the shadows myself.
My normality is different from theirs and as we ride to my sire's home, I start to pick up on the abnormalities of what my normal will be from now on. Everything changed overnight. One death shouldn't shift the tables like this but it has and there's not a single thing I will do stop it. They deserve what comes next.
Another thing is, I am no longer a youngling. I am a fully forged vampire. The bind that kept me linked to my master is gone. Nothing tethers the fury of what I am anymore. Soon, my affinity, as well as my fangs, will expand and with that, I will be a fully-fledged member of the night. An aristocrat just like the rest of them.
"You want to talk about it?" Remus asked as we wait for the elevator to go up to the penthouse suite.
"Talk about what?" I asked.
"You were just dethroned. There's a woman standing in your place back home. You're not going to do s**t about that?"
"Beck made his choice and I made mine. A long time ago. I never wanted to be the queen of the coven. I'm a little less complicated than that,"
"How about the fact that the only other person aside from Diana that you love chose someone else?" I looked over at him and smiled.
"He's my king, Remus. I was taught to love him. It doesn't bother me that he's getting married to someone more suitable for him. This is the way politics work,"
He sighed. "You should have claimed him,"
"I specialize in keeping the king alive. Giving him advice. Making sure his people don't fall out of line. If I were his queen, I wouldn't be able to go out and kill the mother fuckers who killed our sire. I wouldn't be able to do what I do. Can you imagine me walking one step behind him for the rest of eternity?"
"I guess not," he smirked.
"I'd blow my f*****g heart out myself," I said as the doors opened. I pressed my thumb to the keypad to open the door.
Her scent hit me stirring up the pain from last night. I pushed it back stepping aside to let Remus in. The two of us began to look around. If it wasn't for the scent of her blood in the air, there wouldn't be any indication of her death. Everything looks to be in its place. The silver stake I pulled out of her chest is still sitting on her favorite armchair where I had left it. I picked it up to see the Sterling sigil engraved on the side of it.
"I've only got one other scent," Remus announced coming back into the room. Diana wasn't the type to invite people to her home. Remus and I have been here a handful of times and even then, we weren't allowed into her private rooms.
"Do you recognize it?" I asked. He nodded.
"Jacqueline Sterling," I looked down at the stake handing it to him. "It's going to be hard to get to her. She's kind of a big deal to them,"
"She is," I looked down at the small puddle of drying blood. "I'll meet you back home,"
"You shouldn't go out there on your own,"
"I'll be home soon. Tell, Beck I'm packing some things up,"
He sighed. "Lie?"
"No, that's what I'm going to be doing when he calls," I said putting the stake in my jacket pocket. "Now go,"
- Writer
