Fan Fiction ❯ Daywalker Arie ❯ Missing ( Chapter 5 )

Ok after.. a loooooooong long time I am back! With a new chapter too! yay! well I will stop rambling and let you read since I kept you waiting for so long! -disclaimer: I own nothing.-

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Well. That was the plan anyway, until something smashed her into one of the brick walls in the back of the building. She had a moment to think, "Hey clean for once," before something solid connected with her spine and sent her into a little shuddering ball on the ground.

Oh, that was so it!

She ground her teeth together, the hell with the dentist bill, and leapt up to her feet. She may be part human, but she was part vampire too, and that meant she wouldn't just lie around while something nasty went at her. No by god she would not! It had happened once, and now the man she loved was beyond her reach, they were out of their fucking minds if they thought she was going to be easy this time.

She saw movement from the corner of her eye, had a second to realize she'd left her sword back with Louie, and another second to think screw it, before a man, what was once a man that is, lunged at her.

She tucked down bending backwards as he flew over her. Wrapping her slim hands around the things throat, she jerked as hard as she could, using his momentum against him. Her fingers dug deep into the tissue around his voice box, felt the blood sliding hot and thick down her fingers before she ripped the mass out.

She watched dispassionately as the body exploded into ash, covering her with a fine layer of grey. A smile edged around her lips, more of a bearing of teeth than anything, her eyes flashing darkly in the dim alley. Guess she'd finally moved up.

Beware little things that go bump in the night, the Daywalker was finally in.

She picked two more out of the shadows; slowly creeping forms that were trying to get on each side of her. Let them just try it. Fury welled inside her like a living thing, stretching inside her body; it was like a big furred cat rubbing against its cage, just looking for a way out. She had a pretty good release set for it.

Her body swayed left, her eyes tracked the vampire that was coming from her right, and lunged. She caught it by surprise, she saw in the way its body stilled, his eyes widening before she slammed into it, smashing it up against the building. Her body ached form where she'd hit, but she took no notice, her hands curling into claws as she tore out its throat as she'd done to the other.

Arie huffed slightly, her body spinning down into a crouch as the other one made a slight sound. A soft whimper that drew her attention to the crates and boxes stacked against the far wall. Why is it everything always seems to accumulate in an alley? Aren't there any clean ones where nothing can hide?

No, of course not, it would make her job to easy.

Keeping in her stance she edged closer to the sound. Her feet gliding slowly over the hard asphalt, she peered around the top of one of the crates. Her gaze softened slightly as she saw the vampire curled up behind the debris. This was after all, a creature just like her Louie. And Tara, and Lucian, and some of the others she'd met at that damned party. Not all of them were bad. Who was she to judge if one was to die and one wasn't, she didn't know everything about him. Her eyes traveled over his form, lean, muscular, blond hair blue eyes, he couldn't have been anymore than 18 when he was turned.

Her resolve wavered slightly, the anger she had fought with only moments before draining away, leaving her tired and slightly sick.

That moment of indecision proved to be her last, she watched that fearful gaze flicker, watched the fearful expression melt into triumph. One moment was all it took and she swung around, her gaze connecting solidly with the vampire who'd danced with her, the one she'd knocked lat on his ass. Her eyes widened, and she almost had it, almost turned away, but hands fell on her elbows from behind, effectively locked her against that same 18-year-old body she'd pitied.

"Well, my dear," Lestat purred, pulling a slim needle from his coat pocket. "We do seem to be seeing a lot of each other," he chucked. But her mind wasn't on his words; they were on getting out of there that instant. She knew, somewhere deep inside her, that if he slid that deadly little weapon into her, she'd probably not live to regret it.

"Should have killed you while I had the chance," Arie muttered and flung her head back, hearing a satisfying crunch as her skull connected with the vampires nose. The hands holding her slackened slightly, and it was all the leeway she needed. Her arms came up and she shoved past Lestat, dodging the swing of the needle as she ran out of the alley.

Okay, in all fairness it was very close to out of the alley. Her foot touched the sidewalk, light shimmering for a moment over her before pale arms swept around her and jerked her back. An arm around her throat cut off her cry, cold lips brushing against the shell of her ear as words hissed at her.
"Close, so close, it's the last time you'll ever get that close again," and a sharp pain spread through her arm, something burning through her blood at the last word. Her body jerked, her feet kicking back against his legs as he drug her deeper into the darkness, deeper into the cold certainty that this time, there would be no one to save her.

She had one last through as she heard the needle click against the ground, one thought as the blackness ate at her vision.

Louie….

Lasha stood, a silent sentinel in the night, watched as Lestat loaded the tiny slip of a girl into his sleek black car. Her lips tilted, painted as red as the blood she'd drunk just before she'd been sent out on this little venture. Really she didn't get paid enough to go after these guys, but it was worth the look on their faces when they found out whom it was who'd done them in.

Actually she was surprised at just how quickly Lestat was moving. He was so very careful not to say much around her, but she read into what he didn't say. The subtle glances to someone in the house, the muted phone calls, the late journals after they should long ago have been abed.

Oh yes, this was one she'd particular enjoy. She only regretted that she couldn't play with him more. But oh well, work was work and fun was fun. Before he met his particular hell she was sure she'd get in a few licks.

Turning on her heel she started back towards the fire escape she'd used to climb up to the roof of the building. She almost didn't catch it, and as she turned her head she almost didn't believe it. There, under the streetlights, climbing into the other side of Lestat's car was Lucian. She felt her mouth work, though no sound came from her suddenly dry throat.

What in the hell? Lucian was one of the… well not good guys, but he sure as hell wasn't supposed to be a bad guy! What was he doing helping Lestat snatch up the Daywalker?

This has just gotten more complicated than she'd have liked. Turning away she melted into the shadows, working her way quickly down the metal cages and stairs.

Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. Could be, but she'd not bet her life on it. Or that pretty little Daywalkers either. No, Lucian had defiantly slipped over the edge into bad. And not even her kind of bad! But bad, bad, like… Hades save us all bad. Shit.

Trotting down the side alley she ducked into one of the all night liquor stores. Her eyes watching as the black car slide out into the sparse traffic.

She waited another ten minutes, pretending to browse through some of the older bottles of wine before she went back outside. Her gaze tipped up to the sky, her keen eyes dancing from star to star as she debated what to do.

Of course, there was only one thing to do, and she hated to have to be the one to do it. A bad taste crept into her mouth, twisting her beautiful features into a grimace. She'd do what she had to because it's what she did. What they all did.

She turned and made her way quickly to her car, firing the engine of her sleek red mustang she whipped out of the reserved parking and sped her way out of the downtown area and towards the up side of the street, winding her way through the little condos.

Sometimes she hated her fun.

Tara cracked her eyes open groggily. Who the hell was shaking her? Her body felt like it was being made into one of those rag-y dog chew things. There was only one person who'd ever do that and get away with it.

"Lasha what the hell are you doing?" she growled, smacking at the hands that seemed to attach themselves to her arms.

"Finally! My gods do you know how hard it is to wake you up?"

"Yes I'm well aware of it, since you won't let me forget." Yawning she sat up, her long blond hair sticking out of her head like tufts on a scarecrow, her eyes focusing on her sister. "Why are you here?"

She watched Lasha take a deep breath, seeming to steel herself. A skitter of dread wound its way down her spine. Her Evil Twin only did that when there were two things she had to do. Kill someone she cared about, or gave bad news to someone she cared about. Who wanted to bet that it was number two? Not her.

"I saw Lucian tonight." She said softly, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments. Tara felt all the muscles in her stomach unclench.

"And?"

"He was with Lestat."

All those nice relaxed muscles knotted up again. Great, if she kept this up she could join the circus for money. Okay, lame, she could admit it to herself. "And?"

"They were putting Arie into Lestat's car."

Tara just stared at her. She felt something in her brain just click off. It was one of those little things that protects us all, your brain just says nope, not gonna do this, it'll break us, nope just won't process it.

But eventually she did. The shock wore off, and slowly the reality of it all sank into her. Lestat and Lucian were working the bad side of the tracks. She felt something vital drain from her eyes, watched as Lasha's did the same. Lucian had never actually met Lasha, but she had met him, many, many times. They were the Evil Twin's; they rarely did anything without each other somehow. And Lasha had liked Lucian, it wasn't often that happened. They'd both really thought he was different.

Reality really was a bitch.

"I see," was all she said. Her voice didn't even sound like her own. It sounded strangely hollow. She and Lucian had been together for nearly a thousand years. How could he do this? Even if she hadn't liked the little human child, he knew better than to go after a Daywalker! Her mind pulled her in another direction. Back to earlier, when they had been making love. He'd taken more blood than he'd needed, enough to weaken her to the point where she couldn't resist the compulsion buried in his words. His command to sleep. Pain tore through her chest. She couldn't even deny the evidence against him, not when it had been her on the receiving end of it.

"Are you alright?" the question came soft, and she snapped back into this time. She hadn't even noticed as her sister put her arm around her shoulders, hadn't noticed she'd turned into her body. Gods how was she going to fight like this?

Answer, she'd make herself. Just like she'd made herself time and again.

"No," she said honestly, pulling herself from the small comfort of her sister's arms. "But I'm as good as I can be. Come on, we probably don't have much time; we need to get Louie and get going. Do you know where they're headed?"

"Yes," Lasha said, standing and picking up the discarded dress of her sister's handing it back to her. Their eyes met once more, this time holding, steel shining in their depths. "They went to the water front, one of the old mansions down there."

Louie sat bolt upright in bed. Sweat slicked his skin, his blue eyes darting around the room. He was in his bed. Alone. Frowning he ran a hand over his forehead, beads of blood staining the back of his hand red.

He couldn't be alone. He'd heard Arie call his name. Standing up he padded silently out into the hall, uncaring of his nude form as he passed through the shadows.

"Arie?" he called to the silent house. There was no answer, no sigh of wind, so little creak as the house settled. The hairs on his arms stood up. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

He knew he'd heard her call him. He'd felt something inside him wrench at the desperation and longing in her words. He wasn't dreaming, he knew that much. He'd brought her to his bed, they had fallen asleep together. So why was she gone now? And why was he hearing her voice?

If she'd been afraid afterwards, if she'd had second thoughts she would just have left and went to her house. Frowning deeper he went back into the bedroom, tugging on his jeans as she swept his hands over the bed, drinking in her scent. There was no sign of foul play, no struggle, but there was an air of… sadness?

She was sad? His heart twisted. Had he done something to scare her away?

His fists crumpled in the satin sheets. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He'd been too hard with her; maybe he'd hurt her. But no… she'd been happy afterwards, drifting in the afterglow. He'd seen it in her eyes. So why then was her lingering scent sad?

His thoughts were jerked out of their musing and to the present time as he heard the front door slam, heard someone calling his name. Dropping the sheet he walked quickly out into the hall, walking down towards the stairs.

"Tara? What's wrong?" He called, pounding his way down into the living room. She was with a woman he didn't know, but he noticed a likeness between them, they had the same kind of eyes, old and weary. What was going on now?

Tara had spun around at the wound of his voice, and he tipped his head to look down into her upturned face. Her eyes were just a touch to big, her lips pressed into a thin line, her fingers white as she held a silver blade he had never seen.

"What's going on?"

His gaze sharpened, his hands snapping around her arms, digging his fingers in, when she didn't answer but she didn't wince, she didn't pull away, she just looked at him. A cold feeling of dread grew in his stomach, fear spiking through his system at her next words.

"They took her Louie."

She came to, strapped down to a metal table. It was cold and dim in the room, and her bare back was freezing against the shiny metal. Wait, whoa! Bare back? Bare?

Her eyes snapped into focus, her thoughts clearing enough so that she could process what the hell had happened to her. She took in bare walls, all concrete and steel, her arms strapped at a slightly painful angle over her head, and her ankles strapped crossed together. She was stretched out tight enough that a burning started in her joints. Oh, and did we mention naked?

The hell was this?

Her sluggish mind tried to work, slowly edging around the events of the past few hours. She'd been with Louie. She remembered that, but he'd never do this to her, she knew that, so what happened after?

Think brain think!

Okay, okay, she'd run away. Yeah, that sounded about right. She'd gotten freaked by the immortality thing and split, and she'd run all the way downtown. She remembered a fight and… and…

"Finally awake I see," a deep voice said from above her shoulder. She tensed at that voice, her muscles bunching as she twisted her head around, catching a glimpse of pale flesh and dark eyes before he moved.

She remembered. She remembered it all. The fight. The needle. Him.

"Who the hell are you?" that didn't sound like her voice. She cleared her throat, licking her dry lips and tried again. Just how long had she been down here?

"My name is of little importance, but you may call be Lestat." At the name his face loomed over hers, dark eyes spearing her violet ones in their depths. Spooky. But she'd been through too much to let him scare her.

"Right, yeah, Lestat. What do you want?"

She clenched her teeth as his cold fingers traced over her side, skimming down the curve of her waist. Oh, she'd need to wash a thousand times after this.

"We want what all the vampires before us have wanted. The secret to your being. Half vampire, all of our strengths and none of our weaknesses, it is a very tempting thing you see," he said conversationally. He was acting like she wasn't strapped naked to a lab table, and his hands weren't roaming all over her. Okay, well not ALL over her, but still, skin was coming in contact. But if he could pretend there was nothing wrong and they were two old chums talking over coffee, then so could she.

"We?"

"Oh yes," he smiled, flashing fang. "Myself and a few others."

She swallowed. Okay, not she was a little afraid. "Uh huh, and you want what now?"

"Blood my dear. Your blood" he whispered, his face tipping closer, his lips just a breath away from hers. God's what did the man do practice his lines in front of a mirror?

Good, okay, sarcastic comments helped. Not by much but it was an improvement. Blade had told her about this once before. How he'd been caught and almost drained of blood for some freaky vamp experiments. Okay, we'll he'd survived, so could she. Of course he'd had help. She wasn't so lucky. Damn, damn, damn! She had to be such a loner!

But it didn't matter. She could get out of this, she was sure of it. That little spiel in the alley had really upped her confidence. And at least, if she couldn't get out, she'd take a whole hell of a lot of vamps with her.

Tara smashed in the old wooden door, watching the splinters embed themselves into the opposite wall. A snarl twisted her lips, her fangs glinting in the dim light.

The minute they'd entered all hell broke lose. There had to be at least twelve just in this room and it was a big freaking development. No wonder the city never tore it down, Lestat was keeping it all nice and maintained for his sick twisted little mind.

She watched Louie from the corner of her eye as he smashed into about four of them coming from her left. Right. She flicked her eyes to Lasha and they both smiled, through a bit grimly and waded into the fray.

These vamps might have been trained by Lestat and might have all nice little high-tech weaponry, but neither women ever played or fought fair. It really was unfair for the poor souls. But they shouldn't be in her way.

Tara felt a same thrill she always did when she fought, granted it hadn't been anything like this in a century or two but it was a hell of a rush. The fact that they had to find Arie before the bad guys did something to her helped too.

Her sword flashed in the small amount of light, silver cutting into flesh as easily as a knife through butter. Her hands moved just as quick, knocking people back and throwing them against her sword. She never really liked killing her own kind, but in times like these she was glad she'd learned. She was to busy cutting a path through the remaining vampires to notice that the twin flash of a sword had disappeared. Her eyes flickered slightly as she cut the last one down, watching the body disintegrate into ash and turned her head to look at Louie.

"You okay?" she growled.

He nodded, his eyes flicking around the barren room. "Where's Lasha?"

Tara felt her whole body go stiff. She whipped her head around, her eyes searching frantically around the room. Did one of them get her?

No, she'd have felt it. Scanning the room once more with her eyes she relaxed. Slightly. Her sword was gone. She was still alive. Somewhere.

"Find Arie, I'm going after my sister."

She ignored Louie's call to stay together and darted off down one of the doors leading from the room. Oh there would be such hell to pay if anything happened to any of them. A grim smile worked around her mouth. She'd enjoy casting out the punishments too.

Louie swore. His eyes narrowing into slits as she made his way down the remaining room. He'd let Tara go, odds are if they split up they'd find Arie sooner. And Lasha. And Lestat or Lucian.

Something burned in his chest at the thought. He'd trusted Lucian.

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