Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis: Genesis ❯ Chapter XIII ( Chapter 13 )

A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the long wait between chapters. Just a warning, this one is a beast. Anyway, you know the drill, read, review, and enjoy!

 

Chapter XIII

 

The idea had merit—it bordered lunacy, but it had merit. Hours after the revealing lavatory experience, Kaya returned to the apartment. The magick use had drained more energy out of her than she initially thought. This fact became painfully obvious after she regained consciousness she had not realized she'd lost and the daycare center was void of all other persons. Daylight was fading behind the gray blanket of snow clouds in the sky. As the blonde dragged herself from the checkered linoleum of the lavatory, she turned her thoughts to her daunting task. How was she supposed to ask a creature like Sano for help, let alone get him to agree to lend his aid? It was no secret that Vampires and Witches were not fond of one another. Sano in particular made no effort to hide his disdain for her. Kaya too was not shy about her feelings on the subject. They had been at each other's throats from day one, and now as she climbed the stairs of Lyrial's apartment she was prepared to do anything short of begging for her enemy's assistance.

“I just hope he's in a good mood,” she mused as she entered the flat cautiously. Looking from side to side, not seeing Lyrial's coat, she figured she was alone in the apartment with Sano. Kaya wasn't sure exactly what time the Vampire was released from the coma state that gripped him in daylight hours, but she figured since the twilight was quickly morphing into evening that he should at least be capable of basic communication and applicable motor skills. Kaya frowned as she faced the closed guestroom door. Her hand came up to rap politely against the wood.

“Are you awake, Vampire?” she asked. Silence was her reply. The blonde knocked again, louder this time.

“I don't have time for games,” she began. “If you're awake, open the door.” It was more of a command than a request. When again no sound came from the room or its uncooperative resident, Kaya felt her patience thin and her worry fester. If the silver eyed young man refused to help, Alex would die at the hands of the Brotherhood. She was close to giving up when a rare moment of better judgment passed over her. Kaya was a tactician, after all and strategy was one of her greatest weapons. It dawned on her that she would have to approach this situation differently. In an extreme shock gesture, Kaya knew she may have to be civil to Sano—nice even. She swallowed hard to anticipate the bitter taste her next words would liable to leave in her pallet.

“Sano,” she entreated. “Please…” Suddenly the door yanked open.

“Now I know you're desperate,” Sano said, looking at the Witch. She was quite tall and almost eye level with his six foot frame. Sano didn't know if he was more fascinated or irritated by her height. He wasn't used to being eye level with women; looking down at their smaller, more delicate frames had become a favorite pastime, but Kaya was a complete one eighty to his female stereotype. Tall, narrow hipped, flat chested, and muscular, the blonde reminded him more of a fair faced young man rather than a woman.

“Don't patronize me,” Kaya warned. Sano shrugged his shoulders and yawned.

“What do you want, Witch? You didn't wake me for my good company, so what is it?” he asked. He scowled slightly as he spoke and he rested his balled up fists on his hips.

“I need your help.” The scowl slipped.

“You what?” He asked, a little dumbfounded.

“Don't make me say it again,” Kaya replied, her tone more beseeching than reproachful. Sano coughed out a laugh.

“My help?” he asked. “With what exactly?” This time silence answered Sano instead.

“Hunters kidnapped a friend of mine. I have reason to believe he's being tortured for information. That being said, it's safe to assume that if he cracks, it's only a matter of time before the Hunters come here,” Kaya explained.

“Well, you're clearly choked up about all this,” Sano replied.

“You'd rather me be a hysterical mess of tears and screaming? I can do that if you'd rather,” Kaya said. Sano waved his arms quickly in front of his chest.

“No thanks, but back up,” he interjected, thoroughly digesting what she had said. “Why would they come here?” he demanded, not sparing the blonde an accusatory glare.

“He knows I'm staying here.” Sano growled low in his throat, producing a predatory sound which clearly demonstrated his anger.

“So what you're saying is that if your little friend spills his guts for the Brotherhood, it'll be all our asses on the line. Am I right?” Sano's left brow rose to ridicule as he spoke. Kaya took in a steadying breath, steeling her nerves against the enraged animal before her.

“Correct.” Sano groaned in disbelief and threw his hands up.

“Well, hell! What choice do I have then?” He gritted his teeth. If Hunters came back to the apartment, he could fend them off. However, Lyrial would be non too happy if she was attacked again and quite frankly Sano didn't wanted a bunch of Vampire slaying religious zealots messing up his little nest.

“Then you'll help me rescue him?” Kaya asked, a little in awe of his cooperation.

“Yes, but not because I care about you or your ridiculous counter-part who is clearly incapable of defending himself from mere mortals,” he explained, meanwhile disappearing into his bedroom to dress. Pajamas were ill suited for rescue missions. As he pulled the pallid gray leather overcoat on and zipped up its open chested waist, he looked towards Kaya.

“I'm doing it for her. I won't have her in danger because of a trail your friend gives them.” The blonde nodded in agreement. Whatever Sano's reasons—selfish or noble—she was grateful for his compliance.

“Not to mention, I'd do anything to piss off the Brotherhood; busting out a POW would make quite a stink.” A sinister grin spread across his face as he moved not to the door of the apartment, but the infamous living room window.

“Do you have some sort of plan?” Kaya asked, following him cautiously.

“Oh, I thought we'd just barrel in—no strategy, no weapons, no chance.” Kaya frowned. “Look, it's your friend that's been snatched, so it's your responsibility to formulate a Master Plan, don't you think?” Sano opened the window and a blast of cold air penetrated the flat. Kaya shielded her eyes with her forearms, peeking at the Vampire as he climbed out onto the sill.

“You're not seriously expecting me to jump out that window, are you?” she asked. “You may be resilient enough to bound out of a second story window onto concrete, but my legs, however, will break. It'll be a hard time storming a Hunter stronghold with shattered bones.” Sano rolled his silver eyes then shrugged.

“Point taken. Hold on,” he said, turning his back to the blonde and crouching.

“What? No!” Kaya protested. “What's wrong with the door?”

“Piggyback ride or ambulance ride: your choice, Kaya.” Her cobalt eyes widened. Had he just used her name? Not her breed or some snarky remark but her legitimate name? Sano's seriousness reflected the plight and for a second Kaya could have sworn she saw mild insanity lurking beneath the scheme of his eyes.

“F-Fine…” she conceded and climbed awkwardly onto Sano's back. She felt him flinch as the sudden warmth of her body pressed against his. Although separated by layers of coat and garment, Kaya's living presence permeated Sano's undead frame. He could feel the heat seeping into his bones and filling him with boundless energy. The blonde griped the Vampire's shoulders hesitantly and bent her legs so her knees squeezed his sides.

“Just don't let go,” Sano warned before leaping out of the window. Kaya shrieked and locked her arms around his throat to keep from falling off. A rearing horse caused less backlash! With her eyes tightly closed against the rush of air coupled with the utter grace in which Sano ran, Kaya fancied herself to be flying to the rescue. When finally she adjusted enough to the frigid air, she opened her eyes to witness her steed's movements. She clung tighter to him after realizing they weren't running on the ground but the sides of buildings. Sano smiled secretly, knowing Kaya was uncomfortable tickled him pink.

“W-Watch out!” she shrieked as the edge of the building approached. She closed her eyes again, tightening her hold around the Vampire's neck. Sano sprang from the side of Lyrial's apartment building to the set of shops that lay on the other side of the road.

“Try to keep your knickers out of a twist,” he replied, turning to run straight up the side of the building. Kaya frowned but had no choice but to cling to Sano's frame with all her strength. Lucky for them both Vampires don't require breath; otherwise the blonde would have choked him to death out of sheer fright. When Sano stopped on the roof of the building, Kaya let go and staggered away. She ended up on her rear in the snow, panting. She shook her head as Sano looked around. He pointed to the Cathedral a modest distance away.

“In there?” he asked. Kaya nodded and crawled up onto her knees, scooting to the edge of the flat roof to gaze in the edifice's direction.

“Yes, I'm sure of it. There has to be some kind of underground network. Even the Brotherhood isn't so bold as to torture their victims in the middle of the sanctuary where their patrons could witness it,” Kaya said and rubbed the back of her head. She knew little of the construction of the Cathedral and even less of its historical background. For all she knew there was nothing but solid concrete as foundation for the Cathedral, but her vision at the daycare center had suggested otherwise.

“Oh, so you're an architect now?” Sano asked, looking down at Kaya. She frowned and pushed herself to her feet.

“No, but the structure advocates the existence of catacombs—“

“You're right, I'm just giving you a hard time.” The blonde went quiet, looking a little taken aback. “Game plan?” Sano asked suddenly.

“Infiltrate and extricate,” Kaya replied. The Vampire chuckled lightly to himself, stretching his arms above his head as if preparing for a rigorous cat-nap.

“Or in English: Get in, get out, and don't get caught.” Kaya nodded. She watched Sano a moment longer than necessary, admiring the change in demeanor. Usually being around him was insufferable—what with his snarky comments and arrogant attitude—but for some reason up on the roof with the winter wind blowing through his sharp silver bangs and being faced with the insurmountable mission of search-and-rescue, she felt that Sano was maybe not as bad as she had initially assessed. In this moment, Kaya felt that the two of them were on their way to becoming civil with one another.

“Are you coming or not, woman?” Sano asked, calling up from the street below. The blonde sighed.

“Baby steps,” she reminded herself; that is how the progression to civility would unfold. Peering over the edge of the building she frowned and got back onto her knees. “How the hell did you get down there!?” she shrieked, laying on her belly and reaching her legs over the edge at nothing but air. She could hear Sano's laughter rising up at her expense. The situation had her bent over a building's edge, legs flailing and rear end embarrassingly presented.

“You know, instead of laughing you could help me!” she squawked.

“Hah hah, and miss your display of grace? Not a chance, Witch.” After a few more seconds of disgruntled struggling, Kaya found a footing. The metal pole of an outstretched awning became her balancing beam.

“Sit on the awning and hop off,” Sano said but Kaya shook her head.

“Are you stupid? This thing will break if I sit on it!”

“If it can hold me, it can hold you. Do you want to rescue your friend or argue over the effects of your mass?” Reluctantly, she stretched out her arms and wobbled to the end of the pole before dipping into the basket of the awning itself. She held her breath, waiting for the winter worn fabric to split beneath her. When no such thing happened she shrugged and rolled onto her belly. Reaching her legs out, Kaya tried to get as close to the ground as possible before letting go of the awning. She landed rather well on her feet and stumbled only momentarily.

“Now if you're quite finished making a fool out of yourself, let's go,” Sano said and started walking towards the fenced in courtyard behind the Cathedral. It was a bit of a jaunt through the snow but the unlikely duo trudged on until they reached the wrought iron fence surrounding the stone courtyard. Its feeble plants were frozen over and withered, giving the priest's garden a desolate and inert feeling. The two followed the fencing around to a small waist-high gate that was latched weakly. Sano climbed over the gate and offered a hand to help Kaya. The blonde scoffed and climbed over the fence on her own. He had her climb down a building on her own but offered aid in hopping a meager fence? The Vampire shrugged his shoulders when Kaya managed on her own. His silver eyes turned up towards the Cathedrals stained glass window. He chuckled under his breath at seeing the large plywood boards nailed over the remains of the shattered artistry.

“Do you think they're holding a grudge about that?” He asked. Kaya did not respond, instead she walked through the hibernating garden to the oak door that lead into the Cathedral. She jiggled the aged brass handle and frowned when the door did not give way.

“Isn't this place a sanctuary? Why do they lock it? What if someone really needs some absolution or something like that?” she asked. Sano laughed and leaned against the stone edifice, watching the blonde struggle with the impressive looking lock.

“What now, mon capitane?” He pressed comically. Kaya glared briefly at him before digging through her coat pocket for something—anything—it seemed. She produced a folded amount of money held together by a sturdy looking paperclip. Kaya shove the bills back into her pocket and unbend the paperclip. The blonde slipped the crooked end of the paperclip into the mouth of the sinister looking lock. She knelt down to be eye-level with her work and she turned her face to the side to rest her ear close to the process. Her cobalt eyes fell shut to aid in her concentration and ignoring the unimpressed remarks coming from Sano.

“Just a little more,” she muttered, fishing the end of the paperclip around in the mouth of the lock until a harsh click finally resonated.

“I'll be damned,” Sano replied. “You did it.” Kaya stood up and beamed proudly about to add to his praise. “Maybe you're not completely useless after all,” the Vampire corrected and the accomplished look in Kaya's face fractured.

“Excuse me?” she asked but was quieted by Sano pressing his index finger to his lips.

“Unless you want to announce our intentions here, I suggest you keep that tongue of yours tied.” The blonde frowned but followed Sano's lead as he pushed open the door and slipped into the Cathedral. The garden door made a horrible creak as it moved sluggishly on its iced hinges. The pair winced as they tried to close it as quietly as possible.

“And you were worried about me alerting them,” Kaya hissed in a hushed tone. Sano shrugged his shoulders and moved deeper into the sanctuary. The high stone arched ceilings echoed the barest of sounds, intensifying them into an infinity of coos and sighs. Candles were lit in reverence beneath the state of three Ark Angels; they flickered softly and cast warm hues across the marble flesh of the statues. The empty pews stood like abandoned cocoons, awaiting parishioners to fill their brittle wooden capacity and bring life back to the Cathedral that stood like a skeleton of faith bare in the winter night.

“Let's get this over with, this place gives me the creeps,” Sano whispered and treaded lightly across the stone floor of the impressive structure behind the endless rows of pews to where the dark mahogany confessionals stood like ominous constitutions of prayer. Kaya nodded her agreement and tiptoed after the Vampire. Her soft toed winter boots made less of a scuffle than his thick leather ones. When they reached the confessionals, the duo paused. Kaya looked at Sano, brows furrowed in thought.

“What are we doing here?” she asked, pointing to the wooden rooms that were reserved for the residing priest and the sinful. The blonde realized her question fell on deaf as she really looked at Sano; there was something starkly different about his appearance. His shoulders were tense, and his mouth was slightly agape. Cautiously peering closer, Kaya noticed that the fangs in his mouth—usually subtle stalactites of ivory—appeared much more prominent, their points pressing down against his bottom lip. He also appeared to be breathing: panting, really.

“This place smells heavily of blood,” Sano rasped out. He swallowed hard and tried to focus his vision on the closed screen door of the priest's confessional. The Witch watched in avid fascination as the corners of Sano's eyes began to turn red. The color seeped in discreetly through white of his eyes in vein like patterns, fading away near his irises.

“Are you sure?” she asked, all ready knowing the answer. If there was something a Vampire was certain about it was the scent of blood. Kaya knew this, hell, most humans would have known this fact whether they really believed in Vampires or not. They were like sharks in the water—smelling fresh blood from miles away in some cases—and this predator was hot on the trail.

“Unmistakable. It's not human either,” Sano whispered and yanked back the screen of the confessional. Within, there was the wooden bench for the priest to rest upon and wooden bars separating the two chambers. He climbed into the confessional and inhaled deeply. Kaya watched with baited breath, letting the bloodhound do his thing, until he started clawing frantically at the wall of the confessional that pressed against the stone of the main sanctuary.

“Sano! What are you doing?” she hissed and glanced around frantically. “You're making way too much noise!” She dove into the confessional as well, colliding with the Vampire. They both knocked against the wall before ending up in a crumpled pile on the floor of the wooden chamber.

“What the hell is your problem?” Sano barked and tried to pull himself out from under Kaya. The young woman growled back as best she could, sitting up in the confined space as well.

“You were the one scratching away like some poor hamster in heat! What the hell were you doing?” she responded. Sano scoffed at the girl and pressed the palm of his hand against the confessional wall, trying to stand.

“The smell is coming from behind the wall!” he insisted. Kaya rolled her eyes and grabbed a hold of the Vampire's waist, using his frame to hoist herself to her feet, leaning heavily on him in the process.

“Don't be ridiculous! Behind that wall is stone!” Kaya responded. Sano bore his teeth at her, the enlarged fangs more noticeable than ever before. They were the ultimate symbol of his true predatory nature, a nature he was near ready to inflict upon the blonde around his waist.

“Shows what you know!” Sano barked back and leaned back to try and support himself and the added weight of the Witch against the wall of the confessional. The two struggled for a moment as Kaya's body was meshed uncomfortably close to Sano's, her nose being scrunched to her face against his navel. Suddenly, the movement stopped. Kaya felt Sano stiffen and she turned her face up awkwardly at the Vampire. His eyes were wide, as if having heard some terrible sound. After straining, the sound of stone sliding against stone echoed in her own ears, and the next thing either of them knew, they were falling backwards down a darkened passage. Kaya clung to the Vampire, getting jostled around as they slid gracelessly down a wet stairs. Each flight drew out an uncomfortable grunt from Sano as the blonde used him to body surf to safety at the bottom of the passage. They slid across the floor a measure before coming to a stop. Sano groaned and opened his eyes, looking dazedly up the impressive plunge they had just taken. Faint light could be seen at the top of the stairs, coming in from the Cathedral, and torches lined the wall of the corridor they were now in. Kaya lifted her head from the crook of Sano's neck and looked around, her eyes adjusting to the low light.

“Ugh, get off me!” Sano protested and the Witch glared down at him for a moment, sitting up, but not moving off. She looked around the corridor and up the stairs which they had just finished tumbling down. She rubbed the back of her head where she felt the beginning of a welt. She then tried to remove the dirty smudges decorating their faces and the exposed flesh on their hands, all acquired from the unexpected descent. She was vaguely aware of the dampness slowly moving up hem of her pants. Looking down she saw the murky puddle Sano's back was pressed into. Kaya clamored off of the Vampire and allowed him to sit up in the gloomy looking collection of water. He lifted his hands from it, watching it slither darkly off of his leather finger-less gloves, before shaking his hand briskly to send it spraying in all directions.

“Gross…” he grimaced and stood up, trying to swat the majority of the water from his over-coat.

“It must be run-off from the melting snow,” Kaya explained and moved cautiously down the corridor, debating on whether or not they should take one of the torches from the wall to help illuminate their journey into the catacombs.

“I didn't ask for a geology lesson,” Sano replied, sticking his tongue out in disgust. “It's sticky!” The blonde staggered in her steps and looked over her shoulder at him. She cleared her throat and straightened. The man was such a Prima Dona! How could she have ever thought it was a good idea to bring a Vampire along? She began walking, neglecting a torch. If their presence had not been trumpeted already by their incessant bickering and lumbering entrance into the passage way, then an illuminated vigil would certainly raise the alarm.

Kaya could hear Sano still muttering to himself about the damage to his personal appearance as they crept down the hall. Eventually he gave into the silence of their mission and moved with unequivocal stealth, somehow ending up in front of Kaya and taking the lead once more. The Witch frowned as she watched his back. How was it possible to move like that? Sano owed it to his nature, she supposed. Being a predator of his standing required a certain prowess when it came to stalking in utter darkness. This dank and crypt-like catacomb must have been ideal for him. As if hearing her thoughts, Sano paused where the tunnel became more structured and resembled legitimate stone hallways going so far as to even sport doors rather than cavernous passages of uncertainty, and looked over his shoulder at the blonde.

“This place gives me the creeps,” he whispered. “It reeks of death, and not the good kind either. They must practically mop the floors with the blood of their victims…it's fermented and crass.” His nose wrinkled in distaste and for a moment he looked ready to wretch. Somehow he refrained and shook his head.

“So which way, Witch? Left or right?” His silver eyes became alight with brief amusement as Kaya struggled to decide. She examined each door carefully. They were identical and they both carried the same musty odor that filled the entire catacomb: dust and decay. Her eyes fell shut and she gripped the handle of one of the doors. She tried to recall every detail of the terrifying vision she had been granted back at the Daycare Center, but nothing about this location was familiar.

“You tell me,” Kaya responded finally as the reality of her dread began to set in. Coming to Alex's rescue was pointless if they couldn't find where he was being held. “Which smells like blood?” Sano laughed quietly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Weren't you listening? This whole place is redolent of blood!”
“If that's all the help you're going to be, you can just leave now!”

“Excuse me? You asked for my help!” The Vampire countered indignantly.

“Yes, well you're not surmounting to all that much now, are you?” Sano scoffed at the woman and pointed accusingly towards her nose.

“Neither are you.” A thick silence followed the condemnation, a silence only broken by the sound of one of the doors in questioning creaking open. The pair froze to see a lone Hunter emerge. Stiff as marble, Kaya and Sano remained frozen to the spot as the Hunter stared back just as surprised. His blonde hair was matted with sweat and the metal rod in his hand dripped sickeningly with what appeared to be battered flesh and blood.

“Left it is,” Sano concluded and rushed at the Hunter. They collided and the metal rod found a new home through the abdomen of the blonde male. Kaya watched as he slumped to the floor of the passage way, curling up on himself and coughing a spray of blood in a final attempt to make words.

“Your finesse is admirable, really,” she interjected and allowed her raised brow to speak the volumes of sarcasm she wanted to portray. Sano let out an impatient sigh and started searching the dead young man. He grasped the metal rod firmly before yanking it from the corpse. He sniffed daintily before snaking his tongue out for a taste. Kaya made a face of utter disgust before collecting a knife off of the dead Hunter.

“This rod has traces of Witch blood on it. I'd say our man just took one hell of a beating.” Kaya's eyes darkened. Under that kind of violence, a sane person would crack and be willing to share any number of secrets for reprieve. The sheer brutality of the Brotherhood's methods made her sick. She grasped the confiscated knife tightly by the handle.

“Then we'd better hurry. It won't take them long to realize this one is missing. The last thing we need is—“

“An ambush,” Sano said, completing the woman's thought.

“Exactly,” she replied but Sano shook his head.

“No, I mean, we've been ambushed.” Kaya looked around to see numerous Hunters pouring in from the tunnel behind them and from the open door. They were heavily armed with a ghastly array of weapons well-suited for tearing into flesh and slicing through bone. The Hunters closed in on Sano and Kaya; the harsh clatter of the metal rod hitting the stone made the latter jump in utter surprise. Sano raised his hands to the sky in mock defeat.

“Well, we had a good run,” he said, turning his silver eyes to his companion. They held in them the fleck of insanity she had witnessed, the dark steel imprints of madness that had decorated his irises just before leaping out of the apartment window. The insanity remained longer this time, even as the Hunters closed in around them.

“Put the knife down,” Sano said quietly but Kaya grasped the handle of the knife tightly in defiance. “They are too many of them, don't be a fool. Put the knife down.” The blonde's knuckles turned white from the vice grip she had on the handle before the foreign blade at her throat caused her to reconsider. She threw down the knife spitefully. The tip became embedded between two stones on the floor, a few inches from a Hunter's boot. It didn't take long before the failed rescue party was being escorted cordially to a circular room with a myriad of torturous devices lining the walls. In the middle of the chamber, dangling from a set of shackles was a beaten, redheaded youth.

“Alex!” the young man turned up his face weakly, licking his chapped lips briefly. His jade eyes were hazy with fatigue and pain. His vision was blurred and he could barely make out the shapes of the people in the room with him. The dash of blonde allowed him to connect the voice that spoke with a name.

“Kay…a…?” The Witch's fury boiled over at the sight of her comrade. Fewer Hunters had funneled into the torture chamber than had originally captured them. If she worked in tandem with Sano then they could fight their way out of this mess. However, the cool resignation on the Vampire's face told her that he was in no mood for resistance. Was he going to surrender himself and capitulate to the same treatment they inflicted on Alex? Kaya was certainly not. Her body stiffened and she rammed her elbow backwards, into the ribcage of the nearest Brother. She sprang forward, towards the table nearest her friend. She grabbed one of the macabre looking devices, a heavily metal triton ideal for puncturing. Sano moved when she did, as if sensing her plan; he spun around and sank his teeth into the collarbone of a female Hunter. She shrieked as he dragged the fierce ivory down her shoulder, cutting deep into her flesh and spilling pints of blood in the process. The crimson life splattered across the floor and the body of the Hunter followed in a similar fashion, collapsing against the stone in a crumpled mess.

As the Hunters drew their weapons and charged to subdue the Supernaturals, Kaya readied herself. She thrust the triton forward at the oncoming enemy. The three pronged bludgeon embedded itself into the thigh of one of the men. She twisted the triton to spaghetti the muscle before yanking it out.

“Sano!” The Vampire nodded and quickly disarmed the dead Hunter woman, grabbing a hold of the knife that had been clasped in her belt. He leapt into action to assist Kaya, running perpendicularly along the walls of the circular chamber. He held the knife out to his side allowing it to cut through and counter the Hunter's attacks. As he approached where Kaya was defending against the humans by brandishing the meat dangling triton, he moved from the walls to the ceiling.

“Above you, Witch!” Kaya glanced up briefly and nodded as Sano slipped the knife into his belt. He reached out his hands and Kaya jumped up, kicking a Brother in the face while using him as projection to get to her ally. Sano grabbed the triton with one hand Kaya's hand in the other. One of the masked man below hurled his knife towards them and Sano was forced to let go of Kaya to deflect the projectile. He now dangled the girl by her ankles above the irate humans a few feet away from Alex's chained form.

Kaya closed her eyes and held her breath. Her body became outlined in a faint amber glow. It illuminated the room more clearly and sent a tingling sensation through Sano's hands where he held her ankle, the triton in the other hand. The aura glow soon immersed him and the weapon as well. It was warm and tickled in a bizarre way.

“Whatever you're doing, doing it faster!” He hissed as more weapons were hurled in their vulnerable position. He swung the triton but could not forestall the barrage of tiny needles that launched their direction. They embedded in his arms an upper torso, stinging like dozens of bee stings.

“Akal!” Kaya's eyes flew open suddenly and a burst of hot air rushed outwards from her body. Sano shielded his eyes from the bright yellow light that followed with his forearm. The rush of air pushed through and intertwined with the Hunters below, snaking its way into their clothes.

“Hot, hot, hot!” One of them cried, dancing about and trying to fan the invisible flames that were licking at their bodies. “It's burning! It's burning!” Pandemonium broke out among the Brothers as they tried to both focus on attacking the Witch and the Vampire while trying to ease the raging heat that now inflicted all of them.

“At least that fire spell of yours came in handy this time,” Sano said and dropped the blonde. She flipped to land on her feet among the Hunters who screamed like banshees in their attempt to combat the spell. She hurried over to the chained redhead and touched his face.

“What have they done to you?” she asked, not expecting a reply. Sano was working hard from the ceiling to keep the Hunters less affected from getting near the two Witches by swinging the triton around. Just as Kaya reached up to release Alex from his shackles, a sharp pain erupted from her side. She gagged and stumbled before looking down to see a knife sticking out of her. Her eyes met with the cold stare of a Hunter. Half of his face was covered by a violet cloth mask and his sweaty bangs hung in front of his eyes, obscuring any distinguishing features and therefore his identity.

Kaya felt the blade slip out of her side and she held onto Alex for support. The two of them wobbled like a drunken pendulum. The redhead cried out as the unnecessary weight pulled on his already strained arms. She felt herself slipping and soon her temple cracked against the stone of the floor. The poison on the knife the Hunter had used against her taking affect as her vision became hazed and the clashing sounds of the Hunters and Sano began to fade away; the room whirled around like a roulette wheel until finally it all went black.

 

Laughter. Laughter was breaking through the impenetrable deafness. That laughter was Sano's, undoubtedly. It was utterly amused while at the same time being utterly defeated.

“We are so incredibly fucked!” he chuckled and let out a sigh. “So fucked…” The chains that above his head rattled as his tip-toe stance faltered with exasperation. Kaya's eyes fluttered open, the lids feeling like lead. Her hands were numb and the tingling of a lack of circulation ran up and down her arms. She tilted her head back to peer at her own shackled wrists. They had been caught. The wound on her side was longer bleeding but the wound was undressed and had a foul odor—a nasty side effect of the poisoned blade. Alex was hanging between Sano and herself. His face was tired and his head was hanging down, chin resting against his chest. He seemed to be sleeping, his breathing even and controlled, but it seemed by the pace of the labored breaths that Alex was simply unconscious rather than resting.

The three of them dangled like puppets ready to be directed in a symphony of agony. How could she have allowed herself to have been captured so easily? They had been winning, right? Kaya recalled through the haze of the events. Yes, she reasoned, Sano and she had been a surprisingly effective team. Except for that one Hunter—Kaya's eyes widened. The Hunter who had his faced veiled in a violet colored cloth. His stealth had be incredible; he'd used the chaos of her spell to slip through his fellows undetected by Sano or Kaya and had attacked her with a prepared weapon.

“How…?” she croaked out. Sano scoffed at the question and tilted his head to the side to look at Kaya the best he could.

“Because he knows how you operate,” he replied. “He knows how all of us operate.” Alex groaned quietly, trying to add to the conversation but physically unable to. The disbelieving look from the blonde provoked a further explanation. The Vampire pulled on his shackles, testing the strength of the iron. The chains rattled in protest and he pulled again, this time moving off of the ground a little bit. Routed, Sano let go and again stood on.

“Before Lyrial's roommate moved out, way before you started squatting there, one of the Brotherhood came to the apartment,” Kaya's brows furrowed in rage at the idea of Hunters in the place of her resident. “He attacked them. I ended up pushing him out of the window.”

“And that didn't kill him? There's…nothing but concrete to catch him,” she interjected weakly. Sano laughed again, bending his knees and letting his full weight be supported by the chains that held them all.

“It did,” he replied. “He's fucking resilient…and he's been after our kind for a very long time—primarily me.” Kaya's frown deepened but the poison in her system was nagging at her consciousness and shutting down her system again.

“What…do you mean…?” Alex groaned again, trying to respond with knowledge on the plight, but his body could not cooperate. He fell silent and soon Kaya succumbed to the same fate. Sano watched the pair of Witches in their coma-like states. He envied their trip to oblivion because they would be unaware for a while of the horrors that were to soon befall them. He, however, played witness to the Brotherhood's vengeful forecast, the meticulous reprisal for their crimes. In the fray, perhaps three had died. But as Sano listened to the melody of weapons being sharpened, he knew the backlash of their deaths would tenfold against him and his fellows.

He wouldn't die from torture; he was made of far tougher stuff than that. Kaya and Alex were a different story. He likened this to be their last engagement in this world. But the future of himself, Kaya, and Alex were not really his prime concern. What really weighed on his mind was not the falling of whips against his flesh, but of Lyrial. With both him and Kaya locked away in the catacombs beneath the Cathedral, who would protect Lyrial? If the Cruxis Fraternus sent men to the apartment Lyrial would be unaware and vulnerable. Sano tugged again at his chains, knowing it was futile. They were solid restraints, designed with his breed in mind. They would hold him until the Hunters were good and ready to let him go—or in a more likely scenario, good and ready to get rid of his corpse. He looked to the ceiling of the chamber and sighed. It was dismal thought, indeed.

 

Mangled bodies with broken bones lay in the snow; clouded eyes and expressionless faces. The snow fell deafly on the cold flesh of the fallen persons. A redhead and a blonde were close to one another, the latter seemed frozen in time reaching for the former as a last gesture of friendship. The redhead's tibia stood up proudly through the muscle of his thigh; the jagged fringe of the bone coated in slowly freezing blood. His fingers were crooked and swollen from being broken and dislocated; the nails were cracked and bruising underneath. Mere inches from his masticated hand was the hand of the blonde—a woman. Her face had been heinously marred, the flesh burned and blacked. Atrocious gashes were on her cheeks, forehead and throat, turning her into a hideous doppelganger of her former self. Her once strong arms were strewn in different directions, one splayed out towards the redhead while the other hung stiffly across her middle.

Her clothes were torn and the strap of her brazier half way down one of her popped out shoulders. The wound on her side had festered with infection and was outlined in an awful yellow hue. It produced a putrid odor that even the winter wind could not smother. Lyrial had to cover her nose irreverently as she stared down at the macabre scene. The scream had become choked and lost in her throat after stumbling upon the three bodies in Zoilia Park. There was darkness around all four of them as Lyrial stood almost as still as the fallen. Snow drifted soundlessly, the only other movement in the park. It was as if an unseen spotlight was cutting through the pitch to highlight the three bodies on the ground. In fact, aside from the half hidden cobblestone, Lyrial began to wonder if she was in Zoilia Park at all; it had been known to play tricks on the mind at night, especially if one was alone. The sight before, however, was unmistakable. The woman in the snow was Kaya, despite her face being indistinguishably scarred. The redhead was unknown to her but the thin face and slightly pointed tips of his ears betrayed his identity to her. Lyrial had come to know the under noticed feature to be the tale-tell sign of a Witch. Was he a Witch? Were men called Witches, too? Or something else? She didn't know and she scolded herself for wondering such trivial things while her friend lay dead before her. She crouched down a little distance from the bodies, quickly rubbing the tears from her eyes; they clouded her vision and has ghastly as the sight was she felt she had to see—she had to know what happened to them.

Lyrial knew little about torture. In fact, her only real knowledge was the pictures of awful devices used during the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Hunts. She had never seen a torture victim, let alone two.

“Two!” She gasped and looked around frantically. If Kaya was here than what had become of Sano? Was he still being tortured like the Witches had been? Was he too destined to end up in this crumpled mass grave? A shiver ran down her spine and despite the cold she felt a panicked flush fill her cheeks. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach signaled her to another presence in the park. She stiffened and slowly got to her feet, too afraid to turn around, to blink or even to breathe. There terror's source was unknown, but seeing the mutilated bodies of people she knew had jump started her adrenaline gland into overdrive. She bit her bottom lip and forced herself to peek over her shoulder; what she witnessed then shocked her more so than bodies of the Witches.

“S-Sano?” she squeaked and turned around with little haste. His appearance was not normal—at least, by the normalcy she had come to judge him by. His shoulders were hunched forward and his muscles flexed. The Vampire's knees were bent at an awkward angle looking ready to either break or propel him forward at an incredible speed. One of his arms was broken, the elbow swollen to three times the appropriate size. His long silver locks were unbound and feral around his shoulders. His abdomen seemed relatively untouched aside from the deep yellowing bruises that festooned his ribcage. His body had an incredible healing rate, much faster than that of a human, but the incredible pain that surged through his broken down body was unfathomable to Lyrial. But even this distorted appearance was not was truly frightened the girl—it was his face.

Sano's mouth was agape, oversized fangs pressing out harshly past his bottom lip. The ivory color was tie-dyed with the rich ruby color of a fresh kill. Blood covered most of his mouth, staining his upper lip and even the tip of his nose, to circle down part of his cheeks and completely coat his chin. Stray rivulets painted twisted patterns down his throat and chest. It was as if the Vampire had literally taken a bite out of someone's jugular and had been soaked in the process. The animal like growling Sano practiced against her on rare occasions in the apartment resonated with a never before heard ferocity; it was wild and hungry. The ominous sound paired doubly effective with the red cat-like eyes that locked on Lyrial's petrified frame.

“S-Sano?” she tried again, holding her hands up in a small sign of surrender. “It's m-me, Lyrial.” When the growling increased in volume, she squeaked briefly, before swallowing hard. If Sano was anything like wild animals she'd heard about, showing fear was exactly the kind of enticement he was looking for. Lyrial wasn't afraid—she was terrified. Her body shook like a leaf in the wind and her heart was beating so fast she thought it'd escape from her chest.

“Don't you remember me?” she begged and debated running off. She knew she couldn't out run a deranged Vampire, even with his crippled legs; she was more likely to trip over the dead bodies or slip on the snow than make a fantastical escape. Sano snarled, silencing Lyrial aside from a quiet whimper. Just at it seemed the silver feral creature was backing down from the offensive, he sprang forward suddenly at the girl. Her brown eyes widened exponentially and she shrieked. The sight of Sano hurdling towards her, mouth open and fangs prepped for the penetration of her flesh, hands outstretched was the last thing the girl saw before her world too went black.

 

Lyrial screamed again and sat bolt up in her bed. A cold sweat covered her body and her fingers twisted into the sheets to confirm her location. She panted heavily and reached up to cover her eyes. The image of butchered bodies in the snow were imprinted on her brain and refused to give her peace.

“That…was horrible….” She whispered and looked over to her bedside table. Her cell phone sat there quietly. She grasped it and flipped it open to discover the time to be 2:00am. Lyrial's heart was still beating loudly in her chest and the dark bedroom was suffocating her. She quickly got up and ran to the other side of the room to flip on the light switch. It took a second of hesitation from the old building's circuits before the room became illuminated in soft incandescent light. The brunette looked down at the still open cell phone in her hands. It was ridiculously late or ridiculously early depending on how you looked at it, but the nightmare she had dreamt had been so real. She was afraid that if she closed her eyes, the dream would pick up right where it left off—Sano making a meal out of mutilated corpse.

Lyrial sniffed back worried tears and locked her bedroom door. She swallowed hard and moved back to her bed, sitting on the edge, but pulling her legs under her. She was afraid to have them dangling in case the invisible monster under her bed decided to reach out and pull her under. Without much thought, Lyrial perused her recent contact list and dialed the first name on the list. Her hand shook as she held the cell phone to her ear. The reception clicked for a moment, searching for a signal; she inhaled a shuddering breath as the connection was finally made and the phone began to ring. One, two, three rings. Lyrial's nervousness grew in magnitude with each passing second. Four, five, six rings. The receiver clicked and a groggy voice muffled through the ear piece.

“Hmm…Hello?” it asked confusedly.

“Chris?” Lyrial asked. “I…I know it's really late. Did I wake you up?” she could hear the young man struggling to untangle himself from his bed sheets and sit up on the other end of the line.

“It's okay,” he replied. The young man rubbed his eyes with his free hand and picked up the digital clock on his nightstand. Upon learning the hour, his eyes widened. “Are you all right?” he asked, the sleep seeping away in his voice and being replaced by concern. Lyrial squirmed under the question and twisted a curl with her index finger.

“God, yes, I'm….I'm so sorry I woke you up. It's so late, I don't know what I was thinking,” she prattled on for a moment, twisting the curl with more enthusiasm. Chris put down his digital clock and turned on a lamp in his bedroom.

“You were thinking you needed someone to talk to,” he suggested. “Did something happen?” Lyrial's sigh drifted through the receiver and he could feel the shrug that followed.

“It's so stupid and now thinking about it I can't believe I called someone about it.”

“Come on, Lyrial,” Chris said, cracking a half smile on her behalf. “What happened?” Lyrial fell quiet a moment. He held the line feeling her mental debate through the silence.

“I had a nightmare,” she finally admitted. The brunette waited for the laughter that would follow such a childish statement, but none came.

“Was it bad?” he asked and Lyrial began to cry.

“Horrible…” she whispered and shook her head, leaning into the cell phone as if it would put her closer to Chris. “So horrible.” She suffered a few more tears, tears of relief, panic, and desperation, before they dwindled down into a pathetic set of sniffles. Chris had remained silent during the session; no words of comfort were offered, nor admonishments for such juvenile acts. It was both relieving and uncomfortable to simply have him listen to her sob over a nightmare like some prepubescent little girl after playing Bloody Mary for the first time.

“Do you…Do you want me to come over?” Lyrial's eyes widened when Chris' question came to her over the line. Come over? At 2:00am? She looked around her room, the sheets all twisted and askew from her panicked escape of them; she herself probably looked as bad as she felt, curls tussled and knotted from a restless sleep, but the idea of not being alone was far too reassuring. She was afraid to fall back asleep alone; afraid really to blink too slowly in case the images were to return to her brain.

“It's really late, Chris,” she reasoned even though she could hear him getting dressed in the background of their conversation.

“I don't mind if it's you. I'm on my way, sweetheart.” A small blush came to cheeks after the tiny endearment and she nodded. “I'll be there soon,” he added before they shared a brief good bye and hung up. Lyrial felt a modicum of respite after her conversation with Chris and even found the strength to sneak across the apartment to the bathroom. She turned on the light and pulled off her pajamas. The tank top and sleeping shorts found a home folded on the commode while Lyrial climbed into the shower. She turned on the taps and allowed the hot water to rain down on her. She soaked in the sensation of warmth and rubbed her arms, shoulders, and neck soothingly. She wasn't freshening up because she thought Chris expected her to be pristine at two o'clock in the morning but because she needed a way to distract herself in the hiatus of his arrival to the apartment. The warm flow of water and steam was just the thing she needed to ebb away the visions given in her nightmare. It had been so realistic; she had felt the cold of the snow and bite of the wind, she had smelt the putrid decay of infection on the flesh of her friend, and heard the animal like growls from the dream manifestation of Sano. It had been too real.

Lyrial tried to keep her mind from wandering back down that dark alley. Instead, she found her hands were doing much more wandering than her thoughts. She traced the length of her arm, starting at her wrist—taking time to thumb over the healed flesh that had once fallen prey to Sano's hunger—up the flat expanse of her forearm, to curve around her elbow, before finding a home against her shoulder blade. It lingered for a moment before easing down her clavicle to hover hesitantly over her breasts. Lyrial looked around, half-expecting her unusual roommate to appear like last time and surprise her with his Peeping Tom skills. After confirming she was truly alone in the lavatory, she grasped her right breast softly. Her russet eyes fell shut as she massaged the hefty orb of flesh. The tingling sensation that followed proved to be a well enough distraction from the sickening images of the nightmare.

The pad of her thumb rolled over the pert center of her breast, teasing the nipple to attention. The blush on her cheeks once caused by Chris' voice returned to embellish her face once more. Lyrial let out a small whine as she reached up with her other hand to cup the neglected breast. They were heavy in her small hands and she fumbled a bit with their mass wondering how someone with bigger hands would fare. Someone with bigger hands—a man's hands—the blush deepened as she plucked gently at her nipples—Chris' hands. Lyrial's eyes opened and she let out a quick breath or two.

“What am I doing?” she asked herself but didn't relinquish the hold she had on her bosom. She had no real idea on how long it would take for Chris to get to the apartment; it would be unbearably embarrassing if he were to arrive while she was in the shower playing with herself. Lyrial shook her head back and forth, the wet curls whipping around her face. She turned off the water in a hurry and stepped out of the shower. She dried her body before wrapping her hair up in the terrycloth. She changed back into her folded pajamas and while she pulled the lavender tank top over her breasts, she could hear faint knocking coming from the main apartment. The brunette opened the bathroom door and pulled the towel off her head, tossing it into the hamper as she hurried to the front door. She mused her curls with her fingers quickly to add some kind of tameness to their furious loops before opening the door a crack. Chris' face came swimming into view and Lyrial smiled.

“Hey,” he said quietly and returned the friendly gesture. Lyrial closed the door briefly to unlock the chain before opening it fully and hugging onto the young man's waist. Chris laughed quietly, his own hair a little muzzled from his hurried arrival. There was snow mixed in with his hair and resting on the shoulders of his jacket and his nose was slightly pink from the wind.

“I'm sorry you had to come all the way here,” Lyrial apologized but Chris shook his head and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“Well, luckily, I got a phone call from a beautiful girl—so I was all ready awake,” he said with a smile. Lyrial hugged onto him tighter in response before letting go and taking hold of one of his hands. She led him into the apartment and closed the door behind them.

“Thank you…again…for coming over so late,” she whispered but Chris shook his head.

“I told you not to worry about it,” he said and lifted the hand he had a hold of up to kiss the knuckles gently. “Tell me about your nightmare.” Lyrial pulled gently away from the young man, rubbing the back of her neck and biting her bottom lip as an outward display of anxiety. She wandered aimlessly around the main living room of the apart; Chris followed her at a sedated pace before guiding towards her room. Lyrial sat down on the edge of her bed; Chris took his place beside her.

“I was outside,” she began. “It was freezing and it was dark. I think I was in Zoilia Park, just outside the apartment, you know?” Chris nodded his head to show he was listening and gently turned Lyrial to sit facing away from him. He sat with one leg bent on the bed, the other on the floor. While she explained the setting of the nightmare, he reached out to places his hands on her shoulders and began to gently massage the tenseness he felt there.

“What happened in the park?” he asked cautiously while continuing to massage Lyrial's shoulders.

“There were…these bodies.” The young man felt her shoulders stiffen as she spoke and he worked diligently to ease the apprehension. He ran the palm of his hands between her shoulders blade. Lyrial shivered in response and hunched forward a little bit. Chris hesitated but when Lyrial looked over at his shoulder questioningly, he continued.

“They were people I knew, friends of mine. They were dead. It was all so real, Chris. They were dead but it wasn't the fact that they were dead that bothered me the most,” the brunette explained. Chris made a small non-committal sound to assure his companion of his attention all the while rubbing the heel of his palm up and down her spine soothingly.

“What was it then?” he asked to provoke more details of the nightmare.

“It was the state they were in!” Lyrial protested. “They had been tortured or something before dying. Their bones were broken, their skin was bruised, and their faces….they were hideously scarred.” Chris' hands stopped moving for a moment as he leaned forward to press a tender kiss against Lyrial's cheek.

“That does sound horrible,” he agreed. The girl turned around to look him; for a moment her auburn orbs lingered on the thin scar across his face before connecting with his eyes. “But it was just a dream. Is that all that happened?” he asked. Lyrial bit her bottom, not sure whether or not to share the ending of the nightmare, the part about Sano.

“There was….one other thing,” she admitted. “Before I had any time to be sad about my friends, I was attacked.”

“By what?” Chris asked, letting one of his hands cup the side of the brunette's face.

“A-An animal,” Lyrial said. “A wild animal with very sharp teeth.” Chris nodded his head in condolence.

“A monster, then,” he concluded but Lyrial's brows furrowed. In the nightmare, Sano was very much a monster—the kind of monster in horror movies and novels—and unlike anything she had ever seen before. Was the Sano she had come to know living in the apartment really be capable of that kind of feral ferocity? The girl hoped not, hoped with all her heart, but in the deepest recesses of her mind she was inclined to believe that Sano was indeed very capable of becoming the monster she had witnessed in her dream. The feeling of Chris' thumb brushing over her cheek brought her from the dreadful thoughts brought on by the nightmare.

“You don't have to be afraid, Lyrial,” he said. “I'll protect you.” Guiding her face by his tender hold on her cheek, Chris brought the girl's lips against his own. Like their first kiss, it had been chaste and innocent: a small assurance to seal the spoken promise. Lyrial smiled and nodded her head slowly.

“I'd…like that,” she replied. Chris smiled too and leaned forward again, this time more certainly than ever before. It wasn't long before the brunette felt the timid swipe of his tongue against her bottom lip. Surprised by the unusual stroke of assertiveness, Lyrial leaned forward, resting one of hands against Chris' chest as she opened her mouth to him. Their tongues engaged in a shy game of advance and retreat while alternating lead roles. It was a playful kiss, still as innocent as the initial contact. When the kiss ended, Chris let out a breathy laugh. Lyrial giggled too, not really knowing why.

“Will you stay with me?” she asked as Chris had leaned in for another kiss. He hesitated and tilted his head to the side, silently asking for an elaboration. An embarrassed flush answered him and soon a similar hue found its way onto Chris' cheeks as well.

“We really shouldn't,” he said but leaned forward once more, bypassing Lyrial's mouth to leave delicate kisses along her collarbone.

“Please?” she asked as the young man kissed gently at the crook of her neck. Shivers ran down her spine and the hand that had long abandoned her cheek found a new on her hip. Lyrial clutched Chris' shirt, wrinkling the fabric in her hold, as she felt the warmth of his mouth leaving opened mouth kisses up the side of neck. The trail of warmth worked its way along her jaw and back to her own lips. She shared another kiss with the brown haired young man before the hand on her hip slid up her waist, hesitating on its journey as if debating on its final destination. Lyrial pulled back a bit before leaning against Chris' ear to whisper.

“It's okay…go ahead.” This time Chris shivered when Lyrial's breath fanned across his ear, followed by an equally playful nibble. The jeans which he had thrown on in the hurry to come over to the girl's apartment were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He shifted his position on the foot of the bed and complied with the brunette's permission. His hand moved from its prone position on her ribcage to the swell of her breasts. He placed his hand over the fullness of the flesh and fondled it gently. Lyrial let out a quiet moan after feeling the warmth of Chris' palm over her breast; the sensation of his moving hand caused her nipples to stiffen and stand out against the fabric of the lavender tank top.

A second hand come up to aid its twin in its mission. Chris' cheeks remained cutely flushed as he watched his hands toy with the impressive mounds, his usually broody gray eyes were alight with an unseen kind of mischief. The pads of his thumbs brushed over the pert nipples to tease the sensitive skin. Lyrial let out a strangled kind of whine and shyly looked into Chris' faces. She let her hand slid down from his chest to rest hesitantly on the growing protuberance in his jeans. He faltered in his explorations as he felt the gentle pressure of Lyrial's uncertain hand. He nodded his head to encourage the touch before he tenderly grasped the hem of her tank top. When Lyrial used both hands to caress the increasing stiffness between his thighs, Chris pulled the fabric in his grasp up over her head. Her breasts clung to the cotton for a second before gravity won out over the uplift. The heavy orbs bounced for a second, colliding slightly with one another before settling.

Lyrial felt a flood of embarrassment and tried to cover her exposed breasts.

“Don't,” Chris entreated, taking a gentle hold of her wrists and pulling them apart. “There's nothing to be embarrassed about.” Lyrial bit her bottom lip, despite the encouragement. Chris leaned forward to take one of her nipples in his mouth. The brunette squealed at the sudden sensation, her head falling back and one of her hands entwining in his hair. The young man encouraged her to lie back against the mattress; she conceded and he followed. Clinging gently to her middle, Chris continued to play with her breasts. He rolled the rosy peak between his teeth, tugging softly, and drawing out a series of whimpers from Lyrial.

“Please touch me,” he said suddenly, looking up at her face. He crawled up to have the toned muscle of his thigh pressing up between Lyrial's legs. Her face flushed a new at feeling the denim of his jeans causing friction at the apex of her body. She reached forward diffidently with both hands shaking. She saw Chris pull his shirt up over his head to rest along side her own out of her peripheral while she grasped the waistband of his jeans uncertainly. The button unsnapped with little coaxing and the zipper faired no better. Blushing furiously, Lyrial grasped her partner's arousal through the cotton material of his underwear.

The brunette looked up at Chris timidly. There was a smile on his face, it was lazy looking and a flush decorated his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His tanned skin moved over the muscles of his torso, finely chiseled muscles that had only been alluded to under the sweaters and coats. His body was beautiful. The lazy smile widened as he leaned forward, grasping Lyrial's hands in the processes. He pinned them to the side of her head and lay down on top of her. A quiet groan passed through his lips at feeling her bare breasts pressing against his own naked torso. Their lips met again for another prolonged kiss; as Chris' lips massaged Lyrial's, the brunette began to notice the pressure on her wrists increasing. The hold was transforming from affectionate to domineering. The grip mothered bruises just beneath her skin and she whimpered pathetically to urge the change to end. She turned her face to the side to break the oral contact she shared with Chris.

She felt something fine brush the underside of her forearms, brush-like and wispy. Her doe eyes widened in unbridled horror at seeing fine silver strands of hair dangling gracefully just above her arm. Slowly, Lyrial turned her face back to center and she gasped. The previously sun-kissed skin was milky white and the short muzzled russet waves were cascades of hoary.

 

“No!” Lyrial cried and sat up starkly in bed. The world around her had vanished into the dark reality of her room. She panted quickly and looked around her surroundings with disillusion.

“Another dream?” she asked herself and reached for the cell phone on her bedside table, hesitating on whether or not to read the time before deciding on the need to know. A wave of relief washed over as learned it to be six o'clock in the morning. Lyrial stood up and became entangled with her sheets. Avoiding a drunken stumble, she wiggled out of the entrapment and ran to the living room. She practically ripped the curtains off the living room window before throwing it open completely. The brunette didn't flinch at the burst of cold air that followed; instead she blinked cautiously as the bright rising sun reflected off the snow and glistened like a white wonderland. The girl looked down at the cell phone she still clutched in her hand. She flipped it open.

“I wonder,” she asked quietly before looking to the recent calls list. The most recent was yesterday afternoon to Alan. She nodded her head and closed the little device, setting it down next to the television and resting her elbows on the window sill. The cold air tickled her skin and ruffled her curls gently.

“It was all just a dream,” she assured herself and continued to gaze out onto the waking city. The Cathedral stood a distance away, standing powerfully among the smaller, dirtier structures. The morning bells started to ring proudly, announcing the importance of the Cathedral to the daily routine of the city it commanded. Lyrial wore a small smile, a knowing kind of smile, and looked up past the gothic edifice to the brightening morning sky.

“And dawn prevails again.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metamorphosis: Genesis