|
Ch: 1 Something Wicked This Way Comes
Nara was walking down a path in a town she couldn't even remember. She wondered through as if she were a normal citizen of Gaia. She didn't feel it as she wondered past the shops whom welcomed her to spend her money. She wondered past Ian's shop. Well she saw that there was new ownership now. Nara sighed heavily. She missed Ian. He was always the bright of her day when she was human. He was funny and he and his cat could entertain her. She had never thought anything romantic of him, but she did enjoy his company. So much had happened. Gambino...murdered. When she was human she had respected him, but when he tried to destroy the vampires she became infuriated by him. She joined the vampires only to find that Vladmir Von Helson was mad. He had even involved Ian. And Louie. She sighed, poor boy gave his all, just to get his heart broken in the end. However she respect Moria and she wasn't about to say anything bad about her. Then she remembered Zhivago, a loyal dog to Vladmir, but she wasn't sure that the murder was his doing. If he had his way he would have assassinated that pompous a** in public.
Nara saw a sudden flash from behind her in an ally. She had been followed again. She sprinted through the crowd as fast as she could. She felt so heavy. Her feet that used to move so swiftly felt like they were bore down by cement. Shoving her way through the crowd was even more difficult. Durem a sign said as she ran inside. The town was dark, as usual, but this time, it didn't help her. She stumbled over everything. As her pursuer still followed. She ran smack dead into Edmund. She growled to herself. She was half tempted to run back towards the chaser but they were already gone. Edmund recognized her instantly, she saw it in his eyes.
"You. You were on the vampire's side during the battle a couple years back," he stated as if he was telling himself instead of her. A smile grew on his face. "I see you have rejoined the human populace."
Nara glared at him, but then sighed. "I have nothing against you Edmund. In truth I don't mind you. I have only become human to see what it's like."
"How does it fare?"
"You want honesty or a white lie?"
"Honesty, if you would."
"I hate it. I'm too slow, I'm too weak, and I'm too...ordinary," she blurted. "The only thing that doesn't suck is the fact that I'm not constantly craving blood."
Edmund nodded. "You helped me, even when you were a vampire. I respect you for that. You served me well as a double agent."
Nara's eyes looked down in shame. She hated betraying other vampires like that, but she didn't want Vladmir to win. "Don't say that..."
Edmund patted her shoulder in a friendly manner. "You must talk with Louie, he needs some help from someone like you," he said as he walked past her.
"Edmund," she called without turning around. He stopped and turned his head. "I'm sorry...about Gambino..."
"No, you're not. I appreciate the sentiment though. Ian was a good friend of yours. I understand why you hated Gambino," he said as he left her, alone in the streets. He didn't ask why she was running or why she was in a hurry. Maybe she was only seeing things. She looked towards the Von Helson mansion and cringed. What was Louie's issue?
Nara made her way to Louie's front step, looking over her shoulder the whole way. She knocked twice. She was greeted with a very unhappy face of a very unhappy vampire. "You want to be that way? Fine! We'll find Gino by ourselves!"
Nara's eyes opened widely and grabbed the vampire by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her height. "You so much as lay a finger on that boy I'll stake you in two minutes!" she yelled into his face. Fear was prominent in his features. She may no longer be a vampire, but she still knew all their weaknesses. She let him go as he stumbled back. "Heed my warning and abandon those idiots. It'll be good for your health," she hissed as he nodded and scrambled to his feet. It was a good thing her name still had some weight to it or he would have killed her if he had tried.
"Nara!" she heard a surprised voice speak behind her.
She turned around to see Louie. "Hey Louie."
He looked into her eyes and a sad smile crept onto his face. "Rejoined the human race, did you?"
"Louie, it was my race to begin with," she said it as if it were a good excuse.
"I know," he said simply. She was amazed at how awful she felt at those two words. Like she had betrayed him. "I'm happy you're here. That guy was trying to rally me against Gino. I told him I was trying to get peace with humanity, not destroy any hope of it. Then he stormed out. I'm glad you had the gall to put him in his place."
Nara smiled as he changed the subject. "Honestly Louie, some vampires will listen to your pleas for peace but some just beg for violence. You need to put those buffoons in their place. Like a wise man once said. 'Speak softly and carry a big stick.'"
Louie laughed but his fatigue was obvious. "I really wish you had gotten this position."
"Louie," she said softly. "How long has it been since you've slept or eaten?"
"And risk all I've built falling apart? I don't have time for those kinds of things," he said jokingly, but her face proved that he wasn't fooling her.
Nara scowled. "No wonder you can't make a good argument!" she exclaimed, then she heard something move and she jumped and looked behind her. A rabbit. She sighed in relief.
"Nara?" he asked. "Why are you in Durem?"
She sighed. "I have this feeling of unease. Like something's following me. I was actually on my way to see Ian, but somewhere along the way I got lost."
"How did you get lost?" he asked shocked.
"I forgot the paths with sight..." she said sorrowfully. She had ran the rooftops and knew simply by smell where she was. Durem was always a dank town but it had a musky appealing scent. However, she knew he way to the mansion from there...all vampires did.
A pitying look came over Louie. "Come in. I needed someone to talk to anyway."
"About What?"
"About Ian, about Gambino, about Zhivago. Take your pick!" he said sorrowfully.
She nodded. "How about Moria?"
Louie's body stiffened and his gaze lowered to the ground. That struck a nerve. "Anything but that."
"You're going to have to open up to somebody. I know the reason why you haven't slept or stopped to eat. No work is that important, Louie."
"You know exactly which bone to pick, huh?" he said angrily as he sat down on a couch in the living room. The place was so empty. It must have been easy to just sit down here and think of her if he wasn't busy. She crossed the room and sat in a chair diagonal from Louie. "What do you want to start at?"
Nara spent a few hours talking to Louie about Moria. She could see why all this had kept him so flustered. Moria had decided he wasn't for her, but he had a hard time agreeing with that. However, when all was said and done, he was fast asleep on the couch. Nara smiled in triumph. She placed a nearby blanket on top of him and walked toward the window. She didn't like the clouds on that horizon.
|
