Under Watch

"Oh no! I really didn't mean-" She began in a begging tone.

I continue, "Shh. It is alright. I knew he was not going to live because of all of us feeding from him, but let's just be more careful. Okay?"

"Yes Dusk." She says lightly.

I smile big and stand, "Oh Luna? Will you be a dear and fetch the paper from the drive?"

She nods and skips outside.

------

He stands on the front steps as the youngling skips down the driveway. He watches intensly as she picks up the paper and stops and looks around curiously.

Yes, she is quite young. An older vampire would have recognized the scent of another immediately. He watches her look at him and freeze becoming still as a statue.

He smiles slightly as she hesitantly goes back up the porch steps and inside, shutting the door behind her hard.

No doubt Ms. Dusk will appear.

He flashes down the street and heads to the cabin to await his next orders.

------

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FUNNY MAN'?!" Ravin screamed at a terrified Luna.

Luna's body presses against the kitchen table, wide blue eyes frantic.

They can't have one confrontation without Ravin screaming or Luna crying...actually both.

I step between the two and stare Ravin in the face, "Back down. Let me hear what she has to say." Ravins' eyes are still dialated and transfixed on Luna when I let out a soft hiss. The quieter I made it, the more deadly my warning became. Her eyes snap back to chocolate and she huffs away.

I turn back to a shrunken Luna. I laugh slightly as I see her unmolding her body from the table.

"Dusk. I saw somebody." My laughter haults and I straighten my stance.

"My guess is that the person wasn't a martyr?" She shakes her head and I nod for her to continue.

"He was across the street to the left. You know, the abandoned house with the wrap-around porch? Well, I went outside and saw him on the driveway of that house sipping coffee and I thought 'Oh that's nice. New neighbor. Now we can have actual people around-"

"Luna." I rapt.

She became flustered slightly but continuued, "Yeah, so then I grab the paper and the wind blows towards me and that man. . .he smelled funny."

"Like what?" I demand. My eyes intense on hers.

"Enticing, glorious, slightly burnt wood. . .and blood."

I hiss loud and race outside and onto the driveway. I smell him. That bastard didn't even try to mask his scent. I smell the wonderful husky smell of him. The best fragrance in the world is that of a vampire. I want to burn my nose. How does one hate a smell so like their own?

Ravin speaks from atop our Hummer H2, "He is going South away from the city." She crosses her legs clad in Gucci sweatpants and matching jacket. Her dark lioness hair sweeps to one side with the wind.

"Possibly. Or he could be backtracking to lead us on a false trail. We won't follow him. Maybe he was just stopping for the morning. If we see him again, we can try to find out as much as we can. For now, there isn't much for us to do. Obviously, it isn't safe for anyone to be alone and I'm not so sure about tonight's plan. " I sigh and look down our lonely street, so flat and devoid of life except for the leaves that trundle along.

Ravin sighs exacerbated, "Come on Dusk. Tonight is what all of us need to unwind and relax. I think that if this person turns out to be one of them then they won't attack for at least a week or a month!"

"Yeah because that makes me want to throw Luna out by herself for one night for the first time."

"Maybe she can stick with Char." Ravin says uninvolved.

I perk up and nod excitedly. "Perfect Ravin! That's a great idea! I'm going to go tell them." I hear Ravin ask what she said before the front door closes behind me.

------

"Now you know what to do and how to handle yourself? Oh, and how to dispose? AND not to use your-"

"Goddess, Dusk! Luna is going to be with Charlotte! She shouldn't screw up too much" For a moment I thought Ravin was giving a compliment when she added, "...unlike last night."

I sigh and nod for Ravin to go. She slips out of the alley and disappears into the bustling crowd of nightwalkers. No doubt she'll be going to the club we almost always self-feed at.

Charlotte, wearing a modest dress and converse, looks like a sophisticated older sister to little Loon. Char, cleverly, made Luna dress similarly to her, so that they would appear to be related.

"One more time." I state.

Luna rolls her eyes as Char recites in a monotone voice, "We go to the apartment building on States Street. We knock on a door whose occupant we've already sniffed out. They must be alone, pet-less, and older than a teenager. We must not kill them or use magic in front of them. Ughhh! I'm so tired of repeating this!"

"Yeah! Can we go?" Loon and Char's eyes are annoyed but pleaing.

I sigh again and think about how many times a day I sigh, "Yes. Connect to me if you have ANY trouble. I'll keep my kinesis open to you both."

They both smile big, hold hands, and run out of the alley almost knocking into a Chinese couple.

How much am I going to regret this?

I kneel down and propel my way straight up the side of the building on my left

I catch the ledge with my fingertips and swing my legs up and land in a crouch, facing the building skyline. It was only a four story building, like most in Manhattan, but it still amazes me that I am able to accomplish such an insignificant task.

I suddenly get a sinking feeling in my stomach and stand quickly whipping around to see the building's four corners. Nothing but vents.

That feeling was like someone was standing right over my shoulder. Like they were watching me so intensely that I could hear their pupils dilate as they glanced over my body and face. It wasn't romantic. It was scrutiny.

A shiver passes over me as I shake the thought away. I am just paranoid. There hasn't been someone on this roof in months. I take off at a dead sprint jumping over buildings and streets with packed cars. I'm running so fast that if anyone were to see me, it would be a black mass and then nothing. Blinking speed.

Oh Shit.

I stop abruptly in the middle of a six story building causing the gravel to skip and fall off the edge.

My stop was three buildings back and across the street.

One can get lost in their own prison and get locked out of reality too easily.

I hop back over the buildings and jump down the side of Husken & Jacobs Lawyer Firm. This is my normal indicator that I've made it to my favorite snack bar: Shotsarrati.

I land in a crouch and dust my leather jacket off and straighten my already dead straight hair.

My eyes gleam as I see all of the candidates waiting behind the red rope.

As I approach I point them all out in my head and sing, Eenie Meenie Minee Moe! I am delirious with happiness as I advance on the outside of the line. And when I get to the front I see T.J., our normal bouncer, has been replaced by a bald, smaller guy with an earpiece.

T.J. never wore an earpiece or the fancy suits this guy is wearing. Where could he be? He always works tonight. I made sure of it when I hypnotised him to let us in every time he saw us.

My gut clenches the same way as before when the man shifts his focus to me. I can see them behind his mirror glasses.

I stop walking towards the front and casually walk past the earpiece man and turn right into the alley of the club and some other building.

Whatever. Maybe he got fired for only letting in the ladies and no men. It was turning into a gay bar.

------

"Michael? Do you copy? over."

"Michael here. Target has avoided contact, circled building. over." The "bouncer" took his finger off his earpiece to admit a fiery little vixen that he would be targeting himself a little later.

"Permission to pursue? Current location is above, strike zone is nearly perfect." A new voice came onto the earpiece.

"Azazeal. You will get to play cat when we say so. We can not risk exposure due to an almost, nearly perfect strike zone. Infiltrate inside and spread your scent around. Make the fucker think she has no where to go."

"Which will lead her straight to us. Yes sir, copy. over" The dark haired man smiled a bright smile against the moonlight as he watched his prey enter the club through the exit in the alley. I can't wait to formally meet you, "Dusk." The wind carried his hiss through the darkness.

He disappeared down the side of the building and prepared for the funnest night of his life.

------

Ravin was in the corner of the club, per usual.

"Did you say my name when I walked in?" I questioned her.

She looked up, her eyes fierce due to the fact that I was interrupting her pre-game. He was currently suckling her neck and I could see him trying to delve deep inside of her with a couple fingers. I motioned for the boy to go with a flick of my wrist. Ravin huffed, "No Dusk. I was actually shouting your name in ecstasy while my meal fingered me under this very table." She looked frazzled. Her natural lioness mane was transformed into lucious light curls that complimented her coffee skin. Her track suit from earlier was replaced with a Vera Wang evening gown. She looked delicious, one could say the least.

"Oh darling. Enough with the sniffles. Every man around tonight will only have eyes for you." I winked at her and turned away, trying to hide the unease in my eyes.

Who the hell said my name? Could I have just heard it...in my mind? Am I becoming mentally ill? These thoughts continuued to rattle my brain as I approached Reggie the bartender. I figured I could ask a couple of questions without seeming too suspicious. I pushed my way to the bar and forced some slut out of her seat.

"Ahh! Miss Poppy! I see me favorite customah is back, yes?" Reggie gave me a huge Jamaican smile and slammed a Long-Island iced tea in front of me.

"My love, it has been a while." I smiled as he kissed my palm and gave me a not-too subtle wink. I took my drink and held up five elegant fingers. He nodded and went about serving the drunks.

I walked up the short staircase and went down the club's dingy hallway, away from the bathrooms. I entered the DJ's room, hypnotized the guy like normal, and continuued across the room until I opened a door marked, Supply. The sign on the door used to say, Employees Only, but Reggie (the owner) had it changed so that we could have our own special meeting place. Apparently, the only way his employees would let him turn their chill-spot into a supply closet was to let them have free drinks after a certain hour. Seemed like a good deal to me, however Reggie realized he had hired a bunch of alcoholics so none of them work here anymore. Therefore, every single employee thinks this is a supply closet. I could laugh at irony, but she's been a bitch to me too.

I left the door cracked as I turned on the lights. This room always reminded me of blood due to the redlighting and fuzzy red carpet. The blue walls really accentuated the reds, like two personalities and one prevails. The orange couches were as old as Charlotte and the posters were cracked. Yes, this place could use a little renovation. I sank into the cleanest couch and sipped on my tall glass.

I smelled him before he entered. Reggie came bounding in and shook his head saying, "I'll a never know how my DJ focuses so much when you're around, me angel." He laughed and swept me into his big chest.

"It spurns from the art of persuasion." I retorted as he set me back down.

"Or deception." He contemplated.

I nodded as I regarded his comment with interest. I've always considered him an equal, never as a puny human. I have seen his hearts desires, passions, and felt his very soul. Of course, it tasted delicious, but I kept him around because of his uncanny ability to view a situation in an entirely different light.

I took a deep breath and focused my eyes downward, "I need your advice."

He straightened when he felt my urgency. "What can I help you with, my sweet cherube?"

I thought about the impossible way to phrase the dangerous question on my mind, "What is it called when... you look upon others with jealousy, yet you see not the reason that caused...such emotion?" I squinted at him, hoping he could understand my ramblings. This question has been gnawing at my very body. A good chunk of hair fell out this morning in the shower. My ribs have been clinging depserately to the top of my skin, poking out sickly these last couple weeks. There are still too many questions left unanswered about the world and not one vampire will ever uncover them all. So what is the point of it?... but that is an entirely different question.

He nodded his head slowly and his reply was completely unexpected, "Why has me DJ stopped the jams?"

I gasped when all of my vampiric senses came flooding back in a nanosecond. I must have blocked everything and everyone out while I was talking to Reggie.

The very first thing I experienced was thought. Everyone was in my mind at once yelling and cussing.

The second thing I experienced was smell. The most intoxicating, horrifying smell I would ever encounter a second time that day, and the source was 20 feet away.

The third thing was noise. The supply door slamming to the ground and Reggie being thrown across the room, only to be picked up and held high atop the wall. I gasped as my friend was suffocated and all I did was stand there paralyzed. What is happening?!

'Ravin! Luna! Charlotte!'

'We are safe.' Ravin vehemonously spat into my mind.

That was all I needed. I sped toward the shrouded figure and caught Reggie as the vampire released him. I laid him on the ground and stared at the puncture wounds in his neck and the bone sticking out of the side. I hissed loudly as I transformed into the terrifying creature that I was. I faced the masked man and smiled a glorious fang-filled smile.

A low growl escaped his throat as he challenged my very existence. My hiss followed me as I lunged for his throat, the same way he killed my Reggie. He danced in a circle around me and artfully tripped me by putting his hands on my thighs and slamming me back toward his body. I felt the wind on my face as I gracefully swung my body back upward and clenched my feet behind his neck. My hands slapped the ground and I threw his body with as much vampiric strength known towards the broken door.

He never touched the ground. He simply made an arc in the air and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. Then he spoke.

"You are quite the fighter. I cannot wait until I break your spirit." His voice was deep, rich, and sinister. He chuckled darkly. His dark hair swung across his face, leaving one dark blue eye and one crystaline fang to mock me.

"State your business." I said warily. He smiled brighter with every word I said. "Look Fucker, if you want to claim this area as yours then you have, my coven and I will leave this place forever" Maybe a proposition is what he wanted.

"Hmm...actually I was thinking of claiming something else instead." His dark, evil grin followed sent chills down my spine.

Dare I encourage this conversation or run? "...and what is it that you wish to claim-" I hissed low as he appeared right in front of me. He bent down slightly and inhaled.

"Is that the question you want to ask me...Cherube?" I lost it then. I lost complete control of my composure and saught out his eyes with my nails, slammed my leg into his groin, bit his chest and tore out chunks upon chunks. How dare he? How dare he call me that name? That name was reserved for one man and now he's dead. I guess they'll have something in common. I chuckled histerically as I continuued my assault.

However, I noticed something. The vampire wasn't dead yet. In fact, he seemed to be learning from the moves that I baraged at him and countered them with small offensive jabs and slices that were slowing me down and causing me to back away.

"No!" I growled as I backed toward a wall, the wall. I stumbled over my lovers body and felt my head hit the bloodied wall.

His dark smile returned as he finally secured my arms and legs against his body. I was paralyzed as his strong grip controlled every part of my body. I could feel the sticky wetness of the blood against my back. We stood there, our bodies heaving from the damage it received. His cheek had flesh hanging and his eye was scratched, his shirt was shredded and marks ran down his perfectly chiseled body. I assumed I looked worse for wear considering my injuries were taking a lot longer to heal than his. A blood red tear streaked down my face as my eyes absorbed every last detail of the only old-soul I had ever known.

The vampire put his face dangerously close to my neck and whispered, "I win."

I let a small hiss of defeat escape as he towered back over my body. My eyes never left Reggie until I closed my eyes.

------

She looked toward her ex-lover and it almost seemed that she accepted her fate. No vampire has the capability of giving up. It is what keeps us alive! She is different. His eyes clouded in confusion as he reached into his pocket and shook his head. He quickly shoved a shard of wood into her heart and watched as she gasped and fell to the ground.

"Cobra to Tango. over" The vampire tapped his earpiece a couple of times.

"Tango here. over." His robotic boss stated.

"Subject acquired and restrained. Bring in the clean up crew. over." Azazeal stood tall and broad above the little vampiress. He walked back over to the Jamaican and drained him dry to heal his injuries. Then he bent down and picked up the dark haired vampire, studied his prize, and disappeared into the night.

------

Ravin paced inside of the small, cramped safety room of their old den and growled loudly while Luna cried like a babe.

"CHARLOTTE! Shut her up!" Ravin commanded. Charlotte cowered next to Luna and petted her head like a dog. They made Ravin sick. Where was Dusk? Why would they take her? Ravin hissed as she paced two steps and turned around to do the same, back and forth.

Luna tried to speak but Ravin's growling got louder.

'Ravin. Luna is trying to say that it was the man outside of the house from this morning.' Charlotte tried to plead Luna's case to Ravin.

"Of course it is Charlotte! I think we've all figured out who took her, the question is WHY! so until you have an answer for that, shut the hell up." Ravin shouted. Everything was suddenly quiet. Ravin realized she would go mad with their blubbering or with their bated breaths. She had to get away from them before she tore them to pieces.

'Charlotte, I am going to track her. I will find the place she is being kept and return to you both as soon as I do. If it takes longer than 3 days then move. You know what to do.' Ravin shot to Charlotte only as she left the safety of the den.

'But what if it's a trap? Can you go tomorrow night?' Char frantically called after Ravin.

'Dont care and they have cleaning crews that swipe scents. I'll find her and return. Just remember what to do, just in case.' Ravin called and then shut everyone out. Everyone except the one person that mattered, her creator.

------

The sharpest pain I have ever felt. That's all I could think, all I could understand, all I could focus on...if this is considered focusing. I'm pretty sure I was making some form of anguished cry, but all I could register was the smallest sliver of wood coming out of my chest. My hands were bound above my head. My legs were chained spread across the bed they threw me on. People had swarmed me and simply stared and said things I couldn't hear. All I could do was feel, and it wasn't pleasant. I wished they would just knock me out again or kill me already. There didn't need to be torture involved. I felt the bed shift, as did my body causing me to relapse into a deeper pain. This pain was almost as critical as when the bastard stabbed me the first time. I couldn't see. My vision was black. My hearing was ringing and screams in the distant. I guess thats me.