Vermillion: Seeking

Once caught up she walked out from behind trees, disguising herself in front of the hunter using a spell. She helped Lynx while Sirus plucked his arrow out. At this time rather than enemy, she saw Lynx as a lost soul. This loss would shape her further in life and April couldn't change that. Instead of trying to kill her, April offered Lynx a one time only favor. In returned Lynx would contain (try to) Sirus, before he became an actual threat against the world.

Being his friend was already a job, but Lynx took the deal and never looked back. She'd try to keep Sirus in check by giving in to her own dark urges. But now she was slowly pulling from their friendship.

She knew his good was less than his overwhelming bad, and that it wasn't worth trying to save him. Not even if he were reborn as a human. It was deals, bets, favors most of the time. Games and intrigues that didn't suit Lynx. She would use, seize, and sacrifice to kill this one man.

And with the information she heard from Alex she went to Fredrick sometime after the party. Using her own powers of persuasion, she got him to answer all of her questions. While she was on her way to meet up with Sirus Lynx set up her own back up plan.

"I'm sorry." April told her "But you need to be careful, he's the hunter, Lynx. It won't be easy to take him down on your own."

"I know, I have it mapped out. We're finished now." Lynx took the sphere and began to walk away.

"If you focus only on revenge then your plan will fail. Your anger can't shield you forever."

"Thanks for the bit of wisdom, but no thanks. It's a waste of words, leave April." Lynx said this as a courtesy before walking through rows of fall leaves and light, a fire had been lit. Only she could put it out.

After a few moments Lynx vanished from sight altogether. Drake came out in his dark hoodie.

"You didn't tell her that the enchantress was here."

April smiled "I love hearing you speak, it's like a melody."

"April-

"I know." April pouted "But if all else fails, in a way Areya could protect her." Even if it wasn't Areya doing the protecting.

The pair stood in the belly of autumn leaves as the wind lashed out and the birds sung above their heads. At least today would be a cheerful one.

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The entire hall was hushed a single glance. Sirus stood gallantly waiting for someone to speak or approach him. When none did, he grinned fiendishly and cleared his throat.

"My name is Sirus, Lord of Hirea. I'd like to thank Lord Romus for the invitation." Sirus gave a nod to Mason. It was formalities, a new noble or royal would be sent out an invite to a public function so that they could be appraised and known.

"Of course." Mason stood up stiffly and pasted on a smile "Welcome, Lord Hirea. It is pleasure making your acquaintance." He held out his hand reluctantly.

Nick had whispered something in Dom's ear. Dom approached Brina who waved over Marley to bring Luna with her.

"Thank you." Sirus shook his hand, and on instinct Mason felt the need to growl. Marley was making her way across the room, halfway across the carpet when Sirus caught her in his line of sight. Luna was only a few feet from her. Amusing, Sirus thought. "What a gem."

Sirus instantly glided over towards Marley "What is your name?"

"Lord Hirea." Marley nodded "I'm Marley, Lord Romus' attendant."

"Ah. With such features as yours I'd thought you to be a princess. Very regal and graceful. Much like a princess." Sirus then seized one of her hands and pressed his lips against it "Lovely is make your acquaintance."

Marley blushed nervously "Uh th-thank you." Marley sent a look to Luna who was making her way across the floor.

"Luna. We finally meet again." Marley confused looked over to Mason who shook his head, she went to the side of the room as Areya and Alex watched in curiosity at the stranger and everyone's reactions. Nick was standing ready to jump in when tagged, but Luna didn't give him a look, hand gesture, or facial expression.

Luna was glaring, fed up with being surprised. First in a dream, now in the flesh.

"Yes, well I'd like to keep mingling, but you've dampened the mood."

"Fiesty, I apologize. But I wanted to catch up."

"Lets not, I want to enjoy today, the festival, and being with my friends. You don't fit into the picture. You just don't belong."

"Ow, insulting me in front of your boyfriend isn't very fair."

"Because dream jacking is-

"Okay, I was a little enthusiastic when I did that." Sirus rubbed the back of his head "I just want to talk."

"And I want to know how you knew about Enn." Luna crossed her arms, it didn't add up to her. Her mother wouldn't just tell her secret to this better bloodline of incubi and succubi.

Sirus frowned "A seer, it was very odd to me. So I dug until I knew the reason. You understand it."

"I understand my feelings too. And I don't have any but distain and anger-

"And fear." Sirus was about to hold out his hand, whether it was to grab her, pat her arm, present a favor, Luna didn't know, because that's when Alex arrived on sight with the biggest grin that he could muster.

Alex held out his hand "Hello, my name is Alex. It's great to meet you, are you a dog person or a cat person?"

Luna placed a hand over her mouth laughing, Alex was great at annoying people. This time he did it purposely to get Sirus to back off.

Sirus would have usually glared at someone interrupting him or push his powers out to intimidate, but this guy...he had an unusual aura that was just weird and a bit creepy.

"Dog person.."

"Ohh.." Alex said dejectedly "Do you like cats?"

"Ye-

"I love cats, my ex had this thing for black cats with bright green eyes. I like black cats, but I don't favor them. My Rumi is a tabby and she has brown eyes. Eyes are so interesting, color wise. I don't understand my eye color, most people say they're silver, but I think that they're light gray. Maybe people think they sparkle in the light, what about you lord Hirea?"

Sirus blinked "What about..."

"Eyes, nevermind. What is Hirea like? Is there a beach? I've never been outside of Verdure, but we have a beach there and a port and lots of forests and cliffs. We also have two movie theaters, the one dollar movies have better service, but the uptown theater has better amenities and food. What kinds of food do you have in Hirea? I've read in books about sea bass and lots of grilled fruit is that true? Or maybe I confused it with the city of Seil, they cook lots of sea bass and eat tons of carrots and-

"You're the one Lynx..." Sirus made the connection through the rambling and got only a sliver out of Alex's head, a word. Lynx. Luna looked Alex who paused a bit stunned by Sirus knowing.

"Yup." But he decided to be open and honest about it "Most people think I'm a virgin though-

"Alex..thank you for the informative conversation, but I think I'll retire to my room now." Trying to pry into his mind was giving Sirus a headache.

"I'll show you." Mason knew better than to let him alone with anyone else, besides himself. "But ladies, gentleman, don't stop on my account. Please keep on, breakfast will be served in but a moment. My attendant, Marley, will show you the way to the dining area. Excuse me."

As Sirus and Mason left the room the talking picked up again and everyone from Verdure were now settled into a corner to talk about what had just happened.

"Who was that dreadful man?" Areya asked. Luna was sitting next to Nick and Dom, Brina sat next to Dom while Areya, Alex, and Marley stood nearby.

"That was him wasn't it?" Dom asked Luna directly.

"Yeah."

"What the hell is he doing here?" Areya hissed, she didn't like uninvited guests nor untimely arrivals. They were her pet peeves, at least two out of the three anyway.

"He knew where I was before, I don't know. He keeps saying he wants to talk." Luna groaned "Maybe I should."

"Maybe?" Nick asked "He hurt you, he sent a mob to hunt you down."

"What would you have me do, Nicholas? Kill him?"

Nick didn't like thinking about murder, but he wanted to make Sirus the exception at this point.

"I don't know, but talking to him before didn't pan out either."

"Forget that for now, I'm just thankful that Alex shut him up." Luna smiled at him. Alex was bashful when it came to compliments.

"Oh Uh..no problem." Alex beamed.

"I am also thankful. But Alex." Nick turned to him "What did he mean when he brought up Lynx?"

"Nothing my k-

"Do not lie Alexander, I did not raise a liar." Areya snapped "What did you do? Or say?"

"Mother, how would I tell Lynx about the last minute trip to Romus? Smoke signals? I don't exactly have her number in my cellphone."

"Don't get sassy."

Alex rubbed his forehead "It doesn't have anything to do with the now."

"Alex-

"Areya if he doesn't want to talk about it I won't force the issue." Nick said shrugging it off, all he felt from Alex was curiosity and embarrassment, not deceit.

"I want to know." Areya pressed.

Alex raised an eyebrow "Are you sure about that?"

Dom looked at Luna, the comment made to Lynx, Alex leaving early, the dots were connected. "Oh."

"Oh? What's oh, Dominic?" Areya asked.

Dom cleared his throat "No offense to you Areya, but this seems to be Alex's secret. Brina, why don't we check on Lord Romus?"

Brina nodded getting the drift and took him by the hand upstairs while the awkward tension remained on Alex.

"Alex-

"Mother it's private." Alex rubbed his collar trying to think of something to excuse himself, but her eyes set on his, they didn't move at all, but pierced his soul into being still.

"But-

"We had sex, okay?" Alex said this quickly and in an angry whisper so he wouldn't alert anyone else's attention.

Areya's eyes sunk as her mouth fell open "You're not a virgin?"

"Okay...I'm done." Luna whispered to Nick who was a bit bothered by the new subject that they were revolving around now. Nick led Luna to a quiet corner where he gave her soft kisses up and down her neck.

"H-Hey, I thought we were saving ourselves for later."

"We are." Nick grinned holding her waist "But we're also here on vacation, vacations are for enjoyment, relaxation, and I really enjoy being with you."

"Aww." Luna smiled pushing him back a little "We can mess around later, I don't trust Sirus being here and I want breakfast."

Nick sighed "Breakfast will start when Mason descends, and I can tell that he's still on the second floor."

It was the first time he could show Luna the side of him that wasn't kingly or wrapped up in work, he wasn't stiff in Romus, or a bit downcast, constantly worried, or stressed.

"God, you actually whined just now." Luna leaned in and took his mouth in hers, their tongues tussled as their mouths meshed together in warmth. Nick's hands traveled down her side rubbing her hips through the fabric.

For a minute both let it slip that despite being on vacation they were also in someone's home. Nick's fingertips wander under her skirt over her smooth thighs, his fingers pressed deeply into her skin as he pinned her against a wall, his chest pressed against hers. Luna barely inhaled feeling delighted that for once they were moving past first base and despite wanting to wait she wouldn't have cared if he took her right then and there.

A white light appeared, it wasn't something that was actually there, but the same light that took both Luna and Nick to an image, a vision of them making love. It was strange, because neither knew what it symbolized or if it was a pre-warning maybe. In the vision when Nick entered Luna she felt herself moisten in the real world feeling her body heat up. Nick himself couldn't resist looking straight at the image and as he reached out to touch it the light went out.

Their eyes opened and in shock Nick bit down and a fang nipped Luna's lip. There was a small droplet of blood and both she and he stared for a moment not sure how to react or what to do. But wanting to keep moving, Nick gave her one more kiss, tasting her sweet crimson plasma. He licked his lips and smiled.

"Come on, there's more to see." A little dazed, Luna followed him.

Breakfast went by fast, there were no disturbances or problems, it was actually pleasant speaking to the other guest, especially since Sirus remained in his room the entire time. After breakfast Marley took Luna and the guests from Verdure to the east wing of the mansion, the rooms were lined up next to one another, each room was like a suite tones of autumn with the basic necessities: a king-sized bed, dresser, a small couch sitting before the bed, two nightstands, two windows, and the door leading to a private bathroom.

Luna's room was nearest to the staircase, next to hers was Nick's something she thought was probably Marley's doing now that she knew they were a couple. Dom's room was next, then Alex's, Areya's and finally Brina's.

The entire day went by in a flash, they didn't go past the gates, but got familiar with the mansion and the people there. Once dinner had passed Luna snuck off into Nick's room for a make out session and Dom into Brina's all while Areya knocked on Alex's door, asking questions about his sexual history.

It was peaceful, and then a wave of cool dread covered everyone in a light blanket. The feeling made them want to burst, cry out, but everyone from that wing was different, they weren't regular humans who would easily cripple from the pressure. Instead they were lured downstairs in their night wear. No one said anything, but as if under a spell slowly walked until they were back into the hall.

Through the window Luna could see the moon clearly, it had a pale silvery blue tone that was so tranquil, but the man standing front of it was anything but. Sirus wore a black pajama set, something he took pride in as being portrayed as a villain.

Mason was the last to arrive with Marley who was in a gold robe rubbing her eyes. "What is this, lord Hirea?"

"You may call me Sirus, lord Romus. Formalities are so boring."

"Why did you summon us at such an hour?"

"Because we all need to have some kind of understanding, lest we bump heads." Sirus smirked "And that could get a little bloody."

"This isn't some battleground or kingdom for you to overthrow, this is city where anyone different can live in peace without bias or judgement. Do you really think that I'd just sit here and do nothing while you run free?" Mason asked.

Sirus shrugged "A werewolf pelt isn't much of a souvenir, but it'd keep my legs warm at night."

"Y-

"Please, my lord." Marley held her hand out to stop Mason. Yes he was powerful, but he couldn't exactly match up against Sirus. Instead of giving into primal instincts Mason instantly calmed himself.

"I'll allow this farce for now, what is it that you seek?"

"The man with the silver eye. He used to live around Romus, he's quite the seer."

"He's a myth." Brina said "A fairytale told to children here of a mystic with powers of the unreal."

Sirus laughed "Is that what you really believe or are you covering for lord Romus?"

"There are many stories here, but the man with the silver and midnight eye is legend. No one's seen this so called seer."

"Hm..." Sirus knew already that they were lying "Keep your secrets, I'm aware of a few in this room who have had direct contact with that legend including the king of this very kingdom. But lets move on from that. I want at this moment to enjoy my time in this lovely little city."

"At what price?" Luna wondered, she eyed him up and down trying to sense his intentions, but she got blocked at every turn.

"Your eyes are like rays of sunlight, they're very hard to turn away from.." Sirus paused for a beat before snapping back to the subject "No price, if you don't interfere with me I won't with you."

"And does that apply to everyone present?" Nick's gaze never looked away from Sirus' eyes, and in a way Sirus felt naked, as if he were being peeled back slowly, layer by layer.

Sirus exhaled quietly to himself taking a seat on a sofa fingering the cushion fringe "I would say yes, but there's not point in lying. I want to speak with Luna, alone, without you perching on her shoulder or that one lurking in dark shadows." That was to Nick and Dom.

"What about me?" Alex smiled raising his hand.

"No." Areya pushed him hand down, she still wanted to know why Alex wasn't a virgin, it was impossible in her mind. She was controlling in every aspect of his life and had an image in mind for him to be pure in mind, soul, and body.

"If you want to be Lynx's play thing I have no qualms about it."

"Technically I'm her friend." Alex said giddily.

"Well friend, how much do you know about Lynx's purpose for visiting Verdure? Her reason for not being here now? Why she initially befriended you?"

Alex tried not to laugh, because the were ridiculous questions "I know she had her reasons for whatever she's doing."

"Even if you know it's wrong? At least according to your king, your mother, your friends?"

The comment was bothersome and everyone started to turn to Alex for some type of explanation. Alex's demeanor changed, his jaw tightened with his fists, his eyes were dark, and he did not smile or frown.

"I see." Sirus clasped his hands together "Lynx has the same interest in you as you do in her, it's real...That is very rare, and she hasn't killed you, so bravo."

"Alex, what did you do?" Dom demanded.

"I'll let you all sort this out as Verdurians, I'll be going to bed now, goodnight." Sirus' body started to turn into black smoke that swept quickly out of the room leaving Alex to fend for himself.

"Alex." Nick softened his voice, he knew Alex since the day he was born, and despite his peculiarities he couldn't bring himself to get upset at him. Alex felt things differently from him, so who could say that his judgement was right or wrong? Lynx herself seemed to be changing paths and it was mostly likely due to her visit to Verdure, her connection to Alex.

Alex's eyes met the ground, he didn't care if his mother was glaring or if everyone was confused. Nick was the kindest person that he'd ever met and looked up to him as child, he was a superhero to him solving everyone's problems, swooping in to help out the unfortunate, lending rooms to total strangers, and being courteous even when he felt low.

"You can tell us, we won't be upset."

Alex inhaled and exhaled deeply "She needed information and I told her to visit the library, she asked me who to go to to get tidbits, answers that I wouldn't give her."

"Just like it?" Dom rubbed his temples wearily sensing a migraine coming "Information on what?"

"Supernatural hunters."

"That makes no sense, why would a demon need to know about that?" Mason

asked.

Alex shrugged "She wasn't ready to tell me why, so I didn't push the issue."

"But was it something bad?" Areya asked.

"It's murder, so I guess."

"You guess? Alexander, I-

"I'm only saying this, because it's what I felt. Her fury, her rage, her will, her sorrow, and agony."

"Just, because you felt her agony doesn't make it right for her to kill someone."

"Someone else." Alex corrected "And it's not for herself."

"Well she's not killing for Sirus, she made that clear back in Verdure. She's tired of him." Luna said "This isn't lining up."

"Not yet, but being that we can't locate Lynx or have any idea where she is, why not sleep on it?" Nick asked.

"I'm sorry." Alex murmured.

"Don't be, everything comes back in place eventually even if the pieces are disfigured. Tomorrow's a new day, new possibilities, we can search-

"My king leave that to us." Areya jumped at the opportunity "We will aid our lord and you. This is after all a visit for you to relax, take a load off."