Vampires 1. Our Story Begins

_**Welcome!**_

This is my original story... original characters, original places, original planets... ect ect ect. This is my writing and it uses characters from my book that I am writing. They all belong to me. I started writing this as a character bio for an RP and decided that it was better suited for a story once it got beyond 40 pages in Microsoft Word. I think I am up to 52 pages at the moment. I'll post each chapter I have according to the deadline... so about every two weeks, unless people demand for more (then I may be persuaded... I'm not immune to flattery or pleading).

Brief history here: this was an RP started on and it never really went anywhere. My characters jumped from my mind and to keep myself from getting bored I wrote this bio... which is now a story. You may see commonalities between a few minor characters in one flashback for this chapter... that would be unavoidable because I liked the character personalities so I keep one name (:**DISCLAIMER**: because it is a freaking awesome name: Zhivago. I give props to gaia for that. :**DISCLAIMER**:) Otherwise everything else is my creation. The rest of this history is just to tide you over until I explain more of it in the story. Nova Corp has existed for thousands of years. Nova Corp has existed for thousands of years. It is a company, it is an empire, it is a large part of the universe that coverse 5 galaxies. Nova Corp is a name spoken by people in admiration, fear, greed and a plethora of other emotions. Sarai Carcinos is the founder and creator of Nova Corp. She is a human of the Ere bloodline (true immortals) and she is over 9,000 years old. Varc Coren is her mate/second in command. He is of the Elloid Heritage, spirit beings who are connected to feline spirits that reflect their own inner desires, which places him in the category of (secondary immortals). Varc is over 4,500 years old. Verti Carcinos is Sarai and Varc's daughter... she is 43 at the time of her last human year... and when the flash back takes place she is 46. When Verti becomes a vampire she changes her name to better suit her monstrous being... she takes her mother's name: Sarai. This is where the story get's its name. It is sort of a double entendre, being it is the story of Sarai Carcinos and the story of Sarai the vampire, with that latter being the foremost object of telling the story. There is a confusing portion where Varc meets Verti after she has been changed to a vampire... just know then when people from Nova Corp meet the Vampire Sarai... they will remember her as Verti. This should help keep down confusion between the two Sarais (not thatI try to write them together much... I think this is pretty much the only scene where they are both corellated together... thus far

I want to ask everyone who reads to please review. I want to know what people think of the characters, my writing... ect ect ect. It is helpful for me as a writer to better myself. So if you enjoy my story... think of this as a way to pay me back. ;-) It only takes a few minutes of your time at the most. You didn't like my story? Well then feel free to let it out and let me have it. I take critcism just as valuable as complement. Thank you to all who read.

~_**Sarai**_~

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_**Chapter 1**_

**Our Story:**

_Sarai..._

The name is an enigma born from a plague that has swept across all of Gaia. Since the first sighting on Halloween, people have learned to fear the name and tremble at the sight of this horrifying spectacle. The images of her deeds are burned into the eyes off all who see them... either by their sheer gruesome nature, or the fact that Sarai used a red hot needle to do so. The deaths at her hands cannot be forgotten, especially those from the great battle at Halloween. The legion of her "puppets", once human corpses, marched down upon innocents and combatants alike. The dark visage carried with her a spool of ten gage wire, which she used to turn each new corpse into another of her warped toys. It's hard to believe that something so dark... so horrific could have, at one time, been human; however as many years ago that may have been--at one time... she was.

She was born Verti Carcinos, first and only daughter of the famed Sarai Carcinos leader of Nova Corp. Her mother ruled galaxies with an iron fist and a wit sharper than any blade. Upon her birth it was realized that Verti would be a promising telekinetic and a bright child. As she grew, taught to lead and taught to fight, her mother constantly drilled her in tactics, logistics, economics, and everything else needed to run an empire... it was only a matter of time before she was placed at her mother's right hand. Verti was gifted, talented more so than most children... she could speak by the age of one. By the age of four she was able to calculate advanced equations and run small figures for intermediate companies... simple drills that her mother devised. By her eighteenth birthday Verti was an accomplished, self-made woman in control of vast holdings outside of Nova Corp, which only helped to increase her family's power. However, like most young girls... she fell in love.

Nova Corp, being the vast and every expanding company that it is, employed a variety of persons. The very elite and accomplished of these employees were known as the members of the hierarchies. These were the rulers, the crème de l'crème of all denizens within the Novian empire. The Hierarchy members were the brightest, the smartest, most cunning and most powerful beings in existence. Verti's mother was the first hierarchy, the place where the buck stopped and all orders came from. Those whom Verti's mother trusted most, those people whom were her closest confidants... they were the second hierarchy and they carried out all orders to the infinitesimal degree of accuracy. Verti knew of only two such members... her father: Varc Coren, know as General Nova, and her mother's lawyer/ accountant Karin Sele. These were her mother's right and left hands... father controlled the Novian Mercenaries... and Karin made everything they did legal.

From the second hierarchy came the third through seventh. They took care off everything for designation from the higher-ups... to heading the janitorial commission. When Verti was six, her mother hired a vampire by the name of Corialis Grey... something that was rather unheard of, but Corialis was a special case. He was of a rare vampiric strain whispered to be vampiric angelicas: angels who allowed themselves to be bitten by the lowest spawn of hell, in order to become a being of immense power. By the time Verti was sixteen, Corialis was a member of the fifth hierarchy and in command of one of Nova Corp's largest fleets. She didn't know how old he was... she didn't care. The one thing she knew... was that she was totally and completely in love with him.

But it didn't matter what Verti thought, felt, or did... Corialis was completely engrossed with his work, rapidly becoming her mother's best pet. If someone gave Nova Corp trouble--Corialis made them vanish. If a planet tried to forcibly remove Nova Corp's business holdings, Corialis and his soldiers repelled the closed minded fools. What he didn't do was pay attention to Verti, and that only made her become reckless. She was bound and determined to do anything and everything with her power, which was a rather large scale of options, to ensure that he knew how she felt.

The daughter Carcinos went so far as to have her mother place her in field duty, a deputy commander in the Corialis fleet. There Verti gained some recognition, but it was not the kind she had been hoping for. The soldiers and their leader viewed her as nuisance. They thought she was the brat daughter of the company's esteemed leader. It was rumored Verti had pitched a fit in order to receive some form of excitement in her boring... uneventful life. It irritated the girl to her core, filling her body with a white hot rage of indignation, but she knew they were right. Her life was dull and boring. Verti had pitched a fit and fought with her mother about this, but the reason was because he was here and she wasn't. If Sarai Carcinos knew the real reason her daughter wanted to serve under the esteemed vampire… well Madam Carcinos would not hesitate to fire Corialis, or worse... kill him—with fire. No one touched Verti, but caution was already thrown to the wind. Verti didn't care what her mother thought... only that she had to make this man see her as something other than his employer's "spoiled brat" daughter.

* * * * *

Things came to a head at Balafaris, an arboreal planet in the southern rim galaxy. A planet of ideals and government, of monarchs and politicians... the take was rich and ripe, waiting for someone with vision, someone like Sarai Carcinos. Corialis's fleet had been sent to engage the BDF (the Balafarisian Defense Fleet) and rest control of the planetary Parliament, a task easier said than actually achieved. While Nova Corp had superior technology, Balafaris had friends… and lots of them. The Fifth fleet entered combat extremely out numbered and they where hard pressed to find a vantage point. Immediately people began to push Verti further and further from "harm" trying to save the precious and helpless child of the leader. Finally things came to a boil and Verti snapped. Anger and rage fueled her telepath abilities and she single handedly stormed the enemy flagship--killing crew, officers, and the Balafaris monarch as well. With one extreme "tantrum" the battle was over and the daughter Carcinos was no longer viewed as a helpless child, especially not in the eyes of Corialis Grey. The Vampire had already entertained ideas of what would happened if he turned the girl... if she had half the power of her mother then she would be an extraordinary vampire. Now, with this display... she could be invincible to his cause. The cunning general became infatuated with the idea of making this girl his own, his private little warrior. He just wouldn't have dreamed it could have been so easy.

Upon their return to Cantado, the current base of operation and the Novian headquarters for the Southern Rim galaxy, Sarai Carcinos hosted a vast party. The guest list was exclusive, the setting extravagant, and the stage set for honoring the true victor of the Balafaris campaign. With all manners of people watching from the wealthy and powerful to the waiters and caterers, Verti Carcinos was hailed as her mother's daughter. Power, vision, inheritance... it was all humdrum and boring to the girl who kept sneaking glances towards a certain vampire. Still nothing seemed to have changed. She never gleaned a thought from him, never caught him even taking notice of her, and when the time came for toasts, nothing shocked her more than to see Corialis stand to give the first.

"To Verti Carcinos," He had said, "A woman with a bright and dazzling future. May her talents and gifts be put to as great or grander use than those of her mother and may she be remembered throughout history as exquisite. I owe you my life... as do each and every one of my men. Thank you..."

The wry smile, the curl of his lips, the sparkle in his eyes as they finally looked at her... Verti knew that he had noticed before and a fresh wave of confidence arose in her. She felt, at this point in time, very much like her mother. Tonight would be about taking what she wanted. She danced, she conversed... it was pure and utter ecstasy, and when she and Corialis snuck away from the party... they believed it to be without anyone's notice. However, the sharp and all encompassing gaze of Sarai Carcinos was a hard thing to escape--especially for one who is her daughter.

* * * * *

The bite had been the easy part... the act leading up to it? That was pure bliss. The rush of warmth, the feather touches, the brilliant displays of light that soared through her mind and into her very being, that slight pick of pain and then the feeling of rapture as she felt the life being drawn from her body... the taste of blood and a sudden feeling of change in her soul; those were a few moments in heaven before she was cast like a fallen angel into hell. Those few blissful moments were the calm before the storm... before the door opened to reveal the dark visage of her mother.

There had been rumors, stories, countless whispers about the power and might of the one known as Sarai Carcinos... Verti had always assumed they were hyped up, made out to be grander than life itself. But when she gazed into the fiery abyss that lay behind her mother's eyes, she knew all to well that the stories didn't do any justice to the fear she felt right then and there. She doubted that Corialis even had a chance to react; Verti hadn't even gotten a chance to scream. The vampire was dead in seconds. Sarai was across the room and her fist through his heart in less time than it would take for a hummingbird's wings to beat a single time. Before Verti could even blink... she was covered in dust. The horror hadn't even had time to register, before her eyes were locked in the furious gaze that was her mother eyes. Fear and death should have encompassed her, there were never any stories of mercy, no one had ever been considered for it. Corialis had been killed without a chance for explanation and here she was... daughter to Sarai Carcinos and she had done something awful in her mother's eyes... betrayal. Death should have come before this... why hadn't it? It was then that Verti realized she had her eyes shut and she was trembling there on the floor. She opened them and tentatively looked up at her mother... only to see tears streaming down her face.

Sarai Carcinos swooped down on her daughter and hugged her, whispering in Verti's ear, "I don't hate you for this... while there is still a small bit of humanity left... I want you to know that I love you Verti. I will always love you. You will always be my daughter and the one bright mark in my long line of marred deeds.... but," she stood up, grabbed Verti by the arm and drug her from the room. With a cold and callous toss Verti was thrown at the feet of two Black Guards, her mother's personal henchmen. "... what you will become is not my daughter. She's dead as you now are to me. Get this filth out of my sight."

As her mother turned her back on her, something in Verti's mind broke.... something that was important and when it broke the rest of her mind shattered. She broke into a peal of hysterical screams and sobs, "NO!! Mother please!! Don't leave! Don't leave me, please!!! Do something!! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!! PLEASE!!"

But Sarai Carcinos never turned back, never paused... not a hitch in her stride as she regally headed back to the party. Verti Carcinos was drug down the hall way and out a door at the back of the Nova Corp complex. She was pulled kicking, screaming and wailing to the forest at the edge of Calais, the capitol... and she was then thrown face first to the ground and left for dead. The snow began to fall, sheer winds blew, and even the moon hid its face from her presence. Verti Carcinos was alone... completely broken... and it was there that she died.

* * * * *

She moved into the forest around Calais and made it her home… changed her name. Verti Carcinos was dead and with her went all the insecurities that her prior life had contained. Something inside her head had snapped and she received what could no doubt be called an epiphany: she had no boundaries. Soon people began disappearing. Hikers, picnickers, travelers leaving to cities beyond… roads and activities that were normally safe became overshadowed with rumors and fear. With Verti dead and this new monster born… a new name was needed, a name to inscribe fear to the hearts of those who discovered it. And what name was better than that of her mother? The woman was more of a monster than Verti could ever become… more feared than any creature of the night. Thus Sarai was born out of the ashes of another life and she became cursed.

It became all too apparent that the bite from an angelic vampire was more of a curse than that the bite of ordinary vampires. She never slept because she had no need for sleep, and daylight held no power over her flesh. She became what hunters would classify as a daylight walker, but her already abnormal human abilities were expounded--made greater. Her mind sharpened and her telekinetic abilities advanced far beyond what she even thought they could get to… high daylight walker it was whispered. Peopled dared not venture into her section of the forest. Tales of grim visages… mutilated corpses and dread visions awaited those that dare come across the high daylight walker's path. She was approached one day by the leader of some vampire coven in the area… the VonCaroms they were called. Pathetic blights who envisioned themselves greater than what they really were. A rag-tag group of vampires who thought themselves rivals of Nova Corp. They had paltry sums of money compared to her past… but the meeting was memorable nonetheless. She remembered it like… it was yesterday…

* * * * *

_Five well dressed individuals tentatively walked out of the tree line into an open glade. In the moon light it should have been serene, peaceful even. The moon hung high in the dark blue midnight, casting her shimmering gaze upon the freshly forming dew… and the ruby drops of freshly spilt blood. A tall man stood in the center flanked by two men on each his left and right. The man in the middle had on an elegant vest of black silk over a white pressed shirt. His floor length black and red interior cape hung down to his black leather Armani shoes which were partially hidden by the black Armani pants he wore. It was as if he wanted people to know he had money. Sarai could see him from her vantage point… he smelt of French cologne and arrogance. _

_Suddenly a figure jump from the outer lying brush, a simple man in peasant's garb whom was soon followed by three other figures, men and women alike. The tall man with well too kept, white hair to the right hand of the man in the center made to draw his sword… but he was stopped. "Zhivago, don't," the leader said quietly, "These individuals are already dead." _

_"Zombies?" the man asked, stepping in a defensive stance at the head of the group. The others shuddered and took a step backwards. _

_"No… something other…" _

_Sarai's nostrils flared as she noticed that while they were unsettled… they weren't leaving. These weren't any good for eating and she didn't feel like killing tonight. There were too many thoughts running about her head, too many voices. _

_Then the man spoke, "Vampire… come out and greet your brethren." _

_"My brethren?" Sarai's voice echoed through the glade. "Little bitty spawn running around from dusk to dawn… poor things. Sleep finds though, dark binds no?"_

_"Master… what is going on?" Zhivago asked the leader. _

_"Shh!" he ordered, "Vampire… I am Vladimir VonCarom, master of the vampire coven in this region. You may have been turned without the knowing of my kin. I've come to offer you a place to stay other than this forest. A home, a goal, something to live for…" _

_Sarai's chattering laughter split the glade, "Had a home, had a life… nothing now but death, strife! No good! No goal! Not new! Been here! BEEN HERE!!" The animated corpses of a peasant suddenly attacked the small group. She'd have to get rid of them if she was going to have any chance of fighting the voices tonight. She had to get some semblance of normality about herself if she was going to do anything but hunt. One of the party vampires was attacked, ripped apart to be more precise but then the big one, Zhivago he was called, destroyed her precious toys. _

_"Puppetry, Master." _

_"Thank you, Zhivago, keep your eyes out for others… " Vladimir said quietly, refocusing his attention once more, "Vampire what is your name?" _

_Sarai slowly stepped out of the tree line, at the far edge of the clearing, across from the VonCarom group. Upon Vladimir's first look she was… beautiful. She wore a tattered, red evening gown that must be several years old. It hung to her delicate frame like a red paint on a pristine canvas, a master painter having used some simplistic technique for creating an extravagant piece of splendor. Zhivago thought that if this beauty were to return to the Manor… he wouldn't have much of an interest in Vladimir's daughters any longer. But for all her beauty and mystique, there was something in her eyes that was different from other vampires and it caught Vladimir's attention and caused him to hold up a hand to keep Zhivago in his place. Her eyes were not like that of others in their kind… not the brilliant blue of icy wisdom or the dull grey of a fledgling, her eyes were green, a fantastic emerald green that shown with flecks of violet when struck by the moonlight. This one was different indeed. _

_"I have had… many names," Sarai said softly. Her head twitched slightly as she fought the voices, "Death! Chaos and ruins! I hear the whispers of the forest and they call me by different names… mother called me something long ago. I've been lover and loser… SCUM!! All of you are scum!! OUT OUT OUT!!!" _

_Her harsh scream caused the ground to shake as telekinetic tremors exploded from around her. Vladimir's lower underlings hadn't seen a vampire like this before and in all honest even Vladamir himself hadn't encountered one of such abilities. Most of the higher vampire elders chose to live elsewhere than Calais or they were on other planets, staying far from Nova Corp's notice. There were stories and legends of Vampires with great abilities, and each human that became a vampire had their innate characteristics enhanced… what a human she must have been to become something such as she is now. The VonCarom Patriarch turned to his companions and ordered them back to the Manor, "Zhivago, you stay with me here. Perhaps with fewer of us she will be disposed to calm down." _

_"Maggots! You siphon power from others like parasites… cursed! CURSED!" Sarai yelled, "But still better off than I." _

_Zhivago raised an eyebrow, "I don't see how that's possible. You and I are the same." _

_"No… no my dear," Sarai said with crystal clarity, "Sleep finds you each and every morning. But I never sleep; I never dream… dreams are gone. One by one they fall away, off to another mind to play…" she softly began to sing under her voice. _

_"Master, this one's messed up in the head and she's obviously not going to help us so we might as well leave." _

_"No!" Vladimir hissed, "She's not insane… she's been here for a very long time. There's no telling what she knows or what she's seen. She could have been the cause of those unexplained corpses in the zombie epidemic. She'd be an invaluable asset to us and our plans… and I'm not about to become impatient, or allow your impatience to cost us, Zhivago." The white haired vampire nodded and took a step away from Sarai. _

_* * * * *_

_Vlad however took a step closer to Sarai, entranced by the feral beauty that stood before him, swaying slightly in the dew heavy breeze. Her pale skin seemed to glow luminescent as her eyes stared into his soulless heart. "Why is it that you do not sleep my child?" he asked, bringing a hand up to brush against her cheek. _

_Sarai's hand suddenly lashed out, cracking like thunder against Vladimir VonCarom's face, knocking him backwards into the arms of his lack Zhivago. She stood there imperialistic and regal, her capacities returned for the moment, "I am of an order and breed far above you, Vladimir of the pathetic VonCarom name. You and yours… you sneak around in the dark and hide yourselves by day. You play games and plot plans for your dominion when you have nothing!" She spat viciously at his feet, baring her moon white fangs, "I was created by a Vampire with more nobility and honor than you shall ever possess… and you will never have my allegiance." _

_"You dare to speak to him in such a manner," Zhivago snarled, stepping in front of his lord and baring his fangs as well. "You are a pathetic animal hiding in the woods! Killing from day to day with naught but a cave to call your home and a tattered rag for a garment!" _

_"Fool!" Sarai said with icy loathing, "I am a high daylight walker… a vampire with more power in her finger than you have in your entire body!" With a dismissive wave, an invisible blast knocked Zhivago backwards into a tree, "Now… leave this place before I destroy you, giving you the final death before you ever have a chance to realize you had… ambitions." Vladimir nodded and turned to leave, much to Zhivago's protest… whom had to be drug along by his ear. _

_Sarai turned with a sigh, "Two dancing fools in a palace for a king… jest and joke and folly they bring. Insult and riot they did 'tempt to insight, but gone was the king… away for the night." She shook her head, trying to clear it again, to obtain that moment of clarity once more. _

_"Little butterflies flitting through my brain," she muttered. _

_"No… Scum! Vermin! All should die! All should die!" She clutched her head, not a good night to have dealt with this. __"Touch here he did," she muttered, clawing at her cheek where the VonCarom patriarch had touched her, peeling away flesh and flinging it to the ground. Blood barely had a chance to well up before her regenerative abilities healed each new laceration. "Filth! Cretin! Dared to touch me, he did! Dared to touch me!!" _

_Her head snapped to the side in a jerky spasm, and she straightened her posture… smoothing what was left of her gown's front, "He's a fool… he'll meet a tragic end soon enough, I'll just wait. Someone, or one's to be more precise, will arise… soon I think." __"Mischief! Trouble!" She said, slashing with claw-like fingers at nothing but air, "Devil's playground this place is---- AHHHH!!!" Sarai fell to the ground clutching her head between her hands, "SHUT UP!! All of you!! SHUT UP!!!" The ear splitting screech broke down into sobs as she hobbled there back and forth on the dew wetted grass. _

___She did not notice or even register the appearance of a man behind her, a man with short, wavy black hair. He stood about six foot three, with a long and crisp, black leather, trench coat. His white shirt was partially unbuttoned, halfway down and it hung loosely over his black slacks. The stranger walked over to the cowered Sarai… his black military boots making an odd sound with every step on the grass. His skin, already tan for a normal human, was a vast kind of dark compared to the luminescence of Sarai's fine body. He crouched beside her, a hand hovering over her shoulder as if he longed to comfort her, but he hesitated… and with the hesitation came withdrawal as he decided against it. _

_"Can't make sense… can't make sense… fog too thick," Sarai murmured, "Soup too cold…" _

_The man shook his head and a deep sorrow came over his face, as if a weariness he couldn't shake had assailed him. A single tear welled up in the corner of his emerald eyes and he wiped it away with back of his hand, "I am so sorry… so, so terribly sorry." __Sarai stopped moving and her head turned, ever so slowly that it seemed ages for her eyes to lock upon the man's face. Illumination and realization sparked behind her own green eyes… then a look of terror, mingled with sorrow over came her as she broke into hysterical sobs and she broke down into the mans arms. He looked completely taken aback… the only word that could be made out from her was, "Father?"_

_* * * * *_

_Varc Coren looked down at the creature that used to be his daughter and he was half tempted for a second to think that she was perfectly fine… but it was only wishful thinking. The erratic nature of her thoughts, the state in which she kept herself, and the corpses decaying around the glade lent evidence to an opposing case. It broke his heart to see her like this. He'd been away all this time; on mission for the Empire… he hadn't learned of his daughter's fate until three years after it had happened. Of course he understood why Sarai wouldn't have told him; the Novian leader couldn't stand to live with the memory. Sarai was… a strong willed person with ideals, and she held very tightly to those ideals. Logic and emotion were separate with her, and her mind told her that she couldn't allow her heart to tear at her soul… so to her--Verti was dead. In away it was easier than seeing their daughter this way. _

_It was that same ideology that kept Sarai from marrying Varc as well… thousands of years they'd spent together, argued with one another… moved Nova Corp over vast areas of space… they might as well be married, but it was just another emotional attachment that made no logical sense to Sarai, and thus it would never happen. Who was he to argue with the person in charge? They shared secrets that no one else knew about one another… and they shared a daughter who had died tragically, but Varc, unlike Sarai, was not willing to let his daughter -- or what was left of her, be an insane monster. If there was one thing he could do for her, anything that could somehow help her, it was to set her mind in its proper place. _

_Verti was born to not one, but two powerful telekinetic masters… both with abilities to manipulate the mind as well as the world around them, Varc was not as accomplished as his mate, but he was still in a league all his own. Verti's innate abilities were already enhanced by the vampirism… possibly even more so since Corialis was a Vampiric Angelicas, and that he had bit Verti not to make her a slave… but his equal. Varc figured that somewhere in the creature's warped mind that Corialis did care for Verti somewhat, but if it was Varc's job to do over again… he would have caused the vampire scum so much more pain, much more than he received, but the past was passed, nothing more to be done… Varc had to focus on the present, help his daughter and see what happened after that. _

_"Shh…" Varc soothed, laying Verti's head against his chest, holding her like he had when she was a child… and with the gentlest touch he could, he melded his mind into hers. The key to mending a broken mind was finding the person's true voice amongst the wreckage of their thoughts… and Verti's mind was more violent than a typhoon. Thousands upon thousands of voices screamed thousands of different thoughts and as he sifted through them, they became melded into a single tumultuous choir, yelling their cacophonic overture until it seemed as if the world itself might fall away… slipping slowly into madness!! Then he found her, Verti was tucked away in the back and farthest reaches of her subconscious… frightened and subdued. "Verti…" he thought, calling out to her. _

_The response was timid and quiet, but he heard it none the less, "She hates me…" _

_"Who hates you?" Varc asked softly. _

_"Mother…" Verti whispered softly, "Do you hate me?" _

_"No… no your mother doesn't hate you… nor do I! She just… has very strong ideals and it is difficult for her to accept things…" _

_"You didn't see her eyes," Verti wailed, however as she d id, the rest of the voices seemed to become quiet, "You didn't betray her… you didn't hurt her like I did… her heart was broken, and I was the thing she most protected!!" _

_Varc frowned, "That is true… but your mother will always love you." _

_"Yes… but I'm not me anymore, am I?" _

_He didn't know how to answer her… it was true, she wasn't the Verti he knew any longer, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't still Verti, "People change throughout the course of their lives… they become stronger for the change. You are still you, even with this change." _

_"You're wrong," it was Verti's voice but different all the same. This voice was harsh, cold… calloused, as if years of being in the darkness and cruelty of the world had offered some revelation. "The person of the past is no more. She has been replaced by something dark… something different. That's the nature of the vampire bite… one who is adept can take away the soul of the person and create a vampire in their stead. You for all your talent do not posses the magic nor the ability required to change this." _

_"There is no magic needed to bring back the mind," Varc replied, he was not unaware of the fact that only three voices remained… his and the two Vertis, the two possible outcomes. One could bring his daughter back, changed but still his child… the other was some dark monstrosity that deserved to be locked away into turmoil and seclusion. Lending clarity to such a creature would be a sin. It would be like releasing a horrible blight upon the world, and such a possibility couldn't be allowed. _

_"Father!! Help me please!" Verti cried out. _

_"Be gone with you!" the dark voice shouted. _

_"Verti!! Listen to my voice! You're stronger than this! You are your mother's daughter! You can do this!!" __The laughter that came from this response was cruel, vicious to the point that it cut like sharpened blades, _

_"Your mother's daughter! The same mother that had you thrown out here to die! She forgot all about you long ago. She hasn't even come to find you! Your dead to her so why not just make it a reality?" _

_"Verti, don't listen to her!" Varc shouted. Suddenly he was blasted backwards, his back hit a tree with an impact so hard… it caused the trunk to splinter and crack as his body crushed into it. The force of the hit winded him, and he landed in the moist grass, struggling to stay on his feet. _

_"Oh she listened all to well…" a voice like venom said through his blurred vision. He couldn't quite make the form out, but the blurred shadow was walking closer towards him. _

_"Verti…" his voice croaked, coughing as he rushed air back into his lungs. _

_The cold laughter again, __"No… she's dead. I do have to thank you for clearing the voices out though… you're quite talented. I tend to make full use of that talent." _

_A cold hand wrapped itself around Varc's throat and pulled his head back to an uncomfortable angle, frigid breath… no not breath, just air… the cold night air chilled the sweat upon his neck, and he felt a sharp pain, a puncture in his neck. He felt blood rushing to the wound, and terror sparked all his senses back to alertness. A strong firm hand snapped up, grasping a hand full of auburn hair, ripping it backwards. This action ripped the vampire from his neck, but also caused the small puncture wounds from her fangs to become a ragged gash. The wound would have to be dealt with later… right now this problem was more pressing, "Very well… if my daughter is truly dead then I have no problem with killing you." _

_"Is that so?" the creature before him snarled. She was evil… vile, but still just as beautiful, the very elegance of his daughter. Varc couldn't stand to see her so corrupted and defiled. _

_"Yes," Varc said with cold determination. A deft motion of his hand to the trees behind him broke off several branches, and their sharp jagged ends went sent sailing towards the vampire before him. _

_Verti didn't even move, the shafts of wood just impaling themselves into her flesh. She didn't turn to dust either… she just stood there smiling that demented smile at him, a smile which said she had seen the darkest depths of hell itself, and she knew how to conjure up something far more horrific and gruesome. Then with a crisp snap of her fingers, the crude stakes were jerked out of her, exploding into a hailstorm of splinters between the two combatants. As Varc stood there, the wounds from his attack slowly began to heal… even the ones that had gone through her heart and her throat. They regenerated at such a rapid rate that it was astonishing to even him, "What… how?" _

_"Sorry, I don't have a heart," she laughed. _

_"Corialis was a god among vampires, his kind were god-like as it were, but he was something of legend you could say," Verti… no, not Verti… this was a monster, the monster was speaking as if it were a history lecture. "The fact that Sarai Carcinos killed him in seconds is a testament to her power… but his bite was something not normally done in a conversion. The bite he conferred to me was meant to create an equal, a queen to his king, but he didn't count on… just what he was creating. He hoped for a monster… he created a divine being! Verti, the daughter of the two most powerful people in Nova Corp, her abilities were already substantial… possibly unlimited. The bite from a Vampire, even a normal one… would enhance the abilities, of a human such as her, to incredible degrees. A bite from a vampire such as Corialis…you see exponential enhancements, but he also shared his own blood… making this body, this creation… like him." _

_"But… he died," Varc said simplistically. __"In all respects I could have defeated Corialis with as much ease as I just used upon you." _

_"There is truth in your words," the monster agreed, "But Corialis failed in his little plan… he did not make his creation like him… he made it better. He was greedy…" _

_"So all of Verti's telekinetic abilities--" _

_"Much greater," the vampire confirmed, "They can naturally help me regenerate, using them to work on a molecular level. All of her scientific knowledge, all of her lessons, I have it all, and I can put it to my own uses. I also have access to the inherent abilities that Corialis himself possessed… and your blood, what little I tasted, gave me even more power." _

_"That's fine and good," Varc growled, "Just gives me even more reason to kill you." _

_"Please!" the vampire snarled in response, "It would be a waste of both your time and mine. Leave this place and do what her mother did. Accept the child as dead. I have no interest in Nova Corp… I have other plans for my talents." _

_Varc frowned, realizing that it wouldn't do to waste effort and energy on a fight such as this. There was always a chance that he could lose, against an unknown opponent that was entirely possible… there were too many variables, most of them unknown, that he couldn't risk a potential failure--not when his loyalty was to the company above all other things. Besides… his daughter was dead, and nothing could bring her back. Varc could not let his vanity blind him to that fact any longer. Sarai was right in the beginning, and now it had taken a very harsh lesson for him to learn it as well. "Fine," the man agreed with a nod, "We will part ways here…" _

_"Wisest choice," the vampire smiled and all the dark intent behind those eyes came out once more, "and tell my mother that I said.. hi." _

_"Who do I tell her it's from?" _

_"You can call me… Sarai." _

_Varc blinked once, wondering why in the world the demon would choose that name of all things, but he no longer wished to speak with the abomination. There was a flash of blue, and he vanished. Sarai was left alone in the clearing with her thoughts… which were now crystalline clear. Taking one final look around the forest, now shaded in soft hues of red as the sun began to rise, she decided it was high time she visited the town and got some proper attire. _

_* * * * *_


	2. Company Confrontations

Ok! Welcome to chapter two... it's a tad bit shorter than chapter one, but it was where I wanted to split the story. Chapter three makes up for it by being a little longer than both.

**_Author's ramblings:_** I introduce two of my favorite characters, that I have ever created in this chapter. I won't mention them, because I want you to have the joy of meeting them completely and without warning. This chapter is mainly filled with subtle hints and foreshadowing; I think it was a working test of my abilities to perform dialouge. I like the two major confrontations that take place in this chapter. I think they were powerful scenes at the time I wrote them, and it gives you a deep look into the different variations of Sarai's mind. At times she can be very cool, calm and calculation, but at the same time--one word can set her off and then she regrets it. She's the exact opposite of her mother. I personally get facinated going back and analyzing my own writing, trying to understand what my characters are doing in these scenes, what they are planning, and why they chose these words to say. I know it sounds odd, speaking of my characters like they are living people, but they truly do write themselves. I sit at the laptop, and as I write... I'm watching these scenes, taking down (word for word) what these characters say... and I then go back and re-read. That is how I do my characterization: I analyze and give them personalities, motives, goals... each person truly does exist.

This installment truly was a pleasure to write and it leads into a really great scene for next chapter. I like to progress the story steadily, so I feel backgrounds and history in with dialouge and character events... so you won't see true "flashbacks" rather you get character history from different points of view, and then you (the readers) get to piece together and interpret the way you like. Some events are easily iron clad, but the more uncertain things lend for different views of my story and I think that is what makes people enjoy reading it. Therefore I hope that you enjoy chapter two, and that you stay with me for more excitement as things begin to build.

Always gracious,  
_**~Madame Sarai~**_

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 2**

Calais was much more… active than she remembered. It was odd, but she never remembered people to flock in the middle of the streets. Something odd was going on and she heard murmurs of a trial of some sorts. Apparently someone had burned down the Central Vestibule, not that it hadn't been destroyed many times in the past. The Vestibule was the headquarters of the Carlisle family, wealthy marketers who had been on the planet long before Nova Corp arrived, and they presented one of the few holdings that were able to withstand the conglomerate might of the Novians. The Vestibule had burned several times, it was almost a tradition it would seem… Lunar Festival, East Rising, Halloween… burn down the Vestibule… A cycle that refused to excite her any longer. Calais did not excite her either… the architecture that once marveled her now looked bland and out of date. "It would be so much more appealing if it were on fire. The scorched marks along the walls… wood burnt to cinders, the buildings would be elegant charred paintings from flames licking and dancing upon the white stone walls…" she seethed with pleasure at the vision passing through her mind, "It would be a masterpiece worthy of _de Vinci_ himself…"

Still if Calais was preoccupied, then that would mean her shopping trip would go… relatively uninhibited. She looked from shop to shop, walking down the empty streets… _Evian's _was closed, that's where the dress she wore now had come from and it was a complete disaster. She had no desire to shop at the _Calais Depot_, no style there whatsoever. The entire street was turning out to be a disappointment until, finally at the very end, she saw a little shop. The entrance was flanked by two white marble pillars, while the sign that hung from one of the pillars, written in long golden calligraphy, denoted the shop as: _Marie St. Claire's: Fine and Elegant Clothiers_. A sly smile appeared on Sarai's face, a serpentine quality about her as she walked up the steps.

The shop proprietor looked up as the door opened, the bell ringing to alert her of a customer, and she saw a woman… a very exotic woman who seemed to be gliding into the room, so elegant and graceful were her footsteps. Never mind that her clothing was tattered, ragged to the point that they should have fallen off of her long ago, but she was perfect. Nary a blemish was upon her skin, not a mar upon her face which seemed luminescent… angelic the shop owner would have said. She walked out from behind the counter, bowing to the woman, "Welcome! I'm Marie St. Claire… may I be of any service? Perhaps a new gown?"

Sarai looked down with the slightest bit of movement to take in the shop owner. The woman was short. There was nothing else to be said about her. Her looks didn't matter, her congenial nature was unimportant… annoying even. But even as she looked down her nose, something still intriguing her came to the forefront of her mind, "The town seems… deserted in this area. It would seem… a rather dangerous predicament to be in."

"No, no… not dangerous," Marie said, absentmindedly brushing a stray curl of blond hair behind her ear and straightening her glasses. "The Novian Hierarchy leader in this area, Violente I believe his name is, has been put on trial. It's the whole to do, for some reason everyone is there. Apparently people seem to think that Nova Corp is behind the Vestibule burnings. So many people are there that they've had to call all of the normal patrol officers to the courthouse to maintain order… I didn't think anyone would come in today. You may very well save my sales if you purchase something."

Sarai nodded, very content with the answer she had received, "I most certainly intend to… walk away from here with something." Marie smiled… quite contented, and Sarai moved faster than sight. One of the vampire's hands whipped the girl's head back, making her neck open and bare, and she buried her fangs into the shopkeepers neck. They didn't stay there for long, just a brief second… a little taste. For Sarai, acquiring a meal was like drinking a fine wine… one had to sample before completely partaking of the delight, and even then it took a long time to drink the entire glass. Sarai withdrew and flung the stunned, frightened, and bleeding Marie to the ground like a doll. She walked over to a rack of fine hats; lacey, plumed, glittering… dozens of different hats from different designers, but all of them a work of art. Sarai plucked a small crimson hat with dark maroon lace around the trim and a single, jet black, raven's plume shooting over the back. It somewhat reminded her of a fedora, save for this hat was squared at the back and came to a sharp point… it was to her liking. The vampire placed it on her head and tilted it slightly to the side and admired herself in the mirror, "Yes, my dear Marie… I most certainly intend to walk out of here with a fashionably acceptable wardrobe. What do you think?"

Marie was crawling and crying across the floor, trying to get behind the counter where an alarm was, if she could only press it then this nightmare would end. She was bleeding, that woman… she'd turned completely evil! Marie still didn't know what she had done, but something, a knife perhaps? She'd been stabbed in the neck and trying to scream had been impossible, fresh warm blood was leaking down her throat and each sob hurt, choking her. She crawled hoping that the woman wouldn't pay attention to her anymore. Then something bright blue slammed into her peripheral vision and she was sent rolling across the floor until she slammed brutally into the white stone of the counter she was trying to seek refuge behind. Invisible hands suddenly lifted her up until she was sitting up, her back against the counter, looking directly into the image of the person trying to rob and murder her. She stood there… red, tattered lounge dress, one that was probably more expensive than ten of the hats she had now donned, looking like a mad fury. She should have seemed horrifying, but even in desolation this woman looked regal… and the hat sat upon her flaming red hair like a crown.

"Is there an alarm back there?" Sarai asked calmly. Tears were running down Marie's face as freely as the blood from the wound on her neck. The vampire asked again, more severity in her voice this time, "Is there an alarm?!"

"Yes…" Marie whispered, the single word more of a sob than speech.

"Very well then," Sarai raised her right hand a pointed it at the counter. A brilliant blue bolt of electricity jumped from her fingers and slammed into the counter, short circuiting all the electrical devices… the cash register drawer exploded out, slamming into the wall and showering the back area of the counter with coins and bills.

"There," Sarai said with a smile on her face as she walked over to Marie, "Now we won't have any interruptions… isn't that wonderful?" Marie merely let out a choked cry of anguish, totally lost into despair as any hope of getting help was now gone. She threw herself with great force, trying to make it for the door… but she never hit the ground. The young shopkeeper turned her head to see the monstrous woman pointing a hand at her. Marie threw up a hand, half expecting a blast of lightning to destroy her like it had the counter… but nothing happened.

"Telekinesis, dear," Sarai said, pulling the frightened Marie back to her spot before the counter. "To most it is just… the ability to use their minds for menial tasks. Move a cup, bend a spoon, levitate a person… so pathetic! The divine right of humanity is the ability to unlock so much more potential from their pathetic lives, that's what my mother used to say. If one were to truly unlock their mind… the world would bend to their every thought. I don't know how true that is, but I've learned that with my new condition," she paused and looked herself up and down, chuckling, "in this condition… I could be a god!"

* * * * *

Sarai was nearly finished with her shopping, several hours after entering she had put together five complete outfits and pulled together about four dozen accessories that ranged from hats and earrings to belts and shoes, not counting the new attire she had swapped for her old dress. True to her fancies she had kept the hat, and with it she now wore a black silk dress shirt, a red cashmere scarf, a diamond and white gold bracelet on her right arm, a pair of onyx, black, flare pants with a red leather belt finely encrusted with mother of pearl, and a pair of deep crimson stilettos. The vampire was feeling much better now that she had clean clothes and a fresh new scent about her. It was a new perfume that the shop had stocked, appropriately labeled _**Angelic**_. Marie on the other hand… wasn't feeling so good. She'd tried to run away twice during their little shopping spree, and each time Sarai had broken one of her legs, she wasn't gentle either. The first time she caught the shopkeeper attempting to crawl for the door, Sarai had stamped her foot down on the girl's ankle and then her thigh… completely rendering the left leg lame. The second time she had been trying on a pair of boots, which she didn't like, and she put their heel right through the kneecap of Marie's right leg. That had effectively kept her from trying to run again, and with the blood loss she had become weak and thus made less noise. It was quite apparent to Sarai, after the first few minutes, that the girl wouldn't be a good conversation, nor did she have anything helpful to add either.

Marie had let it be known that the shop sold expensive leather luggage; however, so Sarai had claimed the set and used it to package all of the clothes and accessories she decided to keep. Now that she was placing the last pair of shoes into their own tote, she stood up and took one last look around the store. Nothing caught her eyes, so it was time to depart. She walked over to Marie and placed both hands on the side of her head so that their eyes were locked, "One last question… what had Nova Corp been up to recently?"

The girl looked at her with confusion before speaking, "They… left Calais about a year and a half ago… the majority is now centralized in Balafaris. They have a small store in the corporate sector. It's run by Violente d'Lucian Grey, but the main hierarchy left after the company took Balafaris."

The vampire nodded and then snapped the girls neck with ease, listening to the symphony of snapping tendons, vertebrae, and vocal cords. Sarai licked the blood slowly from her fingers as she smiled to herself, "So they do have a place stationed here. Good… very good." Taking her five piece luggage, Sarai used telekinesis to make it follow her as she left the shop and headed down the street away from the crime scene that wouldn't be detected for another hour at least. Twenty minutes later she had placed herself on the corner of Main Street and Gleeson Parkway. Using a prepaid cell phone that she had purchased on the way here, she called a cab. The little red and silver handbag which was in her left hand had about five thousand dollars in it; the money was the sum total Marie had in her little shop safe, but it would be enough to buy a hotel room for a few weeks while she made the rest of her plans. And she did have plans. Already it was forming into her mind how she would set herself up to be at the forefronts of power for this world. Change was coming, that much was certain… and the people of Cantado were none the wiser that a new creature had her sites set on their lives.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Miss Sarai!" the valet smiled and waved as the newest resident came striding out of the glorious Hotel Dubois. She was a goddess dressed in a flowing red coat, a black lace bustier with little roses embroidered all over it, a pair of black leather pants with a red sash around her waist… of the same material as her coat. As she walked down the steps towards him, her red heels echoed across the stone floors with the methodical beat of a metronome.

"Good morning to you, Billy," she replied with a soft nod and a friendly wave. From the moment she had arrived at the registration desk, this exotic beauty had charmed the staff and won their favor. Rightly so… she was exquisite, always dressed to perfection. It was without a doubt that she had style and grace. She worked from the penthouse of the hotel, sending off clothing designs and selling fashion ideas to all the great clothing lines and manufacturers. In some ways she had angered other designers in the business, but from what Billy could tell, she deserved to be able to do what she wanted.

"I had your car brought around already, and it should be warm, just the way you like it!"

"Thank you, you're too kind," Sarai said, kissing the boy on the cheek. He was so innocent that she just adored him. Of course he'd been an appealing meal every now and then, but she'd refrained from doing so. Perhaps later, when he could serve other purposes as well, she would use him as an occasional meal. The vampire had a feeling that Billy would be more than willing, but finding a competent staff was difficult in Calais… and a free one was even more difficult to find. She'd turned the Hotel Dubois into her own personal mansion/office building and they were willing. Sarai was bringing in enough money to satisfy them, her bill, and her need for money with these fashions that she had stolen and modified from Marie's vault, learning enough to create her own.

"Where are you headed today, ma'am?" the boy asked curiously.

"A business venture, Billy…" Sarai said as she slid elegantly into the driver's seat of the black _**Vaporus**_, the car sleek and aerodynamic in its contours. She'd bought the car after only two weeks of her business ventures. It had paid off, having wealthy business folk for parents. "I plan on seeing if I can branch into Nano technology today."

"Sounds like quite an adventure," the valet said excitedly as he shut the door for her.

"Oh it will be," Sarai said thoughtfully. "…I certain of it."

* * * * *

Getting into Nova Corp wasn't easy… well walking through the doors was simple, but getting to where she desired had posed a problem. Nova Corp was built to be a large complex. Anyone could walk into the front doors and it would appear to be a normal store… as normal as a two story electronics and household necessities store could be. But that wasn't Nova Corp. No, that was their front, their money, what they used to fool the populace into thinking that they were just another corporate giant out to make money and life better. Which was true… in a certain way, though, Nova Corp was muscling in on the galactic economy. That's just what they did. Highest quality for lowest prices… and they could afford it, because below their outer façade, they had several underground levels: factory floors, science and engineering, vaults, armories, barracks… the true Nova Corp lay under the surface, and that was what Sarai was trying to gain access to.

She needed to get to level ten, the lowest floor with the highest security… it held all of the Novian inventions and prototypes that weren't available to the public, or any Nova Corp personnel below the sixth hierarchy--which was pretty much everyone. Normally to get into places like this, a telekinetic master would just teleport in and grab what they wanted. However, Nova Corp was founded by a telepath of great power; therefore all of the lower levels had a special matter-antimatter shielding that prevented anything from passing through it, one of many security precautions that Nova Corp had engineered. Madam Carcinos would allow no one to take advantage of her. Countries would pay for such technology if they only knew it existed, but Nova Corp would never put such power in anyone's hands but their own. Sarai had been faced with finding a more ingenious means of entering.

The vampire had spent several minutes "browsing" the main atrium, watching all of the Nova Corp personnel moving about until she'd seen one access a restricted area. From there it had been easy to slip through the door, take control of the man's mind and use him to get as far as level four, then he became useless. She'd thought about killing him, but that would only alert people to her presence. Sarai therefore just knocked him out and left him somewhere to be found, incompetence and all. The process had been slow and cautious, but several hours later she'd made it to level nine and was standing before the elevator that would take her to her goal, but there was not a single hierarchy member in this building to be found. Only members of the working mass, which were so decently called hierarchy seven by the Novian overlords. Sarai muttered to herself and glared at the door with hatred. If Violente Grey had been in the building he could have gotten her access, but attempting to mess with a well known Novian warrior wasn't on the list of her priorities. Violente wasn't even an option, no matter if she would have considered him or not, because the courts of Calais had him mired in proceedings. Staring at the door, Sarai couldn't help but feel that she was stuck.

"It takes a skilled person to get this far into Nova Corp without detection or violence," a voice said from behind her. Sarai spun around to see a woman dressed in white and silver, immaculate and crisp… her entire personal was clean… icy even. Her short white hair hid one of her blue eyes from view, while the white business suit was spotless.

"A lawyer?" Sarai thought to herself… suddenly a memory that didn't belong to her popped out of the recesses of her mind and the vampiress smiled, eerily not pleasant, "Why… Karin Sele, just the kind of person I was hoping to run into."

The lawyer's eyebrow rose, "It would seem that you have me at a disadvantage… Miss?"

"Sarai…" the vampire replied. "Really," Sele said with a bemused look.

"A strong name to be in possession of…"

"I'm more than worthy."

"I'm sure," the woman replied with a brusque hint of sarcasm. "So… what can I do for you?"

Sarai circled around the cold woman, who was a few inches shorter than her… thanks to the heels she was wearing. It wasn't often that the Sarai had memories of which she was unaware, and it caused her to wonder what else lay hidden. The vampire was much like a bird of prey circling it's victim, but faster than Sarai's eyes could even blink, the lawyer's hand a shot out and was around her neck. The grip was as strong as diamond, and just as impossible to shatter. Karin Sele's gaze turned to look Sarai directly in the eyes, and a suddenly sense of revelation came over those cold, blue orbs. Sarai snarled and kicked out, separating the pair and promising herself to be more careful in the future. Confidence was one thing, but underestimating the opponent was deadly. You didn't live long if you did that too often.

"You did come here for a reason?" Karin asked again.

"Yes," Sarai said quietly, "I came for nanite project 0002."

Karin nodded as if nothing was unexpected, "You do realize that it is impossible for that specific project to be used in a living host without dire consequences… changes to behavior, death as it eats through living cells, blood poisoning… it wasn't created for such a use. Not to mention most living hosts don't have the ability to control the nanites."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not alive," Sarai countered, "and that I have the ability to control them."

Karin nodded again, "That is true… even though you've become something different, your eyes are still the same, Verti." The use of that name caused the vampire's lip to curl up in a sneer, but Karin held up a pacifying hand, "Please… I was the first person other than your own mother to see you. I'd know you no matter how much you changed, that's my job. I have two things that I have to do in the course of my existence: Nova Corp's continued existence and protecting you. It's a promise I made to your mother, and even though you are dead to her… here you stand before me." The lawyer motioned a hand towards the elevator door and several thin, silver tendrils shot from her fingers and brushed against he metal. The doors opened with a silent hiss.

"Verti is dead," Sarai said coldly, "She died when I took over."

Karin walked into the elevator and motioned for Sarai to join her, "She may have… but if that's so, then why do you have her eyes?"

"Why do you have the nanites?" Sarai snapped back.

Karin gave her a knowing smile, but let the subject drop, "Nanite project 002 was created specifically for me."

"But… you just said that living--"

"Who ever said that I was alive to begin with?" the lawyer asked smugly. "Now… here we are." The elevator doors opened into a long white hallway lined with identical silver, vault doors each with a number painted on them in black. They had to walk all the way to the end of the hall way where there was a large door marked N0001, their objective was the door to the immediate left--marked N0002. Karin brushed the same tendrils against the vault door, opening it and revealing a shelf of small vials with a mercury-like substance inside. The silver liquid was freely moving around in their glass interiors. Karin picked up a single vial and placed it in Sarai's hands, "Take this… use them however you see fit, but the next time you are found on Nova Corp property… I, or whoever else may be in charge, will be forced to carry out the orders your mother gave regarding you."

"Which are?" Sarai asked as they moved back into the elevator.

"Death…"

* * * * *

Sarai walked out of the Nova Corp building and opened the car door with a slight more rage than she expected to feel. She should have been elated. The mere fact that she'd gotten what she came for was a miracle, but that small sense of accomplishment was dwarfed by the anger and rage she felt at being called by the name of her previous life. That was compounded by this nagging sense of fear in the back of her mind, the fear that if Karin were to actually follow up on her mother's order… there would be very little she could do to prevent her own death. Even these nanites wouldn't serve as much more than a distraction. That sense of helplessness wasn't something she felt very keen about, and her new existence didn't care too much for it. She would have to do something to fix this situation and she would have to do it sooner rather than later. Sarai turned on the ignition to the car and slammed her foot down on the accelerator, peeling out of the Novian parking area.

The vampire was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even bothered to scan the car mentally, but when the vampire had a moment to let her rage disappear, she noticed a dark figure to her left. Looking out the corner of her eyes, Sarai finally took the figure in and sitting there in the passenger seat was possibly the most frightening face she had ever looked into. "What the hell are you doing in my--"

"Let's go for a drive," the woman sitting next to her interrupted. She whispered in an alluring tone. Sarai responded to the words instantaneously and robot-like, and the intruder adjusted her posture in the seat. The woman looked like she had stepped off a runway and into the _**Vaporus**_, with her ebony black hair that flowed down between her shoulder blades. Her skin was almost as pale as Sarai's but it looked cold and hard, more so than the vampire's. She was a beautiful, undeniably beautiful, but that wasn't what made her frightening… not the black silk strips that she wore skin tight on her torso that flowed into the black leather pants, not the silver boots that easily added another three inches to the impressive six foot height that she commanded with authority… no the frightening thing about her were the eyes, those crimson eyes that froze the non-existent blood in Sarai's veins. They had a darkness behind them, a hatred for light, life, and anything that could be wholesome. This woman was more frightening than death itself, and that one look into her eyes caused all previous thoughts to fade into the background.

The dark lips, painted with a shimmering brown, smiled menacingly at Sarai, "I would have expected the same defiance you gave to Karin… what happened?"

"I blame distraction," Sarai snarled.

"That's my girl…"

The vampire's eyes thinned and she spoke through gritted teeth, "What do you want?"

"I came into Nova Corp's employ about a week after your disappearance," her unwanted companion said offhanded, "but due to… artistic disagreements, your mother bounced me from the third hierarchy down to the fifth. I now am sent on the illicit errands that Nova Corp keeps in the shadows."

"Illicit?"

She nodded, "People that cross certain lines and require… negotiation… you could say that I am the negotiator."

"So you do the executions," Sarai simplified.

"Perceptive…"

"Not difficult to put those subtle hints together," sarcasm was heavy on Sarai's words, "What do you want with me? Did Madame Carcinos finally remember that she never killed me and sent you to do her job?"

"No," the woman shook her head, the black hair moving like dark water back-and-forth over her shoulders, "Sarai doesn't view you worth any such attention."

That simple comment sparked the earlier anger back to life and Sarai became irritated once again. This woman obviously wasn't as strong as Karin, so the fear she'd felt now seemed unfounded. The vampire brought two sharp fingernails up under the throat of her annoyance and whispered in her ear, "Then tell me why I shouldn't kill you?"

"Two words," the toxic voice said just as softly, "Virtra Thrad."

* * * * *

Sarai opened the door to her penthouse and led the way for her guest. She watched closely as Virtra's eyes shot around the foyer, "You have exquisite tastes."

Sarai nodded, tossing her coat and purse onto the marble and black oak table that sat to the right of the doorway and walking over to the old silver and ivory rotary phone that sat on another table across the way. This table looked like a tangle of briars, twisting up to hold the glass top. The antique sat in the center of a thin wall and on each side of the wall lay a hall way. The one on the left led to the common room and then to the kitchen. The hall to the right led to the three bedrooms and the balcony overlooking Calais plaza. As Sarai crossed the room, she looked down into the polished crimson tile and noticed from the reflection that Virtra hadn't moved, but rather she was just watching with an amused expression.

"You have an affinity for red," she alleged.

Sarai nodded, "silver and black as well… wait until you see the living room." She picked up the phone and dialed a three digit number which brought up the hotel concierge.

"Which hall?" Virtra asked, pointing to each.

"Left…" Sarai muttered silently. The man on the other end of the line finally picked up, "Ah, Peter… it's Sarai. Yes, I'd like you to send up some fresh scones… yes and have the chef do what he normally does. Thanks… you're a dear."

"You have no furniture!" Virtra exclaimed from down the hall. Sarai shook her head in annoyance and walked to meet the person who had invaded her life with so much ease,

"I'm a vampire… I don't sleep, I don't eat, I don't breathe… I don't get tired. Why should I have furniture?"

Virtra smirked, "To keep up appearances for one."

"People never come farther than the foyer," she countered.

"And that's not conspicuous…"

"Did you come here for a reason or are you just around to give décor tips," Sarai snarled in a soft whisper.

Virtra's face hardened, but no sooner than a second had passed and she was back to that evil sense of joy. She motioned to the black carpet of the large, empty room and dark shadow seeped up from the floor. The dark, snake-like wisps that sprung up soon formed themselves into a pair of chairs, one of which Virtra took for herself. "I came here for tea… you do keep tea around don't you?"

Sarai nodded and walked off to the kitchen. Like the rest of her dwelling, the kitchen was spotless and dust free. It was the only place that she hadn't changed because she had liked it. The counters were red mahogany and everything else… stainless steel. She didn't need to cook, but it would be the envy of anyone who did. In the cabinet closest to the kitchen door, Sarai kept everything she used in the kitchen: a tea set. It was a pair of black and silver embossed tea cups and a matching tea pot. The three items sat upon a thin silver tray, arranged in a triangle formation, centered around a small box. The box was simple and red but to anyone with a nose like Sarai's… it smelled intoxicating.

She walked back into the common room, where Virtra was still waiting. As soon as the dark woman saw Sarai enter, a small tea table appeared very much like the chair had. Not bothering to ask about this seemingly unique ability, Sarai set the tea tray down and took her own seat. She wasn't going to be the one to speak first this time. She and Virtra locked eyes, both with a feral smirk on their faces as Sarai went about the duty of preparing the tea. She took the top off of the tea pot and pointed a finger at it. Her telekinetic abilities pulled moisture from the air, mixing oxygen and hydrogen easily, and water seemingly appeared out of nowhere into the small porcelain vessel. Then the vampire reached for the small box, pulling the top off with a flourish and revealing a silver tea bell and a small pile of crimson red tea leaves.

The revelation of this sight caused Virtra to divert her gaze from Sarai to the box, "I've never seen leaves such as this… nor do I know of any species of plant that creates such."

"That's because the color comes not from the plant," Sarai said smugly as she filled the tea bell and placed it into the pot. She then snapped her fingers and the temperature of the water in the pot heated substantially, causing steam to rise from the spout. She bobbed the bell up and down several times and then let it down into the water before replacing the lid onto the container and poured tea into both cup. The liquid that pour forth was a soft and rosy color, but at times as it swirled in the cups it became dark as blood. "The leaves are nothing more than simple jasmine… but it is my preparation that makes them… unique."

"Unique," Virtra said, toying with the word as she picked up one of the cups and smelled it, "Devine seems to be the more appropriate word."

"That may be one interpretation…"

"And the other?" Virtra asked taking a sip.

Sarai grinned with pleasure as she too picked up her own cup, "Some would call it demonic, depraved… evil."

"Everything they call me…"

"Precisely," Sarai nodded, "Everyone has their own way of looking at things."

"Why don't you enlighten me as to what it is we are drinking?" Virtra said with a bit more insistence this time.

"I grow the jasmine myself… out on the balcony. When the time comes to prepare more, I hunt down a young child and kill it… drain a quart of it's blood and soak the leaves in it for a night before I dry them," Sarai said with a hint of nostalgia piquing her senses as she remembered the last time, "These leaves are from my newest batch… barely a week old."

"I thought I tasted blood," Virtra said with a derogatory tone, "It's the amateur way of doing what I do."

"And just what is that?!" Sarai spat vehemently. She didn't like her passions to be looked down upon by any, especially one such as this.

"Don't take it the wrong way," Virtra placated, "I merely meant drinking blood. You vampires do it to stay alive but in essence you are stealing the life from your victims. It's the amateur way of doing it though. It's traceable… noticeable and you really aren't stealing the life from them at all. You merely… have a more delightful way of killing the mindless masses of cattle that roam the universe."

"And how do you do it?"

Virtra let a truly demonic smile shine across her features, "I devour their souls… their life force… anything that makes them alive, whole, and unique… it feeds me and my power."

"Then you definitely haven't come after me to make yourself more powerful," Sarai remarked.

"No, I haven't… I can't steal life from one who is already dead."

"Then what?!"

Virtra placed her cup gently down upon the tray and crossed her legs as she looked at Sarai in a very business-like manner, "I have job coming up… several jobs to be precise. The world is about to come crashing down and it remains a necessity that Nova Corp is not involved. That's where I come in."

"You are speaking of the VonCaroms?"

"I am indeed," Virtra's disgust mirrored Sarai's, "Their ambition far exceeds their worth… but for the time being they have the playing field. I'm merely to assure that anyone who knows about Nova Corp and its workings… disappears. I thought you might enjoy helping me."

"And why would I do that?" Sarai laughed.

"Because I'd teach you to harness your vampiric strength in ways that you couldn't possibly imagine. The darkness and all that are in it belong to me," Virtra veiled, "There is much you can learn and much you can offer to my goals. Think what your mother would have to say about it...." Virtra's eyes glistened as if she knew she had said the right thing.


	3. History in the Making

_**Chapter 3**_

The offer had been tempting… too tempting to pass up. Sarai's personal goals required that she find her ways into the intricate workings of the world while remaining anonymous herself. There was no entity more intertwined with the secret workings of groups and races than Nova Corp, and if she could get in without difficulty--all the better. With Virtra supporting her, there would be few in Nova Corp willing to question or contest the vampire's entrance to the grand scheme of things. Her mother couldn't say anything about it either, for fear of breaking down everything she stood for… which if anything was clear, that is what Virtra was truly hoping for. It would cause chaos, in-fighting, bloodshed and the total destruction of all that was peaceful and working. When all the powers of Nova Corp began fighting one another it would bring about such destruction… very little would survive. Virtra lived for such things. The harbinger of chaos as she was aptly named, the woman was an enigma; something entirely evil if any such thing existed. The only person who knew the truth about Virtra Thrad was--well Virtra Thrad herself.

But one thing could be ascertained, and that was that Virtra's ambition clearly mimicked her own, and Sarai was more than content with such a partnership. Lessons were learned from experience, and experience she would gain. Virtra was on a very tight leash, but she still had clout because of the immense power she commanded. Very few tried to hold onto that leash other than Karin… or General Nova. The only one capable of controlling the beast was Nova Corp's leader, and if Madam Carcinos even looked harshly in Virtra's direction, the dark woman immediately began to change her actions.

After the first week of working with Virtra all of this had become apparent, though it was all via communications. Apparently there was no need for more than one higher up to be located on any world at one time. With Violente Grey in charge, Virtra's presence was nothing but an insult to his abilities. It wasn't uncommon for Hierarchy members to visit one another, but prolonged stays were like challenges; thus Virtra had left shortly after their meeting and had stayed in contact over the course of her dealings. Something that was truly amazing… was that Nova Corp hierarchy members were able to communicate across vast distances of space, intergalactic distances to be accurate. Virtra, with her affinity for predicting and controlling chaos in all forms and her self-proclaimed power over darkness, had been stationed to watch over things in the Cantado System, the neighboring planet of Bilutara specifically… which meant that things were truly going to escalate soon. Virtra's presence was rubbing several Hierarchy members the wrong way, and Sarai wondered if the dark woman was actually trying to insight chaos. One could never tell with Virtra.

All these thoughts swirled through the vampire's mind as she stood impatiently in the carpool waiting for Virtra to finish whatever meeting it was she had to preside over. "Late as always," she muttered through gritted teeth. This was supposed to be their first collaboration, but it would seem that Virtra took this less than important. "Perhaps her flight was delay?" Sarai thought off handedly, knowing very well that Virtra did not fly anywhere.

"Mistress Virtra enjoys prolonging meetings with the hierarchy," a technician said, obviously eavesdropping as he aimlessly pushed his broom around, "It gives her some of the former power she held…"

"Former power?" Sarai asked intrigued.

"Yes… she used to be in command of the third and fifth fleets, far away from this backwater planet as she calls it," the old man rubbed the bristle on his chin as he pondered, obviously thinking of the past. He'd stopped sweeping now, rather using his broom as a prop to keep himself upright, "I reckon that was 'bout… forty or fifty years ago… yeah I'd reckon fifty years ago. None of them higher ups ever age so it's hard to tell, what with all them special abilities and sciences they have going for them. Sure we all could have it if we asked, but why would I want to live forever…"

"Old man!" Sarai snapped, "The point?"

He looked at her with age glazed eyes, "The point is that these things happened along time ago and I'm thinkin' about exactly what happened, cause I ain't all youthful anymore! Now iffin' you'll just be patient I'll see what I can remember."

"Fine!"

"Good, now no more speaking," the old man barked, "she was a lot like you back then… still is in some ways, what with her temper an all… twas that temper that got her into trouble in the first place. Yes, she was one of the Novian Mercenaries greatest generals, it was whispered that she was trying to bump out ol' Varc… but that don't matter no more. She was on command in the eastern branch galaxy, a very important strategic galaxy that gave open to a lot more than I think I'd know, I was servin' on her flag ship as a Captain at that time…"

"I find that doubtful, Virtra said she joined Nova Corp shortly after--" Sarai was prepared to argue, but she was quieted by a withering look from the storyteller.

"No one escaped what happened that day," the janitor said quietly, "Those of use who didn't die in Virtra's slaughter… we were demoted to the lowest positions, and Virtra was placed as low in the hierarchy as one could go and still have a command, saved by past achievement I supposed. I hear she's done things like this before, but when you have a thousand year's tenure; I supposed it gives some amount of clout."

"You said slaughter?"

"Eh?" the man asked, "Oh yeah! I got addled there for a minute…" he cleared his throat, bringing up a grimy finger to brush across his old and bristled grey mustache. "We was above some planet, can't remember what exactly, but it was somewhere far from here. Well… it happened that a simple fleet movement turned into a total disaster. Fleets from all across different galactic sectors ambushed us, you see… thousands and thousands of ships, they just kept on coming without stop. I say it was well planned. We were forced to make an unprecedented landing upon the planet… I'd say that we lost 90% of the fleet… and as soon as we landed an army appeared on the horizon. Apparently the people of this galaxy wanted Nova Corp to get a message… Mistress Virtra didn't get it."

The old man chuckled at the look on Sarai's face. It was one of horror and incredulity, "Miss Virtra was never one to accept defeat, and she doesn't like living under anyone's thumb. Eh… that was a sight to behold. She told us to fix up them ships that were remaining… and she just walked off towards the army. No support. No weapon. The screams and explosions that came nearly a minute later… they sounded like what I might imagine hell would. She destroyed them… all of them. Thousands of people, some soldiers… but most of them were just people trying to defend their homes… it didn't matter though. They all fell to Virtra's magic. You never want to anger a Nelmkor, missy… not unless you know that you can kill it."

"A Nelmkor?" Sarai questioned. She hadn't heard of such a race or species before.

"It's not a surprise ye avn't heard of them…" his pause here was so long, Sarai half expected to push him slightly and find that he'd fall over dead. He finally returned to reality and coughed, "they don't exist no more… well save for Virtra. That's how she got herself into Nova Corp you see… sold out her entire planet, killed all of 'em. Power is the only thing that one's after… and let me tell you… she's got more than most."

"That's sweet, Farron," Virtra's voice said from behind Sarai. The sudden sound almost caused the vampire's heart to start again. That sound, sickeningly sweet, like poisoned honey… it was cold and unnatural, sending shivers down the spine and chilling blood that had long grown cold. "What are we going to hear next? The time that Karin gave a strip tease at the company party? Or I'd really prefer to hear how General Nova himself helped you to mop the mess hall…"

"It really happened," the senile old man muttered.

"I'm sure it did," the dark woman sneered, "but we don't have the time to hear it. Sarai, darling, we have a meeting on the Isla Troas, just off the coast of Aika city. The man's name is Joad Barnes. He owns a small bar by the name of the Dancing Macaw. It's a front for him information brokering and illegal gambling. He's squelched on a deal with Nova Corp and we are to shut him up before anything gets out. It just happened a few minutes ago, so we'll have plenty of time to get there and enjoy ourselves."

"How are we traveling?"

Virtra smiled at Sarai with something akin to cold affection and it looked frightening on that evil face. "Always the curious one aren't you?" she draped an arm over Sarai's shoulders and steered her towards the doorway, "Watch and learn, my dear. Watch and learn…" As they left, the old janitor Farron fell to the floor clutching his chest. The ninety-one years he'd dedicated to Nova Corp… ended by a simple heart attack. Virtra's vicious smile glinted in the darkness as she and Sarai vanished in a swirl of black haze.

* * * * *

"I never could stand tropics…" Virtra muttered, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the golden sun. They walked down a crowded street, hundreds of citizens rushing about in their brightly colored clothing and happy smiles. "Everyone is always too happy and almost as bright as the damn sun!" The pair was a vast contradiction to the rest of the crowd, and they walked alone. It was as if the happy people around them could subconsciously pick up on the dark aura. Virtra and Sarai were given a wide berth wherever they strolled; their dark clothing flowed around them… loose, like blood and shadows.

"Technically I should be the one complaining about the sun," Sarai muttered, "But it doesn't affect me…" The vampire mimicked a yawn as she brought up a red sleeve to cover her mouth. The nails on her hand were painted dark blue today, and her outfit was a complement of navy blue pants and a matching corset, which she wore a deep crimson flight over. She'd traded in her red stilettos for a deep burgundy pair of leather boots, and now wore a little blue, silk hat with a thin red plume jetting out from the side like a bloody dagger.

Virtra frowned, "Which still perplexes me… how did you get around it?"

"I didn't," Sarai explained, "it was just one of the many attempts I used to try and kill myself. It didn't work. Neither did the wood to the heart, crucifix, falling from great heights, holy water, garlic…"

"Ok, ok…" Virtra said throwing her hands up over her ears, "I get the fact that you tried thousands of ways to kill yourself. It's not that easy to kill a normal vampire, but you definitely aren't normal."

"I have a theory on that as well," Sarai grinned, delighted with the knowing that theories and long mindless dialogue annoyed the hell out of her companion. Or perhaps Virtra didn't like the talk of death—not killing, but actual death—the end of her life. Sarai was willing to bet that Virtra held her power and longevity at quite a price.

Virtra cringed on cue, "You are your mother's daughter…"

"I think that has something to do with it, but it also has something to do with who bit me."

Virtra raised an eyebrow, "Come again?"

"Corialis Grey, remember him?"

Virtra nodded.

"Well he was the one who bit me--"

Sarai was interrupted then by a peal of laughter that erupted, very uncharacteristically, Virtra, "You mean the angel bit you!! God that is so priceless! No wonder you mother terminated his command! It was permanent!! I thought for sure I would get my fleet back after that one, but now I realize why I didn't!"

It was Sarai's turn to look confused, "I'm lost."

"The commander of the fifth fleet is in charge of the advanced force," Virtra explained, "before Corialis had command, I was the general in charge. Now your father takes control of it and the first fleet. It would only stand to reason that your mother would want to make an example of the person… pardon me… thing, that killed you."

"Your saying she punished Corialis with more than just death?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying," Virtra frowned, "what better way to ruin someone… than to take their reputation and their life?"

"I can think of a few…" Sarai snarled. The memory of how easily her mother had destroyed Corialis still burned the dormant blood within her.

"Well seeing as how it was a vampiric angelicas that sired you… it would stand to reason you are the way you are."

Sarai nodded, "Those were my thoughts exactly."

"It would be interesting to see just what your human blood and that of your sire has created…" Virtra paused in pondering, before exclaiming, "But we don't have time! Here we are!" The conversation they had ended abruptly, cutting off the vampire's attempt to ask Virtra about just how long she'd worked for Nova Corp—and why she had lied.

"The Dancing Macaw…" Sarai said with a deep furrow forming in her brow, "You didn't say anything about a strip club."

"Oh!" Virtra said innocently, "I did forget to mention that; didn't I? Never fear, just relax in the knowledge that you and I are better looking than any exotic dancer they have employed here." Virtra glided gracefully through the door before Sarai could protest; thus the vampire could do nothing but follow behind her… with a scowl etched into the marble feature of her face.

* * * * *

The pair ignored the patrons and the employees of the Dancing Macaw for the most part, save for the brief words exchanged with the girl at reception. Sarai kept to herself, a few paces behind Virtra, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes. She expected her companion to head immediately for the back offices and out of public eye, but it would seem that was not to be the case. Virtra wound through the maze of platforms, tables, and dancing strippers until they came to a set of stairs. The red carpeted flight of steps led up to a private box that was mostly concealed from view of anyone on the ground floor, but Sarai could see a soft flickering light… a candle most likely.

As they reached the top of their rise, the stairs gave way to a large room, cut off from the main hub of entertainment. It looked as if it were large enough to accommodate twenty or so occupants, a business room for meetings perhaps? However, on this particular day… even with the club as busy as it was, this room was occupied solely by two individuals. The first was a man, dressed in a slim, form-fitting suit, charcoal black with white pinstripes. He wore a white silk shirt under his unbuttoned jacket, the first few buttons left unfastened so that the pale white skin of his chest was visible. It looked smooth as marble, and it was perfectly unblemished. The man appeared very regal, his wavy and unruly blonde hair hung around his face, adding a lustrous sheen to his already radiant features, a sharp and handsome face with a set of dazzling sapphire eyes that took the very breath out of Sarai's lungs. He was gorgeous. He looked to be no more than twenty, which was odd because his companion, whom he was obviously flirting with on a very sexual level, looked to be no more than eleven.

The girl was dressed in a black corset and lace dress; knee high leather combat boots, and fingerless black lace gloves. She looked like a doll with her blonde hair that flowed down, past her back and over the plush red velvet seat. If she were to stand up it would be down to her knees… and it seemed to have a life of its own, constantly moving but it was such a subtle movement that you had to concentrate to actually catch it, like she had her own soft breeze following her, wishing to praise its dark queen. Sarai would have said she was a mere child, not even old enough to be on her own much less in a place like this, but her eyes and her expression said otherwise. The dark emerald eyes, so cold and dark despite their inner glow, were set into an evil glare--not one that spoke of anger and destruction, but a delicate, refined evil that radiated a cold chill at the base of the spine. Sarai knew the look well, she wore the same often… so did Virtra. This girl, as doll-like as she looked: so fragile and seemingly harmless, was deadly… and very much capable of playing the queen of darkness that she portrayed.

"Ah! Val! Eva!" Virtra said with a delightful sound in her voice, "I thought I sensed the two of you here!" The dark lady slid into the booth that the two strangers occupied and slid in close to the man, whom Sarai could only assume was Val? Virtra's posture was one of comfort and ease, obviously she knew these two… so Sarai nodded politely and pulled up a chair, not pulling up close to the table, but still a part of the meeting, even if her posture was stiff and stately.

"Your companion does not seem friendly," the doll-like girl said. Her accent was surprisingly British, very old English Sarai noted, nearly Shakespearean. Eva turned her head, moving only at the neck and for the first time Sarai met eyes with someone in that club. Her violet eyes met the green orbs of the child-woman, and Sarai saw flashes of death and mayhem, cold inflicted terror. The visions forced Sarai to divert her gaze in an attempt to stifle the chill that threatened to run up her spine yet again.

"Be nice…" Virtra spoke and her voice, though pleasant, had that unmistakable threat of power behind it. The doll-like girl nodded politely and focused her gaze elsewhere, eyeing Valdis with a cold, carnal precision. Virtra then decided to make introductions. "Sarai… this is Evangeline McDowell…" she motioned to the dark doll child, "And this is Valdis Lorien…" gesturing to the extremely attractive man, "The three of you have something very unique in common."

"A daylight walker?" Evangeline muttered unimpressed, "There are so many these days…"

"Not precisely," Virtra said, the icy edge of irritation coming over more dangerously this time.

"She has impeccable taste," Valdis murmured, giving Sarai and appraising eye and obviously liking what he saw. What a coincidence, Sarai was quite taken with him as well. "She obviously didn't get her fashion sense from you Virtra."

"Virtra doesn't have a fashion sense," Sarai laughed lightly, "She wears darkness like a garment and evil as accessories… normal clothing has no place in her wardrobe."

"Aw… what a sweet complement…"

"Anything for you," Sarai said with a formal bow, which from her posture in the chair was an impressive feat.

"So you're teaching her?" Valdis remarked with apparent wonder. Still, his eyes sparkled with admiration at Sarai.

"That too has been done," Evangeline said with distaste, turning her attention to the drink before her. For one so tiny, she moved with a fluidity and grace that was to be envied. "I'm still waiting to see what makes her so special."

"Forgive Eva's manners," Valdis said, leaning across the table and offering his hand to Sarai, "She's been around far too long to bother with pleasantries or good form, so she's just a bitch." There was a cough from Evangeline, and a detectable hint of irritation. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Sarai shook his hand but said nothing in response; rather her focus was entirely upon the girl.

"You could kill him right now and not have to move more than your little finger."

Evangeline's eyes shot up from the cup of tea she was holding with both hands, obviously shocked that Sarai had said anything. "How can you tell?"

Virtra was the one to answer her evil laugh soft and near inaudible, "I should have been more specific, Eva… you and Sarai have two things in common. One is a resistance to the sunlight that plagues your species… and the other is an unnatural love for puppets." Eva was obviously intrigued now, and her sour mood perking up as she regarded Sarai with a more scrutinizing look.

"That and I can read minds when people aren't being cautious," the red head grinned mischievously. Eva raised an eyebrow, but she reacted very little otherwise… however, Sarai couldn't help but notice as her mind was now locked stronger than a steel vault. "A very impressive a feat for anyone," Sarai made a mental note.

"Someone care to fill me in?" Valdis muttered, obviously unhappy at being unaware of something.

"Eva has threads wrapped around your neck and looped around the pinky on her left hand," Sarai explained for the confused look from Valdis. She turned with a look to Evangeline, "While it looks like you are merely being a sophisticated British citizen… you're actually able to manipulate five different strands with ease… all of which are attached to Valdis at this very moment. A flick of your little finger… and well, someone would be cleaning him off the walls."

Valdis obviously didn't take to this very kindly, and he did something that both frightening and amazed Sarai. His entire body seemed to ignite with a brilliant diamond light, radiating heat and energy that she'd never encountered before. Whatever it was… the light incinerated the filaments instantly, rendering the threads to microscopic particles. The male glowered at the tiny doll, receiving no reaction or remorse. "You know I'd never do that," Eva said, completely impassive to his display of anger. She obviously wasn't prone to showing much emotion at all. Sarai had to say, that if in the same circumstance, she would have acted along the same lines Valdis had.

"And you know I can't appear weak in front of a pair of gorgeous ladies," he offered a killer smile, that was way too cold to be charming. It almost seemed to say, "Do that again and one of us will die…" While it was bold, Sarai had to think that Evangeline would be the victor if a fight were to start.

"Val and Eva have been working in these parts for the past few months," Virtra said, taking the floor and everyone's attention. It was obvious that she was still the most powerful being at the gathering of all too powerful beings. "Valdis is a Vampiric Angelica… a former Seraph to be precise, much like your Corialis Grey. He was bitten of his own volition…"

"All just to gain the free will that humans so take for granted," the man said with a grin.

"Yes…" Virtra glared at him from the corner of her eyes, not happy at being interrupted. "Eva on the other hand… is a high daylight walker. She was the heiress to a very wealthy noble family in England… oh… what was it?"

"1497, in Earth years," Eva said, not opening her eyes as she took a sip from her white china cup, obviously not caring to explain what she meant by the time keeping system.

"So you see… she's over half a century old… and looking very good for her age."

Sarai had to blink a few times… hundred year old vampires were impressive, she was only just over a decade… but to last more than five centuries, that was beyond impressive. It also explained why nothing seemed to earn a large reaction from Evangeline. Having seen everything come to pass, lived through the changes of time and traveled the universe, little would surprise someone of that age… even if it came as a surprise. "Who are they working for? Nova Corp as well?"

"No," Eva said quietly, "We work for our individual gain… we have a common goal at the moment, so cooperation is simple."

"What are the--"

"Now now, Sarai," Virtra said, holding up a hand to stop her line of questions, "It's not yet time to get there… not just yet."

She clenched her hands together in her lap to prevent them from becoming fists. It was so annoying to be overruled and silenced, especially in front of two blatantly powerful vampires. Though she was livid on the inside, her face was for the most part calm and collected.

"Well you've told her about us," Valdis said with a charming grin, "Now what about our mysterious lady here?"

"Sarai…" Virtra said her name in a drawn out breath as if contemplating something far from understandable. "What is there to say about her?"

"You could start by telling us what she is?" Eva said, her crisp accent every demanding. "She smells different from other vampires… most smell of the earth, of rustic scents or loam, but she smells of…" a pause as Evangeline sniffed, searching for what she wanted to compare Sarai's scent to.

"Lilacs," Valdis supplied, "And you don't smell like dirt, Eva… you actually smell of fresh mint and tea leaves." Sarai paused and actually sniffed the air around her for the first time. Not needing to breathe, she rarely used her scent of smell unless she was hunting, humans had such a delectable aroma about them… but around her own kind, when no appearances were necessary, she saw little need to "_breathe_". Now that she smelled the air around her, she had to agree… Evangeline did smell of mint and tea… how appropriate. Valdis on the other hand smelled sweet, a musky tropical fragrance was about him that made his already desirable features… well, more desirable. And Virtra? She smelled… like nothing, void. It was odd. Sure her perfume was there, but she had no scent. That was a confusing question that would have to be asked later.

"Well… Sarai was bitten by Corialis Grey. You know him, Val?"

The vampire nodded, "He was one of the assistants to St. Michael the Arch Angel… he was tainted they said, corrupted by the power that Nova Corp offered him… that he believed their leader to be more powerful than the Creator. He fell… and they turned him so that he would have the will to follow them."

"Close enough," Virtra said, shrugging off the details, "Anyhow… Sarai here was the daughter of the infamous Madam Carcinos, bitten by a powerful vampire like yourself, Val… so she is something entirely new."

Valdis's intense gaze was upon her again, this time with such admiration and intrigue that Sarai had to turn her face away, thanking whatever powers that be that she could no longer blush like a school girl. When he spoke, his voice was so eloquent, soft and seductive that it washed over her flesh, each syllable igniting her body with electric jolts that soared through her nerves. "Just look at her… she sits there like one so normal, common and ordinary… a goddess amongst irrelevant chaff. Imagine what powers she must possess, what she can gain… what a sight it would be to behold her majesty."

"Oh knock it off, Valdis," Evangeline snarled, setting the teacup roughly on the table, the porcelain grating against it's companion plate. "Your silver tongue isn't required here. She's a vampire, show some decency!" Sarai was actually thankful for Evangeline, even if it were for different reasons than the one she mentioned. It would be so embarrassing if Valdis could understand the state that her mind was in…

"Well now that everyone is acquainted," Virtra spoke, cutting off what would surely have become another argument between the two companions, "I'm looking for Joad…"

"Oh… dear…" Evangeline mutter, "He hasn't paid?" Sarai looked from Eva to Virtra with confusion.

"Evangeline is remarkably intuitive," Valdis explained, "A majority of the time it's as if she were reading minds… you'll learn to harness this ability with time."

"No need," Sarai muttered, "I can already read minds… some are just more protected than others and would require… well, more force than can be effortlessly summoned." She and Evangeline locked eyes again, both smirking with cruel intent.

"No, he hasn't paid, and Nova Corp is tying up loose ends." Virtra's voice was callous and unemotional, and everyone at the table knew what that meant.

Evangeline nodded solemnly, "He'll be up shortly to calculate our tab… we've been up here since sun down yesterday, so we've a good thirty-two hours."

"Don't bother," Virtra said coldly, "He won't be needing it where he's going."

* * * * *

It was another hour before Joad appeared and in that waiting period Sarai became more and more agitated. Her fingers were now tapping out a steady rapport on the polished wooden finish of the table, her posture now much more relaxed than before, but her personality was less than cordial. Sarai had asked nearly half an hour earlier if Joad might have seen them coming, and thus was making an escape while they waited. Virtra responded with a smile, explaining that for one this booth had no surveillance and two that any an all surveillance in the building was being manipulated by her. "Joad will be here soon," Evangeline said in that not-to-hurry, calm, English accent. Sarai just bristled and went back to tapping her nails on the table.

"So why do Nova Corp have one of their most elegant personages collecting on an unpaid debt?" Valdis asked, breaking the monotony of their mutually agreed silence. They were vampires… well most of them, and they not naturally inclined to long conversation.

"I was… transferred," Virtra's voice was sullen, but her eyes burned like twin furnaces. It was apparent that she was quite angry at losing her command.

"What she means dears," Evangeline said with a twinkle in her eyes, "Is that she's now nothing more than Nova Corp's personal loan shark."

"Who's a loan shark?" a voice asked from the stairs, it was jovial and all four heads turned to see a balding man in a black tux as he reached the final step. Two things happened simultaneously: the first was that all the color immediately drained from Joad's face as his eyes found Virtra; the second was that Virtra made a beckoning gesture with her index finger as Joad turned to flee. Black, serpentine tendrils of darkness sprung from the corners of the room, wrapping themselves around the fleeing man's arms. With a vicious glint of pleasure in her eyes, Virtra drew her hand up to her head, the darkness dragging Joad across the floor kicking and shouting. If he had any sense of honor, or if he'd taken a moment to think, he would have known that escape was pointless.

Sarai had to slide her chair backwards in order to not be hit by the flailing man as he was pulled and forced into a kneeling position before the… Sarai was willing to start calling Virtra a demon, but that would possibly be insulting. The woman had no mercy in her eyes as she spoke, "Where's the money, Joad?" The man was whimpering, shaking his head and muttering incoherent babble as if he could will his personal negligence away. Poor. Stupid. Fool…

"Quit your whining, Joad," Evangeline's voice was harsh, and she regarded him as little more than a bug, looking down her nose at the helpless man. "If you can't pay, be man enough to come out and say it. While one should never borrow money, if you do… at least make sure you can come through on your debts."

"But… I…" Joad stammered.

"Enough," Virtra rolled her eyes and suddenly Joad's lips opened in a blood curdling scream, and from his mouth dozens of the snake-like tendrils of darkness poured. His body slumped to the floor and Virtra stood. In a motion that was almost too fast for all three vampires to catch, Virtra's foot came crashing down on the back of Joad's skull. The stiletto heel drove through bone and muscle with a sickening crunch, a pool of crimson blood forming on the black carpet, but soon all was rendered into the darkness that consumed it. The dark woman pulled her boot free and walked to sit back down. "The Dancing Macaw is now under--" she was interrupted as her cell phone chimed with a sharp series of beeps. As quickly as she'd managed to end Joad's life, the cell phone appeared in her hand. Virtra pressed it to her ear and answered with a courteous greeting, "Yes… the Macaw is taken care of."

All eyes were on Virtra because her face, rather than being full of radiating power and that arrogant aura of invincibility, was now tinged with something that almost appeared to be… fear?

"Yes, m'lady," Virtra said with pacifying tones, "I'll be there with haste." The conversation ended and Virtra was exaggeratedly slow closing the phone. Her entire body seemed to be tired, as if she wanted to slump down into the comfort of the booth and never rise again. The voice that spoke was barely a whisper, a vague shadow of the woman they had been speaking to before, "The entire Hierarchy is being summoned… there's been a Recall."

Evangeline's eyes widened with shock, displaying more emotion than Sarai would have thought possible. The glimmering air about Valdis seemed to dim, his bravado deflating with Virtra's revelation… while Sarai sat there perplexed.

"Why are you all so serious," she stood up looking at them angrily, "So what? My mother was preparing for a Recall back when I was an infant!"

"Well that may be," Eva's cool accent reappearing out of the ether, "But this will be only the second time in Nova Corp's history that the full Hierarchy has been summoned, am I not correct?"

Virtra nodded, "Half of the members at that last meeting were… given early retirement."

"So you can see why this is such a monumental occasion," Valdis offered, leaning back so as to appear comfortable. "Not only will Nova Corp possibly be reorganized… but with a recall, every power hungry vampire will be attempting to bring down a Guardian for their blood."

"Hmph!" Sarai snorted. She'd never cared for the obsessing people did over these Guardians. True, they were supposedly the most powerful beings in existence—well before existence as the rumors went. However, they weren't her concern and they never would be unless they came looking for her. Seeing as how that was very unlikely, Sarai wouldn't be bothered at this point in her plans. She found this to be ridiculous. Three very powerful entities just sitting here and accepting that a simple announcement could change the world? Pure rubbish! She stood over the three of them, dark blue and fiery clothing creating an imposing vision as she glared at them. "As if any power hungry vampire would risk exposing themselves at this time…"

"But they would," Eva said matter-of-factly, "In fact that's why Valdis and I have been here." This stopped Sarai's tirade threatening to erupt and she sat down looking at them with confusion once more. Evangeline just sighed and looked at Virtra, refusing to explain. It was Valdis, however, that took the mantle this time.

"We're here keeping the Vampires in their place… I guess you could say we are the sheriffs at the moment. Any outlandish activity from any vamp residing in Gaia… we deal with it swiftly and permanently," the flash of lightning through his beautiful blue eyes made Sarai tremble with glee at the thought of seeing these two vampires in action. "Being vampires ourselves… we can hardly afford to have the world knowing about us. It's better that we remain a myth, and seeing as how we're daylight walkers… all the easier to manage such at thing."

"Being daylight walkers also makes the other Vampires very cautious about being flamboyant or flashy with their activities… seeing as how we have a full day that we can hunt them down, and they only have twelve hours in which to hide," Evangeline's face was emotionless, but frightening all the same, "So we've set ourselves up rather nicely here… even the VonCarom Vampires are hesitant to act for fear of our retaliation, but it won't last. Their coven numbers are much larger than the two of us, and while we can deal with them… their numbers will continue to grow until they feel they can overpower us. Even though it may be foolhardy to believe such, we cannot engage them. Two high daylight walkers against a coven of Vampires? If anything gave away our presence it would be that… and Vladimir VonCarom knows that above all we want to keep the existence of vampires hidden."

"So he knows that we will have no choice but to avoid that conflict… and then he's going to act," Valdis concluded. "Such knowledge is making the other vampires more bold."

"You need more power," Virtra said. It was the first time she'd spoken since the phone call, and she was back to her normal self once more, as close to normal as she could be. "I have to go to the meeting, which means all my time will be spent ascertaining that I will not be removed… I can't keep Sarai around because not only will that anger Nova Corp's leader, but it will be a distraction, no offense darling," Virtra placed a gentle hand on Sarai's shoulder and it seemed horrendously wrong to be coming from her, "Thus… I think it best if she stays with the two of you. Three daylight walkers will be more effective than two, and I'm sure the two of you can teach her a plethora of useful skills."

"Not to mention that my presence will definitely deter Vladimir from acting," Sarai said, remembering back to that night in Calais woods. However, it would appear that her companions had no idea what she was talking about. Therefore she had to explain, "He approached me about two years ago… trying to get me to join him and I called them all… well delightful names, but it was apparent that I thought them beneath me. If I were to join the two of you in your policing efforts, it would definitely make the VonCaroms think twice and that suits me just fine. He's so slimy that I would enjoy seeing him sweat."

Evangeline practically purred with delight at her revelation, "This girl is simply adorable! Not only does she share my sentiments about Vladimir… but she has such a way with words. Delightful!"

"I second that," Valdis said turning toward Virtra with his beaming, debonair smile, "She'll be a welcome addition."

"Then it's settled," Virtra said, nodding as if convincing herself, clearly her attentions were elsewhere, "Sarai, I'm sorry that our time together was so abruptly… shortened, but they will be good teachers. We'll meet again, I assure you, but for now… this is the path we are all forced to follow."


	4. Much to Learn

**So, I know this hasn't been updated in YEARS! However, I got a review for it out of no where, and that made me go looking for my old notes on this story. Guess what? I discovered three unpublished chapters. Yep! So we will see if this thing gets more traffic than it did back in the day. If it does, I may start writing on it again. If it doesn't... well... at least someone might get to read what I did write for this story. I'll update this every day until I run out of chapters.**

* * *

Anyone observing the trio walking down the sunny street of Gambino Isle, they couldn't help but gape. The little girl, garbed in a violet corset and black silk dress, her white leather knee high boots with black laces, and her flaxen blond hair pulled up in black lace ribbons so that it flowed behind her in a wild torrent… she looked like a miniature empress, and the two individuals flanking her only furthered this image. On the child's right was a man, so handsome that he attracted the gaze of every female around him. It wasn't just his sapphire eyes that illuminated along with his fair skin, but his unruly hair, bronze in the sunlight, seemed styled in such imperfection that it gave him the look of a prince, perhaps a hero. The dashing clothes he wore, though simple, where highlighted by his looks rather than distracting from them. He wore a simple red silk shirt and black leather pants, and a pair of red, blood colored leather Doc Martins. As a consideration, he smiled and nodded to each of the infatuated females… much to the irritation of the woman to the far left. If anyone appeared regal, it was undoubtedly here, and if anyone though her out of place… one look at the child's eyes removed all doubt. Still… the tall woman was exquisite, if not regal in her own rights. She was dressed all in red, a form fitting leather top that showed an ample amount of cleavage, and over that she wore a burgundy trench coat. Her legs were covered with a long skirt, a slit up the right side offered fleeting glimpses of forbidden flesh… and the black stiletto heels were a staunch warning to any who dared look.

Sarai had been parading through Gambino Isle like this for the past four days, and each day they made sure that their presence was known to both human and non-human elements, day and night they were seen in the highest of heights and some times in the darkest of lows. Each night they made a pass through the large cemetery at the far northern shore, rounding around to come at the main throng entering and exiting the Gold Mountain Casino… Vampires feared them and humans lusted after them. Still, there was little excitement with all the posturing. However, last night there had been terrified whispers about murder and many of those whispers led Evangeline to think that Vampires, multiple of them, were involved. Which is why today, despite the outward posturing, they were hunting… not human prey, but under worldly prey. Sarai's dark exterior was half irritation and half concentration, she was searching for sleeping minds, three at least. Such a number together, in the middle of the day, was unheard of on Gambino… and could only denote a coven of their kindred. Or several lazy teenagers, but that is why Valdis was there.

The Seraph could vanish and appear anywhere he could see and with Sarai's help, she could show his mind anything within those walls. They would find they soon, and then they would be dealt with, made an example of to deter other vampires from committing the same stupidities. They made an effective team, the three of them… and they'd covered most of Gambino Isle's territory. If the suspects were not staying nearby, then they posed more of a threat to the surrounding territories than they would be to the city here, but seeing as how Durem was controlled by the VonHelson coven and Aekea was too far for them to travel in one night, it left only Barton Town as their next target, but Sarai believed them too hungry to have moved on. If one thing her telekinetic skills offered, it was the ability to glean certain truths from objects, living or not… and the images she'd gained from the crime scene had lead her to believe these certain vampires to be particularly lazy.

"Bingo…" she muttered, turning her gaze to a run down apartment building just on the outskirts of the bustling community. Valdis and Eva's gaze followed her one and in a blink of soft white light, Valdis vanished and reappeared as if he had been caught in a rather bright beam of sunlight. That brought a smile to Sarai's face. Valdis was a paradox. Vampires where creatures of darkness, even if they were day walkers, but Valdis had so many characteristics about himself that exuded that soft white glow… that she wondered if he truly was honest about only wanting "free will" when he took his bite. However, there was definitely a darkness behind the bright glow of his sapphire eyes. He hid it well, and she had no idea what it was… but it was something to be on the watch for.

"Four coffins," Val muttered into Eva's ear, but Sarai's hearing was acute enough to pick it up as if they were all having a chat over coffee. "I'd say we found our boys."

The dark child nodded, her thin lips twisting up in a smile, "Lets go and say hello shall we? It's not polite for hosts to be asleep when their guests arrive."

They were out of the sight of any prying eyes as Evangeline led the trio up the steps towards the boarded up doors, but they didn't remain that way for long. While small in stature, Evangeline was anything but weak. One kick, something that would have appeared normal if she was trying to nudge a toy or a ball out of her way, splintered the doors inwards, ripping the hinges out of their solid supports. Two by four boards, nails, doors and chunks of wood cratered inward and hit a wall ten feet across the abandoned atrium. "Knock, knock darlings…" Sarai suppressed a shudder. Eva was terrifying without effort.

There was a shuffling sound, so loud in Sarai's ears, but she knew that it was several floors up. "They're awake now…"

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Val," Evangeline ridiculed, walking into the old building ahead of the other two.

Now if there was anything that vampires had it common, there were at least two. The first being that they all drank blood. It sustained them and they hungered… no, lusted for it was the more appropriate way to put it. The second? Well they were fast. Vampires had reflexes and physical abilities far beyond anything a human could muster. Strength, reflexes, intellect… they were all greater than that of a human, but they had to be honed to be controlled. Speed on the other hand… well that was as natural to them as drinking blood. And these four were no exception.

No sooner had Eva stepped into the dark confines of the abandoned tenement then two of the vampires were upon her, nothing more than a blur. It looked as if they would tear the child-like Eva apart without effort, which is obviously what was going through their minds. A prime example of Vampires having to hone their intelligence… these obviously hadn't world on that. Before either Sarai or Valdis could move to stop their attack, not that they couldn't have, Evangeline's right hand rose and it appeared as if an invisible hand grabbed both the attackers, halting their advance and pulling them backwards until they slammed into opposing walls. Sheetrock and wood shattered with their impacts, raining down dust upon their bodies as they fell. Evangeline's hand then jerked out to extend its full length to the right, as if she were halting the movement of someone behind her, and the two idiots flew apart into pieces before exploding into ash seconds later.

Sarai and Valdis moved calmly to take point and flanks ahead of their leader, though seeing as how she'd reduced their numbers by half in less than fives seconds it was probably pointless. Still, by moving to her position Sarai was there to intercept the next Vampire… a black haired female. She was fast, but appeared horribly sluggish to the now bored telepath. Viewing anything with her vampiric sight made it simple enough, combining that with her telekinetic talents only made this child's play. Planting her feet comfortably apart to give both balance and maneuverability, Sarai brought her hand swinging around. Her nails were elongated, and much tougher than steel, and they cleaved through the woman's skull. Blood and brains spattered the floor before her feet, then the vampire's body charred and turned to ash, the grey powder washing over her.

Not one to be vain, but undeniably thrifty, Sarai summoned a sphere of telekinesis about them and the ash never touched their clothing, rather it enveloped them and settled to the floor, "Saves on dry cleaning…" that was her reply to the inquiring look from Valdis.

The man raised and eyebrow and then shrugged, "Works for me."

"But this doesn't work for me…" another man's voice said from across the atrium.

Automatically her gaze, along with Valdis and Eva's, turned to look at the place where the doors had crashed only moments before. A ragged vampire male, dressed in dirty pants and a black shirt worn through in several places stood before the debris. His face was gaunt, his hair matted with filth… killing him would be both a kindness and favor.

"Why is it that you are killing your own kind?" he asked, obviously shocked by the carnage he'd seen. He was a fledgling, a newborn forced to tag along with these other renegades to survive, and it was obvious that he was doing that just barely.

"There are rules," Eva said simply, "When you break the rules… you pay the price. Secrecy is our kind's only hope of survival, so that we may maintain our uninhibited way of life. Acting like you and your friends did last night? Well you may as just well broadcast our existence to the world. Bite marks, corpses drained of blood… very sloppy." Sarai felt partly sympathetic to the man's plight. He really hadn't been given a chance to learn the rules, not that it mattered. She'd learned them on her own simple enough… some people were just stupid.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Evangeline McDowell," The vampire sneered, "You only want to protect your lavish and unhindered life that you're accustomed to… being a daylight walker and all."

Scratch that part about sympathy… and about him being a fledging, scratch that as well. This man was the root of the problem, the leader of the small coven, and his tone totally made Sarai want to rip his throat out. The fact that Eva was wearing a delightful smile meant that she was thinking the same thing. A smile on those lips… bone chilling.

"You aren't the only one with unique abilities!"

"Your abilities are mere parlor tricks compared to the three of us, Zachary Doyle," Evangeline's voice seemed to slap the man with physical force, her soft words echoing with such power that it would be folly to disagree with her.

"You don't have the right to look down on us!"

"I have every right!" Before the offensive vampire could even lung at her, Evangeline's hand flashed out, glowing bright blue. Zachary was frozen solid in the blink of an eye, along with the foyer ten feet around him looking like a tundra. The floor was soon covered with a cool, wet mist rising off the icy vampire and his new crystallized sarcophagus. Eva smiled again, crossing her arms as she admired her handy work. "And that people…" she snapped her fingers, the ice shattered into a million glistening bits, "Is how we do that…"

* * *

Valdis escorted Sarai back to her apartment. It had only been a mere week, but already it seemed a foreign place to her. Last night she'd stayed with Evangeline in her estate that lay on one of the few islands around Gambino. Compared to the Estate, her penthouse was small… and it was also much further away from their "business" headquarters. The three of them had agreed that it would be best if she showed her face around Durem, just to keep the VonHelson coven on their guard. The entire vampire community in Gaia was now aware that the Dark Regulators were the law. There were now fewer reported vampire attacks, fewer humans going missing… they were behaving cautiously and making their work clean. It was all for the best, but Sarai knew it couldn't last… not with their few numbers. It would only be a matter of time before the other vampires decided to test the new form of law, it made Sarai both anxious and nervous at the same time.

"Well… here we are," Valdis announced, stopping just before her door.

He was always such the gentleman, much to nice for natural tendencies… but he was sweet. She inserted her key into the lock and turned back to look at him. Every time she looked at him, she risked losing herself in those sapphire depths. It wasn't just the handsome features of his face, but rather… that there was something incredibly profound hidden behind those eyes. It made her want to discover what it was… to get closer to remarkable creature. "You know I really didn't need an escort home…"

Valdis chuckled, "Well, I wanted to see where this terrifying and beautiful creature lived." His hand brushed a strand of crimson hair out of her face and their eyes locked, sapphire and violet, and the skin touched by his hand erupted with an electrifying heat, so intense that she was certain he would be able to feel it. If he did, he showed no signs of it, removing his hand and smiling the disarming smile of his.

She wanted to frown but rather she twisted the key in the lock and opened her door, "Then I'll just have to use that to keep you around then won't I?"

He arched an eyebrow, "I'm intrigued…"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow… when you take me out to dinner," she gave him a wink before going inside, "Have a good night, Val."

She shut the door, but even through the dark, hardwood she could hear his amused laugh followed by, "Goodnight my temptress…" Sarai sighed lightly as she thought just how wonderful it would be for something to happen with him. It was an odd thought to have… normally her thoughts were more proactive, focused on her plan for Gaia and how she would enact them. The thought stopped her in her tracks. There was the plainest evidence in existence: she wasn't alone. That pathetic little girl she crushed in the forest glade was still there in her mind. It wasn't that she was there, or that she wasn't, it was almost as if they were both co-existing in this brain together…

"Problem?" Sarai's head jerked up to see Karin Sele sitting on her couch. The Nova Corp lawyer had her hands crossed in her lap, and a bored expression on her face. She was dressed in a different suit this time. She wore a white with black pinstripe vest over a silvery silk shirt, her pants were also white pinstriped… and she had a fantastic pair of pumps made of silver leather… or perhaps actual silver, knowing Nova Corp's technological advances.

It took only a fraction of a second to get her head right. It didn't matter, Sarai knew who she was and that was enough for her. "No… no problem, other than you people keep invading my house." She glared at the lawyer, before going to sit in a chair opposite her. The vampire and glared while the impassive woman stared, neither speaking for several minutes. "Can I help you with anything?" Sarai finally snapped.

"Have you taken the nanites yet?" Karin asked bluntly.

Sarai's mind shot back to the small silver cylinder she'd stored in her safe, hidden in the study's bookcase. She hadn't had time to take then, what with all the things going on with Virtra, Evangeline… and Valdis. Valdis's smiling face distracted her for an irritating moment, "No… not yet. Is there a problem?"

Karin shook her head, "Not a problem… just an upgrade… call it a gift from your loving aunt Sele." The woman reached into her white clutch and pulled out another cylinder, a vial of silvery liquid, and tossed it to Sarai. "Those will react with the other nanites and give your "Vampire Angelic" nature a more vivid tone. I'll let you choose whether or not to use them. I promise they only code to your genetic nature… and if you don't believe me… I'll let you come back into Nova Corp and check the files. You'll be completely safe." For some reason, the smile that Karin gave… was not reassuring at all.

"Why would you do this?"

The lawyer smiled a fox-like smile, "Politics and legalities are only my day job… I'm a scientist as well. You're my latest experiment. I never know when these little projects can prove useful, besides, Proctoris is interested in you as well."

That was a name synonymous with caution. Proctoris was Nova Corp's head scientist, and anything he put his hands on either turned into a mad experiment or an amazing weapon. If you wanted something beneficial, then you turned to Nolaria. That woman was a philanthropist if one ever existed. She and Proctoris ran anything for R&D, but if Proctoris had anything to do with this nanites update… Sarai smiled viciously, "I take it this isn't for peaceful negotiations?"

Karin shook her head, "No, but it is more of a defense mechanism… though I'm sure that your mind will find a way to make it into something delightfully wicked."

"Oh you can rest assured on that," Sarai smiled, "Now can you do me a favor?"

"More than I already have?"

"Get out!" Sarai snapped. Karin didn't say a word, but thankfully she obliged. The lawyer exited the apartment with silent grace, leaving Sarai with her choices. She walked into her study, the heels of her shoes sinking into the plush, crimson threads of the carpet. The vampire plopped into the chair behind her desk, propping her feet upon the polished wood with delicate ease. The new vial of nanites glistened before her, the mercurial lure looming ominously before her. Absentmindedly she reached into the bookcase behind her and removed the other vial of nanites, holding it precariously in her hands. This was the decision… the nanites would make her vastly more powerful, but she'd be at risk for Nova Corp taking control of her. But if what Karin had said was true, if she could use these without the side affects of losing her free will, then it was worth having to flesh out these abilities.

The benefits outweighed the dangers. With a deft movement Sarai popped off the top, revealing a syringe tip. Without any hesitation she injected both strains of nanites into her slow, non-circulating blood. Immediately the changes could be felt… her muscles near the injection point already felt stronger. It would take time to feel the full effects, and even more time to discover their full potential. With a pleased smile, Sarai spun the chair around to face the window, watching as a lazy moon hung soft in an obscurity of stars.


	5. Evolutionary Food Chain

**I don't think that this story is going to get much in the way of viewship, but here is the second of the three unpublished chapters which I came across. I'll post the final one tomorrow.**

* * *

The sun crested on the horizon with rosy rays casting a sanguine light through the apartment window. The light lent an interesting array of exposure to an office that used to be immaculate and lavish… and was now disheveled and in disarray. Sarai, however, did not care about the material things. The scarred paintings, the destroyed carpet… it was all paltry in comparison to the skills she had gained. The nanites were now completely controllable, and could be used in many forms. As they were now, they extended from the end of her fingers like thin, deadly claws that could not only slash but stab. Throughout the night they had been used as microscopic filaments… giving Sarai the ability to manipulate object like puppetry, an entirely artistic approach. Sarai had also found ways of using them to attack like bullwhips, to create vine-like blades that wrapped around her arms for both offensive and defensive means, and to make a fine mesh, web-like shield around herself… and she was certain there would be dozens more uses for them.

However, these were not the abilities that caused the most destruction to her office. No, that was reserved for an unexpected surprise: the upgrade offered to her by Karin Sele had been one of sardonic humor.

It had first happened without warning, a blossoming pair of silver wings exploding from her back. Not only did they destroy a finely painted Monet, but these metallic wings had ruined a very expensive leather jacket which she had grown quite fond of. Still, the wings could not be scorned… each feather, created by of thousands of individual nanites, was glistening... the color of silver and pearl. These feathers were sharp as a razor, which meant the wings themselves could be a weapon, but, as Sarai had found out in her anger, she was able to launch these feathers all at once in a hurricane of deadly projectiles. Sarai couldn't wait to see the look on an opponents face as they were silenced by the flurry of a hundred, razor-like feathers.

It was a nice image to envision, but it would require time to perfect. Sarai still hadn't managed to gain control over the when the wings decided to make an appearance. Once the wings emerged, she had complete control over them, but the trigger for their activation was still a mystery. That was the frustrating and destructive part of her experimentation… and the main reason as to why her office lay in ruins.

Pieces of paper, mostly from her destroyed printer, fluttered around her like a snowstorm of handmade confetti. The wings had been appearing more frequently these last few hours. She could make them disappear, but they seemed to have a mind of their own, forcing their way into the world the same way small avians would force their way out of their eggs.

Sarai's anger flared, and instantly she felt the sharp ripping sensation at the space between her shoulder blades, and, as if on cue, the wings exploded from her spine and into their splendiferous brilliance, slicing up what remained of her desk. "GOD! D-ARGH!" she slammed a fist into the nearest wall… and the wings spiked in size, jutting out into full span.

"Ok…" Sarai muttered to herself, teeth gritted in a pained grimace. "That was new…"

The mystery was becoming somewhat clear to her now. She took a deep breath just to make certain, and sure enough… as she let her emotions slip away, her rage subsiding much in the same manner of a steam release valve, the wings vanished.

"_So it's related to my emotional state_…" Sarai thought to herself. If that was the case, then she would be able to call them forth whenever she wished, and their control would be manageable once that could be accomplished. With a few more tests, even though it was painful at first, she was able to summon the wings slowly or rapidly depending on which emotion she called upon… though her rage was by far the most effective at forcing their appearance. It was also the most detrimental. If Sarai ever got too angry in public, the wings might have a tendency to release without her bidding. Perhaps something could be done about that, but she would need more practice.

Just as that thought passed through her mind, there was a sharp rapping at the front door. Apparently there would be no more practice this morning. "Coming!" Sarai shouted to the unknown visitor. Her study was a mess… as was her appearance. Still, one quick scan of the doorway with her telekinesis revealed that it was Evangeline and Valdis. Eva was never one to wait for long. Sooner, rather than later, the small vampiress would let herself in, and that would cause more questions, questions Sarai had no desire to answer. She would explain on her own terms.

In a complete state of disorder, Sarai flung the door open and glared at her fellow daywalkers, "What!?"

Evangeline arched one eyebrow before walking into the room. By taking in Sarai's appearance, the small blonde had obviously garnered some intriguing thoughts about what had been going on, "We have a lead on the Von Helson movement… though I should be asking you _that_ question in the exact same tone. What happened to you?"

Sarai was about to make a clever retort when she caught Valdis smirking at her; it was then that she noticed the disarray of her appearance, and the fact that several revealing bits of flesh could be seen. "Pig!" she spat at the male vampire. "Let me get changed, and I'll explain as we leave." Without even waiting for their response, she turned and walked into her room.

The state of her clothes was such that she didn't even bother looking at them. They came off and went into the wastebasket faster than a hummingbird could fly from flower to flower. The loss of such fine garments horrified her, but compared to what she had gained, it was an acceptable loss. However, those wings would be a wardrobe killer… Sarai made a mental note only to use them in extreme necessity, or in really cheap and useless clothing, which was something she never wore, so the redhead foresaw many other heartbreaks when it came to ruined clothing.

It took Sarai a quick forty minutes to properly change and make herself content that she didn't look like hell frozen over. When she reappeared, both of her companions feigned sleep… to which she gave them a swift kick. Valdis dodged, but got up nonetheless. Eva on the other hand merely caught her foot without opening her eyes, "Don't get upset because you are a princess, Sarai." Eva rose at her own pace before giving Sarai a quick glance over.

She was wearing deep, violet, lace bodice and a pair of indigo slacks. She'd grabbed a purple fedora with royal blue plumage and thrown on a pair of boots, the black leather stilettos clashing nicely. The look was simple, but fixing her hair had taken more time than it should have, being in a mess from all the unruly practice of earlier.

While Eva said nothing, Valdis' look of admiration said that Sarai was attractive enough for his tastes. "Very well," the doll-like leader muttered, "Lets get a move on. Apparently Vladimir has his cronies trying to knock over a weapons depot in Aekea. If they get their hand on an arsenal then they'll be able to start a war, and we don't want that. Not only will it increase the vampire population we'll have to control, but it will cause a widespread knowledge of our existence, and then the food source will all but dry up."

Eva looked like a banshee, beautiful in an emerald green, gothic style dress… lace and frills being the primary component of it's design. Every time Sarai saw the doll-like vampire, Evangeline managed to look exquisite, the porcelain features of her form and face dazzling and unsettling at the same time. Valdis hadn't changed since last night, no telling what he'd been doing.

"You should have let me come in last night," the man whispered, "I could have suggested you take off the jacket… would have saved you at least one piece of that outfit when you had your little seizure."

"What?!" Sarai seethed with rage, "You were spying on me?" Valdis chuckled with a twinkle in his blue eyes and merely walked out the door ahead of her. This left Sarai in a very dark mood as she stalked out the door. It slammed on it's hinges behind her, pulled by telekinetic force… just as her wings burst into full bloom. "CRAP!" she shouted at the heavens, not that anyone would be listening to her. With a deep breath she forced them back into submission, before turning her glare upon Valdis, "You did that on purpose…"

"It was a test," he admitted, though obviously enjoying a hidden joke at her expense.

Eva's interest was piqued. She turned her soft and melodious English accent on Valdis, "And you were keeping this from me for how long?"

"Just until I could pull that off," the former angel confessed, "I still don't know how she does it."

Eva's blue eyes turned on Sarai with determination and mild irritation, "Please tell me you haven't been hiding this from me, darling?" While she may have looked like a mere ten year old, Evangeline's anger was something to be cautious of. Even with her new found strength, Sarai's combat experience was far below that of the older vampire; not to mention her diminutive size offered great advantage in a fight, so there was no desire to anger Evangeline.

"I just found out about it last night…" Sarai gave a short explanation, which both vampires listened to intently.

"So Nova Corp is experimenting with Nanites that can affect Vampires?" Valdis mused, "This could be dangerous…"

"Or potentially deadly," Sarai pointed out, "If they were to give it to the Von Helsons, or make it available for purchase to the international or galactic markets, then whose to say they won't make it workable for humans?"

Evangeline had been quiet through all of this, her hand under her chin as she was obviously deep in thought. Eva was normally very vocal with her thoughts, almost to the point of being brutish at times, always the blunt and honest individual. To see her so reserved… it must be something important. Out of respect, or possibly confusion, neither Valdis or Sarai spoke.

It was a long, indefinite time before Evangeline McDowell spoke, "I think we should look into this with great interest later. If Nova Corp is planning something… it will have coincided with Virtra having to meet with the other hierarchies. Right now we have a more pressing concern… we stop the humans from losing their weapons."

* * *

Aika Wharfs.

The place in Calais where misdeeds go to be unnoticed. Back alley deals, locked warehouses, and stacks of cargo containers hold unknown treasures and secrets best left in the dark. It was almost sundown by the time the three vampires made their way onto the scene. The presence of three powerful vampires could be felt by creatures other than humans. The sea gulls circling overhead fled, as did sea rats and other vermin, till the only sounds on the wharf were the crashing of the waves against the pylons.

"It's quiet…" Eva muttered, "We may be too late."

"No…" Sarai whispered, "They just stopped moving."

Valdis vanished in a flash of white light, reappearing almost instantly. "Zhivago and his men are loading some obscure crates into a magical portal. If we don't stop them, and find out what they are stealing, then we're at a disadvantage." Sarai nodded and placed a hand on Eva's tiny shoulder. In a flash of soft violet light the two of them vanished and appeared inside the warehouse; Valdis's presence was announced by the brilliance of his white glow. Evangeline instantly took a step forward and with a slashing motion of her hand, her own dark magics killed Zhivago's magical portal.

The white haired vampire turned around, his fangs bared, but his aggression failed him when he saw Sarai. "Monster…? I see you have left the cave."

"Coward," Sarai smirked back, "You still follow your master like a dog?" She enjoyed needling others, and her taunt sparked Zhivago's rage once again.

The white haired man was dressed in a copper vest over a white Victorian shirt that was tucked into black leather pants worn over black military boots. Zhivago eyed each of his men silently. There were six others with him, four were carrying crates and two had been standing next to the now non-existent portal. They thought their communications were private, but Sarai only laughed. Her telepathy allowed her to hear every thought this fools made.

"You think the seven of you can over power us?" Sarai smirked, flicking her fedora with a manicured nail, "A surprise attack really won't work." Eva and Valdis gave her sharp looks, but Sarai knew that her revelation had scared many of the young vampires in the room. The Von Helsons had thought their communications were a private weapon to use against enemies. With that private barrier stripped away, they were feeling vulnerable.

"Lorn!" Zhivago barked to the blond vampire standing to the left of the portal space, "Get our escape route back up. I'll deal with these intruders…"

"It would seem that our friends are not only arrogant, but foolish," Valdis muttered.

Eva nodded in agreement. "I get the children…" she chuckled evilly. That sort of sound coming from a child-like being should have sounded innocent, but from Evangeline McDowell? The echoing sound of her laughter struck fear into Zhivago's men. Of the six men, only two were freshly created vampires, which would give them the advantage of hunger strength. They hadn't fed enough to be stable with their new bodies.

The two young vamps placed down their crates and began to back away, knowing all to well that the superiorly powerful vampire had her eyes locked on them.

"You can have the rest Val…" Sarai said coolly, "Leave the albino to me."

Zhivago had taken his last insult from the haughty red head. With a snarl, the white hair vampire lunged for Sarai, his hands clawing for her throat. Sarai's leg lashed out, her fashionable foot crashing into the white haired man's stone hard head with an explosive **_CRACK!_** and Zhivago went flying backwards to collide with the far wall…

The rest of the warehouse became a war zone.

Five other vampires engaged with Sarai and her companions, each body moving like a blur of motion. The tangle of limbs, the blocking of fists, feet and vampiric abilities, and the distracting thoughts of the other combatants were enough to block Sarai's view of Zhivago.

Anger boiled through her and rippled out in a telekinetic wave. The blast threw all the vampires near her into the air. Enemies when tumbling through the air, giving Sarai a clean path to the recovering Zhivago. In a movement that seemed to blip in and out of existence, Sarai appeared before the Zhivago and lifted him off the floor. Both vampires had their fangs bared, hissing at one another. The white haired vampire stared down at his attacker with madness in his dark blue eyes, and he saw that she had not two fangs-but four, a main pair with a smaller pair on the outside of those. It was something Zhivago had never seen… and when Sarai sank these fangs into his neck, Zhivago's madness melted away into screams of fearful agony.

* * *

Evangeline angrily planted her feet to the ground as Sarai's telekinesis attacked everyone. The vampire was powerful, and Sarai was loyal to a degree… Eva would never wishto be on her bad side, but Sarai was greedy when it came to her own goals... the rest of the world could be damned. The rampant and thoughtless telekinesis was a perfect example of this.

With a childish sigh, the petite vampire shrugged it off and forced herself back to the task at hand: dealing with the Von Helson vampires. Evangeline just didn't understand it, personally; these young vampires had no respect for their immortality it would seem. The older vampires, the ones like Eva, they hardly ever resorted to violence when dealing with each other. None of the old ones were eager to give up their already long lived lives… but these new vampires were so quick to violence, never understanding that there could be other options.

Strength went to their heads… quite literally as Eva sent one of her tiny fists powerfully through the skull of an attacking vampire.

The undead body exploded into a shower of dust, much to the shock and horror of his younger companion. The newly turned vampire couldn't be more than a few months old, he'd probably never seen a kinsman die… Eva prayed that he was smarter, but she was disappointed as he snarled at her, his mouth opened wide, fangs displayed. The gothic doll vampire threw out a tiny hand, as if she were tossing the young vampire a ball, and a spear of ice exploded from the floor as she summoned her magic. The young vampire was impaled through the chest, blood splattering the back wall ask it stuck through him, and then he too exploded into the cloud of dust that was the second death. The spear of ice glistened with the quickly chilling red life force that stuck to it, a white mist wreathing around the cold pillar as the humid air was dropped several degrees within the spell's vicinity.

There was a grunt off to right corner of the warehouse, somewhere behind Eva, and the little vampire's acute hearing picked up what was unmistakably the sound of a body flying through the air. With a move that almost resembled a curtsy, Evangeline ducked the flying body and turned to see Valdis.

The vampire angel was a radiant sight, glowing purest white. which contrasted the dark clothing he wore. With the most casual of motions, the same way a person would discard a cigarette, Valdis flicked a finger towards the vampire he had sent flying. From his hand a gleaming white spear of light shot forth and struck the being, particalizing him in an instant. Dust rained all over the warehouse, even getting on Evangeline's clothes as she had not been paying much attention to what this attack would do. She appreciated his display of power. It was little wonder Valdis had already dealt with the other two vamps who had attacked him.

The child-like face glared at Valdis with such an intensity that the fallen angel smiled meekly trying to escape Eva's disdain.

"Holy magic…" Eva derisively sneered, "Is that even fair?" She dispassionately brushed the unfortunate vampire remains from her clothes with the back of her hand. Valdis shrugged and was about to comment when both their attentions were drawn to a scream.

Sarai had her face buried in Zhivago's neck, and the white haired vampire was pinned helplessly to the wall. Both Valdis and Eva had never seen such a thing in all their long days, and, between the two of them, they had several centuries experience. Sarai was apparently draining the helpless man, who's screams began to die away as more and more energy left his body.

"What in the name of Nyx?" Evangeline muttered to herself. A look towards the angel showed that Valdis had no enlightenment to offer her.

Suddenly there was a throbbing hum that filled the warehouse, setting their sensitive hearing on edge. A blinding flash of rose colored light blocked their vision, but all three vampires knew what it meant: the magical portal had been opened again. This occurrence was enough to distract Sarai from her task, as both she and her two companions remembered the blond vampire who had not entered the fray. Blondie gave them all a quick look before he leaped into the shimmering magical vortex, black stereotypical trench coat and all, and the magic snapped out of existence with a wink, the sound similar to that of a dying television when a tube failed.

Looking rather distant, Sarai dropped the lifeless corpse of Zhivago, which exploded into dust as it hit the floor.

"He was tasty…" she muttered to no one in particular. Both Valdis and Eva exchanged worried looks with one another... if another vampire could feed on their own kind, what did that mean for the predatory steps of their food chain?


	6. Mental Breaks

**A/N - This is the last of the archived chapters. So far not too many people have been interested in it, but if I continue this story at a later date... then I will most likely go back and edit chapters 1-3 and make them shorter. Probably break them up into sections that are as long as this one.**

* * *

Valdis walked Sarai home in silence, neither one of them speaking through the entire trip home to Calais. Eva had left them, saying that she had some personal business matters to attend to, but the red headed vampire knew all too well what was going on. Evangeline and Valdis had both witnessed something completely unseen in the supernatural world: a vampire feeding off of another vampire. True, there were times when two mated vampires would drink from another… but it was physically impossible to kill another of their species through drinking. The blood which sat in the vampiric veins did not flow, rather it was very viscous and sat congealed within their bodies. Sarai had managed not only to drain Zhivago's entire body of blood but to have the blood replenish her own health… she could feel it, and that was the impossibility of the matter: dead blood did not heal vampires.

"Are you going to say anything at all?" Valdis finally spoke.

Looking at him from the corner of her eye, Sarai sneered, "What do you want me to say? That I just got off drinking the blood of that disgusting vampire? Or perhaps you would like to hear that I didn't do such a thing… that you imagined it? There's nothing to say, Val… I'm a freak of nature and I always have been. Pretty soon, once Evangeline gets back, I'll be a hunted freak of nature. The community can't afford to have me running around can it."

Valdis's hand lashed out, slapping Sarai to the ground. The female didn't falter a step as she flashed up to her feet, fangs bared and hissing like a feral wildcat. "Don't ever speak about yourself like that again," the former angel said in a dangerously cold voice.

She found herself shocked for about a second, before returning to her feet with a cool and devious smile, "Why, whatever do you mean?"

It was his turn to snarl, a dangerously low threat of a sound, and it sent shivers through Sarai's spine. "You know very well what I mean," Valdis growled lowly, turning to face her eye-to-eye, "You are an extraordinary creature-I knew this the first moment I met you. Evangeline is going to see if there is any record of this ever happening, nothing more."

"You and I both know that is a lie," Sarai purred, coming in so close to Valdis that their bodies were mere micrometers apart. She could feel the static charge between their flesh, the rush of emotions coming from his brain. Slowly, like a snake, the femme vampire wrapped her arms seductively around his neck. She spoke with a soft, almost alluring voice, "You know that I'm dangerous. Even now… at this very moment, your blood sings to me like a siren's song." Sarai sniffed in as if partaking of a rare vintage wine, "You are erotic… and I could drain you with little effort. You know this, and the mere thought of it both excites and terrifies you."

"You are half truthful in your words…"

Sarai raised an eyebrow to the vampire in her grasp, "Oh? Which half?"

"It excites me…" Valdis grinned, some for of vice glinting behind his eyes. With the force of their vampiric strength, the man slammed her up against the wall as he viciously placed his lips upon her own. It was a fury of emotions and blurred hand movements. To the onlooker, it would appear if the two vampires were doing little more than standing in an innocent embrace, but to the two involved… the acts were far beyond the kind permissible in public. The ecstasy of the illicit affair ignited a heated firing the pit of Sarai's chest, a feeling she had not felt in years-and much more intent.

"Do you want to stay out here all night?" she murmured quietly.

Valdis didn't like the interruption, "What did you have in mind?"

The idea flashed through Sarai's mind and suddenly a brilliant flare of amethyst light engulfed them, though the vampires barely paid attention-until they found themselves in the middle of the atrium in Sarai's apartment. The dim setting was illuminated only by the pale moonlight, which cast a ghostly glow about the two vampires who only paused their affections for the briefest of nonexistent heartbeats. "Care to explain that one to me?" Valdis whispered, his voice soft like velvet.

"Don't ruin the moment by making me think…" Sarai muttered, not hesitating to throw Valdis to the floor. She would have taken them to the bedroom… if vampires had need of a bed, however it would make no difference to either of them: bed or floor… they would not sense a change; their hard skin was not likely to give for either.

Wrapped inside their own pleasurable paradise, neither powerful entity noticed the shadow that had moved across the path of the moonlight, standing framed in the elegant crystal window. "Ahem…" a deep voice broke the ecstatic revelry.

Sarai and Valdis both jumped to their feet in an instant, ready for anything; fangs and claw-like hands were at the ready. The intruder did not move, nor did he make a sound. The two vampires looked at one another suspiciously, which elected a feral smirk from their guest. Gleaming white teeth sparkled in the darkness before all his features were revealed. Valdis summoned several orbs of dazzling white light to illuminate the room, the tiny glowing sphere racing to hang in corners of the ceiling. The being whom was illuminate standing before the window was none other than:

"Violente Grey," Valdis muttered with admiration, standing to a more respectable and elegant posture, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm actually not here to see you Lorien," the man spoke, "I'm here to see her." Violente nodded his head in Sarai's direction, his crimson hair falling just over his eyes. The man was tall, about six foot three if Sarai were to venture a guess, with windswept hair that hung down to his neck. He had a bewitching pair of ruby eyes, more radiant than the fire of any precious stone.

Immediately Valdis bristled, his posture stiffening, "And just what does the _hand of light _want with a simple vampire?"

The intruder chuckled lightly, "Simple vampire my ass! You've been hiding her very poorly Lorien, you and that little doll of yours should have know that every telepath in the region is supposed to register with Nova Corp, but then again-vampires aren't supposed to be telepaths are they?"

"Why not?" Sarai finally spoke, she had edged her way closer to the strange man as they were talking. Violente was an interesting specimen in her eyes; he was decked from head to toe in dark and vibrant reds. A silk shirt lay upon his flesh unbuttoned, revealing a tanned and perfect marbled-like chest… sculpted like a gold of old. Over his shirt he wore a long red coat with several black leather belts strapped over it at different angles. Both of this torso pieces flowed over the waist of his black denim pants, dyed with a blood red under color which flowed out of the faded areas of the cloth. With a sniff, Sarai could tell that it was actually blood.

"Because my dear…" Violente smiled, taking a step towards her and holding up a hand to brush lightly across her face. His deep scarlet boots made no sound as he moved across the tile, "Only living humans have active brainwaves which are required for the telepathic arts… however, here you stand before me with not only the ability but a fifth tier mastery… absolutely remarkable."

Valdis's hand appeared out of nowhere, jerking Violente away from the female vampire. Valdis had his fangs partially bared, and he looked absolutely lethal with his cold stare-something that did not seem to phase the red clad vampire in the slightest. Red eyes glared into ice blue orbs before Violente took a step backwards, "I'd watch myself if I were you, Lorien. Don't forget that Nova Corp still runs this planet." That simple line seemed to snap Sarai's gentlemanly escort back to his sense of decorum, and Valdis took his place beside her-quite obviously still in a protective stance.

"I was under the impression that Nova Corp had abandoned the planet," Sarai spoke to ease the tension.

"A common misconception of the foolish rabble," Violente smirked, "I would have expected the daughter of Madam Carcinos to know better. You of all people should know how Nova Corp operates."

"Find a target and assess its fiscal potential, move in and monopolize economy or invalidate its military, establish control…" Sarai spit the list out as if she were still a child learning her lessons.

"And them move onward leaving behind a functioning government," Violente finished. "We finished with Cantado and the main force moved on. There is little need for a large presence when the rest of the world knows that Nova Corp is in control."

"This is all quite boring," Valdis snarled, his eye holding nothing but contempt for the red clad man, "Get to the point and then get out."

Violente arrogantly smirked and raised an amused eyebrow at the angelic vampire; nonetheless, he made no further attempt to act upon Valdis's words. "I do apologize for interrupting what ever it was I came in on…" He gestured nonchalantly at the floor where they had been rolling around, "But I'm afraid this is very much my business-especially when your mothers orders are to have you killed upon sight. As I said, Lorien, you haven't done a very good job of hiding her." Sarai took a jerky step backwards upon hearing this, her apprehensions raised once again.

"Yet you see… I find myself torn," Violente frowned.

"Torn?" Sarai questioned hesitantly, "Between what?"

"Between his duty to Nova Corp and his loyalty to his race," Valdis answered, earning a stiff nod of exactness from their guest. Valdis turned his head slightly towards Sarai, "You see, Violente's first and foremost duty is to Nova Corp-but his duty to his people holds a very close second."

"His people?"

"The vampiric community," Valdis enlightened.

"Ha!" Violente crowed, "The vampiric community is a joke. If it weren't for individuals like you and Evangeline, among others, to give it dignity… why it wouldn't even be a community."

Taking an angry step forward, Sarai had to grab hold of Valdis to keep him in place. She eyed him with a steely gaze that rooted him to the spot, "He speaks the truth, even if it is insulting." Turning with an impassive gaze to Violente, she spoke with mild irritation and mostly interest, "So you are a vampire?"

"I am," Violente said with a graceful bow, "Much the same as Lorien here."

"Peh! My status among the aliens is about the same as a commoner in this world when compared to you, Grey," Valdis adopted the same tone and mannerisms as their uninvited guest, calling him by his surname. "Violente was once an Arch Angel… whereas I was merely a Seraph; they are two different hierarchs I'm afraid… and it makes Violente unique, my kind of vampire has been created before. Your former apprentice, Corialis Grey, was as Seraph like me as well."

"Wait…" Sarai said, taking a step back from the two angelic vampires, "Violente… Grey. Corialis Grey…"

"He was my child; I sired him," Violente said with a sorrowful glaze falling over his eyes, "I'm afraid he was... too _ambitious_."

Sarai understood it now, more clearly than ever: the reason she was attracted to these two individuals. Valdis she had only known for a short week; Violente she had only just met… but something about both of them screamed out to her, and it was more than just their seductive blood. They were angelic vampires, just like Corialis…

The vampiress shook her head in order toclear her thoughts, pulling herself back from both of them, gaining confused glances from the two angels. "Get out…" she whispered, feeling the chaos beginning to churn in her head.

"Sarai…" Valdis warily called out, taking a step forward.

"GET OUT!" She screamed, telekinetic waves throwing both of the vampires into the far walls. Valdis landed with a crushing thud before sliding to the floor; Violente, however, elegantly caught the wall and stayed perched to it like a vibrant butterfly that had just landed atop a flower… the arch angel was able to get a full and astounding perception of Sarai's metamorphosis as the metallic, glistening wings sprouted from her back with overwhelming grace.

Two massive and elegant wings held themselves poised to the sides of the disturbed vampire, hands held on both sides of her head as if to silence the tormented screaming inside her skull. Sarai was the perfect, artistic representation of misery and beauty. In an instant Violente knew his decision, even though he was not about to voice it… not at the moment.

"Leave…" Sarai whispered to herself, "Leave me be…"

Nodding silently to the miserable creature before him, Violente opened the nearby window and made his exit much in the same way he had entered. Before vanishing quietly into the darkness, the red clothed whispered into the winds of the night, "My life is for you my queen…"

* * *

Sarai awoke to the light of a new day pouring through the curtains, only to find herself in a bed. Instantly she shot upright. She hadn't been asleep; she had been unconscious, and that did not settle well with her. Something else that did not settle well with her was the fact that she did not return to consciousness in her own dwelling; rather she now found herself in completely foreign surroundings.

The bed she was sitting in had black satin sheets, very tacky but comfortable nonetheless, and the comforter was black velvet and pushy as a stuffed rain cloud as a storm rolled in. The walls were painted in a dark grey, trimmed with pitch black wood; the carpet was inch thick black weave that could swallow her feet and probably was warmer than she'd been in years… it would have been a dreary and morbid room, were it not for the dark shine that seemed to hover over all the black, obsidian furniture in the room. The four poster bed was carved from the black glass rock; as were the armoire, the dresser, the vanity, and bookcase… she noted several other pieces of matching furniture such as small tables and a stool, but it was enough for her to know who owned the room.

"Valdis was kind enough to bring you over last night," a sinister voice came through the doorway.

"Think of the devil and she walks into the room," Sarai thought to herself as she locked eyes with Virtra Thrad.

The woman was wearing a wispy gown that appeared to be made of shadows as it billowed around her lithe and powerful form. Virtra swayed into the room and sat down upon the bed next to Sarai. Her deep red irises surveyed the vampire for a long moment before she spoke, a delight tinged deep in her voice, "Eva came to see me last night… and several interesting things came into the light. Apparently you are more unique that I originally predicted."

"Strange… I would have chosen," Sarai slowly began to crack every joint in her body, starting with her neck and moving lower slowly with precision, using each pop to accentuate her words, "Bizarre. Demented. Warped. Hell… even fucked… but unique never came to mind."

Virtra rolled her eyes at the moody vampire and ignored her as if Sarai had never spoken. "I also hear that you have had a meeting with Violente Grey," Virtra's eyes were piercing, examining Sarai for any subtle hints, and her perceptive eyes weren't likely to miss anything, "Is he going to be a problem?"

A dozen images and thoughts flashed through Sarai's mind at this question, none of them threatening. She remembered her first thoughts upon seeing Violente, the pull that had tugged at her as she looked into his eyes. Remembering the grace with which he had ridden the maelstrom of her break down last night… it was electrifying; however, none of these thoughts seemed to indicate that Violente Grey was going to attempt anything. Sarai was honest with her answer: "He mentioned that my mother's orders were to kill me upon sight, but he refrained from acting upon those orders and left. I was unconscious, and I don't know what happened to Valdis; but if the Novian Hierarch wanted me dead... he had plenty of time to accomplish that feat."


End file.
