Darien

Chapter 9

They kicked the door in after several attempts at knocking. They had guns at the ready and protective gear just in case he decided to attack. They expected him to be sleeping by now; it was only nine in the morning. A quick search of the apartment told them that he wasn’t there. They signaled to the others and quietly left the apartment. It was a disappointing morning, but they should have expected nothing less. By all indications he had not been there for a day or two. They should have moved in before the men from the Everest had called them. This was a very sensitive situation that they didn’t want public any more than the non-humans did. They thought they had a mutual understanding, but that was not the case. Some of them had been wreaking havoc and stealing badges by all indications, but since the badges bore no pictures, it was hard to ascertain who was who. They conceded for now, but they would be rounding them all up soon enough.

*****

To Rose’s surprise the house was really dark even in the daytime. No wonder he could live here, or maybe he either built it or bought it to create that very atmosphere.  When she opened her eyes, he was asleep so she crawled from bed ever so carefully so as not to arouse him. She had never seen him during the day and she now marveled at how soundly he was sleeping. She was also not sure what he would be doing when he did awaken, or how long it would take him to be. As for her, she could hear her stomach growling, so she washed up and proceeded to find the kitchen. When she did, she was pleasantly surprised that it was stocked and nothing had expired. She made herself some coffee and pancakes. She walked around the small house and even ventured to the porch to survey the appearance of the place in the daylight. It was even more magnificent and the stones glistened in the sunlight.

She lazed about the house for the better part of the day, checking out the news and other happenings. She called some of the clients she had lined up and apologized for her absence for the next two weeks, but informed them that a family emergency had surfaced that needed her immediate attention. She was watching television until late in the day and had fallen asleep when she felt cold lips on hers. She opened her eyes to see Darien standing over her.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Almost seven.”

“You slept for the entire day?” she asked.

“Usually I do. You slept too,” he teased. “ Mine was deliberate. I have work to do tonight. I just wanted to spend last night with you or I would have already gone out.” He walked to the kitchen and she followed. They managed to find something for dinner and not long after, Darien showered and got ready to leave. Rose was not sure she would sleep when he was gone, but he assured her she would and he would be back before she got a chance to miss him. She followed him to the door and placed a lingering kiss on his lips before he left. He told her to lock up properly and to call him for anything, no matter how silly she might think it is. She promised and before her eyes he disappeared. He was even faster than she imagined.

Darien began his search from his house directly to where Taylor stayed. Taylor wasn’t there, but he continued to scout the area for several hours. He had only stopped to rest when he heard voices. He looked around to determine exactly where he was and realized he had drifted farther than he had realized. He noticed Oliver and Ian, two of the nomads he knew of. He approached them and apprised them of the situation. They had heard as much as the rogues killing humans, sometimes a bit too risky, but they weren’t aware of the government crackdown. They had stayed mostly in the wild and only came into town to procure supplies. Darien told them to lay low lest they should be discovered. He also advised them to get registered, even if they would never use the privilege, just to avoid future persecution. They listened intently and took the card from Darien with Weston’s and Michael’s phone numbers.

As soon as he had taken leave of them, he began drifting westward again as if by impulse. He came upon a clearing he had never visited before, which meant he had gone further in this direction than he had ever done before. He walked a few paces, trying to get a read on the place when a voice behind startled him.

“My, my, what have we here? A little too far from home wouldn’t you say?” he asked. It was the taller of the two rogues he had met before. The small red haired one was close behind, but he chose to remain silent. Darien swooped down on the tall fellow.

“So, you think you could come into town and make a mess of things and just leave? Because of you I had to flee my home.” He curled his lips to reveal extending canines and his eyes grew red with fire. He grabbed the tall man by the hair and pulled his head back. “I refuse to be threatened or pushed to the extreme. You have no idea the damage I am capable of. Tell me, do you even know how to kill a vampire without chopping its head off?” he asked.

The short red haired one was shivering by now, having lost his shield. “Look man, I don’t have anything against you. We were just following orders,” he squealed.

“Who killed the girls? Who broke into my apartment?” he asked.

“He told us to. Once we told him about you, he told us to kill the girls and make it look like you,” he said, almost fearful now to lie to Darien.

“Tsk tsk tsk, good help is so hard to find these days.”

Darien spun around to the voice that just spoke. He knew that voice.

“Hey there old friend,” Gabe said. He was leaning against a tree observing the trio for some time. “I thought you had grown more passive than that.”

“Gabe? This is your doing?” asked Darien in total surprise.

“Wait, you two know each other? You were just using us for a personal vendetta?” asked the tall one again.