Blood Rebel [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twelve - Beyond the Steel Door

"And who is this?" Asked Diana, pointing to the Vark who sat in the second row. He had his big-booted feet resting on the seat in front.

Selene inhaled and closed her eyes. Her Vark chaperone was not something she wanted to have to explain in front of all the other dancers. She could almost hear Diana's waiting, ticking like a giant clock. She opened her mouth to answer when, unexpectedly, someone else responded.

"Hector doesn't trust her. She has a chaperone now." Jackie didn't even look up when she spoke, but continued to inspect her nails.

"And will this gentleman be attending all rehearsals?" Asked Diana, raising an eyebrow and tapping the toe of her left shoe on the boards.

Selene looked over to where the Vark sat. He didn't look interested in the dancers at all. In fact, he looked bored. Occasionally he would stare at Selene, as though to remind her he was there, watching her. She wiggled her shoulders in an attempt to release the tension and forget about him.

"He has to go everywhere she does," said Jackie. This time she looked up, her lips pursed as though swallowing a smile.

Diana frowned and looked over at Selene.

"Is this true?" She asked.

Selene nodded, feeling the heat of embarrassment surface to her cheeks.

"Well then," Diana began, tsk-ing in the back of her throat, "we shall have to get on as though he's not here." She spun on her heel and turned away from Selene, and faced the other dancers. "Right girls, Selene and Jackie will show you all the ceremonial dance. They've had a lot of practice at it." Diana clapped her hands and moved from the centre of the stage to allow the two girls to take their positions.

As Jackie and Selene performed the intricate movements, their bodies coming together and moving apart like lovers taunting one another with the promise of sexual satisfaction, Jackie began to whisper:

"So, you have a guest at Cadogan Place."

"What?" Asked Selene, confused.

"The boy with the poison blood."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The boy who killed the Bleeder."

Selene was so shocked that Jackie knew about Xander that she almost stopped dancing there and then. How was it possible? There had been no survivors.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, shrugging just enough to express ignorance without ruining her dance moves. As she moved into the next position she hoped that she at least looked like she was telling the truth. "There's no one new at Cadogan Place," she added.

Selene could have told her, could have admitted everything. But she didn't want to confide in Jackie; and besides, it would have felt like disloyalty to Hector, and even though his behaviour had been strange recently, she wasn't ready to betray him like that.

"Stop!" A male voice boomed over the piano music. Everyone froze and looked over to where it came from. The Vark was standing up and walking towards the stage, his boots clomping like uninvited guests at a party.

"What do you think you are you doing? You can't interrupt our rehearsals like this! It is enough that you are here in the first place, but you can't go shouting in the theatre like that. You'll frighten the girls." Diana was breathless, or she had the appearance of it at least, and was pacing towards him as he approached the stage. He pushed her out of the way and she stumbled. But Diana was a Vampire, and she was stronger than he was; in a flash she regained her balance and grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled him backwards. His face expressed such surprise that Selene wanted to laugh.