Jason shakes his head solemnly.
"I was afraid this would happen."
Chris smiles.
"Weren't we all afraid this would happen? Honestly Darin, you have to control yourself."
Chris is smiling and obviously joking as he shakes his head at Darin. Jason looks more nervous than happy, but definitely looks relieved.
Rama is still sitting on Darin, frozen in terror. He is still shaking and the bloody tears still drip from his eyes. He strokes Darin's hair gently and stares into his emerald eyes. A small smile slowly stretches across his face and he laughs. Relieved, he hugs Darin tightly and kisses him. Then he stops before making Darin even more emotional. His eyes are still red, but a paler red with a sort of blue shining behind them, like when he drank Darin's blood and his eyes turned blue, only this blue is only partially coming into his eyes. This only means that he is very relieved. His wings flap lightly as he smiles more and laughs again.
"You're back!!"
He bounces up and down on top of Darin for a moment and then stops.
"Ooops...sorry."
He blushes a little and Jason watches his behaviour curiously. Jason has never seen Rama blush. Then again, he was seeing plenty of Rama that he had never seem before. Where had all of this complexity in Rama come from? Why was he acting this way? How could he feel? What was his reason for sticking around so long? What was his reason for wanting to help? Jason just stares at Rama in disbelief, pondering these questions.
Rama just holds Darin's hand and laughs.
"Well I guess that plan didn't go too well. Maybe we can feed you another way. Oh, whatever."
Rama looks out the hole in the wall.
"Hey, it's almost dawn! It's about two hours until sunrise. Oh shit. We need to get you and Chris outta here now."
By 'you' he means Darin of course.
"We need umm...a basement or something. Aaron, does this place have a basement? Oh whatever, we just need somewhere that is completely blocked off from the sunlight And..."
A horrified look goes into his eyes.
"Oh no. They blocked her. Him. It. I can't find it anymore. I've been tracking that...thing in Dianna and I've lost it! I knew her plan! I've been reading her mind at times and now it's...gone!! It must have been that damn priestess. Damn it!!!"
Rama growls and bares his fangs looking out the hole in the wall. Then slowly, as if it just dawned on him, he looks at Aaron.
"You yelled at me."
Jason rolls his eyes. Chris mutters 'idiot', and smiles faintly as he moves forward to speak.
"Well, I did make a protective spell. It is a very good one. It should keep this place and this room safe from intrusion at least for the day while we sleep...of course, it would help if you would stop glaring at the barrier, Rama."
He mutters under his breath 'lousy stupid demon' low enough so Darin doesn't hear it.
Rama is still looking at Aaron.
"You called me an idiot."
----------
Darin grins sheepishly, one hand scratching the back of his head.
"Heh...sorry..."
A concerned glance at Rama. A soft poke in the side.
"Y'ok?"
His question is quickly answered as Rama glomps onto him. A big smile, then a look of surprise as the demon jumps on him.
"Oof?"
A moment...then another grin.
Aaron paused in his thoughts, glancing at Jason...who seemed almost startled by how Rama acted. He stepped over quietly...
"Something wrong?"
Then he looked back at Rama as he heard his name.
"Mm? Oh yes, there's something that'll work..."
He trails off as Rama speaks of Dianna...and what the thing in her had been up to.
"Priestess? What priestess? You probably should tell us everything that you've learned from this tracking you've been doing."
A frown. He ignores Rama's last comments as he returns part of his attention back to his spell-in-making.
Darin merely watched the goings-on, trying to remain calm as he chanted a mantra of 'stay calm, stay calm, stay calm' over and over in his head.
But he too was curious about this priestess. There were many things he was curious about, since his curiousity was only rivaled by his stubbornness.
-----
[Elsewhere...again.]
"What are we doing here? Why are we not attacking? Why are we waiting?!"
"Patience, 'my Lord.' For being a supreme being of evil, you do seem to know very little...this is the heart of the temple. The strongest center of evil in the city. There's enough power here to do almost anything. This is where you shall have time to rest and regain your strength while we plan our strategy..."
"Who cares about strategy?! Kill them now! All of them!"
"'My Lord.' We will not needlessly waste life. These are no ordinary opponents. From the little I've dared to sense from them, I can tell that merely trying to overwhelm them with sheer power will fail...trust me...we will not fail you, 'my Lord.'"
She whirls around and off, deeper into the room, planning a spell that might work.
Kura stared after her a moment then, seething, admits to himself that what she says makes sense and takes a seat, waiting for her to return.
----------
Chris continues to stare at Rama with utter disbelief at the idiocy of his reaction time. Jason notices Aaron's question, but decides to answer after Chris and Darin get to bed.
"C'mon. Please show us the place Aaron. Rama and I will peak with you when the others get into a safe place. I do not need to hide from the sunlight any longer. I'm 5,000 years old. The sun cannot hurt me very much any more and it has never hurt Rama. Chris, however, is still very sensitive to the sun. He is young, only about 600 years old. A child still. Darin is ever younger and will surely die if placed in the sunlight for even a moment. Quickly show us to somewhere."
Rama is too busy playing with Darin's hair to care about what Jason was saying. Rama doesn't need to sleep, ever. Jason does, but if Rama occupies the body, then Jason can rest. Rama kisses Darin and continues a trail of kisses to his ear. He snuggles on top of him on the bed and uses his wings to shield them from view of the others. Jason and Chris notice and both roll their eyes simultaneously. Chris moves to pull Rama off, but Jason motions for Chris to stop and watches curiously. Rama is holding Darin close and kisses his lips again. He looks at him, stoking his hair, and speaks to him in his mind.
'I was scared that you would leave. That you would never return to your normal self. That is why I was crying. I've never cried for anyone before. My tear ducts have not been used in so long, I think they closed up and the tears are trying to squeeze by and I end up bleeding because of all the effort. That's probably why I cry bloody tears.'
He smiles and stands up, holding Darin's hand.
"Let's go and tuck you into bed Darin."
---------
A few blinks from Aaron. A nod. Very well, he'd have to wait to hear more about Dianna's possessor's plans and this priestess...he waits patiently until they were all ready to go, smiling at Darin and Rama. He was worried about all that had happened, and what would happen, but when he watched the two he couldn't help but smile.
Darin doesn't mind when Rama messes with his hair. Was becoming so common now that he barely noticed it anymore. Soft laughter as Rama's light kisses tickle...Darin's apparently extremely ticklish. He smiles up at Rama, emerald eyes diffused with a soft golden glow. 'I'm stubborn remember? I will never leave if I can help it...I will not give into myself.'
One hand reaches up to gently touch the side of Rama's face, partially cupping his cheek...he had thought that, knowing that Rama could read his thoughts...
'I'll try not to give you any more reasons to cry, either...'
He stands up after Rama gets off of him, glancing towards Aaron.
"Lead the way, my friend!"
He flashes a bright smile...which Aaron returns, unable to resist catching at least a portion of his friend's good mood.
"Come along then..."
He heads out into the hall, glancing about quickly before he starts toward the stairs. He was leading them down to a series of rooms below ground that were actually where he lived. Specifically to a couple of rooms near where his 'study' was...maybe there'd be something in his library of books to help...
Once they got underground, the hallways and rooms were lit by illusory lights that Aaron formed...once they settled in one place he'd tie off the weave so it wouldn't drain his power...it didn't take them long to reach the main room, filled from wall-to-wall with books, scrolls, and other interesting papers. He created several of the floating lights and set them in different parts of this room, as well as sending a few into a couple of the connected rooms. The ones lighting the large room they were in right now were tied off and left...
"You can use these rooms to rest..."
Aaron was already flipping through one of the books, silver eyes scanning the pages for helpful information.
---------
As they walk downstairs, Rama is holding Darin's hand gently with his fingers laced loosely with Darin's. Jason is as silent as ever and Chris looks very tired. He keeps yawning and leaning on Jason's shoulder. When they get downstairs Chris takes one glance at the books and scrolls and gives a moan of longing. Apparently he likes reading. His eyes survey the room as Jason gently tries to lead him to a room. Chris shakes loose and walks to Aaron. His eyes are completely gold, kind of like how they do not want Darin's eyes to look. However, Chris is not going crazy, just really happy.
"All of these are yours? All of..."
He gestures around the room, lost for words.
Jason has that faint look of affection in his eyes that only shows for Chris as he takes Chris's hand to lead him away.
"You can see them later dear. I'm sure Aaron will speak with you later about them."
A polite nod to Aaron.
"Thank you for the rooms. Chris, Darin, and I must sleep, but Rama can stay up to talk to you. It is best if I rest with Chris. He gets scared when he is alone."
He leads Chris into one of the rooms to sleep. Rama looks to Darin.
"C'mon. Time for beddy by. You need to sleep."
He kisses him and holds him close while he does so. He strokes his hair and finally pulls away, but not far. He is still nose-to-nose with him and smiling.
"Sleep darling. I must talk to Aaron. Find yourself a room."
His head tilts to one side suddenly and he turns to Aaron.
"Oh yeah. Chris want me to remind you that his protection spell will secure the whole building until he wakes up. Yup. So they can sleep safely."
He sends Darin off to a room and looks to Aaron. His wings stretch out and flutter.
"Could I sit down? I have a lot to tell you."
---------
Darin barely looks around, even though he'd never been down to this part of the building before. A stifled yawn...the exhaustion that had been haunting him all night had finally caught up...it wasn't just from the night's events (although being attacked by your own sister, being changed into a vampire, and discovering/trying to control a hidden power was tiring enough) for he had slept very little for quite a while, so worried had he been about Dianna. He doesn't even notice when Rama speaks, for if he had he would have complained since it sounded as though Rama was talking like he would have to a child. He stumbles into one of the rooms, onto the bed, pulling the covers over his head, hiding all but a few strands of dark hair.
Aaron smiles lightly, letting go of the energy that powers the lights in the side rooms which Darin, Chris, and Jason had gone into, leaving the only light that which leaked in from the main room...it was hard to concentrate on the books when he was supporting the light spell.
He had heard Chris, he just hadn't answered, merely smiling faintly as he thought over his books. It was always good to meet another with the same passion for books...even if he was a vampire.
Aaron has received many of his books from his late mentor (although he hadn't remembered such) and had merely added to his collection as he'd lived here. Probably the only more extensive library was in the palace itself.
Back to the present, Aaron paused in his reading, glancing up at Rama. A quiet nod as he gestures at a cushioned stool by the table.
"So...you've been tracking Dianna's possessor. A useful skill...correct me if I'm wrong, but I would assume that you are a telepath, or at least have talents similar to one...since you said something about reading her...its mind...and also since I could not sense any other way..."
A nod...a sigh.
"Unfortunately that does leave the possibility that someone will be able to follow your...residue in its mind back to you...hm. A skilled telepath'd be able to do that without getting caught..."
Eyes dull as he follows a train of thought...then he snaps back to reality.
"We will worry about that later...for now, tell me everything you've been able to find out...also tell me all you know of the thing in Dianna...maybe I can find out just who - or what - is in her..."
A look of concentration in his gaze as he glances up...all business now.
----------
Rama sits on the chair and stretches out his wings so he will not crush them against the chair. After a moment of thought, he moves forward slightly and his wings go into his back leaving two small holes in the back of the shirt and on his back. He smiles and leans back on the chair comfortably.
"Well, I am a telepath. I have had these abilities since I was born. I get it from my father's side, I believe. Yes, the demon is a telepath, not the vampire. I do not believe they can tell it is I. Actually...well they might be able to, but they can't tell where I am."
A sigh and an uncomfortable shift in the chair.
"Of course, since I have not left this place, they will probably know that I am with Darin. Like you said, though, let's not worry about it right now. I have more important things to tell you. The thing that possessed Dianna is a dark lord. More powerful than I earlier thought. Its name is - well, I didn't get the name, but I know where he is. Yes a he. He is at the evil church thing that Dianna has been going to. I cannot get why Dianna has wanted to go there because her mind is far too scared and closed off to let me in. The dark lordy thing is with the high priestess of that church. This is where it gets tricky."
Rama looks Aaron in the eye since he had been looking at the ground mainly His flame-colored eyes are strong and they heat they emit is usually overpowering, but this time his gaze is cool Rama searches Aaron's mind and sighs.
"You know the high priestess. I do not know her name for she is too good at blocking her own mind for me to get through. I do, however, know what she looks like, because you have a mental picture of her in your head. Maybe you do not have as much reason to hate vampires because I believe that at least one member of your family is still alive. The high priestess is the spitting image of...well, you. Your twin sister is the high priestess of this evil dark lord worshipping cult."
----------
Aaron looks up, tapping his fingers on the table...he looks thoughtful.
"True...they already know where we are...but unless they somehow managed to a get a glimpse in your mind, they most likely don't know who exactly is here..."
A nod as he stares into space.
"After all, Chris and myself came after this dark one manifested..."
He leans back, thinking a moment...
"Perhaps Dianna was forced to visit that church place...or perhaps she knew something about what might happen...unlike her brother, Dianna had some magic...sometimes she got visions...premonitions...a natural strength, most likely not resulting from her blood, as Darin's current troubling skills seem to be...she might have seen something and went there because of that..."
A soft sigh.
"Who really knows at this point. It's just speculation."
He pulls a different book towards him (the table is filled with them from previous readings), but looks up as Rama mentions the priestess, his own gaze calm and emotionless.
As Rama continues to speak, revealing exactly who the priestess was, his face doesn't change, he merely stays perfectly still, seeming to consider what the other had said.
"First off...never look into my mind again...ever. Currently I have enough issues with the confusion and mess these many memories have made in there...I don't need any more intruders in my head..."
A flick of his hand sets a shield about his mind, inverting the weaves many times so that only he could unravel it...
"And if it is my long-lost sister, which would be a very convenient coincidence, it does not matter...she is quite definitely not on out side..."
His voice mimics the cold lack of emotion in his eyes.
"It is my sworn duty to protect both Darin and Dianna, no matter who it is that opposes us. If she persists in aiding those who wish to those I protect, then she is a threat which must be removed, especially if she is as strong as I remember her being..."
Gaze averted, returned to the book in front of him.
"Tell me everything you can about this dark lord possessing Dianna. Perhaps I can locate him in one of these texts..."
All business, he seems to have already put all thoughts of his silver-haired sister turned evil priestess away...
----------
Rama rolls his eyes.
"I didn't mean to look through your mind by the way. It's just that when you realized Jason and Chris were vampires, a mental picture popped into your head. And I will keep my nosy little telepathic mind out of yours from now on, don't worry. It's very confusing to try to read the mind of someone who doesn't even know their own mind."
Rama takes something out of his coat. A black vial. He uncorks it and drinks something, then puts it back in his coat and tilts his head to one side.
"Well, I can't get through into your mind again anyway. You are very good at shielding your mind. An incredibly strong barrier. Anyway, back to business. The demonic dark lord possessing Dianna is called..."
Rama closes his eyes, concentrating deeply.
"Kurayami Shihaisha."
His eyes open, flames burning in the back of his eyes, creating a strange effect on his gaze, like he is far away.
"He is possessing Dianna for some strange plan...I can't make any sense of it. They were at the center of the temple when I was blocked...hmm...very emotional creature. Ha! TOO emotional. Yes. The barrier she put on him is wearing thin from all of his outbursts. He's keeping them inside because he does not want the priestess to stop helping him. All that evil anger is letting me in, just a little. He has to be in one of these books. A very powerful dark lord."
He smiles grimly.
"I have severely underestimated him. And the worst part is, he still wants to eat Darin. Oh, and the high priestess knows about Darin's hidden past it seems. She made some comment about his power and how he is getting stronger. That he will soon be controlling the power instead of it attempting to control him..."
He stops and blinks his eyes.
"That's all I have. What can you make of it? Do you think it will help?"
Rama is leaning forward interestedly. His wings come out of his back and curve around him. This insane demon with the jet black hair that framed his face and neck, red dragon wings with a black frame, and double fangs that are stained with the same blood you can smell on his breath, is interested solely in whether this mortal can help save another mortal just to keep Darin safe and happy. What kind of demon was he now?
----------
A very slight, very dry humourless smile.
"There were many of my family who carried the powers of a telepath...I was one of a few who did not, so I had to learn early how to hide my thoughts."
A pause...he listens as Rama continues speaking. Eyes suddenly widen as their enemy is named, a frown forming and deepening...he listens to the rest of what Rama has to say, then stays silent a moment, thinking carefully over what to say.
"Kurayami Shihaisha...for that one I need not the books. He is one of the strongest...the most evil..."
A sigh...he appears slightly flustered.
"Would that it had been any other..."
Another pause.
"This one...has been an enemy of Darin's family from the beginning...Darin's oldest ancestor thwarted his first attempt at world domination...Kurayami was weaker back then, and couldn't prevent his own defeat, so rather than give up his life, the dark one escaped to another dimension...but was trapped there. Many times over the years, Kurayami attempted to escape, but was always driven away..."
A sigh.
"I should've known...every prophecy speaks of this..."
A shake of the head.
"Kurayami still wants to devour Darin, even though he will not absorb the full power due to Darin's new state of vampirism, for since the two are twins, each has one half, one side of their power. That is why they seem to have such different magics...if Kurayami does not get both parts of the whole, he does not receive his own power and form..."
A dry smile.
"Since, in his true form, he is male, but he is trapped in Dianna's very much female form, he cannot access his own magic very well...it's distorted. If he'd managed to take Darin instead, there'dve been more trouble since he'd have better control of his own magic, making it unnecessary to rely on the cult..."
A nod...followed by a smile.
"I can only imagine the aggravation Kurayami is suffering right now...he's missed Darin not once but twice, he's trapped in a female form, and he has to deal with a high priestess who, if she is my sister, is probably being a real bit-."
He breaks off suddenly, coughing slightly.
"Anyways...if she truly is Arianna, then it is no surprise that she knows of Darin...who he truly id...for if she did escape the...slaughter of the Lithenbournes, then she could've picked the knowledge up from my mind. She's th' only one who could ever successfully get past some of my mental barriers."
A slight smile...and a sigh.
"But what to do next...none of the books or legends ever spoke of how Kurayami was defeated. We know more now, and have am advantage over them since we know how powerful he is...he knows almost nothing of us. Our strengths...our weaknesses...at least, I'm fairly sure he doesn't."
A shrug...he stretches...
"I'm not sure what to do, actually...I can only imagine that they are planning something...not force, for that would be stupid...some subtle thing..."
-----
[Guess what? Elsewhere again!]
Alone in a room, Ari knelt in the middle of a glowing circle, in the center of a dark, inverted pentagram, chanting quietly, eyes closed.
Lengthy hair sways gently in a nonexistent wind...dark energies gather, manifesting themselves as an almost-fog swirling about her...she was aware of nothing but her magic and the spell she was weaving...to be interrupted now could result in a lethal backlash of magic...
----------
Rama leans back in the chair, careful not to crush his wings. He rubs his hands together like he is cold. A tiny growl is heard, but from Rama's stomach. Rama pretends not to notice.
"So...at least we know who he is. Umm...well I guess that helps. How are we going to protect ourselves from what they are doing, if we don't know what they are going to do? Unless you have some sort of idea. Do you?"
He casually takes the black vial that he had earlier and rinks from it. He mutters, "Empty," and searches through his coat trying to find something apparently. He completely ignores Aaron and stands up, taking off his jacket and shaking it out. He searches through the coat's many pockets muttering, "c'mon...where is it...stupid Jason..." A fairly large water bottle falls to the ground with a soft clunk. He picks it up and uncorks the glass bottle. The liquid in the bottle looked clear at first, but when Rama pulls out the stopper, the liquid becomes a deep red. Blood. Rama smiles sheepishly.
"There it is. Forgot about that preservation spell Chris put on it. Hides it."
He takes a long swig and then realizes that this might not be the best manners to display in front of Aaron. He corks the bottle back up and sits down on the chair, wiping his mouth off.
"Umm...well, we're past that now. Let's try to brainstorm or something. How could we find out how he was destroyed last time? Is there anyone living who could still know? Surely there must be some informant. With something as big as that happening...there must be some information somewhere. We need to find it. Are you sure it's not in one of these books and you just overlooked it or something? There are a lot of books..."
Rama looks around at all the books. He had never really been fond of reading. He got stories from people's minds if he needed entertainment. He got any information he needed from an educated person's mind. He never had much use for reading. Stories of nonexistent people never interested him. All of these books...ugh. They made his eyes hurt. Chris would love to research this. Rama, however, would be
having a little more trouble. But, if it would save Darin, then he would do it.