Varian
Varian half expected her to be out the window and well on her way down the slanted roof, what he hadn't anticipated, however, as the door swung inward, was the immediate brunt of sunlight streaming in through the window, catching him unaware.
Even a creature prone to unnatural abilities, such as the incredible velocity of speed, he couldn't dislodge the sudden burning of flesh as the impact of dawn struck him full in the face.
He unleashed an unpleasant growl as pain tore through him; he lurched sideways and fell into the blessed shadows of the room, going still as he focused intensely on the woman standing immobile by the window.
Her face registered a combination of shock and alarm, her eyes peering intently on his, already impeccably healed, without a trace of a burn.
"I-I'm sorry." She muttered, "I never meant-"
"To barbeque me?"
Her face flushed a deep red.
Varian straightened against the wall, fully restored, and then realized his predicament, between him and his blue-eyed human, flowed a seemingly wide beam of sunlight.
He felt the darkness tugging at him, slowly pulling him into a pool of blackened abyss. He felt his strength waning, his abilities weakening, during the day; he was completely and hopelessly vulnerable.
He attempted to step around the stray, but his arm breezed the edge, searing his flesh. He hissed a breath and wrenched away.
He leveled a hard glare on Lily.
"A house full of vampires should really board their windows."
His eyes narrowed, "Where do you plan to go, Lily?"
She crossed her arms against her chest, "As far from you as possible."
"I've told you, I'm not the enemy."
She arched a brow, "No? I'm just your dinner, right?"
He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, "What all did you hear?"
Her expression hardened, "Enough to make up my mind as to who I can trust."
This time, he arched a black brow. "Have I given you a reason not to trust me?"
She cast him an incredulous look, "Let me run down the laundry list- you say you're not the enemy, yet you come with a set of fangs, you've dined off my blood more than I care for, oh, you killed those men in the alley, and you claim my father is over 100 years old, have I missed anything?"
He felt a state of lethargy working its way over his senses, "If you run, I can promise you, your father will find you."
"Good, maybe than he can answer the questions you continuously disregard."
"Lily-"
"I've had more than enough of the supernatural-"
He felt his body pulling away; slowly materializing for the strain of dawn was too unbearable, the inability to resist the darkness tapping into his senses, unconquerable.
"It is not me you should be running from." He said this darkly as his body began to mold into the shadows, dissolving from the room as if he were no more than mist.
Lily
Lily clung to the window, peering wordlessly at the spot where he had vanished, and for a moment, she had the ridiculously insane thought of staying, but then, she recalled the conversation with Marguerite-
My interest in the human goes no further than my hungering for her blood-
She had stumbled onto the top of the stairs just in time to catch his phrase.
She was nothing more than a human.
How could she, even for a millisecond, place her wellbeing in the hands of a creature?
Could she trust a vampire?
Could she trust her father?
Who of the two deemed most dangerous?
As she quietly left the house, mindfully, she felt she was making the right decision, so why than, did her heart feel so heavy, as if she were making a grave mistake?
"Where are you?" Ruby demanded from the other line of the payphone, her voice on the edge of hysteria.
Lily gripped the receiver tightly, wishing desperately she could confide in her friend, and she wondered than, could Ruby be trusted?
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Name it."
"Can you swing by my apartment and pick up Charlie?"
"Of course, but Lil, what's going on? You walked out on movie-night-"
Her nails dug into the phone, "Listen, I can't say much, I just need you to take care of Charlie until I can figure some things out."
Ruby breathed a sigh into the phone, "Alright, but I do not like this whole 'block Ruby out' ordeal." She fell silent, "Oh, have you heard from Jackson?"
Her heart quickened, "No, why?" she asked a bit tentatively.
"He didn't open the Grill today-is he sick?"
"I haven't heard from him."
Ruby was silent a moment and than she said very candidly, "I know something is going on with you, I'm not asking you to tell me what that something is, but I know when you are not telling the truth. Just tell me that you're okay?"
"I'm fine." She lied, wanting to console as well as remain guarded, "I'll call you later, k? Just take care of Charlie for me?"
"Sure thing."
Lily hung up the phone and than as the minutes ticked by; she contemplated what she had been avoiding all evening.
Ward could not be trusted, of that she was certain, but she needed answers. Clearly she was a pawn in a game she didn't know how to play.
How much more dangerous could it get?
Her decision made, she popped another quarter into the payphone and began dialing.
Her heart began that wild flutter, beating erratically to the consistent ringing on the line.
She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until that stalwart tone answered abruptly to her calling. "Hello?"
She exhaled sharply as his name struggled from her throat, "Ward."
"Lilith?" he seemed utterly taken aback and-eager? "Are you alright? Where are you?" he demanded forcefully.
She became suddenly very angry, "Why don't we skip the concerns."
"Tell me where you are."
"Why, so that you can send another mob of goons to haul me off into the night?"
"Lilith-"
"While we're at it, how about you stop pretending as if you know nothing of what I'm talking about. I know about Jackson. Are there any others I should know about?"
"Jackson was a necessary means."
"How so?" she demanded.
"You moved out, Lily, I had to keep watch over you. I was afraid-"
"You hired men to abduct me, my supposed 'boss' was snooping around my apartment every week, how is that protecting me? You think I'm that naïve to believe your lies?"
"Listen-" he said calmly, "-tell me where you are, I'll send someone to get you and we'll discuss this."
"No-"
"Who are you going to trust?" his voice grew edgier, angrier. "That vampire?" he fell silent, as if taking in a deep and steady breath before saying, "Tell you what, I'll give you the answers you seek, once you've arrived."
She shook her head, "I'm not coming."
There was a noise, a slight churning of a steel door-
"I'm sorry to say, but you are."
A cloth, enforced by a strong, male hand, slammed over her mouth, Lily panicked and dropped the receiver; she pivoted around just in time to spy Jackson's solemn face, before blackness struck.
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