A/N: Chapter 5!! :D Let's see if your hunches about the rogue were correct :P Enjoy and thank you so much for reading! ;)
Chapter 5: Rogues Just Wanna Have Fun
The sun set, and not a word from Henri. Not that I expected him to say anything. I was going to The Wolfsbane Rubies without my damn escort.
Somehow, I knew something would go wrong.
Lily was unusually quiet at my side as we made our way to the blocked entrance. Jack the werewolf bouncer growled when he saw us approach. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Henri's little-"
"Nice to see you, too, mutt," I stopped him from giving anything away. I didn't want Lily suspicious about my connection to a supposedly hidden convict.
"Look, you know the drill, human," Jack looked over at the line of excited – and impatient – humans waiting to get inside. "Your kind isn't allowed without-"
"An escort," a voice said from the doorway leading into the club. I stole a glance at the owner of the voice. Blonde hair caught the light of the bright neon sign above us.
Russell Knight.
He looked the same – not like I'd expected anything to change – and I think he was both surprised and happy to see me. It was written all over his face. Russ moved until he was next to Jack before saying something too low for me to hear. The were grunted in protest, and he looked unhappy, but he moved aside regardless. "You got lucky, human."
I moved past him and my eyes met the vampire's fearlessly. They were black, like always, but they were far from dark. They almost glowed with a passion.
Or that's what I thought.
Damn it, Toni, focus!
I shivered.
Russ fangs fell down when he looked at my short companion. "And who is this, Antoinette?"
"Lilly Grey is a hunter in training."
"We don't usually allow hunters into the club but... " he leaned closer and gave me a dazzling smile, "I'll make an exception with you and your friend."
My body practically melted under his heated gaze. God, what was wrong with me?! I had to focus on the mission...
"Just as long as you don't cause a problem for my customers."
I nodded and Russ gladly led us past the entrance and into The Wolfsbane Rubies. I could feel eyes on me and glanced around cautiously. Russ was attracting looks too, but they weren't nearly as hostile as the ones I was currenlty receiving. I was earning glares and guarded gazes from the women as well as envious looks from the men. I saw plenty of unfamiliar faces present, and there were maybe a handful of vamps in the club that I could see.
I glanced over at Lily, remembering that she was too young to be here. She reminded me of Liz.
Which reminded me of my uncle...
Goddammit!
"Where should we look first?" Lily asked over the music.
I shrugged. "Just keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious behavior or activity. It's all we can do." I realized, of course, that just looking for a criminal we didn't know by appearance was going to be extremely difficult.
A needle in a haystack.
Russ had mysteriously disappeared, and left us on the edge of the dance floor.
Lily looked around, even upward at the second level. She suddenly froze, and I followed her gaze.
Now, I didn't know many vampires in the Manhattan clan, but I knew the one that stood at the edge of the railing, staring right at me, a wicked half smile on his lips, and a gleam in those scarlet eyes.
Gavin Sinclair, Henri's sick and twisted twin brother.
Running purely on instinct and adrenaline, I grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her backward until she was safely behind me.
"What the Hell are you-?" she cried, squirming in my grip.
"If I tell you to run, will you do it?" I asked, not looking at her. My eyes were stuck on the vampire watching us. Sometimes it downright scared me how much alike Henri and Gavin were in appearance. The only indicator that it was Gavin and not his twin were the eyes. The hair and the face, however...
From Lily's instantaneous reaction, I had a feeling who she thought Gavin was. "That's Henri Sinclair! Let me go!" Lily exclaimed. "We have to catch him!"
It took everything I had to hold her back. Gaining leverage, I pushed her away. "Okay, that is not Henri Sinclair."
"A-are you insane? Or at least blind?! That's-"
"No it's not!" I snapped harshly, forcefully pushing her toward the entrance. "I want you to run, okay?"
"But-"
"That vampire is much worse than Hen-" The words caught in my throat when a pale hand grabbed me by the neck, cutting off my air and choking me. I gagged as the smell of redwoods and blood filled my nose and overwhelmed my senses. Gavin pulled me against him, his breath tickling my ear. "Not so fast, darling. Did you miss me?" I didn't answer him, and the vampire chuckled. "I'll take your silence as a 'no'."
"More like 'hell no'!" I growled through clenched teeth. "Let me go!"
"Oh, how I've missed you, Antoinette," Gavin breathed, his lips suddenly on the side of my neck.
My body stiffened, and I whimpered. "No... "
Gavin downright laughed at me. "You think I'm going to bite you? I would never harm another's property. Even if you're Henri's at the moment."
I didn't believe him for a damn minute. Gavin hated me, sure, but he hated Henri with a vengeful passion, and a sibling rivalry that had raged - as far as I know - on for centuries. All because they both seemingly loved their vamp sire, Giselle, who played both like a violin. I had never gotten the full story, but right now it didn't matter. What mattered was staying alive and getting out in one piece.
I didn't look at the vampire holding me; he could've easily compelled me into submission, which I considered against the rules. I couldn't let it happen, period. Not now.
"So, the clan is back?"
"Not entirely," Gavin sighed, tightening his grip. "Me and a few trusted others are checking up on things here."
Checking up on things? What the Hell did that mean?
"So, you know about the rogue?" I ventured, my eyes searching the club aimlessly.
My question must've caught Gavin off guard. "Rogue? Oh, you must mean Kira."
"Kira?" I echoed softly, my eyes wide.
My surprise made Gavin chuckle. "Yes, Kira."
Without warning, I was spun around to see a girl walking through the crowd, her movements slow, graceful, and catlike.
Vampire.
She was about my age, maybe a little older, with straight midnight black hair that fell past her shoulders and deathly pale skin that shined like porcelain. On the skin of her right arm - the only piece of skin marred black and obvious - sat an intricate tattoo in the shape of an 'S'.
I hadn't met too many female vamps – at least none like the one in front of me. She captured the good ol' traditional gothic essence of death; of vampirism.
Gavin's grip loosened enough, and his triumphant and knowing smile was hard to ignore.
The black-haired vamp wore typical Goth chic: striped stockings, combat boots that reached her knees. Her red tank top read, "BITE ME" in white and black letters. I could've almost mistaken her for a vampire wannabe. Heavy black eyeliner traced vampire black eyes and the red lipstick looked like blood from a distance. Was this vamp – Kira – the rogue Henri and I had been trying to find and maybe even capture?
"Toni!" Lily's urgent voice forced me to take my eyes off of the new vampire. The young hunter was on her knees, and her eyes were fearful. She pulled out the gun that was full of wooden bullets.
"Lily, no!"
Gavin was faster than me. He snapped his fingers once, and, in a blur, Lily was being apprehended by the new vamp. Kira pulled at Lily's hair, hissing softly, her black eyes haunting. She actually looked kind of familiar...
Maybe I was seeing things.
"Kira?" Gavin called, causing the vamp to squeeze Lily tighter, her slender arms around the girl's abdomen. The 'S' tattoo looked like a snake from this angle.
The gun fell to the floor, useless. I swallowed hard. Lily was at the hands of the rogue. Who knew what she was capable of?
This was not happening!
"Who's your friend, anyway, Toni?" Gavin asked, his tone light and curious. There was also a hint of something sinister in there as well.
"She's a hunter," I answered meekly.
Gavin gave another chuckle. "Isn't she a little young to be a hunter?"
"I'm in training," Lily gasped out loud when Kira squeezed her like an freaking anaconda.
Gavin sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess it's Kira's decision whether or not she survives, seeing as she thought to pull a gun on me at a hunter-free facility."
"Russell let us in," I protested quickly.
"Hmm... interesting," Gavin mused softly to himself. "He knows what you are, doesn't he? Who you are?" The vampire was referring to my relationship with my uncle. Being the human niece to the current master vampire of Manhattan must've had perks, but none that I could see. Henri offered me protection through the Mark; what did my uncle offer?
I wasn't about to test this theory.
"So you hunters are looking for me? Why?" the vamp holding Lily tightly said, her black eyes seeking my face. God, now that I looked at her – actually looked at her – I saw something familiar. Something that I'd definitely seen before. What was it, though? Her hair, her face, her eyes? Maybe all three?
I bit my lip. "Who are you?"
"Kira," she said simply, giving me a nice, devious smile. "Hi."
"Uh, hi," I greeted nervously. "You're killing innocent people."
"Please excuse Kira," Gavin cut in, red eyes oddly sympathetic. "She didn't have her sire to watch her for the last week. It normally makes her go on a bit of a blood binge." When he looked her way, my confusion only deepened. "Sire?"
"Gavin's my sire," Kira confirmed with a nod, casually showing me her pearly white fangs. She locked eyes with Gavin, and asked, sounding eager. "Now?"
He nodded in confirmation, grinning madly. "Now."
The movement was so fluent, so fast, I almost didn't catch it.
I surely heard it.
Kira wrenched Lily's head to the side roughly, and something snapped. Lily's eyes glazed over, and her body went limp.
"No!" I yelled, trying to get to the now-dead hunter in training. I'd had one job above all else tonight: watch out for Lily... Now, she was dead...
I couldn't get to her body; Gavin and Kira were blocking my way, standing side by side.
"Such a weak little thing, wasn't she?" Kira murmured, adjusting her bat-shaped headband, "That was almost too easy." Her words induced a fire in my suddenly cold body. My pulse pounded, but not from fear. The partygoers paid no attention to the dead body on the dance floor, but I was drawn to it.
Kira the rogue had just killed again, and it wasn't a random human this time. She'd killed a hunter, just because Gavin told her she could.
What a monster.
Ice melted into flames as I ran toward her.
Gavin caught me by the lapels of the trench coat before I could get even close to the female vamp. Kira laughed at my failed attempt. "You have no idea what I can do, hunter. I can be nice, or I can be really mean. Your choice."
I scoffed harshly. "Jeez, where did Gavin find you? 'Minions R Us'? He must've been desperate."
Gavin barred his fangs at me, but it was Kira who spoke, her black eyes cold as they looked into me. "For your information, Gavin found me a few years after our family died." She sighed, drawing her gaze downward, at Lily's body. "Our parents and brother died in that fire. Gavin saved my life by turning me." She smiled at him. "He's much more than my big brother now; he's my master."
My mind was going crazy. Well, shit...
I focused on Kira, then looked at Gavin. The gothic beauty wasn't mocking me, nor was she lying. Seeing the two vampires together, my jumbled mind made the shocking connections.
Kira was a Sinclair.
She was Henri and Gavin's long lost sister!
Not so long lost after all, I guess.
A/N: AHHHH! Thanks for reading ;D Please vote + comment if you enjoyed chapter 5 ^_^ See you next time!
Picture: More Chace Crawford as Gavin Sinclair :D
Song: Where the Lonely Ones Roam by Digital Daggers
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