Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kyoko’s lips parted as Kotaro held her. She could feel his heart beating in a quick strong rhythm. She could feel his strength… his protection and her soul recognized it. Closing her eyes as a sense of peace flowed over her, she nearly fell flat on her back when Kotaro suddenly pulled back and stood to angrily pace back and forth.

“You will not ever take off like that again without my protection!”

The forcefulness of his words made her flinch for a split second before his words sank in.

“WHAT?” Kyoko glared at Kotaro as she pointed a finger at him. “How dare you! Who died and made you king? What makes you think I am going to just sit around and let you tell me what to do like a trained puppy, just because I got drunk last night?”

“For your information, I am not the first person to get drunk in a bar. Sure, I may have passed out, but it isn’t like I went out by myself Kotaro. I had friends there. I was perfectly safe with Suki and Tasuki. You are not my keeper!” She fisted her small hands into the cover trying to top off her temper.

Kotaro cocked an eyebrow wondering if she had really been there on a secret date with Tasuki and not told him. His eyes narrowed as he rethought the spanking idea.

Finally out of steam, Kyoko sat back on the bed and turned her face away from him with a huff. Then the events of her bizarre evening unfolded in her mind. Nervously, she twisted her hand into the cover as she recalled a pair of vivid golden eyes watching her fall from her bedroom window. The similarity between those eyes and Toya’s gave her the strangest feeling.

Shuddering, she suppressed the fear crawling up her spine, refusing to let Kotaro know how uneasy she was. That man had grabbed her from the air without hesitation as if drawn to her aid much like Kotaro and Toya always did.

She knew that about her two friends… they had always been like that from the moment they met... often at each other’s' throats, but always there.

The man that had saved her from falling to her death was a complete stranger. “He was flying… wasn’t he?” she asked more to herself than to Kotaro. A slight frown crossed her brow as she contemplated the stranger’s looks. ‘He could have been Toya’s brother… except for the fact that Toya had never mentioned having a sibling.’

Kotaro watched as her mind pulled further and further away from him into her own speculations and away from the point he wanted to press. Reaching out, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to look at him.

“Kyoko! That man…” Stopping suddenly when her curious expression pricked his better judgment, he tried a different approach. “You don’t even know who the hell he is.”

“Listen to me very carefully,” His voice softened. “Did you know that girls have been disappearing around the city for over a month? You could have been… that man, he would have… God Kyoko… you were almost the next victim. I’d never forgive myself if something had happened to you.”

Kotaro’s words wrung her heart as she sensed the sincerity behind them.

When she opened her mouth to argue he tightened his hold on her shoulders, restraining the need to shake some sense into her innocent, too naive, beautiful head. Willing her to understand just how much danger she had been in, Kotaro spat out the facts, not bothering to hide the ugly truths of her situation.

“Kyoko, when I got to the club you were being molested by the school bully. I got there just in time… but while I took care of his sorry ass, you just disappeared. No one knew where you were and the last anyone saw of you… that guy from the window was carrying you out of the club. When I finally tracked you down, you were back at your apartment.” He inhaled harshly, trying not to choke on his next words.

“I found you in bed with Toya. He had you wrapped up in his arms like you were a body pillow. I threw him out since I doubted you had consented in allowing him such liberties. He was just taking advantage of your condition. I thought you would be safe in your own bed as I took out the ‘garbage’ but just as I’m about to take him to the curb, you fall out of your own window!”

“Before I could catch you, you were snatched away from me by K…” Kotaro again stopped his tirade and desperately tried to pull himself together before saying more than she was ready to hear.

Would Kyou have hurt her? Why was he following her? For all he knew, Kyou had simply been hungry and Kyoko had the type of blood he was craving. He had seemed surprised to see Toya so it must have been Kyoko he had come for.

Closing his eyes, Kotaro pulled her into his arms in a tight possessive embrace. “You do need a keeper, don’t you see?” He growled. The thought of Kyoko in danger and him unable to help her because of her own naïve stubbornness had him on edge. How could he keep her safe if she was going to defy him at every turn?

Kyoko’s mind had stopped listening, stuck on the fact that he had just yelled that he had found Toya in her bed. “Toya was in my bed?” She tried to pull away from Kotaro and actually had to wiggle loose from his arms before he gave in with a long sigh and let her go.

“What do you mean he was in my bed?” A warm feeling swamped her only to flare up as anger smoldered through her mind. “Who the hell does he think he is?”

With stormy emerald eyes blazing, she spun around on the bed grabbing a pillow and strangling it between her hands growling out, “That presumptuous son of a… in MY bed!” The shock of warm lips capturing her own cut Kyoko’s word off as her breath stilled. Her mind whirled as Kotaro’s lips held hers captive and her wide eyes stared up into his, but his were closed.

‘My first…’ Her conscience whispered deep within her mind. The sensation of his strong arms wrapped tightly around her added to the moment until he pulled back and gazed down at her. The intense light within his ice blue eyes pricked at her memory, making her back up.

Kotaro watched her back away and saw her flinch when the headboard stopped her retreat. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but this time she was not running away. He wouldn’t let her. Moving forward, he placed one hand on each side of her, imprisoning her against the headboard of his bed.

“Kyoko, there are things out there in the night that you need protection from. But you have to let me protect you,” he watched her eyes shatter like glass.

He could see that she knew the truth but refused to believe it. Kotaro looked down at her, searching her face and eyes. What kind of pain would he cause her by making her admit the truth? Her dark eyelashes were lowered… shadowing her emerald eyes and he understood that she was hiding from him in more ways than one.

He dipped his lips close to the shell of her ear, leaning against her. “Kyoko, I want to save you… let me save you.” His voice was mesmerizing, his breath hot… a deliberate seduction. “I can’t stand the thought of anything bad ever happening to you… not again,” he whispered harshly.

Kyoko felt the sensations spread from where his lips were at her ear sending his hot breath whispering across her neck. “Again?” she asked in confusion, wondering what he’d meant.

He had said too much. Kotaro leaned away from her, struggling to keep his emotions in check. At least her reaction to the knowledge that his rival had been in her bed was heartening.

Well, he guessed that meant Toya hadn’t been invited into her bedroom… but that just proved his point. Didn’t she see that she could have been hurt or… or worse. His mind refused to finish that thought as pain gripped his ageless heart. He had lost her once… once was enough. He refused to live through it a second time… he wasn’t that strong.

Kyoko lowered her gaze to the cover where she was twisting the edge of it around in her fingers, “Kotaro… why did you kiss me?”

Ignoring her question because his own emotions were too jumbled for a witty response, he continued. “You’re missing the point, Kyoko. You put yourself in danger last night, more danger than you can possibly ever know.” He leaned within inches of her face, again his anger returning as he thought about her deliberate deception.

“Why did you lie to me about who you were with last night, Kyoko?” His eyes narrowed as he waited for her response. She had never outright lied to him before, and that hurt more than he would ever admit.

Kotaro’s growled question slammed the brakes on her curiosity about the kiss. Looking at anything but him, she began to chew on her bottom lip guiltily. Not knowing what to say she twisted the edge of the blanket a little tighter causing her knuckles to turn white. “I…” Her anxiousness began to fade as her mind worked back to the events that brought her here in the first place.

Confusion made Kyoko’s own anger surface yet again as she faced Kotaro. “I don’t owe you any explanations! I am old enough to make my own decisions, and if I want to go out without Toya or YOU or anyone else for that matter and just have a good time with my friends, I will. You have no right to tell me what to do! Damn it Kotaro, I’m not a child. I don’t need your permission to leave the house.”

Kyoko felt guilty for lying to him but the man was not her father. Where did he get off thinking he could tell her what she could and couldn’t do? Her growing anger gave her courage as she held his gaze defiantly.

Kotaro had seen that stubborn look in her eyes before. She was acting just like a rebellious child! If he kept demanding her cooperation, she’d probably go out and do something stupid just to prove she didn’t need his permission. He inwardly groaned. How could he make her listen without force?

Deciding to take a different approach, Kotaro’s crystal blue eyes softened as he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t protect you if you don’t let me. I’m only trying to keep you safe. I don’t want you to become one of those victims…”

Lowering her eyes, Kyoko shivered slightly remembering the rumors going around about what had happened to the women disappearing around town. What would Kotaro do if she told him that she had already heard about the missing girls? She wouldn’t tell him because it would only make him more upset and heavy handed.

She also decided to keep her mouth shut about all the dreams she had of vampires and other creatures… she’d been dreaming about them her whole life. Instead, she would pretend not to know anything and see if he would just confirm the truth.

“Kotaro,” she started more than a little nervous, “do you, do you know what that man was? He was flying… wasn’t he? He helped me at the club… saved my life. Why? Who is he? Kotaro, that man was flying and I saw his fangs.”

Not wanting to give himself away in the process, Kotaro kept his mouth shut about the silver-haired vampire saving her life. He could have done the same with one jump. His anger returned at the vision of Toya’s older brother snatching her out of the air. He wasn’t so sure about the attempt to save her life… it was probably more of an attempt to abduct her.

Kyoko’s trembling form brought him out of his internal tirade and he enveloped her within his arms for the third time. “It’s okay, Kyoko… I’m not sure. Just don’t think about it. You're safe now and I intend to make sure you stay that way.” He could feel her heartbeat getting more rapid by the second and cringed knowing what was finally dawning on her.

She had been hard to handle in the past and, because of that stubbornness, she had died.

“Don’t think about it?! Are you insane?! HE WAS FLYING, KOTARO! I WAS IN HIS ARMS AND HE WAS FLYING. DAMN IT!! HE HAD FANGS!! How am I supposed to NOT think about it?!” Kyoko yelled as she glared at Kotaro, pushing hard against his chest demanding her freedom once again. “Why won’t you just tell me the TRUTH!”

Kotaro winced at the volume and proximity of Kyoko’s voice. His overly sensitive hearing was definitely taking a battering tonight. The ringing in his ears continued as he released her and stood up beside the bed. He glared at her for a moment before all expression left his face noticing the crystalline tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Kotaro… I didn’t mean... it’s just… I was scared. I don’t know what to think any more, I’m so confused…” Her body trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself trying to stop the shaking that refused to ease. “I have dreamed about them before… so many times. Vampires… demons… but he wasn’t one of them.”

Kotaro’s eyes widened at the implications of the past colliding with the present. She had never met Kyou in the past… but would she remember Toya, the real Toya? Did she somehow remember Hyakuhei and his minions? Would she soon remember him as he was? Cold fear gripped him.

Relenting immediately, Kotaro crawled back onto the bed and pulled her against him holding her tightly. “It’s okay, Kyoko… We’ll figure this out, I promise. I’ll keep you safe. No one will ever take you away from me. I won't let them.”

She quieted down giving Kotaro a moment to close his eyes. The first thing that came into his mind was the last time he’d uttered those same heartfelt words. He hadn’t saved her that night but he had saved her many times since… every night he had saved her… over and over… only it was in his dreams and nightmares.

He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of her hair and the wonderful jasmine soap she used. ‘Exactly like I remember,’ He thought and let his mind flashed back to the hours before the nightmare started… over a thousand years ago, even though to him it felt like yesterday…

~~Kyoko sat kneeling by the fire, staring worriedly at the flames. The chill night air was threatening and Kotaro placed a nice warm blanket over her shoulders letting his hands linger a little longer before removing them.

“Toya will be back before dawn,” he whispered as he lowered himself beside her. He nearly smirked as he added, “He has no choice unless he likes intense sunburn.”

Kyoko briefly smiled up at him before turning back to the fire. “I know, I just can’t help but worry about him all alone out there.” She lay back against several furs that made a makeshift bed near the fire where she had been sleeping for so many nights now. She had lost count how long she had lived with the two men that had sworn to protect her.

Kotaro inwardly winced knowing how she felt for Toya… she felt the same way for him but he had hoped it would be more than that. The fire reflecting in his ice blue eyes deepened into blue flame and he wondered if it hadn’t already happened.

Settling on the floor behind her, he reclined to the side, propped up on his elbow so he could see her face. He slowly reached out to slide a stray lock of hair behind her ear and heard her heartbeat speed up. He knew the truth but how would he get her to admit it?

“Oh ye of little faith,” he said trying to make her smile. She was supposed to smile, not make her face crinkle up with worry. His voice became solemn as he asked, “Do you love him so much?” It was a simple question and one he already knew the answer to.

Without pause, the words slipped from her lips with truth wrapped securely around them. “Yes,” Kyoko sighed and turned to look at him again. “How could I not love him so much.” It was a statement more than a question.

Kotaro tilted his head slightly to the side… watching her. She didn’t know it, but the soft smile that tilted his perfect lips was from the fact that when he had stopped playing with her hair… he had heard her heartbeat slow back down to a normal pace. It had not sped back up at the mention of Toya.

He reached out and cupped her cheek with his palm while softly sliding the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “You may love Toya… but who is it that you are truly in love with?” Kotaro watched the secret shatter within her emerald eyes as her heartbeat started to once again race. She didn’t have to answer him… he could hear it.

Her breath silently caught in her throat at the sight of him. His long black hair hung over his shoulder and across his deep blue shirt while the rest was short enough to always seem to be spiked and wild. His sun kissed skin shone in the dim firelight adding to his seductive appearance. The blue shirt was open all the way to his navel exposing more of his flesh and Kyoko resisted the urge to reach out to him.

Kotaro saw the way she was looking at him and how her breath was starting to come quicker, pushing her breasts tight against the burgundy material of her gown. Sitting up, he slowly pulled her closer so he could feel the heat of her body against his. She was already his… she just didn’t know it yet. Unable to stop himself, he lowered his lips to capture hers in a searing kiss.

When she whimpered then finally started to respond to the kiss, he lifted his head so he could just gaze down at her.

Kyoko quickly wiggled out from under him and scooted closer to the fire but she could feel Kotaro closing in on her. He deserved the truth… before it was too late. “You're right, you know. I love you both so much but… I am in love with you. I have been since the moment you thought you were saving me from a vampire.”

She smiled softly remembering that vampire had only been Toya and she had not been in any danger… not from him anyway. She felt Kotaro’s hand come up under her hair to caress the soft skin along the side of her neck and her lips parted. It was such a sensitive area and also a very deadly one. His soft touch was so much better than the knowledge of what Hyakuhei would do right there in the same spot when he caught up with her.

Hyakuhei would sink his deadly teeth into her and take away the light within her, turning her to total darkness… if she would just let him then the war would be over. She had dreamed of it the night before and knew what fate had chosen for her… and for Toya. Could she go against everything that was already set in motion? If she tried to change the future… would it all backfire?

As Kotaro’s fingers trailed over the arch of her neck, Kyoko’s hand came up to cover his and she whispered, “Toya risk everything to try to keep me safe from a monster… but he will fail. I thought it would be cruel to break his heart twice… but it’s already too late.” She closed her eyes in confusion as if listening to a faraway voice. “He will never know about us but his heart will still shatter… in the hands of the monster he tried to save me from.”

Kotaro couldn’t help the panic that rose within him at her words. Reaching out he swung her around to face him and was ready to shake some hope right back into her until he noticed her eyes. They were the brightest of emerald and completely calm… somehow she knew what was coming and had accepted it.

“NO!” Kotaro growled as his lips descended on hers in a mixture of pent up want that was now intensified by fear. He tilted her head back, deepening the kiss and ready to fight for her love every step of the way if he had to but something changed. She was kissing him back… hard and demanding and he shuddered at the intensity of it.

He wouldn’t let her make him forget what she had just said. His hands fisted as he restrained himself from holding on to her. Releasing her lips, he took a staggering step back suddenly knowing what she was doing. “No Kyoko… you are not a martyr! I will not tell you goodbye this way!”

Kyoko stood in front of the fire facing him… unaware of the halo the light behind her was casting around her body. “If I give myself to Hyakuhei then it will weaken him and you can defeat him.”

“No!” he had her in his arms crushing her body against his with an angry growl. “Promise me you won’t!”

Kyoko nodded silently. She knew what was coming… even now the night was twisting with shadowy dark corners covered with pointed edges waiting for her. Her gaze traveled to the darkness beyond the window knowing she would never see the dawn. She only had a couple of hours left before they came.

“I promise,” she whispered as she wiped at a lone tear and took a step back from him so she could see his face. She wasn’t lying … she wouldn’t let Hyakuhei have what he thought was the cure but either way… she could only have what she wanted for a couple of hours and that was Kotaro.

Without a word she reached up and unfastened her dress, letting it fall to the floor in a pool around her.~~

Kotaro’s thoughts rushed back to the present, not wanting to remember the heartbreak of loving her that night knowing it had been the last. He brushed his lips against her temple as he softly whispered, “Go back to sleep… I’ll be here. Nothing will happen to you while I’m watching over you.” His voice had a calming effect… one of his Lycan powers over humans that he hadn’t used on her in over a thousand years.

Lying back against the mountain of pillows on his bed, Kotaro gently brushed the hair away from her face. Kyoko nodded sleepily, her cheek still resting against his chest. He didn’t want her to remember their love… not if it also came with the cost of remembering her own death.

As he started to pull away from her, she tightened her arms around him unable to let him go. Kyoko was so tired and wanted to rest but fear kept her from completely relaxing. With Kotaro’s arms around her, she felt safe and she needed that more than anything right now.

“Um… Kyoko,” Kotaro whispered as he halfheartedly tried to rise.

“No… don’t leave me alone… Safe…” Her voice whispered as she nuzzled her face deeper against him. As he eased down next to her, she finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

Ice blue eyes worshiped her relaxed face as the first direct rays of morning light drifted across it to land on cherry lips. His timeless heart had chosen her long ago and now he would once again have to fight to keep her… even if he had to fight fate itself.

***** Crimson eyes flashed heatedly as he felt the warmth of the Guardian Heart Crystal pulse suddenly from nearby. Hyakuhei gazed out the window with narrowed eyes knowing now for certain that he had found what he was looking for. He opened the glass wanting to feel closer to it. The warmth did not last more than a few elusive seconds before it vanished.

The source had become hidden yet again and he was unable to follow as the approach of dawn confined him to his prison of darkness. Knowing it would hurt but not caring, Hyakuhei reached his hand out the window. An enraged growl that was neither human nor animal could be heard for miles as the first streaks of light swept across the sky and his skin.

Snarling in anger, Hyakuhei made his way to his bedchamber. Slamming the door behind him, he took in the familiar and comforting darkness before letting his gaze land on the largest piece of furniture in the room.

Lying upon his bed was a young girl that Yuuhi had undoubtedly stolen from the nightclub and brought for him to drink. His gaze locked on her trembling form as he strode purposely toward her, angry at the intrusion on his solitude.

The scent of her fear and the pounding of her blood normally would have excited him… but his prey now disgusted him. She was lacking in every way.

She had long, fiery red hair but it wasn’t auburn and silk-like as he craved. The dullness of hazel eyes were what stared back at him, not green emeralds. Her skin wasn’t soft enough and her scent was not as intoxicating as the enchantress he’d seen at the club… jasmine and spice.

His underling, Yuuhi was just trying to please him by bringing him a gift as the boy usually did, but this time was different. Normally he would indulge himself but that was before he had laid eyes upon the beauty that carried the legendary crystal.

This girl lying on his crimson satin sheets was not the one he desired… no one else would do.

Mentally calling to Yuuhi, the ghostly child he had made into the closest thing he would ever have to a son, he glared down at the young woman making her cringe in fear. He snarled in disgust and turned away from the girl on his bed. His long midnight hair fluttered briefly before falling in perfect disarray over his shoulders and back.

Yuuhi appeared in his room, hearing the near constant growl coming from deep within his master’s chest… he knew Hyakuhei was not pleased by his present.

“You called for me Hyakuhei?” Turning his childlike gaze to the girl he had offered to his master, Yuuhi looked back at him in confusion. “Did you not like my gift for you?”

Not wanting to take his frustration out on the small boy, Hyakuhei calmed himself somewhat as he turned towards him. Looking down into the child’s deceivingly sweet face… his voice became bored as he instructed, “You know I always enjoy your little gifts Yuuhi, but not tonight. Take that human girl and do with her as you will. You may give her to the others or keep her for yourself. I care not.”

His eyes once again narrowed on the terrified girl. “Just remove her from my sight.” Hyakuhei’s last demand was growled out as he thought of the girl that he had sought for so long. The fact that she was just beyond his reach called to him… like a light in the heart of darkness.

Bowing his pale head at Hyakuhei’s command, Yuuhi summoned Amni, one of his master’s favorites, to remove the struggling girl. “You may keep her,” Yuuhi said in a melancholy voice as he looked into the eyes of the girl who had trusted him enough to lead him home, thinking he had lost his way.

Yuuhi raised his hand to touch her cheek as if silently wanting her for himself. “The sweet ones always taste the best.” He lowered his small pale hand when she flinched away from his words.

Amni turned ice blue eyes on his master for only a fleeting moment before removing the girl from their sight. He had seen it many times… Yuuhi would act as if he was a lost child and some beautiful caring young woman would try to help him find his way home. The simple deadly ploy had worked for centuries.

His long blonde hair lifted in the breeze as he quickly slipped into his own room not far down the hall from the master’s bedroom.

Standing the weeping girl on her feet, he turned to lock the door behind him, wondering why he even bothered with such a human characteristic. But the thought of Yuuhi, sneaking into his room later to see if he had finished the girl off… simply creeped him out. The child was something that even terrified other vampires.

Hearing the girl’s breath suddenly catch and her whimpers stall, he turned to find her frightened eyes staring at what lay in the center of the floor shrouded by a see through lace curtain that hung from the ceiling. Where most vampires preferred the luxury of modern day beds… he was different.

The casket was centuries old and very different from most. On the top of the casket was the carving of a young man as if he were simply lying on the lid asleep. The detail of the sculpture was sheer perfection. The man lying there upon the lid peacefully was the exact image of himself… a gift from his master the same day he had been turned into what he now was.

Hyakuhei had told the maker of the sculptured casket that he would live if he did a good job on the carving. But after finishing it, the old man had died anyway knowing he had just signed his own son’s death warrant.

Amni had never traded the casket for a modern day bed knowing his human father had worked so hard… carving his only son’s eternal cradle.

Turning mysterious blue eyes on the woman, he held out his hand knowing she would take it of her own free will… becoming entrapped in his thrall. Leading her within the sheer curtain… he silently opened the casket.

***** Yuuhi walked over to pour his master a glass of tainted red wine then approached Hyakuhei’s tense form without fear and offered him the ruby-studded goblet.

The child’s ageless black eyes watched as his master took the glass from his white hand. He was the only one who never feared Hyakuhei’s anger because he had the ability to see inside the one who had made him and understand his deepest darkest thoughts.

Yuuhi used his inner sight to peer deep inside Hyakuhei’s black soul where he could not hide his loneliness.

Seeing the truth behind his rage, Yuuhi let his soft voice sooth his master’s underlying anger. “They have always misunderstood your true intentions. We will find her, father, and she will be yours as you have always intended. She does not remember her past and her guardians have not told her, thinking they are saving her. Some of her power was released and now it will become harder for her to hide from you.”

Hyakuhei paused, watching the red liquid swirl inside the crystal glass, thinking of the next move he would make to acquire the unsuspecting girl. Finding Kyou so close to the girl had been interesting to say the least. Had his favorite rebellious child been hunting him… or hunting the girl?

He could only assume that Kyou had felt the girl’s hidden powers as well and wanted her… it was in his vampire nature same as it had been in Toya’s so long ago. On the other hand, perhaps the priestess had captured Kyou’s attention with her innocence and beauty… calling to the part of him that was a man before all else.

Hyakuhei gave a cruel smile as his thoughts turned darker.

He would have to move carefully from this point forward. As much as he wanted Kyou by his side, the silver haired beauty would die at his hands if he stood in the way of his prize. The girl was his and no one would touch her. So long ago, Kyou’s naive brother had found that out the hard way.

Hyakuhei closed his eyes, deciding to use his newest recruits and have them unknowingly help him in locating the girl. His need to claim her was becoming stronger and he wanted her far more now that his precious Kyou was after her as well.

If the two he loved the most ever became one… he would have to destroy them both.

“Yuuhi, follow our newest recruits, Tasuki and Yohji this evening. It is time to start taking action before my dear Kyou makes another appearance. I do not wish to kill him, but he will not have what is fated to be mine.” Hyakuhei’s tone vibrated with possessiveness as his eyes tinted crimson.

Yuuhi bowed his head, his snow-white hair falling to cover a wicked smile as he exited his master’s chambers. “As you wish,” he whispered then vanished.

Hyakuhei remained silent as Yuuhi left him to his solitude. Downing the wine in one long swallow, he tossed the empty glass aside, barely registering the shattering sound it made against the cold black marble floor. The twinkling of the broken crystal shards rained down like diamonds as the sun rose high enough to cast light across the stone floor… sending the last of the darkness into exile.

Heavy black tapestries descended over the window, keeping the deadly rays from reaching their goal.

Turning back to his now empty bed, Hyakuhei’s perfect lips turned into a scowl, still smelling the fear within the room, most of it coming from the bed... leftover remnants of the girl he had sent away. A silent command soon had two of his minions rushing in with fresh linens.

He stripped off his dark clothing, his midnight hair cascading down his back like silken ebony. His pale skin rippled with the underlying muscles of the most exotic creature of the night.

He approached his nightly resting place just as the last satin pillow was replaced. The sheets and comforter were pulled back and he inwardly sighed in pleasure at the feel of the cold silk covering his body. He would need his rest for the many nights to come.

A dark and sinister smile appeared on his face as he met his own reflection in the mirror above him. He had killed many to acquire the only mirror in existence that would show the soul of the nightwalkers. It had been centuries since he had seen his own reflection when he had broken into the wizard’s hidden caverns and found it.

Gazing upon it now made the battle worth it tenfold. It had been adequately named ‘The mirror of lost souls’. His long, black hair was splayed across the pillows in wild abandon and his pale skin contrasted deliciously against it and the red silk surrounding him… the image looked as if he slept on a sea of blood.

His thoughts turned back to the girl he desired. He knew it would not take much to charm the girl and put her within his thrall. A few well-placed words here… an ‘innocent’ touch there… she would be seduced and his for the taking.

His auburn-haired beauty had fire… he had seen that much when she struck the bastard for placing his hands on her. He flexed one of his own clawed hands, imagining what her tender flesh would feel like against his fingers. His ears rang with her imagined cries of ecstasy, begging him for more of the pleasure only he could give her.

“Soon my dear…” he whispered before the sleep of the dawn took him.