Mercurial Ends

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Dear Readers,

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this adventure. I know there isnt a lot of sex but I am building up the plot, but of course there is a lot of love.

This chapter is still a work-in-progress but I want to make sure you get Chapter 6 before the end of the world! ;-) Archangel is still editing these two chapters.I have submitted Chapter 6, also a work-in-progress because its important to go up by Friday. I hoped it would have been posted on 12-21-12 but alas I did not post because I mentioned my blog - as a just in case.

Anyways here are the chapters pretend it's 12-21-12.

Thanks for your votes and for reading. Thank you Kat for your comments. I so appreciate them.

Cheers and Happy Reading,

Talyis

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Mercurial Ends

Chapter 5 - Trapped in Feuds

Tabor sat alone in a corner of the busy café in Greenwich Village. She appeared insignificant, just another young woman in a bistro biding time with an overpriced latte before having to rejoin the rush of New York City. But Tabor felt like she stuck out like a paranoia patient, she couldn't help herself from constantly throwing glancing towards the door and over her shoulder at the wall behind her. The wall seemed to have eyes bearing down on her.

College students surrounded around at various tables enjoying their salads and flatbreads. Their computer screens glowed with word documents and their Facebook accounts. To eleaviate her nervousness, she eavesdropped on the table of NYU students, wearing matching knitted berets and sweaters. They argued over a mid-term Power Point presentation's design colors because it didn't match the stock picture of a penguin on the slide.

She smiled and sighed remember her days at Brown sitting with her girlfriends bantering over art and teasing each other's latest bombardment of criticism from their favorite hate-to-love professor. Those days were simpler without vampires, werewolves and mad scientists; the days before she was nothing more than a student and a struggling artist. Now she was something she was not quite sure of -- was she a monster as these other beings were and what was she really truly capable of.

Stress began to mount and she pinched the bridge of her nose tightly shutting her eyes before she popped them open. Again nervously she looked around the room and the door. She was just waiting for Shy to magically appear with a disapproving scowl matched with complete fear drowning his eyes.

She told him she was going to meet her mother in the city. She assured him by giving a location and time, he even overheard her mother agreed to meet her on the phone. However, she told her mother that she was running late as usual and wanted to make a stop at a store. Her mother would unconsciously lie for her, if and most certainly when Shy would call, providing the almost-perfect alibi.

Finally, she walked through the door. Julisa, the young looking vampire quickly came to the table, dressed in the latest designer fashions and bags. With trendy black boots and colorful delicate scarfs around her neck, Julisa seemed to blend into New York City better than Tabor. However, Julisa also darted looks over her shoulder nervously, probably expecting Menefer to track her down and drain her blood in front of all the college students. Would they even notice? They all looked so entrapped by their social networks and flirts over coffee.

"Thank you for meeting with me Tabor." Julisa sounded nervous -- even this was high stakes. She pulled her sunglasses off to reveal the most captivating eyes Tabor had ever seen.

"Your eyes?!"

"I've been romanced by wolves," she beamed and her nerves melted away uncovering complete happiness. Julisa's eyes continued to glitter like rainbows in a prism for irises. Tabor couldn't comprehend; she gulped the saliva that had been building in her mouth as she anticipated Shy to interrupt at any moment. Her stomach turned, she knew it was her aura, punishing her because she was defying her master. At least Julisa was a vampire, she got vampires; it was werewolves she needed convincing of otherwise.

"What do you have to tell me? I am sure Shy has caught on to me by now and even though I do need my space, I don't want to put him through what I had done before."

"Yes, I understand, my father is the same. Tabor I need your help to stop Shy from waging war with the wolves."

"What do you mean? Shy is not thinking about wolves. He is up to something in Finland."

"He..." She swallowed her words and they both looked towards the windows, doors and walls as if they were bugged with wires sending every nuance of their actions to Menefer and Shy.

"What do you know?"

"Shy, Menefer, Ilsino and Genevieve have decided to wage war against the Lycans. I was there. Please Tabor, I love the wolves. Please stop him, they will kill them all."

"Why do they want to kill the werewolves?"

"Tabor, lycans and vampires have been enemies forever."

"Why?"

"A very old feud. I am not sure they even know what the original feud was themselves. They are just prejudice against each other. The one who knows -- you need to speak to Da...." Julisa trailed off and shot a look at the door and sighed it was only a tall lanky college student, not her vampire-father.

"Would the werewolves wage battle against Shy?"

"No, they wouldn't," Julisa paused again, she was censoring herself but this time Tabor knew that it was for her own benefit.

"They would wouldn't they?"

"Yes, yes they would. They would if they wanted to and had a thought to, but now it would be careless. They are busy trying to re-strengthen the clan. I caused a discourse."

"Daemoric?"

"Yes, what about him?"

"Is it true he drained me? He could have saved me?"

"Yes. Well, yes and no."

The frankness of 'no' in echoed in Tabor's head but the more she let it stir in her mind, the more it burned hot anger in her belly.

"What do you know about power auras?" Tabor whispered spicily.

"Some. I am not an ancient. I was turned only 50 years ago. But my uncle, Ilsino, he has told me many things of vampire history."

"Why does a werewolf drain me; while a vampire can give me power?"

"I am sorry, Tabor, I do not know. Can I count on you to help me to stop Shy."

"What do you mean: Stop Shy?" Alarm came into her voice and her eyes narrowed on the young vampire.

"I mean, if you cannot help me to stop him; the werewolves will."

"Do you mean to bring me here to threaten me?" The wooden chairs all around the room began to scratch the floor as they pulled away from the tables. The eerily slight and sound of grinding wood on the ceramic tile caused all the NYU students to look up from their computers like prairie dogs. For a moment the room was suspended in fear until the students determined it was nothing and continued to clip-clap on keyboards while laughter and quiet conversations continued.

Tabor hadn't even noticed what was occurring around her; her anger was mounting hiding reason. She wanted to slap the vampire that had risked her relationship's harmony with Shy. But the vampire's eyes shifted around the room, her mouth dropped in fearful awe of what had happened.

Carefully and deliberately Julisa spoke, "Tabor, we have to stop both the werewolves and vampires from fighting. It is not the same day and age that they were able to engage in battle and still keep their lives from affecting the human world."

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Julisa spat.

"Why should I care? I only care about Shy and if you mean to hurt him, I cannot help you and I will not let you."

Julisa rubbed her forehead, "I am sorry if I seemed to threaten you. I didn't mean to. I really need your help. And maybe you can learn more about yourself." Again Julisa looked at the empty chairs that had mysteriously moved away from their tables. "The werewolves have been around for centuries as long as vampires have. Perhaps they can tell you something about yourself."

"I am not too sure that the werewolves are friends of power auras. Daemoric drained my energy. He didn't save me from the horror I was facing." Tabor pulled her collar to the side revealing an angry red rash running from her shoulder across her collar bone. "They attacked me in my sleep."

"You have to understand, Daemoric had to think of everyone, werewolves and vampires as a whole. Tabor the scientists were not going to discover what you were. You are the last Aura, your death-"

"I told them! They had me on a table, they were opening my chest!" Tabor sneered in a near yell. The bowls and plates began to shake violently against their tin placemats on the tables. The dim café lights flickered. "They tortured me, they inspected me, looked at my entire body!"

"Tabor," Julisa tentatively reach out for Tabor to calm her. The students around them held their rattling dishes to the table, fearfully.

"I have nightmares every night and he could have saved me. A werewolf decided to let me suffer! Why?! For mere secrecy?! It was worse than any rape, worse then death. I begged to just die every moment. Daemoric could have ripped their throats out! Werewolves are my enemies."

At that moment, Shy was walking through the door and with the expression she expected: anger and complete fear. Immediately her face blanched with deep regret. She shouldn't have come, she hadn't spoken about her ordeal ever and now she yelled it out in public.

Julisa was no longer nervous about Menefer who shortly followed Shy into the little café. She was afraid of Tabor. Whatever power the girl had was amazing, yet Tabor hadn't even taken notice to the strange occurrences around her.

"Shy!" Tabor cried and hugged him tightly to her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Tabor, its ok." He exhaustively exhaled, his strong arms wrapped around her body.

"Julisa what are you doing here?" Menefer scolded.

"Nothing Father," she stood and walked towards the door but her eyes never left Tabor. She regretted not listening to Galief's advice to stay away from the aura. The girl whom seemed like a simple mortal toy of Shy was indeed extremely dangerous. She feared for her life for the first time since she became immortal and remember the anxious ticking clock of frailty.

"I knew you would try to sneak away sooner or later. It's okay. Why are you crying?" Shy tilted her head up to him.

"I didn't want you to worry," she buried her face in embarrassment that the entire café heard her true confession.

The students started to pack their bags, computers and netbooks, not really paying attention to Tabor or her outburst. Many of them were busy texting their friends or asking each other if it were safe to take the subway after the "earthquake".

"Come on, let's go see your mom. I am kinda looking forward to hearing her latest."

Tabor shuddered still recalling the welstrom of emotions that gripped her, finally expressing her pain about the Institute. "You are not mad."

"No, not now that I have found you. I know you, Tabor. Let's go." He reached for her bag and held her supportively in his other arm. "I love you."

Tabor only nodded and whipped her tears away on her sleeve, taking his hand tightly in her own; she walked with him out of the empty café.

***

As soon as Julisa was home, her father had sent her to her room like she was a insolent teenager not a fifty year old vampire. She peaked around the door and found Menefer sitting on a chair around the corner like a real parent.

She huffed at the room he had given her fifty years ago, it was a stark contrast to the grimy Lower East Side water plagued squat she lived in before Menefer changed her. The room was magnificent, much larger than her former single-room studio apartment with a communal bathroom down the hall with a toilet that never flushed. She shared her life with seven other runaway teens in that rundown building. It was a hard life that she was eager to leave and embrace the offer to play princess-daughter to a lonely man. It was indeed a decadent room fit for a modern Egyptian princess with heavy furniture wrapped in red velvets and everything she ever wanted. With a bat of an eye, Menefer gave her the world except she wanted what he refused.

She heard as small pebble hitting the window.

Just in time.

She smiled and quickly ran to the window, opening it to Galief. The tall lanky man with chocolate hair and an effervescent smile stood in her room and embarrassed her as he looked around at her youthful trappings. Yet, Galief also moved around like an awkward teen. His long arms moved this and that way, not really knowing what to do with his large body but it was unmatched by his beaming smile.

"Coast is clear," She wrapped her arms around him and his seemed to growl with satisfaction.

"Were you able to persuade the girl?" When he spoke, his true age was revealed and his raspy tone dripped with perfected masculinity.

"I don't know. She scares me to be honest, but I think we need her more than ever on our side --more than Shy. She is the key. We need to turn her against the vampires to make her join us."

"Darling," he smoothed a curly lock of her hair behind her ear. "You forget you are a vampire."

"But I hate what I am."

"How can you hate what you are? You are you -- just with a small deformity."

"Deformaity!? I cannot age, Galief."

"Neither I." He smirked with his eyes and bit the corner of his bottom lip.

"You do!"

"Yes, but very slowly." She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him deeply. A wolfy growl moved into her mouth as he swept her up in to his arms. The man's gangly awareness vanished, he wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her against the wall with a thud, not allowing her lips to escape his. "I love you." His hands pushed her skirt higher, fingers tightly squeezed her flesh.

"I love you too." She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck keeping them together while he quickly undid he jeans.

She grunted exquisitely as he trust into her, she didn't care about Menefer down the hall at that moment. She dared him to hear and realize she was really lost to him.

Galief smiled his eyes matched hers glowing as if they peared through the darkness of night, speckled with rainbows. It was a sign of true love which spurred him to attack her neck with kisses, so like a vampire that sucked his victim's blood from the choice vein.

They lay in a pool of afterglow relishing in the entanglement of their limps on the plush carpet. Julisa's fingers traced the boarders of a wicked bruise on his chest.

"You are right. We need Tabor to turn against Shy." He stopped Julisa's tracing, his strong hands cover hers - he didn't like the token bruise inflected by the aura on him in her sleep. She would have won hadn't she been struck by the mysterious bolt of fire. "The aura is our key."

***

Tabor slumped in her chair as she sat at Shy's small two-person table looking out into space; her spoon absently stirred her strange brew of yellow and brown dinner. "What's wrong Tabor," Shy reached his hand out to touch hers bringing her to the present.

"Nothing's wrong." Her tempered eyes fell on him.

"Come on now. I know something is wrong."

"Well then stop reading my mind." She snapped her hands away from him.

He only shook his head. "My darling, I don't have to read you mind to know that something is wrong."

Tabor paused, she looked him and saw the same loving warm bright eyes she had longed for in desperation. She recalled being so alone, trapped without hope and in the dark of the cage with only her festering wounds. She wanted Shy so much, just to have his arms around her.

She smiled slightly and took a bite of her food.

"So how is it?" Shy asked as he sat back in his chair, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was waiting for his "I told you so" moment. She insisted on cooking dinner herself tonight.

"Edible." She bit the inside of her mouth and avoided his glance.

"Good." He arched an eyebrow.

Unbelievable

he remarked on her obstinacy to himself.

"I never understand how you could enjoy cooking. You don't really eat human food."

"Human food, phhha. Not much different from what I eat."

"Except you drain yours," Tabor guffawed. Shy only smiled and dipped his spoon in her bowl. He tipped his head back and loudly slurped the stew for comedic emphasis -- he won, Tabor doubled over with laughter. "And I guess you are a sort of vegan cannibal?"

Shy only smirked wickedly and crossed over to her. He towered over her, he was so sexy it made her shirk back in sheer awe of how lucky she was to have this handsome man-vampire-person in her life.

He pushed her hair away from her neck and dragged his finger down her throat making goosebumps travel down her arms. He loved tantalizing her just to get a rise out of her.

"Are you going to tell me why you met with Julisa today?" He only rubbed her neck with his soft lips.

"She wants me to talk to you about going to war with the wolves."

Shy stopped his pursuit and arched an eyebrow,

"Did she now?"

"I told her to fuck off."

Shy growled in laughter and devoured her in a kiss, "Are you fighting my battles for me, Salome?"

"I've decided I hate the wolves."

Shy only hummed, his attention turned to the other side of her neck. His fingers traced the red burn mark the travelled down her neck below her collar bone. "Are you going to tell me how this happened?"

"No." She responded simply.

She didn't want to think about her dreams, the Institute or wolves. She was done being a victim. Tabor reached for Shy behind her, pulling him back to her. He kissed her lips from above that made her feel so content and strong.

"I'll be right back. I trust you to stay out of trouble. I won't be far. I am going to stop by the local private club of mobsters."

"Be careful, Shy," She warned.

"Of course my dear, I am only a mere vampire." His eyes glittered with his sly smile with a brilliant row of white teeth.

Shy kissed her forehead and then locked the door tightly as he left. He ran quickly down the stairs of his building and then stopped to listen if Tabor was following him. He quickly pulled his cellphone on and made a call as he left the building.

* * * *

From the mountain top everything look barren on the other side of the range. Everything reflected oddly like oil under the sun. The world was hardened by a hard black marble like substance. The sky played a dissident chord hanging both the sun and moon on the horizon together as if to collide. It was the largo movement -- the world after destruction.

Tabor's eyes burned from the sulfuric air, she blinked hard trying to stop herself from feeling the pit in her stomach that wanted to become a wellspring of tears. Her dreamscape was no longer lush, beautiful or violent; it was just barren with emptiness and full of lost.

This was the world after the drums died to a silence.

She never expected him to betray her. He betrayed all of us by killing her.

a voice whispered in her mind that strangely sounded like herself.

Emotions played through Tabor rapidly changing from anger, to betray and always landing on love.

"You're feeling what mother was feeling," a masculine voice said.

Tabor quickly turned on her heels towards the voice still flooded by the strange feelings that plagued her with grief. She tightened her jaw defensively as Daemoric approached her. He wore only black pants and his pepper salt hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He has muscular abs that many men long to achieve. He was a threat in so many ways, yet he approached Tabor with his hand in placation towards her. She wanted to attack him but every breath she took, create a rush of emotions from this mother. Tabor crumbled to her knees in tears. "She loved him. She love him so much. He betrayed her. He betrayed all of us killing her."