The Darness

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Chapter 4

March 24, 1996

I met a very interesting character tonight. He told me to call him Hound. The moment I heard his name I knew who and what he was. Gabriel's blood memory took me back to Egypt and meeting Hound for the first time. Gabe once told me about some of his men, and even regaled me with tales of his private guard nicknamed The Black Horde. I saw him and a woman locked in battle. It was kind of like a distant memory coming back to me from nowhere. It's hard to explain.

Hound, also called Akek, is powerful and aged; he has an understanding I've only seen in one other. He could have killed me at any point, but instead he toyed with me. I think he knew who I was, and was intrigued by what I could do.

I also made a deal with Markus Smith tonight. I ran into him as well. He told me about a meeting being arranged for next week. The Elders meeting will be held in the city next year and Markus asked me about making time to meet with him about arrangements as well.

Markus and I are equals in our jobs. I work for Gabe and he Michael. I didn't think I would like working with him, but I have found a fondness for him.

The sun slowly set over the city, the hustle and bustle of the long day slowed to a standstill. The once hectic bypass faded to a ghost town, and the cities endless commotion stopped, another perfect sunset dipped below the horizon.

Yada inventoried the growing pile of DVD's before finally selecting one.

"What are you watching?" Gabe asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Blade," she offered, setting a bowl of popcorn on the floor, and swung her legs out of the way so Gabe could join her.

"Again!" He said in disbelief. "That makes," he counted mentally. "Forty-four times in the past three months, once, perhaps, twice, but forty-four times is a little exasperating." He studied the TV again. "Although, this is my favorite part," he nudged her over so he could see the screen better.

"I love this part too. You know I think it's funny, Blood God," she glanced to Gabe, holding back a smile.

Yada had served him long enough to know he didn't make small talk. "You didn't come in here to watch a movie, so what's up?"

"I have to go to away, New York more specifically. I'll be gone for several months and before you ask, no, you are not going on this trip. I'll be leaving Friday night after the Council meeting. I need you to pick up a few supplies for my trip and make arrangements for my affairs while I'm there." He crawled completely on the bed and laid beside her, engrossed in the movie.

She waited until the scene slowed. "How long will you be gone this time?" She asked, sadly.

"It could be a year." He raised his hand to quiet her.

She didn't say anything at first. "I hate when you go away. And why can't I go with you?"

"Shush, the movie is on."

She mumbled under her breathe. A few minutes later there was another pause in the movie. "Why can't I go?"

"What is the point of watching a movie, if you are going to nag the entire time it's on?"

Yada didn't say another word.

"Blade is a riot, he really is." Gabriel watched for several more minutes. "I need you to go to Vincent's and retrieve a letter for me." The movie caught his attention again. "I'll send for you if I have need of you. But while you are here, I have jobs lined up."

"Jobs?" She curiously asked.

"Yes, jobs as in duties I need you to handle."

Really now Yada

he thought looking at her. She seemed like she had just lost her best friend.

"Ok, what do you need?"

"After the movie I want you to go to Vincent's and pick up some papers he has for me. I told you this once already."

She nodded.

He pulled her close and used her as a pillow. "Shush, this is a good part."

There was nothing about the night Yada didn't love. She had felt a kinship with the city after dark. The normal routine of the city was replaced with a quiet flow of tourist seeking the many clubs and restaurants. There was no doubt this was her time.

She walked to the doors of Dark Temptations. Vincent had opened the new club downtown near Pine Ave, a few blocks from the pier. It allowed him more access to the tunnels below the city. Glancing over her shoulder she could see at least a hundred people waiting to get in. Spotting Eric emerging from the building she gave him a quick kiss on the right check.

"Good evening my friend," she commented. "Is he here?"

Eric nodded. "He's in his office I think." He opened the chain. "Will you be staying tonight?"

"No. I'm here on business." Yada hated that she didn't frequent the club as a patron. She had become more responsible in the last few years and often tended to Gabriel's trivial needs, though he was grooming her for something else.

"You're always here on business." Eric joked.

"Such is life." Yada said it with regret as she walked backwards with her arms open at her sides.

Eric opened the door for her as though she was a local celebrity. She could hear whispers from the crowd. Whispers about who she could possibly be, or what TV show they thought they had seen her on. She had become accustomed to the whispers.

Yada nodded to Mira and Valerie as she made her way to the back of the club. She spotted Markus Smith in the corner and did a half nod to him. She had met Markus a few months earlier. Although he worked for a rival House, she figured it best to keep him a friend for now. Sometimes he would come to her with information. It was a friendship of need. There were times Yada thought Markus wanted something more then she could offer or bring to the table.

Yada didn't waste any more time in finding Vincent's office. Knocking on the door twice she waited for permission to enter. Glancing over her right shoulder she spotted Shanda slip around the corner. Yada didn't care for Shanda Baden. Shanda wasn't like most vampires. She didn't respect the hierarchy of the Houses or even the Elder's. Shanda seemed to scare the hell out of all of them. Once she overheard Gabriel telling Michael that they needed to put a short leash on her. Apparently she was a bloodthirsty killer on the verge of destruction. Yada never understood why the Elder's allowed her to live. Gabriel once said in the heat of battle he knew he could have Shanda do what she enjoyed most. Kill.

"Miss Olsen-Myers," Nick said as he opened the door. "He's expecting you," he moved his hand to the side to motion her in. Yada had asked Nick on many occasions to call her Yada. But he said she had earned the title and he would never be common with her.

Glancing over the room, she paused mid-stride. Paul was standing behind Vincent. There was a thick tension in the air. It appeared she had interrupted a meeting already in progress. "If you are busy, I could come back."

Vincent gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "No, please come in."

She nodded to him as she approached. To his right side was a woman. Yada could tell by the palling look she was a recently transformed Vampire. Yada had heard various stories about the creation of unregistered fledglings. Just the other night Gabe was instructing someone on the phone to destroy a pack of fledglings he discovered in a warehouse downtown. Gabriel was concerned that an unknown rutane could be making a pack without permission. The city had not seen this many creations since the flood of 1994.

Tropical Storm Alberto stalled near Lawrenceville dumping 23 plus inches in less than 2 days and after 2 weeks of constant rain it sent a wall of water down the river. The banks overflowed sweeping water across 1/3 of the city. As the humans were displaced and properties became abandoned, rutanes moved into the area. With over 4000 homes now empty they had freedoms from the laws or so they thought.

Yada understood there had to be balance between the Houses and the humans. If too many fledglings were left unattended, dead bodies would begin to crop up everywhere. The last event any of the Great Houses needed was the prying eyes of the local police, not in their control.

"Gabriel sends his regards." Yada mentioned, sitting in a high back leather chair. The seat cushion was still warm. She concluded Nick was sitting here before her knock.

"It is a pleasure to see you Miss Olsen-Myers." Vincent said, shifting papers from one side of the desk to the other. He finally found a small folded slip of paper. "I believe this is what you are waiting for."

He carefully opened the top drawer of his desk and removed an envelope. After tucking the paper inside and sealing it with wax, he reached over the desk to hand it to her.

As she reached over the desk to accept the envelope the woman lunged forward and grabbed Yada's arm. Yada quickly spun around and had the woman pinned to the desk. A.9 mm placed at the base of her skull. The action was now reflex. "Forgive me, Vincent," Yada bowed. "If she is one of yours I apologize." Though Yada belonged to Gabe, she wasn't Vincent's and knew that slamming the woman as hard as she did would anger him.

Nick replaced Yada's hand with his. He pulled the woman back into the chair by her hair. His grip on the back of her neck remained strong.

"Perhaps you should wait outside?" Vincent's brows arched.

Making no reply she replaced the weapon and started out of the room before looking over her shoulder. A dagger glimmered in Vincent's hand. Yada didn't have to be a mind reader to know what was happening next. She shut the door in an attempt to purge the image from her mind. She heard the first scream and a second before the muffled sounds of a commotion were replaced by silence.

Yada left the club. She stopped several feet from the door. Slipping the cell phone from her pocket she called Gabriel. "I have what you sent me for. If you don't need it right away I think I'll find something to do for a few hours."

"Take all the time you need. I won't be home until sunrise. I have a...business meeting tonight."

Realizing the code, Yada knew Gabe would be detained until morning. She never asked him about his personal business. That is why he gave her the code, so she wouldn't have to know. Placing the envelope in her inner coat pocket, "I'll see you in the morning." She hung up.

Glancing to the sky, she could see clouds moving over the city. The bright night soon would dim. She was not aware of any fronts coming in, but the local weather changed frequently. There were times Yada believed it changed on a whim as a warning. She once read in one of the history books about vampires who could summon ground mist to cover their tracks. But she never heard stories about those who could influence weather.

Walking in the cooling night air, she headed towards the river. There was always something of interest happening there. A lot of the younger Michelson's hung out on that side of town. Recently she made friends with Lamar. Lamar was a ghoul who belonged to Miguel Contreras. Miguel was one of Gabe's best men.

"Miss." A male voice from behind broke her thoughts of weather and friends.

Yada kept walking, although she had heard the voice. She didn't think he was talking to her. If someone was waiting for her exit, Eric would have delivered the message.

"

Miss, are you ok?

"

Again she heard the voice, but this time the voice invaded her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder. Standing a few feet from her was a tall dark-haired man. She was oddly reminded of a Spaniard by his features. His dark hair was only accented by his dark brown eyes. There was something about his eyes that caught her attention. She regarded him for a moment before reaching for a pack of cigarettes. "Can I help you with something?" She asked, blowing a cloud of smoke over his head.

The man came closer, rubbing the back of his neck before making a sniffing sound as though he was clearing his nasal passageways. "No. I don't think you can." He seemed confused. "I think I have mistaken you for someone else. Forgive me, Miss?"

"There is nothing to forgive. It happens all the time. Now, if you will excuse me." She dropped the still smoking cigarette under her heel, crushing it with the weight of her boot before walking away. She cut across the street and rounded a corner across from Turtle Park.

"Wait," the man called out, quickly joining her on the left side.

Yada cracked her neck along her shoulder before addressing him. "I'm going to repeat the question. Is there something I can help you with?" Her eyes locked with his in an intense glare. She didn't like strangers. More importantly she didn't trust strangers.

"Perhaps," calmly he glanced across the street to a car moving slower than the traffic. The car had densely tinted windows and the driver's side was cracked about an inch. A stream of smoke escaped from the window. The man sniffed the air again.

"Perhaps," she repeated. "It's not a hard question. Either I can help you or I can't."

The hairs on the back of Yada's neck stood on end and she felt the tingle of a slight electric charge. She had felt this sensation twice before. The first time it happened was when she met Vincent then again when she was attacked by the rutane. Her eyes darted quickly along the street pausing at various doorways and then finally on the man. "I'm not in the mood for games."

He turned his attention back to the car which had slowed down to a crawl. "Are you expecting company?" He asked over his shoulder, turning to walk backwards at her side. He looked down the street then behind him again.

"I'm expecting no one." She uttered seconds before reaching to the small of her back to the small PT/24.9 mm she had hidden there. "Who are you?" She asked in a calm voice not giving away what she was intending. She shifted her stance so she could see the car and the man at the same time.

Slowly the car door opened and a cigarette butt fell to the ground, rolling under the car leaving a smoke trail. The whiff of smoke was disturbed by the sudden presence of a black hiking boot followed by a figure quickly exiting the car.

Yada watched as everything slowed down as though someone had set the TV on slow forward. She saw the glimmer of black and then the explosion of red as a bullet exploded from the barrel of the gun. She felt her body jerk violently before a severe burning alerted her she had been hit in the right shoulder rendering her arm useless. She hit the wall behind her and slowly crumpled to the ground. A moan escaped her lips as a wave of heat flooded her senses. She couldn't breathe. The pain in her chest lured her not to move. Time began to speed up. The distorted noises she had heard seconds before formed into coherent words.

"GET DOWN!" The man shouted, rushing towards the car, firing several shots in the driver's chest. He dropped an empty clip on the ground and started firing again from a second pistol.

Yada rolled on her side, retrieving a second hand gun from her shoulder harness, and opened fire on the car when she became aware of another behind her. She spun on one heel and hesitated.

The hesitation was long enough for the thing behind her to knock her down. The pair rolled across the sidewalk, onto thick asphalt, causing Yada to hit her head on the curb. She was dazed momentarily and quickly brought back the gravity of the fight, as a fist kissed her left cheek. She struggled to gain control of the weapon that had landed inches from her right side. A lucky left hook allowed her enough time to flip to her feet and kick her attacker square in the jaw. She tumbled over top of him and landed with her left hand on the gun. She didn't hesitate in squeezing the trigger. A warm black spray coated her face and chest from the proximity of the blast. She wiped matter from her cheek dropping to one knee and focused her attention back on the car.

The man who had spoken to her was standing a few feet in front of her with his gun held at her eye level. For a split second she was oddly reminded of a scene from a movie. Both of them held guns pointed where they would do the most damage.

She didn't flinch. "What do you want?" She panted.

"Are you ok?" He noticed the blood pouring from her shoulder and the trickle of blood on her lip. The distant sounds of sirens quickly brought an end to the conversation. Tucking his gun into an unseen holster he simply walked off.

The moment he was out of sight she limped to her car parked in the alleyway at the end of the block. Leaning against the cool leather, she packed the wound with a shirt lying on the seat. "Fuck." She watched the rear-view mirror as the glow of red and blue approached. Yada left the lights off as she drove to the opposite end of the alley and finally merged into traffic before turning them on.

Sitting in front of a large mirror, Yada opened the medical kit, removing disinfectant, needle and thread, Demerol, and gauze. Looking at her right arm, she noticed the trail of blood from her finger tips and along her forearm until finally soaking the edge of the white cloth shirt. Taking a handful of the painkiller and washing it down with Crown, "Shit," she mumbled carefully removing the shirt. After removing her bra cleaning the area around the wound seemed like second nature. Although the cabin was silent she felt the strange sensation of danger all around her. Danger and fear.

Gripping the Colt that was strapped under the chair, she focused on the mirror again. There were no movements behind her. "Show yourself," she said sharply, darting her attention to a series of shadows near the door.

"You are perceptive." A sudden voice broke the tension from beyond the door before a man emerged from the shadows. He circled the small table and stood so he was facing her in the mirror.

Seeing the man from the street she released the handle. "Who are you?" She already knew he was a vampire. But she didn't know who he belonged to. There was a sense of age with him, a knowing she could not dismiss. It was as though she knew him in a different life. Perhaps it was one of Gabe's memories coming to help her.

"Who am I?" He mused. "Perhaps I am a friend to you, or maybe a friend of a friend of yours. The more important question is who are you?"

Thinking about an answer, she continued to patch her shoulder. She bit down into a roll of gauze and removed the bullet. Yada felt dizzy. The reflection in the mirror started to distort. It took all her concentration not to pass out from the pain. Lights flickered in her vision. The small sound of metal hitting metal snapped her back to the cabin. Her breathing slowed.

The man eyed her wound. He seemed impressed with her work and calm head. When others would be screaming in agony, she kept a grip on what was happening around her.

"I figure if you wanted me dead you would have done it earlier. So... Do you have a name?" Yada managed not to answer his question. Instead of making ideal chatter, she wanted answers. After all she just pulled a slug from her shoulder because of him.

Tapping his finger to his lip and giving some thought he finally nodded. "You can call me Hound."

"Well Hound, why are you here?" She asked curiously. The name seemed to jog an old memory. For a moment she knew she could trust him. He was Gabriel's.

"You interest me." He simply said.

"I interest you? How is that?" She placed some gauze over the wound before turning to face him.

"You remind me of someone."

"Well... What can I say? I must have that type of face." She was a little annoyed with the game. "I guess I owe you my thanks for earlier."

Hound looked out the door. "I did not do anything you would have not done for me."

"Now that the niceties are done, would you care to tell me who the hell you are and why you are here? And oh yeah, who do I remind you of?" The mood was souring. Her shoulder ached and all she wanted to do was rest. But she understood the powerful lust of word games among the Vampires and decided to play along.