Beyond the Prophecy

I returned to my room with the nekomata and vampire books from the library in tow and paused at the entrance after noticing that the bedroom was practically spotless. The clothes I pulled out of my duffel bag this morning before I showered were neatly folded on top of it, my bed was made and my hair products on the dresser were gathered in a small bunch, all in size order, atop the dresser. The room looked just as it did when I first laid eyes on it, with the addition of my personal belongings. The servants here don’t waste any time. I made a mental note to make sure that I thank them the next time I see them. Though, I have to admit that it feels strange having people pick up after me. Looking around even more, I also noticed that my belongings that were left behind in my former flat were brought to this room. They definitely don’t waste any time.

I dropped the books onto my bed; if I ever need to look up something at a moment’s notice, they’ll at least be in the same room as me. But as I sat on my bed, all I could think about was the scene in the library. I know I told Chris I didn’t want to fight anymore, but that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. My hand tapped the stack of books throughout my thinking; it’s a habit that’s stuck with me since my childhood. The taps increased with every thought, and my thoughts expanded to everything else that’s happened since the moment I met him. It was hard to believe that only three days have passed. I was silent for a moment, my tapping the only sound I was listening too, but when I glanced at my hand I stopped. I repeated the same tapping rhythm and stopped again, a smile coming on my face.

Acting quickly, I grabbed my book of staff paper, which barely has any empty pages left, and a pencil from my backpack. Then I took my guitar out of its case and rushed back to bed. I tapped on the books with my left hand, stopped to write down the chords onto the sheets with my right hand, and then repeated the process until I was done. The guitar pick was conveniently weaved in between the strings so I slid it out and played what I wrote. Even though it didn’t sound too bad, I inverted parts of the root position chords to make it better. Those little edits made a huge difference; I found myself smiling every time I replayed the notes. More and more music surfaced in my mind and I jotted them down as quickly as they came up. I’ve never written music this fast. I mean, I’ve had surges of creativity before, but never like this. It was as if the muses, if they existed, had an unlimited supply of creativity to inspire me with. My hands were starting to burn from so much rapid activity but I didn’t care; it was incredibly exhilarating. And when I felt I was finished I held up the sheets and smiled even more. The composition was rough, very rough, but it was a great start. All that was really left were the lyrics.

I sang to the tune in order to help the lyrics develop more, but the words that came were on its own melody. After I stretched my hand a few times, I took a separate sheet of paper and wrote them down. Even as the afternoon turned to night and my stomach rumbled I continued to work. I strummed my guitar to follow along, made some changes, and strummed again. I never stopped once, except to take a deep breath and start again. But as I started to work on the bridge, my cell phone started to ring. Even though I scrambled around the room to get it, the melody ended before I found it. Luckily though, it was just a text message.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
FROM: Ava

RECEIVED: 7:09pm, October 26

MESSAGE:
Wut the fudge, man? Wut happened @ Escape last night? I didn’t even see u leave.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

I texted her back, giving her a brief, “It’s a long story,” message.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
FROM: Ava

RECEIVED: 7:16pm, October 26

MESSAGE:
U’ll have plenty of time 2 tell me 2nite, right? We’re all meetin @ Escape @ 11 to celebrate :D Hint hint ;)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

- - - - -

By the time I was done eating spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and a Caesar salad, I was already running late. Trying to think up an excuse to give Chris about tonight took even longer, although giving him one might be pointless; he can read my mind and find the truth. What’s the harm in telling him anyway? I don’t need his permission or consent. Expecting a long list of arguments from him, I was surprised by his actual answer.

“Go.”

“What?”

“A man named Damien will be waiting outside for you. I told him to take you there and back as well as accompany you.”

“How did you even know I was going out?” I rolled my eyes after he tapped his temple. “You hired me a babysitter? Are you kidding me? I’m not a child that needs to be watched constantly. I can take care of myself, and it’s not like I can run away since all of my stuff is here now.” I didn’t expect a response, which is exactly what I got from him. “Fine, I needed a lift anyway. I'll wait outside for him.”

“Wait.” Chris reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a set of keys. When he tossed them to me he said, “So you don’t have to climb through a window or bang on the door in the middle of the night.”

“Thanks.”

While I walked away I felt a sensation on the back of my neck, one that made me feel as if I was being watched. Glancing quickly behind myself, I saw why. Even though he turned as soon as I looked, I knew that Chris was ogling me. So when I started walking away again a smirk came on my face.

The only lights outside came from the overhead lanterns on the mansion walls and the headlights of a sleek Audi with a cerulean paint job a few feet away. A guy leaned against the car with his arms and ankles crossed had a smile on his face that grew as I came closer. When I reached him I took in his look; brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin. His head was square shaped, just like mine, though he had one hell of a forehead. There was a scar beside his left eyebrow and his hair was too short to hide it. The muscles on his arms were flexed, making them seem about the same if not bigger than Chris’s, but some of them were covered in his white and gray plaid button down shirt.

I held out my hand with a smile and said, “You must be my nanny for the night.”

He shook my hand with a laugh. “I'd prefer the term bodyguard. I’m Damien, and you must be Natasha.”

“What, no ‘Mistress’?” I stated with air quotes.

He shook his head. “I don't do titles.”

“Neither do I.” My eyebrow arched as he stared at me, his eyes squinted a bit. “What?”

“I thought you had curly hair. At least, that’s what I was told.”

“I do, but I straightened it so I could make a poof in the front to go with the outfit.”

He smiled. “So, how do you like living in Frost Manor?”

“Frost Manor?” I looked behind me when he pointed to the mansion with his eyes. “This place has a name?” I scoffed. “You call it Frost Manor, I call it prison.” I smiled when he broke out into laughter. “Was it named after Chris’s lukewarm personality?”

“No,” he said with a bit of laughter. “It’s his last name. Frost.”

“It suits him well.”

As I made my way to the car door he stood upright to open it for me. Before I stepped in, my eyebrow raised at the sound of his whistling.

“You’re tall,” he said, “and the four inches the shoes give you make you about my height too. I’m used looking down to look a woman in the eye.”

“I know. But I like to wear great shoes no matter how many inches they are. It’s not fair to neglect them just because I don’t need the height.”

He smirked, took my left hand and pulled me to the side. “Let me take a look,” he said just before spinning me around. “I’ll make you a deal. If I can guess the designer of your clothes and shoes then you have to buy me a drink tonight.”

I shrugged. “Okay. Give it a try.”

“Hmm…Black leather biker jacket with a belt around the waist and gold embellishments designed by Alexander McQueen.”

My eyes went wide. “Wow. What about the rest?”

“White graphic tank top by Givenchy, red low rise skinny jeans by Tripp NYC and black open toed shoe-boots with a diamond shaped crystal panel on the front of each, two thick ankle straps per shoe and chunky heels designed by Giuseppe Zanotti.”

“How…How did you know? I kind of forgot the brands until you mentioned then just now.”

“When everyone went to buy clothes to fill your closet with, I was the one that picked those out.”

I gave a fake gasp. “You cheated. I shouldn’t have to buy you a drink since you already knew the designers.” I smiled. “At least you’ve got great taste in clothes,” I said before going into the car and sitting down.

Just before closing the door, Damien said, “I’ve got great taste in other areas too.”

My jaw dropped, but I was still smiling. “I guess you have no filtering system.”

He shrugged and came into the car, closing the door behind him. “Who needs it?”

“It’s funny. My first ex-boyfriend said the same thing.”

“And what about your current boyfriend?” he asked when started the engine.

“Nonexistent. Despite what everyone thinks, Chris is not my fella. What about you?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend either,” he said before I laughed. “But I do have my eye on someone.”

“Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Michael.”

“Michelle?”

“No, Michael.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re gay? No wonder you know designer clothes and shoes.”

“I told you before, I don’t like titles. But if I did use one, I’d say I’m more like a referee.”

“I don’t understand.”

He turned into a highway with a smile. “In any kind of sport, the referees pretty much control the game. They see everything, make the rules and keep everyone in line. They basically call the shots…and they do it for both teams.”

I gave it some thought and then said, “So you’re bisexual?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s grand. I was afraid that I was wasting this outfit on a nanny that wouldn’t have any interest.”

“You dressed up just for me? I’m flattered.”

I laughed. “I was dressed before I found out who was taking me to the city, but if I knew ahead of time that you were my escort I would’ve worn this anyway.” We smirked. “How did you get stuck watching me tonight?”

“I owed Chris a favor. He already had something else in mind but he changed it to this instead. Something tells me that whatever he originally had in store for me was much worse.”

“Can't blame you for thinking that. It's probably true.”

He smiled.

"How do you know each other anyway?"

"We've been friends for a long time."

I turned to face him, my eyes wide. "You mean to say that not only does he have a friend, but he's kept one for a long time?"

Damien started to crack up. “Surprises me too actually, but it's the truth I swear it.”

"I can barely have a conversation with him without getting pissed."

“I know. He told me.”

I grinned, but then the grin faded as I glanced out the window. “How can you be friends with a man that takes a life every day? I don’t think I could.”

Damien sighed. “Animals die every day because other animals hunt them down for food. It’s the same thing; survival of the fittest. Chris may not seem to have much respect for mortals but, believe it or not, there are vampires in this world that are a lot worse. He calls them the vipers. They’re the kind that hunts ‘food’ for sport and viciously feed from their victims without any remorse.”

“I guess…” I eyed him curiously when he chuckled. “What?”

“You say you don’t like him, so why do you keep talking about him?”

As I shook my head I opened my mouth but hesitated to speak. “That’s…not true. We spoke about clothes, and the fact that you’re gay.”

“Bisexual.”

“Whatever, you know what I mean.” I paused and crossed my arms. “I’m venting, is all, especially since I can’t talk to my best mates about all of this. They’re oblivious to it and it has to stay that way.”

“Why?”

“To keep them safe.”

“I see.”

It was quiet for a moment, but it made things seem semi awkward. I couldn’t think of much to break the silence except to say, “Maybe we should talk more about you then,” with a smirk on my face. “All I know is that you’re name is Damien, you’re bisexual and that you’re Chris’s only friend.”

He broke out into laughter again and spoke while the smile remained. “Well, I’m seventy-six years old, though everyone thinks I’m twenty-four. My sluggish aging process comes from a recessive gene that dates back to ancient times but only becomes dominant in very few generations in my family. My ancestor from the 20th century was the last person to have it, and I’m the latest. She, my ancestor, is alive even today, though she doesn’t get out much,” he said as he made a few turns. “Anyway, along with the slow aging come two powers; multiplication and shape shifting.”

“How does that work?”

I felt a few taps on my shoulder, but Damien’s hands were still on the steering wheel. When I glanced back I jumped in my seat. “Jaysus!” I said aloud, my heart immediately picking up its pace. At first all I saw was just another person sitting in the back, someone that must have come out of nowhere, but as I looked him over I understood; it was an exact duplicate of Damien.

“That’s incredible. You made a copy of yourself?” Through my peripherals, I saw the real him nod. “With no sign of you using your power or nothing too.”

“What do you mean?” asked the original Damien.

“Well, whenever I see a film or read a book about this sort of thing, usually there’s some kind of sign that a power is being used. Maybe you see a glow, or hear a particular sound…things of that sort.”

“Oh,” said his duplicate. “Well that’s only in fiction. Some powers, I guess, do make themselves known by certain indications but most are ‘silent.’ If they weren’t then it would be hard to use them often, don’t you think?” He cocked his head to the side when I stared silently. “What?”

“That’s freaky, both of you talking to me at once. Gives schizophrenia a whole new meeting.” Hearing them laugh in unison didn’t help. “You said that you shapeshift too,” I said to the duplicate.

“Yes, I did say that,” I heard my own voice say, but it wasn’t me that spoke. My jaw dropped when I glanced back at the original Damien. It was no longer him, now he looked like a duplicate of me. “Wow,” I practically whispered.

“I get that a lot,” he said. Or would it be she? Or I? Oh hell, I don’t know.

“It’s like I’m looking in a mirror.” Carefully, I moved closer and reached my hand out towards…Damien’s face. Or the copy of my face. Whatever! I reached for the other face, and lightly touched it. It was very real. Even when…my duplicate spoke, the person had a fierce strong accent like mine. “What about your duplicate? Can he shapeshift too?”

“See for yourself.”

Out of habit, my eyes rolled when I recognized the voice coming from the back seat. There he was, like the annoying little voice inside of your head or an irritating shadow, constantly following you and giving you a headache. “Out of all of the people you could’ve shifted to,” I spoke to the one in the backseat, “why’d you pick Mr. Uppity of Asshole Manor?”

He chuckled. “I know how fond you are of me, so I thought tagging along for the ride would please you.”

I glanced back at Damien, who changed back to his regular self, and said, “Does this mean I get to punch him?” I smiled when they laughed. Then the one in the backseat was gone. Shaking my head, I said, “That’s absolutely incredible. Wish I could do something like that.”

“Well, you may not be able to do what I can, but what you are able to do is just as impressive.”

“All I can do is play music and piss people off. I don’t see how it can compare.”
He turned his head, a quizzical look on his face. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember what?”

He shook his head. “You can do so much…but you’d have to remember it yourself. I can’t tell you a thing.”

“Even you know something about me that I don’t…”

With a smile he said, “Whenever you have some free time, sit in a secluded area and try to think of things like your childhood. Maybe it’ll come to you. I wish I could tell you but Chris and his family won’t let me.”

“Then I’ll just have to beat it out of him myself.”

“That, I’d love to see,” he said with his eyes opened wider.

When I saw all the fluorescent lights illuminating the night, I knew we were back in the city that never sleeps. I fell in love with New York when I arrived for the first time when I was thirteen, and I’ve loved it since. It’s nothing like On Lárr, and especially nothing like Lusk, which will always be a home for me, but that’s okay. Granted, I hated that I had to move to the States, but I’m glad Manhattan was the destination. I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else. New York has always had an abundance of energy; it always seems to come alive.

“I’m going to go look for parking, so I’ll drop you off at the entrance so you can meet up with your friends. Let me get your number to make it easier to find you when I get back.”

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Are you sure it’s not just a ploy to get my phone number?”

He paused. “No comment.”

I chuckled and then told him my phone number. Once he saved it he called my cell phone. After I saved his number, I noticed another phone number in my phone that I didn’t save myself. I creased my eyebrows and shook my head, just before I scoffed.

“What is it?”

“Your friend took the liberty of saving his phone number to my cell.”

“My friend?” he asked, a questioning look on his face. When he started laughing I knew he understood. “At least now you can tell him off from a distance.”

I saw my friends outside of Escape just before Damien pulled up to the curb. The moment I stepped out of the car Ava rushed towards me with a grin.

“Tasha!” she said when she hugged me. “Thank God you came. The celebration wouldn’t be complete without you.”

I greeted the guys and asked, “What are we celebrating?”

“What the fuck do you think we’re celebrating?” said Jason. “We’ve got a contract.”

“What?!”

I felt beyond deliria and exciria about the news. A contract? I can’t believe this is real. All our hard work is finally paying off.

“It’s about fucking tine we got one!” I said aloud. Everyone on the line outside the club turned to look at me but I didn’t care. I hugged my friends and jumped in place with excitement anyway.

“Well, technically we don’t have a contract yet,” said Evan. “We have a meeting with Pandemonium execs to sign one and get things started.”

“When?”

“Monday at 2:15pm sharp. I know, it’s very specific, but that was the earliest they were available. At least it gives us time to get over the hangovers I’m sure we’re all going to get tonight.” He laughed and so did we.

“They’re going to get a lawyer for us to help us look over the contract and then they’re going to assign us a manager. I can’t freaking wait!” said Ava.

“Monday’s Monday,” said Jason. “Tonight’s about getting fucked up and having a good time.”

We laughed and made our way inside. For those of us that had jackets, we checked them and then all of us headed straight to the bar. I only had a few sips of my Cape Cod when I received a text from Damien asking for my location, so I sent him one in response to meet me at the bar. I kept my word and bought him a drink even though he technically cheated to get it. But one drink led to another, and then another and another…until all of us were on the dance floor, half pissed and having a grand time. I danced with everyone and to every song the deejay played, but the one person I danced with the most was Damien.

Damien was actually a pretty good dancer, especially when the deejay played hip-hop. I’d rest my arms on his shoulders as we swayed side to side, his own arms wrapped around me. Sometimes when we looked up at each other we’d smile or laugh, or he’d spin me a ridiculous amount of times, making me laugh even more, and there were times when our dancing would get a little…steamy. There were times when I’d bend one of my legs and he’d hold it in place while we continued to dance with one another. At one point, he even held me close and slowly dipped me, his right hand softly brushing me from my collarbone to my stomach before I rose back up. The alcohol was definitely influencing us both.

Damien looked passed me and laughed, a smirk on his face the entire time. When I asked him what was funny, he placed his lips close to my ear and said, “I think we made him jealous.”

Before I could ask, someone grabbed me from behind and spun me to face them, which made me a bit dizzy. I should have known it would be Chris. He was like a shadow, dressed in a black fitted t-shirt, dark was jeans and a matching army jacket. Chris wearing sleek clothing, even if they were made from affordable material, was not an unusual case. The glare he wore on his face, one directed at someone other than me, was what was unusual. It was directed towards Damien of all people. Damien shrugged in response, the smirk on his face growing a little more. Maybe he was right about Chris’s reaction to our dance.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked him. “You can’t even give me one night of―”

You’re being targeted, he said in my mind. Don’t speak aloud; speak mentally instead.

What? I creased my eyebrows when he held me close. You’re talkin’ crazy―

You’re friends think we are exclusive, so we must play the part to keep from alerting them of the lurking danger. Dance.

With you? Hell no. That doesn’t prove shit to them.

He looked directly into my eyes and smirked a bit, but then he grasped my chin with his thumb and index finger just before moving his lips so they were a few inches away from mine. There are other ways. Shall I close the distance?

I hesitated. I actually hesitated. A part of me felt a twinge in my stomach and wanted him to kiss me, but the other part was repulsed by the thought. Fine, I’ll dance ‘cause I’m not drunk enough to shift with you. But don’t just stand there looking all…stiff and shit. You have t’ dance too.

And so he did. I don’t know if it was the rising heat of this club, the scent of his cologne, the fact that I must’ve been shlossed out me arse or a combination of them all, but it felt so fucking amazing to dance with him. More often than not, when a girl dances with a guy she’s the one doing most of the work. It wasn’t like that in this case. Both of us were grinding to the music with our arms wrapped around each other. His hands occasionally brushed against my skin with just enough pressure to make me breathe faster. There was barely any space between us, even after he spun me so my back was against his chest. As we continued to gyrate I moved my arms so they were around his neck. His lips softly brushed against my earlobe and traveled down to my shoulder, my lips parting instantaneously, but then I gasped when he moved his hands to my hips and pulled me closer. Using some pressure his hands moved up to my stomach and then slid back to my hips to hold me tight against him. Being this close to him, his body told me just how…arousing, our dance was. I didn’t know what song was playing or when it changed to another; all I knew was that I didn’t want it to end.

We have to leave. Now.

Of course we do. Why? We’re just gettin’ starting.

There’s a coven of vampires on the hunt. Their target is me, but because they know about you somehow you are on their radar.

What? That sobered me up a bit. What the hell did I do?

Nothing. They’re aiming for you to get to me.

Are they here now?

No, but if we don’t leave soon then they will be. I suggest we depart from here as soon as possible.

He was right; we couldn’t stay or else everyone here would be in danger, including my friends. This was the kind of luck I’ve been having since I met him. Every time I start to enjoy myself something happens to destroy it. And now vampires were coming to destroy me.

I breathed a little faster as I stared at my friends. They were having such a grand time dancing with each other and with other people. I feel like it’s been a long time since the four of us had a grand craic like tonight. Telling them I have to go would put a damper on it. This is the second time I have to leave them behind.

Come with me, he said, I have an idea. Pretend as if we’re just trying to find a private place for ourselves. It’ll keep your friends from sensing any sort of alarm.

He glanced at Damien and gave him a small not, just before he took one of my hands in his and led me towards the exit, where the staircase to the upper level was. I tried to keep up with him but I could barely stand without fumblin’ all over the place. As much as I love these shoes, I couldn’t walk in them while I was in this state. Chris had to keep me from falling on random people on my way out. It’s good that I was headin’ though, just when the club was startin’ to spin around me. A few minutes after Chris and I reach the hallway, Damien joined us and handed me my leather jacket.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I need a favor,” said Chris. “Keep an eye on the others as well as duplicate yourself and shift into Natasha.”

“What?” I said. “You’re bleedin’ mad. There’s no way that’s going to work.”

Damien smiled. “No problem,” he said to Chris. “But what’s really going on?”

“It’s a long story, but there’s no time. We must leave now before it’s too late.”

“All right. But now you owe me one.”

“Agreed.”

“Wait,” I said and faced Damien. “If anything happens to my friends, I’m coming after you myself.”

His smile faded, his expression turning serious yet calm. “You don’t have to threaten me. I’ll keep them safe. I’ll even call in some reinforcements for extra protection.”

“Reinforcements?”

“Let’s just say I have friends in high places. Strong and stealth ones. Your friends will be well looked after.”

I looked at Chris and he gave me a nod. Then I looked back at Damien. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Chris took my hand and led me even further into the hall as Damien made his way back into the dancehall. I was about to speak but Chris placed a finger on my lips and kept his eyes on the staircase. As some people came down the stairs, others went up. It wasn’t until the area was clear that he turned to me.

“I waited for the coven to be close to the mansion before moving away from it. Calista drove while I sat in the passenger seat. When the coven was certain that I would remain in the car or that I was headed towards a specific location, I teleported here. Calista is still driving to keep them distracted but she should be heading towards the mansion by now.”

“You sure she wasn’t caught? I mean, it’s vampires versus one human.”

“She’s been into street racing of all kinds of vehicles for years,” he said with a smirk. “Every servant has a specialty. Racing just happens to be Calista’s niche.”

“Calista’s a bleedin’ apache? I never would’ve imagined that. But now that I think about it, it makes sense.”

“Come. I’m teleporting us back.” He grasped both of my hands and brought me closer, just before staring straight into my eyes. “Whatever you do, don’t let go and keep your eyes closed.”

Just when I closed my eyes and clutched his hand a wave of nausea and wooziness washed over me. The world around me was spinning at mach speed. When he released my hands I opened my eyes, but I still felt dizzy. He had teleported us to the forest just outside the manor.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t feel right,” I mumbled before wrapping my arms around my stomach.

“You’ll grow accustom to it.”

No matter how hard I tried to hold back, I couldn’t stop the vomit from rising to my throat. Luckily I managed to turn away in time to let it out. I could taste a little of everything I ate today, but the overall taste was the most vile flavor ever. I grabbed my pocketbook soon after and fished out a tissue to wipe myself with. I definitely won’t be drinking any more tonight.

“I’m here,” said someone behind me, catching me off guard and scaring the shit out of me.

“Where the hell did you come from?” I nearly shouted before Chris shushed me.

Hatsumi didn’t say a word. She wasn’t dressed in a strange outfit this time, just fitted black clothes from head to toe, including black hiking boots. Her belt had cartridges all around with I don’t know what inside them, along with holstered guns.

“Are the guardians on patrol?” he asked her.

“Yes, Master Chris.” She turned to me and handed me my gray, white and black Nike sneakers and a dagger sheathed in brown leather. “You’ll need those.”

“Can’t we just feed them to the guardians?” I said, half joking, while taking off my shoes.

“We are,” said Chris. “Should any of them get passed, we’ll have to stop them―” He became alert and looked into the distance. “They’re here.”
________________________________________
On Lárr: Dublin city center.
Lusk: A village in the County Dublin, Ireland that’s a few miles away from the Dublin city center.
Deliria and exciria: Delighted and excited.
Cape cod: An alcoholic beverage consisted of vodka, cranberry juice and a lime wedge.
Half pissed: Partially drunk.
Shift: To make out with someone.
Shlossed: Very drunk.
Coven: The term is more often used to describe a group of witches, but in this case it’s used to describe a group of vampires, not necessarily a clan.
Grand craic: To have a good time.
Apache: A person that likes to steal or race cars for fun; a joyrider.