Chapter Fourteen

Beneath the surface

Ten minutes later, Alessandra and Cassandra stood waiting outside the doors of the Great Hall just as they said they would be. They weren’t alone; Samir had joined them. With his left hand rested where his seraph blade should have been holstered in his belt, he paced between the two pillars, wondering when this Warren Howard person would appear. The girls knew he would, but Samir was wary of the vampire; he’d been informed of the man’s sullied reputation from Kaashif. He was only giving him a chance to try and win favour with Alice.

All three Enochian’s had dressed in their training garb. Cassandra and Samir’s bore the Royal Guard's Golden emblem, while Alice had dressed much more casually and looked as if she were merely ready to undertake some exercise, not go to war. They all wore their cloaks, Alice in her white one, Samir and Cassandra’s in Morningstar emerald.

Footsteps neared them; Warren was on time, but he took a glance at his wristwatch to make sure. In the short time they’d allowed, Warren had managed to shower, dress and turn up looking as clean-cut as ever, even with his hair was in place.

Coming to a pause before the trio, he firstly nodded a greeting to both the girls and then his eyes paused over Samir for a moment. He recalled the cocky boy; he’d seen him at Court.

Cassandra greeted Warren with a mischievous little smirk. “Glad you made it.” She stepped forward, examining Warren’s smart attire. “Eh, shouldn’t get too dirty...” Then she gestured to the boy next to her. “Warren, this is Samir Mehra. Samir, this is Warren Howard.”

Samir bobbed his head respectfully. “Nice to meet you; at least now we’re in a more relaxed setting. The sisters have spoken very highly of you.”

“Spoken highly of me, hm? Well, they don’t know me very well yet.” Warren glanced between the Morgan sisters with a smirk.

Alice stepped out of the group, her cloak flowing behind her like a sheet of fresh snow. It contrasted her dark hair, making her look like some kind of ice queen misplaced in the middle of the desert. “Come on, you three. Let’s get moving.”

Abruptly, Samir stepped forward and took hold of Warren’s arm. “Sorry about this, man. Have to make it look like I’m transporting you. Once we get down below, we won’t have to walk like this anymore. In the meantime, we’ll just make good friends,” he joked. It was a precaution to ensure that no guards stopped them and asked where they were going. They knew all the tricks and would use them to their advantage today.

His brow furrowed at the physical contact; he wasn’t one for being touched by those he knew, never mind a stranger. Samir might’ve felt how the air about Warren seemed to vibrate for a moment at the sudden and unexpected contact.

“You ought to have brought cuffs. I would have obliged.” Warren suggested through gritted teeth, evidently uncomfortable, but luckily, it would have added to the rouse if they were seen.

“Cuffing you... would’ve probably been a good idea.” He shot Cassandra a look. He had also been invited at short notice - he hadn’t had time to grab his seraph blade, never mind anything else. All he had was his own two hands and a few throwing knives. Not much to work with but enough to defend himself if needed.

Cassandra whistled, feigning innocence while Alice got them through the gate to the dungeon, unlocking it and ushering them through while the guards were distracted by a game of cards they were playing. They glanced at them but didn’t bother to assess the supposed prisoner being moved with Samir and Cass present. It was as if they were invisible.

While Samir guided Warren through the hall of cells, Cassandra took the lead. Alessandra slowed her pace to walk beside the two men. “So Warren, do you trust me?” She asked, grinning mischievously.

“I’m starting to wonder whether it was wise to.” He smirked right back at her. Already, they seemed to be firm friends.

When they came to the end of the hall of cells, Cass stepped forward and smirked. “This is the cool part,” she said to Warren. “Watch.”

“The only way to get where we’re going is through here… Don’t worry, you can trust me,” Alice said to reassure Warren that they were not locking him up again.

They were facing a stone wall, and it seemed very ordinary. But when Cassandra drew her seraph blade, flame and all, and held the heat over the stone, it creaked, and the wall slowly slid aside, leaving a gap for them to pass into a narrow hall, where they would have to walk in single file. Cass, with her seraph, held up, and a light led them forward and into the darkness.

“Watch your step,” Alice whispered, going last right behind Warren. He cautiously glanced at her from over his shoulder, but she nodded, insisting that it was OK to go ahead.

Cassandra led them down a short staircase into a damp, chilly passageway. They went around a bend and then came into a wider passage. Somewhere, off in the distance, there was the roar of what sounded like running water.

In the confined space with the three nephilim he’d forgotten himself in anticipation of their destination and took a deep breath only to find a symphony of teasing celestial scents stinging his throat. Squeezing his eyes closed as it dazed him for a moment, his fangs sprung from dormancy and hung on his lower lip. The sound of the moving bone clicked. Flexing his jaw to withdraw them again was even louder as it rattled off of the walls suffocating them. “Excuse me... Just a little… thirsty.” Warren muttered.

“Hey, if you’re going to bite someone, go for Samir first; that’ll give me enough time to kick your ass before you go for Alice.”

“What the-…” Samir began to protest.

“Cassandra, stop being ridiculous,” Alice shook her head. “Just a little further…”

The darkness seemed to lift the farther into the chasm they travelled. In the distance, there was quite literally light at the end of the tunnel. Warren was naturally baffled; he figured they were underneath the Palace now.

The sound of water grew louder and made him warier of where he was being taken. The only solace he could take was what Alessandra had assured him once, that if he were being led somewhere dangerous, she wouldn’t have been there.

Suddenly, the passage opened up entirely, and they stood, soaked in bright, natural light on a ledge of sandstone. The contrast between light and dark stunned their eyes, but an awesome scene would have come into focus. Underground, beneath the surface, and Morningstar Palace, there was an entire, hidden village carved into the rocks and built up from the earth within the chasm.

“Here we are,” Samir announced.

They were standing on the landing of a wide stone staircase that would lead them down to the outskirts of the otherworldly urbanscape; the steps ran down the wall, leaving the front face as a sheer cliff to the cobbles below. The maze of cream stone and whitewashed buildings was stunning, but Warren couldn’t tune out of the audio and zoned in on the canal. He had anticipated the presence of water, though it was closer than he’d first thought.

“Please tell me we’re not going anywhere near that water?” There was an edge of concern in his tone as all he could focus on for now was his irrational fear and the proximity of the deep, dark, soul swallowing water. His breathing pattern sped a little, perhaps noticeably.

“Oh, no, we’re just going to explore. It’s fun! There are all sorts of treasures down here.” said Alice gleefully with a pearly grin. Instead of taking the stairs, gone was her cloak, and she launched off the ledge and accelerated towards the coffered ceiling, airborne in seconds. Squealing happily as her wings flourished out from her back, she glided away, but soon Samir was after her. His wing’s doing the same as Alice’s though they spread in light, earthy brown plumage - they weren’t nearly as spectacular as her glittering, silver feathers.

“Show off…” muttered Cass as her sister sprung into flight and then landed on a rooftop over yonder. She, for some reason, didn’t open her wings to fly. Instead, she gathered Alice’s cloak into her arms and started down the steps on foot, motioning for Warren to follow.

Obligingly, Warren moved down the steps behind Cass. “You know you don’t have to keep me company...”

“It’s fine.” But it wasn’t.

Once he got to the foot of the steps, they walked side-by-side over the canal’s bridge. Warren strategically kept his eyes on the cobblestones. If he so much as glanced at the water, he felt he might lose his nerve.

Headed into the maze of tiny houses, Warren quickly noticed they were all forsaken, though their state was far from dereliction. Little remained to hint at who may have once lived there or how long ago, but the dusty cobbled pathways spoke of a time gone by when automobiles weren’t the primary mode of transport - perhaps even as long ago as a thousand years. He could imagine them filled with small carts and pedestrians but barely any other traffic. Their narrow and winding nature would’ve been challenging for any creature larger than a mule or man to traverse.

Staring upward at the abandoned houses shuttered windows, and vacant balconies, in his mind's eye, he could envisage laundry lines hanging between as a canopy over the streets below. Fine wine or a light lunch and coffee being taken at small bistro tables, or perhaps a newspaper or two read – Maybe now he was imagining what he might do on such a balcony, with such a view to enjoy.

The nearer the centre of the catacombs, the lighter it became, and the larger and more lavish the houses grew, and Warren’s imagination didn’t rest. He thought that perhaps he’d figured out Alice and Cassandra’s motive in bringing him down here.

Breaking the silence and waking himself from his daydreaming, Warren flashed Cassandra a smirk. He nodded his head towards Alessandra and Samir as they both flew off and said, “Don’t want to be the third wheel to that cart, huh?”

“I can’t fly,” Cassandra said bluntly, revealing why she looked so glum when she was usually high-spirited. “But I’d rather keep you company and save my energy to kick his ass later. Besides, I like you more than Samir.” So as not to sound hostile towards the boy, she added, “You’re more interesting,” and winked in a joking manner.

“It’s not a word I’d use to describe myself, but I’ll take it. I’m sure you could tell me interesting things about yourself?” He smiled down at her warmly.

“There’s a lot I could tell you. Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“You’re mother used to make me play twenty questions with her. I was never a very good conversationalist.”

“Yeah? Me too. Alice is the chatty one; I’m more a… physical type of person, y’know?” Cassandra nodded.

“Actions speak louder than words.” Warren agreed. “Perhaps we should stick to five for now?”

“Huh?” Cassandra didn’t understand,

But then Warren asked her a quickfire question, “What matters to you the most in the world?”

“My family,” Cassandra answered without missing a beat. “You?”

“My Fledgeling.” Warren smiled, and Cassandra grinned back at him. She liked his answer. “Your turn.”

“Uhm, what’s your biggest fear?”

“Drowning.”

“Can vampires drown?”

“Technically, no. But fear is irrational, isn’t it?”

“I s’pose.” She shrugged. “I hate the dark. Y’know, like the kind when you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face? I don’t know. It’s just there’s too much you all of a sudden. Like there’s nothing else, and you’re alone with yourself whether you like it or not…”

He nodded; he understood. “It took me a while to become comfortable with who I truly am on the inside. Although some might say that I’m too content being alone. Accepting my demons for better or worse has made me somewhat prone to reclusiveness.” He chuckled, finding his flaw ironic. “Any hidden talents?”

“Uh… I play the piano? Most people find that surprising about me.”

“So do I. It’s one of my favourite pass times.”

“I don’t play much anymore. I’m always busy doing something else. What’s your favourite food and/or drink?” Cassandra asked, going with something more mundane.

“Hmm, good question.” Warren appraised; however mundane, he liked it. “Although I don’t have to eat, I couldn’t stop if you paid me… I enjoy comfort food over gourmet cuisine. I’m not fond of citrus fruits or strawberries, and as for drinks… I’m afraid it’s alcohol… My preference is scotch over wine, wine over beer and always, only, coffee in the morning.”

“So you’re quite a foodie, huh? D’you like to cook too?”

“Oh yes, I enjoyed feeding your mother after her siring when all her allergies had disappeared.”

“Allergies?” Cassandra revealed that it was no lie that she knew a great little about her mother’s mortal years.

The peaceful sound of their paired footsteps and ‘getting to know you’ conversation was interrupted when Alice’s sweet voice echoed through the catacombs. “Mom! Come out; come out where ever you are!” She and Samir had climbed down from the roof and were now roaming about the nearest street.

From one of the houses, there came a flurry of dark blue wings, and then suddenly, there was Karou, standing in the clearing, barefoot and clothed in a pale blue summer dress.

Looking up ahead, Warren saw her, and she saw Warren; she broke into a smile. They were in the same street now, and suddenly, Karou broke into a run, moving directly toward him. Though she wasn’t close enough to hear their conversation yet, so, he continued chatting with Cassandra despite keeping his eyes focused. “Mhmm, she was a very sickly mortal. In hindsight, she got to be more human after I met her than ever before.”

“Warren, if you bite me, will I be stronger, like my mom?” She spoke in a darker tone.

“Keep in mind that vampiricy is a curse, Cassandra.” Those were words of warning.

The conversation was cut short when Karou got there. Unimpeded, she threw her arms around Warren’s neck on impact with his chest, and he sent his arms to coil her waist.

“You’re here!” her smile beamed, and her slightly darker eyes glistened.

“Yes, I am.” in addition to his reply, he placed a chaste kiss atop her head.

“I’m glad. Welcome to my personal hideaway and what I think is the coolest thing about this city!”

Wrapped in Warren’s arms, Cassandra got to see her mom genuinely smile for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. Seeing her mom this happy was so refreshing. It made her feel a little less stressed, as though all of her doubt left her as she exhaled.

In the distance, Alice was calling, “Cass, Samir wants to fight you.”

Snapping her out of watching Karou and Warren’s love story in live-action, Cassandra excused herself, “I’m being paged,” Dipping her head respectfully, she turned her heels against the dusty cobbles and ran off. Fists up and pounded at the air, ready to fight.

Warren watched Cassandra go on after Alice before he looked down toward Karou - his eyes thirsty and intense. “You left me alone this morning... Your daughters ambushed me.” He shook his head as if scolding her.

“They did?” Her eyes were wide and innocent. “I’m sure they meant no harm. They’re just… curious. You’re all mine anyway,” she said happily, planting a light kiss on his cheek.

“Oh, is that so?” He whispered, gently sending his hand up her back and into her tresses of brown hair. At first, he merely combed his fingers up toward her skull until he gently tugged her head backwards to reveal her neck.

Karou gasped, excited but not scared. There was a profound feeling within her; he could have her any time, in any place. Admittedly, she hadn’t expected it to be now, but she certainly wouldn’t turn him down.

Exposed to his eyes, Warren set the tips of his fangs onto the soft surface of Karou’s skin. Breathily against her flushed neck, he whispered, “I took you first, so you’re mine.”

Karou physically shuddered in response – loving that he wasn’t being standoffish. Deviously, her lips smirked, and her fingers tugged at his shirt sleeve. “Prove it.” She dared, whispering back.

A growl purred against her neck, yet he didn’t indulge her. No, he kept his fangs millimetres from her skin; his warm breath was a tease. Playfully he chuckled, “I don’t have to prove a thing. You know the truth.”

Karou whimpered. “Why won’t you just give in?”

“I gave into you once bef-…”

“And wasn’t your life made better when you finally did?” Karou asked, pulling back and taking his face between her hands, her eyes bored into his.

“Yes.” He answered simply, honestly.

“In here,” she said, tugging his arm and leading him into one of the empty houses. Inside, there was a stone countertop in a room that was probably once a kitchen. Karou hopped onto it and pulled him towards her by his shirt with a smirk of pure mischief. Having him stood between her knees at the counter, and within her grasp, she leaned down to linger over his neck suggestively. Gently she kissed him there – begging the question. Pulling back a little, Karou stared up at him through her eyelashes and waited for his answer.

Her seductive smirk pulled her lip back so that her left fang glinted at him – that made him bite his lip. She looked so adorably deviant. Her dominance, and the grasp she had on his shirt, made his heart pound. It had been a long, long time since he’d been dominated. And the last person to have had that much power over him abused it. But now, all those horrid memories faded into nothingness. Now his mind was all about Karou. The anticipation was arousing in a way that only the prospect of being fed from could produce - especially when it was his fledgeling that would be doing the feeding.

Still, Warren arranged his brows quizically to question whether she was sure she wanted to test him. How his lips twitched as if to grin hinted that it was all just a rouse, and he actually wanted to play her game. His head moved to one side in a subtle invite - the one Karou had been waiting for.

To praise his obedience, she planted one slow and passionate kiss where she planned to bite him and took him by surprise when she eventually did. Finally, the tease was over.

At her thighs, the fabric of her blue sundress clustered in Warren’s fists when he tensed at the initial moment her fangs pierced his skin. He yearned to touch her skin but wouldn’t for now. Unashamedly, the sound he made purred from his throat and echoed about the little house they’d secreted themselves away into.

At the sound of her Sire’s pleasure, she wanted to give herself to him too – whatever way he wanted. She needed him close. Karou’s legs clung to the back of his thighs tighter. The neat dress shirt he wore creased in her white-knuckled fist, and his neat hairdo was ruffled by her other hand.

How her lips moved over his skin made her feeding more like kissing - slow and deliberate. Still, it had to end, and when she reluctantly pulled away, she stared up into his face with her lips stained blush red with his blood.

The bubble Warren had felt wrap around them as she had fed slowly dissipated, and reality came flooding back in, but they’d been back in time for a little while. As if coming up to the surface of an expanse of water, Warren drew in a deep breath and opened his eyes to focus on Karou’s face. Unlatching his hands from her dress, he ran his thumb under her right eye as his hand cupped her cheek.

“Better?” He asked in a hushed voice.

She nodded, but there was so much more she wanted to do.

For a brief moment, she waited, hoping he’d do something... Anything...

But then he asked, “What now, Karou?” and her heart dropped; it felt like he was ready for their moment to end, but she wasn’t.

They could do so many things, and she’d already thought of at least ten positions he could have her in. She wanted him, and he wanted her, no doubt, but there was still so much about their circumstances that was uncertain. It would’ve been easy to throw caution to the wind in the wake of their passion for each other. Karou was inclined to follow her feelings blindly, for better or worse. But Warren was level-headed and cautious about setting them up for a fall. If it turned out that despite all their careful planning and their hopefulness, things didn’t turn out how they wanted with the Enochian Court, their time together could be short and not the forever they pined for.

Now his question felt heavier than ever.

What were they supposed to do next? She didn’t know, and Warren watched how the fire in her eyes was slowly dying. From the melancholy emotions he felt milling around the perimeter of her thoughts, he knew the direction her mind must’ve taken her.

He wasn’t feeling that way. After his chat with her daughter’s he felt optimistic.

“Don’t make that face. I’m asking what you want me to do to you next?” He whispered seductively.

Karou’s eyes shot wide open – her sullen mood vanished, and the naughty smirk returned to her lips. “Really?”

“Yes. Stop getting distracted. I’m right here.” His forearm slithered around her waist, his palm never leaving her body as his arm stretched up her spine to hold her head in his hand like a chalice. Now he could turn her head however he liked and had all the access to her neck that he could need.

Karou relaxed in his arms. Her hands slipped to gently hold onto his muscular biceps as she tipped her head back into his hand, putting her delicate neck on display for him. Right from their first meeting, Karou had found Warren’s quiet confidence and how sparing he was with his words to be alluring. Perhaps it was cliché how mysterious his mannerisms made him seem, but Karou had always been a hopeless romantic, and a storybook love life was still her dream to this day. She wanted to wilt in the arms of her beloved and be whisked off her feet by her tall, dark, handsome stranger. Submitting to Warren’s subtle, predatory and dominating body language like a damsel thrilled her.

“Mmm, take me,” she hummed, playing into her own fantasy.

A lusty growl came from Warren’s gaping lips.

Karou’s breath hitched in anticipation.

Her Sire’s fangs were mere centimetres from her supple skin. He was ready to bite when from outside their hideaway came a cacophony of shouting.