The Highest Stakes

Kira could almost see the wheels spinning in the vampire's head. She thought it best to trample those ideas before they came to fruition. "Your doors will be guarded," she informed him. "It's for your own good. I'll have one of our men bring you some clothes."

She walked across the room and opened up the wooden stand beside the bed. From within, she pulled out a few pillows and placed them on top of the comforter. "The adjoining room holds a shower and all you'll need to clean off the blood. If you need anything else, knock on the door. They'll see to it that you have what you request."

She leaves and he doesn't sleep that entire night, just going over everything. The next day, which was in a couple hours anyways, he stands up and opens the curtains. It burns his skin when the sun comes in contact with his skin, instinctively he backs away into a shady spot. Feels fine, watching his wound heel.

He is some freak, clearly, vampires exist? 

He goes to the washroom and has a shower, getting lost in the water and indeed wiping off the blood. He stands underneath the water, his hands pressed against the wall and wants to just explode with emotions right now, everything feels intense.

He gets out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist and sees a closet full of clothes. The sun has gone down, as he gets dressed.

He is invited down to where the woman is, shows up and takes a seat. Other vampires around them, blood bags are handed out and Tyler looks at this, what he would give for a burger right now but didn't think it was an option to ask and tries the bag, draining it in seconds.

Kira eyed the vampire as he drained a blood bag, tentatively taking in the sea of faces around him. He was... intriguing. He had potential. That soft spot wasn't hard to break once you were a vampire for so long. He had compassion, which was good, but the nerves had to go. No fighter would get far with such insecurities.

"Bonding with the child, are we?" Julian asked as he strode into the room, setting his glare on Kira. They'd had a lengthy discussion the night before, and he still wasn't much better than he'd been then.

Zoe, a vampire with red locks of hair and piercing blue eyes, piped up and set her sights on their newest addition to the clan. "He's very attractive. A bit of Johnny Depp in him, no?"

Kira frowned. "Who?"

Julian dropped down into his seat at the head of the table and picked up a blood bag, studying it with a grimace. "I'll take in a stray, but that's as far as my humanity goes." He shoved the blood bag across the table, free for any takers, and turned back toward the doorway. "Malin? Komm her."

His designated human, a bubbly brunette with wide brown eyes, stepped forward. "Ja?"

He curled his finger, and she appeared at his side in seconds, all too eager to offer her neck up for a bite. It was oddly seductive to some humans. Some hated the pain of the bite, and some lived off of it. Malin made one of the latter.

In response, Julian reached up to trail a finger down the length of her pale neck, tracing the path of the veins pulsing with blood underneath. She closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. "Setzt dich," he murmured, and she obeyed happily, flinging herself down in the seat beside his and scooting her chair closer. Kira watched, eyes narrowed, as Julian moved in and bit into her neck. He drank his fill, drawing back when Malin's body began to sway. He licked his lips and groaned. "Ganz gut," he appraised her. "Danke, Malin."

If she had enough blood in her body to do so, she'd have blushed. Instead, she opted for chewing on her lip and nodding sleepily. "Bitte schön," she whispered.

He flicked a hand in her direction, and suddenly the charming demeanor was gone. "Geh," he ordered her, and as soon as she'd come, she rose from her seat and scurried away. He turned his stare back to Kira, and then to the vampire.

"Enjoying your stay?"

Tyler was just staying quiet and looks to the guy in charge, staying quiet and glances to the woman some more. He looks back to the guy, who saw him looking. "I guess so...nothing really to compare it too."

Julian nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you're definitely American," he observed. "Your German is terrible. Studying abroad, perhaps, landed you here. You look like a college kid."

Kira crossed her arms and leaned back as well. "And none of this is beneficial."

Julian's lip quirked. "No, but it's fun. However, since we can't set a new one loose, I intend to take advantage and find out information." He turned his green gaze on the vampire. "Problem one, which seems the least important now in comparison, is the fact that you've no idea how any of this began with you. That means you didn't choose to become vampire. Someone turned you for the hell of it. That, my dear guest, is a high crime in our world."

Kira swallowed, a sort of rage suddenly consuming her. She'd practically begged Julian to turn her all those centuries ago. She had the freedom of choice. The vampire next to her had little to none, and now he wasn't even free to step outside in this new world he'd yet to experience. "When we find said vampire, which we will, it will be executed at your hands."

The vampire's gaze shifted about the room, his eyes flitting between each face around him like a caged animal. She had a feeling he wasn't placated in the least by her words.

Julian nodded. "Secondly, I spoke with Ivan and Maria at length last night to find out what they experienced in their captivity. We want to know just what these humans plan on accomplishing. Anything you can recall about that place, I expect to be informed of. Any information helps." He tapped his fingernails against the tabletop and pounded out a slow rhythm as he studied his newest addition. "Third, which you well know, is that you shouldn't escape. I'm an asshole, yes, but I also care about the people you see around you. The general human population has no idea we exist. We want to keep it that way."

Kira straightened in her seat and flicked her hand in the air. Julian's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly when he caught her motion, but he nodded. "Share your piece, Kira," he sighed.

"I have a fourth," she included, turning in her seat to face the newest vampire. "What is your name?"

Tyler looked at Julian, listening to everything he said. "My name is Tyler...and yes, I am American, moved here for school..which I have missed a whole week of."

Kira knew Julian's response before he even did it. He laughed. It was loud, bellowing through the room, at the absurdity he heard. He licked his lips. "That's rich. You won't be going back to school." His brow quirked. "You won't be seeing Anya again, either."

Tyler looked at him, shocked "Yes, I am going back to her...I am learning whatever I can from whoever the hell you are and being with her. She is why I moved here and how did you even know her name...?Is a question I should have started with."

Julian leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers above the tabletop. "You talk in your sleep. It's utterly adorable. Also annoying." With that, he stood and made his way toward the edge of the large room, reaching inside the liquor cabinet for a bottle of scotch. He took his time pouring a glass and then tipped it back. "Also, it's cute that you moved for her. Truly, I'm touched. But believe me when I say this, Tyler. You'll see her as a meal. A meal you love, yes, but a meal nonetheless, and I highly doubt she'll appreciate it when you get bitey in her presence."

As if to prove his point, his own fangs grew, bright white and razor sharp, beneath the lights above. He tapped the edge of one long canine with his finger. "These things, at your age, cannot be controlled. I'm not sure how many times you need to hear it. I won't have you running amok when there's an entire government with armies and weapons on your tail. You'll remain here until you're trusted, and you won't leave the premises without one of us there to watch you."

Tyler looked at them and stood, "So..my life is over,is what you're saying? Nothing about me at all is normal?"

Kira stood before Julian could move and turned to Tyler. "The melodramatics aren't helping. There's plenty to being a vampire that you've just not learned yet. And there's more to Julian's words than just the fact that your self control won't be at its best. The people we rescued you from will be after you. They know there's nothing worse than a vampire getting free. He'll be vengeful. And with them after you, you don't need anyone you knew as a human knowing where you are."

Julian raised his glass and gave her a wink. "Just when I was starting to think the lady would disagree with everything I say."

Kira ignored him. "I'll take you to buy some clothes and other necessities. You're not so much a prisoner here as we are cautious. But if you try to escape, that room of yours will be the only thing you'll be seeing for a long time."

Tyler looks at her,"Just as long as you know how crazy this is and how crazy you sound!"

Julian's hands clenched around his glass and his expression turned murderous. "She saved your life. You will not show her disrespect!"

Kira shook her head. "It's fine, Julian. It is crazy. This life for us is crazy." She returned her gaze to Tyler. "It wasn't always like this. With the humans. But we do what we can and we survive. We fight. If you can't handle what you've been given, go ahead and get killed. But if you want to go on, you're playing this our way."

Tyler looks at her, "I just...,want to be alone." He walks off and goes back to his room.

Kira held up a hand before Julian could form a word in response. With a shrug, he went back to pouring his scotch and shaking his head in silence.
-------

Kira turned to Julian an hour later, fresh from the shower as she pawed through the closet for an outfit. "I'm taking him out."

"Negative."

Kira spun around and raised a brow. "No?"

Julian nodded. "Nein. No. Non. Ne. Neh. Den. Nej. How many languages shall I try with you before you comprehend an order?"

"About as many languages as it takes for me to tell you to go fuck yourself?" she guessed.

He snorted and buried his face back in the book he was reading. "You were never this pissy before you found yourself that pathetic project of yours to fill your time."

Kira pulled out a dress, skin-tight black satin, and modeled it before the mirror. That one should do. "Yes, I was."

"Oh, right. You were. And only you dare try and disobey me."

She let her robe fall to the floor and stepped into the dress. "Zip me."

Julian smirked. "I can think of more fun to be had without it on."

She met his stare dead on. "Perhaps I'll ask Tyler."

His answering snarl was all it took. He beckoned her forward and she positioned herself in front of him as his fingers idled along her spine, sweeping up her skin in smooth, delicate strokes. "If he escapes, love..."

"Give me a little credit," she growled. "He needs clothing. He needs his things."

"He needs a lot more than that," Julian murmured, but when she shook her shoulders to grab his attention, he zipped up the back of her dress and returned to his book. "Do what you wish, Kira. If anything happens, it falls on you."

Kira turned and ran a hand through his hair. "You trust me."

Julian scowled. "Worryingly so."

She spun on her heel and was not a step away from the door when his voice stalled her escape. "If he tries anything, by the way, he'll see a death far more torturous than those humans of his could have imagined."

Kira's mouth tipped up at the end as her fingers pressed against the flat of the door. "I'd expect nothing less from my master."

Julian snorted. "You're a lousy submissive."

Kira thought for a moment, and in less than second, she was at his side. She leaned over the bed and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was shortlived, but it was passionate. It was all she needed to convey in thanks. It was something she rarely gave and something that made the message all the more meaningful when received. "Yet I'm yours," she whispered.

The reluctance in his eyes turned into something darker, something hungry and lustful, when his green eyes lingered on her lips. "Mine," he growled.
-------

Kira stood outside Julian's door and smoothed her dress down her legs, idling a moment before walking in. Tyler lay across his bed, his gaze on the ceiling above, his arms crossed above his chest. He didn't turn to acknowledge her when she stepped forward.

"The pity party is over," she said, nudging the tip of his boot. "We're going out."

Tyler looks at her,"Thought I wasn't allowed outside? Not till your scary boyfriend gives the order it's okay?"

Kira scoffed. "The only command I heed is his, but that doesn't mean he rules me. He doesn't like it and I don't care."

When he didn't make a move to rise from the bed, she yanked his pillow out from beneath his head. "You need some air. I'm giving it to you. Get up."

He gives up and follows her out to a garage, which has a lot of nice cars in it. He eyes them like a kid in a candy store, when she finally stops at a Maserati, she tosses him the keys, catching them and looks at her astonished, "You're letting me drive..?"

She smiles and they get in, he feels the powerful wheel in his hands. He looks again to her, "Look..I have clothes, I have my own things back at my apartment. Can't I just get them? If my girlfriend is there, we don't have to go in?"

Kira considered it. Then, she nodded. "All right. I'll scope it out first. I won't take any chances."

He revved up the engine, his once haunted eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas morning, and Kira couldn't help but find it humorous. The joy people found in the smallest of things.

"Take a left once we're down the hill. It'll be a while before we're anywhere you'd recognize."

He does as she says and zooms off, what a car. He drives and actually enjoys himself for the first time since this all happened, after while he comes up to his apartment complex and stops the car. He is about to get out, when she leans over him and their faces are close.

She locks his door and gets out on her side, to scope out like she promised.

Once Tyler gave Kira the number to his apartment, she made her way up the stairs and scoped the hallways. It was pretty late. Most were asleep. She idled outside the door for a moment, listening in. She made out no heartbeats or any signs of a human dwelling within. Satisfied, she leaned over the railing and waved her hand toward the Maserati, where Tyler sat in wait.

Soon, they were walking inside. It was an ordinary place. Books littered the kitchen table. A bag of chips lay on the kitchen counter and a vase of wilted flowers stood at its side. Anya was no botanist, it seemed.

When she heard Tyler's slow footsteps entering a different room in the apartment, her curiosity made her follow. He stood at the doorway for a moment, taking in life as he'd once known it in this small living space, and then he heaved a sigh and stepped inside. Kira chewed on her lip and bounced inside, letting her fingers trail along the random items she saw. A beanie baby sat on one end, a stuffed giraffe with beady black eyes, and on the other end she was faced with posters of heavy metal bands and video game logos. She scanned the array of DVDs in a stack beside the bed. Tyler liked his horror films. The irony was hard to miss.

When Tyler retrieved a duffel bag from beneath the bed, Kira began reaching into the dresser drawers to help. The less time they took here, the better. She smirked when she saw a box of condoms beneath a pile of boxers and couldn't resist holding it up to him.

"I've found you a bright side to eternal life," she quipped. "You'll never need these again."

Tyler looks at what she is holding, "Really?" Kira nods, adding a smirk with it. "So, is everything else true...holy water? Garlic bad?"

He sets some clothes in the bag, trying to ignore anything else around him.

Kira snorted. "Holy water is bullshit. Garlic does nothing more than make you an undesirable kisser." She picked up a framed photograph of Tyler and a blond who could only be his girlfriend standing together, his arm around her, their grins wide. She put it back down and turned it away from her.

"As you know, we can see our reflections. We also don't sleep in coffins. Julian has a crucifix in his study because he finds it funny. Couldn't do it without defacing Jesus, of course. He added gilded fangs."

She tossed a handful of boxers into his duffel bag and a couple tees while he tossed some jeans into the mix. Tyler was one of few belongings, it was evident.

She let her eyes roam the room until they fell upon the picture again. "Speaking of vampire stereotypes, we shouldn't have been able to get inside here just now," she added. "Was the place solely in your name when you died or did your girlfriend leave?"

Tyler looks at her, finished packing finally "It is in hers, considering she is German and from here." He looks at the photo, picking it up and puts it in his bag as well, "Why do you ask anyways?"

Kira wandered across the room to where the photograph sat and spun it around to face him. "If she were a living resident and owner of this apartment, we'd have been prevented from coming inside," she stated. "Yet, we weren't. I thought I'd humor you and see what would happen if we tried to enter."

She picked up the frame and peered down at it again. "Either she's moved and no longer owns it, or you did, or something happened." She didn't want to bring up Anya's death as an option, but she was curious. She looked into his eyes. "Why would she leave without looking for you?"