An Angel From Hell
Chapter 4
by Kayla Chavi
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Alternate/Romance
Email: kaylachavi@yahoo.com

“I think,” said Amy, “That I finally have just a
little more information for you,” she handed me a
piece of paper that contained translations of Serena’s
story.  “It’s not a lot, more on who she was before
she was a vampire, then the actual vampire Serena.”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, “I feel wrong
for doing this.  It’s like I’m spying on her.”

Amy just gave me one of her looks like
‘you-are-absolutely-clinically-and-in-all-other-ways-insane.’

“Well I do,” I pouted childishly.

Amy sighed, “Well do you want me to keep working on
it, or should I just give up and let your weird
conscious work on this one?”

“Fine,” I muttered and she gave me a grin.

“Okay, this is what I’ve got so far, not a lot of
details, but this is the main gist of it.  Serena was
apparently the Queen of Atlantis until she was turned
into a vampire at about age eighteen or nineteen.  She
was married--”

“MARRIED?!”  That wasn’t me, that was Rei.  She had
been calmly sitting in one of my nice poofy chairs
until that point, “Serena the Vamp was married?!”

At least I didn’t have to embarrass myself by sounding
jealous. 

Which I was.  Totally and Completely.  This guy is
glad he’s no longer living.

Amy gave her this disgusted look, “May I continue?”

“By all means,” Rei said gesturing for her to, making
a rude face.  Amy just stuck her tongue out at her.

“This is mature,” I said dryly and both girls made
faces at me.  I just grinned, “Amy?”

“Serena was apparently married to the King of another
country.  Sorry but I can’t make out the name just
yet, but it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever come
across.  Anyways,” she took a breath, “They were
married for about three years when apparently she was
turned by the Master himself.”

“Making her one of the first,” I sighed and rubbed my
temples.  She had been married.

Serena had been married.

I don’t think that I liked that thought.

Damn the man.

“Okay,” Rei said after a few moments of silence, “Now
that Darien has processed the fact that Serena isn’t a
virgin, what happened next?”

I glared at her, “I know full well that she isn’t a--”

“Children, please,” Amy said, sighing
melodramatically.  “Where was I?”

“Serena being turned by the Master?” Rei said
helpfully.

“Oh!  Okay,” she paused looking back over the paper,
“Master turned her and then apparently she lived with
her husband until he died.”

Damn.  So she loved him, even in her unlife.

“Why didn’t she make him a vampire as well?”  I asked,
knowing that Amy probably didn’t have the answer; it
was meant to be a rhetorical question.

“Because he wouldn’t let me,” was the quiet answer.  I
looked up and stood up sharply.  

Serena.

I felt guilty, though I’m not exactly sure about what.
 Probably I felt guilty about being angry with this
man.  It wasn’t his fault that he managed to capture
her heart.  

Damn.

But Serena just smiled at me, I’m sure she knew what I
was feeling.  She always did.  And as she smiled, she
walked over to us, Amy was looking shamefully to the
ground and Rei had stood up as well, though she didn’t
look as guilty as me and Ames.

Serena just smiled at me again, “Its okay,” she said
quietly, “I’m not mad.”

“I--” she held a finger to my lips, silencing me.

“I’m not mad at you Darien,” she said, “Actually I’m
impressed,” she smiled at Amy, “The High Language of
Atlantis is very difficult to translate.”

“I’ll say,” Amy muttered.  

Serena giggled, sounding like a little girl for a
moment and then she sighed, “I offered my husband
immortality several times,” she closed her eyes
painfully for a second, “He has refused every single
time.”

Amy and Rei exchanged a look, and decided that this
would be a good point to leave Serena and me alone. 
They quietly closed the door after them, leaving us in
silence.

“I don’t understand,” I said quietly, looking at her
confused, “Didn’t you love him?”

Serena smiled and looked into the distance, smiling,
“Yes.  He was a very honorable man,” then she closed
her eyes, “But he’s been dead for........for a long
time.”

She blinked and then looked up at me, smiling and I
sighed, sitting down in my chair.  “I just don’t
understand why a man wouldn’t want to be with you
forever,” I said quietly, “He was a fool.”

Serena blinked and looked at me, before laughing out
right and for a moment I was worried that I had
offended her.  She laughed helplessly for a few
minutes before being able to speak without giggling. 
I raised an eyebrow, now even more confused than
before.

“Sorry,” she said wiping her eyes that had small tears
in them, “Inside joke.”

“Sure,” I said dryly and she kissed my cheek softly
before handing me a small white envelope.

“Open it,” she said sitting down on the edge of my
desk.

I opened the small white envelope to reveal a
beautiful invitation.  It was printed on paper that
was made to look old and ancient, like it would fall
apart at any moment.  The writing was black and silver
and embossed.

“‘You are cordially invited to a masquerade hosted by
Serena on October 31’” I paused for a moment and
looked up at her, “That’s Halloween.”  She grinned. 
“The Night Of The Dead.”

“No self-respecting vampire or demon goes out on
Halloween,” she said simply, “It’s just too tacky.”

“Tacky?”  I raised an eyebrow.

“We’re not really into the whole Devil’s Night thing,”
she said, “It’s just,” she shuddered, “tacky.”

“I see,” I looked over the invitation and the set it
down, “It says come in costume.”  She nodded and
smiled at me.  

God, she was smiling at me.

I can’t say no when she smiles like this.

“And that’s not tacky?”

Serena gave me this Look, “Only if you come dressed as
a vamp,” she said and then giggled, “That would
totally be tacky.”

I grinned and then sighed, “I’ll see if I can come.  I
have to look and see if there are any ancient Evil
prophesies about that night, and if there aren’t, I’ll
come.”

She smiled brightly and threw her arms around me,
hugging me tightly.  I laughed and pulled her into my
lap, just holding her for a moment.  She kissed my
neck and then my cheek, and then finally my lips
before pulling away.

“The sun’ll be up soon,” she said quietly, “I should
go, besides, you aren’t done trying to get all the
information on me that you can,” she teased and I
flushed slightly.  She smiled and kissed me softly
before standing up, and then moving so quickly that it
was like she disappeared.  

I looked over at the calendar that was handing on the
office wall.  Today was October 1.  I had a month to
find out if there was any evil, learn more about the
woman I was slowly falling in love with, and find
myself a stunning and amazing costume.  I sighed.

I can’t wait.

* * *

I came into Darien’s and mine’s office rubbing my sore
hands.  They were a bright red and hurt like hell. 
Well more like the Fire’s Of Hell.

“That is the last time I spend the entire night
blasting vampires and assorted demoni,” I muttered and
decided to soak my hands in ice.  I went to the small
cooler that we had, and filled up the ice bucket and
just resting my hands in them.  I closed my eyes,
sighing as the throbbing pain slowly died.

“Reishe?”

I smiled and slowly opened my eyes to see Jedeite.  He
grinned back and came over to the couch that I
collapsed on and sat down next to me.  Taking my hands
out of the melting ice and put them in his own.  

I shivered, goose bumps appearing all over my skin. 
He was colder than the ice.  He laughed, “Am I that
cold, beloved?” he asked lightly kissing the side of
my face.

“You’re hands are like ice.  Colder than ice,” I
whispered and looked up at him and then raised an
eyebrow, “My name is Rei,” I pointed out for what was
probably the millionth time.  He always called me
‘Reishe’ or ‘beloved’ never Rei.  

I asked Serena about it one time and she just smiled,
saying that Reishe meant Fire Princess in Jedeite’s
first tongue and that when he first saw me that’s what
came to mind.  

He laughed, “I know, but you will always be my ‘Fire
Princess’ my Reishe.”

“You sound so sure,” I commented pulling my hands
away, a small smile playing on my lips, “What if I
don’t want to be yours?”

He smiled again, this time knowing that I was playing
games.  That’s what we do, we play these games that
usually end up at my place and with me getting bitten.

Let me tell you that getting bit by a vamp is an
amazing experience.  When it happens there is a brief
moment of pain before you get this fire blast of
ecstasy.  And Jedeite is so controlled that I never
fell the blood loss the next morning.  

I know that this relationship is crazy.  I mean, I’ve
been fighting the Undead and the like, ever since I
turned fourteen.  It’s been a long five years, but for
some reason this vampire just gets under my skin like
no man, living or dead has before.

I’m not sure if I like it or not.  

I’m not even sure if this relationship is based on
something other than amazing sex.

“Then I will walk into the sun,” he said pulling me
into his arms, “I can not live without you.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re already dead,”
Darien said as he walked into the office, looking more
troubled then usual.  I would have pulled away, but
Jedeite kept his incredibly strong arms around me.

Jedeite sighed, “You know Darien, the only thing that
keeps me from wanting to tear your throat out is
Serena,” he said good-naturedly.

“And the only thing that keeps me from staking you--”

“besides the fact that I’m practically immortal,”
Jedeite interrupted.

“--Is the fact that Rei is desperately and hopelessly
in love with you.”

I could have torn his throat out myself.  When did I
ever tell him that I was hopelessly in love with
Jedeite?  

“Have a nice day, Dead Boy.”  Then Darien walked into
his office, leaving us alone.

I’m going to kill him.

I am so going to kill him.

“Desperately and Hopelessly in love?” Jedeite teased,
his soft voice murmuring into my ear.

“You should go,” I said and pulled away.  He let me,
and I could have sworn that I heard him sigh quietly,
but I dismissed it.  “The sun’s about to rise.”  

He slowly stood, “Reishe.....”

“For the last time, my name is Rei.  Now go, before
you get stuck here.”

He just looked at me and this time he really did sigh.
 He came up to me and kissed me gently, wrapping his
arms completely around his waist and pulling me close.
 I thought about fighting him at first, but when the
kiss started getting passionate I gave in.

My arms wrapped around his neck pulling myself closer
to him, and I could have sworn I heard him moan softly
before slowly breaking away.  “I feel the same way,”
he murmured, kissing my forehead before he was gone.

I stood there stunned for a moment before deciding to
get very angry at Darien.  

I walked straight into his office without even
knocking.  

“What the hell were you trying to pull?!”

He looked up at me calmly, “What do you mean?” he
asked innocently, something he picked up from Serena.

“You know exactly what I mean.  Why the hell did you
tell him that I was in love?”

“Because you are.”

“Whatever!” I shouted, “You just don’t like him,
you’ve never liked him.  Why are you trying to cut in
on my fun?!”

Darien rolled his eyes, “I’m not trying to do
anything,” he said and looked down at his papers. 
“You’re right, I don’t like him.”

“Why?!” I demanded starting to feel my hands starting
to get warm.  Shit!  I had started my Flamethrower
spell without even thinking about it.  “What has he
done to you?”

Darien was quiet, not answering me and I slowly cooled
my hands down.  Damn they hurt like hell.

“I’m waiting for an answer,” I said simply.

He looked up at me and then sighed, pounding his fist
on his desk angrily, “Serena.”

I rolled my eyes, “So what?  They’re friends.”

“Friends just don’t make out at irregular intervals,”
he muttered leaning back into his chair.  “I saw them
yesterday, at a cafe.  I was supposed to meet her
there, and he was saying good-bye.”

“So?”

“Doesn’t that bother you in the least?!” Darien asked
exasperated, pounding the desk in frustration again.

One more punch and he was going to break it. 
Sometimes the man does not know his own strength.

I sighed, “Darien, they’re vampires, and they’ve been
friends longer than most of our ancestors.  The line
between friend and lover is very thin in their world.”

He blinked at me, “How do you know all this?” he asked
and I stood up grinning.

“I already talked to Jedeite about it,” I said simply
going to the door, “I was annoyed the first few times
too.”

He just growled something and I laughed, shaking my
head as I left.

I didn’t see him again until that night.

“Reishe?”

Shit.

“Jedeite?” I looked up from my book.  I had been
trying to find a pain killer spell that would get rid
of my burning hands.  I was surprised to see him, I
thought that he would stay away from me longer. 
Whenever we have a fight, he leaves and lets me cool
down.  I don’t know if I had cooled down or not, and
he was being very brave.

Even for an Immortal blood-sucker.

“I wouldn’t come as soon,” he said quietly.  He was
standing in front of me and looking very humble, “But
there is something that has happened that you should
know about.”

I closed my book and looked at him evenly.  

I was afraid that he was coming to tell me that Darien
was dead.  Or that Serena had killed him.  Or that
Serena was dead and Darien was going to kill himself. 
I was not prepared for what he told me.

“Darien saw Serena kill.”

I looked at him blankly and was very quiet.  He
patiently waited for my reaction.  “What do you mean? 
Of course Serena kills, she’s a vampire.”

Jedeite sighed and then gently took one of my hands,
“But he’s never seen her kill.  He will be here soon
and is very upset.  I thought you should know.”

“But she’s a vampire,” I repeated.  I didn’t
understand why Darien would be so upset by this.  She
kills everyday, just like Jedeite.  Sure it bothered
me slightly, but it didn’t upset me.  They were
vampires, this is what they did.  They killed.

“Darien loves her.  He forgets sometimes what she is. 
Trust me, j’thia.  He’s upset.”

Then Jedeite was gone.  Which was just as well because
Darien came storming through the door.

* * *

How could she do that!?  How could she just kill that
man?  

I know she’s a vampire, but she killed so
remorselessly.  Like it didn’t matter that she had
just murdered someone.  I think that she even enjoyed
it.

Damn it all to Hell.

I stormed into the office.  Rei looked at me and I
just brushed past her desk and into my own office.  

Angrily I threw a small glass sculpture at the wall
and it shattered.  

Serena was a monster.  She was a murderer.  She was a
demon.

Damn it!  She was an angel!

An angel from hell.

Damn it!  I loved her!  Why did she do this?!  Just
when I was starting to believe that it could work.

Just when I was starting to have hope.

“What happened?” I heard Rei ask quietly.  She had
come into my office and was looking at me with a kind
of sympathy that I didn’t understand.

I didn’t want sympathy right now.  I wanted......

I don’t know what I wanted anymore.

Damn this was so confusing.

“Nothing,” I nearly snarled.  I practically threw
myself into my chair, pounding on the desk.

Pointless, I know.  A waste of good energy, but I was
so angry that I wasn’t being rational.

“What happened?” Rei demanded again, her voice
actually gentle.

“Serena.”  I muttered after a moment.

“She’s a vampire,” Rei said simply, again as before
she was being gentle.  She came and sat in a chair on
the opposite side of my desk.  “What happened?”

I sighed.  Suddenly I felt very childish and immature.
 “I saw Serena kill an old man today.”

“And?”

“And it bothered me!” I nearly shouted, pounding the
desk again in frustration.  

“You forgot what she was,” Rei said simply.  “Serena
is a vampire, she kills to survive, much like you eat
chocolate.”

Damn Rei and her logic.

“I know,” I sighed and leaned back in my chair.  

“But knowing and believing at two different things,”
Rei said smiling slightly, “It doesn’t make it any
easier to know what she is and what she does.”

“Exactly,” I muttered.  I was quiet for a long moment,
“I yelled at her,” I whispered, “I called her a demon
and asked her what she was trying to pull with me. 
You know,” I sighed and looked down at some
unimportant point on my desk, “I almost believed that
she loved me.  That she actually cared.”

Rei was quiet, “Maybe she does.”

We were quiet for a long time before Rei stood and
went to the door.  She looked back at me and smiled
slightly.

“But it was incredibly stupid of you to piss off one
of the most Powerful vampires in the world.”

I groaned and then laughed quietly.  I knew that she
couldn’t leave without saying something like that.

“Thanks Rei.”

She grinned and winked at me, “No problem, any time.”

* * *

Okay, maybe I over reacted when I saw her kill.  It
just hurt to realize that she really was evil.  

I sighed.

Okay, maybe not evil, just a murder.  Just another
vampire.  Still, I was upset at seeing my girlfriend
kill.  

But Rei was okay with all of it, I mean she had it
just as bad for Jedeite as I did for Serena.  Though
she would never admit that she was in love.

Just as I would never tell Serena.  She has too much
power over me already, I don’t need to give her
anymore.

I sighed, walking the late night streets of New York,
just patrolling.   I was very much lost in thought.  I
hadn’t spoken to Serena since the day that I had
caught her in the alley. 

Stopping I felt an unfamiliar vampire presence.  I was
starting to be able to tell when Serena or Jedeite was
around, but this one was new.

And Dangerous.  

All thought of Serena went out of my head.

I clenched my jaw and went into the alley where I felt
the presence.  Standing over a little girl was a tall
woman with red brown hair.  It was clear that she dyed
it, for her roots were a light strawberry blond color.
 She was pale, and like all vampires she was giving
off the unearthly glow.

Damn it all to Hell.

She felt my presence and then let the body of the
little girl fall to the ground.  Our eyes met and I
almost shuddered.  Her eyes were blood-red.  They
widened slightly and she walked closer to me.

This woman wanted me to fear her, but for some reason
I couldn’t get afraid.  And unlike when I had first
met Serena, I didn’t freeze in place.

“So you’re a demon-hunter now,” she said in a sultry
purr, raking her nails down my chest.  I grabbed her
hand and held it tightly by the wrist.

Now?  What was that supposed to mean?

“And you’re a vampire.”

She laughed and forcefully pulled her hand away, “You
haven’t changed Endymion,” she purred.

“I think you have me mistaken for someone else,” I
said coldly and unsheathed the silver katana on my
back.  

Who the hell was Endymion and why was she looking at
me like that?

Her eyes were traveling my body hungrily.  Serena had
done almost the same thing the first time, but it
hadn’t made me embarrassed or sick and it didn‘t look
so desperate and slutty.  I felt amazingly unclean
with this *thing* looking at me.

Normally I didn’t mind when women, vampire, or
demoness, or human looked at me.  It gave me a nice
ego trip.  What can I say, I’m a guy, I think about
That almost as much as I think about food.

“I’m so disappointed that you don’t remember me,” she
pouted, “Don’t tell me that you don’t remember me.”

“Who exactly am I supposed to remember?” I asked
holding my katana up and ready to strike.

She hissed when she saw it, “Beryl, or maybe Berylka
sounds more familiar.”

“Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.”  I swiftly attacked,
hoping to cut off her head, but she jumped back and
then moved in an instant behind me.  

I swung around and the blade glanced against her arm,
cutting it to the bone.  She just laughed and I saw
her reattach it.  I grimaced at this, seeing someone,
even if they were a dead someone, reattach their arm
was revolting.

I lashed out again, still aiming for her head.  She
rushed me and grabbed me tightly, holding me by my
neck, slowly lifting me off of the ground.

In any other situation, it would have been funny to
see a woman much smaller than me, holding me by the
throat and keeping me in the air.  I began to choke as
her hand began to close, increasing the pressure.

She threw me up against the wall, her strength pinning
me there.  And that was with only one hand.  I still
gripped my katana, and attempted to remove her leg,
but she kicked it out of my grasp.

Beryl or Berylka, whoever she was laughed cruelly, her
fangs extended.  She raked her nails across my chest,
and I held back a yelp of pain as I felt them gouge
into me.

“Look what you made me do,” she whispered and I
noticed that blood was coming from a wound on my
chest.  She laughed and suddenly my shirt was very
much non-existent.  

There were several long gashes that went all the way
down my chest and they were bleeding quite heavily.

Great, at this rate I‘ll be bloodless before dawn.  

I glared and struggled again as she moved her head
down to the bottom of the gash.  Slowly, she ran her
tongue up my chest, along the wound, licking away all
the blood.  

I hissed in breath sharply.  My wound was stinging and
she thought what she was doing was arousing.  God, she
looked desperate.  

However, it was quite the opposite.  It hurt and I
found it revolting.  

What I found even more revolting was the fact that she
was trying to get my pants off.  

I struggled wildly, trying to force her away.  

Then she was gone and on the other side of the alley,
laying in a tangle of arms and legs.  

Standing in her place was Serena.

And she was glowing more brightly then I had ever seen
her glow before.

I think she was pissed.

I really couldn’t tell, I had slumped to the ground,
leaning against the wall.

“I thought I told you to leave him alone,” Serena was
saying quietly.  Beryl had forced herself to her feet,
glaring hatefully at her.  “He’s not yours.”

“Nor is he yours!” Beryl shouted at her.  “Remember he
will hate you forever!”

“Remember to whom you speak,” she shouted back and
parts of Beryl’s slutty dress burst into flames.  The
flames died as quickly as they had come, but it was
clear that Serena held more Power.  It was odd, Serena
looked like she was loosing her temper.  She wasn’t
calm and controlled like she normally was.

“The girl-child if I recall his words correctly,”
Beryl lashed out, rushing Serena.  

Calmly Serena threw her over her shoulder and then
back kicked her in the stomach, “You are speaking of
what you do not understand,” she said simply, “You
have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know that--”

“You know nothing,” Serena said calmly, “Now go.  You
offend me.”

I think that I actually laughed at this.  It was
amusing to see her talk to Beryl as if she was a Queen
and the other vampire was a Servant.

“He will hate you.  He does now.”

“No!” Serena said and shoved the other vampire into
the wall with just a mere thought, “He will hate what
I am!  He will never hate me!  He will never hate my
soul!  You don’t remember your curses very well.”

“And you don’t remember them at all!” the red head
hissed and attacked Serena.  I cried out for her,
wanting to help, but the fact that I was bleeding and
that my wrist was broken was not helping.

Serena cried out in a language that I didn’t recognize
and Beryl fell to the ground, being forced to a bowing
position.

“You will leave him alone.”  I heard her whispered,
“If you touch him again, I will kill you.”

Beryl glared up at her and then was gone.  “Remember
Endymion,” I heard whispered on the breeze.

Serena slowly turned and faced me, before being at my
side in an instant.  Her gentle fingers went over the
wound and I saw her visibly trying to control her
blood-lust.

I winced when she touched it and tried to stand up. 
She gently stopped me and then did something that
surprised me.  

She picked me up, carrying me in her arms and then we
were moving faster than I had ever been in my entire
life.  It was like flying through the air.

Then again, I was a little fuzzy from the blood lost. 
I don’t remember where we landed or really what
happened for the next few minutes, but I felt her
place me in the middle of a large and soft bed.

I kept trying to think.  Why was she helping me?  That
Night I had basically told her that I hated her, . 
Which wasn’t true, but she must think that I do.  She
was always taking what I said seriously and thinking
about it.  She was very much human in that respect. 
She obsessed on things, until the point that she was
very confused.

I was confused.

Why the Hell was she helping me?

I winced, all this thinking hurt.

“Darien,” she murmured, “Look at me.”

In my daze I did my best to look up at her.

“This is going to hurt,” she said gently, “but it will
make you heal much faster.”

I nodded, not really capable of doing much else.  She
lightly kissed my forehead and then I saw her get a
knife.

Then she slit her wrist.

Serena didn’t even flinch as she let her blood drip
onto the wound on my chest.

Our blood mingled with a hissing noise and I winced
slightly.  The self-inflicted wound must have healed
very quickly because I saw her slit her wrist again, .
 And again her blood was dripping onto me.

That’s when it started to hurt.  She gently mixed our
blood and lightly pressed her hand against it.  Sharp
pain went through my body and I think I started to
thrash on the bed, the pain building.

God it hurt.

Serena quickly moved so that she was laying beside me,
holding me gently but firmly to the bed.  “It’s okay,”
she murmured into my neck.  “It will be over soon.”

But the pain kept on, and I knew that I was starting
to scream.  I think that I heard Serena crying softly,
but I wasn’t able to pay attention to anything but the
pain.

Then I felt her move over me, holding me still with
her strength, and now that I think about it, her legs
as well.  “Forgive me,” I heard her whisper in my ear.

Then there was another pain, this one at my neck, but
only for an instant.

Then I was hit with blinding pleasure.  It blocked all
the pain and I couldn’t feel anything but the pleasure
that was raking through my body.

Oh God.

I’m not sure how much time past but when both the pain
and the pleasure stopped I realized how hard I was
breathing.  I tried to get it to slow down as I opened
my eyes.  

Serena was laying by my side, her head in the crook of
my shoulder and she was still crying.  “Forgive me,”
she whispered over and over again, “Forgive me,
j’thia.”

Then I blacked out.

* * *

When I woke up, I felt very disorientated.  I had a
soreness that was all through my body, like I had
exercised for too long and my body was trying to cope
with it.  I winced and tried to sit up.

That’s when I noticed that I had a beautiful blond
nestled in the crook of my arm.  

Serena.

She was lying there, her head lightly on my shoulder
and a hand resting lightly on my chest.  I looked down
and saw the wound from the night before.

Actually I didn’t see anything but red marks.  It was
more like I had been scratched, not gouged.  I wasn’t
scaring.

Then the memories of last night hit me in a wave of
disorientation.  Beryl.  Serena.  The Fight.  The very
confusing words.  And then the blood.

The memory of her slitting her wrist and mixing our
blood.  Then the memory of her biting me.

And the Ecstasy.

Oh God, the Ecstasy.

Serena stirred slightly, slowly opening her eyes. 
“You’re thinking about it too much,” she whispered. 
“You’ll go crazy if you obsess on it,” she looked up
at me and lightly touched my face.  

“What?” I asked dumbly looking down at her.

“The Euphoria.  It will consume you if you don’t calm
down and try not to think about it,” she murmured and
sat up, resting on her side.  She lightly touched my
chest, where the red marks were.

I inhaled sharply, my breath a hiss and I
instinctively pulled away from her.

She quickly withdrew her fingers and pulled away from
me, and for a moment she looked ready to cry.  She
rolled out of the bed and I noticed that for once she
wasn’t naked or trying to seduce me.  She had clothes
on, and while her tank top and boxers didn’t cover
much, but she was covered.

And clean, I noticed after a moment.  We both were
clean, there was none of the blood from the night
before anywhere.  I tried to sit up, wincing as the
movement was slightly painful.

I had hurt her, I realized and I felt incredibly
guilty about it.  Here she was, saving my life, and
then trying to make my pain going away and I was
rejecting her.  Even if I hadn’t meant to hurt her, I
had.

I hurt her again.  

Damn it.

“Serena I--”

“You should rest,” she said quietly moving to leave
the room, not looking at me.  “I’ll see if I can get
Rei to take you home.”

“Serena--”

“Rest.”

Then she was gone and I was alone in the large and
dark room.  

God I felt awful.  Here was the woman I loved, risking
her Unlife for me and I was treating her like shit.  

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that much of a risk for her, she
didn’t have to save my life, not after the way I had
treated her.  

But she did.  

I know that some of what she did last night wasn’t
easy for her either.  The mixing of human and vampire
blood is dangerous if the vampire doesn’t plan on
making the human a blood sucker.  

And supposedly blood-lust is very hard to control. 
It’s been described as a euphoria that completely
overtakes their mind.  That’s why vampires kill, Blood
Lust.  Only the Elders of the race were able to have
complete control over it.

And Serena did.  She proved that last night when she
bit me.

I sighed and leaned back against the headboard of the
bed, pulling the blood-red silk sheets up to my chest
and hugging them.  In my present state, I felt like
crying as well.

God, I love her so much.

Then I heard voices.  I expected one of them to be
Rei, but instead it sounded like Dead Boy.

Damn.

Did I ever mention how much I disliked him?

“It was Berylka,” I heard her say, as I strained to
hear their conversation.

“She’s still alive?” Jedeite asked, clearly surprised.
 “I thought you killed her the last time this
happened.”

“Well.....”

“Serena, I can’t believe that you let her live!”

“I tried to damn it!” Serena said irritably.  “She is
older than me, you know.”

“So am I.”

“Not by much,” she muttered.

“She’s what?  five or six years older?  I’m only eight
years,” Jedeite sighed, “You’re more Powerful than she
will ever be.  Gods, you’re more Powerful than most of
our race.  Kill her and be done with it.”

Serena sighed and I decided to see if I could watch
this.  I stood and went to the door, which she had
left partially open.

What can I say?  I’m a jealous guy, always have been,
always will be.  Even though I had no right to be. 
She wasn’t mine.  She was never mine.

I saw Jedeite sit down on the couch and then pull her
into his lap and then hold her.  “You bit him didn’t
you,” he murmured into her hair and she nodded before
wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head
on his shoulder.  “I take it that you didn’t ask.”

“No,” she whispered, “He was in pain and it was
killing me to see him like that.  There was nothing I
could do but let my blood heal him.  Gods, he was
screaming so loud.  I didn’t know what to do.”  Her
body started shaking and I realized that she was
crying.

“So you bit him,” Jedeite finished and gently rocked
her, lightly stroking her hair.  

Jealousy flared through me.  How dare he touch her
like that?!

Then I winced, remembering Rei’s words.  *The line
between friend and lover is very thin in their world.*
 Slowly I forced myself to see something other than
red.

“I should have asked him,” she whispered, “I know how
he feels about the whole biting thing.  I should have
asked, but he was in so much pain.  I knew he would
hate me even more.”  Then she began to cry again.

I gripped the doorframe tightly.  I had made her cry. 
I had made my angel from hell cry.

God, I was an idiot.

During times like these I hated myself.

“Serena,” Jedeite whispered soothingly, “It will be
okay.  I don’t think he hates you.”

She laughed ironically, “‘She will become something
that you despise for an eternity, and you will hate
her and yourself everyday for the rest of your lives.’
I remember the curse well.”

“And ‘Good will overcome Evil!  Love and Justice will
triumph and they will taste happiness before death’ So
do I,” Jedeite grinned impishly.  “He doesn’t hate you
Serena.”

“Yes he does,” she whispered, “He can’t forgive me. 
He pulled away from me this morning.  After what
happened on That Night, he doesn't want me anymore,”
she whispered.  “I can’t go through this again.”

Again?  I was very confused.  It sounded like they
were quoting something, but I wasn’t sure what.

But I couldn’t concentrate on that, all I really heard
was ‘He doesn’t want me.’  That was so far from the
truth that I almost laughed at the whole thing.

God I wanted her.  

I loved her.

Jedeite just sighed and kissed her forehead.  He
looked up, and our eyes met across the room and over
her head.  He smiled slightly and nodded before
kissing the top of her head.

I went back to the bed, trying to understand what I
had just heard.  I wasn’t given much time to think
about it because I heard a knock on the bedroom door.

“Darien?  It’s Serena, can....can I come in?”  She
sounded so unsure and uncertain.

“Of course you can come in,” I said and sat up as she
came in.

She stayed by the door after closing it quietly. 
“Darien.......I just wanted to tell you that Rei will
be here soon.  She’s coming with your car and she’ll
take you home.”  Her voice was almost inaudible.  She
turned to go.

“Serena, wait.”

She slowly turned back around and looked at me, her
eyes were still cloudy with blood tears.  I sighed and
then held out a hand to her.  “Don’t go,” I said
quietly.

She looked at my hand for a moment and then slowly
walked over and took it.  I pulled her to me, sitting
her next to me on the bed, holding onto her hand
tightly and then made her look at me.

“I want to thank you for saving my life,” I said.

Okay, that was corny.  I winced inwardly.  Great here
I was trying to get her to see that I didn’t hate her
and I came off sounding like an idiot.  I could blame
it on blood loss, but I knew that wasn’t the case. 
I’m just stupid.

“It was nothing,” she whispered pulling away, but I
kept my hold on her hand.

“Serena I know how hard it is to do what you did last
night.  I know that it was dangerous and I also know
that you didn’t have to do it.  I treated you like
shit, you didn’t have to, but you did.”

She looked down, “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t
want to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” I said and made her look at me, “If I
recall correctly, it didn’t hurt.  It was quite the
opposite.”

She blushed.  Serena actually blushed, which meant
that she was really embarrassed.  Its hard to vampires
to get their blood to actually move, which means that
a slight blush is like bright red on a human.

“I know.” she whispered and pulled her head away
again.  “I shouldn’t have bit you without your
permission, though,” she whispered.

“I understand,” I said quietly and lightly kissed her
forehead.  “I forgive you.”

She looked up at me surprised.  “Wh-what?”

“I forgive you, Rena.”

Then I leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling her
even closer to me, wrapping my arms around her small
waist, one hand gently holding the side of her face. 
She wrapped her arms around my neck, allowing me to
hold her even closer.  

It wasn’t long until it was a very passionate kiss,
fiery and breathless.  I moaned softly and rolled over
her, pressing her gently into the bed as my mouth
traveled along her face and down to her neck and
throat.

Her hands slid up my chest, linking around my neck as
she kissed me along my shoulder, very carefully
staying away from my neck.

It wasn’t until I was slipping my hands under her
shirt that she pulled away, gently forcing me off of
her.

“Darien, we can’t,” she whispered and I almost groaned
in frustration.

She spends the last five months trying to get me in
her bed and now she tells me that we can’t?  I don’t
think that I’ll ever understand her.

“Why?” I asked and pulled her to me, “because I’m
having difficulty understanding,” I kissed her neck
gently and softly.  She sighed and then giggled,
apparently she was ticklish.

“Three reasons,” she said and giggled again as I
lightly stroked her stomach.

“Which are?”

“One:  If we make love right now, I’ll kill you.”

I raised an eyebrow.  How weak does she think I am?  I
may not be as experienced as she was, but I still had
experience.  I sighed and looked down at her.

“Good reason,” I said dryly.

She giggled, “No offence Darien, but you’re not strong
enough right now.”

I sighed melodramatically.  “Two?”

“Two:  Rei will be here shortly.”

“We could just tell her to go away.”

She giggled again, “True,” she said, “But there is
still reason number one.”

“Very well,” I said, kissing the hollow of her throat
and she giggled again.  “Three?”

She looked up into my eyes and then kissed me softly
before moving away.  “When I make love to you it will
be because we both want it, not because you’re
suffering from blood loss.  Zalliva xi, j’thia.  ”

Then she was gone.

Great, a language I don’t understand at all and she
wanted to be mysterious.  

And practical.  Damn it, for once she was being
practical and honest.

She was doing a good job at both, but she had just
gotten me all excited for practically nothing, and my
body was starting to protest.  I sighed and slowly
tried to relax.

* * *

I was sore for the next three days, basically unable
to be a Demon Hunter.  So I stayed at the office,
researching.  

Researching is something that I despise with a
passion.  Normally I make Amy do it, but she was
working on ‘Project Moon’ as she likes to call it.  I
think that she is having way to much fun looking up
stuff on Serena.

So I was stuck in the office looking up ancient
prophesies, making sure that none of them came to pass
on Halloween night.  

Or I was hoping that they would came to pass on
Halloween.  I’m not real sure.  While I love Serena
and would do anything for her, I hate parties.  I
think it comes from the fact that I can’t dance at
all.

And I’m totally serious about this.  I look like a
retarded chicken when I try.  I didn’t want to
embarrass myself, or Serena.

Besides its doesn’t help the Demon Hunter image if I
look like a retarded chicken.

Unfortunately or fortunately, however you look at it,
there was no Big Evil.

Great.

Wonderful.

Peachy.

Now I have to find a costume.

Damn it.

I was putting the last book away and was very sullen,
when Amy practically bounced into my office.

“You will never believe what I found,” she said,
looking way to excited.

“Probably not,” I said sitting back down in my chair
and putting my feet up on my desk, “What did you find,
Ames.”

“A very nice picture of Serena eight-thousand years
ago!” she nearly squealed.  I calmly raised an eyebrow
and was about to say something when she gave me a
look, “Don’t you dare pretend to be uninterested,
Darien Kincaid.”

I sighed, “Okay, I want to see it.”

She grinned and set this rather large book on my desk,
pushing my feet out of the way.  She flipped through
several pages and then pointed triumphantly, “There!”

I looked down and saw a portrait of a girl who looked
about fifteen years old.  She was very pale and had
dark aqua-marine eyes and curly auburn hair.  Her skin
was a beautiful ivory and she was wearing a silvery
blue dress that wrapped around her body tightly in
places and then in others it was loose and free,
looking like the waves of the sea.  

She looked innocent.

And that’s the only thing that made me believe that
these were the same two people. 

The Serena I knew had blond hair and crystal blue eyes
and marble white skin.

“Now, underneath the picture it says, ‘Her Highest
Majesty, Queen Serena of Atlantis, the Empire of the
Waters and Greatest Empire on Earth.’ and that’s how I
know its really Serena.  All my references point back
to this picture.”

“She looks like a little girl,” I commented, “Do you
know how old she is here?”

“I think this is her wedding picture,” Amy commented,
“So she’s around sixteen here.”

“Where’s the groom?” I asked trying to sound
nonchalant.  I hated this man.  He had Serena’s heart,
all of her heart.  I’m glad that he’s been dead for
thousands of years.  If he was alive I think that I’d
actually kill him.

Amy just grinned and turned the page.  “There.”

I blinked several times.  This man looked like he was
in his early twenties.  He had long dark black hair
and bright blue eyes.  He was wearing a simple shirt
and pants that were light colored.  He was regal and
kingly and I could tell from the way the artist did
his eyes that he was a strong and noble man.

Easy to like.

Trustworthy

Damn.

But there was something about him that bothered me.  I
thought about it for the longest time and then paled.

He looked like me.

I cleared my throat, “Amy, what’s his name?” I asked
hoarsely.

She looked up at me confused and then rolled her eyes,
“It says here that his name is ‘King Endymion of
K’thia.’”

My eyes widened and I sat back into my chair.

Endymion.

Damn.  It.  All.  To.  Hell.


=====
"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will.  I may be love's Bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." --Spike