Restless

[The Cedar Witch]

Laurent grinned with full fangs, watching the tiny speck move below him with delight in his eyes. How precious, he took another long drag before tossing the cigarette to the ground and crushing it with the heel of his boot. The rage from the boy was absolutly intoxicating, even though his words meant absolutly nothing. Fucking the Faggot wasn\'t shame on his part. It would never be, no small threats from some shit who didn\'t know any better could change that. The man was having too much fun with this one.

"Not yet, Princess. I\'ll let you suck it all you want, but not yet." And he became a crow again, settling into the branches of a nearby tree and keeping a close eye on the scene below him. For now, his attention was on the girl exclusively. She had managed to extract at least ten of them, if not more. Laurent wasn\'t in the mood for keeping specific track anymore. Just as long as he had one finger in her mind, he could always send more. And from the looks of things, she still hadn\'t noticed it yet. Not that she could have safely extracted that one even if she wanted to.

Storm\'s attention veered from the task-at-hand as Damien suddenly became more violent then she had expected. Much to her shock and confusion, none of this was directed at her, bleeding or not. Something was out there. Something she hadn\'t seen or felt, but something that the vampire could sense. The girl closed up the last wound, eyes quickly scanning the new scars and bruises lining the insides of her arms before returning her full attention on the vampire.

"What is it?" she asked, knowing that he could hear her through the window without having to elevate her voice. With most, if not all of the shadows inscinerated, she was left with a very weak and drained feeling. Uncomfortable was an understatement. It had been awhile since she felt his absence, at least to this extent. Something in the back of her mind warned her not to get comfortable, that he probably had a thousand other tricks up his sleeve and she was far from being safe.

[Saiketsu]

Damien smiled without humor, his eyes burning into the tiny spot that had shifted ever so slightly. There. He was there. He could have been up there in less than a minute if he pushed himself, full-fledged running. It was barely over a mile, something he could run without a breaking a sweat. But that would leave Storm unprotected. But he could do it and the arrogant little man wouldn\'t know what hit him. Storm had never seen his real speed, his real abilities to run. Only Pierre had that night that they both fled from the humans.

And that\'s the way it was going to stay until this brat had the balls to approach him in person. Damien was still the King here. He would not usurp his throne to Mommy\'s bastard son who never got enough breast milk or attention from Daddy. So he stood there, facing the shadow of a man with that condescending smirk. He was still the King.

The vampire spun and got into the car. It reeked of her blood and, against his will, it made him want to vomit at the memory of the Zalmric\'s words. He refused to look at her, just in case the words surfaced again, or her blood became potent to his throat. He had plucked up his phone after her pushed the key into the ignition and peeled out. Silver eyes found the road calming, the ringing of the phone distracting.

"Ahlo?"
"Meet me at the beach."
"Why?" The voice was forceful.
Damien blinked. It was the first time Pierre had ever questioned an order so directly. "Because I said so, that\'s why. And bring Camille."
"Fine." And the line went dead.

His foot pressed down the accelerated, sparing none of Storm\'s feelings. She was almost invisible to him. Almost. And that was the way he needed her right now.

[The Cedar Witch]

Something told her not to speak, something in the way he spoke to Pierre, something about the way he drove the car without regard for her anxiety. Her mouth would remain unmoving regardess, even if he did tell her to be quiet with words instead of silence. Nevertheless she could still feel the speed of the car, the trembling of its frame and pull of the engine. The most obvious explination for his reaction was one thing. He had chaced them. Something that Storm hadn\'t seen him doing.

The girl cracked the window the slightest bit, aching for winter air to hit her face and maybe for the scent of burned tar to leave the car as well. She didn\'t need any more lingering reminders of how he had been inside of her. The thought made her cringe. The cool January air did what it was meant to do, filling the trembling vehicle with winter and taking the ash and blood away with it. All that remained was the growing sense of fear in the back of her mind now that the calmess was beginning to fade.

Storm did not ask why they were heading where they were heading. She did not ask what he had seen, why he had called Pierre, and where they were going to go from here. For once, she trusted him blindly, too weak to protest or to wonder. He didn\'t need her petty questions weighing him down, and the girl was well aware of that. It would have been nice, though, to have a sort of explination to sooth her unease. But she remained silent, searching for the sign of the Captian. Still there was nothing.

[Saiketsu]

He meant nothing. Nothing. Laurent was a minor inconvenience who would have his balls ripped from his groin if he ever came within the invisible perimeter of Damien\'s realm. They would be dangled in front of him as he was pinned down like Christ. He would be stamped with his own god-damned brand just as his victims had been. And he would be bled dry, left to rot in the sun.

There was no sound except for the rushing of wind through her cracked window and the fuss of the engine. His hands were wrapped around what was left of the steering wheel, the torn flesh aching scabs now. His eyes remained steady. His mind did not.

He was worried about Pierre. There was no reason for him to act towards Damien the way he was. He had told Pierre what he had learned and to lose Nikolai quickly. Nothing more. Anything that had transpired between the two vampires was not spurned by Damien, therefore he should receive none of the backwash from it. He was sick of receiving everyone\'s backwash.

But Pierre was there when Damien pulled up. He said nothing to Storm as he got out, addressing Pierre in a whispered tone.

"I need you to take my car."
"Whatever you say, sir."
There was a hard glare given to the younger vampire. "What is it, Pierre? What did I do, here?"
"Nothing, Ace."
"Then cut it the fuck out. I can\'t deal with it tonight."
The blonde vampire snatched the keys. "Whatever."
"What, are you going to leave me too?" Damien glared at him.
Pierre glared back, the only one Damien would allow it from. "I\'m sick of being a doormat, here, Damien."
"Is that what you think you are to me?"
Pierre said nothing.
"Listen to me, Jean-Luc." His tone was forced now, full of command and anger. He needed this problem straightened out now. The plans were unravelling at the seams. "I am your sire, and don\'t forget that. When I tell you to do something, do it. Don\'t question my direct orders again, get it?"
"I\'m tired of being your bitch, Damien." It was bold.
"Then fuck off, Pierre, if that\'s what you so want. I\'m not dealing with this, not tonight." Damien took the keys back from his son, his first fledgling, one of the only ones from the original days. He held his pride and walked back towards his car.
"Damien." The elder vampire looked up to see the younger vampire with his keys extended. Damien walked back over to Pierre. The young clasped his Sire\'s shoulder and gave him a weary smile. It was harder for him to split with Nikolai than Damien thought. It had always been hard for him to split with people. Damien returned the weary smile.
"Thank you, Jean-Luc." And he embraced his son who returned it with less enthusiasm. "I\'ll tell you soon, just not now. I have to get her out of the city."
"You were followed." Pierre guessed. Damien nodded.
"I don\'t know if we still are, either. I need to get her out of here, though."
"Then go." His voice was weary.

The two switched cars -- Pierre opened the door for the girl and told her to get into the other one -- and each sped off in the opposite direction they had come.

"Keep your head down," was the only thing he said to her as Camille peeled out down the stretch of road. He went straight in towards the city.