AT THE MALL


Michél LaNore yawned dull as he stepped into the gigantic mall. He had never been a fan of places that buzzed with different noises, smells and people who simply cared about themselves. Men wanting to please their women by shopping with them and treating them with lunches so they could get laid; women wanting to look more attractive for their men even if they couldn’t notice any kind of change after the women got a new hairdo or new clothes; kids who screamed for better toys when somewhere there were people playing with bricks and branches and were probably even happier than these spoiled brats.
Thank God Wilma wasn’t a fan of malls or shopping either. Yet Michél knew that the moment they would have children he would have to buy those disgusting plastic monsters for them, too, take the screams and love his children in true millenium style.
Michél sighed, lifting his dark, thick-framed glasses on his nose and stopped middle of the hall. This was an emergency, so he had no time to think about his future now. He had duties.
Knocking the white marble floor under himself with the heel of his black leather shoe, he felt the familiar energy.
Right here. This was it.
The man smiled satisfied. Ignoring the odd glances he got from passing people, he closed his eyes and concentrated.
”Barrier that divides the worlds. Share your history with your humble servant. What happened? Who entered through here?”
The mall spread before Michél as it had been 5 minutes before he had arrived. He saw it eventhough his eyes were closed.
He saw one, no, two figures, and how the life in the mall stopped for a matter of minutes. The taller male held a wounded one.
Vampires, Michél mused. Had been awhile since he had seen them, eventhough he knew they resided in quite many places in this city, in this world.
But then he winced. There was a third one. A young female. A halfling.
Half-seraph… Michél couldn’t help that his ordinary wide smile spread even more as he witnessed the half-angel and the vampires go through a portal they’d opened.
A guardian and her vampire. And this was not just an ordinary couple.
Michél inhaled deep, calmly, and let the universal knowledge of the Barrier slither into his veins, into his soul; tell him how they had opened a wormhole into it. As he heard a name, soft cackle flowed between his lips and the wolf-like grin was now perminately fixed on his face.
This was one happy day for Michél LaNore, the Barrier keeper.
Thanking the Barrier for the information it had given, Michél opened his eyes, still cackling to himself. While holding the black business bag on his left hand, the long and pale white fingers of the right hand slid to the breast pocket of his dark suit and pulled out a cellphone. He dialled a number and made a call.
”Yes, Katie? It’s me, Michél. Good morning to you too, my dear. How is Boston?” Michél asked smiling, but then continued immediately before the woman even managed to answer: ”Listen, I’m here in the Charitte Mall where a portal was opened exactly 11 minutes and 34 seconds ago. I came to investigate since someone had also used magic to froze the entire mall for a few minutes… No, it wasn’t an illegal portal, actually, I found out it was opened with the de Rosette seal. Yes, the de Rosette seal, you know the clan leader as well as I do. Hey, guess who I saw use the portal, my dear. …Noooo, you have to guess. …Nope, wrong answer.” The man grinned. ”Tough luck, dear.”
With a low chuckle, Michél rudely hung up and placed the phone back to his breast pocket. Humming something, he this time checked his reflection from a shop window, fixed his wine red tie before lifting his glasses, and flashed himself a dashing smile. He was feeling cheerful enough to even wink at the cashier who stood behind the glass, looking at him odd.
”Luca de Casadre and Kayley Vance,” Michél savoured the new names he had just learnt. ”The excitement I’ve been waiting for over a century by now.”
Wilma would have to cook something good today. Or maybe they could cook together once Michél would get home. Maybe they could have sex. Who knows.

He was feeling even more cheerful than usual today after all.

*****

CRUX

Combing the hair back with his fingers as he hurried down the hallway, Crux could hardly suppress the excitement he felt, despite of the fact he was late from dinner. He had put on the fine, silver-embroidered, dark grey uniform he usually used in formal occasions: and this surely was an exquisite formal occasion.
His future queen was here. Kayley Vance.
For a moment while walking, the body guard closed his eyes, recalling the memory where he had heard that name for the first time.
It had been in His Royal Highness’ birthday ball. In the middle of the bloody feast, where everyone had brought their own men and women to eat, the Heavenly Council had suddenly made a contact before the young vampire prince, in a form of a white-cloaked messenger, with a hood that covered its eyes. Big white wings glowing heavenly light were spread, as if to hinder the prince from seeing anything else but the messenger. It had pointed at the crown-prince with its index finger and spoken only the necessary words.
The vampire’s name. ”Luca de Casadre.”
The number of the days he had left in Caderoth. ”458 days.”
And finally, the name of the Guardian. ”Kayley Vance.”
The messenger had disappeared right after saying that name. It seemed to echo in the great royal hall a few seconds before the silence had been broken by the noise of thousands of cheers and roars. Everyone had clapped their hands for the prince, who simply sat there on his chair, suddenly so very serious and looking like an adult he had become at that moment.
Kayley Vance. The bride. The future queen.
”Long live the crown-prince and his blessed fiancée. Long live the future king of Caderoth and his future queen!”
Everyone had cheered those words time and time again til the sunrise. The Queen had sobbed in happiness, and the King had seemed pleased as well. It had been the day of  change.
The daughter of an old seraph… She would have royal heavenly blood in her veins and it would turn into royal and strong blood of the de Casadre vampire family.
Every vampire of the clan of Cadiliath was thrilled of these news, of course. Only the prince itself was quite petrified… And of course his now former fiancée, lady Deanna.
Crux smiled as a familiar scent had floated into his nostrils, and he opened his eyes. Apparently someone else was late from dinner as well.

Hurrying his steps, reaching the speed where he was hardly visible to not-vampiric eyes, he swooned down the stairs elegantly like a gust of wind only to see sir Zerien Sarwell stop just a few meters away from him and from the doors of the dining hall.
”How nice to see you coming so late, Zerien,” Crux smiled politely. ”I hope we won’t hold grudge against each other for what happened today? You understand I was simply doing my duty.”
Aniline eyes stared at him emotionless.
”I understand what you are saying, sir Crux. I apologize; what I did was out of place,” Zerien admitted as he took a few steps closer to the body guard with an unreadable expression. Crux kept smiling at the young vampire who so confidently approached him.
”How long has it been? Since we saw each other like this.”
”Fourteen months,” Zerien answered calmly, stopping right before Crux. The white-haired vampire was at least a head taller than he was, so he had to look up as he continued, ”7 days, 13 hours, 18 minutes, 12 seconds.”
”Ah, you’ve kept a record, I see,” the tall male with a teenager’s face sneered. ”But it’s true. I didn’t expect to see you’ve grown so much, young sir Zerien. And I noticed you have cut your hair. How lovely…  Yet you are as youthful and divine as always.” Crux smiled honest. ”Nothing has changed after all.”
Zerien frowned at that. ”You leave me no words to say, sir Crux. I can never say any of those words you said to me. You are thousands of years older than I am, yet you are always beautiful, always young, always divine and strong. You don’t grow or change, and when I say you are beautiful I feel like I’m repeating myself and everyone else. It’s almost annoying that I cannot respond to your compliments, for  my words are unnecessary to say out loud since they are the truth.”
Crux couldn’t help laughing. ”What a speech you gave me once again!” he chuckled, making the other vampire frown in annoyance. Young master of the de Rosette clan knew he shouldn’t play with the young soldier’s feelings, so he stopped laughing nearly immediately. ”Sir Zerien, you think things through too much.”
”I know it doesn’t bother you one bit, my lord,” Zerien answered, his frown smoothing up. ”More like on the contrary.”
”That’s true,” Crux admitted smiling. ”I love everything you do, my unrational little soldier.”
Crux watched Zerien press their chests together, and smiled warmly when the young soldier’s head rest on the curve of Crux’s neck.
”You didn’t attack me with full force today, my lord,” Zerien said calmly. ”What a disgrace.”
”Neither did you attack me with full force, even though your lord’s pride was at stake,” Crux remembered him.
”You made me choose,” Zerien whispered vexed, his nostrils pressing against Crux’s neck.
The head of the de Rosette clan closed his eyes. ”I know; I have my duties as well, my dear. Forgive me.”
Zerien sneered briefly, and Crux lifted his head up as he heard the younger vampire sigh, telling the white-haired man what he was going to do. Zerien buried his fangs into the body guards neck, grasping Crux’s shoulders. He was feeling angry at his lover, so he pressed the fangs deep, willing to make him wince in pain. However, that didn’t happen.
Zerien took in big gulps, feeling unknown thrill as he felt the blood of Crux gush down his throat. It sent shivers down his spine, making his body throb with burning anxiety he had felt all this they’d been apart. He wished to have this man completely, kiss Crux’s lips and hold him tight. He heard himself letting out a tiny whimper when Crux embraced him and let out soft moans with every gulp the younger soldier took.
Oh, how he had missed this voice, this taste, this vampire… He felt like he couldn’t hold himself back anymore.
”Zerien…”, Crux grunted smile in his voice, ”Not… anymore… Soon I can’t feel… my legs…”
That is what you get for making me choose, Zerien thought. Choose between my saviour and my lover…
”Zerien… please.”
The younger one took the last gulp, and then pulled out his fangs, licking the bitemarks tenderly, savouring the final drops of the dark blood.
Soon the marks had disappeared, however, due the healing powers the vampires owned. Zerien frowned at the place he had bitten, feeling irritation sweep over him again. Deep inside, he wanted to mark this man as his own so that everyone would know he belonged to someone. And Zerien wanted Crux to mark him, too.
The white-haired vampire was stroking his back gently, pressing his nose to Zerien’s hair and breathing in his scent. Adoration filled Zerien’s heart like it had done so many times before, and, feeling full for his lover’s blood, he pressed his lips on Crux’s neck, kissing it softly.
”You’ve missed me.”
”You didn’t have to say it out loud,” Zerien growled, resting his head against Crux’s shoulder. ”Such an embarrassing thing.”
Crux grinned, turning his head to the doors that lead to dining hall. ”We should go. We are late already.”
”I’ll hold your hand then,” Zerien stated cool and grabbed Crux left hand possessively. The other vampire raised his brow.
”You’re sure that is wise?”
”It is no secret to anyone, who stands behind those doors, what we mean to each other,” Zerien answered, facing Crux now serious. ”Other than that Guardian, but I couldn’t care less about her.”
”You are being too harsh on her,” the royal bodyguard said with a shake of his head. ”She seems very nice.”
”The only ones,” Zerien pointed out with a frown, ”I need to care about are my ruler, lord Deimos, and you, my lover.” He gripped Crux’s hand tighter, leering at him with aniline eyes. ”Everything else is meaningless to me.”
Crux smiled to him in a warm manner, delighted how little Zerien had changed from the last time they had met. He gave Zerien a kiss on the temple, making the younger bodyguard’s eyes widen and stare up at him in surprise.
”If you wish me to hold your hand,” Crux mused as he gripped Zerien’s palm firmly, ”Then I will never let go of it.”
After looking at him adorably confused for a moment, Zerien finally let out a snort and got back his ordinary cold expression.
”Aren’t you smooth,” the young vampire scoffed without being able to hide the light pink blush on his cheeks from Crux.