Chapter 10: Striking Down the Messenger

Slowly the man guided Kokona away until they were close to a marble railing staircase. "We're getting rather far from the party, aren't we?" Kokona asked. The man simply smiled.

"It's my party dear, and I can leave if I want to. Besides, I look at you and I don't see someone who is really comfortable with this whole crowd thing."

Part of that was true. Sure, she was popular at school and interacted with the other students—she even gave Kai a run for his money. But when she was at home, other than having occasional squabbles with her parents, she was actually pretty quiet and loved reading all her books. The man placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I have a wondrous library upstairs I would love to show you."

Kokona gasped inwardly. It was as if this man could see into her soul—he was saying all the things he needed to calm her, lure her into a state of security. Was this the charm of a Vampire Lord? She wasn't sure. It didn't seem to fit any of the guidelines she had read about—no flashing or pitch black of the eyes. It was just his words, that was enough. Her mind knew she had to do something, but her words and her body betrayed her.

"I would love to see it," she said as he rested his hand on her back, leading her up the stairs.

W...what the hell? This didn't make any sort of sense. Could a vampire really be this powerful…could Kai...? It was almost like the curse of a siren. Slowly they made their way up the carpeted steps.

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Damn it, come on now where is he!? Kai cursed inwardly as he weaved through the crowd. In the past hour he had seen six more exits, and even a way up to the balconies, but still no target. He growled, pushing past a few servers and even accidentally spilling a wine-like drink on one of their uniforms. At this point, he was way too frustrated and politeness had gone out the window. He didn't even ask the man if he was all right. The whole place was starting to look the same to him.

He sighed, dropping to his knees and taking a deep breath. Then his head snapped upward as he suddenly noticed something. His eyes focused on the marble staircase across the room. Kokona was following someone. It took him a few seconds before he finally realized the man leading the way was none other than Hisao Hitoshi.

Damn it! Where were they headed? As they moved along, he backed up a bit, trying to look past the balcony halfway up the ceiling. He noticed figures above, though he couldn't see their faces. His eyes followed the figures. They were traveling in the direction of the room just above the balcony outside. His pace quickened as he took the side exit closest to his target.

The night air was calm and cool compared to the air of the situation. He clenched his fists, looking around for a way to get onto the balcony. Finally, he spotted something—a small fence covered in vines. Damn Kokona, even when she's not physically here she's helping me. He was tired of always being trapped by her little pranks. But in this case, he could take the things he'd learned from dealing with her to help him here.

He figured if he could just make it above the vines he could clear them. The biggest problem was that her vines moved—these were steady, so it would take a lot more flexibility on his part. He took a deep breath and a running start, leaping at the fence and catching his right foot on one of the vines. Pulling with his arms, he inched himself up the fence until he reached the bottom of the balcony. He then grabbed one of the posts and used it to hoist himself up, landing stomach first, then picking himself up and crouching through the open window.

The room was dark, but he didn't dare turn on the light. He had to play this right; Kokona's life seemed to be at stake. Looking around he saw wall-to-wall shelves with books stacked on top of them, and a nice desk that almost looked brand new. He figured the room was a library, obviously very well kept. He shook his head as he quietly made his way over to the door. He had to make sure he was in the right spot.

He positioned himself behind the door to the room, curling his fingers around a small dagger he kept hidden at his side. He shifted the blade in his hand, letting it lightly graze his finger. A drop of blood dripped onto the blade and small sparks erupted from its tip until bright azure flames surrounded the blade's edge.

Kai could hear the footsteps of the target and his victim inching closer. He drifted his finger to his lips as though to quiet himself as the door slowly creaked open. Kokona came in first, rushing toward the bookcases.

"My word, look at all these!" she said in a tone he hadn't heard before. She sounded kind of like a schoolgirl pining after a jock. Shortly after she entered another set of feet appeared. Kai's eyes traveled up to the man until he was looking at his side silhouette. The man stepped inside then stopped for a moment.

"I'm glad you like it," he said smiling. "And you—you can come out now. I don't want to fight, but there is way more going on here than you know." Kai gasped and stepped out from behind the door, his hand curled tightly around the dagger. He moved forward, angling his hips to run in and thrust his blade to finish the job when the man held out his hand.

"Wait!"

Kai stopped mid-step as Kokona suddenly fell forward, dropping to her knees in front of him and holding her head.

Wait, did he just release her? The situation split Kai's attention for several seconds. His blood ran cold as he turned back towards the man, gripping the handle of his dagger so hard that his knuckles turned white. Sapphire blue flames encircled his hand. "You have one minute, creature!" he growled. Kokona scooted away on her hands and knees.

"Such ferocity and tenacity you have…calling me a creature. Just what exactly are you?" he asked.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter," Kai growled in frustration, swinging his arm in an arc. The flames surrounding the weapon spun around him, staying clear of his skin as his very being controlled their intensity. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the man stepped forward and grasped his wrist.

"You understand nothing…you're being dec…. auugh..gg…" Suddenly blood erupted from the man's mouth and he slumped down to his knees, his body going limp with Kokona's blade stabbing through him. She had recovered her strength enough to sneak in and stab him from behind. Again, Kai's blood ran cold. What had he just heard?

"What the hell have you done?!" Kai shouted as Kokona fell backward. "He was about to tell us something!" Confusion and frustration erupted through him as he grabbed her wrist. Kokona got up on shaky knees.

"He was the enemy, Kai. He would have said anything to prolong his life!" she snapped, swatting his hand away and standing up the rest of the way. She pushed past him, pulling her blade from the man's back. "Now let's go before we draw attention." She glared at him then turned and jumped out the window.

Kai looked back at the man for a moment. That's when another thought gripped him. Something was wrong—no blade had ever been able to kill a vampire completely except for his after being enchanted with his blood. And yet, this man was dead. Kai took a breath, letting it whistle out of his teeth before jumping out the window after his partner. They ran towards the car and started the engine.

The friction between them was obvious. Just as they pulled out his phone rang. Looking down, he sighed and answered it.

"The school? But we have to—" his words were cut off by the voice on the other end. "All right, we will be there as soon as we can," he said. After another short pause, he hung up the phone and put it on the side console.

Kokona crossed her arms. "We have to go report in."

He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled, but this is important and I'm taking control," he said as he sped up, rushing toward Chimera Academy.