Investigate

There was silence as I finished talking, neither Lee nor Luc saying a word as I explained the situation. As promised, Luc had arrived shortly after dark, dropped off by a demon escort. As usual, Luc both looked nervous and happy but he did his best to keep his emotions under control as Lee invited him in and allowed him to sit on one of the couches.

"Jinx didn't know?" Lee finally asked and I shrugged as I shook my head.

"She didn't seem to know. She was just as surprised as me when they revealed that little surprise." I rolled my eyes, still unable to help my annoyance through my fear and worry. "Once we get her back, we definitely need to talk about questioning clients more closely."

"I'm more concerned about this 'Sammy' you raised." Luc finally whispered, and I turned to look at him. His pale skin still lightly glowed in the soft light and his blood red eyes were hypnotic as he avoided looking at me. His dark hair shimmered as he took a deep breath. "An ordinary human would not have been able to break your circle."

"Yeah but without records I have no way of finding out what she was. Not a member of LPD anymore, so I can't just go snooping around." I sighed, frowning as I looked away from the vampire. "Also cant afford to go to loud with this, being fallen is dangerous enough as is."

"We also need to recover Jinx before the girl can use her to do real harm, less Jinx also be wanted." Luc continued, glancing up at Lee. "Is it possible for you to try and search the records?"

"Maybe." Lee sighed, his wings fluttering as he spoke. "I do still have some access to official files, retired as I am, and it's likely the girl was adopted from the sounds of the story and the fact that the clients were human."

"Hmm." Luc agreed, finally raising his glance to me before quickly looking away again. "Lin and I… should try to see if we can find out where the girl took Jinx while you search."

"We can go back to the grave." I suggested, my heart pounding as I thought of being alone with Luc. I doubted a graveside excursion would count as the "date" Requiem was requiring, but it would be the closest the two of us had ever gotten. Luc and I had never been alone together, Jinx or Evan always going with us anywhere we went. I felt the urge to go check my appearance before heading to the grave, but my childish thoughts were interrupted by Lee.

"Well, we should get to it, right? Luc only has so much time to try and do anything tonight." Lee lifted from the couch and flew up the stairs, no doubt heading to his room as he tried to dig up whatever he could on the girl. Luc and I remained in our seats, both avoiding the other's gaze as we hesitated to follow the pixie's lead. Finally I stood, clearing my throat as I did so.

"Um, we can head out now, if you…" I let my voice trail, but I saw as Luc nodded, finally moving to stand.

"Lee is right. We should start as soon as we can." The vampire rose to his full height and I stood, feeling tiny behind him as we left the house. We walked in silence at first, and I felt all my nervousness rise. It felt awkward to walk in silence but I didn't know what to say. I had spent the five years ignoring Luc, never responding to his messages and never trying to spend time with him. Of course Requiem had locked him away from the rest of the world, but I hadn't even tried. I racked my brain for something to say, wringing my hands as I opened my mouth to speak.

"So, you-"

"Your wings." Luc interrupted me, and I became aware of the cramped feeling on my back. In my rush to gain Luc's help, I had forgotten about the jacket that kept my wings hidden and I was starting to wish I had stretched them out in the house. Swallowing my discomfort, I forced myself to speak.

"Yeah?"

"Does it…hurt?" Luc finally managed to ask and I couldn't help the small sound that escaped me.

"No, not anymore, although I do miss flying at times." I admitted, seeing the graveyard as it came in sight. "Gotten used to hiding them."

"I always wondered, if you were still in pain." Luc offered quietly and I chanced a glance up at his face. His gaze was kept forward, refusing to look down at me as he hid his expression. I could feel my nervousness rising again as I looked away, awkwardly playing with my hair as we walked.

"Sorry," I muttered, surprised as Luc stopped by the gate of graveyard. He was finally looking at me, surprise on his face.

"Sorry?"

"For, you know, not responding." I shrugged, glancing away from his beautiful eyes as I continued playing with my hair. When he said nothing, I chanced a glance back at him, only to realize he was still watching me intently. "I wanted to, just didn't know how."

"It's… okay." Luc finally whispered, standing next to me again. I felt awkward staring into his chest, and without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him, hugging the vampire. After a moment of him not returning the gesture, I began to feel embarrassed and started to pull away, but then I felt his hand rest on my shoulders. His hand felt firm and strong and I felt myself almost melt under the touch. It was comforting and protective, causing a new feeling to rise in me. Being held by Evan had never felt this way.

After a moment, Luc released me, but he was looking away when I glanced up at his face.

"Show me the grave." He whispered softly and I nodded, sliding my hands away as we walked deeper into the graveyard.