Chapter 5: Cassandra (Memories of Brothers Past (2)

Cassandra was already in her twenties when the calling to be a vampire hunter beckoned her. She wasn't all that keen on it at first—she would have preferred to stay in blissful denial. Instead of spending her time fighting bloodthirsty beasts, she would have much rather been at the club.

She was a party girl, and with her curvy figure and big bust, she knew how to get attention. She wasn't nice about it, either. She would flirt, get what she wanted, then toss you away like yesterday's spoiled meat. All that changed, however, when she actually got the job she was dreading so much. The day she met Akio Haruka.

Akira City 5 years earlier

Cassandra sighed deeply as she stepped out of the apartment that she was renting for the week. She had gotten a mysterious email summons from a woman only known as H. That same day she had gone to school to begin her normal routine when suddenly she'd been told that she was no longer enrolled.

Whatever was going on they definitely wanted her. Finally, after hours of procrastinating, she went online to find the quickest route to her destination, and after a two-hour flight she had landed in Tokyo. Now she had a day to make it to the office of the woman who had summoned her and find out just what the hell she wanted.

Her hand was shaking when she reached for the knob of the office door. Not out of fear or nervousness, but solely out of annoyance. She was being uprooted, basically chased from her own home to follow some unknown cause. She gritted her teeth as the door slid open. She saw a man in his 20s—about her age. He didn't look too shabby. Probably about six feet tall and skinny, but not a toothpick. His hair was a messy sort of organized. He was standing in front of a desk talking to someone, although she couldn't really make out what they were saying.

Cassandra tapped her foot on the wooden floor with her heel making a small clicking noise. The young man turned to face her, moving out of the way a bit so she could see the woman at the desk. Right away she noticed the woman's eyes. She was different.

"Ms. Thompson, welcome." The woman's voice was smooth and friendly but Cassandra was too irritated to notice.

"Why am I here?" she asked rather crossly.

The woman behind the desk folded her hands, her blue orbs dialing in on the younger female. "I understand your frustration, Ms. Thomson," she said.

Cassandra just shook her head. "That's not what I asked, and what's with tall, dark, and stiff over there?" She pointed her thumb back towards the young man.

Once again, the woman cleared her throat to speak. "That is Akio Haruka. He is going to be your mentor so to speak."

The younger female rolled her eyes, turning to face the young man as her hand reached down, unfastening a button on her shirt. "Trust me," she said coyly. "I really don't think there is anything this guy can teach me that I don't already know." Akio took a step to the side, not saying a word. Inside, however, he was getting a little flushed. She was actually quite attractive after all, with her dark, hazel eyes and curvy figure.

The woman broke Cassandra's little act by placing a folder on the desk a little harder than what was probably necessary. Opening the folder, she revealed a stack of papers with a picture of Cassandra attached by a paperclip.

"You have attended Oregon State University for only a short time, and yet you have one of the highest GPAs in the school's history. And that's not all, in fact. You have had the highest GPA of all your schools since you were in the 7th grade.

It was true, Cassandra was smart—probably genius level—but she hated it. She never said anything about it. She had a reputation and she liked it. She was a dangerous flirt.

"I fail to see how that answers my question," she said with a little less aggravation this time.

The woman smiled. "It's actually not your GPA, not entirely. It's your creativity. You solve problems in ways that no one else can. You come to abstract solutions and they work. You are here because your mind works in just the right way to believe what we are about to tell you."

Cassandra nodded her head slowly; she was becoming a little more curious now. She stepped forward, glaring at Akio. "Fine, but I want him to tell me." She draped her arm over his shoulder. "So big boy, tell me what all this is about."

Akio nodded. "I'm sure you've seen the articles, 'Bumps in the night finally explained.'"

She nodded. "Tabloid stories, nothing more, nothing less." He slowly shook his head as she dropped her arm. "What do you mean no?" she asked, now crossing her arms and stepping back a little.

"Think about it for a second. Do you really think they would go through the trouble of just making all this up?"

A laugh escaped Cassandra as she looked at him. "Ravings of lunatics, like my father," she muttered silently. Akio raised an eyebrow. "Your father?"

She sighed. "Schizophrenia. He used to tell me stories when I was a little girl about all kinds of things. Monsters in the shape of humans, but with fangs like animals. For years I thought they were just bedtime stories, but then a man came and took him away. It wasn't till years later I learned he was admitted into a mental hospital." Her eyes drifted down to the floor. "He killed a young man, claiming he was a vampire or some nonsense."

She turned away from Akio looking the woman straight in the eye. "I don't want any part of whatever this is. I'm leaving," she said coldly as she turned for the door.

Her hand was nearly on the knob when Akio spoke up again. "Your father wasn't crazy, Cassandra. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. He knew exactly what he was talking about. He was released, wasn't he?"

"I don't know. I haven't spoken to him in over eight years." That part was true—she hadn't spoken to her father since he'd been taken.

"I understand your reluctance to believe us. Give us one week to change your mind. After that, if you don't believe us, you can walk out. But I swear, you will not want to turn this down."

She stopped dead in her tracks turned around glaring daggers at Akio. "Fine, I'll go along with this for one week."

"Right then, prepare to have your entire life turned around."

She rolled her eyes, nodding. "Whatever you say, bud," she said turning again and walking out the door.

Akio turned back to his superior. "So, this is training?"

The woman nodded slowly. "The U.S. wants her in their agency, but I was able to pull some strings. This could turn things around for both of you. When she passes this training she will have the choice to go to the American branch, and you will have the chance to go with her."

He raised an eyebrow reluctantly. "Don't you mean if?"

The woman shook her head. "She'll pass, it's only a matter of time. Now go with her. She's your partner—take care of her." He nodded, turning to go after Cassandra as the woman shifted in her chair, opening her desk drawer and rummaging through it. She picked up a red flash drive and slipped it into her computer.

The screen flashed a file as her blue eyes scanned it slowly. "The pieces are out. Question is, will the queen follow the footsteps of the king?" she muttered silently, feeling a bit worried.