Dram Halo: Shadowed Angel

Chapter 6, Book 2 of 6

Chapter 6

Shooting Stars

Waiting for room service to deliver dinner to the Towers’ penthouse suite, Magnolia paced away from the floor to ceiling windows, over the mirror polished, white marble floor and to the plush, white shag carpet spilling out from beneath a huge, white leather couch. She plopped herself down one cushion away from where Dark Horse sat and let out a sigh as she played with the fringe on one of the couch’s matching white, cashmere, throw blankets. Magnolia stopped after a few seconds more to instead pick up an ivory white, velvet pillow with a floral design on it to restlessly run her finger over the etched pattern.

Dark Horse intently watched her from the other side of the couch. His features tightened before he dropped his gaze to the carpet. Staring at the carpet for a long moment, he flicked his gaze back up to her and said, “I know you’re worried about your aunt, Mags. I know she’s not a blood relation, but as long as Roman has use for your uncle he’ll more than likely keep your aunt alive as well. I know that’s little comfort, but at least it’s something. And, as much as I don’t enjoy the thought of yet another delay of our plans to take Roman out, Ezekiel's absolutely correct. We need to stop Roman before this gets bad. His mad scientist project is now our number one priority."

Mouth thinning, he slowly shook his head and added, "That fucker's up to some kind of wicked wrong. There’s a reason why super predators are like shooting stars, burning brightly before quickly extinguished…” Dark Horse rapidly trailed off and stared at her, his features stricken by the words he, obviously mistakenly, said.

Anger rose and rankled her.

Tense, Magnolia held her hands up at him and snapped, “Whoa! Explain please. There were other super predators?! What happened to them?!”

Dark Horse fidgeted, flinched, and then softly cussed. If he purposely avoided this particular bit of vampyr history previously there was no way she would let him bypass it now. She gave him a meaningful look of expectation.

With a heavy sigh, he said, “Throughout vampyr history super predators have existed. They're the result of a genetic anomaly that crops up roughly once every century." He paused and lock his gaze with hers. "You aren’t the first, Mags. That’s why Roman immediately recognized you for what you are. Super predators spark insane jealousy between vampyr clans and even the other primus. Wars have been fought over them."

His face contracted slightly, adding an air of worry to his features.

"Go on,” she flatly stated.

Dark Horse edged towards her on the couch and softly said, “That’s why I warn you about using your super predator capabilities around other vampyrs. The super predators who've come and gone before have never met their like. They were killed off too quickly to survive long enough to see another of their own kind." He shrugged. "I suppose that's a good thing. Imagine if someone of Roman’s moral caliber had an army of super predators behind him."

Features shifting to a darkened expression, he grimaced at her and looked toward the windows. She moved closer to him, studied the deepening lines of his face, and was slightly shocked by his concern.

Is that concern for my wellbeing? Or for what Roman would do with a super predator at his disposal?

Voice tight, Dark Horse quietly continued, "And, believe me, it sure as shit isn’t for lack of trying that super predators are so rare. The last super predator, Zyfryd Fraimus, who went on to become Zyfryd Maginus of the Maginus Clan, was even placed into a breeding program towards the end of his life."

"A breeding program?" she cut in and soured her face at him. "That seems a bit much."

Dark Horse turned his face towards her own. "Everything the vampyrs do is a bit much, Mags. That's why Zyfryd fathered something like a thousand children in a shade over a decade."

She felt her mouth drop open as she echoed, "A thousand?!"

"Yup." He nodded once and halfheartedly joked, "I’m surprised the guy’s dick didn’t fall off."

Ignoring his joke, she moved forwards and leaned closer to Dark Horse. Gripping the back of the couch behind him and twisting in her seat, she folded her legs under her to face him. She didn’t want to miss one facial expression, one word, one caught breath. Magnolia clung to his every uttered syllable.

Magnolia whispered, "And were more super predators born?" She leaned forward, her knee brushing against his thigh.

Dark Horse shook his head. "No.” His tone was grave. “Not one of them shared their father’s unique gift, which is why they were terminated shortly after birth.”

Magnolia promptly dropped her hand into her lap and widened her eyes in horror. Screwing up her features, she was on the verge of giving him a piece of her mind when Dark Horse held up his hand.

“It was a necessity, Mags,” he explained. “By their sheer numbers they would deplete the human population too quickly."

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips at him questioningly. “Why are you defending the vampyrs’ actions?” she challenged.

"You shouldn't be so shocked,” he openly chastised in return. “You, of all people, should realize that vampyrs aren’t known for their charity work.”

Cocking a brow at his response, she moved her tongue into her cheek, retorting, "Mm. Neither are their sniffers."

"Hey,” Dark Horse roughly replied, mouth thinned. He swung his legs and body towards her. Feet on the floor, his thigh stopped only when stopped flush against her own. Bracing himself by grabbing the edges of the couch cushion to either side of her hips, he leaned into her, expression stony. Eye-to-eye, only a scant few inches separated them. This was not lost on Magnolia.

Magnolia felt his breath softly sweep against her neck. The sensation sent a tingling sensation down her neck and into her chest. Unsettled, her own breath caught in response. In the small space between them the palpable charge began to grow. An electric current vibrated down her body and made her skin tingle as though every nerve ending fired at once. Goosebumps rose on her arms. She mentally shook off the sensation, sure it was fueled by their irritation with one another, annoyed as they both were.

Not willing to break away from his intent gaze, Magnolia stubbornly held her ground. She silently stared her displeasure into the endless and dark pools of his eyes.

Clearly reading into her hostile gesture, he demanded, “Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything to you. I only brought this up to put things into perspective. You need to understand the full implication of what being a super predator is."

"Oh?" Her tone, though heavily laden with sarcasm, was light.

His eyes searched her own as he countered, "Yeah, 'oh.'" Frowning slightly, a creased formed between his brow. "This shit's dead serious. Consider this: A single super predator was all that was needed to overthrow an entire empire.”

Heart beating a little swifter, Magnolia feared she already knew the answer to her next question. “If super predators are so damn important why were all of them murdered?”

Mouth down-turning into a thin frown, Dark Horse's expression turned bleak. He said, “How can I explain this?” Tone soft, it had an entreating quality to it.

In response to his earnestness, Magnolia felt the heaviness in the air around her pulling on her. Dark Horse broke eye contact as he turned his head to the side in plain deliberation. Magnolia inhaled deeply, all at once aware she had forgotten to breathe. She shivered, though the room around them was warm.

Head still turned to the side, Dark Horse slowly began, “If you were a rancher, and your neighbor had the best workhorse in the county, if not the entire world, but refused your every advance to buy or lease the animal, what would you do? If the horse couldn’t be bought, or even stolen, the only options left are to suck it up and watch your neighbor claim all of the fame and glory or to even the playing field." He titled his head meaningfully at her and locked his gaze on her own. "Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Unfortunately, she did.

Hostile at the implications, Magnolia replied, "You're saying vampyrs are a vainglorious bunch of bastards and they went for the second option."

"Exactly,” Dark Horse said with a small nod. “Super predators can fight, but not against an entire mob of vampyrs. Matter of fact, the destruction of the last super predator was the only reason the other clans formed a truce. They put aside their differences to unite under their murderous plot. That's why you can never let the vampyr world know you exist, Mags. It'd be the end of you."

He leaned towards her until they were again face-to-face. Dark Horse seemed to consider her. She waited, body tense. Close as he was, his breath rushed against her neck and his pleasing, warm scent washed over Magnolia until her head began to swim. Restless, Magnolia wanted to break away from him but was unable to command her body to actually move. She wasn’t sure what Dark Horse searched for in her features, but satisfied or not by what he saw, all at once he leaned his body against the cushions of the couch and rolled his head back to stare at the ceiling.

Whatever electrical static there was between them snapped and severed. The trance was broken. Magnolia found an emptiness in its place so unsupportive she nearly fell forward. She recovered herself, leaned sideways into the couch and, without thinking, hugged her arms with her hands and began rubbing to bring back normal sensation. Not knowing what else to make of it, she chalked up her reaction to nerves. She was simply upset. Her jittery, troubled reaction was solely due to discovering the whole vampyr world was out to get her.

It could be nothing else. She pushed away any other cause, Dark Horse included, as improbable and insignificant. Doubt, however, kept her mind tense. She shivered.

Dark Horse, thankfully, was plainly oblivious of her troubled mood. He rolled his head towards her, and after quickly flicking his attention to her body, he lifted the blanket to her.

“Err…thanks.” Magnolia lamely said as she took the blanket and wrapped it around her. Not that she was cold, just uncomfortable. At least the blanket offered a shield of security, hiding her from her own jittering.

Dark Horse had already moved his gaze back to the ceiling. He nearly snorted before commenting, "Emperor Maginus…He’s almost as bad as Roman. He openly acknowledged and encouraged the murder of Zyfryd.”

Blanket slipping off her shoulders, Magnolia sat straight up and cried, “What?! You said using the super predator was the only reason he overthrew the previous emperor!”

Shaking his head side-to-side on the back of the couch, Dark Horse finally rolled his head to the right, met her gaze, and smiled at her. Cynicism frayed his smile.

“Yes, 'using the super predator' being the key phrase,” he said, blatantly bitter. “Just like what Roman wants to do with you. The Emperor used Zyfryd and then disposed of him when he was no longer useful. By offering up the super predator to the mob he secured his seat and quelled the masses."

Standing, Dark Horse made a clicking noise with his tongue and said, "Smart guy. It was a win-win situation."

"Not for the super predator," Magnolia sadly said.

She wasn't sure Dark Horse had heard her. He walked over to an illuminated, layered and patterned glass liquor cabinet set behind a matching bar and opened it. The light set within the bar and cabinets shone softly and lit the contents of the cabinet. Dark Horse retrieved two glasses and took it over to the dining table, where his unopened bottle of whisky sat. Cracking the seal on the bottle, he uncorked the top and set it on the glass tabletop. Dark Horse closed his eyes, lifted the bottle, and deeply inhaled the uncapped aroma.

"That's fucking fantastic," he said and pleasantly sighed.

Magnolia hedged, “Eight-hundred-dollars fantastic?”

She saw a smile creep across his face as he blithely replied, “Let’s hope so. I wouldn’t want Roman to have wasted all that money for plonk.”

The mention of Roman triggered a sudden thought. “Dark Horse?”

“Yup.” Dark Horse filled both glasses an inch high then dribbled a few drops of bottled water into each.

“Roman doesn’t own The Towers, does he?”

Returning to the couch, he sat and handed her one of the glasses.

He shook his head and said, “No. But you’re not far off. A vampyr does own this hotel. In this case, it’s Emperor Maginus. This is where he stays when he’s in town. Each of these towers is actually a different price point: Rich, Richer, Richest. We’re staying in the penthouse suite of the second most expensive tower.”

Magnolia clearly remembered the thirty-thousand-dollars Dark Horse paid for the room. It actually made her slightly nauseous watching him hand over that much cash, more so when he added an extra ten grand for the concierge to look past the fact they had no identification or credit cards to secure the room with.

Pointing over to the neighboring tower, Dark Horse added, “That’s his penthouse suite in the richest tower.”

She squinted at the bank of windows and observed the deeply tinted windows she had since learnt rich vampyrs’ used for privacy. They certainly didn’t need them to keep the sunlight out. The sun had no ill effect on vampyrs. It was just another lie fed to humans in an effort to let humans falsely believe they were the ones truly in control.

“The staff here always say it’s booked but really no one’s allowed to stay there but him. I saw it once. Roman needed me run an errand for the Emperor when he was in town. It’s stunning inside. Literally and figuratively. There’s so much gold, when it reflects the light, it’s like being inside the sun.”

“Stunning, huh?” she hollowly said.

She looked down at her glass and considered the amber liquid inside. The level of wealth and power the vampyrs wielded never ceased to amaze her. Nor did their cruelty.

“Hey, how about a lighter subject? Happy Birthday, Mags,” Dark Horse said as he lifted his glass to her. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” she replied as she lifted her glass in return.

He sipped and then murmured, "Good. Fuckin' A good."

She did the same. Sipping the whisky, it was actually much smoother and less sweet than the middle-shelf brands she had tried before. Notes of smoke, brine, vanilla, and, weirdly, cherry licorice rose and fell across her palate. She surprised herself by how much she liked the flavor.

Taking another sip, Dark Horse’s focus return to her as he asked, "Where were we?” He lifted a finger and answered his own question, saying brightly, “Ah, the Emperor. Of course, those who do any research into The Towers would find it’s owned by his alter-ego, Monsieur Bon Homme.”

Magnolia started and cynically commented, “Seriously? He goes by Mr. Goodman, too?”

Dark Horse’s face lit as he quickly said, “Tu parle Français?”

“Poorly.” She checked herself and added, “Wait. You speak French? Ezekiel speaks French, too. Does everyone speak fluent French but me?”

He raised his brow at her and replied with the slightly sarcastic tone she had come to know so well, “Should I be offended you still continue to underestimate me? Yes, I speak French. The Emperor’s palace is in Paris. Any vampyr with a respectable social standing speaks the local language. Therefore, I do. I told you I was a good understudy.

“It comes in handy to speak the language when you visit the palace on a regular basis, even if I was a lowly sniffer to the Third Quadrant Primus. If you think this place is swank, you should see Vigrid, Nero’s palace. The whole place is dripping in gold. Puts his penthouse to shame.

“A sniffer under the Forth Quadrant’s primus tried to steal some of the gold décor once.” He took another sip. “Of course, the Emperor’s guards caught him. Whatever they did to him, he screamed nonstop for two days. Never saw him again.” Frowning, he took another drink.

Magnolia offhandedly muttered, “Nero Maginus…The Emperor who had the last super predator killed. He sounds like an asshole to me.”

Trying to break her tense mood, Magnolia put down her drink and stiffly rose to walk to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and stare out into the night. Heavy storm clouds shrouded the city as the countless lights of Baba illuminated the bottom of the clouds in a soft, golden glow. To the west, she ran her eyes over the distant spires of downtown Neith. Outside of the Baba Quarantine Zone, the clean zone city she once called home seemed so far away now. Everything seemed so far away and hopeless now. Pained, Magnolia unsteadily exhaled.

Dark Horse appeared at her side and said, “What’s up?”

She turned to him, surprised to hear how shaken her voice was as she replied, "I'm going to be murdered no matter what I do, aren't I?"

Face blanked of emotion, he just stared at her. His response did little to allay her fears. Magnolia felt jumpy, as though her flesh crawled with small, biting creatures, whose only wish was to make her squirm. She shifted her weight and rubbed her face with her palms.

She heard Dark Horse sigh. Dropping her hands, she looked over just in time to see him step closer, wrap his arms around her, and hold her tightly against him. She froze, not knowing how to react.

Above her, she heard him say, “I’m doing what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, Mags.”

As Dark Horse held her, Magnolia felt her tenseness ease and be replaced by a small wave of comfort. With a slow, deep breath, she lightly rested her hands on Dark Horse’s back and laid her head against his chest. His own, slow breath and deep heartbeat soothed her. She closed her eyes.

He softly said, “Fuck me. Why did I capture Pierre? My giddiness to be Roman’s favorite pet has bitten me in the ass more times than I care to recall." Her ear against Dark Horse’s chest, his deep voice resonated as he went on, "That was really fucking stupid of me. Roman never intended to turn me to vampyr. I should’ve seen it.” He paused to softly guffaw. “Hell, I should've killed Pierre at his goddamn lab and said it was an accident. I knew why Roman wanted him just like I goddamn knew it'd lead to nothing but trouble. Fuck. Me.”

Eyes still closed, she asked, “What're you talking about?”

She heard, as well as felt, him groan as he replied, “It was one of my fucking assignments."

She pulled away from him to step back and look at his face. There, features drawn tight, Dark Horse wore an aura of tangible misery. He looked away and moved to pick up his whisky glass from a nearby glass end table. He took a large drink. She waited for a further explanation, but none came.

"And?" she said as she cocked her head at him.

Flicking his attention back to her, Dark Horse's shoulders sagged as he sank down into the white leather armchair next to the end table.

"And,” he replied, “Roman sent me to snatch this freelance scientist working on a vampyr virus antidote in the clean zone. Dr. Pierre Renault was a slippery little fucker..." His mouth briefly twitched down. "...but I caught him. He knew what I was going to do. Shit, he begged me to kill him first. I couldn’t. Roman wanted him alive and I wanted to be a vampyr. It was a critical junction. I couldn't fail.”

Suddenly, Magnolia remembered about Roman offering his daughter to change Dark Horse into a vampyr in exchange for completing his last sniffer job. She wondered if this was the task to which he referred. She asked, “So you did it for Roman’s daughter?”

Dark Horse seemed taken aback as he blinked and asked, “What?”

Magnolia nodded to him. “The job. Was it the last mission Ezekiel said you completed for Roman’s daughter, err, Aurora?”

Dark Horse violently swept his head from side to side and firmly said, “No. Hell no." Stopping, he met her gaze. "Don’t get me wrong. I did want her. She’s fucking beautiful as all get out, but sex, and the resulting change to vampyr that sex would bring, was all I wanted from her. You can’t talk to her. She’s as big of a megalomaniac as her father. That job upset me, but it wasn't my last mission.” A look of sadness crept in around his features. “For that, I will forever be ashamed of what I did in the name of vanity.”

He drew his mouth up into a smile, but the gesture lay heavy with tangible bitterness.

Wondering if she might finally solve the mystery of this soul-shattering last assignment, Magnolia gently asked, “What did you do for your last mission?”

“Nothing I want to talk about.” His response was cold and final.

Magnolia was tempted to press the subject further, but knew it would irritate Dark Horse while getting her nowhere. She reluctantly kept her mouth closed.

The cool silence between them continued. Dark Horse remained quiet, broodingly staring out the window, even after room service knocked on the door. She had never seen him like this. Normally, the thought of food would have perked him up.

Leaving him to sit despondently by the window, Magnolia answered the door. A man in a starched white uniform trimmed in gold smiled at her.

"Ma'am," the waiter said as he rolled the food cart into the room and set the table for them. “Would you like me to wait on you, tonight? It’s included in this room’s amenities package.”

With a soft smile, Magnolia shook her head and tipped the waiter. He left. Turning back from the locked door, she saw Dark Horse had moved to stand next to the dining table. She approached and he pulled out a clear, Lucite chair for her. He, himself, sat with an open air of sullenness, sipping his topped-up whisky. Magnolia looked down to her dry-aged, grass-fed, prime ribeye steak. A regular murderer, she didn’t think she could much continue her former human self’s vegetarian lifestyle without a large amount of irony.

She took another sip of her own whisky and cut into her steak. For his part, Dark Horse was uncharacteristically silent through the white asparagus, truffle French fries, and fennel slaw. Halfway through her pistachio crème brulee, she heard his spoon drop. Magnolia glanced up. A wide expression sat over his features.

"I’ve got it," he said, his voice deadpan.

Bewildered by the abrupt break in his gloomy silence, all Magnolia managed in reply was a spacey, "Huh?"

He ignored her, going on seamlessly, "It’s so simple I completely overlooked it. We’ll just proposition Hazard."

Magnolia wrinkled her nose in confusion and asked, "Hazard?"

"Yeah, Hazard. He’s said to me he wanted out in the past, and he’s a certifiable genius. As a matter of fact, he was working on his doctorate in some fancy science degree when he became a sniffer. It’s perfect. He’ll probably know exactly what Pierre's up to and how to stop him. He might even know where Roman’s keeping your aunt and uncle. Now all we need to do is talk to Hazard. That should be easy enough. We’ll just catch him when he’s out on an errand for Roman.”

Dark Horse grinned at her, lifted his glass as though in cheers, and took another sip.