The Nightling: Darkness Within

by Danae Ayusso

  Samael groaned, stealing my attention. “That’s why communications were down,” he grumbled, pocketing his communication piece. “It would have been nice to know, Boss.”

  Cross merely smirked with a shrug.

  “Beyond immature,” Bianca scolded. “How are we supposed to protect you if you are playing childish games?”

  “Remember who pays your wages,” Cross warned.

  She wasn’t intimidated in the least. “And remember who it was that saved your little ass all those years ago so you could boast of being the one to pay our wages now, Child, because it wasn’t your adoptive daddy that got there first.”

  Instantly he was glaring at her.

  This was going to end badly if I didn’t throw myself between it, in a matter of speaking.

  “I don’t understand,” I said, looking back to the dancefloor below. “If we aren’t there how can I see as if we are there?”

  The Jeoseung Sacha were still standing below, looking up, the look of irritation on the faces of twelve of them, but the first I saw looked slightly amused for some reason.

  “That’s the pool,” Cross said, joining me then flicked the air in front of me and hit something substantial. From the point of contact an invisible wall rippled before solidifying to clear glass, and the Jeoseung Sacha and dancefloor swayed in a rippling distortion before dissolving into the surface of the dimly lit pool below.

  The area where we were standing overlooked a beautiful indoor pool with a spa. The tile made the water look turquoise, and it was smooth as glass. The lights were all dimmed below, the club was gone, but I could still feel the Jeoseung Sacha’s eyes on me.

  “I used the pool to scry into the club as if I was there because I just didn’t feel like getting pretty tonight,” Cross dramatically informed me, throwing his arm across my shoulders then escorted me over to where the others were. “Al wouldn’t RSVP to my birthday, Ty was too busy trying to woo the little vampire that shouldn’t exist,” he informed me, making a mocking face, “and I just didn’t feel like… I didn’t feel like celebrating, okay?”

  Giovanni rolled his eyes. “Dude, that seems like a shit ton of work just to get out of going to your own birthday party,” he pointed out, running interference for me since apparently, in Cross’ opinion, I shouldn’t be allowed to live.

  Cross glared at him. “You’re a child, a ghost child at that, one that will never again have a birthday, thus you have no idea how stressful it is to put together a birthday gala for one such as myself.”

  Alder rolled his eyes. “Oh great, here we go,” he said, flopping on one of the couches and Giovanni sat next to him, just to irritate Cross I’m sure. “This going to turn into one of your tirades that you reserve for your shrink, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” Cross said, handing me off to Tybalt. “Do something with it.”

  Tybalt wasn’t amused, and I was feeling like unwanted trash that somehow snuck into the party. “Brother, if you don’t stop being rude to my date, you’re going for a swim,” he warned. “And I won’t open the windows first.”

  Cross made a mocking face.

  “I mean it,” he scolded. “You are getting out of control. You set up a portal in the elevator at the club to bring people home. You pulled our security, which I’ll admit I was responsible for that one, but if I would have known we were going across Seattle to Madison Park I wouldn’t have pulled them as I had. You set up this elaborate celebration for your birthday and you didn’t even go! What is wrong with you? Do we need to change your meds or something?” he asked.

  The moody warlock’s only reply was a middle finger in his brother’s direction.

  “Real mature,” Tybalt said, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry, Shawn. This isn’t what I wanted for you tonight. I thought maybe dinner and drinks, dancing or a movie. Not having to deal with my mentally unstable brother taking us hostage in essence and being a complete and total jerk to you. I’m so sorry.”

  I forced a smile. “It’s okay. I should apologize for Andrei using you as bait.”

  His eyes widened. “Wait, he did what?”

  ‘Thanks.’

  Sorry.

  “It doesn’t matter. Andrei will always be an insufferable turd, regardless of him having an obvious agenda. This time you just happen to be the pretty toy he used to try to hone in on those targeting crowns. I should apologize since he won’t, but I know if I do you’ll get mad because I’m apologizing for him again. We can try again… What did you want to do for your birthday?” I asked the pouting warlock when he screamed into the pillow he was holding over his face.

  Tybalt shook his head. “You don’t have to entertain him, Shawn. He’s just a diva that’s pouting because the only man he’s ever loved more than himself has seemingly moved on and he can’t compete with his replacement, regardless of him being corporally challenged or not.”

  I giggled when Giovanni smiled wide.

  “This area… This is your house?” I asked, looking around again.

  Tybalt nodded then shrugged. “We moved back to the area nine months ago and haven’t found a place that’s to the Queen’s liking so we’ve been staying with Dad and some of our sisters. It isn’t that we don’t have a real estate portfolio,” he assured me when I chuckled; he was adorable when he blushed with embarrassment. “It’s rather impressive considering Cross’ taste, and that same taste is what’s caused us to live at home again.”

  Giovanni sighed. “Damn he’s cute when he rambles and blushes like that,” he said.

  “I know, it’s adorable,” I agreed with a smile. “Why do you two have to live together? Can’t you live… Oh, because he won’t hear of it.”

  Tybalt nodded. “Cross can’t be trusted on his own, and when we did try living on opposite ends of Rome, he was always over so it was pointless to have separate residences. The annoying creature has severe separation issues that are commit worthy.”

  “I’m right here,” Cross reminded them. “And I can hear you.”

  “And everyone already knows of your issues,” Giovanni added. “No psychology degree required to know you’re a jackass with an overly inflated ego that you can most likely see from space that’s to compensate for the micro penis in your pants… Unless, of course, you want to disprove me on that one,” he mused the latter, wagging his brows.

  Ew.

  Cross tried to play mad, but the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement, so he put a pillow over his face again to hide his smile.

  “Vanni, you feel like entertaining the Queen with me on his birthday?” I asked in order to keep Cross’ ‘manhood’ in his pants.

  That wasn’t anything I wanted to see tonight or ever for that matter.

  ‘That makes two of us.’

  Giovanni cocked an eyebrow. “You want me to give him a lap dance?”

  “No,” I said. “Ew. That’s a stage over there, isn’t it?” I asked, motioning with my chin to the opposite side of the room.

  Giovanni looked and his eyes lit up with excitement. “Dibs!” he called out. “I go first.”

  Cross pulled the pillow off his face and eyed us. “Is this a joke?”

  “You don’t want to karaoke for your birthday?” I asked, joining Giovanni at the stage area.

  Tybalt smiled, looking to his brother. “It’s okay, Cross. You can squeal.”

  Cross bounced with excitement, trying to keep from squealing.

  “If you wanted to just chill at home and karaoke in your pajamas, why didn’t you just say that?” Tybalt asked, heading over to the wall and flipped some switches. “It would have been so much easier, Brother.”

  Cross made a face. “You never want to karaoke anymore.”

  “Because you get stupidly competitive,” Tybalt reminded him. “Last time you threw produce at Lydia because she did Cher before you could.”

  Of course the temperamental warlock wasn’t going to deny it and made a mocking face.

  Professional stage lights clicked on and illuminat
ed the raised stage that was framed in thick velvet curtains, flashing marquee lights flared to life on the back wall, and a disco ball lowered from the ceiling and started spinning causing dots of light to paint the area.

  “I don’t think these will hurt you, Shawn,” Tybalt said, adjusting the lights from the wall controls, dimming them slightly. “But if you start to burn, your skin starts smoking, or you feel sick, let us know right away. As your Maker warned, war will ensue if anything happens to you.”

  I nodded, my face dropping.

  “And since I’m not a Necromancer I can’t date the corporally challenged,” he teased with a wink, and I blushed.

  “We go third!” Bianca called out, slipping out of her suit jacket and tossed it on a chair. “Brother, you going to be the Sonny to my Cher?” she asked.

  Samael made a face and joined her, slipping out of his jacket as well. “When am I not?”

  That’s actually pretty funny.

  Connor flopped down next to Alder and leaned against him. “If ya thought the epic bitch fit he threw about ya bringing a date was bad, wait until he gets upstaged by the children,” she mused.

  Alder chuckled. “I hate it when you drink and get mouthier.”

  She snorted. “Please, I was quiet tonight. That annoying Maker of hers made me babysit. Isn’t that bloody special?”

  I looked over at them.

  “Oh yeah,” she added with a smirk, “I wasn’t supposed to tell ya. Now that bastard owes me.”

  You are not nearly as charming as you think you are.

  ‘I beg to differ.’

  “What does the Queen want to hear first since it’s his birthday?” Giovanni asked from center stage, again running interference for me.

  Cross snorted. “Child, it doesn’t matter what it is, I’ll school you either way.”

  ‘I do believe you are being challenged. Why not shut him up, for all of us, then you get your ass home before the sun.’

  I smiled.

  ‘Damn it.’

  You really should have seen that coming.

  ‘Yes, I should have. Do not make me come get you.’

  “Tybalt, do you have a sunless place I can crash at tonight?” I asked after I selected a song from the digital catalog then joined my brother on stage.

  A smile filled Tybalt’s face.

  Giovanni chuckled. “Someone finally let their missing Italian balls drop.”

  “Ew,” I said, making a face, and he smiled wide. “How do you feel about embracing our inner Queen?” I asked.

  An evil smirk pulled at the corners of Giovanni’s mouth. “Sis, sometimes you truly impress me with how unbelievably evil you can be.”

  Whatever, I wasn’t evil in the least.

  “Ready?” I asked when the monitor built into the front of the stage started the countdown.

  Giovanni nodded.

  “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality,” we sang together acapella, and those gathered sat and looked at us with wide eyes as Giovanni and I busted out with Queen in a duet that we had perfected in our youth, one that would have made Freddie Mercury proud. It was the perfect song to show off with; it was rock and roll, opera, acapella, and the 70’s all rolled into one beautiful musical piece.

  Sure, it was hard to keep from head banging like Wayne and Garth, but Giovanni was a professional and belted out with the rock parts, leaving the more soulful parts for me.

  When our duet was over, we smiled like twins.

  “Whoa,” Alder, Cross and Tybalt said in unison.

  “Yeah, it’s what we do,” we said before giggling.

  The demons got to their feet and applauded, even Moriko and Jannik were impressed and nodded their appreciation.

  “Brother,” Cross said, “get our little vampire something comfortable to wear because it’s going to be a long night.”

  Tybalt chuckled and went to do as his brother requested.

  It had been longer than I cared to admit since I’ve had so much fun. Giovanni was having a blast, Cross lost the stick up his butt and was now calling me little sister—I was torn on that, but Tybalt assured me it was a compliment—and Andrei kept his mouth shut for the most part. The outfit Tybalt gave me to change into belonged to one of his sisters, and she came down to join the party now that the Queen was done throwing a hissy fit. Lydia was a sweet girl, older than me, a lot older, but acted like a thirteen-year-old with a new best friend. She kept putting herself between me and Tybalt, and I thought for a moment Andrei had somehow arranged it, but he assured me it was torture listening to the rambling, easily excited, werewolf.

  Eventually everyone called it a night, but didn’t go home.

  The floor was covered in pillows and blankets, the couches had softly snoring guards on them, deejays were cuddling in a chair, and Giovanni sat on the floor next to me where I was laying with Tybalt and kept watch.

  At least that was his excuse.

  I think he was simply taking it all in, and that, I fear, would cause him to resent the Goddess for taking his life from him as prematurely as she had.

  “I’m not bitter,” Giovanni said, startling me.

  My head snapped to the side then I looked around, confused.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  Instead of the Queen’s Party Land I had passed out in with everyone else, we were sitting in a lavish dining room; long table that looked as if it belonged in a castle, two-dozen gilded chairs with velvet cushions, and two crystal and gold chandeliers hung overhead and reflected rainbows around the room from the sun passing through them. Large floor to ceiling windows made up one side of the dining room and lead to a glass arboretum that was filled with beautiful greenery, marble statues, and a pond with a large marble fountain.

  “I don’t know,” Giovanni admitted, looking at me curiously. “I just kind of appeared here with you… That means it’s a dream, right?” he asked.

  I shrugged and got to my feet then went over to the glass doors and pushed them open and smiled when the tanginess from the plants and the soft floral motes from the blooming flowers washed over me.

  “What are you doing?!” Giovanni hissed under his breath and hurried after me.

  “Looking around,” I said as if it were obvious. “Only in a dream will I get to be out in the day like this,” I reminded him.

  He made a face. “True. You didn’t have any issues with the lighting last night though.”

  “It wasn’t on full concert level bright either though,” I reminded him. “To me it was way too bright, but it didn’t burn. There was some tingling under my skin, but nothing that suggested I was about to burst into a cloud of ash.”

  Giovanni chuckled.

  Through the domed glass roof the sky was bright blue with fluffy white clouds slowly drifting by. I couldn’t see the sun, but it was safe to assume it would be moving across the sky sooner rather than later. I folded myself down on the edge of the marble edged pond that the water from the fountain spilled over into and wiggled my fingers in the water. Large white and black koi swam to the surface and softly nibbled and rubbed against my fingers, making me smile.

  “Are you stoned?” Giovanni asked, appearing on the other side of me.

  Of course he’d ask that, isn’t that all brothers accuse their baby sisters of being?

  “No,” I promised. “You’ve been with me all night, and were laughing when I kept turning down the drinks, then laughed even harder when I freaked them all out by grossing out over the blood they offered me. Alder didn’t have a problem making me something non-vampiry though to keep me from getting hungry and going on a random vampire biting spree… They still haven’t completely grasped that I would rather eat a salad or fried breaded tofu cakes than sink my teeth into someone.”

  “You are kind of a freak,” he reminded me.

  “Yeah, I know, and I’m very much sober. It’s just beautiful and peaceful out here and I like it. I don’t know where it is exactly, but
it’s beautiful. Remember Papà used to tell us about Giardino all'italiana? I always wanted to see it, and he promised for my 18th birthday that he’d take us there… I know this isn’t remotely close to Giardino all'italiana, and I’m not a nature friendly girl, but for just a moment I feel a little tinge of happiness that I only felt when Papà was around. That’s all.”

  The tear that rolled down my cheek landed in the water and the fish scattered.

  Giovanni sat next to me. “You know what they say about what doesn’t kill you, don’t you?” he asked.

  “That it gives you an unhealthy set of dark and questionable coping mechanisms?” I offered.

  He laughed. “That’s the spirit!” he beamed. “What are you thinking about?” he asked after a stretch of silence.

  I shrugged. “Nothing and everything and more nothing and more everything?” I offered, and he rolled his eyes. “I had a lot of fun last night even though Andrei tried to ruin it for me, and used my date as bait, it was fun. Once we got in our own environment I started to have fun.”

  Giovanni stretched out, propping himself up on his elbow, and looked around the garden like I was. “It was fun. Great sound system, but I would have sounded better if I was able to use a microphone,” he pouted.

  “You were still heard,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, I was,” he said, sighing longingly, and I laughed. “I could have been a star, Sis.”

  “You are, you are my sun, the brightest star in my universe,” I reminded him.

  Again, he pouted. “Yeah, but sometimes I feel like I got robbed when there’s so many other universes I could have illuminated. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not be able to touch any of the sexy pieces of man ass you have around you now?!”

  Of course my brother would complain about that, of all things.

  “I feel bad about it,” I admitted, and he rolled his eyes. “Seeing you finally be your flaming, 85% gay self, is awesome. I love that I get to share you with the others, but it kills me inside and makes resentment bloom in my heart towards the Goddess because she took you from that, took you from me. If I was special in her eyes, her Herald even, she wouldn’t have hurt me like that. You are my everything, Polpetto, and losing you as I did was unfair and I don’t know if I can forgive her for that now. After seeing everything that you’ll be missing in life, I can’t overlook her taking you from me.”