Beth pursed her lips. Cain perhaps had her on too much of a pedestal. She wasn't a saint. She hadn't been stopping him from killing Mike and his friends; she'd just been trying to
stop him from using his powers and exposing his true identity. She guiltily turned away from Kotori to hide her true feelings.
"I'm going to try to get some sleep." The bed shifted as Kotori lay down, drawing the covers up to her shoulders. From somewhere down the hall a respiration monitor beeped
steadily. The sound was unfamiliar. "I don't know how much I'll be able to get, though… I hate hospitals."
Cain and Nicolas brought the men to the hospital. This time, they didn't bother to wait to see if they were okay. Cain nodded courteously to the vampire and left. Nick said that he
was going to wait in the reception hall so he could be closer to his Soulmate. Cain felt jealous.
"She is close to you… your Soulmate?"
He had smiled. "Not as close as I like, but it's never as close as I'd like. She's young and needs free reign. I don't want her to get entangled in my life… though these days it seems
like her life is hard enough as it is."
"Oh?"
"Yeah… the stuff that happened today, dealing with her parents, dealing with having a Soulmate that'll be trapped in the body of an eighteen year old until the coming of the
goddamn Messiah, her best friend having gone missing, politics, fights at school, fights outside of school… Kotori and Beth have a hard life for teenagers. It's why I always try and
smile and joke around them."
Cain stared at him, his face stoic. "I envy you, Rappaport. I've met my Soulmate. I've seen inside her mind, but I don't understand her nearly the way you understand Kotori. Not
understanding her… at times it's almost painful. You're lucky that you were able to find yours in one of your friends. I found mine in one of my enemies, and the way she sees the
world always interferes… but lately, I've been giving her arguments more thoughts. The older I get and the more aware of the dangers in this world, the more I keep thinking that
there's too much fighting and maybe I should just give up."
"Give up as in side with your Soulmate?" Cain nodded. Nick leaned on whatever was closest—the wall of the hospital—and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. "Cain, I've recently
found my Soulmate, so maybe it's not meant for me to give advice on the mater… but when two people are such complete opposites like that, maybe there's something to your
words… but maybe you should keep making your arguments, too. You guys are supposed to balance each other out. If you give in and become exactly like her then you're going to
be the same and it's going to be very boring. Even Soulmates need to have some opposition between them—any couple does. It's about finding the middle ground."
He reached over and slapped Cain on the back, leaning in close. His eyes were concerned, but not for him. "And tell Kotori or Beth that you're a taken man, will you? My darling
Soulmate is guiltridden with the fact that she's no longer alone and is desperate to fix Beth up with someone who may be able to take the sting out of being alone. Unfortunately,
she's targeted you."
His face was still smooth and emotionless. "Bethany has not been herself since she came back and learned Kotori has found you?" Nicolas nodded. "How has she been acting
strangely?"
"Just… less happy than normal, lonely, a little bit more down to earth and realistic, sometimes almost hurtfully so. I don't want to say callous, but normally Beth has a sweet tact
about her, and since she came back, it's been ripped away. Of course, that could have less to do with what happened to Kotori and more to do with what happened to Beth herself…
but I'm talking too much. Remember, so far as Beth knows, you don't know what happened to her. We're keeping it under wraps… but seeing as how you seem to be Beth's friend, I
thought you should know so you can tread carefully around her. I'm still her boss and I've still watched that girl grow up, and if you hurt her, I'm going to bring a building down on
your head."
Both men smiled at each other in understanding. They'd marked out their territory, and Cain was contented with giving this strange, redheaded man care of Bethany… for now. When they were able to find this middle ground that Nicolas spoke of, he would claim Bethany from Nick's protection.
Unable to spend more time at the hospital, Cain nodded courteously to Nick and left. The redhead would make sure that no harm came to the two girls, and make sure their
families came to check up on them. He headed home, knowing that he had homework to do and a ladydragon to court. Without money, he was forced to walk home. Not that Cain minded—it gave him more of an opportunity to look at the human world up close and personal. By the time he got home, however, it was late.
Mackenzie opened the door as Cain approached it. His face looked almost ugly with simmering anger. "Downstairs. Basement. Now."
He didn't ask why. Cain shrugged and headed down to the basement. Only when he was down there did he take a seat in the wooden chair in the basement, sitting to face Mackenzie as the vampire paced with righteous fury. "Why the basement?"
"It's warded against scrying spells and has special dampeners on to keep all sound in here. This is where we kept Beth before we took her to the mountains." He noted that
Kaneonuskatew became unsettled at that thought and slid out of the chair. "If Fala comes home, she won't be able to find you in here and she won't be able to hear us talk. Frankly,
I don't want to piss that girl off. She's out of control, Cain. She's been killing humans ever since she was awakened. She was bragging about it to Emile this evening after school.
She ate a whole family who was out camping when we were in the wilderness. On the second night it was a park ranger. The third night it was another park ranger, this one asleep
on guard duty that she seduced outside so she wouldn't get blood everywhere.
"She kills indiscriminately. She kills too much!" The vampire paced towards Cain, gripping his arm tightly. "Do you know what she told Emile her favorite meal was? Do you?
Children, Cain, children! She said it was like us eating veal. I'm a goddamn fucking vampire and even I don't think like that about children!"
"You were also once human yourself. Ask Emile. Perhaps it is different for lamias, or the environment that you grew up in. Today I encountered some vampires who probably were
not above seeing even shifter children as tasty snack before bedtime. Every species has its fault."
The vampire was stronger than he seemed. His hands jumped out to grab the hem of Cain's shirt. At first the dragon had thought that Mac wasn't going to ask about the blood from
the fight and holding Bethany's wounded body that had stained his shirt, but apparently the vampire had noticed it from the very beginning. He slammed Cain up against a wall.
"And why are you late, Cain? How many people have you killed?"
"None."
The vampire's eyes were silverblue, shifting in the subtle changes of the flickering basement light. His nose moved up and down and his grip on Cain's shirt tightened. "It's my
sister's blood on you."
"Halfsister," he corrected. Apparently it was the wrong thing to do. He slammed him up against the wall again. Cain had had enough abuse. His form melted, becoming broader and
tougher. The twentythree year old Cain stared back at the vampire, looking down at him with an almost imperial expression. "Some men were attacking Bethany and her best
friend. I helped to stop them but your sister was wounded in the process. She's at the hospital, recuperating."
"You haven't killed any humans?"
The dragon's dark eyes flashed with drunken desire when he thought of Michael and his friends. Oh, how he would love to kill them! "Not that I haven't met people that I would like
&nb
sp; to kill, but no, I haven't."
He released Cain, satisfied with the dragon's honesty. Although his face revealed nothing and was a superb mask for lying, Mackenzie believed that he was telling the truth and that
he had not eaten any humans. "It must be hard for you," Mackenzie said, "to stomach the idea of eating a human being when your Soulmate is half human."
A low growling filled the room. Mac realized that the rumbling sound which was making the dust laying on the ground shake came from Kaneonuskatew the same time the dragon
reached out and grabbed his throat. The vampire could see small, delicate wisps of black lightning jump over the dragon's skin—no. Not black; green. In the light of the room he
could see that it was actually green; deep, emerald green that captured all light so it appeared black.
"What did you say?" The voice reverberated from the walls. In has gaping, snarling mouth Mac could see the emeraldblack lightning leaping about from tongue to tooth.
He struggled to talk and found that he couldn't. There was too much pressure on his throat for his voice box to work properly. He switched to telepathy to speak. I have a Soulmate
too, Cain. I know what it's like. I started suspecting that you and Beth were Soulmates when we were still in the foothills because I saw how you looked at her. You never took your
eyes off of her. I heard it every time you said her name because it was the way I'd say Emile's name when I first found her. I only ever suspected. He laughed telepathically inside
the dragon's head. It was your reaction that confirmed it.
"I'd not be so quick to judge and laugh, Mackenzie. One jolt from my mind and I could blast you away to leave nothing but a shell behind." The grip around his neck tightened. Cain
wanted to make sure that Mackenzie was absolutely certain of who was the stronger being. "Why did you feel the need to bring up my Soulmate?"
Because she's part of the reason why you haven't been eating humans, isn't she? Let me down, Cain. The dragon released his grip and set Mac back down on the floor. The vampire
rubbed his neck to ease the pain in his throat, coughing to clear his voice box. "Is Fala stronger than you are now?"
His dark eyes stared suspiciously at Mac. He didn't like answering the question. "If she's been eating as much as you say… yes. It would be an equal fight. I'd only need two good
shots to render her powerless, but all I'd need to is to let my guard down three times and I would be in that same situation. Fighting her when the outcome is that close is not
something I'd prefer to do. Horn for horn, yes, she's stronger."
"You're a threehorned dragon?"
"Yes."
Mackenzie seemed uneasy with that information. "If you started eating humans, would you be stronger?"
Now an eyebrow arched. His suspicion was heightening. "Yes."
The vampire began pacing again. His hand rubbed his throat and then his neck, and into his thick hair, and then back to his neck. Cain was amused to note that the man was
fidgeting. "We've been thinking—the others, and I. We're tired of this, Cain. We dreamed so much about waking the dragons that now that we're at the next step we don't want to
take it. We don't want to start a war. We don't want anymore bloodshed."
"Just how many bodies did it take for a vampire to become unable to stomach bloodshed?" Cain sneered. He regretted it when Mac stopped pacing, his face paling as his guilt
pictured the bodies piling up before him. Cain nodded. "Too many, then."
"We're going to trust you. I trust you because of what you've done for Beth. As far as you may be from her, you're closer than I am to her, and I regret that I ever pushed that
distance between us. Goddess, I regret that," he sighed. "Fala is dangerous. How long will it before she turns on LouisEtienne for being white, or Emile because she's not a shifter
or Zhi Niao for being Chinese? No one is safe from her, no one! We need to take her down before she turns on us or before she singlehandedly ruins the cover the Night World has
had for centuries. We'll wait for your sign. We'll follow you, Kaneonuskatew. We'll fight with you."
"You?" Mackenzie nodded. Cain decided to choose his words carefully, recognizing the need for tact in this situation. But tact, he decided three second later, was why he was
supposed to have Bethany by him. He didn't have the patience for tact. Even trying to be sensitive, his voice was sharp. "This could easily turn into an aerial battle. We're dragons,
after all. What good would your aid do then, Mackenzie? Gawain and Zhi Niao are the only two on your team capable of helping me. Even the werewolf is helpful, so long as Fala is
on the ground. You and Emile are of no use to me until Fala's horns have been removed—only then will your precious guns be able to hurt her."
Cain breathed in deeply. "If we are to defeat Fala, I must feed, but I will not feed off of anyone innocent. I will not be like Fala. If you wish to help me, then you can drive me to the
hospital."
"What's at the hospital?"
His eyes were as hard and black as obsidian. "The men who attacked you sister."
He went to the hospital in his traditional body. No one recognized him. Even Nicolas, with his vampire senses, didn't recognize Cain as he walked by while the vampire was fetching
some food for the girls from the cafeteria.
Cain was hunting. Ahead of him he spotted a male nurse: the target he was looking for. He picked up his pace, reaching down inside him for the lightning. Since he'd learned about
Fala, it had been snapping about inside his body, waiting for some kind of release and practically leapt with excitement at being beckoned. Reaching out with his mind, he slammed
it into the nurse's mind, shortcircuiting it. The man at once fell unconscious and Cain caught him.
Glancing around to make sure he hadn't been seen, he dragged the nurse into a supply closet. There, he stripped the nurse of his smock, keys, ID tag, and scrubs. He checked to make sure he had not caused the man any mental damage. The nurse was dreaming about hula dancers. Cain smirked mentally. He supposed that was a normal dream for a
twentieth century human.
Cain slipped out of the supply closet, heading towards the emergency room area. A sharp 'excuse me' made him pause by the entrance. He glanced over his shoulder to see a
plump black woman staring at him. Her long ponytail, done up in tiny dreads and tied off with brightly colored beads, rattled when she spoke. "Just who the hell are you?"
He flashed her the ID tag with a smile. His willingness to show it and his charming expression immediately turned off her suspicious, defensive attitude. "My name is John. I'm a
transfer student from Kamloops, here to see how Victoria's emergency rooms work to learn how we could be more efficient."
"I don't remember hearing about this," she snapped.
He shrugged. "I can't be held accountable for that, unfortunately. A memo was supposed to have gone around. Can you update me on your emergency rooms? Are there any
problems?" He shot her another smile; this one was softer. "I'm about to start my observation shift. I'd like to be prepared on what to expect tonight or where I should stay away
from in my observing."
She didn't seem to like the question. She answered it anyway, with a sigh that made her buxom chest bounce. "Stay away from E11 through E13. Some boys were brought in
today. A man found them trying to gangrape two girls."
"Are the girls okay?"
"Yes. One was lucky to still be alive, and the other girl has a broken arm. Neither of them had been violated. We gave them a rape kit when they came into the hospital to gather
forensic material in case they or their families wanted to press charges. But the boys are stronger. I think they must be football players or something. They came too while some of
the orderlies were tending to their wounds and gave on
e of them a black eye before they were restrained. We have them bound to the beds and under heavy sedation. The last
thing we want is to send you back to Kamloops looking back and blue."
"The thought is appreciated," he said, adding a little laughter to his voice.
"The man who brought them in said he'd given them a good thrashing to keep them off of the girls. When they came in, there was little evidence of it though. It's one of the
strangest cases I've ever seen…" She sighed again, giving up. She didn't have time to try and rationalize their wounds. Instead, she eyed Cain's face. He prayed she wasn't going to
take a look at the ID badge. Cain was wearing his normal skin. He didn't want to waste a shape to take on some nurse's body. Her eyes, however, were locked on his hair. "I don't
know how Kamloops operated, but in this hospital, that haircut is against regulations. Here."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair band. The nurse pressed it into his hand. "Do it up. Jesus Christ, kids these days. And have fun on your observations." She waved
to him and carried on.
Cain let out his breath. The first test was done. He was into the area where the boys were kept and he knew which rooms they were in. Now all he had to do was to bring them
outside to where Mac waited with the car. He began pulling his long hair up into a ponytail.
He as at E11 before he realized he was being followed. He turned around to see Beth standing there. He'd been so preoccupied thinking about how he was going to sneak Michael
downstairs he didn't realize that their connection was becoming stronger as she drew closer to him.
She was standing on the cold tire floor in her bare feet. The hospital gown she was wearing made her look even younger than her normal clothes did, hanging dully off her
shoulders. If not for her shoulderlength hair, she'd almost look like a preteen boy, he thought. She stood bravely before him, her face smooth. She had greatly improved her
ability to hide her emotions from him, and he had to quench a sudden wave of pride. He nodded to her.
"Bethany."
"Kaneonuskatew."
She said it perfectly. He loved how it rolled off of her tongue in a quick snap, while at the same time enjoying the sound of each syllable pressing into the roof of her mouth. He
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