Chapter Three

VampLover92

A/N: I UPDATED! Yeah, Christmas came early. Just kidding. I'm trying update all of them, considering the growing number of angry emails I'm receiving….don't hurt me  lol.

Neal paced around the cashier who sat on the check out counter that was shaped like a coffin the front of the store. The cashier had long, flowing blond hair, and when she looked back at Vant and I, her crimson eyes glowed with amusement.

"Mr. Chandelle." She addressed, then looked down at me, "Miss Steinste." She offered a hand for me, and I shook it lightly noting the cold texture of her skin. Vampire. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss—"

"Please, it's Lily." I clarified. The cashier smiled and hiked her red plaid miniskirt down before jumping off the counter and onto her high heeled feet with innate grace.

"I'm Salyn." She introduced. "I work for Mr. Chandelle senior."

"Why do you even work here?" Neal demanded irately from behind her.

"I could say the same about you!" Salyn snapped. "Honestly, who wants to dedicate her afterlife to continuous violence? I help out here, thanks. Just like I help out with Mr. Chandelle's problems. All work and no play for you, Neal. Not everyone can live like you."

"How is working a goth store fun for you?"

"Free blood." Salyn smiled innocently as she explained.

Neal gave her a disapproving stare as he halted his pacing, and looked over at me for a reaction. I shrugged when he glanced pointedly over me.

Vant threw our tags of the clothes (since we were already wearing them) up onto the counter, and instructed for them to forward the charge to his father's account. I wondered vaguely why Mr. Chandelle would have an account at a goth store when he wore suits when I've seen him. Neal caught Vant's gaze, and they stared at each other for a moment, causing me to wonder if they could read each other's mind. No doubt, I thought.

"Can I follow?" Neal said suddenly. Vant shrugged and said, "Do what you want."

"I can kill them, then?" Neal continued, and I looked suspiciously at Vant.

"The men from last night?" I guessed, and Vant patted my head before steering me out of the store with a scowl at Neal who was tailing us a few feet behind.

"No need to worry you, chéri." Vant attempted to reassure me.

"Too late." I informed with a grimace, "I'm worrying already."

"Awww." Neal goated from nearby. "Scared?"

"Of your face, yes. Of anything else, no." I teased Neal, and Vant intertwined his hand in mine, causing me to look at our hands knotted together. I suppose I can deal with it, I thought. Vant smiled sweetly at me encouragingly. Uh, I thought again, I am being controlled. What on earth will my father thinks when he sees me behave..?

"He'll probably shit his pants, honestly." Vant informed, amused. I squinted by eyes at him, then stuck out my tongue and he made a motion to bite it before I gasped and closed my mouth earnestly.

"What now?" called Neal, who was stalking us at a mild pace with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his tight pants.

I glared at Neal over my shoulder, bit my lip in thought, then pulled on Van'ts hand as I announced with enthusiasm, "We're going to buy me some eyeliner!"

"Why?" demanded Neal with an annoyed expression.

"Because I'll die without it." I supplied as a suitable excuse, and Neal, being helpful as ever, pulled a stick of black eyeliner from a pocket in the black trench coat he'd thrown over his ensemble. He held it out to me, and I took it from his grasp in awe. I looked up at him a minute before screeching, "Oh my god! I love you, Neal!", then bouncing up to him and hugging him around the neck. I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he flushed a little which made me laugh.

"Neal," said Vant, who stood there with his arms crossed and a livid face, "you're stealing my fiancé…"

"Oh shut up." I scolded him before loosening my grip on Neal. "I'm starting to like Neal better anyways." I teased and Vant glowered. Neal pried my hands from him and pushed me towards Vant hurriedly. I frowned at him and Neal only smiled ruefully and added, "Hey, he's your fiancé. Deal with him."

I peered up at Vant. Yes, I thought, still 'strikingly attractive.' Vant gave me a cocky smile then pulled me closer to him.

"I think you're beautiful." He confided as he whispered in my ear, causing me to stiffen as his hot breath tinkled my ear, "And, I know. You love me."

"I do not!" I protested as I leaned away from him as he scoffed with an unattainable smugness. I rolled my eyes in exasperation, and contemplated our next move. I tapped my finger to my lips a few times before finding an interesting idea. "Vant, can't we go home and take a look at what's happening?"

"I agree with that suggestion." Opted Neal with sudden eagerness. "Please, Vant?"

Vant looked hesitantly between Neal and I, then sighed loudly before switching directions.

"Is that a yes?" I prodded, and he shook his head.

"No," He said firmly and gave me a look I couldn't quite read, "we're not going back to the house. It's not safe until they catch all the men responsible, and I'm not risking my fiancé over petty businessman."

"Where the hell are we going then?" I asked through clenched teeth. I was hoping for some excitement at the house, what with wild criminals on the loose and such. Guess not.

"To get you something to eat." He said casually, and I considered it and agreed. I'm freaking starving, I thought.

"You're telling me." Vant remarked wryly. I glanced at him curiously.

"You're thirsty?" I asked carefully, guarding any emotion that could sway an honest answer.

"Yes." He answered, slowly and warily.

"You could…" I offered, then pulled on my black sleeve to show my wrist. Vant, who happened to be looking at me from the corner of his eye, gave me a hard look when I exposed my wrist, veins and all, to him.

Neal, however, coaxed Vant into partaking in my blood with a "Come on, Vant. Better to drink her blood, than some random stranger. She's safe. If you attack someone, you'll expose our kind." Vant looked desperately and helplessly at both Neal and I. I felt a pang of sympathy for him, though I could never understand the depths of his hunger or remotely anything a vampire experiences, but I could observe the burning indecision in his eyes. They searched my expression for a reason not to take my blood. Any hint of fear, regret, or dread would be used against me as an excuse, I could tell, so I kept my face utterly emotionless. Something I'm quite good at after years and years of practice in my household.

Vant glared at me and wrapped his hand around my wrist, then put it down to my side while intertwining our hands again. I gave him my best 'fine-be-like-that' look, which worked very well if his sigh was any indication.

"Fine," he relented with a fierce glower at me, "I will. Later." Neal smiled falsely then gave him a pat on his shoulder while inputting, "See? Not as bad as you thought? You have to drink sometime. Just because you're marrying a human doesn't mean you have to starve."

Smiling sarcastically, I exhibited my middle finger when Vant looked away. Neal bared his fangs a little, and I heard some random lady strolling closely screech. She power walked past us and down the sidewalk, glancing over her shoulder the whole way.

"What was that?" Vant asked, glaring darkly over his shoulder also, at the flustered woman. Neal quickly turned his attention to the small coffee shop bordering the sidewalk some feet ahead as a distraction, and I laughed discreetly until Neal shot me a bothered look.

Neal held the door to the coffee shop open for us with a dramatic flourish and a bright smile. Vant entered, pulling me along, as I stepped on Neal's foot purposely. He scowled at me, attempting to close the door on me, but didn't succeed thankfully. I sat down at a beige bistro table, and thought the place was quite cute and quaint as I looked around blankly. Neal pulled up a chair from the table across from me and straddled it with a moody stare while Vant took it upon himself to be the gentleman and order food at the counter. With two trays in hand, Vant sat down at our table mutely, thinking deeply as he dished out sandwiches and cups of coffee. Surprisingly, he handed me cappuccino with a small smile, and I partly gawked at him with an open mouth ready for questioning.

"You're going to ask how I knew you hated coffee, right?" he guessed, now giving me a cheeky smile. I shrugged. Hey, as along as I get what I want, what's the need to know?

Within five minutes, we had all finished off our snacks and coffee, and left the café. Back on the sidewalk, we were all at a loss of what to do.

"Now what?" I whined. "I'm bored." Sighing, I glowered and stomped down the sidewalk. Neal had the same expression, I noted as I glanced at him sideways. Abruptly, Vant's cell phone rang out, and snapped us into attention. Swiftly picking it out of his pocket, Vant answered it politely.

"Yes. Uh-huh. Ok. Be there soon." Vant said into the phone before shutting it, and turning to us. Smiling, He changed direction to keep us in suspense just a little while longer.

"Well?" I demanded, impatiently and annoyed. Vant shot me a reproving glare before saying, "They say the intruder is gone. It's safe to return, so let's go back before it gets too dark."

"Vampire afraid of the dark?" I teased, giggling. Vant gave me a highly bothered look before taking my hand rather harshly.

As we neared the house, Wilson paraded down the driveway. Pistol in hand, he stopped in front of us just long enough to toss another gun—one that had been hidden in his dusty, brown leather coat—to Vant who suddenly turned on his heels, released my hand, and marched off with Wilson without a word. He, however, did bother to give me a stern 'stay-here' glare. After Neal decided to tag along with them as well, I was left alone…in the dark…at night…in front of an empty house. Great, I thought heatedly, they leave me alone in an empty house, unguarded…morons. I looked up at the Chandelle's giant house sheepishly. It's tall windows and large walls seemed more malevolent with the shades drawn in addition to the dim light casting around the interior visible from the outside. Meekly, I finished the stroll to the front door, expecting it to be locked, but the door swung in gingerly. After taking a few steps in, I locked the door behind me…all twenty-five locks. I meandered through the hall heading for our bedroom, almost there when I noticed something very peculiar—even for a vampire's house. The maid's corpse littered the middle of the corridor, and I shuddered in mortification. Her uniform was doused in her blood, that was still spilling unrelentingly, and her form was sprawled and contorted at odd angles. I bolted in the other direction, terrified of the sight of death since my own mother's recent passing, and out the front door. I sprinted down the shady driveway, front gates, and out onto the street bordered with sidewalks. I slowed down, calming down as well, as I trotted on a cement sidewalk in the direction Wilson, Neal, and Vant all went.

After twenty minutes, there was still no sign of the three which had me unnerved.

"VANT!" I screeched, knowing full well that it was late at night and neighbors were likely sleeping. "NEAL!"

Within a minute, both vampires were standing agitatedly in front of me with hands on their hips.

"What?" demanded Neal.

"Ah…" I began, "There's a present for you in the hallway, Neal." I grinned mischievously, satisfied with my excuse, then pulled both of them along towards the house by their sleeves.

"Lily," Vant whispered, "What exactly is in the hallway?" Neal had sped up, nervous that I'd put something nasty in the hallway or excited that it might be a criminal lagging behind.

"A dead maid." I said calmly, and Vant's lips went taunt and tight in a scowl.

When I entered the hall, Neal was already there inspecting the body.

"EWW! NEAL! Don't touch a dead body!" I admonished, disgusted. Neal swiveled around and gave me a stern look.

"What do think I am? Vampires are DEAD, Lily."

My lips made an 'o' in comprehension, and Vant swept by me to examine the gory murder also. Scratching his chin, Neal gazed at the sprawled corpse and said, "Looks like her bones were broken, then she'd been shot."

"This is disgusting. Can I leave? I don't want to hear the details." I murmured, shielding my eyes with my fingers. Vant sighed, and pulled me out into one of the adjoining rooms off the hallway.

"Lily. Stay in here. Don't move." He said in a curt tone, annoyed at me probably.

"But—" I began, and he left slamming the door behind him. I threw myself at the door, and, yes, it was locked. I beat the door a little, attempting to annoy them enough to let me out and venting some anger. I surrendered finally and slumped to the carpet in defeat. In the silence, the heard breathing…

But, the odd thing was—it was coming from the closet a few feet away. I listened for a few seconds, making certain it wasn't my own panting I'd misheard. But, sure enough, it wasn't. Something or someone was in there. Now completely in hysterics, I began crashing my hands again the door which rattled a little on its hinges from impact.

"VANT! NEAL! PLEASE PLEASE! SOMEONE IS—"

I was cut off by the click of an automatic. The gun was clutched tight though shaking in a middle-aged man's hands who had a harsh expression and unmistakably pale skin. "Goddamn vampires." I cursed and spat on his shoe. Pushing myself off from my position on the floor, and putting on a good poker face, I acted like I was calm before getting out a deafening shout.

"VANT! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

Then, quite painfully, I was shoved aside from the door so the man could assure that it was secured against Vant and Neal.

"What is it, cher?"

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AND THEN THE AUTHOR MAKES A DRAMATIC CLIFF HANGER RIGHT HERE. SORRY. IM EVIL. 3 VampLoverNight92 REVIEW!