Vivienne

Vivienne stood quietly on the beach watching the Ocean Lilly as she waited patiently for her ward to arrive.  She’d seen all of the lights dim in the building and the doors locked so that no one else could enter, denoting the start of the events that would likely result in the occupants being consumed.  The ancient vampire had seen it often enough in her past to realize that this was just another vampire coverup that would shock the coastal city.  Many times in her tenure in Virginia Beach, Vivienne had to warn off a few straggling vampires that passed through and left a small scary wake in that path.  She’d taken the visage of the Raven many times, ending the intrusions into her territory.  Time and again, she would send a package with just parts of the vampires and a black feather, to warn the troupe in question to stay away from her city. “Just one more thing that drew them here, Vivienne.  Careless yet again.”  She muttered to herself, as she turned to see her sedan with Casey come to a quiet stop.  The vampiress only grinned when her ward almost danced her way to her, completely armed top to bottom.

“Hey, Viv.”

“Good evening, Casey.  You made it here just on time.”  She points to the building. “The Flying Cannibals have started the takeover.  Notice that the power is mostly out, the doors are guarded by vampires and locked.”

“Yep, I see it now.” She loaded a bolt into the crossbow. “Are you going to show me how to use this, Viv?”

“Look at that, you already figured out how to load it.  The rest is just as easy.”

“I don’t think loading a crossbow is a big deal.  Hitting something is another matter.”

“I designed it to be just as easy to use.”  Vivienne walked behind her ward and pulled close to her cold body. “The idea is to be steady and fast.  Your opponents will be faster than you, so you have to anticipate their moves.”

The ward melted into her mistress' touch, and pushed herself into Vivienne. “Okay, so how do I use this thing properly?”

Vivienne reached under Casey’s arms and moved the blonde’s arms to the right position. “Make sure that the stock here is firmly in your shoulder, it will keep you steady.  With both eyes on your target, aim down the shaft of the bolt and the two sights.”

“I see the sights now.”  She pushed her neck closer to Vivienne.

The master vampire smiled to herself as she felt her ward push herself closer to be fed upon. “Casey, Trust what you have there.  Let’s not take a chance and test fire that here.”  Vivienne pointed back to the hotel, “I assure you that what is going on inside is taking most of their time, however sounds out of the ordinary will draw attention and I need to tell you the plan.”

“Won’t they hear us?”

Vivienne placed her finger over her lips and sat down in the sand, pulling Casey into her lap. Cradling her ward against one of her solid cold shoulders, Vivienne unveiled the plan in the sand. “Your primary goal is to find Faye.”  Vivienne’s blue eyes warmed over with saying the name.

Casey heard the slight variation in Vivienne’s careful tone and quickly looked up to her mistress’s eyes, catching the red flashover on the rim of her beautiful eyes. “Really, Viv?  I have only been gone a few hours.”  The ward slowly whispered directly into the vampire's ear.

“Please focus.  We have a very long time to discuss your surprise.”  Vivienne stops writing in the sand and takes her ward’s better plan of whispering in her ear. “Do not enter through the front glass doors, use that fire entrance on the side that you can see from here.  If I am right, the alarm will be disabled so that the others can feed without alerting bystanders.”

“Okay, side entrance.”

“Once you get inside, do not take any unnecessary chances.  If you suspect anything, shoot.  Faye told me she built a small room to hide from everyone, so it could be difficult to find.  Get her to the car and wait for me.”

“What If she isn’t there?”

“Go floor to floor, wiping out every Cannibal you see.  Faye is my priority.  I will be coming in from the roof.  If we have to, we meet in the middle.”

“Is that it?”

“I suspect that the building is going to go up in flames at some point.  It is how the veil works for the others.  They will need to cover this up.”

“Silly question here, If you knew that the Cannibals would do this, why did you let Faye go back in there?”

“She doesn’t know what I am or they are.  It’s my mistake really.  I didn’t think clearly when I asked her to go back in and find her parents.  She told me that they went up to Drake's room to ask him to keep the party and noise down.  I thought it was better that she be hidden somewhere the others wouldn’t think to find her.”  Vivienne shook her head as a blood rimmed tear started forming. “I hope that I didn’t cost her everything. Ju-just find her, Casey.”

“Count on it, Vivienne.”  Casey smiled at her mistress and once again pushed her neck close to the vampire's lips.

Smelling the alluring scent of her wards blood pulsing from her neck, the ancient vampire felt her fangs slide down, locking in solidly so the two of them heard it. “What a wonderfully delightful perk of having a ward.”  Vivienne whispered as her fangs trailed along Casey’s neck.

“Viv. Leave the scars.”

“Is there any particular reason for me to do so?” Vivienne finds her mark and waits.

“Mmhmm, a fun reminder to myself.” Casey sputtered as she felt her mistress' points break her flesh and start feeding.