My Immortal Hunger

Nine

Lucius watched Thea leave through his bedroom window. She was looking at her surroundings with awe. He smiled when she stopped in front of a flower bush, and gently took the wildflower in her hand and smiled. She turned and looked over to Lucius. He knew she couldn't see him through the polarized windows. She looked so right out there, an ethereal creature of light, where he was a monster of darkness. Lucius frowned when he saw a look of regret pass over her beautiful face. She turned and started walking again. Hurt and longing gripped his heart, and he turned away to face Jaen and Kate.

"Get me Dmitri" he said

"He isn't in the coven, he called earlier and said he was going home", Kate explained.

"Damn it, fine get me Cohen." He said, Kate nodded and left the room.

"What are you going to do?" Jaen asked.

"It's simple my friend, I am going to kill Victor, and then live happily ever after", Lucius said sarcastically.

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Jaen's face. Lucius never understood his loyalty towards Victor. Jaen was the very first human he had turned. Jaen was an advisor to his father and a second father to Lucius . He remembered how he came back after meeting with Fiona to find half of his clan lying there dying or dead. He didn't make it in time to save his wife, but he couldn't lose Jaen. He asked his loyal friend to stay with him and help him stop Viktor. He agreed and till this day he had been a constant friend, confidant, and advisor. Although he agreed that Viktor needed to be stopped, Jaen kept trying to save him, and Lucius couldn't understand why.

"Shouldn't we figure out WHY he wants Thea, before we head towards bloodshed?"

"Do you really think he is going to change Jaen? He has been lost for far too long, and we have tried to bring him back. He doesn't want to be saved", Lucius said sadly.

Kate reentered the room, followed by Cohen.

"You asked for me, my lord," he asked with a soft voice. Lucius found it comical, how a giant like him could have such a soft voice. Cohen was very good at cleaning up the aftermath of a battle. That wasn't his only talent, he was a weapons expert. If you wanted to find someone or know something about someone on this earth, he was your guy. Lucius had found him in Missouri, he was a victim of a hate crime, being a man of color was what got him beaten nearly to death.

"Yes, Thea Sullivan, find everything you can about her. Who were her biological parents? Go back as far as you can, I want to know if she has any supernatural part to her, no matter how little it might be", Lucius explained. Cohen bowed his head and exited the room.

"I thought you wanted to just kill Viktor and get it over with?" Jaee asked amusingly.

"It cannot hurt to cover every aspect."

"Is that all it is or could there be another reason" he asked with an amused smile, like he was in on a secret he didn't know.

"You may be like a father to me, but that will not stop me from kicking your ass, old man", Lucius said mockingly.

"Keep calm, I was just curious," Jaen laughed, raising his hand in defeat.

Lucius dug into his coat pocket and took out his phone. He fumbled around with it to find the number of a familiar detective in the New Orleans police department. He hated modern technology, no matter how easy Cohen made it for him to use the "iPhone", Lucius could never get the hang of it. Every time he typed in the name of the person, it was always the wrong one, so Cohen showed him how to voice dial it.

"Call Mike Erikson," Lucius bellowed into the phone.

"I don't see "Ike Erikson" in your contact, did you mean to say Eric Michels," an automated female voice replied back to him.

"NO, I mean "call Mike Erickson", Lucius bellowed again, angry this time.

"Calling Eric Michaels" the voice replied.

"WHO THE HELL IS ERIC MICHAELSON," he yelled. On the other side of the room, Kate and Jaen stood quietly, trying to keep a straight face. Watching a three thousand-year-old vampire fight with an automated voice was just too good to pass up.

"Do you think we should help him?" Kate asked, leaning towards Jaen.

"Have you gone mad? These moments are the highlights of my immortal life", Jaen replied, smiling. They stood there for a few more minutes watching their leader have a verbal spat with his phone.

"BURN IN HELL YOU STUPID b***h", Lucius yelled, and flung the phone at the nearest wall. Before it could hit the wall, Kate intercepted it.

"Call Michael Erickson" Kate said slowly and clearly.

"Calling Michael Erickson"

Lucius 's face was turning red out of anger when the line started to go through and the person who he was trying to reach answered.

"WHY THE HELL WILL THAT b***h NOT LISTEN TO ME", Lucius asked Kate angrily.

"He couldn't figure out how to call me, again", Mike asked Kate, rather than Lucius, with a chuckle. Kate just smiled in response, and Jaen started laughing uncontrollably. This was an everyday kind of thing, and most of the coven furniture had to be replaced due to Lucius's frustration with technology.

"It will never get old seeing you fight with your phone, Lucius " Jaen said, trying to catch his breath. Mike joined him as well and Kate was smiling happily.

"I am glad you find this amusing, but if you have forgotten, there is a young girl who needs protection," he said unamused.

Everyone found their composure at once and, with it, silence.

"What do you need T-rex" Mike asked, getting serious.

"There was an attack on two girls last night. Dmitri took care of one of the girls but the other needs protection. I would send one of the enforcers, but as you can see, we cannot."

"The girl's name and address?"

"I do not know the address but her name is Thea Sullivan. She is a nurse from the looks of her scrubs. He could hear the clicking of the keyboard at the other end of the line.

" I have four Sullivans in New Orleans, two of them work in the medical field. They gotta give me more", Mike said.

"She has a perfect heart-shaped face, a cute button nose, full rosy lips, amber-colored eyes, and dirty blonde hair”

Jaen and Kate looked at him silently and with curiosity.

“Ahh, height would have been fine” Mike’s amused voice chipped in.

"OK, Thea Sullivan, age 24, works at Otchsner Medical Center, been in and out of foster care since she was 10, no known family members, and... huh..." Mike trailed off.

"What?" Lucius asked.

"She has a record", Mike answered.

***

After a few minutes, Thea came to a dirt road. There she found a limo waiting, with a middle-aged man standing in front of it.

"Ms. Sullivan?" he asked.

Thea nodded to his question and he smiled kindly.

"I am Baylor, and I will be taking you where you need to go" he said, extending his hand to her, smiling down at her.

Thea took his hand and shook it gently, "I just want to go home, please" she replied.

"Of course, just give me your address." He said as he dug out a small pad and pen from his pocket.

He handed them to her, she wrote down her address and handed it back to him. He nodded, and with a small smile he opened the limo door for her. Thea thanked him and went in. She had never been in a limo before, and she looked at the sleek interior like a kid on Christmas morning. Soon they were on their way. After a few minutes on the bumpy dirt road, she felt them get on the road towards the city. She eyed the champagne and glasses on the side, debating whether she should or shouldn't. She reached over and took the bottle of "Armand de Brignac". She shrugged and poured herself a glass. She sat back in her seat, wanting some fresh air from the car's leather smell. She looked around and found a bunch of buttons. She pressed one button and jumped a little when a window in front of her opened and Baylor looked back at her through the rear-view mirror.

" Was there something you needed, Ms. Sullivan?" he asked.

"Um, no I was just trying to put down a window" she said shyly. Baylor chuckled and her window rolled down.

"Thank you" she mumbled embarrassingly.

"You are welcome, first time limo rider?"

"Is it that obvious?" Thea asked, cringing.

Baylor chuckled "The only reason I can tell is because I had the same look on my face when I had my first limo ride."

Thea smiled, "So how long have you been working for Mr. Jack ass"

Baylor laughed "depends"

"On?"

"Whether you are asking how long I have KNOWN Lucius or how often I do favors for him "

" OK, how long have you known him?

"Since I was sixteen, me and my mother were walking home from the store one night when we were attacked. Lucius saved us, as it turns out, one of my ancestors was a very close familiar of his", he replied.

"Oh, so you know that he is a..." Thea trailed off.

"Vampire, yes, my mom doesn't know, but I have known it since that day,"

"Wow"

"All I know is, my grandfather, with many greats in front of it, had Lucius vow to take care of his family. Lucius has been looking out for us ever since, secretly. He has done more than I could ever thank him for. " Baylor said with admiration.

"So you do him favors by giving rides to human girls like me?" she asked jokingly.

"Well, you are the first human girl he has ever had me pick up” he replied, smiling. Thea felt a tingle go up her spine.

Baylor stopped the car and turned to look at her, "we are here," he got out of the car.

Thea put her untouched glass of champagne down and was about to open the door when it swung open, with a smiling Baylor next to it. Thea returned the smile and thanked him. She was about to take a step when Baylor came in her way.

"I think it would attract less attention if you were to wear this," he said, with an over-sized hoodie in his hands. Thea looked down at herself and realized that her clothes were covered in blood.

"Thank you," taking the hoodie, she put it on and was folding her sleeves when she realized she didn't have her bag. She had lost it in the parking lot, everything was in it, her keys, her cell and her wallet.

"Oh god I forgot, I don't have my keys."

"Is there any way for you to get in?" Baylor asked.

" Um, I can see if Mr. Richardson can let me in, thanks for the ride, Baylor" she said, and started towards Mr. Richardson's apartment, Baylor, was right behind her.

"You don't have to stay. Baylor, I can make it from here"

"I am sure you can, Ms. Sullivan, but it would make me feel better to see you safely in your apartment" he said, smiling.

Thea gave him a thanking look and walked over to the door and knocked. After the third knock, Mrs. Richardson answered. That woman was suspicious of every woman in the building. In her mind, every woman in the complex building was after her husband, especially Thea. Not that Mr. Richardson was a bad guy but she was sure that no woman would want the balding and huge beer gut. After ten minutes of answering Mrs. Richardson questions. She finally convinced her that she was there for a spare key and not her husband.

"You know that is a fifty dollar fee for losing your key" she snapped as she unlocked her apartment door.

"WHAT? THAT'S... you know what I will deal with that later. I just wanna get into my apartment."

Glaring at Thea, she handed her the key and left. Sighing, she opened the door and turned to the quiet Baylor.

"Would you like to come in and have some coffee?" she asked, smiling.

"Thank you Ms. Sullivan, but I have to get back to work in the rich and spoiled department, perhaps some other time." He said politely.

" OK, well it was very nice to meet you, Baylor, take care" she said, extending her hand.

Baylor took her hand, said his goodbyes and left. Thea entered her apartment, locking the door behind her and sighed, looking around the empty place. She didn't want to be alone. She looked at the wall clock. It was almost time for her shift to start. She decided she was going to shower and hit the bed hard and never wake up till all the aches and pains were gone. Right after she took care of some things, her mind made up and she got to work.

***

"What sort of record?" Lucius asked curiously.

"I am not sure, it's been sealed, and I won't be able to see it without going through a judge."

Everyone in the room was silent, everyone wondering what an innocent looking Thea could have done.

"Never mind that, what else does it say?" Lucius said.

"Well, she was adopted at one point but then returned due to her psychological behavior". You could hear the confusion in Mike's voice.

"She did not seem like someone who would have psychological problems." Kate added skeptically.

"There are always two sides to the coin, Kate, we can never know the whole story till we ask Thea herself, but from what I gathered, she is a strong willed girl. She won't open up to us easily". Jaen added

Lucius thought back to Thea. He agreed with Jane, only Thea could explain everything they were hearing. Lucius had a heart-wrenching feeling that something very wrong had happened to Thea.

"Mike, I just need to make sure she is safe till sunrise. Could you stop by her apartment and just check on her?" Lucius asked.

"Sure, I will go in a bit."

"Thank you, my friend" Lucius said, appreciating it.

"Anytime big T," Mike replied jokingly. Lucius hated nicknames but he hated T-rex the most, because it made him feel ancient, but it never stopped Mike from giving them to him. Lucius hung up and looked at Jaen.

"What do you think?"

Jaen shook his head, "you know humans, anything that does not fit in to their normal is cast aside like trash, and as far as we can tell, Thea isn't a human"

Lucius nodded, " Well, it seems like we cannot do anything more till sunset, go and get some sleep" They both nodded and left Lucius to his thoughts.

Taking his dampened clothes off, Lucius stepped under the warm streams of the shower. He let the warm water cascade down his body, relaxing his tense muscles. His thoughts were on Thea, he wanted to go to her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted her to know that he would be there for her if she let him, he wanted her to unburden all her worries to him, and most of all he wanted to take away the sadness that was in her eyes. Lucius knew that there was some sort of connection between them, that there was another reason his beguiling didn't work on her.

Getting out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his narrow waist. Drying himself and putting on a pair of boxer shorts, he got into his bed. As soon as his head touched the pillow and pulled the covers, he smelt Thea's scent, he bought the cover to his nose and inhaled deeply. Frowning at his action, he let the cover go and fluffed his pillow and turned to sleep.

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