Reckless

Chapter 9 Part 5

Present Day

POV: Zebulun

Zebulun pauses besides the Indian woman, the keys to his car in his hand. He knows that he has to get going to meet Ariadne and assist her, but a thought comes into his mind that he cannot ignore. He turns towards her, black eyes focused on her, making contact with her golden eyes. "Sita," he calls out, "Ariadne says that you are to be in charge in our absence. Keep a low profile, and please do not open the club without either Ariadne or myself being here. We don't want Analize to catch word of anything while we're out in the field. We don't want her coming here and culling the vampires."

She smiles brightly at him, her golden eyes sparkling as she chuckles, "I'm not an idiot, Zebby-Baby. I do know how to keep a low profile. I've been doing it for centuries, which is impressive considering that I share a name with a goddess from a famous religious epic. I think I can manage a club for a couple of days, maybe even a week." She winks at him, trying to smooth things over.

His mouth remains a grim line, but he nods once. He turns around, but he stops in the doorway, hesitating. She stands there, knowing something more is coming from her sire and waits patiently for him to say more. Quietly so that only she can hear, he whispers, "I know about your history with Aoibhe. I've kept it quiet, not brought it up to Ariadne, but she knows about it as well. It is a testament to your character that she hasn't had you killed yet or considered you a threat."

Sita crosses her arms over her frame, arching a black brow at his back as she asks lowly, "Where are you going with this, Zebulun? That was centuries ago, a bit of fun a few centuries after her and Ariadne broke up. I didn't even know who she was until the end. Why are you bringing up a fling from centuries ago right now?"

Zebulun stands there in the door silently for a few minutes, thinking through what he wants to say carefully. He slowly turns around, flipping his keys around in his hand as he makes eye contact with her again. A flash of lightning outside lightens up the blackened room, making their features prominent to each other for a flickering second, but it makes no difference with their heightened vampire senses. They can see perfectly even in complete darkness. He whispers to her, "I would like you to track Aoibhe-- Roxanne-- down, try to convince her to stand down, to sit this one out. You were never unhinged like Ariadne can be. You are mostly level-headed, even though you revel in being a vampire. She might listen to you."

Sita smiles, but her eyes darken even with the gesture. She shakes her head sadly at him as she murmurs, "Oh, Zebby-Baby, I wish that I could. But the only person who could probably convince Roxanne to stand down and not continue to work for Analize, to stand aside, is Ariadne."

"Ariadne just took Roxanne's boyfriend captive and is going to do who knows what with him," Zebulun argues, expression dark. He shakes his head, sighing heavily. He bows his head for a moment and mutters, "She's my sire, the reason all of us are here. I respect her, and I trust her judgment. Even if this explodes in all of our faces, I'll still back her because I'm loyal to her."

"I know you are," Sita replies evenly, brows drawn together in concern, but she makes no move to cross over to him to try and comfort him. She knows that Zebulun is not a touchy-feely person and respects his space. "I understand. I feel the same towards you, my sire. But you can't protect Ariadne from everything. This has been building for centuries. We all knew where this was headed." Zebulun stands there, head still bowed, so Sita goes on, deciding to explain her position. She says quietly, her eyes soft, "What happened between Roxanne and me, it wasn't real. We were both trying to distract ourselves from what had been real, but what was lost to us. I can distract Roxanne for a time, if that's what you want, but I can't really get through to her in any meaningful way. Ariadne is the real deal," she says firmly, and Zebulun looks up at her then, his eyes flashing. Sita nods to him encouragingly as she finishes, "So, maybe trust her to deal with it in a real way. She's got this." Her face slowly breaks into a wicked smile as she adds, "And I have got the club. So get your sorry ass to Ariadne and give her some back-up like any self-respecting vampire would do for their sire." She walks towards him, turning him around by the shoulders and walking him towards the door. He releases a quiet bark of laughter, shrugging her off and walking into the rain and to his car. She watches him get into the car, arms crossed and leaning against the door frame, waving goodbye to him as he pulls out of the parking lot and drives away. She stands there, watching his car disappear for a long moment before she pulls out an intricate golden necklace. On it is a pendant with the rough carving of a male figure. She presses a kiss to it and whispers onto it, "Thinking of you, my love." She puts the necklace back into the pocket of her pants and steps back, shutting the door and locking them firmly, following Zebulun's wishes.