Blood magic

Chapter 1

My first memory is of my mother singing me a lullaby. The words are long forgotten now but I can still hear the tune, even now as I work. The memory goes like this- I'm three and my mother is sat on the side of my bed, running a hand through my hair and singing softly. Her voice was the most beautiful thing in the world to me, some nights this memory is a welcome comfort and others it torments me.

I jolt awake, there is a thin sheet of sweat coating my body and my skin is cold and clammy to touch. With my heart still racing I swing my feet out of bed and check the time- its 4:43 am- I sigh, I had hoped to sleep longer but since I'm awake I can start work now and hope to be finished before breakfast. Making my way to the bathroom I catch a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror and stop to stare- "God I look like shit!" I groan, running a hand through my sweat-dampened hair. The showers are empty, not that I had expected anything else. However, it was nice to shower in peace for once, without the continuous chatter of Kai and the others. Stepping under the icy spray of water I wince but grab the bar of soap. There's no use waiting for the water to heat up- it hardly ever does anymore.

Mornings in the compound are rough- however, some are more bearable than others. I look around my office and sigh, it's early- early enough that the birds are just beginning to wake. Wrapping a blanket around myself I settle behind my desk and pull up the reports. Endless lists of birth records and family trees greet me as my computer whirs to life. Work is bearable on days like this, days when you can see your breath clouding in front of you and the cold seeps into your bones. As I find my rhythm, the door to my office is pushed open and the familiar frame of my best- friend fills the doorway, "Bad dream again Orion?" Hunter's calming voice drifts over to me as I look up. I nod smiling gratefully when he places a mug of coffee on my desk, "Yeah- just the usual, thanks for the coffee, Hunt." taking a sip of the coffee I turn back to my computer sighing in frustration, Hunter sits down opposite me and raises an eyebrow. "You work too hard Orion. The government won't collapse if you don't look at the records for a few hours." that's easy for hunter to say though. The government doesn't necessarily like the vampires but Hunters family, the Lakatos' have been helping fight against the mages for centuries. So, the government tolerates them- but most of all they're afraid of them.

I roll my eyes at hunter and lift the mug to my lips. "Sure, Hunt but some of us don't have centuries to figure this out." He laughs, its deep sound that reverberates around the room, "I'm sure you'll live longer than you expect." he says as he folds his arms over his chest. I try not to drag my eyes over his chest and the way the muscles in his arms tighten- being in love with my best friend is hardly ideal, especially when I'm ninety percent sure he's straight. I shake my head to clear away the images of Hunt shirtless that have clouded my mind and turn my attention back to my laptop, praying to whatever fucked up gods are left in our world that Hunt can't see the red flush I can feel creeping up my neck. "Whatever you say buddy," I clear my throat then ask, "anyway, how was your date last night?" Hunter shrugs as he sips from his own mug of tea- it is a common misconception that vampires can only drink blood created by humans with foolish notions and wild imaginations- "It went okay. She wasn't interested in anything except my parents' money though." I snort a laugh at that, women are only ever interested in the Lakatos' money- being alive for centuries gives vampires enough time to have a very good investment plan. Hunter smiles then checks his watch and stands up, "alright Ori, I should get off to the training grounds. Have some breakfast and I'll see you for lunch."

After a few hours I slam my laptop shut and wince at the crick in my neck. The clock on my desk reads 9:56 am. Breakfast was cold by the time I ate but at least my stomach had quit it's complaining. I send hunter a text asking if he wants to meet up for drinks that afternoon. His reply is expected

Hunter:

Yeah sure- see you at 4- macy's?

I reply to his message with a thumbs up then get back to work.