Fatal Fascinations

Chapter 4: Caspian

"Hello, brother," Luca sighed.

Luca's brother sauntered over to the four of us, his eyes taking us in like a starving man at a buffet. I tightened my hold of the stake, stepping casually in front of Alex and Rose. He wore an outfit similar to Luca's; long sleeve form fitting black shirt, dark washed jeans, and combat boots.

"I'm afraid we aren't snacks," I told him, trying to put as much confidence in my voice as I could muster.

"Oh, but I'm afraid you are," Luca's brother told me. He assessed me with brilliant emerald eyes.

His hair color was identical to Luca's, blending in with the night. It hung almost at shoulder length. Black stubble stretched across his face. He was a few inches taller than Luca and much wider set. Both boys could have easily been models.

"Cas, I was just having some fun and then-" Luca tried to explain, but Cas cut him off.

"I know exactly what you were doing, Lucas."

Next to me, Luca winced slightly.

"And I had to go and clean up your mess. Again," Cas emphasized.

Luca's face turned dark and he took several steps closer to his brother, obviously annoyed.

"Do you know how many times I've had to clean up your messes, Caspian?" He shot back.

Beside me, Rose leaned over to whisper, "Am I the only one getting turned on by this?"

I bit back a small smile. But soon, my fear started to settle in. Caspian is dangerous. He called us snacks. Would Luca really let him kill us? Better yet, would Luca kill us too?

Again, I shifted into a protective stance in front of Alex and Rose.

"Luca," Caspian's voice softened using his nickname, "were you the one who killed all those librarians?"

"Of course not!" Luca shouted back. His rage and anger could almost be seen building up inside him.

"It was the Mercari, Cas. They've found us," he spat.

Caspian's expression changed quickly from condensation to fear. He crossed his arms defensively over his chest and began pacing back and forth, his combat boots echoing loudly across the park.

Meanwhile, the three of us had watched with wide eyes, taking in the two Acari brothers who had managed to usurp the everyday normality of our lives.

"Hate to interrupt here, but just wanted to clarify, we are NOT going to be food tonight, right?" Alex questioned shyly. The two boys looked at the three of us and then looked at each other. Their deep laughs filled the night air, causing goosebumps to appear on my arms.

My temper began workings it way up inside me.

"You cannot kill us," I seethed, furious at the idea they still would after all that happened tonight. After all that had happened in the past two hours, I was going to live to tell about it.

"I killed two of the three vampires attacking you!"

Caspian raised an eyebrow at me before turning to Luca for confirmation.

"Shrimpy over there killed two Mercari vampires tonight?" He asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

"Yeah," mumbled Luca.

Caspian's eyes flicked to the stake in my hand, then to Rose and Alex behind me. The five of us stood in silence.

"We need to leave," Caspian gruffly told Luca. Leave? Leave?? Without telling us more?