Blood of The Serpent

Chapter 9

Author's Note: I've not had as much time for writing lately, so releases are going to be a bit slower. Nonetheless, I hope any readers enjoy reading!

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Yoru was lying on the couch, resting his head on one of its armrests. He was petting Mr. Happy. The cat had hopped up onto the couch a while ago and was now sitting on his stomach, purring in contentment.

The sun had set and would be peaking its head over the horizon again in a few hours. He had been waiting for Amara all night, but she never had shown up.

There was a rustling in the trees outside and Yoru abrubtly sat up, causing Mr. Happy to roll off of his stomach and onto his lap. He set the cat onto the couch and stood, walked over to the window. He had definitely heard something. Maybe Amara had finally come home, maybe it was something else. Either way, it was worth checking out.

He hopped out the window, landing in the soft grass of the garden with a thud. Amara had always landed silently and he couldn't help but wonder how.

The moonlight shining down upon the garden made it look as though it belonged to a different world. The cherry blossoms, their petals bright pink in the sunlight, were a very dull pink now, almost gray. The bushes, grass, and every other plant was much the same - bright and colorful at day, dark and spooky at night. It was like a completely different world from the garden he had seen Amara in on that day.

When a hand gripped his shoulder, he almost screamed. However, another hand clamped over his mouth before he could.

"Quiet kid. It's me."

He turned around to find himself face to face with Dirk. Yoru's eyes went wide. "You're alive?"

Dirk let out a laugh. "Yeah, kid. I'm alive," he said, looking around the garden. "Where's Amara?"

"I don't know," said Yoru. He had many questions for this man, but she seemed more important. "She's been gone for hours."

"Hours eh?" He had a distant, thoughtful look on his face for a moment, before returning his attention to the real world. "I wouldn't worry about it. This isn't the first time Amara has... disappeared."

"What do you mean?"

"She's unpredictable," said Dirk. "We were in Germany before we came here. I didn't even know she was in Japan until she texted me."

"I see." Yoru looked up at the dull petals, his thoughts elsewhere. Would Amara really leave him just like that? Yes, she seemed cold. Perhaps even apathetic towards humans. Yet he had thought that he, at least, had meant something to her.

Although now that he thought about it, she had no reason to care about him. He was just some kid she had turned into a vampire. So perhaps it wouldn't be all that unusual if she had run off to some far away place.

"Let's talk more inside," said Dirk. "But... don't tell any of the humans that I'm here."

"Why not?"

"How would you react to finding me," he gestured at himself, at his clothes covered in dirt and torn in a few places, "living in your house?"

"You could always hypnotise them."

Dirk sighed. "You really do have a lot to learn."

Dirk hopped up onto one of the tree branches. He looked down just long enough to motion for Yoru to follow, then he hopped off the branch, gliding through one of the second storey windows.

Yoru sighed, then hopped off of the ground. He slipped and had to grab on to the branch, but somehow he made it onto it. His attempt at making it through the second storey window was even less graceful.

"Quiet kid. You're going to wake the humans." Dirk was standing off to the side, eyes on the young man who had plowed headfirst into the wall. "We'll have to work on your jumping skills later."

Dirk walked off into one of the guest rooms. Yoru crawled to his feet, following him. The situation felt eerily familiar.

When he finally entered the room, Dirk turned to him. "I'm going to be living here."

Yoru stared at him, unsure of what to say. It was one thing to visit at two in the morning, but to actually start living in their house without telling them? Wasn't that illegal?

Dirk chuckled. "Kid, we're vampires. I wouldn't worry about breaking the law."

Yoru frowned. He had forgotten about Dirk's... gift. "So why are you here again?"

"I need a place to stay," said Dirk. He walked over to the bed, taking a seat. "Do you know if they ever check their guest rooms?"

"Wait," said Yoru. "Why here? Isn't there somewhere else you could stay?"

Dirk raised an eyebrow. "You and Amara are the last of our clan. Us clan members need to help each other out."

"Aren't there others?"

"Of course," said Dirk. "Just not in Japan. Not anymore."

Yoru sighed. He had never agreed to be a member of their clan in the first place, yet both Dirk and Amara were treating him like he was already a member. Why couldn't he just go back to living his life? Couldn't he at least see Haru and Aiko?

"No-one is forcing you to stay with us," said Dirk. "But you'd be an idiot to leave as you are now. You need training, kid, and I can offer you that."

This time it was Yoru's turn to be interested. "What kind of training?"

"Well first of all, we need to find out what powers you have. I just so happen to have a power that will help with that."

Yoru's attention was fully on Dirk now. He knew vampires had unique abilities, such as Dirk's ability to read minds. It was starting to sound like Amara's ability to hypnotise was unique too, though he hadn't even noticed if he had any. If Dirk could help him figure them out, then he was more than willing to put up with Dirk a while longer.

"I'm glad to see we agree on something," said Dirk. "Now then, let's look at my own powers first. In life, I was always good at reading people. As a vampire, this manifested itself in two ways. One was with the ability to read minds, but I have another power. One even more powerful than that."

"And this is other power is...?" Yoru asked.

Dirk didn't say anything. Yoru sat there, growing impatient, desperate to know how Dirk could help him out. What was with the dramatic buildup anyway? Did the man enjoy this?

Dirk laughed, confirming the young man's suspicions. "I can detect a person's potential," he finally said. "You have a lot. Like me you were good at reading people, but in a different way. They call it empathy."

"I know what empathy is," said Yoru. He was beginning to grow frustrated, thinking Dirk was toying with him. "Could you get to the point already?"

"Patience," said Dirk flatly. "Empathy isn't your only trait that has manifested itself as a vampiric power. I sense that your love for animals has too, but also... something else. You have some power you shouldn't have."

"What does that mean?"

"This is very unusual," said Dirk, mostly to himself. "Vampiric powers manifest based on traits a person had in life. Yet, this ability is different. I've never felt anything like this before..."

"What do you sense?" asked Yoru. "Please, enough of the cryptic answers. Just tell me what I can do."

"I cannot say," said Dirk. "My powers do not work that way. All I know is that it is there. I can't even help you unlock it."

Yoru sighed. "Then what about the other two? The empathy and, erm, animal powers?"

"Those I can help you with," said Dirk. He got off the bed, stood upright. "Let's get your training started."