Blood of The Serpent

Chapter 10

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Yoru asked.

Mr. Happy was lying on the bed, looking at the two men like they were idiots. He yawned, then flopped over onto his side.

"Of course," said Dirk.

Yoru sighed, then returned his focus to the cat. He was trying to feel around within his mind, in search of some power that Dirk claimed was there. Apparently if he could just grasp this force within his mind, then his powers would come as naturally as walking. However, he had been trying for hours without much luck.

"Where the hell do you keep all the blood in this place anyway?" Dirk mumbled, his tired eyes scanning the room.

After giving him directions to the basement, he returned his focus to within himself. In all honesty, he didn't know what to look for. Was he making things more complicated than they needed to be?

It was then that he found it: a strange force within his mind. He quickly realized that it always been there, hiding within him. Only it was different now. Not necessarily more powerful like his senses. It was like this power had been locked up when he was a human and had been unlocked upon his resurrection.

Mr. Happy was looking at him again, tilting his furry little head."When is the human going to pet me? I'm bored. Boooooreed!"

Yoru looked at the cat. "Did you just...?" Then he shook his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "No way. Cats can't talk."

The cat looked up at him with his big round eyes. Then he bumped his head against his arm. "Yes, I can! Give me attention pleeeaase."

He couldn't believe his ears. The cat was talking to him. It was really talking to him. Although, he hadn't expected Mr. Happy to be quite so... needy.

"Pet me please!" Mr. Happy cried. He bumped his head against his arm again.

Yoru sighed, then started petting the cat. Now that he thought about it, Mr. Happy had always loved attention. If not from him, then from Reiko, Saki, or whoever else would give it to him.

It seemed his power - one of them, anyway - was talking to animals. It didn't seem as impressive as Amara's hypnosis, but it was still pretty cool. He had always wondered what kinds of things went through his furry little friends heads.

"Pet me mooooore!"

Although, maybe he would have been better off not knowing.

A few minutes later, Dirk walked into the room. He carried a few packs of blood under his arm, still full of their crimson liquid. "Any luck kid?"

Yoru sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?"

"Err, yes. I succeeded," said the young man. "It seems I can talk to animals."

"Cool," he said. "Mr. Happy wasn't who you expected, huh?"

Crap. He had forgotten he could read minds.

"I don't care anyway," said Dirk. "You have another power. Try focusing your mind on me now."

Yoru did as he was told. He didn't hear any thoughts coming from Dirk, but he did feel something. An intense hunger and another, familiar emotion. Boredom. Only, this was a different type of boredom. It belonged to a man that had grown bored of ordinary life, who now craved excitement and danger. A man who would smile straight at a gun pointed his way.

"Stop."

With a gasp, he stopped his focus. He sat there wide-eyed, gasping. That had been intense.

"What happened?" asked Dirk.

"I felt hunger. Other things, too," said Yoru. "You haven't drank yet, have you?"

"It is as I thought. Like I can read minds, you can read emotions." He paused, looked over at the young man with a blank expression. "Unfortunately, you don't just read them. You feel them."

"Is that a bad thing?" Yoru asked.

"It's a huge weakness." He moved over to the bed, sat beside Yoru. "Don't get me wrong, your power is useful. Stronger than my mind reading, even. Just don't rely on it. You don't want others emotions influencing you."

He merely nodded. There was something disturbing about what had just happened. It was like getting into his head, only it was more intimate than that. For just that moment, he had felt everything Dirk had felt. As though their minds had been linked.

"What now?" Yoru asked. "You mentioned aother power."

"I already told you I can't help with that one. Listen when I speak."

Yoru sighed. "Then what do you know about it? Can you at least tell me that?"

"Most powers draw from what's within, but when I look at you I don't just "sense" things. I can literally see energy traveling from the ground, up into your body. The only other person I've seen like this is Amara."

"Wait, Amara?" asked Yoru. "She's the one who turned me. Don't you think she might know anything about this?"

"Oh really?" said Dirk, a grin spreading across his face. "Now that is interesting."

"I don't understand..."

"You don't know?" He looked at the young man, waiting for an answer. When Yoru shook his head, he spoke. "Amara never turns anyone. Never."

Dirk stood. He walked towards the door, but stopped. "Whatever is going on, it's big. I don't know much about Amara, but I do know that she's no ordinary vampire."

The next time Yoru blinked, Dirk was gone.