Chapter 2

Keriann and Andrew set out to the old abandoned mill, hoping to pick up on any clues as to the whereabouts of her mother that he might have missed. Though returning to the very place that it could have all ended for her, it only draws out a bitterness for that night she has been harboring for so long.

Keriann lifted her hand, pressing it gently to her chest just as she had on the front porch. Feeling that same sensation of palpation in her chest, each thump gently rattling the bones in her hand. The light came on, illuminating the world of darkness around her. She knew either she was right, and something just wasn't right, or she was literally losing her mind. Hoping it wasn't the latter, but as she looked down, she shook her head, knowing that it just might be a possibility.

Andrew stepped out, coming just beside her, looking around before turning to glance at her. "Jesus Keriann, what the hell has gotten into you, I have never seen you so shaken."

 

Though she knew the feeling was no different than what she had experienced before, that odd spine tingling, hair raising feeling like something was out there, she still tried to rationalize it in her mind. Yes, her losing her mind, was the only explanation. Which was seemingly ironic, for someone who not only spoke, but communicated in all ways with things we only believe to be fiction. Her eyes moved back down slowly, stopping as they met with the stray cat who had found itself comfortably seated in her chair, only it's gaze hadn't fallen upon her, but Andrew instead.

"You know I have never liked the dark Andrew, my eyes, my ears, my mind, they tend to play tricks on me." Of course she couldn't openly express her concern for her mental state, especially not to him. She broke her gaze from the cat and focused it on Andrew.

He knew very well the effect that nightfall had on Keriann, even after all she had done in the past, he still couldn't fathom as to why she was so jumpy with things that went bump in the night. "You shouldn't fear the dark Keriann, not when you know what it contains."

She shot a glare at him and shook her head, this man appeared to be fearless to her, she would never expect him to understand what it felt like. "Ironic as it may seem Andrew, it is a valid fear, all those things we grow up thinking are left to fairy tales and stories, they are real Andrew and something to be very afraid of." Though even with that fear, it never stopped her from doing what she need to, to protect innocents.

There was no sense in wasting time speaking of her vulnerabilities, not when her mother was out there somewhere, in need of help. And certainly not to a man who seemed to feed off of them. "We have work to do, standing around making idle chit chat isn't going to find my mother." She shot him another look of displeasure, speaking matter-of-factually before walking away from him.

She headed off the porch and out of the yard, to the garage where she flicked on the lights. Letting out a small sigh as she opened the door to the car, the loud squeak echoing within the walls. After struggling to shut the door, and finally succeeding, she pressed her hands to the wheel of the car, closing her eyes as she desperately tried to shake that feeling that still laid within her. She shook it off for the moment, always able to just brush it aside because there were more pressing matters at hand. She knew she needed to focus on the search for her mother, and that dwelling on a hunch would only hinder that.

She started the car, opening the garage door and slowly pulled it out into the driveway. It sputtered a few times before stalling out. She let out a huff of frustration before starting it up again, glancing out her window to see Andrew standing there, that trademark smug look of his plastered all over his face.

Andrew couldn't help but to let out a laugh as he approached her exiting the garage. That all too familiar sound of condescension echoing in Keriann's ear as she put the car in park. She furrowed her brows, returning a look much more threatening than his own. What she wouldn't give to wipe that look he now held, off his face.That thick air of  condescension that seemed to loom around him constantly, disgusted her.

"Oh no pretty lady, we are not taking that rust bucket." He pointed to the distance. She shifted her body in the seat, hands coming up to fiddle with the rear view mirror until his cherry red mustang came into view.

She turned back to him, slowly as she lifted one brow. "Sorry Andrew, not all of us are born with a silver spoon in mouth, afraid you are just going to have to get over yourself." She wasn't going to budge, either he would get in the car or he would find himself alone, standing in the middle of an oil puddle in her driveway. She didn't need him and he knew that, which still made her question his motives in all of this.

They headed away from the house down some long winded back road, the headlights of the old rust bucket, the only light to cut through the darkness that surrounded them.

She took her eyes off the road, just for a moment, to glance over at Andrew. "It's sad really, how important appearances are, must really suck to be you." He only let out a laugh. Though she could have been a little kinder with her choice of words, it was more her anger talking then anything. She wasn't a rude or insulting person by nature, but when with Andrew, it were almost as if a switch went off inside of her. No one really had the power to cause such a shift in her nature, other than him.

It remained quiet between them for some time, the only sounds in the car were the breeze that gently rolled in through her window, the trickling stream as they passed over it and the crickets which had offered their melody to the soundtrack of the night.

"So, I hear you are getting married?" His voice cut into the near silence, with matters that were not of his concern nonetheless. "Must suck to be him."

She rolled her eyes, turning to correct him. "Was getting married." Her eyes came back to the road. She didn't feel like she needed to give him any sort of explanation, but it was better then playing an immature child's game of trading insults the entire ride.

"What happened, couldn't handle how impossible you are, how stubborn you are?" She could feel his eyes on her but she didn't even so much as blink. Her eyes still focused on the road before her. "Just so happens those are the things I have always loved most about you, you never give up and you never give in."

She slammed on the breaks in that instant, the car jerked causing their bodies to jump forward before their backs landed against the seats again. "First you insult me and then you compliment me? Starting to think you are more messed up in the head than I am Andrew."

Though she loved nothing more to tear into him when he purposely stepped over that boundary, she knew they couldn't go on like this. She couldn't keep stooping to his level, feeding him things to throw back at her. These little games were growing old, tiring, and this little rivalry they had going on was only going to hinder their mission. Her mission.

"It's time to grow up Andrew, so either you do just that or get the hell out of my car and I fill figure this out on my own." She knew that she should probably take her own advice there as well, but someone needed to step up and be the adult for once.

Though she threatened him, it was a threat she would make good on. She wouldn't hesitate to push him out herself if need be. And as he turned to look her in the eye, he knew before theirs even met, she was serious this time around.

"Very well, I apologize." He turned his gaze back out his window. She waited for a moment before she started the car once more. Three times actually, before the engine finally roared.

 

While the old abounded mill merely appeared to be only but a rusted, rundown building in the daylight, at night, it's form was much different. The eerie glow of blue it acquired from the moon, the way it held in the light but was kept in the darkness at the same time, and as the fog crept slowly into the valley, yes, it painted a much different picture to the eyes. Almost a perfect replication of a scene brought to life from a Hollywood horror film.

Her feet moved slowly as she approached the mill. Her heart racing as she closed her eyes, remembering the turn of events that had been unexpected when she had last walked these grounds. The very job that had nearly caused her own death. She took in a deep breath, releasing it in a sigh as her eyes came up to scan the building.

 

She turned slowly towards Andrew as he made his way behind  her. Tilting her head as her eyes met his. "I thought that the problem here was taken care of, what business could you and my mother have possibly had here?"

"Are the problems of the world ever really solved Keriann?" Though the words that had come from his mouth, were not exactly what she wanted to hear, she knew the meaning behind them held a very sad truth.

"Of course not." She shook her head, slightly embarrassed that she could be so naive. Though that still hadn't given her the answer she sought.

"Well, apparently, we had left some business unfinished here without knowing. I'm sorry your well being meant more than making sure the job was finished. After you had made it clear that you were no longer interested in this life, your mother decided to take on the job and finish it, and asked for my assistance."

 

Keriann stood there silently, still waiting for an explanation more than he had given.

"We seemed to have overlooked an important piece of information, the vampire we were hunting, Nadine, was actually a twin. And it was her sister that we encountered that night. Nadine used her own sister as bait, somehow knew we were coming and it was enough to allow her to get away."

"But she returned?" Keriann looked up at Andrew and shook her head slightly. "Why would she do that?" Though it could be argued that after Nadine's sister had been killed, it would be safe for her to return, why she would further place her coven in harms way, is what Keriann couldn't understand. Something to her, just didn't add up.

 

She brought her hand up to her chin, curling her fingers inwards as she closed her eyes. Remaining quiet for a moment as she took everything in and thought to herself. Had she just brushed off what happened as a risk of the job and continued on, her mother would still be here. She would be at home right now, most likely baking cookies and dancing around the kitchen with her spatula in hand. Keriann couldn't help but to feel as if it were her fault. It was okay for Keriann to place blame on herself, but to feel that Andrew was placing that blame on her, that she wouldn't accept.

 

She turned toward him before he could even speak, her finger extended towards him and the expression on her face equally as threatening as her body language.

"And I gather you couldn't finish the job again for a second time and that is why my mother is missing?" She hissed at him.

"You know, for a man who is as knowledgeable as you are in this field, you make some rather stupid decisions. Decisions that can have deadly outcomes. Like they almost did with this whole Nadine ordeal, I swear if anything happened to my mother. . ."

"Nadine was gone before your mother ever went missing Keriann, she's stronger and smarter than I anticipated, then any of us did. Something is holding her here, we find that, we find Nadine, and maybe your mother as well."

 

"And as for your mother Keriann." Andrew paused and dropped his head. Keriann expecting him to retaliate, but what she didn't expect was to see the look that had quickly spread across his face.

"I said I was sorry Keriann, I am only human. What do I have to do to make you see that?"

Though she didn't like the fact that she almost felt bad just looking at him, she didn't let those emotions show. She retracted her hand and looked at him with stern eyes.

"Find my mother, and then stay out of my life." Were the only words she could find.

They made a quick scan of the mill and its surroundings, leaving no stone unturned, but only came up empty handed. "Well that was a waste of time." Keriann said as she stopped and turned to Andrew.

"We need to get in contact with Tera, she is far more knowledgeable with the history of the vampires of the area, she would know more about Nadine and what might possibly be tying her to this mill." She turned away from Andrew and headed back towards the car.

"Can we stop for coffee first?" Andrew ran after her. Not the best time to mention such things, but he knew it was going to be a long night.

"No."