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Chapter 5: In Her Arms

"Dammit, can't time move any faster just this once?" Beck growled, banging her head against her desk. "If anything, time's moving slower!"

"Calm down, we've only got like three minutes left." I stated, lifting my legs up to rest them on the desk in front of her. "Try not to make a scene when making a scene isn't necessary."

"Can't make that promise, Mike!" She grumbled loudly, as though she were holding back some huge pain or burden. "Summer break is seconds away; just seconds! I might not make it!"

"You'll make it..., maybe." I snickered tiredly from behind; watching the birds outside. I can't say I was really in the mood for talking.

It's a Wednesday (call it Hump-Day and I'll have to go fetch a golf club to use while performing amateur cosmetic surgery on your face), a school day, and about a week has passed since I hunted down Dennis Anderson and murdered him in cold blood. Well, I guess that's not technically what happened. He didn't resist when the time came and probably wanted it that way in the end, but I still felt like a piece of sinful shit for doing it, regardless of what would have happened had I not. I knew, full and well, that had I let him live and escape, he would have eventually lost his mind and degraded into some kind of psychopathic killing machine; brick walls and steel armoring barring his way in much the same fashion as paper mache would. Forte tried to comfort me a little before leaving, though I can't say it helped any. He couldn't stay long, what with being obligated to tell his queen, the queen of all faeries, about what had transpired. Abominations are BIG news, so sudden appearances of them in random locations, just out of the blue, are occurrences that royalty like Titania need to be kept in the loop about. Dante's been quiet ever since, leading me to believe that he's linked in some way to my prime suspect, this Helios guy. I haven't had the heart to question him yet, preferring to believe that he would come to me and reveal the truth when he was finally fully collected enough and ready. Yeah, call me a softy if you want, but Dante's been around for a long ass time, so I assume that anything capable of scarring him emotionally is probably best left alone for a while. Still, even without his help, I had other options, one of which I planned on looking into today.

"So, Mike, what are you gonna do to start off your vacation from this hellhole?" Renji, one of my classmates, questioned with a grin. He'd walked up on us when I wasn't looking.

"...It's complicated." I replied nervously. "It might not be smart to say."

"You don't trust us?" Beck mumbled in a disappointed tone as she ceased smacking her head against the ceramic desk. I'd obviously not been trying to withhold the info from HER, but I could sense the argument starting already; I had no way to escape it either. "That hurts a little."

"Yeah, well he's always keeping secrets and not telling ‘em, so I figure he's got a good reason." He smirked as he pushed in his chair and started to walk away. Renji, though not quite clued in on what my regular workday normally entailed, seemed to know that it was something of a big deal. He didn't ask many questions, and I respected him for that. "I've got stuff to do anyway, so even if you wanted to include me, I couldn't. See ya."

I felt bad, always keeping my friends out of the loop, but it had to be done. There's no telling what would happen if an ordinary guy like Renji, or any of my other classmates for that matter, had to tango with some of the seriously fucked up monsters that I tend to dealt with daily. Beck, on the other hand, had crossed swords with some of these fiends before, so I wasn't too worried about her. That, however, didn't stop her from taking offense to the aforementioned statement.

"How could you say that?" She scoffed. "I've gone as far as facing off against a vampire alone because of you. That was pretty heard, to be sure, but I still made it out alright. I kicked his bloodsucking ass!"

"Don't give me that shit, Iron Woman, because you know what I mean." I barked back. "What I don't trust is the situation as it stands. There are too many unknowns floating around right now, too many unanswered questions. I just think that adding a couple greenhorns to the mix would only make things more problematic. I‘ll fill you in on the details later, just not around any of my friends or acquaintances."

"Yeah, I get it." She sighed. "I can't imagine you being worried about me, but a twig like Renji is a whole different bowl of fruit."

"Renji may be a norm, but he does practice jujitsu, so he's better off than most mortals are. And sure, though you could beat his twiggy butt in a heartbeat, you're still not invincible. Never think that there isn't someone better out there, because there always is, and they're not always willing to bat for your team." I pointed out rather harshly. Mistake. Huge mistake.

"What?!" She barked. "What?! C'mon, runt, I've saved your ass too many times to be poked fun at like that! I mean really, did you give me The Sight so I could just sit around and squander it like a fucking twat?! I'm tougher than you think!"

"Bad example, Beck." I interjected. And it really was. "I used my hocus-pocus to grant you The Sight so you could protect yourself when the time came. It's a really scary world out there and not knowing or seeing the truth puts you at a serious disadvantage. I opened your mind's eye so you could run away from the demons lurking in the dark, not run up and punch them in their collective faces!"

"But Mike~" She whined.

"But I'll still let you tag along." I said, cutting her off. "God, I don't even know how this argument even started. Like I said, I fill you in on the details later, so just be a patient little girl and wait."

"What?" She asked, confused. "You planned on taking me with you the whole time?"

"Yes." I answered bluntly.

"Woohoo!" Beck shouted gleefully. "I've been brushing up on my skills, just so you know! You won't regret this, man!"

A deep voice laughed from the back of the room and added, "I think he might be regretting it already."

I turned around to see who was butting in on our conversation and locked eyes with Alan Stevens, a classmate acquaintance of highly intimidating stature. He's a huge guy, just a few inches shy of seven feet tall, and must have weighed nearly 300 something pounds; all muscle no doubt. His deep, charcoal skin and dreadlock ponytail only added to his frightening image; though as we all know, images and first impressions can be deceiving. Alan's actually very friendly, almost to the point of being disappointing when you first try to approach him. To complicate things worse, he doesn't even fit any existing stereotype. Though the epitome of physical strength and prowess, he doesn't play any sports at all, and instead participates in the school's band; the best damn trumpet we've got in my opinion. His grades are extremely high, so he'll easily get into any college of his choosing. To top everything else off, he's an acting member on our student council; one of the impressive ones that actually makes a difference and tries to better our miserable prison lives here.

"Sounds like she just convinced you to take her somewhere. Tough luck." He said with a smirk.

"That's right!" Beck shouted. "The hunt is on!"

"Whatever." He sighed, rolling his eyes as he walked away. "Just bring me back a souvenir."

"I'll try." she replied smugly. "I'll try."

"Oh, and one more thing, Mike." Alan added before exiting the room; the day's final bell having already rung whilst we were talking. "I hear that things have gotten... bad. Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty much invincible, right?" I laughed, lying my ass off.

"And try to watch it with the sorcery mumbo-jumbo when you're around other people." He chuckled as he closed the door. "You are unpopular, so everyone pretty much ignores you and the stuff you say, but you never know who might be listening. You're reputation's already on shaky ground."

That was something else I'd forgotten about. Alan, among a few others, knew a little this-and-that about the supernatural world as well. He never asked many questions, but always made little comments every once in a while, leading me to believe that he knew much more than he ever let on. He often sparred and trained with Beck's karate class, so he became a good friend of hers' pretty quick, not surprising given how competitive she can be. That girl; always looking for a rival. Well, beyond that, I also knew that he suffered from some kind of degenerative heart disease, often causing him to cough up blood during long conversations. Strange, isn't it? For such a big guy, he's a bit of a mystery. That said, Beck does hang out with him a lot; challenging him to little games and competitions all the time, so maybe I should ask her for a little more info on him. Hell, she might even be the one to have introduced him to the supernatural and the superstitious. Well, that's if I'm lucky anyway. If I'm unlucky, if he was already aware and knew about the arcane workings of the world well before meeting us, then I might have a rival or even an enemy on my hands and not even know it.

Meh, I can wait to find out.

"Damn, that sunshine is awesome!" Beck exclaimed as we exited the building ourselves, jumping up in the air with fists raised. "It's even better when it's accompanied by several months of freedom!"

"School isn't too unbearable, but I'll agree with that." I stated as I looked up at the sky and the clouds. "A perfect day like this would be wasted in an ugly building like that."

"No kidding." She laughed heartily. "Now where to, Mike? Where do we start?"

"...We start with Maya." I murmured. "I've got to go ask her some questions."

"My Maya?" She questioned, cocking her head to one side. Immediately, the gears in her head began turning.

"That's right." I replied.

Maya Tsukasa (or Tsukasa Maya, if you're a fucking stickler when it comes to the traditional order in which Japanese names flow) was Beck's orphanage matron before she was adopted by my mother and father. She ran and funded the Sakura Orphanage, an enormous complex of houses that rested cozily behind an equally enormous cherry grove; the only beautifully soothing place to be found within the Beast Pit. Maya was very special to Beck, someone she'd looked up to for a very long time, and here I was about to go and interrogate her. I felt like an ass, a big ass, especially considering what Maya meant to me as well. This woman took me in and bandaged me a while back when I had come to her door banged up and a bloody mess. I'd just finished my first battle against an actual werewolf and found myself to be in horrible condition. Beck was with me at the time and insisted that we go to the orphanage for assistance; insisting that it was a better alternative to a hospital full of questioning, privacy invading doctors. Weeks passed and Maya began sending me letters and cards, sometimes even calling by telephone to see how I was doing and if my recovery was progressing smoothly. When she found out that my mother had died, she began treating me even more tenderly, soon becoming something similar to a second mother to me. Since then, she'd even protected me from a fairly sizable foe, the were-father of the werewolf I'd killed. So, as you'd expect from an attention needing softy such as myself, I began visiting the orphanage weekly, multiple times a week, to see her and see the children there too. Beck had been making regular visits long before me, so we decided to synchronize our schedules and make the trips there together. Today, however, we were coming on the behalf of business, and Beck knew why.

"It's because of what Maya is, isn't it?" Beck asked lowly. "Is that why you have to go and talk with her?"

"Again, that's right." I replied.

I still felt like an ass, but it was an unavoidable scenario. I had to go and confront her about it eventually, there was just no way around it.

"Why does she have to be family, one of my best informants, AND a vampire?" I groaned.

Yep, you heard what I said. Vampire. Maya is an incubus, a breed of vampire that thrives by absorbing their victim's life force directly through their skin, stealing it through physical contact. This is usually done during the privacy of sexual intercourse, as is the way of the most famous breed of incubi, the succubus, but can also be done via many other ways as well: a simply handshake, a playful kiss, a celebratory hug, et cetera et cetera. Maya takes her strength in little bits and pieces from all those around her; draining it ever so slightly whenever anyone makes even the slightest contact. It's subtle and largely unnoticeable; the minuscule theft of energy barely even registering as an annoying itch. That's the difference that sets her apart from all of the other parasites infesting both our world and the supernatural world(s). She takes only enough to survive and never enough to hurt or maim someone; an outcast among her kind, really. But as far as appearances go, Maya's actually very run-of-the-mill, as pertains to vampires anyway. In short, I've always known that she was absolutely stunning, but my teenage hormones have recently begun telling me to pay even closer attention; to which I promptly closed my ears and began shouting: "la la la la la, I can't hear you!" Stupid hormones. Yeah, she's incredibly beautiful and looks impossibly young, and I know full and well that her youthful appearance sort of comes with the job, so-to-speak, but that doesn't stop my body from taking 'notes'. Maya's older than Dante, perhaps the oldest and wisest person I know; maybe five centuries old and four at the least.

"What are we gonna talk to her about?" Mused Beck with wide eyes. I really didn't want to tell her the truth.

"I have some questions I need answering and Maya's the only one who can answer them at the moment." I replied; never tearing my eyes away from the passing sidewalk blocks beneath me. I didn't really lie, though I didn't really explain the whole truth either. Still, it was enough and seemed to satisfy her curiosity for the time being.

As for Maya, well there may not be enough time left in the day to fully explain the depth and gravity of her many exploits. In the very beginning she was a prostitute, a lady of the evening, back during her human life and Japan's perilous imperial days. When civil war broke out and the various states and provinces went to battle, she threw down her petticoat and took up a sword. Famed for some time as a pirate, 'The Crimson Lily', Maya plundered a small cache of booty from Lord Tokunaga's enemies and was allowed unofficial sanctity within Jipang's waters. She posed as a man and sailed with the Chinese fleet after China won its independence, perhaps having even been present during the oath in the peach garden. She fought in the great war between the two ruling vampire clans, The Order of the Setting Sun and The Order of the Rising Sun, the two clans representing the two main breeds of existing vampires. If I remember correctly, she even served under Queen Titania as a noblewoman of the faerie courts for a time. At this point, I doubt there's anything that Maya hasn't done.

She was a woman to be respected and revered, and though her achievements are deep in the past, I never once looked into her eyes without thought of them.

"Well, we're here." I stated, pointing out the obvious as we approached the large steel gates that barred the path through the cherry orchard.

"I'll buzz us in." Beck added, pressing a bright red button above an intercom.

A voice replied moments later, asking who was requesting entrance. Beck gave our names and then told them to tell Maya, seeing as how the guards or staff might not have known us personally. A couple of seconds passed and then the familiar electric buzzing sound alerted us that the gate could be opened. We entered, closed the gate behind us, then continued down the pink path of fluttering cherry blossoms. It was a long, long walk, but at the end of the path stood a friendly face waiting to greet us. Maya. She stood with her crutch supporting her, having lost the lower part of her left leg, just above the knee, in a battle against another local vampire vying for more territory and power. The injury was hidden beneath her silken kimono, a traditional Japanese summer gown; various flowers, lilies, and leaves stitched beautifully into the soft fabric. She looked like an untouchable goddess, much like I remembered her to.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Maya asked in her soft, motherly voice.

"Much actually." I sighed, forcing a slight laugh. "We should really go inside for this conversation."

"Oh? I apologize, I simply wasn't made aware that this would be a deep, possibly emotionally jarring visit. Should I stay standing or seat myself for this?" She joked, grabbing my hand with hers and holding it tightly. "Come now. I am quite certain that regardless of whatever you have to tell me or ask me, you needn't estrange yourself or distance yourself because of it."

"Yeah, don't be stupid." Beck smirked with a big smile. "I don't know what you've got to say either, but I do know that it doesn't help any to act nervous or worried about it." Turning to the benevolent Eastern woman, Beck smiled even brighter. "Maya's gonna help us out, aren't you?"

"I will do only what I can." She chuckled. "I cannot promise everything."

"Yeah, well forgive me if I'm a little nervous, because things are getting weirder and weirder around here." I grumbled. "Besides, it felt like I was coming here to interrogate you or something, so of course I was a little offbeat."

"Ever the serious one." Maya giggled, a very cute expression for her. "You'll grow old much too fast with an attitude towards life like that."

I shrugged and followed them into the central building, Maya's residence. I just couldn't do it. I knew, with 100 percent accuracy, that Maya wasn't behind any of it, nor did she have even a single hand in any it. She didn't do all that she'd done for me, which may I remind you was more than a lot, just to throw it all away further down the metaphorical road. Her smile alone told me that much. So I abandoned my initial plan of crude interrogation, though I still had many questions left to ask. Just because Maya wasn't involved didn't mean that she wasn't aware of anyone or 'anything' who was. They were right, I was acting like an idiot and sweating over future possibilities, not certainties. I should have known that if there were any problems within the vampire community, any sudden changes in the power structure or stability, that Maya would have been happy to have informed me. So, once we all sat down and comfortable I spilled the beans and explained the situation. Beck sat on the edge of her seat as though she were watching a thrilling action movie while Maya listened closely with closed eyes and a melancholy smile, sipping on a cup of jasmine tea as I spoke. When I finished, my sister looked like she would burst from her seat in excitement and start preparing for battle, which wouldn‘t have surprised me at all. Maya, however, merely opened her eyes and frowned.

"An abomination?" She questioned sternly. "I'd like think that someone would have told me about something as important as that. They are the darkest of the dark, the true fiends of the night, so it's quite understandable that you would be this concerned."

"Tell me about it." I yawned, tired of all the bullshit I'd been putting up with; Dennis's defeated, tragic expression returning freshly to my mind. I shoved it aside before my anger had a chance to bubble up through the cracks and make its way to the surface.

"Well, as I said before, I will do everything in my power to assist you." Maya added. "I'll contact those that I know within the Rising Order as soon as I am able."

That's right, she was on their side during the Vampire Wars (now playing in theaters, by the way). There was once one enormous clan of vampires known as the Earth Clan, but due to internal affairs it fractured and segmented into two different clans. The two organizations that spawned from this fracturing were The Order of the Setting Sun and The Order of the Rising Sun. Maya was a member of the Rising Order, the vampire clan that feared not the sun nor its powerful light. Its ranks included the incubi, Maya's breed, and the daywalkers, the order's more powerful children. She fought against the Setting Order, which consisted of nightwalkers, the universally recognized poster children for the vampire race, and the abominations, the most powerful breed between the two organizations combined. The Setting Order tried to dominate the Rising Order and make them their vassals, subservient slaves with which they could abuse and use as foot soldiers. A war erupted between the two contrasting families, but because the Rising Order was an open organization that shunned parasitic feeding and the victimizing of the people on which they fed, they were seen as the lesser of the two evils and received outside assistance, eventually winning due to sheer numbers. The Setting Order retreated and went into hiding, disappearing from sight altogether, and the remaining members of the Rising Order decided to begin work on a constitutional document of their own; one that would include laws outlawing the kinds of evils that their night dwelling brothers had relished in. Once finished, the Rising Order packed their things and disappeared as well, believing that cutting themselves off from humanity would help limit the harm that they could cause and inflict. Some believe that they went to Jenohva while some others claim it was the Badlands that they escaped to. No one except other members of the Rising Order really knows.

Of course, there were some who claimed that they sought refuge in Chaos, a realm entirely different from any other, though those claims always seemed to fall on deaf ears. Well, dead ears too. In short, no one ever speaks of Chaos, and nor will I, thank you very much. End of story.

"Anything else on your mind?" Maya questioned as she set her cup down and poured herself some more.

"Yes, actually." I replied, the subject still floating around inside of my skull. "I'd like to know about any changes within the vamp community lately. Have there been any recent disturbances, any big events worth recalling?"

Maya gave me a sharp, fierce stare as she enjoyed another sip of tea. "Changes are always afoot, my boy, always." She stated strongly. "However, some changes are indeed more alarming than others, and I can only assume that you're interested in the worst news, not merely the bad. This could take a while."

"Sorry if I'm prying, Maya." I sighed. "But statistically speaking, most of the powerful necromancers in recorded history were undead themselves; vampires; and I'm thinking that someone from the Setting Order might be behind all of this. Again, I'm sorry if I'm relying on your information a little too much."

"No, it isn't your fault." She said in return. "I was just hoping to get my mind off of those matters, that's all. But if it can't be helped, then it can't be helped. You were right in seeking me out for the sake of counsel."

"Have things gotten bad or something?" Beck naively asked, probably unfamiliar with vampire politics. Things are always bad.

"Strange." Maya answered bluntly. "Things have gotten strange. From what I'm told, there's been a jarring power struggle within the halls of the Setting Order, one that could potentially destroy them or leave them more powerful than before."

"Sudden changes in the ruling class usually have that effect on small nations and imperialistic bodies like that." I retorted. "Without a strong, charismatic leader to follow, the subservient peasantry is left to govern itself; a situation that almost always implodes upon itself."

"Quite the scholar." Maya said with a smile. "Just what I would expect from the youngest sorcerer to ever master metaphysical self-transformation."

"I think, 'quite the showoff', fits better." Beck growled.

"Say what you want, Beck, but the scorecards don't lie; my grades are way higher than yours." I casually shot back with a subtle grin. "And besides, I know you're jealous of my skills; especially since I learned how to take the physical form of a wolf."

No matter how bulletproof she may sometimes seem; I know all of her weaknesses.

"What was that?!" She shouted. "Number one; you're not smarter than me! Number two; I'm not jealous of anything!"

"C'mon, I saw how thrilled you were when we took that surveillance assignment and you got to walk me by leash around our target's apartment." I chuckled. "You've loved canines of all breeds ever since Dad refused to get you that dog eight years ago and now you're just jealous that I can actually become one at will. I can teach you the spell, if you really want."

"I don't need to learn anything from you!" Braked my sister gruffly. "I can learn how to~

"Ha ha, see, I knew it!" I interjected; cutting her off.

"Calm down, the both of you." Maya ordered; hushing us both. "Now, getting back to where I left off. The Setting Order's previous leader, Archduke Marcel Sebastian Luciana, was supposedly overthrown by a newcomer, someone who was entirely unheard of prior to these events. According to the rumors, this mysterious rebel is actually a daywalker, one of the many renegades from our own order."

"Wait, wait, wait." I exclaimed in confusion, halting her from finishing her story. "Are you saying that a daywalker from the Rising Order went and conquered the Setting Order? All by their lonesome? I didn't even think that Rising Order even cared to acquaint themselves with their darker brothers."

"No, not at all." Maya said in response. "Quite the opposite, actually. It isn't unheard of for some daywalkers or incubi to refuse to follow our order's laws; to disagree with our ideals and standards. It's actually very common."

"So this guy abandoned ship here, went and joined the bad guys over there, then jumped up in their ranks and took the helm?" I questioned in astonishment. "And he did all of this just recently? Damn, you'd think the order's higher ups would have kept a closer eye on things in order to weed out potential problems like that."

"I know." Maya sighed; depression in her tone. "It's an enormous oversight on our part."

"Well, what's the traitor's name?" Beck pried; butting in. "He sounds like a real scumbag."

Maya rubbed at her slender chin for a moment as she pondered, eventually stating, "Helios. If I remember correctly, his name was Helios Albireo LaCroix."

The uttering of that name hit me like tomahawk missile to the chin, almost causing me to fall out of my seat. No, no, no, it couldn't be. Did she really just say what I thought she said? I must have looked extremely stupefied and dumbstruck because it actually took me several seconds to escape my own thought process and register Beck's face hovering just millimeters away from mine.

"Whoa!" I yelped, startled by my sister's close proximity. "Jesus, does the term 'personal space' mean anything to you, girl?!"

A frown and a nasty glare said it all, though she decided to add, "Oh, sorry, what was I thinking? With that stupid look you were maintaining, I thought I'd make sure you didn't blow a fuse or short-circuit on us. Please, Master, forgive me for giving a shit."

"Are you alright, Dominic?" Asked a concerned Maya as she put a hand on the back of my neck. "Was it something I said?"

"No, don't worry about it." I answered, speaking quietly and slowly. There were way too many pieces of this puzzle out on the table already. If Helios was the perpetrator, then Helios was the perpetrator; it's as simple as that. Trying to focus on the what, when, how, and who all at the same time would only confuse me even more. "But I would like to know a little bit more..., if you don't mind me asking."

"Of course." She replied warmly. "Ask as much as you need to."

"When I was on assignment a week or so ago, Dante and I faced off against a powerful poltergeist unlike any I'd ever seen or heard of before." I explained. "When we escaped it and called in the reinforcements, they successfully vanquished it and took care of the situation. But what really has me worried is what one of the magi said before I left. He didn't think I was listening, but I was; I was listening VERY closely. He said that someone might have actually MADE the poltergeist, as in constructed it. Is that even possible?"

"What?" She asked, immediately putting down her drink and taking notice. "A constructed poltergeist?"

"Yeah, sounds out there doesn't it?" I replied. "It sounds impossible to me, but does it sound impossible to you? That's what I'm asking."

"It most certainly does." She answered back, her expression quite startled. "Last I had heard, necromantic constructions of that magnitude were only possible through the use of the Necronomicon, and I was to understand that it had been destroyed quite some time ago. I've only ever laid eyes upon it once and I felt an unearthly amount of power oozing from it as it sat there, beckoning to all who would listen to read it. I resisted temptation and evacuated, a decision that I still thank myself, to this day, for making."

"Oh no..., no..., don't say something like that." I moaned, rubbing my knees as I knelt at the table. "I'm lucky that the abomination I had to face was willing to die, and that's something that I'm still not entirely okay with even if it did saved our asses. But fighting a necro wielding the Necronomicon, the book said to drive men insane before ever even making it to page three?! No, I can't handle that!"

"Calm down, Dominic." Maya sighed, resting her hand on my shoulder. "It might be possible with the book as a catalyst, it might not be possible at all, only time will tell. I'll ask my siblings about these matters as well, so relax."

"Humph..." Beck snorted, sticking out her chin. "Besides, if something nasty comes along, we'll just have to knock it good and hard on its face!"

"That we will." Maya laughed. "That we will."

My sister, the warrior. My godmother, the instigator.

"Sometimes I wish time would tell me just a little sooner." I sighed again, rolling my eyes.

We chatted for a while longer, now that our business was finished, and exchanged sarcastic comments and funny stories. Eventually, as the day grew thin and our time grew short, I clasped my hand over Maya's, thanked her for her time, then gave her a strong hug. Why? Because that's how you treat your mother, isn't it? Everyone, including some of the children that we knew, said their goodbyes as we started down the cherry blossom strewn path once more. Before distancing ourselves enough to make communication impossible, I stopped and motioned without words for Beck to stop as well.

"Maya!" I yelled from afar. "Maya, watch out for Helios! Keep your eyes and ears open! If any kind of foul plot is underway, then he'll be at the center of it all, I'm certain of it!"

I looked back to see if my warning was received and heeded. Maya just smiled at me, bowed her head, then turned around and walked away. If anything were to happen, it would happen to me. Maya's a big girl; a grown woman that can fight her own battles. I, however, am not a decorated multi war veteran with centuries of hard-earned experience on my side, thus making my battle a teeny bit more daunting. Just a teeny bit, nothing huge.

"So, what's next?" Beck questioned enthusiastically. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, I've got a name linked to a bunch of different things, all of which seem pretty impossible." I moaned again; an effective way of displaying you aggravation. "According to the late Dennis Anderson, this Helios guy was likely the one who cursed him with the Scarlet Undeath, a powerful necromantic curse that was thought to have been lost to the sands of time. Then there's that poltergeist, which, as absurd as it sounds, was apparently an artificial poltergeist crafted through the use of forbidden necromancy as well; perhaps even the Necronomicon. Lastly, we have information stating that our prime suspect has also taken the liberty of becoming the ‘Vampire King', which is just terrific too."

"So we're dealing with an insanely powerful vampire necro that has the most powerful necro tool at his disposal, and captains the vamp football team as well?" She exclaimed.

"Maybe." I said, biting my lip. As overly simplistic as that explanation was, I have to admit, it worked.

I replied with 'maybe', though I was fairly certain of what I had just said. He did take command of the Setting Order; that happened, no argument. He may also have been the one who placed the curse on Dennis; Dante having vouched for that scenario himself, just before giving me an entire week of the silent treatment. The only pieces of the puzzle that didn't fit into place just yet were the parts about him being in possession of the Necronomicon and him creating the freakish geist that I fought. I mean, Hell, it if I'm going to use the puzzle metaphor, then why not go as far as to assume that I was working with multiple puzzles at once? Still, the two factoids that I did have were more than enough to merit further investigation..., and that's just awesome, let me tell you.

"I guess we're just going to have to wait for Maya's informants to come through for us." I yawned; mostly from mental stress, not physical.

"You're just gonna wait for the universe to provide you with your answers?" Beck sneered. "That never happens! What kind of shitty detective are you?"

"A bad one I guess." I answered with a jaded grin.