Chapter 2: Of Curiosity and Vampires
They had been driving for nearly two hours with no words spoken. Kyranna seemed fine with it, but Harry had too many questions and he was ready for answers. He turned to the woman sitting next to him and said, “Who are you?”
Kyranna was waiting for him to ask this. You don’t become the best without having total awareness of one’s surroundings. So, naturally, she had an answer. “I go by many names, not all of them pleasant.” She paused and smiled to herself, enjoying a private joke. “The only name you need to know is Kyranna Nakata, Lady Tigress. Any more will be revealed on a need to know basis. Now no more questions, it is not safe; wait until we reach the safe house. Now try and rest; if not, there is a book in the glove box.”
Harry wasn’t tired. Kyranna’s answer gave him more questions than answers. But he knew that she would remain tight lipped. So to pass his time, he opened the glove box and pulled out the book and looked at it. It was very old and worn, but the title seemed like one on a newly printed book. He read it aloud. “The Hidden Powers of Your Ancestry. By Alvis Aonghus.” He looked at her to see her reaction.
Kyranna smiled to herself as she drove. Her plan was working. She glanced at him and said, “Read it, but be careful; that book is very old and it was very difficult for me to get my hands on. Oh, whether you care or not, we are traveling this way to keep our presence masked. Magic can be traced. By myself, I can travel unnoticed, but with you I can’t. We are almost to today’s stopping place, I’ll let you know when we get close.”
He stared at the side of her head for a minute, pondering at this strange revelation. All would be revealed in time… he hoped.
Several hours later, Harry looked up from the book and saw that they were driving through a crowed city. He glanced at Kyranna and saw that her face was drawn with fatigue and frustration. She was also muttering under her breath. Every so often he would catch a phrase like “Blast them… idiot, the road is… curse you into the veil…even Floo is…” She stopped when she saw him watching.
Kyranna hated city driving; she was fine on the open road, but not here with all the idiot Muggles. She looked to the right and saw Harry watching her. “What?!” she asked. “Never mind, we are nearly there, thank Merlin. But I need to warn you, we are staying the night at a sanctuary. It is a safe haven for werewolves, vampires, wizards, hags, and any other creature you can think of. The Muggles think it is just a rock house for upcoming bands and their groupies. But back to my warning: the place is run by vampires. They will keep you safe from any hunting us, but you must show respect. And DON’T talk to anyone, for Merlin’s sake. Oh, we’re here.” She drove around the back of a building that had loud rock music blaring out of it. When she stopped the car, they both got out. She walked around the car and grabbed Harry by the upper arm and steered him in the back door. They were stopped by a pair of guards, but neither had the look of a vampire; it was still too early for them. Instead, they were two wild looking men with sandy hair. They looked like lions.
The guards looked towards Kyranna and said, ”Tigress, you were banned from here. Leave.”
“I may be banned but the boy is not, Lion. I request sanctuary for the night, and if you refuse me entry, I’ll request an audience with Lady Phoenix.”
The guards turned away from them and conversed with each other. Finally they turned back around. “Simba will take you to Lady Phoenix. But be warned, Tigress, he has orders to kill you for one wrong move.”
Kyranna bristled like a cat that had water dumped on it. But finally she seized Harry’s arm again, following the guard Simba, but making sure to not expose either her or Harry’s back. They followed the guard down several fights of stairs into the deepest chamber. The guard knocked and the door opened. Kyranna and Harry stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind them.
They stepped inside the room and it was like a thick veil had fallen over their eyes. After a few moments, they could see a dark shape moving towards them. As the shape neared, a match flared, nearly blinding them in the midnight darkness. A candle was lit, showing the face of the figure. It was the face of a woman, deathly pale and very beautiful. Her eyes were as black as coal and her hair was just as black, down to the floor. This could be none other than the vampire Lady Phoenix.
She smiled, showing sharp, pointed teeth. “Lady Sepentira, How… pleasant it is to see you here. Tell me, what is it exactly that you are doing here when you have been banished, and dragging this boy into the mess as well?”
Kyranna pulled herself up to her full height, her golden eyes gleamimg in the darkness. “Phoenix, you know I would never come here unless the need was urgent. I seek only a place for the boy to rest the night; you know who he is, they all do. If you choose not to shelter me, fine, I will sleep in the car, but let the boy stay until dawn.”
Phoenix leaned forward and whispered into Kyranna’s ear, “Does he know your secret yet? No? I thought as much. Then you will do anything to ensure my silence. Don’t answer. You don’t have a choice. I will show the boy to his room while you wait here. When I return, I will feed from you. You have powerful, intoxicating blood. After I feed you will be in no condition to travel, to a room or a car, let alone fight off any attackers, so you will stay the night with me, in this room. When the dawn comes, you may leave.” When she was finished speaking, she stood up and turned to Harry.
When the vampire lady turned to him, Harry took a step back. The way Kyranna’s eyes widened when the woman was speaking to her frightened him. Kyranna didn’t seem like a woman that was affected much by anything.
Lady Phoenix walked towards Harry and spoke softly to him. “Young Potter, if you will, come with me to your room. There will be a meal and a bath waiting for you. In the morning, be ready to go at dawn for that is when you will be leaving.” She turned and left the room.
Before he followed her, he turned to look at Kyranna. She glanced at him and nodded. Harry had no choice but to follow the woman to his room. When they got there, she opened the door and said to him, ”I hope you find the room to your liking, please don’t leave, and if you need anything, ring the bell next to the window.” Then she left, shutting the door behind her. When she was gone Harry turned and got undressed. He climbed carefully into the tub and washed quickly. When he was done, he ate the food that was on the small table and climbed into bed. It took him no time at all to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, after Harry left, Kyranna began unbuttoning the top few buttons of her shirt. When that was done, she sat on the bed and waited for Phoenix to return. She hated doing this, but it was the payment Phoenix had always asked for whenever Kyranna had needed anything. Finally Phoenix returned and saw Kyranna sitting on the bed with her shirt unbuttoned just enough to expose her neck. Drawing a breath, Phoenix headed straight for her. She bent over Kyranna’s neck, scraping her teeth over the pulse, and then finally sinking her teeth in. When she had drunk her fill, she licked up the trail of blood that had escaped. Kyranna had only cried out once, when the teeth first pierced her skin. Now she was exhausted from the day and the lack of blood, and finally she passed out.
When dawn finally arrived, Kyranna stirred. She was weak; she needed to get home to get her strength back. She looked over at Phoenix and smiled: the vampire was sound asleep. Kyranna stood up, but had to brace herself against the bed when a wave of dizziness passed over her. She looked around the room and saw some clothes on a chair. It was just what she needed. She made her way over and carefully pulled on the black cargo pants and then the black tank top. Then she pulled her long red hair back and braided it in a braid that reached the middle of her back. Then she donned the cloak. She was in mission mode now. She made one last check to make sure she had everything, and then left the room to go get Harry.
Harry woke up when the first rays of sunlight entered the room. He looked around for a minute, disoriented. Then the memories of the past day hit him like a tidal wave. He remembered that the woman had said Kyranna would be leaving at dawn. He jumped out of bed and threw on the clothes that were lying on the chair next to the fireplace. Just as he had finished pulling on his shirt, somebody knocked on his door. Cautiously he opened it and saw Kyranna flanked by the two lion men from yesterday. With a start, he saw that Kyranna looked pale and weak. She also seemed to be even tenser than last night, if that was even possible. With a jerk of her head, she motioned him to follow her. He scrambled out of the room, looking nervously over his shoulder at the lion men. Finally the group reached the door and the one called Simba said, “Tigress, next time you won’t be so lucky. Boy, if you don’t want to end up dead, get out of this traitor’s company.”
At these words, Kyranna growled. Then she stalked off to the car. Harry hurried after her, deciding not to try her patience this early.
When they got in the car, Kyranna grabbed a bag out of the back seat. From it she drew out a bar of some type of food and a bottle. She tossed the bar to Harry and said simply, “Eat.” She pulled the stopper out of the bottle and swallowed it, grimacing as she did so. Then she tossed the bottle in the back again and threw the car into reverse. When they got out from behind the building and back on the highway, she looked over at Harry and said, “Never again.”
Harry had no idea what she was talking about, but somehow he felt like he understood. He turned back to the front and looked out the window, heading to Merlin knew where, but he was confident it was better than where they left.