A Light In The Heart Of Darkness. Amy Blankenship

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СКАЧАТЬ of the parking lot to find Toya.

      Suki was too stunned for a moment to do anything but nod.

      *****

      Toya raced across the parking lot cursing Shinbe for getting ahead of him. He had to exit his car on the passenger side once he realized that he couldn't get out on his side. In his haste to get to Kyoko, he had parked too close to a brick wall. Unfortunately, he’d also figured this out when he tried to open his door and it banged into the wall putting a dent in the side of his baby.

      That wasn’t really what had slowed him down though. When he had taken off across the parking lot at breakneck speed, a small boy had come out of nowhere and collided with him. The impact had been so sudden that it had knocked him clear off his feet. When he had righted himself enough to stand back up, he quickly offered the boy a hand to help him stand.

      â€œHey kid… you alright?” Toya jerked his hand back when the boy hissed at him and took off in the opposite direction as if Satan himself was chasing him.

      Toya shook off the creepy feeling the boy had left him with as he looked up at the two-story nightclub. The eerie feeling came back tenfold as he noticed the shadow of a man carrying someone across one of the windows on the top floor. There were just so many things wrong with that one little scene.

      His eyes flashed silver… his senses knowing things he did not yet understand. It all left him with the feeling that someone had just walked over his grave.

      As he approached the club, Toya growled in annoyance when he realized there were two entrances. One looked to be a main entrance and the other was just as crowded. Deciding to go through the main one, he forced his way through the crowd.

      `She better be okay... When I find her, I'm gonna permanently handcuff her to me whether she likes it or not…’ Flecks of silver began to strengthen within the gold of his eyes as he searched for Kyoko.

      *****

      Kyou made his way down the alley behind the club with Kyoko held tightly in his arms. His mind was set and he would take the girl to his temporary home to recover. He looked up toward the penthouse right across the main road from the club. She would be safe with him… but he would have to be careful. He could feel Hyakuhei’s minion within the darkness that surrounded the club.

      His jaw clenched as he heard a faint scream in the distance and knew another victim had been found. Glancing down at the sleeping girl, his golden eyes softened. For now… she was his secret. She felt as light as a feather and seemed so fragile.

      He couldn't comprehend how this wisp of a girl had such a fiery spirit, and yet still had such a pure soul. And ‘Toya’, she had spoken his dead brother's name as if she knew him. How could that be possible?

      His thoughts came to a halt as he sensed a powerful night creature ahead at the same time that a heavy scent of blood hit his nose. Tensing, he recognized the aura of the Lycan that had protected Kyoko earlier from the punk harassing her only to then abandon her… leaving her in harm's way.

      Not wanting the girl to be injured should he need to fight, Kyou laid her down gently in the alleyway and followed the scent of blood, which lay just around the corner. If the wolf had slaughtered a human, the girl may not be safe around him. It was known that some werewolves lose themselves once anger entered their blood, and he would not allow the girl to be protected by such a dangerous creature.

      Turning the corner on silent feet, Kyou’s eyes beheld a scene he hadn't witnessed in centuries. The wolf, still in human form, stood growling, his fangs bared. Stark blue eyes blazed as he snarled viciously at what looked to be a body held in his grasp.

      *****

      Toya paused as he neared the doorway. Sniffing, he turned quickly and headed in the opposite direction of the entrance. He could smell her… though in the back of his mind he couldn’t figure out how or why he could. Taking off in a dead run toward the alleyway to the left of the building, his heart hammered violently in his chest as morbid thoughts flew through his mind.

      Missing girls and dark places... Kyoko had better not have a single hair out of place or else…

      Entering the shadows, Toya skidded to a stop as fear choked the breath from his lungs. There, lying slumped against the dirty brick wall… was Kyoko. The same fear that rooted him to the spot, spurred him into motion. With his next breath, he was beside her.

      Kneeling, he touched her, checking for the life that would allow his heart to start beating again.

      As soon as his finger touched her neck, his own heart kicked in time with hers and he breathed. Thank god… she was alive. A moment of déjà vu reflected in some unwanted memory and he quickly pushed it away suddenly afraid. Feeling others close by, he wasted no time in picking her up and getting her to safety. As he held her close to him, Toya used his unnatural speed to take them out of the darkness.

      *****

      Kotaro held Yohji up against the brick wall while willing his blood lust to cool. Continuing his punishment was not worth it anymore, considering the boy had already passed out again. Dropping him none too gently on the ground, feeling a disturbance in the energy around him.

      His head snapped to the side, his ice blue eyes narrowing.

      Kyou watched as the wolf dropped the boy back to the ground without killing him. He immediately recognized the human as the one harassing Kyoko. Changing his opinion from a few moments before, his lips curved into a slight snarl. Had it been him holding the boy by his neck, the boy would not still be in one piece.

      As if sensing him, the Lycan turned his head and locked his deadly gaze on him. Kyou could feel the immense power emanating from the wolf. He was displaying it in warning.

      In the past, wolves and vampires had always avoided each other. Neither caring for the other, they chose to leave each other alone. Both were too closely matched in strength and neither cared for dominance over the other. They just existed together in the same world, keeping mostly to themselves and going about their own endless lives.

      All of Kotaro's instincts came to life, seeing the vampire standing there in the shadows… watching him. He couldn’t see him clearly enough to make out any distinctive features but his instinct told him the bloodsucker was a threat. He still needed to release some of his own bloodlust and cracked his knuckles thinking it was maybe one of Hyakuhei’s underlings.

      Just as he decided to turn and attack, the image grew stronger, then wavered and vanished. “Golden eyes?” Kotaro rose back up to his full height realizing he had almost attacked Kyou. “What’s he doing here?”

      "Damn it!" Kotaro hissed and took off fearing Kyoko would not be where he left her. He had to get to her fast… there were bloodsuckers out tonight and she would not be one of their victims. And with Kyou around… there was no telling how dangerous things could really get.

      Kyou reappeared facing the same brick wall where he had laid the girl. Seeing she was no longer there, his eyes bled crimson and an enraged growl ripped through the empty alley, echoing into the surrounding streets.

      *****

      Suki and Shinbe met Kotaro at the door of the club. Grasping Shinbe by the shoulder, Kotaro asked urgently. "Is Kyoko still inside?" His inhuman senses had kicked into overdrive and his instincts СКАЧАТЬ