Amy Blankenship - Vampire Gemini стр 7.

*****

Yuuhi reappeared within the downtown area of the city minutes before daybreak. He could already feel the sun’s heat on his skin and quickened his pace toward the Grand Hotel in the center of the metropolis. Beneath the massive five star establishments hidden away from the world was his sire’s underground dwelling. It was just as beautiful below ground as what housed the humans above… his sire had arranged it to be so.

Yuuhi stepped through the front doors of the Grand and strode across the lobby. Ignoring the friendly greeting of the human woman behind the desk, Yuuhi stepped through the door that read ‘maintenance’. Making his way down to the basement, he boarded the maintenance elevator that would take him down to the sub-basement level. From there, it was the opening of the hidden passage that would take him to his sire.

Feeling the darkness close in around him like a protective blanket, the platinum-haired child raced through the winding tunnels as though trying to outrun the darkness… or keep up with it.

Yuuhi was one of the privileged few allowed in Tadamichi’s private lair… only the ones Tadamichi had personally sired were permitted. The small boy had been one of Tadamichi’s first and the bond that held him faithful was what led him to warn the master about the girl… and the power she possessed. The bond also allowed him to feel his master’s emotional states, which could prove troublesome at times.

He could sense that Master Tadamichi was angry and knew the cause behind that rage… Hyakuhei. Only the master’s twin brother could provoke this kind of reaction. Jealousy and rejection could be a dangerous thing with one so powerful.

Yuuhi quietly slipped into Tadamichi’s chambers but stayed in the shadows to observe his master. The young boy was patient and knew to wait out the storm of his master’s rage.

Tadamichi glared at his reflection in the Mirror of Souls then looked away with an angry hiss. His brother had broken the link between their minds… banishing him once again. Every opportunity Tadamichi took to speak with his brother was terminated rather abruptly, angering him. He was starting to believe their bond would never return to what it had once been.

Had the centuries away from each other not been long enough of a punishment? Would Hyakuhei forever keep his distance?

Seeing movement within the shadows, Tadamichi angrily waved his hand in its direction… every half-breed within his chamber and within a thousand yards of his solitude spontaneously combusted… leaving behind the scent of sulfur in the air. There would be no witnesses to his brother’s rejection. However, he turned his head in the other direction and laid his eyes on the only one of his children that he would trust with his secret.

Ignoring Yuuhi for a moment, Tadamichi slowly walked across the room and stood in front of a portrait with his hands clasped behind his back. As the screams and flames died down, Tadamichi continued to stare at the painting as if nothing was amiss.

The painting was created long before the medieval wars had taken place… before their civil war. One would assume it was a self-portrait showing two personalities. In truth, it was he and his brother… so hard to tell them apart. How could they be so alike in looks… and be so different? Had his brother never learned the meaning of love… the pain of rejection?

Tadamichi dusted his fingertips across the image of his brother, his brow furrowing slightly before his face contorted in rage. He suddenly lashed out at the painting in a movement so fast it was virtually unseen. The picture held for a moment, then ever so slowly a jagged rip appeared… severing the twins from one another. The cloth of the portrait fell slightly to the side and Tadamichi’s expression suddenly showed sadness.

Placing his palms against the painting, Tadamichi held them together for a moment before letting them drop.

His love for Hyakuhei was fathomless. Tadamichi merely wanted Hyakuhei by his side to share in this wonderful existence. ‘Why do you forsake me and the life we could have?’ he asked silently then felt the chill of having asked that same question to one other than his brother. He drew the memory deep within himself refusing to dwell on her.

Yuuhi stepped out of the shadow behind him, feeling his master’s melancholy. It amazed him that his sire could feel so deeply for his brother when he himself had barely felt a twinge as the girl had killed his brothers only a couple hours before.

“So, you have lost them?” Tadamichi asked, never taking his eyes from the image of his brother.

Yuuhi nodded knowing Tadamichi could see into his thoughts. A flash of marble white appeared in his peripheral vision and he turned his head towards it. His gaze appeared almost thoughtful as he stared at the statues on his left. Slowly turning in a circle, he gazed at each, one by one. They had been here for as long as Yuuhi could remember but he had never asked about them.

“A girl,” Yuuhi whispered, wondering why a demon master would have statues of angels. It was odd… or he had always thought so. The angels were beautiful even to Yuuhi’s eyes and he wondered if creatures like these could have ever existed on this earth.

“I will tell you the story of the statues my child.” Tadamichi slowly glanced away from the painting curiously… “And you will tell me about this girl.” The corner of his lips turned up in the hint of a wicked smile. “Go on and take a closer look,” he coaxed. “Curiosity is an intriguing emotion… is it not?”

Yuuhi slowly walked around the room gazing up into the faces of the men with wings… stopping in front of the one that intrigued him the most. The long hair that reached past the small of his back swung out… as if he was in the middle of battle. The expression that had been on his face was most beautiful… and frightening. What was the angel fighting so hard for? What would have been the prize?

The stone hands held fast to a sword that was in a downward motion and Yuuhi reached out to slide his thumb across it… only to jerk back when a small thin line of blood welled up on his thumb.

Tadamichi was suddenly beside him, lifting the injury to his lips to suckle the blood from the boy’s finger. Knowing Yuuhi was a child of very few words and even less emotions; Tadamichi released his hand and nodded at the statue. “This statue… Kyou, and his destruction sword,” he closed his eyes as he remembered the guardians, “Very powerful adversaries… they all were.”

Yuuhi turned toward his master and waited patiently.

“They thought they could rid the world of darkness… thought they could rid it of me and my brother. They should have known better.” He opened eyes that now had a strange red tint to them. “They were brothers you see.” He stepped closer to the statue of the one who looked the youngest as he added, “Or at least they all thought they were true brothers.”

He reached out and stroked the cheek of the statue, letting his fingers trace the path a tear had left… frozen in time. “My dear Kamui. He knew what the guardians had done was wrong. That is why he looks so sad. It is a shame my brother never really knew him.”

Tadamichi turned to the next sibling. “Kotaro was strong in spirit, yet possessive of what he claimed to be his.” His eyes glazed over as if seeing the past. “He was willing to die if he had to… all for the love of a woman.”