| Chapter 31 Brian walked through the club, nursing his drink. Tracy had gone to seek out her friends and see if she could find out anything of Raven's activities or whereabouts. He settled in a dimly lit corner, leaning against the wall. The club scene was never his sort of thing, but he felt at home here, with those of his own kind. He could relax, not have to worry about being guarded all the time, and everyone here understood how he felt because they'd been through it too. A young woman passed by him, then stopped, turning back around. The look on her face told him she knew who he was. She pointed at him, in complete shock, "Y-you're .... you're" Brian smiled, taking her hand she was pointing at him with, "Shhh, you don't want to attract attention now do you?" The woman shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. It's just that ... well I'm shocked that you're back. I mean, the others said you where, but I didn't believe them. I'm sorry my lord." Brian felt chills run down his spine. This girl recognized him, but not as Brian from the Backstreet Boys. He took a deep breath, regaining his composure, "That's alright. Many have doubted my return. Tell me my child, where can I find Raven?" She looked at him confused, "At the house my lord, she's waiting for you." Brian bit his lip a moment, "There are a lot of things that I still don't remember. Tell me where the house is." "It's in the Hills," she said, "If you like, I can take you there." Brian saw Tracy out of the corner of his eye, "No my child, that's alright. Thank you," he said, walking away from her. He met Tracy in the middle of the dance floor, taking her hand he headed toward the door. "I found out the family is gathering," she said, "But no one seems to know where." He smiled at her, "I do." She looked at him shocked, "How?" "I just met one of my children," he grinned. "Well, well, things are looking up," Tracy said as they left the club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Please Kevin," Nick begged. Kevin stared at him, pity on his face, "No Nick, you know you can't." "Kevin, please!" Nick begged, tears forming in his eyes. Kevin turned his head, he couldn't bare to see Nick this way. Michael entered the room, surveying the scene. "Can't you give him more?" Kevin asked. He shook his head, "We've given him the maximum amount already." "Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Nick yelled, pulling at his restraints. "I'm sorry Nick," Kevin said, turning back to face him. "Why can't you just let me go?!" he screamed. Michael approached the bed, looking down at him, "If we do, we put you in danger. If the vampires found out your condition, there's no telling what they would do to you." Nick stared at the older man, "Can you at least untie me?" Michael shook his head, "No we can't, not until we get your medication straightened out." "What, are you afraid I'll go walk into a vampire club or something?" Nick said angrily. "Nick!" Kevin reprimanded. Michael held his hand up, "It's alright Kevin. Nick, we care for your safety, and you are a danger to yourself until we get this under control." "Fine, then will you please just knock me out so I don't have to feel this?" he asked. Michael glanced at Kevin. He nodded. "Alright Nick, I'll have someone come in and give you a sedative," Michael said, turning and leaving the room. Kevin sat down beside the bed, "I'm sorry Nick." "What for?" Nick asked, looking over at him. "For getting you into this. If I'd never let you come with me, this wouldn't have happened. The gene would've stayed dormant, and you wouldn't be suffering like this," he said. "Kev, it's not your fault. If you hadn't let me come, I would've found someone that would. I've always been fascinated with this stuff, you know that," Nick said. Kevin sighed, "I know, but still." "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it," Nick said, managing a smile, "I asked to do this. If it's anyone's fault, it's my own." Just then a nurse came in and administered the shot. Nick settled back in bed, as the drug started to take affect. "Kev, go back to the hotel, I'm fine here," he said. Kevin shook his head, "No, I'll stay with you." "But what if someone starts to wonder where we are?" Nick asked, yawning. "A.J.'s covering for us," Kevin said. Nick looked over and laughed, "You're kidding right?" Kevin shook his head. "Oh Lord, there's no telling what he'll have us doing," Nick giggled. Kevin bit his lip, "Damn, you're right, this is A.J. we're talking about." "Uh huh," Nick said sleepily. "Well, whatever it is we'll handle it," Kevin said, looking over to see Nick was fast asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Alright so now that we know where she is, what do we do?" Brian asked, dragging his foot through the sand. Tracy stared out at the ocean, the moonlight giving it a haunting blue tinge, "Well we can't just barge in there. She'll feel you coming." Brian nodded, "Yeah, so what then?" She shook her head, "I don't ....... well there is one thing, but it's to much to ask." He looked at her, "What?" "Well, you played Theo pretty good tonight. Enough to convince one of his children. What if you pretended to be him, and go back? Then you could gain her trust," she suggested. Brian sighed, "I don't know, what if I can't pull it off? If she sees through it, then we're screwed." Tracy nodded, "I know, and I can't ask you to do it either. That's like sending you to meet with the devil." He nodded, tracing his finger through the sand. Suddenly his stomach started doing flip flops. His head shot up and he looked around, "Tracy do you feel that?" he whispered. "Yeah," she said, standing up, "We better get outta here." Brian got up, grabbing his shoes, and took Tracy's hand. Together they headed for their car. They had to walk through a small park to get there. "Let's split up," Brian said, letting go of her hand, "I'll meet you at the car." "No Brian," Tracy said, but he was already gone, "Dammit!" she muttered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jennifer stepped onto the elevator, her nerves on overdrive. She wasn't sure what she was gonna say or do, but she had to get Howie away from here, away from Raven. She felt so guilty for getting him into this. He was an innocent caught in this war, and she had to do everything possible to make sure he didn't get hurt. If that happened, she'd turn herself over to the slayers. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him, but if she had to, to save him, she would. The elevator doors opened, and she made her way to his room. She was almost in tears when she reached his door. This was it, she was going to tell him the truth, and she knew he'd hate her for it. She sniffed, lifting her hand to knock on the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian looped around the park, walking at a normal pace. He could feel them behind him, and he prayed that Tracy was already at the car, waiting. He'd never fought with a slayer before, and he didn't want to start now. He found a bench and sat down, staring out at the ocean. He concentrated on blocking himself from them. His heart was in his throat as someone appeared on the path. He glanced up, noticing it was a girl. She walked slowly towards him, her eyes scanning the surrounding area. He thought he was gonna throw up when she walked right up to him, "Excuse me sir, have you seen anyone come by here in the last few minutes?" "Um, yeah. A guy ran by here just a second ago," he answered. She smiled, trying to see his face in the dark, "Thanks." Brian watched as she headed up the path. He got up and headed in the opposite direction. Suddenly a shooting pain ran through his leg and he looked down. A dart of some kind was sticking out of his leg. He quickly pulled it out, looking down the path. The girl was standing there with a small crossbow in her hand. "Oh crap," he said, turning and trying to run. Whatever was in the dart was starting to take affect. It was as if he was dragging himself down the path. He could hear her footsteps behind him, getting closer. He screamed as another dart hit him in the back. He fell to his knees, trying to reach around and pull it out, but he couldn't. His vision started to blur. He put his hands down to keep himself from falling over. Movement in front of him caught his eye, and he looked up. There was a tall man standing in front of him, a wooden stake in his hand. Brian's eyes widened, and he tried to back away from him. Everything started spinning, and he collapsed to the ground, his hands over his face. Tracy, help me! he thought, as the man turned him over onto his back. Brian stared up into the man's face, though he couldn't see it clearly. He could do nothing to protect himself, the drug rendering him helpless. The man straddled him, lifting the stake into the air. Brian closed his eyes, preferring to slip into unconsciousness than to see what was going to happen. The man started to swing the stake down, but a hand reached out and stopped him. "Wait! I think I know him," the girl said. The man looked at her, "What? How do you know him?" She knelt down and turned Brian's face toward her, "Oh my God, David this is Kevin's cousin." David looked down at him, "No way." Candice nodded, "It is, let's get him back to headquarters." David handed over the stake and pulled the dart from Brian's back before he picked him up. He shifted his weight in his arms, then he and Candice started down the path. "Do you think Kevin knew?" she asked. "If he did, he's in big trouble," David said. Candice shook her head, "I just can't believe this." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy ran through the park, trying to find Brian. She'd heard his cry for help but then nothing. She was panicked, fearing the worse. She made it around the park and to another parking lot, just in time to see a car drive off. She knew Brian was in that car. "No!" she yelled as the car got onto the side road and headed toward the freeway. She'd never be able to catch it. She watched as it disappeared into traffic, her heart sinking as it did. She brushed the tears from her face and ran back to her car. She quickly got in and started it, heading back to the hotel. If anyone knew where the slayers would take Brian, it would be Howie. And if he didn't know, well she'd just have to pin down the two slayers of the bunch until they told her. She sped out of the parking lot, her tires squealing, "Hang on Brian, just hang on." Chapter 32 |