Page 8Searching peace

Dramatic as my exit was though, I had no idea where to go from there. I had all I needed with me, even though there were some things that I would love to find again. Like the vampire book or just to talk to people who knew me. Yet, I felt I had to do this alone.

But there was one problem.

I looked at my wrists and stared at my reflection in the pale moon-stone. I'd hardly felt them when I got out of the ground. It had been around my wrist just as much as the necklace had still been around my neck. They had felt like companions in the many times before, but now they felt like weights. They felt like chains around my neck and arm that held me prison. But they didn't, and I knew they didn't.

But I wanted to keep them somewhere safe without wearing them. But where? I couldn't quite bury them anywhere. That would be too insecure. I tried to remember if there was a safe at my grandmother's mansion. The problem there was that even if there was a safe, which I believed there was, I wouldn't know the combination. Who took care of that house now, anyway? Kai, or Janus, would know of it and would perhaps find me there, something I didn't really want at the moment. So it was not an option either.

Suddenly, I had a really stupid idea.

Didn't I have a bank-account somewhere?

Not that it would make a difference. Banks were notoriously hard to get into when they were closed and I didn't exactly have the option to step by during opening hours. Those lazy gits tended to only open between nine and five or something. Some branches until seven if people were lucky. Not that that was any use, the sun set late already and it would only be night shorter. I felt like I had to hurry with my plans. But how. Stealing a car is not exactly something that would go unnoticed.

Even though I was very happy I could drive now, a skill I was sure would come in handy later, I still had no idea what to do. But I just knew I had to go to Mareana. Something was calling me there. But I had no idea what. Maybe the thieves.

I laughed gently to myself.

I needed some time to think.

The roofs.

Instead of just going there to run or hide, this time, like I had done a few times so long ago, I wanted to think. It would be a little harder to get to the roofs than I was used to though. Flying definitely had it's advantages. Getting to the top of the highest building in town used to be a breeze. And now a breeze would stop me from getting there. Even though I should still be quite proficient in climbing, wind tended to be bad at higher altitudes, even above a city. Especially above a city. because it was more unexpected.

So, maybe not the highest office buildings today. But just the quieter places in town among the factories and the storage building should do me good. I walked over calmly to that area of town, looking around with a little interest to the people still awake. There weren't many. Just some people either working very late or outside to go somewhere. No one was here just to walk around or talk to people. There was a preoccupied feeling to them all, and I didn't mind. It gave me the freedom to look at them without apprehension. Not that I ever refrained from looking normally.

I went to the area between the train-station and the old safe-house. It was a good area to sit, as there weren't many things around that area that were any use at night and no busy roads through it either. No one would see me climbing up, no one would look at me standing there. I chose one of the higher old factories. It was still being used but only during the day. Factory might even be a bit optimistic a name for it. It wasn't difficult to climb either. Making myself feel a little lighter made even the lightning-rod cable on the side of the building be my friend. It didn't worry me though, not a cloud in sight tonight so if there would be lightning, it would really be an act of god.

It made me wonder if a vampire would survive it or if it would count as fire. If I recalled correctly, the thing with being electrocuted is not just the current, it was that the water in your cells would start to boil and heat yourself from the inside.

Not very positive thinking, Amy.

At least I made it to the roof and took a minute to clear a little spot to sit. I sat down and took a deep breath.

I sat down and folded my legs, putting the diary on my lap and writing for a few moments to chronicle what had happened so far. I'm not sure how long it took me, but I felt comfortable there. It was fairly quiet up there and though I could hear the sounds of the city, it was far, far away. After I closed my diary and put it in the bag again, I took a deep calm breath and let my eyes close as I sat there and listened to the city.

I let myself calmly drift away on those sounds. Feeling, for a moment, again the gentle tension of the city that I felt when I slumbered. It made the thoughts in my head clearer and brighter and I knew that I really had to get out of here. I had to take some risks, I knew that, but I wasn't sure which ones.

Time passed, as it does so easily, and peace draped itself over my body like a gentle, warm blanket.

Until I was interrupted.

"It's been a while."

It was a mocking voice, but not unkind. A strong, feminine voice. One which I had heard in the final moments of my friends. One that had been a bane and a blessing. As I opened my eyes I couldn't see her. I had to look around to find her standing next to me, a few steps away, with her long sword held stretched out in front of her. The light was reflected beautifully off it.

She was dressed in almost the same clothes as the last time I saw her. Gentle leathers that allowed for very free movement and almost no adornments. Her red hair as long and beautiful as ever, her green eyes piercing as they looked at me. But the smile on her sharp red lips was kind. Still, it was her presence most of all that inspired and impressed. She was a huntress, completely in control of her every move, her every breath.

Muriel.

She sounds beautiful, doesn't she?