Chapter 2.2

Later that week, Caolan had finally dragged Oriana to the police station for her interview. Giving her a hug and a quick, "Good luck!" he pushed her towards the station.

Suddenly, Oriana felt nervous at the prospect of getting a job. She was doing fine without one! Caolan was counting on her though, and she wasn't one to disappoint, so she trudged on in. At the very least, her dad would finally get off her back.

When she emerged hours later, she was thankful she had packed her work out clothes. They had tested her athletic skills as well as her aptitude at figuring out logic puzzles. She would have to improve in both areas it seemed, as instead of making her Caolan's partner, she got the lowly job of "Snitch".

Before she even took two steps towards home, she spotted Katib. Motioning him over she asked what he was up to walking around in the dark.

"Does it matter?" he said, bringing her into a hug.

"I guess not," Oriana replied, "I just wasn't expecting you until tomorrow night."

"Well how about we go out tonight instead?" his voice trembled slightly along with the rest of his body.

"Katib? Are you alright?" Oriana inquired as she went to pull out of the hug. Seeing the man in her embrace wasn't Katib, she reeled backwards in fear.

The man smiled menacingly at Oriana and in that instant, she knew his name.

"Theron," she pleaded as shock claimed the vampires face.

"You seem familiar," she continued with her begging, "Please, don't poison me any more, I can already feel it seeping through my veins like a parasite."

Snapping out of it, Theron shook off the strange sensation he had felt when she had recognized him, and overwhelmed her defenses.

Was she harder to allure this time around? he cogitated while staring at the mentally incapacitated young woman, Or, was it I who had a harder time bringing myself to harm her? Shaking his head to clear out the inward debate, he forced himself to see only one conclusion, No, she must be learning magics from Hathor, that must be it.

As the two make it to Oriana's home, they once again end up in Oriana's bedroom.

"What else do you wish of me, Master?" the drudge asked, hoping to please her captor further.

"I wish for a taste," Theron replied, not being able to stop himself.

Offering her neck, the puppet felt no pain nor pleasure as the vampire sank his fangs into her pulsing carotid. When he had his fill, he beckoned her over to the bed. It was hard to keep his control over the woman during the act, but it served as a great distraction while he injected a larger dose of the poison.

Before releasing her from his allure, he paused for a moment to indulge the woman's instinct to cuddle. Realizing what was happening, he jumped up, erased her memory, and fled into the night. 

The next morning, Oriana woke up feeling like she had been hit in the head. Her headache was pulsing, and it almost hurt to think. Subconsciously reaching to touch her neck, she winced as the light brush sent pain coursing through her veins. Worrying that her mystery adversary might have visited her again, she started to summon Hathor when she remembered the awkward position she was in when she woke. Brushing it off as a bad neck cramp, she got ready for her date that night.

When it was time for her date, Oriana arrived at the bar, noticing that Katib was running late. Taking a seat on a stool, she made conversation with the bartender as the mixologist concocted the ordered drinks.

Katib arrived not a minute later and the two retreated upstairs to the lounge. Oriana told him all about her job interview the previous day and how she had been assigned the lowliest job. She even admitted that she thought she'd eventually enjoy working at the local station.

Katib responded that he was an aspiring writer, which was the reason for his travels. Writing about the pyramids was overdone back in Egypt, but finding the hidden secrets in mostly unheard of towns could be lucrative. So far, he was halfway through his latest book based on Hammond Island alone, and was looking forward to settling down and writing a series on each of the local sights.

When they were all talked out, the couple tried their hand at foosball, a game which neither had ever played before. Katib was in the lead by three points when the bouncer approached them and asked them to leave. Apparently spinning the little men was against the rules there. Laughing the whole endeavor off, they hailed a taxi to take them each home.

When the taxi reached Oriana's house, Katib followed her out to bid her goodbye. A light peck on the lips and the two were inseparable. Stumbling inside, Oriana directed her lover up the stairs to Elly's old room. They were less likely to be disturbed in the unused room, and Oriana couldn't even fathom what her parents would say if they discovered she had brought a man home.

After the deed, the couple gazed into each other's lives and both knew that they had found someone special.