Faline

This isn't good. I motion Kerry to help the poor guy. He must have been booking it to get here before Nicolaus. Just to warn me? That... I don't know what to say to that.

I smell him first, I tell everyone to get behind the counters and stay down. They don't look happy about it, but they do so, Maii being the closest to me, as always. I walk further out so I'm standing a few feet in front of my counters just as the large cat stalks in.

His orange eyes are blazing with heat. My heart stutters, but I hold my hands out, palm up, eyes on his.

"Nicolaus, you're very angry, shift, and tell me what's wrong."

He creeps closer, doing that few feet and freeze stalk. My heart is thundering in my chest, it can probably be heard by everyone that's in the hallways cowering, it's so loud. He keeps coming, and when he's just a few feet, I yell at him to shift and talk to me.

When two feet in front of me, he shifts. His chest is heaving with his anger, eyes scaring me more than anything else right now. They only get like that before he goes totally crazy on me.

"Nicolaus? What happened?"

Slit eyes travel over my face, his hair wild around him. Nude, but that isn't the issue here. I can't get myself to get any closer, my fear rooting me and getting worse the longer he stares.

"Nicolaus? Please. You're scaring me."

I whisper and cajole. Those orbs still blaze, but now start to fill with something more. Him. Less of his crazy and more of his sane self that I've steadily been pulling out of him.

"Faline, have you been with the Mistress? Have you slept with her?"

I can feel my face go pale. Hell, my whole body does at this point. Ohh... Shit. I am so dead. There's no getting out of this, and I can't lie to him.

Nicolaus reads it on me when I don't answer, my eyes pleading with him. He himself has said no one can tell her no, what was I supposed to do? I wrap my arms around my middle. Even worse, I can hear Kerry telling Maii to run for her now.

"What was I supposed to do Nicolaus? Tell her no? You know I couldn't. I'm sorry."

I just barely get that last part out when he starts roaring at me. The sane part of him gone as I look at him. Something deep within me screams at me to shift and run. I don't argue.

Shifting and jumping out of the apron and skirt, I lose a couple of seconds as my heart beats so fast my ribs threaten to break. The worst thing you can do is run from a predator, especially when there's nowhere to flee to. Not much else I can do though.

I go as fast as my legs can take me, going through room after room, hallway after hallway. The whole time I can hear him barreling after me, angry snarls can be heard faintly from within his chest. If he gets a hold of me, I will be killed or praying for death to come quickly.

That thought alone spurns my feet to go faster, pushing from cat speed to Vampire. He stays right on my tail, so I know he's stretching this out as long as he can. Exhausting me so I won't have the energy to fight back.

Colors flash by, my turning corners has me literally running on the walls. I don't recognize these halls, so I've no idea where I'm going. Something inside me is directing my movements as I get closer and closer to full-blown panic.

These rooms are bigger, filled with people. I streak by, avoiding those grabbing for my body or tail. One kicks out, almost causing me to lose my legs from under me.

I hear his shout as he gets swiped at by the rampaging cougar. Nicolaus likes to do his own punishing and torture, doesn't like it when others touch me. That's the whole reason he's on my ass now.

I fly through a large doorway that leads into another foyer where several people are, and more coming in from a far door. I keep going, if I slow or stop, I'm dead. Someone stands in front of me for a moment, then moves.

When I look past them searching for my next path, I see someone who can't be here, but is.

That can't be right.

I don't care, I leap for them.

My sister has finally come.