The Elite Part of Strid

The super rich part of Strid where all the roads are cobble stone and the condos cost millions. Think upper east/west side of New York except with out the nasty smell, the super busy roads, and the dirtiness.

Valentin followed the girl and Kanas into the lobby. He pushed the button for the elevator and waited patiently. He was curious about the connection between Kanas and the boy. Was she a rebel? Or was she just an innocent pedestrian who got caught up in something she didn't need?

Kanas noticed at how Valentin looked at Kaoru. He was analyzing her, trying to find something out. He wanted to answer whatever question was in his mind, but found it best to leave it alone.

"This is a beautiful condo, sir," Kanas commented.

Kaoru looked around at the fancy lobby. She was in awe to say the least. "Wow." The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal an elevator man. Holy crap how rich was this guy?

"Thank you." Valentin responded. "Cost me an arm and a leg." The elevator arrived and pinged. The doors slid open and Charles the Elevator Escort was standing smiling. "Ladies and guests first." Valentin smiled back at Charles. He followed his guests onto the elevator and said "Charles to my residence please." The doors closed and Charles put in a code.

"Your card sir." Charles asked Valentin.

"Ah yes." Valentin made it appear in his hand and gave it to Charles who swiped it and handed it back. Valentin placed it back in his coat pocket. The elevator shot up.

Kaoru got on the elevator and watched the exchange between Mr. Jaus and the elevator guy. Valentin was too smooth but she guessed after being alive for a long time he would be. The elevator started moving and startled Kaoru who stumbled a little then rebalanced her self. Artemis was rubbing on her legs saying he was hungry. She hoped they allowed pets.

Kanas looked a little weary at the elevator. It was perhaps that he was tired. He had a long day and it was close to time to rest and sleep. But before he slept, he wondered something. Something about vampires. He had heard that there were such things as an elven vampire, commonly referred to by humans as Imps, but he heard they were only legends. What would be better than to ask a vampire himself?

"I beg your pardon, but I want to ask something. Do you know if there are such vampire breed as Imps? Err- Elven vampires?" Kanas asked.

"Ah the Imps." he paused and smiled "I have never run into one myself. For if I did they kept it well hidden. They are still just legend as far as I know but I see no reason why an elf could not become a vampire."

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open to a small lobby with one door directly in front of them. The entire lobby was made out of a reddish dark brown oak. There was a small golden chandelier with actual candles in it lighting up the tiny lobby. Valentin was very old school. He walked up to the door and touched a part of the wall to the side. A panel slid open and Valentin had it scan his eye. When the scan was done the panel automatically closed and he pulled out a large brass key and inserted it into the large brass key hole. He unlocked the door and turned the large brass door knob. He opened the door into a foyer.

The foyer was a little larger than the lobby. There was a small round oak table in the middle of the room with a lit candelabra on it. There were four doors in the small room. The entrance, a door to the right which led to the kitchen and servant areas. A door in front of them which led to the rest of the condo and a door to the left which was the coat closet. A man came through the door to their right and walked up to Valentin and asked "Good evening sir. Staying in for the evening?"

"I'm not sure Claude. Let me ask my guests." He turned away from his butler and looked at his two guests. "Would you like to leave now or stay the night?" he asked the two stading in the open door. "Might I also add that my estate in Restaul is a tad bit bigger than this although not quite as nice."

Kaoru looked around the ornate room. It was very old fashioned. She looked at the man who walked in and waited patiently while their host talked with him. He eventually faced her and Kanas and asked if they wanted to spend the night or leave now.

She looked over at Kanas and said "Well what do you want to do?" She was tired but didn't want to stay somewhere archaic. But on the other hand he probably had comfy beds. Artemis sat at her feet watching the candle on the table as the light flickered.

Kanas looked around at the beautiful condo. He wished to stay in someplace comfortable since those bloody soldiers decided to use him as target practice, and he wanted to make sure that Kaoru slept comfortably.

"We'll stay for the night, thank you. It'll do us bloody well, and she needs a comfortable place after all she's been through," Kanas said with a wink at Kaoru.

Valentin smiled at the two and turned towards Claude and said "Then we will be staying! Prepare my quarters and a room for the valient Master Froothgar and the beautiful Miss Matsu'ura." Claude bowed and walked out. Another servant walked in from the door down the hallway "Follow him please." Valentin motioned for them to follow.

Kaoru watched Valentin as he gave orders and strode towards the servant down the hallway. She hoped Kanas would follow her because the fact that this place had no power made it look cool but kind of scary.

Kanas followed the servant with Kaoru. He could feel the distress radiating from her as if she were a furnace. He grabbed her hand as they walked and helded tight, smiling assuredly at her.

"We'll be fine, milady. I promise. I'll watch after you no matter what sort of bloody beast comes this way. Alright?" Kanas reassured to her.

Valentin stopped in front of one of the guest rooms in his flat. "Miss this will be you room." He indicated the door to his right. "And across the hall a little farther down on the left is your room Master Froothgar." He smiled and opened Kaoru's room. He flipped the light switch just inside the room. "All of my guest rooms and servant quarters have electricity. Please make yourself at home."

The bedroom was large with fluffy white carpet and pale pink walls. The king size bed on the left side of the room was a canopy bed with thick victorian era patterned canopy. The comforter matched the canopy and the throw pillows all over head of the bed. The same fabric covered the windows as curtains and were drawn. There were beautiful dark oak pieces of furniture throughout the room and a door on the opposite side of the room from the bed. That led into a large white bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and a rain drip shower.

"The door over there is a bathroom. Goodnight Miss Matsu'ura."

Kaoru was shocked at Kanas' action. She blushed a little because she was not used to the contact with other people. Her cat followed behind her looking around. She listened to Valentin and watched as he opened a door to her right. The room inside was gorgeous. She was happy that there was electricity in this room. She let go of Kanas' hand and walked in listening to Valentin. He wished her good night. "Good night Mr. Jaus and thank you for having us. I will see you tomorrow Kanas." She smiled at them both happily. Artemis meowed his good night to the two men standing in the doorway.

Kanas smiled at her. "Sleep well, Kaoru," he said before he turned to go to his room. He had a question ringing in his mind, but wasn't sure how to ask it. It would have come across as a threat to some and an insult to others. He decided it was best to let it be.

"Thank you again, mr. Jaus," Kanas thanked before he went into his room. He looked at the bed and sighed in deep relief. He took his shirt off and threw it on the floor. He looked at the wound from earlier. It scarred over, leaving a large white mark that grew over his side like a spider web. He wondered how much damage the bloody bullet did, so he traced his abs for any irregularities. Then he traced his pex and chest muscles for anything else. His heart beat calmly underneath his left chest muscle. It comforted him. His heart still beated. He was still alive.

Satisfied, he crawled into bed and let the lights fade off. He couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched. He fell into a light sleep, remaining alert. It was training as a demon hunter that allowed this.

Valentin stood in the doorway to the lady's room and watched as her partner said good night and walked down to his guest room. He turned and looked at the girl. He took a moment to really look at her. She was quite pretty. He smiled again and said "Good night Kaoru."

He closed the door and walked down the hallway to another hall with no other doors except the one at the end of the hall which led to his room. His servant followed him until he reached his chamber doors. "That will be all. I'll take it from here." He grabbed one of the candles off the candelabra and opened the door to his extravagant room. It was covered in beautiful shades of blood red, gold, and black. He stripped his clothes off and left them on the floor. Sliding in between the sheets they were cold of his bare skin. He settled in for a good nights rest.

Kaoru stared at the door for a moment wondering about the mysterious vampire. She fingered the chain of the gold sword necklace she wore. She pulled the tiny pendent sword out of her shirt and played with it in her hand. She walked over to the bed and remembered the night her parents and her got into a car wreck.

The smell of burnt rubber. Loud sounds and bright interstate lights. Then that man who helped her and her mother. She pulled off her clothes and headed for the bathroom and too a long hot shower. She got out and fed Artemis and went to bed holding the locket like she did when she was a child.

Kanas woke. He heard something, but he wasn't sure. It was a silent thing, not easily noticeable through human ears, yet he heard it. It was a sharp, short beep. The noise that preceeds a sniper shot from a soldier if he thinks he has the advantage, though he may very well not shoot. Kanas sat up and looked around. There were no ways to get in. Only a window.

Feeling cautious, he got out of bed and walked around to the window. All the while, he heard footsteps mimicking his own. The weren't padded like his, but rather loud and obnoxious. He looked very carefully in front of him and noticed a small fracture of the light passing through that space. He impulsively pulled his sword from his pocket and ignighted the bright blue blade and stabbed into the space. He heard a grunt and a soldier appeared in front of him. The soldier fell to his knees, whimpered in pain, and died. At that moment, the sniper shot he had been waiting for fired off and hit the dead soldier in the head. He didn't grab his shirt, he just ran out of the room. Kaoru was the only one on his mind.

Reaching her room, he burst through the door and flipped the light switch on. Ignoring her sudden ditress, he jumped to the window and closed the curtain. Luck was on his side, as another sniper round almost hit him. He wlked to the side of the bed and threw her clothes on her bed. He shivered as a rush of cold air hit his upper torso.

"Get dressed fast. We have company, milady, and they aren't in the mood for talking," he said quietly. He kept his sword by his side in case soldiers came flooding through her door.

Kaoru got out of the heavenly bed. She was a bit groggy but the sniper rifle shot caused her to realize what was going on. The cold air hit her skin and she realized that she wasn't wearing anything but her panties and a midriff with no bra. She quickly turned away from Kanas and pulled her jeans on. She shivered but grabbed her shirt and ignored the bra. She threw the bra in her pack and grabbed her bo staff. Artemis was standing next to her protectively.

Valentin had woken up not too long before all of the commotion. He was a vampire he didn't need that much sleep. He sat in his dark moonlit kitchen drinking a glass of bagged blood. His new suit was quite comfortable.

He heard a beep. It came from outside. Someone has targeted his house. But for whom? Him? The boy? Or the girl? It didn't matter he stood and went to the innermost room in his house. It had to be accessed using a special code that no one knew but him. His servants didn't even know the room existed.

He walked into the tiny room as the first gunshot went off. He quickly grabbed some guns and made sure his trusty long sword was attached to his hip. He quickly checked the monitors and noticed two snipers on the roofs of the buildings that looked into Kanas' and Kaoru's rooms. He cursed and quickly left the room and closed it. The next shot went off and he ran to Kaoru's room knowing the boy would have gone to protect the girl.

Frankly Valentin was pissed. What the hell was up with this city. The government of Strid knew better than to fu*k with him. He friggin gave them money to leave him alone.

He walked down the hallway and into Kaoru's room to see her and Kanas ready to fight.

Kanas did his best to ignore Kaoru as she dressed. The fact that she wore no bra made it more diffecult. When she finished, he looked over at her.

"You two ready?" Kanas asked them as Jaus entered the room. "We need to get out of this f**cking town, mates, and we need to do it fast. Kaoru, you have any ideas? "

Before Kaoru could answer Valentin interruped "We should head downstairs to the garage. We can leave in one of my cars." Valentin quickly turned and headed towards the front door. He knew the fire exit was out of the question since there was a sniper on that side of the building. The elevator was their best bet... no better yet the stairs." He checked out the peephole of his front door. There were two men standing outside in the tiny lobby. He smirked a bit because there was a third man holding the elevator open. Valentin turned around to face his guest to see if they followed.

Kaoru donned her backpack and walked quickly after her host. She knew he was the only person who knew the building well enough to get them out relatively unharmed. The halls were dark and didn't have windows and all the doors were closed. She walked into the foyer to see Valentin standing in the doorway staring out the peephole. He turned around to face her smirking. "What's going on?" she whispered to him.

Valentin whispered back "Dumba**es didn't cover the peephole there's three of them out in the lobby. Confined space makes this interesting. We have to make sure the one on the elevator doesn't escape though." A knock came at the door and a man yelled his name. Valentin decided to wait for Kanas so they could form a plan.