Part 1 The Truth

After 8 hours of running the store and helping customers with their last orders, I turned the open sign to closed. Feeling satisfied with the work I had done, it was Productive, and seeing all the people I made happy today made me feel good. I turned off the lights and headed out the door with my keys in hand to lock up. As I got to the car, I could not help but be a little paranoid after all I had been through, looking at my surroundings carefully before I pulled out my keys to unlock the car, I stepped inside and closed the door locking the car again and sat there catching my breath, I looked out the windshield seeing a man staring at me, it made my heart race as I fumbled with my keys, after a moment I finally got the key into the ignition and turned the car on, when the headlights turned on the individual who was watching me fled as if the lights hurt them. I let out a deep breath and calmed my heart down before driving off. 

As I was heading back to the mansion my mind began wondering, what was my father doing with A'kreath and Spazz and How long have they been friends and co-workers. As I drove up to the mansion I pressed the garage opener and parked inside the garage. I stood up out of the car looking at the car while closing the door, I placed my hand on it and thought about Dad yet again, he intended this car for me, what purpose did he see in me having such an expensive vehicle? 

I stood there for a while lost in thought before I heard Daliah's voice from behind me. " she is quite the machine isn't she, I helped make the modifications to her." I snapped out of my thoughts hearing her words. " What do you mean you helped with modifications?" I asked a hint of curiosity in my voice. Daliah smiled at me and nodded. " Your father wanted you to be I guess well equipped and protected, so he asked me and Jurico to make modifications to your baby here. she is equipped with U.V. headlights and armor plating as well as the best engine money can buy with all the bells and whistles. as well as a hidden arsenal," Daliah said before she tapped the front of the car on what I initially thought was the bonnet and heard a sound coming from it as if something shifted. " Go on open it Crystal, see what is inside it," she said while stepping aside letting me step in front of my car as I let my mind wonder at what could be inside.

I looked at the key fob in my hand and pressed the button to open the hood as I opened it I could see under the hood was the trunk and inside I saw three items, a blade that looked to be an oversized arrowhead with a hilt that seemed to be too big for a blade the size of a dagger, and there were odd symbols on it as well, I could not identify them, beside that was what looked like a .45 caliber magnum long barrel revolver. it had writing on the side of the barrel. "As above so below." that was an odd sentence what did it mean I wondered, it had a box of ammo beside it marked mercury-tipped silver bullets, and the last item was a coat, one I remembered father wearing when I was younger, it had an odd looking dragon on the back of a three-headed dragon with three tails it was in a circle and each head had the tips of all three tails in their mouths, and had four wings, the coat its self was made of leather, and was black, and again there was text underneath the dragon eating its tails. "I do not hide the monster within me I show it proudly, you are the ones who hid the monster within." I reached my hand to the coat and touched the dragon, following the pattern of the stitching wondering what meaning this symbol had, I picked up the coat feeling it was fairly heavy and looked at it questioningly.

I closed the hood and looked at Daliah as I held the coat. " what is this?" I asked with a curious tone holding the coat out to her and Daliah just smiled at me and giggled. " that is a ballistic weave coat your father used to wear, he was big in the protect what you can of the main body, he wanted you to have that too. as for the symbol I would ask A'kreath about that." she said before walking away. I looked at the coat before putting it on, and feeling the weight on my shoulders made me think back to when I was younger and Dad hugged me while wearing this coat, I always told him he was heavy, and he always said it was the weight of his love for me, he was such a kind-hearted man. a single tear fell from my eyes causing me to snap out of my thoughts and wipe my cheek seeing I had cried.

I shook my head looked at the coat while it was on me and smiled before walking inside the mansion the kids were still playing with each other I giggled as I watched them for a moment before walking into the kitchen and smelling some mouth-watering food. Kitty was cooking smoked salmon with rice and fresh vegetables, it smelled so good my stomach growled loudly, Kitty just giggled and looked back at me. " Sit dear I have made enough for everyone," she said before turning back to what she was doing. I noticed Niki was sitting down watching Kitty cook, I walked over to her making sure she noticed me, to not startle her, and sat with her giving her a tight hug. 

I smiled at Niki and said, "Hey Niki, How are you feeling?" Niki was surprised at the random hug but she did not care much and said, "Hey Crystal where were you today? Yes, I am feeling a lot better than I have been." I stopped hugging Niki and Looked at her examining her body language she was still tense but not as tense as she was the other day, her eyes were red and puffy from a lot of crying, I smiled sadly and nodded gently as I rubbed her shoulder. "I was at the new storefront and earning little money." Niki got up from the chair looking a bit angry with me, she and I have always run the store together, and I knew she wanted to help me but I just could not sleep last night. "You went without me to the new store?" I stared at her and said, "I was up at 3:00 am this morning Niki and I didn't want to wake anyone up while they were sleeping. You know this Niki and I wanted you to relax from what we have been through." 

Niki just glared at me before saying, "Crystal, I am just worried someone might hurt you or worse go after you like they did me. Don't go there without me again Crystal." I saw Niki as a friend and a family member but since the attack from my step-family, Niki has been way overprotective, I understood her worry but she needed to realize we were not in as much danger as we were before, I breathed out a deep sigh and looked at her. " Niki you need to stop worrying so much about me, right now you need to focus on yourself first. and secondly, there are places to go for shelter if I ever think I am in danger, A'kreath pointed them out to me," I said to her, I could see she was not very happy about this but she was trying to understand. 

Niki sighed and looked back to Kitty, she was fighting herself internally trying to back down but at the same time, she was losing that battle. "I know you trust them but I do not Crystal, they are monsters all of them." I looked at her a bit surprised, she had spent a day with Kitty and still called all of them monsters, though I think I expected it to a point, she was not going to accept them overnight. "what about Kitty though? Is she a monster?" I asked cautiously as I watched her body language. Niki looked down as if realizing she let her demons speak again and shook her head. "no... she is not a monster... she is the mother I never had." she said in a saddened tone of voice.

 Kitty had been watching us quietly making sure nothing extremely bad happened, she walked over to us with plates of food and placed them on the table for us before reaching a hand over to Niki's face and gently stroking her cheek." Dear stop, you are safe here no one is going to hurt you while you reside here, there is an Elysium in place here, and A'kreath enforces it." Niki and I looked at Kitty curiously. " what is an Elysium?" we asked almost in unison, Kitty giggled and pulled her hand away from Niki's face crossing her arms over her chest with one hand against her own face. " it is a Sanctuary, it is a Kindred law, no bloodshed is allowed upon the grounds of the Elysium as well no one is allowed to wrong you without facing severe punishment." I could see Niki visibly relax and nod to Kitty. " I am sorry... I just can't help but worry Kitty." 

Kitty looked over at me and smiled gently it looked motherly and sweet. "Crystal darling, maybe you should leave a note or send her a text next time so she does not worry as much and so she can possibly find you if she needs you, does that sound doable?" she asked as she looked at both Niki and I, it did make sense I did kinda leave without saying anything and for a good while as well, I looked at Niki as she nodded. " I am sorry Niki I will send you a text next time, I did not think about it I was just so excited to see the new store, " I said softly and looked down almost ashamed of worrying Niki as I did.

Kitty reached over to me and gently tilted my head up with her fingers gently and smiled at me. "it is okay Crystal you were excited and did not want to wake anyone up that late. I understand and I am sure that Niki understands as well it is just she worries about your safety and does not want anything bad to happen to you." she said in a caring motherly tone, Kitty was a sweetheart and a loveable person, very calming to be around, especially in the kitchen. I smiled at her before nodding at her, "Now eat you two the food is getting cold, and fish is never good cold. "Me and Niki both started to eat our meals, though I noticed only Kitty sat with us and there was no other plate at our table. I tilted my head to the side. "where are Spazz and Tina?" I asked softly showing worry at them both missing. Kitty only giggled. " They are fine, Spazz took Tina to the Silver Forge." 

 I blinked in confusion staring at Kitty for a moment, before I asked "What is the Silver Forg? Is it for making something like a sword or jewelry?" Kitty laughed with a gentle heart and said, " No, Sweetheart it is not for making swords or jewelry, it is basically a place werewolves can go and purify themselves and make themselves into what they wish to be even becoming human again, at least that is what Spazz says, he has been through it himself he used to be a black spiral dancer known as Harbinger of death, he was then thrown into the forge and came out a white howler, A'kreath knows more about this than I so why don't you go talk to him after you are done eating." Niki seemed to not enjoy that idea too much but as well she wanted to know more like I did.

After we were done eating I looked over at Niki and wondered if she was truly ready after what A'kreath did to her, she looked back to me and as if reading my thoughts she nodded to me, we both stood up and thanked Kitty for the meal and walked to A'kreaths office and knocked on the door, it took a moment before we heard him say." Come in." as we opened the door and walked into his office we saw him talking on the phone all we could hear was his side of the conversation." You are sure about this information Scans This Disk?" he motioned for us to sit on a sofa and seemed to listen to the person on the other end. " okay. Okay, yeah I will send you a couple of people just be careful." he said before hanging up the phone grabbing his personal phone, and sending out a text. he then looked at us. " what can I do for you two?" he asked his cold gaze seeming to stare right through us.

I looked at him for a moment before looking back at Niki who looked like she was on edge as if she was remembering the fact he shoved his hand through her chest. Niki stood up and slowly walked over to him, her body trembling as she asked her questions first. " what are you exactly, who are you exactly, I know you say you are A'kreath but something tells me that is not truly your real name." She said her voice trembling as A'kreath tilted his head before leaning back into his chair. " Are you sure you want the answers to those questions Niki?" He then looked over to me." I have not forgotten I promised to tell you the truth about everything Crystal, are you sure you are ready to hear it though?" he said almost seeming to examine me taking note of the coat I was wearing, he linked his fingers together in front of him placing his hands in his lap as he put one leg over the other waiting for us to ask our questions. 

Niki stared at him before nodding faintly. "Yes, I want the answers," she said with determination in her eyes. A'kreath looked at her and sighed before nodding and closing his cold gray eyes. " My name was originally Raymond Karch, I was a normal human once like you, I used to work for a pet store and live in an apartment with my only companion being a calico cat by the name of Molly, I had always been different then most people, I knew information about the supernatural world before even being thrust into it like a newborn babe, someone was hunting me seeking me, the Black Spiral Dancers, had felt and smelled my presence I was not normal by many means, I had two other spirits within my body, or entities, one named Hasao and one named Yuki. One day I came home and my place was trashed, nothing was left untouched not even my cat, she was found dead, and a group had come to my apartment who had heard something odd had happened, I had dealt with these people before they had come into the pet shop seeking a good food for their black panther. they brought me here where you stand now after finding out I knew more about the supernatural world than a mortal should." he said opening his eyes, they were a pale blue instead of the cold steel gray they were before.

Niki's expression had gone from one of fear and determination to one of slight understanding and pain. " So... You were human once, and you were alone?" she asked all A'kreath did was nod before continuing. " After I got here all I did was read books and avoid people for the better part of the year before finally starting to socialize with Spazz and Kitty who treated me as family, then slowly I figured out this place is a home and everyone here is more like family than anyone else ever had been, I then met Damien and his childer Steph. because I protected Steph she wanted to keep me for herself and killed me, she had tried to turn me but Tracer my mentor and father figure finished the turning that night she killed me, not knowing what to do, I was supposed to be given the choice of if I wanted to be turned or not, Tracer broke his rule to save my life." Niki looked shocked but said nothing.

A'kreath took in a deep breath and reached into his desk pulling out a cigarette case and pulling out what looked like a pure tobacco leaf cigarette and placed it between his lips before lighting it and taking a drag off of it, it at least smelled nicer than a normal cigarette, he looked back to Niki. " I spent a few years with Damien who wanted to observe me and teach me what he could since it was his childer who killed me, he began to become frightened of me in those years, and Steph became like a sister to me. we were almost inseparable, we worked very well together, we were a deadly pair and seen as twins a lot of the time, especially after Hasao made himself known. one day the mansion was attacked, Tracer and Steph both died, and Raymond and Hasao became one that day making me, A'kreath. Yuki just kinda faded into the background." Niki looked saddened as she was given the story, and A'kreath just continued. " So what am I? A monster, I do not hide the fact I am a monster, while others hide the monster within themselves." As he said those words I thought about what the coat said on the back beneath the dragon.

A'kreath looked to Niki for a moment as she began to say. " Why do you call yourself a monster though?" she had asked her tone saddened and she took a couple more steps closer to the desk and A'kreath just took another drag from his cigarette. " Why? Niki, what did I do to you? what did I force you to experience? I have done a lot of cruel things in my time as a Vampire of the Tzimice clan." he said in a cold dark tone before looking at Niki she looked conflicted about what she was about to ask next. " But you did it for a reason right? For the safety of your people and to protect Crystal and to show me that she was not even safe from me?" She looked pained by the fact she mentioned what she did to me and the fact I was not safe from even her. A'kreath closed his eyes and sighed. " Yes that may be the case for what I committed those actions for but it does not change the fact I could have gone about it better, I just resorted to the cruel truth instead of sugarcoating it so I am a monster. Are there any more questions from you Niki?" She just shook her head before stepping away looking worried to ask any more questions afraid of the answers she would get from them.