Crimson Shadows: Chapter 12

Title: Crimson Shadows

Series: The Shadows Play Ground

Chapter: 12

Word Count: 1,927

AN: Uh, so, sorry for this being so late! I had surgery on the 11th to remove my gallbladder (hurrah!) so I'm just now fully healing. I still have twinges but that's an inside pain instead of pain from the incisions that was used to get the scopes into my gut. So, finally! Chapter 12. Enjoy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Kyender, why won't you even consider it?” Maria whined as she followed the other man into the room, hair swinging. Kyender snorted and sent a glare towards her, knowing she would just ignore it, like always.

“Because, we tried to date. We ended up fighting more often then not and I'm not interested in just fucking for the sake of fucking,” he explained, for the nth time in the last month. He could remember all of the fights that they had ended up in while dating and he really didn't want to go down that path. And then having her suddenly want to become fuck buddies wasn't making him very happy about things.

“But Kyender, we were good together,” she huffed, pouting as the other hunter wrote a few numbers down, trying to stop from strangling her. “We could have fun, just be us without having to expect to be all lovey dovy with each other,” she continued, making the other man twitch before snarl as he turned around and pointed his pencil at her.

“No. Stop pushing, Marana. We tried that once and it never worked out and you know it. I have my eye on someone else, someone I know who won't fuck me over the moment it looks as if I'm interested in a new friend,” he snarled before shaking his head and standing up straight. “I don't want a fuck buddy. I want a lover, an equal. You know that, so why keep pushing?”

“You need to loosen up, seriously. You want to have sex, I know you do, but you don't get out too have any. Why not?” Marana asked, snarling ever so slightly as Kyender stopped and wrote something else down on his clip board.

“Because I'm not interested in finding the first available dick or hole and indulging in sex just for sex. I'm with Markus on this; sex is meant to be between those who care about each other and not just amongst friends. That complicates things,” Kyender replied, glaring at his so called friend, wondering what would happen if he just said fuck it and told Kyle that he couldn't work with Marana any more due to her unable to keep work and their personal lives apart.

Deciding it wasn't worth it at the moment, he continued taking his base line readings, moving around the room with his EMF as Marana followed behind with her digital thermal scanner. Keeping the conversation from then on strictly work related, the younger of the two headed downstairs, handing over the information to Kyle and Richard, both of who looked a bit ruffled as they put together the base station.

“What happened?” Marana asked, looking at the two males with calculating eyes, something which the both of them missed, more concerned with making copies of the notes.

“One of the monitors tried to tip over a few times before we were able to bolt the bitch down,” Richard snorted, printing out the information before saving it down into small data chip, tucking it away into the chip case. Sliding in a new one, he looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Why?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Just wondering why you were looking kinda ruffled there,” she replied, smirking lightly at the dull look of displeasure that came from Kyle as he got up off the floor after flipping on the surge protectors followed by the computers.

“Stop, Marana. Just stop. Your mother should have taken you over her knee years ago, but since she's not here, I'm going to throw my weight around as your boss. Stop it. Stop trying to get Richard in trouble with me, with anyone for once and do your job,” Kyle snarled before sitting down in one of the chairs to check the monitors. “Okay, so, we need to put up cameras in each bedroom, one at the end of the hallway, a couple in the basement rooms, and finally one each in the study, kitchen, dinning room and the room that is playing at being a pantry,” he listed off, writing down where each camera was to go. “Make sure that they are hooked up to a good power source with back up power if needed.”

“Don't forget memory chips and your walkie talkies. Keep your ear buds in so we can tell you what's happening with your camera as you set it up please. Also keep your EMF detectors and your digital thermometer; keep your note books close at hand since you're liable to run into some spikes,” Richard continued, opening various programs on his lap top as Kyle does the same, hooking it up to the monitors.

“Alright. Me and Orian will do the bottom rooms if Markus and Marana don't mind starting the upstairs,” Kyender said, grabbing the camera cases that they would need to start setting up. Markus grabbed a couple more as Orian grabbed one along with Marana, who was looking less then happy about being stuck with the other man.

“Let's go set up cameras and the such so I can get out of here and do something productive,” Orian muttered, heading for the kitchen and cellar, Kyender following after him with one last glare at Marana who was narrow eyed as they walked away. Grabbing her arm, Markus dragged her with him towards the upstairs, muttering about having a long talk with her about her attitude problems and not letting her go until she learned better, or until he took her over his knee, what ever came first.

“Don't hurt her to much. We need her to be able to sit down for her turn at watching things,” Kyle called out after them, getting an `I know' from his uncle.

“He'll straighten her out, hopefully. Otherwise, she's going to be one of the first that I want to replace, and quickly,” Richard drawled from where he was working on a time line for the house, including the newest happenings. “I'm still not to sure about what is happening to the Reams. It doesn't fit past incidents that were reported. Nothing in any of the diaries talk about attacks bigger than things moving around on their own. Why is it that they're being attacked so harshly? What makes them special?”

Kyle paused in his own typing and set up, hesitating on what he was about to tell his companion, eyes dark with thought. “This kinda reminds me of what happened to Uncle Markus actually,” he finally said softly, turning to his friend, a frown tugging at his lips. “Remember how he told you about how attacks would happen when he was young, mostly to those who would fuck the family over in the long run?” he asked, getting a nod from his friend. “Well, they stopped for a long time but then before he found that wedding dress porcelain doll they started up again, just before my grandfather died.”

“Didn't your uncle Leon get shoved down the cellar steps?” Richard asked, eyebrows pulling down in thought as Kyle nodded. “Ended up with bruised ribs, a concussion and a broken arm with a popped shoulder if I remember right.”

“Yeah. Uncle Leon still has trouble with that shoulder to this day. He goes in for physical therapy to keep the muscles strong and flexible. He might end up with arthritis later in life, which will really mess him up,” the smaller of the two sighed, shoving a hand through his bright red hair. “Though the attack did humble him, especially since Uncle Markus had warned him that the attacks were happening, and happening against anyone in the house.”

“This is just to close to what happened there,” Richard guessed, getting a nod as aqua eyes darkened in thought. “The attacks, the feelings of being watched. The laughter.”

“Oh yeah. From what they told me in the last few days the laughter is absolutely shudder worthy, almost quite, breathy and smug. Makes me worry so much,” the smaller man of the two moaned, relaxing into his chair as he moved it back and forth in thought.

“Yeah. Don't worry, we'll figure this out, no worries,” the other man answered, smiling lightly at his friend. “Does Markus know about how close this is to the attacks?” he asked suddenly, watching Kyles lips thin out.

“Yeah. Lien was hissy about him coming out to this but agreed that the family needs to take care of this if it's true,” he said, nodding his head. “He plans on coming out later to help us since he's off once he's free from his job.”

“We could use all the help we can get.”

“Yeah, we could.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Listening to them, he nibbled on his bottom lip, worrying what used to be skin. He was pressed against one wall, listening and trying not to run in and kick their asses. Shaking his head he pulled away and tapped his bottom lip in thought before moving back to his room.

They were close, much to close to knowing what was happening here. They weren't supposed to know about what was going on. The Blood had been right, had warned him that they were smarter and would connect the dots. It looked as if they were going to have to loosen their hold on the other beings that haunted this house, that watched over the land and trying to watch over the humans, warning them away from the house.

But they would do as a good distraction, as a way to get the idiots off of their trail, making the both of them happy with how things would happen. It was just a matter of loosening the leash on the land; but first he had to convince the Blood to do that. He rarely wanted to let go of any kind of his control, especially if it scared away his food.

Biting his bottom lip hard, not feeling the pain that someone would normally feel, but then again he wasn't all that normal after all. He was long dead and long cursed, making him something special.

Shaking his head once more, he fussed about the room, idly moving things around on the table that sat in the middle of the room.

Bones, vials of blood from the hundreds that had traveled over the land during the centuries that had passed, bits of hair so well preserved that if he wasn't already broken he would have found creepy and so much more. He had once asked why the Blood collected such things and he had gotten the simple answer of revenge.

But why would the Blood want revenge? It wasn't just one soul. It was bits of thousands of souls that had been spilt on the land for one reason or another. It was this soul and that soul, souls from the creatures made of mud and bone. Souls of the creatures made of stone and rock. Souls of animals.

It wasn't just one soul. Then again, all those souls were spilled during anger or greed, allowing the Blood to form.

Picking up one bone, he idly played with it, finding the size and length of it rather interesting. Maybe he could get the Blood to work with him for the greater of their plans. Purring, he put the bone down and melded into a wall to find the Blood who was watching Kyender and Markus set up cameras. He knew how to get the other to work with him, it would just take a little finesse.