This was just a bad idea...Going alone, to Kisendoth Islands, to check the ruins left on some old cave. She really, really should have taken Raelin. Really...

With a sigh, Danae zipped her jacket further and secured the bag slung over her shoulder. Deep in the depths of the cavern was some sort of secret, or so said the resourcer who had rushed into her office that morning. Of course, she should have left that to the investigators, but since this was considered research, she decided to go it alone.

How difficult could it be? She had remembered to put on her climbing shoes that could hold the tread of the cavern and the flashlight had been stowed away safely in her bag. The camera she would need along with the recording device and any notes she needed to make...All that was stowed away in her bag as well.

The boat docked on a makeshift port and Danae stepped off, glancing back to see the Captain already heading away. The water was dark, blacker than black, but the waves, they hardly moved. A chilly wind drifted through the air, toussling her hair and blowing a few stray strands into her eyes.

She had nearly forgotten the terror that went with this place, the legends of hauntings and death. Of course...Of course.

Shaking her head, Danae went onward, knowing she had seen plenty and probably wouldn't see anything worse today.

Drawing out the map, she glanced at it, then looked up at her surroundings. She had been here countless times before with Marcus and Raelin...Danae felt fairly safe, for the moment.

"Alright...So it's a general 'thataway' direction," she murmured to herself, heading off for where the cavern would be waiting.

It had been easy enough to start the 'chain of events'. Dor was a gambler, plain and simple and he always thought everything out before he did it.

It was only a matter of time before he'd discovered a certain female that worked at MSI- only a nobody who carried messages here and there and didn't get 'paid enough'. He'd barely had to call her name, barely had to smile at her, barely had to offer to walk her home, protect her from the dangers of those evils that lurk at night... barely had to pour her a drink she couldn't normally afford and listen to her terrible, sad tales of a mother and brother and boyfriend and household pet that had died when the world changed... He'd nodded his head and offered her a comforting hug... and eventually he'd had the very listening ear and believing mind he needed. A few days later he'd convinced her she needed to carry a message straight into MSI... and apparently she'd given it to someone who had given it to Danae. Good, good girl. He'd let that one live. She had sent Danae right into his path, right to him.

Danae. The name was burning in his mind, a little more powerfully than some of the others he'd searched out in his unnaturally long life time. He had seen her more than once, but never as closely as he'd wanted to. She was exactly the one at MSI who he needed to befriend and if his research was correct (it always was) she was undeniably single. And according to his silly young messenger, Danae was also starry-eyed for a coworker who had never taken the time to notice her back.

He could definitely take advantage of that. Now he just needed to wait for her to arrive... and it should be any time...

Brushing through overgrown vegetation and bounding over the jagged rocks, Danae tiptoed down a forgotten path until she saw the mouth of the cavern, wide and waiting.

Despite the light that shone down through the treetops, she knew that inside would be about as sunny as a black hole, and so, she switched on the flashlight, running on some sort of magical energy of an old design, and entered the mouth of the cave.

Squaring her shoulders, she looked around, surveying the area around her before she took a step further. Her destination was miles down into the cavern, and foolishly, she had come alone.

Danae and Raelin were alike in one respect, and that was that no aspect of their job frightened them. The things in the shadows, the creatures of the night, they did not strike fear in her heart or in her mind. If anything, they fascinated her.

Finally, she had her bearings in this cave that had proven to be a wealth of hidden information time and time again. First one step, and then another, the soft echoes falling on the slickened rocks around her, bouncing off each other, reverberating back into her own ears.

Dor had never been one to get bored, but after a while, he started to wonder if Danae was ever going to arrive.

But at last! Ah, he heard footsteps. Of course, she was still far away... any 'normal' creature never would have heard those footsteps quite yet, but he wasn't one bit normal. He perked up his ears and smiled to himself.

Dor had brought along candles, which he leisurely lit, one after another, until six candles were on the ground around him in a circle. Danae would come barging in looking for some secret; Dor had learned enough about her to know that she only needed to hear 'secret' and she'd run for the hills looking for gold. She wouldn't need to know details and she would never bring a partner. He had to smile again just thinking of all of it... this one was going to be interesting.

He leaned his head back against cool rock and closed his eyes. Any minute now, any minute... She'd stumble across a light haired stranger in the darkness, only illuminated by a few flickering candles. He'd dressed in his best for this occasion, his very finest, from his pressed white dress shirt to his long-ago tailored black pants. Shoes weren't needed here; he'd taken them off long ago. Cold didn't bother his kind and darkness didn't put fear in an immortal.

Descending into the depths, Danae looked around with the eyes of an eager child, but as she caught a flickering up ahead, her steps grew slower, more cautious.

None were supposed to venture here...but then, she reminded herself that rules were made to be broken. Hadn't she, after all, broken a few in her own time?

Tilting her head, listening to the sounds around her, Danae stepped into the large atrium of the cavern and saw a figure, fair hair glittering in the candlelight.

She was not startled and her pulse never quickened. Regarding him with a careful eye, her mind began piecing together the tidbits that had led her here. Of course, there were secrets within this cavern, ones that she had been intent on finding for some time...but this...

This was the work of a mastermind. This was most assuredly, a set up.

Stopping once he was in plain view, Danae let the beam of her flashlight slope toward the ground, the candlelight sufficient in such a darkened realm. "Will there be a serenade next?" she asked, brow raised in suspicion as she looked at the figure resting so idly against the rock and wondered just what she had walked into this.

She was quieter than most women. There was no shuffle shuffle, no swish swish, no click clack of heels... this was a quieter, more careful woman and her footsteps had 'business' written all over them. Well, and a little enthusiastic child.

When Danae finally came into sight, Dor looked up, looked to her eyes. She wasn't surprised by him, obviously, but she didn't really seem all that upset about him being there either. Maybe she'd caught on to this wild goose chase before she ever stepped off that boat.

Will there be a serenade next?

Oh, a snarky one! Even better. This wasn't one to run in fear of her own shadow. Something about her voice reminded him of someone else, though... someone he couldn't quite place. There'd be time for that later, he had a good memory and it would come back.

Dor smiled and rose to his feet. "A serenade? I'm afraid I'm not quite that prepared, my dear. Perhaps next time I'll have a violin for hire... but sometimes the only thing needed is the beauty of the voice. Or even a whisper. Silence is only heaven for so long, and then it becomes the coldest of hells."

"A serenade? I'm afraid I'm not quite that prepared, my dear. Perhaps next time I'll have a violin for hire... "

She scoffed, somewhere between a laugh and surprise. "And here you went to all this trouble to draw me out, only to come up short at the end...How disappointing," she said, regardinging him suspiciously, intensely.

Already, her mind was racing ahead, wondering just who...or what...he was. And why. Why, why, why was he there? He didn't seemed at all unnerved by her approach, and so, she knew, suspicions confirmed, that he had lured her there.

"...But sometimes the only thing needed is the beauty of the voice. Or even a whisper. Silence is only heaven for so long, and then it becomes the coldest of hells."

Whatever reason he was there, the man had the words of a poet. Taking a step closer, Danae looked over his reclining frame, wondering about him...There was something there, a trait she couldn't quite place, but already, her senses were dancing around her, interpreting the air around them, taking him apart as she always did. She was the Resourcer, after all. "And sometimes words become a monotony, their own sort of hell...Sort of like this dancing around whatever matter we have at hand." Danae most certainly did not like being put at a disadvantage. "Shall we skip this metaphorical charade and you tell me just what your purpose is, sir?"

And sometimes words become a monotony, their own sort of hell

He nodded, impressed. She knew this was a game and she had chosen to play. "Well, that's when you go listen to the sea for a while. It has infinite things to say and it's plenty good at drowning out the mortal voices that wear on the nerves. It swallowed Atlantis and then came back to swallow some more... Listen to it sometime."

He felt her eyes on him, not curious eyes so much as analytical. She wasn't appraising, no, not yet anyway... she was sizing. Checking, sorting. She was working through her thoughts, probably sensing something slightly off about him, probably wondering what was different, maybe teetering on the edge of that word- vampire. She would figure it out far sooner than most, of course, since her job was all about what people considered 'supernatural.'

She wouldn't be like so many of them that barely could think of the word even after he was drawing their lifeblood out of them. It wouldn't take her long at all, he guessed, but the thought didn't worry him. Let her know. Let her guess.

" It swallowed Atlantis and then came back to swallow some more... Listen to it sometime."

"Well, it seems the Promise was kept, that the world was not destroyed again by water...Only crippled," she mused, her arms crossing over her chest as she slipped the flashlight back into her pocket once again. Danae had excellent night vision, despite long hours spent pouring over tiny text in soft light. "I've listened to the sea. I've listened to the air...I've heard the earth cry and saw the shadows weep, dear sir...And it all says the same...What has fallen will rise again."

Standing still did not suit Danae, and so, she began to walk back and forth in front of him. Something about his voice...something about the way he carried himself, the nonchalance of his demeanor.

"Tell me, won't you, as I'm dying to know...Better yet, come into the light and let me see for myself."

The word danced on the tip of her tongue, but she dare not say it, not yet...Danae spoke nothing without the backing of proof, and she only needed one look to solidify her speculations.

Tell me, won't you, as I'm dying to know...Better yet, come into the light and let me see for myself

She was delightful, sent a thrill right through him and brought another smile to his face, this one wider than the last. "So you request and so I will do," he said and stepped forward just enough to cast the candle light over his face, to show her his pale skin and lineless face. "You're quite as quick as I'd hoped, Danae. The magic men of the past would have given all the tricks in their bag to keep one like you away, one so quick and so observative. And now I have only to hope your reaction is also as I expected."

As he stepped into the light, she could not help the slow smile that took her face. He was just as she expected, the very creature that she had heard in his voice, wanted to see standing before her now.

"You're quite as quick as I'd hoped, Danae. The magic men of the past would have given all the tricks in their bag to keep one like you away, one so quick and so observative. And now I have only to hope your reaction is also as I expected."

A slow nod followed as he stepped forward, and as she stepped forward to meet him. Yes, puttting herself in the Lion's grasp was a fitting metaphor, but considering she had marched straight into the Lion's den, what did it matter now?

"Ah, a vampire, and this one knows me by name...I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, sir...As I do not know you. Have we met or is this a first for us, hmm?" Danae asked, folding her hands by her back as she watched the candlelight flicker against his ageless, timeless face, dancing in his ancient eyes. Again, never afraid, only fascinated. It was entirely possible that he meant her no harm...

I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, sir...As I do not know you. Have we met or is this a first for us, hmm?

Dor shook his head, pleased that she was only standing in interest, that she wasn't running away. He'd been right about her so far, and now perhaps the most exciting thing would be for her to surprise him.

"I'm afraid we haven't met. I have a very good memory and I would have remembered you, Danae. I've seen you once, twice, a dozen times, but we've never met." Even as he said the words, he had to hesitate, though. Her voice was still hauntingly familiar of someone else, a long time ago, a beach and cold water...

He held a hand out to her. "I apologize for having to deceive you but I hardly thought you would answer an unsigned letter. I've wanted to meet you for some time, though and this seemed the best way."

" I've seen you once, twice, a dozen times, but we've never met."

Danae couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from him, watching the liquid grace that flowed through every motion he performed. "I see...Your kind has always been prone to tracking,": she commented offhandedly, as if it were everyday that a vampire lured her from the mainlands of Nebula for a purpose that remained unknown.

Trained in the art of reading people, of catching the minor details of their lives, Danae saw the hesitation in the man before her, an eyebrow quirking slowly as she acknowledgted it. They had never met, he said, and if so, then why did his eyes dim for just a moment? Why did his words falter?

"I apologize for having to deceive you but I hardly thought you would answer an unsigned letter. I've wanted to meet you for some time, though and this seemed the best way."

Taking the extended hand with some reluctance, Danae felt the cool, smooth skin against her own. A brief nod to herself it was all the proof she needed. This man was neither dead nor living...He was a rank in the leagues of the Undead.

"And do tell...What reason is it for that you bring me here?" she asked, not liking one bit the method that he had chosen .

And do tell...What reason is it for that you bring me here?

Dor did his best to hold back any surprise, any betrayal of the thoughts in his mind, but the memories of water and a cool beach just filled his thoughts again. A voice so similar, even if a little younger, a little more frustrated, a little huskier. Yes, huskier. Not as refined, more wild. A voice on a beach, long hair flowing down her back. Once a long time ago...

He continued on as if the thoughts were never there, smiling. "Do you think I would have brought candles if my reasons were trivial? To tell you would be to ruin it." He brought her hand up, as if he would kiss it and instead just smiled into her eyes. She wouldn't be enthralled like some of the girls, wouldn't go weak in the knees just yet, but even Danae would surely fall just a little for the old world charm. Dor was a betting man and he would bet on it.

Finally he brushed his lips against the top of her hand, never breaking eye contact with her.

Watching him, Danae knew that look in his eyes, wondered about the way he watched her, as if trying to see through her. Perhaps she reminded him of someone...Hadn't Marcus said that when you live for an eternity, it was simple to find someone whom you thought reminded you of another from your past?

"Do you think I would have brought candles if my reasons were trivial? To tell you would be to ruin it."

"The candles were a bit much," she said offhandedly, bolding teasing the creature before her. "But you see, this secretive charade? It will prove most unfortunate for you, sir..."

Sir...And she didn't know his name. Ah, well, she could work this to her advantage. As his lips brushed against her hand, she watched him, a slight smile sparking in her emerald green eyes. Chivalry had died long, long ago...but not in this one.

Inclining her head, only acknowledging the gesture, Danae withdrew her hand from his hand and held them behind her back once again, standing just as she always did.

"And if you won't reveal your purpose, then at least a name?" she asked, wondering if she had heard of him, if he fell in the ranks of her books and spells and forgotten words. Of course he did...

And if you won't reveal your purpose, then at least a name?

This was one of Dor's favorite parts of the dance. The introduction, the seduction, the original mystery and the exchange of secrets. Oh, this was a game he knew well.

"My name is Dorian Cael, my dear," he said and bowed a little to her. "Friend to many and lover of royalty, beauty, intelligence, riches, and the great lady mystery herself. But you must call me Dor because... I intend to be close to you."

"My name is Dorian Cael, my dear."

There was no search engine in the world to rival the mind of Danae Walker. As soon as the words were spoken, she searched through the vaults within her brain, seeking, searching...Dorian Cael.

There was a brief interlude mentioned in the chronicles around the time of Alexander the Great, and another somewhere along the lines of Henry the VII. Apparently, he had traveled overseas during a post-Columbus voyage, and had even been present for a showdown amongst the DreamWalkers in the days of old. So...He was ancient. And yet somehow, time had spared him and the sun had not left him merely dust.

"But you must call me Dor because... I intend to be close to you."

"And I suppose I have no say in the matter, then?" she questioned, nodding to him just the same in proper greeting as Antony had taught her. "Then Dor it shall be, until you give me reason to call you otherwise marked..."

Danae's eyes ticked over his frame, aglow in candlelight and she tilted her head, still wondering of his true purpose. Ah, but he wouldn't tell her. It was games he intended to play.

And I suppose I have no say in the matter, then?

Dor's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Of course you do, Danae, or this wouldn't be any fun for either of us. I only know myself and I'm quite arrogant... I expect that I have every power within me to become very close to you, and one day even to hear you wish for me. Perhaps you'll call me terrible, but there it is."

He motioned around. "How rude of me not to invite you to sit down. I would have brought wine but I don't drink wine." He smiled at her. "So I'm afraid you'll just have to enjoy good company and candlelight for now."

"I expect that I have every power within me to become very close to you, and one day even to hear you wish for me. Perhaps you'll call me terrible, but there it is."

It was her turn to laugh, the sound one of quiet surprise. This one was certainly sure of himself...Something Marcus did not possess. While confident, the man could never muster the courage to approach her, not even when the signs had been so boldly laid before him. "Well, you're quite the cocky one...I'll give you that," she said, but still, she somehow found it in her to smile. To call for a man she had only met...Yes, she still considered him a man. She knew the society had written him off long ago, but somewhere, deep down, a man of mortal soul remained.

"So I'm afraid you'll just have to enjoy good company and candlelight for now."

"I think wine would be far more fitting for those circumstances when I call your name, don't you think?" she countered, but returned the smile as she moved to his side, where he had been reclining so leisurely before. Lowering herself to the ground with the liquid grace Antony had instilled in her, Danae crossed her legs at the ankles and looked up to Dorian again. "Well, come along, show me this good company you speak of."

Somehow, she didn't feel so wary of him now...But then, Danae had never had the sense to fear anything at all.

Dor prided himself on knowing his limits and knowing his powers, knowing when and where to cut his losses and get out, and when to chase something down without stopping. If Danae thought he was cocky, she was quite right, and he was actually quite glad that she had noticed. Nothing would get by her and that was refreshing.

Well, come along, show me this good company you speak of

He sat down beside her, admiring her posture. Someone had taught her quite well... and again, he couldn't help but remember someone else who sat like that. Fearless, uncaged, wild and stubborn, a woman with steely grace that could break someone's neck as surely as hold them.

"I've only to invite you here and surely we can find some way to occupy ourselves for a bit. When night comes, we can venture out of this great cavern and walk under the stars. But for now... I think this is a wonderful place, don't you?"

Danae met his faze, certain now that all vampires possessed the natural grace tha she had spent years of her youth perfecting...

"When night comes, we can venture out of this great cavern and walk under the stars. But for now... I think this is a wonderful place, don't you?"

Within the caves of Kisendoth Islands, there were creatures unimaginable lurking in the crevasses, there were horrible beings around the corner...but there were also secrets buried int he walls and magic mixed into the foundations that, from time to time, trembled beneath them.

"It's a beautiful place....Detached, free...Wild," she agreed, leaning her head back against the dampened rock and surveying the surface above her. All around them, ancient symbols were carved and the remnants of a life that had begun lingered. "It's sad, in a way...Someone great once danced through this paths. Someone righteous spoke there, on the platform," she said, raising one arm and pointing in the distance. "Perhaps lovers met in secret....or enemies fought to the death, but now, it's a place filled with ghost stories and forgotten memories...Tragic beauty, it is, if anything."

Perhaps lovers met in secret....or enemies fought to the death, but now, it's a place filled with ghost stories and forgotten memories...Tragic beauty, it is, if anything.

Dor looked around at everything as she motioned to it, and found his curiousity stroked a bit. He hadn't expected her to be quite this philosophical. She was becoming more fascinating by the minute. He had no need to quiet her so he could speak... no, he quite liked this little 'tour' she had given him. "Yes, but there is magic in it still. Right now... I feel it."

He'd been here before, many times. He'd seen rises and falls, and this place was one he came back to, but always alone. Once, many years before he had so much finery, many years before he lost his low-class Irish accent... he'd come to this very place to seek answers.

Danae finally looked away from the great atrium they sat in and looked at him, her head leaned back against the stone wall behind them.

"Yes, but there is magic in it still. Right now... I feel it."

Nodding slowly, a wistful smile crept into her eyes. "Yes...Something magical...Forbidden, unspoken," she mused aloud, studying his face in the candlelight.

If others had seen her, her peers from the University, they might never have understood how she found beauty in the things she beheld...But even now, the way the subtle glow dance on his ageless skin, the way the light reflected in his timeless eyes...The shadows dancing on the walls around them, and the howl of the wind as it entreated an entrance at the cavern's door...Fit for a nightmare, and she found it beautiful just the same.

Yes...Something magical...Forbidden, unspoken

Dor grinned in the candlelight. "A wise choice of words, my dear. It's romantic and seductive, in this lighting, a little sensual, beautiful." He looked at her, not ashamed at where his gaze wandered. "You're quite astonishing anyway but here even more so."

"A wise choice of words, my dear. It's romantic and seductive, in this lighting, a little sensual, beautiful."

He had a nice voice, she decided. Not like those that grated on one's nerves, or even those that lulled one into a sense of boredom...No, this was melodic and somewhat soothing, while still possessing that ethereal air. There was something about the creature before her, Danae mused, as she met his eyes so briefly...But what?

"You're quite astonishing anyway but here even more so."

No blush crept into her cheeks, her modesty in check, but just the same, she smiled at him, albeit softly and inclined her head just once in gratitude. "If you think me astonishing, Dorian, then perhaps you truly haven't seen enough in your time."

A spark of amusement danced in her eyes before she looked away, up to the intricate carvings of the ceilings once again. She wondered what it would be like to touch those things...to feel the grooves of years gone by.

If you think me astonishing, Dorian, then perhaps you truly haven't seen enough in your time

Dor shifted his weight, moved almost imperceptively until he was leaning towards her, looking into her eyes. There was definitely something familiar about her. Disturbingly familiar. If he hadn't met and spoken to her before, why did it seem so? A beach, something about a beach. Yes, that woman he'd met years ago, the one that had been trying to pick his brains because he was a gambler. It had been midnight, sparkling stars overhead, when he had finally stumbled outside with her on his arm, money in his pockets. They'd walked down to the beach together and she had so passionately proclaimed this and that. She'd been angry at someone, angry enough to lean over and kiss Dor when even he hadn't been expecting it. She'd been a stubborn, beautiful, powerful and angry one, heat coursing through her and flames in her eyes. Before dawn they had crept away from each other, him to his day-sleep and her to... somewhere. And he'd never seen her again.

The name... what had been her name? Muriel? She'd never told him a last name, no... maybe that last name was part of what had her so angry. She'd gotten something out of him as surely as he'd ever gotten something out of anyone. She'd been as fiery as this girl before him, even more so. Wilder.

She turned to him, meeting his eyes...So close, close enough that she could feel the cold breath from him brushing against her face.

Reaching up, Danae laid a hand against the cool, smooth skin of his cheek without a second though. She knew not what possessed her to do it, but somewhere in the back of her mind, the reserved Resourcer did not care. Ah, if only Raelin could see her now.

There was something about him...Something so strange and foreign, and yet, at the same time, he seemed so real. He wasn't looking at her one moment, then averting his gaze the next...He was a vampire, yes, but as of yet, he had caused no harm to come to her.

"You're in far too deep of thoughts for no words to be spoken," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she slowly let her hand fall from his face.

You're in far too deep of thoughts for no words to be spoken

"Well, sometimes words pollute thoughts. And I was having a memory of someone remarkably like you, years ago, before you were born." He took full notice of her touching his cheek. He would save touching her for just a bit longer... he would know when the moment was right.

This girl was different from the others. She wasn't afraid of him, she wasn't completely enthralled but she was certainly interested. This made it far more fun, fun like when he'd won over that princess. That had been quite an interesting experience... she'd snuck him into her country home one night, and her father had happened to visit. Dor and the princess had been very preoccupied with their own matters... ahh, what an event that was. Dor lived for challenges like that, the thrill of a kill or the thrill of a victory, even if just over a certain woman.

But Danae really was like Muriel. "You're more classically beautiful than she was, but you're less wild. You're a well trained butterfly, a princess to someone, a peacock, not a wild animal."

"And I was having a memory of someone remarkably like you, years ago, before you were born."

"Oh?" she inquired, turning moreso to face him, her knees drawn beneath her as she rested her hands on her lap. "Could you tell me about her?"

Danae's natural curiosity was certain to be the death of her...Everyone said so, but still, she could do nothing to calm it or subdue it. Why would she want to? A mind without questions was like a bell without a tone...Useless.

"You're more classically beautiful than she was, but you're less wild. You're a well trained butterfly, a princess to someone, a peacock, not a wild animal."

She offered up a soft smile, the essence of modesty, and only shook her head again. Well-trained butterfly, hmm? Was that like a carrier pigeon? But she dare not voice that, his words far too sincere to mock with her recurring sarcasm. "Thank you..." she finally said and glanced down at her lap once again.

Could you tell me about her?

A smile captured his face, and not an entirely innocent smile either. "There's so much to tell about her and I only knew her one night. Not many people can leave an impression on me for even a day but for someone to last in my memory for years..." He paused. "I'm sure you will as well."

Raising a brow at his implications, she laughed quietly, shaking her head at him slightly, dark locks nof hair spilling down from the clip that had once held them and settling around her shoulders.

"And what might I have done to remain in your memory, Dorian?" she asked, the smile that graced his face sending a slight quiver down her spine.

"Well, I've brought you to me, haven't I? I guess you're already stuck in my memory."

He moved away from her, walking silently about, pacing but not nervously.

"You're a little like her," he said quietly. "But not enough to be boring. I hate to be bored! I've always hated it... if there's one thing I can't stand, it's that." He stepped up to her and looked down at her, smiling. "I've relieved the world of my share of boring people. And stupid ones as well."

Motions fluid and words eloquent, she watched every mood he made, almost mesmerized as he paced back and forth before her, but showed no signs of worry or fear. But then, what did he have to fear, after all? She was but a Mendecant...A resourcer to be more specific, and while she could surely call in her reinforcements and have him eliminated, she saw no reason...In fact, if anything, within her grew a strange sensation to protect him...The same reaction that another certain vampire evoked when ever he stepped into the room...

"Perhaps we should thank you, then," she told him, tilting her head back to meet his eyes. "After all...the world would be in far worse condition, no doubt, had you allowed those of lesser intelligence to live."

How she could say such a thing, never meaning it, and look him in the eyes, knowing that he was a killer puzzled her to no end...but fear never sprung forth in her heart nor in her mind. He did not mean her harm, but only wished her company, so it seemed...

Granted, she knew that with all things such as this, there came the alterior motive, but as always, that would show itself soon enough..

After all...the world would be in far worse condition, no doubt, had you allowed those of lesser intelligence to live

Dorian laughed at her reaction, pleased with her. "And here I thought you might scold me, or try something ridiculous. Maybe say you were going to arrest me." He brought one pale finger down and tapped it gently between her eyes. "But you're much too smart to attempt to capture me. I'm a free spirit and a wicked one at that."

Did he truly just...tap between her eyes? Danae raised a brow as she looked up at him before slowly standing to her feet. Not one to back down, and certainly not one to allow a man to toward over her, Danae stood before him, tipping her head back to meet his gaze.

"Wicked? I think you're only as wicked as you pretend to be...An illusion, a slight of hand. You're only wicked on the surface..." she told him with ease, her lips curving into a faint smile as she stepped closer, scant inches separating them. Something baoout his kind brought out the dangerous, devil-may-care side of her.

You're only wicked on the surface

This just pleased him all the more. "Just how wicked I am will be yours to decide, but perhaps best for you to decide another day. I'm in a good mood on this night."

She wasn't afraid of him, and the way she stepped closer just proved it all the more. Someone had taught this girl very well.

If only his mother could see Danae. She would put a wreath on her head and invite her into their world. She would pray dark words over this one and surely bless her being with Dorian. She'd send them off to a room together, and probably want to follow them, knowing her. Oh, his mother...

A good mood? And wasn't that when most wickedness did come? Unsuspected and uninhibitied.

"I see..." she said with a nod, stepping around him and walking toward an opening in the cave where moonlight sifted in through the jagged rock that had begun to wear with the stress of years and years. "And if no wickedness comes from such good moods, then tell me, what am I to expect tonight, Dorian?"

Turning around, she leaned back against the wall, her shoulders against the rock as her hands swung at her sides...In his eyes, there was a lingering thought and Danae could only wonder what visions passed behind those etheral eyes.

And if no wickedness comes from such good moods, then tell me, what am I to expect tonight, Dorian?

Dorian considered this question even as he considered her posture. She was curious. Very, very curious. How perfect.

"Some things are best left unplanned. I've been a companion of sorts, a lover of beauty and a dear friend to those who aren't afraid of the night." He spoke slowly, letting each of the words ring with his artistocratic and well practised accent. No trace of the Irish boy there, no trace of a child who had angrily gone to bed hungry, who had stolen for his food and been proud of it.

"Then perhaps you'll continue that running pattern," she told him idly, pushing away from the rock wall before heading to the center of the atrium once more. She had passed many hours here, she knew, conversing with the world-wise vampire, but now...Well, considering that her original mission had been nothing more than a ploy for them to meet, she had nothing further to do here.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, and if there's nothing more that need be discussed, then I'll be going now." And as she looked at him, Danae found the next step away harder to take as she turned her back toward the narrow path that would lead from the depths of the cave and back to the surface of Kisendoth Island once more.

Dorian watched her, intrigued to see just how far she would get before she'd hesitate, turn back. Before something gnawed at her strongly enough that she just had to look at him again.

if there's nothing more that need be discussed, then I'll be going now

"There's much to be discussed," he said with a subtle nod. "But perhaps not with words. You have a choice now... leave if you want, but know that I'll find you again. We're not finished, Danae."