"Behind the Glass Chapter 2" by Shelby K. Irons

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Another boring meeting at work. A curtain of iridescent mist hovered around the fringes of Center One's stark board-room. I sat stiffly in a high-back chair and pretended to listen. I tried to read the financial report placed before me on the conference table. The letters and numbers on the paper were scrawled messily in crayon and I squinted, wondering why the report was written in Romanian. Even stranger still, was the fact that I could read the words on the page perfectly when the logical side of my brain knew I didn't speak, read, or write the Romanian at all.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

And why was the company HR Manager, McKinley Harper, droning through his presentation sounding alarm clock? Frustrated, I crushed the financial report in my hand into a tidy ball.

As if sensing my confusion, McKinley looked up from his notes and I bristled with shock seeing it wasn't McKinley at all. The eyes staring at me from the saturnine face were electric blue and colder than an Arctic winter.

"You!" I choked out, too frightened to move. His mouth quirked into a predatorial smile, two petite fangs barely resting on his lower lip. Pointing at me stiffly, he transformed the crumpled paper in my hand into a small, white object.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"A present for you," he whispered like wood-smoke.

I uncurled my fingers from around his gift and looked at it cautiously. It was a chess piece. The White Queen.

Hazy tendrils of the boardroom began to fall away into shadow until we were surrounded by blackness. A silver light hovered over the vampire's head and I glanced over to him.

"What's this?" I asked.

"A memory."

"Not my memory," I said flatly.

"Yes and no," he replied.

"Well I don't want it."

"Surely, you remember how to play?"

"I don't want to remember," I snapped. "And I don't want to play."

"You will."

"You're wrong," I said, squeezing the chess piece tightly, letting the hard angles of the marble bite into my flesh.

"I played chess with the devil once," he said. "And won."

"Oh? Did he give you a certificate of achievement aftwerwards?" I smirked. "Maybe a free all-you-can-eat coupon to the blood bank?"

His lips curled into an amused smile but his eyes remained cold. "I won something much more satisfying."

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I wanted to throw the queen at him. Before I could raise my arm, the chess piece grew warm and began to bleed in my hand.

Incredibly red and silky, blood seeped between my fingers and down my wrist. Trembling, I looked at the white queen in my hand and found that it had turned black.

"Always the Dark Queen," he murmured. He cradled a white lily in his left hand.

"Who are you?"

"Eu apartine singur al tãu, Aurora, " he said.

"I belong only to you," I repeated, amazed that I had understood him.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Take care, **amora. And when you fall, fall to the right."

"What?" I heard myself ask but it was drowned out by the incessant "beeping" noise.

The sound finally permeated the thick layer of dreams holding me captive and I jerked awake. My temples throbbed in time with the beeping of my alarm clock. Groaning, I rolled over and slammed my hand down on the Snooze button. With bleary eyes, I stared at the digital numbers on the screen.

6:31 AM.

I'd slept less that three hours. I felt awful.

This was going to be a bad day.

*********************************************************

"So! You’re still here!" the real McKinley Harper accused with a sour face as he marched into my office. The heavy oak door slammed behind him and I lifted a brow at his unusual display of temper.

"Mmmhmm," I replied, tapping a pen against my mouth. I continued scanning over a legal contract that required my signature without looking up.

Stepping forward, he crossed his arms over the broad expanse of his chest, "Let me rephrase that. Why are you still here?"

"It's only 7:00. I had to finish a few things," I said.

"Finish a few things?" he echoed. "Are you crazy?"

"Last time I checked, I worked here Mac," I said.

The tiny anger lines around his lips puckered. "Last time I checked, Aurora Grayson, the employees who work here don't faint in the middle of marketing presentations!"

"Mmmhmm," I mumbled again, annoyed at the break in my concentration. I was already distracted by the dull throbbing headache that had plagued me throughout that day.

“We've been negotiating a contract with ToyTech for nine months. What the hell do you think will happen now?"

"They'll admire the dedication and effort our company's employees put into their work."

"They'll think we're slave drivers!" he said gesturing wildly with his hands.

"It is fine, Mac. They're fine and I'm fine," I replied, letting my eyes wander back to the legalese on the pages in front of me.

"No, you aren't fine! Do you realize you could have hit your head on the service table if you had fallen to the left? And there were hot cups of coffee on that table. You could have been burned as well!"

I felt the color drain out of my face and I swallowed back the grip of panic squeezing my throat.

And when you fall, fall to the right...

Through the fog crowding the inside of my brain, I heard Mac continue, "It was damned lucky that you fell to the right. You gave everyone a scare. I can’t believe you sent the EMT’s away. You should be at the doctor right now.”

“I don’t like doctors,” I said.

Mac ignored me. “In fact,” he continued, “we've been concerned about you for awhile but you never speak to anyone except about work-related issues."

“Who’s we?” I smirked.

"Me. The board. Everybody! And not because we always appreciate you being here at work, always professional and perfect and 100% all the time. There are people who care about you whether you want them to or not."

I blinked, surprised to hear that my well-being was of importance to my employers. "Oh," I managed to say.

"You constantly look exhausted and you've lost a lot of weight. Did you think people wouldn't notice?"

"I haven’t been sleeping well lately," I sighed.

"Rory," he murmured my nickname. His soft brown eyes sparked with heated concern. "Tell me about the headaches."

"What headaches?" I asked as I fought the urge to poke at the pressure point above my left eye where my current headache resided.

"The headaches that you get everyday."

"Everybody gets headaches Mac," I said dryly.

"Does everybody take five Ibuprofen every four hours for pain?"

"Who told you that?” I scowled, massaging my fingers against my forehead.

"Camille," he replied.

My secretary. I should have known. And I thought I'd been so careful.

"That’s a lot of Ibuprofen to consume on a daily basis. You keep that up and your kidneys will start failing," he said.

I fought the urge to let my eyes slide to the silver clock hanging on the wall behind Mac's head. God, how much longer was he going to stay? Was there a point to this cross-examination? Maybe he’d be placated it if told him what he wanted to hear.

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll certainly keep that in mind,” I said injecting a cheery tone into my voice. I couldn’t help noting it sounded hollow to my own ears. I tried again. “And you’re right. This was a stressful day for everyone. I’m glad you stopped by. I’m hungry anyway. Give me a few minutes to clear things up and I’ll leave.”

Mac tapped a finger against my desk for a moment, staring at my face like I had a target painted on my forehead. Beads of sweat began to form over my upper-lip as I fell dizzily into the deep pools of his dark eyes. His lips began to move but I could barely hear the sound, like I was watching the both of us from far away.

“It doesn't look good for Center One's Chief Financial Officer to faint during a crucial business meeting,” he said. “It looks even worse if she continues to operate under such a heavy work load without being seen by a doctor or taking a few days off to rest. You could have been seriously injured when you fell today, Rory, and we could have been legally responsible. Even with legalities set aside, there are people who are seriously concerned about your health.”

“I understand that,” I mumbled.

“I’m happy to hear that. Then you’ll understand and appreciate the decision you have forced the board to make.”

I pursed my lips together and frowned, "Excuse me?"

“I checked your personnel files. You’ve only used a week’s worth of vacation time in five years and a handful of sick days. Right now, you have nearly three months of vacation time in your bank.”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” I said. It was suddenly so stifling hot in the room that I felt like I could melt into a puddle under my desk. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to settle my nerves. “Mac, please just say what you came here to say. You are making me nervous.”

“After the ToyTech presentation, the board had an emergency meeting with the company lawyers. We were advised to place you on mandatory vacation leave. The paperwork has been drawn up and signed. I've sent copies via fax to your house for your records.”

“What!” I screeched, scrambling ungracefully to my feet.

“Effective immediately,” he finished.

“This is crap and you know it!” I started but he stopped me with a sharp wave of his hand.

"This is non-negotiable," he interrupted with sharpness in his voice I'd never heard before. He placed his big hands on the flat surface of my desk and leaned forward, staring into my eyes. “It's a done deal, Rory. Fighting it will only make you look foolish.”

I bit my tongue while I counted to ten. Then to twenty-five. I stopped at thirty when I tasted blood in my mouth.

“How long will I need to be away?” I bit out.

"The minimum amount of time will be the full three months in your vacation time. The board will re-assess the situation after you have been cleared by doctor evaluation."

"Three. Months. You're joking, right?"

“I never joke past 6:00,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t find any of this funny.”

He smiled. “I didn’t expect you to. But you will thank me when you come back healthy and rested.”

“I suppose you’ll appoint Martin Chambers CFO while I’m away?”

“You suppose correctly. He’s your right hand man and knows your system inside and out. It should be a rather smooth transition.”

“Lovely,” I scowled. “And what if I choose not to cooperate?”

“I was hoping things wouldn’t come to that,” Mac said carefully. In typical HR fashion, his face was suddenly a neutral, business-like mask. “I would like to remind you that any type of protest to this decision could have unpleasant consequences concerning your career.”

Son of a bitch, I thought.

"No controversial lawsuits for Center One," I murmured, swallowing back bile that had risen in my throat. "Nevermind the fact my grandfather founded this company."

"Be that as it may, we all have to comply to executive decisions, even you Ms. Grayson," he said and pulled up his sleeve, checking the time on the Rolex on his wrist. He stepped back and gave me a thin smile. “Of course, the main priority here is your health and well-being. We tried to make this as stress-free as possible for you."

I sank into my chair weakly. “Thoughtful of you.”

“Yes, well… it’s late. Please go see a doctor, Rory. I’ll have Camille keep tabs on you once a week, just so someone knows how you’re doing.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll see you soon then,” Mac said, rapping his knuckles softly on my desk. I refused to look up at him and he cleared his throat. “Okay,” he sighed and turned, walking to the door. His hand stopped on the handle and he looked over his shoulder. "Oh. And would you like me to send your boyfriend in? He's been waiting in Reception."

"Boyfriend?" I asked blankly.

Yes, your boyfriend," another voice answered from behind the door. Mac stepped aside and the vampire was standing in the thresh-hold. "Is your meeting almost over, amora? I had hoped to take you home and tuck you into bed. Mr. Harper informed me about your... incident today."

Amora. Love. Oh my god...

I stood up on wobbly knees, using my desk for support. My gaze darted between Mac and the vampire, then back again. "You did this," I said.

"Of course," he said. His lips curled into a benign smile. "I came to collect you from work."

"Oh," I said weakly. The light in the room had somehow become brighter and my eyes teared up in pain. Little men hollowed out the inside of my brain with jackhammers. I winced, wondering when my life had become chapter out of a horror novella.

"So, what's the verdict?" the vampire asked.

"Vacation!" Mac announced grandly. "Keep an eye on her."

"That is the plan."

"Excellent! I didn't know you had a boyfriend Rory, but I'm glad you won't be alone. Maybe when you feel better, you can plan a romantic trip. Allison and I like Florence."

"Florence is beautiful in the fall," the vampire added.

“Do you have a plane ticket and itinerary ready for me too? It’s like you can’t wait for me to leave!” I hissed trying to keep the wobbly panic out of my voice.

The vampire's silver-blue eyes narrowed with amusement and he shook his head, leaning in close to Mac with feigned exasperation, "I apologize for her curt manners. I am taking her to a private physician as soon as we leave tonight. There is a fever to consider."

Mac didn't look phased by my outburst in the least and shot me a look of amusement as well.

"She's awfully cute when she's angry, don't you think?" Mac said and laughed as my face reddened.

"Awfully," the vampire agreed.

"What's your name again? I didn't quite catch it when you introduced yourself in the lobby?"

"Dacian. Dacian Black," he said silkily, sending me a covert smile as he reached out to shake Mac's hand.

"Dacian. Unusual. Sounds French or something. I've never heard that name before."

"It's Romanian. My mother is of royal gypsy blood," Dacian replied.

"My mother is a pill-popping socialite. Sounds like you drew the better card," Mac said.

The two laughed and exchanged handshakes. Mac stepped aside, waving his arm to usher the vampire into the room. "Well come on in. I need to get home to the wife before she starts harassing me on the cell phone. It was a pleasure to meet you. Take care of our golden girl."

I blinked at the mention of Mac's departure. Then I inhaled sharply as I realized the vampire was standing inside my office. He'd pulled it off so smoothly that even I hadn't noticed, being sickly fascinated with Mac and Dacian's casual rapport. The vampire's dark charm was mesmerizing to watch and I'd been unable to inject myself into their conversation.

The shrill ringing of a cell phone jolted me out of my reverie.

"There she is now. Impatient," he laughed and pulled the phone out of his pocket. Before I could stop him, he slipped by Dacian and disappeared down the hallway.

"And then there were two," Dacian said and stepped forward letting the door close gently behind him. "I see you truly were hoping I was a figment of your imagination." A deluge of varying emotions and fragments of thoughts crowded my brain as I fought to find the words to speak. This strange mix of fury, humiliation, anger, exhaustion, desire, loathing and yes, even relief blazed through my veins like fire. It was suddenly too hot to breathe and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end with awareness. I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to cry, I felt like I needed to run away from everything and never come back. I finally managed to whisper, "Get out." <P>"Not without you," he said. "Now is not the time for fussing and fighting Aurora. You are ill and I intend to make sure you are cared for properly." <P>"I guess you didn't get the memo I sent out that says I take care of my own damned self," I snapped. <P>His lips twitched with annoyance. "There is danger around you, <i>amora</i>. Severe, life-threatening danger in more ways than you can comprehend. I know you are an independent, severely stubborn modern woman, but believe me when I tell you that you don't have a clue how to protect yourself from the people who are coming for you.” <P>“Danger? Now I know you are crazy. I live the most uninteresting, boring life. I assure you I am quite…” I stopped feeling light-headed. His face began to blur into a haze of light. One moment I was staring at him from across the room and the next, between blinking and the space of a heartbeat, he had scooped me up into his arms against his chest. <P>“Safe,” he finished for me with a fierce conviction. “I will always make sure of it, I promise.” <P>My body felt insubstantial, like any moment all the particles of my being would dissolve out of his grasp and sink into the carpet. I suddenly hated myself for this weakness, the betrayal of my body. <P>"Why?" I wondered aloud. <P>His frightening silver eyes clouded with shadows of unfathomable pain. I felt the sudden urge to ease his suffering but I couldn't move my arms. <P>"Violet eyes," he said and brushed a fingertip over my brow. My look of confusion made him smile tightly and he said, "You are the greater good. The only thing worth fighting for." <P>A piece of my heart blossomed into red, swelling petals. His words moved me though I didn't understand their meaning. I suddenly realized I couldn’t fight alone anymore. Something was wrong with me and a vampire was insisting on helping. That was my reality. I had no choice. <P>“Wow,” I sighed feeling my knees buckle from beneath me. "Okay." <P>He was faster than gravity as I felt myself lifted off the ground. The room whirled behind my eyes; a jumble of office furniture, ceiling fans and city lights. He started walking and voices began to mingle with his worried orders. <P>“She is too far gone,” a warm feminine voice suddenly said. Her face shimmered through my mind's eye and I thought she looked familiar somehow with her long, dark, golden curls and eyes that were two different colors; one violet and one green. “If you hope to save her, she will need the blood.” <P>A long silence followed her statement and I heard the elevator door bell sound. Finally, Dacian replied, “Helena is the oldest of us all. She can do it." <P>"Why not you now?" she asked. <P>"Helena has never created a fledgling. She is the strongest..." <P>"And Aurora's only hope?" another man’s voice finished. <P>"Yes. It would be the proper way...the old way." <P>“Which means it will take time... days at least. Time we don't have." <P>"The Undermoon can buy us some time. I will supply the location. Chambers are being prepared as we speak. Call your people, Dannel." <P>"It isn't that easy. This entire procedure is too risky. It nearly killed you and Lirra and she wasn't this bad off when we started!" <P>"Procedure?" Dacian snapped. "This is not a sterile, surgical procedure!" <P>"I am well aware what you want Helena to attempt, Dacian. I also know that this ancient way is extremely dangerous for all involved. And what if her blood--" <P>"Dannel, stop! She might be able to hear us!" Lirra interuppted. <P>"She'll be learning the truth soon enough!" <P>"Then she will hear it when we can ensure her safety and comfort," Dacian said, shrouding his voice in a dark, finalizing command. "Make the damned call, Dannel. I won't say it again." <P>Dannel produced a cell phone from a pocket. Flipping the cover, he punched in numbers and said, "If neither of you wants to hear the voice of reason, then I will simply remind you that the Undermoon will request samples of Aurora's blood before and after the change.” <P>"Tell them they'll get samples if time allows," Dacian said gravely. "I'll not make you or the Undermoon any promises." <P>"Understood," Dannel replied stiffly and began speaking into the phone. <P>“U-undermoon?” I moaned as the rest of the conversation slipped away from me. <P>All sensory operations in my brain ceased to function. I couldn’t see, talk, move, smell or hear. The little men with drums were banging too loudly in my head. <P><I>Dying, dying, dying... </I> <P>The pain became a living thing of raging despair crawling through the synapses of my central nervous system. My body was no longer my own. My soul shriveled in terror. <P><I>Checkmate...</I> <P> With that last thought, I let myself sink beneath the waves of pounding blackness until I knew no more.

Romanian: Amora means "Love" as an endearment.