Children of Darkness

AJ slept fitfully. He woke Rhiannon several times during the day with his little moans and twitches. Each time, she would shoosh him, stroke his hair, or run her nails over his back to calm him down. They both slept until nearly 9:00 that night. Rhiannon woke before AJ. She stared at his sweet face. He looked like an angel when he slept. His arms were wrapped around her waist tightly, as if he feared she would somehow escape while he was asleep. She traced her finger along his carefully sculpted sideburns and smiled. He was just too cute. AJ opened his eyes and looked around the coffin.

"Oh shit..." he muttered, "I can see in the dark."

"Yes you can," she replied, giggling a little. "Tonight, your education begins, AJ. I'll teach you everything I know. But you have to listen to me, ok? Do what I tell you to do. And we have to get you something to eat, or you're going to get too weak. You're already looking pretty pale."

"Great. I could go for a burger and fries," AJ said, smiling.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" AJ asked, feeling rather disappointed.

"Because you'll make yourself sick," she replied, running her fingers through his hair.

"But Kevin said you could eat when you wanted to. Why can't I?"

"Because. I'm older than you. And I'm stronger. And... I know the secrets," she said, grinning.

"Secrets?"

"Yep. Secrets. Now come on. It's time to get up," Rhiannon said, opening the top of the coffin. Lorelei and Stephen were sitting in the living room waiting for them to rise.

"God. Not another one," Lorelei said, rolling her eyes, when she saw AJ.

"Lorelei, be nice," Stephen said, his Irish brogue strong tonight.

"AJ, this is Lorelei. She's a bitch," Rhiannon said, smirking at Lorelei. "And this is Stephen."

"Hi," AJ said, suddenly feeling shy. Shy? Wow, that was a new one for him.

"Hello," Stephen said, his eyes raking up and down AJ's body. AJ shifted uncomfortably, feeling that he was being sized up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. Stephen smiled with satisfaction, then turned his attention back to Rhiannon.

"Your boy... he's being very irresponsible with the gift, Rhiannon. You're going to have to talk to him," Stephen said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know. And I would talk to him if I knew where he was," Rhiannon replied, sighing.

Stephen stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Don't give me that shit, Rhiannon. You know where he is."

"No, I really don't, Stephen. I have no clue where he is," Rhiannon said, staring at Stephen. He could see the worry in her eyes. Stephen nodded, then looked at AJ, who was leaning back against the wall with his hands still stuffed in his pockets.

"Oh come on, Alex. There's no need to be shy around us. You might as well get to know us. We're going to be friends for an awfully long time," Stephen said, patting AJ's cheek. AJ pulled away from Stephen's touch. His touch hurt.

"Ohhh, Rhiannon, you need to get this boy something to eat quickly," Stephen said, smiling. "He's fading fast. He's got to be in pain."

"I know. I'll get him something. He can't go out in public right now, though," Rhiannon replied.

"Well, you can leave him here. We won't hurt him," Lorelei said, giving AJ a sly smile. Rhiannon shot her an evil look.

"Stephen, will you watch him for me?" Rhiannon said, ignoring Lorelei.

"Of course, darling," Stephen said, kissing her cheek. Neither of them trusted Lorelei, and for good reason.

"Thank you," Rhiannon said, grabbing AJ's hand. She pulled him into the kitchen.

"Ok, sweetheart, I'm going to go out and get you something to make you feel better. Just stay with Stephen. Listen to him. You just might learn something from him," she said, smiling. She kissed his cheek and grabbed her keys from the counter.

"Rhiannon," AJ said, his voice waivering, "please let me come with you."

Rhiannon looked into AJ's eyes. He was so frightened. She didn't blame him, either.

"Ok," she said, holding his hand. "but you have to be incognito, ok? We can't have you being recognized."

She grabbed a baseball hat from the hatrack in the hall and AJ put on his sunglasses.

"Damn, put on a jacket or something. Your ink is a dead giveaway," she said, laughing. She threw him a leather jacket, and he pulled it on. They hopped into her car and went out for a drive. They pulled up to Le Chat Noir, and Rhiannon told AJ to wait in the car. He lit a cigarette and took a drag off of it. He watched people move in and out of the club. Funny, he thought, he could tell exactly which ones were human and which ones weren't. It was strange. He had never noticed before. Rhiannon emerged a few minutes later with a really good-looking guy. He was tall, very athletic, looked like a football player. He had tan skin, dark blonde hair, green eyes. Very hot indeed. She smiled a wicked smile at AJ when she and the guy got into the car.

"Alex, this is Eric. Eric, this is Alex," she said.

"Hi," Eric said, smiling at AJ.

"Hi."

AJ was silent all the way home. How the hell was he supposed to... feed... on this guy? The guy was huge. He was twice AJ's size. There was no way AJ was going to be able to overpower this guy. Rhiannon listened to AJ's thoughts, and she laughed a little. She reached over and placed her hand on AJ's thigh.

"You'll be ok," she said softly. AJ turned to her and shook his head. He didn't believe her.

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