In the afternoon it was hot and still quiet. Nina was on her room sleeping with Amiya, Regina was the only one sipping whiskey on the drawing room while she looked into some spells on her grimoire.
Hawaii joined her, he was only wearing a towel and Regina didn't expect his presence at that time. "You are up early" she said and he ignored her then walked to the store room in which they kept blood bags in a whole large fridge. He took two blood bags and made his way back.
Regina called out to him again "I said you are up early"
"Yeah I heard you!"
"And...you just chose not to answer me?"
"I kinda blame you for what happened"
Regina softly chucked and he looked at him "You what?"
"The whole wolf thing, you could've stopped it why didn't you?"
"You don't know what you talking about. I sacrificed myself to protect Nina, I will always protect her. It's just the wolves are a different specie, they repeal magic"
He sipped his whiskey and said "That's a first I'm hearing it from you. What else?"
"Just...go"
"You are the one who wanted to talk!"
"I wanted yes, but now I...I guess new minute new me"
"Say it Regi..."
She eyed him as he made that stupid grin she hated and walked back to her sit. "I was worried about you last night"
"Well, you shouldn't be. We aren't together anymore"
"I meant as a person, as a friend"
"Did you?"
Regina changed the subject out of nowhere and asked "Two blood bags?" and it was like she triggered him because Hawaii's face and mood changed completely as if indicating something was wrong. He walked back to his room upstairs without even looking back leaving Regina curious but she wasn't concerned about it, she went back to her spells.
When Hawaii walked inside his room, Alice was up and standing waiting for him. "Thank goodness I'm starving..." she said. Hawaii took one bag and gave it to her. Alice wasted no time to pluck it open and indulged into it, she was really hungry. Hawaii closed the door just in case one of their friends made their way into his room.
"That's A positive, ought to be tasty..." He said.
"Mmh-mmh"
"You mind taking it easy Ali..."
"Why, I'm starving" she said finishing the whole bag, not leaving even a single drop. Then she took two deep breaths and pointed at the other bag Hawaii was holding "Do you mind?" she asked and he gave her the other bag. Like the first one, she indulged into it as if there was none left or her last time to feed.
He looked at her with a smile, but just a smile to hide his feelings towards all what was happening, which was ought to no good. "I'm going out" he said wearing his shirt and put on some pants.
"Can I come with you?"
"No my darling, it's fine I can handle it. You..." he moved closer to her, wiped the blood off her mouth and gave her a kiss "Should clean yourself up and go see Nina, act normal and don't tell them what's going on" He finished it with a kiss and walked outside. Alice stayed behind and she threw herself on the bed holding the blood bag.
Hawaii found Regina still sitting on the drawing room, he picked her up without saying anything. "Julian, where are you taking me...?" she asked but he didn't say a thing. They got into his car and drove away.
*************************************
Within the old caves buried underneath the ancient city of Cairo, where Nazar was put down to sleep thousands of years ago, Antonio was just beside his brother's grave. He had been anxiously for over a month waiting for his brother to awake without any signs. He compelled the entire security team guarding the graves to make sure they call him when he awakes but he found them all dead. Drained of blood and their intestines cut out, all fifty of them and he didn't find his body on the coffin.
"Brother!" He called out passing around the dead bodies. They were fresh, and some dripping of blood so he knew it didn't happen weeks ago but just a day or few hours ago. He called out again "Big bad wolf, come out come out big brother..." and he sensed that there was someone on his back.
The shadow reflected a male figure standing behind him and he smiled. But he didn't rush to turn to him.
"You made such a mess" said Antonio.
"Well, little brother you know how I like to make an entrance"
Antonio gasped for he knew the voice and it belonged to none other but Nazar. He slowly turned back, looked at each other face to face.
Nazar was a very handsome man with dark eyebrows which were thick and really dark hair. He was among those worshiped gods of Egypt during that time. He had an Arab gene as so was Antonio and he looked like an Italian man and his skin was brown and a bit darkish. He was taller than Antonio and had strong muscles and a shirt that he stole from one of the guards didn't fit him at all and it looked like one wrong move, and it could fall apart at once.
"It's been ages" He said to Antonio who quickly bent down and lowered his head.
"My lordship. I'm at your command"
"Nonsense Antonio, get up you are not my slave" He said and gave Antonio his hand to help him rise. "Nor am I your lordship. You are my brother"
"But..."
"It's all forgotten, everything that happened we keep it in the past"
"I should've been there, I...I should've protected you..."
"What could've you done?"
Nazar grabbed his attention towards the exit door, and Antonio followed him. They left the tomb and wondered through the streets of Cairo. It was already evening and several mosques were reciting the adhana which called Muslims to prayer. "Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar" was all they could hear as they strolled downtown passing through the locals.
"This is cahira?" Nazar asked, shocked and confused with the generations of transformation which had occurred to the world. Everything he saw resembled nothing to the days when he was like a god of Egypt. People worshipped him and were on their feet but at that particular moment, no one knew him or cared enough to even bow. Some even passed through him colliding him with their luggage. He was the richest merchant and the most powerful one after meeting Lunara.
"It's Cairo now" Antonio replied.
"Cairo? And not Cahira?"
"Yes brother"
"Well well well"
Like their usual ways of life, women of Cairo were in abayas while men wore white robes like true Muslims in a Muslim country. Some of them were taken by the gigantic nature of Nazar, couldn't help themselves from looking. Standing at six foot four, and a weight of almost two hundred pounder. One may have thought that he could've shrunk because he was dead but he rose above it.
"Do you need food?" He asked Antonio.
"What?"
"Are you hungry?"
"No"
"Well, I am"
"You just killed fifty men and drank every drop of their blood" Said Antonio and he smiled at the end.
"Well, real food. Come on there..." Nazar pointed to a restaurant nearby, they crossed a road and barged inside.
A waitress dressed in an abaya welcomed them. "Welcome to our restaurant, please have a sit"
"Gracias mi amore" Antonio said to the woman and winked, she lowered her eyes, she was shy.
"I will need a huge tasty food that you got" Ordered Nazar and the waitress walked away. Antonio sat across his brother and he was so focused with looking around the place. "I swear brother, this is —"
He didn't finish his words, Nazar cut him short by stabbing him in his heart with a knife that was on top of the table. The whole restaurant went nuts, the locals were screaming and wanted to leave but he only said "Stop! And don't scream" and at that particular moment everyone returned to their seat as if nothing happened and sat quietly. He was that powerful, and perhaps Antonio might have prepared himself before meeting his big brother, but he didn't.
"Little man..."
Antonio struggled to speak but his heart was wounded. He started coughing blood and slowly dying, even though he wouldn't die from a steel and neither wood but Nazar wanted to make a statement. "You want to talk? Talk little brother, talk..." He shouted at him.
"You betrayed me. You joined up with those people who wanted to kill me, you and that bitch Lunara will pay for everything. For every year that I spent on that tomb, for every moment I yearned to get out and rejoin my true love. You, will pay...and at first I'm going to kill your whore" He finished and stood up quickly, took the knife out and slowly Antonio fell down dead.
"That bitch you love so deeply, that will be my revenge" Nazar said to his brother and barged out of the restaurant and vanished.
Later on, Antonio woke up and it was already night. He shook himself up looked at his shirt which was full of blood, he knew what happened and without staying any more further inside that restaurant he walked outside and looked around with no sign of Nazar anywhere.
He took his phone and quick dialed Nina, she was the first thing that had come to his mind. It rang for a while and then she picked up.
"Hello" Nina's voice picked up.
"Ninarivera, mi amore. He's coming..."
"Antonio?"
"Si"
"Who's coming?"
"Who you wanted to wake! He's channeling all his vengeance of me towards you. I want you to take care of yourself, I'll be there shortly" said Antonio and hang up.
"Who's it?" Amiya asked Nina, they were sitting together on a car.
"He says he's coming"
"Who?"
"Nazar!" She said with a bit of fear on her face.
"To break the curse?"
"No, to kill me..."
Amiya was caught off guard with that reply, she asked "To kill you? Why would a thousand year old vampire wants to kill you?"
"His vengeance towards his brother, he knows I'm Antonio's one true love. And he wants to punish him by killing me"
Confused and battered, Nina started the car and continued to the destination she and Amiya had planned earlier. They planned a trip to the lake house where they would spend a week alone to get away from all the distractions, Amiya asked her "Are you sure this is what you need? We can turn back, call in the others and discuss this"
Nina shrugged it off "No, this is exactly what I want. Hawaii and Regina are off somewhere, Alice is at her Dad's house and you...you and I are going to the lake house because I just don't want to get caught up into all this. I want to escape it for a week, just a week where I forget that I'm a vampire and just live like a normal woman" She said and Amiya knew what she needed. They both left the house and into a weekend of relaxation.
Regina and Hawaii were at the bar, since they got out of the house all they did was get drunk. He needed a drink buddy and she was there for him, Regina is a lot of fun when needs to be and Hawaii knows it better than anyone. His most funniest times were when he hanged out with Regina, whether be in Chicago in the twenties or New Orleans or further Europe attending the Queen's coronation in the fifties.
After hours of drinking, laughing and making jokes he finally felt like it was a perfect time and he leaned closer to her.
"I need to tell you something" He said.
"What is it?"
"Alice"
"She's sick?"
"It's more than that, she's..." he stopped for a moment and cleared his throat. When he wanted to resume, Alice entered inside the bar looking around.