Chapter 5.

Part 20. From one beginning to another.

“You should join our club.” Serena said to the handsome Frenchman on the ground.

He looked confused, but smiled at her, “Pardon, what club is this?” he asked.

Helt glared at the small Filipino, “Are you serious?” he asked.

Taking a dramatic pose, her dark hair flowing around her, Serena said to her friends and the other students there on the riverside path, “The club we aim to build is all about good relations between humans and non-humans. So we need both in it. What better example could we imagine than two who met as enemies and learned to be friends.” Her voice was enchanting, her words spoken with total conviction.

The elder student of the HPB swordsmen, helped his brother to his feet. “Sounds like a fine idea.” he said.

Erik seemed less sure about that, but he did see the matter as a point of honour. “If you request it, my lady, I will be at your side in this club.” he assured her.

Helt and Emma exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing ‘iche the drama is thick’

Later that day.

Helt found Serena alone and invited her for a walk, so they could talk in privet.

“You know the Human Protection Brotherhood does not trust any non-human, not at all.” he said seriously.

She countered, “Some are dangerous, and most people are helpless to fight them. The HPB is not unreasonable.”

“You are not helpless, nor are you human.” he said bluntly. “What will prince charming think when he finds out?”

“Jealous are you?” she asked.

Helt was silent for a moment, as if considering the question “No.” he said “Concerned for your well being.”

“This is actually perfect for the club, getting Erik involved. We may not change the viewpoint of all the HPB members, but if we can get even one to open their eyes, it is a victory.” she explained.

He stopped and looked at her, really looked into her sea blue eyes. “You have a lot more depth and skill than one may expect.” he said with clear warmth.

“What? You dont think I know what Im doing?” she said in mock outrage, hands on hips looking very stern.

Helt smiled, avoiding outright laughter. “Next time, I will be less concerned when I see you making a seemingly bad decision.”

“And I will be less concerned when I see you get stabbed.” she answered with a bit more emotion than she intended.

“Yes maybe we should talk about a few things.” he suggested. It was almost unset. “How about that hill, should be a nice place for some truth telling.”

Serena gave a nod. She was both excited and worried. How many secrets were about to be exchanged?

Part 21. a few Helt facts.

“What are you, really?” Serena asked as they sat on the hilltop, the sun sinking in the west.

“Vampire.” Helt answered.

“But you are out in the day.” she pointed out.

“There are many types of so-called vampires, and stages to their lives. What is true for some is not for others.” he started the explanation, “I find the sun irritating and I burn quickly, but I do not burst into flames, nor do I sparkle.”

“Do you drink blood?” she asked, not quite looking him in the eye.

“Blood is life. It is the best way to get energy. But its not not the only thing I can eat. I rather like black forest cake.” he knew a little humour would help at this point. People were always repelled or overly fascinated by the blood drinking.

“So are you immortal, eternally young, hay, how old are you anyhow?” she asked in quick realization.

“How old do I look?”

“Early 20s, not more than 25, I would have guessed.” she said slowly.

“Very good, now add 100 years.” he replied. As expected she had that ‘no-you must be kidding’ look.

“Yes. I was born and raised in a small mountainside village, in Germany. As a teenager I foolishly went off to war, World War One. It was wonderful and horrible, I survived it somehow. In 1922 I became one of them, the immortals.” It was just a condensed fragment of his life story, but it was enough for now.

Serena was quiet for a moment, looking away, towards the coast. She closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought. What she was actually doing was listening very carefully before asking her next question. “Are you, well, like the living dead?”

“No. There are some vampires who fit that type. Im not one of those. I breath, I have a heart beat.” he offered her his hand “Want to check for a pulse?”

She took his hand, put her fingers to his wrist. He felt warm, alive, there was a pulse.

Still holding his hand she looked into his eyes and asked “Can you ....”

“No. I cant turn into a bat.”

“But you can read minds?”

“ahh no. Its just that everyone asks that.”

They both laughed. Although it had not really been the question on her mind.

Part 22. a few Serena facts.

“What about you?” Helt asked. “Time for you to tell me some of your secrets.”

As the sunset deepened to a crimson shimmer on the horizon, they sat close together on the hill top.

“You seem sure Im not human. Why is that?” she asked.

“You smell different. Its subtle, but there is something about your blood unlike any Iv ever encountered.”

“Maybe Im just a girl with special powers?”

“Maybe you are just stalling.”

“Yes I guess I am.” Serena took a deep breath. She had spent a life time of learning to hide this part of her self, it was not easy to give up the habit. “Im a mermaid, a little princess of the sea.” she said it quickly before she could change her mind. “People often call me Princess because my dad is rich and my mom is famous. The truth is kind of ironic, in merfolk society I really am one.”

Helt was quiet. Not because he was shocked or anything. The world was a weird place he knew it. He was quiet because it was often the best way to get a woman to talk. Keep eye contact a lot and just let her explain things until she seems to run out of stuff to say.

“For a long time we stayed hidden, living underwater. It was easy to avoid humans. Then in grandfather’s day things started to change, with so many boats and new technology it became harder to keep to the old ways.” her smile was a bit sad and proud too. “He was a very controversial king because he broke many traditions. He believed that we needed more interactions with humans in order to keep the kingdom healthy. Not everyone agreed of course.” her voice had taken on something of a smooth announcer's tone, like she was giving a school presentation. “Grandfather built the Rexwave name up from humble beginnings as a savager, pretending to be human. Father expanded the business into shipbuilding and a lot of other things too. Now we own several islands and basically control the water around our kingdom.”

“So your dad is a merfolk king disguised as business billionaire. What about your mom?” Helt asked after a long pause.

“She is also a mermaid, but from a different kingdom. Her family was less keen on the idea or integration with the surface. So in her rebellious youth, mom went up onto land to be a singer and soon became a star.”

“As far as deep dark secrets go, yours is quite tame.” he said with a playful poke at her shoulder.

Serena smiled. Why had she been so worried? Force of habit maybe.

“Well now I see why you have an interest in the club idea. Its an expansion on a family tradition.” he said, hitting the nail right on the head. She was a bit surprised, once again, on how fast he caught on to things. Most guys she met were a bit slower to put clues together.

“Just one more question. If I throw water on you...?” he asked.

“I do not turn into a fish.” she snapped.

They both laughed.

Part 23 Dance Time.

The music was loud, the lighting harsh, the place smelled of two dozen kinds of alcohol and half a dozen kinds of smoke. It was Saturday night at The Cave. Built during WW2 into the side of a hill and used as a warehouse until the 1960s, when it was turned into a nightclub, The Cave was open Friday and Saturday, dusk till dawn.

Emma loved it as soon as she walked in the door. The music throbbing like a fast heartbeat. She had planned to invite Serena, but after waiting for over an hour for her roommate to return from her walk with Helt, the American blond had given up on that idea and simply dragged along two random girls from the dorm.

The music was techno-swing, a mix of old big band and new electronic, perfect for dancing. Emma sank one drink quickly then hit the dance floor. She wasn't the greatest, but it did not matter one bit. She was there to have fun, along with a hundred other students, she agreed; fun was king of the world.

At midnight the music slowed to a background murmur, as the live band set up. Emma found herself sitting in one of the booths, talking to some guy named Biff. The band played for an hour, mostly covers of well known songs, but with a few original tunes mixed in.

Then it happened, right in the middle of a sentence, the world seemed to stop. As if god hit the pause button on life. People stopped moving, sound stopped, everything seemed to hand in one moment of time. Except Emma could look around, she could think, but not talk or move. “What the hell?” she screamed inside her own mind.

Then she saw them, two guys having a fight. They were slicing at each other with daggers, one trailing red flame, the other green. They moved fast, trying not to hit any of the statue like people, while they aimed to kill the other. Several times they jumped high, higher than anyone should be able, and even seemed to change direction in mid air. It was all amazing. Emma eventually lost sight of them, as she could not turn her head to follow the action. The sounds of the fight, the only sounds in the room continued for a few moments then stopped.

Suddenly the world returned to normal. “What in the mud flingin level of hell? Was that?” She asked.

Biff looked at her confused, “What? I just said the Jay’s have a good chance this year.”

Emma give him a look, “Did you not just now see the two guys with glowy flamy knives?”

“No. Are you sure you did? Maybe its been one drink to many for you.” he answered.