Chapter Seventeen: More than it's Worth

*~*~Adrian~*~*

Adrian stepped into the elevator and opened a small panel below the other floor buttons. Inside the panel was another set of buttons. These six buttons were for the floors below the first basement. Anyone could access these floors since the panel wasn’t locked but not everyone would be able to actually step out onto the floor. 

He pressed the button labeled ‘B4’ before he straightened up and glanced to his right. Marie kept her eyes on the display as it counted down. What would make her react that way? It had caught him completely off guard when she’d reacted that way.  The elevator opened up to a lobby similar to the one on the first floor. The difference was that there were a lot more people walking around and talking to one another. He flashed their tickets to the gentlemen waiting beside the elevator and was let through.

They made their way to the front desk where he asked if there was still time to view the items. The woman at the counter told him there were still fifteen minutes left and offered him a catalog. He took it and listened as she gave him directions to where the items were being kept. They headed over but the room barely had any items left on display. This close to the start time, only some of the smaller items were left to look at.

[I don’t see the knife.] It was possible that it had already been moved. 

[I don’t see it either.] They walked around some more but didn’t find the knife or another item that could do the same thing. Adrian led them out of the room and towards the VIP rooms. The tickets inside the envelope had been upgraded tickets and not the usual auction tickets. They were stopped on the stairs by two men standing guard at the entrance. Adrian handed over their tickets. One of the men took their tickets and ripped them in half. They were given the other half back as the man gave them directions to their room.

Each of the doors was labeled with a gold number. They stopped in front of the door with the number three painted on it and opened the door. The room was lavishly decorated with the entire far wall made of glass so that their view of the stage was unobstructed. Crimson and gold colors decorated the walls and tables. The large, leather sofa in the middle of the room had flowers embroidered in gold on the arms. A small table sat next to the sofa with a phone on it.

[Magic?] She shook her head as she walked towards the glass wall.

[None in the room.]

[Where?]

[Out there, below us but nothing close.]

[We still have a few minutes before the auction starts. We should go over the catalog and see if there’s a picture of the knife.] Marie nodded and took a seat on the sofa. He sat down next to her but made sure to keep a slight distance between them. She took the catalog from him and began to flip through it. He pretended to look at the catalog with her but his mind was still on her reaction from earlier. Adrian knew that even if he asked her, he wouldn’t get the answers he was looking for but he still couldn’t stop thinking about it. What had she seen? She had been looking at the front entrance when her emotions had turned negative. Shock, anger, despair, and… Fear.

The speakers in the room made a pop sound as the auctioneer adjusted the mic on the stage below. The auctioneer went through the rules for the auction and mentioned there would be a brief intermission later. The man finished saying what he needed to say and gestured to the stage. The first item was wheeled in and placed beside him.

[I found it.] Adrian looked back at the book. She tilted the catalog, so he could see it. The picture showed a knife in a velvet lined box.

[Can you read the script?]

[No, the photo isn’t clear enough for me to read it.] He took the catalog from her and looked through it. Based on the knife’s position in the catalog, they would have to wait until after intermission to see if it showed up. Adrian put the catalog down on the sofa beside him as he returned his attention to the stage. Several more items were shown, as they waited quietly.

The auctioneer waited for the last item to be taken off stage before he announced the start of intermission. They would have half an hour to kill before the auction would resume.

[Did you want something to drink?] Marie shook her head. He stood up to order something for himself when there was a knock at the door. Adrian glanced back at Marie. She looked at him, waiting for instructions. [Stay there.] She nodded.

“Enter.” The door opened to reveal one of the staff wheeled in a covered cart. Two men and a woman entered after him. Adrian hadn’t expected to see Jorge show up. He barely knew the host even though he had been attending his party for decades. The woman next to him was his secretary but the man next to him. He didn’t think he’d seen him at any of the parties before this. He racked his brain trying to place the man. Adrian vaguely recalled seeing the man at some of the events. The unknown man spoke as everyone entered.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberty of bringing refreshments.”

“Why would they?” The host laughed as he patted the other man on the back. “Ah. Forgive me. You know Jennifer but you haven’t met my new event coordinator. This is Gregory.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Gregory gave a short bow before heading to the cart and pulling the cover off. Adrian felt a brief moment of shock before it faded into wariness. Her feelings were smothered quickly but not quickly enough. He glanced at Marie but her attention was on the items sitting on the cart. Sitting next to a bottle of brandy was a bottle of dark red liquid.

[What’s wrong?]

“Here.” Gregory poured brandy into three glasses before handing them out to each of the vampires there. “Now we can move on to the bet.” 

“What are the stakes? I would love to participate if I can.” Jorge looked eagerly at Gregory.

“Adrian mentioned his companion during the event yesterday. He was quite proud of how powerful she is.” The host turned his gaze on Marie.

“Is that so? How powerful is this companion of yours?” Adrian smiled politely but his mind raced. What was Gregory talking about? He hadn’t spoken to the man once.

“She is skilled at magic but I don’t know if she could compare to your companion.” The host laughed.

“Very modest.” He turned to Gregory with a savage grin. “Time is running out. What is the bet?” 

“It’s quite simple. His companion just needs to drink a single glass of Rose Red. If she can still perform magic then he wins.” Gregory gestured to the dark red bottle Marie had been staring at. “I have information on something he’s been searching for. If he loses, I will get a taste of his companion.” The man pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. 

“It is simple. Too simple.” The host tapped his finger against his chin as he thought. “We need to up the ante. You still have that, correct?” He looked back at Jennifer. The woman nodded and pulled out a small blue box from her purse. She opened the box to show what was inside to everyone there. A delicate gold chain ended in a large teardrop shaped diamond. “Have her drink three glasses and I will throw this in as well.” The host turned his eyes on Marie, looking her up and down with a hungry glint in his eyes. “My terms are the same.” Adrian could feel his polite smile starting to slip. He needed to get out of this bet without insulting the host.

“Three it is.” Gregory agreed and the host looked pleased.

[I can do it. I know my limits.] 

[No. We have no idea what’s even in the envelope. It might not be worth it.] Adrian went over to the table and examined the bottle to buy some more time.

[Gregory brought us here for a reason.]

[You think he brought us here on purpose?]

[He chose our prize and then showed up during the intermission.] This was definitely more than a coincidence but what was the man’s goal?

[We don’t even know how much Rose Red is in there—]

[Fifty-five percent. The bottle has fifty-five percent.]

[And you know this for a fact?] Adrian examined the bottle but didn’t see anything written on the bottle that indicated the percentage of Rose Red. How could Marie tell? Color? It was darker than the pink one but he didn't get a good look at the one she drank with Grace so he couldn’t compare it.

[Yes.]

“I didn’t think you were so cautious. Do you usually take this long to make decisions? I wonder if this is how you handle your business as well.” Jorge gave him a knowing smile. “It’s something to discuss when I go to lunch with Johnathan Briggs and Jesus Rocha tomorrow.” Adrian glanced at the host. The man was purposefully bringing up men he was planning to do business with. Jorge was known as the main driving force behind the hide and seek game. The man was known to participate in the game despite being the host and took great pleasure from drinking from the other companions. “Will you take the bet?”

[Do you want me to?] Was there any way to get them out of this without damaging his business prospects? He kept his expression bland as he straightened up and turned towards the two men.

“Just three glasses?”

“Just three but the pass or fail depends on whether she can still cast magic.”

[Are you sure you can handle it?] What was Gregory planning to do with the host here? Was cutting off their magic the other man’s only goal? If he went through with this, he’d need to keep Marie safe while she couldn’t use magic.

[Yes.]

[Alright.] He hoped he wouldn’t regret this. “Go ahead, Marie.” She stood up and went to stand beside the cart. Gregory pulled out three more glasses and proceeded to fill them. The man placed them in a line in front of her. Marie emptied one glass after another. She held the last glass in her hand and stared at it. Marie took a deep breath before she chugged the glass and slammed it down on the cart. 

“Very impressive.” Gregory clapped before he took the glasses and moved them over so the host could see them as well. “Now all we need to see is some magic.” Marie lifted her hand up and opened it to reveal a small ball of fire. This wasn’t her truth spell but a regular ball of fire. Gregory went around the cart and leaned close to study the flame. Marie staggered backward to avoid him and tripped. She caught herself in time and leaned against the sofa to steady herself.

[Put out the fire.] She looked at him, and he could see how unfocused she looked. Marie looked down at the fire and closed her hand around it, snuffing the fire out.

“I think we know who the winner is.” Gregory glanced at the host. Jorge made a shooing motion with his hand. Jennifer gave the box to Gregory and he took it over to Marie. Adrian went towards Marie but he was blocked by the host. Over the other man’s shoulder, he could see Marie step back. Adrian could feel her wariness from here.

“Your companion is quite capable if she can drink that much and still cast magic.” Jorge glanced at Marie. “Her taste must be phenomenal. I hear humans with strong magic taste like a very fine wine.” The host grinned as his eyes went to Jennifer. “My lovely secretary has the ability to use magic but it's sadly lacking. Though I would love to get together and discuss this further.” Gregory had taken the necklace out of the box and held it out towards Marie. She shook her head. Adrian could hear the amusement in the man’s voice as he moved closer. This conversation needed to be cut short. Adrian did not like the malicious glint in Gregory’s eyes.

“Thank you for the compliment. Maybe we can speak more about this soon. It would be unfortunate if we were to miss out on the rest of the auction.” Jorge laughed.

“Indeed. That would be a shame. I have my eye on several items coming up.” The man patted Adrian on the shoulder as he passed. “Coming, Gregory?” The other vampire looked up at the sound of Jorge’s voice. Gregory whispered something to Marie before walking over. The man stopped next to Adrian and handed him the envelope he had been showing off before. Gregory took one last look at Marie before grinning at Adrian. 

“See you later.” The door closed behind them, leaving the two of them in a heavy silence. Adrian stared at the door for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. He wasn’t sure what Gregory’s game was. The vampire was clearly interested in Marie. But that wasn’t what worried him. The man knew too much about Marie. Gregory specifically chose that bottle of Rose Red because he knew she could handle it. And the words he spoke to her at the end. ‘Does this remind you of anything?’ She was clearly his target. But why?

Adrian shook his head and walked over to Marie. She hadn’t moved from her spot near the sofa. Marie had her hand wrapped around the necklace and was yanking on it in a rhythmic motion. Her eyes had a faraway look in them as she pulled on it over and over again. She felt empty. It was just like before. Her emotions were suppressed so far down inside her that she might as well be a soulless doll. He grabbed her hand and stopped her from pulling on the necklace. 

[Stop. I can take it off.] It didn’t look like his words were getting through to her. She had stopped pulling on it but she still wasn’t there. [Marie.] He held her face gently in his hands as he tilted it up. Adrian looked into her eyes and watched as life came back to them. She slowly focused on his face. Marie blinked a few times before he felt her confusion rise. [Let me take the necklace off.] She stared at him for several minutes before she spoke.

“Ok.” Marie turned and leaned her head forward so he could see the clasp. Her neck had several red marks from her yanking on the necklace. Adrian undid the clasp and took the necklace off. He tried to give it to her but she shook her head and stepped back. Marie swayed as she did so. Adrian quickly reached out to steady her. The necklace was shoved into his pocket before he led her back to the sofa and had her sit down. The speakers in the room made a pop sound as the mic came back on. The auctioneer announced that intermission was over. They would be starting again in a few minutes so he wanted everyone to start taking their seats. Adrian moved the catalog out of the way before he sat down next to her. He twisted his body so he could watch her better. 

He wasn’t sure what to expect. Rose Red seemed to affect her like alcohol. It just had the added effect of restricting magic. Marie slouched in the chair as sadness radiated out. He didn’t like the thought of taking advantage of this situation but this was most likely his only chance to learn more. It didn’t seem likely she would tell him more on her own.

[Do you usually forget everything after you drink Rose Red?] 

"Why would I want to remember?" There was a hint of anger in her voice and emotions. He remembered her saying that she knew her limits. Was this something she was trained on as a Guardian or did she come across a situation where she needed to drink it? For the first time, he wondered about the kind of life she led. To him, a Guardian had been an annoyance at best and a possible danger at worst. Only through meeting her did he begin to see that maybe he had been harsh in his judgment. She might be reckless in her methods but she was steadfast when it came to helping others. 

[How can you tell what the percentage is?]

"The darker it is, the more Rose Red there is."

[Fifty-five seems too little for how dark it was.] Marie shrugged. She shifted so she was leaning against the sofa’s arm. Her eyes were beginning to droop. Marie said before she didn’t like sleeping afterward but maybe with how much she drank she would just fall asleep without any trouble. 

But it also meant he might only get one more question out of her. He decided to gamble on whether or not she would answer.

[Why were you scared earlier?] She looked into his eyes and shook her head. He could feel her sadness become tinged with fear.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Him? Before he could ask more, her eyes closed and her breathing evened out into a slow rhythm. There would be no more answers from her. He picked up the catalog and flipped through it looking for the current item. They were only a couple of items away from the knife. Since their goal had been to see whether the knife was sold, he decided to leave once he knew. There was no point in him staying longer. He watched as the items were sold one by one but the knife never showed up.

Adrian tossed the catalog to the side and picked Marie up. She didn’t even twitch as he carried her all the way to their room and into his. He had already decided to put her on his bed. This was better than waking up and finding her gone. Marie didn’t move from where he placed her on the bed so he was able to take his time removing his jacket and shoes. A piece of paper fell out of his jacket and he bent down to pick it up. He removed his tie as he reread the information. Dante had included information on a special guest that had come to the party. 

The guest had been specially invited by the host. Dante could only tell him that the man was dangerous and to stay out of his way. He sighed as he put the paper back into his jacket. It would be nice if the man learned to write neater or slower. It was hard to tell what the name of the guest was based on what was written. Lims? Linus? Lems? He shook his head before he tossed his tie on the table.

Adrian dragged a chair over to the door and wedged it under the knob, just in case. With this, he should be able to sleep without any issues... 

He bolted upright in bed, his mind still half asleep. Adrian scanned the area for the source of the disturbance. What had woken him up? He took stock of the room, trying to find what was out of place. The chair was still against the door and Marie was still sleeping next to him. A noise? He listened but all he could hear was her soft breathing, the sound of her heartbeat, and the ticking of his watch. 

Adrian was about to go back to sleep when a wave of pure negative emotions slammed into him. He gasped as he gripped the sheet to keep from doing something he would regret. His teeth ached as he swung his legs off the bed and put his head in his hands. Adrian breathed slowly, trying to get his hunger back under control when another wave of emotions slammed into him. He was nearly knocked off the bed by the force of her emotions. His eyes closed for a moment as he fought to regain control of his hunger. 

He needed to wake her up. He needed to wake her up now. 

Adrian grit his teeth as he stood up. He took a deep breath before walking over to her side and leaning over.

“Marie? Wake up.” Adrian tried not to shake her too roughly but his control was fraying with every wave of emotion that crashed over him. Nothing. Her brow furrowed but she didn’t move beyond that. He shook her again. This time her eyes flew open and she took large, gasping breaths as if she had been on the verge of drowning. Her eyes darted around the room before focusing on him. She brought her knees up to her chest as she sat on the bed. Marie wrapped her arms around them as she laid her head down. 

His issues with control would need to be revisited on another day. Right now, he needed to focus on Marie. 

“Everything is alright.” Adrian rubbed her back gently. Marie looked at him over her knees before she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Do you want to talk about it?” She shook her head and stood up. “Where are you going?”

“Back to my room.” She stumbled as she passed him and he caught her before she hit the ground, face first.

“Stay here and sleep.” He knew that if he let her go now she wouldn’t sleep. She shook her head and tried to get up but he wasn’t going to give her the chance to leave. Adrian stood, flipping her up into his arms before he lightly tossed her back into bed. While her mind tried to catch up with what had happened, he went to the other side and got into bed. Marie tried to flip over and get off the bed again but he was ready for her. He wrapped one hand around her waist and dragged her across the bed. She turned and tried to push him away but he only reached up and took both of her hands in his. A frown crossed her face as she realized she wasn't going anywhere.

“Let go.”

“I’m not going to let you go.” She looked him straight in the eyes. He’d thought she was still drunk on Rose Red but there was an awareness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. Not that she was completely sober either but something about this gaze made him feel like she was searching for something. He wasn’t sure if she found what she was looking for but she sighed and closed her eyes. Her breathing deepened and he was sure she had fallen back to sleep. He thought about letting both of her hands go but decided not to take any chances as he fell asleep with her hand in his.