We awoke immediately as the sun fell below the horizon and prepared to set off. Serena was sure she knew where Chris took Lucious. I could only follow in hopes she was correct. We didn't say but two words to each other before we were out of that apartment and down to the road below.

“Ready?” she questioned.

“Yes,” I answered.

We set off in the direction towards Central City and it wasn't long until I realized where she was leading me. Moments later, her mansion came into full view and just seconds after we were standing in front of her door.

I couldn't understand why Chris would be here. Serena would be absolutely infuriated if she was to find him in her home. Either Chris was plain stupid... or Serena was wrong in knowing where he was.

Yet, she still wouldn't say one word to me as she began to walk up the front steps. I followed, quietly as well, trying desperately to mask my presence in case we were jumped from behind.

It had been quite a while since I'd stepped foot into the corridor, yet I remembered the time I spent here perfectly like it was embedded into my memory for the rest of eternity. From the day she took me in to the day I left to rescue Lucious, I could remember it all. These memories sent chills running down my spine.

“Chris!” Serena hollered out, her voice echoing back to her. “I know you are here, come out!”

Silence followed.

I stood, my breath heavy in anticipation. I didn't know if I was ready for a fight. I tried to prepare for a side attack but it never came.

“Damn it, Chris. Stop this ridiculous game and come out this instant!” she yelled once more.

Suddenly, I heard a rustling come from the library, followed by the distant sound of footsteps as a shadow started to approach us. It was him.

He wore his pretentious smile, that ghostly grin he always wore when he was scheming. I almost wanting to run up to him and tear it straight off his face.

“Ah, you figured it out,” he said. “I didn't think you'd be able to follow me so easily now that Lucious is free.”

Serena was quick to approach him, her eyes furious with hate. She faced him and swung her arm, her hand hitting him straight in the face. “Bastard, you have some nerve breaking into my home!”

“Your home? No, my love, but I fear you are wrong. Who paid for this beautiful manor?” His smile never left his lips. “I do believe it was I. Paid in flesh and blood.”

Serena stood upset by his words. “We made a deal hundreds of years ago, Christopher. You were to leave me to this mansion and never return.”

“You're correct! But now the deal is off, Serena.” Chris chuckled.

I stepped up beside Serena. “Where's Lucious?”

My question caught Chris by surprise. “Oh yes, Lucious. He's here. But I hate to say if you want him, you'll have to get by me first.” He took a step closer. “Think you can?”

At that moment, I caught a frog in my throat. He must have sensed my nervousness at the whole situation. Chris knew I was weak from this ordeal; due to my youth I couldn't possess the strength needed to pass him and rescue Lucious.  

“You're sick, Christopher. Something is wrong with you. I always knew it but now I can see it with my own eyes.” Serena barked.

“And what of you, my love? You save a boy from the cold depths only to starve him of a life, feed upon him for years, turn him vampire, and keep him bound to you for eternity. Now that is what I call sick.”

I stood contemplating. The arguing escalated between them, yet we had no further plan. If only I could run past him, push him aside and begin searching the mansion for Lucious. It would be so much easier if we still held our connection. But that was childish of me to think that way. I needed to fight back.

Just then I remembered the dungeon where Serena had us captured some time ago. Of course, Chris must have him down there.

I took a step forward, in attempt to get by Chris but my plan stopped there when he got in my way.

“Where you going, Mikael?” he wondered.

It must have been the distraction Serena was looking for. She darted off towards the back of the room, heading straight for the door to the basement. Chris immediately disappeared from my sight and the next thing I noticed was Serena being pushed into the wall.

“You have some nerve.” He held her tight to the wall by her neck.

This was my chance. I bolted straight towards the door and was lucky enough to get through without being caught. I heard Chris yell out but ran as fast as my vampiric strength would allow.

I remembered this place, cold and damp like the foggy depths of a swamp. I couldn't bare to think he was in here. A few more steps and I noticed his figure inside the end jail cell.

His head hung low with arms cuffed in chains. I stood and stared outside the cage for a moment, desperately trying to feel him again. When we possessed our bond, we could feel each other here no matter how far away we were. Now it all felt like empty spaces between us. Cold and dead.

Upstairs I continued to hear the struggle between Chris and Serena. Yet I heard footsteps approach and when I turned my head, I saw Rickie standing next to me.

“You know, I'm not supposed to let anyone in here,” he said to me, his face almost dull of any emotion. “But I know who you are and why you're here.”

I'd only seen him once, maybe twice while staying with Chris; I knew his name though we were never introduced.

“Rickie, do you have a key?” I asked, motioning to the lock on the cage door.

He dug into his pockets and I heard a jingling rattle out. “I do. Figures he would leave me to watch him.”

I got the sense that Rickie didn't care for Lucious. Maybe it was out of jealousy or just out of pure hatred for another vampire, but he was quick to slip the key into the lock and open the door.

“Just hurry and get out of here,” he told me as he stood away from us.

It wasn't very long ago that we were separated, but now that our bonds were broken, it felt like an eternity. Almost as if I'd never seen him before, like an unfamiliar face. I closed in on him until I could hear his empty sighs escape his lips.

I set my hand upon the top of his head and stroked his long, silvery hair.

“Lucious?”

His eyes opened slightly, the vision of me soaking through teary lashes. “Mikael?”

“Come on, we gotta get out of here!” I informed as I reached up to undo the chains around his wrists.

Just seconds later and he was free. I caught him before he could fall to his knees, his body weak from whatever drug Chris had forced through him, and I barred his entire weight on my legs.

Freedom tasted so fine at that moment, a short second in time and we were together at last without the worries of anyone interfering with our reunion. But it wouldn't last long. Chris had already made his way down the stairs.

“You're not going anywhere.”