If I'm Just Bad News, Then Your A Liar (Closed-C)

[Centara Zealon]

Something about Kaydence’s comments showed that she was a bit surprised at the 180 turn of the meeting. She obviously wasn’t used to the indecisive nature that was Centara these days. In any instant, a conversation could change quickly. Her attitude was a new change the moment she began a following of vampires. In order to keep up, she had to be ready to change her point of view in an instant. Her attitude didn’t seem to change much from conversation to conversation. “Glad we have that settled,” she said, glad that Kaydence was on the same page. They now had a deal, one that she hoped Kaydence wouldn’t break. Of course, they could put a bond between the two to ensure that if either broke their deal, they would have some sort of recoil, however Cen was feeling that was not necessary in this situation. Kaydence was usually a woman of her word.

When Kaydence admitted there was not much she could offer further than what she already had, Centara’s facial features got slightly darker. What was the point in this deal if Kaydence had nothing to offer up? In a moment, Cen realized she was too quick to jump to conclusions. Kaydence apparently thought Darren might actually be planning something. The vampire had not known the man much so it she would not be able to deny what Kaydence said as not true. However, if he was, that would be a change. Now the question was, what was he planning and how long had he been planning it? After three years a person would think that he would have had a plan figured out by now. Apparently not, however. Centara went into her head for a minute, trying to even think of what the bloody hell Darren could be planning, but nothing came to mind. No big events were in the making that he could destroy, and she didn’t think randomly starting a problem was his style.

When Kaydence question her knowledge of her brother’s following, Centara sat up a little straighter, trying to rack her brain for anyone she knew. Given she was in a coma for two years, it made her information a little outdated. “My sources are outdated by far, but I have a few names that might be of help.” This would work. She provide the names, Kaydence provide the leg work. “Last I heard, Natalia Jenkins and Mark Green were still working for Darren. However, last I talked to them, they had been leery on where they stood. However, I would not count them out. Even if they have left him, chances are, they could provide good intel.” Biting the bottom of her lip, Cen got up and walked to the other side of the room where a small cabinet stood. She pulled open a drawer and rustled through it for a second before she found a piece of paper and a pen. “Instead of flooding you with names,” she commented, walking back to her chair and sitting down.

She wrote down the two names she had begun with and added a few more to the list before sliding it over to Kaydence, being sure to star two of the names. “Here. The two starred I know left him a while back.” She had purposely left Damien’s name off of the list, wanting to consult with him herself. After all, it had been a while since she had seen him. She made a mental note to contact him in the near future. “So tell me, you’ve been back in town for a while. I presume I’m not the only one you’ve talked to. Anyone else of interest come on your radar?” She was curious to know who else Kaydence had gotten into contact with, wondering how much information about the current situation she actually knew.

[Kaydence Morgan]

Kaydence was pleased that Centara hadn’t bitten her head off. She knew she hadn’t been able to offer much, but hopefully the knowledge about her brother’s tactics would pay off. Darren was a creature of habit. Judging by the training camp and the state he had left the Manor in, he hadn’t changed since she had been gone. She actually thought he was quite careless. For someone with such power as him she would have assumed he would have started being a bit more protective over things close to him. He hadn’t made any move in the three years she had been gone. If she had, Kaydence was sure that she would have felt that unpleasant burning sensation in her forearm. Her eyes wandered down to the concealed tattoo. It hadn’t magically revealed itself since the masquerade. She had been happy about that. She had tried her hardest to find removal spells to get rid of the cursed mark, but had been unsuccessful. Kaydence was beginning to think that the only way the tattoo could be removed herself is if she cut off the slab of skin it had been placed on. The thought of the latter sent a chill down her spine. The last thing she wanted was some hideous scar in the shape of a rugged square on her pristine skin. She knew Darren would be able to remove the mark, but that was out of the question. Besides, the last time she had heard about a mark removal, the poor idiot had lost his life over his treachery.

Absentmindedly, she began rubbing her hand over the spot. There were still instances where the area throbbed but Kaydence had convinced herself that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She found it remarkable how one patch of skin could cause so many painful memories. When she had entered DE training and passed, it had been the best few months of her life. The mark reminded her of the power she had and the greater social ranking that came with it. Now all it did was cause her to remember the miscarriage and her family. Forcing her eyes away from it she leaned forward and proceeded to open the next bottle of wine. She refused to show Centara any emotion. They may have been getting along better than they had earlier, but they were not close enough anymore for her former friend to see her so troubled and vulnerable. “If that is the case,” Kaydence finally said, unwrapping the foil, “then I’m surprised we haven’t felt anything.” She was referring to the dark mark but knew that Centara would catch on. “Before the masquerade, he kept us up to date on a majority of what was going on. Everyone knew their place and who they would be going after. If he is planning something, I’m curious as to why he hasn’t let anyone know yet. Even with the few loyalists he has still, we would still feel something. Right?”

Once she had undone the foil, Kaydence aimed the bottle away from Centara and uncorked it. The compressed air underneath the cork sent it sailing several feet away from them. “Do you want some more?” Before giving her a chance to answer Kaydence went ahead and poured her another glass anyway. She listened intently to the names Centara decided to give off instead. She faintly remembered Mark and Natalia. If she remembered correctly, they were foreigners who had moved to their country after choosing to accept Darren as their leader. It was tempting to go and pay her own visit to them, but she would have to thoroughly consider it before making any decisions. If Centara had already spoken to them and they were still leery on their status within Darren’s following, then her appearance may look suspicious to them. They had always been loyal to Darren before she left. It was possible they’d give her up the second she left from meeting either of them. Centara got up and moved to a small cabinet that was usually reserved for placing bottle orders for the cocktail waitresses. Kaydence contained her questioning by drinking from her wine glass. Centara quickly revealed what she was doing as Kaydence saw her scribbling with a pen across a sheet of paper. ”Instead of flooding you with names.” This time, she didn’t hide her surprise as Centara walked back over and handed her the sheet.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, taking the paper that the woman had slid over to her. Kaydence studied the names before her. She recognized several of them, but there had been one that stood out to her. “Cammie?” she questioned, looking up to Centara. “She’s still here?” It had been ages since she had last spoken to her former house mate. Kaydence had never had a problem with Cammie. The two hadn’t been as great of friends as her and Centara once were, but she knew the girl was one to be trusted. She would have to pay Cammie a visit soon to see how she was doing. She also noticed that Damien’s name wasn’t on there. Perhaps he had found some way out? Maybe he was dead? Damien may have been an idiot, but he wasn’t indestructible. However, she was sure that if something had happened to their mutual friend Centara would have brought it up. The two of them had been close to Monroe and had frequently babysat him. ”I presume I’m not the only one you’ve talked to. Anyone else of interest come on your radar?” Kaydence nodded. “You’re right in presuming that,” she agreed, “but as I’ve already told you, I haven’t heard anything new. The only thing I can guarantee is that Darren has not been sitting back and taking it easy. He has been in and out of the country. My informants are disgruntled and old-school DE’s who disagree with the tactics he’s taking.”

Then she remembered something worth mentioning to Centara. Kaydence wanted to keep it to herself, but the woman had given her names, another stepping stone for her. “I’ve heard rumors, that’s all they are keep in mind, but Darren recently went to go speak with Diego Resѐndez .” She knew that Centara would know who she was talking to. Resѐndez was a well-known werewolf who was one of the most deadly of the species. Diego was very good at hunting and capturing, but was even better at maiming and killing. He wasn’t one too be taken lightly.

[Centara Zealon]

With the mention of the Dark Mark, Centara’s fingers seemed to automatically trace the line of where it was engraved in her skin. The damn thing that held her connection to Darren was still there. She rarely saw it any longer, always using a strong concealment charm to ensure it hid from the world. She was disgusted to relate herself to Darren in any way. There had been many times where she had debated ripping the skin from her arm in one swipe of her claws. It would be painful, but nowhere near as painful as some of the wounds she had faced in the past. The only one that she had yet to experience was the bite of a werewolf. That would be the most painful thing she would feel and she was happy to have yet to feel it. She was hoping to keep it that way. However, despite how little pain she would feel if she were to rip her arm to shreds and let it grow back over about a two day time span, she had chosen not to do so. It was a link from her to Darren; if he was on the move and needed his DeathEaters alongside him, he would use the Dark Mark to call. Centara would be ready to use that as her opportunity to strike. She was just waiting for that day. However, she still contemplated if it was worth concealing the thing when she hadn’t even felt anything in three years.

“One would assume so,” she replied, removing her hand from the spot where it had just rested. If she focused on it anymore, she was sure she would rip her arm in two. “That is unless he found a way to cut off those who are no longer loyal to him,” Centara added, wondering if he had actually found a way to do such a thing. She would not put it past him. After all, his bloodline was filled with Dark Lord’s and if they had created the thing, she was sure they knew a way to cut people off. One could only imagine, however. Rather than spend her time thinking about it, she turned her attention back to Kaydence who had decided to pop the cork on the next bottle of sparkling wine. Without even waiting for Cen to respond, she poured another glass for the vampire. Though she was not truly in the mood for it, her flask was empty and it was going to be impossible for her to fill it where she sat. It would require a trip back to her humble Estate or Der Keller. Both had a stockpile of goods that she could use, or she could always go hunt down another human and take whatever she could get from them. However, she was getting lazy now after the conversation.

Deciding she had no better option, Centara leaned forward and grabbed the glass, taking a small sip before setting it in front of her. It didn’t quench her thirst, but it was something to tide her over. At the mention of Wagner’s name, Cen nodded. “Actually saw her the other night. Purgatory. Apparently she used to own the place or something. Curious one, she is. However, I failed to eliminate her curiosity.” The meeting had been anything but what was expected that day. Centara had entered in there with an expectation of not being noticed. In fact, she had tried to hide due to her lack of ability to hold her own that day. The coma had still been looming over her head and she just wanted to be on her own. However, that hadn’t worked out when Cammie had walked up to the bar. The two DeathEaters had yet to see each other since the Masquerade Ball and it had not been an exciting reunion. She had not received any information from the girl about Darren’s whereabouts and she was sure Cammie was not fond of the lack of information that Cen was willing to offer up.

She was not pleased to hear that Kaydence had met up with other people in the area, but there was still hope she knew very little of Cen’s situation. If she had not met Joshua that would hopefully mean the coma was still under wraps. That was the last thing she would let the witch in front of her know. Weakness was not something she showed. “Looks like he can’t seem to keep anyone happy,” she commented, taking another drink from the glass. The conversation had turned back to Darren’s antics so she presumed she was correct in thinking Kaydence knew nothing. She hoped that was the truth. “If he keeps at this rate, I’m sure he won’t have anyone left to fight for him except for his hounds.” She could handle that idea. Her vampires were already trained to kill werewolves which would make the job much quicker. Most of them, however, were not very skilled in working a wand. It was a wonder how many vampires were not actually magically inclined. If the field was evened out, because werewolves seemed to be have the same lack of wand abilities, then she was sure the fight would be a lot quicker.

Centara was about to take another drink from the glass when Kaydence spoke up once more. She stopped moving with the exception of her hand which got tighter on the glass in an instant, shattering it in the palm of her hand. Luckily the shards had been confined to her hand rather than going across the table to where Kaydence sat. That was the last thing she needed was for her new informant to die with a glass shard injury. Blood slowly dripped onto the table from Cen’s hand, the same color as her iris’s, but she hardly took notice. Diego was one of the few werewolves Centara had ever gotten into a confrontation with and did not kill. They had met back in Transylvania two and a half years back when she had visited the famed Dracula’s Castle. Of course, the ancient vampire was dead by the time she had gotten there, but that was not what she had been there for. She had been there to take his stash of books on vampire lore into her possession in an attempt to learn how he survived so long. It had not taken her long to find them, but it also had not taken long for Diego to find her. He hated it when vampires crossed into his territory and apparently she had done just that when she had taken a shortcut to Dracula’s castle. She, of course, brushed him off without fully realizing who she had been talking to.

After the two shared some comments, they had gotten into a bit of a fight. He had been one of the few werewolves to ever get a scratch on Centara and that was when she learned, she wasn’t as invincible as she had thought. Granted, he had only gotten one small, about one inch long, claw mark on Cen’s upper arm. But no matter how many times she had tried to remove the skin from her arm, it grew back with the same scratch. It hadn’t taken much for her to get away from there with the prize she had taken but she had actually been hurt and she was not going to allow that to happen again. If Darren truly was getting Diego to come into the battle with him, revenge on two werewolves would be taken in the same instance. Centara blinked, the color in her eyes not dying down as she looked down at her hand and then pulled some pieces of glass from her palm. “Well, I might just have to deal with that problem on my own when the time comes,” she commented, pulling the last shard from her hand. The wounds had already healed by the time she muttered a charm to clean the table from the spilt wine and blood. The glass repaired itself and moved off to the side.

“Looks like this relationship is already becoming more useful. If Diego has truly taken a side, which I doubt given his strong will to not ever side with anyone, then this war is going to get that much more interesting.” In the back of her mind, she hoped Diego hadn’t chosen to side with Darren. If anything, she saw him more as an ally than an enemy. In the back of her mind she made another mental note to take a trip back to Transylvania and see what shape his clan was in.

[Kaydence Morgan]

Kaydence wished she could join in Centara’s hopes of her brother finding a way to cut off people from his messages. The only thing she saw that was logical was Darren finding some way to contact specific people through using the tattoo. She could see her brother contacting a DeathEater with the warning and then setting them up for a trap as they came in response to his summon. If he had somehow concocted a way to do so, then she felt like she would have been one of his first test subjects. Whenever Darren used the Dark Mark to contact his followers, the burning in their forearms stayed until the call was answered. He had told her that if a DeathEater chose not to respond and had not pledged allegiance to another side, the pain would only increase with the amount of time wasted in not responding. It would soon get to a point where the pain would be so intense that the victim would have no choice but to answer and suffer the consequences for taking so long to come forth. Though she was extremely unhappy with Darren, Kaydence had yet to officially switch sides or un-align herself with him. So if anything was going on, she would have known. Centara had also been able to confirm that she had not felt anything either. Kaydence had a gut feeling that her brother was not finished with her yet. He had merely placed her on the backburner until he finished whatever it was that he was doing. Centara would be in jeopardy as well if he ever got wind of them meeting up.

Her thoughts travelled to Cammie and the other weary DeathEater numbers that seemed to be piling up. Centara was right. If Darren continued at the pace he was, there was no doubt that only the most loyal would continue to stand at his side. Kaydence had initially been surprised at the amount of people who held grudges against her brother. He had been the only Morgan so far to have such a low popularity rating along his followers that the talk of overthrowing was even discussed. The thought of her father hearing of the news caused another chill to go down her spine. He would be more disgusted at the DeathEaters then his own soon, regardless of how long it was taking to progress to his next course of action. He would insist that the truly powerful did not attack until they had everything under lock and key. He would also demand that Darren punish those whose loyalty wavered to show that he still had control over his army. Kaydence questioned whether or not her brother would actually be able to do something like that. The Masquerade had been impressive as it was, but she couldn’t recall seeing him do any direct action. He definitely hadn’t shown his authority over his followers whenever one of them questioned his motives. After she had thought about it, she conceded with the idea lingering in the minds of all whom she had visited. Her brother was unequipped to deal with such power.

Centara brought up another good point as well. He still did have the werewolves. The species was dangerous in itself. Darren with an army of werewolves behind him would undoubtedly be an unstoppable force. Kaydence had never seen a werewolf attack first hand, but Darren had recalled Isis’ experiences she had shared. On several occasions, she had been close to throwing up. Hearing about how they hunted their prey and went in for the attack was enough to cause nightmares. Actually, she remembered one night after Darren’s storytelling that she did wake up screaming after a nightmare of a group of them lunging at her for attack. Since then, she had insisted not hearing anymore of Isis’ tales of success. Centara had always been secretive about the dark side of vampires, but Kaydence believed that werewolves were much more intimidating. Though she really had no desire to be caught in a dark alley by either one of them. She wondered if her brother really was putting all of his humans to the side to make way for a much powerful ally. Kaydence considered asking Centara for her opinion, but decided to wait until later on. The news about Diego would set her off as it was. She wanted to keep the conversation as peaceful as she could for as long as she could.

As expected, Centara had not been anticipating the news Kaydence revealed about the dangerous werewolf. She made a face as she watched blood drip down the woman’s outstretched hand and onto the glass table separating the two. Even though she wasn’t running Halcyon Nights anymore, she still wanted to make sure that the club was clean and polished. Her family’s name was still on the deed after all. They may have banished her, but she was still proud of her surname. It brought respect. Each member of the family was expected to uphold their reputation to their fullest extent. Kaydence was also considerably distracted by the pool of blood gathering because of the mess it was making. Since coming back home, her OCD had gone spiraling out of control. Just the other day she had been at home and a breadcrumb had fallen off a plate she had just finished eating. She had been unable to do anything else until the breadcrumb was swept up, then until the entire area was swept up, then until the entire kitchen floor was mopped. It was excessive. Centara had seen bits and pieces of it when they were growing up, but even she would be astonished at how bad it had gotten as she had gotten older. Forcing herself to look away, she kept her eyes fixated on Centara’s face. If she looked at the pile again she was going to have to clean it up.

Kaydence was curious when her former friend commented on her news. A werewolf and vampire fight. Now that would be something to watch. Centara had spent the past few years honing up on her own abilities that much Kaydence was sure of. Whether or not the woman had the potential to knock down a lycanthrope was another story. She knew Centara had the power and stubbornness to keep up, but to kill one she had no clue. Her old friend was intimidating as it was. Thinking of her with her eyes ablaze and blood running from the fangs in her mouth was something she’d rather not see. Kaydence was relieved to see the blood cleaned up before Centara spoke again. “Thanks for that.”

“Looks like this relationship is already becoming more useful.” For one of them at least. Finishing the last bit of wine in her glass, Kaydence placed it off to the side once it had been drained completely of its contents. “While I appreciate everything you have been able to tell me so far Centara, I will admit my frustration that it seems like I’ve been able to help you out more than you have me.” She lifted the sheet of paper with names up. “I truly am appreciative, but this is what I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks. Is there nothing else you can offer right now?” There had to be something else. Kaydence wouldn’t have put it past Centara to keep things hidden from her even with the turn their meeting had taken for the better. The suspicious side was never too far away. Given past events though she felt she had every reason to keep it close by.

[Centara Zealon]

Looking down at where the cuts had just healed on her hand, Centara couldn’t help but keep her focus on the idea of Diego siding with Darren. Honestly, why did the wolves seem to flock to him? Was it that they were too stupid to understand he had no interest in helping them? He was only in this for himself and no one else. She had been that ignorant years back during her initiation into the private club of DeathEaters that she thought meant she had become something. However, her ignorance was quickly annihilated when she realized that he was not the Dark Lord she had expected him to be. He had no idea what it was going to take in order to fulfill his desires that had been passed down from generations before. If he knew what it would take, he would not have spent three years idling in that home of his. He would have fought back against the Ministry by now. The wolves would have surely thought this same thing since they usually had as short of an attention span as vampires. Both the species were impatient, vampires more so. She would not deny that fact. Maybe the wolves just held on enough till he finally did begin his planning stage.

If he had gotten Diego on his side that would mean most of Transylvania’s werewolves would be with him as well. Diego controlled one of the largest packs in Transylvania which included some of the stronger werewolves that Cen had heard of during her time owning Der Keller operations in foreign locations. Was he trying to gain control of the most powerful packs? If he was, he wasn’t going to get very far. She figured at this time he had probably figured out something about how Centara had gone away from him and this might be his way to counteract her forces. No matter how many wolves he got, however, it wouldn’t be enough to stop her vampires. She wasn’t going to let it.

When Kaydence spoke up, Centara’s eyes wandered up to her face as she raised an eyebrow. Was she seriously insisting that the vampire had little to share? Had she not just handed her the list of names? Her eyes narrowed when the witch implied that they were not enough. How dare she? “If I had more that was of relevance to the situation, I would have informed you, Kaydence. However, I have been unable to acquire information for the last two years.” Her voice had a slight hiss to it. She did not appreciate being questioned, no matter who the questions came from. The fact that any information had been given was a miracle and Kaydence should be thankful just to have received that much. Yes, names were not exactly the most spectacular trade for the information that Kaydence had just provided her, but what else was she supposed to offer up? “What are you expecting me to tell you, Kaydence?”

She honestly had no idea what was expected from her, but Kaydence was not going to get much else out of Centara. The last two years were blank and the year before that had been private planning information that would not be handed over freely. Kaydence would not know of the army she had growing in her locations where she had planted seeds. Der Keller had been her way of pushing herself into other areas in the country sides. Using that as an in with the other clans in the area, she had made pacts with plenty of them across Europe and Asia, building her army slowly during that year. The last two had broken ties with a few of them and the next week would be spent in those locations, fixing the mess that the coma had caused. Centara would have to mend all of the ties and regain everyone’s trust, a process that took some time. She was not looking forward to it. However, that did bring her to one more thing she could offer up to the conversation.

“I made a trip to Russia sometime back,” she started, not even realizing that the last thing she had said probably did not even link to what she was saying now. “While there, I heard something about the magical school nearest them having an increased rate of absentees. Now, I have no idea if that relates anything to your brother or not, however it did seem to concern some of the locals.” She had no idea at the time she overheard the conversation that Durmstrang had a high percentage of students whose parents were DeathEaters. If she had realized that fact prior to her leaving the pub she had been at on her break from the club, she probably would have inquired further. However, by the time someone had informed her of the school’s reputation, she had already returned to Der Keller. “There had been one person talking about a certain child in particular. Oh, what was his name?” She bit her lip hard, hoping that would bring it back. “Alexei Maksim. Probably around 19 now. I had wondered if he was recruiting elsewhere then Austria. Could be attempting to build a force from Durmstrang. Given its reputation, I would not doubt he could find some skilled students from that area. However, keep in mind this is speculation. At that time I was not curious enough about Darren’s actions to inquire further.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

][ I looked back and didn’t see anything regarding Cen, talking about the coma, if I’m wrong just let me know and I’ll edit. ][

It was bold, Kaydence knew that much, but she felt it was necessary to reassert her position with Centara. Even with their history, she considered the woman to be her equal. Well, perhaps more than her equal. She was still well aware of the power that Centara possessed. Though she doubted the woman would delve further into everything that she did. Kaydence’s stubbornness refused to back down. It forced her to sit up a bit higher and show that she wasn’t intimidated, even though behind the tough look, she was. How could she not be? She was sitting in front of a bloody vampire, one who controlled her own clan, one who could tear her into pieces with the simplest look she found offensive. If the woman couldn’t tell though, Kaydence was tired of feeling powerless. She had been powerless with her Cillian, with her family and with her unborn child. Everything had gone downhill so quickly that even now she still had trouble figuring out exactly what went wrong. Since she had come back, it hadn’t gotten any better. She was still powerless against her brother, Ashton and now Centara. It was sick cycle that kept repeating itself and Kaydence was over it. The main problem now was figuring out how to push this constant weight off of her shoulders. It seemed nearly impossible. Every valiant effort that was made was demolished almost as soon as she had attempted it. She was beginning to think that it was near impossible to get herself out of this slump.

With that, her pride continued to get the best of her. “That last two years? What on earth are you talking about? What’s been preventing you from getting information? If you don’t want to say anything else, then just tell me you’re done with it. You’ve already done so several times since we’ve been here. Don’t make up some excuse about being unable to get intel for that long.” Kaydence wasn’t sure what Centara was trying to get at, but she didn’t believe it for a second. She knew the girl was still holding information back from her, but she had grown tired of these mind games the woman was playing with her. She was resilient, then open and then resilient again. She wished the woman would just make up her mind already. Looking at a clock on the wall behind Centara she saw that the two had been in here for nearly an hour already. Things had progressed, but not to the extent that Kaydence was hoping for. She had come into this knowing that it wouldn’t be easy to get her former friend to talk. Deep down, she had been praying to get more information with relevance. The names had been good, but that was all she had gotten. She didn’t know what she could have expected though. Darren had been a secret to even his most supposed loyals.

Sighing, she rested her elbow on the arm of her chair. Putting her face into her hand she rubbed at her temples. “Look,” she finally said after a moment of silence, “I do appreciate what you’ve been able to give me Centara, I really do. Just try to see things from my point for a minute. Your opinion is different than mine, but you’ve been in the same country with Darren ever since the Masquerade. It’s baffling that there is nothing more that you can offer when it feels I’ve given up more than you have.” Kaydence slid her hand down her face and allowed it to stop at her chin, resting it atop her open palm. She stared off into the distance. “I’m not expecting you to tell me any more than what you want to tell me, but you have to understand my frustration. I’m looking for anything I possibly can to use against Darren. Anything Centara. I’m more than sure that you can understand that. I want to get him where it hurts.” Years ago, Kaydence never would have believed the words that were coming from her mouth now. However, times had drastically changed. Everything was about survival now. She wondered if Centara had to worry about it like she did. Every day was uncertain and every moment within it. Granted Darren hadn’t made any threat on her life, well none that she knew of at least, but that was probably the most nerve-wracking thing.

Kaydence’s attention was captured when Centara started speaking again. Turning her eyes to her former friend, she quirked a brow at the mention of Russia. Durmstrang, she had heard of the school before. Darren had spoken about it when she was younger. The school was a haven for turning out the most supporters of the Dark side. Russia, in particular, was always known to support Dark Lords. It was a dangerous area, but the most abundant for her brother to find help in. Her mouth opened slightly as her mind began racing. Alexei Maksim. The name was familiar. Kaydence had never met him, but she could have sworn that Darren mentioned the name once or twice. Centara was right, the young man was just that, young, but he was deadly. If he was who she was thinking, he was one of those souls who had a horrific upbringing and turned to the Dark Arts as a way of coping. That was usually the story for her brother’s supporters. “When I thought all hope was lost, you shed light on this bit of information. It’s very interesting and I will have to check further into it. Because of your help, I’ll make sure to let you know anything I find out.” Kaydence spoke the truth. It was the least she could do after giving Centara a hard time and then receiving the boy’s name from her.

“Is there anything else you can think of? Anything else at all that you can offer? I can’t say much else because I don’t have anything else to tell you.” Kaydence knew their meeting was drawing to a close. She doubted that much else could be said. “If not,” she started, “then I think our time together is just about up.”

[Centara Zealon]

[[You are correct about her not saying anything about the coma.]]

The day was advancing quickly as the two women sat in the room and Centara was beginning to lose her patience. Most of the time had been spent bickering but the last moments had actually been slightly productive. The news about the visit with Diego had brought to attention something she had not considered and that was Darren’s growing hound club. Isis had been the only wolf that had even crossed Cen’s mind but that was because of the vendetta she had to resolve. Now she would have to consider how many other wolves Darren had roped into believing he had their best interest in mind. With that information, she was going to have to consider what she would do if he brought all of his wolves with him. Though she did not fear them, they were the one thing that could still kill her and she was not fond of fighting with a pack. It meant she would have to even out the fight and bring enough vampires to counteract his forces. She could do that.

Centara chose to ignore the question Kaydence posed about what the vampire had been doing in the last two years. Enough information had been previously shared about her history and this portion of it did not have to be extended. Though she was sure she could come up with a very convincing story, it was not in her nature to divulge any information that could be used against her in any way. That included fake information. It was amazing how fibs could be used to go against someone and it usually only made things worse. And she most certainly would not tell someone the truth if she did not trust them. She in fact didn’t trust anyone anymore but if she had, Kay would not be one she would tell. If Kaydence had any indication that Centara was not at her strongest, that information could give Darren reason to send someone after her; that was if he knew Centara had something against him.

Kaydence’s eyes showed some interest when information was turned over that was apparently good enough to her. It only made Centara more upset at herself and wanting to leave the room now. She was giving out more than she gave to anyone with the exception of her officers. They were the only one’s Cen had ever shared any information with about Darren yet she had never actually shared his name. That was probably the only thing that saved her from being asleep for the rest of her life. She was sure if they had known the Dark Lord’s name and had a chance to take him down themselves, they would have come back to finish the job. However, they were not given that option since she knew better than to release Darren’s name. She was sure that he had put a curse on the Dark Mark that would tell him if someone mentioned his name to someone other than a DeathEater. Since they didn’t know, it gave them no chance to kill Darren themselves and finish her off when they knew that they didn’t need her. Given those that she worked with closely knew little more than Kaydence now, she was not about to continue talking.

“I believe it is,” Centara replied, leaning forward and crossing her arms on the table. “As per our arrangement, I will inform you if I hear anything further about Darren’s activities. However, I hope you keep your end of the deal and do the same, Kaydence. I’m not fond of people who go back on their word and my patience is very thin for those who do. So how about we not go down that road?” With one last wicked grin, Centara stood up from where she sat and made her way to the door. She slid it open and was gone in a second. She had better things to do which translated to Der Keller had a fresh shipment that came in that morning from Transylvania. There was a need to feed her hunger.

[Kaydence Morgan]

The irritation on Centara’s face was apparent. Though their meeting had turned out better than she had expected Kaydence couldn’t help but to smirk slightly. It looked like the woman was kicking herself for revealing what she thought was too much information. To her, it hadn’t been enough. To Centara, however, it had been way more than what she had expected to reveal. If that was the case, then Kaydence felt even more satisfaction with the direction things had turned. Centara was just as stubborn as she was. She was probably more now than she was when they were younger and still friends. Like her, Centara hated admitting when she had gone too far, or when she promised to do one thing, but did another. It seemed as if the two women still shared that trait. Kaydence had been bothered earlier when she had told her former friend about Diego’s possible involvement with her brother and that she had been secretly meeting with weary followers of Darren. The two had reached a standstill. She didn’t know about Centara, but she had nothing else to offer. If Centara did, she was unwilling to provide it. The woman’s reaction at her questioning for some stupid lie over a two year absence was proof enough for her that things would probably not progress further. She accepted it. Disappointed that nothing else could be learned, but it would come in due time.

Kaydence nodded her head with Centara’s parting words. “We may not be friends anymore Centara, but I’m not about to expose you to the man we both share a hatred of.” It would only be too easy to do so. All she had to do was send an anonymous post to Darren or speak with someone who would speak with someone who could get the word back to Darren. However, that was not the type of person she was now. It would be convenient to have her brother led astray temporarily by focusing on Centara instead of her. The distraction would give her time to dig a little further into the history of Alexei Maksim, if the rumors were correct of him joining her brother’s side. Any new addition was a dangerous one. To Kaydence, it was just one more obstacle in her way of ultimately getting what she desired. She had dealt with adversary time and time again though. So much that she considered herself to be far too knowledgeable in the subject. What didn’t kill her made her stronger, she firmly believed that. Every so often, she would feel defeated. It didn’t seem fair that she constantly dealt with such turmoil. Her life was never normal or had an ounce of stability in it. After allowing herself some time to pity, she would quickly brush it off and remain resilient.

The grin on Centara’s face was the last image Kaydence was left with as the girl stood up and left the room. Releasing a deep sigh she leaned her head back over her chair and let her hands cover her face. There was so much to take in. The names on the list, Maksim, and her rash agreeing to provide aid to someone who had changed considerably in the last years since she had seen her. Sliding her hands down to her neck she stared up at the ceiling. It was possible that she had gotten herself into a heap of trouble. Then again, what else was new? Trouble seemed to follow Kaydence wherever she went. Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head to look at the clock. There was nothing, or no one, else that needed to be attended to today. Pushing herself up from the chair she lifted the bottle of sparkling wine by its neck and took a long swig from it. She supposed that she could either post to a few of the names Centara had given or get to work finding out where they worked or habited. Honestly though, she felt that her old friend had been enough work for the day. Kaydence set the bottle back down on the table and placed her hands on her hips, looking around at the room. She suddenly had a feeling that this was not the end of things by any means. In fact, she felt like their meeting may have triggered a whole chain of events that would slowly start revealing itself with time.

She scratched at the back of her neck as a worried look overcame her features. Things happened the way they were supposed to happen. Kaydence believed in fate and she believed in karma. She was powerless when it came to controlling such. She was going to have to accept whatever was about to happen and deal with it as it came. Taking one last glance around the room she walked to the door, opened it and left. The bartender was still watching as she made her way to exit Halcyon Nights and she made sure to leave her with a lasting smirk. If her bold move didn’t catch the attention of Darren then she had no idea what would. Kaydence lost herself in the crowds of Alzubra as soon as she left the building. She was unsure of what to do with herself for the rest of the day, but anything was better than thinking about the road that lay ahead of her.