The Hanes Enigma

Chapter Twenty Three - Deja Vu

Kim Ryong

I walk next to Rill, feeling just as alien to the rest of the group as I know he must.

"So, why does everyone hate you? Vampyres, I mean." I jog his arm with my elbow and he looks at me as if I'd just insulted his mother by calling her a feathered octopus, or something.

"Excuse me?"

"Just making conversation..." I shrug, looking away awkwardly. "Is that not how you do it? I don't really know, I grew up in a prison, so..."

"Right, I forgot. Sorry. I guess everyone hates us for the same reason they used to hate demons." He purses his lips and glares at the tarmac road.

"Fay decided you were all dicks?" I tilt my head, confused.

"Almost. A large group of us started being dicks, the Kalamani decided that was true, and not enough people knew a good vampire to know any different." His teeth grind and I wince slightly as his fangs cut his bottom lip.

"The Kalamani? Aren't they usually fair and just?..."

"You clearly have been living under a rock..." He chuckles.

"Or a prison ceiling, yeah." I raise my eyebrows slightly, smirking at his embarrassed and bewildered expression.

"Right, yeah." He looks at me and I tilt my head, unsure as to what he's thinking. Before I can make anything of it, he's looking back at the road. "They're overrun with corruption. No one even wants to take a guess as to how high it goes."

"Wow... Is there anyone who isn't corrupt anymore?" My expression is grim, I'm really lacking in hope for the supernatural world's future.

"I think we're pretty safe with hybrids..." He shrugs and his arm brushes mine, causing goose bumps to stipple onto my tanned skin. "Sorry..." He looks down guiltily.

"Why? It's not your fault that I have a weirdly warm blood compared to yours." I beam up at him and his mouth drops slightly.

"That's.. That's one way to look at it."

It takes a moment for either of us to realise the rest of the group are really quite far ahead.

"So, what did you do? To get put into prison." He smirks as we begin walking again.

"What didn't I do..." I laugh to myself. "I mean, I didn't kill anyone! Don't worry..."

"Right..." He continues to glare at the road and my stomach feels uneasy.

"Wait, did you?" My mouth drops in shock.

"I don't know what kind of stuff they did to you in there, but on the rest of us... They nailed me in a coffin for 4 months. And then locked me in a room some human girl... It's the first time I ever fed straight from someone's body and I couldn't stop..."

I slip my hand into his but don't say anything. I don't think he wants me to. We just walk behind the others in silence for a while, arms attached by our fingers and swinging gently.

"I told you! Pay up." Brynn grins at my brother.

"You're really accepting money over a fellow hybrid's love-life? Have you no morals, halfling?" Taehyung fake gasps and shakes his head disapprovingly.

"Fine. I will accept pink milk as payment when we get home." She grumbles.

"Kook, you're girlfriends such a pushover." The faerie grins cheekily at the small witch and dodges the thwack he receives in return.

"They're talking about us, you know." Rill blushes slightly. Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a blush. It's more a vague darkening of the tops of his cheekbones. It's kind of cute.