Chapter One

--

For the first time in several months rain fell from the sky. What little snow left from the extended Canadian winter turned to slush, making for an especially miserable walk for the Torontonians trying to find entertainment on a Monday evening.

A man on his way to meet his drinking buddies at a downtown bar grunted to himself as he stumbled through the disgusting mess on the streets. He took out his cell phone to check the time, noticing he was running late and deciding to ring up a chum who was already waiting for him.

"Miguel? It's Marcus. Yeah I'm running a little late." Marcus was oblivious to a follower behind him, red eyes watching like a predator to its prey, sharp fangs glinting in the headlights of a passing car. As the stranger came closer the man stopped at the sound of footsteps trailing close behind him. He glanced around, but saw nothing. He continued on his way, but the footsteps didn't stop, instead growing louder and louder.

"Hello? Marcus?" the voice on the phone repeated several times before he answered.

Marcus's tone sounded grim. "He's here. Oh Lord, I know it's him!"

"Who's there?"

"Miguel listen to me," he said in a desperate whisper, trying to run through the alley as fast as he could. "They want Lucien, and you know where he is! Don't let them find you or they'll-"

All of a sudden the reverberations of scuffling, the crashing of trash cans knocking over, and what sounded like a yelp could be heard through the phone's earpiece. Then absolute silence, followed by the monotonous beeping of a lost connection.

Marcus lay on the cement alley floor, eyes wide and staring up towards the heavens, with the rain pelting his corpse as blood slowly oozed out of the wounds on his neck. His murderer red mouth grinned widely as he placed a neatly folder piece of paper into his victim's coat pocket.

"Memento Mori."

--

Juliana breathed a silent curse as she fumbled with her keys to open the store covering in peeling green paint, unwilling to set down her latte or the bag consisting of a fast-food breakfast, part of a hierarchy of items which would not leave her hands at six-thirty in the morning. Finally, the lock clicked and the bell above the door gave a small chime as she quickly ran inside.

She set her items down on the counter and was startled by a loud screeching call. The raven, perched inside an ornate bronze cage, continued to squawk for her attention, until she smacked the enclosure and the bird went into a frenzy. He crowed and flapped his wings in a tantrum. Her eyes narrowed to give the raven a warning glare, and he gave her hand an aggressive peck as she slipped in the food dish. The cage was given another hard tap, which elicited more angry banter.

Out of the blue came a knock at the door, which Juliana found unusual for that time of day. She cautiously moved the small curtain on the window to peek outside, surprised to see her boss's pointed fangs bared as he smiling back at her. She opened the door to let him inside.

"Lucas? What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you as well," Lucas replied with pleasant sarcasm. He noted her dull eyes and limp posture, the result of a poor nights sleep for some, but it was normal if she rose before the sun. "You look exhausted, my dear."

Juliana yawned and pulled her thick cardigan tighter at a sudden chill. "Might have something to do with the fact that it's six-thirty in the morning." She held an underlying resentment in her voice, but she was too sleepy to be snarky. Instead her eyes stared up at the towering man in with a grumpy stare, which only made him chuckle and give her cherry locks a good ruffling.

He headed towards the back room behind the counter, brushing off a few flakes of spring snow from his long coat. He opened the birdcage as he passed by and the raven flew onto his shoulder like a devoted pet, almost making a shrill chirp. "I'll have that changed as soon as I can."

She ran to the mirror next to a display of small voodoo dolls. Her fingers combed through her hair and she frowned at sight of her dark roots. "You're not here for too long, are you?" she asked with some concern before returning to her latte and gulping down the rest. "I'm not going to cover your shift if you get sick too!"

He was not ashamed to be a vampire who enjoyed the sunny outdoors more than he should. "I won't be long; I'm merely here to pick up something I forgot," he called. "I have my medicine with- Ahhh!" Loud banging sounds and squeals echoed into Juliana's ear, her brows furrowing in concern.

"You okay back there?"

He reappeared, his short pale blonde hair a bit tousled and gold-framed glasses sitting awkwardly on his strong nose. "I almost tripped over a pile of books," he admitted with embarrassment. Once regaining his composure he pushed several book piles out of the way with his foot.

"One of these days I'm going to stop asking if you're okay." Juliana shook her head as she walked through the single-roomed shop to check for items to restock. She carefully gazed up and down the dark-wood shelves, eyeing for any missing books, trinkets, medicines, anything that was running low.

"We're out of Abramelin oil," she yelled to him.

He barely heard her through the walls. "What?" he responded back.

As she came to inspect the commotion her boss had caused she grimaced at the sight. Books and papers on practical magic and demon medicine littered the floor, as well as vials of mysterious liquids which could be dangerous if broken. Someone could easily get hurt in that mess, likely someone who went by the name Lucas...

"I don't understand how you can function in that disaster," she commented, nose scrunched in disgust. "You should just let me clean it out."

"No, I don't want you getting hurt back here,"

"What are you looking for?"

"Someone called the store a few days ago and only left a phone number. I wrote it down on a piece of paper," he explained as he tried to prevent a stack of boxes from toppling over him.

The raven unexpectedly made a loud squawk. Lucas almost shooed him away, but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A little piece of paper was stuffed inside the bird's beak. "Aha, there it is!" he exclaimed in triumph. Ever the loyal pet, the raven hopped over to his arm and dropped the note into his palm.

"Are you sure I can't tidy up just a little," Juliana insisted again. "I don't have much else to do in the mornings."

"I'll organize the back room at some point, but I do need you to clean out Cortez's cage today."

Juliana almost gagged at the thought of having to touch the all the half-eaten food, feathers, and bird droppings. "Fine, I'll clean his cage," she reluctantly agreed. "I just hope he won't try to bite my fingers off again!"

"That was years ago. You make it sound like bites you all the time."

"He does! He bit me right before you came in."

He laughed. "You have a lot to learn about Cortez. He's not at all bad if you're nice to him." Once Cortez was returned to his cage Lucas went to the window, relieved to see the grey clouds blanketing the sky.

"How I love these cloudy days. See you at home, and give Tim a hello for me!"

--

The skies overhead were grey, but hints of blue sky were making frequent appearances. Lucas sped down the highway in his grey and rusting sedan, a little too anxious to get home and back to the indoors before the sun made him ill.

As soon as he arrived at his cozy gothic townhouse he removed his winter coat, throwing it onto a massive pile of clothing on floor in the closet. Holding the small note in his palm, he contemplated calling the number straight away, or choosing to take a quick nap first and call later. He decided he should call immediately, fearing he might put the note down and be unable to find it again.

As he dialled the number onto his cell he made his way into the living room and slumped into his recliner with a heavy sigh. A fluffy white cat appeared and rubbed against his leg and mewled. "Not now, Hermes," he scolded. "I will play with you later."

He listened to the sound of phone ringing, counting each one in his head. One, two, three, four, five, six. He switched to the other ear and stared at the note, trying to recognize the number, but his memories couldn't find a match. He only knew it was London number. Ten, eleven, twelve. He was about to hang up when he finally heard a voice on the other end. A male answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Lucas Alvey of the Hollow Grimoire Apothecary. I'm returning a call that this number made to my store." There was a pause, and Lucas silently questioned if he'd called the night number. The male spoke again, tone less bewildered.

"This is Adrian."

"Adrian Beaumont! I have not heard from you in ages," Lucas exclaimed cheerfully, glad to hear from his good friend. "Why didn't you just say it was you when you called? I would have answered. Or you could have phoned the house." There was another pause from the other end.

"I had to purchase a new phone not too long ago. Things have not been well here."

"How do you mean?"

"I think it would be better to tell you in person," Adrian continued, his voice becoming more anxious. "I've asked Gabriel to watch over my shop, and I've booked a flight into New York for Friday morning. We can rendezvous there."

"Adrian, I can't go to New York at the drop of a hat," Lucas was worried, but he couldn't imagine it being anything serious. "Unless it is something of grave importance, I may just wait for you to arrive here. I don't know why you can't just fly into Pearson." There was silence on the other end. "Hello?"

"I believe that Isabel is on the hunt to find where Lucien is hiding."

Lucas quietly gulped down a lump in his throat. Apparently it was something very serious. "I will see you in New York on Friday."

--

While Cortez was sitting on a wooden perch across the room, watching her with little beady eyes, Juliana was busy giving the metal contraption a good scrubbing, Once she was done she carefully manoeuvred everything back into place, including the squirming raven who loudly protested being forced back into the cage.

As if on cue, the bell above the front door chimed when she closed the cage door, and at first her eyes lit up upon seeing a shivering Timothy Drew walk in, but her expression quickly faded. Bony limbs moved slowly, his cheeks hollowed, eyes drooping. It pained her to see his condition, especially with her memories of him in better health.

"Hi Tim," she hid her worry with cheerful hello, showing her appreciation with arms outstretched above her head. "Thank goodness you're here! Can I go home now?"

"You've still got 20 minutes left," his sore voice replied.

"Dang," she pouted, her posture slumping in defeat.

"I'm sorry Lucas has been making you take my shifts. I don't understand why he makes you do it, it's always dead."

"You're telling me; I've been so bored." Juliana hunched over the counter, resting her chin on her propped arm. "It's all vampires and werenimals in this area, so no one is around in the morning."

"Werenimals," he laughed to himself at the silly word. "It wasn't always like that. I remember years ago when these parts were as lively as the rest of Toronto, but demons are allowed to live anywhere now." Tim hung up his coat and tossed a newspaper on the counter. She could see how skinny he was, more than herself. Of course, she'd purposely put on a few pounds over the years so she couldn't be called thin and dainty.

"Here, if you're bored you can read this. I'm done with it."

Juliana pulled the paper closer. "Anything interesting today?" she asked as she quickly scanned each page.

"There's an article in there about the Department of Demonology that U of T is starting next year." Timothy paused to rub at the bridge of his nose, wincing in mild discomfort. The moment of pain passed quickly, and he continued. "I remember back in the 70s and there was only one demonology class. That's where I met Lucas, actually."

"Oh that reminds me, Lucas says Hi," she said quickly. The newspaper wasn't yielding anything interesting, so it was folded and tossed to the side. "I wonder if people will stop ignoring us and start caring about demon issues," she casually remarked.

"I think it's a good thing that no one notices," Tim replied, coughing slightly into his sleeve. "When demons make the news it's never positive."

--

Lucas laid sound asleep on the sofa when Juliana arrived home after running a few errands, glasses clutched in his hand which was dangling over the floor. As she removed her outdoor clothing and headed towards the kitchen she stopped by the couch to move Lucas's glasses, being careful not to disturb him.

He seemed so peaceful when he was asleep, sharp features appearing to soften, he was less tense. He seemed a different person altogether, someone without past hardships. Unfortunately, his horrid sense of fashion remained the same, much to the young girl's dismay. His long coat had obscured the blue and burgundy sweater with white seahorses on it.

The vampire suddenly awoke from his slumber, his hand reaching for her arm reflexively as though she meant to kill him. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he released her arm.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.

"No, it's alright. I shouldn't be sleeping right now."

With great effort Lucas managed to lift himself into an upright position. He shifted around trying to locate his glasses, finding them on the floor. "I have some bad news," he said with regret. "I'm going to New York on Friday. I need you to take over my shifts for the weekend."

"What? That isn't fair!"

"I know, but this is important business matters. "

She didn't want to accuse Lucas of lying, but she detected something in his lavender eyes that meant something was amiss. "I hope I'll get a day off soon."

"Yes, and this time you have my promise," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry I've been working you so hard, but with Tim having all those appointments..."

"I know," she sighed. A long moment of silence passed while Lucas shuffled through junk piled on the coffee table, and she stared worriedly at him. Something was on her mind.

"Aha, there's the remote!" Lucas turned up the volume on the TV, eyes already glued to the screen. "I didn't realize it was six already!" The redhead rolled her eyes with an amused smile on her lips.

"Weiss & Bolan confirmed their headquarters will be moving north of the border," the female anchor began. "Co-owner Michael Weiss and his wife will be in Toronto next week to finalize the deal."

Lucas groaned, "Oh please, not them."

"Bad experience?"

"A terrible experience. I'm thankful I still have my store after all that mess."

"Breaking news! The body of Marcus Pottinger, a man who lived just outside of the city's demon district called Salem, was found dead in an alley near Yonge and Bloor just moments ago. Police have confirmed that the man died from a vampire attack, the first in over 10 years. Here's Jonathan Carter on the scene."

"Oh my god," Juliana's mouth gaped open and she nearly dropped her glass of water. "That's terrible. Why would a vampire go and attack someone?"

"Believe me, I'm wondering the same question." Lucas's brows furrowed as he continued to watch. "Marcus Pottinger...that name sounds very familiar," he thought aloud, reflexively pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Are you concerned at all?" The reporter began interviewing people on the scene, holding his microphone up to a man who was clearly a vampire.

"There's always fear that another Lucien Cheval will turn up and ruin the peace we worked hard for. I want to see the police make sure it was a vampire attack, not something made to look like one."

Juliana suddenly turned to the blonde vampire, noticing his hands were tense.

"Bah," Lucas scowled in offence at the screen and turned the TV off. "All it takes is one person to put ideas in people's heads, and the next thing you know the world is in a panic over a dead vampire."

"Who is this Lucien? I've never heard of him before." Hermes returned and mowed for her attention, so she picked up the fluffy cat and held him to her chest.

"That's because no one likes to talk about it."

"Why not?"

The vampire's voice turned hostile. "We creatures of the night don't want to return to those times. He treated demons well enough, but he was awful to humans. He killed them, murdered them. Truly an evil and savage soul, and it's better he's been lost to the ages. If he was alive the rest of us would be viewed as his equal, and punished just the same."

"I'm only asking a question," her voice raised in defence and she moved to stand. "If he was around people would know, right?"

"Juliana," Lucas grabbed her by the wrist as she stood. He wanted to say that he was afraid for her, a skinny young girl without much muscle to defend herself with.

His tone went serious, and he gave her a stern look. "Vampires aren't invincible, and Lucien was killed 200 years ago. I don't want your head filled with lies and rumours."

"If you're so worried, then how can you say you really believe he's dead?"

His mouth gaped to reply, but there was nothing he could say. Juliana gave him a face, a look of frustration, before she tore herself away from him and disappeared upstairs, leaving Lucas to dwell on the words he always hoped he would never hear.

"I believe that Isabel is on the hunt to find where Lucien is hiding."