Chapter 20

Despite his earlier reservations after the debacle involving Akane and her mysterious letter, Caleb was still somewhat excited about his date tonight. And by the way, Sana's hand was quivering in his grip as they waited for her driver to pull up to the front of the school; it was clear she was excited too.

Not that he could blame her, it wasn't every day an opportunity like this presented itself to two fully realized Blood Sorcerers.

"Nervous?" he asked playfully.

She smirked at him and shook her head. "Not even remotely. If anything, I'm just thrilled right now."

He nodded. "Me too."

They stared into each other's eyes longingly—both of them yearning to tear the other apart piece by piece. Sana's driver pulled up in a black four-door car with tinted windows and plenty of room. After scooting in alongside her, Caleb shut the door, and the driver started down the road.

"Comfy?" Sana asked politely.

He took a moment to appreciate the leather interior better. "You certainly know how to travel in style."

She giggled. "Father insists."

A tense silence formed in the air between them. No sense in being coy about it. They both knew it was time.

"Haru," she called up to her driver.

He proceeded to roll up the window of the driver's cabin, giving them some much-needed privacy.

"I've gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised you accepted my invitation," Sana admitted in perfect English. "Most of you Red Listers tuck tale and run the moment you're found out."

Caleb chuckled in amusement before responding in English as well. "And miss the opportunity to duel again? I think not."

She groaned in delight, placing a hand up to her chest. "A man after my own heart, truly. And don't worry, this isn't a setup. I'll at least give you a fighting chance. I always do."

"That's certainly kind of you."

"It's the least I can do, handsome. I mean, you're going to die either way. At least this way, we can both have a bit of fun first." She leaned in close and placed a hand on his leg, a suggestive look forming in her eyes. "So...I've always wanted to ask this. What's it like being on the Red List? Living day to day as a hunted fugitive of the Kin of C'thadra?"

He raised a brow at her, as calm as ever as she rubbed his thigh. "I'm more curious in knowing how you figured me out so quickly."

She laughed at that. "No offense, hun, but you haven't exactly been subtle since you got here. I know Tokyo is neutral territory and all, but you must have known someone would catch on before too long?"

"I could be a Sabinth loyalist," he offered. "Or hell, maybe even a Xin-Dao operator."

Sana rolled her eyes. "Please don't insult my intelligence, Caleb. I'm actually beginning to like you. If you were Sabinth, I would definitely have known before now. And no offense, but you're nowhere near Chinese enough to be from the Eastern Heresy." She shook her head. "No, I'm all too familiar with Red Listers. I've killed seven of your kind already."

At least Caleb could confirm one thing. This woman was loyal to the Chromharl sect of the Kin of C'thadra, the older and far more stuffy of the two fractious ideologies within the cult. It made sense one of them would be here. The Sabinth had no real interest in Japan as far as he could tell. Most of their current endeavors lay in the Middle East.

Now, if he could just figure out which of the Chapters she was from, he'd have a better idea of the opponent he was up against. The Kin of C'thadra were essentially divided into twelve Chapters, not including his own, with half joining the conservative and traditional Chromharl while the others joined the far more radical and aggressive Sabinth. Not taking into account defectors and turncoats at any rate.

But these were more divisions of ideologies than warring factions. More akin to political party lines where the liberals and conservatives were allowed to tear out each other's throats at will so long as nobody rocked the boat. When it came to how most cultists, and indeed most Blood Sorcerers, identified one another, they often went by the individual Chapter they were born into.

So which one was his date for the evening from? The Tumala were almost entirely composed of Middle Eastern Kin, whereas she leaned more towards Asian-American. She obviously wasn't a Lepra, on account of the fact she didn't look like a ghoul who got caught in a grease fire. Insombrian were likewise easy to spot because their dementations made his cannibalism look perfectly sane by comparison.

That left either the Rosalia Chapter, the Tyvanter, or the Vellians. Honestly, she was pretty enough to be a Rosalian, though that really wasn't saying much in modern times. With enough cosmetics and flesh sculpting, any Vellian or Tyvanter could achieve a similar result these days. The real test would be in just how far the vanity truly ran.

Rosalians were obsessed with beauty. If she wasn't into him, he could effectively scratch that one off the list.

"You certainly are more confident than the last fool who tried to claim me as a prize."

"Ooh, are we playing this game now?" she snickered playfully and clapped her hands. "Goody, this will be fun. I do so love confidence in a man. Even one bound for the howling void, as you are."

Her face flushed as she straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You know...these seats go all the way back. The windows are tinted, and with Tokyo traffic, it'll be at least an hour before we make it to my foster family's abode. How about we make the most of what little time we have left together?"

Caleb smirked. Rosalian, it was then.

"Afraid I'll have to decline, flattered as I am."

"Aww, what's the matter? Shy?" she giggled before kissing along his neckline. "You can't seriously tell me you've never had a quickie before a blood duel before. We do this sort of thing in my Chapter all the time."

She continued peppering his face and neckline with soft kisses.

"Especially considering we've spent the last month getting to know our personas so intimately," she moaned into his ear, grinding her hips a little. "I'll make you a deal, stud. You agree to try to put a baby in me, and I'll let you live long enough to show you my room upstairs. It's super plush, I assure you. And we can spend the rest of sundown together. Maybe a little longer if you trust me enough."

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "I really don't. And since when are Chromharl Cultists willing to use Red Listers for breeding?"

She grinned wickedly, wiggling in excitement. "Don't act like you haven't figured out exactly what I am, pretty boy. The Rosalia Chapter is always looking for new genes to add to the pool, regardless of where they may come from. You have gorgeous eyes, honey. And such flawless skin too. It's a one and ten-thousand shot it'll take, but just imagine what a beautiful child we could make together. And this way, a small piece of you will get to live on in the cult again. You won't be completely dead."

Caleb just smirked and shook his head at her. "Again, I'll have to decline. Because as assured as you are in your victory, I'm not as convinced. Not yet, anyway."

She pouted at him prettily and fluttered her lashes. "But this is supposed to be a date, remember? You men have no clue how rough it is for female cultists trying to find a little diversion. If you want to knock up some random unblessed chick without killing her, you can. Just slip her a few vitae pills, and she'll be around long enough for child number two. Me? I'm always one broken condom away from burying a body."

"I'll admit you ladies have it rough with that succubus curse or yours," Caleb agreed. "But it's still the principle that counts. I mean, I'm not even sure how old you really are."

She groaned at him in annoyance. "What does that matter? I know for a fact you're not a twelve-year-old boy."

He rolled his eyes at her. "At some point, you just took your sense of decency and pushed it out onto a busy highway, didn't you? Now seriously. How old are you really?"

"I've always believed age is just a number." With a weary sigh, she then added. "But if you must know, I'll be two-hundred-and-seven next June."

His coy smile vanished entirely as he pushed her off him. "Okay, yeah, no. Ew."

"Oh, come on," she insisted in that same flirty voice before running her hands along her body. "You can't seriously tell me this doesn't do it for you. These aren't glamors you're seeing, baby. I'm the real deal."

"That's not the point!" he insisted while furiously rubbing her lipstick off his neck. "You do realize I'm actually seventeen, right? Like...what you see right now is not a spell either. I'm also the real deal!" A disturbing thought occurred to him at that moment, and he shuddered in disgust. "Oh God, you're only three years younger than my mother!"

She burst into amused laughter before crossing her arms. "And just how young is she keeping herself right now, huh? Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?"

He groaned in embarrassment. "Twenty-five..."

"Well I hate to break it to you, hun. But I'd be willing to bet anything your mom has slept with a guy close to your age by now. You think we keep ourselves this young and fit for the sake of our health? At the very least, I'm certain she's brought a young hot college boy back to her bedroom once or twice."

"Okay, first of all, I'll kindly thank you not to put that image in my head," he insisted, really wishing he had access to bleach at that moment. "Second of all, what the actual fuck, lady?! Why is a Rosalian Elder posing as a teenager in a Japanese Highschool?"

She turned her nose up in the air haughtily. "I'm studying abroad; I'll have you know. Every couple of decades, I like to refresh myself on the global curriculum. I'll reduce my age with vitae, brainwash an unsuspecting couple into fostering me, and relive my teenage years. It keeps my mind sharp." She groaned in delight. "And the best part? All the cute jocks I could ever want to keep me company."

He shuddered from head to toe. "There is no word in any of the three languages I speak that can even approach describing how creepy that is."

She scoffed dismissively. "Oh, what are you? The impiety police? Don't try to shame me, kid. I'll have you know this is the exact body I was rocking when I really was your age. Biologically speaking, I am a teenager again, hormones and everything." That flirty look in her eye returned as she leaned in close to him. "Of course, now, I'm not the clueless wallflower I was all those years ago. I know exactly what to do with these hormones of mine. You don't know what you're missing out on, stud. I could rock your world in ways you've never dreamed."

"Yeah, that's still gonna be a very hard pass from me," he insisted while scooting away. "You can dress it up however you want. But you don't get to just ignore the fact that you're a two-hundred-year-old lady catfishing in a seventeen-year-old body. That shit's not kosher."

Sana shrugged her shoulders disinterestedly. "Very well then. It's your loss, really." A sinister grin crept over her lips. "This will be your last opportunity after all. At least in this life."

He smirked back at her, his excitement building again. By the end of the night, she would satisfy him, of that he had no doubt. Just not in the way she seemed to think.

How appropriate it was that this was supposed to be a dinner date.