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Chapter Nine
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After a day of troubled sleep I realise that I have already wasted thirteen hours. I reassure myself that there is little else to be done during the days, which is true. I can spend my day searching the internet for answers, but I doubt that the internet has a lot of information about vampire diseases, or even vampires at all that are not work of fiction.
I choose to hit the streets, partly because hunting is what I do best and partly because Sarthimia and her sisters at the monastery freak me out. The way that they made me leave is a bit too much for me to return there any time soon. Therefore I choose not to do so, unless I am convinced that it is my only choice. By the looks of things there will be no time for me to second guess myself. It takes too long to drive to the monastery back and forth just for the possibility of some answers. Of course, my hunting for the Reborn is no guarantee for answers, but at least the odds are greater that I manage to catch him before my time is up.
With the blood of another Elder in my veins I have noticed a great increase in my powers. My senses have grown more acute and my speed is noticeably enhanced. This will aid me greatly in my hunt. I am likely to feel the vibrations of the blood-crier far sooner than before. That is if it has turned. After having thought about the matter I have reached a troubling conclusion. Since I have drunk the blood of a blood-crier and that very same being sired a human, the human and I partly share the same blood. Since I am still normal, as normal it goes for vampire anyway, there is a chance that the Reborn is also walking around as vampire instead of a blood-crier. I have yet to decide whether this is a good thing or not.
I think of the promise I made myself before my brief meeting with the Council. It seemed like a good idea at the time but now I am not sure. It would be nothing but a waste of time to see her. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that Mina holds none of the answers that I seek. Yet I feel drawn to her. Strange; I have only met her once and yet I feel as if I have known her my whole life. She reminds me in so many ways of Emily. Maybe this is what my daughter would have been like had she been alive today. I do not know, and I never will. My daughter is long gone and would not be here today even if she had been allowed to live to old age. Thinking of her brings me sadness. It adds weight to my already burdened mind. I must focus on the task at hand.
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It is another cold autumn night in late November. I feel that we are standing on the brink of winter. Snow will cover these streets in a matter of weeks. I hate snow. It is cold, wet and slippery. Not that I enjoy autumn much more, and summer is all too bright and has far too long days with the sun staying up for what seems to be ages. Come to think about it I do not think there is any season I am fond of. Still, had I been forced to choose a favourite I would have chosen winter, despite its snow and freezing grasp. Winter is the only season when the sun prefers to stay hidden for the majority of day. In fact, even Jackston in his most poetic moment has said that he would gladly ‘choose the depths of winter over any shallow summer day, for where there is cold there is also darkness, but where there is warmth there is only torching light’. He is not much of a poet, but I enjoyed his words nonetheless. They describe my feelings adequately.
As always the streets are less than crowded because of to the cold. It is a poor time to hunt if one is searching for a human to prey on. Lucky me – my prey is no longer human. Though I am certain that it, like every other vampire, dislikes the cold, I am sure that it is prowling somewhere outside. A newly reborn vampire gets easily restless with vampire blood in their veins. It puts their system on constant alert. I am sure it is out here somewhere. I only hope that it has not sired another of our kind, but I figure that it is too confused about its own identity still to be able to realise its own abilities.
After having searched a few blocks from roofs and balconies I decide to try my luck on the ground instead. There is still not even a remote sign of it or any vibrations. I am getting impatient. I do not have a lot of time for this. Should I find it, I know from earlier experience that if it has turned into blood-crier it will not be very talkative. I shall require some time to convince it into sharing, if it indeed knows anything. I hope it does. I am placing all my faith in this Reborn. If it does not give me any answers, I am doomed.
There is something else bothering me. I know that the Elder I ridded sired this Reborn, and I therefore naively hope that it is the only one left of its kind, but I met that Elder at the Bloody Thirst some nights ago and he looked fine then. In fact, he looked more than fine. He was busy making out with a Reborn so young that it would have been considered illegal by human laws for him to be anywhere near her. Since he was fine then and possibly has transferred this illness to another vampire – who infected him? He was not the source, this I am sure of. He looked just as surprised as any other at The Bloody Thirst when the first vampire to become a blood-crier had his seizure of Rebirth in the bar. It is not a common thing to witness in public – the Rebirth of a human. It is normally a private occasion to be shared only between Sire and Reborn, like a human birth. Since we all were there to witness it I am sure that the Elder was not the source – he had not yet been infected. Who got to him then? Whoever did must be the source of this entire thing. Hopefully my prey knows more of this.
I pass a coffee shop on my search. It is crowded with humans, yearning for heat and caffeine. I pay no attention to them – weaklings. Although I must admit this is becoming a very cold night indeed. Perhaps I should return to my manor and change into a coat that has not been ripped apart. No, it would take to long. If my hunt leads me anywhere close I might swing by and change. Besides, I have only myself to blame for not changing my coat when I left home. I suppose I picked this one out of old habit, forgetting about it being shredded.
As I turn a corner I spot two humans I recognise from earlier. It is two of the police officers that caught me when I searched their records. They do not look too friendly. I barely give them a glance. After that I do not think of them – after what Jackston did they are sure to have forgotten everything that happened that night. I brush by them as they are walking in my direction. They appear to be freezing. I gather that the ‘Sarge’ has forced them into patrolling in order to ‘keep the streets safe from the juvenile scumbags’. I do not envy them – at least my search has a target. Just as I pass by them I hear their pulses increase – their bodies start pumping adrenaline. This is not good.
“You!” the first of them growls.
Impossible – they could not possibly recognise me, not after what Jackston did to them. They are lucky they were not turned into vegetables.
“Not so cocky now, are you?” the second officer says with a smirk.
They approach me menacingly, pulling out their batons from their belts. This is an utter waste of time. I dash into an alley so fast that they probably did not even see me move. I wish not to fight them, despite my disliking of them. The alley is shrouded in darkness. I will wait here until I know that they have left. I doubt that they have even the slightest clue of my whereabouts. They are probably staring dumbly at the spot where I stood just a second ago—
“There he is! Get him!”
No way. There is no way in hell that they could find me here. Even a vampire would have a hard time seeing me move with my enhanced powers. Someone must be aiding them. I am left with little choice.
I throw myself out of my hiding place and aim a roundhouse kick at the head of the first officer. Even as I leave my hiding place I see him move away from me – as though he is anticipating my movement. He smacks me with full power in the back with his baton. It does not hurt much, but just the fact that he manages to hit me startles me. In the corner of my eye I see his partner reach for his gun. Bad – I do not like guns. Guns fires bullets and bullets hurt. I dash behind a container as I hear him fire a shot. It flies by the spot from where I moved half a second ago – troubling. I hear the other officer pull his gun as well. Soon bullets are bombarding the container which I use as shelter. I am a sitting duck.
It is not until I hear them reload their guns that I plunge myself away from the container and place a well aimed kick in the ribs of the first officer. I feel several ribs snap beneath my foot and I send him flying into a wall. As he hits it, I hear his spine break in three. One down – one to go. He falls dead to the ground. In the meantime his partner has reloaded his gun and is firing two rounds at me. I dodge the first but receive the second one in my thigh. It stings like a viper’s bite, but I do not flinch. Instead I leap towards him. Not even if he can indeed read my mind is he fast enough to stop my movement. He raises his gun above his head to follow my movement. He is only a moment too slow – I land behind him and have wrung his neck before he can react. He joins his partner in the valley of the dead.
Incredible, I have the strength and speed of two Elders and yet mere humans managed to startle me, and even worse – shoot me. I have no doubt that they were aided by someone – someone that wants me dead. That does not narrow the list down, but it is likely to be someone with answers. I must be treading on someone’s nerves. Good – that means I am getting closer to an answer.
I search the bodies for any clues. I find none, but decide to equip myself with one of their guns, putting it in the inner pocket of my shredded coat. I am not really a gun wielding person. In my eyes a life is worth at least the effort of killing someone up close. Killing someone by pulling a trigger is not only too easy, but cowardice. However since the bets are obviously up and my life is on the line I better be prepared for anything.
It is then I feel him approach. He walks from the main street where I met the officers. He claps his hands as he approaches, as though I have been the star of his own personal show.
“Well done,” he chuckles.
I stare at him in disbelief.
“Why?” I demand.
“Because I can,” he replies with a grin.
He stands arrogantly before me, unarmed. I could put a bullet in him before he could even blink.
“Don’t,” he says coldly. “It would not benefit you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I growl through gritted teeth.
He looks amused, like I was a pet of his that he has been keeping around for his own delight but is now ready to rid of.
“You’re not surprised, are you?” he asks with delight.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be.”
He nods to concur.
“True,” he continues. “No one can be trusted, right?”
I grit my fangs at this remark. He is pushing my buttons.
“No one I know, at least,” I say, trying to keep calm.
He tries to act surprised, hurt even, but makes no effort to fool me.
“Not even me?” he laughs.
I glower at him, refusing to recognise his question. This appears to amuse him immensely. He enjoys the tense silence for a moment before continuing to mock me.
“Now,” he grins. “What about that girl you told me about, can she be trusted?”
“You leave her out of this!”
I hurl myself at him for that last remark, but he has moved before I reach the spot – naturally, since he can read my mind.
“It must be painful,” he continues as he reaches the spot where I stood before, “to lose ones daughter to a disease, to feel so utterly powerless, standing by her as she draws her last breath,” he chortles.
“You bastard!” I cry, launching myself at him again.
We repeat the same movement as before, returning to our original positions.
“And now,” he goes on, “to once again be given hope, to meet a woman so much like you imagine your daughter would have been, had she still been alive,” he pauses dramatically, “and then having to watch her die.”
I go into a frenzy, pulling my knife and slashing randomly at him in an attempt to get him. It is of no use. He can read my every move and is constantly one step ahead of me.
“I’ve got to thank you though,” he says as he chuckles at my attempts to slash him. “Had it not been for you being such a thorn in the Lords’ eyes, this would be far more difficult to perform. They would’ve been on to me by now had you not been keeping them busy.”
My eyes widen at his remark. It is impossible.
“Are you the source?” I whisper in incredulity.
My question delights him. A self-loving grin decorates his smug face.
“The source – the filth,” he says with a smirk, “is in every vampire. I couldn’t possibly give myself the credit for being the source.”
‘The source is in every vampire? What is that supposed to mean?
“You seem perplexed,” he chuckles. “I wish there was time to explain, but I have a date with a certain red-head.”
I growl furiously.
“You see,” he continues, “I thought long and hard how I should reward you for helping me. And you didn’t give me the answer until just an hour ago – I should pay your new human friend a visit. Now, now, Theodore, don’t give me that wild expression, you look like an animal.”
I will kill him! I swear to God himself that I will rip his beating heart out of his still breathing body!
“Such nasty thoughts, Theodore, have you no manners?” he mocks. “Anyway, I just came by to tell you this. I figured you’d be interested. And, of course, I had to find out were I can find this pumpkin of yours.”
That bastard! He played me. He has been reading me. The taunting was only a diversion so that he could get into my mind without me noticing. He knows were she lives – I must get to her before he does!
“Well, that’s about it, I suppose,” he says with a smirk, “Cheerio, Theodore.”
“Damn you, Jackston!” I roar.
“You too, old friend, you too,” he grins.
He is just about to leave when I feel the air begin to vibrate. Behind me I hear a hissing sound. Not now – I do not have time for this. The Reborn I have been searching for is standing crouched behind me, ready to attack at any moment.
“My, my. What a pickle,” Jackston chuckles. “What to do – save the girl or find the answer? No time for both.”
Those are his last words before departing. I know where he is headed – and unless I head there too this very moment I will be too late.
The Reborn flashes his fangs before plunging towards me.
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Chapters
Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue
