The Vampire's Claim (boyxboy)

Chapter 7: Let's Start This Fucking Adventure

I had no idea what to do. 

Given I usually didn't, but this was important. It had been two weeks since Rhys and the earth-shattering news that vampires existed. I was taking that news a lot better than expected. After almost having your body sucked dry by some crazy woman in the middle of the street, I guess the knowledge of the why seemed less crazy. At first, I took no chances. I dragged Hailey home that night and barricaded myself in my room for a few days waiting for the belated meltdown to hit.

It didn't. No panic attack, no screaming, no lashing-out violence, just harsh acceptance. That scared the shit out of me more.

Fuck, I had to be messed up in the head to accept this so easily.

Life continued as normal around me. Rhys didn't make any unexpected appearances. I got the feeling he was somewhere watching from the shadows--being "here" as he oh so creepily swore--but there was a bigger problem at hand.

Eskil didn't make an appearance either. 

This was supposed to be simple. In my head, he'd appear within a few days and all these problems would be gone as quickly as they had come. What a delusion that was. Before I couldn't get him to leave me alone and now that I actually wanted to see him he stayed away.

Why didn't he come see me? That was the million-dollar question. 

Maybe...maybe he didn't want to bother with me anymore. Sure, I had his necklace and all, but he hadn't seemed in a rush to get it back when he handed it to me. He could come back for it in days or weeks or--or centuries.

That was the issue. I was thinking like a human. My version of 'soon' was different from the vampire's version. I was relying on the necklace to be the driving factor for him to find me soon. With that timeframe called into question, there was no saying how long it would be until I saw him again. It could be years for all I knew and I was hoping to have everything solved in hours.

So the necklace plan was scrapped. What next?

Rhys could find him. Eskil was his master. He had to know everything about him; what he'd like, where'd he go, all that jazz.

But if Rhys knew where he was, he'd already be with him. If he hadn't managed to find Eskil in four centuries, it was because Eskil didn't want Rhys finding him. And if he didn't want Rhys finding him and he got wind that Rhys was hanging around me, he'd never come back and I'd be stuck with a barbarian bodyguard until I croaked.

Waiting-it-out plan scrapped too.

Fuck, I really had no idea what to do. This was too complicated for my C-average ass. 

"Just my luck," I muttered to myself as I hauled myself off my bed. Laying there for six hours thinking had done nothing but hurt my back and my head. I roughly yanked on a shirt and grabbed a pair of shoes.

No surprise, at three in the morning everyone was fast asleep. I crept out of my room and downstairs stealthily. My family slept like the dead, but I put the sneak in my steps anyway. Better safe than in trouble.

The wind chilled me as soon as I stepped outside and I almost called it all off to go curl in my warm bed. But no, this had to be solved or it would haunt my life forever.

I couldn't make out squat in our backyard. I probably looked stupid out there shivering my as off in shorts and a t-shirt as I squinted into nothing. I certainly felt stupid, especially knowing what I was going to do next.

Rhys swore he'd protect me and he'd be near. If he was adamant about it as I believed, then he'd be somewhere nearby at all times, watching, protecting, breaking every privacy law passed in congress. If I wanted to talk to him then--hypothetically--all I would have to do is search near where I was.

"Rhys!" I whispered-shouted into the darkness, squinting. Damn, my eyesight was so bad. I seriously couldn't make out jack-shit. You'd think I would be able to see at least one thing, but no—

"Yes Chosen," his voice grumbled right into my ear.

I jumped, cursing. "Christ! Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack?!"

He waited until I calmed from my swearing before responding. "Did you require something Chosen?"

"Kyle," I corrected automatically. That nickname needed to die soon, but we had bigger fish to fry at the moment. "I got to thinking and I don't think just waiting around for Eskil to appear is a good idea. He hasn't appeared in these last few weeks, there's no guaranteed he'll come back soon either."

"He will," he disagreed, his brown eyes glowing like a wolf's.

"There's no guarantee," I insisted, "and maybe you don't mind, but I don't want to waste my life waiting for someone who may or may not come. We should be on the offensive, searching for him ourselves."

"I searched."

"I know. But there has to be something--a new lead, something you haven't tried before, a rock left unturned--anything we can try."

Silence as he scrutinized me. 

His eyes moved to what my hand was doing. In my nervousness, I hadn't realized that I had pulled the pendant out from under my shirt and was toying with it in my hand. I shoved it back underneath.

More silence. Then, "If that is your wish Chosen."

"Kyle," I amended, again, before shifting on my feet. "We should leave. Now, if we can."

I had no idea what lie I'd give to my mom for why I snuck out of the house during the dead of night. All I knew was that I couldn't go back to sleep. Not now, not until this was said and done.

He nodded.

"You have a lead?"

Another nod.

"Do I get to know before or after we venture off onto this secret quest?"

"Emilia Brendto." He didn't elaborate, just inclined his head for me to follow and stalked off.

"Aren't you so fucking helpful, "I scowled, staring after him. Time to meet this Emilia chick, whoever the hell she was.