Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 6. It Might Kill Me*

Chapter 6. If It Kills Me by Jason Mraz

I watched her turn away and jog through the ER doors, noting that she glanced over her shoulder only once with an odd look on her face.

I decided I needed to see if I could find anything out about the creature I had destroyed the night before. Heading to the Enclave, the headquarters of the Brethren, I wanted to see if the Elders would allow me to look into a hunch I'd had for some time. The sentiments most humans held toward my kind are not unfounded. Many vampires are frightening, evil monsters. However even the worst of us have a sense of self-preservation. The ruling body that had been established in North America saw to it that, while vampires were allowed to hunt, as is our nature, we were restricted from all-out terrorizing humans. We must keep to ourselves, and hide our existence in order to avoid another vampire hunt such as those which had happened in the Middle Ages and during the Cold War. Our numbers seemed to be dwindling, which for immortal beings was a good thing; fewer vampires meant larger hunting territory. We were discouraged from creating more vampires to achieve some sort of natural balance. That was one of my responsibilities, to cull out new creations and criminal vampires. I have said before that I detest my duties.

I pulled into the warehouse garage, and greeted the guard who met me. To outward appearances, the Enclave looked like a packing warehouse, spacious and full of boxes. Most of them were full of treasures from centuries past, never to be sent anywhere unless the owner relocated. Half of the space had been made into luxurious chambers for the Elders and the Guardians who chose to live at the Enclave. There were detention facilities for vampires awaiting sentence, but they were hardly ever used. Most infractions were handled in the field, punishable by death for the Undead, and there was no reason to prolong the inevitable.

"I don't understand why you won't let me at least check it out, Ari! I have it from more than one source that Isaac Romley is up to something. Just let me go and have a look around, I will even do it with Romley there, nothing covert," I demanded of my superior.

"Emil, as much as I respect your years of experience and commitment to our cause, in this matter I must stand my ground. The Council has convened and decided in this matter, Mr. Romley is to be left alone. We do not feel there is ample evidence to warrant an investigation based solely on your suggestion he is doing something against our rules. I must strongly advise you to stand down," the old white haired Councilman dictated to me.

I have been following leads against the monster named Isaac Romley for many years. Every time I came close to bringing him in, some edict from above came to his rescue. Disgusted with yet another shut down, I backed away from the curved desk in the Council Chamber.

"Yes, sir," I said through gritted teeth. One day I will get Romley, and nothing anyone from above will be able to say will be able to cover his activities. I know he is responsible for kidnapping, extortion and murder.

Taking my leave, I went out into the night to watch. To observe. To protect mankind from the things that go bump in the night.

Finding the city quiet for the night, I decided I would be sure to have a topic of conversation ready for Evan Whitman, so it would not be as awkward this morning as it had been last night. I needed to eat. She had triggered every instinct in me to feed. I was actually impressed with myself. I have always had restraint, but I had never tested myself so ridiculously. I had a herd of deer on my property I reserved for meditation hunting. I was not completely opposed to animal blood, it was the closest thing I had to remembering how food tasted with its gamier flavor. The human blood I drank was so often tainted with illegal drugs and medication, I felt ill after drinking it. I needed to cleanse my palate once in awhile. I also wanted to stretch my legs. It is exhausting to restrain our natural movements when participating in the human world, so I drove north out of the city.

When I parked my car in the barn, I avoided the empty farmhouse again, wishing there was something to draw me to it. It was a waste to have it sit empty, I just didn't have anything to make it feel like a home. I spent a few hours running farther north, through Iowa and into Minnesota. The white snow-covered plains spreading out in all directions were so beautiful. The ice coating every imaginable surface made everything glimmer radiantly in the moonlight. It was as if the world was covered in crystal. Running allowed me to relax into myself, to not think about anything but the sensation of the land going behind me faster than a jet stream. No one would have seen me, had they been awake. I was back to my property before four a.m. I tilted my head back and scented the air for the deer in my woods. It really was not that much of a hunt. I was much too fast for even the most fleet-footed animals. Occasionally other wildlife would come into the woods, and offered me some variety, but not this morning.

I was finally rid of my thirst with the third deer. The energy I needed only truly came from humans or another Undead. I had never asked for blood from another vampire, nor would I if I had a choice. I had come up dry in my hunt for human criminals earlier in the night, so the animal blood would have to do.

Once I was finished hunting, I went to the barn behind my house and pulled out clean clothes, changing to look like I had slept. It was now close to six a.m. and I decided to drive toward the hospital, expecting a phone call. I had nothing else to do, so I figured I could go and explore the routes between her home and the hospital, to check for danger. Short of the homeless vagrants huddled together under overhangs of the tall downtown buildings, I did not detect anything unusual. Satisfied there were safe routes for her to take, I went and parked outside the emergency department to wait.