Children of Van Helsing

Chapter Twenty-seven - What the Heart Wants

Susanna

I remember the first time I had killed somebody. It had been a young man, a vampire, of course, who had murdered three families and was after the fourth one. My parents had told me where he was and had even taken me there. By car. I looked him in the eye and I saw his anger, surprise, craziness. I had already shot him in his legs so that he couldn't run away. Deep breaths. And then I had chopped his head off. Blood streamed over the floor, covering my new shoes in red spatters. I remembered how bad I had felt that my shoes were ruined.

The first time you kill somebody, something snaps inside you. Like a switch behind thick glass which most people never touch, unless it is an emergency. I smashed the glass. And when the button is pressed, you switch something on. You know how to kill. And so you kill, while the shards of the person you were before lay forgotten on the floor.

I had killed a vampire and my parents took me for ice-cream, saying they were so proud that I was a real hunter now. That I could carry on the legacy of the family.

I was fourteen.

Two weeks later my parents were dead.

But this was different. The vampires I had killed, all deserved it, and I had never known them personally. I did what had to be done. But was I ready to do what had to be done now? It was Sacha. Sacha. I knew her. That was completely different. Another button, one I didn't want to press, glass I didn't want to break.

Upstairs it was quiet. The whole house was quiet, actually. Jessica had left for London to go and see Lily, Regina was with Helen, who was probably - hopefully - teaching her how to control her powers. Sacha was in the dungeon. And Ian... Well, who knows where he was. Or Greg. Come to think about it, where was Greg? He was always with his sister, he followed her everywhere she went and the other way around.

Not my concern.

A knock on the door. Why couldn't I ever be alone in my own room? I could almost guess who it was, since had come around a few times before. And last time... I got goose bumps even thinking about it.

"I don't want to talk, Ian."

Silence on the other side, then: "Well, I do."

"Don't even think about coming in." I said.

"Fine. We'll talk this way."

I sighed. "You are the most stubborn man I have ever met."

He didn't chuckle or make a clever remark as usual. I just heard a slide and a thump, as if he were sitting on the floor. I mumbled something mean, got up and walked to the door to hear him better.

"If you dare singing Do you want to build a snowman, I will shoot you through this door."

"I'm not here to argue." He said.

He sounded so serious, so tired, that I decided to sit down on the other side, facing the door. I listened.

"Susanna, about what happened... I'm sorry if I rushed you. I shouldn't have. But that's not my biggest issue." He hesitated and cleared his throat. "It's that you thought I fancied your sister. Regina, I mean... Well, you know who I meant."

No, I didn't want to talk about this! Why was he lying?

While immediately feeling ashamed, I said: "How can you even think about that while our friend has just been turned into a vampire and is in the dungeon downstairs, wanting to kill us?"

He didn't fall for it. "Don't avoid the topic. We need to discuss this."

"Fine." I snarled. "I thought you liked Regina, because, well... Everybody does. She obviously likes you and you give her so much attention... I still think you like her."