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Chapter 39 - Coming to an end

Trevor nodded and smiled.

They spent a short while eating breakfast, then Eleonora texted Austin to set the meeting. He said they could come by any time, so wasting no more time, they got out of the van. The sun seemed to shine stronger with every passing hour, and it was getting warmer as well. Trevor couldn't wait for it. This whole journey was so cold—the beginning might have been quite approachable, but the ending was icy and hostile—so it was a relief to see this change at last.

They headed for Miranda's van, as it was where the vampires were held. They closed the rear door and there was no way to get to the front without leaving the van first, so it was the perfect place to keep them. Jackson was with them, as he'd joined them to help since Daniel had been shot. He must have been with them when Daniel had died; he'd seen him take his last breath, his eyes that had suddenly become distant, as if there was no one behind them, and it was the truth. Daniel was dead.

No one decided to sit down, they were all standing. One group, Eleonora, Trevor, and William stood opposite to the other, Austin, Logan, Taylor, Adam, all of their faces unreadable. Only Jackson seemed to stand between both groups, as if a part of neither, smoking his half-gone cigarette. It wasn't surprising, though.

"So," William began, clapping his hands together, "let's settle this out."

"Let's do this," Logan agreed with a firm nod.

"So, you're telling me you can take one of them with you?" he asked.

Taylor nodded. "That's true. Want may be a more fitting word, though. We want to show them justice."

Trevor saw William smile, though he could easily figure out this smile was fear's doing, not satisfaction's. William might not show any signs of fear while in public, but he had his ways to let it out, and Trevor knew it well now.

"Well," he said, "in this case, I can't agree to this."

"Did he hear us wrong?" Adam asked, frowning.

"I can tell you that I didn't." He paused and held his hands together. "How do I put it? Only Miranda has to die. The others can live."

A series of whats sounded in Trevor's ears, even his own voice.

Only Trevor dared to add, "William?"

"Miranda is what keeps them in check. It was her plan. The others, Houston and Ashe, didn't want it. I don't know if you remember, but Ashe wanted to escape. Neither of them thought Miranda was planning to go this far, even when she knew her chances of winning had decreased greatly. We don't need to intervene in their case. When it comes to Miranda, however—"

"We can't just let them go, can we?" Austin protested. "They all are responsible for my father's death. They should all suffer."

"Apparently we all are responsible for your father's death," Eleonora noted. "There isn't a single person you don't blame for it. Maybe your uncles and aunt. They're not the ones to blame, aren't they?"

Trevor saw Jackson arching an eyebrow at her with interest. He was only interested in drama, not what would actually happen to the vampires, his former clanmates.

On the other hand, Austin seemed like he wanted to charge at Eleonora with his bare hands, but Logan put a hand in his way to stop him.

"I wouldn't lie, would I? We all are here because of him!" He pointed at Trevor, who felt all the eyes on him. Only William's look was somehow comforting, reminding him of his first day at the warehouse, when Miranda had told him, "Welcome home".

Trevor had to speak up for himself. "Oh, it's not like I was doing anything to attract a group of deadly vampires to chase me down for more than a month, and then kidnap me again and change me into a vampire by inserting someone's blood into my system," the brunet explained hurriedly. "I didn't do anything to make them want to kidnap me and so that you would have to rescue me. If I could rescue myself, I would. Believe me. But it wasn't really possible."