Crimson's parents were killed by vampires when she was 6 years old. Because of that, she's sworn vengeance on all vampires and spends every night tirelessly hunting for vampires to kill. Lamech is the leader of the biggest vampire clan in the world...
I knocked on Aideen's room and entered without waiting for an answer. She was on her bed, a book in hand, but sat up straight away.
"Did you manage to talk some sense into her?" she asked and thankfully she seemed to have calmed down.
I sat down on the couch and just sighed.
"Figured as much," Aideen answered, correctly interpreting my behavior as a no.
"I want to know if she said anything, anything at all, that could be the reason for why she is so firm in her opinion against vampires."
I knew there had to be something, it had even looked like Crimson had been on her way to tell me. And I was sure that if I could just figure it out, I could make it all okay. That there would be something wrong in her reason, that she had gotten false information or something similar.
But I somehow doubted that she would actually tell me what it was, at least unless I pressed her more and I needed to know something about it then to be able to press on the right things.
"She was just blabbering. Vampires are monster, liars, can't be trusted. She's still convinced you don't want her," Aideen told me exasperatedly and I couldn't help but feel frustrated over that Crimson thought that. Hadn't I by now shown her that I did care for and wanted her? But I pushed that to the side.
"Anything else? Any little thing?" I asked because any clue could be valuable. Any small detail could be enough to solve the mystery that was Crimson.
"Not really," Aideen said but seemed deep in thoughts as she tried to recall. Then a light came on in her eyes. "She mentioned her parents."
"Parents?" I echoed and raised my eyebrows.
"Yeah. She didn't really say anything about them. Just mentioned them." She scrunched up her face while trying to remember. "She said something like that it was your fault right after she mentioned them. But it didn't exactly make any sense. Or like she hadn't said anything that could have been anyone's fault."
My mind had raced far beyond Aideen's though and two questions that I needed answers to had popped up. Was Crimson's parents dead? Did she think I had something to do with that?
"Thank you," I said and got up to leave.
"Lamech!" Aideen gasped when I turned around. "Are you alright?"
I turned to look back at her, my eyebrows in a frown.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You... There's blood stuck in your hair."
I felt my frown deepen as I moved a hand up to the back of my head. I could feel the wet and sticky feeling blood that had started to dry had. When I had my hands in front of me there sure enough was blood on them. I moved my hand to my nose to sniff it. It definitely was mine, but there was a faint trace of Crimson's smell there.
"What happened? Did... Did Crimson do that?" Aideen looked at me aghast.
"Not... Not on purpose," I answered as I felt my mouth going dry.
"How can she not have done it on purpose? It's not like it's easy to penetrate our skin. Like I can't claim to be an expert or anything. But during my first week as a vampire, I did do some things that should have hurt me, but they didn't. Hell, I got shot and the bullets just bounced off my skin. How could she have made you bleed unintentionally?"
"I don't know," I mumbled. It was yet again proof of that she couldn't be a mere witch. She definitely had to be something else instead. Something more.
Aideen looked at me with disbelieving eyes, almost as if she thought I was trying to protect Crimson by lying. Not wanting her to think that, I quickly explained.
"I don't think Crimson is just a witch. There's too much about her that isn't the way a witch should be. Her speed and strength for one. This," I waved my hand, "is another. She must be a hybrid. Only, she doesn't even know herself."
"A hybrid?"
I nodded. "Two different magical species in one. But I have no idea what the other would be. Nothing seems to fit."
"Maybe she's half-vampire?" Aideen laughed at her own joke and although I knew she was joking, I answered as if she was serious, for I myself couldn't help but finding that impossibility the only thing that made sense.
"She can't be. Vampires can't create hybrids. A vampire can only conceive with their marked mate, and marking a mate would turn them into one of us."
I didn't wait for any response from Aideen. I was too desperate to see Crimson again and make sure she was alright. It all scared me. Not knowing what she actually was made me feel like she could slip away from me at any moment and I wouldn't even see it coming.
I knocked on her door and waited. When no response came, I carefully pushed it open to see if she was there or not.
She laid in bed, obviously asleep. I saw a small, empty potions bottle on the table and went over to it first. I took a sniff from it. Potions and such had never been anything that I had cared to learn much about, though there were plenty that even humans could make. But I picked up the scent of hops and knew that it was most commonly used in sleeping draughts.
I walked over to the bed and sat down on it. She must have felt really bad and in desperate need for an escape if she had taken a sleeping draught.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm making things hard for you," I whispered to her and pulled hair from her face. I noticed that she had put make-up on. It did look good, even as she slept. But I definitely preferred her without any. My beautiful Crimson. My beautiful mate. My mystery.
"Crimson, just who are you?"
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