The Vampire's Requiem [malexmale]

Chapter Fourteen

"How do we figure it out when I can't even remember what I did yesterday?" I asked dryly. I was getting frustrated. This kind of thing never happened to me. My health was surprisingly excellent, considering I lived in alleys, homeless shelters, and dingy hotels that were probably infested with bed bugs. So why was my memory suddenly collapsing on me? Was it stress?

That would make sense. It was very rare that I could find a moment to relax. And even when I did, it was just a few moments and I found my mind wandering back to the task at hand. I was on the run all the time. From Zephyra, human authorities, Vladimir, and now, things had gotten even worse. The whole world was currently out to get me, and it'd been proven back at the rest area. A couple of regular halfbloods wanted to turn me in. They didn't know me, they'd never met me. They just saw my name on a flyer and went after it.

I was still trying to find out why my powers had vanished in the middle of a fight as well. One second, they were strong and pulsing, as if I had been merged with an entirely new being, and the next, I felt as if something had been sucked out of me. I felt empty, hollow. I even emptied my stomach because of the strength, and the headache.

It felt as if someone had slammed two sledge hammers into either side of my head.

"What about Nemo," Hunter said, gesturing a thumb to Xed, who furrowed his brow in a frown at the reference, "He was with you the entire time. He should be able to say something about what happened." Now there was an idea, but...

"Xed is mute when he's not in the water. We need to find a body of water to submerge him in." I responded, making Hunter shrug and scan the trees around us before he reached into his car for a flashlight.

"Smells like there might be a lake nearby or a marsh. That should be good enough, but stick close. We're not that far from Michigan and because of the amount of fresh water lakes, mermaids really like to congregate there. And while yours is friendly, others aren't. They're also pretty territorial." He explained as he went around to the trunk, popping it open. Xed and I shared wary looks, but I reluctantly climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind me as Hunter gathered more weapons than he was already carrying.

His belt was weighed down by pistols, ammo, stun gun, and I was pretty sure he had a couple of smoke grenades there. I couldn't figure out how the authorities even let him get away with carrying what he had. Surely it was against the law, but then, I wasn't much for laws either.

"This way." Hunter gestured for us to follow, and despite the churning in my gut, I obeyed. We started toward the thicker part of the forest. The leaves rustled gently, wind weaving its way around tall trees that swayed. I could hear, feel, the creatures of the night rousing from slumber and moving in for the hunt. A mouse skittered nearby and an owl sat in the pines, watching with eerie gold eyes before shrieking and taking off after its prey. I averted my eyes with a frown, then paused as I watched Xed move beside me.

He walked with an air of royalty, but a deadly one at that. His head was held high, eyes facing forward, shoulders back. It was a deadly lope that would scare even the Devil himself. And yet, there was something off about Xed's expression. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was troubled. I also guessed it had nothing to do with what was happening, or at least, that's how it seemed. After all, why should he be so concerned that my memory was fading? It didn't affect him in the least.

I turned my gaze to Hunter, who seemed to stalk through the woods like he owned them. He walked with a hand on his gun, another holding the flashlight and swaying it back and forth to scan the trees.

As we drew nearer to the lake, I could hear the sounds of frogs and insects chattering excitedly and the sound of the water churning from something. The scent of it was pungent and cold.