The girl's eyes grew wide. "You look just like your photo that she left me... It really is true..."
Brendon was about to say something else, but his leg buckled, making him grip tightly to Pete's bat hoodie. The girl dropped her defensive stance and hurried over to support his other side.
"I can help. Take him to the couch just inside." She instructed, moving forward. Pete did as told, ignoring the rising beast inside that had picked up on the girl's heartbeat.
Once Brendon was on the couch, she hurried back to the door, shutting it and locking it with a small, worn out latch. She immediately turned around and rushed behind a crumbling wall. A minute later, she came back with a small cup.
"I always keep some on hand." She said, sitting next to Brendon and helping him hold it to his lips. "It will bring back your energy, quickly."
Brendon smiled when the girl pulled the cup away. "You learned from your grandmother, didn't you?"
She smiled. "Inherited everything. Including my name."
"Breezy." Brendon smiled, "I'm so sorry..."
"Grandma said you would only come if something happened." Breezy frowned slightly. She looked around, resting her eyes on Pete. "He can't be Ryan." She said, quietly. "Ryan would only be nine now... Where is he?"
"Something happened." Brendon said, propping himself up on the arm of the couch. "He's still alive, but I need help."
"Wait." Pete stepped forward, making the other two turn their heads. "What is going on? I thought you only turned Ryan because of the inevitable death that was creeping in on his life." He looked between them with confusion. "How does she know him?!"
Breezy turned back to Brendon. "You turned him?" She whispered.
He looked at her sadly. "I had no choice..."
Breezy looked down. "Is he with you?" She asked.
"Ryan or Pete?"
She looked up and pointed at Pete. Brendon simply nodded as Pete's confusion grew. "It's okay if he knows."
"Knows what!?" Pete asked in frustration.
Brendon sighed, swirling his tongue around one of his fangs. Breezy rubbed her knees before bringing them close to her chest. "The good, the bad, and the dirty." She replied quietly.
"My promise." Brendon whispered.
"What does that promise you always talk about have to do with this?" Pete asked.
"Everything." Brendon and Breezy answered in a creepy unison.
"I can explain." Breezy spoke softly, twisting her fingers in her lap. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes.
It started out centuries ago. With the dawn of vampires came vampire hunters. Although they couldn't live forever, like the creatures they hunted, they sought to destroy everything a vampire touched.
Even if it was pure innocence.
My grandmother knew of vampires. She knew of those that tried not to kill. Ones that tried only taking enough to survive, then erased themselves from the victim's memory. Sadly, however, she also knew of pure monsters. Those only seeking to destroy.
Her sister was naïve to the darker world around her. She married and had a son coming, but the poor girl was about to have her life crumble.
Vampires took her husband and ripped him to shreds, leaving her a lone, pregnant widow. Somehow, for some reason, the universe decided that wasn't enough punishment for her.
Hunters came looking for her, seeking to destroy her and her unborn child. They thought her husband had been infected before the final slaughter, impregnating her with a half beast. They wouldn't let him live with that possibility.
My grandmother couldn't let her sister, or the child die. She called for a creature she trusted. One she had healed before realizing what he was. One that still had humanity after all that time. She called for him, begging for help in harboring the child once it was born. Some kind of hidden sanctuary from the hunters so that he could live.
He promised to keep the boy safe.
Once the baby was born, he brought him to a human of a casual affair. It was a small romance, but she happily agreed to help, taking the child as her own. For several years, it worked out for the boy. My grandmother's sister... Not so much...
Breezy opened her eyes, with a new sadness behind them. She sniffled, slightly, shaking her head.
"You never told me..." Pete said after taking a moment to let the story sink in. "Ryan was being hunted? That's why you turned him?"
Brendon shook his head. "He was but, when I turned him, he was dying of some kind of poison slipped into Sara's home somehow. She had rejected the vemon the first time I tried to turn her... So there was no saving her this time... She almost didn't make it through at all the first time..." Brendon's tone got softer and softer as he spoke, trailing off into nothingness.
"You promised to keep him safe..." Pete looked down. He had condemned Brendon so much for turning someone so young, and Brendon always took it. He had never revealed the story behind it, or the promise intertwined with it. "I'm... I'm sorry for..."
"It's fine." Brendon smiled sadly, "As long as we can get back to him." He turned to Breezy. "We think he's been cursed. That's why we came to you for help."
"Cursed? By what?"
"A ciguapa."
Breezy looked confused. "That's unfamiliar, but most likely in my grandmother's book." She stood quickly, looking around the room. "I can get it, find what I need, and we can help him..." She looked back down at Brendon. "Thank you for keeping your promise..." She said quietly.
Brendon just smiled in response. "Always."
