The Hunters Saga #3: The Hawthorn Pearl

Chapter 21: Pearls Are Forever

A/N: Soooo sorry for the delay in this update! X[ It took me all day, but it's so worth it ;) (Also, Wattpad and my internet in general has been too slow >.< Enjoy chapter 21 ^_^ Thanks for reading <3

Chapter 21: Pearls Are Forever

   There had been no warning of danger. Just a sudden urge to walk into the main bedroom of the suite. Tom Garland didn't know what to expect, but he certainly hadn't expected Antoinette Drake to be conscious after dawn. She was only a newborn, after all. Pushing past rationality, Tom attempted to solve the puzzle before his eyes. A vampire – a new one at that – was awake and moving... in the daytime, no less.

   "What the Hell-" the warlock began, but stopped altogether when he realized that the girl was talking, yet her eyes were sealed shut. Sleepwalking? No... vampires weren't able to sleep the way a human being did.

   Toni thrashed against the sheets, her body of stone making her movements difficult and restrained. Tom was speechless. He'd never seen a vampire face the day like this. Although she seemed half-awake, Antoinette was fully aware of her predicament.

   The warlock moved carefully until he was near the newborn. Toni's eyelids fluttered and she sleepily murmured a name: "Henri."

   Tom somewhat understood now. Henri Sinclair was her sire; it was possible that he was using their bond to draw the newborn out. What he couldn't get was why Henri had attempted to do so during daylight.

   A strangled scream broke Tom from his speculations, and it'd come from the physically paralyzed corpse before his eyes. Toni still kept her eyes closed, but her murmuring had grown louder. Her hands fisted the sheets, shredding the weak fabric beneath her nails. Tom was concerned now. The others weren't acting like Toni was.

   It's the bond...

   "Ms. Drake?" the warlock called the girl softly, earning a grunt as a response. "Toni, can you hear me?"

   "Henri... " she gasped, as if in pain. "He's in t-trouble."

   "Trouble?" Tom echoed, brow furrowed in thought.

   "S-so much pain... I can't s-see... " Her words fell away, and suddenly she was standing up, her body still seeming to weigh her down somehow.

   Tom had to do something before-

   "I-I have to help him... " Toni let out a small groan when the warlock took her by the arm and threw her roughly back onto the ruined bed. She didn't scream at all; it was almost as if she hadn't felt a thing....

   It must be the bond...

   Tom frowned at the helpless vampire underneath his watch. He leaned down. "I know you can't hear me, but you need to snap out of it, Antoinette."

   "I have to go-"

   "No, you don't," Tom pressed, his tone leaking with impatience. The newborn let out a gasp when she felt something warm pressed against her mouth.

   "Taste that? The blood of a warlock is sacred and rare," Tom lowered his voice, watching Toni's body loosen at the smell of rust. "Enjoy it?"

   "H-Henri-" she whined. "Let me go."

   "No," Tom bit out. "You'll burn up if you go out in the sun. Do you really want that?"

   The girl seemed pretty adamant about seeing Henri for whatever reason. Shaking his head, Tom loosened his grip on the vampire. Taking him by surprise, Toni backhanded the magic-user and got to her feet once again.