Brad suggested that it was ideal that I take a few days off school so that I could learn how to deal with the situation. I don't think it was a good idea, but I had to focus on the issues rather than trying to cram more information into my brain.
I think he was feeling guilty over the lies he told and the secrets he'd kept. We'd talked about it for hours last night, once we got past the blood war. I learned that not only had he been in regular contact with my mother, but when I was younger, he had come around to the apartment. I was too young to remember it, but he said that I was a cute kid.
Despite the issues in our final years together, Brad said that my mother loved me, and he could see it. When I was a baby, it was easy enough for her to move around, but as the years passed, I grew, and then I started asking questions.
Brad stated that it was not my fault. All children were inquisitive. The problem was that the more questions I asked, the bigger burden I became. My mother saved as much money as she could. Most of her savings were spent on moving and finding places that suited her need to hide. Sometimes those places were not cheap.
Getting up from the table, I wandered to the lounge and flopped on it. Brad lifted his gaze from the laptop and looked at me.
"Problems?"
"The book just confirms that I need to kill Drakkus. Not just to ensure there are no issues but to be seen as strong and worthy of my placement. You know that at eighteen, I won't have much backing from the other vampires, right?"
"But you've got vampires on your side."
"Yeah, but Kannon said that to get a following, a vampire needs to have serious years clocked. If they don't, they're susceptible to a takedown from another vampire. This is our land by blood, but that doesn't mean anything if I can't get vampires to join my coven. I'm not even a vampire," I groaned.
Brad was no help, just giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Not one part of that book has any help for the would-be leader, who is only a quarter vampire. I am a freak."
"Never thought I'd live to see the day that you agreed with me."
Pulling the scatter cushion out from under my back, I threw it at Brad. He raised his arm in time, sending it awry with nothing more than a chuckle.
"Do you think that I could get everyone to defer this for a year?"
"I seriously doubt it."
"It's always worth a shot, right?"
"You do as you please. I'm sure it won't hurt your feelings when they laugh at you."
"I just want to get my schoolwork done. Is that too much to ask?"
Clearly, it was. My shadow was never far away, staring at me as if there was nowhere else to look. Pulling another pillow out from under me, I threw it at him. The cushion passed through the boy and hit the wall behind him.
"Can I have like five minutes without you staring at me?"
"No."
"Your friends are certainly taking a long time to get here. Are they building the car or something?"
The Nephilim tilted his head.
"Using a horse and cart? Walking? Come on, I need a timeline here."
"I do not know when they will arrive."
"Well, find out. Give them a call on your supernatural phone."
"I do not have a phone of any kind. They will get here when they get here. There is nothing that I can do to change that. You will just have to be patient."
"Yeah, good luck with that one."
Brad returned to his laptop. Now that he was no longer pretending to work, he was researching websites that Jess suggested. They were the ones that were hidden within the deep, dark web. Accessing them required certain codes, which she had supplied.
I asked Brad what he did all day when he was pretending to work. He said that he mostly played computer games, kept the house spotless, and planned our next move. Occasionally, he'd do a little fishing and try to find things that I might find useful. Before coming here, he found nothing. Since coming here, he had Jess's help, so Brad found a lot of things.
"So, if you hook up with Jess, does that mean that she'll have a girl as well?"
"I have no idea."
"Are you going to hook up with Jess?"
"Probably."
"Do you say probably because you're not willing to show emotions, or are you worried that she's not interested?"
Brad slapped the laptop lid down and set it aside, frowning at me as he stood from his seat. The mug was empty, and Evie was being annoying.
"I think it's pretty obvious that she's interested."
"Yeah, I saw the second set of bite marks. You tart."
Rolling his eyes, Brad walked into the kitchen and began making himself another coffee. Beyond the kitchen window, a vampire walked past. I was not accustomed to the security guards, and every time they walked past the windows, I freaked out.
"Are you being obnoxious so that I will let you out for a walk?"
"Absolutely."
"The only way that I will agree to that is if you take one of the guards. If you can convince them, then knock yourself out."
Sitting up, I found a new zest for the dull morning. I could go and see Niko, say hello, vent my frustrations, and then hopefully, return in a better mood. It was asking a lot, but I was hopeful.
The guards were not impressed with my request. They agreed, but it would be the briefest visit I'd ever had. There and back, leave the collected flowers, a short hello and nothing else.
I think they were spooked, and it had nothing to do with the current issues.
Still, one of them agreed to come with me to the cave. Another would remain at the halfway point where he could see the house and us, and the remaining two would stand at opposite corners so they could see two sides of the house rather than just one. It was a lot of effort for a few minutes.
Of course, I was extremely grateful and was not taking their effort for granted.
My walk to the cave was brisk, only stopping to pick flowers along the way. I tied them into a bunch and set them next to the others. That's when I noticed that the bushes had been disturbed. Stepping back, I saw footprints that were bigger than mine. They couldn't be Kannon's. He kept his distance.
The guard stepped closer.
"Is everything okay?"
"Someone has been here. Those footprints were not here the last time I was."
"I'm going to take a look. Step away if you don't want to see inside the cave."
I nodded and turned my back to him. Anxiety gripped me as I listened to the bushes rustle. Then came the heavy sigh.
"Master," he murmured softly.
Yep, that was a term I was not used to yet. They all used it, and I did not ask one of them to do so. Kannon said that I had to get used to it. This was my life now that I was the official leader of the vampires for Hades. I was that but it didn't feel right to me. A vampire leader should be a vampire.
Did I agree with Drakkus? In that respect, yes. I could not understand the vampire's needs, not when I didn't have the same ones as them. If I had advisors, I'd listen to them and do as they suggested, but it was pointless when the members of my coven were limited to Kannon's family and a few friends they associated with. The vampires in this town who were on my side were few in number.
"The cave is empty."
I turned to him in complete shock.
"Someone stole his body?"
"It looks that way. Come, we mustn't linger in the forest."
Glancing around the forest, I couldn't see a threat, but I knew that one existed. I'm sure that one will always exist.
"Is this the life that I will lead, Marco?"
"We could hope for something different, but that would be wasteful. All that we can do in these hard times is strive to do our best and come out on top. You will learn how to cope."
Well, that was not the answer I was looking for. A, sure, it will end soon, and life will be peachy again, was closer to where I was aiming. Sadly, it was not to be.
Our pace was quick, weaving through the trees along the path that I'd walked more than I'd wanted. If I had my way, Niko would be here, and I would still be his familiar, not a leader. I wasn't a vampire. Just a quarter of me was.
I found it surprising that the vampires were so willing to accept me as their leader but then again, it might not be the entire truth. I'd seen a few who came to the house last night, but what percentage of the vampire population in Hades was that? Fifty percent was reasonable though I would prefer more. Dread skipped through me as dark thoughts whispered that it could be less than that. It could be in the single digits.
"How many vampires are there in Hades?"
"I don't know the accurate figure as many move around. We are not bound to a coven for the rest of our lives and are free to move as we desire. Entry into a coven is relatively easy, so there is no issue for us if we want to move to a new place. My best guess would be in the low one hundreds."
"And how many do you think are loyal to the Corbin line?"
Marco smiled as he looked at me.
"Worried about your leadership?"
"Worried that the other side might have greater numbers."
"Ah, well, that is natural. Drakkus has the ability to lure a vampire in. He is a smooth salesman. Of course, he cannot retain them for long. At least those who are not enamored by him. Many leave the flock, usually leaving the town as well. Sometimes we can stop them before they pass the border. If we can do that, then we show them that not all are like the monster they flee from.
Marco and I emerged from the forest, seeing a curious sight. At the windows around the dining room and lounge room were vampires. They were looking into the house even though Eddios was there telling them to get away from the windows. When he saw us, Eddios urged us over quickly.
"Come, Evelyn, your uncle wishes to speak with you urgently."
"What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"It is not my place to say, my dear. Good luck."
The door was opened, and I was pushed through it. I was about to tell Brad that someone had tampered with Niko's grave when he stood and looked at me with an uneasy smile. From the other lounge chair, a man stood as well.
The dark figure turned and looked at me, giving me a warm smile.
"Good afternoon, Evelyn. My name is Mardyl Charolais, and I am your father."