Audrey was in the corridor when I emerged from the office. She was alone, just like I was. Well, at least in her eyes, I was.
She smiled supremely at me, almost like she thought that I was defenseless without Cooper here to step between us.
"You're not going to win, you know."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you're just a pathetic little girl who isn't even a vampire."
Jeez, it sounded like I was faced with Drakkus. Pathetic little girl, his words echoed through my mind. It didn't bring me down. All it did was make me all the more eager to show him that there was nothing about me that was pathetic. As for him making it sound like being a girl was a downfall, I was going to show him how wrong he was.
Playing the game, I nodded with a plain face.
"You're right. I'm not a vampire. I have vampire blood in me because my great-grandfather was a vampire, but I don't have fangs, right?"
Audrey smiled like she'd won the argument.
"But then there's that other part of me. Did they tell you that?"
"Who?" she asked in a snarky tone.
"Kannon, Drakkus, whoever it is that is whispering these statements in your ear."
She faltered for a second before returning to the smile that she thought hid her fears. I wasn't a fool.
"My father is a biblical creature, which makes me one too. That's why Drakkus knows that he can't use me to create a child with and claim the Corbin line."
"Why couldn't he? That makes no sense."
"It would kill him. That's part of the reason that Kannon's angry at me. We didn't know what I was, and he was so close to having sex with me, completely unaware that it would have started the clock ticking away at his mortality."
It appeared as if Audrey was trying to comprehend what I was saying. Without more information or time to digest, it wouldn't be easy.
It didn't matter, not really. What did matter was the opportunity that I saw.
"You know that we have the same goal, right?"
"Kannon?"
"No." I scoffed. "A dead Drakkus."
Audrey shrugged as she folded her arms.
"That may be true, but you lost your chance at anything when you said that you would refuse to turn me into a vampire to be with Kannon."
"He's cheating on you. Did you hear me say that? He's screwing Drakkus constantly and has no intention of stopping. You shouldn't accept that kind of behavior."
"You just want him for yourself."
"No, I do not. One, I already told you that I'm a biblical creature, and I cannot have sex with mortals or immortals unless I want them to die. Two, he lied far too many times to me, he sold me out and he is associating with the vampire that killed Niko. I'd rather that he left town completely and I've told him to do so many times. And finally, three, I have someone. Would you like to meet my partner, Audrey?"
She shrugged uneasily.
"Anzide,"
He appeared at my side. Audrey looked at him and then at me.
"The guy from yesterday?"
"Yeah, the very same. He's Nephilim."
"What's that?"
"I am the child of an angel and a demon. Such creatures were not permitted to breed, but they did, and I was the result of their actions. My task in life was to deliver messages to those who had committed sins of the flesh. One such task brought me to Hades and, in particular, to Evie. Her father was an unknown entity and her mother was human. We knew that she was a hybrid due to an incident and I was sent to deliver a message of warning that my overseers would be coming to deliver their verdict against her and the father that we located. Evie stood up for herself and we soon learned that the man we thought was her father was not. It was another and his actions doomed her mother to an untimely death. Unfortunately, a certain vampire beat the clock and murdered Evie's mother. You might know him. His name was Andross. In fact, Andross also murdered Evie's grandparents and great-grandmother. All because Drakkus wanted easy access to the rule of this town."
Audrey was clearly stunned. Her arms dropped to her sides, and I saw the defenses lower.
"Kannon said that you're in love with him and jealous of our love. What was I supposed to think? That he was lying to me? I never thought he'd do something like that. Now you're telling me that these vampires are murdering people just to take over the leadership of this stupid town?"
"We are telling you that, but you don't need to get stressed out over it. This is my battle with Drakkus. Do you remember what the weather was like before I came here?"
"Yeah," she said uneasily.
"Drakkus did that. When he tried to take over as leader, it caused a void in this town. A blood war between Drakkus and Niko began. If neither of the original parties are willing or unable to end the blood war, it falls to their descendants, who can end it. I can do that but to end the war and to stop this town from falling into another void, I have to be the one that ends his life, not you, not anyone else."
"Oh,"
Audrey's voice was soft, clearly thinking about it. As much as I liked cold weather and rainy days, the sun was good for the soul.
"As for Kannon, I liked him in the beginning, tolerated him in the middle, and now want to kick him into the sun. It's understandable that he's trying to make me out to be your enemy, but it doesn't have to be this way. If you back away from your alliance with Drakkus, I will reconsider my resistance."
"I can become a vampire?"
"Your actions between now and the end of the war will answer that. For now, you should let things cool off between the two of you rather than a complete cut. Don't draw attention to yourself or your family."
"But how can I do that and still be on your side?"
"I have my ways of knowing things. Start with laying off the attitude towards me."
Audrey stared for a moment and then nodded, giving me an uneasy smile.
"I'm not a bad person, Audrey, and I know you're not either. We just got off on the wrong foot."
"And they've been telling me stuff. I guess it's all lies."
"Yeah, it is. Niko was a good man, and he didn't deserve the painful death that he endured. My great-grandmother was beaten in a fake break-in. My grandparents were in a light aircraft crash, and the aviation authority ruled it as foul play. My mother was pumped full of drugs and vampire venom. Because she knew what chased us, desperate to kill us, my mother couldn't handle her life. She drank herself into oblivion, barely cared for me and hit me constantly. I've spent years being dragged around this continent, hiding from something that I didn't know existed. He did that to us, to me. When I came here, the only family I had left in this world was Brad. I might not have known who Niko really was but he felt like he was my family. Drakkus took that from me."
Pain surfaced on her face, and I guess she was thinking as if it were herself and her own family. How one family could be destroyed because of the delusions of a psychotic vampire.
"I'm sorry that you've endured so much suffering and loss."
"Thank you."
The bell rang, and within seconds, the empty corridor we were standing in was inundated with students. Audrey gave me a soft smile, and with a slight wave, she turned to walk away.
When she was out of sight, I moved to a side corridor so that I was alone.
"Well?"
I couldn't see Anzide, but I knew he was there. He appeared in front of me.
"Smart move. Bring the mean girl to our side. You never know. She might just end up being a spy for you, too."
"Great. What was going on inside her brain?"
"Visions of those who were whispering in her ear. It's not just Kannon. His father's been telling her things as well. Mostly that there won't be a marriage if Drakkus is not the leader. No second-in-charge job for Kannon means no money for their family, which translates to no wedding, no Audrey the vampire, and no bright future as the wife of the second-in-charge. After the run-in, Kannon added to that by saying that with you as the leader, she'd never become a vampire. After all, you made it quite clear that it was being taken away from her, so Audrey had the confirmation that everything they said was right. You changed that though."
"She believes me?"
"Yeah, she does. At the end of it all, she was really feeling sorry for you. She knows that she's led a privileged life with her perfect family. Audrey's never seen what it's like for someone to struggle with their life. Now she has, and she's also seen how someone can rise through the pain and persevere. I think that in a way, she actually looks up to you."
"That's just so weird."
Anzide shrugged.
"As for everything before that, it was clear in her mind that she had no idea that you could kill Kannon like that. Kannon kept telling her that you were in love with him and desperate to destroy her so that you could be with him. She liked the idea of taking your side because no one, not even her friends, said that Kannon cheating on her was wrong. There is a constant theme in her head, and it's one that was not helping you. All her friends comment about how cute they think Kannon is and how lucky they believe she is to land him. Audrey has the opinion that if they were given the chance, they would screw Kannon behind her back."
"And that's why she had so many issues regarding me and him."
"Yep. Your reluctance to be around him now works in your favor. Audrey doesn't think that you're interested. She appreciates your efforts to make her see the truth about Kannon cheating on her. You were the only one that said it. In an instant, her opinion changed, and she began to see you in a different light. She wants to earn your approval, and she worries that if she doesn't distance herself from Kannon enough, you'll use it against her. You will begin to see a difference and I would suggest that you use that to show her your growing approval. If she thinks that it's stagnating, she might just flip back."
Accepting Anzide's statement, I turned back into the crowded corridor. At the far end, I could see the pretty pink cashmere that was like a beacon amongst the white shirts. I would keep Audrey on my side as best as I could. I didn't want to turn her into a vampire if she was going to continue to be horrible to me, but if she changed her ways, I would reconsider.
There was no real reason I would say no if she was pleasant to me. I didn't expect miracles, but I wanted an improvement. I'm sure Niko would demand more from her, especially considering there is a strong chance she'd leave Hades to go to college. I couldn't deny her the alteration if she met my requirements, and if Niko had a problem with it, then I guess he'd have to suck it up and accept it.
A conversation needed to happen once the war was over. If Audrey was leaving Hades, permanently or temporarily, she would either have to let go of her desire to become a vampire or find a coven that would accept her. I think that if she behaved, I could convince Niko to do the alteration and organize a transfer for her. She might come back to Hades. After all, her family was here. The problem was that she called this place stupid. It meant that she found it as boring as what I did.
This would be discussed later, and hopefully, it won't come back to bite me on the ass.