Chapter 11
Darrius takes me to my house but there is nothing there, no journals, nothing. In fact, a lot of my parents stuff is missing from my house. Darrius drives me to my uncle’s street, which is literally around the corner from my home. No matter how much I asked him to stay at the palace, he wasn’t buying it. He wanted to keep me in his sights. He stops at the end of the street where I tell him too, but he is strangely quiet again.
“Come back as soon as you find out what you need,” he says, “I’ll be waiting. If you aren’t back here in half an hour, I’m coming to get you, sweetie,” I roll my eyes at his endearment but nod and get out of the car.
“I won’t be long,” I say as sincerely as possible while holding the door open, trying not to give away in my expression that I was planning to not come back at all. Darrius gives me a threatening glare out the window.
“You better not be,” he threatens, watching me intently as I shut the door and make my way to the house. I reach my uncles home in no time and knock on the door. It’s dinner time but he answers the door quickly after the first few knocks.
“Jenny!” He welcomes, motioning for me to come in, “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you.” I try to smile but I can’t hold onto it for too long. I decide I should just tell him everything.
“It’s a long story…” I begin. I plough right into what happened to me. He listens intently in the hall as I rush out my story, a serious look in his eye.
“…and then my parents helped me escape but –”
“I know what happened, darling,” Uncle Jeff says, “I know they’re dead.” For a moment I stare at him in confusion. They weren’t, why did he think they were?
“But how do you –”
“I know they were vampire hunters,” he says, “Their friends came to tell me what happened. I found out a couple of hours ago. I went to your house, but you weren’t there.” I follow him into the kitchen.
“Listen, I don’t have time to talk to you about everything that’s happening,” I rush, deciding not to tell him my mum and possibly my dad were still alive. I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that he was lying to me, or something, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t have time to worry about it now, “Darrius, the vampire I told you about, is waiting for me outside. I need a way to keep him from taking me back to the palace. I’ll die if I go back there. He said he wants to turn me because he thinks I have the genes of a vampire hunter. I don’t know what I am, but someone told me in secret that I was something else.”
“So you know then,” he says seriously, “You know what you are?” I tell him the person who told me knew what I was, but wouldn’t give me an answer. All I knew was that I wasn’t a potential vampire hunter. He holds out a seat for me to sit on and he sits down opposite me.
“I don’t know what I am. I am so confused as to what is happening in my life. All I know is that I don’t want to go back to that palace full of vampires and die,” I watch my uncle’s expression, something dark flashes in his eyes, “What’s wrong?”
“They thought you had the genes of a vampire hunter because so many hunters tried to save you, isn’t that right?” he asks. I nod and he continues, “That wouldn’t have been the only reason. You must have showed signs of resisting compulsion from the vampires,” now I am confused.
“I don’t think they tried any compulsion…” I hesitate, did Darrius at any time try to persuade me to do anything I didn’t want to do? Several times actually… I scowl as I remember his numerous invitations for me to come to his room, “Maybe they did.” I conclude.
“You don’t have the genes to become a vampire hunter,” he says, “I suspected it for a long time, but now it is reconfirmed.”
“What is reconfirmed?” I ask.
“You are an evolved human,” he says, “You were born to resist vampire compulsion naturally. Just as your blood is poisonous to all supernatural beings. Even werewolves, who might try to rip you apart, would be affected by your blood,” I give him a funny look.
“Werewolves?” I ask, “How is my blood poisonous?” This was starting to get really weird and a whole lot more complicated…
“It’s just a fact of evolution that you were born the way you are,” he says, “There was also a prophecy… but I won’t get into detail about that,” A prophecy about me? “Your parents were using your blood as a poison when they went out hunting for vampires,” Holy shit, my blood was the poison.
“But… oh god I remember now. They took me a couple of times to donate blood at some dodgy van, I never understood why…” I mutter, a few things click into place now, start to make sense. Fear and anger also start to rise within me. Why would my parents use me like that? “Is there a cure to my poisonous blood?” I ask, and my uncle sighs. He is silent a few moments and then pushes back his chair and walks into the kitchen. There is something strange about his demeanour now. Something threatening, “What are you doing?” I ask, but he doesn’t reply straight away.
“No darling,” he says, “There is no cure for your poisonous blood…” I watch as he reaches into a draw and fumbles around a bit, “I’ve been waiting a long time to do this…” he mutters and I give him a questioning glance. I gasp as he takes out a thick bladed knife and looks at it as if inspecting its usefulness.
“What are you doing?” I squeak, what the hell? Uncle Jeff gives me a dark, unfamiliar look. Oh, shit.
“You’re a danger to all supernatural beings. I believe, have always believed, that if you really were what we all expected you to be, you would have to be put to rest, my dear. You could be the end of all supernatural creatures,” I scramble out of my chair and listen in horror as he finally says, “Your life ends here, Jennifer.”
I run for the hall and he dodges around the kitchen bench with un-naturally enhanced speed.
I run for the front door. I can hear his pounding footsteps behind me and I hear a piece of furniture hit the floor as he chases me. I grab the handle of the door and try and yank it open but it’s locked. A hand twists in my hair and yanks me backwards, I scream and see the knife raised in the air above me.
This really was it.
I was going to die.
“Filthy beast!” The insult comes from the other end of the hall. Darrius? I’m abruptly released as my uncle is rushed at by a feral vampire. Darrius sinks his teeth into my uncle’s neck, which has enlarged somewhat, like he had half-transitioned into an animal of some kind. Darrius breaks Jeff’s neck and a horrible gurgling sound comes from my uncle as he hits the ground at my feet. Darrius snarls at the fallen man and wipes a hand across his mouth in disgust.
“I…” I try to say something, to form a sentence, but my words get chocked off in my throat. I slowly sink to the floor on my knees and then sit on my heels. I start to cry. I had nearly died, again. But my uncle… I had loved him so much as a child and throughout my teenage years. How could he turn on me like that? So damn quickly?
“You never mentioned your uncle was a werewolf,” Darrius’ voice is snarly and pissed off and I stare at the floor, my arms hugging myself.
“He… he was never related to me. And…c-can’t you show some… some sympathy?” I manage to choke out through my tears. Darrius is silent for a few moments before stepping over my uncle and coming to squat in front of me.
“Look at me,” he says, and when I don’t he grabs my chin and forces me to, “I’m the bad vampire remember? I’m pissed off I found out I can’t drink your blood,” he says more quietly this time, “I so wanted to, darling,” I let out a short hysterical laugh and jerk out of his grip.
“Is that meant to be romantic or something?” I ask, roughly wiping away some tears.
“It might be romantic to some humans,” he says, as he slowly stands he reaches out a hand for me, “Up you get.” I grab his hand and he hauls me to my feet. I nearly lose my balance. I’m still shaky from adrenaline but he holds both my arms, steading my, “Look at me, I’ve got you. You’re not dead, that is something to smile about.”
“You were here the whole time weren’t you? You never stayed back in the car… Are you going to kill me?” I ask.
“Does it look like I’m going to?” he asks back, mockingly.
“But I’m a danger to vampires and other supernatural beings. I’m the reason your brother is dying,” I whisper, feeling sad especially for Claudia.
“I should kill you,” he says, “But I’m not going to.” I begin to ask ‘why?’ but he suddenly lets go of my arms, grabs me around the waist and hauls me over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I snap. Really? He was abducting me, again?
“Shh, sweetheart,” he says, opening the front door and hauling me off down the side walk, “I’m not letting you go after overhearing what your uncle said about your blood.”
“Why?”
“For a number of reasons, but we will get to them later,” he says, “And you need somewhere to stay. You’re coming with me,” I sigh, and with a free hand I wipe the last of my tears away. After what just happened I felt like laughing. Really, there was something wrong with me if I felt like laughing.
“You are unbelievable,” I mutter. He puts me in the passenger seat and he hops into the front.
“If I had to be honest,” he says, turning the car on, “I’m still not finished with you for other reasons. You intrigue me. I want you by my side, darling, so that is where you will be staying,” I look out the window and sigh.
Typical arrogant and bossy prick of a vampire.
That was Darrius for you.