Chapter 25
Rome walked back into the living room. Her parents and her twin brothers turned to look at her as she entered, all wearing the same serious expressions on their faces. Taking a deep breath, she sat down in one of the chairs facing them, feeling somewhat like she was on trial. She took a deep breath and sat down.
“What are you doing here Rome?” Her father asked. Green eyes, identical to hers, displayed the worry he felt for his only daughter. “You were meant to catch the train to our house on the cost in three days. We all thought you were still in the city.”
“I'm sorry,” Rome said, looking down at her hands, which she were folded in her lap. “I had to leave earlier than I expected. Ly, the man who I brought here, he needed my help and I couldn't just leave him.”
“Explain to us who this man is and why he ended up in our house with a gunshot wound to the shoulder,” Rome's mother, Mae, said sternly, giving her daughter a look that said she expected something really impressive or there would be serious consequences.
“His name is Ly Korben,” Rome began, accidentally using Ly's false last name but not bothering to correct herself. Her father had once been a vampire hunter, so she suspected he had heard the name Aleron before and she didn't want her family to know who Ly really was, not yet anyway. “He's my ancient history tutor at uni.”
“This is no time to try to be funny,” Rome's mother snapped. Mae Armida was usually calm and slow to anger. She hadn't even scolded the twins when they had broken three windows playing soccer in the house. Usually knowing that she was disappointed was enough to make any of her four children feel extremely guilty, but when her voice was this stern the family, even her husband, knew it was time to retreat. “A man almost bled to death in our kitchen and you expect us to believe he's just some boy from university?”
Rome cringed and began to tell her family the entire story, leaving out the part about Ly being the most powerful vampire in the country and the fact that, only hours ago, she had come face to face with a murderer. All she really told them was that Ly was framed for a crime he didn't commit and was shot trying to get away.
Mae looked furious, but there was little yelling at her daughter could do and there was no way she could turn away an injured person when they needed her help as much as Ly did. Clayton's face was as calm and composed as ever, though his eyes were slightly narrowed, indicating that he knew there was more to the story than Rome was letting on.
“I don't know what you were thinking Rome,” Mae said softly, shaking her head. “You know you shouldn't bring people here. This is a safe house for our family. No-one else is meant to know about it. You put us all in danger by bringing him here.”
“I'm really sorry,” Rome apologised again, only just realising her hands were shaking. A few hours ago she had almost been caught by the police, driving around a wanted man, but explaining this situation to her family was worse somehow. “I was hoping that this would end before any of you got involved. All Ly needs is a place to stay while he recovers, then he'll be out of here. I promise.”
“Well I guess we don't really have a choice,” Clayton said, leaning back in his chair but keeping his eyes fixed on Rome. “The boy can stay until he recovers, but you're to make sure he doesn't talk to anyone about this. We've been running from my hunters club for too long and I will not have this family put in danger because of that boy.”
Rome breathed a sigh of relief, though her hands wouldn't stop shaking. “Thanks dad. I can't tell you how much of a favour you're doing him. He really needs people he can trust right now and I didn't know anyone else who would help.”
“You're lucky we came here when we did,” Lee said seriously as Rowen nodded. “If we had decided to spend the break on the coast then mum wouldn't have been here to fix up your boyfriend.”
Rome rolled her eyes, ignoring her brothers last statement, but it really was a surprise that her family was here. It was also surprising that Alex wasn't with them. “What are you all doing here?” She asked her parents.
Clayton looked troubled for a moment. “The hunters are becoming more active since this new Jarlan threatened to start a war. I was found by a member of my old hunters club, so we had to move fast. Now more than ever I was worried that they would get desperate and do something...regretful. We decided to wait out the conflict here, where they can't find us. This has always been out safest house so we should be ok here, though it looks like we may be here long time.”
“Alex was going to go into the city and get you,” Rowen said. “He's still on the coast. We tried to call your place before we left, but some girl named Samantha said you had gone out and didn't know when you were going to get back.”
Mae sighed and stood up. “I'll have to call Alex and tell him not to worry about going into the city,” she said. “He's been worried sick about you Rome, and now that I know what you've been up to I'm not surprised. Running around with suspected criminals. I thought I brought you up to be smarter than that.”
* * *
Ly stayed in the bedroom alone for a few days. He wouldn't let anyone come in to see him, not Mae, who often tried to check on his wound, or even Rome, who worried about him more and more with each passing day.
On the fifth day of their stay at the Armida safe house, Rome became fed up and barged into the guest room where Ly was staying. It was dark outside, but the young vampire was still in bed and he glared angrily as Rome entered.
“Ly, you can't just stay in here all alone,” the young woman said, attempting to sound stern. “You have to let us help you. Mum's really angry that you won't show her your shoulder. You realise that my parents are doing us a huge favour, but they don't have to help, and you're not giving them any reason to want to.”
Ly grunted in reply, haunted blue eyes fixed on Rome. He didn't want her in here and he didn't want her close to him. He felt as if he was only just holding on to his sanity and if she came any closer he wouldn't be able to retain his grip.
Rome watched Ly watch her, though she didn't make eye contact. He looked a lot better than he had when they arrived. The sunburn had healed in twenty-four hours, leaving his skin as pale as always and the heavy shadows under his eyes were mostly gone. His eyes themselves were no longer bloodshot, but he was still weak and grimaced in pain every time he moved his right arm.
“Please Ly,” Rome said, dropping her composed attitude for something more like herself. “Please let us help you.”
Her voice is so annoying, Ly thought angrily. Why is she so hard to ignore? That day in the club, he had come face to face with Nicator, the vampire who had robbed him of his revenge. The snivelling worm was only alive because Rome had asked Ly not to kill him. The influence she had over his actions was confusing. He had always been stubborn and after Tristan saved him, no-one had been able to change his mind once he made a decision. Even Tristan himself had had a hard time trying to get Ly to do anything, but all Rome had to do was ask and he had thrown away his only chance at revenge.
Making a decision, Ly threw off the blankets and sat up. He was naked from the waist up and he noticed Rome's eyes were drawn to the bandages around his chest and shoulder. Did she pity him? Was she feel bad for how his life had turned out? Did she care?
The red-head's eyes had first fallen on Ly's bandages, but slowly they began to study the rest of his body. Back at the Aleron home he she had seen him without a shirt, but there wasn't much time to really take him in. His body was lean, well muscled and perfectly sculpted. Male models would kill for a body like his, but there was a strength in him that didn't come from lifting weights or doing push ups. It was a strength that was hard and cold and wasn't confined to his muscles alone.
“Get me a shirt,” Ly ordered, startling the girl out of her daydream. Blushing, she went and fetched a plain black tee-shirt out of his bag. He didn't even look at her as she helped him pull it over his head.
“You're still bleeding,” the young woman commented, noticing a small amount of blood on the bandage covering Ly's shoulder. “Didn't the stitches work to close the wound? You should get mum to take another look at it.”
“Stitches won't do any good,” Ly grunted in response, ignoring the hand Rome offered and used the wall to help him get to his feet. “A vampires body won't tolerate any foreign objects. The stitched your mum used dissolved within twenty-four hours. My shoulder will heal on its own, or it won't heal at all.”
Rome swallowed, but let the matter drop. She was beginning to understand just how much she didn't know about vampires. It seemed like so long ago that she was completely ignorant about anything to do with their kind. After meeting Val, she had came to believe there wasn't that much of a difference between the two races. Now she was beginning to understand that, despite their similarities, there were some things that were so different they were almost frightening.
“We're about to have dinner,” Rome said, shaking her head to clear it. When she looked at Ly, even now, she could hardly see the differences between them. It was hard for her to believe that two races could look exactly the same, but be so fundamentally different.
She lead Ly, very slowly, out of the bedroom and towards the dining room. “Are you hungry? Or would you rather just sit in the living room?” She asked, noticing the grimace of pain on the vampires face with every step. “Maybe you should eat something. You haven't eaten since we got here.”
Ly didn't protest, even though the thought of spending the evening with Rome's family wasn't very appealing. He had been living off blood alone for the past five days and, even though vampires could live that way, it wasn't ideal. Something substantial in his stomach would help increase the speed of his recovery.
The room fell silent as Rome and Ly entered. The entire family glanced quickly in their direction, before turning back to their meal, causing Rome blushed bright red. Silently she directed Ly to a seat at the table before rushing off to get him a plate.
After a few minutes of heavy silence Clayton cleared his throat. “So, you attend Rome's university,” he said, making an attempt at polite conversation to dispel the awkwardness that had settled in the room since. “What subjects do you take?”
It was then that Rome realised she actually didn't know what subjects Ly was taking, other than ancient history and Latin. She hoped Ly would answer so her family wouldn't find out she knew so little about the man she had brought into their home.
“Ancient history, Latin, political studies and literature,” Ly answered shortly, biting back a comment about the food Rome had just placed in front of him. He poked at a bit of overcooked chicken and kept his mouth shut. Back at the Aleron estate he was use to the finest foods cooked to perfection. It looked like the Armida family didn't demand the same standards.
“So what field of work are you hoping to go into after you finish studying?” Rome's father continued his line of questioning as he unconsciously pushed some unidentifiable, limp, green vegetable to the edge of his plate. Obviously he was use to his wife's horrible cooking.
Rome felt Ly stiffen next to her. Of course, her father had no idea that Ly didn't have a choice in his future career. Now that Tristan was dead he had become the leader of the vampire government, weather he liked it or not.
“Politics,” Ly said flatly, glaring at the table.
Mae looked sideways at her husband, wondering if Ly gave Clayton the same uneasy feeling her gave her. It was hard to believe Rome had gotten involved with a man like this, considering what her old friends had been like.
She recognised the signs her husband was giving off. The way his eyes narrowed, how tightly he held his fork. He was studying this strange young man closely, knowing that something wasn't right.
Ly knew they were watching him. The twins sitting at the opposite end of the table had been staring openly at him ever since he walked into the room. Rome's mother was cautious, but not yet afraid, and her father was somewhat suspicious of him.
Ignoring the family Ly tried to focus on his disgusting meal, but the pain in shoulder was beginning to get to him again. With a small grunt he moved his right arm up to rest it on the table. Too late he realised this exposed the tattoo on his right wrist and he hoped no-one would notice.
Rome saw Ly move his arm and, for the first time, got a good look at the tattoo displayed there. It was a bird, a black eagle. It had its wings folded up and its talons extended, as if it was diving for its prey.
Clayton stood up so fast his chair tipped over and hit the ground with a loud bang. All eyes turned to him. His face was red, displaying a shock and anger that the rest of the family hardly ever saw. Mae was about to ask him what was wrong, but he saw her open her mouth and held up his hand to stop her.
“Get up,” he said to Ly, his voice was low and dangerous. The young vampire just gave him an unamused look and remained seated. “Get up now! I think there's something we need to discus and you will not stay a day longer in this house if I don't get a satisfactory explanation.”
“Dad!” Rome cried, surprised by her fathers sudden outburst. “What are you doing? I told you why we're here, isn't that enough? You can't just send him away when he...”
She trailed of as Ly stood up, that usual bored look on his face. He knew what this was going to be about and he could handle it himself. The thought of needing Rome to fight his battles for him made him sick.
Silently the two men left the room. Clayton led Ly into the living room and closed the doors so the rest of the family wouldn't hear their conversation. He was still a little shocked, but now his face had taken on a grim look, as if he was remembering something unpleasant.
“Does Rome know?” Clayton asked after a moment of silence. Ly didn't reply, only studied the other man closely. “Answer me. I know what that tattoo means. Either you're a member of the Aleron family or else a trusted member of the household. Does Rome know what you are?”
“She does,” Ly said calmly, locking his haunted eyes with Clayton's emerald green. “How did you recognise the symbol? There aren't many humans who have ever seen it, let alone knew what it meant.”
Rome's father scowled. “Why are you really here?” he asked, ignoring Ly's question. “You're the vampire they're looking for aren't you. I should kick you out of here right now for what you've done. I heard about the crime you supposedly committed and now you've dragged my daughter into it. Why? Is she just someone you thought you could use? What are you doing with her?”
“I didn't drag her anywhere,” Ly snapped, clenching his fists, causing a wave of pain to roll down his right arm from his injured shoulder. “She forced this on me, not the other way round. Do you think I would have accepted any help from humans if I had a choice. I told her to stay out of this, but she wouldn't listen. The danger she's in is...is no fault of mine.”
The older man stopped for a second. He hadn't failed to notice the slight pause in Ly's sentence and was beginning to think that this young vampire knew it was his fault Rome was in danger and that made him feel guilty.
“You didn't answer my question,” Ly said harshly, trying to twist the subject away from Rome. “How did you recognise my families symbol when no human is meant to know what it means?”
Clayton let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. So this man was a member of the most powerful vampire family in the country, one of the most powerful in the world. He made a mental note to find out how deep Rome's relationship with Ly really was. “I met a member of the Aleron family,” he said slowly, noticing how Ly's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Actually we became good friends. You don't believe me? Why should you, I don't have any proof. Nothing tangible anyway. All I really knew was his name, which is actually quite similar to yours, Lycon. I don't know why I didn't see it before.”
Ly's eyes went wide and he took an involuntary step back. He hadn't believed Clayton had actually met a member of his family until he heard that name. Why would he when his family were kept separate from humans as a rule. No human in the world should ever have known that name.
“How?” Ly growled, clearly shocked. “How do you know my fathers name? No human should ever have met him, knowing what he was. That name is a secret kept from humans. How did you know him? Tell me!”
Clayton smiled sadly. “So you're his son...well you do look like him, now that I think about it, though you don't seem to have his personality. He told me he had sons, but I only met the eldest, Dante.”
Ly hissed through his teeth, feeling like he had been shot again. “You have no right to speak of them! You have no right to name them!”
“I don't have the right to name the vampire, who saved my life and the lives of my wife and only daughter,” Clayton replied calmly, raising an eyebrow at the enraged vampire. “That's how I met Lycon. He saved my me and my wife after our car went off a bridge. Mae was pregnant with Rome at the time. It was in the hospital room afterwards that I realised what an idiot I had been. To think the very vampire I was hunting saved my life.”
Clayton was almost impaled my Ly's cold stare. The young vampire couldn't believe what he had just heard. There must have been a misunderstanding, he couldn't possibly have heard what he thought he had. “Hunting,” he said slowly, as if warning the man in front of him to tread lightly. “What do you mean, the vampire you were hunting?”
Clayton looked surprised. “Didn't Rome tell you?” he asked, only just realising he had been very stupid to call a wounded vampire into a private area, free of witnesses, before revealing that he use to hunt their kind. “I use to be a vampire hunter, though that was a long time ago.”
It was all Ly could do to keep himself from strangling Clayton right there as his anger threatened to overwhelm him. He forced himself to keep still, not to attack this man as his family ate dinner in the next room. He thought about what Rome would do if she found out he had murdered her father.
Rome! She hadn't told him! She hadn't said a word about how her father had killed innocent vampires. They had come here, she had dragged him, knowing what her father was, and she hadn't even felt the need to warn him.
“I stopped,” Clayton said, sitting in lounge chair and looking up at Ly. “After Lycon saved me, I realised what I was doing. I thought I was protecting my family, but now I know I was just fuelling pointless hatred. I was brought up to think that vampires were the enemy, were evil. I was wrong. I had this house built so we could have a place where my former club wouldn't be able to find us. A place where I could keep my family safe and we've been running from them ever since. After that day...”
Ly couldn't listen any more. He turned and pushed the living door open violently. Rome was standing just on the other side, looking nervous and frightened. Ly only glared at her as he went past, heading back down the hall and towards the guest room.
Rome, looked at her father once before following after the angry vampire. “Ly,” she said quickly. “Ly, what happened? What did he say to you? Please, Ly, I'm really...”
“You didn't tell me,” Ly spat, rounding on her and slamming his palm against the wall, right by her head. She jumped, large emerald eyes filled with fear and for once Ly found he didn't care. “You didn't tell me what he was! How could you keep something so important...did you think I wouldn't care. Did you really think I would want to be in the house of a family of hunters?! Look what they did to...Just leave me alone. Get away from me.”
He slammed the guest room door, leaving Rome standing on the other side. I should have told him, she thought sadly as she stood, staring at the closed bedroom door. I should have told him before I brought him here. He's never going to forgive me for this.
“Rome,” she heard her fathers voice calling her from the dining room. “I would really like to talk to you about what just happened.”
With a small sigh, Rome composed herself and walked back into the dining room where she saw her father standing by the living room door. She just gave him a blank look and followed him into the room beyond.
For a while, both father and daughter said nothing. Clayton heard what Ly had said to his little girl, and though it annoyed him, he could understand how the boy felt. This really wasn't about Ly though, it was about discovering how little he really knew about his only daughter.
“You know about him don't you?” Rome said suddenly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “I'm sorry dad, I should have told you about him in the beginning, but I didn't know how you would react. I only wanted to help. He's in so much trouble and after everything that's happened to him I only wanted to get him somewhere safe.”
“Rome,” Clayton said, smiling slightly. “I'm not mad at you, but I am very surprised. I never thought you would be the kind of person to get mixed up in this sort of mess. You were always too quiet, too sensible to get into serious trouble. I just want you to be careful. How much do you really know about Ly Aleron?”
Rome was reluctant to answer, embarrassed that she really didn't know much about him at all. “He's my friend dad,” she said softly. “And he's in trouble. That's all I really need to know right now.”
“You remember when I told you the story about how that vampire saved both your mother and I, even though he knew I was hunting him?” Clayton asked. Rome only nodded. “We'll the vampire who saved us, Lycon, just happened to be your friends father. What a coincidence that my daughter would now be in a position to help his son. To think you wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for him.”
Rome was speechless. She was finding it hard to process this new information. Ly's father had saved her father. Lycon was the reason she's alive.
Clayton sighted. “He really does look a lot Lycon,” he said, continuing with his story. “We became good friends after that day and I learnt a lot from him. Mostly I learnt that a lot of the stuff hunters are taught is wrong. I also met Ly's mother, Selena, and his older brother.”
“You met Tristan?” Rome asked, astonished that she had never known her father had such high connections in the vampire world. It was, understandably, really unusual for a former hunter to become involved with vampire families, unless it was just to eradicate them.
“Tristan? Oh, you must be talking about the second son, the one who was just killed by that hunter,” Clayton said, scowling. “No. I met the eldest, Dante.”
“I didn't even know he had another brother,” Rome said quietly, ashamed that she knew next to nothing about Ly, even though she had known him for over six months. “He never talks about his family. Even now, he won't say Tristan's name.”
“Hunters are scum,” the former hunter said bitterly. Rome knew he was ashamed that he had ever been part of a vampire hunters club, and that he was ashamed his extended family was still involved with them. The Armida family had a high position among the clubs and had a reputation for producing skilled hunters, But Clayton had cut all ties with them when he left.
Then it clicked for Rome. Nicator had said he had been hired to kill Matthew Scott by a human, the president of a hunters club. The same club Mr Scott belonged to. Was it possible that her father would be able to tell them who the leader of Mr Scott's club was?
“Dad,” Rome said slowly, worry over Ly's current condition and the weight of this new discovery overriding the guilt she currently felt for not telling him about her fathers previous vocation. “Soon Ly might ask you if you can help him. He needs something that you might have, or at least, be able to get a hold of. I want you to promise me that you wont help him until he's recovered.”
Clayton frowned as he leaned back in his chair. “If he asks, I don't know if I'll be able to refuse,” he replied, eyeing his daughter seriously. “I was never able to repay Lycon, I owe his family a lot.”
“Please dad,” Rome begged. “Just don't tell him anything until he's recovered.”
“All right,” her father replied, fixing Rome with his emerald stare. “Only if you promise me something. That boy's after revenge, it's not hard to see, but whatever happens, wherever he's going, I don't want you to follow him. I want you to promise me you won't go with him. Is it a deal?”
Rome hesitated. She didn't want to abandon Ly, but as he was now, he probably wouldn't want her with him anyway, and she couldn't risk him going off to do whatever it was he was going to do before he was fully healed.
She nodded, wondering why she felt like she was betraying him.
* * *
Ly collapsed onto the bed, completely drained. He couldn't believe it. It had been years since he heard his fathers name from someone other than Tristan. Dante too, that scum of a hunter had mentioned his eldest brother as well. Obviously he didn't know when he should keep his mouth shut.
He couldn't stand to hear his fathers name, which was one of the reasons he disliked his own name so much. Hearing that man talk about his family, as if he knew them, made him so mad he could kill someone. Didn't he know they were the reason he was like this?
Ly sighed and covered his face with his hand. Of course he didn't know, no-one knew but Val and Damon. Tristan had known, but he was gone. Killed because he wouldn't fight back. There was no way one hunter could have killed the head of the Aleron family on his own, not if Tristan had been willing to put up a fight.
Rome's father was a hunter. It was hard to believe that timid, little Rome would have a father who's hands were stained with the blood of innocent vampires. It was harder to believe that Rome hadn't told him what her father had done.
Realisation hit Ly harder than it had Rome. Her father was a hunter. That could mean he had the information Ly needed to find out who ordered Scott's death. Would he hand it over if asked? Maybe he would, to the son of the vampire who had saved his family.
With a smirk, Ly rolled over and opened the small bar fridge next to the bed, where his blood supply was neatly stored. He poured some out and downed it like a shot. He hated hunters and he no longer thought he could trust Rome. Even though that hurt him deeply the only thing that really mattered was that he would be able to get his revenge.