I took another shower once I got to the hotel, while I waited for Dennis to wake up. The water that ran down my body turned red as it fell to my feet. I was just then coming down from the high of my life, as I stood under the hot water for the second time in the same night and I tried to understand what had happened. I didn't know what the future held for me, or for the people I loved. I didn't even know if I could return to Santa Mon without putting everyone I loved in danger. I had a target on my back if anyone found out about who I was, and if that wasn't scary enough, there was still a god-knows-how-old vampire that wanted to unleash a war between species. I had tried not to think about it for long enough, I couldn't do it anymore. I had to talk to Dennis, he would know what to do.
I put on a rope as soon as I finished the shower and I walked outside without even looking at myself in the mirror. I didn't feel like it.
Outside of the bathroom I saw Dennis still unconscious, but not on the floor anymore. He was lying in one of the beds, and Jacqueline was sitting next to him. I didn't think there was a point in playing the role of the jealous girlfriend with everything that was happening, specially not if my opponent was a five-hundred-year-old gorgeous vampire. She looked confused and dizzy, which was unusual, but it probably had something to do with what the witches had done to her.
Alexander was nowhere to be found, and that scared me a little. I was still unsure of Alexander's intentions, mainly because killing me would end a lot of his problems, and I didn't know how long he'd wait until he resorted to that. It was like from now on, I'd always be living on borrowed time. Until Alexander decided I wasn't worth saving anymore.
I walked towards Dennis and I sat on the bed. I reached out to touch his face, his now paler and colder face. Vampires in real life didn't look pale and dead like they did in a lot of movies, they actually looked more alive and vibrant to me, but that wasn't the case for Dennis anymore. Jacqueline also looked pale and lacking energy, but I wasn't worried about her. I wondered how long they'd be in that state, but I didn't think asking her would do any good. A rush of air suddenly revealed Alexander had just walked in the room.
"Good to see you're awake, Jacqueline." he greeted Jacqueline, who responded with a smile. "Nice outfit." he greeted me. I closed my rope tighter to make sure I wasn't unwillingly showing my underwear to Alexander again. "I got it." Alexander said. I saw he was holding a big book, the Imperium book.
I wanted to read it and see if it said anything about the abilities I had recently discovered I had. I always knew I was different, and I've said that before, but I never knew why, or how different I was, and I thought that book could help me understand. It could answer some of the questions I'd always had.
"Can I read it?" I asked Alexander, he gave me a I'm not so sure look. "C'mon, don't you think I deserve to know what the fuck is going on with me?" I asked. Alexander thought about it for a second and then he handed the book to me.
I opened it and became disappointed when I saw it was in Latin. I had forgotten about that little tiny detail. I sighed and closed it again.
"It's in Latin." I whispered. Jacqueline rolled her eyes.
"No shit." Jacqueline said, a bit more lucid than before. I gave the book back to Alexander, who left it on the nightstand.
"I'll have someone translate it and I'll let you know." he said, I nodded.
"Enough about her, how did you manage to avoid the apocalypse?" she asked in a half-joking tone. Alexander looked at me for a second and then he looked at her again.
"This 5'5, hundred-and-forty-pound human knocked Ophelia and her coven out before they could finish the spell." he said. Jacqueline gave him a surprised look and then she turned to me. I shrugged.
"Impressive." she said, and then she looked back at him. It was like she showed respect for me for the first time since I'd met her. "But how is it possible?" she asked. Alexander walked to the mini fridge that was close to the hot tub and he opened it.
"That's what I hope that damn book will tell me." he said.
Once he opened the door of the little fridge I noticed a lot of empty bottles. They used to have blood in them, but now they were empty. I wondered who had drunk them. Alexander took one bottle full of blood, and he threw it to Jacqueline, who gladly accepted it. Her fangs shined bright and long once she opened the bottle and she started drinking. I looked away.
"All I know for now is that she can channel magic and tell if something bad is going to happen." Alexander said. Jacqueline finished up her bottle of blood in a heartbeat and threw the empty plastic on the floor. Alexander threw her another bottle. Jacqueline gladly received it and drank more blood. God, how much did she need?
"I can also feel human's emotions when I touch them. Sometimes they're so intense I don't even have to touch them to feel them." I admitted. I thought given the fact that I was now on constant danger it would be a good time to put all the cards on the table and see if they could do anything with that information. Alexander looked at me with curiosity, then he pulled another bottle full of blood from the fridge.
"Interesting." he said, like he was thinking out loud. Jacqueline finished her second bottle of blood and I noticed her skin started to look alive and flawless again. She threw the empty bottle on the floor and Alexander threw her another one.
A ring filled up the silence in the room; Alexander's phone. He looked at it for a second and his face completely shifted.
"Shit." he exclaimed. Jacqueline finished her third bottle and tossed it to the floor once again.
"What?" she asked him, after cleaning up her mouth with the sheets and retracting her fangs.
Alexander didn't answer, he just walked to the little living area of the room and turned the TV on. The chatter filled my ears and it made me stand up and walk towards the TV. Jacqueline did the same.
"... we have reports of at least three hundred deaths all over the country in the hands of vampires. They're all found the same way; with their heads ripped from their bodies in a violent manner. The Academy has already come out to defend vampires and assure us that these are isolated accidents and that they are internally dealing with it, but the UN and most of us are not convinced." the anchor-man at the newscast said in disbelief.
"We recommend people to stay home and lock your doors. Remember they can't get inside your house unless you ask them to." the blonde woman sitting next to him spoke.
"What...?" I was shocked at what I was seeing. Alexander sat on the couch and put his head between his hands. Jacqueline sat next to him and put her hand on his knee.
"We have Rio Eaton, public representative of The Academy here with us." the woman said.
The screen split in two. In the one on the left was the news studio, and in the right there was Rio Eaton. I had seen him before a bunch of times in the news. Him and Antonella Kent were the vampires from The Academy in charge of public image. They always said that vampires were harmless with their big smiles and blonde hairs. They looked like twins, because they were both tall, blonde and beautiful. This time it was only Rio taking care of the problem, apparently.
"Rio thank you so much for joining us, would you mind telling us your stand on the situation?" the man asked him. Río smiled.
"Of course, Ronnie." he said, and then he took a deep breath, like he was contemplating what to say. "We are deeply sorry for the inconveniences we've caused and we're doing everything we can to control the vampire that's causing this much pain and sadness." Ronnie -the male news presenter- looked at the woman next to him and then he looked back at the camera.
"Inconveniences?" Ronnie asked in an angry tone. "Over three hundred deaths seem like an inconvenience to you?" he asked again. Rio shook his head.
"I'm being told there's close to four hundred now, Ronnie." the woman said.
"Of course, it's not just an inconvenience. We value human lives as much as any lives." Rio responded, but the presenters didn't look convinced.
"Do you have an idea who are responsible for these attacks?" the woman asked.
"We're afraid we can't say for sure, just know we're taking care of it." Rio said, and then he half smiled. It was like he didn't even know how to look like he cared.
"But that's not good enough, people are being killed by vampires as we speak. Even if you find the responsible vampires, how could we possible trust this won't happen again?" the woman asked.
"You can't assume we're all killers just from the actions of this one vampire. If that were the case, how could we trust humans after all the massacres you've provoked." he had a point. Ronnie and the woman -I think her name was Lilian- looked at each other for a second and then back to the camera.
"The point in question is whether The Academy is qualified to control their vampires and protect us from a possible war between species." Ronnie said. Rio frowned when he said the word 'war'.
"I wouldn't toss around the word 'war', Ronnie." Rio said, and then he took a pause. "The bottom line is that The Academy is the only organization that can control vampires that don't' agree with our peace arrangement. It has existed from before neither of you were born, and it's integrated by the earth's oldest and strongest vampires, and we're the only ones that can control these kinds of crises." he had another good point. Ronnie and Lilian couldn't possibly expect humans to take on the job of controlling vampires, it would be a blood bath. "You have my word that we're doing everything in our power to stop more blood from spilling..."
"Oh my god." I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my hands.
It was happening. Everything Darko wanted was coming true. He wanted war, and he was about to get it. Four hundred deaths so far, and something inside me told me there were many more coming. I wasn't sure who would win. First you have vampires, that are stronger and faster that humans, they could probably dodge bullets and kill ten humans before you could even reload your weapon. And then you had humans and the fact they have access to literal nuclear weapons and armies of people. Vampires were more powerful, but they were also outnumbered. And which side would the witches be on? Which side would I be on? I sighed and tried to think of something.
"Fuck!" Jacqueline screamed and she threw the coffee table across the room without much effort. I gasped and stood up. Alexander took his phone and he dialled a few numbers on it. "Who are you calling?" she asked. Alexander looked at him as he put his phone to his ear.
"Roxanne. Maybe she can explain to us what the fuck is going on." he said. Jacqueline nodded.
It seemed pretty clear to me; Darko had infected enough vampires to go around killing so many people it was no longer some isolated accident, and it was noticeable and traceable to vampires. He wanted vampires to be blamed, which scared me, because that meant he was sure of going to war and something told me he wouldn't go to war unless he knew he'd win. I looked at the TV again.
"... we are getting constant updates from our anchors, and so far we can say there are at least five hundred victims. Most attacks happen at crowded bars and squares. The most affected state is Virginia with close to sixty deaths..." I stopped paying attention.
Virginia was the most affected state. Santa Mon was in Virginia. My family, my mother, my sister, Carl, Merissa. Fuck.
"Fuck!" I screamed and ran to the phone on the wall close to the door.
I held the phone with my sweaty and shaky hands, and I marked the number to my house. Someone immediately picked it up.
"Stella." my mother's voice filled up my ears and a sense of relief went through me. I took a deep breath. At least my mother wasn't dead.
"Yes mom, it's me." I said. She cried as soon as she heard my voice.
"I was so worried." she said in the middle of crying. I was feeling a lot of things in that moment, and guilt for worrying my mother was definitely one of them.
"I'm so sorry mom, I hadn't had a chance to call you." I explained myself, and then I remembered all the important things I needed to ask her. "Is everybody alright?" I asked, afraid of the answer. My mother took a deep breath.
"Not everybody." she said in a sad tone. Fuck.
"Mom?" I held the tears inside my eyes. So many things were going through my mind.
"It's Carl, honey." she said and then she burst into tears once again. "He's dead." Tears stated falling down my face before I could stop them any longer.
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