by Serena Robar
“I’ll find out if this Barnaby entered the Protector or someone around her.” It was my idea of a peace offering.
“Or you could just tell me who the Protector is,” he countered sarcastically.
I gave him a look that said it all.
“Why won’t you trust me?” He was completely exasperated with me.
“Because if you knew for sure who the Protector was, you’d ride off into the sunset and kill her to stop the demon possession. I don’t agree with that tactic so I am wisely keeping this information to myself.”
“Don’t you understand the world is at stake?”
“Don’t you understand my best friend is at stake? Screw the Prophesy. I believe in her.” There. The lines had been drawn. I had Colby’s back, even if it meant losing Hunter.
We stared at each other in a showdown of sorts. He was the first to look away.
“You’re loyal, I’ll give you that.”
He was backing down. I was kind of shocked. “Uh, thank you.”
“Come on. I’ll take you back to Psi Phi House.”
Nine
COLBY
“Mr. Holloway said to give you anything you asked for.”
The librarian looked positively ill saying the words. Instead of being snide, I thanked her.
Surprised by my attitude, she escorted me to the back room. “The exhibit just arrived. No one else has been allowed to see it yet. Here is an original copy of the Prophesy and a symbol found in a Demon Slayer archive.”
“A what?” Surely I’d heard incorrectly.
“A Demon Slayer. Haven’t you ever heard of a Demon Slayer?” The librarian had adopted her superior air again.
“No, would you tell me what a Demon Slayer is, please?”
I thought she’d fall over from shock. I’d actually asked her for information with a “please.” I could almost see the wheels turning in her head: The Protector wasn’t being surly. It was one of the signs of the apocalypse, what with the Prophesy so close at hand. Or something along those lines.
The truth of the matter is I’m rarely surly. Only to rude vampires, which she totally was, normally. But Mr. Holloway told her explicitly to give me anything I wanted so she was trying hard to comply. Had to give her props for that.
“A Demon Slayer is a person who slays demons.”
I smiled tightly. Duh, I could have figured that out.
“Where do they live?”
“Unknown. Not a lot of them left anymore,” she replied.
I looked at the symbol on the wall again. “It’s sort of pretty, in a dark way.”
She grunted at me. “Good riddance I say.”
“Why?”
“Because Demon Slayers used to hunt vampires. That’s why.”
A good reason for a biased opinion, if I do say so myself.
“They used to? But they don’t anymore?”
“During the founding of the Tribunal, a proclamation was sent to the Demon Slayers that all vampire matters would be dealt with by the new Vampire Investigators. Possessions, rogue vampire activities, half-blood creation—all those issues were now officially vampire jurisdiction only.”
“You mean they weren’t always?” I was surprised.
“No, demon possessions were dealt with by the Demon Slayers but other items in vampire society were given to them as well. It seemed”—she seemed to struggle with the right wording—“easier that way.”
“Like, execution of half-blood vampires?” I tried to supply helpfully, with a minimum amount of sarcasm.
“Among other things. Look, Demon Slayers are no friends to full-blood vampires but I would think you, most of all, would have strong feelings about them.”
“Why, because they used to kill half-bloods centuries ago? Full-bloods have done the same thing.”
“What are they teaching you kids in college today? Don’t you even take Vampire History 101?”
“It’s on next semester’s course load.”
“Well, then you will discover that half-bloods found by a Demon Slayer were in for a fate worse than death.”
“Why? What would they do?”
“What wouldn’t they do? They used them as lab rats. Controlled experiments to record demon possession and test how long the process of full possession could take. They called it ‘valuable research.’” She snorted. “Was it coincidence that vampire blood fetched a very high price on the magick black market? I think not; and even mongrel blood was better than none. That’s how they funded their research.”
“Let me get this straight. These Demon Slayers would invite demons to possess vampires, record how long it took, then drain their blood for profit to learn more about their trade?”
“Think the symbol’s pretty now?” she questioned sharply.
I looked back at the artifact. “What does it mean?”
“It’s the symbol of a Demon Slayer.”
I stared at it long and hard. “Do you have texts or journals from the Demon Slayer’s archive?”
She nodded. “A small amount survived the fire. The originals are coming in a different shipment. Being catalogued online first. I can get you access to them, if you want.”
“I believe I would. Thanks for your help.”
She grunted at me again, but quickly gave me access. I guess the old adage was true. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Now if it would only work with demons.
I had mixed emotions about reviewing the information found at the Slayer archive. I read about several half-blood experiments. The consensus among Slayers was that demon possession took three times as long with half-bloods as with full-bloods and then only after the subject had been exposed to large amounts of stimuli, aka torture. It seemed the weaker the subject was, the easier it was to possess.
The stark contrast was that while full-bloods could be in the best of health, possession could happen quickly if the vampire was reclusive and older. I thought of Thomas. Barnaby was slowly possessing him. I was sure of it. How long would it take? Thomas would fight him, but I knew I had to find a way to stop Barnaby. And quickly.
It was at that moment that I skimmed a passage that at first didn’t seem relevant. But reading it planted a seed in my head. A tiny niggling idea that refused to quiet until I knew my brain was onto something big. I tried to put thoughts of Thomas out of my mind and focus on the task at hand.
I flagged down the librarian. “Where is the section on magick?”
As the daughter of a medical professional (and yes, orthodontists consider themselves part of the medical field) I was raised with a healthy respect for science. I always excelled in it at school and I loved the lab work. There was something about mixing chemicals together to get an entirely new compound that was pretty cool. I imagine it’s what attracts witches to the potion profession.
Oh, excuse me. They weren’t called witches anymore. They’re called “Magick Engineers.” They like being called witches about as much as flight attendants like being called stewardesses. Just an FYI.
I looked over several large volumes dealing with the history of magick in the vampire world but couldn’t find what I wanted. I needed a Magick for Dummies sort of book.
“Is there anything about potions here? I want to know what sort of stuff vampire blood was used in.”
The librarian gave me a startled look.
“No,” I assured her, “I’m not planning anything sinister. You just mentioned that the Slayers would sell Undead blood on the magick market and I was wondering what it was used for.”
She visibly relaxed when I explained myself. I wondered what sort of rumors my asking about the uses of vampire blood would spur but it couldn’t be helped. Maybe some full-bloods would think twice about attacking me if they thought I would do something freaky with their blood.
“We don’t have much here, unfortunately. We are, after all, first and foremost, a vampire library.” She thought a moment. “You could check the PSU specialty library. They’re online no
w. Mr. Holloway has given you full access so I can log you in.”
“Really?” I had no idea my college had a specialty library dealing with magick. How would I know? I was studying Undead Living, not Hocus-Pocus for goodness’s sake.
She moved to a different computer and signed me in. “Here you go. Just type in what you’re looking for and it should give you a list of hits. Just like Google.”
“Great.”
I waited for her to take the hint and move on. She pouted once she realized I wasn’t going to search in front of her but she did finally move away.
I entered “vampire blood” and had close to twelve hundred hits. Ugh. I certainly didn’t have that kind of time. I added “magick” to the search and saw the list drop dramatically.
It was fascinating stuff, really. I thought of magick as a kind of voodoo but it was really more medicinal in origin. Sure, I stumbled across the occasional “love spell” crap but the primary use of vampire blood now was in creating a potion that reduced blood cravings so vampires wouldn’t be overwhelmed with the need to hunt. Which can be especially tricky if you were trying to keep a low profile.
It was interesting, but not what I wanted. I doubted a Demon Slayer would use vampire blood for that purpose. I know the librarian thought they sold it to fund their research but I read some things that led me to believe they used the blood for their own purposes. Why use vampire blood? What benefits could it possible have to a Demon Slayer?
Several hours later I stumbled across the answer. Or at least, what I thought the answer might be. Vampire blood was used in potions to ward off other Undead, and could be used to protect a place or a person too. Demons fell under the Undead umbrella. Interesting.
I clicked a new link and gasped when the symbol from the back room in the library popped up. The one I thought was pretty. I read the description and was stunned. The symbol wasn’t a Demon Slayer ID badge. It was a protective spell. It kept the Slayer’s body from being possessed by a demon, even at the most vulnerable time. It required the use of vampire blood. I’d just found the solution to my problem.
Ten
PIPER
Hunter returned me to Psi Phi House. He wanted to come inside but I was having none of that. I promised I would call him as soon as I heard something and, reluctantly, he left. I needed to find Colby.
I entered the house to the usual chaos. Sage was pimping out her new elixir that very few people were willing to try. I think she added milk to the mix so I couldn’t blame the gals from steering clear of her.
Aunt Chloe was at the dining room table, making her charts for the week. I plopped down beside her.
“Hello, dear. In a better mood today?”
That was a loaded question.
“Sorry I was so short with you, Aunt Chloe. Vampire attacks make me cranky.” I took one of the charts from her pile and started to review it.
She chuckled. “They make me cranky too. Can’t blame you a bit. Were you just out with your new feller?”
I dropped the chart. How did she know about Hunter?
She laughed again. “Can’t keep secrets from me, Piper. I am the all-knowing housemother.” She winked. “Besides, since the cataract surgery, I can see pretty far now. Its not too much of a strain to look out the dining room window and see a very well-built young man on a motorcycle.”
Okay, so it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out Hunter dropped me off on the back of his motorbike. For a minute there, she had me freaked out.
“Where did you two lovebirds go?” she wanted to know.
“Graveyard,” I answered honestly.
She nodded in approval. “More original than catching a movie, and cheaper too.”
Nothing fazed Aunt Chloe.
“Is Colby here?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, dear. She left to go to the library but she might be back by now.”
I thanked Aunt Chloe and made my way upstairs to Colby’s room. I met Thomas on the stairs. He looked awful.
“Dude, you look terrible.” I was not known for my tact.
“Thanks, I feel terrible.”
“Are you coming down with something? Can vampires get sick?” I asked. Thomas did indeed look like death warmed over. And considering he was Undead, that was a really bad look for him. The dark circles under his eyes highlighted how bloodshot they were.
He shook his head. “Have you seen Colby?”
“I was looking for her myself.”
“I have to go to the office. If you see her, have her call me. Okay?”
“Sure,” I watched him go down the stairs and out of sight. I wasn’t sure what demon possession looked like but I had a sneaky suspicion Thomas could be the poster child. He had a hunted look that was uncharacteristic. I wondered if the guy had slept in the past week.
I needed to find Colby and tell her what I knew. But would I tell her everything? I wasn’t sure. She wouldn’t take it well that Hunter was not just some random guy but someone with an agenda. She was right about that, which made me inclined not to tell her about him. She would throw that back into my face every time I doubted her judgment again. I was so not willing to pay that price.
I went to Colby’s room to wait for her. I pulled out the Prophesy to see if I could make any sense out of it with my new information but it still seemed as random as it had before.
This time the mixed blood will rise,
The One who is Undead but Alive,
who is pure but not whole,
And they will bring forth the beginning of the end.
I was pretty sure I understood the first sentence. It referred to half-bloods earning rights and being allowed to live. They were considered mixed bloods or mongrels by full-bloods. They were too many generations removed from the original vampires and therefore too watered down to have all of the powers.
The second line could be interpreted as Colby. She was Undead but had many living characteristics because of her half-blood status. It was easy to see why full-bloods—and apparently Demon Slayers—thought she was the one in the Prophesy. She did emancipate the half-bloods, which could be seen as them “rising.”
It was the last two lines that didn’t make sense to me.
Who is pure but not whole,
And they will bring forth the beginning of the end.
Who was pure but not whole? Was that Colby or was it referring to someone else? Did “they” in the last line refer to Psi Phi House? Did it mean the half-bloods would bring the beginning of the end or was I missing something?
God, I hated this! I crumpled up the Prophesy and threw it in the garbage. I didn’t need it written down. I had the stupid thing memorized. No matter how many times I reviewed it, things looked bad for Colby.
At that moment, she peeked in. I watched her in surprise as she surveyed the room, noted me and let out a sigh of relief.
“Okay, that was weird,” I said to her.
“I was looking for Thomas,” she confessed, closing the door behind her and plopping down on the end of the bed.
“You just missed him. He wants you to call him when you get the chance.”
She made a face. “How did he look?”
“Awful. Is he sick or something?”
She fell back on the bed, feet dangling over the edge, and replied, “You have no idea.”
I debated how to start the conversation with her. She looked so young lying on her fluffy, pink bed. She’d been changed into a vampire when she was seventeen and she still looked that age. We were both eighteen now, almost nineteen, but she didn’t look as though she’d aged a day. I looked older but she would forever be seventeen. At least physically.
“I have some news,” I ventured slowly.
“Really? Me too.”
She didn’t ask to hear it so I waited a moment then said, “Do you want to go first?”
“Sure, why not? There is some super über demon named Barnaby that is planning on taking over the world.” She rolled over onto her stomach and
hugged a stuffed princess crown pillow to her chest. “Oh yeah, and I think he’s trying to possess Thomas to get to me to achieve his goals.”
So, she did know what was going on. That was sort of a relief.
“You’re taking it remarkably well,” I said slowly. I’d never seen Colby so detached before. She was usually all fired up and ready to tackle the world when injustice reared its ugly head.
“Am I?” She peered at me through lowered lashes. “So are you. I take it you have similar news to share?”
“I just knew about the demon part, not the trying to possess Thomas part.”
“How’d you find out?”
I wondered if I should lie. Instead I said, “Talking cat told me.”
She nodded like it was no big deal that a talking cat told me that a demon wanted to take over the world and pin it on her.
I stood up and moved toward her on the bed. “Colby?” I tentatively put my hand on her back since she’d buried her face in the crown pillow. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
Colby was crying. I started to freak out. Colby was the planner. The one who looked at all the facts and formulated an attack. She didn’t break down and cry into a pillow.
I stroked her hair and let her sob a few more times. I reached toward the desk and grabbed a box of tissue. “You done now?” She took a moment but nodded.
“Good, because your eyes get all puffy and red when you cry and I know how you hate that.”
She slowly pulled herself up into the seated position and reached for the tissue. She had no tears and her eyes weren’t red. In fact, since she became a vampire, she always looked beautiful, morning or night. It was one of those things I guess. But it seemed to make things more normal if I talked to her like things were the same as they’d always been.
“What are you going to do?” I asked her.
She wiped her dry eyes. “I have no idea.”
I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“The day you don’t have a plan is the day the Prophesy actually comes true.”
“Yeah, that did sound like quitter talk, didn’t it?”
