Chapter 24
Sighting
I decide to go downstairs and talk with my family about the events of last night.
“Sophia, I am glad you came down. Are you doing alright? You were amazing last night,” Florence commends.
“I’m alright. It was very difficult though,” I admit.
“What you did, resisting your greatest temptation, proves how strong you are. There are not many who could do that, Sophia,” Elijah praises.
I know what they were trying to say. I was able to resist him when temptation was the greatest, and that was a major milestone for me. I will most likely be able to resist feeding from him in the future. This is good, very good. It does not mean he is any less tempting, but now I have the true scent of him implanted in me and will not long for it as much.
“Well, Sophia, while you were away last night, we came to some revelations. I guess we should inform you of what we discovered,” Florence says as she guides me to a chair.
“I hope everything is okay. What did you learn?” I ask nervously.
“Well, we believe the vampire that attacked Nate last night was a member of the Cerberus cult. We spent the night tracking disappearances and unsolved murders throughout the northeastern states,” Elijah informs.
“What did you find? Have there been many?” I ask with concern.
“More than we would like. It appears as though they have risen from the wastes and are trying to live in the shadows. The problem is that they are hungry, ravenous for fresh, untainted blood,” he continues.
Thinking of the bonds I have made here, I ask, “So what do we need to do now? If one has already made his way to Wenham, others may follow. I will not allow anything to attack this town.”
“We agree, Sophia, and will continue to work on it. For now, you worry about Nate,” Isaac adds.
“So Danika, I have to ask, where were you when all this was happening? I don’t remember seeing you,” I begin to question. I can’t stop wondering who that guy is that I saw her with.
“I was enjoying my first winter formal. I had no clue any of you had even left until all the commotion started. By the time I got outside, everything had cleared up. I looked for you and couldn’t find anyone. I overheard someone say you and Nate got attacked,” she defends.
“So that never clued in to you to check the hospital?” I become a little snarky.
“Seriously? Check the hospital for a vampire? Yeah, that was my first thought,” She says rolling her eyes before she continued. “I asked my date to bring me home. I figured you would all be here and that maybe Nate was embracing.”
“You thought I attacked Nate?” I scream as I jump up to get right in her face.
“No. I figured if he had been attacked, you would just embrace him. Try having a little more faith in me, Sophia–like I do in you.” Danika storms upstairs to her room and slams the door. I can’t tell if she is upset over my comment or the fact that I didn’t Embrace Nathanial.
Everyone just stands in the living room in total shock. Danika and I have never seen eye to eye, but we’ve never had it out like this in front of the entire family before. I sit back in my seat and try to calm down a little. I try to trust her, but my gut tells me different. Maybe now is as good a time as any to bring up Caspian.
“So, Constance and I were talking about Caspian while we were at the hospital, and we agreed that maybe we should contact him.” I slowly look around for my family’s reaction. I know this is a sore topic, but I have to express my feelings about the situation. I want my brother back, for he is the only one who can truly understand my current torment.
“We understand how you feel, Sophia. We want him to come home, too, but it is his choice,” Elijah insists.
“I mean no disrespect, but can’t we offer a homecoming to him? Maybe he’s afraid of what we think of him,” I argue.
“I will agree with you there, and I will do everything I can to reach him,” Elijah offers.
With that, I decide I’ll finish getting ready. Before heading back to my room, I pause and turn to my family. “Thank you for understanding. It means a lot to me.” I hug Elijah and Florence and leave the room.
S S S
When I walk through the door to my room, I fall on my bed and sob. Crying is not easy for a vampire to do, but the tears flow out of me so easily.
After a while, I collect myself, go to the washroom, and wash my face. I touch up my hair and makeup. I don’t want anyone to know what I’m really going through, so once I’m presentable again, I begin to collect things to take back to the hospital for Nathanial.
I start to download some music and movies to my laptop for him, and there comes a knock at my door. “Come in!”
“Hey, Sophia, how are you holding up? I know this has been harder for you than you are letting the others know.” Alexander closes the door behind him.
“I can’t hide anything from you, so there is no point in trying.” I wrap my arms around my twin.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about Caspian. I was surprised when you brought him up today.” He sits on the end of my bed.
I sit next to him and ask, “Okay. Why do you want to talk to me about him?”
“I was just wondering if you remember seeing anything else last night.” Alexander nervously twiddles his thumbs.
“No. Once Nate was stabbed and bitten, all my attention was on him. Why? Did you see something else?” I ask.
“Yeah I did. When I was fighting the rogue vampire in the woods, I think I saw...no, I’m positive I saw Caspian,” he divulges.
“You know, I swear I have seen him watching us.”
“Yeah, I know. That is why I wanted to talk to you. The problem is I couldn’t tell if he wanted to help me or the suspected Cerberus. I think we need to keep an eye out for him,” Alexander warns.
“Alexander, I was closest to Caspian, and I promise you he would never side with a vampire cult, though I do agree we should watch for him.”
“I don’t want to tell the others yet, not until we’re sure,” he responds.
“Agreed; let’s talk more later on. I need to get back to Nate.”
Immortal Embrace Page 24
