by Robin Todd
“Vampire speed is awesome!” I said, when she finally came to a stop.
“You bet.” She replied, and placed three books on one of the tables. “These look like they’re related to what we need.”
I knew it was going to be useless trying to read them myself, judging from the number of pages each book had. As a result, I let Trina do the honors and waited patiently as she leafed through the pages. They turned out to contain spells that were just like Trina said... ‘related to what we needed’. There was nothing that matched our exact requirements.
“I think these are for regular witches or something.” Trina sighed. “So what do we do now?”
I honestly had no idea what to do but I knew I had to try. Every extra second spent on that alternate city was a second that could be spent saving Ryan.
“You know what I think?”
“What do you think?” Trina asked.
“Maybe we should go back to the exact street where we appeared the first time we got here. If I can recreate the same emotion I felt before the blast, maybe I can take us back there.” I replied.
“That sounds like it could work. Just make sure you don’t hit me with your fiery force field.” Trina smiled. “I’ll race us there.”
I laughed, knowing the clear winner of that race. Trina picked me up and dashed off at top speed.
“Let’s just say I had compassion on you.” She yelled against the fast blowing wind. “But I’m still going to win this race.”
I was going to ask how she would do that when we were running together but I felt her drop me and dash off to the exact spot we were headed.
“You’re unbelievable.” I laughed. “If you keep making me laugh, I’m not going to be able to reproduce the feeling I had on the day of the blast.”
“I’m sorry.” Trina pursed her lips.
“It’s okay.” I replied. “Time to focus.”
I closed my eyes and pictured myself in Trina’s arms as she raced with all her might that day. I imagined her tripping against the sidewalk, and just how scared I felt when we were falling. I pictured the speed and anger in the vampires as they pounced on us... and I waited. Nothing happened.
“You know what? I’m done with these powers. I don’t need anything from this stupid sorceress lineage. I just want to get back!” I snapped.
I thought Trina was going to say something encouraging like she normally did, but realized she was too stunned to speak. It didn’t take long for me to figure out what had her so stunned. A person! There was someone else walking on the street. I was too excited to care about the actual details of our return. I just wanted to jump and hug Trina in celebration of our successful transit back to our normal city but stopped dead in my tracks. The person on the street was clearly a vampire because they moved with enhanced speed and appeared right behind me faster than any human.
“Look what the cat dragged in.” I could hear the smirk in his voice.
I turned around and found myself standing face to face with none other than Ros Soille!
Chapter Eighteen
Ros’s POV
I walked out of Viktor’s house and gazed into the distance. I knew I had to occupy my mind with something while the witches ran the bloodline trace for Nikolas Bordain. Every passing minute was nerve wracking and my mind kept flooding itself with frightful pictures of what could be happening to my brother.
“Be positive. Think happy thoughts.”
I tried to console myself but it didn’t work. Truth be told, I had never been so scared in my entire existence. It had always been me and Ry. We went through our challenges and triumphs together. I knew we had our arguments and fights but that was normal. It didn’t mean we cared any less about each other. I didn’t want to be left all by myself. If it had been any other Council member being held hostage, I would have torn the town apart until I found the parties responsible and their justice would have come immediately. I would have put the rest of the clan first and done what was best to avoid the wrath of the first generation which was sure to descend upon us all. However, this case was different. Ryan was not just any Council member. He was my blood, my bond, my companion through it all. The fact that it was him changed everything. I was willing to tread the path of caution, especially since I knew his captors could actually kill him. I just wished this path found him sooner. I wanted him back and I wanted him back safe.
It was already late at night, and the last trace of daylight had since retreated behind the veil of dark clouds, making it the perfect time for a walk. I would have enjoyed the beauty of the night on any other day but today my mind was working overtime. I remembered Ryan’s desperate scream in my head. He sounded weak, like I was his only option... his last hope. The fact that I couldn’t act immediately was killing me. As I walked, I went over the list of prime suspects in my head. I had a feeling the culprits would be overambitious, power hungry vampires who would do anything to get their cold hands on the seat of power. Unfortunately, that position was mine. The only person I would give it up for without a fight was the one person they kidnapped.
I knew most Council vampires were ambitious but some were clearly more ambitious than others - like Viktor, Vladek and Valentine. However, I knew how loyal Viktor’s was to me. I couldn’t say the same for Vladek and Valentine. I pondered over my next course of action after the bloodline trace.
“If Viktor comes up with a list of vampires who didn’t come forward when I asked about their blood link to Nikolas Bordain, am I going to go after every one of them at the same time?”
That was the last thought in my head when an unusual occurrence caught my eye. Two girls appeared out of nowhere, right in the middle of the street I was on. The last time I saw a real life disappearance act was when Selena Ryder and her blonde vampire friend faded into thin air. The two girls that just faded into visibility looked an awful lot like them.
“What are the odds?”
I was within reach before they had the chance to disappear again. I wasn’t just pleased to see that I was right, the little witchy immortal was just who I needed on my team to get my brother back.
“Look what the cat dragged in.” I smirked.
Selena turned around to face me and I instantly looked deep into her eyes. I had her within my grasp now and I couldn’t take the chance of having her disappear again.
Her blonde friend ran towards me, perhaps to ‘save’ Selena again but I was already too close for her heroic moves to count.
“Don’t run away.” I compelled Selena.
“Why not? So you can try and kill me again?” She asked defiantly, completely shocking me.
Was I too distraught with Ryan’s kidnapping to lose something as basic as compulsion? No. That was simply impossible. I had compelled her more times in the past than I could count. Heck, I compelled her all through the time I was pretending to be her history teacher. The only thing that was different now was the fact that her powers had manifested.
“Can she no longer be compelled?”
I refused to believe it. Something must have happened at the time I tried to compel her. That had to be it.
“I said do not run away.” I repeated the compulsion.
This time, I focused my energy on making her do my bidding... and all that energy went to waste.
“Why the hell should I listen to you?” She asked.
At this point, I confirmed that she could no longer be compelled. It had nothing to do with my emotional state. Her powers must have manifested beyond my capabilities as a vampire... and that sucked. I had to find another way to get her to help me, for my brother’s sake.
“Because I need all the help I can get. Ryan’s life depends on it.” I replied.
It was as hopeless as replies came but it was the best I had at the time. I knew she cared about Ryan enough to put our differences aside for his sake.
“I’m not doing this for you.” She stated firmly.
I understood her position. Anyone would feel that way
about me after what I did to her. But why did her words still cut like a knife?
“That’s completely fine.” I replied, acting like I was unaffected by her words. “Ryan’s running out of time and we need to find him quickly.”
“Let’s go, Trina.” She said to her friend who had been stunned from surprise the entire time.
“This way.” I gestured, and we all made our way back to Viktor’s house.
Chapter Nineteen
Selena’s POV
I was completely stunned when Ros picked me off the ground and lifted me into his arms. What had happened to him in the time I was away? Was this the same jerk who dedicated his life to breaking my mind and killing my body?
“We’re going to get there faster if I use my enhanced speed.” He explained.
The wind slammed against my face and I could barely keep my eyes open. Ros was running a lot faster than Trina – and I could barely keep up with her. Running with him felt like jumping off a plane and free falling back to earth.
“Try and keep up. We don’t have much time.” He yelled back to Trina.
She followed closely behind and though she looked fine, I knew she was struggling to maintain her speed. Ros was freaking fast and as much as I hated to admit it, moving at that speed was pretty cool. Numerous questions filled my head as we sped through the streets. Why didn’t Ros compel me to stay? Why did he choose to ask for my help instead? Was he getting softer? Was he even capable of getting softer? My thoughts shifted from Ros to Ryan and I sincerely hoped he was still safe. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to him, and too many questions to ask him. I didn’t even want to consider the possibility of his death. It would break me in more ways than one. I knew I couldn’t deal with it right now, especially with everything that was going on around me... heck, I couldn’t deal with it at any point in time.
“We’re here.” Ros said, placing me back on the ground.
It took me a few seconds to regain my balance from the dizzying effects of his speed. Even Trina was panting behind us. Ros held me in an upright position until I could stand on my own again. While it was supposed to be a nice gesture, I found it troubling. It reminded me of the last time he pretended to be Ryan. He was all nice and sweet and for the first time since I had the dream about Ryan, I questioned what I saw.
“What if it was Ros in my dream pretending to be Ryan?”
Ryan’s face was drenched in blood in my dream and judging from how identical the brothers were, it could easily have been Ros.
“But what about the connection I felt with him? It couldn’t have been Ros in my dream. Besides, if he pretended to be Ryan to lure me back, he would have at least attempted to kill me the moment he set his eyes on me.”
I knew what I felt that night in my dream. If Ryan hadn’t been the one in there, I would have known. My mind was probably just being defensive right now because Ros was acting all nice again.
We followed Ros into a mansion and he led us into a room that looked like the study. There was another vampire in there and the moment I saw him, I froze. I recognized him from Ryan’s house the last time I was there and clearly remembered his intentions towards me. There was a certain coldness about him that got me uneasy and I didn’t want to be anywhere around him.
“Look who I found, Viktor.” Ros smiled at the other vampire in the room.
“How in the world did you find them?” Viktor asked.
“Well, they pretty much came to me.” Ros replied. “Is the trace complete? I want this to be over as quickly as possible.”
“Yes. It seems you were right after all. Turns out Valentine Davidson and Roberta Reed were sired by Bordain.” He replied. “They clearly have something to hide because they chose to keep their blood ties away from you even when you asked.
“Those bastards!” Ros slammed his fist into his palm.
The sound of the punch caused Trina and I to jump in surprise.
“Hey, calm down, Tiger.” Viktor cautioned. “This isn’t the time to get furious. We need to stay as calm as possible, in order to come up with a fail proof strategy. Like you said, we don’t have much time and it is way too risky to launch a futile attack on anyone right now. Don’t forget that whoever has Ryan also has the Archibald stake.”
“So what do you advise?” Ros asked.
“I say we figure out not only who is holding Ryan, but also where they’re holding him. Now that we have something more concrete to go on, let’s look into Davidson and Reed. I can have my witches cast a locator spell on them right now, or since the sorceress is here, she can do it.” He replied.
“Huh?” I asked.
“You’re here to help, aren’t you?” Viktor asked coldly.
I felt like punching him in the face. There was no reason to be so insensitive towards me. I didn’t even know how to cast a locator spell!
“Selena, I don’t know how much time Ryan has left so if you can trace him in any way, please do so now.” Ros pleaded.
I couldn’t believe it. Ros Soille used the word ‘please’ when he wasn’t pretending to be Ryan.
“I’m still a little behind on what you guys are talking about here.” I replied.
“Whoever has Ryan has the Archibald stake. It’s the only weapon that can truly kill a vampire. I need to find him before they complete their planned mission. I can’t risk them killing him.” Ros replied.
His tone was pleading and in that moment, my perception of him changed. He was still all the horrible things I knew he was but it was clear that he loved his brother.
“What is this mission?” Trina asked.
It was the first time she spoke since we got into the mansion and everyone turned to look at her. I was a bit relieved she was asking questions now because I knew she would come up with something smart for us to at least try.
“We suspect they’re planning a hostile takeover of our first generation.” Ros replied. “In the vampire world, the ultimate seat of power is with the first generation. Those are the vampires that are the first creators of every other existing vampire. They either don’t have makers or their makers are deceased. Right after that cadre of authority, we have the clans among which the highest seat of power rests with the biggest clan - like my clan, for example. Now, if a vampire or a group of vampires can wipe out their first generation, they automatically become that first generation and as a result, they’ll hold the ultimate power. Of course, every first generation does everything in their power to prevent a situation like that and that’s why we have the sacred code that binds us. The sacred code prevents lower generation vampires from attempting attacks on their first generation superiors - if they could ever manage to do so.”
“If these first generation guys are the most powerful vampires out there, how can weaker vampires kill them?” I asked.
“As you know, vampires have weaknesses - regardless of the generation they belong to. However, these weaknesses don’t necessarily kill them. The only thing that can do so is an ancient relic known as the Archibald stake. So if five strong second generation vampires manage to ambush a first generation vampire with something that can weaken him, silver for example, all it takes to kill him is a stab through the heart with the Archibald stake.” Ros replied. “We know that the vampires behind this takeover have the Archibald stake. They already killed one first generation vampire.”
“Wait. What does this stake look like?” I asked.
“Pretty much like a short knife. It’s a little thicker than a regular knife...” Ros started.
“...and has the hilt of a sword. There are several strange patterns all around it.” I completed the sentence.
Both Ros’s and Viktor’s eyes widened.
“Have you seen the stake?” Viktor asked.
This time, he sounded a lot more surprised than cold.
“Yes, and no. I saw it in my dream of Ryan. A vampire was stabbing him in the stomach with it.” I replied.
I could instantly see the worry in Ros’s eye
s.
“When did you see this?” He asked.
I could sense the uneasiness in his voice and I completely understood. After learning what the stake was capable of, I was apprehensive myself.
“Right before we came back. It’s why we came back actually. To get him away from whoever has him. He looked really weak and bloodied up.” I replied.
Ros rubbed his palms over his face.
“Did you by any chance see the vampires holding him captive?” He asked.
“Yes.” I replied. “I saw two of them but I believe there were more outside the room.”
“What did they look like?” He asked.
“One was really cold and domineering. He had long black hair that fell past his shoulders and really pale skin. Paler than Viktor. He was almost as tall as Ryan and had the most piercing and mysterious looking blue eyes I have ever seen.” I replied.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Ros?” Viktor asked with raised eyebrows.
“That bastard, Vladek!” Ros snapped.
“The other vampire in the room looked a lot younger than the first.” I continued. “Almost like a teenager. He had curly brown hair, a freckled face and light brown eyes.”
“That’s impossible.” Ros threw his hands into the air. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen those vampires before. I only saw them in my dream.” I replied.
“I can’t believe this.” Ros was clearly enraged.
“Who is the second vampire?” I asked.
“Your description matches perfectly with my personal help, Oliver!” Ros replied, with an angry frown.
I could hear the disbelief in his voice and knew exactly how it felt to be betrayed by someone he trusted.
“Wait a minute, Ros. How did you say you got the report that informed you of this plan?” Viktor asked.
“Oliver brought it to me!”
“...and Ryan was taken right from your house. Sure someone from inside helped with that operation and if Oliver is involved with this, it all makes sense.” Viktor added.
Ros’s eyes turned blood shot red and he clenched his fingers into tight fists. It was obvious he was trying really hard to control himself in that moment and I had to admit to myself that this was the scariest I had ever seen him.
