Bloodlines: Severed Ties

Chapter 25: Farewell for Now

Sylvia walked slowly along the lines upon lines of bookshelves in front of her. She marvelled at how many could fit in the small space of the basement of the Jenkins house.

Each row had it's own topic, be it werewolves, vampires, nekkers, one row was even simply titled "diplomacy over war". Admittedly, that row didn't have as many books as the others.

"This is simply amazing!" Sylvia whispered in awe as she gazed up at the floor to ceiling packed with information galore. There were so many books she wanted to read, but she was only here for one thing.

"It is the entire Jenkins' history of monsters, crammed under my kitchen!" Mrs. Jenkins chuckled, while she herself rifled through a couple of books here and there. Sylvia thought back to her own Family Archives.

It was much grander, having multiple stories as well as much more weaponry her family had collected over the generations. However, city living came with restrictions and the Jenkins couldn't exactly burrow under their neighbours house.

Could they?

Sylvia made her way to the row titled "vampires". A lot of the books had the Hunter Sigil logo on it, the seal of approval so to speak. Sylvia avoided those. After finding out about a secret peace treaty they had struck with the higher vampires, she didn't trust them as far she as could throw them.

No she avoided those books, instead looking for the oldest, dustiest book she could find. She painstakingly read each individual title on the tall bookshelf, even having to borrow a step ladder to get to the higher shelves. Alas, she couldn't find what she was looking for.

"There's got to be a way to turn a vampire," she sighed loudly, stepping down and folding up the stepladder to tuck away in its little corner. Mrs Jenkins offered a weak smile.

"If there is, it isn't in my archives I'm afraid. Nor my parents either," Mrs. Jenkins of course wasn't always Mrs. Jenkins. She used to belong to the family Novacsek, masters of throwing weapons and archery. Mrs. Jenkins herself was an adept axe thrower, however transitioned into more of a single handed axe combat style when she married.

Sylvia wanted to kick something. Hard. Ever since she found out her brother was a vampire, she had been searching as hard as she could to find a cure. There had been nothing in her own archives, nor the Jenkins' and apparently the Novacsek's. Even Dirella's house, despite being filled with wonderous knowledge of otherworldly creatures and concepts, had nothing. But, there had to be a cure. Sylvia couldn't bring herself to think otherwise.

"Maybe the Sigil would know something," Mrs. Jenkins offered hesitantly. Sylvia almost laughed, before seeing the sincere expression on her face.

"Mrs. Jenkins.... We violated their treaty. We attacked the royal vampires. I doubt they'll want to speak with us," Sylvia said, choosing her words carefully. Not many knew her brother was a vampire, in fact she had said she wanted to try cure all vampires, not just a specific one. Mrs. Jenkins obviously found this noble enough to grant Sylvia access.

Hence why they were down here.

"You'd be surprised. Your family used to hold a lot of sway in the court back in the day," Mrs Jenkins grinned. She then beckoned Sylvia to follow her, as she made her way over to a bookshelf tucked away towards the back of the room.

On the bookshelf were hundreds of photos, all framed and displayed on the shelves. Sylvia recognised a few people here and there. She saw a photo of a very young Darian, still in diapers. He was sat on the grass, a small battleaxe in hand as he sucked on his pacifier.

Sylvia couldn't wait to tease him about that later.

She also saw a young Mr. And Mrs Jenkins. It looked like their wedding. Mr. Jenkins was a lot thinner then, and resembled Darian's thin legs with broad shoulders physique. And Mrs. Jenkins looked like a dream. Her tanned skin glowed with radiance as she smiled at the camera, her white dress trimmed with lace as it hung off her shoulders. Sylvia could tell it was an expensive dress, not normal for a hunter wedding that was usually more drab.

But Mrs. Jenkins had splurged because she wanted to. It was, after all, her special day.

"Here," Mrs. Jenkins gently grabbed a dusty frame. She gave it a quick wipe down with the hem of her shirt, before handing it to Sylvia.

Sylvia saw Mrs. Jenkins, a bit older than in her wedding photo, leaning over a table. There were dozens of paint brushes and colours sprawled across the table, as Mrs. Jenkins was painting on a large white card.

But Sylvia saw a woman next to her. The woman too was bending forward, but had looked up to the camera and was beaming brightly.

It was her mother.

"Your mother was an amazing woman," Mrs. Jenkins said softly, placing a hand on Sylvia's shoulder. Sylvia looked up at her, before returning her gaze to the photo. She was just as she remembered, with her shoulder length hair, frazzled as always. Her brown doe like eyes, gazing lovingly at the camera. Sylvia had to fight back the tears. She missed her so much.

"This photo was taken when your mother ran for head of the council," Mrs. Jenkins continued. Sylvia placed the photo down gently, a confused look on her face.

"But... The Sigil has been run by the same family for years, how could mum run for head councillor?" Sylvia asked. Mrs. Jenkins seemed sad now, her brow furrowed and lips drawn into a thin line.

"Well, your mother wanted to change that. Establish a democracy of sorts. And she almost did it too! Until..." Mrs. Jenkins trailed off, her facial expression the mixture of discomfort and sorrow.

She didn't need to say more. Sylvia knew what she was referring to. Her mother had almost won the election, except she died. She was killed by vampires in their own home. Her husband too had been killed. Her son turned into the very thing they had sworn to kill.

And Sylvia had been left alone on this earth.

"You remind me so much of her sometimes," Mrs. Jenkins said sweetly, using her thumb to delicately brush away a stray tear that had escaped from Sylvia's eye. She hadn't even realised she was crying until that point.

She swiped at some more stray tears, before smiling up at Mrs. Jenkins.

"Thank you. For showing me this."