The Vampire Slayer

Chapter 39

Iason stepped inside a square room with some old desks and chairs, the walls had vintage green wallpaper on, and the hardwood floors sounded squeaky with every step you took. He noticed that all had been set with the girls; they were clean and wearing new clothes. However, these girls weren't lively; he could witness every mark those filthy vampires left on them—young girls with no motivation or hope, broken with only awful memories. Cava and Kamama talked with them, comforting them by holding hands or caressing their hair. Iason's heart ached; he felt he didn't do enough; he was too late. The damage was already stamped and will never disappear. 
                "Hey, it's the devil guy!" A little girl shouted, her hair shining through the warm light. She was sitting beside Mev, which also reacted. Iason was stunned; he turned around to catch whom she referred when he realized it was him. He looked back, astounded at her. Yet, surprisingly unconventional, she was grinning from ear to ear as if it was a compliment or a good thing. All those heartbroken eyes stared blankly at him, which made him nervous. 
                "I'm the devil?" Iason asked, worried, and pointed to himself. The girl nodded and ran towards him. Iason froze; he didn't respond or react to her sudden actions. Nevertheless, she almost flew onto his body, wrapping him tightly, and embraced him. Instead, she leaned on his stomach, placing her head precisely under his chest. This tender and sweet gesture made Iason long to have kids one day, even if he knew it was unattainable. At first, he didn't embrace her, but after a few seconds, his heart mended, and he hugged her back. 
An odd sound came out of his mouth, which he hadn't heard for a long time: a genuine chuckle, a hearted laugh. 
                "You're a nice devil. You might look alarming, but you're witty. That's why I like you." She explained and looked straight up at his face, which was burning up. Blushing in front of these girls wasn't ideal, yet he couldn't control himself; he was taken by this little girl's actions and words. A wild thought of adopting a kid arose but was erased when Mev interrupted their cute moment. 
                 "Emily, he'd had a challenging combat tonight. Let him rest for a bit." Mev kidded, and Emily moved aside by waving him goodbye. Suddenly all the focus on him went to Emily; they all giggled and talked. Mev stood beside Iason, facing him like she was waiting for something. Finally, he turned his head to the side to meet her. The dark circles under her eyes demonstrated that she was tired. 
                  "I need to talk to you and give you something important." She said with a severe tone. However, Iason recalled holding a pen and paper in his hands. So he disregarded Mev's statement and peered through the girls before him. Finally, he spotted the girl he wished to speak with, Katerina, the greek girl. Iason walked past the girls gazing at him, and he sat on the opposite side of Katerina. She appeared surprised at first but somehow relaxed. Then Iason put the pen and the paper in front of her. 
                 "Yassou Katerina. Me léne Iasona." He greeted her in the modern greek language. He, therefore, explained in greek what he wanted from her. Firstly, Iason wished Katerina to write down every soul vampire that visited the club and probably other similar clubs which exist. Secondly, Iason begged her to remember every elite sponsoring these events. Lastly, he swore that Armeen would pay for everything he'd done to her and her friends. 
                Meanwhile, Mev was behind Iason and poking him on his shoulder nonstop. 
"Mev, this is important, please. But, unfortunately, I don't have much time. I have a flight to catch to Athens in a few hours." Iason nagged, and Katerina lidded up. 
              "I think we might be on the same flight," Katerina said happily.
"Great, then don't stress about writing everything down now," Iason stated, giving her a warming half-grin. Then, he got up, ready to leave the room; but he turned around when Mev grabbed his wrist. Iason was confused; facing all of them, he didn't comprehend why they all stood up abruptly. Finally, they started to clap, and Iason was dumbfounded. 
               "Thank you for what you've done for us. Thank you for spending this amount of money and resources and avenging us. We'll never forget you." Emily spoke, and tears were falling from some girls; others were cheering, and some were still clapping harder. 
               "I-I don't-" Iason stammered, taken aback by this special gratitude. He tried to hold his tears back, although Emily ran again into his embrace, crying, causing his tears to run uncontrollably. Finally, a flock of girls came near him, creating a big group hug. He was surrounded by girls who were stronger than him emotionally. Because at the end of the day, he knew that he would never live if he went through the hell they did. 
               After ten minutes of tears, hugs, and chitchatting, the girls prepared to leave; many had flights to return home to their families. Kamama and Cava prepared small suitcases with all necessities they would take with them. Many girls had a long flight ahead, yet the anticipation was immense; some hadn't seen or been in contact with their families in years. Finally, Iason wasn't nervous anymore, although scanning through the mass, he came upon Emily. She was delighted, smiling, and talking with Kamama.
                However, Iason felt heartbroken at the thought of Emily traveling alone. Mev was standing beside Iason, following his glance, and she cleared her throat to distract him, which worked positively. Finally, he faced Mev, and she was beaming, although that didn't clear his gloomy face. 
               "You need to stop worrying. Everything went smoothly. Everyone got help, thanks to your very generous assistance." Mev stated proudly and hit jokingly on his shoulder. Iason wanted to grin, although something kept him intact. 
              "Did I do enough?" He questioned himself, and Mev shook her head, annoyed. Then from her jean pocket, she fished up a golden ring. She held it with her thumb and index finger, revealing it. It was an Ancient greek singlet ring made of real gold with a greek key symbol around it. Looking closer into the singlet ring, he noticed that in the middle was the Greek letter Π.
             "This is your mother's ring. Every Oracle owned this and passed it to its next holder. I will certainly not have children to pass this over. So I'm giving it to its rightful owner. You." Mev explained and moved her hand closer to him, yet Iason backed off. He was shaken by the ring's discovery, making him feel nostalgic. 
            "I can't have children, Mev. I don't deserve it." Iason said with a sorrowful tone. Mev frowned and grimaced.
             "Yes, you deserve it. Can't you see the letter in the middle? You are, after all, the first male Oracle ever existed, and your mother was the very first Oracle—our mother. Take it, Pleistarchus." So Mev stated, and hearing his real name out loud changed something within him.
             Suddenly he could hear voices whispering, they weren't clear, but the more he glanced at the ring, the clearer they became. Pleistarchus, take it. A female voice was ringing inside his head, a familiar voice, his mother's voice.
             Mev grabbed his hand and pulled the ring on his left index finger. Iason tried to resist, though an unexplainable feeling emerged when the singlet ring was on his finger. A sense of inner power made him whole, like a puzzle piece.