A Love Returned

Chapter 15

It would seem that the half fang had not told anyone about Vlad. But if he decided to, they wouldn't know until the evening, as the sun was now too bright for any vampire to survive.

Erin looked through the UV shielded window of the mansion, breathers were outside now. Mourning their family and friends, assessing the horrendous damage on their city.

A lot of half fangs casually strolled into the sunlight, unaware that they were walking to their undeath. They hit the light and fell to the ground, burning.

Some tried to help them, but the half fangs got their first scent of blood and the breathers didn't stand a chance.

As the half fangs' skin peeled, rashed and began turning to dust, they continued biting, the blood lust too much for them to control.

It was apocalyptic mayhem outside.

Erin shook her head and turned away from the window, not wanting to watch anymore.

She sat on a step with Ingrid.

"Are you okay?" Erin said.

Ingrid was silent for a moment, but she replied with a quiet, "Yeah."

Erin clapped her hands between her knees, "Anything up?"

"No," She changed the subject quickly, "What's happening outside?"

"Everything that shouldn't, basically."

"Wonderful," Ingrid said sarcastically.

"Want to have a proper conversation with me?" Erin turned her head and smiled for a second.

"Nope."

"What? Isn't it vampiric enough?"

"No."

Erin sighed, "You're not gonna talk, are you?"

"No," Ingrid stared at the ground.

"Alright then..." Erin got up and walked over to the window again. She drew the curtains shut quickly and walked along the red velvet carpet of the second floor to the library.

It was huge. It took up two thirds of the second floor and reached up into the attic.

She climbed up a wooden ladder breather style, passing rows and rows of books. The top of the ladder was positioned at the edge of a ledge, overlooking the whole library and leading into the attic.

Erin pushed through the cobwebs into the attic, no one had been here in a while. Although the deeper she got the less cobwebs there were.

In the centre of the attic was a huge pile of old, dusty books.

Vlad sat leaning against the pile, pouring over one of the books, when he saw Erin he motioned her to come sit with him.

"What you reading?" She asked, looking over at the page.

"It's a registry of London citizens from the nineteenth century," He replied with a know-it-all tone.

"Okay... anyone you know?"

"Yes, actually," He turned back a page, "Dad has been keeping some secrets from me. Big time."

Erin scanned the page quickly and she saw The Count's name on one of the lines. It was next to some other information that didn't make any sense to her.

"That's dad there," Vlad pointed to his father's name, "But that's not the interesting bit."

"You're going to explain so you may as well start."

He pointed to a name next to The Count, "According to this, he was married to a Katarina. They lived in a house called Bellmouth."

"Your dad has another wife?" Erin asked. How many was that, now? Three, four, five wives?

"Yes," Vlad sounded a bit annoyed, "But that's still not the interesting bit," He turned the page back a few times, "Look at this."

Erin looked for Count Dracula's name, she didn't find it, "What am I looking at?"

"Katarina's name is here. But she's married to Kala. They live in the same house."

Oh. It was the Kala who Vlad was raging a war with. Was this connected somehow?

"Him and your dad married the same woman?"

"Yes. Now look at this," Vlad used vampire speed and he put the original book back on the pile and grabbed another, "This is a death registry," He opened to a page, "Katarina dies one year after she marries dad."

"She was a vampire, maybe she faked it."

"Or... maybe Kala isn't just trying to wipe out breathers with my help. Maybe it's got something to do with Katarina's death."

"So he wanted revenge on The Count and it was just plain luck that Count Dracula's son is the chosen one?" Erin said plainly, "Bit far fetched, don't you think?"

"Nothing is too far fetched with vampires."

"Okay. So keep an eye on Kala. It's probably nothing."

Vlad closed the book, put it back and stood up, "I plan to. Now let's get out of here, it's so gloomy."

Erin and Vlad sped back downstairs.

"Ingrid!" He needed to warn his sister about Kala. Erin might not have thought anything about it but he was certainly worried.

She didn't reply.

"She was on these steps, she's gone somewhere," Erin said.

"Ingrid," He said telepathically to her.

Ingrid didn't reply. Kala did.

"I know everything, Chosen One," He said, "You obey me, alright? Or people will suffer."