Blood Circus

Chapter 12- Vow

" Ow!"

Sylvia could hear cries behind her as Liam tried to examine his bruised cheek. He had tried to touch it, but it was still fresh and painful. She was getting annoyed now.

" Ow!"

" Knock it off, or I'll make your other cheek match!" It was an empty threat, she would never hurt a person just for annoying her, but the frustration of being stuck on a treasure hunt for numbers had her temper on a string. She spun around to face him, but stopped. In his hands was a neatly folded paper plane. He hadn't yelled because of his stupidity. He had yelled because the plane had hit him.

Liam unfolded the plane and read something on it. Sylvia tried to see it too, but he was holding it up to straight for her to see. She waited for him while he was reading, and when he seemed to be finished, asked what it was. He held the paper out to her, his face void of any clear emotion, so she had no idea if it was good or bad.

" See for yourself."

She took the crumpled piece of paper from him and looked at it. A note was written in pencil. The handwriting was small and scribbled, but not illegible. In fact, she could read it surprisingly clearly despite its rushed nature.

Sylvia, Liam.

The next number is probably hidden in the circus game stands. But it will most likely be heavily guarded. I don't know exactly where the number is, but I'm sure you can find it there.

Good luck.

" Who do you think sent it?" Liam asked her. She had a good guess.

" I think I know. But I can't tell you."

" Why not?"

" Let's go to the games. We have to find those numbers."

" You're avoiding my question."

She never answered. If Liam thought about it long enough, he would realise too who it was and why she couldn't tell him. But he wouldn't. He gave up too easy. If he wasn't telling her something, she would spend days trying to make him tell her, or find out what it was for herself, but Liam never thought like that. As far as he was concerned, he didn't know it. That was it.

And she had to keep this from him for an obvious reason. Damian is a vampire, the Lord's son for that matter, so he is not supposed to be helping the enemy. If he had signed his name on the paper and a vampire found it, he would be in a lot of trouble. The same idea applied to if she said his name to Liam. If a vampire overheard her, it would be the same result. She had to keep him out of this. It was his choice to help them, but it was her own nature that made her wary. She couldn't bear it if he suffered by her fault.

She was right, Liam dropped the subject completely and they walked in silence to an area where numerous circle shaped stands were scattered around. The show stands were made of wood and painted red and black, the apparent theme to this gothic circus. Some showed damage, different sized chips and peeling paint, but all of them were built the same. They stopped to think of where to go first. The number could be in any of the stands, and Sylvia didn't have the time (or patience,) to check them all. They decided that, like the note had said, the number would be heavily guarded so they just had to find some vampires.

Just then, something tugged inside Sylvia's mind. It was small, but enough for her to notice it. She knew this feeling well. Liam called it instinct, and it was usually right. So she decided to trust it now. She turned to Liam and told him to follow her. He nodded, knowing what was happening.

The tugging was pulling her to the left. It was faint, but definatly left. Going with it, she led Liam past circular game stands with their shutters down. She found herself thinking how bizarre this circus would seem to other people. In a human definition, a circus was a happy place where lights dazzled and annoying tunes that would stick in your head for weeks were played constantly. They were family places, fun places. The whole concept of the 'Circo De Sangre' would be strange to them. Of course, this was only what she had heard. She had never been to any sort of circus. And all because of.....

" What is it?" Liam had noticed her thoughtful silence.

" I'm just...thinking."

" He could still be here." She stopped, but did not turn around. He was going to say more. She knew it. And it was a question she had been dreading him asking. He had danced around it for the entire six years they had known each other out of kindness, but she had known she would have to tell him someday.

" What happened to you?" She stared at the ground. Time to come clean.

" On my sixteenth birthday, I went to my best friends party. She told me a vampire was stalking her, and she was right. He killed her that night. That night my mother disappeared too. I don't know what happened, but I know he's behind it. I swore to myself then that I would find him, find the truth, and kill him."

" What does he look like?"

" Purple hair. Red eyes. Lip and nose piercing." She could clearly see him in her mind. It was a face she refused to forget. Not until the day he was just a pile of ash on the floor. She prayed that this story was enough for Liam.

" Is that everything?"

" Yes." she lied. He never said anything, or gave an opinion on her story. She could practically feel the doubt radiating off him, but once again his flaw kicked in. He dropped the subject and they continued walking. Her 'instinct' was leading them further away from the main tent. In the distance, Sylvia saw a ferris wheel towering over the circus.

She followed the pulling in her to a games stand. It was a shooting range game. A long alleyway stretched out behind a desk, a good fifteen meters long. A single gun sat on the desk with one clip of ammo. This was obviously a one player game.

And more than likely, a deadly one.