Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 26

The next day of work was even worse for Cecilia. They all seemed to be picking on her, and she wasn't sure what the reason behind it all was. She thought that maybe they were angry with her that she didn't participate in the previous day's 'feast'.

She was sure there was no other reason for them to act that way. It was thoroughly confusing for her because it seemed like they were trying to test the limits of her patience, all of them.

Although she wasn't as familiar with vampire culture as she should have been, she was sure that it wasn't the normal vampire behavior. It was all done very subtly, so she couldn't confront them about their behavior without seeming like a grumpy little vampire.

So, she tried to deal with it without showing too much anger or hatred, which was a huge challenge for her. Even in relatively normal circumstances, she had problems controlling her temper and their behavior wasn't making it any easier for her.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She started snapping back at people and expressing her annoyance in very obvious and rude ways. That was when she was summoned to Stanton's office.

Thinking that he would reprimand her for snapping at her co-workers she strode in confidently ready to stand her ground. She was ready to show him that she wasn't a pushover and that she knew how to stand for herself. There was a whole speech that she had prepared and thought Stanton would find impressive.

Everyone appreciates assertive people, so she was sure her little speech would put her in his good books. That would be one step closer to murdering him slowly and painfully. One step closer to cutting off that creepy smile of his.

Once she entered the office, however, she could sense that something was wrong. Stanton wasn't his usual creepy self; a strange expression crossed his face the moment he saw her. Cecilia wasn't sure what it meant, but it seemed to her as if he was gloating. About what?

"Sorry, babe, I'll have to call you back. I have some business to take care of." He said talking with someone on the phone.

"Anja, you know I do. You are the only one. Have a nice trip I'll see you when you get back." He added.

The moment he finished his phone call and sat in the chair on the opposite end of her he started talking.

"I know who you are." He said.

She immediately bolted for the door, well aware that without the advantage of a surprise attack she stood no chance. However, the older vampire was faster and in a split-second, he was standing between her and the door.

"Not so fast. Don't you want to save your friend?" He said, tauntingly.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Your vampire friend, what was his name...Tobias, I think." He said.

When he said that, she stopped trying to get out. No matter what happened, she needed to try to save Tobias.

"He has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me." She said.

"That is not true. Tobias was the one who turned you, wasn't he? He is your sire." He said, confidently.

Not knowing how best to answer the question, Cecilia stayed quiet. She needed to think, but she didn't have a lot of time. All her plans were crashing down and although she was ready to die, she realized that she wasn't ready to take Tobias down with her.

"You see, he shouldn't have done that. Because of him, you are here, trying to infiltrate my clan, trying to get rid of me." He said and burst out laughing.

He was laughing so hard that his whole body shook for so long that Cecilia started wondering if he would ever stop laughing.

"You thought that you could trick me? Kill me, even? That is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard. Since the moment you entered my office, I could sense that you were lying to me. At first, I didn't mind because generally, vampires do lie, but I kept getting strange sensations coming from your general direction that I couldn't fully comprehend. Why would a newborn vampire feel any sort of hatred towards me?

Then a possibility occurred to me, but I found it too ridiculous to even contemplate. And then yesterday, the look on your face when you saw me feeding, told me all I needed to know.

The only thing I didn't know was who were you and when you turned. You see, I have fed of so many humans over the years that I couldn't very well remember who you are.

That was the reason I followed you home yesterday. While I was there, I could smell the scent of another vampire who had been there recently. With a little luck, I managed to figure out who the vampire was. I heard about Tobias.

We all know him as the weak vampire who refuses to kill humans and even does his best to HELP them. In the past, we paid no attention to that, it was disgusting, but it didn't concern us, but now... Now, we had a perfect reason to go after him, not that we need a reason, but usually, we avoid fighting with our kind.

Ten of us went to his place. He fought more fiercely than I expected I must admit, but he didn't stand a chance. We have him, tied up like a little dog that he is." Stanton said.

Cecilia was speechless. If Tobias hadn't helped her, he wouldn't have been in that situation. It was all her fault. Maybe if she had given up on her revenge when Tobias asked her to, he wouldn't have been tied up somewhere, possibly tortured.

"Fine, you know everything there is to know. What do you want? Why did you take Tobias?" She asked trying to sound less emotional than she truly felt.

"Tobias is just leverage. What I want is to make your life living hell," he said.

"Haven't you already done that?! You tortured me for months then you fed on me, and left me for dead. You are the reason I become this monster! What else do you want from me!" She said, unable to control her anger.

"Oh, my dear, after I finish with you, you will think that leaving you for dead was the most pleasant experience of your entire existence. Technically, Tobias is the reason you are a vampire. If it hadn't been for him you would have been rotting in the ground by now. What I want is to punish you.

To punish you, for even thinking about going against me! Against me, Stanton the most vicious of all vampires! Your punishment will be far worse than you can imagine. You will become what you hate the most, you will become me. And the funniest thing about it all is that you will do it to save your friend." He said.

"I don't understand," Cecilia said.

"You will. For now, if you want your friend to live you will come with me." He said as he offered her his hand.

From anyone else, that action would seem like a nice gesture, but he did it to rattle her. He was aware of how much his touches bothered her, and he wanted to take advantage of that.

Having no other choice, Cecilia took his hand, and he led her from the office towards the parking lot. The whole way there, he kept a firm hold on her hand from time to time stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

He could feel her whole body shaking from revulsion, and that only made him do it more often. It was clear that the purpose of his hand grabbing hers wasn't to stop her from running away. She wasn't going anywhere without Tobias. The purpose of it was to make her feel as uncomfortable and as disgusted as possible.

They seemed to be in a hurry because he didn't try anything else as they entered the huge car filled with more vampires and headed to where they kept Tobias.