Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 54

"What will we do now? Where should we go?" Seymour asked the others.

Cecilia and Tobias were still agonizing over what had to be done and it was up to Seymour and Helen to say something, to do something. They couldn't just stay at sea, they needed to feed.

"Does it matter?" Cecilia asked.

It was apparent from her demeanor that she didn't care about what happened to her.

"That's enough, you two! I understand that you are in a lot of emotional pain, but enough is enough. Okay, admittedly, I don't understand how you feel, but I know you feel guilty about what you both did. However, let me ask you something. Tobias, would you prefer it if Cecilia had died instead of that horrible excuse for a human being?" Helen asked.

Tobias was appalled by Helen's question. There was no reality in which he would have preferred to see his precious Cecilia dead.

"Of course not, but..." Tobias said.

"Was there another sure proof way to heal her? Could we have been the source of blood?" Helen went on to say.

"No, the ship was too far away. She would have died in the time it took us to find the blood on the ship. None of us could have been fed on since we had also lost some blood, and thus our blood wasn't strong enough to heal her properly." Tobias answered automatically.

"Okay, then, you did what had to be done to save her life, case closed," Helen said.

Tobias was stunned into silence because what Helen was saying made sense. It was a necessity. It saved Cecilia's life. He knew he would keep feeling guilty for the rest of his life, but he realized with a start that he would have made the same choice again. Even at that moment, when he was not ruled by the primal side of who he was, he would have sacrificed the human for her to be able to live.

The realization didn't make him feel any less guilty, but it did snap him out of the gloom he had fallen into. They had to go on and try to be better, together.

"And you," Helen said turning to Cecilia.

"Would you have preferred if you had died, if you broke Tobias' heart like that? Would you have him go through that amount of pain again? Would you be willing to do that to him, when you know it would kill him?" Helen asked.

Cecilia had been too consumed by her self-pity to even consider those points. When she looked at it like that, she realized that she was ready to drain even more humans if it would help prevent Tobias from feeling pain. It was a terrifying realization but also a very sobering one, and she was grateful to Helen for helping her see the truth.

"You are right. I would have drained that human even if I wasn't on the brink of dying if it meant protecting Tobias." Cecilia said.

"Okay, great. Now that we have cleared that up, where do we go from here?" Helen asked.

"Well, we've tried one of the least populated places in the world, how about we go to the most populated place? Why don't we go to one of the most crowded cities in the world?" Tobias said.

"But wouldn't that make it easier for them to find us? Too many people would be able to see our faces, wouldn't they?" Cecilia asked.

"No, no, the plan is brilliant! You haven't spent a lot of time in big cities. People there never even look at each other. They are too busy with their own lives and problems." Helen said.

"Besides, the scent of so many people living there, or just passing through the city will mask our scent perfectly. Not to mention all the horrible smells of the city such as garbage and dead rats. Any vampire who values his scent of smell would avoid getting too close to a place like that. It's a great idea!" Seymour said.

"I see. That would also mean we would have an adequate supply of blood since I am guessing there are many hospitals in such cities." Cecilia said.

"Exactly. It is a perfect setting for a couple of vampires on the run." Seymour said.

"How about the City That Never Sleeps? I haven't been there in such a long time and people there are least interested in what others do." Helen said.

"Sounds good," Tobias said.

Since the others agreed as well, they set the course and tried to enjoy the ride. Still, none of them were quite at ease.

Cecilia and Tobias were still shaken by what they had done, although they were determined to find a way to go past it. As for Helen and Seymour, they were still trying to navigate the air of awkwardness that surrounded them.

It was a strange journey with all of the passengers staying eerily quiet and still. All of them were caught up in the past and the possibilities that the future had to offer.

Once they reached the shore in the middle of the night, Cecilia and Tobias were the first ones to leave the ship. They were trying to run away from any reminder of what they were capable of doing, of the side of their being that they wished never to revisit.

"You two go ahead, we'll join you soon. I need a word in private with Seymour." Helen told them.

Understanding the need for privacy, Cecilia and Tobias hurried off holding hands. They were afraid that if they let go of each other even for a moment they would never be able to find each other again.

The moment they left, Seymour raised his eyebrows questioningly. A small smile was playing on his lips and a spark of hope lit up in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that! This is not about us!" Helen said.

She could see his enthusiasm deflating, but still, he stayed. If she was being honest with herself, it gave her hope that maybe he had changed. Maybe he was no longer a torture-thirsty vampire she had known.

"Did you notice anything unusual about Tobias and Cecilia?" She asked.

"You mean that they had the blood of the Healers in them, the traces of which can be noted in their blood even after the transformation? Sure, I noticed it in their scent." Seymour said.

Helen was beyond shocked. She hadn't even known that the Healers were real. Of course, she had heard stories of them but decided to ignore them since she already had too much to deal with.

"You didn't know?" Seymour asked.

"I thought that there was something different about them, but I didn't know what it was," Helen admitted.

"Tobias has the blood of a Healer, I am sure. As for Cecilia, I am not certain, I think she is a healer as well, but I have never met a female healer so I don't know." Seymour said.

"Well, that explains a lot. It also makes me feel so much better about not having as many emotions as they seem to, Healers were always said to have more empathy than other humans. Thank you." Helen said.

"Always happy to help you," Seymour said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"We better get going," Helen said.

"After you," Seymour said.

Helen rolled her eyes but still went ahead. They needed to join Cecilia and Tobias, and see where to go from there. The city was a big place and they needed to find just the right spot.