The Ruler, The Fallen, and The Broken (Slayer 3)

Chapter 8

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Andrew and Jason went shopping for me this week. I gave them a small list because they didn’t know where I really would be staying. Jason left last night on a plane to go to Hollywood. Alex was upset and so was I. Jason was such a character; he could always cheer me up when I needed it. But he was gone, and now Andrew would be the one I answered to until I left, which was tomorrow. I truly felt bad about lying to Andrew, but if he knew I was going back to the hunters he would freak out.

Andrew wouldn’t understand. Now that I’d killed my uncle, the person who misguided me, I felt like I needed to go back to what I knew, which was killing vampires. Only this time around, I would kill the bad ones, the ones who murder and have no soul left in them. It would take readjusting, and investigation, but it would be worth it to get rid of the vampires who were truly monsters.

            I knew Jack was expecting me, but I thought he would disapprove of the way I wanted to kill. Apparently Jack was the new leader of the Hunters because he inspired the Hunters to keep going on, keeping Vlad’s dream alive, even if he wasn’t. When Jack told me that guilt had rushed over me. But looking on it now, with the therapy sessions I’d been going to, I see that I was not to blame. Actually, I don’t really fully believe it yet, but I was getting there.

            Andrew came in my room and interrupted my thoughts. I gave a half-smile and he walked in and looked around before he spoke to me.

“So you are pretty much packed and ready to go,” Andrew said smiling.

            I couldn’t understand why he was being so understanding. I would have thought he would be the one to fight me on leaving. I couldn’t believe he was just going to let me go off on my own.

“Yeah, I’m ready. But Andrew, may I ask you something?” I asked looking at him curiously.

“Sure, anything you want,” Andrew said sitting down on the black and white chair that faced my bed.

“How are you okay with me leaving?” I blurted out.

“I’m okay with it because I trust that if you need help you will call me,” Andrew said chuckling.

            I looked at him perplexed. He was a vampire, yet he was so human. That was probably a result of my upbringing of him when he was turned. He was one of the good vampires, the ones that drank from animals.  I knew that Nobles couldn’t survive without drinking human blood, but couldn’t they just steal blood from those blood banks instead of killing? No, they couldn’t because Nobles are the worst of the vampires.

They were the original vampires; their bloodline goes back to Dracula’s time. They do not have a conscience. Fangs, like Luke and his parents, are the more humanized type of vampire, but not all are like them, so the animal instinct to kill is still there, just more dormant than the Nobles. Muts however, are mischievous. They are not killers, but more of torturers. They can drink from their victim and not turn them. And if they drink too much it can hurt the human, but they like to keep the human alive and play with them.

I would know since Hypno drank from me and I’m still alive.  I hated that I was marked with his fangs. But, it does have its advantages. Hypno told me that when a Mut bites their prey, the mark that each Mut left was different in the smallest of ways. If a Mut saw those marks on a person it was respectful to not bite prey that has already been marked.

I never really knew that, in all the people I’d seen, I never caught on to a mark on their neck, but then again, I wasn’t looking for something like that. Having more knowledge about vampires helps, it helps me to get back on my feet and get my priorities straight. I hoped that I was doing what was right.

That night the doorbell rang in the middle of dinner. Andrew went to grab the door and whom he came back with was a surprise. It was Trace. A smile formed and I ran over to him and hugged him.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Trace asked.

“Better,” I said honestly.

“That’s good. I heard that you’re leaving tomorrow, so I wanted to come over and hang out before you left,” Trace said.

“I’m glad you came, I haven’t seen you since before Transylvania,” I said.

“I know, it’s been a long time,” Trace admitted.

“So how are things with you and your dad?” I asked.

“Better, but he is kind of paranoid since that incident with Vlad, but I assured him that Vlad wasn’t going to be bothering us again,” Trace explained.

“Aw, well with time that will pass,” I assured.

“So where are you going? Aren’t you going to College?” Trace asked.

“I’m taking a gap year to get my shit together,” I replied.

“Oh, well, guess where I’m going to college,” Trace challenged.

“Hmmm…I have no idea, sorry,” I said.

“I’m going to Fairfield University where your beloved boyfriend teaches,” Trace said in that way that made me annoyed at him in a good way.

“Funny, but that’s awesome! When do you start?” I asked.

“This Thursday is move in day, and then orientation all weekend,” Trace said.

“If you need a hook up with driving or other things, I know this senior who goes there named Ben, and he seems like a chill guy,” I said.

“Nice, I’ll let you know if I need anything, but I’m fine for now. How do you know Ben?” Trace asked.

“When I went to school with Bruce because he had a class to teach I met Ben then. He is, or was, one of Bruce’s students,” I explained.

“Nice,” Trace said, and Alex came in, “Hey Alex, I heard your one of us again,” Trace said.

“Yup,” Alex said with a cute smile.

“How are you feeling? I heard the cure comes at a price,” Trace said.

“I’m feeling better, but still tired and Andrew is working with me on getting back to eating normal food without my stomach rejecting it,” Alex said.

“That’s good then,” Trace said.

            Trace sat down and Alex followed Andrew out of the room.  I looked at Trace unsure of where we stood. I knew that he didn’t think I was crazy like everyone else, so that was a plus.

“I’m not crazy,” I blurted against my will.

“I don’t think you’re crazy, you just need time to get over what happened,” Trace said understandingly.

“Glad to think someone believes that,” I said with a half-smile.

“Violet, you are going to make it through this. And if you need to escape for a while, that’s fine as long as you come back. It would be way too boring without you in my life,” Trace said with a light laugh, and I joined in.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But now that the whole Vlad thing is over, I don’t think there’s going to be much excitement these days,” I pointed out.

“Maybe, but just don’t leave us all for too long,” Trace said.

“I promise that I will visit every weekend,” I said.

            Trace and I watched a movie that night, and Trace told me about what he had done over the summer. Apparently he and his dad got a new place, and Trace got a job working at a local market to save some money up for college. It seemed as if Trace’s life wasn’t affected much by the vampires. He was lucky, and I was envious of him. Trace had to go home around nine because he didn’t want to leave his father alone at night.

            Saying my goodbyes, I went upstairs and ran into Andrew as I was walking to my room. He smiled at me and for some reason it didn’t sit right with me. Instincts told me something was up. I chose to ignore it though because I was exhausted mentally and emotionally. Even though I was rejoining the Hunters, I still planned on going to therapy sessions. As much as I hated to admit it, it was helping me.