Blue Moon

Chapter 17

Carson was about to answer Lyla when the black limo slid to a stop. His eyes widened as a black mist seeped through the driver door, whipping under the vehicle before opening the door.

"Damn it." he hissed.

"What the hell was that?"

Carson turned, seeing that Lyla had returned her stern gaze to him quickly. Trying to remove the gun from her hand was clearly pointless.

"That would be a sorcerer or, rather, the only sorcerer."

"Like a witch?"

"Far from it, I'm afraid. It explains why he never worries about protection. He's got the ultimate security driving him around."

"How did he manage that?" Edwards asked.

"I don't know, but we'll have to pull back and observe for a little longer. Pack your gun away. It won't work against Aneska."

Lyla watched as a man got out of the limo. For the first time ever, she had a face to the person she was hunting. Her eyes quickly turned to see that Carson was instructing his staff. Lyla pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of Joe. Before Carson realised, she returned the phone to her pocket.

Joe turned to the vehicle, a smile on his face as another figure emerged. Lyla's heart sank deep into her stomach as she watched Eloise get out of the limousine. As she stepped forward, Lyla felt a hand pull her back.

"Don't," Carson said softly.

"That's my daughter."

"I know Lyla, and I know what you want, but he's got a very powerful sorcerer on his side. If you take one step out there, she's going to obliterate you."

Tears rolled down Lyla's cheeks as she watched Eloise follow Joe into the black markets. It pained her to see it, but Joe slinked his arm around Eloise's shoulder.

"That's a positive," Carson offered. "If they're together, it means she's not for sale."

"Can you tell if she's a vampire?"

"Not at this distance."

Lyla nodded as she wiped away the tears.

"You know, being a vampire is not that bad."

"That might be true, but from where I'm standing, it would seem that you're all a bunch of deviates that don't care about the lives that you're destroying."

She began to back away, the gun pointed in her outstretched arm.

"I've been in this world for just over twenty-four hours now, and it's all that I've seen. Death, abductions, we're nothing but an object to use as your race sees fit. Well, I'm done. I'm getting my daughter back, and you can't stop me."

Carson smiled supremely as he watched the human back out of the alley.

"Tell me, do you remember what the boss said to you last night?"

Lyla paused, trying to remember everything that he said.

"We rarely let go of the things that we desire. He was being generous in that statement. What he really should have said was that we do not let go of the things that we desire. I hope that you are listening to me, Lyla. When the boss says that he wants something, he gets it."

"I'm not interested in his petty squabble with his brother, nor do I care for anything that you have to say. You will not win."

Lyla stepped into the darkness, leaving the vampires alone in the alley. Carson narrowed his eyes, the supreme smile still lurking on his face. He liked her tenacity, but she was embarking on a path that she would regret. No one went against the boss and came out alive.

"Sir?"

"Call in the extractor. I want Aneska contained before we move in."

"Yes, sir."

"Edwards, come here."

The gunman stopped packing his things and stood to approach.

"Sir?"

"Tell me everything about our new friend."

"Well, I don't know a lot, and anything that she's recently done would be unknown as I haven't been a human for ten years. When I was there, she was teaching standard hours because of the child. I know that if an important mission cropped up, she'd be sent out as a part of the team. They called her blue moon."

Carson frowned at the vampire.

"You know, once in a blue moon. That was her failure rate. It was rare. I've seen her in action. She's incredible. Like nothing I've ever seen before. When she fell pregnant, they catered to her demands just to get her to return when the child was a year old. They were desperate to get her back into the ranks."

Edwards paused for a moment, thinking about the rumour that he'd heard. He didn't believe it at the time, but after seeing Lyla, he wondered if it was true.

"Just before I left, there was an incident on the rifle range. The new recruits were being idiots. Lyla got shot, and she was sent to the infirmary. We all thought that she was done for. The amount of blood loss was crazy. A week later, she returned, telling everyone that it was just a superficial wound. That's when the rumour started that she was a vampire."

"But clearly, that's not the case."

He nodded but then stopped.

"I've never really thought about it, but I think that there's some merit to the story. She hasn't aged a day and still looks exactly the same as when I last saw her. Do you think that maybe she's like a hybrid or something?"

Carson mulled it over and found nothing that he could give as an answer to Edwards. Nothing that he wanted to say out loud.

"I've never heard of hybridisation to be successful, but that does not mean that it isn't possible."

"Sir,"

They turned to the timid voice of one of the scientists.

"About sixty years ago, there was a spate of biting attacks in this city. The vampire responsible had many victims, mostly women. Those that could voice their complaints did so. The police investigated it, and more victims emerged. This time, it was the parents of the victims. With the women becoming more vigilant, the vampire had to find another source so he started to bite children. No one died but they were all bitten."

"And the vampire responsible?" Edwards asked the scientist.

"I believe that the council apprehended and dealt with him appropriately. The victims were monitored. Anyone that showed signs of being a vampire was drawn away from their family and sent to Fielding Hall. The infection rate was not as high as we thought it would be. It would seem that the vampire just liked to sink his fangs into the skin so there was no contamination or venom."

"How does this relate to Lyla?"

"Well, it's entirely possible that if she was a victim as a child, then she could be a hybrid. It was standard for the attacks to occur at night. If she was unaware, then she might not have told her parents. Any memories that she might have would certainly add to any fear or negativity that she has towards our race. As a hybrid, she will have an unusually long life that could be in the middle of a plateau as she is in her childbearing years. It would also explain her abilities."

Carson hummed a soft and intrigued tone as he turned back to the entrance of the black market. If this were true, then it would certainly change things.