Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 23

Being the Great Huntress of my tribe, I've never understood the fascination people had with plants, and my undead status hadn't changed that opinion. Yet, as I stand in this room, surrounded by the lush greenery, it takes me a moment to stop being mesmerized by its beauty, it's energy.

It is in striking contrast with us, so full of life. In a way, it's exactly the opposite of what we are, and that fascinates me to no end for the first time in my life and afterlife.

Only now do I realize how difficult it must be for Tobias and Cecilia to reconcile the two opposing forces that have been raging in them. It must be so confusing.

It's awful that I have been so selfish that I never wondered how it was for them. Why they are willing to sacrifice all of our lives by helping humans.

They can't stop themselves. It is as much part of who they are as bloodlust is a part of me. The same way I can't stop feeding on humans, they can't stop themselves from helping out, saving lives.

"I think the library is this way," Tobias says.

Hearing his words, I force myself to focus on why we are here.

There will be enough time when all this is over to make it up to them. Or leave. Whichever helps Tobias more.

As Alarcos and I shuffle with Seymour in tow, I still can't help but feel an eerie sensation crawling along my skin. If I were still human, I would have been covered in goosebumps right about now.

"What is it?" Seymour asks, noting my uncertainty.

"Where are they?" I ask.

Even if they didn't have a lot of healing to do in the area, it's not logical for no one to be in the place of healing. What if something happened? There had to be someone here in case of an emergency. So where are they?

"Moved on?" Alarcos says, but I can feel it's more of a question than a statement.

He doesn't like this either. It's too easy, but most of all, it's too odd. What would make a supernatural species move on so suddenly? Without even leaving behind a trace of their presence?

Then it hits me like a spear. Of course. The answer is simple. What would make them leave everything behind and run away? Vampires. After all, we are what they fear the most and with a good reason.

I let Alarcos support Seymour by himself as I hurry to Tobias and Cecilia.

We need to leave. Now. If there were vampires here, chances are they will be back.

"Grab what you can carry and what looks important. We need to move. Fast." I say the moment I reach them.

"What..." Tobias starts to say.

Then we hear a loud crash that sounds as if something is being thrown against the wall, a large, hard, something.

I am relieved when Seymour and Alarcos appear behind me, but we all soon realize that the sound is not good news for us. Though we are all fine for the time being, the danger is imminent.

"What was that?" I ask Seymour, hoping they had a better chance to figure it out since it is coming from the room they just left.

"They are trying to break in. The door is diluting the scent, but I would say a dozen vampires." Seymour says.

"What do you mean, the door is diluting the scent? It's just a door, isn't it?" I ask.

"After closing behind us, the door was magically sealed again. Meaning that the magic or whatever it is, separates us and them, thicker than I've sensed before so it's difficult to tell what's on the other side." Alarcos says.

What I don't tell them is that I didn't even hear the door closing, let alone it magically sealing itself. The Great Huntress has allowed herself to relax too much. I've been missing so many things recently, too many. That's not only strange for me but any vampire because it's rare for us to miss things because of our enhanced senses.

"Helen! We know you are there! It's time for you and your little coven to pay for your crimes! Open up in the name of the Vampire Council!" An ancient voice I don't recognize says.

"The Vampire Council is after you? What have you guys done?" Alarcos asks.

"I killed a masochistic vampire who enjoyed torturing humans," Cecilia says.

From Alarcos' shocked expression, I can see that he didn't expect that. He was betting on me and Seymour.

"And I killed his psychotic girlfriend who tortured the reason for my existence," Tobias says, looking at Cecilia fondly.

"I've killed a psychopathic royalty," I say.

"I don't think they are aware of any of my crimes. Don't get me wrong, I did some horrible things, but they shouldn't be informed about them. At least, I hope they don't know what I did." Seymour says awkwardly.

"Don't you guys think that you should have told me that you are lawbreakers and that the Council is after you?" Alarcos asks with much less venom then I expected.

"We thought we got away. How did they find us?" I ask myself.

"Ahem," Alarocs clears his throat, "I think that might have been my fault."

Before I can even realize what I am doing, my strong hands are wrapped around his neck, and I am squeezing as hard as I can. If he were a human, he would have been dead by now.

What stops me eventually is not Seymour's weak attempt to pull me off or his words. What stops me is Alarcos' complete lack of defensive movements. He does absolutely nothing to stop me which goes against vampire nature and is what snaps me out of my murderous rage.

I lower my hands, feeling like a true monster.

Haven't I already hurt him enough? What gives me the right to kill him as well?

"Are you okay?" Seymour asks him.

"I am fine. I am sorry, Helen. I didn't do it on purpose." Alarcos says to me.

I can hear the anguish in his voice because no matter what we had done, no matter what our crimes were, he would have never done anything that would put Seymour in danger. That makes sense. He still loves him.

What doesn't make any sense to me is the fact that he is apologizing to me. It makes me furious. Why is he apologizing when I am the one who almost ripped his head off, the one who fed on his family brutally murdering them in the process.

"No. I am sorry. I overreacted. You didn't know." I say.

"I had no idea. You see, I met up with a few vampire buddies of mine, and we started talking..." Alarcos says.

"Guys, we don't have time for this. What do we do now?" Seymour asks, clearly angry at me.

"We take the back exit, of course," Tobias says.

As I stare at him accusingly, he shrugs his shoulders.

"While you were trying to murder our companion, I was trying to find a way out, and as cliche as that might be, there is a secret passage behind that bookshelf," he says, in Healer mode once again.

"Okay, let's go," I say barely controlling my anger at myself.

As I send them all through the passage, I close it with me on the wrong side of it.

I am not a self-sacrificing person, but the others need some time to get out, especially having to drag Seymour who is not back to his old self. I am sure it won't take a dozen vampires long to break through the door, enforced or not. I need to give my friends a head start.

Crouching low in front of the bookcase, my fangs out, I am ready to fight anything that comes my way.

However, what I don't see coming is a blow to the back of my head, strong enough to knock me out.

Before I dive into the dark waters of my subconscious, I hear only one sentence.

"No, you don't."