Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 31

I am losing all hope that we will find anything remotely useful in the books Cecilia and Tobias managed to get. I mean, what are the chances of us finding what we need in those precise books they took on a whim.

Yet, I wonder if it was a coincidence. What if the books were calling to them in some way?

I shake my head at the nonsense that is spiraling through my brain. Books can't call people.

On the other hand, a few decades ago, I believed that the Healers were just a myth.

Learning about them was more of a shock than I'd like to admit. I mean, how can one spend centuries in the dark about the reality of their afterlife.

What else is possible that I consider impossible? How will my world be shaken to its core the next time?

"Ouch," Cecilia suddenly exclaims as blood starts trickling from her finger.

"Paper cut," she explains.

She tries to move her hand away from the book to avoid getting it stained, but one small droplet manages to fall on the page of the book in front of her.

In a second, the book seems to absorb the blood and show a faint outline of something that resembles a map.

Before we can fully grasp what's happening, the image is gone, and all we can see is a regular-looking book.

"Of course. Blood is the answer. It's one sure way they have of hiding things from vampires." Alarcos says, his eyes shining in delight.

His enthusiasm must be contagious because upon seeing his exhilaration, I start to feel joy at the discovery as well. A small smile manages to escape me upon seeing that expression on Alarcos' face again.

"That makes sense. After all, the Healer couldn't have known that there was such a thing as a Healer vampire." Tobias says.

Before I can share my smart ideas with them, Tobias bites into his hand and lets the blood trickle down it and on to the pristinely white pages of the book.

I can't say that I am surprised by his actions since he has always been impulsive, but still, I wish he would stop to think from time to time and consider what he is doing. We all keep assuming that the Healers have the utmost respect for life, but what if the book 'feels' his immortal nature? What if it bleeds him dry?

Before I get the chance to drown myself in the never-ending rain of 'what if's', I see that a few drops of his blood are enough for the full transformation of the book to occur. What sits in front of us now is a map.

What's even better is that it pinpoints Tobias' location as well as an X marking the Healing House nearest to our position.

"How did they manage to accomplish that? It looks like magic." Alarcos says, fascinated beyond what I can comprehend.

"Who knows, maybe it is magic. After all, we still don't know that much about the Healers' strengths and weaknesses." Seymour says, smiling warmly at Alarcos.

"Oh, come on guys! Don't be ridiculous. There is no such thing as magic! Besides, if Tobias and Cecilia had any superpowers, don't you think that they would've noticed by now? That I would have noticed?" I say exasperated.

"Not necessarily. If Tobias and Cecilia's powers and their Healer blood in general, were dormant, no one would've been the wiser." Alarcos explains.

I don't believe that for a second, but I let it go since I am in no mood to argue. I especially don't feel inclined to quarrel with Alarcos. I am not sure why.

"Wait a minute. Doesn't this map say that we would have to go through Leh?" Seymour asks.

His voice sounds stranger than I've ever heard it before. Although I pride myself in knowing Seymour better than I know myself, I now realize that there is something he has been hiding from me.

I am sure it's something that has happened after he left me, or at least I hope so.

It would be another blow to my ego if I got that wrong as well.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Tobias asks absentmindedly.

"No..." Seymour says weakly.

Tobias doesn't seem to notice the change in Seymour's attitude, immersed as he is in studying the map.

However, I can see that he is most definitely not okay and that going there is a big problem for him.

"Excuse me," Seymour says, exiting the room.

Others have gotten into the discussion on what the best course of action would be for our search, but I decide to focus on Seymour instead.

After all, Tobias and Alarcos will surely come up with the best solution, especially with Cecilia there to balance them out.

Thus, moments after Seymour excused himself, I silently slip out as well. I need to figure out what's going on with him.

If he doesn't have his head in the game, he might get us in trouble. However, to my utter surprise, I am also worried about his well-being.

I've gone from wanting to murder him in revenge, to worrying about his mental state, and no one is more surprised than me.

"Seymour," I say as I reach him in the backyard of the house.

"Helen, what are you doing here? I was sure that the Great Huntress would have a lot to say about the strategic planning involved in our next mission," he says.

"She does, but your friend, Helen, is worried about you," I say honestly.

"Are we friends Helen? Because you made it pretty clear that I've never truly earned your trust back," he says.

"I was furious at you for so long. Anger is not an easy thing to get rid of. However, to answer your question, yes, we are friends. In the last few days, I realized that I care about you too much for you not to be my friend," I say.

"You care for me so much that I can be even more than a friend someday?" he asks, grinning at me like an idiot.

Yet, I can see beyond his shenanigans. I know that he is using flirting to distract me from the matter at hand.

"Knock it off and tell me what's wrong," I say firmly.

"Oh, nothing much, just my dark past coming back to haunt me," he says sadly.

"Trust me, I know a thing or two about that. Tell me what happened," I say.

"Fine, but that might ruin our chances of even staying friends," he says.

"Let me be the judge of that," I say.

"Fine, I guess you deserve to know," he says in defeat.