by Nicole Rae
His mocking sarcastic tone was ridiculous. He hadn’t interrupted anything except perfectly good sleep, the jerk. Just who did he think he was anyway? His Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide attitude was really starting to get on Emily’s last nerve. One day he’s sweet and maybe even a little flirty. The next thing she knew, he acted like it was an inconvenience that she was even hanging around. The fact that he seemed to be avoiding her the last two times he saw her, definitelywasn’t helping Emily’s opinion much either.
When they got downstairs Sebastian was waiting casually leaning on the side of the building with his arms crossed and his leg bent so his foot could rest on the wall. When he saw them, he pushed off the wall with his foot and stood, looking impatient. It was as though, they had kept him waiting for hours. Instead of the mere five minutes that had actually passed.
They walked most of the way in silence. Every now and then Tyler would ask Sebastian a question about vampires or the training process. For the most part Emily stayed out of it. It wasn’t for lack of interest because she was practically chomping at the bit to get more information. It was just that her attention was only half on their sporadic conversation. What Sebastian had said back at the apartment intrigued and frightened her, making it nearly impossible to focus on much else. What did he mean by there’s more to you than most humans? Of course she was a human. What else was she supposed to be? The last time Emily checked she hadn’t developed a sudden craving for blood, so she obviously wasn’t one of the vampires. What else was there? A picture of scary wolf men and little pixy fairies came into her mind making her shudder, so she forced her thoughts to drift elsewhere.
Emily wondered why some one like Sebastian wouldn’t be driving something like the Batmobile or something. With his cool guy persona and cocky attitude, somehow walking didn’t seem to fit his style in the least. Admittedly, he could probably make pink bunny slippers and flannel footy pajamas look cool. If Sebastian’s mentor looked anything like him, Emily was in trouble.
The further they walked, the harder it was to imagine where in the world a training facility would be located for vampire hunters. If there was an actual building that housed such a thing, it surely didn’t have a sign. She had pretty much lived in Lakeview her whole life. She was certain that she would have noticed a sign that read VAMPIRE HUNTERS INC. Humorously, she passed the time picturing what a sign like that would look like. She imagined black Gothic font with deep crimson blood dripping off the edges of each boldly printed letter. For affect maybe it would have a large wooden stake going through the middle and eerie spider webs at the corners. That would look pretty awesome, but definitely too conspicuous.
Sebastian broke into the silence. “Where I’m about to take you can never be told to anyone, ever.” He put great emphasis on the word ever. “If anyone knew about our operation we would be finished.”
Emily had been so lost in her own thought that she hadn’t even noticed where he had walked them. So her spilling the beanswouldn’t be a problem. They still appeared to be downtown but in an alley with buildings on either side. The backs of the buildings didn’t g ive any clues as to what street they were near. When they got about four buildings down Sebastian stopped.
Emily half expected a glowing door to materialize in front of him like in the movies. He didn’t make a move at first in either direction to give any indication what they were looking for. Nothing changed about the surroundings as they waited. Maybe a goblin was supposed to jump out of nowhere and escort them to another dimension or something.
Finally he turned to the right. Tyler shot her a nervous look that she returned in triplicate. The building he was turning toward didn’t have a door or even a window to climb through. Were they supposed to scale up the side like Spider Man?
Sebastian moved right up to the wall and placed a hand on it gingerly. Apparently pleased he gave a quick nod to himself and moved back a few steps before pulling something out of his pocket. At first glance, it wasn’t visible what it was. When Emily was able to give it closer examination, it just looked like a rock.
Sebastian gave an almost imperceptible scan to his right and left and even upward. Still not speaking to them, he bent down and placed the rock on the ground. Time seemed to stand still while they waited.
Nothing happened. Now what, Emily thought quizzically. It really was kind of a letdown. At the thought, pressure seemed to build in the air around them. She wouldn’t have believed it in a million years if she hadn’t seen it for herself. Out of nowhere, a section of the gravel started rattling. It was shaking with visible vibrations she couldn’t feel under her own feet even though she was only about a foot from where Sebastian was standing. Then as if by magic, the trembling section dropped a few inches into the ground not disturbing any of the surrounding rocks. The dropped piece quietly slid under the building displaying nothing but darkness.
Emily gasped and stepped back. She looked over at Tyler, his mouth was hanging open and his eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head at any second. That couldn’t have happened. Before the ground started to shake Emily didn’t notice anything that would have even hinted that there was a trap door there. Whoever was in charge of covering the hatch took their job very seriously.
“Cool huh?” Sebastian asked as if he had just shown them a neat card trick, instead of opening the earth with a rock. Cool didn’t really seem to cover it. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions about this but we need to go before there are witnesses.” Without another word, he stepped into thin air as he went down the hole. Seriously, it looked like he was floating downward.
Emily reached out and clutched Tyler’s arm for dear life. She didn’t know what was down the rabbit hole and that was fine by her. Home was looking a whole lot sweeter by the second. Even work sounded pretty good at that point. Any confidence she may have displayed earlier was nothing but bravado.
Tyler nudged her forward, not unkindly. “Let’s go. We don’t really have a lot of choice right now.”
All Emily could do in response was nod slowly. She was still in shock at the sight of Sebastian going down some mysterious hole in the ground like it was nothing. If they had to follow him at least she wasn’t alone. Even though they had just met, Emily didn’t think that Tyler would let anything bad happen to her.
Before she had a chance to protest, Tyler put a probing foot down the hole to test the waters so to speak. After his foot dropped to his ankle the sound of his foot tapping on something echoed slightly in the hole. “I think there’s stairs,” he said cautiously.
“Whatever,you go first.” Emily put one tentative foot in front of the other. The death grip on Tyler’s arm never relented. She didn’t know what awaited them down there,and she wasn’t going to take the chance that she was separated from Tyler. She assumed Sebastian could be trusted as well, seeing how there was no evidence to the contrary. Just in case, shedidn’t want to risk it.
Once they were down the stairs, the alley floor or underground ceiling thing shut without a sound. The only audible noise was a slight click once all the light from outside disappeared. They were only in the dark for a few seconds before dimly lit sconces illuminated their narrow path.
The extreme change in lighting made it difficult to see anything. Emily blinked hard trying to adjust her vision. A few feet in front of them she could just barely make out the shape of a big wooden door that had a rounded top. She had never seen such a thing except for in movies that were set in the old days that had exotic castles with elaborate turrets. The area they were in didn’t really hold any significance or clues about their location. The walls were a dark gun metal grey that was almost black. The floor seemed to be the same color if not, the difference wasn’t detectable.
When they reached the rounded door, Sebastian placed his hand above the large knob where a dead bolt would be located. After a short time, she heard another click and he opened the door. When Emily stepped through her mouth dropped open with a pop. She stopped walking abruptly, ca
using Tyler to stumble back a step. Her feet were locked in place at the sight before her.
It wasn’t exactly the same as she remembered. Without a doubt though, Emily was staring down the hallway of her dream. The only difference was that the floor was green marble instead of red. She didn’t understand how such a thing could be possible. Nothing like it had ever happened before. Alexander said it wasn’t really a dream, but she hadn’t completely believed him. It was a dream. Of course the soothing stranger would tell her it was real.
Hoping to find out more she asked, “Where is Alexander? Is he here too?”
“Um… yes we will be meeting with Alexander shortly,” Sebastian stammered while clearing his throat. It was the first time Emily had seen him falter from his unshakable control. He watched her with utter astonishment. “We need to get moving. We’ll have time for a full tour later.”
Emily saw that Tyler shot her a quick but stunned look. His face looked as though he just realized the joke was on him and Sebastian and Emily were about to kill him. He swallowed hard and kept moving along the same path Emily had taken in her dream.
It was hard to see him look at her like that. She wanted to reassure him somehow, only she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. As bad as it made her feel though, she couldn’t focus much attention on his wounded expression. Her gaze was fixed onSebastian’s reaction to her question. It still seemed to be affecting him that she knew who Alexander was.
He watched her too, in small darting glances. The look on his face was almost comical. It was like he was worried and greatly surprised all at the same time. He apparently noticed her noticing him because he pivoted and headed down the corridor without another word.
When they completed the sharp turn to the left, Emily was amazed to see the scene of her dream in reality. At the end of the new hall she could see the wooden archways up ahead, elegant and beautiful. Soon they would be in what she assumed was Alexander’s office. Shouldn’t an office have doors? She thought the question to herself as they walked, but didn’t dare ask out loud. It seemed like a really stupid thing to say.
Tyler’s head was on a constant swivel, taking in all the doors. He was probably trying to get a look at the labels on the thick molding of the frames. Emily hadn’t noticed labels in her dream. They were like small little plaques above the knobs. The light from the sconces danced off them giving them a gleaming shine that sparkled.
She noticed that Tyler was clenching and unclenching his fists stiffly at his sides. He looked as though he was preparing for a battle. Well, a battle or the first chance he could find to bolt. The whole thing must be so scary to him. His life would surely be changed forever. Her mind tried to wrap around the fact that Tyler wasn’t going to age. More importantly, his new main purpose was to kill blood sucking monsters before they killed his fellow man.
Trying to piece together how she fit into the puzzle was like walking a hundred miles in the desert without a single bottle of water. Was she supposed to hunt monsters too? The thought of herself wielding a wooden stake with a fanged creature in front of her made nausea creep up on her in a steady wave. The heaviness of it made her head hurt.
Just like before, when the hall opened up into the office the color of the floor turned to blue. It was illuminated more brightly than the hall but it was still just a soft light, easy on the eyes.
At the familiar crackle of a fire, Emily looked towards the impressive hearth. Alexander was sitting in the same overstuffed chair as he had occupied before. He was reading a book intently. His forehead was creased with concentration like deep lines on a wrinkled page. He rubbed his chin considering something. Then, as if pulled back to the present he slammed the volume closed with one hand gripping it by the spine.
“Ah Sebastian, I’ve been expecting you. And Tyler I’m very happy to finally meet you.” Alexander stood to face them. His stance was that of a soldier. His smile was bright like a proud father’s would be. The loving gaze stopped on Emily, but didn’t lose anounce of compassion. “Well dear Emily, we meet again.” He gave her a modest tilt of his head in an old fashioned greeting. “I do hope the situation hasn’t frightened you too terribly. I hope you understand more clearly now the imperative reasons for the… what did you call them? Oh yes riddles.” A knowing smile tugged at the corners of Alexander’s mouth. The only reason it was apparent that it was a smile was the sparkle in his eyes.
“Yes sir, I understand,” Emily retorted sheepishly.
Alexander frowned, “my dear girl no need for formalities here. You are a part of our secret that makes you part of our family.” He moved in front of her and raised her hand to kiss it. When his eyes met her again he had a gentle smile for her which made her feel better. “Well, or should I say, you are a part of this family, onlywe haven’t quite figured out your position yet. Even though you’re not like the other children, thatdoesn’t mean you don’t belong.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have a million questions.” He didn’t wait for the go ahead before he started in on Alexander. “Mainly, what does this training entail?”
“No worries my son,I was just getting to that. It’s gravely paramount that you’re training start immediately. Things are progressing quicker than we had intended upon. I will show you to the trainingroom you can change in there.”
Emily suddenly noticed that Alexander wasn’t wearing a tailored suit like before. He was dressed like a ninja all in black. The clothes made him look even more fierce. Instead of the businessman she had met before, she stood before a man that was a force to be reckon with.
Before leaving the room with a bewildered Tyler, Alexanderturned to Sebastian. “Why don’t you show Emily to her room and maybe take her on a brief tour.”
Sebastiannodded sharply. He didn’t respond to the older man, but looked as though he had gotten a mission from his commanding officer that was of the utmost importance. The only thing he didn’t do was salute. It was obvious that Sebastian held a lot of respect for his mentor.
Emily completely puzzled asked, “my room?” She looked from Alexanderto Sebastian for a response. When one didn’t come,she continued. “I think there must be some mistake. I don’t need a place to stay. I can’t stay here. My father-“
“Don’t you worry about Sam. He will be taken care of,” said Alexander looking unconcerned by the objection.
“Take care of him?” What was this the God Father? Were they going to kill Sam? “I’m sorry but what does that mean?” Emily stared at Alexander incredulously. It should have surprised her that he knew Sam’s name but at this point nothing surprised her anymore.
“We can adapt his memory so he will not worry about the fact that you are not home. He will think you are simply with friends. He won’t even know how long you are gone. Each day will seem like the first, even though he carries out his daily living unscathed.” His voice softened considerably. “The vampires are suspicious of you. I’m truly sorry dear, but it’s no longer safe for you on your own.”
“What? You’re gonna screw with my dad’s memory?” Emily was absolutely shocked with that revelation.
“I assure you no harm will come to your father.” Alexander stepped smoothly to Emily and placed a hand on her arm. “You have my word on that Emily. He will also have protection in the event that someone goes poking their fangs where they don’t belong.” Alexander mimed fangs in the neck making her shudder.
Emily just stood there with her mouth dropped open practically to the floor. She suddenly felt scared and very alone. It was all so confusingly mind boggling. The rabbit hole, vampires, memory tampering, all of it, it was just too much.
Alexander said something to Tyler, though she didn’t catch it. Their voices seemed to echo in her mind, bouncing back and forth never quite making sense. She continued to watch as Alexander ushered Tyler to a door at the far side of the room near the leather couch. That wasn’t there in her dream either, she thought absently.
For a moment a
fter the door closed Emily just stared at it blankly. She couldn’t do anything else. Her mind had shut down with a puff of smoke on overload. Hopefully a backup generator kicked on before she fell into a coma or something.
Sebastian cleared his throat, drawing her eyes to his. He gave her a wistful smile and then bowed over dramatically as if she were a queen. “Shall I show you to your chamber my lady?” He used a horrible British accent.
Waking up from the daze, Emily giggled. It was split seconds like those that made her want to like him. The only problem was,those seconds tended not to last long. “What? Now you’re gonna be charming and friendly again?” Emily raised a perfectly plucked brow at him. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” The accent she attempted was just as silly as his was, which made her giggle harder.
For a moment,Sebastian’s carefully groomed control was broken and he actually looked offended. “Look, I know I have been disgraceful to you. I’m sure you’re confused. You’ve had a lot of information thrown at you and it’s gotta be hard to cope. I was just trying to be nice.” He raked a hand through his hair. “It’s still not safe for us to be friends. This life is too complicated and obviously dangerous.”
“I get the danger and maybe even the complicated.” Emily glared at him indignantly. “None of that is a good reason to send me mixed signals. Nor is it a good reason for you to avoid my questions, especially when I deserve answers. I get the secret thing, but guess what? The hunter’s out of the bag now, so you don’t have to worry about me I can handle myself.” She knew her tone was far more cutting than it really needed to be. He really deserved it though.
Emily was tired of all the secrets. Why tell one and then think the rest should be kept quiet? If she has a part in this mess somehow, then she needed to know everything. He was just so infuriating. Only Sebastian could leave her feeling good one minute, and stung the next.