The Heir - Blood Secret : The Chosen One - Secret Heir, page 5
Anton joined me on the bed, facing me.
“Breachers are vampires that can’t be controlled once they have been turned.” He informed me, allowing me time to grasp all that was being said to me. “They are called breachers because their animalistic nature can’t be breached.”
I allowed the words to sink in “Turned...as in bitten?” I asked, trying my best to keep up.
“Yes.” He responded instantly.
“Why can’t they be controlled?”
He shrugged “No one knows for sure. But they aren’t sired to their creator like the rest of us”
I paused for a second “Who is their creator?”
“Vampires of vampires”
I frowned “I’m confused”
He stared at me for a moment “Only the elders turn their chosen ones into vampires. That keeps the bloodline pure. The rest of us are prohibited to turn anyone, we are only allowed to kill”
I gave him a once over “And as a vampire, you’re okay with that?”
He shrugged “Even as immortals we abide by the laws of the elders. Not to mention it’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Responsibility?” I said, frowning.
He nodded “When an elder turns a human into a vampire they take on the role, to be that individuals mentor, they train them as a warrior to gain numbers for our immortal army. Only the elders can implement such knowledge. It’s seen as reckless if a younger vampire takes on that responsibility”
I snorted “Well, that sucks” I leaned down for my coffee “Being dead doesn’t sound like much fun”
Anton reached for the brown bag and reached in, presenting me with the muffin “Eat” He said forcefully.
I shook my head “I’m not hungry” I had more pressing matters to deal with.
More questions I needed answered.
He eyed me “You need food”
As if on cue my stomach growled, betraying me.
Anton tore a chunk of chocolate muffin and held it to my lips “Open”
I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth. The touch of his cold fingers touching my lips had my breath hitch and my thoughts running wild. The air crackled with a different level of awkwardness.
I closed my mouth and slowly began chewing the chocolate goodness.
In desperate need of a distraction “Are there more vampires than breachers?” I asked, sipping my coffee.
In some strange way, I found myself asking questions about something I was sure never even existed, to begin with, almost like I was talking about a fantasy movie with a friend. I hoped that there were more vampires than breachers. They sounded more of a hostile type of creature, much nastier and twisted than the man beside me who claims to be a bloodsucker.
When I think of vampires, I think of hideous monsters that kill humans for blood. Yet, Anton was anything but a monster. In fact, he was quite charming.
He was either batshit crazy or just a Halloween freak, I hadn’t quite figured out which one yet. His dress sense was gothic, yet dated, his choice of words when he spoke was older like 18th – maybe 19th century at the most. Apart from the fact, he was in need of some sun to appear less...Dead. He was really not that scary. It was almost laughable that I had feared him so much before but quite understandable that I had wanted him by my side.
Anton was not amused in the slightest, that I didn’t seem to be believing all that he was telling me.
He tore another piece and held it up, this time I took it from him and popped it into my mouth myself.
“There are vampires all over the world. We used to be the ones to fear, humans over the centuries rushed home to avoid being out after dark. The fear of getting caught by the Beasts as they referred to us, is nothing compared to the threat of breachers” Anton warned, tension ran over his face. Something that I thought was impossible considering his flawless features.
Still in denial. I played along with his childish game. “Don’t they have rules, like you?” I asked, taking the muffin from him and taking some more bites. Hoping that if I kept eating, he would keep talking.
“No” he answered “Vampires from all around the world gathered here long ago at the castle to hear the decision the elders had agreed on regarding the bastards,” Anton said bitterly. “They all agreed breachers should be eliminated, the animals were beginning to draw attention to our kind.” He stressed.
I paused, ready to take another bite only to dump the half-eaten muffin into the brown paper bag.
“And vampires aren’t animals? You drink blood, kill...kidnap apparently.” The words rolled off my tongue without thought. I didn’t mean like an actual grizzly animal but he was really starting to tick me off. What I should have said is that both creatures attack from animal instincts but it was too late.
Anton had flown into a rage before I could correct myself. He growled and pinned me to the bed, spilling my coffee to the ground. Nails digging so hard into my skin that they left lurid red stripes.
“We are nothing like those scoundrels, compared to them we are pure!” He snarled.
I took a shaky deep breath in, unsure of his intentions from clearly having insulted him.
“Anton, you don’t want to hurt me.” I croaked.
I desperately tried to yank my hands-free but Anton gripped them tighter and kept them above my head.
He closed his eyes, fighting the urge. Low rumbles of a growl began vibrating through him.
I thrashed, trying to free myself “Anton!” I called out through gritted teeth. He was losing his temper. I knew exactly what that looked like from drunks at the bar, but there was more to him. He was dangerous and powerful. He was the predator and I was the prey.
He opened his eyes and released me then moved so fast to the corner of the tinted window I scarcely had time to see how he got there. He turned his back with a vicious twirl and stared out to the view below.
“You have a tendency to bring the beast within me to the surface” He growled.
I stayed silent, fearing for my safety, tears slowly gathered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you” I choked out.
Ignoring me, he said “Vampires have walked this earth, longer than anyone could ever have imagined, whether you believe it or not, the ones that are not breachers prefer to go undetected. The world need not know we exist, it would jeopardize our food supply.” The words sent a channel of fear shooting through me. Vampire or simple psycho, he was referring to my kind, the humankind as food. I swallowed.
He glanced over his shoulder and smirked.
A look of hunger flashed deep within his red eyes.
My teary gaze locked on his, trying my best to stand my ground. “You don’t scare me,” I told him, suddenly finding my voice. He was anything but scary looking. However, he was intimidating at times. Whenever I forgot that he seemed to swiftly remind me.
He turned and walked to me, staring at me suspiciously.
“You are like no human I have come across, in all the years I have walked this earth,” He closed his eyes and took air to his nostrils like he was inhaling my scent. I swallowed hard, feeling a little uneasy.
“So, vampires are kinda like the good guys or as good as you can get for being dead?” I asked, trying my best to distract him.
His eyes snapped open.
“Don’t take my priorities as a weakness.” He was angry at me again and I had no clue as to why. “We are all that you might call monsters at the end of the day. We just don’t get to express the predator side of us often, not as much as some would like to.” He began, drawing in a long breath before continuing. “I have come to accept who I am. Some carry the guilt of their past from killing innocents and choose to condemn the guilty to a fate they deserve.” He snarled.
I ignored him, refusing to get into a petty argument.
Instead, I carried on asking questions.
Unsure of what he was referring to.
“Guilty?” I repeated. Asking questions had me feeling as though I was his therapist, allowing him to play along to a fantasy he was more than willing to carry through with. I could work within his metaphor if it meant getting a grounding on what the hell was going on.
“Murderers. Rapists, some vampires choose to kill the ones that don’t deserve to be walking among the innocent.” He shrugged.
His revelation shocked me, I stood shaking my head in disgust. It was wrong. Who are they to be the ones deciding on someone’s fate? Guilty or not, vampires or not. My temper got the better of me as I tore through him verbally.
My hands rushed through my hair.
“And that somehow makes it okay to kill us? Who gave you that right?” I asked angrily, defending the human race.
This man is delusional. I was literally arguing with a crazy dude. I was one hundred percent adamant I was in the company of a sociopath. Still, I couldn’t help but get riled up. It may not have been safe but the words poured out like water in a broken dam.
“Well?” I stood waiting, demanding an answer. He offered nothing but a blank stare, it was clear to him I didn’t understand anything he was rambling on about.
He turned his back on me and retreated to the open fire.
“When you have walked this earth for a long time, things make more sense.” He replied.
I followed, waiting for him to answer me.
Instead, he stood deep in thought, his red eyes glowing brighter from the flaming fire.
Dropping the subject, for the time being, I turned the conversation in a different direction.
I sighed heavily. “Back to the breachers. Why are they after me?” Nothing made sense, no matter how many answers he gave. Each answer seemed to open up more questions, splitting apart and ever-growing like the mythical hydra. Either, I was in need of more caffeine or there was something he was not telling me. I’m sure there was plenty he wasn’t telling me but if the things he calls breachers were after me, I had the right to know why. Not that, rights seemed to mean much to Anton.
I had no other option but to pretend to play along until I figured out how to escape this looney.
For all I knew, breacher was a word he had made up for someone just as peculiar as him. I had to get him to trust me. I knew there was at least two more like him, one in the woods and the man with the stern voice.
He straightened up before pacing the room with his hands behind his back.
“The breachers slaughtered our seer, he had kept the magic active from the seer before him. Unfortunately, his demise allowed the magic that cloaked you to become non-existed.”
My mouth dropped open in disbelief. This guy had definitely played too much Dungeons and Dragons.
“Wow...” Game over! I simply had enough “Before it was vampires in the conversation. Now you’re talking about magic, you can’t seriously believe I’m buying all this nonsense...do you?” I let out a breath loud enough to be heard all the way across the room.
Come on drop the act already.
He stopped to stare at me. “Our kind believes, you are something of importance.” He stated, looking more serious.
My loud laugh echoed the bare room as I tried to contain my laughter.
“Me?” I asked pointing to myself, not believing a single word he was saying. I couldn’t even win the lottery, importance wasn’t in my luck.
I continued. “I can’t believe you are telling me vampires and magic are real, and I am important to them. Me! I don’t know what is wrong with you, but you need help, real help!” By the time I finished the sentence I was hollering at him.
He truly believes he’s a vampire. The sad thing about it was, I was starting to believe it too.
Anton stalked closer, the rumble of a growl had me looking up at him in confusion. His face twisted into a monstrous look, long white fangs were visible to see, his red eyes as piercing as they were before. I didn’t flinch, if anything my gut told me to stay.
Those were veneers, right? Clip-ins? Fakes?
I should have run, fought, kicked anything to get away from such strangeness but I didn’t. I think that he was just as shocked as me. He had just shown me his true identity and yet, I was still unable to walk away from him.
“And yet you stay?” He said amused by my reaction.
What the hell was wrong with me? Why wasn’t I running? He turned his head for a brief second before turning back to me fangless.
I was sure I was in shock that must be the only reason I wasn’t trying to escape.
In a state of confusion, “I can’t believe vampires are real.” I mumbled, trying to get my head around what he had just shown me. I thought he was just a freak and nothing more.
“Oh, now you believe me” He tossed out in a heavy sigh.
Dismissing his sarcasm “These breachers you speak of, why are they after me, tell me!” I said with urgency needing to know why.
I was nothing more than a small-town girl working in a bar, not even a great bar at that. How could I be special? How could vampires actually exist? How, what, which, who, where, why. The questions ran around my head like greyhounds on a race track.
Anton refused to answer any more of my questions.
“That is for my elder to explain.” He replied, “Come with me.” He said, his tone softening.
He offered his hand, all of a sudden he was being polite.
Giving him a taste of his own, I abruptly stood and pushed his hand away. I wanted him to see how annoyed I had become at him, for not answering any more of my questions.
My bag and denim jacket I ditched in the woods were laid out on the bed along with my converse. Along with my phone that had no charge left.
Confusion washed over me yet again as I pointed to the bed “Where did you get those?”
I knew I had ditched my bag and denim jacket hoping if I had less weight, I could outrun the dark figures. I remembered that.
“I retrieved them once you were sleeping,” he said, “I trust that’s not a problem.”
Leaving me alone with all the bloodthirsty vampires only had me seething.
Irritation simmered within me.
“You left me here alone! After I asked you. Begged you to stay!” My body started to tingle as if an energy surge was rushing through me. I put it down to my caffeine fix but it was more than that, so much more.
“Don’t worry, you’re off-limits to vampires.” He replied, with a bemused smile, as if that made it any better.
“Off-limits!” I repeated with raised eyebrows “You say that like you serve humans on a platter.” I replied through gritted teeth.
I reached over and grabbed my shoes, pulling them on.
He was a vampire and I was angry at him. Supernatural powers or not I was leaving and I would be damned if I was going to let him stop me. He could drain my blood within minutes but I’d put up a fight!
I straightened up from having tied the laces of my converse, quickly following him as he left the room. The hall stretched on for what looked never-ending on both ends, doors scattered on both sides. Yet it was surprisingly empty.
Maybe not many vampires live here. That was good, the one I had met was frustrating enough.
My eyes drifted from the portraits that lay on the crumbling walls. Three men standing side by side dressed in armor, they too had amulets hanging low around their neck. Their pale skin was visible even as darkness was surrounding them within the portrait. I was sure it was vampires maybe even through the centuries, it was no way in this day and age. Bloodshed and bodies were strewn everywhere, destruction was behind them as they stood with pride in each picture. I found myself wondering who these men were.
“Those are our elders at war over the centuries. Armacey, Dreven, and Cassius.” Anton’s reply had me wondering if he could read minds and just hadn’t informed me of his talent. His timing at answering my thoughts was spot on again.
“Wars? Like World War one and two?” I stopped, wanting to learn more about their kind. A morbid fascination had me gripped, much like people who watch all those shows about serial killers.
He looked at me, a half-smile crept across his face. I was puzzled as to why he found my question amusing.
He shook his head. “No, not the wars the humans fought, our wars between our own kind, vampires and breachers.” He tried to keep it simple, allowing me to find my way through the conversion.
“Breachers bad?” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.
But all jokes aside. I was pleased with myself having been able to take all that he had told me without fainting again.
“Mock all you want,” He said before carrying on talking “The war has been ongoing throughout time, we have magic on our side.” He stopped, allowing me time to admire the different portraits, giving me as much time to absorb everything in. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much time as him to process.
I cocked my head at him “But you said your seer was slaughtered. I’m curious, where does the magic come from now”.
Anton turned to face me. “When one dies another takes their place and so forth. Their role is to take on what the last one had done prior,”
Before I had a chance to open my mouth to ask what on earth I had to do with all of this, he interrupted me. “You hold magic within you. I can sense it. You are much more than just a human.”
I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the idea of being important, now there was magic. My head ached.
He took a step forward, his nose twitched as he took a deep breath in.
He closed his eyes.
Unsure of what he was doing, my face twisted in confusion. It was creepy, to say the least. He was lost in his own little world of something by the looks of it.
“You are not afraid of me.” He said softly opening his eyes in time to catch my gaze. My brows creased.
“I find you surprisingly intriguing for a dead guy” I stumbled.
He brushed his fingertips ever so softly over my jaw.
“Our senses are heightened on a much greater scale than humans, your stench is overwhelming, yet you have an intoxicating musk just like all-powerful witches have, magic, as I said before.” He was almost smug.
Ignoring him, I began walking slowly, admiring more pictures, dismissing his claims.
