Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 26

 Anna had on the leather jacket that Alice had given her. She had Elena's hat and scarf. She had flipped the scarf over to hide the blood splatters. The cold air bit at her bare legs. She had a cappuccino in her hands, and Rhys had his hands behind his back as he walked beside her. Anna stayed silent as Rhys led the way as they navigated their way through the Ottawa streets.

Anna gasped when she saw the large art gallery. The large glass panes were stacked into the sky. Banners hung from the building and were flapping in the wind. A large twisted metal sculpture of a spider sat in front of the building. A sack of eggs was hanging from underneath the sculpture.

"It's beautiful," Anna said as she looked up and walked under the statue.

"It's called Maman," Rhys said.

Anna let go of the warm cup with one hand and touched the cold metal of the leg. Rhys smirked as he watched her in awe.

"Have you been here before?" Anna asked.

"A handful of times," Rhys said. "I haven't been to Ottawa in a couple of years."

"I've never been."

Rhys watched Anna as she ran her fingers along with the metal of the spider's leg. A few people walked by and into the building, but they were the only ones near the statue. She sipped at her drink before turning to look at Rhys. He smiled softly as her eyes darted up to the sack of eggs hanging above them.

"What's up with Drew and Sybil?" Anna asked.

"What do you mean?" Rhys asked.

"I saw them kissing in the kitchen this morning."

Rhys shook his head and ran his fingers through his dark hair. Anna giggled before taking another drink of her coffee.

"Of course he was," Rhys said. "Drew used to date Sybil about twenty years ago. They were together for a few months, but like usual, we had to stay on the move because of the Nightingales. Sybil did not want to move with us, so they had to part."

"That sounds sad," she said. "Did she know Hannah too?"

Rhys glared at Anna. She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. She knew that she should not be asking about Hannah, but her curiosity was overpowering her.

"We're not talking about Hannah," Rhys said. "Finish your drink and we'll go inside."

"If you won't talk about her, can you at least talk about yourself?" Anna asked.

"No," he said. "Now, let's go."

"I'm not done yet." She raised her cup up. "Now, where in England are you from? Why don't you have an accent?"

"After almost three hundred years it goes away."

Anna's lips lifted into a smile. Any little piece of information Rhys would give her about his life piqued her interest. He was like a puzzle she so desperately wanted to solve, and Hannah seemed to be a large piece.

"How long ago did you meet Hannah?" Anna asked.

"What did I just tell you?" Rhys said. "We are not talking about Hannah."

"We're going to be together for quite some time. You might as well tell me who she is now."

Rhys's jaw hardened as he narrowed his eyes. Her stomach twisted in a knot, but she smiled to try and hide her nervousness. Her coffee was almost done, but she did not want to drink any more of it. Getting information from Rhys was like pulling teeth, and she was finally making progress.

"What has Huxley told you?" Rhys asked.

"About what?" Anna asked.

"About Hannah."

Anna opened her mouth. She fought with her tongue to try and stop herself from speaking. She did not want to betray Huxley, but she felt an urge to tell Rhys the truth.

"He said that she was a Nightingale," she said.

"Of course he did," Rhys mumbled. He closed his eyes before continuing to speak. "Anything else he said?"

"No." Anna shook her head.

"I met Hannah in 1917. I only knew her for a few weeks."

Anna bit down on her lip to suppress a smile. She could not believe that Rhys was opening up about this mysterious woman.

"Hannah was a Nightingale. A vampire hunter," he said. "She didn't know I was a vampire when we met and I didn't know she was a Nightingale at first. I realized when she was investigating Lucia, one of the most powerful vampires in Canada."

Anna recalled that name. Rhys mentioned it in the car and Huxley was upset.

"Huxley knew Lucia too, right?" she asked.

"He did," he said. "Lucia had been feeding Huxley her blood for months. He was completely entranced and enslaved to her. She did that to a lot of people. Hannah was investigating it and trying to save their souls."

"But Hannah was too late and Lucia turned Huxley?" she guessed.

Rhys shook his head.

"No," he said. "Hannah managed to get Huxley out of Lucia's grasp. He was the first person she was saving."

"Then how did he turn into a vampire?" she asked.

"We were in Halifax," he said. "The day Hannah got Huxley out of the house was also the day of the Halifax explosion. We were all scrambling when we saw that boat on fire in the harbour. I was searching for Hannah, but when I found her it was too late."

"What happened?"

"The boat exploded. I searched through the rubble and the wounded and dead to find Hannah and Huxley barely hanging on to life. I knew they were not going to make it. I turned both of them."

Anna's eyes grew wide as she listened to Rhys tell his story. Rhys was usually so annoyed by Huxley. She would have never guessed that he had turned him into a vampire.

"Why did you do it?" Anna asked.

Rhys stretched his shoulders and avoided looking at Anna. She could sense his discomfort. It was an odd feeling as Rhys usually portrayed a sense of confidence.

"Are you done with your coffee?" he asked. "I'll tell you more later."

Anna nodded her head before draining her cup. She walked over to the garbage can and tossed it in the trash. Rhys was waiting for her under Maman. Anna hurried back over and threw her arms around his neck. He stumbled back a step before wrapping his arms around her.

Anna pulled away and smiled. Rhys was staring at her lips. She felt the need to lean in and press her mouth against his. She shook her head, ripped Rhys's hands off of her, and took a step back.

"Ready to give me a tour of the gallery?" Anna asked.

"What makes you think I will be a good tour guide?" he asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "Probably because you have been around since the middle ages."

"The middle ages were not three hundred years ago."

Anna rolled her eyes. Rhys chuckled, and the sound made Anna's heart flutter. She did not think that she ever heard Rhys laugh before.

"It was sarcasm," Anna said. "Let's go."

Anna shoved her hands in her pocket as she walked toward the gallery. Rhys followed beside her. She struggled to not try and hold his hand while he showed her the paintings.