Secret Bloodline

Psychic

Camila, Zayn, and Shawn are on their way to Paris to meet a psychic who may be able to help recover memories about the Tomb of The First Vampire.

As the plane begins its descent, Camila turns to Zayn.

"So how are we doing this? Are we going straight to your friend?" Camila questions.

"Unfortunately getting to Normani will be quite tricky, so we'll have to get a secure place and have her meet us," Zayn says.

"What? Why?" Camila asks.

Zayn frowns as he speaks, "The vampire situation in Europe is quite different from the one in America."

"What do you mean?" Shawn asks.

Zayn sighs, running a hand over his face, as he leans back and gazes out the window. "For as long as there have been vampires in Europe, there have been those who hunted them down. They call themselves the Order of Dawn," Zayn explains as his face hardens, "They're a secret society, of sorts. Very elite. Very fanatical. Very ruthless," He adds.

"Yikes. They sound unpleasant," Camila frowns.

"Unpleasant is an understatement," Zayn says.

"How does the Order of Dawn function. If they're a secret society... How exactly does that work?" Camila asks.

"They're secret to the public but not to those who know the truth about us. I'm not talking about pesky men with stakes, no. The Order of Dawn is well funded and deeply influential in both finance and politics," Zayn informs.

"So it's funded by wealthy donors. Guess that makes sense," Camila says.

"That funding helped them grow from just a small guild to an army of vampire hunters," Zayn says.

"How old is the Order of Dawn? You said it's been around since vampires came into existence?" Camila questions.

"Yes. The Order of Dawn is thousands of years old with roots in ancient Greece. It's gone by many names, Knights of Light, the Holy Brotherhood, and now, the Order of Dawn," Zayn informs.

"Sounds religious," Shawn speaks.

"It is, in a sense. They have an intense devotion to the concept of the light," Zayn explains.

"And we represent the dark," Shawn scowls.

"Exactly. They've spread throughout Europe though they're most concentrated in France and England," Zayn says.

"How the hell have they managed to keep up this organization for so long?" Shawn asks.

Zayn scowls and says, "As I said, they're fanatics. Their drive to eradicate vampires."

"How do they hunt down vampires? If they are supposed to remain out of the public eye, how can they just murder vampires left and right?" Camila asks.

"They're incredibly tactical. They'll usually scout out a den or an individual before moving in," Zayn explains.

"And let me guess... They know all the tricks," Shawn says.

"And then some. Stakes, beheaded, fire. They know what it takes to keep us down. They move with military precision and are backed up with the latest technology," Zayn says.

He clenches and unclenches his fists as his face hardens.

"The Order of Dawn is some of the most elite and efficient killers in the world. And their sole mission is to eradicate our kind," He says.

"And I thought America was bad," Shawn says.

"The Order of Dawn is feared by vampires throughout the world. They nearly wiped out our whole bloodline several times. That's why Niklaus and the others immigrated, why his shadow kingdom in America was so important. It provided us a haven from the Order of Dawn. They can't touch us there. Vampires became part of the elite, instead of staying and hiding," Zayn explains.