Vampire World (VAMPIRE WORLD #1)

Part 43 The Truth

Chapter 42: The Truth

“Martin never existed?” I said, still flabbergasted by this latest development.

            Mr. FreeCut shook his head. “I pretended to be Martin because I needed to protect you. Like Mr. Stake told you, your life was in danger at every moment.”

            For the first time, I spotted the black X on his forehead. Why had I never seen that before?

            “You thought you'd spoken to Martin after the attack on my house,” Mr. FreeCut said. “But I was there with you, so that’s why my fellow X-Fangers who saved you did not respond. However, when I rescued you in Bloodwood Forest, I simply changed the tone of my voice.”

            My caretaker actually had the nerve to smirk. I wasn't finding his gimmicks amusing at all.

            “I was with you all along,” he continued. “Even at the beginning. I rescued you after you crashed my car and fell into the canyon. I tried to stop that freak stalker from messing with you, but he was just too quick for me. You did a fine job handling him in the library though.”

            He glanced across at Mr. Stake and smiled before continuing.

            “You need to know that Mr. Stake and I are back on good terms, just like we were when we first formed X-Fang a long time ago. We settled on our final agreement just before the fireball tournament. I now agree with him that you need to know the truth about your history. I wish I would have come to that conclusion earlier instead of trying to hide it from you. I thought I was keeping you safe, but now it’s a decision I deeply regret. All we care about is you and your safety.”

            Mr. Stake cut in. “So we promise you there will be no more games, unknown figures or secret messengers. We’re together now. And we’ll stay together.”

            A million words wanted to fly out of my mouth, but they remained stuck where they were.

            “I know you must be wondering about this,” Mr. FreeCut said, pointing to his forehead.

            I nodded, still too shocked by these revelations to say anything all.

            “Because of the dangerous work we do, everyone in X-Fang must keep their membership a secret and hide their tattoo when not with other X-Fangers,” Mr. FreeCut explained. “We have a special lotion that completely fades it away, and another to restore it again when needed.”

            He pulled something from his pocket. It was the weird mirror from my room. “Mr. Stake gave you this when we were in disagreement,” he said. “Look into it.”

            I trembled when I couldn’t see my face.

            “You don't see yourself because vampires can’t see into mirrors that are from your home planet of Earth.”

            I gasped. Then I slapped Mr. FreeCut with a brutal stare, wiping away his smile.

            “Janice,” he said. “I know that isn't your real name, but I do love you. Please forgive me for what I’ve done. I shouldn’t have lied. You’re the most special person in my world. Even though everything I did was to protect you, it wasn't right. I see that now. I’m so so sorry…”

            Tears began falling down his face. But I didn’t care. I finally found my voice again. “You bloody son of a bitch,” I shouted. And he deserved it.