Empire of Vampires ✔️

Chapter Twenty-One

Marie burst into the room, 'ANDREW- Oh you're here.' She paused. 'So, you heard the news.'

Andrew gulped and slowly nodded.

'Why are you looking at me like that? It wasn't ME!' she exclaimed.

'I didn't think it was,' he replied guiltily. His immediate flush gave him away.

'Don't lie,' she shot back, 'You look like a tomato-

'It's only logical to consider it,' James interrupted, eyes flashing dangerously.

Marie huffed. 'Okay, okay fine- let's just get past the elephant in the room.' She hopped on the rollie chair and made herself comfortable, leaning to the side with one leg draped across the chair arm. She gestured impatiently at the boys till they sat cross-legged on the bed in front of her.

'James and I are vampyres,' she continued, diving head first into it, 'We drink blood, can't go in sunlight, blah blah, I'm sure you've heard of us.' She shook her finger between her brother and herself, pointing quickly at them both, 'And we did feed on the two men you saw but we had nothing to do with the lily murders.'

The room fell into silence while Marie expectantly awaited Andrew's reply. He opened his mouth and closed it again, looking helplessly at James of all people when his sister made no further remark.

'You can't expect him to believe a thing you say,' James finally told her, his voice too low for human ears, 'He would be foolish to trust either of us.'

'So what? We've been friends for months and now you think I'm a heartless murderer?' she demanded, staring at Andrew and challenging him to answer honestly.

Andrew remembered how he had found her. Stately... graceful.... Feeding. Completely remorseless with a dead man at her feet.

'More like a- executioner,' he finally said, gathering up the courage after hearing James muttering to his sister under his breath that she had no right to be offended.

'Well that's completely different from the creepy lily murders.' She brightened up, 'So that's proof it wasn't us! There were no bite marks anyway-

Marie reached forward between them suddenly, interrupting herself. She plucked something off her brother's face. 'Hey you have a wish!' she exclaimed, holding up a fallen eyelash.

She placed it on her own knuckle and quickly blew it off before he had a chance to react.

'I stole your wish! I wish that your shoelaces would always untie themselves!'

'That's so cruel, why would you wish that?' James gasped.

'So that every time you tie them like a few minutes later they would just get untied.'

'Don't you enjoy untying them,' he pointed out.

'Yes, and I will, but I want them to untie themselves even when I'm not there to do it,' she explained.

The boys stared at her for a moment in mutual shock.

'What do you mean about the bite marks?' Andrew questioned, trying to get back to the topic at hand.

'Those murders are the work of an eternal,' James explained, 'At least, we think so because there were no visible bite marks.'

'Are you trying to stop them?' Andrew asked without hesitation.

'Why would you... immediately assume that?' James asked in surprise.

'Because- you're the only ones who can,' Andrew replied innocently, looking not the least bit frightened as he gazed directly into the vampyre's eyes.

'You imagine that a couple of vampyres would feel compelled to stop another supernatural killer?'

'Why wouldn't you?' Andrew argued, 'You could use your powers to save people.'

'We're not saviours.'

'Oh James, you're like a broken record,' Marie complained. 'He's always like this,' she said, turning to Andrew, 'He's been trying to find this eternal for centuries; he's basically obsessed.'

'I'm not obsessed, they've been impossible to track,' James snapped, 'So many deaths have never before been at the same place at the same time.'

'So you have been trying to stop them? Why would you pretend otherwise?' Andrew demanded.

'You can't always believe the best of everyone. Especially not us.'

'What's wrong with believing the best of people? Maybe you should try it sometime!'

'James just tries so hard to be angsty, it's annoying,' Marie cut in, glaring at her brother.

'You saw me feeding, you can't possibly be that naive,' James frowned, feeling a bit irritated with the human's credulousness, 'I was covered in blood.'

'Yeah, you're a messy eater,' Andrew replied, trying to keep a straight face.

James gazed at him in horrified disbelief.

'Haha, James is a messy eater,' Marie snorted, clearly thinking of an inappropriate joke.

'It's not that easy,' James objected, 'It gushes out quickly and it just spurts. I can't control that.'

Andrew snickered, unable to stop himself. He slapped a hand over his mouth as James turned to glare at him.

Marie started laughing so hard that she fell out of her chair. Andrew burst out laughing and James was so shocked that he started laughing as well.

Andrew had an incredibly infectious laugh; the kind where it seemed like he was trying really hard to stop but just couldn't help but crack up. He was snorting sort of adorably too.

James thought it was a shame that he hadn't gotten to hear it properly till now.