Vampire Emeritus (Part #3) ✔

Chapter 39: Vampire Hunt

Blood turned icy in my veins, slowing my heartbeat down almost instantly, like some primal part of me understood this was the survival mechanism I needed to use. My breathing evened out. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes for a brief moment.

I had to grab Ian and run.

I had no intention of fighting Vilmus.

Hell, I was even prepared to let him go if it meant I'd get Ian out.

As the thought crossed my mind, I realised I might have finally understood him. I would let Vilmus walk away right now if it meant he'd let Ian go. I'd doom hundreds, even thousands of lives if it meant Ian would stay alive.

Crap. I truly was a bitch sometimes.

"I wasn't surprise you attacked me." Vilmus's smug voice interrupted my thoughts. "Nothing about that was unexpected. What surprised me was the fact you found me."

A strained, throaty laugh came as an answer to Vilmus's words.

"That's because you're outdated." Ian's voice sounded weak.

I took in a sharp breath, then clasped my mouth again. He was still alive.

"You've hacked me." Vilmus hummed. "And my programmers didn't see you coming. I must have chosen badly."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Ian said. "Old companies don't know how to put HR to use."

A chair scraped the floor and creaked under Vilmus's weight.

"I admire your efforts. I truly do. No matter what you might think, I've always respected you." The vampire said.

"That's bullshit." Ian laughed. "The only vampire you've ever respected is yourself."

"Of course I respect myself." Vilmus said. "A man who does not respect himself cannot possibly expect others to respect him. But I've respected you, too, I still do. Oh, I've had such plans for us. You had potential; murderous, ruthless potential."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Ian said, his voice losing strength.

Gathering courage, I peeked beyond the concrete wall. I could see only Vilmus's back, turned to me, and two guards standing by the door to his right. Quickly, I returned to my previous position. There was no way I could fight Vilmus and two other guards, not with a single stake and no pants.

"I am disappointed, indeed." Vilmus sighed. "After one thousand years, I thought such human emotions were out of my reach, I thought it wasn't possible to feel disappointment anymore, but here we are."

"If nothing else, I'm glad I made you feel more human." Ian said.

"Humans." Vilmus said. "It's a strange dynamic, the one between vampires and humans. We're predators and they are our prey, yet there's more. It's a relationship like no other in nature. They can be our family, friends, even lovers."

"Which is why we shouldn't kill them all." Ian's voice sounded strained.

Despite claiming he built salvia divinorum immunity, he got shot multiple times with the poison. How long would it take until the plant made him lose his mind? Or kill him?

I needed to come up with a plan.

Footsteps resonated through the acoustic walls, someone approached the room quickly.

"Vilmus, we need help." Someone spoke. "We need more weapons."

"Not now, Leon." Vilmus spoke. "I'm having a chat with my old friend."

"All due respect, Master, but if we don't find more weapons, they're going to win!"

My heart fluttered in my chest and I scolded myself for the reaction. If Vilmus heard my heartbeat, he'd kill me on the spot just to spite Ian. But I couldn't stop the flutter of happiness. We were winning!