Lethal Beauty

XXXIX - Breakeven

A cup of hot chocolate was placed in front of one of the oldest pureblood vampires in history as he was finally welcomed inside the house that was apparently left vacant by an old friend.

"You have our attention, now what?" Iris scowled as he leaned on the side of the wall near the fireplace, watching Jessen with a calculating gaze.

"I appreciate that," Jessen said with a teasing smile. However, deep inside, he had no idea how to start the story or if he could even tell a story.

Abel sat across him. "You know my nonna."

The smile faded from his lips. "We're friends."

Milo, who helped himself to a cup of hot chocolate gasped. He was sitting next to Abel, Lexus, and the two girls. "So, Abel's grandma is a member of the Vampire Hunter Guild of the past? Wicked!"

Jessen found this amusing. "You're Raviel's cousin."

"Oh, you know my cousin too? Wait, why haven't we heard your name?"

"Same question," Lexus prodded too. "You're a Laiho and the brother of Hariel. It's impossible not to know you. Yet, you weren't in the family tree. Or any official documents."

"You believed those documents?" Jessen brought the cup to his lips. "We're the undead. Nothing is official on us."

Milo looked at Lexus. "That makes sense."

Lexus shook his head. "Fine. Explain first, why haven't we heard of you and how you became friends with Abel's grandmother. You seem to know a great deal about a lot of things so I bet you can also tell us what happened here. We smell blood---" he stopped when he realized that Abel was just sitting right next to him.

But Abel ignored him. In fact, he ignored everyone in the room except Jessen. "Where is my grandmother?"

Jessen raised a hand. "First of all," he turned to Lexus, "That's a lot of questions that could open one portal to another."

"Then start talking," Iris said. "We don't have a lot of time."

He took a deep breath and then another. "I've known Yuri since she was a child back at the orphanage where the World Government usually chooses their female soldiers to train as Vampire Hunter. So, yes, Abel, your grandmother used to be a Vampire Hunter."

Abel was puzzled and they hadn't even reached half of the story. "Who's Yuri?"

"Your grandmother. Try to keep up. Your grandmother's real name is Nikita Yuri Romanov and not Janne Marie Rosenthal."

At the mention of the other name, both Iris and Lux glanced at one another. Jessen clocked this but didn't say anything. He tried to focus his whole attention on Abel. The sole reason why he was here. "I gave her the identity. Even your name is fake. Except maybe your first name. Everything about you is forged. It was I who helped your grandmother rebuild your life and recreate your identity. I planted some people in this town to create your grandmother's persona. When in all truth, she wasn't a former beauty queen. Nor was she a seamstress. She was part of an elite team and she was the first woman to give birth to a new monster. Your mother. Eve."

Many years ago, Abel wished to hear about his mother, and Janne or Yuri, whoever she was, did tell him a bit about his mother. To hear her name for the first time brought a new set of emotions within him that he couldn't even explain. Nonna would often refer to his mother as La Niña.

Nonna didn't want to talk about her. She said it was a painful conversation and she didn't want to relieve the moment that she lost her. She always told Abel that it was better to remember the good things rather than the awful ones.