Love Bites

Searching For Truth

As they approached the doors Cal's stomach turned over. In all his years as a vampire he'd never really felt like this. Sure, he'd felt things but he'd spent years shying away from creating connections that would make him feel like this but with Tasha, it had hit him so hard and so quick that he hadn't had time to react until it was too late. Their bond was so strong and he knew it was forever. Unless...He pushed the thought down, he was not ready to entertain that kind of thought: ever.

The two men on the door, nor the vampires at the desk did more than look up as they walked in.  Good, clearly they were only there to weed out the humans from the vampires when they arrived. Cal made to go towards the the double doors at the back of the room but Cassie steered him towards the stairs. When they'd reached the second floor landing he stopped.

"Why did you do that?" he hissed.

"You said it yourself before, Those doors have some hefty security. You won't get though without some kind of key or password. You try and alarm bells are ringing before you can take a single step." Cassie whispered back fiercely.

Cal's shoulders sagged, "You're right. But what do we do now?"

"Try and find a way of getting down that corridor. Follow me, and for God's sake try and act like you're meant to be here."

Together they moved through the door onto the second floor. It led to a large open plan office filled with desks in pairs facing each other. There must have been about twenty or so pairs but not one person looked up as they entered.

"What now?" Cal whispered, knowing that at any moment the charm could break and they would be busted.

"That office at the back looks empty, keep moving." Man Cassie lumbered towards the office with Cal in toe. The odd set of eyes followed their journey but only briefly Cal was pleased to note.

Once inside the office Cassie shut the door and pulled the blinds. They didn't want to be seen searching the office. 

"We need to be quick," Cal said as he began riffling through paperwork on the desk. 

Cassie flipped speedily through the wall of filing cabinets. "There's a file here on every vampire in the city!" Cassie exclaimed, eyes wide.

"That doesn't surprise me. Our Elder Council is worse than your government." Cal huffed. "Bingo!" He held up a key card, a mixture of triumph and fear on his face. "Let's just hope it works."

Both held their breath as Cal, casually as he could manage, swiped the key card. For a moment nothing happened, then the pad went green and the door clicked open.

On the other side was a long dimly lit hallway that stretched out before them ending in another set of double doors. Cal's prediction of more guards had been correct. Cal was shocked, however, to realise that he recognised them. Internally he began to panic, they had been at school together, what if they reconised him too? Dread settled into his stomach and momentarily he froze. Cassie nudged him none to gently with her elbow.

Without thinking, he strode forward, shoulders squared, "Tylus, Draiden." he nodded at the two men and kept walking. Once through the next set of double doors, they stopped. They stood in an antechamber of sorts lit with bright, garish lights that seemed to penetrate every corner. Two identical doors faced them. Nothing more.

"Why did you speak to them?!" Cassie asked, eyes wide, brow creased.

"I realised I knew them. I panicked. But hear me out," he told her as she glanced continually at the door they'd just come through. "It's perfect actually. They'll be too embarrassed to follow us, question us, because we knew how they were."

Cassandra nodded slowly, as comprehension dawned in her eyes. "Yeah, okay. But where now?"

They stood facing both doors. Nothing about them gave away what was behind either. 

"Door one or door two?" Cal asked, Cassie floundered for an answer. "Let's see what's behind door number one, shall we?"

Cal tried to sense what might be behind the door, reach out to try and connect subtly to what or who might be n the other side but he was met only with nothingness. Taking a deep breath he grasped the handle but jumped back as thought stung. "Vervain," he hissed.

Cassie moved in front of him and turned the handle, the door swung inwards. The room was in darkness, a dark that Cal's senses could not penetrate. 

"It's been magically concealed," Cassie whispered, almost afraid that just the sound of her voice would awaken some slumbering beast. "I can feel it."

"But the Council hate your kind, why would they be working with one?"

"I'm guessing they are working against their will, like I was."

A fresh stab of guilt pierced Cal's armour. "Cassie I'm..."

"Not the time Cal, not the time." She waved her hands in front of her, "Palla on tu palla feya." she whispered. 

Before them to room grew brighter, they saw a chair in the centre of the room,  a girl tied to it. She was slumped at an awkward angle her breathing shallow. Blood pooled at her feet and dripped continually from deep cuts to her arms and legs. A door at the far end of the room opened and Masterson walked in, in his hands he cradled a silver dagger. He set it on a table to the side of the girl and lifted her chin to face him. Her hair, matted in blood hung in front of her face. 

"What are you?" he asked slowly as he dipped the dagger into a violet liquid already on the table.

"I'm the same as you! I'm a vampire, I don't know what you want me to..." 

Masterson shook his head and in one swift movement stabbed her in the stomach, right up to the hilt.

 "Why?" the girl whimpered, then a scream ripped through the air that cut through Cal as though he'd been stabbed too. 

He rushed forward but the scene dissolved and he was stood in an empty room. The chair, bindings and blood remained but the body, the girl, she was gone.

                                                                           ***

Masterson watched the two men enter and head up to the second floor, where they spent some time in Blackthorn's office with the blinds drawn. When they left they headed straight for the back wing; one even addressed the guards. He then watched the two men leave hastily, but as they did so the larger of the two turned to look back, and even on the grainy CCTV screen he knew he was looking at Cal Lucien. A smile spread across face.

                                                                        ***

By the time they rounded the corner, Cal was looking at Cassie, not the man she'd changed into.

"We got out just in time," she murmured watching Cal intently. He jaw was set and his eyes were beetle black, glistening in a way that she knew was dangerous. They hadn't rescued Tasha, instead they had seen someone tortured and killed, someone who looked a lot like Tasha.

"It wasn't her." Cassie said, not really believing her own words. "Cal," she grabbed his arm and pulled him round to face her. "It wasn't her."

"Then who was it?" he growled, barely holding on to his anger. "Who was it, Cassandra? Wave your fucking magic wand and see who it was! Tell me for certain that that wasn't the girl I love being butchered. Tell me it wasn't Tasha and our baby that just died!"