The Greyback Manor

chapter sixteen

The words stayed in my head as I reread the note a few more times. If any of those words were true then what was Marina’s plan? I placed the last note in my pocket and looked down at the waterfall nearby. Unlike the running water of the fall I could see the still water below. A few strands of the misty water splashed in my face while my ears pounded from all the noise. There was a part of me that wanted to jump to see if this whole thing was a dream. I shook my head at my horrible thought and threw a rock to see how far it would go. It took ten minutes to hear the splash and that was when I turned away from the waterfall. The wind blew through my hair and I closed my eyes for a minute. 

“I need to go back before this whole situation gets worse.” I said. Before I could even walk two steps my teeth ceased being sharp. To be sure, I placed my finger in my mouth. It only confused me more as it wasn’t logical to briefly possess vampire abilities when I was not one. 

As I ran back to Greyback Manor I hoped that Jekyll hadn't attacked while I was gone. A ton of other worries ran through me when the labyrinth came into view. The amount of twigs, branches, or leaves I stepped on or tripped over seemed infinite. 

“Come on Lana I'm going to get you!” A familiar voice exclaimed. I left a sigh of relief at the sound of the twins playing together in the yard. Their laughter helped me deduce how to get out of the labyrinth without more difficulty. 

“You'll never catch me Cedric, I'm a huntress like Mommy!” Lana yelled back. At the sight of them playing together without arguing I was hit with sadness and my vision went black. The last thing I heard was the twins yelling for help when they noticed me. 

When I woke up there was a washcloth on my head and I figured Hyde had found me again. I tried to get up but strong arms pushed me back onto the bed. It seemed someone had brought me back to the guest room. 

“You know you seem to keep passing out, maybe you should be drinking more water.” Hyde said. 

“Yeah, I've had quite a day.” I groaned in response. After a few more attempts I was able to sit up and open my eyes. I saw the familiar figure of Hyde though he looked unwell. 

“I've had many days like that here.” He responded. I took the glass of water but chose not to drink it. There was something off with how he hardly laughed or looked around me. I wondered if it was from my dehydration or something else. Yet my gut seemed to be telling me something was wrong. I moved the crystal goblet to inspect the water and could see the reflection of Hyde's pale face. Something else caught my attention; it seemed there was blood on his hands. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I realized what might really be going on.

“You don't look too good.” I said. 

“Yeah I'm afraid that the antidote I made with Lisa all those years ago is wearing off faster and faster thanks to my new fangs.” he responded. A reasonable thing to factor in given the nature of the vampire virus. My eyes looked back to the glass of water and I pretended to drink it while Hyde cleaned his hands. I could still smell the blood however, it was still wet meaning two things. Someone either attacked him or he attacked someone else for their blood.

“I see so I'm guessing you were told by the twins I was outside.” 

“Yeah I was in the gazebo when they came up to me.” He explained. 

That seemed like another lie and I spotted his eyes drifting to the left. A sign of dishonesty along with his constant fidgeting. If Jekyll was playing a game with me then I would play along.

“There’s a Gazebo in this place?” I asked. He looked back at me and smiled. 

“Of course it's just hidden, I go there when I need to think about certain things,” he said. “You should come with me.”