Come In

Chapter Twenty-Five

Our plans were as fool-proof as they were ever going to get. I knew exactly what I was doing; Cam knew exactly what he was doing; Victor... well Victor was just along for the ride.

We drove to the industrial building this time- it was only a stop along the way, so we didn't want to waste any time with it. It was midday, and the sun (by some miracle) was shining brightly- you could almost see the heat that it was giving off.

We parked the car a five minute walk away. I thanked my lucky stars that I had packed light for this- one wooden stake in the inside pocket of the jacket that I regretted bringing, and one bottle of water, which I was extremely grateful to have in my possession.

Cam carried nothing- I suppose that all he'd need in a fight would be his own hands. Besides, he was confident that this wouldn't result in a fight, and I trusted him completely.

It felt as if it had taken us half an hour, but we were finally staring at the uninviting, greyscale façade of the industrial building. I felt Cam tense beside me, so I grabbed his hand. The cold of his skin was an incredible feeling in the weather. He squeezed my hand and seemed to relax.

We found a spot of shade, away from the view of the building, and stood there, gathering our energy. I peered out into the sunlit road, and noticed a white haze covered everything the sun touched, which reminded me of something.

"Cam, how comes you can walk in the sun?" I asked, realising that he had walked through the light of the sun at its highest point, and came out the other end perfectly fine. He gave a crooked smile, and stroked his hand along my cheek, cooling me instantly. I was grateful for the coolness.

"I had a friend once- a witch. She managed to place a spell on me, after realising that I held onto my conscience more than others of my race. The spell lasts forever, apparently." He explained. I was shocked at the jealously that rumbled inside of me- I instantly thought of this witch as a young, beautiful girl, who had shared with him the same romance as I. I knew deep down that this was ridiculous, but I couldn't help it.

I forced myself to concentrate on the matter at hand. Cam leant down and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before he ran to the edge of the gates. He leapt up and over, and ran to the actual building, all in one second.

I waited whilst he crept cautiously toward the entrance. He peered through the doorway, which must have been clear, because he gestured for me to follow him.

I made short work of the gate, and raced down the path toward the entrance, where Cam waited for me. He gave a small smile when I was stood next to him. Grabbing my hand, he led me inside.

I remembered everything from the last time I had been here- it all seemed as if I had been dreaming. The rich colours, the garish decorations- everything screamed 'vampire'. It was pretty daunting, but Cam paid no attention to the room, so we were quickly leaving.

He guided me to a small room with a high-tech looking computer. He had my hand in his, even when he was tapping the keys on the keyboard with inhuman speed. Suddenly, he stopped typing, and his head whipped up.

Before I had any time to react, I was behind him. Frowning, I peered around him to see what was going on.

Three vampires stood in the doorway. One short, stocky one with a shaved head; on lean, tall one with greasy looking black hair. But standing in the centre, sneering gleefully, was Elios. Cam held my hand again, knowing that it would be the only thing that would stop me from lunging.

"Why, Cameron. What a nice surprise! Actually... that's a lie. We were expecting you." Elios purred, delight colouring his voice.

"Do you think that we can't take you, Elios?" Cam snarled. I sized up the vampires, deciding that yes, we could definitely take them. But Elios just chuckled, and sauntered forward. Cam crouched down at the movement, cause Elios to laugh even more.

"My my, Cameron. Haven't you got quite the temper!" he remarked sarcastically. I gained comfort from the heavy feeling of the wooden stake in my pocket.

"You haven't even seen my temper yet." Cam retorted. Elios raised his eyebrows, and paced around in front of us, like a teacher addressing a classroom.

"Well yes, you may be able to kill us. But we are not unprepared." Elios said, smiling. He turned his head toward the doorway.

"What are you-" Cam began.

"Martin!" Elios called. Martin... Why did I recognise that name? "Bring the hostages!" he continued. I had a bad feeling.

Suddenly, a tall vampire appeared. His hair was a dirty blonde, and fell in short ringlets onto his forehead. His cheekbones made his pale face look hollow, and slightly corpse-like. His eyes seemed sunken into his skull, and the only life on his face was the glittering blue of his eyes.

But I paid no attention to him.

Behind him were two girls, who were crying, scared stiff. I recognised both of them instantly.

Kim- who, apparently wasn't being kept in a separate base- and next to her, to my utter horror, stood a dark blonde girl with bright blue eyes.

Libby...