The King, The Enemy, and the Wars[Sequel to The Slayer]

Chapter 49

             The week after Bruce's accident I would visit him after school and do my homework and keep him company and then go home and go to school. When Bruce got out it was during the second week and he was supposed to rest and not work, which made him irritated since he loved what he did. Trace came with me to visit him during the second week and we talked and tried to keep him distracted from science but to no avail. Charles informed me that he sneaks down to the basement for at least two hours a day. With two weeks of school left I was beginning to feel the pressure. I had my exams next week and Bruce still wasn't up for leaving the house to hunt Diane down. Trace offered to study with me this weekend and I couldn’t refuse since I needed help.

                Luke also has been really nice to me ever since Bruce got in that accident. He has even done some of my homework for me so I wouldn’t fall behind with the last weeks of school coming up. I was very appreciative for the help that my friends gave me, but for some reason I feel like Luke knew something and wasn't telling me.  On Saturday when Trace and I decided to take a break my phone rang and I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyways.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Violet, long time," Vlad's eerie voice spoke.

 "What do you want?" I spat as I went to the window to look outside to see if Vlad was anywhere spying on me.

"I wanted to make sure you were still alive," Vlad responded.

"Why? Why would you care?" I snapped.

"I just wanted to know that you were still alive, so when you come to Transylvania, I could kill you myself for betraying me," Vlad said before hanging up.

"That was Vlad," I whispered to Trace.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he wanted to make sure I was still alive so he could kill me himself when I'm in Transylvania," I said.

"Oh…" Trace said not sure what to say.

"Yeah, it's fine though, I can take him," I assured.

"Yeah, of course you can," Trace encouraged.

"I need to call Daniel," I said as I dialed the castle number.

"Violet, what's up?" Daniel asked.

"Vlad…he knows I'm coming to Transylvania, and wants to kill me when I am there, just letting you know," I said.

"Thank you for informing us, but Vlad suspected you would come," Daniel replied.

"Also, about Bruce…if he figures out the cure, he wants to come and offer it to any vampire who might want it," I said.

"The Elders would be furious but there is no Law stating that a vampire cannot do that. You may bring him as long as you know that he is your responsibility," Daniel made clear.

"I realize that, and he will be joining me," I replied.

"Alright, I will see you in two weeks," Daniel said before hanging up.

           Luckily Trace and I as seniors only had two exams to study for; the rest of our classes had projects assigned as a final which I already finished. During the last hour of studying I couldn’t help but wonder where Diane was… She hasn't shown herself since Bruce's accident. She must feel guilty if she really likes him that much. Trace noticed that I wasn't paying attention anymore and gave up.

"So I think we are done… you've studied you can do no more," Trace said.

"Yeah I agree," I replied.

"Thinking about Bruce?" Trace nudged.

"Diane," I corrected.

"Oh, yeah she hasn’t been around since the accident…where do you think she is?" Trace asked.

"I don't know…" I replied.

            Trace dropped it after that and he turned the TV on to distract my mind. When Tuesday and Wednesday came I took my exams and in the end I didn’t care how I did. Jason also didn’t care; he said I didn't need to worry which made me feel better, because I couldn’t tell if I did well or not. Jason took Trace and I out to celebrate being done with work since graduation was next week. At dinner Jason noticed my mind wandering but he didn’t say anything. I wasn't thinking of Diane now, I was thinking about Vlad and what was going to happen when I got to Transylvania. I knew that I had to somehow face Vlad…and it would be the first time in almost a year. The real thing I feared was losing my skills due to the lack of training…I was afraid maybe he had new strategies or skills I wasn’t aware of.

            I often thought back to the dream where my parents said I knew his Achilles heel…but I wasn't sure what it was. I knew that he loved Jeanette very much and that is what started his vampire slaughter…so maybe love…could that be his Achilles heel? If I played with his mind, telling him Jeannette wouldn’t want him to be doing this…would that be enough to distract him so it could all end? It might be…but I hated when a person played with the mind of another… that was one thing that I would hate to do…although killing him was another thing I hated the thought of.

"Violet, are you done?" Jason asked interrupting my thoughts.

"Yes I am done," I replied as the waiter took my dish.

            The next week, on Thursday was graduation. Jason helped me find a beautiful white dress that was designed by some famous designer in London. It was fitted to the waist and poofed out as it fell. Wednesday night I was happy and ready to graduate. Thursday morning of course was a different deal. I was scared when I woke up that morning. Scared because I was going to be leaving all that I knew, but I was excited because it meant I could have a fresh start at life.