Blood on Roses [COMPLETED]

Twelve: Nest of the Hunters

"Never again will I allow my emotions to overpower my rational thinking."

~ Loukianos (Harvick)

TWELVE

I sat in bed all night to read a book I thought I'd never had the time to finish. Arthur knocked on the door early in the morning and was surprised to see me fully dressed and ready to go.

We drove to a vast dome-like building that had a very modern design. From the outside, it seemed that it had four floors, each one smaller than the last due to the building structure. Four rows of floor-length windows covered the outside of the dome. It was rather aesthetically pleasing for its intended purpose.

Arthur drove up to the gates and held out his ID to the gatekeeper, who nodded down in respect, barely even looking at the ID. The spiky silver barricades then rose at his command.

I followed behind Arthur as we crossed the central hallway, heading to the elevators. There were glass windows in every room, much like the facility that I infiltrated a few days ago with Hailee.

The sound of a gunshot startled me. Three girls looking not much older than me were firing shots at moving targets. I watched, impressed that all of the bullets hit the mark. On the other side, two guys engaged in the most intense battle I'd ever seen with their swords.

In a more extensive gym in the center of the floor, hand-to-hand combat training was taking place. All of the participants looked relatively young, yet they were all quite strong. Fast, too.

"By the end of the first two years of training, trainees will get injected with a tiny amount of vampire blood to enhance their physique. Regular vampires can't tell the difference between a person who's had the injection and who hasn't. I can't say the same about Purebloods, though," Arthur explained. "I got mine many years ago. Jaxson got his a while back, and Alecx will get it in a week. If Kaydence decides to continue down this path, she'll eventually have one, as well."

"I see." Vampire hunters weren't normal humans. Then it was no wonder they could fight monsters as horrifying as vampires.

In between the two installed elevators, there was what resembled a vending machine. I asked Arthur what that was.

"Performance enhancement pills. You need an ID and face scan to obtain one, and only one will generate within twelve hours since taking two at a time puts one's life in danger." He then opened his mouth and pointed to a spot on the back of his teeth. "See this? Every hunter ranked First Class and up keeps one at the back of their teeth for emergency use. We're not allowed to carry a packet because the supplement also takes effect on vampires."

We entered the elevator. I didn't think Arthur should be telling me all this. Even if I was practically his daughter, I wasn't a trained hunter, so I shouldn't know such classified information.

Arthur, however, went on. "I've only ever taken two. One when I first got promoted to First Class, and I was reckless; another one two years ago when I fought Dracul."

I nearly jolted at Zach's nickname. I just couldn't seem to shake off his presence no matter where I went.

I glanced up at Arthur in surprise. "Dracul? Did you see his face?"

He shook his head in pity. "I hate to admit it, but he was too fast. Even after enhancement effects, I could at best defend myself until backup arrived. Dracul is probably one of the most powerful vampires I've ever fought. I'm surprised you know about him."

"Kaydence told me a lot about vampires, especially this one. He's in the news a lot."

Arthur nodded in approval. "Of course. Oh, here we are."