The Immortal Blood

Chapter 17

Adam had returned without realizing he had driven all the way up to his home, his brain focused somewhere else.
He had thrown himself into the shower, then prepared dinner while he waited for his wife and daughters, trying to ignore the pain radiating from his right buttock,
As the water started to boil, he had opened an old cabinet where they kept their wedding dowry, bringing out a service of silver cutlery that they had used only a couple of times at Christmas.
He had studied the knives with the long opaque blade and slipped one into his work bag and another one into the pool sack.
He had tried spending the rest of the evening thinking as little as possible about Vernon, his vampires' cult and Todd, paricularly the accusations he had thrown him in the afternoon. Thanks to Cleo it had been easy: they had surprise sex as the girls watched the television downstairs, and the orgasm had been more than satisfying, he just had avoided showing her his naked rear and lower arm.
The night had passed quietly, so much that the following morning Adam got up in a good mood, the black cloud in his head dissipated as it had not happened in months.
He had taken another shower, elaborating in his mind some ideas about Vernon, but he was so distracted that he didn't notice the presence of his wife, who had slipped under the jet with him, until it was too late.

Todd had stared at his cell phone with concern: he hadn't talked to Adam for almost three days. The boy had sent him a laconic message the morning after their meeting, warning him not to call for some time, from there on there had just been silence.
At first he thought he had eloped, but a quick check near his studio had confirmed the presence of his car, and all things considered, it wasn't really in his character to do something like that.
He also feared that Vernon might somehow have gotten to him: the situation between them had degenerated into a violent altercation that had prompted Todd to move back to the hotel where they had stayed for months.
Axel and Dimitri were clearly worried: their devotion went to Vernon, but after all he was their creator as well, so they didn't know where to stand.
"It's a complicated situation, Todd. . . " Dimitri told him two nights earlier.
"I know, and I don't want to force your hand. Just be careful, because I don't want Vernon to involve you too. . . " he recommended, knowing that he could count on them anyway.
There had also been another holdup, but in that case the old vampire had nothing to do with it: the vial with Adam's blood that he had kept for himself had disappeared, he had realised it while collecting his things, rummaging for twenty minutes before giving up.
His sister must have sneaked up on him and stolen it.
"Damn bitch. . . " Todd had sneered, powerless. Once again, she had tricked him.
These things added to his concerns about the blond boy's disappearance. He was about to call him when his cell phone rang and lit up with his name.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" He answered with his heart in his throat.
"Sorry, I had a few problems to solve." Adam's voice had come cold and detached.
"What do you mean?"
"My wife. . . " Todd had almost sighed in relief, before noticing his tone. ". . . She knows. "
"Oh. " Was all he managed.
"She saw the. . . marks. Hell, I should have been more careful!"
"Did you two have a fight?" He was almost ashamed of the interest in his question.
"Yes. She thinks I'm sleeping with someone else. . . " Adam laughed, sarcastically. "I let her believe it. I wanted her to. . . I KNEW that if I pissed her off, she would go to her parents with the girls. So. . . they left yesterday. "
The vampire had nodded: Adam was always one step ahead of him. "You did well, you kept them safe. "
"Yes. but I still feel like shit. . . probably because I am a dick. "
Todd had not replied, but had felt grateful for being on the phone, because had Adam been in front of him, he would surely end up doing some act which he'd then regret. "You did the best thing. " He'd repeated.
"And Vernon?"
"That bastard. . . we had a little drama over here, too. I'm. . . back at the hotel now, I left them. We need to get this over with, Adam. "
"I agree. When will I see you?"
"How about tomorrow evening? Can you take a day or two off?"
"Yes, that shouldn't be a problem."
"Well, I'll come by the studio, then. See you tomorrow. "
"Okay. "
Todd had closed the communication, relieved to have spoken with the boy, but at the same time anxious for what was to come.
Part of him rebelled against the idea of being afraid of Vernon, but the vestiges of his human side were debating at the bottom of his stomach, frightened by the idea of losing the fight against such an ancient being, moreover, his creator.
Whatever plan they had devised, it would have to be perfect in the smallest of details, if they wanted to make it out unscathed.