The Immortal Blood

Chapter 21

The following day, Todd had prepared Adam a hearty breakfast, watching him eat on the other side of the table while sipping a dark coffee.
The man seemed to be recovering: there was more color on his cheeks, and even the bite on his neck was slowly beginning to fade, giving him an healthier appearance.
"Any idea about how to deal with Vernon?" Adam had gone straight to the point, making him smile behind the edge of the cup.
"I see you're healing."
"Todd. I know I managed to hurt Vernon, but. . ."
"What advantage do we have on him? I have no idea. Of course, you seem to have knocked him out, but with his skills. . . it's hard to tell."
"Exactly. We need to act while we're on the lead."
"I know. There's a problem though. . ."
"Which one?"
"As far as I know, there's only one sure way to kill him, and that is with fire. Silver doesn't have permanent effects, so how do we get him out of the way? I mean, it's not easy to control such an. . ."
"No, I understand." Adam had been playing with the leftovers on his plate. "The last time, though, he got pretty close. Could we somehow lock him in the haunted house and set it on fire?"
"That's the other problem: Axel and Dimitri. They live with him and they won't ever leave him, even if I try to threaten, or worse, warn them."
"How can they be loyal to him?" The blond man had looked at him, confused. "That's absurd!"
"Unfortunately not, Vernon was much more careful with them. Of course, he transformed them for his own gain, not to be alone, but with time and experience, he became smarter." Todd had laid the half-empty cup, disgusted. "I tried to stop him, but there was nothing that I could actively do, and now you can see the results."
"So Axel and Dimitri WANTED to be turned? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Partly. Vernon made them think that."
Adam had completely abandoned his claim to be interested in his food, folding his arms. "He manipulated them? How?! It's not possible, Todd, you can't convince people to just walk off a bridge!";
"Vernon can."
"Todd. . ."
"Listen, I know this sounds crazy to you, because you have character, Adam. You stuck a knife in that bastard's neck when he could have shattered you with one hand! We're not all strong individuals, though, and Vernon has a great instinct for finding people... like us."
"What do you mean?"; Adam had looked at him, making it even harder for Todd to spell what he was about to admit out loud.
"I mean vulnerable. . . susceptible people."
"Vulnerable! You!" The lawyer laughed, shaking his head.
"I told you, I was young when I met him, and damn stupid. The same goes for Axel and Dimitri, each of us had a weakness: Vernon found it, and used it for his own purposes."
"So that's why. . . he turned your sister?"
Todd had stared for a long time at Adam's clear blue eyes: of course he'd hit the target at the first shot, even though they had known each other for almost two minutes. ". . . That was the backup plan when he couldn't control me anymore."
"Yeah, he tried to trick me, too. Only now I fully realize... he was using my own insecurities, and when that didn't work, he switched to threats."
"Threats are his last resort." Todd had nodded, tiringly rubbing his hand over his eyes.
"So Vernon wants to kill me to get to YOU. . . ?" It had been worded as a question, but from Adam's countenance, Todd had sensed it was not a question at all.
"Apparently."
"It doesn't make any sense! Unless. . ." he interrupted himself, shifting his gaze to the side.
Todd had noticed panic in his tense features, and had hijacked the conversation before making him feel even more uncomfortable: "Insecure. . . that's something you're definitely not, Adam."
The blonde had stopped harassing those lips that always made the vampire think dirty thoughts, and had returned to focus on him:
"You see me in a strange way, Todd. I'm not as brave as you think, on the contrary, I'm shitting my pants most of the time." He laughed, bitterly. "And I AM worried. I don't understand half the things that are happening to me, nor I have the slightest control on them! The only certainties of my life were my family and my job, and look at me now! I'm not a superhero, Todd. I'm really nobody. . ."
"Well, that may be true, but you're a nobody who's almost eliminated a vampire a few hundred years old."
"A few. . . ? Okay, maybe I would have preferred not to know that."
Valentine had smiled, relieved to notice how the moment of embarrassment had quickly been forgotten.
"Seems like we think too highly of each other. . ." he told the younger man, sincerely amused.
"Hm, yet I just can't imagine you being fragile and helpless."
"I've had years to mature. . ." Adam's phone rang in the next room, and Todd was interrupted.
"I'm sorry." The blonde had stood up to answer, leaving Todd immersed in his memories for a few minutes. Only when the tone of his voice had changed alarmingly had he recovered and gone to check on what was happening.
"Are you all right?" He asked the lawyer from the doorframe.
Adam was holding his cell phone tightly in his hand as if he wanted to break it in two: ". . . No. It was. . . my boss. The whole bomb broke out at work, apparently someone witnessed Vernon's attack and filed a complaint. The whole studio knows about the incident and suspended my vacation to put me on a temporary leave, until the matter is resolved."
"By 'resolved' they mean once Vernon is apprehended?" Todd could have almost laughed, hadn't the whole situation been dramatic rather than comic.
"Yes, they want me to make a statement and work with the police to find him. Can you imagine! They're gonna ask me a lot of questions, Todd... I can decide not to show up, but the firm will put pressure on me. They took it very personally, if I don't take a stand, they will. We must hurry."
The vampire had put a hand on his beard, thoughtful: he had not really considered that the matter could get so complicated in such a short time.
"All right. Let's get to work." He nodded, walking back to the kitchen.