BloodRose

8. Ares

Once I've made up my plan, I start packing a bag. I'll probably have to be in town for a few days at least, if everything goes according to plan. If not...then I might not need my supplies anymore. Alias is the best tracker I've ever known, but I know all of his tricks. He taught them to me. I know how to stay hidden from him because I know exactly where he'll look. Of course, if he thinks that's what I'm going to do, maybe I should hide where he would normally look. That way, when he looks where he thinks I'm hiding, I'll actually be in the original spot after all. My brain starts to hurt and I give up on deciding until I'm in the city.

The goal is simple. Find out as much as I can about Ambrogio, figure out where their base is. Figure out the best way to take it down. Take it down.

A lack of details leaves me with a lot to improvise, not my best skill. Of course, I'll have to do all of that while avoiding being found by Alias and Kyle.

My plan is set and I'm leaving tonight. When the clock on my bedside table finally reads midnight, I quietly collect my things and get about 4 miles down the road before I hear a vehicle approaching. Fortunately, I've memorized the sound of our car's engine and it is not the one humming along behind me. I turn and see a flash of yellow. Thank goodness. It's a cab. I hail it and when I slide into the backseat, the driver tilts his mirror to see me better.

"Hello ma'am," he says, "Where can I take you?" I'm thankful he doesn't ask where I'm coming from or why I'm on the side of the road in the middle of the night. While I'm executing the plan, I'd rather be around as few humans as possible and even then, as far away from them as I can. Even being this close to him, I'm having a hard time keeping my fangs in.

"Into town," I say and he turns on the meter. The drive is short and I probably could have walked the whole way, but it would have taken me until morning at my former pace. Then, Kyle and Alias would have discovered me sooner than I'd have wanted.

I convince the cabbie that I don't need to pay him and decide I should probably find a place to hide from Kyle and Alias. And Ambrogio if they've somehow already found out who killed-. I finally fix on a high rooftop with a good view of the surrounding buildings. Next to it is a low rooftop with almost no cover. I pick the low one and find a dark corner to sleep out the rest of the night. While most people would have thought the tall building was a better choice, I know Alias won't expect me to hide in plain sight.

The night passes too quickly and the sun wakes me before I am ready. I didn't sleep well, but I feel the need to get moving before my friends find the pillows under my blankets and start looking for me.

Sticking to as many back alleyways and side streets as I can, I make my rounds to the bums and homeless of the city, asking as many questions as I can of the ones who seem the most sober. I keep an ear out as I walk and I observe all of my targets before I move in to survey them. If I see them and hear no heartbeat, I move on. Today, I have only encountered one vampire so far and it almost made me give myself away.

It was the man who had been beating Margaret. For a second I am tempted to take him right then and there, but I resist the urge. If I attack him now, I won't be able to kill him and I will just make myself Ambrogio's most obvious suspect in Margaret's murder. No, if I take down the whole of Ambrogio, I can take him down too. He and all the others will face justice for what they have done.

Several people that I talk to have at least heard the name Ambrogio, but none of them actually know where the center of the clan might be located. That's if they even know they are a group of vampires. Once, I spot Alias's car and I have to hightail it down to the other side of town. I head to a park near the outskirts of town and find a nice tree to settle into for the night.

A couple who owns a local bakery says they know about Ambrogio--they used to be a part of it--but they won't tell me anything else, which figures since they probably only got out of there by escaping. Erring on the side of caution, I don't push it and decide to leave their shop in peace. On the inside, I want to rip them apart and make them tell me, but all it would do is get me caught...and most likely killed. Plus, I've already got one body on my count, I don't need anymore. I leave the bakers alone.

Blood. How could I not bring any with me? I knew I was forgetting something. If I'm out here too much longer without it, things could get messy. Even though I wouldn't die for centuries, any vampire who goes for more than a day or so without blood gets extremely weak, extremely quickly. Being around so many living people makes it worse. I start to freak out and everyone that passes me where I sit in the alleyway smells like a four course meal.

Just as I'm about to give in, I feel an arm grab me around my waist. The street directly in front of the alley is empty and before I can scream for help, a hand clamps over my mouth. I start thrashing around and kicking out in every direction I can, but I feel like I'm fighting a stone wall.

As I'm dragged farther back into the alley, more people grab me, pinning my arms to my side and holding my legs together so that I can barely move. All of the faces around me are covered with an assortment of bandanas and masks. I feel moisture on my cheeks and realize I'm crying. Ever since I became a vampire, I've felt untouchable, indestructible. I'm supposed to be one of the strongest beings on earth, but these guys took me out like it was nothing. I had planned to take out a whole clan of them? Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! A weight settles inside of me as I realize how far in over my head I am.

The man standing over me takes off the scarf that is around the lower half of his face. A jagged scar that runs the length of his face moves and folds as he speaks.

He confirms my worst fear.

As he ties the scarf tightly into a gag around my head, he says, "Miss Thistle, welcome to Ambrogio." I see a tire iron swinging toward my head and my world goes black.