shuhaige
67
There’s no feeling that can compare to the sensation of taking off high heels after a seemingly endless night of dancing. It was like jumping into a cool reservoir on a sizzling hot summer day. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes, and sinking back in to the comfortable leather couch I’d parked myself on. In only an hour, the somehow still lively guests would be urged to leave the manor and then I could go to my room and sleep for a century.
“Emily!”
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to see Jack hovering over me, grinning handsomely, his long hair now down from its ponytail and cascading down his chest. I smiled weakly at him. “Hi, Jack.”
“You look exhausted,” he commented.
“Thanks.”
Grinning, he took a seat next to me on the couch. “I have something I want to talk to you about before I head out.”
Curious, I turned my body so I could face him. “What’s that?”
“Actually,” he started in a quiet voice, leaning his head closer to mine, “I was outside earlier, on the balcony, taking a breather. From below me I could hear whispering and when I heard your name, I decided to eavesdrop a bit. They were talking about kidnapping you.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “What else did they say?”
“Um, well they were talking about how they’d kill Rutherford- I’m not sure which one- to get to you since you’d most likely be with them. They also mentioned the best time to get you was while everyone else was leaving the ball.”
“Who are they?”
His face became hard. “Ashton and that crazy bastard Luca. Are they serious, Emily? Are they plotting to kidnap you?”
“I…” I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Was letting Jack know what was going on a good idea? What if he was a double agent and just telling me this to throw me off guard for when Ashton actually decided to make a move?
“Is that definitely what you heard?”
“Sebastian!” I cried, relieved to see him. He’d know if telling Jack was the right thing to do.
A frown was set on his face, his arms crossed. “So he didn’t leave earlier like I’d hoped. He’ll make his move at midnight then?”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you serious? He’s plotting to kidnap a human? Why would he do something so stupid? He’ll get in serious trouble!”
Sebastian nodded gravely. “What’s worse is what he’s planning on later.”
“Sebastian, we should tell someone-”
“No,” he interjected, “We must absolutely avoid creating a scene about this. No one else can know besides those who already do.”
Jack furrowed his eyebrows. “Why…?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Never mind, Jack. Thank you for informing us, but please forget about what you’ve heard. It’s dangerous to Emily if anyone else finds out about this.”
“Sure,” Jack agreed, sounding apprehensive. “Make sure nothing bad happens to her, Sebastian. I really like her.”
I grinned. “Thanks, Jack.”
“I like her too,” Sebastian agreed, placing a large hand on my head and messing with my hair. “We’re going to do our best. I need to talk to Emily privately now, so if you’ll excuse us…”
“No problem,” Jack responded, pushing himself up from the comfortable couch cushions. “See you two later then.”
I nodded, waving quickly to him. “Bye!”
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“Emily, come with me,” Sebastian urged, snatching my hand into his and gently pulling me off the couch.
“Where to?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he started dragging me toward the exit of the ballroom. Before we went through the door, he whistled like he was calling a dog. I glanced around, completely bewildered. As far as I knew, none of the Rutherfords owned any canines. What was the whistle for?
My question was answered when Vincent, Joel, and Solomon all suddenly emerged from the ballroom, serious expressions on their faces- well, Vincent and Solomon’s. As always, Joel had that happy-go-lucky look to his eyes. It was hard to even just use the words Joel and serious in the same sentence.
“Ashton’s planning on grabbing Emily as soon as the ball ends so he’ll have the cover of everyone leaving,” Sebastian informed the trio, running a hand through his hair. “We should lock Emily up in my room-”
“Whoa, no,” I butted in, staring at him like he was crazy. “You can’t just lock me up somewhere! I won’t let you guys put yourselves in possible danger for me and hide like a wimp, Sebastian.”
He frowned at me. “There’s nothing you can really do.”
“So being placed in a room where if Ashton found me I wouldn’t be able to escape is a good idea?”
“We’ll send Vincent with you-”
“No,” I interjected again, shaking my head. “That’s a stupid idea too. If Ashton decided to get violent, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
Solomon nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Sebastian. And if there were a target Ashton would go after that wasn’t Emily, it would be Vincent. Remember he knows Vincent’s the closest one of us to her.”
“But Emily is a human, no offense,” Sebastian added quickly. “What can she do against him?”
“I do believe you’re forgetting vampires have weaknesses.”
I tilted my head to the side. “They do?”
Solomon turned to me, offering a small smile. “Humans aren’t allowed to know what they are, but I do believe you have a good reason to know them… and put them to use.”
“Is light one of them?”
Vincent snorted. “No.”
“Garlic?”
“No.”
“Silver?”
He pulled at a silver chain around his neck. “What do you think?”
I scowled at him. “Look, I’m just guessing!”
“Obviously,” he replied, smirking.
Solomon sighed. “Focus you two. We have less than an hour to figure this out.”
“Where are Fiona and Luella?” I inquired, taking not of their absence.
“They’re keeping an eye on the guests,” Joel told me, rocking on the balls of his feet. “You know, so it doesn’t look too suspicious.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I nodded. “Right. So what are these weaknesses?”
“Don’t laugh,” Sebastian started, suddenly growing a little wary. “It’s really cliché…”
“Nothing’s more cliché than the light, Seb.”
“It’s…” He mumbled something incoherently under his breath.
.
.
I blinked at him. “What?”
Once again he muttered a few words I didn’t catch.
Vincent sighed impatiently. “Holy water. It burns our skin.”
“Holy water?” I echoed, my eyes widening in surprise. “Why holy water? Sebastian, I swear I saw you wearing a cross around your neck the other day! A gold one!”
He nodded, pulling it out from under his tux top. “Crosses have no affect. We’re not really sure why holy water burns. It might just be a joke being played on vampires because of all those movies. Or maybe because we are technically monsters in God’s eyes. Whatever it may be, it’s kind of a bother.”
“That’s kind of… anti-climatic,” I finished lamely. “I was thinking it’d be something like fire, or something.”
“Fire?” Vincent repeated skeptically, raising an eyebrow. “That’s even more stupid than holy water.”
I waved him off. “Whatever. Even if vampires are hurt by holy water, how am I going to get some in under an hour?”
“Every vampire family keeps some holy water in their house,” Solomon notified me, turning his back on me and hastening down the hallway. “Follow me.”
“Why keep holy water on you when it’s dangerous?”
“Because it’s dangerous to other vampires too,” Joel explained, wagging his finger at me.
That made sense. After traveling for a few moments, we came to a stop in front of a room with giant, oak wood doors. Solomon gestured for us to wait outside it while he slipped in for a moment. I tried to peek in, but the door shut before I could get a good look at anything. My guess was that the room belonged to Solomon and Luella.
“Oh!” Joel suddenly cried, his hand going to his mouth. “I forgot to tell you guys!”
“And knowing you, it’s important. What, Joel?” Vincent demanded.
He grinned sheepishly. “To be honest I just figured this out about an hour ago. Ashton didn’t come here alone today.”
“Luca’s with him, right?” I guessed. “That’s what Jack said.”
“Yeah, I saw Luca lurking outside when it was my turn to be on watch. But that’s not all. There are two others I don’t know.”
Sebastian crossed his arms. “Only two? I thought he’d bring more.”
“That still leaves us six against four,” Vincent said confidently. “There’s still no problem.”
I smiled, happy he included me. There was no way I was going to be a liability when this involved me. Even if I was a little scared.
Solomon returned to the hallway, a necklace in one of his hands, and a small glass bottle of holy water in the other. He held them out to me and I took them, staring at the necklace in confusion. The pendant seemed to be some sort of emerald colored rose, hanging on a silver chain. It was pretty, but not something I was expecting Solomon to have. “What’s this for?”
“That’s mine,” Sebastian informed me, narrowing his eyes at it. “Father, how’d you get that?”
“You left it in the bathroom the other day,” Solomon replied in an offhand voice. “It’s solely a good luck charm, Emily. Use it well.”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
Sebastian frowned. “I want that back after. It means a lot to me.”
I nodded to him. “Okay, I’ll give it back.”
“Now Emily, there’s one more thing you need to know.”
“One more?” I echoed.
Somber expressions appeared on all the vampires faces, as if they all knew what Solomon was about to say. Shifting uncomfortably, I waited for one of them to speak up. Somehow, I figured I knew what the next person to speak was about to say.
.
.
Vincent was the one who confirmed my thoughts. “You need to know how to kill a vampire.”
“Just in case you need to,” Sebastian added quickly.
I glanced down at the holy water. “If this harms you, I have a pretty good idea of what kills you.”
Vincent grinned wickedly. “Yeah, from what I remember, you’ve watched quite the amount of vampire movies, haven’t you?”
Huffing, I placed my hands on my hips. “I wouldn’t sound so smug, otherwise I might stake you.”
“It sounds so lame,” Joel complained, making a face. “A stake through the heart killing you? It’s stupid. That would kill a human too.”
“Where am I supposed to get a stake though?” I questioned.
Solomon frowned. “Well, I’m hoping you won’t have to use one.”
“I’m hoping I don’t either. I don’t want to be a killer,” I admitted honestly. “But if I have to… Well, I have to.”
Vincent nodded. “Good. You can’t hesitate when it comes to a life or death moment, Emily.”
“You think Ashton will get violent? He won’t want to kill me if I have the blood he wants. Why would he shorten my life?”
Sebastian shifted uncomfortably. “The thing is Emily, with the blood you have now it could still make him a lot of money if he drained it and bottled it.”
I wrinkled up my nose. “Oh, ew. No. Mental images!”
Joel laughed. “I can imagine it now. A whole room filled of blood filled bottles that say Emily on them…”
“Don’t laugh at that Joel,” I said, grimacing.
He pressed his lips together tightly. “You’re right. That’s actually awful.”
I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he was suppressing a grin. After a second I threw the necklace that was still in my hand around my neck, making sure it wouldn’t unclasp and fall off.
“Right then… Sebastian and I have to return to the ball,” Solomon declared, shoving his hands into his suit pants’ pockets. “Joel, Vincent, show Emily where she can find a stake.”
“Yes!” Joel responded, mock-saluting the king.
“Let’s go then,” Vincent said unenthusiastically, twisting on his heel and heading further down the hallway. “Keep up.”
I hopped forward a few steps and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly. “Are you grumpy?”
He rolled his eyes. “Grumpy? No? Angry that a maniac is trying to kidnap my girlfriend? Yes.”
“Don’t worry, Em, I’ll protect you,” Joel proclaimed confidently, clapping me on the shoulder.
“Shouldn’t Vincent be saying those words?”
Joel feigned a hurt look. “Ouch, Em. Just trying to be nice.”
I laughed, but with every second my stomach was tightening. It was easy to act calm on the outside, but it was hard to blow off your body’s reactions. The butterflies in my stomach were about to make me sick. Everyone seemed so confident about being able to fend Ashton off, but I felt like they were underestimating him. It scared me a little bit.
“Stakes are here,” Vincent suddenly announced, coming to a dead stop in front of a white door.
“A broom closest?” I replied, watching as he opened the door to reveal an incredibly tiny space where a black box was.
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