Bound in Blood 1 Clandestine (16 page)

It shouldn’t have mattered
, but it really annoyed Emily. He
acted as if it was a boy’s only club, no girls allowed. Real mature
she thought. Maybe his mentor resided in a tree house and that
was where they conducted their supersecret meetings. “Well if
you guys think I should. I don’t really care either way.” She was
of course lying but they didn’t need to know that. She was dying
to know what kind of training was involved to be a vampire
hunter. Emily added an indifferent shrug to further push that it
didn’t matter to her one way or the other.

Sebastian
nodded. “Well that’s settled then. I will wait
down stairs for both of you to get ready.” He turned smoothly to
leave the same way he had come in. Before reaching the door he
looked back over his shoulder. ”Oh, and sorry if I interrupted
anything.” He said it as though it were merely an afterthought
and then turned and left not giving either of them a chance to
respond.

His mocking sarcastic tone was ridiculous. He hadn’t
interrupted anything except perfectly good sleep, the jerk. Just
who did he think he was anyway? His Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide
attitude was really starting to get on Emily’s last nerve. One day
he’s sweet and maybe even a little flirty. The next thing she
knew, he acted like it was an inconvenience that she was even
hanging around. The fact that he seemed to be avoiding her the
last two times he saw her, definitelywasn’t helping Emily’s
opinion much either.

When they got downstairs Sebastian was waiting casually
leaning on the side of the building with his arms crossed and his
leg bent so his foot could rest on the wall. When he saw them, he
pushed off the wall with his foot and stood, looking impatient. It
was as though, they had kept him waiting for hours. Instead of
the mere five minutes that had actually passed.

They walked most of the way in silence. Every now and
then Tyler would ask Sebastian a question about vampires or the
training process. For the most part Emily stayed out of it. It
wasn’t for lack of interest because she was practically chomping
at the bit to get more information. It was just that her attention
was only half on their sporadic conversation. What Sebastian had
said back at the apartment intrigued and frightened her, making
it nearly impossible to focus on much else. What did he mean by
there’s more to you than most humans?
Of course she was a
human
. What else was she supposed to be? The last time Emily
checked she hadn’t developed a sudden craving for blood, so she
obviously wasn’t one of the vampires. What else was there? A
picture of scary wolf men and little pixy fairies came into her
mind making her shudder, so she forced her thoughts to drift
elsewhere.

Emily wondered why some
one like Sebastian wouldn’t be
driving something like the Batmobile or something. With his
cool guy persona and cocky attitude, somehow walking didn’t
seem to fit his style in the least. Admittedly, he could probably
make pink bunny slippers and flannel footy pajamas look cool. If
Sebastian’s mentor looked anything like him, Emily was in
trouble.

The further they walked, the harder it was to imagine where
in the world a training facility would be located for vampire
hunters. If there was an actual building that housed such a thing,
it surely didn’t have a sign. She had pretty much lived in
Lakeview her whole life. She was certain that she would have
noticed a sign that read
VAMPIRE HUNTERS INC.
Humorously,
she passed the time picturing what a sign like that would look
like. She imagined black Gothic font with deep crimson blood
dripping off the edges of each boldly printed letter. For affect
maybe it would have a large wooden stake going through the
middle and eerie spider webs at the corners. That would look
pretty awesome, but definitely too conspicuous.

Sebastian
broke into the silence. “Where I’m about to take
you can never be told to anyone, ever.” He put great emphasis on
the word ever. “If anyone knew about our operation we would be
finished.”

Emily had been so lost in her own thought that
she hadn’t
even noticed where he had walked them. So her spilling the
beanswouldn’t be a problem. They still appeared to be
downtown but in an alley with buildings on either side. The
backs of the buildings didn’t g
ive any clues as to what street they
were near. When they got about four buildings down Sebastian
stopped.

Emily half expected a glowing door to materialize in front
of him like in the movies. He didn’t make a move at first in
either direction to give any indication what they were looking
for. Nothing changed about the surroundings as they waited.
Maybe a goblin was supposed to jump out of nowhere and escort
them to another dimension or something.

Finally he turned to the right. Tyler shot her a nervous look
that she returned in triplicate. The building he was turning
toward didn’t have a door or even a window to climb through.
Were they supposed to scale up the side like Spider Man?

Sebastian moved right up to the wall and placed a hand on
it gingerly. Apparently pleased he gave a quick nod to himself
and moved back a few steps before pulling something out of his
pocket. At first glance, it wasn’t visible what it was. When Emily
was able to give it closer examination, it just looked like a rock.

Sebastian gave an almost imperceptible scan to his right
and left and even upward. Still not speaking to them, he bent
down and placed the rock on the ground. Time seemed to stand
still while they waited.

Nothing happened. Now what, Emily thought quizzically. It
really was kind of a letdown. At the thought, pressure seemed to
build in the air around them. She wouldn’t have believed it in a
million years if she hadn’t seen it for herself. Out of nowhere, a
section of the gravel started rattling. It was shaking with visible
vibrations she couldn’t feel under her own feet even though she
was only about a foot from where Sebastian was standing. Then
as if by magic, the trembling section dropped a few inches into
the ground not disturbing any of the surrounding rocks. The
dropped piece quietly slid under the building displaying nothing
but darkness.

Emily gasped and stepped back. She looked over at Tyler,
his mouth was hanging open and his eyes looked like they were
going to bug out of his head at any second. That couldn’t have
happened. Before the ground started to shake Emily didn’t notice
anything that would have even hinted that there was a trap door
there. Whoever was in charge of covering the hatch took their
job very seriously.

“Cool
huh?” Sebastian asked as if he had just shown them
a neat card trick, instead of opening the earth with a rock. Cool
didn’t really seem to cover it. “I’m sure you have a lot of
questions about this but we need to go before there are
witnesses.” Without another word, he stepped into thin air as he
went down the hole. Seriously, it looked like he was floating
downward.

Emily reached out and clutched Tyler’s arm for dear life.
She didn’t know what was down the rabbit hole and that was fine
by her. Home was looking a whole lot sweeter by the second.
Even work sounded pretty good at that point. Any confidence
she may have displayed earlier was nothing but bravado.

Tyler nudged her forward, not unkindly. “Let’s go. We
don’t really have a lot of choice right now.”
All Emily could do in response was nod slowly. She was
still in shock at the sight of Sebastian going down some
mysterious hole in the ground like it was nothing. If they had to
follow him at least she wasn’t alone. Even though they had just
met, Emily didn’t think that Tyler would let anything bad happen
to her.
Before she had a chance to protest, Tyler put a probing foot
down the hole to test the waters so to speak. After his foot
dropped to his ankle the sound of his foot tapping on something
echoed slightly in the hole. “I think there’s stairs,” he said
cautiously.
“Whatever,you go first.” Emily put one tentative foot in
front of the other. The death grip on Tyler’s arm never relented.
She didn’t know what awaited them down there,and she wasn’t
going to take the chance that she was separated from Tyler. She
assumed Sebastian could be trusted as well, seeing how there
was no evidence to the contrary. Just in case, shedidn’t want to
risk it.
Once they were down the stairs, the alley floor or
underground ceiling thing shut without a sound. The only
audible noise was a slight click once all the light from outside
disappeared. They were only in the dark for a few seconds before
dimly lit sconces illuminated their narrow path.
The extreme change in lighting made it difficult to see
anything. Emily blinked hard trying to adjust her vision. A few
feet in front of them she could just barely make out the shape of
a big wooden door that had a rounded top. She had never seen
such a thing except for in movies that were set in the old days
that had exotic castles with elaborate turrets. The area they were
in didn’t really hold any significance or clues about their
location. The walls were a dark gun metal grey that was almost
black. The floor seemed to be the same color if not, the
difference wasn’t detectable.
When they reached the rounded door, Sebastian placed his
hand above the large knob where a dead bolt would be located.
After a short time, she heard another click and he opened the
door. When Emily stepped through her mouth dropped open with
a pop. She stopped walking abruptly, causing Tyler to stumble
back a step. Her feet were locked in place at the sight before her.
It wasn’t exactly the same as she remembered. Without a
doubt though, Emily was staring down the hallway of her dream.
The only difference was that the floor was green marble instead
of red. She didn’t understand how such a thing could be possible.
Nothing like it had ever happened before. Alexander said it
wasn’t really a dream, but she hadn’t completely believed him. It
was a dream. Of course the soothing stranger would tell her it
was real.
Hoping to find out more she asked, “Where is Alexander? Is
he here too?”
“Um… yes we will be meeting with Alexander shortly,”
Sebastian stammered while clearing his throat. It was the first
time Emily had seen him falter from his unshakable control. He
watched her with utter astonishment. “We need to get moving.
We’ll have time for a full tour later.”
Emily saw that Tyler shot her a quick but stunned look. His
face looked as though he just realized the joke was on him and
Sebastian and Emily were about to kill him. He swallowed hard
and kept moving along the same path Emily had taken in her
dream.
It was hard to see him look at her like that. She wanted to
reassure him somehow, only she couldn’t bring herself to say
anything. As bad as it made her feel though, she couldn’t focus
much attention on his wounded expression. Her gaze was fixed
onSebastian’s reaction to her question. It still seemed to be
affecting him that she knew who Alexander was.
He watched her too, in small darting glances. The look on
his face was almost comical. It was like he was worried and
greatly surprised all at the same time. He apparently noticed her
noticing him because he pivoted and headed down the corridor
without another word.
When they completed the sharp turn to the left, Emily was
amazed to see the scene of her dream in reality. At the end of the
new hall she could see the wooden archways up ahead, elegant
and beautiful. Soon they would be in what she assumed was
Alexander’s office. Shouldn’t an office have doors? She thought
the question to herself as they walked, but didn’t dare ask out
loud. It seemed like a really stupid thing to say.
Tyler’s head was on a constant swivel, taking in all the
doors. He was probably trying to get a look at the labels on the
thick molding of the frames. Emily hadn’t noticed labels in her
dream. They were like small little plaques above the knobs. The
light from the sconces danced off them giving them a gleaming
shine that sparkled.
She noticed that Tyler was clenching and unclenching his
fists stiffly at his sides. He looked as though he was preparing
for a battle. Well, a battle or the first chance he could find to
bolt. The whole thing must be so scary to him. His life would
surely be changed forever. Her mind tried to wrap around the
fact that Tyler wasn’t going to age. More importantly, his new
main purpose was to kill blood sucking monsters before they
killed his fellow man.
Trying to piece together how she fit into the puzzle was like
walking a hundred miles in the desert without a single bottle of
water. Was she supposed to hunt monsters too? The thought of
herself wielding a wooden stake with a fanged creature in front
of her made nausea creep up on her in a steady wave. The
heaviness of it made her head hurt.
Just like before, when the hall opened up into the office the
color of the floor turned to blue. It was illuminated more brightly
than the hall but it was still just a soft light, easy on the eyes.
At the familiar crackle of a fire, Emily looked towards the
impressive hearth. Alexander was sitting in the same overstuffed
chair as he had occupied before. He was reading a book intently.
His forehead was creased with concentration like deep lines on a
wrinkled page. He rubbed his chin considering something. Then,
as if pulled back to the present he slammed the volume closed
with one hand gripping it by the spine.
“Ah Sebastian, I’ve been expecting you. And Tyler I’m
very happy to finally meet you.” Alexander stood to face them.
His stance was that of a soldier. His smile was bright like a
proud father’s would be. The loving gaze stopped on Emily, but
didn’t lose anounce of compassion. “Well dear Emily, we meet
again.” He gave her a modest tilt of his head in an old fashioned
greeting. “I do hope the situation hasn’t frightened you too
terribly. I hope you understand more clearly now the imperative
reasons for the… what did you call them? Oh yes riddles.” A
knowing smile tugged at the corners of Alexander’s mouth. The
only reason it was apparent that it was a smile was the sparkle in
his eyes.
“Yes sir, I understand,” Emily retorted sheepishly.
Alexander frowned, “my dear girl no need for formalities
here. You are a part of our secret that makes you part of our
family.” He moved in front of her and raised her hand to kiss it.
When his eyes met her again he had a gentle smile for her which
made her feel better. “Well, or should I say, you are a part of this
family, onlywe haven’t quite figured out your position yet. Even
though you’re not like the other children, thatdoesn’t mean you
don’t belong.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I
have a million questions.” He didn’t wait for the go ahead before
he started in on Alexander. “Mainly, what does this training
entail?”
“No worries my son,I was just getting to that. It’s gravely
paramount that you’re training start immediately. Things are
progressing quicker than we had intended upon. I will show you
to the trainingroom you can change in there.”
Emily suddenly noticed that Alexander wasn’t wearing a
tailored suit like before. He was dressed like a ninja all in black.
The clothes made him look even more fierce. Instead of the
businessman she had met before, she stood before a man that
was a force to be reckon with.
Before leaving the room with a bewildered Tyler,
Alexanderturned to Sebastian. “Why don’t you show Emily to
her room and maybe take her on a brief tour.”
Sebastiannodded sharply. He didn’t respond to the older
man, but looked as though he had gotten a mission from his
commanding officer that was of the utmost importance. The only
thing he didn’t do was salute. It was obvious that Sebastian held
a lot of respect for his mentor.
Emily completely puzzled asked, “my room?” She looked
from Alexanderto Sebastian for a response. When one didn’t
come,she continued. “I think there must be some mistake. I
don’t need a place to stay. I can’t stay here. My father-“
“Don’t you worry about Sam. He will be taken care of,”
said Alexander looking unconcerned by the objection.
“Take care of him?” What was this the God Father? Were
they going to kill Sam? “I’m sorry but what does that mean?”
Emily stared at Alexander incredulously. It should have
surprised her that he knew Sam’s name but at this point nothing
surprised her anymore.
“We can adapt his memory so he will not worry about the
fact that you are not home. He will think you are simply with
friends. He won’t even know how long you are gone. Each day
will seem like the first, even though he carries out his daily
living unscathed.” His voice softened considerably. “The
vampires are suspicious of you. I’m truly sorry dear, but it’s no
longer safe for you on your own.”
“What? You’re gonna screw with my dad’s memory?”
Emily was absolutely shocked with that revelation.
“I assure you no harm will come to your father.” Alexander
stepped smoothly to Emily and placed a hand on her arm. “You
have my word on that Emily. He will also have protection in the
event that someone goes poking their fangs where they don’t
belong.” Alexander mimed fangs in the neck making her
shudder.
Emily just stood there with her mouth dropped open
practically to the floor. She suddenly felt scared and very alone.
It was all so confusingly mind boggling. The rabbit hole,
vampires, memory tampering, all of it, it was just too much.
Alexander said something to Tyler, though she didn’t catch
it. Their voices seemed to echo in her mind, bouncing back and
forth never quite making sense. She continued to watch as
Alexander ushered Tyler to a door at the far side of the room
near the leather couch. That wasn’t there in her dream either, she
thought absently.
For a moment after the door closed Emily just stared at it
blankly. She couldn’t do anything else. Her mind had shut down
with a puff of smoke on overload. Hopefully a backup generator
kicked on before she fell into a coma or something.
Sebastian cleared his throat, drawing her eyes to his. He
gave her a wistful smile and then bowed over dramatically as if
she were a queen. “Shall I show you to your chamber my lady?”
He used a horrible British accent.
Waking up from the daze, Emily giggled. It was split
seconds like those that made her want to like him. The only
problem was,those seconds tended not to last long. “What? Now
you’re gonna be charming and friendly again?” Emily raised a
perfectly plucked brow at him. “To what do I owe this
pleasure?” The accent she attempted was just as silly as his was,
which made her giggle harder.
For a moment,Sebastian’s carefully groomed control was
broken and he actually looked offended. “Look, I know I have
been disgraceful to you. I’m sure you’re confused. You’ve had a
lot of information thrown at you and it’s gotta be hard to cope. I
was just trying to be nice.” He raked a hand through his hair.
“It’s still not safe for us to be friends. This life is too complicated
and obviously dangerous.”
“I get the danger and maybe even the complicated.” Emily
glared at him indignantly. “None of that is a good reason to send
me mixed signals. Nor is it a good reason for you to avoid my
questions, especially when I deserve answers. I get the secret
thing, but guess what? The hunter’s out of the bag now, so you
don’t have to worry about me I can handle myself.” She knew
her tone was far more cutting than it really needed to be. He
really deserved it though.
Emily was tired of all the secrets. Why tell one and then
think the rest should be kept quiet? If she has a part in this mess
somehow, then she needed to know everything. He was just so
infuriating. Only Sebastian could leave her feeling good one
minute, and stung the next.
“You’re right.” He may have agreed with her, but his
somber expression didn’t transform. He gave away nothing as
always.
Emily couldn’t help feeling taken aback. Now it was her
turn for the dramatics. She threw a hand up clutching at her
heart. “What? Just like that?” More seriously she said, “Okay, I
might be right. That doesn’t mean you’re gonna explain things to
me does it?”
“No it does not mean that. I will answer anything you want
to know as long as I can. Let’s get you settled first.”
“I don’t really have stuff to get settled.” Emily muttered.
“My bag is back at Tyler'sbut I don’t have clean clothes in it
anyway.” Emily was still annoyed by the sleepover prospect but
she was starting to soften just a little. She understood that it was
probably the best and safest for her and even for Sam.
“Don’t worry about anything. We can acquire anything you
need from your house or by other means if you are willing to use
new things. The second is the safest option. It’s less exposure
and less contact with Sam.” Right then was probably the softest
Emilyhad ever seen Sebastian’s face.
“I don’t think I ever told you my dad’s name. How did you
know that? You can read my mind.” The words came out in a
rush but she didn’t care. Emily knew the answer to the last one
before he even said it. It was something she had been trying to
figure out a way to bring up for a while.
Sebastian looked surprised but quickly put his stone mask
back on. “I told you we have plenty of time for questions later. I
told Alexander I would show you your room and that’s what we
are going to do,” he said evading her question. Sebastian turned
and left the room without giving her a chance to argue.