6

vonne opened her door to peer outside. She had remained in her room for the past two days and felt it was time to venture downstairs for a change. If she needed to, she could live for weeks in her bedroom alone. She had a full bathroom and meals were brought to her room on a regular basis. But was that really a way to live, to be afraid of the world outside of her bedroom walls?
A few times during the day, David would visit her and try his best to cheer her up. But all of his efforts fell short.
Evonne glanced back into her room, the moon’s light pouring through her drapes and onto the floor. She knew it was late but she craved one of her favorite late night snacks—peanut butter and crackers.
Pulling her robe tight, she stepped from her room and headed down the hall. As she came to the top of the grand staircase, she stopped.
From where she stood, the front door was visible. Six of her father’s well-trained men were gathered around him and another man. Evonne narrowed her eyes at the commotion. The man was slightly taller than her father, with long blond hair tied back, its length extending past his shoulders, and his clothes simple and all black, including his coat.
She continued to watch as the stranger stretched out his arms while one of her father’s men checked him for any concealed weapons. The group then turned and headed for her father’s conference room that rested beneath the upstairs bedrooms. As the group walked below her, Evonne noticed the fluidness in the stranger’s movements and how he stood out from the other men.
His eyes moved up to Evonne.
She stopped breathing as the stranger watched her carefully. A rush of anxiety fell upon her. She begged herself to look away but her eyes disobeyed. With as much willpower as she could gather, Evonne tore her eyes from his to see David crossing the main room. He, too, looked at the group with curiosity. As he hurried up the stairs, she could see the tension in his body.
Evonne glanced back at her father as she saw him and the stranger enter the conference room alone.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to David.
“Surprise visitor.”
They continued to watch the group of waiting hunters.
“He’s a vampire, isn’t he?” she asked before she could stop herself. She had never seen a vampire before, but her instincts told her the truth. He was something to be feared.
“You’re right,” David said. “His name is Gabriel. He’s a self-proclaimed werewolf hunter. And from what I hear, he’s very good.”
“Why is he here?”
David kept his eyes on the scene below them. “I don’t know. Though this isn’t the first time he’s been here.”
 
Gabriel sat casually at the head of the long conference table with his boots propped up, one crossed over the other. He appeared at ease, even with the strong fire-power waiting outside the room. In a way he felt insulted. Only six hunters to protect their leader? But he knew of the other hunters waiting just below Eden’s surface.
Standing several feet away, Alex kept his composure on the defensive, his arms crossed in annoyance. “And to whom do I owe this visit?”
Gabriel placed his hands over his stomach, interlocking his fingers. “I have been asked to warn you about a growing threat towards you and the people here.”
“I am aware of the threat,” he coldly replied.
“Are you also aware that they have acquired the layout to your fortress as well as all of its secrets?”
“That’s impossible,” scoffed Alex. “Knowledge of that magnitude would require—”
“A spy,” finished Gabriel.
“There is no way a spy could be residing within my ranks.”
“He is here,” the vampire assured him, “but I do not think that finding him will stop what has already been set in motion.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Your son asked me to come here.”
Breath became lost in Alex’s throat. His son. He lowered his head as his mind briefly strayed.
Gabriel went on speaking. “I don’t know when the attack will happen, but they are planning for every possible scenario. I’m also not sure how many have band together, but they’re mainly comprised of rogues, both werewolf and vampire.”
Alex’s voice was distant. “Is that all?”
“Not quite. I will give you their leader’s name if you will allow me to have a word with your daughter.”
“No you may not!” he snapped out, his patience depleting.
“You have all of my weapons,” Gabriel reminded him.
“That’s not what worries me.”
The vampire grew serious. “I never go back on my word. She will not be harmed.”
Alex thought for a moment, weighing his options as quickly as he could. “You may speak with her, but not behind any closed doors.”
Gabriel relaxed in his seat. “Their leader’s name is Marcus Reynolds.”
 
The conference door opened and Alex and the vampire, Gabriel, stepped out. The group then moved to the bottom of the grand staircase.
Evonne and David watched as the one named Gabriel left the hunters and walked up the stairs. They dared not to move as he approached.
The vampire stopped two steps below them and addressed David. “Leave us.”
David glanced from the vampire to Evonne, then reluctantly headed down the stairs to wait by Alex.
Gabriel took another step toward Evonne. She could hear her father’s men raising their weapons.
The vampire looked her over, judging her.
Evonne didn’t move.
His voice came to her in a whisper, making sure that the other humans could not hear his words.
“The time is drawing near,” he began. “He will come calling for you and will await your answer…” In a gentlemen way, he took her hand and lightly kissed it. His eyes then lifted to return to hers. “… Evonne Abigail Ingram.”
Gabriel turned and headed down the stairs, his movements quick and sure.
Dumbfounded, Evonne remained standing at the top of the stairs as she watched her father’s men escorted the vampire from the manor.
Alex and David rushed up to her.
“What did he say to you?” her father asked, the concern welded in his voice.
Evonne’s eyes looked beyond them. She quickly snapped back into reality. “Uhm, I’m not sure. Something to the extent of ‘time is drawing near.’ ” In her mind, she remembered his words clearly. But something told her to avoid the truth.
David looked at Alex. “He could have been talking about the threat against you.”
“What threat?” asked Evonne. “What’s going on?”
Her father tried to place her at ease. “Just some troublemakers who think they can frighten me.”
“Why was he here?” She motioned to the door where the vampire had left.
“He came here to give me some information. That’s all.”
“Are you sure that is all he said to you?” David continued to ask Evonne.
She nodded. “I’m sure.”
Alex spoke to his assistant. “Take Evonne to her room. I need to make a few calls.”
Keeping her eyes on her father, she watched as he headed down the stairs. Marie hurried over to him, concerned about their visitor, as well. The two quickly walked toward Alex’s main office.
“Come on,” David said, leading Evonne back to her bedroom. “Will you be all right? Do you want me to bring you anything from the kitchen?”
“No thank you. I’m suddenly not hungry.”
“Are you sure? If so, I’ll let you get some sleep.” He turned to leave.
“David, wait.” She took a seat on the bed before continuing. “What all do you know about that guy, Gabriel?”
David slowly closed the door. The look on his face was somber yet troubled. “Your father wouldn’t want me to speak of these matters to you.”
“I’m a big girl,” she reminded him. “I think I’m old enough to be told the truth.”
He breathed deep and sat down beside her. “As you know, he is a vampire and a werewolf hunter. He is also said to be from Saros’ line, perhaps a fourth generation. But if the rumors are true, and his sire is Demetrius, then he is a second generation.”
Throughout years of research, it was believed that there were six original vampires, one of them named Saros. She was said to be the most active in the modern world, while the other five stayed away from any unwanted attention. Saros was never the one to sit idly by and let her children have all of the fun.
“What all did he say to you?” David asked again.
“I told you.”
“Only what you wanted us to know,” he correctly assumed. “What else did he say?”
Evonne lowered her eyes and played with the belt on her robe. “He… He said that someone is coming for me.” She looked up at him. “I don’t know what he meant by it.”
“I do,” David quietly admitted. As soon as he said it, he wanted to retract his words.
“You do? Tell me,” she asked, her expression showing her complete trust.
David kept his eyes from her. He knew he was making a mistake but she was right. She was old enough to know, and out of the many secrets Alex kept from his daughter, this one was the smallest. “What I am about to tell you must remain between us. Your father has ordered no one to mention this.” He stopped talking as he allowed himself the time to find the right words.
“When you were seven years old, you wandered out of the estate and into the cemetery. Your father searched everywhere for you. Night had fallen by the time they found you. You were lying unconscious on the path… You had been bitten by a vampire. That is all I know.”
Evonne’s eyes slid from David to the floor. Visions came forward in her mind. The dream. From time to time, she would have the same dream. It wasn’t truly strange with purple dragons or flying toasters, but something of a lost memory. She wanted to shake the images away and forget them completely.
Her voice became shallow. “Then it wasn’t a dream.”
He looked at her, dumbfounded. “You knew about it?”
“Only as a dream,” her voice remained somber and distant. “Why doesn’t he want me to know?”
“The less you knew, the better,” David tried to assure her. “Remember, your father loves you very much. He doesn’t want history to repeat itself.”
“What do you mean?”
David caught himself and tried to recover. “I shouldn’t have said that… It’s because of your mother. He doesn’t want you lose you, as well. Understand?”
Evonne nodded. “What happened to the vampire, the one who attacked me?”
“They never found him,” he admitted, reluctantly.
“So that means he is still out there.”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “You needn’t worry about him. You’re safe here.”
Evonne felt comforted. David always knew how to place her at ease, not with his words but with how he spoke. She recalled the time when she was ten and got a splinter in her index finger. It was on the same day David left for college. With tears in her eyes, she ran into his room just as he finished packing, and showed him her injured finger. In his carefully spoken words and calm hands, he removed the tiny sliver of wood. As Evonne listened to him, she felt no pain. And that was David’s natural gift.
He finally stood and gave her a solemn look. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”
She nodded. “I’m sure.”
“All right.”
Leaving the room, David made his way to Alex’s office. He didn’t want to break the confidence and the trust Evonne held for him, but he had no other choice. Her father needed to know.
Knocking before entering the room, he stepped into the office to see Marie standing by the desk while Alex finished speaking on the phone. They turned to see David quietly waiting to be addressed.
“How is she?” Alex asked. The obvious concern in his voice was overpowered by a sense of duty.
“Confused,” David replied. He glanced at Marie. “I wish to speak with him alone.”
Marie shot her brown eyes at Alex. “Whatever needs to be said, can be said in front me.” She looked back at David and shrugged. “Who will I tell?”
“Marie,” said Alex, “leave us, please.”
A trite expression came to her face as her eyes went from Alex to David. “As you wish.” She crossed the room and exited in a calm manner. It would be later, out of the presence of their boss, when she would pull rank and verbally set David in his rightful place. It was something she had done before. Intimidation had become a powerful tool for Marie.
David stepped closer to the desk. He looked back to see Marie closing the door as she left.
“There is something you need know,” he began. “The incident that happened to Evonne when she was seven, she remembers it. Though I’m not sure about how clear her memory is about the whole thing. She thought it was a dream and nothing more. I didn’t ask for any details. I figured that you would like to speak to her about it, rather than me.”
Alex’s face grew uneasy. “And?” he asked, knowing there had to be more.
“Gabriel mentioned something else to her, something that she chose not to tell you.” He paused. “I believe that the same vampire is planning to return to her.”
Alex’s expression went from uneasy to stern. “What exactly did Gabriel say to her?”
“That someone was coming for her. If this is the vampire who attacked her from before, then Gabriel knows him. Perhaps he came here to kill two birds with one stone; deliver a message to you and Evonne. But this is only a theory. What did he say to you?”
“He gave me a name. At least a name of someone he believes is the main conspirator. I don’t know how truthful his word can be. Gabriel hasn’t crossed me in the past, but I can’t afford to completely trust him now. I have SEVEN searching for anything they know on this Marcus Reynolds. So far, he’s not listed on Watchtower.”
Watchtower, the name of the database used by Alex and the many headquarters of SEVEN, contained vast information on the locations of known vampire havens and werewolf packs, including their territories. Along with this knowledge, it carried a listing of individual vampires and werewolves, giving background information and possible whereabouts. The name Marcus Reynolds was not listed.
“Is that all he said to her?” Alex pressed.
“That’s all she mentioned. Sir, I do not like breaking the confidentiality Evonne has for me. If she learns that I came to you with this, then she will never confide in me again.”
“I will say nothing to her,” Alex assured him. “As long as she remains within the walls of this house, she will be safe. As for the situation currently at hand, there were two more attacks. One in a motel off interstate sixty-four near Lewisburg, and the second at a house five miles from Beckley. SEVEN has reported four other cases, stretching from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. So far, everything is being kept from the public, but that won’t last long. This has to end.”
“But we have no way to pinpoint the group—or groups—doing this. The last thing we need is the media getting involved.”
Alex sat back in his chair. “SEVEN has been placed on high alert. They are to lay low for a while, and we will do the same. No one is to leave or enter here.”