Chapter Twenty-Nine

I opened my eyes to see silhouettes surrounding me. I was propped up against a wall and there was something above our heads. A bridge. I could hear running water and figured out we were in front of the Haven City River. As my senses came back slowly, I heard a familiar voice. I mentally sighed with relief, thankful that she had made it so far.

“She’s awake!” Aura Ray said. She crouched down and placed a hand on my shoulder. Another silhouette glanced at me before going back to looking out for anyone that might be chasing us.

“Barely,” it said. This voice belonged to Titon. 

There were three other silhouettes, but I wouldn’t have to listen to their voices as my vision gradually restored. Vulcon, Adriel, and Rose. We had them with us, yet we were hiding. The thought pissed me off to the point where I tried to stand up, but my weight immediately gave out underneath me. I almost bashed my head on the concrete, but Aura caught me. 

“Antonio knew of both locations at the grocery store and Madame Maker’s hideout,” Vulcon said.

“And they’re scouring The Bloodbath as we speak,” Rose added.

“Is Miss Bathory okay?” Vulcon asked.

“Y-Yeah…”

“You killed him…,” I muttered. Titon’s mask looked in my direction.

“I did what you asked. The guy worked for them, so I got rid of him,” he said. 

“We’re going to need to leave the city,” Vulcon said. “At this point, it’s our only option.”

“It isn’t,” Titon said. “There’s still more crime organizations we can lean on here.”

“Okay, but which one?” Vulcon asked. 

“First, I wanna know how she managed to come back. It’ll help me determine the best course of action,” Titon said. 

“Come back?” Vulcon echoed.

“She was dead when we found her, but Aura Ray insisted we take her body. Now, maybe she did something with lower her body temperature so her pulse slowed to where it was unreadable, but considering how far the bullets were lodged in her brain--”

“How could you tell the distance?” Aura asked.

“My mask grants me several different and advantageous forms of vision. You figure out the rest,” Titon informed. “Anyway--”

“Deal…with…devil,” I managed to say. There was silence among them until Adriel, of course, broke it.

“Well, I’d like to say that absurd shit is out of the realm of possibility, but considering what I am, what Rose is, and really anything else that’s happened up to this point, I’m inclined to believe her.”

“And you’re positive?” Titon questioned. He was crouched down in front of me now, trying to read me. All I could manage was a nod.

“Well, that settles it, then. Follow me.”

With the streets flooded with Alpha Corps forces, we had to take the riverbank as close to our next destination as possible. Then, when there was a gap in trucks and foot soldiers on the street, we climbed up onto the streets and crowded around a side door entrance to a building. 

After Titon knocked, an impossibly large man stepped out into the alley and eyed us up and down. 

“Here for Tristan,” Titon said. The man grunted. I was convinced he wasn’t human.

“Tristan is no longer here.”

“Selene? Camilla?”

The man shook his head.

“Then who the fuck is in charge?”

“Felix.”

“Fine. Bring us to him.”

The man held the door open for us and we piled inside. We followed him down a long, red, carpeted hallway into a large, vast, and empty room with a throne at the back of it. To the right of the throne was a being similar in size to the doorman, but I could tell this one wasn’t human because of the pure black eyes, pale skin, and almost skull-like facial structure. He was wearing a collar-cape combination and was one of the only ones dressed in this manner.

The one on the throne was dressed like anyone you’d see on the street. Black tank top, jeans with a chain over the pocket, tall brown hair that was slightly darker than his skin, and black glasses that matched the guard to his right’s eyes. 

“Welcome, guests! I am Felix. How may I be of service?” the one on the throne proclaimed. 

“Well, you can start by telling us where the former leader is,” Titon said.

“Ooh, comin’ in hot with that sort of request, huh? Yeah, no-can-do on the whole Tristan’s whereabouts topic. Next?” Felix said. When he spoke, I caught glimpses of sharp teeth in his mouth. 

“Did a cousin of yours recently bring someone back to life with a deal?” Titon asked.

“Tristan’s cousin did.”

I put it together. The teeth, the clothes, the decorations, the family members. These people were vampires. Criminal vampires. How long have they been in Haven for me to have never heard about them? Was that due to the former leader’s leadership? It was strange for me to find out now, but if aliens, gods, angels, and demons could exist, why couldn’t mythical creatures? 

“You have exactly one question left, compadre. Make it a good one,” Felix said. 

“Would you be so kind as to grant us refuge for the next couple of nights to lay low as the Alpha Corps searches for us?”

“I can do that. But what’s in it for me? It better amount to something of value in combination with answering these questions of yours,” Felix said.

“I’ll do three jobs for you for free. No matter the difficulty,” Titon said.

“Ooh…tempting,” Felix said, stroking his chin. “Make it five and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Deal.”

“Fantastic,” Felix said. He looked to the doorman that brought us in. “Show them to their quarters.”

They dropped me off first. While I healed, Rose agreed to room with me. Titon turned to the guard escorting us and asked him to give us a minute. He grunted and stepped outside the room.

“Something’s off about this new leader situation,” Titon said.

“Do we really have time to mess with another organization while we’re being hunted?” Vulcon asked.

“The older leader owes me a few favors, might be able to cut Amaia out of the deal she made with his cousin, and she took down his rival Ignitro,” Titon listed. “I’d say we have the time. But for now, we need Amaia to rest until she’s at full strength again. I’d love to see the boost in power she received.”

Everyone except Rose left. I’ll admit I was uncomfortable with just her there, but considering the state I was in, I didn’t think she’d harm me. 

I was barely keeping my eyes open as she sat in a chair in the corner of the room and just watched me until I fell asleep.