“That’s it!” Julian shouted, squatting into a defensive stance. His features too had changed, his blue eyes had become a dark, cloudy charcoal. The vampires circled each other like two snarling cougars ready to pounce on the other and tear it to shreds. “Come on, get angry!” Julian shouted. “Lose that last ounce of fucking humanity you cling to. Fight me! Give in to it. Come on.”
Dante stood teetering, scowling, but he did not advance. Slowly, he straightened and his eyes reverted to their original green as his vision became normal and his nails and teeth receded.
“No. If I strike, you win. You aren’t allowed and you are a good boy who always does what daddy tells him. Whenever you decide to throw the first punch however, I will have your father watch as I feed you your own heart.”
“Fucking coward,” Julian said loud enough for Dante to hear him as he walked away. Dante finally used his vampire speed to leave.
*
Alone, Julian burst out laughing. True he had wanted to fight Dante and end him for over two centuries, and his frustration at being made to wait longer was eating away at him. Besides the fact that he hated looking at such a pathetic excuse for a vampire, he wanted to see if the belief that Dante was created by an Ancient; one of the first, was true. If he really had been, it would be one hell of a battle. Julian wasn’t convinced, though.
Thinking to tonight though, he found the whole exchange hilarious. He looked up at the apartment building again and smirked. He walked up to the main doors and felt himself begin to tremble the closer he got to the door. He did not have permission to enter, but he was not after that. The human bitch had mentioned number four, but looking at the call directory, he found no name.
Pulling out his phone, he dialled Clive. Julian did not give the raspy weasel a chance to even utter a greeting. “Twelve-stroke-four Macintosh Street in Mascot,” he uttered as soon as Clive picked up the phone. Send me the name of the person who lives there in one minute and you may still get to lose your virginity.”
Approximately forty-five seconds later he received a text message.
Alexandra Louise Hensley – School teacher, St Therese’s Public School Mascot. Signed a lease with Lauren Ashley Henson – Assistant Store Manager, MYER
Julian was almost impressed, but had a bigger test.
Find out the name of the boyfriend.
Less than fifteen seconds later he received his answer.
Matthew Phillip Carrington
Julian called Clive again. “You’d better be right.”
“I am. What do you want him for anyway?”
“Dante is protecting his whore. It’s a safe bet the boyfriend was the one behind the search earlier. How can you be sure this is him? Do they have joint accounts? Did you access personal data checks? Employment history? It was too fast for you patch into anything else, so how?”
There was a long pause on the other end. “…yeah not so much. I looked her up on Facebook. She’s in a relationship with this goof.”
Julian snorted in disbelief at how easily accessible personal information was these days. These humans had no idea who was watching them.
“Text me his address and number.”
“Will do.”
Another minute and Julian had his information, a house under Matt’s mother’s name. Julian stared at the address, then shut his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them again, he was outside Matt’s house. I love being me, he mused. He marched towards the wooden doors, slowing as he approached, trembling once again as the lack of invitation held him back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded note. One he had prepared for just this circumstance. Dante, it seemed, wanted to do things the hard way.
His father had been adamant there was only one way this could go. Julian knew Vincent would be displeased if he learned what he intended to do. Sir Vincent Kent wanted Dante to return of his own accord, thinking that Dante’s true place was by his side, alongside Julian. Julian could not accurately describe how much he hated this and had made it his personal mission to make good on his threat to punish Delavega. His ridiculous mainstreaming was causing too much attention. He would return to the family, or he would enter the eternal sleep. But Julian could not touch him, not yet. Not without Vincent’s say so. He would have to make his father see the only way to deal with the situation was the death of Delavega.
Julian would have to speed things along with the note, but he would get Dante. One way or the other.
If you wish to know more about Dante Delavega, wait by your phone at 6pm tomorrow.
Surely even a human could understand that.
Chapter Nine
Help Me
Lauren slammed the bathroom door just before Alex could reach it.
“Loz, please… Can we talk about this? I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Alex had taken Dante’s request to heart and tried to warn her roommate to stay away from Ryan. It was evening and Lauren had just arrived home having not gone to work, according to the messages on their answering machine from her boss wondering where she was. Lauren had barely muttered a hello before getting changed to go out again, saying she was meeting Ryan at his place. But Alex was more than worried now. Something was really off. She’d expected resistance when she
