They waited until they heard the car move out of the driveway down the street. “Okay Vincent, tell us why you are here, besides running away from the Conselho. What are your plans, precisely when are you planning to leave. As you can see we don’t need to attract attention to ourselves at the moment.”
They had human girlfriends who didn’t know anything about their real identities, and they weren’t ready to reveal their true selves just yet.
“So you guys are dating humans. Awesome, so what happens when you are under attack? Are you going to use them as bait?” Vincent laughed at his gag, the other two men in the room were livid.
“Listen to me, any more jokes like that and you are out.” It was Stephan who spoke, trying to keep his cool, trying not to get over the edge.
“You guys need to chill, I told you most of it. Do you want me to start from the beginning for your friend?”
Solara nodded at Stephan. “I got it, pick up from where you left off.”
Vincent was confused, after a few seconds, it dawned on him. “Do you like, read minds or something, that’s cool? Ok anyway, they sent hunters out for the both of us. They aren’t about to take no for an answer. So if I were you I wouldn’t keep the humans.”
They both ignored him. Although they didn’t want to bring them into harm’s way they weren’t about to give them up.
“We need to think of something Stephan. You lived with these vampires for over three centuries, think of something that they wouldn’t.”
They had to come up with a plan that would ensure Scarlet’s and Kayla’s safety. This was Stephan’s war and he wasn’t about to accept another casualty.
Stephan thought about heading to Rio before they came for him. There was no doubt in his mind that the Conselho men would kill Scarlet if they found out that she was the reason he insisted on living amongst the humans.
“One thing is for sure, no vigilante missions.”
“We need to come up with a way to protect them, Solara you more than anyone should understand.”
Stephan was getting worn out, being hunted wasn’t something easy to handle. It was exhausting. Now they had another person to add to the pile-up. They didn’t know what to do with Vincent just yet. Where would he stay, for now, they couldn’t let him go just yet they may need him for something, and considering his behavior he didn’t think he would mind.
“Vincent is there any more like the two of you, defectors. Or didn’t the rest of them being mentally enslaved?” Solara was concentrating on him. He didn’t need him to answer him, he just needed him to think about it. The smallest window and he would be able to get all the information he needed. In a second he took all the thoughts that streamed into his head. Vincent was about to answer when he waved him off.
“Why do you keep doing that?” He sounded frustrated, but Solara didn’t care much. “Doesn’t this annoy you?” He directed the question at Stephan.
They both ignored him. “Stephan, since you spend most of your days here, why don’t you give him your place. He doesn’t need much.” He played around with the suggestion in his mind before he answered.
“I have to run that by the girls first. I’m assuming Kayla will still be living here. So I need to know that she doesn’t mind. Besides, it’s a good idea I can keep an eye on them while you hunt and vice versa.” He didn’t think that Scarlet would mind, she would love it. It was a good thing he decided to pack a bag.
The girls were back, they walked into the house laughing. They had a bag of snacks and some DVDs. “We are officially prepared for movie night, we got two chick flicks and an action movie.” They dumped the bag on the kitchen counter and placed the DVDs on top of the T. V.
Stephan took Scarlet’s arm and pulled her to the side, he was going to discuss with her the arrangement that they had come up with. He wasn’t worried about her answer, he could pretty much figure it out.
“Hun, I wanted to ask you something. Vincent needs a place to crash, Solara came up with an idea that I thought I should run it by you first. He thought that the kid could stay at my place and I could…I could crash here.” Scarlet reaction amused him and made him feel a bit smug, she jumped in as he finished his last words.
“Sure. Yes of course you can stay here.” She tried not to sound so eager but she couldn’t help it. Though she was happy he was moving in, she was worried that it was too soon after his revelation the previous night. It didn’t matter much to her but it worried her still. “So when are you going to bring your stuff over, should we go pick them up now or later.”
Stephan laughed at her impatience, he thought that maybe it wouldn’t be a good time to suggest he takes the couch. It would not affect him because he didn’t sleep. “I suspected that I may have to stay the night with you again, so I packed a bag, it’s in your trunk. I will get it later”
Her eyes were wide with excitement it took a lot of self-control to stop her from jumping up and down for joy. “So when are you moving in roomy,” Kayla called out from where she stood in Solara’s arms. They spent every second of their time together. Stephan wondered what would happen if they had to be separated considering it could happen any day from now, he wondered how his friend would cope without his other half, right next to him.
Stephan answered her with a smile on his face, strangely enough, Kayla didn’t mind an intruder in their home. “As soon as possible, I just have to get some stuff from my place.”
“As soon as now, he has got some clothes in the trunk, anything else he can get later.” Scarlet had tucked herself by his side under his arm. She fit so perfectly there, so small yet so strong.
“Hey guys I have a better idea, we don’t want Stephan to go through all that trouble how about I move in, and…” he abandoned that line of thought when he could feel the two larger men’s eyes burn holes in him. “Ok, ok I get it.” Vincent was now mumbling to himself.
***
The next morning they were up early. They each had work to do. Stephan was going to the garage, the girls to the diner. Solara was going to pick up his car and Vincent they were going to meet some of the defectors. They thought it was wise that Stephan didn’t go along with them if one of them would seek favor with the Conselho by turning him in.
They all left in Scarlet’s car, the two men seemed to occupy most of the room in the car. She always knew her Clio was a small car but today it seemed smaller. When they got to the diner they each went their respective ways.
Vincent waited for Solara by his car and soon they were off. They were going to San Jose, running there would have been much faster but they didn’t want to scare any humans that they would meet along the way.
“Tell me how Stephan was during his days as a warrior. I imagine he was much different from what he is now.” Solara was curious, Stephan never spoke about his past, and whatever he had in his mind was hidden away, as if in a different compartment from all his other thoughts and memories.
“Just talk, I’m interested in having an actual conversation with you and not your mind today. But anything idiotic comes out of your mouth and you are on mute.”
Vincent wanted to challenge the threat but he thought it immature and dangerous. He also wanted them to take him seriously and see him as an equal. “I only served under him for a decade or so, but what I can say, what I witnessed the first few hours with him, was that he was ruthless. The other guards had told me that he was a half breed, created by the elders and a beast they had captured, so his heart still beat. But the way he acted said otherwise, he was worse than a hundred dead vampires combined. He didn’t care much for humans or creatures. To him everything was dispensable.
“I remember once a guard had openly defied him, Stephan created some sort of force field inside the vamp and stretched it out. He exploded, there were shreds of him everywhere. And there was this one time we went out training, one of the guards kept getting his ass whooped, he phased into a panther, dark as night, he lurched for him took his head in his mouth after that all I remember hearing is the sound metal shredding. When we were all able to get a good look, the vampire’s headless body fell on its knees. He then phased back and put its head on its outstretched hands, and walked away naked as if he had just been picking up daisies or something. Mercy was something he didn’t know very well.”
Solara was looking into his mind as he narrated the story, it was as graphical as he told it. Vincent’s face was screwed up, the memory had left a bad taste in his mouth, who could blame him. At that point, he thought that if he was this ruthless when Sotera was being attacked she would still be alive. But she had softened him up, with his diet at the time he didn’t stand a chance.
“I must say I was a bit surprised he didn’t kill me when I jumped him, but I knew he would want information first so I risked it.” He chuckled, Solara could sense deep fear behind his amusement and thought to reassure him.
“Stephan has changed a lot. He has been through a lot to get to where he is now. Don’t worry about it.” As much as it was true, he hoped that when the time came, he would be able to use some of the power that Vincent had just shown him. Solara knew that he had changed his diet after meeting Scarlet, just as he did. But their new friend had revealed to them a better solution. He would feed on his kind, but only if he attacked him or Kayla. He assumed that Stephan wouldn’t be opposed to that.
“Are you sure we can trust, these acquaintances of yours? If they could betray creatures as powerful as the Conselho, why wouldn’t they betray us? Especially if it would benefit them in the end.” Solara needed to be sure. At the moment they weren’t prepared to handle any attacks, especially with Kayla and Scarlet around. They had to come up with a plan that would cover every possibility. Each angle had to be covered to ensure their safety.
They were a few minutes outside Pacifica, soon he would meet the other former guards. He needed to know where they stood concerning the Conselho recall. He hoped they would be able to have an understanding, and if it came to it they would fight together. They drove towards a two-story house. Solara peered in through the window, it was dark inside and looked abandoned.
“Are you sure there are other creatures in here, it looked abandoned?” Vincent knocked on the door, they walked in when it opened. They walked to where the other vampires had gathered, they were about six in the room. Once they were all acquainted Solara informed them of what was happening he hoped that they would be able to ally.