Chapter 94
On the way to her house I decided to try my theory, even though my mom was jamming to some Amy Grant tune on the oldies Christian radio station. “So… I’ll check into that stuff for class tonight and let you know.”
“Awesome,” Lucy said, nodding. “I’m sure I’ll rest a lot better if you can figure out the answer to that one problem that really stumped me.”
“Me, too,” I agreed.
“What class is that for?” my mom asked.
I decided it would be better if only one of us answered, so I waited. “Biology,” Lucy replied, leaning forward like my mom may as well know everything. “We had such a difficult lesson today,” she continued. “Human anatomy!”
“Ugh, that does sound hard,” my mom agreed. And actually, it wasn’t even a lie. Mr. Horton had covered the digestive system today—though Lucy’s answer also fit with our conundrum. Was Jack even a human anymore?
We pulled up outside Lucy’s house, and she said, “Thanks a lot, Mrs. F.”
“No problem, Lucy. We’ll see you later, dear.” My mom pushed the button that opened the slidy door, and Lucy jumped out. We saw Mrs. Burk waving from the front porch, and my mom closed the door and pulled away. “That Lucy sure is a sweet girl,” my mother mused.
“I concur,” I replied, looking carefully at her roofline. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, but she did have a large chimney which was situated close to her bedroom. Was it possible that’s where the hunter who’d been eavesdropping had been positioned?
“I heard from your sister today,” my mom said as I slid between the seats to take the front passenger one.
“Oh? How is she?”
“She’s doing well,” my mom said, but her voice seemed a little tentative, like there was something she didn’t want to tell me. What else was new? “I think… I think she might be happier somewhere else, though. I think she might not stay in Kansas City forever. It seems like this problem with Aaron is worse than I thought, and I think there’s… a lot going on otherwise as well.”
I didn’t let my mom know that Cadence and I had already talked about this twice. I figured she didn’t need to know that I was aware of more than she suspected. “Oh,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Well, I guess she just needs to figure out what makes her happy.”
“I guess so,” my mom said. I could tell, though, that something heavier was weighing on her mind, and I imagined she also knew about Jack, probably more than I did. My mom looked a little older than she had the last time I had really stopped to observe her. “I just hope… she is happy with this new situation.”
“Yeah, me, too,” I replied and then gave my mom a small smile. “It’s Cadence, though. I’m sure she’ll figure it out. She’s always good at everything.”
That got my mom to give me a genuine smile, and I was glad I was able to bring that out of her. She had to be worried; I was worried, and I didn’t know half as much as she did.
We pulled into the garage, and I told her I had some homework and headed upstairs. It wasn’t a complete lie, but the work I needed to do would only take a few minutes, and I needed to make a call.
I waited until my mom was safely in the kitchen working on dinner before I dialed Elliott’s number. I was very disappointed when he didn’t answer, though. I left him a message to call me and then grabbed my laptop, thinking I’d get my history out of the way before he called me back.
It wasn’t until after dinner, when I was sitting in my room looking at more news reports about the carnage down south, that my cell phone rang. “You just can’t leave me alone, can you, lil girl?” he joked.
I laughed despite the fact that I’d found some pretty graphic pictures of some of the bodies, ones I didn’t really need to look at. “I guess not,” I replied. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“It’s okay. What’s going on?”
“Well, uh,” I began, not sure how to pose my question, “I just… Jack. I wanted to know about Jack. How is he capable of doing all of this? Has he killed all of those people by himself?”
“Cassidy,” I heard in his tone that he wasn’t happy with my digging, but he also wasn’t surprised. “I told you to leave it alone.”
“Actually, what you really told me was not to talk to anyone else about it.” Maybe that wasn’t completely accurate, but I thought it would do as an interpretation. “Look, I’m just trying to understand. It seems like a pretty basic question, doesn’t it? How can someone who was such a good person kill so many people?”
He was quiet for a few moments, and I couldn’t tell if he was just thinking or getting away from other people, though I couldn’t hear anyone in the background this time. Finally, he said, “There are a whole bunch of theories, but I think it’s safe to say that this isn’t actually Jack, Cass. This thing may still look and sound like the guy you used to know, might have the same mannerisms, but he’s not Jack.”
I let that set in. It made sense, but it begged the question of what was he now? Before I could ask it, Elliott offered, “Some people say they become demons. I don’t think that’s the case. But I think there’s something in the venom that causes their soul to leave their body, and something sinister to take over. That’s really all I know.”
“Wow,” was all I could say in response to that.
“Yeah, you’re getting into territory that’s probably a little deep for such a little girl,” he reminded me. “And as for all of the bodies, well, Jack has gotten himself tangled up with a couple of other Vampires. He’s not doing all of that on his own.”
“Other vampires?” I asked. “How does that work?”
“I don’t know for sure,” he repeated. “I am not a Vampire, after all. But in Jack’s case, I imagine this guy and his girlfriend came looking for him since they were created by the same monster.”
“So… whoever bit Jack or whatever bit this other guy, too?”
“Turns out you don’t actually have to be bitten, and I don’t think Jack was, but yeah, essentially. Cass, this guy is a bad dude. The girl he’s with isn’t much nicer. They all came from the same Vampire queen, a beast we called Holland. She’s out of the picture now, thanks to your sister, but we need to find Jack and his two new friends and put them out of commission. And only your sister can do that. She’s struggling with that right now, as you can imagine.”
The weight of what he was saying sank into my chest like a heavy burden. It was as if I was trying to tread water with lead tied to my ankles. “You’re saying only Cadence can destroy Jack?”
“Essentially, yes.”
How could she do that? I couldn’t imagine my sister standing across from this creature that looked and sounded just like the man she used to love and being forced to destroy him. “How can she…?”
“Not easily. So…”
“Why can’t someone else do it?” I asked, hearing panic in my own voice, and I wasn’t even the one with the tribulation. “Why can’t you do it?”
“It’s complicated.” I realized then he wasn’t going to say more about it, and I may as well let it go. It was no wonder that Cadence wanted to leave Kansas City. I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to give the whole thing up and run away, but then, she likely couldn’t unsee what she’d seen.
“I need to go,” Elliott said. “We’re getting ready to meet before we go on a hunt.”
“For Jack?” I asked, prying again. I couldn’t help it.
“No, this one is local. Hopefully, Jack will head back this way soon.”
I wasn’t sure why that would be a good thing. Chills ran down my spine.
He must’ve realized that. “Don’t worry, Cass. You’re safe. Jack isn’t getting anywhere close to you; neither are his friends. As long as you’re in Shenandoah, you’re safe. Our people will protect you. Just stay put, lil girl.”
As if I had anywhere to go. “Okay,” I replied, believing him. “I never go anywhere anyway.”
He laughed, and I assumed he was trying to make light of my domestic captivity. “Try not to worry about any of it, Cass. Your sister is a big girl. She knows what she’s doing. We’ll help her through it.”
“All right. But… when it’s over, will you tell me how it goes down, please? I mean, Jack was my friend, too, like a brother.”
It took him a long time to agree, but he finally did. “Sure,” he replied. “Why don’t you go do some homework or something?”
“I’m done!” I exclaimed, making him chuckle. “Be safe tonight, though.”
“Always am,” he assured me.
I was just about to hang up when another question popped into my head. “Elliott,” I said, hoping he’d answer me. “What are their names?”
“Whose names?” he asked, and even though he didn’t sound annoyed, he sounded tired.
“The two vampires Jack’s with. What are their names?”
“Why do you want to know?” he asked.
“I don’t know….”
“You’re definitely not going to find anything online about them, lil girl. Christian keeps that stuff scrubbed.”
“No, I know,” I assured him. “It’s not that. I just want to put a name with the monsters, that’s all.”
He sighed loudly. “Their names are Giovani and Zabrina,” he said. “Now, have a good night, Cass, and I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks,” I said, and he hung up before I could say more. “Giovani and Zabrina?” I repeated out loud. Once again, I had chills, though I wasn’t sure why. Their names didn’t sound particularly menacing. Neither did Holland. She just sounded like a country. I supposed Jack wasn’t exactly the kind of name you’d give a monster either. Which led me to realize all of these vampires had once been people, just like me. They might not sound too scary, but then, if I was ever transformed into a vampire, would people be afraid of me? The idea made me laugh. “Cassidy, the vampire,” I said in my most sinister Transylvanian accent. No way in the world would I ever make a good vampire. I was glad I didn’t have anywhere outside of Shenandoah to be so I wouldn’t have to risk it anyway. Although, if the time ever came that I did need to face these monsters, I was sure I’d find a way to be ready. If Cadence could do it, after all, so could I.
