101: Careful

By the time we had started our walk, the sun began to set behind the clouds, casting a pale purplish colour into the sky. The air had gotten colder, and the streetlights started to switch on.
“How did you know about David?” I asked once we had begun to pass the river from earlier on.
“I know about the rumours too, so when you asked about your friend Felicity who is notorious for being hopelessly in love with David, and then about those silver drugs, I kind of figured out what you were doing.”
I had to admit, he was very perceptive, and I was very impressed with him. In fact, I was actually beginning to like Darren. But all of this was still strange and new to me- his friendly behaviour, his kindness. I was more used to being hated. It was easier for me to distance myself from the nobles when I saw them as unfeeling creatures. But the more I got to know them, even the worst of them, the more I realised that there were actual people behind these prideful titles, and that they had emotions, feelings and struggles just like I did. It was so easy to hate and dismiss when you couldn’t understand or empathise.
“Why were you so kind to me today?” I asked.
Darren scratched the back of his neck nervously before stopping abruptly. I did too and eyed him expectantly as I awaited my answer.
“I suppose I became fascinated with you after you saved my brother’s life in the games. Admittedly, I couldn’t stop thinking about you after that, and then you helped Samantha too and my fascination grew. I couldn’t believe that you still tried to help us even though we treated you so badly. I’m sure that by now you understand that vampires are selfish creatures and so when you acted in a way that wasn’t selfish at all, I couldn’t help but…”
“But what?” I pushed.
He paused and I did too. Then he suddenly reached out and took one of my hands in his. Admittedly, I was intrigued by the way this conversation was going. Just a few weeks ago, we were at each other’s throats, and now… this.
“But take a strange liking to you. I’ve really tried to supress it all this time… but then you showed up today and it made me realise my feelings for you all over again.”
I was flattered, but couldn’t help but gently pull my hand away from his and say, “I’m sorry but I already have four men in my life…”
Darren chuckled and shook his head. “Oh don’t worry, I know. But maybe in the future you could think about making it five.”
It was a strange thing to say, given our circumstances and so I just smiled sadly at him. He smiled back, but brightly, almost as if he held hope that one day his fantasy would become a reality.
We spent the rest of the walk basking in the comfortable silence between the both of us. It wasn’t until we reached the front of the hotel that he finally spoke again.
“I’ll see you around…”
I nodded and was about to turn away from him when he touched my cheek with his hand and then brought his lips to mine. The kiss was quick and meaningless for me, but I could tell that when I opened my eyes and stared into his, it meant everything to him. He didn’t say anything afterward, instead he turned and left as if this kiss was the last little glimmer of his fantasy.
“What was that all about?”
I turned around and then froze when I saw Sebastian standing there at the entrance, arms folded over his chest and an eyebrow arched. There was no doubt in my mind that he had seen the kiss between Darren and me.
“It’s not what you think. He kissed me.”
He sighed and walked towards me before saying, “I know…” His eyes then wandered to the parcel in my hand. “Is that the silver drug?”
“Yes. I think I’ll go and take it to Demetri. He seemed to have an idea of what it was.”
“Or-” he then grabbed my hand as I tried to pass him by, “-you could do it in the morning.”
But I could barely concentrate on what he was saying because that was when I saw her… and him. The moment Felicity’s eyes met mine, she smiled brightly and began to sprint towards Sebastian and me with David following behind her.
“Hi! I haven’t seen you for most of the festival… were you hiding away from me?” She asked before pulling me into a tight embrace.
“I could ask you the same question…” I said as we let go of each other, but my eyes never left David’s. He watched me and approached cautiously, almost as if he knew we had discovered that he had something to hide. And almost ironically, he greeted Sebastian and I before his eyes wandered to the package in my hands.
“What’s in the package?” He asked curiously.
I gazed down at it and clutched onto it a little tighter before saying, “Just something Demetri wanted… and old relic. He’s into that kind of thing.”
It was a convincing enough lie to let him leave the issue. But by then I was uncomfortable and wanted the conversation to end. Although I’d spent most of the festival looking for both Felicity and David, I now had enough information at my disposal, and I did not want to risk him finding out what I now knew about him and was still about to discover. However, before I could even think of ending the conversation, Felicity made a request I couldn’t refuse.
“Hey, so tomorrow’s the last day of the festival. Do you think you could spend the day with us?”
“Us?” I questioned, not liking the idea of spending the day with David. I feared my tongue would slip or I’d accidentally give away what I knew.
“Yes, you, me, Aaliyah and Alice. Those two have been so elusive this week so I want to spend it with them too. What do you say?”
A day with just the four of us? I could have honestly not asked for a better opportunity. Not only did it allow me to spend a final day with my friends, but it also gave me a chance to convince Felicity to stay away from David. And so, I agreed.
“Sure, of course.”
“Great, how about we meet down the street at that place that sells some good blood bakes? Ora’s bakery.”
I nodded, and with that the two bid us farewell and began to leave, but I couldn’t help but notice the look David gave me as he passed us by. It was uncharacteristically dark and challenging and it made me shiver involuntarily.
“You alright?” Sebastian asked after they were out of sight.
I shook myself and then nodded. If anything, this interaction only made me want to figure out what the package held more.
“We need to get this to Demetri right now!” I said, heading towards the hotel entrance.
This time, he had no choice but to agree and followed closely behind me as I made my way to Demetri’s room. I knocked thrice, waited a moment and then the door opened swiftly.
“What can I do you for?” He asked with a smile. But his smile fell the moment he saw Sebastian.
“I’m actually here to show you the silver drug that I got from Basson.” Demetri moved aside immediately, granting both Sebastian and I entrance to his room. I carefully placed the parcel on the sheets of his bed before beginning to unbind them, revealing the vial and syringe.
Demetri neared the items and then carefully took the vial in his hands before inspecting it closely. Then, he grabbed at the syringe, lodged it into the vial, drew out the silver liquid and suddenly injected it into himself.
“What the hell are you doing?” I exclaimed as the liquid rushed into Demetri’s veins. But as soon as the last of the liquid in the syringe had left into his bloodstream, his veins turned a bright yellowish shade and he winced slightly and collapsed to the floor.
“Demetri!” Sebastian yelled and rushed to his side along with me and then grabbed at one of his arms, inspecting it carefully.
Demetri chuckled a little before saying, “Oh look at you caring for me Sebby.”
Sebastian grimaced and then let go of Demetri before cussing under his breath. That was when I noticed that Demetri’s veins had turned back to their pale bluish colour.
“What happened? What is that stuff?” I asked as I caressed at his arm.
“Werewolf suppressants. They’re deadly to ordinary werewolves and even more so to vampires if they overdose on it. Luckily for me, they just weaken me for a short period of time.” He said.
Werewolf suppressants? But why would David want to inject himself with werewolf suppressants, unless…
“You don’t think David’s a hybrid, do you?” Sebastian asked.
Demetri got himself off of the floor and then placed the empty vial and syringe in the bin next to his bed. “That’s exactly what I think. A while back, centuries ago actually, I ran into this stuff. It was decades after the war had passed. Those who died in the war but had hybrid children hid them away in a sanctuary. I lived in one of them at one stage when Sebastian and I were not on good terms. The people there would often need to go among vampires in order to gather medical supplies. So, they designed this liquid to supress the werewolf part of themselves. If David is using it, then it means he must be just like you since only hybrids can tolerate its potent effects.”
I always knew that there had to be other hybrids out there, hidden somewhere where the world couldn’t find them. What I didn’t know was that there was one right here, under my nose. It did, however, explain so much, his strength, speed and advanced training skills. I wondered if Meera knew… or perhaps that was why she and David were lovers. But again, it didn’t explain why the celestial had pointed towards him… maybe this was why. Maybe she was warning me. Though it was a funny concept to ponder. Someone who was hell-bent on killing me, warning me about a potential foe. But there was no other explanation I could come up with.
“I don’t like this… If he’s a hybrid it gives him a very good shot at attaining the throne. We watched him in the games, he’s a really good fighter Phoenix, almost as good as you.” Demetri said.
I gave a sigh and then ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. He was right. And now that David had Meera, who was the head of Sanguis and also in charge of creating the games, on his side, I was at yet another disadvantage.
“I’ll have to be careful.”
If only I had known, then that being careful would prove to be futile for what Meera had in store for me.
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Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!