Chapter 12

This was the first time he was there without Hannah. The Penthouse was beautifully decorated in Hannah’s style. Colorful portraits adorned the bricked-face walls. Leather furniture and boldly printed carpets. The kitchen was Hannah’s favorite place and consisted of wood countertops and white cupboards, giving it a rustic but clean feeling.
Dario felt excitement about Hannah becoming a vampire soon. Dario wondered around the Penthouse visiting old memories to help the time go by.
***
Friday afternoon after school, Ann made her way to the Compound, wondering if she will find Michael there. She felt slightly relieved when she did.
“You cleaned up nicely,” Ann noticed Michael’s good looks now that he was dressed, and his hair tied back in a man-bun. ‘Crap, he is going to see that I find him attractive crap! Stop thinking!’ she wills herself to stop admiring him.
Michael was about the take her arm to drink when she pulled away.
“What secrets are you hiding? I am starved, let me drink,” he tried again.
“First tell me if you have information on the Council,” Ann said, feeling her cheeks burning.
“What is wrong with you?” Michael asked, looking at her flushed face.
“Nothing,”
“Well if I drink from you and you from me, then you will know the location of the Council,” Michael said, his mouth-watering, trying again to take her palm.
“Just tell me,” Ann insisted.
Michael felt his skin boiling and quickly spat out the location of the council. He sneers at her.
Ann was about to turn away and walk out when he blocked her. “Please, let me drink,” he pleaded with her.
“Can’t you drink from an animal or something?” Ann tried to get out of the situation.
“You are kidding me, right? Why can I not drink from you? What are you hiding?” Michael asked, concerned.
“Nothing,” Ann said, trying again to walk away.
“If you don’t want me to see your thoughts or memories, then keep your eyes open and your eyes on me. Focusing on the present blocks the Vampire from seeing you,” Michael lied, desperate to drink from her.
Ann offered her wrist and Michael drank eagerly from her, to fill his hunger and to know what she was hiding. Disappointed to see that it was nothing important. Once he had his fill, he offered his wrist to her, knowing that she will now know that he lied to her.
Ann drank and discovered the location of the Council. She stops. Because she only focused on the location of the Council and stopped as soon as she had it, she did not know that Michael lied to her.
Michael waited for her to lash out, but she did not. He then realized that she was too distracted while drinking from him.
“So, when do we leave?” Michael asked.
“Who said you are coming with?” Ann asked, about to leave.
Michael grabbed her by the arm with a gentle grip without hurting her.
Ann looked at his hand around her arm and then at his face, feeling the redness creeping into her cheeks again.
My friends and I will leave on the first flight out. Ann drew a map on the dusty floor to show Michael how to get to Hudson Heights. “If you get lost, there are maps at filling stations and bus stops.”
Michael understood what he must look for as he saw it in her memories.
“Leave here tomorrow evening. What about the daytime, it is not like here, everywhere?”
“I know, I was born a vampire. daylight has no effect on me. Have you not seen it when you drink from me?”
“I thought that was before you became a vampire,” Ann said, confused.
“See you soon,” Michael said, watching Ann leave.
Michael was excited to leave the compound. Especially because Ann did not say he must meet up with her again. She only said, leave here tomorrow. He wondered if he would find a human that will let him drink from them, and how will he go about it. Michael had no plans to meet up with Ann at the council. He wanted to find his own people, his family.
***
Ann send William and Jessica a message when she got home. She then went to her mom first, asking if she can take a vacation to New York City with Jessica as they had a short holiday break.
“Fine by me if it is fine by your dad,” her mother said, meaning no.
Ann knew not to even bother asking her father as it was their way of saying no. William did not need the permission of his parents and Jessica had her parents wrapped around her little finger.
Ann message Jessica that she could not join them, but much to her surprise, before she knew it her parents said she can go because Mr. Ondrink was taking them.
Ann wondered if Mr. Ondrink was really going with them. The next morning, Mr. Ondrink fetched her from her house with Jessica in the front passenger seat and William in the back seat.
“Be good and call me as soon as you land in New York,” Ann’s mom said goodbye with a kiss on her forehead.
Mr. Ondrink stopped at the airport and tried again to convince Jessica not to go, “this will not end well, you are putting yourself at risk.”
“Just because you are the pack Beta does not mean you can define me,” Jessica warned him, the annoyance clear in her voice.
The way Jessica spoke to their teacher really shocked Ann and William, but both decided to stay out of it. William was still coming to terms with all the new information and the new reality he found himself in. William took care of the trip cost as it was, but small change to him. His father being the town Major and a business tycoon before his position as Major made William the richest kid in town, and in Alaska for that matter.
William got out of the car, adjusting his glasses before putting his backpack on his back and taking the two girls' backpacks.
“I can carry my own bag, thanks,” Ann said, taking her bag from William.
Jessica followed Ann’s lead and took her bag from William.
They made their way to the terminal. Mr. Ondrink left after they disappeared from his sight. He knew he must go with them, but Jessica was not allowing him.
It shocked Ann that they got seated in first class, not used to throwing money away unnecessarily. Even though her family was well-off, they would never waste money on first-class treatment.
Jessica carried her mixed emotions on her face without realizing it.
“Are you ok?” Ann asked, concerned.
“Yeah, still getting used to my new reality,” Jessica responded, looking away from Ann, out of the cabin window to hide her facial expressions.
The first-class cabin had a lot of space with a large Lazy-boy seat at a window with a fold-down bed across from it for each passenger. They were the only three in the four-seater cabin. William booked the entire cabin and an additional private hostess.
A pretty blond with brown eyes and legs for days came into the cabin and introduced herself. She showed each of them individually the emergency procedures and spent extra time on William that liked the attention but was not fooled by it. He was used to girls and women alike showing interest in him because of his riches.
The hostess introduced the breakfast menu to them and then took their order. She returned first with coffee for Jessica, Tai-Latte for Ann, and warm water with a slice of lemon for William.
It did not take long for her to return with Breakfast Croissants filled with Bacon, egg, and cheese and a side of Fruit Salad for each of them. After breakfast, Ann and William played on the PlayStation Console and Jessica went on to her reading app to catch up on some reading.
Lunch came and again the three of them ordered the same: chicken salad. They were offered a snack before landing, but William declined. “I will take you two to my favorite restaurant before we go to Hudson Heights.”
After dinner at Butcher and Banker, they took an Uber-Black to Hudson Heights.
“Mr. Carden?” Jessica noticed Dario first.
“Hi, what are you guys doing here at this hour?” Dario asked, looking at Ann and William, realizing that William must also be in on everything.
“Can ask you the same thing, where is the rest of your merry-band?” William asked, even though he was only interested in seeing one person, Shysie.
“Back in Alaska. Why?”
“What!” Jessica asks furiously.
“What is up with you?” Dario asked her, confused by her anger.
“I came here for two things, to un-mate with him, and to meet my birth parents. How is this possible? How is Paterno Castle standing here in full glory? On the images that are on the web, there is nothing here but the one wing,” Jessica asked, admiring the weathered, abandoned, spooky-looking castle.
“What are you talking about? It looks exactly like the images on the web,” Ann said, confused, looking into empty space.
“Yip, just like the images on the web,” William confirmed.
“You don’t see the gigantic, spooky-looking Paterno Castle?” Jessica asked, looking at the Castle.
“They cannot see what we can, and even we don’t see as it is, really. We see what they want us to see, it is a spell. As soon as we are invited in, you will see Paterno Castle in its full glory,” Dario told Jessica.
“If the humans touch you, they will see what you see,” a dangerous, smooth voice came from behind a tree.
“Andre, thank you for meeting me, I have important news for the council,” Dario spoke with a matter of urgency.
“Indeed, you do,” a handsome tall man, with brought shoulders, fair skin, long blond hair, and hazel-green eyes greeted while inspecting Jessica. Andre thought the urgent news was about Jessica.
Ann and William reached out at the same time to touch Jessica and gasped as the Castle appears out of nowhere.
Andre, holding his chin, looked Jessica up and down, “very interesting.”
“What is so interesting?” Jessica asked rudely, knowing what he meant.
Ann and William also realized what Andre was referring to, but not Dario as he does not know Jessica’s parents. It was seldom that lower rank Vampires, Werewolves, and all other magical beings come into the company of the other species’ royals.
“Let’s go inside, shall we?” With those words out of Andre’s mouth, being a royal offspring himself, the Castle’s appearance changed into a beautifully clean, and well maintained Castle, something out of a fairy-tale book.
“After you,” Andre showed his hand with a little sidestep, smiling at Jessica.
They made their way up the stairs and it was as if the castle doors had opened magically. The gigantic doors are heavily decorated in the Neo-Gothic era, just like in the history books.
“While the three of you admire the beautiful foyer, Dario and I will go meet with the council. Meet you at the end of the hallway,” Andre said, mainly talking to Jessica.
The three of them are so awed by the beauty that they did not notice Dario and Andre leave. After they had enough of the foyer, they entered a hallway. Strangely enough, the hallway was decorated with floral wallpaper and endless rows of doors that looked exactly the same. They walked to make their way to the end of the hallway, which seemed to be never-ending.
“Is it just me or is this hallway really long?” William asked, out of breath.
Ann looked around her to see how much distance they had covered from the entrance, “what the hell? We are still at the entrance!”
Jessica and William look around as they could not believe their ears.
“Don’t worry too much, must be magic,” Jessica said, not too worried.
Out of nowhere, a Snow owl flew towards them and as it got closer to them it started to change into a man.