It took me some time but I finally managed to finish this chapter. School got in the way so I don't know how soon I'll be able to post any future chapters/stories. Anyway, if you're still reading the story I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well. Unbeta'd but I hope it's readable :D
"I've been thinking…" She started.
"I'd be surprised if you ever stopped." Nikola added with a cheeky tone.
"The fact that I didn't turn into a mindless obeying vampire must have something to do with my blood. I mean, think about it. My DNA was already altered and when it came in contact with your own altered DNA some sort of reaction must have happened. A reaction that preserved my brain, kept my personality intact."
"You don't know that. We need to run more tests." He replied.
"It makes perfect sense! It has to be because of the Source Blood in my system. If I had my laboratory from the Sanctuary here!"
The Sanctuary! Ashley! Blinded by her transformation and caught in the middle of a hunt between the Cabal and Nikola, Helen had completely forgotten about her daughter and the Sanctuary. They seemed so far away, in a different time, a different life.
"What date is today?" She asked.
"I believe it's the 1st of March 2009." Nikola replied.
"I was supposed to get back from my conference in Rome today! The others at the Sanctuary must be looking for me. I have to call them immediately."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Helen."
"What do you mean?" She asked surprised by his response.
"Well if you haven't noticed yet, the Cabal wants to capture me at any cost so you can be sure the phone is under surveillance. If you use it they can locate us. Not to mention that if they find out you're a vampire too… let's just say the things might complicate."
"What then?"
"I'm sorry." He answered. "You can't make contact with them. You have to stay here until things calm down a little. Besides, me, you, alone where nobody could find us. You have to admit this is at least an interesting scenario. And I'm aware of all sorts of methods to make you feel comfortable here." He ended his phrase with a huge flirting grin on his face.
"I find this to be hardly amusing." Helen replied briefly before one of Nikola's vampires entered the room with a growl.
"I thought you killed them." She questioned Nikola with her eyes.
"I did. The ones who attacked you."
"Nikola you are insane!"
"And that's why you love me but as much as I'd love to stay and chat we have to go."
He took a bottle from a drawer and opened it spreading its liquid content over the entire laboratory.
"What's happening?" She managed to ask him.
"This location is not safe anymore. They're on their way here."
"They? The Cabal?" She asked but she didn't get any reply.
"Go and slow them down." He commanded to the vampire.
Holding a candle in his left hand, Nikola approached the documents on the table and put them fire. The fire soon started spreading and he hurried to the bed. He pushed it away and revealed a hidden trap in the floor.
"This way milady." He said and opened the trap.
Helen slowly descended on some stone stairs into something that appeared to be an underground tunnel.
The fire in the lab spread everywhere. Nikola started descending when he took one more look at the place that had been his home for the last three months. He had grown tired of this. How many of his labs had he seen burning to ashes? In order to preserve his research falling into the wrong hands Nikola preferred destroying it. So many years of hiding and traveling. It had become a second nature to him. Never staying too much in a single location, not being able to publish any of his work or discoveries, his name being forgotten in the darkness of history… Even though he had chosen this path a long time ago, somewhere deep inside, a part of him languished for the safety and the lasting of a home.
"Nikola!"
Helen's voice interrupted his thoughts. He closed the trap behind him and headed to Helen who was waiting for him.
"Alright let's go." He said and paced deeper into the tunnel.
"Go? Where?" Helen asked trying to keep up with him.
"Brilliant don't you think?" He spoke more to himself. "A two hundred years old system of catacombs underneath the city that leads to so many places and those ignorant people have no idea about its existence!"
Helen knew too well Nikola was avoiding answering her question. The last time she allowed him to do that she ended up hunted by the Cabal and even more, she ended up being changed into a vampire. So this time she decided she wouldn't play his game anymore.
"Nikola, I asked you where we're going." She spoke in a formal tone.
But he appeared to be paying no attention to her so ignoring her words he continued his idea,
"Perhaps the Ancient Ones used these tunnels as well."
In a fraction of second Helen was standing in front of him, her black nails threatening to reach for his neck. Her black eyes gazed him and she spoke in a deep voice,
"I had enough of this. I demand to know where we are going."
Instead of being frightened, a huge grin appeared on Nikola's face. He approached her carefully and whispered into her year,
"My God, you look so sexy when you're dangerous."
She struggled to remain focused but Nikola's breath tickling her ear proved to be a very distracting factor. For a moment, her mind even began to wonder how his lips would feel on her skin. But soon she pulled herself together and pressed one of her long sharp nails on Nikola's neck, enough to be able to feel his pulse accelerating.
"I'm not taking any step further until you tell what I want to know."
"How many times do I have to tell you I love you before you decide whether to believe me or not?" He replied with a smirk of arrogance.
Did he really love her?
She shook her head trying to deny the effect his words had on her.
"Where are we going?" Helen asked trying to sound angry.
"Out, of course." Nikola answered in a natural tone.
"It won't take long until they'll discover the trap in my lab" he continued, "and they'll be on our tracks again. I'm hoping when that happens we'll be already far from here."
"Nikola what are you up to?" Helen asked but she knew she won't be getting any other answers from him. Not then. Not there.
"Come on Helen, give me some credit." He replied with a wide grin.
"At least for the sake of the feelings you have for me." He added in a cheeky tone.
"Don't push it, Nikola! Just get ourselves out of here." She said pulling her nails back from his neck.
Half an hour later they both paced on a crowded street stopping in front of an impressive building that combined both old and modern architecture. Three words meant to bring some light over whatever Nikola's plan was, confused Helen even more. Policlinico Universitario Gemelli.