Chapter 25
Daniel and I arrive to Natalie's suite, and already there waiting for us was Vee; casually leaning against the door's frame, clearly looking impatient. "What's wrong sis? Did we take too long for you?" Daniel questions jokingly. But one look at her expression, it was clear that she wasn't in the mood for games. "I was only joking Vee."
Her expression becomes soft, not meaning to upset her little brother. "It's not that... just... you need to see."
I look to Daniel with confusion, but I don't say a word as Vee opens the door slowly. She motions us to follow as she enters the dark, cold room with haste. Daniel and I do, with hesitation, for we had no idea what to expect. The moment I walked in the hotel room, my nose fills with the smell of something metallic and sweet; the all too familiar scent of blood. I wondered why I didn't recognize the scent before, or even smell it. The sudden raging hunger inside me becomes the only thing I can think about. My breathing becomes ragged and rapid. "Daniel." I breathed heavily, images of blood filling my head; making me crave more.
I could barely feel Daniel's hands on either side of my face, it felt like I was in a haze; unable to focus on anything else but the warm, red liquid that was so near. "I know it seems hard, but fight it. Fight the urge. Just focus on something else, turn your senses off."
My breathing stops as I hold my breath, it helped me not smell anything. My eyes squeeze shut, trying to hide the images of what I may find in front of me. All I focus on is the smoothness of Daniel's palms gently pressed against my cheeks. I continue concentrating on the feel of Daniel's hands and his light breathing, the sound was almost soothing.
After a minute or so, when Daniel removes his hands from my face, I exhale the air I had been holding in. And with that breath, went away my desire for blood. I was proud of myself for being able to resist it quicker and slowly, blood was becoming less and less fundamental for me to have. I was finally beginning to control my hunger. "Okay, I'm fine. Turn on the lights." I tell Vee, before Daniel was able to say anything. I knew he was going to be hesitant about me being in the room, whatever it was in it that triggered my blood lust. But I knew I was fine and that I'd be able to handle it.
With the flick of a switch, the room lit up brightly; revealing the reason as to why I caught the scent of blood. It was everywhere in the hotel suite: dripping from the ceiling, painted onto the once featureless white walls, and seeping it's essence into the carpeted floor. The body was so mutilated, I couldn't tell who this unfortunate person was; but I already knew who it must have been. Natalie was dead.
"Oh my god," is all I can manage to say at the sight before me. How could anyone do that to someone? It made me sick to think of the suffering Natalie must have had. Sure, I only knew her for a few short hours, but still; she didn't deserve to die the way she had, no one did.I knew who it was responsible for this. It must have been the Fenris' who had mutilated Natalie's body, who else could it have been? "How did they know?" I manage to whisper.
"Who are you talking about? How did they know what?" Vee asks.
"How did the Fenris' know that Natalie was helping us? There was no way they could have known, unless someone's been spying on us." Something inside my brain clicks; they must have stolen our only advantage we had: the powder. "Daniel, we have to find that powder!" I immediately go searching, under the sink, in the cabinets, above them, any possible place she could have hidden it.
It wasn't until I start looking in the other room while Vee looked in the bedroom, that I realize Daniel wasn't looking for the spell, he was just starting at me with concern in his eyes. "Daniel, why aren't you helping me? Come on, we don't have time."
"Lauren..." Daniel drifts off. "You're panicking, calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down with a war going on, and my mom and Rachel... god knows where or what's happening to them; and now... apparently we don't have an advantage anymore, so there's that." This was it... I reached my breaking point and I didn't know how I was going to react to it. "I think it's a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why I'm panicking. So much is hanging in the balance and you're just standing there."
Daniel walks over to me and says calmly. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll go look around, okay?" He strides past me and into the rooms down the hall, where Vee was searching. 'That was weird.' I think to myself. 'Usually, he argues with me or tries to make the situation seem better.' I shrug, 'Oh well, one less thing to worry about I guess.' With that out of the way, I continue for searching.
Once I finish searching all through the living room and kitchen, I check the closets; if it wasn't in these... we were screwed. I rip through towels and other pointless crap that was in my way of my search. When I find nothing, I search the next closet, secretly praying that it was in there. I was careful not to break or damage anything while I moved spell books, ingredients, and other things I had no idea about. There were bottles, but none were filled with the powder. I was about to give up, until, I realized that one of the floor boards was different from the others; it was hollow and very slightly off place. No one would have noticed the distinct floorboard unless they were looking out for it.
With one rapid movement, I manage to rip the nailed down flooring, off. Underneath, laid a single dagger; on the bottom of the hollowed space was a journal. I lift the powder and dagger out and gently place it on the floor next to me before picking up the journal, frowning in question as I open it. I read the passage written on the page:
Lauren,
If you're reading this, it means I'm dead; that the Fenris' finally caught me as I expected. The only way I know how to stop the Fenris clan is with the spell I created for you. It may not be in the form you would have liked but it is the only reliable way for you to achieve your purpose. There are some things I didn't tell you about it; one, the spell can only be triggered by the blood of the supernatural, a sacrifice. It will be the only way to open up the supernatural hell portal. Two, the only blood that will create the portal opening is yours; I secretly linked it to you. I'm sorry, it was the only strong enough link I had to create the spell. But you must pierce it through your heart for a sure connection and before you die, you must say this word: aperire.
My first thought wasn't about me or the fact that I had to die, it was about Daniel. How was I going to tell him about the recent change in events? I didn't even know if I should tell him. He would try to stop me, when that wasn't going to help. But at the same time, I didn't tell him about my suicide mission with Jackie and Velknar's before. That didn't turn out well. I had to give it some thought, once we reached Washington and talked with the Velknar's, I would tell him. I didn't know how I would tell him, I guess I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. But I knew one thing for certain, the Fenris' were going to pay for Natalie and everything else they had ever done to others; especially me and my loved ones. Their crimes weren't going to go unpunished. And even if that meant my death, so be it.
I twirled the dagger in my hands, contemplating whether or not I should wait to break the news to Daniel or do it now, in front of everyone. The van filled with 6 people, was surprisingly silent. Well, with a situation like ours, there wasn't exactly a way to be distracted with casual conversation. The war was the only thing on our minds... except for Haley, who I hadn't told the entire truth to. She still needed to be aware of her mothers fate, and what exactly was going on; and I had to tell her before we fought the Fenris'.
I ripped up the page in the journal so Daniel didn't have to see it. I had lied to Daniel and told him that we had to pierce the dagger through Adam's heart, and he was glad when I told him that we would be able to leave to a safe distance before the spell took effect. It broke my heart when I saw how happy he was, because I knew that when he found out the truth, it'd kill him. I know I told Daniel that we would solve our issues together and that we were a team, but when there was so much hanging in the balance, it was a little difficult.
"So," I start, trying to get a conversation going. I was thinking of that riddle Vee had told Daniel and I, trying to figure out what it could possibly mean. "What's a place werewolves fear?"
Everyone is silent for a moment, thinking, until Shawn says, "Hey, we don't fear anything. Right Vee?" She simply smiles and agrees. "Why are you asking, Lauren?"
"I'm trying to solve a riddle Vee told me earlier. It goes: 'The true seeker is the answer to the key, for there is only one of me. In a place where werewolves fear, a vampire can make the path more clear.'" I pause. "Any ideas? Because I'm stumped." As far as I knew, there was really nothing werewolves feared. Maybe vampires but that was about it. Maybe it's a place where vampires are abundant? But I wouldn't know where vampires liked to hang out. "Actually, where do a lot of vampires live or are from?"
"Well, I'd say on the East Coast, but that wouldn't be an option. Since there really isn't enough time for that." Daniel explains. "They like to live near heavily populated areas yet be secluded. But werewolves are the opposite, they just like to stick with each other, in the mountains or anywhere where humans aren't really around."
"Could vampires be what the riddle is referring to? A place werewolves fear? It could mean a vampire hideout or something."
"Possibly but that seems too obvious to me. There must be a catch, or something else to it." Daniel contemplates other options, but is unable to. "What I want to know about is how a vampire 'can make the path more clear'? It doesn't make sense, nothing in that riddle makes sense."
Shawn is the one to speak up. "Vampires have more special abilities than us, right? What are they? Maybe one of your abilities is the answer to that."
"We pretty much have the same abilities, our strength, the heightened senses, speed. Our sensitivity to blood is probably the only thing different and the fact that holy water is harmful to us so we have a keen sense to watch out for those. Besides those two things, that's about it? I don't exactly know how that helps us."
Shawn shrugs, unable to think of anything either. "I have no idea." He sighs. "How the hell are we supposed to figure out a location based on a very vague riddle? Especially when we're on a time crunch here?"
"I know, Shawn." I sigh, the stress getting to me. "I know." I close my eyes as I rub my temples, trying to calm down and think. I wanted, no, I needed to find out where the necklace was; there was no way I was going to let it get into my father's hands. I couldn't risk it, so I either had to use it, or destroy it. I knew I would destroy it, because no one, even me, should possess such power even though only my line can use it. Wait... that made me think of something, a partial answer to the riddle: 'The true seeker is the answer to the key, for there is only one of me'. It was referring to me or my father, one of us was the answer. There was only one line of pure, original werewolves and that was my line. Maybe we were looking at it all wrong; it wasn't about the vampires or the werewolves behavior or abilities, it was possibly about the origin of my line. "The riddle is about me," I utter in a quiet voice.
"Lauren, you weren't even born when that riddle was created." Vee annouces.
"Maybe it's not about me specifically, but about my line; my heritage. Think about it, there's only one line of the pure werewolves; it must be about that. It makes sense, we have to focus on that instead of vampire and werewolf habits."
Daniel is the one to speak. "But what about your line? Where you originated from? Or the original werewolves differences between them and the wolves today?"
"I didn't even think about that! Daniel, you're a genius! That has to be it, the location must fit that description." But how would we know the place where my line came from? Or even the possible differences between the original wolves and modern wolves? I'm sure Adam knew but I wasn't about to call him and say, 'Hey dad, I got a lead into finding that amulet you're so keen to find, can you answer a few questions for me?' Yeah, right. "We need to find a library, I need to do some research."
We stopped a couple hours later, in a city called, Carson City. It was a peaceful place from what I've seen of it, lots of mountains and the people seemed nice when we asked for directions to the library. I didn't really have time to take in the city because we all had to research, sadly. I was just so sick of going to one place to another in such a short period of time with no time to relax. I understood that it was a precaution but it didn't mean I had to like it. We had no other choice if we wanted to find that amulet and win this war.
Everyone had helped read every book in the history section of the library, well, Haley tried to before she got bored and ran off to the kids section; but nothing was stood out. So, I decided to ask a librarian where I could find books on werewolves and/or vampires. It seemed stupid to read books on what we were, but what else was there to look at when we practically had nothing to go on in the first place?
I ring the front desk's bell for assistance and while I'm waiting, Daniel is the one to keep me company. "What are you trying to find? I know it's about the original werewolves but do you really think you can find information in books?"
"Maybe. It's the best, and only, thing we can do to get closer to finding that amulet. Even if the chances seem slim, it's a chance nonetheless." I point out; I didn't want everyone to lose hope because of how little we knew about everything. I had to believe that we would find our way through the doubt and fear. That was the first step to winning.
"You're right." Daniel admits. "But I can tell it's hard for you to believe that. It's all taking a toll on you."
I nod. "Yeah, it is. I try to act like its no big deal but it's hard. I have to be strong for everyone else, especially for you."
"You have to do it for yourself too." He sighs. "You don't have to pretend you're alright around me, I know you're not. Lauren, you're so selfless and you don't deserve the weight of the world on your shoulders. Be selfish for a little while… with me preferably." He adds in jokingly. I laugh, happy to be hearing this from Daniel; he was the person I needed to talk to about everything. He understood me in most ways. In some departments, I was a mystery to him.
"I'm sorry, Lauren." That wasn't something I expected to hear, was he referring to Vegas? How he got frustrated with me? I knew I was starting to get over it, it wasn't a big deal anymore and we sorted out the problem and are working towards fixing it. "About Vegas? Its done and over with, don't worry about it." I answer genuinely.
"Not just about that, for… being selfish. I haven't really been considerate about your feelings lately or have asked how you're doing."
I frown. I didn't think he was being selfish. Maybe he did neglect my emotions sometimes but I do the same to him without realizing it. But I wouldn't have considered that 'selfish'. It was a 'heat of the moment' type of thing, something understandable in my opinion. "I know you don't mean to do it though, it's fine."
"It's no excuse. As your boyfriend, I should be the one to help you with your problems instead of adding to them. I'm sorry for the way I've been lately. And I swear that you won't have to worry about me adding stress; it's not going to happen again." He breathes out a sigh. "I know Vegas was supposed to be a nice time but that got screwed up. So name something you want to do, and we'll have some fun."
Honestly, I had nothing in mind. I didn't want to have fun, as weird as that sounded. Maybe it was because I didn't have time for it with everything going on or because it would be forced, not genuine. I had to think about it, I'd say yes to a break if we had a lead in the location of the necklace; but since we don't, I couldn't. "Are you just saying that because you want to, you know, fool around?" I joke, avoiding an answer.
Daniel smirks. "No, as tempting as that may sound." His expression becomes earnest. "Seriously, I want you to be happy, even if that means for a few short hours. Anything you want to do, honestly... it's the least I can do for being a shitty boyfriend."
I didn't want him to feel that way. Everyone made mistakes, especially in relationships; including me. "Daniel..." I stop when I notice someone from the corner of my eye heading towards the front desk. "We'll finish this conversation once we're alone again." He nods in response and remains quiet when the librarian comes up to the desk. "Hi," I greet her with a friendly smile.
She looked young, about my age, if not younger. The gold plated name tag pinned to her blouse read, 'Penny' in black letters. Her long, straight, blonde hair almost matched her ivory skin; she almost looked transparent. "Hello, sorry about the wait. It's hard to hear the bell back there." Penny apologizes.
"It's alright, I understand."
She grins politely. "What can I help you with?"
"I was just wondering where books on vampires and werewolves might be?"
"Oh, we have some in the teen section. Are you looking for romantic novels? If you're looking for 'Twilight', we just ran out of copies."
What was up with people and 'Twilight'? "Oh, no. I'm sorry, I meant history books about vampires and werewolves."
Penny nods in comprehension. "I believe they're in the back of the library. I'll go show you some." She walks out from behind her desk and leads Daniel and I through the music and movie section, and up the stairs to the fiction section. Finally we reach the back, near the windows, and next to them were shelves filled with supernatural books. There were more books than I expected on our kind, which most likely meant there was more useless information we had to read. But this was the only way we could possibly get a lead, anything to get ideas on where the item Adam wanted most was located. "There a fair amount of the books you're looking for. But, out of all of them, I'd recommend this one." Penny pulls out a decent sized leather book. "This is about both vampires and werewolves and it tells you everything about them; what they eat, how they live, where they could possibly be located, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and when the phenomenons began."
"I believe this is a copy of a cryptozoologist's journal; where they documented their research on mythical creatures." she opens the book gently, the binding of it was on the verge of collapsing. From the looks of it, the book could have been as old as Daniel. "It's interesting because that's the only thing we know about the writer; he or she wanted to remain anonymous." Penny places the book on the table in front of the book case and continues her search for her recommendations. "Or this one, it's strictly about werewolves and shapeshifters. This one is pretty much the same as the other one but I think it's more detailed about the subjects."
From what Penny had told us of the material, it sounded like what we were looking for. We were now getting somewhere, at last. "I'll let you go through those, if you need other books, let me know." She smiles warmly, just before she leaves.
Just as Daniel and I were about sit down and research, she comes back. "I just remembered that we have some local articles from the late 1800's, I believe, they're about what you're looking for... would you be interested in those also? There may be a lot to go through, but, it could help?"
That sounded odd to me, what town would have articles about any creatures of the supernatural? Unless humans supposedly sighted something like big foot or something, then I would understand. But the way she put it made it sound like there were many cases of it, more than average I was sure. It wasn't big foot we were talking about, it was vampires and werewolves; what we were researching. So, then what was the deal with this town? Why were there so many articles on the supernatural? There was something going on, I didn't know what that was yet but I intended to find out. "Sure, we can try using that too."
Penny takes my acknowledgement as a sign to leave, to retrieve the articles. Once she's out of sight, I turn to Daniel and whisper. "Do you know anything about this town?"
"No, why?" He pauses, "Because of the articles supposedly about vampires and werewolves? I wouldn't worry about it, it's just humans being paranoid about the 'mysteries of the night'." He says in a sarcastic tone.
"Daniel, maybe it's a clue to what we're looking for. Maybe we were meant to find this town, and find whatever it is we're destined to find." I knew it sounded crazy, but, there was no other explanation as to why this town, conveniently, is where we would gather the information we need. It was too soon to say, but I had a feeling this was it. But with nothing to go on right now, I immediately grab a book and start reading.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Daniel looking at me; in a way that said 'Don't get your hopes up too high, you're going to end up being disappointed.' Before he can say anything, I suggest, "How about pick up a book instead of thinking of how delusional I am?" My tone was a little more bitchy than I expected, hoping he didn't take it so personally.
Instead, he just ignores what I said and brings up our conversation from before. "So, did you decide on what you wanted to do?"
I sigh, hoping to have saved this discussion for a better time. "Not to be rude Daniel, but, could we talk about that later?" It remains silent between the two of us, until, I remember the part of our conversation where Daniel called himself a crappy boyfriend. I had to talk to him about that now, I wanted him to know that I cared and wasn't neglecting his emotions. "You're an amazing boyfriend, by the way." I bring up casually, looking at him with a soft smile on my lips. "You shouldn't feel that you aren't."
He looks up, removing his attention away from a book that I didn't even notice he was reading. "Well, I do." He shrugs.
"I know for a fact that you're the best boyfriend ever, and you can't convince me otherwise." When he doesn't reply, I breathe out a sigh just before murmuring. "If you're a bad boyfriend, that makes me a horrible girlfriend."
Just as he's about to deny it, I add, "Don't even try to deny it. You say you're selfish and so inconsiderate of my feelings and whatever else you're holding back from me; but, look at me. I haven't been considerate of your feelings either, and I have been selfish, the same as you. I apologize for it because I know I could be doing better with our relationship but the situation we're in just gets to me sometimes. I forget about stuff because I'm just so distracted, and I'm sure you are too. But you know what? I don't care, because it happens sometimes, it's not like you do it intentionally. I know I don't." Daniel just looks at me, nothing to say. He knows I'm right, and that's a first for me.
I slide my chair away from the table, and walk over to him; wrapping my arms around his shoulders as I kiss the top of his dark brown haired head. That's when Daniel pulls me to him, and slides me onto his lap. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I guess you win." Daniels says jokingly.
"And don't you forget it." I whisper as my lips moving to his cheek, giving him small kisses as I make progress to his lips. "You have a stubble... I like it." I point out, when my lips are near his. I couldn't believe I didn't notice it before. It made him look sexier; as if that was even possible. I secretly hoped that he'd keep it.
He smirks, "Yeah, I haven't had a chance to shave. But if you like it... it stays." I feel his hands grasp my waist, locking me into place.
I look into his piercing eyes, noticing how they light up when he looks at me; making my insides melt. My eyes close, yet I still feel the effect his eyes do to me. No longer able to fight the feeling anymore, I close the distance between our lips.
I missed this; our gentle kisses, the way they were filled with such tenderness and warmth. All of our kisses had meaning but this type of kiss, it somehow meant more, the yearning and adoration clear within it. This kiss expressed how we felt, something that words couldn't do so easily. I never wanted it to end, loving the feel of his soft lips against mine.
But, once I hear the clicking of heels making their way up the stairs fairly quickly, I knew our bliss had to be cut short. I pull away and return to my original seat without Daniel really realizing it, my speed quicker than his. He exaggerates a pout, joking but at the same time trying to make me feel guilty about leaving so abruptly. I just chuckle quietly and smile, while I skim the book I was reading; continuing a chapter explaining the first myths on werewolves.
I continue reading until Penny is in sight, and I'm surprised by how many articles she had; so many that she had to bring a cart. "Sorry I took so long, I figured I might as well bring them all."
"Oh, you didn't have to do that. But, thank you." I acknowledge with a smile. "Do you need any help with those?"
"It's fine, thanks." Penny declines my offer. She was already half way through the articles, which were starting to clutter the table's surface. "I recommend reading the history books before the articles, so you can understand some of the articles." She pauses, and adds kindly,"But that's just me, do whatever makes you comfortable." With that being said, she leaves.
I nod, thinking nothing of her suggestion. I knew I'd look over everything twice, to make sure I didn't miss anything important. My curiosity towards the articles has me intrigued, I had to read over them first. Something had to be in these, at least, that's what I was hoping. The first one I pick up is one more recent, 2009, but as I go through it, I know it didn't contain anything we were looking for. So I keep going through the articles, with the help of Daniel, going from the present and making our way back.
Daniel and I remained like that for awhile, silent and focused on the task at hand. I hated how quiet it was but we didn't have any other choice if we wanted to get this research over with; to have a chance at finding something useful. But as I am reading an article from the mid 1930's, I hear Daniel mutter, "What the..?" I look up and see an expression of shock and disbelief, his attention on something in the article.
"What is it?" I ask, confused; I didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing. Either way, I was a little nervous about the answer.
He doesn't say anything, he simply slides the paper over to me. "On the bottom..." he informs me in a low voice. My eyes frantically scan the article, searching for whatever it was that had Daniel so surprised. And when I see it, I can't believe it. I'm staring at a picture of a girl dressed in old formal attire, who appears to have brown hair and eyes; like someone else I knew. "This girl looks exactly like me."