Hello, I know it's been forever. If I still have any readers left at all, I'd be surprised because it's been so long. I won't bore you all with my reasons for not updating, but I will say that I do have more chapters written and hopefully I'll be able to put them up in the near future. Thank you so much to everyone who reads this story. I'm really glad that you guys enjoy it. Your reviews are always very much appreciated. I hope you guys like chapter 36. Also, Happy Holidays! :D
"Really?" I was intrigued about what they could have could have come up with since the Administratio was stumped.
"Hurry up and bring Ethan," Olivia told me impatiently.
I hesitated. "You'll be nice to him? All of you? He's in a bad enough mood as it is so if you guys are just going bring him down more…"
"Evelyn, we have bigger problems than your vampire ex-boyfriend's feelings," Olivia said.
"He's not my ex-boyfriend," I protested, making sure to avoid looking at Anthony. I realized I would eventually have to tell him about Ethan almost kissing me, but that was a problem for another time.
"Just go get him, Evelyn," Nicole said.
"Fine, but if anybody does something I don't like, I'm leaving again." The words sounded bratty to my ears. I didn't want to come off as a child throwing a tantrum, but I needed to get my point across. I could never live with myself if Ethan died…again.
I teleported back to the motel to get Ethan. I didn't say anything to him, just grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and brought him back with me to Anthony's house.
When we were both back in the Carsons' living room, no one said anything for a few moments. I hadn't really imagined how this would go, but I should've predicted the awkwardness of it all. I'd just brought Ethan to face a group of people who'd just previously voted to kill him. The tension could be cut with a knife, and one glance at Ethan, standing with his hands in his pockets, avoiding eye contact with everyone, told me that he wanted nothing more than to run out of the house. I was a bit surprised when Emily broke the silence.
"How are you feeling, Ethan?"
I prayed that he wouldn't reply with a snarky comment. It was very important that Emily and Ethan get along. If I could get everyone to see Ethan the same way they saw Emily, they would all be keener on the idea of keeping him alive.
"Fine, I guess, considering the situation," Ethan said.
"Olivia said they might have a way to kill Lucas which is great and all, but I don't see how it solves any of our other problems. The Administratio wants every vampire in this room dead," I told him.
"You're right," Olivia said. "But we're hoping that by killing Lucas with the vamps' help we'll be able to change the Administratio's mind."
"That won't happen!" I protested. It would be stupid to think that they would ever see vampires in any kind of positive light.
"I want to go back to hunting," Emily said suddenly.
By the looks she was receiving from everyone in the room, this was the first time she'd voiced this desire. I wondered if becoming a vampire had done anything to affect her head. She'd have to be let down easy.
"Emily, you're a vampire now…That kind of takes you out of the running to be a vampire hunter," I said in my most gentle voice.
She looked me dead in the eye. "Why? I understand vampires' abilities and instincts better now. I can blend in with them better than any hunter. It's unexpected…I think it could work," she said, losing the strength she'd had in her voice when she began her speech.
"I think it could work too," Ethan said, an excited glint in his eye. "Vampires are always looking out for hunters. They'd never expect other vampires to come out and kill them."
Someone needed to rein in their excitement before they got too carried away with idea. I was afraid that it would have to be me, which would be awful because I had no clue how to begin telling them that this plan was just not plausible¸ but thankfully Nicole saved me from crushing their spirits.
"Listen, guys, you can't hunt vampires while the hunters are hunting you. It just won't work," she warned them.
"But the hunters aren't hunting me," Ethan said. "They don't even know I'm alive."
"I can't hide from the hunters forever," Emily said. "My best chance is to face them and let them know I'm on their side. And then, if they trust me, we can tell them about Ethan."
"Emily, I really think you've forgotten what hunters are like after being away from them for so long," I said.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I've been around you all the time since I was turned, and you've been willing to help me."
"You're forgetting that Evelyn is on the brink of being shunned from the hunting world for being a little too friendly with vampires," Olivia said.
"But what about you?" Emily asked Olivia. "You hate vampires as much as anyone on the Administratio and you're still here helping me."
Olivia opened her mouth to say something. I had a feeling her contrary nature was the reason her mouth opened as if to contradict what Emily had just said. I'm sure it was just an involuntary reaction for her by now, but I suspect she realized that what Emily said was true. She ended up with a very confused look on her face as though she was considering for the first time why she was really here helping. I would have laughed if I wasn't so concerned about what Emily and Ethan were proposing.
"Why don't we kill Lucas first, and then take it from there?" Eric suggested.
"Because once Lucas is dead the Administratio isn't going to have anything distracting them from Emily," I said. "My mom told me my job was to kill you three and Emily. She told me the Administratio would take care of Lucas. I'm all for killing Lucas, but if we don't think this through we're just going to end up with a big mess."
"Kinda like the mess you made when you decided dating a vampire was a good idea. Which brings us back to what I was originally saying about killing Lucas before everyone started talking about ridiculous ideas," Olivia said with a look in Emily's direction.
"Olivia –" Nicole started to chastise her.
"Shh, I can apologize later, this is important. Evelyn is crucial to the whole plan. Like I was saying, we're hoping that we can keep Emily safe by killing Lucas. We're hoping that once he's dead, the Administratio will agree to keep Emily and the Carsons alive."
"That's your master plan?" I asked in disbelief. "The Administratio won't even agree to have a civil conversation with them, much less make a pact. Plus, how exactly do you plan on killing Lucas? In case you hadn't noticed, no one's been able to do that yet."
"We'll have to start with Cheryl," Nicole said.
"Cheryl?" I said in disbelief.
They were all out of their minds. My oldest sister was a hunting prodigy, the epitome of everything a young hunter was supposed to be. She followed the rules perfectly.
"There's no way Cheryl would ever help us with this. We won't even get a chance to explain anything to her. As soon as she hears we've been working with vampires, she'll go running straight to the Administratio."
"Just listen to me for a minute," Olivia said. "We need people on our side if we're going to pull this off without anyone getting hurt. Cheryl doesn't want anything bad to happen to Emily either. We're counting on that. You need to go to the house and convince her that you want to us to work with the vampires to kill Lucas."
"I have to convince her?" I asked in shock. "Why me? I'm the last person who'd be able to convince her that this is a good idea."
"It has to be you because you're the only who Cheryl knows has been friendly with the vampires," Nicole explained.
"Exactly," I said. "Wouldn't she be more likely to believe that the vampires are trustworthy if she heard it from one of you? I don't think there are any hunters who would take me seriously right now. What if I can't convince her?"
"We didn't say we were going to tell Cheryl everything," Olivia said. "She's not going to like any of this. The last thing we want to do is tell her something that makes her go running to the Administratio, like the fact that your best friend over there has changed sides."
"It's not like I asked to be a vampire," Ethan muttered irritably.
"That's beside the point," Olivia said. "The reason we need Cheryl is to have some sort of an element of surprise when we attack Lucas. He'll be expecting the seven of us and possibly Ethan, and he's most likely figured out the way your power works, Evelyn. The more power we have with us, the better. And besides, Cheryl is a damn good hunter."
"So that's big plan? Bring Cheryl into this mess and hope she can help?" I asked. Something seemed off here. They seemed to banking on Cheryl way too much.
"Yes, and after we have Cheryl on our side, the only person we'll need to tip toe around while we're at home will be Mom. And most importantly, Cheryl is great with working with people on their powers. She can help you perfect yours now that we know what you can really do with it."
This was true. Cheryl was very good at teaching focus, aim, and precision. She often helped younger hunters contain their powers, and I remember she was the one who helped me learn how to use my power when I was younger.
"So what should I tell her?" I asked. "You said she shouldn't know everything, right?"
"Don't tell her that Nicole and I are involved," Olivia said. "At least, not at first, that would just freak her out. Tell her the vampires have a way to kill Lucas, and you need her to help make that happen. And make sure that she knows that the vampires aren't anywhere near you while you're telling her. You don't want her to think they're putting you up to this as some sort of plot."
"But what if I can't convince her?" I asked. "Then what?"
"Then you should tell her about me," Nicole said. "But not Olivia. I think she already suspects that you've told me more than you've told everyone else and that I've helped you get out of trouble a few times, but she doesn't know anything about Olivia, so let's keep it that way."
"I still just don't think she's going to be okay with this. Even if I can convince her to listen to me, she's going to want to know what the plan is to kill Lucas, and I'm not even sure what it is."
"I'll be at the house listening. Once you've convinced her to help us, I'll come down to back you up," Nicole said.
"But how is this going to help Emily or Ethan? The Administratio is still going to want them and the Carsons dead!"
I was completely annoyed now. This plan didn't add up to much of anything except maybe one surprise shot at Lucas. It wouldn't fix any of the other problems, and for some reason no one else in the room seemed to understand.
"I agree with Evelyn," Ethan said. "You guys haven't even considered a backup plan. And if I know Cheryl, there's a good chance that she won't want to be a part of this at all."
"I bet you would've said the same thing about me," Olivia said.
"Touché," Ethan said.
"The question that no one is answering," I started, determined to not let my frustration shine through, "Is what we're going to do if I can't convince Cheryl to help?"
"If Cheryl can't help, we're going to need to find something else that Lucas won't be counting on when we attack him," Nicole said.
"Then shouldn't we have a plan B before I risk everything by telling Cheryl?"
Olivia sighed. "Evelyn," she said in a gentle voice that I was very unused to hearing from her, especially when she was talking to me. "There isn't enough time. Lucas was already partially injured while he was here. The time to strike is now. We're already going to be taking time to train you to perfect your power. The longer we wait, the more time Lucas has to recover and regroup.
She put an arm around my shoulders. "We have to take some chances here because we're low on time. The best we can hope for right now is for the Administratio to allow Emily to live if they know she was involved in killing Lucas. I know it doesn't sound like much of a plan to you, but right now that's all we've got."
"And that's why it's so important that we get Cheryl on our side," Nicole said. "She has a lot of leverage when it comes to the Administratio. She might be able to persuade them to go easy on Emily."
Both of my sisters were looking at me sympathetically. Olivia still had her arm around my shoulders. I thought it over. They did have a point. There wasn't much else we could do.
"Evelyn, the most important thing to me right now is making sure Lucas dies," Emily said. "We can worry about my problems after. Let's just take this one step at a time."
"Did you automatically forget that you'd just said you wanted to hunt again?" Ethan asked her. He frowned at the entire room. I would need to talk to him about his moodiness. I wondered why Emily was able to accept being a vampire so much more easily than him – not that she'd taken it easy. Looking back though, she rarely seemed to be angry at her situation.
"No," Emily said. "I still do, but I don't think now is the right time to be discussing that."
"Emily," I said gently, "You can't expect the hunters to just accept that you'll be on their side and let you hunt with them again."
"I'm not trying to cause trouble now, Evelyn. I'm sorry, it was a bad time to bring it up. Please just forget I said anything, and focus on Lucas," she said with a thin smile.
I got the feeling that she wasn't going to drop the idea anytime soon, and with Ethan's excitement with the idea, the two of them would no doubt be plotting how soon they'd be able to rejoin the ranks of the hunters. That she was even considering it as an option made me uneasy. But if she was willing to put off the idea for a while, I would need to take what I could get.
"Now that that's settled, can I talk to you?" I asked Anthony who seemed to be making a point of not looking me in the eye. He had to know that he was in trouble. Voting to kill your girlfriend's best friend was never a good idea.
"No, you can't," Olivia answered. "There are still things to be done. You need to practice what you're going to say to Cheryl when you talk to her."
"Now?"
"What part of we're low on time do you not understand?" Olivia asked. The kind tone she'd just spoken to me with was completely gone.
I wanted to protest, but there really was no reason for us to delay, other than the fact that I was terrified that Cheryl would turn me into the Administratio.
Days passed and I still didn't get a chance to speak to Cheryl. She'd been spending time in California helping a friend hunt down a vampire. I was perfectly happy that this was the case because I was positive that my oldest sister would be impossible to persuade even though everyone else was confident in the plan. Even Ethan, who'd voiced his concerns about it at first, was now trying to convince me that it was a good idea. I didn't know what Emily had been telling him to make him think that bringing Cheryl into this was a good idea, but the two of the sure seemed to be getting along lately.
It was a good thing that Emily was able to get Ethan into her good graces. It made sense since she knew better than anyone what he was going through, but I'd still been surprised when he agreed to move into Anthony's house without much of a fight.
My sisters had done a good job of keeping me away from Anthony and the rest of the Carsons. They were both less than subtle when it came to coming up with ideas to distract me. They made sure we went over what I would say to Cheryl again and again. And when we weren't doing that, they made me perfect using my power.
It was much more difficult than I'd thought it would be to shield so many people while they were moving, along with me. I was getting better, but the progress was slow. At first I practiced with Olivia, but she got fed up with me pretty fast. I would quickly become sick of her screaming and would stop practicing altogether.
After my mom caught us fighting one time, we decided it would be best for me to practice with Nicole from that point on. Not only had my mom been annoyed with the fact that we were fighting, we'd struggled to come with an explanation as to why we'd been together in the first place since it was common knowledge that we tended to avoid each other.
Finally, a night came when Cheryl was home and my mom was out of the house. I was in Nicole's room, stalling. She was sitting at her desk, calmly flipping through a magazine while I was freaking out. It made no sense that I was able to fight all powerful, evil vampires, but I was afraid to face my big sister.
"Are you ready now?" Nicole asked me. I guess her patience with me was up.
"No."
"Too bad," she said. "It's now or never. Just remember what we said. Don't tell her too much in case she decides to go to the Administratio and try not to look so nervous."
"I really, really don't think this is a good idea," I complained one final time. "I'm sure she'll just take me to the Administratio. They're having a meeting tonight. I can't face them all again for the same thing."
"We've been over this, you know what to do. Now go," she said, pushing me out of her room.
Cheryl didn't look too imposing curled up on the sofa in sweats and a t-shirt, holding a bowl of popcorn. I knew, however, that looks could be deceiving. She didn't pay any attention to me as I walked down the stairs. I stood frozen on the third step, about to turn around and run back up, but I knew Nicole would kill me.
"Cheryl, can I talk to you?" I asked hesitantly.
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, sitting up and putting her bowl of popcorn on the table.
Even though I'd practiced this conversation many times - both with Nicole and Olivia and in my head - the words eluded me. I stared down at my hands, suddenly very interested in the hangnail on my right thumb. When I peeked up at her she was looking at me curiously. My obviously nervous body language had her interested.
"You know how Mom has me spending all this time with the vampires? You know, Anthony, and his brothers, and Emily?" I began.
"Yessss," she said, drawing out the word as though she had a bad feeling about where this was going.
"Well, Lucas is the Carsons' uncle, and they're really not too happy with him since he can hypnotize them and stuff. And they want him dead as much as the Administratio does, and they think they know a way to do that, and I was wondering if you would help me help them," I said it all in a rush.
Cheryl was staring at me like I'd lost my mind – just as I'd expected her to. I was going to kill Olivia and Nicole…if Cheryl didn't kill me first.
"Are you crazy?" Cheryl asked me. "Really Evelyn? I would've thought you learned your lesson the first time. We. Don't. Trust. Vampires. Ever!"
"I know that," I said, desperate to keep my calm. "But don't you think Lucas is a special case? He's prepared for hunters to come after him but not vampires. If you just listen, this could work."
"Evelyn, vampires are untrustworthy. You can't expect them to have your back in a fight. How did they convince you that they could help? Did they threaten you? Are they around?" she asked, consumed by paranoia. She stood up, as if expecting a vampire to jump out at her from behind the couch.
"No, they're at their house. Calm down, Cheryl. Listen, I just thought it was an idea that could maybe work, okay? You don't need to freak out."
"Why are you asking me for help?" she asked, arms crossed.
"What?" I asked in a small voice.
"You don't usually come to me with these problems. Why start now? Evelyn, you know you're supposed to be killing these vampires, not planning to work with them. You need to take this job Mom gave you seriously. If you don't I'll have to tell the Administratio," she said, sounding more and more like my mother with each passing second.
I held my hands up in defeat. I would have been more disappointed with the way this conversation had gone, if I hadn't called it from the very beginning. Before I could calm Cheryl down, however, Olivia teleported into the middle of the living room between Cheryl and me. We both gasped in unison.
The rubber band that had been holding Olivia's hair in a ponytail had been pulled back so that long strands of blonde hair fell out all around her face. The knees of her jeans were brown with dirt and the right strap of her tank top was torn, leaving her shoulder bare. Her right arm was covered in small cuts, but the worst damage seemed to be the dark purple bruise on her left forearm.
Her appearance was normal though. I had come home looking worse on more than one occasion. What surprised me was that she'd brought two vampires with her – Emily on her left and Anthony on her right. This was not part of the plan.