For being a vampire as old as he was, Amelia thought Lestat didn't put up much of a fight. Maybe it was because he knew he was outnumbered? The fight itself hadn't been that hard on anybody, between three benders, two onis, three vampires and two lycans, the group had taken the elder vampire down with ease.
Maybe he had finally accepted his fate, knowing he was going to die and figured it was time?
The stake had stuck in his body, but Amelia realized his body wasn't turning to dust like most vampire kills she'd delivered.
Before she had time to ask why, Mikey and Seb had picked up the vampire's body, heading into an area where not many people were around, where they could truly dispose of the they set the body down, they phased and began to tear it limb from limb, breaking it apart.
"Hey Gerard, why isn't he turning to dust?" Amelia asked, noticing Frank was juggling two small balls of fire across his palms.
"Well, he's an older vampire. There's a certain magic that protects us, if we're any older than 250 or something, I forget what age it is exactly, but, if you're over that age a stake alone can't reduce your body to ash. You have to burn it as well as staking, though typical hollywood myth these days recommends ripping the body apart and then burning it."
"Like we're doing now...and you said Twilight was stupid. Looks who's taking advice from sparkly fairies..." Amelia joked, seeing the firelight from the vampire's burning body reflecting in Gerard's eyes.
"I'm not taking advice, I'm just saying that's what most humans think they're going to have to do to kill us. They've got no idea that we prefer weapons to kill each other with."
"Right...but...so that Lestat's dead, that means we'll be able to kill Beckett now, right? I mean that's what Lucian said. You guys probably aren't up to going after them right away, so I'd think tomorrow night we go back to the house and kick their asses once and for all. And maybe burn the house down while we're at it, just because sometimes, a fire is a really pretty thing to look at."
She paused and laughed.
"What's that for?"
"Fire is a pretty thing to look at - I sound like AJ...she liked to set stuff on fire, loved taking a lighter to dreamcatchers and watching the flames spread over the wax coated twine..." she reminisced, remembering the one time AJ had almost burnt down her entire collection of Edgar Allen Poe poetry and HP Lovecraft books because she lit the dreamcatcher hanging beneath the books on fire.
"Yeah, spending a day getting ready for the final confrontation would be a good idea. It'll give you time to...prep yourself for what you...well, what Lucian said you have to do."
She sighed, "Don't remind me...That's the last thing I want to think about right now..."
Amelia fell quiet, listening to the crackle of the fire, remembering the Christmases she'd spent in front of fires and AJ's, staying up just to see if Santa was real, even though they were far too old to be believing in such a silly concept.
After the body had been sufficiently destroyed, the group headed back to the hotel, and set about getting ready for the final showdown with Beckett and his men the following night.
"When I look into your eyes It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise There's so much they hold…"
AJ grumbled as she realized one of the boys was playing Jason Mraz on the stereo downstairs. It happened to be one of her favorite songs, so it was alright.
"Adeline dear, wake up…sweetheart, up. Now." William called softly. She sighed, her eyelids still closed. She could feel his fingertips tracing light patterns on her back, and then she felt him kiss her shoulder blade.
"Lemme sleep…hm…lev'me 'lone," she whined, rubbing at her eyes, turning over to kiss him good morning, only to be met with a sad smile.
"You wake me up and you're already dressed?" She stated, mildly annoyed at the sight of William already having a shirt on, although the top two buttons weren't done up. But then she noticed how quiet he was, how something seemed wrong.
"And just like them old stars I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are How old is your soul?"
Sitting up slightly so she could lean over and kiss him, her fingers fastened the top two buttons.
'What the hell? He's like Edward…is he dead?'AJ thought, seeing as it seemed William had frozen into the kiss, became unresponsive.
She pulled back and bit her lip, looking around, unsure what was going on. She went to rest a hand on his face, but he grabbed it and instead looked into her eyes. She knew something was really wrong now, just from the look in his eyes.
"I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough I'm giving you all my love I'm still looking up.."
"William, what's going on? Why are you li-" and before she could finish her sentence, he pulled her face to his, kissing her with a fervent passion that was both gentle and powerful at the same time.
"Adeline….it's Spencer. He's had a vision. Lestat's been killed, and…we're next. I can't lose you, Lestat told me to keep you around. I'm only doing this to keep you safe." He started, getting up and walking over to one of the dressers, where AJ saw a backpack was resting on top. William began opening the drawers of the dresser AJ knew her stuff was in, and watched with wide eyes as he started throwing stuff into the backpack, pacing back and forth.
"Wait, I don't understand!" She said, getting up, almost tripping over the sheets as she went to stand between the path he'd been taking from the dresser to the backpack.
"I know, darling. It's for the best." He said slowly, only causing AJ to step in front of him and stand on her tiptoes, her hands on his shoulders.
"William, tell me what the fuck is going on this instant! You're scaring me and I don't like it!" she yelled, and he noticed she had tears in her eyes and she was shaking slightly.
He sighed and picked her up, then sat down on the bed with her in his arms, cradling her as though she were a small child, still feeling her shaking. He took a deep breath as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, and then spoke, as the stereo downstairs continued playing.
"And when you're needing your space To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting To see what you find…"
"I'm keeping you safe. That group, like you said, the demon with them, are heading right for our front door. From what Spencer saw, I don't want you part of that. Ever. If you do what I tell you to from now on, you'll be safe, dear, and no one will be able to get you. I'll come for you when it's all over, and then you and I will stop at a hospital and we can really make that child dream of yours come true," he explained, smiling as her glassy eyes lit up.
"R-Really? Y-You p-promise?"
He hoped she hadn't noticed him gulp, hoped she didn't realizing he was lying – if there ever was a time he regretted lying to someone, this would be it, and so, he replied,"I promise."
"'Cause even the stars they burn Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn God knows we're worth it No, I won't give up…"
As the bridge of the song came up, William listened to the lyrics, wishing the song wasn't playing Something about it just made him realize how much he truly loved her, what he needed to do to protect her, sacrifice himself so he could prove he wasn't the selfish bastard everyone always thought he was.
"I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use The tools and gifts we got
yeah, we got a lot at stake And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, what I'm not and who I am…"
He set AJ down on the bed and got up, calmly walking into the hall.
"BRENDON! TURN THAT STEREO OFF!" he barked suddenly, a certain edge to his voice AJ had never heard before now audible.
She shuddered; William really was acting….different. What was wrong with him, and what the hell was going on? She jumped as William came back into the room, slamming the door behind him, and for a moment, she half expected him to turn around and punch a hole through it. Immediately she backed up on the bed, so much so that she was against the headboard.
It wasn't until he looked into Adeline's eyes did William see the fear – that look of pure uncertainty and complete distrust returning to her irises, a look he hadn't seen in a little over five and a half years. It wasn't until then that he realized how much of an idiot he was.
Gently, he sat on the bed, not close to her, fearing she'd lash out, but just far enough to where he could still comfort her if she allowed him to.
"I'm sorry…that must have looked really bad," he started, almost laughing; AJ couldn't tell if he was trying to laugh or if he was holding back tears. She had curled her knees up to her stomach and had wrapped her arms around them, and she was staring straight ahead.
"William, what's going on?" she repeated, the falter in her voice making his heart break.
