Chapter 19

'Your didn't have to scare him like that,' I say, sipping at the full-bodied wine, giving Nick a sideways glance.

'It would have taken much too long to convince a sarcastic little imp like that, that we are what we speak,' he replies, twirling the stem of his own wine glass as we sat on the back porch, basking in the moonlight.

I knew he was right, but Jerry had almost peed himself as I had grabbed at Nick, who sent me flying across the room. Nick had gotten close to biting him, but pulled back at the last second when I screamed at him to stop. Nick had looked Jerry in the eye with his own predatory eyes and asked in a soft whisper, 'Believe us now.'

Jerry had nodded his head so vigorously that I thought he would give himself whiplash. I had stood and run to him as Nick had backed off. Jerry had jerked away from me, so I had backed off asking worriedly, 'Are you alright?'

He nodded again, but hadn't let his eyes off of Nick and me. It took him a moment to compose himself, before he could ask haultingly about us. I had explained it all. How old I was, about Nick, about the vampire higherarcy, and about what had happened two months ago. He had listened through it all and finally asked, 'W-what do you want from me?'

'Jerry you had asked and I gave you the answer. I can promise you, I won't let anyone hurt you among the vampire. I want nothing from you, just that you are safe.'

He had nodded and asks, 'What about Rhode island?'

Nick had asked suspiciously, 'What is in Rhode Island?'

'What remains of my families descendants, and a letter that I must get to.'

Jerry murmurs, 'Its the coded one like you asked me to send.'

'Thank you Jerry, go back to sleep. We will discuss this more in the morning.'

Jerry had protested, saying he couldn't sleep with two bloodletters in the house. But I had insisted, or better put, glamored him to do so. He had complied naturally and now here I sat with Nick, staring up at the moon.

'You kept up with your human family?'

'Yes.'

He seemed genuinely surprised by this and asks mystified, 'Why?'

'To hold onto what is left of my humanity.'

Nick snorts in disgust and says, 'That is something I will never understand about the bitten. They try so desperately to hold onto what they were, they don't see what they could become.'

'A monster?' I ask sarcastically.

'My poor little clanless Nina, you don't seem to understand. We are monsters, we are what we must be to survive. We are predators, we don't play with our food as if they were equals.'

'But without them, we wouldn't survive,' I reply, looking over at him.

Purebloods were callous, uncaring of the human race and he wasn't any different. He simply nods, then asks giving me a look of distain, 'And thus we are in an ecosystem that puts us at the top.'

Looking away from him, I clench my jaw knowing he is right about that. But I couldn't bring myself to agree. Instead I let the silence pass, until he asks, 'So, what is the plan from here Nina, as I find myself at your whim.'

It was surreal to think that I was making decisions for a royal Pureblood. If I made one mistake it could end up killing me. This hadn't been my plan, I had planned to escape and go into deep hiding. Now I was going to have to uncover this mystery that was the Silent Phantasma. Closing my eyes, I say softly, 'Get to Rhode Island. We will need supplies and money. From there, we can disappear completely while we search.'

'Search?'

'You have made it very clear that the Silent Phantasma is after the Clan Royals and have some form of weapon that can kill a Pureblood. So the question is what is my role in it all? I'm nothing special, as you have made very clear, but there has to be something they think I have in my possession that will turn the tide of them.'

I couldn't bring myself to say what I thought it might be. Walking in sunlight seemed like a parlour trick, insignificant to the Phantasma. So there had to be something more, maybe something I owned that they wanted. Remembering back to the torturous days of my life just a few days prior, I remember how desperate they were to get my bloodsong. So that meant there was more to it. Closing my eyes, I continue in contemplation, 'They we're after my bloodsong, and when that didn't work they tried to beat it out of me. So maybe your right, it's not me they are truly after, but something I possess.'

'What could you possibly possess that they do not already have?'

'I don't know,' I murmur and then something pops into my mind, 'When did the start of the attack on the Royal Clans start?'

'Five months ago, small outer rim clans were being attacked. At the time all the Royal Clans believed it was their rival, but once the Romane were practically wiped from existence we knew it was more. Once my clan was attacked it was decided I should meet with the Elrics Clan. And thus you were there that night. Two months later, and by then all the clans had been effected by the Silent Phantasma.'

I glance over at him and notice his eyes are glowing. Another aspect of the Purebloods, perfect night vision. His pupils were wide as he glanced at me again. I nod, leaning back as I murmur, 'I see.'

'What do you see?'

'We need to find out what triggered the beginning of this all. I thought it might have been me, but by then the Phantasma was already decimating the Royal Clans. So the question is what was the catalyst?'

'How can we know the catalyst, when we don't even know who this group is?' He asks with an edge in his voice.

'From what I have seen, you can learn a lot from the even that precede a major catastrophic event. Something must have changed five months ago that pushed the Silent Phantasma into action. If we can figure that, we might have a beginning to find this group, and also figure their endgame.'

Nick looks over at me with narrowed eyes and says, 'I never thought of it that way. The Royal Clans have simply been trying to anticipate the Phantasma's next move. But you are looking at the whole.'

'Its like chess, have a endgame in mind, but always look three steps ahead. Follow the progression of the game and you will figure the result. So far it seems the Phantasma is winning, but they have caught the Royal Clans off guard, now that you all are playing defensively, things will change.'

'How so? We know not when or where they will attack, thus they have the advantage.'

I rub my cheek, thinking about it further, and then say softly, 'That is true, but just as in war, when the enemy is no long surprised, the defense of the protagonist strengthens.'

Nick nods, taking a gulp of his wine saying, 'So... Rhode Island.'

'Yes.'