Chapter 52

Ki was right about his cousin. It was hard to keep my anger in check. The whole time he referred to me as Nick's dog and Nick as Dracul filth. Nick didn't react much, his power level was almost non-existent, but ever so slightly there to denote his station. Though Cho seemed to be powerful, I could tell he wasn't a Pureblood and it left me curious as to why he was considered one. There were so many questions I needed to ask, but I knew I couldn't around this terrible phantom.

The morning had finally come and I was happier than I could ever be to away from such a fowl man. Nick hadn't seemed interested in staying to speak with me once we reached the Four Seasons and had simply left me at my rooms door. It wasn't as if he had said much to me since that kiss. The awkwardness had left a deep chasm between us, and I knew it would take time to mend it. He had reacted with such emotion, something he was likely unfamiliar with, he was used to being followed without question, and with the high level of stress in his life this is where he had found himself.

Walking into the small kitchenette, I open the fridge. The smell of blood hit me in the face and my hunger took on new meaning. It had been days since I had tried to drink blood. The last time I hadn't been able to even swallow it. So over those days the hunger had become a dull thud in my body. But for reasons unknown, today it had felt like a deep ache in my bones. No amount of food could sate it, and everything tasted of ash. So now I found myself pulling it out and pouring a healthy glass.

Swirling it in the glass, I stare down at it. It looked amazing, the smell was intoxicating, but despite my hunger, there was this illness at trying to drink it.

'Down we go,' I whisper softly to myself and gulp a mouthful.

Instantly I feel ill. It hadn't even gotten past my mouth. The taste was terrible, as if I had gulped sour milk. But I push myself and swallow, it felt like grease coated the inside of my mouth. I pant and walk into the bathroom. My stomach flipped in revolt and before I can think I vomit the contents of my stomach. It twisted painfully and sweat popped from my forehead.

It felt as if I was gutting myself, the blood coming up until clear bile follows. I slide down onto the cold tile, letting my burning skin cool.

What was happening to me? I knew this was the best quality blood. Nick wouldn't allow bad blood to come within miles of himself and he won't give it to his companions either. Slowly I sit up, the burn of hunger making everything ache. I hadn't ever felt this ill in my days as a vampire.

Slowly I stand, coming up and looking at myself in the mirror. My face was slightly pale, but everything seemt normal. But without even thinking I pull back my eyelids to see if black tendril veins had started to show up on my sclera. Thankfully they were clear, only slightly pink and red vessels showing through. So if my body wasn't turning ghoul, what was happening?

Sighing, I slide over and flush what little contents of my stomach there had been down the toilet. I splash water on my face and replace the blood back into the fridge like it is radioactive waste. Everything inside me was screaming. Exhaustion was slamming into me unnaturally and all I wanted to do was lay down.

Dragging myself to the bedroom, I slide into the bed. A deep thump roared through my body as I look up at the ceiling. Everything felt hot. I touch my forehead and come away with sweat. This wasn't the changing into a ghouled, it was subtle. This was terrifying as the hum of hunger roared inside me, bones screaming, and muscles cramping.

--D--

My eyes snap open at the sound of a knock on my door. Slowly I sit up in bed and find my eyes drifting to the clock. It was almost night time. My sheets were soaked with sweat and I realize something that shocks me.

I slept...

Jumping from the bed, I rush to the door. The knocking becoming ever louder and more insistent. I pull it open on the middle of a knock and there stands Nick. He looked fresh and ready for the night. Before he can say a word, I say, 'Has Ki returned?'

'No, but Cho assures me he will be here within the hour...thankfully.'

I smirk as I open the door wide to admit him. He looks down at me and asks, 'Did you take a shower in your clothes?'

I look down, realizing my clothes are clinging to me and then shake my head saying, 'No, just...a sweat session. Let me shower and change.'

Nick nods with a curious look on his face as I turn away. While he waits I jump in the shower, mind whirling. I hadn't slept in over two centuries and in the last four months I had gone unconscious three times. But this time was different from those, this had just happened naturally. I was more confused about myself than ever. So many unanswered questions as I towel off and slip into a simple summer dress and strappy heels. I pull my wet hair into a low bun and come out.

Nick had set out two glasses of blood and the smell made my stomach twist in disgust. I don't show it as I sit down on the couch and say, 'So what is the plan?'

'We will discuss that when Ki arrives.'

'Right...possible listening ears.'

He nods and we sit in silence. The previous day had left a lot of tension between us and still I wanted more answers. He was sipping his meal when I blurt out, 'How did it happen?'

He stops, looking over the rim of his glass. Silence filled the room as he slowly sets the glass down and asks, 'What happened?'

'Your family? What happened?'

Nick just stares at me for a moment, before he looks out the large picture windows murmuring, 'Nothing I wish to discuss with a bitten clanless.'

The muscle in his jaw was ticking as I clasp my own glass of blood, looking at it's depths. It was so tense in this room, as if the air had been sucked from it before I find myself saying, 'At least you didn't kill the one family member you had left. The hole seems never to fill, the wound festering with every glass of this I drink.'

My eyes slowly lift when I feel his on me. I raise the glass, saying, 'The blood on my hands may not be as great, but the pain I can relate to.'

Finally the tension snaps, he gulps down his drink, looks at me, and says, 'Poison. It happened suddenly. We were having a family meal, to discuss going forward with the investigation. My cousin Cole and I had planned to go ahead with it, though several of my family were against it. I couldn't blame them, half the Elrics clan was already dead, the Romane A rank on the verge of collapse. We had come to an agreement and were going to have drinks. If it hadn't been for Crow who struck my hand just before I sipped my own drink, I would have been among the casualties.'

'P-poison?'

'Yes, in minutes my family were gasping for breath, their veins going black around their neck and mouth. Finally they turned into glass and died.'

This makes me shiver. It was true that vampires turned to ash, but Purebloods turned into something completely different, they became glass sculptures that would shatter if touched. Nick looked placid as I ask, 'How did Crow know?'

'He saw a film on the top of my blood, metallic in nature and let his gut instinct take over.'

My mind was racing through the facts I knew already as I murmur, 'The Elrics leader, Dominic, he was killed by poison right?'

'A bullet, but it seems to have had the same effect. Why?' Nick asks, a frown on his face, head tilted.

Putting my drink down, I get up and pace the room. Nick's eyes following me as I say softly, 'Dante said he traded in Tridium with the Phantasma, as well as humans. We had the Night Hunters following the Tridium route and it has proven to be true. Ki was at the mine, he told us it was being stolen right out from under the nose of the Won family. But there are things not quite adding up.'

'What?'

I rub my neck in thought, mind racing as I say, 'Tridium is almost completely harmless to vampire. The only thing it impedes is the speed we metabolize sensory information, thus an almost drug like effect. If Tridium is missing from the mine it is almost certain that it is being weaponized, a metallic film, a bullet. Tridium is a metal, and maybe it is being refined. I don't know how, but it is. How it got in your home though, less so.'

'So someone in my household poisoned my family?'

The growling words made me look at him. I nod and continue, 'Not just yours, but the Won as well. Don't you find it strange that the Won seem to be the only ones not truly being effect by the Phantasma.'

'You think their leader is one of theirs?'

I shake my head in frustration, as I let out on a sigh, 'Maybe, but it doesn't explain the person who killed Professor Fullerman, or the mystery of the Night Hunter Helix.'

Nick nods slowly before saying with narrowed eyes, 'What if the Phantasma has infiltrated all of the clans?'

Slowly I sit back down, cross my leg and reply, 'It would explain a lot, but would also mean that what happens now stays contained in our group.'

Nick raises a brow asking, 'Our group?'

'You know what I mean, Ki, you, your brother, me, and Jerry. If they figure out what we are doing then, it can only be one of us five.'

'It narrows the odds.'

'Right now our gates are open. Professor Fullerman was found due to our neglecting the fact that if the Phantasma has infiltrated not just the clans but also the Night Hunters, then we have too many possible suspects. So yes... narrow the field.'

'However, so many people know what we are doing already.'

'But not for long.'

A knock on the door startles us both, having not heard or felt the presence of someone coming down the hall.