In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“You summoned me?”

Sorokin stood by the door uncertain of what step he should take. Sebastian did not have a habit of inviting creatures into his personal chambers. In fact, this would be the first time Sorokin entered their leader’s chambers. Sorokin could not help but wonder whether this was in relation to the plan he was concocting with Sebastian’s enemy. Had Sebastian discovered the ploy? Were his guards on their way to drag him to the dungeon? As the thought simmered in his mind, Sorokin find himself darting his eyes across the hallway, searching for any inkling that he was about to be murdered in the crudest way possible; starvation.

“Are you simply going to stand there?”

Sorokin felt a shiver crawl up his spine. Once again he dragged his eyes to his left and then his right, squinting so he can spot shadows in the corners. He then perked his ears and heightened his vampire abilities to catch any sound, any movement that would give Sebastian’s guards an advantage over him.

Nothing.

“For fucksakes Sorokin, get in here and close that door!”

Sorokin did as instructed. It was only when he was inside Sebastian’s chambers that he realized something; Sebastian did not need guards to protect him from Sorokin or well, subdue him; Sebastian was one of the oldest, fiercest and strongest vampires in the tribe. The fact that he fed on human blood daily while Sorokin fed on animal blood dimmed Sorokin’s chances of overpowering their leader as well.

Sorokin consoled himself with the thought that he was a trainer and not just any trainer, a combat trainer. Surely he could get himself out of these chambers alive right?

Sorokin swallowed as he approached Sebastian’s seated figure. As it was his habit, Sebastian was seated facing the window, drinking the view of the rising sun.

“Isn’t it magnificent?”

Sorokin instinctively moved to the shadowed parts of the chambers, peeking at the sun rays that were shooting across the sky. Sorokin painted an image of himself as the sky and felt trepidation trickling into the pit of his stomach.

“You know, for a trainer, you are not that observant…”

Sorokin attempted to decipher his master’s tone. He could not tell whether Sebastian was angry, nonchalant, or simply tired.

“If you were you would have noticed that my hand was bare…unadorned.”

Sorokin furrowed his eyebrows while he examined Sebastian’s hand. True to his word, Sebastian’s wrist was not draped with any jewelry. Wait, was it possible that Sebastian had summoned Sorokin to witness his death?

“Some decades ago, after Donna entered our lives, I forced a witch to enchant this window…I was afraid that my daughter would come sprinting into my chambers searching for me or her mother and that the blinds would be open and that she would…she would burn.”

Sorokin glanced at the sunrays that were now prominent in the sky. It could be a trick. Perhaps Sebastian has learned of his betrayal and had moved his bracelet to another part of his body. It would work the same and Sorokin would not be able to spot it.

“Is there a reason why you are still in the shadows Sorokin?”

Now that was a tone Sorokin recognized – impatient, brusque, a voice of a leader. Sorokin weighed his options. If indeed Sebastian had discovered his betrayal and this was an intelligible way of exerting his vengeance then he had to leave without letting his body anywhere near the sun. The question was, how would he accomplish this? On the other hand, Sebastian could be telling the truth and his demeanor could lead to a line of questioning that he was not comfortable answering.

Sorokin swallowed before stepping into the fully risen sun. His heart was threatening to leap out of his body as his being was engulfed by tension. After a few seconds, he realized he had not combusted into flames. Sorokin had been telling the truth. Does this mean that he was not aware of his betrayal or was Sebastian playing the long game, waiting to catch Sorokin unawares?

“Now tell me, isn’t it beautiful?”

Sorokin ground his teeth before forcing his eyes to stare at the sun. He deeply loathed the celestial being as he had lost friends to it. He also found it limiting to what his kind could do, to what they could achieve. Those who were not rich, of noble blood or royalty, could not protect themselves from the sun’s wrath with spellbound jewelry. They were forced to remain in the confines of their homes or in shadowed alleys until nighttime. How were they meant to prosper or even compete with the wealthy population if they had fewer hours to do so?

Sorokin cleared his throat and said,

“Yes master, quite beautiful.”

Sebastian was watching him and Sorokin could feel it. After that false response, Sebastian peeled his eyes away from him.

“I hear there is a revolution cooking up. An attack on the nobles…I hear the vampires wish to jump over the wall or break it or I don’t know…They really think they can take on humans…”

The last part came out as a whisper and for a moment, Sorokin wondered whether Sebastian had meant for him to hear those words.

“How do you mean? We are the stronger, faster species. Surely we can defeat humans if we wished to do so. Besides, can you imagine what would happen if we fed on human blood? We would be invincible…”

Sebastian’s eyes had averted to him as he spoke. Sorokin noticed the twinkle in his master’s eyes and once again, he attempted to read Sebastian’s mind but to no avail.

“Ever heard of the VA Sorokin?”

Sorokin thought about the acronym for a moment and decided it was alien to him.

“Vampire Assassins…Is that familiar?”

Sorokin shook his head.

“During the time that contract was still in place and humans were delivering on their end, I arranged a journey to the human realm to go see an old friend of mine. A human by the name of George. Word had gotten to me that he was dying and that he needed to see me urgently. He refused to meet me at his home so we went to this dingy tavern or well, pub if you will. After drinking two pitchers of beer, he got this nasty cough full of phlegm that had tinges of blood. After that series of gut-wrenching coughs, George whispered that he was dying from something called cancer…”

Sorokin furrowed his eyebrows at yet another unfamiliar term and wondered what George and his cancer had to do with his kind not being able to defeat the humans.

“…Of course I did not know what that was and when I asked him to explain this illness further, he waved my question away saying that that was not why he had summoned me. I will never forget the look on his face when he mentioned the VA. I had never seen that man scared and let’s not forget that he was constantly in the company of a blood-sucking creature…”

Sebastian suddenly rose from his seat and whizzed past Sorokin. He stopped by his humongous bed. There was a small chest there, he opened it and retrieved what Sorokin recognized to be a photograph. When Sebastian did not move for a while, Sorokin joined him. Two handsome males were laughing freely in that picture; one human, the other a creature. The human had a long, white coat on and there was a metallic device hanging from his neck. The creature was dressed in black leather from head to toe.

“Apparently a group of humans had come together to fir the sole purpose of getting rid of our entire tribe. They had fashioned a weapon that could considerably harm and kill us from some tree sap that one of them discovered while reading old texts. They trained every day, going to extreme lengths to ensure that they do not feel pain. They know our weaknesses, they know how to destroy us…At first, I did not believe George. I laughed in his face calling him a lying drunk…Do you know what led me to believe him?”

Sorokin shook his head. He too was having a hard time ingesting Sebastian’s words.

“They killed my wife and four of our guards and if you ever saw my wife fighting, you know she did not go down easily…I left immediately, came back to our realm, and extended the barrier so much so that no human could possibly climb over it. Sorokin, that wall? It’s not for protecting the humans against us-”

“…It’s for protecting us against the humans.”

“Precisely.”

Sorokin felt dizzy. He hastily shifted his body towards Sebastian’s door. He had to tell Joseph and the rest of the rebellion group. Before he could reach the door, however, Sebastian appeared in front of him.

“I need you to go to my daughter. I need you to go help her fulfill her mission and inform her that the timeline has changed. She needs to prove herself a worthy leader by destroying what threatens our existence but I am afraid with this revolution, she will not get the chance. The faster she completes her mission, the faster she comes back, and then we are all safe. You will leave now. You will be accompanied by two of my best guards…I will try and prevent the rebellion from breaking down that wall and endangering our species….Now go.”