I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for. I suppose what I really wanted was to know which ancestor it was whom had strayed from the Slayer tradition and took vampires as lovers rather than killing them. Unfortunately, that information wasn’t easy to find as it would have been buried in so much small writing, and given that it was unlikely anyone would have noted down that scandalous behavior anyway. It was more likely that this news would have been swept under the rug in the hope that it would disappear and never see the light of day again. But nobody could silence the connection between Slayers. I wondered how many had experienced the same dream I had, and if they had, would they have told their companion? Since Arthur had been surprised I assumed that either my aunt hadn’t experienced the same dream, or hadn’t told him about it, but since they were so close I assumed it was the former. The whole thing was shrouded in mystery and I wished I had more control over these dreams so I could actually glean the information I wanted rather than having to go by what was given to me.
However, even though the dream was vague I still had some clues to narrow it down. From the castle surroundings and the clothing I knew it was medieval times, which meant it was a long time before the bloodline spread to America. All I had to do was look back around that particular timeframe and try to see if anyone looked or felt familiar. I hoped that when I reached the right name I would feel some sort of sensation, given that I had been inside this ancestor’s head, but nothing presented itself to me. I was beginning to get frustrated and had to fight the urge to frantically turn through the book because I didn’t want to rip the pages apart.
Then, I found something strange. I turned one page and glanced towards the middle of the spine. A page had been torn out. There was just a serrated line where the parchment remained. I stared at it, dumbfounded for a few moments. It didn’t make any sense. Arthur would never be this careless with a book, and he certainly wouldn’t have accepted one that was given to him in this condition. Like he said, knowledge was power, so presumably whatever was on this page was damning, and I felt sure that it was from the ancestor I had channeled in my dreams. But why had it been torn out? And who had torn it out? Arthur was so protective of his books that he surely wouldn’t have let anyone else touch them, which only left one possibility…he was the one who had torn it. But I didn’t know how to handle that. If I couldn’t trust Arthur then who could I trust?
With a lump in my throat I closed the book and placed it back in the cabinet. The gloves came off with a snap and I hurried out of the room, my mind swirling with paranoid ideas. Something was happening. My ancestors were trying to tell me something, but I had no idea what.
*
I didn’t go home for a while, not sure what I was supposed to say to Arthur. I didn’t know whether to be straight with him and tell him that a page was missing from the book. For all I knew it might have been something innocuous, but he was so careful with his books and with the phone call I’d overheard I started to suspect that something was amiss. He was so ready to brush away the memory echoes of my dreams it was almost as though he didn’t want me to investigate them. But why? Was there something for my own protection, or was there something he was hiding from me?
There was still that feeling that was present in my aunt’s memory as well. The more I thought about it the more I thought I realized what it was. I hated to even think the word, but if there was one I had to use to describe it, it would have been betrayal.
*
I walked around the city for a long time. I was patrolling for vampires, but only half-heartedly, as my mind was occupied. I tried to not be paranoid, but it was difficult when Arthur was so obtuse sometimes. There were certain things he withheld from me, like exactly how my aunt died, and other things about my lineage. I wasn’t sure how to confront him, or even if I should. I had no allies upon whom I could call, nobody in the organization I could ask for advice. I tried to tell myself that I was being stupid because Arthur had taken care of me. What could he possibly gain by lying to me? He had only ever looked out for my wellbeing and safety, I was probably just being stupid.
And yet, I couldn’t shake this niggling feeling that I was missing something. It was like a scratchy feeling at the back of my throat or an itch that just wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t move on from it, and I couldn’t face him either. I stayed out all night, still endeavoring to find the lair of vampires that plagued this city, but I could still only find the most feral and mindless beasts that roamed the streets trying to slake their thirst for blood. I took them all out and felt good that I was saving some people from certain doom. These vampires weren’t aware enough to turn anyone, they just fed and drained life from the city, leaving empty bodies behind. The trail was cold though and I had no idea how to find the masters and rid the city of their evil. There seemed to be no pattern to these feral vampires; they were spread out and I didn’t know how to narrow the search. Vampires were sly creatures and they wouldn’t just come out in the open for me. I had to be just as crafty as them and figure out a way to set a trap. I had to try and goad them into revealing themselves, otherwise they would just hide in the shadows and continue turning innocent people, increasing their numbers. Vampires were, on the whole, patient beings and they always liked playing the long game. They could easily distract a single Slayer with these feral beasts and not ever have to worry about engaging me in combat themselves. While I was busy cleaning up the trash they could continue with their schemes and all they’d have to do is wait for me to grow old and die, because although I was an enhanced human I didn’t have an immortal lifespan.
The night had frustrated me, but it had also helped me clear my mind. I realized that no matter what was going on with Arthur and the book and the phone call, it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. My main focus was still in trying to stop the vampires from influencing the world and hurting innocent people, so that’s what I had to do, and in order to do that I needed Arthur’s help.
“I was worried something had had happened to you,” he said, when I finally returned just as the dawn sun was rising. There was no point staying out beyond dawn since I would never catch a vampire in the sun.
“I just wanted to blow off some steam. I had a lot on my mind.”
“Did you find the library useful?”
I glanced at him, wondering if this was a test.
“It was, actually, but I wish there was a better way for me to find out about the people who went before. Most of the writing was difficult to decipher.”
“It does take a trained eye to figure out these things. You seem stressed, are you sure you’re going to be okay for class when you’ve had such little sleep? I know sometimes it can seem like you’re superhuman, but you need rest just like everyone else.”
“I know,” I snapped, “I’m just frustrated at this whole thing. It feels like I’m not getting anywhere. These vampires are like rats. I kill twenty and then twenty more come out of the sewers and I’m not getting any closer to the ones behind all this. I’m spending my nights out there and I’m not making any progress. Surely there’s something more we can do?”
“All we can do is wait and hope that they make a mistake. This is a patient business. We can’t afford to be sloppy and most of a Slayer’s work is to control the vampire population. I know these feral vampires aren’t the masterminds but they still pose a threat to humanity and they must be stopped.”
“I don’t want to just be on crowd control Arthur. I wa
nt to do something meaningful. I want to actually make a difference. What’s the point of doing this if it’s not going to change anything? It’s like we’re just fighting the tide and I’m just treading water until the next Slayer comes along, and they’re going to do the same thing. We have to do something to draw them out. We have to be proactive, not wait for them to make a mistake, because they’re not going to make a mistake. Right now they’re confident because they know we’re too few to pose a threat to them. They’re not going to take any risks because they don’t have to. We need to force their hand, to draw them out, to make them realize that they’re in danger.”
My voice had risen to where I was almost shouting, which I didn’t realize until I had finished speaking. Arthur waited until I had taken a couple of deep breaths to calm down. He placed his hands on his lap and considered the matter for a moment. I was sure he was going to say that we needed to stay safe and shouldn’t take any risks because the vampires were dangerous. It always seemed as though the Slayers were on the back foot and fighting a losing battle, and I was tired of it.
“What did you have in mind?” he asked.
His answer took me by surprise and I blinked slowly.
“Excuse me? Do you actually agree with me?”
“I think that what you say has merit. It is frustrating to never make inroads and while we’re busy doing all this groundwork they’re carrying on with their schemes. I have to agree with you that they’re never going to show themselves unless we force them. So I’ll ask you again…what did you have in mind?”
I paused. “I have no idea. I didn’t actually think you’d agree with me so I didn’t think we’d get this far. I suppose we could try and send a message out and hope they got it? Or maybe we could use me as a trap…they might be tempted at the chance to get their hands on a Slayer.”
As I suggested this Arthur’s expression changed dramatically. His face was locked with tension and he immediately shot the idea down.
“There’s no way that’s happening. It’s too risky.”
“But you just agreed with me that we have to take a risk to get them to come out!” I protested.