Chapter 8

Quickly I found Darla in the rear of the room and moved with expedient purpose directly to her side. Darla had been around vampires for many years so having me suddenly appear beside her did not surprise or cause shock to her.

As Darla looked up at me, I immediately asked, “Where is Sara?”

Without a word Darla simply walked toward to recessed door farther back in the room. She simply opened the door and gestured. My attention swarmed the room like locusts in a field. I found Sara sitting on the bed provided. Although not crying actively any longer, the fear of what happened clearly still rang in her mind.

“Sara”, I simply said calmly.

“Oh my god!!! Charles!!!”, screamed Sara as she rushed at me.

Again, she almost forgot that vampires don’t like to be hugged or have close contact with humans usually but this was understandable under the circumstance. Even as she approached I crouched down to be at her level. Quickly she realized that I didn’t like to be hugged and stopped her sudden approach. As though all the energy that she intended to use within the hug turned into verbal expression.

Speaking so fast that even I had difficulty understanding each word that burst forth from Sara. “Charles! Do you know what happened? Who were those people? They just burst into the house and started shooting. Were they robbers? What did they want? How…”

“Sara…calm down. I will explain this to you in due time.” I interrupted her. I knew she had a million questions but my primary concern was her safety and health. “Are you hurt? Do you need anything?”

With a moment of shock, Sara seemed to wilt slightly and I could tell the adrenaline rush had been running extremely high in her body. This was not surprising given what she had been through. Once she relaxed a second, the response came. “I am fine. I got cut on the way our when Darla grabbed me but they applied a bandage to it when I got here.”

Scraps and bruises were expected so I didn’t waste time trying to heal something that minor under the circumstances. With a gesture, I guided Sara back to the bed where she sat down. I crossed the room and brought a simple wooden chair closer to the bed.

“Sara. I am very sorry that you had to experience something like this. I am extremely pleased to see no harm has befallen you. I will find the people that did this, I assure you.” As I spoke Sara smiled a little. I continued by answering some of her questions. “The coven where you were, came under attack by Hunters. This group of humans use our blood to give themselves faster reflexes and better skills but in the end, each of them is only human. The humans in this group seek to destroy vampires. Some have personal reasons and others simply feel we should not exist. Either way, as you have seen, the Hunters will attack our covens.” I continued. The confusion on Sara’s face blossomed as I spoke.

“But why? Vampires seem so nice. All the vampires here have made sure I was safe and not hurt. They made sure I left the coven first before any of them. They protected the other humans in the house even”, came Sara’s confused response. She truly did not understand how anyone could want to hurt vampires. This both saddened me but also gave me hope for the future of both races.

“Sara…”, I paused to think for a moment. “What you have experienced so far is the civilized version of vampire society. We go to great lengths to stay out of the lime light. However, there are many vampires in the world that do not feel the same. They feel as though humans should be our slaves or subjects. Many feel that because we are superior in just about every way, we should be ruling the earth. Let me be the first to tell you, we tried that many many years ago. The idea did not bode well in the world.” I smiled slightly at the memory as I spoke. I continued to explain as Sara watched the memory flash across my mind.

“You have to understand Sara that there are dangerous vampires out there. Killing a human to these vampires can be a sport. The hunt provides them with exhilaration. No matter how many of them the Keepers find, there will always be a hundred more. This is why I have taken extreme precautions in regards to you. I did not wish any other vampire to come for you. Sometimes, those vampires I spoke of will try and get back at the Keepers by destroying what we are trying to protect. I trusted the vampires within the coven I took you into without question and they did not fail me. I am most grateful to them and will continue to protect them by finding the Hunter that escaped.”

Sara listened intently and continued to absorb every word that escaped my lips as though each held life’s essence. She was far to young to comprehend exactly what I spoke of but in the end, Sara at least understood that danger lurked in our world. My only hope at this moment was to make sure nothing further happened to Sara.

“I need to speak with some of the other vampires and get details of what happened but as long as you remain here, you are safe”, I assured her. She seemed to relax slightly at this thought.

With a slight smile I stood and exited the room. As I entered the large chamber again, I found three guards standing there with Val. Val, short for Valentine, presided over this coven. He stood a mere five feet ten inches in height but being of Nors blood originally, bristled with muscle and stature many of this time no longer possessed.

Without preamble I spoke to Val, “Thank you for taking in those that were attacked. What information have you been able to gather so far?”

Val took a simple step forward and responded, “We know of only two Hunters in the attack. One of them made it upstairs to the young humans room were she slept. Luckily for her, one of my guards was there checking on the coven. The normal Keeper for the coven had taken leave. The Hunter that made it to the human’s room was most unlucky.”

I laughed slightly. “Let me guess, your guard sat within the room.”

“That is correct. Darla had gone down to take care of some chores and left him to watch over the human female. As soon as he realized what was transpiring, my guard grabbed the human and helped her escape from the window. Once she was out of the room, he offered no quarter to the Hunter,” said Val. Pride shined from his words as he spoke them.

I actually smiled this time, “I saw the scene.”

Val smiled back. “Yes, it was glorious. Apparently the Hunter had skills in which hand to hand combat resided. My guard played with him. Ultimately when he got tired of the battle, he simply ripped him apart into multiple pieces.”

“My thanks go out to your guard. Now do we have any information in regards to the Hunter that escaped?” I asked.

“No. That Hunter was downstairs but I do know that the rest of the coven made sure that he didn’t leave unscathed. From what I understand, there is a high likely hood that that Hunter is already dead from his injuries”, Val said.

“Well I will find him dead or alive to make sure but again, I offer my thanks”, I said with a slight bow. To my surprise Val bowed back slightly.

“You also have my gratitude in this case as well”, Val said.

Confusion came to my mind as to what this gratitude spawned from but even so I said, “You are most welcome. May I request the reasoning behind such a gesture?”

“For not killing my guards when they tried to stop you from entering the coven. I can only imagine the restraint you exhibited.” Val said with a slight smile again crossing his lips.

“Ah. Well they were doing their duty to the coven. Due in part to the necessity of the situation, I chose not to engage nor explain.” I said as understanding blossomed. “Are these the guards?” I asked gesturing to the three standing behind him.

“Yes they are. They wanted to see who could get past them so easily.” Val said in response to my inquiry.

With that I stepped toward the three guards. “Greetings. You have my apologies for being ill-mannered earlier. My name is Charles. I am a Keeper from the Gods of Old. Simply put, I am far older and more powerful than anything you have thus encountered most likely. Feel not as though you failed. I offer my thanks and praise for all you have done.”

Each guard nodded to acknowledge my statement. They turned in unison and walked from the chamber. I watched them leave and turned back to Val. He stood patiently waiting.

“They are brave and valent vampires. You are lucky to have them Val. Please see that they are taken care of properly.” I said as I turned.

“Of course Charles. Now, what shall we do with the refugees?” he asked politely.

“I will make the necessary calls and have the old coven repaired and cleaned. In the mean time, I must find out why Sara has returned to our world”, I said. “If you will excuse me.”

I turned back to the room where Sara resided. As I entered, she looked up. I walked back to the chair and sat down. I waited patiently for a moment for her to settle again.

“Sara, why did you return to the coven?” I simply asked.

Sara looked down almost as though embarrassment ran through her mind. She slowed looked at me again and began to explain, “I want to be a vampire.”