I'm going to do things a little differently on this chapter. Because of Christmas, I didn't have time to really get much done with this story. So once I hit my ~...~ section of the chapter, I decided to just post the two sections as part one-part two in order to keep you guys from suffering too long! This means this update is a bit shorter! Thanks for waiting patiently. ^^

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Part One

As I looked out the window of the taxi cab I was settled in, I thought about how bad things had become. I recalled Jacobi’s rage-filled demands for me to leave and closed my eyes in pain. I knew I had spoken without thinking of the consequences; allowing that cowardice to speak for me. But even before I had made it to the exit, I began to believe nothing I said would have changed things.Something told me Jacobi had planned to dump me before he had even found me in Vincent’s captivity. A random man who appeared human had been waiting at the exit with a small bag of items that Jacobi had thrown together for me to take when I left. I had stared at the character, scrutinizing his existence and trying to understand why he was there in the first place. But this only proved to upset me further and so I had snatched the bag carelessly, tears blurring my sight as I threw myself through the door, not caring about anything other than getting the Hell out of that place.

The strange human man had been left in charge of driving me to a random part of the city and dropping me off, where a taxi cab was waiting to take me to a specified location my father had demanded Jacobi bring me to. The precautions, I was sure, was to prevent my father from identifying the exact location of Jacobi’s Coterie Headquarters. I couldn’t be sure why, if Jacobi thought I was legitimately in league with my father, he would think I wouldn’t just tell him where his headquarters were. He was right, though. I wouldn’t.

As I waited for the cab to reach my destination, I mourned the loss of him and also, strangely, that of Corentine. I could still see her face, angry but able to understand through our bond why I was so motivated to take the risk of meeting a man I had never met before in order to rescue my two vampire companions. She had been waiting for me outside the Headquarters, having no doubt heard my argument with Jacobi.

“How do you even know he’ll let them go? He’s a vampire hunter, they don’t catch and release,” She had asked me in frustration, not willing to allow me to throw myself into the grasp of some unknown hunter even if he was my own father.

I sighed, leaning my head against the window. It didn’t matter. My father had killed members of Jacobi’s coterie because of me specifically. He had Aveline and Xander held hostage and demanded my safe return before he would release them. There was a chance he was lying, but if I didn’t go to him it was guaranteed that they would be killed. And even though Corentine had requested to come with me, I knew that would be a death sentence for her, so I instead ordered her to stay with Jacobi.

I was feeling sicker. The headache that had been growing due to my extracurricular activities was only becoming worse and by the time the taxi had left the city, a new pain was rising in my stomach. While the hot chocolate Darsana had left me had helped with my exhaustion and hunger, I felt like maybe I had just overworked myself and it was beginning to take its toll on me.

Besides the grief I was feeling, I felt anxious at the prospect of meeting my biological father. Before I had been abducted by vampires, the idea of meeting my father would have left me vaguely curious despite my mother’s warnings. Now, I felt nervous and wary, knowing that he wasn’t a normal man. But then again, I wasn’t normal, either.

The taxi halted once we were enveloped in a wooded area, having traveled down a lonely highway. Once the cab pulled over to the side of the road, I reached forward to give the driver the money Jacobi’s staff had trusted to me and exited the vehicle. As the cab drove off, I hesitated, looking at my surroundings in anxiety. There was an opening to the right of the highway that held a path where I supposed I was required to go despite the warning sign that stated ‘No Trespassing’. Normally I would have refused, having been too frightened to walk through some strange location alone, but something was calling to me oh so subtly in the darkness.

I traveled down the path slowly, casting my eyes across the landscape around me and even up to the sky as if I could spot someone hiding somewhere beyond my sight. I clung tightly onto the small bag I had been left with, taking a deep breath as I walked and talked myself into remaining calm. I was here for one reason… well, two if you counted Jacobi’s banishment of me. I needed to make sure Aveline and Xander were released.

As the path ended into nothing but the green earth and trees around me, I paused. Quite suddenly, people were emerging from the shadows swiftly, shifting into a defensive formation around me in order to ensure my lack of escape. I froze, my eyes landing on the weapons in their grip that were firmly pointed at me. So many times I had been in the presence of vampires and felt I was threatened by their mere presence, but there was something significantly different and more human about having guns cocked and ready to blow your face off. I dropped the bag in my grip and raised my hands in surrender quickly, holding my breath.

“Sweep the area,” A voice ordered quietly in the shadows before speaking louder to me, “Where is the master vampire?” I hesitated, staring at the barrels of those cold metal weapons directed at me.

“I’m alone,” I squeaked nervously, shifting in my stance uncomfortably. “My name is-“

“Elysia Monet,” The voice interrupted me. I blinked, not altogether surprised by hearing my name but more curious that they had recognized me so easily. There was movement nearby and a voice whispered in the shadows, addressing the other. For a moment, the whispers were exchanged almost harshly, but then it was quiet.

“Lower your weapons. She’s alone,” The voice ordered, causing me to feel a wave of relief when those guns were no longer aiming at me. When I began to lower my hands, the voice demanded swiftly, “Keep your hands up and turn around, Lysa. Are you a vampire? Has he turned you?” I raised my hands up, turning carefully but stunned once again by that voice saying that name… Lysa.

“Who are you?” I asked, casting a look over my shoulder curiously towards the voice but not spotting any faces. I shook my head, trying to focus on the line of questions. “No, I’m not a vampire. They claimed me, but… it didn’t work… I’m not…” I hesitated, not sure how to explain the fact that I wasn’t exactly claimed. I also wasn’t sure if I should state I had been mated to that particular master vampire they were speaking of. Something told me it wouldn’t be wise.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt hands abruptly patting across my body searching for weapons I didn’t have. The hands weren’t rough or invasive, just professional and quick. They completed their pat down within seconds, finding nothing out of the ordinary on my possession. I didn’t move to look at this person now so close to me, remaining frozen with my hands up and eyes wide.

“You can relax, Lysa. You’re safe now,” the voice told me carefully, but in the back of my mind I heard his voice muttering like an echo.

You’re safe, Elysia. You’re mine.

I closed my eyes momentarily, but began to turn around to address this voice formally. When I was completely facing this man, I hesitated, staring at him in near wonder. He was… familiar. For a moment, I wasn’t sure what it was that struck me as so familiar. He was tall and dangerous-looking, but as I looked at him I didn’t feel fear. There were scars lining parts of his flesh across his features as if he was well-versed in fighting. His face was dark and serious.

It was when I noticed his other features that I realized what made him so familiar to me. His hair was short and red; light like fire under the moon. His eyes were crystal blue, sharp sapphires that were near mirror images of my own except that they were darker with experience and weathered with age. As I took in his complete existence, I hadn’t noticed his own eyes taking in my features as well.

“Do you remember me, Lysa?” He asked me quietly, his voice holding power and authority. I wanted to answer, to say that I did, except that I didn’t. I couldn’t recall ever having met him before this moment, though I felt as if I had before. I could only shake my head partially. “Just as well, you were only two inches high back then.”

He smiled then, turning away from me to address the other vampire hunters.

“Pack up. We got what we came for, despite our expectations,” He stated, causing a mass of shifting as the hunters began putting away their weapons and moving towards another direction where they probably had hid away their vehicles. The redheaded hunter turned back to me, reaching down to pick up the small bag I had dropped. He paused, looking at the ground where the bag had fallen. I lowered my eyes to the bag as well, spotting the small ivory figurine of a dove that had slipped from the bag. For a moment, I thought he would say something about it, but he instead just placed it back into the bag and handed it to me.

“The… the master vampire said you had two of his vampires,” I pushed myself to say to this man I knew had to be my father. He openly looked at me, waiting for me to continue as if he didn’t understand what I was getting at. “He says by… releasing me, he expects you to do the same. That you gave him your word…”

“You’re right,” The hunter said simply, reaching down to a device that was latched onto his belt. “Walt, it’s Zachary. Release the captives.”

“Yes, sir,” A voice responded on the other line and I nearly sighed in relief. That had been tons easier than I had expected it to be. Zachary Monet looked at me before tilting his head in the direction the other hunters were going.

“I’m sure you have questions, but we need to get out of the open. Come with us?” I nodded quickly, feeling extremely trusting of this man despite the fact that I had only just met him. I knew I should be vigilant and suspicious; after all, I had been told by my mother he was insane and then by multitude of vampires how dangerous and cruel he was. But when he abruptly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a tense but warm embrace, I felt my body relax on instinct, feeling a connection to this man. He was, simply put, family. And with that, I followed my not-so-crazy seeming father through the trees, allowing myself to be embraced by another spectrum of the supernatural world: that of the vampire hunters.

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Music: At Sunset by Idenline