Chapter 88

Pure fear catapulted me from the chair as I run. It was Igor. I knew his methods and before I knew it the vice was on me and I slam to the ground in mid stride. Igor was slowly walking towards me. His face a mask of calm as he slowly pulled his saber from its cane sheath. It glanced in the light and the whipping sound rang out crisply, as he held it by his side. He walked slowly, purposely towards me, like a frozen demon, calm and assured of his purpose. Every fiber in my being fought against the vice as he says calmly, 'I was right to stay and watch you. You are quite good at seeming innocent. But in reality you are the wolf in sheep's clothing.'

In that moment, Igor was more frightening than Nick had ever been; Nick was fire that blazed close to the surface. But his brother, the commander of the Night Hunter's, was a cold blooded murder without a care in the world. The thing inside me awoke with a start and I didn't stop it this time. Instantly I broke his vice and I scramble to my feet, running for my life. My eyes glance back at a cruel smile slowly taking over those sharp features. He didn't even seem surprised I had escaped his vice. He knew something, he had to!

But I hear him behind me, too close for comfort, 'Do you think you can outrun me?'

Instantly he is ten feet in front of me. I stumble to a stop, turning to run down another isle, but his bare hand reaches for me. I cry out in fear, 'I'm not the enemy!'

His finger misses me by centimeters as I rush down an aisle, my hair floating as books flew from the shelves behind me. I had to do something to slow him down. Then I come to a stop at a dead end. My heart raced as I stare at it and quickly spin around. Igor was walking towards me, slow and mythotically as I cry out, 'I'm trying to figure it out. Don't you see!'

'Figure out how to defame my family name, to push blame onto the Dracul clan to turn everyone against us from the inside. I can see it,the suspicious glances among all. Everyone thinking their friend, neighbor, and family member is part of the Phantasma. It is a brilliant plan, but even I suspected that. You were quite good at deceiving us.'

All I could feel was ice in my veins, nothing else. He didn't even exist in my senses only my sight and hearing. He was a ghost I could not sense but through those two senses as I ask in a quivering voice of fear, 'What makes you think I'm part of the Phantasma?'

'Simple. It was from the beginning. I knew you were keeping things from Nick and me, we could both sense it. So we played along until Nick got caught up in the romance of it all. But I could see it, the pages missing in the Library of Alexandria, simply a bait and switch by you. Nick wasn't there for a few minutes and a simple lock is nothing. All the cards, the cities, you always finding the answers. It was all too convenient. Then the interview with Beck sealed it. You didn't speak for a few minutes and I could sense nothing from you or Beck. Convening with a comrade of the Phantasma through telepathy, not so brilliant. Not only that, but Noah told me that you thought Vlad might be a possible candidate for the leader.'

'Noah?' Then it dawned on and I ask shakily, 'They didn't have to leave for a meeting.'

'No.'

'They left to make me feel comfortable in solitude.'

'It worked.'

I try to swerve past him, but I see a flash of silver and jump back against the wall. A piece of my hair floated to the ground and the shelves to my right broke at an almost seamless cut. My eyes widen as I look back at him and my legs shake. He hadn't yet done anything to me but everything told me he would any second. So I blurt out everything, my whole being wanting to live even as my new powers shrank back, 'I am a daywalker! I have no affiliation with the Silent Phantasma but I know they are after me because of my master Furlow. He told me to fear the Dracul and I never took his words lightly! So I started digging and things are coming to light that make it clear that at least one member of your family is involved.'

'Who?'

I couldn't see his face in the shadow, but his voice had a demonic edge to it. He stood, feet spread at shoulder width, hand gripped white knuckled on his sword, body tense and ready for any explosive movements or even at the slight twitch.

I whisper, 'You saw what I was reading. You know the answer.'

'Zoran.'

'Yes,' I whimper.

Suddenly his sword flashes out and I hear it ring out by my head and I cry out, covering my head. The next thing I knew he grabbed my wrist, pulling it away from my face. A bolt of lightning slammed through me, and I scream out from the intensity of the connection, just as his mouth slams down on mine. My eyes widen in shock and my body stiffens at the suddenness of this.

Just as quickly he pulls away as if stung by me, his hand disconnecting me from his electric current. The bolt of electricity still reverberating through me like a clap of thunder after the lightning strike and I slide to the ground. He turns slightly away from me and I notice his face. Stiff, sad, angry, confused, and lost. His eyes seemed to shimmer, shifting in color like it had not long ago. My body shook as he shakes his head and murmurs sorrowfully, 'God, why did it have to be you?'

'Wh-what?'

Then he turns to me again, his face again caste in shadow as he says, his monotone slowly coming back into play with each word as if he was regaining his composure, 'My apologies, Lady Dracul. I was... mistaken. You are no leader of the Phantasma, it is quite apparent now. Your luck with finding clues in astounding. As for what just happened, my emotions got the better of me. Disregard it.'

He turns from me and starts to walk away. Quickly I scramble to my feet, the shock of his power now abating even though I didn't feel it and I shout, 'Hold on! How can I?! You... you kissed me out of no where.'

'Yes... I did.'

He turns back around and walks towards me quickly. I plaster myself against the wall once again as he leans in, my heart screaming instead of beating, as he says in a smokey yet icy tone, 'A mistake that won't be repeated. My Lady.'

Then he pulls his saber from the stone sending pebbles and dust flying. He walks away again. What in the world just happened?! I call out, 'What do you want from me Igor?'

He pauses about twenty feet away, unmoving. Then he says in his monotone, 'Only the truth from here on Lady Dracul.'

I step forward and call out, 'My family!'

He stops again as I continue, 'My human descendants are being threatened. Please...'

'Consider it done.'

And just like that he was gone in the blink of an eye and I slowly crumple to the floor.

What the Hell was that?! My mind screamed out at me.

The electricity still sang through me and I shook from it. That was nothing like Nick and I, it clashed yet sung to me at the same time. What had he done to me? Had he just kissed the truth from me? Could he now know it all? What just happened?

Looking up, I stare ahead, confused and as lost as ever.

Nick... God Nick. How could I tell him about this?! How could I even begin to explain? Sitting on the cold stone made me feel grounded, even as my mind floated.