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For a while the cell was silent except for Millard’s cries. He had grown hoarse and was now clutching his chest.
“How long will he be like this?” Charlie asked.
“Until the silver clears his system. It takes about a weak and it will be the most painful dump he has ever taken, if he lives that long. Sorry for the crude language,” Jun said. Charlie shook her head. She couldn’t say she was unaffected by the situation. But she knew that if she hadn’t escaped her cell, Millard would have been successful in keeping the others away. He would have put her through hell. She was having a hard time feeling sympathy for the man flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water.
“I think we have what we need for now. Let’s leave him to his own torment,” Vidar said. They all nodded and Charlie turned of the recording as they all left the cell and headed back. When they were crossing the courtyard she took the opportunity to fill her lungs with fresh air. “How are you holding up?” Vidar asked her.
“I’m fine. I could use a long shower to clean up, but otherwise, I’m good.”
“I think we all could use an hour to rest and get our heads back in the game,” Henry agreed.
“Good call. Let’s meet back in the war room in an hour. Your room has been prepared to host
you, my house is yours for your stay,” Vidar said. Charlie, Vidar and Caine split up from the rest and headed to their private rooms. Charlie headed straight for the shower and came out. twenty minutes later feeling much better. As she walked into the sitting room, Vidar walked up to her and gave her a k*ss. “I need to make a call to Millard’s father,” he said.
“Go ahead. I’ll be here. And give my best to Mauritius,” she told him. He smiled and walked off to his office. Caine was standing in front of the window, looking out over the lake. Charlie hesitated, she didn’t know if he would prefer to be alone. But then she decided she could at least ask. She walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Am I intruding?” she asked. He looked at her over his shoulder and the smile she gave her was genuine, but tired.
“No, not at all,” he said. She nodded and stood by his side, looking out the window as well.
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After a minute or two, Caine sighed. “I didn’t want to get tunned” he told ther Chame wandered what she should say, was there a night way to respond to someone who had been fronted untio am entennal life?
“Tim war. What was you life like before?” she asked.
“I want anything special, really. I was the oldest som of a Eumer. We weren’t rich, but we always had food am the table and our land gave us good crops and fed our sheep. It was a simple life, but I was mostly content.
“Did you have a family?” She asked before she could stop hemel. Chanbe knew what a personal question it was, and how painful such memonies could be.
“I had a wiffe, but she had passed away a couple of years before I was tumed. She died giving Birth to our daughter, neither of them survived,” Caine sand. Charlie felt ber beat ache at Game’s life situation.
“Tim so soury, Caine,” she told him.
“Thank you, but it was a long time ago. Back whem I was immed. I hadn’t got over it yet and had refused to emmary, even though my mother and stated telling me it was time. I had my parents, they were getting older. Thes I had my two brothers, the youngest helped us on the farm. But our middle brother had moved to his further in–laxes‘ fam. His wife’s family didn’t have any suns. My two sisters had manied and mower to the husband. Part of my duties as the oldest son was to go into the city and sell the produce we could spare. The last time I went, I did good. I had got a good sum of money and I was celebrating in a tavern. I was going out to relive myself and the next thing I know, I was waking up with this intense hunger. Every fibre of my b*dy craved blood, my mind was filled of violent thoughts and it drowned out everything else. I did things, things I would have thought I were incapable of doing.” Caine stopped talking, as if the memonies had become too powerful. Chantie reached out her hand and took his. “I was lucky Wider was travelling on the road that led by the city and he could smell me. He saved the city for me, and saved my soul all at one swoop He kept me locked up until I came back to mynell. Once the bloodlust wore off, I remembered
what I had done. Vidar told me what I want, how things would be from now on. He stated
training me like we are training you. All I wanted was to catch the one that had turned me, to
punish them, and then return home.” Again he fell silent. Vidar took me to our tam once he
knew I was under control. He made me watch my family from afar. They were mouming my death. Then he asked if I wanted to go there and explain to them what I was? Did I want t
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change the image they had of me? I didn’t. Things were different back then. Today, I think I would have gone to them, explained things. But back then. They would have shunned me away. I would just have caused more pain. Vidar took me on a hunt. We tracked down my maker and I made him pay for what he took from me. After that, I knew my life could never go back to the same simple life I once had. Looking back, I don’t know if it’s something I
regret or I would do different. I like the life I have.” Charlie hummed.
“But sometimes, something or someone reminds you of the carefree, simple life you could
have had,” she said.
“Yes.”
“I get it,” she said, and then they stood like that for a while longer. “I don’t know if I’m going to tell my brother and his family,” Charlie said. Her situation was nothing like Caine’s, but he was the closest thing to someone with the same experience as she had.
1
“I think you should. Thin
are different now. Huxton and Tyson love you. They will understand and they will love you no matter what,” he told her and squeezed her hand.
“Can you be there?”
“If you want me to, I will. You know Vidar and I will be there for you. You will never have to
be alone again,” he told her.
“I know, thank you.” The silence between them returned. It was a nice kind of silence. The
kind that comes from being able to relax in each other’s company enough not to have to fill
the silence. Vidar came back after a while. He walked and stood on Charlie’s other side and put his arm around her. She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“What did his
father say?” Caine asked.
“He was horrified. It feels like each time I call him, I’m taking away another part of his son
from him.” Vidar sighed.
“You know it’s not your fault,” Charlie pointed out.
“I know. But it feels like it is. Mauritius and Britta are good vampires. They don’t deserve any
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of this.”
“They don’t.” Caine agreed.
“What is the next step?” Charlie asked. She was afraid of the answer, but she wanted to be prepared. Nothing good ever came from sticking your head in the sand. If nothing else, it made the risk to be shot in the ass much higher.
“We will need to call in other clans, and reach out to the other communities,” Vidar said.
“It will lead to outright war. Can we keep that from the humans?” Caine asked. He still hadn’t let go of Charlie’s hand and she felt safe between the two men.
“I don’t know, I doubt it,” Vidar said.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” she asked.
“Regardless of what we do or the outcome, our time in the shadows may be over,” Vidar
confirmed.
“They will come for us,” Caine said.
“That may well be,” Vidar agreed.
“What do we do?” Charlie asked.
“We protect ourselves and keep the ones we love safe. It will eventually die out and we will move on from this as well. If history teaches us something it is that even the bloodiest wars
have an end and people move on from them.” To Charlie it was a depressing thought, that no matter what they did, they would leave themselves vulnerable. She had just found this new world, found a new family, her love. She wasn’t ready for everything to change. “Ready to go down?” Vidar asked. Charlie lifted her head from his shoulder and squared her own.
“Yeah,” she said.
“That’s my brave lynx,” he told her and k*ssed her. He exchanged a look with Caine and then they left the window to go down to the war room. It might end up making use of its name.