Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince
Chapter 28

I didn’t know where to go. I neededto replace Finn. No, I corrected myself. Finn should stay far away from this. Itwas my mistake, and I would fix it. What I needed to do was replace Ms. Ingram.She was the one in the most danger.

I was torn by what I should bedoing. This should’ve never happened. I should’ve never allowed her access intothe vampire world. I should’ve shut it down when I had the chance. Who knewwhat she would do faced with death now, from feeders and nesters and… I closedmy eyes and took in several deep breaths. I couldn’t think clearly.

I needed to explain the situationto Finn, but I didn’t know where that boy ran off to. I didn’t even know whatclass he had first block. I was a bad friend. It would’ve helped had I knownhis cell phone number, but I didn’t. I might have inadvertently led a pack ofcrazy and insane vampires onto his doorstep with my actions this year.

No one came after me, as I ran downthe hallway when I half expected them to. I burst out of a side door and stoodin the yard briefly, still debating in my mind on the right course of action. Ibarely noticed the fields of grass that surrounded most of the campus. Thoughwhere I stood was bereft of any trees, it didn’t keep autumn leaves fromscouring the ground. A gentle breeze blew around me, lifting my hair away frommy face and pausing time for a few seconds. The cold air from the northernfront whipped around my exposed arms. Out here, away from the confines of thebuilding, I was free. This was where I belonged…out in the open. My headcleared and I finally thought straight. My mind immediately grasped thesituation.

I should’ve run away when I had thechance. This entire ordeal was my fault. I never should’ve speculated that Ms.Ingram made her way home last night. I never saw her get into her car, I neversaw her drive out of that part of town, and once I left the area following theSeneca vampire she had every chance to go back there. It was clear to me whathad happened. Knowing what I already knew about her nature, I figured it out.But now, I didn’t know if I would make it in time to save her from herself.

I turned slightly toward the schooland looked up. For the briefest second I thought I met his eyes as he gazed outof the window he sat next to. But in the next second, it wasn’t him - the eyesweren’t the correct color. He wouldn’t see me and where I was about to go. Itwas better this way.

I needed to prepare, and he needn’tfollow me.

It was time to leave. But there wasstill so much to do, and too little time for me to discover what had happenedto her.

I turned tail and ran.

I ran as quickly as I could to myhouse without letting anyone see me. As I passed the office, Sylvia watched mego without a word. She looked concerned by my sudden presence at theapartments. I burst through the door and pulled out the spare bottle I keptlocked in a small box at the bottom of my duffle bag. I tore off the lid, notbothering to unscrew it all the way and chugged down the blood that was storedin there.

I wouldn’t have time to go downtownand replace someone to feed off of. I needed blood, and I needed it now. I neededto be at my best and filled with strength and power. As I gulped it down, Ifelt its effects immediately. My arms and legs tingled, as well as the musclesin my abdomen. I felt refreshed, as I always did after a kill. But this time, Ifelt power surge under my skin. This was my emergency stash, sent to me from apowerful witch I knew back in Oregon. She stipulated I was only to use it in anemergency, and this was an emergency.

In order for me to replace and helpMs. Ingram, I needed to break into the nest and defeat the ones who livedthere. That would be a lot of vampires, with a lot of strength on their side. Ihad never gone up against more than two at a time, and I had never fully testedthe extent of my powers. Now was the time to see what I was fully capable of. Ionly hoped this blood sample was a good one. It felt like a good one, which waswhy I drained the entire bottle.

I changed my clothes. No way was Icoming up against vampires in this outfit. It wasn’t my only set, but thatdidn’t matter. I threw on a cozy indigo tank top and a pair of black yogapants. I put on my running shoes and headed for the door, carrying a hair pin.

I bumped into Sylvia on my way out.The door swung shut behind me, but she didn’t flinch from the sudden intrusion.

“What’s wrong my dear?” she queried.

I shook my head and ran past her.

Her arm snaked out trying to grabme and I caught a hold of it before she could lay a finger on me. I resistedthe urge to throw her onto the ground, but I resolved pushing her backwardsinto the wall of the cottage, so that she would know she couldn’t follow me.

Her eyes glanced up at me withsurprise mirrored in their depths. She wasn’t expecting me to act like this, Iwas sure.

“You cannot help me,” I began. “Sodon’t get in my way.” I released her arm.

She rubbed the area where I hadsqueezed. Her fingers were stark white, like I had cut off the circulation inher wrist.

“You can’t do this alone,” shewhispered. “Finn should know…”

I dropped my mouth open in horrorjust as she shut down her words by the expression slathered all over my face.“Finn should come nowhere near that place. If you value his life, don’t tellhim where I’ve gone.”

I didn’t wait for her to ask me tenthousand questions including the meaning behind my words. I hurried on down thepath and into the low income quarter.

It wasn’t long before I reachedthat building. But once I did arrive, the scene before me halted my steps.Octavian stood outside talking with another human and Holden Tierney in frontof the depot’s door. I couldn’t let them see me, so I crossed the street andentered an alley where I wouldn’t be seen. I really hoped that Finn’s dadwasn’t a part of this nest. It would make things worse when I took out theothers. Of course if we really were a team he would’ve told me everything heknew about this place, which led my mind to all sorts of wandering thoughtsregarding the Tierney secrets.

I entered an abandoned hovel andfound an empty room adjacent to the same alley that pointed directly at thedepot’s front door. This same building was the one I had stood on several hoursearlier, which is how I knew it was abandoned. I listened through the crackedwindow for the sound of the limo pulling away. Until they left, I couldn’t do a thing. It seemed like hours passedbefore it finally happened.

Meanwhile, Octavian and LordTierney kept up a conversation with several of the inhabitants of the area. Ittook them a long time before they finally left, in which I had time to imaginedifferent scenarios about how I would go into the nest and replace out about Ms.Ingram. There were several ways that I could handle this situation, but Iwanted the one that would have the best possible outcome, even when there wereseveral varying factors.

My nose picked up her scent themoment I arrived. It was strewn all over the alley. But it not only led fromthe direction she left into the streets beyond, it stretched into every cornerand crevice headed toward the depot itself, like she had purposefully gone theopposite way I had told her to. I had a bad feeling that she had been at theentrance of the depot earlier this morning when I was tracking the vampire. Herscent should’ve faded with the morning hours, but instead it was really strong,much stronger than last night which meant she’d been by here recently. Thatknowledge wasn’t a good thing, but I was hoping she was still alive.

It was feeble for me to believe ina reality like that, and I knew it all too well. Her being alive was somethingI knew wasn’t exactly possible at this point. If she had gone into that nest,even with her mediocre skills, they would’ve killed her knowing what she was.The vampire community didn’t take kindly to the hunters of this world, unlessthey were the predator.

Part of me didn’t understand why Icared about her health at all, especially after she threatened me that day. Ihad fought this battle before, with other humans who thought they could winagainst them using items and devices they thought could harm the Fae. In theend their lives were forfeit. Ms. Ingram’s life was forfeit the moment Irealized what she was. Even if I wasn’t going to be the one who took it, itdidn’t mean that she’d survive. She sought death, and death had found her.

I should be doing everything I canto save her. But I learned long ago, you can’t save everyone, especially peoplewho don’t want to be saved. Maybe that’s why I was here, waiting. Maybe that’swhy I allowed myself to hope because I knew what she sought was bad for her, nomatter the consequences. I had made a promise long ago, that I would help thehumans, and not let them come to harm by the vampires in this world. And then Ibroke that promise with her. I led her here, and now her death would be myfault. Her blood would be on my hands.

Eventually Lord Tierney andOctavian climbed back into the limo. But it was well into the afternoon oncethey left the area. They spent all morning interrogating every person thatlived or walked down the street. By the time I left the abandoned building,they were long gone. I didn’t want them spotting me in the area.

I headed on over to the depot. Thewindows were boarded up, not a first for a vampire nest, so there wasn’t anyhope of getting in that way. Plus the door was made of solid metal. It lookedlike it swung inward, but I had no idea if they blocked the entrance during thedaylight hours, as some nests tended to do, keeping out unwanted visitors.

I patrolled the area around themassive building until I found a way in. There was a part of the wall thathadn’t been attended to, and it was open to the outside. The entrance wassmall, but big enough for my pint-sized body. I squeezed into the corner,making as little noise as was possible and entered right into the main room.

The street-walkers were right whenthey first passed me the information. It was a massive nest, but there weren’thardly any vampires sleeping in the beds or on the couches that dominated thefloor. The pieces covered most of the room in a huge mish-mash fashion lookingmore like a furniture warehouse than a vampire nest. The exception was a longdining table with chairs that lay in the middle of the room, separated from theseating arrangement. It stood out mostly because the table style didn’t match.The select piece didn’t match the old 1920’s sofas and chairs. The table wasmodern, made of polished wood, cedar if I had to guess. The sunlight glintedoff the shiny surface, as it was flat, completely smooth and not marred withnicks and scratches as older things were.

I knew exactly why it drew myattention - this table did not belong. I weaved in and out of the many piecesof furniture that blocked me from the thing. And as soon as I was clear of themess between the table and the corner, I felt the air shift and the area aroundme altered. It was like I walked through a curtain of magic. Before I movedthrough the aura, no one was near the table. Now that I had moved past theinvisible curtain, a full house of humans, vampires, and two warlocks wereseated around the modern table. There were a total of twenty there, includingMs. Ingram.