Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince

She dropped the stake completely and it clattered to the ground. “That is impossible!” she harshly whispered, taking a step backwards away from my body.

The power I had used earlier already drained my inner strength. My energy dipped another notch and I felt the need for sustenance soon. I hated using my powers because they drained me of energy, energy that I needed for other more important uses.

I crossed the floor and perched myself on the top of the nearest lab table, crossing my legs as a lady would. “I could say the same about you, but unlike you I’ve heard of your kind. I’ve just never had the pleasure of meeting one face to face.”

I watched her fluster around the room. Scrambling for composure, she snatched up the stake and hid it within the confines of her desk once more. Instead of sitting down and talking out our differences like I hoped my show of power would do, she pulled out a vial of water and prepared either to unscrew the lid or worse, throw it at me.

I laughed at the sight of it. “Holy Water?”

She blushed and plucked it from my sight. “It’s cologne.”

I nodded, and contented my chuckles with a smile. “Yes it is.” Holy water didn’t exist, that was only a myth. There weren’t any pure priests in the world to produce holy water anymore. That ritual had died the way of the dodo.

She next brought out a clove of garlic. After she hatched a bud she threw the thing at my face. I caught it in the air and swallowed it whole. “I can eat food.”

Wearily from her wretched display of gaining ground, she sank down into her chair and shook her head. “What are you? Half human, half vampire?”

My smile deepened. “Something like that…”

“You’re a dhampir…” she mumbled.

I shook my head. “Not that original.”

“You’re not going to even guess what I am?” she whispered timidly.

I hopped off the table, knowing she no longer felt the need to test me. “I have no need to. I already know what you are. You shouldn’t have sharpened that stake earlier in class. I think it was then I knew what you were,” I lied easily. “Add the holy water and the garlic and, oh… I think you’re a vampire hunter.”

She sighed in defeat. “You are correct.”

I made a turn about the room, taking in the collection of things she had gotten over the years from students and her family. The objects belonged in this chemistry/biology classroom because they lacked anything heartfelt or genuine uniqueness. I knew then that she isolated herself on purpose, for reasons that were foolish and dangerous. But I couldn’t help wonder why she’d want this kind of life.

While my back was turned, she made her move whether it was stupid or not. I swiped at the stake in midair, deflecting its trajectory. It shattered against the cement wall behind me. Since I was back up at the front, I turned and caught a hold of the wrist she had used, and tightened my grip, cutting off the circulation in her arm briefly. I shook my head and warned her with my eyes before releasing her. “I told you…I am not the average vampire.”

She sat back down, slightly unhinged by my erratic movements. “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Think again. You pose no threat to me. I have no wish to do anything of the sort.”

Her eyes scrutinized mine. “Then why are you here? In a vampire laden town?”

So that’s why she taught here. She knew. She must’ve wanted a chance to take out a vampire on her own which was why she isolated herself. But what an idiotic choice to make. I guessed she came from a family of hunters, and was raised to make choices like that. A pack of hunters could take out a lone vampire. But a party of vampires could easily dispatch a pack of hunters.

I shrugged, answering her last question. “You don’t pose a threat to me, but you will be my enemy if you don’t heed every word I say.”

Her eyes filled with fear. “How do I know you won’t try and use compulsion? It was clear that you used that ability on Seth, the poor boy. You drank from him didn’t you? I’ve seen the marks.”

I shook my head. “I’ve never drunk from anyone in this school. I didn’t touch Seth until I accidentally picked up a hot beaker with my hand. It had been on the burner at four hundred degrees Fahrenheit when I touched it like it was sitting at room temperature. I needed to make him forget what he’d seen, but it seems like somebody had already tampered with his mind.”

She grimaced. “Do you know who?”

“No, I’m working on that.” I sat back down on the table again, though I leaned against it rather than rested completely on it. “But I need something explained to me about your habits. Do you actually seek out vampires or do you do most of your work here at the school?”

She truly hated me asking such a question judging from her upset expression. But she had no reason not to tell me. Every time she faltered or felt uneasy and didn’t give me the information that I wanted, it only made me feel like she should be on my enemy list rather than my friend list. I didn’t hate vampire hunters, nor had I ever come up against one, but if they threatened my existence I would gladly dispatch them.

She finally yielded. “I come from a long line of hunters that merged with a warlock family. We have power in our blood that makes us stronger than most human hunters. We can withstand vampire attacks in order to take them down.”

So that’s why she hunted alone. There was a strain of power in her blood, though it wasn’t as strong as mine.

“I’ve been here for four years now, searching for a particular sect of vampires. They’re not like the others who roam about feeding off others, but they do feed off the children here. I have hunches on their whereabouts, but I can’t seem to crack the code. I have yet to meet a real one.” Her eyes glistened towards me. She was suddenly eager about something, and her sudden eagerness scared me. “You could help me find them. You can blend into their society. They’d never know…”

I shook my head, not wishing to go that route. “I don’t blend.”

She sighed and looked out of the window, probably disappointed I shot down her suggestion rather quickly, but I didn’t want to be involved in something that sneaky. I examined and ‘discovered’ each foe I hunted. I knew them and their habits. I knew the type of person they were or had been, after the change. Even entering death and being brought back to life, however morbid it may sound, wasn’t a new opportunity for people to change their lifestyle. They continued on doing what they did, if not adding to their repertoire. Being partially invincible would make anyone feel like they had the right to deal out justice and seek revenge. Already there were humans like that, but vampires were far more deadly in their schemes than man could ever dream of. It was my job to stop those that tried putting their insane plans into motion.

But I felt bad about Ms. Ingram’s circumstance. There were a lot of cruel vampires in the world that needed a quick and painless death. Not many humans volunteered for the job. Those that did were vampire hunters, and there were some I had heard of, so I knew humans could achieve unfavorable status among the vampires. But she didn’t seem the type that had that status, though she longed for it. Because of the excursions that went on inside this city, I decided it would be beneficial for me to find one vampire she could fight. But I would have to keep the majority of my powers hidden from her, because I already knew there would be parts she wasn’t ready for and wouldn’t be able to handle correctly. Right now I had friends involved, human friends, and I couldn’t let them be put into harm’s way. Knowing how vampire hunters thought, humans that vampires have fed from recently were great at being the bait for a trap. I didn’t think she’d stoop that low involving vampire prey, but one never knew. Already she had hidden her true self from me and the rest of society, so I knew I couldn’t trust her that much. Still, we had similar goals.

“There’s a possibility that I could help you find out who fed from Seth, but that’s only because I consider him a friend.” I left Mallory and Krista out of this conversation on purpose. The less she knew the better. Knowledge was power in this case, and I didn’t want her having power. I doubted that she was capable of any real harm, but vampire hunters were unreliable and extremely unpredictable. I was more afraid for my friends’ safety than I was of her.

She faced me once more. “It’s not an alliance, but I’ll take what help I can get. I’ll expect updates though, so I know you’re not feeding me false information or playing me.”

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. She would try those petty demands, but I held no fear of her. “As long as you don’t try to force them out of me, you’ll be fine.”