Hey guys! I just wanted to accompany this new chapter with a note from me. Thank you for your patience with me. I apologise over and over again for the delay each time that I post a new chapter... but what can I say, university isn't easy! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I will try and get the next one up as soon as I can. There should only be two more/three at a push after this one. Please comment and let me know what you think, it really encourages me to keep writing!
Father-in-Law
"Eric?" Alexander calls my name as he runs behind me.
I come to a halt and he catches up with me. He hasn't spoken a word since I told him where we were headed, but now that we are but a hundred metres from the cabin where I had first brought Ronnie back to, he begins to question my plan.
"I don't understand how coming to someone who hates our kind is going to work Eric…" he's nervous and begins to run his hands through his hair. "I mean, I would do anything for her, to get her back, but are you forgetting that we are vampires?"
I quickly erase the jealousy that has formed within me; instead, I try to replace it with gratefulness, because he really would do anything for her. I can count on Alexander.
"You're right. Ronnie's father is not like her. Ronnie is forgiving, accepting, kind and she has grown to understand some of our kind; for her father, the lines do not blur. He only sees them and us."
A shiver runs through me as I begin to relive the last time I had met her father. Get your hands off my daughter, he had screamed. What did you do to her? You son-of-a-bitch, you fed on her, nearly killing her. His words had pained me, even more so than a stake would have through my heart. Yes, I had let harm come to Ronnie; I had almost killed her.
And now here I am again: to the deliver the same news.
I am indeed a creature of the night, a creature of death. A creature incapable of protecting the one thing that it cares most about. How can you love her? You creatures are incapable of love. Ronnie's father's words had been right; love is for humans. How can I hope to love Ronnie and bring her into my world, a world in which she will not walk one day without being harmed?
Ronnie is forgiving... she forgave me for the pain I brought her. Ronnie is accepting... she has accepted me as I am. Ronnie is kind... not only to humans but to others of my kind. Ronnie has grown to understand some of my kind... she knows me better than I know myself.
But Ronnie is naive.
As my eyes begin to capture the first rays of light from the house, I realise the truth in Ronnie's father's words. In this world there really is divide; you're either a vampire or a human. One of them can't love one of us. One of us can't love one of them. I can't love Ronnie. If she were to be with me, it would be as a vampire; I will not do that to her.
I pause as we come into view of the house. Kyle is the first figure I see; he's unloading the truck. They must have just got back from a hunt.
"Listen," I turn to Alexander, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I don't know if this will work. Jensen despises our kind. He sees us all responsible for Ronnie's mother's death, and when he finds out that I've let harm come to Ronnie… again… he'll probably try to kill me. But we have to make him listen."
"Eric!" His face is puzzled. "You're not making any sense! What is the plan?"
"There's no time for explanations," I mutter, as I begin my way to the house.
Although I expect him to fight back, he trusts and follows me. His expression changes from one of anxiousness and confusion, to one of coldness. We're here for business. We don't have long before the sun rises. The plan has to work.
My first instincts are animalistic. I have the element of surprise, I have the force. If I implement violence as the means to my end, I will be sure to grab their attention. But I respect each of these men, and if I am to gain their respect and their trust, I have to act... human.
Therefore I choose words rather than actions. I approach Kyle. He has his back towards me as he empties the boot of the truck, pulling out guns after guns, with the occasional silver chain or stake. He doesn't hear me come up behind him, which is both both dangerous and advantageous. Dangerous on the one hand because if he were to react right now, with a gun and a stake in either hand, I'd be dead. Good on the other hand because if I can get him in on the plan first, then it will be easier to break through to Jensen.
Kyle had also been understanding... or maybe it had just been his feelings for Ronnie. Oh yes, I knew about them.
"Kyle," I whisper, a few feet behind him.
His face turns instantly at the sound of my voice. When he sees me, his face goes pale. But he drops my gaze, his eyes immediately turning to scan the area surrounding me, looking for Ronnie; when he sees Alexander a few steps behind me, he steps back in fear and points the gun at me.
Fuck, this is not what I need.
"What are you doing here Eric?" he says, his voice trembling. "Where's Ronnie?"
I haven't prepared an answer to that question and it knocks me off guard.
"I need your help Kyle," I continue.
"Where's Ronnie?" he says, his voice becoming louder as he panics.
Jesus, this really isn't what I need.
And as if the whole world were suddenly against me, my eyes meet with Jared's, followed by Jensen's as they both emerge out of the cabin.
"You!" Jensen exclaims as he runs down the stairs from the porch, leaving Jared behind. He walks up to me and pushes me back towards Alexander. "Where is my daughter? What have you done to her?"
"Sir," I begin. "Let me explain," I mutter, my voice quaking with fear.
But am I really scared of him? No, I'm not. Alexander and me could have them all killed within a second if it were to come to that. No. I'm scared of telling a man, a man whom I respect, and a man whose daughter I am most deeply in love with, that I have brought her to harm.
*Flashback*
"When will you take a wife, Eric?" My father asks the question that has been on his mind since the day I turned 18.
"Why the hurry, father?" I joke, but his expression does not change. He wants a straight answer.
I walk up and down our humble dining room, as he sits at the head of the table. That's the only answer he's going to get from me.
"It's been seven years since you became of age. Seven years and still, you have not taken a wife."
"I've been busy out at sea, raiding, fighting to restore a Danish king to the throne of England. Was I not named after Eric Bloodaxe? He too was a Danish king in England."
"And for it, Odin will welcome you into Valhalla. But before you feast with Odin, remember that there are things you must accomplish on Earth first."
"And taking a wife is one of those things I must accomplish?" I play along.
"Yes, precisely!"
"But why the hurry? A wife will be but another person to live under this roof, another mouth to feed, and if she were to be with child… I refuse to put my sons through this misery."
My father goes silent, and it pains me to see him with this look on his face. The look of a man who had done everything he could to keep his family alive. I owed my father everything, for pulling this family through all the hardships we had encountered. It's not that I hadn't thought about marrying; of course I had. I knew just the right girl.
"I've been courting Eda father," I mutter, with a smile on my lips just from thinking about her.
Eda was the most beautiful girl I had ever beheld. She was a blonde angel; she was innocent, intelligent and I had every intention to make her mine one day. I wanted her, but I would not ruin her virtue or her chances of marrying someone who could give her a comfortable life. Her father and mine had once fought together; and her mother was a famous shield maiden. And yet, her family was suffering as much as mine was. I would not marry her in these conditions, not until I knew I could provide her with a good life.
"I want a life for her and me. I want things to get better; for our sons to grow up, healthy and with full bellies. I won't marry her until I know that I can provide for her. I have faith that things will get better, father."
"I have faith that they will too, son," my father smiles as I walk towards the window. "I'm very fond of Eda; she's a very agreeable girl. When the time is right, we'll support you. I just hope that the time is soon, my boy."
"So do I father," I chuckle, still looking out onto the street.
"I have seen your two younger brothers marry, and now your sister's suitor is on his way," my father says, his voice shaking as if he were about to cry. He walks up to me and grabs my head in his hands. "Eric, you are my first born, my eldest son. I just want to see you happy."
"And you will father," I promise.
"Right now, however, I think you have more important matters," I say, pointing out of the window.
Einar is here to ask for my sister's hand in marriage. I turn towards the door but my father stops me.
"I'll get the door, Eric," he says. "Bring Asta. I want her to be present. I understand that Einar is a wealthy man, a brave warrior that has made a name of himself. I know that he can care for Asta, but I will not make this decision on her behalf on the basis that it will leave us with one less mouth to feed."
"Yes father," I nod in agreement.
I run out of the room as I hear Einar's knocking at the door and make my way up the stairs.
"Mother?" I cry out. "Mother?"
"We're in here, Eric," she replies and I follow her voice towards Asta's small room.
Asta sits on the side of her bed, in a beautiful light pink dress – a dress I had only ever seen her wear the last time my father, brothers and I had left to go raiding – whilst mother finishes her hair. That's all it takes: a pretty dress and some pretty hair. Asta no longer looks like one of us - simple farmhands - and instead now looks like the goddess Freyja herself.
"Oh Eric, is he here?" She says, her eyes sparkling with what I think are tears of joy. "Is he really here?"
"Yes, Asta, come. Father is expecting you."
Asta leaps up from the bed and quickly takes my hand. She really looks remarkably beautiful in that dress.
"Oh Asta, your father and I are so happy for you," my mother kisses her cheek. "Einar loves you. He will make you happy, and you him. I will sacrifice to Freyja tonight, may she give you many sons," she weeps. "Now go! You must not keep your betrothed any longer my girl," she laughs.
"Ma! He is not my betrothed yet!" Asta complains.
"And at this rate he never will be; he'll leave before we make it downstairs," I snicker sarcastically. "Come on Asta," I mutter.
*Flashback*
"I won't ask you again, Eric," he says, making a move for the gun at his hip. "You killed her! Didn't you?" He exclaims.
"Jensen," Kyle interrupts rather than giving me the chance to answer. "He cares for Ronnie," he continues as he attempts to pull Jensen back, but Jensen shrugs him off.
"Kyle, are you just as naïve as my daughter?" Jensen questions him. "This vampire has come to us to ask us to end his existence, just as he begged us the time he almost killed my daughter!"
"Eric, what are they talking about?" Alexander mutters quietly, making sure that I am the only one that listens to him. I do not look at him and I do not answer him. It is not a memory that I wish to relive.
"Jensen, Jared, Kyle," I state, acknowledging each of them individually. "Ronnie is alive, but she's in danger and I need your help… urgently," I stress.
"I can't discuss this out here," I say through gritted teeth as I look at my surroundings. "Someone could be listening to us and I won't risk it. Just trust me. Let us go inside."
I make a move towards the cabin, praying that they will all just trust me on this and follow me inside. However, Jensen is the first one to stop me, slamming his palm against my chest. I glare at him and he holds my gaze.
"Jensen," Kyle interrupts him again. "If Ronnie were here, she would tell us to trust him."
"Kyle, you really are naïve son," mutters Jared from behind. "Inviting a vampire into our home!"
"No, he's right," Jensen mutters, and my eyes widen in shock in realization. "You said it's urgent. Come on in."
This is all I wanted; a chance; a truce – to put our differences aside for Ronnie, so that I can allow myself to hope again that she will return to my arms.
They gather around the kitchen table and Alexander joins them, as I begin to pace up and down the room.
"Ronnie has been taken," I begin, and Jensen jumps out from his seat. I nod at him, demanding his permission to continue. He nods back and sits back down on his chair. "Her captors form part of an alliance between our kind and yours – vampires and hunters."
"Hunters?" Jensen's face falls.
"Yes. The alliance consisted of around thirty. Around two thirds of them were vampires, the rest were hunters. I recognised most of the vampires. Ronnie recognised one of the hunters. She called him 'Duke'," I mutter, trying to erase the jealousy from my voice.
"Duke, yes I know him. Why is he doing this? He was a good kid. He loved my daughter. He is the only man that she has ever been in a relationship with… well, until… until now, if that's what you two are".
"Yes, I love your daughter," I say, walking towards him. "But Ronnie and I are more than that."
I take a seat at the head of table, and I prepare myself for what I am about to say next.
"Please, keep an open mind."
I take a deep breath.
"You have always been led to believe that there are only two races that inhabit this world: humans and vampires. This is wrong; there is a third race. 'Healer' is the name we, vampires, use to refer to the members of this third race; they are extremely rare. They close the gap between us…" I say, referring to Alexander and I, "and you."
"What does this have to do with Ronnie?" Kyle is the first to ask.
"Ronnie… she is a Healer."
I pause, unaware of how to continue. I have to be honest, and so I decide to tell them everything.
"I've known it since the first day I met her. She bears a mark – a crescent moon – below her left ear. I didn't tell her at first, and I left her to try to keep her safe and keep her away from the life of a Healer."
"Ultimately, being a Healer signifies being compatible with a vampire, in a way that no other human being can be. As I've said, Healers are extremely rare; Ronnie is the 11th since the beginning of time. The chances of a vampire discovering a Healer are virtually none; the chances of a vampire discovering a Healer that belongs to them are even rarer."
"And she belongs to you?" Jensen asks, his eyes praying for a 'no' as an answer.
I pause again. How do I explain that she belongs to both of us? I turn my head slightly towards Alexander, enough for me to see him shake his head. He doesn't want me to explain it.
"Yes, Ronnie is my Healer, but we haven't yet made the ultimate commitment: the Blood Bond."
"You're going to have to explain that son," Jensen exclaims, not once dropping his composure.
"The Blood Bond is a sacred ritual that links vampires and their Healers together; it will link Ronnie to me. Our blood, souls and minds will become one. It is the ultimate sign of loyalty to one's vampire or Healer mate."
"You plan to make my daughter one of you!" Jensen jumps.
"No. Ronnie will remain human; however, it will be as if her timeline has stopped in time. Her life becomes intrinsically linked to mine; as long as I am alive, she will be too. She will still have blood running through her, she will still breathe, she will still sleep, and she will still eat, although she will also have the option of my blood to nourish her."
"Immortality is therefore the main advantage to Ronnie of being a Healer – if you see it that way. It is the impact that Ronnie, as a Healer, has on me that has angered vampires and humans alike. Ronnie's blood is superior to that of other humans; as a Healer, one drop of her blood is sufficient to heal me, to strengthen me. Now imagine what two… three… ten drops… a gulp would do to me. Ronnie's blood strengthens me in a way that no human can strengthen a vampire. Every time that I feed on her, I become powerful beyond imagination. I've already been noticing the force that her blood provides me with now; if we bond in blood, this will only be emphasized."
"I will also develop… gifts, if that's what they are. Our connection is so strong that some of these have been pouring through, without us yet bonding in blood. Already, I've been starting to hear her thoughts. Who knows what other abilities I might also develop; perhaps I will be able to sense her emotions, or perhaps I will be able to know when she's in danger."
"As long as she is by my side, we will be invincible. This poses a threat – to both vampires and hunters. Those who have captured Ronnie believe her and I are an abomination."
For the first time this evening, Alexander takes the lead.
"We know where they have her," he says, standing. "But we've been given… let's say… complicated instructions regarding when to get there. Duke has threatened to kill Ronnie if Eric arrives before sunrise or after dawn. He wants Eric to travel during sunlight."
"He knows I'll attempt it… and more importantly he knows that I'll die in the process," I continue. "This is where we need your help."
"I'm in," Jensen says, slamming his palm against the table.
"We're all in," Jared echoes him.
"Good. We need a van and two coffins. The three of you will travel in the front of the van; Alexander and I will travel in the back, inside the coffins. When we arrive, you'll have to tell them that you heard about what Ronnie is, that you agree with her being put to death, and that the coffins in the back are for her – and for me, in case I do turn up. You must make them believe you. Then, you'll have to carry the coffins indoors – you must do this yourselves; if anyone else attempts to pick them up, they'll realise that they are too heavy to be empty."
"It'll be daylight, and there should be no vampires on patrol. Alexander and I will be able to hear those around us; if these are mere hunters, we should be able to make it from room to room, quietly killing those stationed."
"You make it sound like an easy task son," Jensen forces a laugh. "Is it alright if we help ourselves to a couple of beers whilst you two do all the dirty work for us?"
I force a smile. The hunter is not satisfied with his part in the hunt.
"The cell in which Ronnie is imprisoned is made out of silver; we will be unable to get her out. You must therefore keep whoever has let you in or whoever is with you entertained for as long as possible – this will give us enough time to kill those in the house, find Ronnie and then get back to you. Together, we will kill the remaining hunters, and only then will you free Ronnie."
I glance around the table. Four helpless and doomed men stare back at me.
"I don't know Eric," Kyle states. "This plan has too many loopholes. What if they check the coffins? What if the sun gets to you before you get to Ronnie? Jesus, what if there are vampires around?"
Kyle is right. The plan is straightforward, but so many things could go wrong. I shudder at the thought of not seeing Ronnie again, of being executed, alongside Alexander, or Ronnie's father, or Kyle or Jared, before I am able to rescue her.
"It's the best plan we have. I'm sorry."
"And to think, that my daughter has found herself in this mess because she met you." Jensen's words are clear; they cut like a knife.
"I understand that that's how you see it," I look at him.
"Had she never met you that day, we would have gone on with our lives."
"No, you should thank Eric," Alexander exclaims, standing up. "Ronnie would have found herself in this mess sooner or later. You should be grateful that Eric got to her first."
"Alexander, that's enough!"
But it's too late.
"No," Jensen blurts out. "What do you mean when you say that Ronnie would have found herself in this mess sooner or later?"
I glare at Alexander and damn him for speaking.
"The truth is," I begin, and I remember how deeply this conversation had hurt Ronnie. "The truth is that my maker took an interest in Ronnie at a very young age."
"What?" Jensen exclaims.
"He was like a father to me. We were very close for the majority of my existence, however, in the last two hundred or three hundred years I moved away. I grew tired of the irresponsible life he led. He also cultivated an obsession with Healers; of course, I hadn't seen one in around five hundred years, and I'd started to believe that they were no more. He was however fixated with finding one. After I moved away from him, our communication ceased; he never told me about Ronnie."
"I believe that the man that killed your wife, Ronnie's mother was sent by him. He probably would have killed you too that same night, and taken Ronnie with him to my maker."
Jensen's face falls for the second time this night. Jared pats him on the back, but nothing can help him now. Jensen's silence is even more piercing than Ronnie's screams when she had found out.
"And here I thought my dear wife's life had been avenged. Well then," Jensen manages, "maybe when those bastards are dead tomorrow, I'll finally be able to move on with my life."
"Yes sir," I add.
"And one more thing; Jared, Kyle and I will go with you tomorrow. But when we rescue Ronnie, and when those after her are dead, she'll come home with me."
"No!" Alexander exhales.
I drop my head onto my palms. I didn't expect this. Jensen had been so understanding, even more so than what I had expected him to be. I should have known there was a catch.
"I understand that you two have this connection, and that you will always have it, but you haven't yet committed your lives to each other. I plead with you now Eric, don't." He pauses, unaware of how to phrase the following. "I never wanted her to lead the life of a hunter. Let her be free of this life. Let her walk among regular humans and lead a regular life; she is still young, she can go to college, she can get a regular job, she can fall in love."
I meet his eyes as he pronounces the last sentence.
She can fall in love. This is a nightmare that plagues me. I know that in the past Ronnie had already felt something for Duke, perhaps even for Kyle; but knowing that Ronnie could feel something for another man in the future – just the mere thought of it brings me painful jealousy.
"Ronnie is stubborn, Jensen. Believe me; I've tried telling her again and again."
"I'll make her listen. You just stick to your side of the deal. If tomorrow goes well, I'll always be grateful to you son," he says, patting me on the shoulder. "But I'm not willing to hand her over to you as a reward. If you truly love her, you will leave her life."
"She's not yours to hand over," Alexander exclaims; he slams his hand on the table, cracking it down the middle.
I ignore him, and instead keep my eyes fixated on Jensen.
"Do we have a deal son?" He offers me his hand.
"Yes, we do sir," and I shake his hand, knowing that I've just given up a future with the woman that I love.
"That is utter bullshit Eric," Alexander follows me as I stand up. "My feelings for Ronnie have not changed, but I am beginning to see how we would have been incompatible in certain ways. For example, if her father had said that to me, I would have had his head on a plate."
I silence Alexander with a look, and I turn to the others in the room although I know that they can't hear us; in fact, as I turn back to them, I realise that Kyle has already left – he's probably been in charge of acquiring the van and the coffins.
"I'm going to try and listen to her thoughts again, maybe this time it'll be a bit easier," I say, as I sit down on a rocking chair in the middle of the living room.
I try to remove myself from the here and now, by eradicating each of my senses. The last thing I touch is the texture of the jeans that I am wearing as I rest my hands on my legs. The last thing I smell is the smoke coming from a cigarette Jared has begun to smoke. The last thing I taste is the flavour of Ronnie's lips that still lingers on mine; a kiss that now seems like a forever ago. The last thing I hear is Alexander telling Jensen that I am trying to communicate with Ronnie. And lastly, the very last thing I see is the clock in the living room ticking.
23:56, 23:57, 23:58, 23:59… midnight.
Today is a day of revenge.
I close my eyes and I am no longer in the room with Alexander, Jensen and Jared. I am in Ronnie's thoughts, and she's afraid.