The door opened, and Alexander heard the elder ask for Randal Thornton. Seconds later, they were ushered inside.
Alexander kept a firm grip on the hilt of his sword as they stepped into the kitchen.
“Randal, this is…” the elder began, then stopped when Randal gasped. “I guess there’s no need for introductions.”
“What is he doing here?” Randal asked, staring at Alexander with the same hateful expression he had been met with lately. Everyone seemed to hate him.
“I’m looking for your sons.”
“Why?” Randal asked defensively, perhaps too defensively.
“I think you know why,” Alexander said. “Where are they? I’m here to help.”
“We don’t need your help,” Randal snapped. “Please leave.” He turned to the elder. “I can’t believe you brought him here, Mason.”
“I had no choice,” Mason said.
“And you also don’t have a choice, Randal. I’ll tear this house down to find them,” Alexander said. “Choose wisely.”
Randal cursed under his breath, then turned and walked out of the kitchen toward the stairs. He opened a hidden door just off the stairwell and descended.
Alexander’s fingers flexed around the hilt of his sword, the hairs on arms standing on end as he followed. Something was down there. He could feel it. Greer seemed to sense it too, moving closer with his sword slightly raised.
The lighting was low, casting the space in an eerie shadow. Alexander paused at the bottom step as his eyes landed on the vampire chained to the wall.
The vampire snarled as if he could tell they were there.
Fuck.
He had suspected they might be infected, but he had hoped he was wrong.
Fuck… fuck…
Greer gasped as black veins rippled beneath the vampire’s skin. He turned to look at Alexander, and Alexander knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Where are the others?” Alexander asked. There should have been four of them chained to the wall, not one.
Randal wrung his hands. “They… escaped. And we can’t find them. Before they disappeared, they attacked a human family down the block. They killed everyone in the house. We managed to cover it up, but we need to find them before they hurt anyone else.”
“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me, Randal?” Mason snapped.
“I was handling it.”
“You can’t cover something like this up.”
“Why not? This is actually your fault. When they came back from your damn club they were like this. They barely made it into the house before they went crazy.” Randal lunged at Mason. “What did you do to them?”
“Enough,” Alexander shouted, then took a slow, calming breath. “A war with the demons is starting soon. We don’t have time to fight each other.” He turned to Randal. “I’m sorry about your sons. I’ll do everything in my power to help them.”
“How?” Randal asked, close to tears. “Do you know what happened to them?”
“Yes,” Alexander said. “And it’s very important that we find them. The fate of the world depends on it.”
Randal and Mason looked at each other, fear clear in both their expressions.
“Is the war with the demons really starting again?” Mason asked.
“Yes,” Alexander said simply. “And we might already be too late.”