Settling down in the seat at the head of the table, I cupped my hands around my drink allowing it to warm my hands a little while I gathered my thoughts.
“There was nothing unusual this evening then, other than the extra quiet? Are you both sure you didn’t see anything?”
“Honestly, Hayley, once most of the recruits had settled for the night, I headed to the library. Molly was in the labs, and Eric had left for the patrol. Heck! Even Sophia had gone to bed early.”
“And don’t you think that’s unusual? Sophia is normally the last to go to bed.”
“Well, she and I had a few too many vodkas at dinner so I’d imagine she was a little tipsy and needed to rest her head.” Jackson said as he took the seat next to me, while Eric sat on the edge of the cot bed.
“Sophia would never harm any of the recruits here or the staff, Hayley. Even if you don’t trust her or like the woman, she helps keep this place running and protected when you’re not here.” Eric’s voice was a little harsh. He was annoyed by my questioning.
He was right though, as much as Sophia was a bitch and a thorn in my side, she would never want any harm to come to the manor or its occupants, but nevertheless, it gave me food for thought. I couldn’t find any real evidence when we went into the house once the fire had stopped.
“Perhaps, we should just all settle in for the night. Hayley, trying not to sound mean, but girl, you look like you’ve gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, and didn’t exactly come out of it on the winning side.” Jackson stood up then and headed towards the exit, looking at Eric as if to follow.
“Oh, and Eric, you need to go back on patrol, make sure we really are okay and safe.”
“That’s alright, I will do it," I said. "I want to see if I can spot any clues and it will clear my head, but I promise, I will get some rest.”
Eric almost looked relieved as I agreed to do the first patrol and I knew he would take over eventually when I came to find him. Both of them left me, then I drank the remainder of my drink and wandered out towards the edge of the property to start my rounds, keeping an eye on everything around me.
7
By the time the moon was high in the sky, I realised I had done several full sweeps of the grounds and found absolutely nothing. The frustration and anger grew more inside me with each step. Never in the time my parents were captains, rulers of the clan and family, had we ever been attacked, not in the entire Van Helsing history.
In less than three years of me stepping up into this role, we got attacked, and half the house was burnt down. I felt useless and totally out of my depth, but I knew I had to suck it up and push down these emotions of failure and just get on with it. I had people counting on me.
“You know, you could get attacked out here, all by yourself."
That voice, the voice of someone who I dearly wanted to punch square in the face and take my anger out on. Darius, my stalker now more than ever, and slowly but surely becoming a pain in my ass, stared at me.
If I wasn’t so intrigued by him, I would have beaten him to the point he was too scared to ever come back. His blue eyes were the first thing I saw in the darkness, and they almost glowed with the moonlight. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
“You know, I could kill you where you stand for trespassing.”
“If that were the case, Miss Helsing, you would have already done that, but it seems you’ve already had your fair share of fights tonight. Judging by the state of your home here, I’d also say you are at your wits end, and might be ready to hit the hay.”
“You act like you already know me and in this case you don’t.” I stepped forward bringing up my dagger and clearly showing I wasn’t in the mood to play this evening, “I suggest you get lost before I call on the rest of my guards to remove you. Forcefully.”
“Hey, I am only here to help.”
“Help by fucking off then.”
He laughed and stepped more into the moonlight with a smile beaming across his face. He was clearly enjoying this taunting and annoying me. It must have been some form of bait and I wasn’t going to take it. I already dealt with it earlier this evening and I just didn’t have the patience anymore, I was tired and aching.
His black hair was left in loose waves around his face, framing it beautifully as his creamy skin glowed in the dark. Rolling my eyes and moving to walk past him, he pulled out his hand and grabbed me by the forearm. I brought my blade up quickly to his neck, not looking to play around, and once again, he laughed.
“You really are the touchy sort, aren’t you? So easy to provoke,” he paused, looking at my lips and then licking his own, and I felt my breath catch suddenly. “If only you knew how much I enjoy these moments together.”
“You’re a creep, and if I wasn’t already so done with today, I’d cut you down right where you stand.”
“See? So easy to bait, it’s refreshing.”
“I suggest you remove your arm before I break it.”
My blade didn’t move an inch from his throat until he let go of me and stepped back holding his hands up in surrender. I wondered then how he even got here, were our protective spells still down? No, that couldn’t have been it as Jackson and Molly worked together to put them back up.
Was he already here when the fire started? Had he been the one to cause it? No, I didn’t get that feeling from him. He may have been frustrated, but I didn’t think he would just set a house on fire for the sake of it. Or would he? I didn’t really know him, only his own name, and my judgement may have become a little impaired the last few meetings.