“I’m sure your mother believed that, and yet here I am.”
“But how can this be?” Eric asked, scared.
He had every right to be scared, hybrids were known to be far more superior and stronger than any other supernatural creature, or that’s what it was believed. They were legends, folk tales and this was, most likely, the first case of one existing. How old was Darius then? Hybrids aged differently to other creatures, but no one knew why.
Most guessed it was due to their vampire genes mixing with that of a witch. I looked back down at the letter, reading the last line, who was his mother? How could he be real? And, who had magic powerful enough to create a life between two creatures?
“I could go into the details of how I was made, but I believe you already know how that works.” Darius spoke sarcastically and took another sip of his drink. “Read on Hayley, there is more to the story.”
“Read it out loud please Hay, I need to understand how this can even be.” Eric stood in the doorway, his fight or flight mode clearly arguing with itself.
“I met Darius when I was about sixteen at the manor," I started to read. "His mother and I had become great friends by this point, and although I knew her secret and didn’t fully understand it, I sympathised with her plea to keep her relationship hidden from the higher ups. If they had found out, she would have been executed for breaking one of our most sacred laws.” I paused, letting the words sink in.
“Serena was one of the most powerful witches of our class, and when she told me she was pregnant and knew how to keep the pregnancy viable I wasn’t surprised. She hid in the witch labs when she started to show, and I am still surprised to this day how she kept it hidden so well from everyone else.”
Taking a breath before continuing, I looked at Darius who just listened intently.
“Darius was born one late evening during a powerful electric storm. I remember how brave Serena was as I held her hand. She had tricked one of the doctors of the manor to help her, giving him a potion to persuade his help, and then shortly forget once the birth was done.
Her son was so tiny, I was unable to control my emotions and held him tightly to my chest, and Serena begged me to keep him safe, help him, guide him through what will no doubt be a confusing life. She died minutes later, and I lost my best friend while I cradled her baby in my arms.”
Stopping there for a second, looking at Darius who kept his eyes down, his hands clasped in front of him, he looked very much lost in thought and when he felt me looking at him, his blue eyes quickly looked up at me and for a moment I was lost in those pools.
“Your mother died.”
“Yes, and your mother took me in.”
“How can that be though? Why is there no record of you ever being here? This makes no sense.”
“After your parents died, I had to destroy any trace of me as instructed by your mother and go into hiding.”
My head began to spin as it was starting to sound like I didn’t know my mother at all. This wasn’t the woman who brought me up.
She would drill into me night and day that vampires weren’t and could never be trusted, they were demons that walked this earth, and it was our job as a Van Helsing to rid this world of them. And yet, she helped bring one into this world and clearly took care of it, as if it were her own child.
“This all seems very far-fetched, and I don’t fully understand," Eric said "Mrs Van Helsing hated vampires with a passion, why would she help someone give birth to one? A hybrid in fact.”
“I am not privy to the ins and outs of what happened that night, and I obviously had a very different relationship to the one you had with Hayley’s mother.”
“How long did she keep you hidden away? How? How old are you then?”
My hands were shaking as I set the letter down, unsure if I wanted to continue reading and finding out any more information about my mother or whoever she was back then.
“You look pale, you should sit.”
Within seconds Darius was behind me as I felt my feet give way as he caught me in his arms, lifting me up and then taking me over to the sofa across the room, Eric followed quickly behind him. Darius placed a hand on my forehead clearly checking me over and I batted it away. I didn’t faint and I didn’t get overwhelmed, or did I? Is that what just happened?
“I’m fine.” I said breathlessly as I tried to sit up but was pushed gently back down.
“Eric, could you get Hayley some water please?”
“Of course.”
“Darius, I don’t need a knight in shining armour.”
“I know you don’t, you’ve told me many times, but I fear all this information may have been too much, and I don’t wish for any harm to come to you.”
Rolling my eyes as Eric brought over the glass of water, and I took a few sips. I wasn’t used to being any sort of damsel as I normally did the rescuing of people and yet here, I was, with two men looking after me and trying to do their best for me.