Chapter 8 (Ada)

"This is as far as the infected can go. They will need to wait for you here," I heard the vamp guide say to Lily. The red head looked at me with hesitation. I calmed her with a nod. There was no use in fighting the vamps now. I trusted her to take care of Tomek. I would take care of me and Francesco.

Yup, him. I glanced at the handsome bandit. He was tense, the bloodsuckers' company weighing heavily on his nerves. Short beard was hiding his tightened lips. I remembered his clean shaven cheeks from when he was working at the first lab. All right, it wasn't the time for such thoughts.

Vamps took us to a small room, that used to be some kind of office, if I was to make a guess. As far as I could tell by the light of a lonely candle, there were two desks and some broken chairs. I sat on one of the tables, keeping my distance from Francesco. I didn't want to deal right now with my stupid desires.

He leaned on the wall in a furthest corner of the room, head down, arms crossed on his chest. His distress was almost palpable.

"Don't worry. It'll be all right," I offered.

He raised his head and looked angrily.

"It's all your fault, so don't tell me not to worry!" he barked.

I couldn't blame him. If it weren't for me taking him with us, he wouldn't have been infected and brought to the vampire court. I sighed.

"I didn't mean for it to end like that," I said.

"Yeah, sure. That's why you put this shit on me," he retorted, pointing to the collar. "You're a fucking mutant and just enjoy ordering me around," he continued. "If you're so good you should have let me go after that first night," he reasoned and frankly, he was right. Mostly.

There was something he didn't know and I wasn't going to tell him. I had visions. Visions of him and his men on the ruins of small villages. Ruins that I saw afterwards for real, with my own eyes. He must have plundered them leaving no one alive. I wasn't going to let such a dangerous man go. But there was something more to the premonitions as well. A sense of purpose. He was somehow vital for saving the world, though I had no idea how.

Ah, who was I kidding. All those nice reasons are only to make me feel better. Truth is I want him, from the moment I first saw him in the lab. And yes, having power over him makes me want him even more.

"I couldn't leave you for the monsters to eat, could I?" I said. "And I couldn't let you shoot me in the back either," I added. "And then things just happened," I finished, feeling this was the most lame excuse I could think of.

I was going to burn with shame, but the doors opened and a vamp came asking us to follow her. Two other bloodsuckers flanked us, as we walked through the corridors and more stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief for not having to continue this conversation. Francesco on the other hand walked stiffly, overwhelmed by the proximity of vampires. I positioned myself between him and the vamps, shielding him as best as I could. This was the least I could do after getting him into his worst nightmare.

Soon we met with Lily and Tomek. It was good to see they were all right, although the boy looked seriously spooked. I wasn't too worried – our small escort consisting of three bloodsuckers was a clear proof of how much they underestimated me. That was a good sign – in case of something going wrong it should be easier for us to escape.

When we arrived at the lab something felt really off. Our guide left with a bow and a malicious smirk, that made me wonder if this was some kind of trap. Tomek, no longer hiding his excitement called out to his sister. She appeared right beside him in a blink of an eye – this wasn't normal. Lily was the first to understand the situation.

"Doctor Affelt, he's not a snack. It's your brother, Tomek," she said, holding the fledgling vampire by the hand.

Doctor hissed, showing her fangs. I pulled Tomek back from the bloodthirsty monster. This wasn't good. Lily managed to take the vamp away from her brother, further into the lab. They were having a conversation, with the red head catching back the attention of her interlocutor every few minutes.

After a while Lily came back to us.

"There's going to be a problem," she stated the obvious. "Doc was turned a month ago, cause she had a brain tumor and would die anyway," she explained. "The thing is she's currently learning to control her thirst. For a new vampire it's really hard. From what I've seen it may take her from a few months to a few years to master it enough to concentrate on her research again."

Tomek looked like he was going to cry any moment.

I was going to suggest a retreat when Lily said, "There might be a way. But you won't like it."

I already didn't like the sound of it, but I asked anyway, "What do you mean? We're not exactly in a position to be picky."

The vamp pointed at Tomek, "His blood could satiate her for long enough to gather her thoughts and do some research. Probably. I can't guarantee this will work."

"Damned bloodsuckers, always wanting more," Francesco spat in disgust.

I looked to Tomek. Of course he was eager to try – he'd do anything to help his sister. I sighed. Lily procured a big syringe and a sterile needle from somewhere in the lab.

When I wanted to take it from her, she protested, "I'll do it. I have medical training." That surprised me a little.

"You want a bite for yourself, leech. Figures." Francesco just couldn't keep quiet. I think this was his way of dealing with stress. I could silence him, but that seemed cruel.

Lily took Tomek's arm, rolled up his sleeve and deftly struck the needle in his vein. He grimaced but held still. With the syringe full of his blood, the vamp went to his sister, motioning us to wait. From afar I saw Milena down the whole content of the medical device in one gulp. This looked like a girl drinking her first shot of vodka for a first time.

Two vamps discussed something for a while and then finally approached us. In Milena's glowing eyes there was no trace of madness we saw just a few minutes ago. Apart from her paleness, now a bit more rosy, and the light bulb irises, she seemed almost human. I hoped the effect would last long enough to get some help from her.

Tomek ran to his sister and locked her in a worm embrace. She embraced him back and they stayed like that for a long minute. When they finally separated tears were glimmering in the lad's eyes.

"We don't have much time for the family reunions, I'm afraid," Lily stated unceremoniously.

"I don't know how long your moment of clarity is going to last doctor Affelt, and we need your help," I cut right to the point.

Milena seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Anything for my little brother," she said, cuddling Tomek like a small child. It was obvious they missed each other. "What can I do for you?", she asked.

In as few words as possible I described her the situation, diligently answering all the questions she had. When I finished she went silent for a few minutes, visibly considering the possibilities.

"I'd like to test your blood," she said to me at the long last. "And yours," she turned to Tomek. "With the machines, not taste," she added apologetically.

"Of course," I agreed, pretending not to notice her embarrassment.

Lily brought two fresh syringes, considerably smaller than the previous one, and took the samples. While we waited for the results Milena questioned me for the details of my parasite – I responded the best I could, trying to remember all the details from the first lab.

The doctor wasn't there when the Iris scientists were trying to find the cure for the worm. She left before the outbreak. The rumor has it, she caught her husband, also a researcher, cheating on her with one of the patients, that were in the lab for experimental treatment for the drug-resistant epilepsy. Thinking about it, it might have been him that got the worm outside the lab.

Finally she studied something on a small monitor and made some notes. She searched the cabinets for some time and took out a few bottles with different colored fluids.

"I can prepare a suppressor for the parasite. It won't kill it, but it will put it to sleep. Not indefinitely, but I think it should last for a few months," she explained. "I will use Tomek's blood to do it. It has special properties, but..." she stopped to think on how to formulate her thoughts. "It's not strong enough. I think that's because he's only half wizard. The proper royal blood would probably be able to eradicate the worm for good," she finished with a sigh.

"It looks like we need to find your father, Tomek," I said, surprising everyone. We could then use his blood to get rid of the parasite. Maybe with time and proper equipment we could even learn how to synthesize the cure," I continued.

"He went missing twenty years ago. How do you propose we find the bastard," Tomek snapped.

"Don't talk ill of your father," Milena surprised all of us. "I think he loved you and left you, not to get the attention of vampires to you. I didn't understand it then, but I saw him hold you when you were little and crying. He must have realized you were a wizard, at least in part, and that he couldn't stay with you, for your own good."

The lad went pale, but he stayed silent. The news must have hit him hard.

"We don't need to find this particular wizard I think. We just need a wizard," Milena said, getting Tomek's attention in another direction.

"Which is easier said than done. The vampires have been looking for them for half a century at least. The cabal disappeared when we hunted them down almost to extinction," Lily retorted. "But, we didn't have the help of humans then," she mused, almost to herself. "The cabal was using the help of werewolves – they were their muscle I guess. If we could find a mutt willing to help us, maybe we could find the wand wielders," the vamp explained.

I was about to say that didn't help much, when Tomek said timidly, "My friends are wolves. They have been infected, but with the cure Milena can get us, maybe they would help us. If they're still alive, that is."

That was a long shot, but it was worth trying, We didn't have too many options.

Lily took more of Tomek's blood for the doctor to work on the parasite suppressant. The boy was getting weak, but he tried his best to hold up. While we sat and waited for the medicine to get done, I watched Francesco. He stood in the corner of the room and seemed to relax a bit. I couldn't see his face, but there was enough light to reveal his shapely legs and muscular chest. I had to force myself not to daydream about touching that masculine body.

"I have four doses", doctor's voice tore me out of my reverie.

"We only need three I think," I said.

Milena looked at me surprised. "You and Francesco can get it now, and there are two wolves we need to get on our side. That's four", she counted.

"I cannot use the medicine. The parasite is the source of my heightened abilities. We'll need all the force we can get if we are to find the cabal," I responded. She didn't argue.

Lily took a syringe with the medicine and approached Francesco. I saw him flinch when the vampire got too close.

I intercepted the red head and took the syringe from her, "I know how to do an injection."

She didn't protest. The man rolled up his sleeve reluctantly, letting me give him the medicine. This would buy him a few months before he'd start changing. Hopefully by that time we'd have the proper cure.

With the rest of the medicine syringes packed securely in a small box in my backpack it was the time we ditched the Bloody Court. Lily took Tomek and went to the Queen to announce that we could get nothing from the vampire doctor and we were returning with the news to the matriarch.

Milena went deeper into the lab and I was left alone with Francesco. With his parasite asleep my worm saw him as a potential prey. The lust flooded me like a tsunami. I didn't control myself, not really. I stood up and closed in on the handsome bandit. He watched me mistrustfully, like a hare watching a fox. He tried to back off and hit the wall. I was right beside him, my palms firmly planted on his broad chest. My heart was racing as I inhaled his reach smell, reminding me of pines, sun wormed earth and coming rain.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked angrily, trying to push me away.

I was far stronger than him, so he stayed pinned under the wall.

"Get away from me, bitch!" he cried, his moves becoming desperate.

"Don't fight me, Francesco. I'll be good to you," I cooed, but it was an order anyway and the slave collar did its job. The man went motionless.

I looked into his deep, dark eyes, only to see hate and despair. This didn't stop me from kissing him fervently. My right hand caressed his cheek, while the left fumbled with his belt. I felt him shudder.

I was about to finally get to his private parts, when Lily's voice snapped me out of this lustful haze, "We don't have time for this now huntress. You can have your fun with him when we get the hell away from here."

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