Chapter Twenty-Four (Julian)

Adam was stressing big time.

I could tell because he wasn't talking as much. He was thinking really hard, chewing his bottom lip as we sat in the lobby. Peter and Kipp had come back from their visit with Walter with no success. Hunter just sat in a seat across the room from us like he was afraid he'd catch something by being near us, picking at his fingernails with a knife.

Peter couldn't sleep and was bouncing his knee nervously, staring into his can of soda while Kipp sat next to him, fast asleep with his head on the arm rest of his sofa. Adam just sat beside me, body stiff and tight. I don't think I'd ever seen him so wound up after a round of sex. He usually fell asleep, but he refused to sleep.

It was unnerving. He was thinking so hard and everyone was putting so much on him. I felt guilty for making him pay attention to me. He didn't have time to worry about me and my petty problems, no matter how much those petty problems clawed at me. Adam had his own problems.

Two in the morning and still no one could sleep, except Kipp. I understood that, though. He'd flipped out hard core over Seth and even over Walter, much to my surprise. Don't get me wrong, Walter was one of us, but he was still new and it was still hard to forgive him for years of childhood destruction, but it still hurt to know he was in there and he could die at any moment.

I sighed wearily and leaned on Adam. He rested his head against mine, but his mind was still somewhere else. I took his hand in mine and stroked his knuckles in hopes of calming him down, but it didn't work. We sat there for another few hours until a strange feeling settled over me. I frowned, looking up through the glass of the hospital, almost expecting another attack from Zephyra, only to be shocked when I saw Newell and Xed walking in.

Newell looked way better than he did last time he showed up. Last time he looked like a ragamuffin with long, unkept hair and dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Now he looked cleaner with a tight black turtleneck on under a long beige trench coat, black dress pants, and boots. His hair had been just lightly trimmed, his blue eyes as razor sharp as usual.

Xed looked as threatening as usual, tall and muscular with bright blue hair, olive skin, mismatched brown and green eyes with a dark beauty mark in the far corner of his eye. He wore a loose leather jacket, with no shirt on underneath, and matching pants that led to a pair of knee-high buckled boots.

Yeah, they were quite the pair.

Adam and Hunter saw them next and got up as Xed opened the door and held it for Newell to come in first.

"I would say it's nice to see you again," Newell said, then paused to scan us over with the kind of look rich people gave gutter rats before he cleared his throat, "But it's really not. I'd rather be spooning a cactus."

"Ouch," Hunter commented with a raised brow, "What's got your panties in a bunch?" Newell shot him a dry stare.

"Not being able to afford any," He responded, to which Hunter gave him a weird look before Newell looked at Adam and I, "You're missing a few of your Little Rascals. Should I ask?" Adam frowned, folding his arms over his chest and taking on an expression that said he wasn't amused with Newell's termnology.

"Seth and Daimonas was taken by Zephyra. We found their headquarters just on the other side of town." He informed. Newell gave pause at that, then cocked his head.

"Interesting. And why would they take Seth if he's just a human?" He asked. Adam hesitated at that, glancing at Hunter, who shrugged.

"Tell him now or he'll throw a bitch fit later." He told Adam, who frowned at that. Newell's frowned deepened as he gave us a sharp, calculating stare. Adam sighed reluctantly and told Newell about the extra demons we had managed to get our hands on. He went from there up until now, omitting the fact that Jack had taken my fangs. I wasn't sure I wanted to reveal that anyone just yet either, so I remained silent about that, watching Newell's expression darken the more we tried to explain the situation.

I had a feeling he was gonna go off on one of his infamous temper tantrums about how we were stupid imbeciles that can't do anything right and shouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Much to my relief, and surprise, Newell was silent once Adam had finished.

"So there are more?" He asked at last. Adam nodded.

"Four. One of them jumped into Seth, according to Daimonas, but we don't know anything about him. Just that it's Daimonas' brother and he had enough power to heal Seth from a car crash that should've killed him. Zephyra probably took him so they could do the same experiments they did to Daimonas, and maybe even try to extract the demon. So we can't screw around for very long. We have to do something by tomorrow afternoon. The building they're using is scheduled to be demolitioned soon and no doubt Zephyra is gonna take off before that to avoid getting caught." He explained, to which Newell nodded in agreement.

"That makes sense. And you said your other human is in a coma?" Newell asked. Adam nodded, grimacing inwardly as he glanced at Peter and I before looking at Newell.

"And we need him. Walter is a really good person to have around during this sort of thing... So I was wondering if you could turn him." He stated.

Peter choked at that and Hunter dropped his knife to the floor, looking stunned for once. My jaw dropped for a split second before I snapped it shut to just give Adam a wide-eyed stare.

Turn him?! What the heck?! Why didn't he even ask me about this? I mean, yeah, I suggested it, but I figured he wouldn't take my suggestion seriously. He was actually thinking about turning Walter, and even worse, he was asking Newell to turn him! Newell C. Drakon. While the guy did help us out from time to time, he was still Newell, the world's greatest midget criminal with shit for attitude.

And what about Walter? He wasn't even awake to make his own decisions! What if he didn't want to turn? What if he wanted to die like this?

"Y-You're joking," Peter stammered, looking at Adam in horror, "You can't let him turn Walter!"

"I don't like your tone." Newell deadpanned. Hunter scoffed and looked at Adam, eyes flaring sharply with anger.

"As much as I hate to agree with him, Peter's right. You ain't lettin' no one sink their fangs into another human. We have enough of you leeches runnin' around, we don't need anymore. Let Walter heal himself like humans were meant to do, or die the way he was supposed to. Quit fuckin' with mother nature." He snapped, making Adam glare at him.

"We don't have time to really focus on one person's beliefs. This is the best plan for everyone. We need Walter to help us. And I don't want Walter to die anyway. It's the only choice I can think of on such short notice. We don't have time to bicker about personal beliefs or morals. This is war." He returned, making Hunter's jaw tic with rage.

Meanwhile, I noticed that Newell had remained silent. He hadn't agreed or disagreed to Adam's plan. He had a calm, bored expression on his face as he watched Adam and Hunter argue back and forth. Before he realized I was looking at him and his eyes flickered, locking on me. I went still as we stared at each other.

And then I knew that Newell knew.

He only had to look at me for a minute and he already knew about my fangs.

"I'm sorry," He said suddenly, making Adam and Hunter stop argue to scowl at him in confusion, but Newell kept his attention on me, his expression grim, "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy and it's a pity that it should happen to someone so young." I felt a lump form in my throat at his apology.

Newell didn't apologize. It wasn't his thing. In fact, Newell didn't seem to have any other emotions, except rage and hate. Had he gotten softer since we last met? Or did he sympathize? I wasn't sure, but I accepted his apology with a quick nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. Newell looked away from me to frown sternly at Adam.

"Do you even know how the process of turning someone works?" He asked. Adam nodded.

"I'm well aware of what's going to happen." He responded. Newell scoffed.

"Then find someone else to have sex with him. I wouldn't touch a male halfblood with a ten foot pole." He said, making Adam roll his eyes in irritation. I frowned at that as Hunter seemed to lean back, pleased with Newell's response.

"I'd ask Lysander to do it," Adam admitted dryly, "But you're here first and we need to move quickly. Newell, I need you to turn Walter. If you do that, we'll be ready to take on Zephyra." Newell scoffed at that, shoving his hands into the pocket of his tiny trenchcoat.

"While I admit having another halfblood might be helpful, it still doesn't make you invincible. You're going to need more than a handful of cocky humans, bratty halfbloods, two disabled purebloods, and a merman." He responded, making Adam frown.

"And who else do you recommend we call?" He asked flatly. Newell frowned.

"Vladimir." He answered instantly. I felt my stomach shrink at that. I didn't want to get Vladimir involved in this again, not that he would do it anyway. Vladimir wanted Daimonas dead. And once he found out there were more demons, he'd want to kill them too. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted Seth dead too when he found out Seth was hosting one of the things. Having Vladimir around would just make things more complicated and exhausting, but at the same time, he was strong enough to take care of the headquarters by himself. That would give the rest of us time to get in and save the others.

And my stomach only clenched further because I knew he'd bring Alexander and I still hadn't forgiven him. He abandoned all of us when we needed him, and because of that, mom was dead.

Thinking about it again made my chest hurt and I wanted to curl up into a ball, but there was still no time to grieve. I wouldn't take the time to truly hurt over it until after Zephyra was gone.

"Vladimir won't help us," Adam answered, much to my relief, "At least, not without having his own agenda."

"And what makes you think I don't have my own agenda as well?" Newell asked. Adam stared at him for the longest time without saying anything before speaking.

"Because you don't."

"How do you know that?"

"Just a feeling."

"Oh, well," Newell said sarcastically, "That's enough reason for me. But no, really, you can't go bumbling into this. While you're making a good call in turning your human friend, you're not by rushing in there with hopes that you'll win. That's not how battles work in a war like this. You need to plan, you need to gather all the able-bodied soldiers you know, and then attack. And if you have Vladimir, you will win. As much as I hate to toot his horn, which I don't recommend you do. His ego is inflated enough. Next thing you know, he'll be calling himself God."

"I'd rather worship Satan than a vampire." Hunter deadpanned.

"Nobody cares about your religious point of view." Peter snapped. Hunter scowled at him.

"Boy, keep your mouth shut." He returned. Peter glared at him, but said nothing more. Newell ignored their argument to look at Adam.

"And I repeat what I said before. Once I bite Walter, he'll want to rip into someone as soon as possible. There's a difference between the lust after a bite and the lust after a turn. And he'll be in a frenzy. So if any of you want to offer up your back entrances, go ahead, but until then, I'm not doing it." He stated, making Adam sigh in frustration before he hesitated. I frowned, watching his brow furrow in thought before he looked at Peter, who was glaring at Hunter.

"What about you?" He asked out right. My cheeks flushed at his blunt statement and Peter blinked, snapping out of his staring contest with Hunter when his brother burst out laughing.

"Excuse me?" Peter asked, his cheeks reddening. Hunter continued to laugh and even had to sit down. Adam shot him a dirty look, then looked back at Peter sternly.

"You like Walter. I know you do. The way you two have been acting since we left our town. You guys have been really close. You can't stand there and tell me you don't feel anything for him." He said, to which Peter swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably.

"W-Well, yeah, maybe I do like him, maybe I don't, but... But there's no way I'm doing it with a vampire." He managed. Adam glared.

"You're going to let Walter die because you don't want to have sex with him if he becomes a vampire?" He demanded impatiently. Peter's face flushed with rage now as he clenched his fists.

"I don't expect a bloodsucker like you to understand! I watched my parents get torn to shreds by you sons of bitches, so excuuuse me if I don't wanna get plowed by any of you!" He snarled, then stormed right out of the room with Xed holding the door open for him politely before he went back to staring at us emotionlessly. Newell raised an eyebrow, looking at Hunter, who finally sobered from his laughter.

"You're not helping." He stated. Hunter snorted at that, standing up again as he wiped a tear from his eye with a thumb and put his hands on his hips.

"I ain't here to help ya'll with your homosexuality. And just so you know, I don't approve of Peter wanting it up the ass, especially with a vampire. It's like he says. It's kind of hard to get it up for something you watched open your parents' throats and drink their blood." He told us, making me grimace. But that wasn't us, I wanted to say. That was someone else, someone Vladimir sent after his parents because they threatened our existence. Vladimir would have probably done the same thing to Peter and Hunter if Hunter wasn't A) such a good hunter, and B) a good friend of Newell's, whether they would admit it or not.

But I wasn't seeing an end to this argument and right now, I had a feeling Peter wanted to vent to someone who listen and considering I was mute until further notice, I nudged Adam in the shoulder and gestured out the door with my head to indicate I was going to find Peter. Adam nodded to me, surprising me when he brought me close and kissed me firmly on the forehead before he went back to spitting insults at Hunter, who gladly threw them right back into his face.

Newell and Xed were just standing there, staring at them both like they were obnoxious toddlers at a daycare center. And somehow, Kipp managed to sleep through all of this without waking up. He must have really been tired.

I left the room, nodding my thanks to Xed, who opened the door for me. I stepped out into the hallway, looking left and right until I saw Peter standing at the vending machine. As I approached, I could practically feel the anger radiating off him in waves. I hesitated when he slammed his fist into the vending machine, because apparently it wouldn't cough up his M&Ms. I glanced down the hallway where a couple of police officers were staring at us intently, waiting for Peter to fuck up. I cleared my throat, getting Peter's attention. He snapped his head to glare at me until he saw the cops, then grudgingly quit beating up the vending machine.

"This isn't fair," Peter said after a while, glaring at the M&Ms as if it were their fault, "I don't want Walter to be like you. I mean, no offense, you're all right for a vampire, but I don't want Walter to be one of you. Because... because..."

"You like him." I blurted, then pursed my lips when Peter looked at me. I didn't say anything as Peter studied me for a moment, then looked away, his expression wilting like a dying flower and it made my chest tighten in sympathy.

"It's wrong," He confessed, then lazily waved a hand at me in dismissal, "I mean, don't get me wrong, you and your boyfriend. It's okay for you, but not for me. Hunter and I are the only ones left in our family and because Hunter's a psychopathic monster hunter, nobody wants to spend more than a night with him, that means he's dropping the job of making our family bigger on me. I'm supposed to find a girlfriend and make more little hunters that are supposed to run around, sleep around, kill everything. That's the only reason Hunter protects me." I frowned at that and Peter caught my expression before looking away.

"Yeah, I know," He sighed miserably, "He's my brother, he should love me, but I really don't think he does. I think he can. Ever since... uhm, our parents... He hasn't been the same. He used to smile for real and he used to have relationships, but he's not like that anymore. Now he just copies someone else and uses that personality until he gets bored of it and jumps to another one. I dunno, and now this whole thing with Walter... I really do like Walter. I do. And I don't want him to..."

Peter stopped and he hid his face by running his fingertips over his brow before holding his head down, pinching the bridge of his nose. I just waited quietly for him to recover before he sniffed and looked up, his eyes red, but the tears never once falling.

"I don't want him to die too, but I don't want him to become the thing I'm most afraid of either. I'm not saying that the only reason I like him is because he's a human. That's not true. I just don't want to be scared of him every time he gets near me. Jeez, people would think he abuses me, and I don't think he'd do that." He managed. I nodded in understanding as he took another moment to collect himself before he recovered.

"And I don't even think Walter likes me back like that. The only thing he talks about whenever we do get to talk is about how he's waiting for Death to hurry up and come get him. I mean, what kind of life is that? Why is he so broken? And I hate that all I want to do is fix him." Peter sniffed, wiping at his eye harshly. I cocked my head, studying his face.

"Walter's not toy," I told him, making him glance up as I struggled to talk without that annoying lisp, now understanding how Daimonas felt, "He can't be fixed... People like Walter can't be fixed, Peter, because they're not objects. They're people. I think Walter just wants someone to look at him and not see a pitiful pathetic shell of his former self. He wants to be worshipped. He wants someone to depend on him, because he's that type of person." Peter's face fell as he looked away. We were silent for a while and Peter leaned on the vending machine, causing his M&Ms to fall. Peter blinked, but it still didn't make him happy as he stooped to grab his candy.

"What about you? Adam seems like the type to enjoys power. The way he's automatically in charge and people listen to him. Well, most people." He added, scrunching his nose before he tore open the bag and popped a candy in his mouth. I shrugged.

"Because that's all he's ever had over his life and everything in it. He was a latchkey kid. He came home alone, spent the day alone, tucked himself into bed, fed himself, bathed himself. He grew so used to doing things on his own in his own way that when his parents actually did come home, he couldn't stand them because they didn't do things his way or the way he was used to things. And Adam was always stronger and bigger and he always seemed to know what to do." I explained, then hesitated as Peter lowered a candy from his mouth with a bitter expression of understanding.

"Hunter did that to me too," He answered quietly, "When I was little, after we got away from our uncle, Hunter would lock me in a hotel room and not let me out. He didn't teach me how to cook or how to turn on the faucets or anything. He was too busy killing things and sleeping around with weird women, mostly biker girls. I remember one time I went to go find him because I was scared after watching some scary movie on TV. When I finally got to him, I found him at a biker bar."

"That sounds scary." I admitted. Peter shrugged, biting an M&M in half before smiling faintly in remembrance.

"Actually, the bikers were nicer to me than the hotel staff was. They bought me dinner and taught me how to play pool and poker. Hunter was super pissed when he found out, though," He murmured, "That's when he started to lock the door on his way out so I couldn't leave the room. He wouldn't let the maid in either and he told me to clean up the room each time before we left. So, I guess I was latchkey kid in a way... But I'm more used to someone being there to tell me what to do."

"Even without someone to tell you?" I asked. Peter shrugged again.

"Hunter told me what to do, sort of. He'd yell at me not to shuffle my feet because it annoyed him or to used cheats to watch free porn in the hotel room."

"Jeez, he taught a kid how to do that?"

"Hunter wouldn't be a very good father," Peter admitted, "He's not sympathetic or compassionate. He just picks up one things he likes when he meets someone and just sort of uses their personality to cover up the one he lost the night our parents died. Maybe you could call it post traumatic stress disorder or insanity or whatever. In fact, he's done a lot of things that should probably make me hate him, but he's still my brother and he's the only family I have left. If I didn't have Hunter, I wouldn't have anyone else. So, if I choose Walter, Hunter's gonna leave. He'll hate me forever. If I choose Hunter, I'd lose Walter, and I like Walter. A lot." I frowned.

"I don't think Hunter would hate you if you really liked Walter." I pointed out, but Peter laughed bitterly at that, clenching the empty wrapper of M&Ms in his hand.

"Yes, he would. If there's anything Hunter's good at, it's hating everyone." With that, Peter tossed the wrapper and went back to the lobby. I sighed, watching him leave.

I felt sorry for him. I only slightly understood his situation, because Alexander didn't like Adam at all and I knew that, but I still went after Adam anyway. A sudden pang of guilt hit me when I realized that even though I was with Adam, Alexander still learned to accept it. He knew how much I loved Adam, and he still didn't leave me.

But he left you in Detroit.

But why? He never told me.

There's no excuse for him to be away from us! Mom is DEAD because he wasn't there to help!

I reached up to clench my fist over my heart. It felt like it was physically breaking. It stole my breath away and I shook my head quickly. I didn't want to think about it anymore. This wasn't the time for it anyway. We had to focus on saving Seth, Daimonas, and Walter. They were the only ones that mattered right now.

I walked back into the lobby. Adam and Hunter were still at odds while Newell had decided to take a seat, his arm resting on the arm rest of his chair, hand under his chin as he watched Adam and Hunter with a bored expression. Xed sat beside him, completely stoic. Kipp had woken up and was rubbing his eye, grimacing in irritation. Peter just glared at them, his arms folded over his chest.

"This is stupid," He was saying angrily, "This is kind of my decision, isn't it? Just because you're the self-proclaimed dictator of your minions doesn't mean I have to do what you say."

"So you'd let Walter die." Adam concluded. Peter blushed angrily, clenching his fists.

"Of course not! But I won't let him turn into a bloodsucking bastard!" He snapped, to which Adam rolled his eyes in aggravation. Hunter scoffed, shaking his head and rubbing his temple as if he couldn't believe we were arguing.

"Just let God do his work," Hunter told Adam firmly, "I ain't lettin' you turn him, because then he'll automatically be on my hit list and I already kinda like the brat. Not to mention, he is so not putting hands on my kin."

"Don't talk about me like I'm a product," Peter snapped at him now, making Hunter throw his hands up in exasperation, giving Adam an accusing stare for Peter's sudden disobedience, "I'll have sex with whoever I wanna have sex with!"

"But he's a dude."

"Who cares?! You have sex with random women you meet at rest stops!"

"At least they're women!"

"At least Walter doesn't hold the risk of contracting AIDS!"

"He's gay!"

"We don't even know if he's gay, dumbass! And if he becomes a halfblood, it won't matter because vampires can't pass around diseases, you arrogant son of a bitch!" Peter shouted angrily, to which Hunter laughed out loud, then shot Peter a murderous glare that actually made me stiffen in wonder. Hunter wouldn't actually kill his own brother, would he? The look on his face said otherwise.

"So you're saying you don't care if he becomes one of them? You don't care if he goes around killing innocent people like they're nothing, but cattle? And, Newt," Hunter snapped before Newell could even open his mouth, "Say one word in this and I swear to the good Lord above..." Newell held his hands up in defense, but seemed completely amused with the argument, despite the high tension in the air.

"I'm not saying--"

"You are," Hunter interrupted Peter sharply, "You think you can date one of them? It's bad enough he's a man, but a vampire? Are you forgetting what happened the night they killed our parents? Or do I need to go into detail about how they came in and ripped ma's throat open and her head fell in your lap--"

"Stop," Peter screamed, covering his ears, "Stop! Shut up! I swear to God, I'll kill you if you keep talking!" I winced and Adam glared daggers at Hunter, who raked Peter with a repugnant sneer that twisted his handsome features into something almost devilish.

"Yeah, right," Hunter spat in disgust, "You couldn't kill me even if you tried. You've never been able to kill anything. I've had to save your ass so many times I've lost count! You talk about killing vampires to get revenge on ma and da, but you're too much of a fucking coward to do anything. So why don't you go right on ahead and let that salaud fuck you, fils de putain! See if I give a shit!" After that, everything faded into French for a moment before Hunter stormed out of the lobby room, slamming the door shut so hard behind him that the door actually rattled and the window panes creaked.

I looked at Peter, who stood there stiffly staring after Hunter. No one got a chance to say anything to him before he fled the room. I stared after them, totally stunned.

Holy shit. I'd never seen Hunter so pissed before. I couldn't even quite pinpoint what had made him so angry. Was it the fact that Peter liked Walter and they were both guys or because one was about to become a halfblood? Or was it something deeper that I didn't understand?

"All right," Newell said after an incredibly long, awkward silence, "Now that the siblings are gone, we can discuss things like adults." I frowned and Adam scowled, turning to look at Newell.

"It's kind of difficult when we need Peter for when we turn Walter." He responded. Newell nodded as he stood up, brushing his coat off. The way he moved and spoke, you could definitely tell he was an aristocrat. There was an air of royalty that clung to him.

"Yes," He agreed, "But Peter will come on his own. Just give him an hour or two before he comes running back in here to tell us he's ready. For now, we should contact Vladimir and Alexander. Vladimir will bring Claude and Kristophe as well as Mark and Storm. That should be just enough for us to swarm the Zephyra building, but, of course, I'll need you to do a little research on the building. It's like running into a mouse trap without knowing how a mouse trap works." Adam frowned, then looked at me as I grimaced.

"Do we have to call Vladimir?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Newell cast me a droll stare, his arms folded over his chest.

"No, let's just send in what we have and hope for the best. That should work just fine-- Like it did last time, am I right?" He asked. My stomach shrank at that and I remained silent, because I knew he was right and it ate away at me. Newell looked at Adam, who frowned.

"Xed and I will use one of the computers here to look up the building. Hunter gave me the address, so I should be able to find it from there. In the mean time, you three can get a hold of Vladimir and assemble teams. I recommend not letting more than three people per. Except Xed and I. We work alone." He explained.

"What about Hunter?" Adam asked dryly. Newell snorted.

"I would never work with that incompetent human. He's far too wild for my tastes. In case you're forgetting, I'm Newell C. Drakon. I don't play with commoners," He answered, making Adam and I roll our eyes as he made for the door with Xed at his heels, before he paused to look back at us, "Now do your jobs and we might just be able to put Zephyra into check." As soon as they were gone, Kipp got to his feet, frowning at us.

"So, is that the plan?" He asked. Adam and I shared uneasy looks before nodding.

"That's the plan." Adam answered, then led both of us out of the lobby and to the front desk where we asked to use their phone, pretending that we were going to contact some of Walter's family. We got into a room by ourselves with Kipp watching the door as Adam dialed the number for Vladimir's manor. There was a really long series of rings before someone finally answered and it sounded like Kristophe.

"Hello, Gothica Manor. Kristophe speaking."

"Kristophe, it's Adam. Patch me through to Vladimir right now. It's an emergency."

"Hm? Well, he's in a bit of a meeting right now--"

"Julian's dying." Adam deadpanned. Kristophe gave a long pause before there was the sound of Mozart music playing while the call was being patched through. I glared at Adam, who shrugged.

"I figured he'd only talk to me if I said something like that. Don't worry, I'll clarify it." He responded, making me roll my eyes and shake my head. Alexander was gonna kill him. It didn't take long before Vladimir had the phone.

"What's this about who dying?" Vladimir asked calmly. I scowled. Wow, thanks, jerk off.

"Tell him I heard that." Vladimir told Adam, who raised an eyebrow. I blushed, but said nothing as Adam cleared his throat.

"Listen, we need your help as soon as possible right now, no if, ands, or buts." Adam told him sternly, making Vladimir hum from the other line.

"Wow, you're so demanding," Vladimir commented, "But I don't think you really want my help. Not after the way you treated me so rudely when you left the other day."

"Yeah, well, we feel real bad about it, so to apologize, we're giving you Zephyra served up on a platter, done anyway you want." Adam responded. There was a short silence before Vladimir chuckled from the other line. I could imagine him spinning in a black leather chair and petting a cat for some reason, which made Vladimir's chuckle turn into a laugh.

"I'm not particularly a cat person," Vladimir told me, making me grimace, before he spoke to Adam, "And you sound awfully sure of yourself. I'm not sure if that concerns me or excites me. What's the situation?" Adam glanced at me, then relayed the current situation to Vladimir for the longest time. Kipp kept glancing at us nervously every so often before Adam finished and Vladimir sighed.

"Well, it does sound like you're in quite a pickle, hm? Oh, who was it that warned you guys you're getting in over your head?" He asked. Adam twitched, but just barely managed to keep his cool.

"This isn't the time. You can do the in-your-face-dance later. Right now we have someone dying and two others who've been kidnapped. I need you. And Alexander and whoever else you can gather to come here and help us." He ordered. Another long pause that made me wonder if Vladimir had simply hung up before he spoke.

"Since you rarely ask for help and I feel that this is going to be a rare opportunity to crush your dignity into an early grave, I will assist. We'll be there in the morning around eight. Which hospital was it again?" I sighed in relief as Adam talked to Vladimir a bit longer before he hung up and Kipp looked at him hopefully.

"Well?" He asked. Adam leaned back on the table, running a hand through his hair before looking at Kipp.

"The cavalry's on its way."