[Location: The Salvatore Boarding House – Guest Room] [Time: 2:00 PM – The Day After Transition]
Being a vampire isn't just about the hunger. It's about the noise.
I sat on the edge of the bed in the darkened guest room. The blackout curtains were drawn, but a single, microscopic pinprick of sunlight pierced the fabric. It hit the dust motes dancing in the air. To my new eyes, they looked like boulders floating in zero gravity.
I could hear everything.
I could hear the water moving through the pipes in the walls—a rushing, gurgling sound that felt like a river next to my ear. I could hear a squirrel scratching its claws against the bark of an oak tree fifty yards away. I could hear Stefandownstairs in the parlor, turning the pages of a book. Swish. Crinkle. Pause. Swish.
It was sensory hell.
"Focus," I whispered. My voice sounded amplified, bass-heavy in my own skull.
I closed my eyes. I visualized a mixing board, like in a recording studio. I imagined sliding the faders down.
Channel 1 (Pipes): Mute. Channel 2 (Squirrel): Mute. Channel 3 (Stefan): Lower volume.
The world quieted. Not silent, but manageable.
I opened my eyes.
I needed to move. Staying in this room was making me claustrophobic. And I had a delivery to make tonight at 10:00 PM.
I needed inventory.
I walked to the door and listened. Stefan's heartbeat was steady, slow—about 50 beats per minute. He was calm.
I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
I moved differently now. As a human, I walked with purpose. As a vampire, I moved with economy. I didn't need to exert effort to cross the room; I just intended to be there, and my body arrived. It was like driving a Ferrari in a school zone; I had to tap the brakes constantly to avoid blurring.
I ghosted down the stairs.
Stefan was reading The Great Gatsby again. He didn't look up.
"You're prowling," Stefan said.
"I'm bored," I replied, leaning against the archway. "And I'm hungry. Not for squirrels."
Stefan looked up. "The blood bags are in the cellar fridge. Take one. Just one."
"Generous," I said. "Where's Damon?"
"Out," Stefan said. "He's 'bonding' with Alaric Saltzman. Apparently, your advice stuck. He's trying to charm the information out of him instead of killing him."
"Good strategy," I said. "Less paperwork."
I turned toward the cellar door.
"Adrian," Stefan called out.
I stopped.
"How does it feel?" he asked. He wasn't asking as a mentor; he was asking as a Ripper who struggled every day. He was checking for cracks in my armor.
I looked at him. I could lie. I could say it was scary.
"It feels," I said honestly, "like I finally took the parking brake off."
Stefan's expression darkened. "Be careful. That feeling... it's the addiction talking. It tells you you're a god so you'll feed it."
"I'm not a god, Stefan," I said. "I'm just top of the food chain. There's a difference."
I walked into the kitchen and opened the cellar door.
[Location: The Cellar] [Time: 2:15 PM]
The cellar was cool and smelled of damp earth and iron.
I walked to the industrial fridge Damon kept down here. I opened it.
Rows of blood bags lined the shelves. O-Negative. A-Positive. It was a connoisseur's collection.
I needed one for myself. And I needed five for the trade with Anna.
If I took five bags, Damon would notice. He inventoried his stash.
I grabbed one bag of O-Negative. I pierced it with my fang and drank.
The relief was instant. The dry burn in my throat vanished. The static in my hearing smoothed out. My muscles felt like they were humming with high-voltage current.
I wiped my mouth.
Now for the theft.
I couldn't just steal them. I had to replace them.
I opened my satchel. I pulled out five empty saline bags I had swiped from the hospital supply closet weeks ago (during my "internship" prep). I also pulled out a bottle of red food coloring and a carton of tomato juice I had bought from the pantry upstairs.
It was crude. If Damon tasted it, he'd kill me. But he wouldn't taste it until he opened one. And by then, I'd have my ring.
I mixed the water, tomato juice, and dye in a bucket. It looked... passable. In the dark fridge, it would pass a visual inspection.
I filled the five saline bags. I sealed them.
I placed the fake bags at the back of the bottom shelf.
I took five real blood bags from the front and shoved them into my satchel.
The Swap: Complete.
If Damon grabbed a bag from the front, he'd get real blood. It would take him days to reach the decoys.
I closed the fridge.
I walked back upstairs.
"Got my snack," I called out to Stefan.
"Keep the wrapper," Stefan said. "We burn the evidence."
"Roger that."
I went back to my room.
Now, I just had to wait for the sun to go down.
[Location: Boarding House – Rear Garden] [Time: 10:00 PM]
The night air was crisp. I stood in the shadow of the large oak tree behind the house, staying out of sight of the windows.
I checked the Lapis Lazuli ring in my hand. It was a simple, thick silver band with a square-cut blue stone. I had bought it at a pawn shop for $40. Tonight, it would become priceless.
A rustle in the bushes.
Anna appeared. She was wearing a dark hoodie, blending perfectly with the night.
"You're on time," Anna said. "I like that."
"I'm on a schedule," I said. "Did you bring the contractor?"
Anna stepped aside.
A woman walked out of the woods. She was young, maybe mid-20s, with piercings in her eyebrow and lip. She wore heavy combat boots and looked like she belonged in a mosh pit, not a magical ritual.
"This is Harper," Anna said. (Not the vampire Harper from the tomb; a witch named Harper. A coincidence of names, or maybe a pseudonym). "She's not a Bennett. She doesn't care about the 'balance of nature'. She cares about rent."
Harper looked me up and down. She chewed gum loudly.
"You the baby vamp?" she asked. Her voice was bored.
"I'm the client," I said.
I opened my satchel. I pulled out the five blood bags.
"Payment," I said.
Anna's eyes dilated. She snatched the bags. "Mother will be pleased. Real hospital grade."
"Show me the ring," Harper said, holding out her hand.
I placed the silver ring in her palm.
"Lapis Lazuli," she muttered, inspecting it. "Silver setting. It'll hold."
She dropped the ring into a small stone bowl she pulled from her jacket. She poured a vial of water over it.
"Is that holy water?" I asked.
"Tap water," Harper said. "The water doesn't matter. It's the intent."
She placed her hands over the bowl. She closed her eyes.
She began to chant. It wasn't the Latin the Bennetts used. It sounded older, harsher. A guttural language that vibrated in the air.
Incendia... Sol...
The wind picked up. The leaves around us swirled.
I watched closely.
A small flame erupted in the bowl, hovering over the water. The fire didn't burn the ring; it sank into the stone. The blue lapis glowed bright white for a second, then dimmed back to blue.
The air grew heavy. I felt the magic settle—a distinct, metallic taste in the air.
Harper opened her eyes. She reached into the water (which was now boiling hot, though she didn't flinch) and pulled the ring out.
She tossed it to me.
I caught it. It was hot to the touch.
"Done," Harper said. "Don't take it off in the sun, or you toast. No refunds."
"Pleasure doing business," I said.
Anna put the blood bags in her backpack.
"My mother sends her regards," Anna said. "She's reviewing the map you gave her. She says the memory is foggy, but she recalls a name for the Oregon pack. Tull."
"Tull," I repeated, filing it away.
"We're leaving the farmhouse tonight," Anna added. "Too exposed. We found a place in town. An apartment above the pharmacy."
"Smart," I said. "Hide in the crowd."
"Don't get killed, Adrian," Anna smirked. "You're useful."
They turned and vanished into the woods.
I stood alone in the garden.
I looked at the ring.
I slid it onto my right middle finger. It fit perfectly.
I felt a slight tingle—the magic binding to my skin.
"Test run," I whispered.
I couldn't test it fully until sunrise. But I felt... protected.
I walked back into the house.
[Location: The Salvatore Boarding House – Living Room] [Time: 7:00 AM – The Next Morning]
This was the moment of truth.
The sun was streaming through the sheer curtains of the living room.
Damon was awake, drinking coffee (and bourbon). Stefan was brooding by the fireplace.
I walked down the stairs. I was wearing my normal clothes—jeans, a henley, and my boots. And the ring.
"Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked. "You're grounded, remember? Sun bad."
"I handled it," I said.
I walked toward the patch of sunlight on the rug.
"Adrian, stop!" Stefan shouted, starting to rush forward. "You'll burn!"
I didn't stop.
I stepped into the light.
I braced myself for the pain. For the smoke. For the smell of burning flesh.
Nothing happened.
The sunlight hit my skin. It felt warm. It felt... human.
I stood there, bathed in the golden glow. I looked at my hand. The Lapis Lazuli stone shimmered slightly, but my skin remained pale and unblemished.
Stefan stopped, stunned. "How?"
Damon lowered his mug. He stared at the ring.
"You got a ring," Damon said, his voice flat. "Who? Bonnie wouldn't do it."
"I have other connections," I said, turning to face them. "I told you. I'm an asset."
"Pearl," Stefan realized. "You went to Pearl."
"I traded for it," I said. "Fair and square. No one died. No one got hurt."
"You're making deals with the tomb vampires," Stefan said, shaking his head. "That is a slippery slope, Adrian."
"It's a ladder," I corrected. "And I'm climbing it."
I grabbed my car keys from the table.
"I'm going to school," I said. "I have a Calculus test. And I need to maintain my cover."
"You're going to school?" Damon laughed incredulously. "You're a vampire with the strength of a 500-year-old, and you're worried about Calculus?"
"GPA matters, Damon," I said deadpan. "Colleges look at that stuff."
I walked to the door.
"Try not to eat the cheerleaders," Damon called out.
"No promises," I said.
I walked out the front door.
The sun was bright. The air was fresh.
I walked to my Jeep. I unlocked it.
I caught my reflection in the window.
I looked exactly the same as I did three days ago. But I wasn't.
I was the predator in the herd.
[Location: Mystic Falls High School – Hallway] [Time: 8:30 AM]
High school is a battlefield of pheromones, anxiety, and body spray. For a vampire, it's an assault.
I walked down the hall.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Hundreds of hearts beating out of sync. The smell of blood was everywhere. A girl with a scraped knee. A guy with a nosebleed.
I clenched my jaw. Focus. Filter.
"Adrian!"
I turned. Elena was at her locker. She looked tired.
"Hey," I said. I kept my distance. I didn't want to smell her too closely. She was the Doppelganger. Her blood was potent.
"Stefan said you were sick," Elena said, looking me over. "You look... pale."
"Flu," I lied. "Still recovering. But I couldn't miss the test."
"Have you seen Jeremy?" she asked. "He's been... weird. Obsessive. He's asking Alaric about the journals constantly."
"He's grieving, Elena," I said. "Let him have a hobby."
"It's not a hobby, it's a fixation," she sighed. "And Alaric... I don't trust him."
"Alaric is fine," I said. "Actually, I need to talk to him."
"About what?"
"Extra credit," I lied.
The bell rang.
"I gotta go," I said. "See you later, Elena."
I walked away fast. Being near her was... difficult. Her neck pulsed in my vision.
Control, I told myself. You are not a ripper.
I walked into the History classroom.
Alaric Saltzman was at his desk.
I walked up to him.
"Mr. Saltzman."
Alaric looked up. He froze.
He saw the ring on my finger. He recognized the stone.
"Adrian," Alaric said slowly. "That's a new piece of jewelry."
"It's a family heirloom," I said, mirroring his lie from a few days ago.
Alaric stared at me. He looked at the ring. Then he looked at my eyes.
He knew.
He reached into his bag. His hand drifted toward a stake gun he kept hidden there.
"Don't," I whispered.
I leaned in.
"I'm on your side, Ric," I said softly. "I'm still the guy who warned you about Damon. I'm still the guy helping Jeremy."
"You're one of them," Alaric hissed.
"I am," I admitted. "But I'm the one who wants to keep this town standing. Put the crossbow away."
Alaric hesitated. He looked at the class filling up behind me. He couldn't make a scene.
He took his hand out of the bag. Empty.
"Take your seat, Mr. Cross," Alaric said stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
I sat down.
I looked at my hand. The silver ring glinted in the fluorescent light.
I had successfully infiltrated the human world as a monster.
Now, I had to find the Device.
Because John Gilbert was coming to town. And when he arrived, he would turn that device on.
I pulled out my notebook.
Objective: 1. Locate the Gilbert Device (Is it with Pearl? Or did Anna give it to Damon?) 2. Neutralize John Gilbert.
The salaryman opened a new spreadsheet in his mind.
[End of Chapter 24]