Felix froze, the phone still pressed to his ear. His mind screamed don't go, every rational thought clawing at him. But hope, that dangerous, desperate spark, drowned out the warning.
After two years, someone was finally saying the words he had begged the world to give him, I know where your brother is.
He stood, shaking, and crossed to the small drawer by his desk. Inside was a handgun, old, but well-kept, and a pepper spray canister. His fingers hovered over them before he grabbed both.
"Just in case," he whispered to himself.
Then he scrolled through his call log and pressed the first number.
It rang once. Twice.
"Hey, Felix," Ezra's voice came through, calm and familiar. "What's---"
"Officer Volkov," Felix interrupted, his voice trembling, "I… I need your help. Someone just called me. They said they know where Jude is. They told me to meet them in the middle of the forest."
There was silence on the line.
"Felix," Ezra said slowly, "listen to me. Don't go there alone."
Felix's hand tightened around the phone. His reflection in the window looked pale and hollow. "I can't ignore this. If there's even a chance he's alive, I have to go."
Ezra exhaled sharply on the other end, already grabbing his keys. "Stay inside. I'm coming to get you."
"Listen, Felix… don't leave your house. I'm nearby, I'll be there in a few minutes."
"I don't have time. I'm going first."
"It's not safe--"
The line went dead.
Ezra's frustrated voice faded into static as Felix pocketed his phone, heart pounding in his chest. The cold air bit at his skin as he stepped out, flashlight trembling in his grip. Every instinct told him not to go, but the thought of Jude, his lost brother, waiting somewhere in that darkness was enough to drown every rational thought.
The mountain loomed ahead, black against the bleeding horizon. The climb was brutal, roots catching his shoes, stones sliding under his steps, the air thinning with every breath. His legs burned, but he didn't stop until he reached the ridge.
The forest up here was deathly still. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then, something, someone, rushed past him.
A blur of motion.
Too fast. Too silent.
Felix froze, his pulse roaring in his ears. "W-who's there?" he called, voice breaking. The echo came back hollow. He turned in circles, gripping his flashlight tighter, the beam shaking wildly across the trees.
A whisper brushed against his right ear, soft, chilling, intimate.
"You're here… finally."
Felix spun around. The darkness seemed thicker now, pressing in from all sides. His breath came out uneven as his eyes darted across the emptiness.
"Where's Jude?" His voice cracked. "Who are you? How do you know my brother?"
A low chuckle vibrated through the air, and then Damon stepped forward, pale skin, eyes glinting like embers, a smile that was both cruel and fascinated.
"Tsk… I thought you'd remember. It's a pity, really, but fascinating, too." His gaze dragged over Felix's trembling form. "So fragile. So different. I've always wanted to see you like this vulnerable… submissive."
Felix's confusion twisted into anger and fear. "Who the hell are you!?"
Damon's grin widened as he closed the distance between them, voice dropping to a chilling whisper.
"I'm the one who killed you last time. Your old, caring friend… Damon Barthory. And now, finally, I get to taste you as a human."
Before Felix could react, Damon's hand shot out, gripping his chin. His fangs lengthened, glinting in the faint moonlight. Felix's body stiffened; he couldn't move. Panic seized him as the vampire inhaled deeply near his neck, savoring his scent like wine.
Damon's lips parted , and then, suddenly, a violent shove sent him flying backward.
"Felix! RUN!"
Felix's heart leapt at the sound of the familiar voice. He stumbled up, adrenaline surging, and bolted down the path, branches whipping his face, roots clawing at his ankles. He didn't look back. He couldn't.
Meanwhile, far deeper in the forest, Rylan Carmine awoke in the dirt, disoriented.
The copper scent of blood hung thick in the air. He groaned, lifting his hand, and froze when he saw it slicked in crimson. His face was wet too, and the metallic tang on his tongue made his fangs ache.
"What the hell…" he muttered, touching his cheek. "Whose blood---?"
He hadn't fed. Not even a sip. He remembered trying animal blood, and then blacking out. Vampires didn't lose consciousness easily, yet here he was, drenched in blood he didn't remember spilling.
Something was wrong.
Rylan inhaled sharply, and his eyes widened. A scent. Sweet. Familiar. Impossible.
Footsteps. Rapid. Uneven.
Someone was running, fast, crashing through the underbrush.
"No… not a human, not now," he hissed, forcing himself to move away. His thirst was building, the red hunger clawing at his sanity. He turned to escape, but then, that voice.
A voice he had not heard in centuries.
The same softness. The same tone.
Him.
Before he could process the flood of memories, a body collided into him. They fell hard to the ground, tangled in leaves and panic.
Felix gasped, his hands trembling as he reached out blindly, touching the stranger's chest, his shoulder, to check if he'd hurt him. "Are you okay? I-- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to---"
He stopped mid-sentence as the realization hit him, someone being in this forest, at this hour, made no sense. His breath hitched. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Rylan stared, silent, time seemed to freeze around them. His gaze swept over the boy's face, the curve of his lips, the trembling lashes. Every inch of him was achingly familiar.
After all this time.
"Found you."
Felix jerked back, panic flaring in his chest. "You're with him, aren't you? What do you want from me?!" His voice cracked with desperation. "Where's my brother?! Where is Jude?!"
Rylan blinked, the realization dawning painfully, this human wasn't the same. The fear in his eyes, the confusion… and then, the faint unfocused movement of his pupils.
He couldn't see.
He's blind.
Rylan took a slow step forward. "I'm not with whoever you think I am," he said lowly. "But you've run into trouble, the kind you don't walk away from."
Before Felix could respond, Rylan moved. In a blur of motion, he caught Felix by the waist, pulling him close. The human struggled, thrashing in his grip.
"Let me go! Help! Ezra! Let go of me!" Felix's voice trembled between anger and terror. His fists hit Rylan's chest, but it was like striking stone.
Rylan only smirked faintly, though something inside him twisted painfully. He thought seeing fear on that face again would please him, but it didn't. It hurt.
Then he saw it, Felix's unfocused eyes darting left and right, his hand fumbling for something to hold onto. Confusion flashed through Rylan's mind. He cupped the boy's head, searching his thoughts, and what he found made his stomach drop.
Darkness. Nothing but pitch-black darkness.
His breath caught. Slowly, he released him, voice barely a whisper.
Rylan: "You… can't see, can you?"
Felix stumbled backward, panic rising again. His hand brushed against the rough bark of a tree as he tried to steady himself. Rylan stood frozen, staring at him , and before he could stop it, tears burned down his cheeks. It had been centuries since he'd cried.
He quickly wiped them away, forcing composure into his voice.
"I--I'm not here to hurt you. I'm with Officer Volkov. I was just… trying to pull a prank. A stupid joke."
The lie rolled off his tongue easily, a shield to protect the fragile truth. He'd seen enough in Felix's mind to know he'd called Ezra before coming here.
Felix stopped mid-step, breathing heavily, his body trembling. His chest rose and fell in uneven waves as relief and exhaustion collided inside him. "A prank?" he hissed, his voice cracking. "You call that a prank?!"
Rylan said nothing. His eyes softened as Felix's face contorted with emotion, anger, pain, humiliation.
Felix's next words cut deeper than any blade.
"You think it's funny?" His voice shook, but his anger was raw and real. "I can't see, so you thought you'd scare me? You touched me without my consent, because I wouldn't know? You think it's entertaining to make fun of someone who's disabled?!"
He choked on his own words, tears threatening to spill. "Do you have any idea how that feels?"
Rylan stood frozen, guilt crashing through him like a wave. For the first time in centuries, the predator felt small, ashamed, as he watched the fragile, furious human tremble before him.
And in that moment, he realized, the boy before him wasn't prey.
He was the reason Rylan Carmine still had a heart.
To be continued