06. She's Gone.
I stared at Mercy's letter for a while, unable to believe what I was reading. She said I was incapable of love because I was a vampire? Though I had to admit I do quite enjoy killing, that does not make me unable to love. ' But to be fair, I've never loved, so I cannot say I know for a fact what that feels like, but I imagine it is what I experience when I see Mercy.'
I snarled and punched the wall, then growled as I pulled my hand out of the rubble, sighing before walking out of the apartment and back to my car.
Once I sat back in my car, I pulled out the note again, still disbelieving what I'd just read. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to kill her or respected her for what she said.
I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard my phone ringing. I groaned and answered it without checking the caller ID, "What?" I asked with a growl.
"Are you done playing with the human? You have got a visitor waiting in your office, and he will not leave without seeing you first." William said, his mocking smile evident even through the phone.
"Don't trifle with me, William. I am not above sending you back to the grave from whence I saved you. Or have you forgotten who gave you this life that you now live?" I snarled to him, as I was not in the mood to hear his shit.
William remained silent for a few minutes, seemingly thinking about what I just said, and what his response would be to it before he spoke. "What happened, Alaric?" He finally asked me, all mocking gone from his tone. The only thing I could hear in his voice was the worry. Genuine worry.
"She left," I said, trying to understand the ache I felt in the pit of my stomach as I said it out loud, but I didn't understand it. The aching was there prior, but it wasn't until I said it out loud that I felt it, in my core. Like saying it aloud cemented it, as if I'd imagined it.
"What do you mean, she left?" He asked me incredulously. I could hear him standing and walking down to his car as he spoke, then slamming the car door to come to where I was.
I sighed and ended the call, knowing he'd be here in a few minutes. The drive was only six miles, and William never drove under 100mph, so there was no point in remaining on the phone with him. Sure enough, William was pulling up behind me only minutes later. I got out of the car and leaned against the driverside door, handing him the note she'd left me.
As he read the note, I watched the expressions on his face changed from worried to pissed, and then landed on confused as he read over it again. "Mercy says you kill brutally, without issue?" He mumbled, then his eyes closed as he sighed and held the note out for me to take it. "She knows you killed her boss and the waitress."
"How would she know that? She didn't know what I was until yesterday when she saw us."
"Whom else in her life had a reason to kill her boss, and the next day to kill the waitress that hurt her?" He asked me as he lit a cigarette and offered one to me, which I took and lit. "Alaric, she didn't know it was you until she found out what you were. The puzzle pieces fit best when you know what the finished picture looks like."
'Damn it, he's right. But why is he suddenly okay with my feelings towards Mercy? He threatened to leave my side if I remained partial to her. So what has caused this sudden change of heart?' I thought as I looked at the man standing next to me, hesitantly as I wasn't sure what game he was playing.
"I'm playing at nothing, Sir. The things I said to you regarding the girl were uneducated, and I believed they were going to be short-lived. When you told me that she left, I heard the tone of your voice. Though you may not realize how you feel about her yet, it's quite evident to me." William said with a sigh, seeing the way I was looking at him.
"It matters naught how I feel about her, for she's gone," I responded as I looked at her apartment building, wondering where she would have gone.
"We will find her, rest assured, Sir," William said, bowing deeply to me before getting back in his car to leave. "Please remember your visitor is still waiting in your office for you, however."
I got back into my car and drove back to the office, where Vladimir was sitting in my chair, his feet propped up on my desk. When I saw this, I snarled at him before sitting down in my seat, motioning for him to sit across from me. 'What in the hell does this repugnant scum want now?'
"Why are you here, Vlad?" I asked him, not attempting to hide the disdain in my eyes when I looked at him.
"I heard something, Alaric." He responded in a sing-song voice; his dirt brown eyes narrowed as he waited for me to ask what it was, as Vlad so loved to do.
"What is it, Vlad? I've no time to tend to your childish need for attention."
"I heard of a certain little human, with the eyes of a recreant, and the attention of a certain vampire elder." He said as he leaned forward, waiting to see what my reaction would be.
'Do not rip this man in half, Alaric.'
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Vladimir."
"Oh? Allow me to jog your memory, then. About 5'3, petite frame, long hazelnut hair that smells of coconuts, the cutest little nose I ever did see, bright golden eyes like a recreant, and this annoying yet charming habit of apologizing every three seconds? Still, no idea whom I'm referring to?"
"What did you do, Vladimir?" I snarled as I stood and grabbed the man by his collar, pulling him close, so his face was only inches from mine. 'This scum better not have hurt her!'
"I didn't hurt her, Alaric, so calm down." He said with an annoyed tone as he pulled himself out of my grasp and straightened his collar. "I did, however, kidnap the girl, as the humans would say."
"What do you want?" I forced out between gritted teeth, trying to calm my mind as it went through hundreds of scenarios as to the things Vlad would do to her. The list of things Vlad wouldn't do was much shorter. The knowledge of that came as no assistance to me, however, as he had Mercy.
"I want what I have always wanted, Alaric. I want a seat at the table." He said, his eyes flashing red as he leaned forward, waiting for what I would say.
'This man is as mad as a recreant! I've told him for hundreds of years that I couldn't give him a seat at the table. Or rather, I wouldn't.'
"How do I know you truly have her, then? And how did you come to take her?"
"So you didn't notice? Wow, you are losing your sense, Alaric. That nearly makes me want to give up the pursuit to sit at your table if they are all as dull as you are." Vlad said as he leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes at me as if he was trying to gauge my thoughts.
"What did I not notice, Vladimir?" I growled as I pulled out my phone and sent a message to William, telling him what was going on.
"That girl you copulated with was not Mercy." He said with a scoff like he couldn't believe I didn't know.
When I heard this, I whipped my eyes up from my phone to meet his, trying to find any flicker of a joke in his eyes, but I found none. 'He's being serious? How is that possible? No, it couldn't be. Then again, Mercy did seem quite different yesterday than she was before. I assumed that was due to the situation I'd put her in but is it possible? No, it's not possible. I tasted her blood. I inhaled her scent. But was it her scent? I was so surprised when I saw her standing at the door; I didn't give it a second thought. Oh, my god. That wasn't Mercy!'
"Who was it, then?" I finally asked him, confused by the way I felt when I realized he was right, and it wasn't Mercy. Did I feel relieved? Why did this relieve me? 'Because you didn't shatter the girls' innocence in the way you believed you did. Though she probably knows about vampires now, she didn't learn it from you or William. That would mean she will come back, and you can work your way into her heart, from scratch. No, she knows you're a vampire. How would she have written that note if she didn't, then?' When I thought about the message Mercy left, I pulled out the forms Mercy brought me prior and compared her handwriting to the note she'd left, and the writing was different. Mercy didn't write this.
"Does it matter who it was, Alaric? Don't act as if you care about that dumb blood-bag. But the way you acted with her told me that Mercy was someone worth taking note of, to get to you." Vlad said, leaning back in his chair as he smiled in self appeasement.
"You've failed to answer me when I asked you how you came to get her." I reminded him, using every ounce of willpower I had not to lunge over the desk at the man and wring his throat.
"I saw it when you gave her a ride home, a few weeks ago, so I began following her around. So I started watching her, to mimic the way she talked, the way she walked, and her general disposition. When they released her from the hospital, I took her on a detour. I'd suggest not killing me, and rather giving me what I want, Alaric. Without me there to care for little Mercy, you can imagine what will happen, yes?"
"You trash dwelling scum! Where is she?" William screamed at Vlad as he came into the office, grabbing Vlad and slamming him into the wall.
"Alaric, care to call your dog off?" Vlad asked casually, looking at William with a sheepish grin.
"William, release him. He's holding Mercy until I give him what he wants." I said, motioning for him to release Vlad, though I'd much rather prefer to kill the man.
"And what would that be?" William asked as he reluctantly released Vlad, growling lowly as he smiled and sat back down.
"A seat at the table, of course," Vlad responded, smiling broadly.
"The table is full, Vladimir, we cannot give you a seat before it's empty!" Willaim exclaimed as he stood behind me, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms.
"I've heard of lieutenants taking a lieutenant. So my place is solidified before it's my turn to sit at the table. I'm not an unreasonable man."
"You are asking me to make you my lieutenant? Outrageous!"
"I am not asking, Willy. I'm telling you. A seat at the table or I kill the girl. Your choice."
William looked at me, asking for help, but I shook my head. "It is your lieutenant. I have no say in this. It is solely up to you, William."
"I will agree to nothing until we see her, and at that time, we will shake on the agreement and trade it for the girl," William said with a sigh. I could tell he was struggling to stop himself from wringing Vlad's neck just as hard as I was.
"I will make the trade, but if you two try anything... I have my contingencies in place. We can meet at the end of the pier, three hours from now. Be alone." Vlad said as he stood and glared at William and me for a few moments, before turning to leave.
"Are we going to do as he asked?" William asked me as he looked out the window to down below, where Vlad was walking to his vehicle.
"Yes, we cannot chance to doubt his honesty with that matter. William, thank you for doing this, though I'm not quite sure why you did it."
"You reminded me earlier why I serve you, Alaric. You are the reason I'm not rotting six feet beneath the ground. That is quite literally the least I can do for you, Sir. I now know how you feel about the human, and I respect your right to feel that way." William said as he bowed softly to me before walking towards the door. "We need to ready ourselves. I refuse to believe that man is going to be alone."
"Sir, it's time," William said, knocking on the door to my office, as if I hadn't been standing here pacing for the last three hours, counting down the seconds until I could get Mercy back.
"Did you gather the men?" I asked him as I grabbed my jacket and began jogging down the stairs. I couldn't stand still and wait for an elevator. I needed to be moving.
"Yes, they have their orders, they are stationed there, waiting," William said as he jogged down the stairs next to me.
"Very well, then," I responded with a nod as we arrived downstairs and ran into a group of women who were waiting outside the door, trying to gather my attention. The only thing worse than the women being there was the parking lot full of reporters here, interrogating me about the share of Jog Co. I was purchasing.
Now, if these women and reporters would have moved out of my way when they saw I was in a rush, I would have ignored them. But instead, they blocked me, putting their filthy hands on me. These women did not understand that their awe-inspiring lack of fabric covering their bodies; did not attract me. I only found one human attractive, and that was Mercy. And these women were blocking me from seeing Mercy. I could tell that I was only seconds away from losing my control and killing within reach, but I didn't care as Mercy was the only thing on my mind.
"Alaric, you walk past this every morning, you can do it now. You cannot do anything to expose us in front of all of these cameras." William said as he took my arm and began plowing through the crowd, leading me through the flock; and to my car as quickly as he could.
Once we were seated in my car, he drove to the pier as quickly as he could, trying to make sure we could get there before Vlad did. But as we arrived, I found we were too late. Vlad was standing there at the edge of the parking lot, with a car parked behind him, waiting.
"So you're finally here, I was starting to think you'd backed out of our deal, Alaric. I told Mercy I might have to kill her; Oh, you should have seen how big those golden eyes of hers got. But don't worry. I didn't touch her. I figured you wouldn't keep up your end of the deal if you realized I was giving you a used up human. Though, if it was her in the elevator, then I suppose you would have already been buying damaged goods." Vlad mocked as we parked the car and stood before him, waiting.
'Do not attack him, Alaric. You'll need to let Mercy get far away before you shed any blood. Just make sure she is safe, and you can rip that smug smile off of his face.' I told my self as I listened to him rant on and on for what seemed like an eternity before he finally went to the car and pulled Mercy out of the back seat.
Mercy had both her hands and her feet bound and a piece of duct tape over her mouth. Her beautiful hair was a mess, her cheeks tear-stained, and her big beautiful golden eyes were sunken from crying. When she saw William and me, I saw the light in her eyes brighten in what only could have been a flicker of hope.
"Alright, Vladimir, hand her over," William said, extending his hand.
"Take her, but before you have those men hiding in the shadows surrounding us attack me, you should know I have her mother as well," he said as he reached into the backseat and produced and older woman, bound as well. She was about 5'8 with long hazelnut hair resembling Mercy's, with bright blue eyes, who couldn't have been more than thirty-five. "Mommy will go free when I know I'm safe," Vlad said, his lips peeling back into a distorted smile.
"Stay here, Mercy," I said after carrying her to the car, ripping the duct tape off of her hands and feet, before returning to William and Vlad.
William waited until he heard the car door shut before holding out his hand to Vlad, refraining himself from growling. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Vlad, I accept you as my lieutenant, where, upon my ascension, you will serve alongside me, until my demise, where you will take my place at the table of elders, who are right hand only to the vampire king's lieutenant himself."
"Elder?" Vlad asked after shaking William's hand, then holding it out to me.
"I accept the appointment from my lieutenant and recognize that you are the second of my second," I said, then shook his hand as quickly as I could before going back to my car. As soon as I sat in the car, I turned to look at Mercy, making sure she was alright, before starting the car to take her far away.
"Alaric, what?" She gasped out as she turned to look in the rearview mirror, looking back at Vlad and William, who watched us drive away. "Mr. Vincent, he has my mom!" She gasped out, her wide golden eyes, watery with tears as she begged me to turn around.
"Relax, Mercy. She will be safe." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder to calm her down as we sped towards my house.
"No! You need to turn around, right now!" She cried out, swatting my hand away frantically.
"Mercy, I cannot. I need to make sure you are safe first!" I exclaimed as I wrapped my hand her arm and yanked her down, forcing her to sit down.
"Alaric, you're hurting me!" She whimpered out as she tried to pull my hand off of her arm, making me realize her arm was turning purple from my grip.
"I apologize, Mercy. But that man is not someone you need to spend any more time around."