6Chapter 14. Trust
The driver opened the door for Alison and her husband. They got out and were escorted to the front doors. They were greeted by Elizabeth but not long after the mansion's doors were open, Stray climbed down the stairs in a hurry with his escorts following from behind.
"Follow me." He said to the couple. He didn't have a very happy face. He led the couple to a room on the main floor. There was no one else in the room but them. Stray closed the door behind him and looked attentively at the couple. He showed them the two chairs that had been placed in the middle of the room in a sign he wanted them to sit down.
"Would you mind telling me what the hell happened out there?" He frowned at Alison.
"We got there and the enemy surrounded us. Things turned bad and we were forced to pull out." Alison explained. Stray covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head in disappointment. He let go of his eyes and lowered his hand to his mouth. He looked at the couple attentively.
"Cuff them to the chairs." He ordered his escorts.
"What?" One of them asked in disbelief.
"I said cuff them to the chairs." Stray repeated. His escorts nodded and tied the couple's arms behind the chairs. When it was done he ordered them to leave the room. They were confused.
"I said LEAVE US!" He barked.
"Yes my lord." One of them said timidly and followed his colleague out of the door.
"What is this about Stray?" Alison asked in concern.
"Don't play dumb with me Alison. You're a very smart vampire. But how am I supposed to believe anything you say after what you just did." Stray said.
"What are you talking about?" Alison asked.
"It was a damn set up is what I'm saying. And you know it; you just don't want to tell me. So why is it that only you and your husband, however convenient that is, survived this attack without any visible injuries?" Stray asked annoyed.
"We got lucky." Alison said plainly. Stray started pacing around and shaking his head in disappointment.
"Tell me, how am I supposed to lead this Coven if no one trusts me at all. And you of all people Alison! I was friends with your parents and when they died I did as you asked and provided you with everything I had to give! How can you do this to me?" Stray was upset. Alison didn't answer.
"Why do you betray me like this?" Stray asked.
"I'm not betraying you Stray." Alison said honestly.
"Then why can't you just tell me what really happened?" Stray asked.
"We were set up. I don't know by who or why but it happened." Alison said.
"Why didn't you want to tell me this before?" Stray asked in disapproval.
"I needed to be certain you weren't the one who set us up. It was your operation after all and it was rather convenient that you organized it behind my back only to throw me on the spot at the last minute." Alison explained.
"I see. And what made you believe I wasn't the one who set you up?" Stray asked defensively.
"I don't." Alison shook her head.
"If you trusted me, then maybe I would trust you, but look at the facts; you and your husband both escaped and you stood at the scene waiting for us to pick you up. So tell me, where were the rebels in all of this? Why didn't they finish what they started and take you hostage? They wouldn't simply run away and you certainly didn't kill them all. I've heard the theories and none of them include any possibility of escape from where either of you were." Stray said at the couple.
"We didn't really escape; we just hid away and waited until help arrived. Listen, I can't possibly have anything to do with this! I didn't even know about this operation until I was in the middle of it! I can't possibly have betrayed any information. Why would you even consider it?" Alison said.
"Because you're hiding something. You both are. It doesn't take a genius to figure that much." Stray affirmed.
"Well if you knew it was a set up then why do you bother asking? We both know what happened now let's get to the more important issues. You're telling me you had nothing to do with this mess and I'll accept that for now but I'm not involved in it either. I don't know how many people were informed of this mission but you do. Why don't you let us go and begin an investigation?" Alison proposed.
"This is an investigation." Stray said.
"You're barking up the wrong tree Stray." Alison said.
"Am I? Then why did you never tell me about your husband? Why didn't I hear anything at all about that? He just comes into my house and you integrate him in our system without ever mentioning that he exists. I'm not saying that that part of your life should be any of my business but he's in my house now and you still haven't told me a thing." Stray said.
"Is that what this is about? Are you accusing me of something? Are you accusing him of something?" Alison asked.
"No Alison, this is about trust. I need your trust now more than ever. How can anything be done if my most gifted followers don't even trust me?" Stray asked.
"I trusted you before and I can do it again. We just need to clear this all up first and from this chair, I'm not much help." Alison said honestly.
"Just wait a minute. I'm not quite finished yet. I need some details. Come on Alison; just tell me what you can. I need to know, I really do." Stray said in a soft tone.
Alison looked at her husband carefully. She didn't know what she could or couldn't say. She was very tempted to tell the truth but she feared for her husband. He was in a very delicate position.
"We killed all of them. They wanted me alive and hesitated to kill me. They also underestimated Steve and our connection to each other. They made a mistake and now they're all dead." Alison said plainly.
"How? Your backup was killed before you even arrived. There was only what was left in the convoy… minus the first car. They had you covered from every angle." Stray affirmed.
"Obviously not every." Alison said.
"You were facing impossible odds Alison so don't give me this." Stray pleaded.
"What do you want me to say? I got lucky and I was able to get out. Steve ran away and I tracked his steps to help him out. I was able to backstab most of them and that's why I was able to kill all of them. Steve got a fair share of them too. I didn't see what he was able to do but I can assure you he did us very proud." Alison turned to her lover and smiled.
"You're not very convincing today Alison." Stray observed.
"Well it's true." Alison said defensively.
"You're still hiding something." Stray was quick to respond.
"I promise I'll tell you in time but you don't need to know this right now." Alison said honestly.
"I'm your leader! Why would you decide what I need to know?" Stray was insulted.
"I just can't tell anyone right now. I'm sorry Stray." Alison said sadly.
"At least tell me if it has something to do with what we'll be facing in the future. Tell me if it'll make a big difference or if it's just something your hiding in your past." Stray asked nicely.
"It'll be something. It'll play a big part in our future. But it only just begun and there's nothing that needs to be done about it except to let it take its place in the course of our timeline." Alison explained vaguely.
"How can it not concern me?" Stray was impatient.
"It will concern you but not yet. When you'll be more prepared for it, it will show itself to you. I won't let you down Stray. You must trust my judgment." Alison said. She could see her leader hesitating. He was pacing around the room trying to contemplate what he was being told.
"Alison, you have to believe that I didn't set you up. This has been equally hard for me to accept. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to place you in this much danger. You're very important to me. You're very wise. Find out what happened. Do this for me. I have so many other things to do. I trust you. I hope I'll get the same from you and your husband." Stray said before calling back his escorts in the room and ordering them to remove the cuffs from the couple's wrists. The young woman immediately held Steve's hand the moment she was free.
"I'll do my best my lord." Alison bowed and left with her husband.
Steve was trying his best not to limp but he could feel his leg becoming very weary. Alison took her husband out of sight and paid more attention to him.
"How are you holding up?" She asked.
"I'm getting really hungry. And my leg really isn't happy with me right now." Steve said honestly.
"What about your shoulder?" Alison asked.
"As long as I don't move my arm too much it's fine." Steve reassured her.
"I'd like to get a closer look at it. Maybe we'll get the test results form your blood test. I wonder how long we'll need to be hiding these wounds of yours." Alison said as she stared up and down at her husband's body.
"I'm not ready to let anyone see me like this." Steve whispered into her ear as she was inspecting his shoulder closely.
"I know my love, I know. You've been living a lie and kept so many things from your own parents. I'm sure you'll be able to pull this off." Alison tried to reassure him.
"I don't want to be a hypocrite. I thought being here with you would give me a chance to start over but it seems I'll never be able to open up to anyone." Steve sighed.
"I'm sorry Steve. I didn't realize how important this is for you." Alison said.
"I just wanted to make friends here you know? I didn't think I would need to lie to anyone. We're married now. Everyone knows what I've been hiding for so long and now we have a whole other secret to keep to ourselves." Steve said.
"You don't have to keep it a secret. You can choose to tell people. Just wait until you're ready." Alison said.
"I know. But it's always the beginning of a lie that's hard to endure. The rest will be almost automatic: if I start now, it'll never stop." Steve explained.
"What do you suggest?" Alison was curious.
"I'd rather deny everything than lie… until I'm ready. That way people may expect the truth to come out and it'll be easier for me to tell them." Steve explained.
"Ok. Ok. Sure, you can do that. Whatever makes you feel better my love." Alison nodded.
Alison brought Steve to her room and settled him down on the towel she laid on her mattress. She took his sweater off and inspected his shoulder wound very closely.
"It doesn't look bad. It really doesn't. Just stay here and rest. You'll feel better in no time." Alison reassured him. She let her hand slide softly against his cheek and gave her husband a loving smile.
"What are you going to do in the mean time?" Steve was curious.
"I'll go see if your test results are in. And I'll see what I can find out about this mission we had." Alison said.
"Are you sure you won't need my help?" Steve asked.
"I just need you to heal. Go on; get some rest. I'll come check on you regularly." Alison smiled. Steve nodded and closed his eyes. Alison covered his wound and wrapped the bed sheets around him. She crouched over him and gently sucked his delicious cheek into her mouth. A big smile appeared on her husband's face and she could hear a soft hum resonate in his throat. She giggled at his comfortable state and closed the light. She left the room quietly and proceeded to the offices on the main floor. She entered the room and asked the secretaries if she had any messages. There was just a phone number and a name that was left for her. She took the note and brought it to a quiet office. She picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Hello? May I speak to a Doctor Rosenberg?" Alison asked.
"I'm sorry but our laboratories are close at the moment. Could you call back in the morning?" A woman said.
"If Doctor Rosenberg is there, I need to speak with him or her right away." Alison said.
"Mary Rosenberg is very busy at the moment…" The woman began.
"Just tell her Alison Banks needs to speak with her." Alison said.
"One moment please." The woman said. A moment later:
"This is Doctor Rosenberg. You must be misses Banks. I have some information for you… I'm sorry to tell you this but we haven't been able to reach any conclusion form this sample you gave us." The woman said.
"What? Why not?" Alison asked.
"We simply can't conclude our results. Most of our tests fail to indicate anything of significance. There's nothing we can do." The woman said apologetically.
"I don't understand…" Alison said.
"Misses Banks… All we can come up are theories. I wish we had ways of observing this substance more thoroughly but we simply can't. We can't even observe it through the microscopes! The spectroscopy is off the chart! The substance is simply too dark and thick to allow our tests to reveal anything. All I can say is that from the textures and consistency, this looks like blood. I'm sorry but any further details are simply out of my league." The woman said apologetically.
"I see. I need you to destroy the sample and delete any traces of your experimentation." Alison said.
"Are you certain?" The woman asked.
"Yes. Please do it." Alison confirmed.
"But this substance is fascinating…" The woman said.
"Please, get rid of it." Alison said softly.
"Understood misses Banks. I'm sorry if my results didn't please you." The woman said before hanging up. Alison sighed and left the room. She wasn't expecting much but she had hopped for some understanding of what was happening to her husband. Now she had to find out about the event of this long night. There must have been some witnesses, people who didn't participate in the mission but were aware of it. Like she already knew, Stray was one of them and because he organized it, he must have known everyone that was involved. Now, it was a simple matter of finding the rest of them and analyzing the possibilities. She would thoroughly investigate this and spot any lies or mistakes along the way. She had no choice. Before she would get started, she may as well check on her husband.
The door to her room opened. The lights were kept off. The woman closed the door behind her and walked around the room. She looked in the desks and at the bookshelves for some clues. There was nothing there. It was as though the couple didn't have anything of value in their room. The vampire woman sighed in disappointment and was about to exit the room. She caught something with the corner or her eyes. She froze halfway to the door. She shook her head to make sure her mind wasn't playing games with her and looked at the young man lying in the bed. He was lying on his stomach and the bed sheets were covering most of his back but not all. Not all. His left shoulder was left exposed. The tattoo that covered him could be partly seen. It was nothing this woman had ever expected to see. She knew she should have just exited the room right then and there but her curiosity had the best of her. She approached the young man very quietly and stared at his shoulder very attentively. She could hardly believe anything she saw with her eyes. She thought she was dreaming the whole thing. She had to make sure what she saw was real. She needed to get a closer look. She needed to touch it even; anything but accept that she wasn't crazy. She was breathing deeply to amass enough courage. When she gathered enough of it, she sat down next to the sleeping man and gently pulled down the sheets from his back. She looked at the young man to see if he was going to wake but he just lied still. She looked closely at his back and started touching the tattoo.
"Alison?" Steve asked in a semi-sleep state.
"Go back to sleep." The woman whispered. She heard a slight yawn and the young man was sound asleep. The woman kept an eye on him to see if he was really asleep. She was relieved that he was. He looked rather peaceful. She kept exploring his back, starting from his left shoulder. She let her fingers slide on the dark markings like a dream. He fingers floated on his skin. She was completely amazed but she didn't know if it was good or bad. Like anything that she couldn't explain, she preferred to consider it a bad thing. She was looking at Steve's eyelids, making sure he was asleep, when she suddenly felt her fingers slip into a warm moist hole. She reflexively pulled her hand off of the young man's back and inspected her finger. There were traces of a black substance on it. She explored the fluid by rubbing it with her other fingers. It was nothing she ever saw before. She was a vampire and the thought that it was blood couldn't register in her mind. She let her fingers slip on his tattoo again. This time she was much more careful. She needed to know where her finger had gone. She looked very carefully at what she was doing and repeated what she had done before. She felt a sudden lapse in the man's flesh. There was certainly a part of his skin missing but she couldn't see it. He finger was completely submerged in the warm insides of Alison's husband. Her finger ran deep in his shoulder but she still couldn't see it.
"Ouch. Alison don't do that; it hurts." Steve moaned in pain during his sleep. The woman suddenly got off the bed in shock of what she was witnessing. She finally believed what she was seeing with her eyes. She looked at her finger that was covered in black and now she had to finish what she started. She had to be sure of what was going on. She hesitated and then approached the young man again. She placed both of her hands on his side and rolled him on his back. Steve reflexively cuddled his hands on her arm-flesh, thinking it was his wife. The woman was briefly distracted by this act but she could see the young man was still asleep. She looked at his chest and all of her doubts became a reality. This man was shot. The hole that she could not see on his back was very apparent on the top of his breast. She could see that there was a towel placed underneath him. It was stained in black. She placed her hand on his breast and explored it just one last time. It was very real.
The woman stood up and shook in fear.
"Alison, I'm getting cold. Please, come back to bed." Steve whispered. The woman just turned around and headed towards the door. Before she could reach the doorknob, she could see someone was opening it from the other side. She stepped back reflexively. She shook in fear at who she saw and continued stepping back.
"Elizabeth? What are you doing here?" Alison whispered to the vampire greeter.
"Nothing. I'm going." Elizabeth lied. Alison looked at her exposed husband and then back at the woman.
"What were you doing? This is our private room." Alison was displeased.
"Nothing. Just let me leave." Elizabeth said with fear in her voice. Alison noticed this and immediately inquired about it:
"Elizabeth… What did you do?" Alison said while stepping closer to the woman and the bed.
"I didn't do anything wrong. Please, just let me go." Elizabeth pleaded in fear.
"Calm down. My husband is still sleeping. Please, don't wake him up." Alison whispered to the frightened woman. Elizabeth pointed at the man with her trembling arm:
"That's a demon." The woman said with a crackling voice.
"Elizabeth, what are you saying? That's my husband you're talking about. Will you please lower your voice and talk to me? " Alison whispered.
"He's not human." The frightened woman cried and shook her head.
"Would you please stop crying? Why would you accuse him of something like that? He never did anything to you. Look at him. He's my husband, not a demon. He's completely harmless. Why are you so afraid?" Alison asked while approaching her husband and lowering herself to his level to inspect him carefully. She pulled the sheets back on top of him and petted his cheek before kissing him. He was still sleeping.
"I came here to spy on you and bring back whatever information I can find. I have what I need. I'm leaving." The woman trembled in fear and walked slowly backwards towards the door. She was expecting Alison to do something terrible to her.
"Could you please calm down and stop so we can discuss this?" Alison asked carefully before standing up.
"You want to kill me don't you? I was just doing my job! I don't deserve to die!" Elizabeth cried. Steve woke up.
"Alison, is that you?" The man asked.
"I'm sorry honey, go back to sleep. I'll take care of this." Alison whispered to him.
"Isn't that Elizabeth? Alison, what is she doing here?" Steve was confused.
"That's a good question. Please, my love; go back to sleep. Heal baby, heal." Alison said softly. Steve took another look at the vampire woman next to the door and hesitated.
"Alison, she looks terrified. She knows doesn't she?" Steve observed. Alison looked at her husband carefully.
"Knows what dear? Go back to sleep." Alison said softly. Steve nodded and went back to sleep.
"You're going to kill me aren't you? I'm just a greeter and no one will care if I die right?" Elizabeth said defensively.
"Why would you say that? Why on earth would I kill you? You're not making any sense. Honey, you're frightened about something… Just calm down and let's talk about it." Alison proposed.
"What is there to talk about?" The frightened woman responded.
"I don't understand why you're so afraid. You said you came to spy on me but there's nothing here for you to see because I'm not a traitor. So why do you look as though you've seen a ghost?" Alison asked.
"A ghost? Are you making fun of me? You think that just because I'm a greeter, I don't have a brain? How dare you? How dare you? I need to go. Leave me alone!" Elizabeth said.
"No please, I didn't mean to insult you. Please. Come with me. I just want to talk. I promise I won't hurt you. Please." Alison pleaded and approached the vampire carefully. Alison took the older woman's hand in hers to reassure her. Elizabeth shook her off in fear. Alison tried to hold her hand again slowly. She succeeded.
"Let's get out of here and talk." Alison proposed. Elizabeth didn't say anything. She just slowly followed the young vampire.
Alison brought her to an empty room. She opened the lights and invited the older vampire on the couch. Elizabeth hesitated and followed. She slowly sat on the couch, leaving a few feet of distance between herself and the younger vampire.
"You think I'm going to betray them too? You're wrong. I'm going to tell them what I saw." Elizabeth began.
"What are you going to tell them?" Alison asked.
"Your husband's a demon!" The woman said.
"Do you thing they would believe you? Why would you even say that?" Alison sighed.
"Look at my fingers!" Elizabeth showed her black bloodstained fingers.
"You're the only one that believes in demons here. You should just keep all of that to yourself." Alison said. Elizabeth stood up quickly. She looked like she was greatly insulted.
"I'll show them!" She yelled.
"Stop! Don't you dare! That's my husband! You have no right! He's just ill." Alison stood up and raised her voice.
"That's no illness." Elizabeth said while shaking her head.
"Please, what do you think they'll do if you show them? They will take him away and run tests on him… or they will kill him. And that would be your fault. All I'm asking is that you keep it to yourself. Could you live with yourself if you got him killed? He's just 16! He isn't some traitor! He got shot on the mission, trying to defend our ways. Our ways! He didn't owe us anything but he did it anyway. Don't you understand? He's one of us. Why would you do that to him?" Alison was scared.
"I don't know him and I don't know you!" The older woman said. Alison sat back down on the couch and shook her head in defeat. She took in a deep breath and continued:
"Then give us time. Try and get to know us better before you make a decision." Alison said. She could see the hesitation in the older vampire's eyes followed by a long sigh.
"Alright, I guess I can do that." The woman admitted.
"You can? I mean you will?" Alison looked up in surprise.
"Shouldn't I? If you haven't killed me yet, doesn't it mean something? I've heard all the rumors about you and I know you could do it in a heartbeat if you wanted to." The woman said.
"I'd rather not be thought of that way. I'm not a killer. I'm a leader. My goal is peace, not war." Alison said.
"And what about your husband? If he isn't a demon or a vampire than what is he?" The woman asked curiously.
"He's still human." Alison confessed.
"That's not a good way to start a friendship misses Banks: I asked you an honest question and I'd like the truth." The woman was insulted.
"He's been my boyfriend for five years now. I assure you; he's human." Alison said.
"And how do you explain this? And the tattoo on his back?" Elizabeth said while reminding Alison of the blood on her fingers.
"He only just started to become this way. I honestly don't know exactly what's happening to him." Alison confessed.
"You must have some theory… besides an illness." Elizabeth said.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Alison shook her head.
"Wouldn't you rather take a chance and say it or would you prefer to let me believe he's a demon?" Elizabeth was getting annoyed.
"Would you please stop calling him that?" Alison asked.
"And what should I call him?" The older woman persisted.
"You call him Steve. Or Mr. Banks. That's who he is. Let's leave it that way. It doesn't matter what he is. He'll always be human to me." Alison said.
"Well that's not enough to convince me." The older woman became impatient.
"Well why don't you go see him? Why don't you get to know him and make up an opinion of your own? Just don't call him a demon ok? That's so immature. How would you feel if the humans called you that?" Alison said.
"I'm a vampire not a demon!" She said.
"Well we're so much closer to being demons than he is. He has a reason to fear us, not the other way around." Alison said.
"If he fears us then why is he here?" Elizabeth was annoyed.
"He doesn't fear us, I'm just saying. Listen, we're immortal and we feed off of his kind! But we're on his side and he's on ours; that's the only reason why he doesn't fear us. Otherwise he would be terrified of us and we would be the demons." Alison explained.
"I get the point. But I wouldn't say I feed off of his kind, look at this stuff!" Elizabeth reminded Alison one more time of the black blood on her fingers.
"This doesn't look very appetizing to me." The older vampire said.
"Don't let the looks fool you. You better believe that's my husband's blood you have on your hands and if it wasn't for the color, it would be the same as any human blood." Alison said.
"Oh really?" The older woman said as she approached her hands to her face. She took a whiff of the black fluid and then licked one of her fingers.
"You lie. This doesn't taste like anything." Elizabeth observed after tasting the fluid for a while.
"It doesn't?" Alison was surprised. Elizabeth shook her head.
"Well it's not like I ever tasted it. He's my husband not my food. This doesn't change anything." Alison said.
"Well he should be. And if he's not, it's because he isn't human." Elizabeth said.
"I never drank his blood and I never wanted to." Alison said defensively.
"I would never want to either. This stuff is bland." Elizabeth said while looking at the remaining fluids on her fingers.
"Alright, so he's not quite human anymore. Big deal, he's still a person! Can we agree on that?" Alison said.
"Of course. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you. Just because I know he's different it doesn't mean I could never respect him. I know I respect you and if you're his wife than that means something. To tell you the truth, I thought he was cute. And the both of you looked adorable together. At least that was my impression from the first time I greeted the both of you." The older vampire said.
"I'm glad to hear that." Alison said happily.
"So what happens now?" Elizabeth asked.
"Now I have to find out who really is responsible for betraying us." Alison said sadly.
"Maybe I can help. I'm the greeter; I know everyone in this house. All I need if for you to lead me in the right direction: tell me who you suspect may be responsible and I'll do my best to get the information you need." The older vampire said.
"That would be wonderful. I'm not sure who the suspects are just yet though; I'll get right on it. Listen, I'm going to need the full list of everyone who knew about that mission. I know Stray has a list but it's obviously incomplete. The information leaked out of the briefing room; of that I'm sure. I need to know who everyone talked to before going on the mission. Start with Stray. I need to know who he spoke to." Alison said.
"Stray?" Elizabeth was puzzled. Alison nodded.
"Do you believe him to be a suspect?" Elizabeth was confused.
"No. But he may not believe or regard any of the people he spoke to as suspects." Alison said.
"How come?" The older woman asked.
"I believe that some people have started to lose their confidence in him. He may not be ready to fully accept it yet but I sense that he's starting to feel insecure. He knows this but he doesn't seem to know how to deal with it. That's why he put me in charge of this investigation. I'm here to do what he can't. He must have been talking to people he trusts but he understands that there may be a deception somewhere close to him. It's troubling him greatly. This problem is very serious. We need to get it fixed right away. Find out who he's been talking to. In the mean time, I'll see what I can do about the other witnesses." Alison suggested. Elizabeth nodded and both vampires parted ways.