I was glad my father had taught me how to work a pontoon boat when I was younger. I made it to shore, abandoned the boat, and drove back to the hotel room.
The next morning, Scout seemed in good spirits. I informed her that Ida was gone and we’d be going back down with a small stop tonight.
“I have to meet with someone.”
“Can I come?” she asked as we popped back into my car. “Who is it?”
I thought about it. Perhaps I could tell her then, confess to the darkness that consumed my soul, but something held me back. “No, it’s too dangerous. I’d rather you not.”
She wasn’t happy with my answer, but I didn’t budge. I got us another hotel and when the sun fell, I gave her money to order food and kissed her goodbye. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Stay put, please.”
I drove to Xerxes’s house. It looked relatively normal. I knocked, and he answered. I blanched when I saw his startling blue eyes. They were unnatural.
“Should I wear sunglasses?” He smirked.
I grimaced and looked away. “No, I just don’t see vampires like you.”
“That’s because there isn’t many of us. We’re accidents.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that’s what they say.”
“I can make you leave at any time. Or kill you if I wanted,” he threatened.
I laughed. “You’d be stupid to try. You know how quick you’d be dead after killing a Bloodborn with my last name?”
“I don’t follow their politics,” he said and allowed me entrance.
He brushed past me and took me to his living room.
“You should. You never know when they’ll decide to change their minds about your kind.”It took me only a moment to realize what I was doing and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be treating you this way.”
“You’re right. I’m only here, in this state, because I wanted to end things. This was my eternal punishment, my hell, for what I did.”
“How did you do it?” I asked, morbidly curious.
“Well, back then, I had a passion for flourish. I had read in a book once about torture. I won’t go into specifics, but I set up a trap so that I would be devoured by mice.”
“And it worked?”
“Oh yeah, I felt every bit of it. And then I got to feel pain again when I was reborn, healed, and transformed into this.” He waved his arm dramatically at himself and then sat on the opposite couch. “Now, what do you want to know?”
“You had no idea you were a Bloodshed?”
He shook his head. “None. Didn’t even know vampires existed.”
“So you have no clue what triggered it? Did you have any illnesses as a human? What about others like you? Did they have anything they think caused you to turn?” I fired off questions, and he raised a hand to stop me.
“Hold on, one question at a time.” He lowered his gaze. “Why are you so interested in us?”
I stared at him. Neither of us had anything left to lose.
“I am going to turn in a few months, and I’m in love with a human.”
Xerxes blinked and let the words settle. “Are you proposing she...”
I looked away guiltily. “I’ve considered it. I’ve never felt this selfish before. I just want to know the risks before I go through with it. It has to be suicide with no help from anyone else?”
He nodded grimly. “You cannot assist her. I’m sorry, Desiderio. I don’t know how or what in my blood triggered the change. I don’t have a history of suicide in my family. I just know what happened to me and the consequences.”
