23. Laws of Demons

Chapter twenty-three

Laws of Demons

N olan was right. By the time the overly expensive taxi drops me off a block away from the pier, the sun is already starting to set. I feel a little bit helpless right now. I don't really know what I'm going to do or say. All I know is that I have to convince them that they shouldn't hurt Oliver just because I know what they are. The bottom line is, it truly isn't Oliver's fault. I know Oliver is taking the brunt for Nolan. But I think if both of them knew the truth, neither would have said anything. This is what I get for keeping secrets to myself.

As I slowly start walking around the shipping yard, I look around for any sign of movement. It's possible that they would have gone to the house instead of here, but this is my only lead. My only other option is to figure out where the house is by perhaps breaking into a admin area and looking through some paperwork. That's when I start to hear mumbled voices. As I walk closer to where they're coming from, I can see that Oliver, his father, and several others are standing around him while they are having a discussion out in the open of the pier. I suppose with the sun so close to setting, it's comfortable for them to be outside now. I stand behind the closest shipping container. I wonder if they can hear my heartbeat like Oliver can sometimes. If they can, they'll hear it similar to a hummingbird. I couldn't quite hear the conversation until they started getting a little bit louder.

“You broke our laws , Oliver.” Mr. Pierce exclaims.

“Your laws are stupid. Just because someone is a human doesn't make them untrustworthy. You know for a fact there are several vampires that have human mates.”

“Those vampires have their own clans with their own rules. As a member of our clan, you follow our laws.”

“Since when have I ever been a part of your clan? I've basically lived with Nolan my whole life.”

“Day-Walking vampires should be something to be ashamed of. I still have no idea when or how you accumulated that ability. It's a disgrace to our kind.”

“Whatever. I already know the sentence you are going to pass down to me, so why not just get it over with?”

“So I assume that means you came here without either killing or turning that girl then?”

“The others are making a decision about her. But me? No, I refuse to do either of the other options.”

“Regardless of whatever they decide, you still must suffer the consequences for your actions. You revealed who you were to a human. That, in turn, revealed the rest of the household as demons. Actions such as that are punishable by death, but it didn’t have to be your own if you just got rid of her.” As Oliver stands there with his hands shoved in his pockets, one of the vampires from behind him comes forward grabbing onto his shoulder and slicing a clawed hand along his back. Oliver screams out, but doesn't collapse, and my feet finally moved.

“Wait!” I shout as I push through the ring of guys and stand in front of Oliver. I'm pretty sure I just brushed past vampires, which is not a good thing.

“Amelia!” Oliver shouts at me.

“You can't hurt him or punish him for something that he didn't do .” He grabs my elbow and spins me around.

“Amelia, the person that dies, is the person that revealed themselves to you, which was me.” I know he's trying really hard to protect Nolan right now, but I need to tell the truth, otherwise I can't protect either of them.

“No look, I've been keeping a secret from you guys for ages now. None of you revealed yourself to me in any way. I knew what you were the second I saw you.”

“What are you talking about, girl?” Mr. Pierce asks me. Oliver loosens the grip on my arm and lets me turn around to face his father.

“I didn't tell anyone at the house because I didn't want them to think I was afraid of them.” I peer backwards over my shoulder at Oliver's confused expression. “The truth is, when I was eight years old, my parents and I lived here in San Francisco. Our house was backed up onto a park and I knew that my aunt lived across the park. I was upset because I had found out that I was adopted, so I went to go find my aunt.” I can see Mr. Pierce’s expression start to change. “While I was walking through that park, I was attacked. The creature that attacked me had pasty white skin, bright eyes and very sharp fangs. I was so confused, I didn't think anything of it until he attacked me and bit me. That's when I knew vampires were real. I tried to tell people what happened to me, but they just thought I got attacked by a dog or something. I ended up in therapy for a couple of years until I eventually decided to tell people that I didn't get attacked by a vampire that it must have just been a dog. But the truth is, I've known that demons have existed for a very long time. I hadn't had the chance to understand them, so I wanted to do that so when I figured out that the boys in this house were in fact demons, I wanted to introduce myself and I wanted to make sure that I had a chance to get to know them. So if you need to punish anyone, you can punish me. But if you're looking to punish a demon for revealing themselves to me, then you're going to have a very hard time finding the vampire that bit me. Either way, Oliver is not the one you need to be punishing.” I stand there waiting for Mr. Pierce to react.

“Did this happen?” He questions turning to the man on his side. Unlike the rest of them, this man didn't look like he was pale and kept out of the sunlight.

“Yes, I can see it.” The man simply responds. Is this perhaps the psychic?

“Very well. I suppose then, Amelia, there is nothing that I can do. Unless you can somehow identify that particular vampire.”

“I was eight. I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon.”

“Understood. Given that it's likely a vampire from a different clan, there's nothing I can do about you either. Some clans are open to humans knowing about them. If I were to kill you, and one of them found out it would definitely put a dent in our reputation.” Is that really all this guy was caring about, his reputation, not even about killing his son? “We will disband for the night. You two can go home.”

“What about Seth?” Oliver questions.

“We sent him home the moment you arrived.” It only takes a few moments, but everyone around us disappears.

I turn to Oliver and try to check his wound, but he steps back from me. “Sorry, I-”

“Don't wanna hurt me? Too fucking late.” His face suddenly changes from concern to surprise. “First, you didn't wake me up. In fact, you got Hendrik to turn off my alarm, which is just rude . Next thing I hear, you've left the house without telling anyone where you went. Hendrik eventually tells me to go up to your room to check for a note. The note, by the way, which doesn't give me enough information to come and find you. Usually when you leave a note, you tell someone where you went. That's just common courtesy. I had to lie to Nolan in order to get him to reveal where this place is. I then ran out of the house and took a really dingy taxi all the way here. If I had come all the way here just to die along with you, I would be really upset that I didn't at least get to travel in a car with you. You don't get to decide that you're happy to die just so I could live.”

“People do stupid things when they're in love Amelia, I couldn't see you get hurt.” I’m momentarily speechless, my mouth agape. Did he just confess his love for me? As this realization dawns, he chuckles softly, an awkward attempt to lighten the mood. “Sorry, it’s just...your expression is adorably priceless right now.”

That seems to wake me up. “If you weren't bleeding right now, I would totally punch you.”

“Speaking of, I think it's still bleeding.”

“You need to let me take a look.”

“I came here without you to avoid you getting hurt. The last thing I need to be is the one that causes your hurt.”

“Oh fuck me, Oliver, I-”

“Did that.” I'm so stunned by his cheeky response that I can't even take him seriously right now.

“You know what I change my mind, you can die. I'm going home.”

“Amelia, wait.” As I look into his eyes, I can see something is not quite right with him.

“What is it?”

“I think you should have let them kill me.”

“Are you insane? Do you have some kind of death wish?”

“No. Why didn't you say anything earlier about what happened in Grandview Park?”

“Well…” I can feel my brows furrowing as I'm trying to think really hard. “I never said it was in Grandview Park.”

“I know. But the second you started telling that story, it suddenly felt more like a memory to me. I think I was about nine at the time, but I remember going into the park. It was me, Amelia. I was the one that bit you . I was the reason that you were afraid of vampires, the reason you ended up in therapy with no friends. It was me.”

Even though it wasn’t a long drive, we end up silent most of the way home. The one thing we didn't want the taxi driver to overhear is a discussion about the time Oliver once bit me. Through the whole ride, I wanted to tell them that I was okay. I just needed a few moments to let it settle. Unfortunately, I think I took a little bit too long and now he's a bit worried about where we stand. As the taxi stops in front of the house, we get out and we see quite a few people waiting there for us. The first one to dash forward and give me a hug is Hendrik. I'm not surprised. He probably thinks that he almost sent me to my death. Nolan goes to Oliver to check him out, doing his best to avoid touching him directly, he says he'll make sure he gets up to bed and bandages his wounds correctly. I let everyone know that Oliver and I are completely off the hook, which is met by an unusually large amount of cheering and a suggestion to order pizza. Once Hendrik leaves my side, Seth takes his place. I return his hug graciously, I was really worried about him.

As the group starts to walk inside, Seth slows down, and I match his pace. “I’m glad you are both okay, you’re certainly surprising.” He says.

“Surprising? Aren’t you supposed to know everything?”

“I see things about people, Amelia, sure. But when it comes to you, I have to look at others to get a clear picture. Your choices, although they probably seem set to you, change frequently. You have so many possible futures.”

“Wow.” I stop before we walk through the door. “Is that normal?”

“No, but then again, neither are you.”

“Oh please, I’m the most normal one here.”

“No, you’re extraordinary.” I roll my eyes at him. Don’t get me wrong, I love the compliment, but a human is hardly interesting without powers like Seth’s. “Anyway, enjoy your pizza. I promised my mother I’d go and have dinner with her this evening.”

“But, after everything you went through-”

“I’m absolutely fine. And it’s not like I didn’t know I wouldn’t be. You should go inside and order your toppings before the guys get overwhelmed with possibilities. Have fun, cuz .” He smirks, turning away from me and walking across the street to his car. I step through the door and close it behind me. It’s the first time I notice the unusual floral moulding on the back. I don’t know what the future holds, but it’s probably not safe for me to stay here with the guys. I’ll have to find a place of my own. A voice from the kitchen distracts me; “Hey Amelia, do you like pineapple on pizza?”

It’s late. I mean I know it’s late, I’ve been staring at my phone clock for the last few minutes. Surely Oliver would be asleep right now. He’s injured. I should let him rest. Maybe if I go and get some water? Do vampires need to drink water? Sneaking out with socks on my feet to reduce the noise, I make my way into the kitchen and I’m shocked that the light is already on. I peer in and see Oliver sitting on one of the stools reading a book with a steaming mug beside him. I didn’t think he drank coffee.

“Oliver?” His head tilts up to see me, a little startled. I guess he was concentrating.

“Oh, hey.”

“What are you doing up? You should be resting.”

“I'm feeling a lot better.” I step forward and look towards the book that he is reading. I'm a little surprised he's reading about modern mythology. My eyes dart towards the coffee mug in confusion. I step a little closer and go to reach for the mug, but he puts a hand on top of it and draws it away, placing it on the other side of him and away from me. He seems quite alert and awake and the rim of his lips are tinted a darker red. “You don't need to see that.” I see, someone must have given him blood. It was probably Nolan. “Amelia,” I know exactly what he wants to say, and I know he's going to keep apologizing, but I don't think he needs to anymore, “, I don't want you to be afraid of me.” His voice cracks mid-sentence. He seems to be trying really hard to keep it together.

“Oliver,” I smile, sitting on the stool next to him, “, what you told me earlier was a little bit of a shock, granted, but I don't blame you for it. The fact is, I can't blame you for something that you did as a child.”

“I made you scared of something you didn't even have to know existed.”

“I know that. But I think out of the two of us, the one that's most afraid at the moment is you. Why?”

“Because Amelia, we just found out what I did to you. The truth is I can't blame you if you never wanted to see me again and you left the house first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Well, that wouldn't be very convenient. I don't have anywhere to go.” I try to be funny, but his expression doesn't change so I guess it didn't really hit the mark. “Answer me something.”

“Anything.”

“Are you more or less inclined to bite somebody after you've had a drink like that?” I question pointing at the coffee mug behind him. He glances over then looks back at me.

“Less inclined.” Nudging my body off the stool, I bring myself forward until I'm standing between his spread knees. I gently grab his neck and pull his lips to mine. I don't even care that there seems to be an odd taste about them. I just won't think about it too hard. He wraps both of his arms around my back and pulls me in closer. The moment is electric, but it doesn't last too long. He breaks the kiss and takes his face away from mine, but he doesn't let me go.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask him.

He looks me in the eye as he smirks and says; “Pancakes.” Doing my best not to laugh out loud and accidentally wake somebody up. I look around the kitchen to see where the items I need might be. I haven't spent a lot of time cooking in this kitchen, but I'm sure Oliver can help guide me around.

“I guess it's time to ransack the fridge.” As we separate we walk around the kitchen and start grabbing things out of the fridge and out of the cupboards in order to prepare the batter. I show him a couple of new tricks he wasn't aware of in regards to creating a pancake batter, I'm happy that he's not afraid to try and touch me now and then. Whether if it's as simple as touching my shoulder, my hand or nudging me, or even just giving me a kiss on the cheek. It's nice. We've only got less than a couple weeks before the play, so the more often that we can do this the better off will be on the night.

“Whoops, hope I'm not interrupting anything?” Oliver takes a step away from me when we overhear Seth’s voice. I hadn't even seen him come home earlier this evening. “Didn't mean to disturb you, just wanted to grab some water.”

“You absolutely meant to disturb us.” Oliver mutters.

“That would be pretty rude of me.” He smirks, coming over towards me. He leans over my shoulder and smells the batter. “Make sure you make enough for tomorrow morning. These are going to be great.” He says, nudging me with an elbow. Oliver doesn't seem too pleased with his closeness. “Would you just relax?” Seth says looking at Oliver. I guess he did notice. “Firstly, I don't swing that way, and second, it might be legal in this state, but incest does not interest me.”

“Wow, you're taking this whole cousin thing quite seriously.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Anyway, like I said, I just want some water. You two kids have fun.” Oliver and I remain silent as he walks over to the kitchen sink and pours himself a glass of water. He turns to leave, but stops and looks at us. “By the way, if you have to pick a time to do it Oliver, I might suggest before the play.”

“Do what?” I'm glad Oliver is just as confused as I am because I didn't get that at all.

“Bite her. But just not in front of me, please. I don't need to see that.” Neither of us say another word as Seth disappears outside of the threshold.

“I swear he has a screw loose.” Oliver just shakes his head, ignoring what just happened.

“Why would he suggest that you need to bite me before the play?” I can tell that Oliver is biting the inside of his cheek, contemplating whether or not to answer me.

“When I drink blood, I don't feel as inclined to hurt anyone. But I've noticed depending on whose blood it was, I seem even more so less inclined to hurt them . Maybe he's just suggesting it would be the same.”

“Do you think he knows something about the play that he's just not telling us?”

“Perhaps, I'm a little bit worried that it might have to do with our performance together. I might end up hurting you, whereas if I don't bite you prior to it, I might end up hurting you anyway. But just on stage in front of hundreds of people.”

“Right, so it's kind of a no brainer.”

“Amelia.” He groans.

“I get it. You said it a hundred times already. You don't wanna hurt me. But something could go really wrong if you don't.”

He rubs his temples thoughtfully. “I’ll think about it, Amelia. It’s not an easy decision.”

I give him a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m surprised I’m the one who’s more at ease with this idea.”

He manages a half-smile in return. “Let’s just focus on these pancakes for now.”

“Lead the way, Chef,” I tease, hoping to distract him, if only for a moment, from the heavy thoughts clouding his mind.