Chapter 12 Julian

My fingers ran swiftly across the ivory keys of the antique piano while I sat in my quarters at Heritage Prep. Mozart's Turkish March filled the air in perfect time, and I didn't miss a single note.

The acoustics in my quarters weren't the greatest: the builders of the vampire fortress hadn't constructed the rooms with music in mind. But my eyes remained closed while I lost myself in harmonic serenity.

As I approached the final run of the song, a knock sounded at my door, causing my fingers to stop and my eyes to open. The enveloping peacefulness I'd felt shattered into dread.

"What do they want now?" I mumbled under my breath as I stood from the piano bench and made my way to the door. Before reaching it, hurried knocks came from it again.

"I'm coming," I called with irritation. I grabbed the handle and pulled it a little too hard, catching the thin edge of the door before it could slam into the wall.

Standing in the doorway was my assigned Initiate, Piper Adams. Her sandy blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, and her gold-framed glasses made her light-brown eyes appear slightly bigger than they actually were .

The strangest thing for me was having to look up at her. I was tall by most standards, but she was at least two inches taller. I couldn't help but stare at her with annoyance.

"You play the piano beautifully, sir," she said, flashing me an overeager smile.

I ignored her compliment. "I didn't summon you. Why are you here?"

My harshness didn't faze her. Like all Initiates, Piper was used to being mistreated, believing that any attention was better than none. I took no pleasure in mistreating anybody—save for Marguerite, perhaps—but Piper had interrupted my piano playing. Nothing irked me more than being stopped mid-song, except for being stuck in Hadrian's trophy room.

"Hadrian sent me to retrieve you," she replied.

I doubted that. Hadrian would never speak directly to an Initiate unless it was about a genetic or technological discovery he needed to understand the science of. But choosing one to be a messenger? He held too high a station for such a trivial task. More than likely, Hadrian asked another vampire to send for me, and that vampire had asked Piper to do the job.

"He's returned from his mission in Alberta?" I didn't know what business the vampire leader had in Canada. Probably more recruitment. "What is it he wants?"

She shrugged her gangly shoulders. "Beyond meeting with you, I don't know."

Of course, she wouldn't. Piper's role in Hadrian's plans was to help him in his quest to create vampire-shifter hybrids. She was a talented Harvard-taught molecular biologist. She was no geneticist, but apparently, her knowledge about macromolecules and how to get them to sustain hybrid vampire-shifters was extremely important. Most of it went over my head .

"But he did say he wanted to see you immediately," she added.

I sighed. "Well, I best not keep him waiting." I stepped out of my room, shut the door behind me, and turned to walk down the LED-lit hallway.

Piper ran to keep up with me. "May I ask you a question?"

"You just did," I pointed out. "But yes, you may ask another."

"Is my blood...?" she stammered, but those three words already revealed to me what she was going to ask. "Are you afraid of how it will taste?"

I had yet to drink from her in the time we'd been assigned together, and in truth, I had no intentions of doing so. After what happened with Shea, I was determined to never drink from a human ever again.

"I'm sure your blood tastes just fine," I answered as we approached the stairway.

"Then why do you avoid me when you're thirsty?" she asked in a whiny pitch that reminded me of a beginner violinist trying to play high notes.

I was already down several steps when I stopped and looked her directly in the eyes.

"I don't trust myself with Initiates," I said—or anyone. "Believe me, I'm doing you a favor by not drinking from you."

Piper gave me a confused look, moving a few stray hairs behind her ear. "But all other assigned Initiates are taking care of their vampires' needs. Don't you understand how that makes me feel?"

My eyes widened with surprise. Her words were those of a married couple's quarrel, not a master and his apprentice. And I definitely did not want either relationship with Piper .

"Piper, I'm going to be straight with you," I said. "The last Initiate I drank from ended up dead. Completely sucked dry."

This time, Piper's eyes widened. "How? Is it something you... can't control?"

"I can control it. What happened to that last Initiate—what I did to her—that was twenty years ago. I had a moment of distraction. I have quenched my thirst from humans since then, but I don't want to risk relapsing. What I'm trying to say is that I value your life, and it wouldn't be fair if you died for the sake of filling my belly."

I watched as awe and gratitude filled her countenance, like a crescendo of music, starting softly, then steadily growing in volume.

"You...value me?" she stammered. "You care?"

"I care about all life," I said truthfully, not liking where she was pushing the conversation; she was looking for acceptance. "Look, I don't know you all that well. I know you're a brilliant student who has achieved much in academics, and I know you want to become a vampire. That's about it. I don't know your family life. I don't know what your other interests are. I don't know who Piper Adams is."

I glanced up the staircase to see if anybody was within earshot. Then I drew close to her, placing my lips next to her ear and bringing my voice down to a whisper. "But I do know that you will never be valued like that by anyone else here. You're seen as a resource. And like in the human world, resources always have a limit on their value."

I was taking a huge risk saying this to her. I knew that. But her need to feel accepted and valued... She needed to know the reality of her situation.

"But if I become a vampire, my value will increase," she said. "Won't it? "

"Your status will," I replied. "But don't confuse status with value. They are not synonymous."

I turned around and took a few more steps.

"You wish you weren't a vampire," she mumbled in realization. It was strange hearing it come from her, and it caused me to stop again.

"I used to think there had to be others like me," I said distantly, recalling my first time at Heritage Prep.

I'd hoped back then to find other like-minded vampires. That was the entire reason I'd joined Hadrian in the first place. But if they existed, they never revealed themselves.

My mind returned to the present and I realized how dangerous my words were. If any of this got back to Hadrian, I'd be in trouble.

Turning around, I looked up at her. "Listen, all of this..."

She shook her head quickly. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. You've actually given me a lot to think about."

Shock struck me to my core. Most Initiates would've jumped at the opportunity to climb the ranks, even if it meant stomping all over others to get there. I didn't entirely trust Piper not to—she could simply be giving me false hope. But it was hope. And that was something I lacked a lot over the years. It felt good to consider that out of all the vampires and potential-vampires, I may have influenced one in a proper way.

"You'd better hurry to the trophy room," she reminded me.

I nodded, staring at her for a moment longer, then bounded down the stairs.

Increasing my speed, I passed floor after floor, feeling the air parting around me. It brought a sense of freedom amidst the confines of the vampire fortress .

That freedom soon dissipated as I slowed down to a walk on the main floor of Heritage Prep. Hadrian's trophy room loomed across the Great Hall, and it seemed like an invisible rope was tied around my waist, reeling me in.

Hadrian was across the way, just outside the door to his trophy room, but what shocked me was the person standing in front of him. A boy—no older than nine or ten—gave the vampire leader a hug at his waist, then quickly ran toward the stairs that led to the lower levels.

A sweltering anger simmered inside me. Hadrian had his hooks inside an innocent little boy? What was he playing at?

"Who kept you?" the vampire leader called across the room, breaking me free from my spell of anger.

A jab of fear went through me like a copper dagger, causing me to freeze in place. Had Hadrian somehow heard my conversation on the stairs? I silently cursed myself for being stupid enough to confide in Piper out in the open.

Hadrian's arms unraveled and his hands came forward, fingers outstretched and palms up. "Joplin? Bach? Tchaikovsky?"

Relief pulled the stabbing fear away, and I grinned. "Mozart today. The Turkish March , to be specific." No longer frozen, I moved toward the doorway.

"An excellent piece, to be sure," Hadrian said, nodding his approval. "It has a bouncing pace that makes one want to go out and change the world."

"Indeed it does."

As I made it to the arched doorway, Hadrian placed an arm around my shoulder and walked us into the trophy room as if we were best of friends—suspicion and caution instantly sizzled across my chest .

"Julian, it's good to see you again," Hadrian said. "Here, take a seat. We need to talk."

We both made our way to Hadrian's desk. Hanging on the walls surrounding us were body parts of different shifters from throughout time, mounted as Hadrian's prizes—trophies from countless fights he'd won.

Hadrian sat, and I followed.

"How was Alberta?" I asked, at least somewhat interested as to how it involved Hadrian's grand plans.

"This time of year?" Hadrian laughed. "Cold and snowy. But I didn't request your presence to discuss how my trip went. I want to hear about yours."

An unsettling panic crept like a spider crawling under my skin. I had purposely gone back to Chicago while Hadrian was busy in Canada with the intent of getting away from Heritage Prep for a time. I'd even had the chance to see Shea briefly, for which I was grateful. I'd gotten to clear some things up with her.

But what frightened me was that Hadrian had just returned and had already heard about my absence. Maybe Hadrian had asked Piper to retrieve me and inquired about my dealings then.

"Your recent trip to Chicago," Hadrian clarified.

I kicked myself for not immediately answering, but the fact that Hadrian knew I'd been in Chicago made that spider-like feeling in my body increase exponentially. I hadn't told Piper where I was going, so how did Hadrian know where I went?

"Cold and snowy," I replied, attempting to mask the panic flooding my chest. "Much like Alberta."

Hadrian threw me an insincere smile. "Would you mind explaining to me why you went back to your home? "

I sighed heavily, my mind coming up with several coverups—most of them not very convincing. "Things did not sit well with me after our attack at that alley near the Chicago subway station."

Hadrian nodded, and I hoped my on-the-spot story was good enough. "Yes, you have always needed to satisfy your memories, haven't you? Always living in the past."

"It's a habit that's helped with strategic planning," I commented.

"And it's also been known to be a complete waste of time," he countered. "But do tell, please, was your trip a successful strategic move for our cause?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, determining which web of lies I should weave for myself. I decided on the most plausible. "It was the dragon shifters we encountered that drew me back to Chicago."

"The dragons?" Hadrian asked, cocking his head to the side. "What about the dragons?"

"One of the boys..." I started, dipping into my memories from over one hundred years ago. "The dark-haired one. He resembled a certain enemy of mine from my past."

I held Hadrian's penetrating gaze, and I felt as if the vampire leader was looking straight into my mind.

"You believe the dragon we shot down was of Dracul lineage?"

Hearing the name on Hadrian's tongue filled me with rage, my mind forming the image of Claudette Dracul. I'd blamed a lot of people for ruining my life over the years, but Claudette was one person I'd never be able to forgive .

"If what you say is true," Hadrian said, rubbing his chin in thought, "then that shows that the Draculs are involved with the shifter school."

He laughed loudly, casting his eyes about as if my words were the best news in the world. That the Dracul name could bring such happiness to anybody only enraged me further.

"If word gets out that we killed a Dracul, we could rally more of the older vampire lines to our cause. After all, Julian, you are not the only vampire with a cause for hatred against the Draculs."

I held no malice for any Dracul other than Claudette. The sin of an ancestor didn't trickle down through the generations. At least, not to me.

"Are we sure we killed that boy?" I asked, crossing my legs and lacing my fingers in my lap. "The shifters have been notoriously good at staying alive, even when we think it's impossible."

He snorted. "We riddled that dragon with enough lead to kill him ten times over. But I do suppose there is always the chance he was saved in time. Even if that's the case, the branch of vampires still holding a grudge against the Draculs will be running at the chance to ensnare them."

I nodded slowly, resigning myself to the fact that I might have just made matters worse for Caesar and the shifter school. I shouldn't have brought up the possibility that the dragon shifter we'd encountered in the alley had been a Dracul.

"It sounds like our attempt to capture Arya wasn't a complete failure, then," I pointed out.

"We'll see," he mused. "But on the subject of Arya, I have a new mission for you."

I couldn't stop my eyes from widening, causing Hadrian to grin again .

"I see that sparked your interest." The vampire leader leaned forward and interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on the desk. "I want you to personally see to the capture of my daughter."

"Wh– what?" I stammered.

"As a daywalker, you're the best option for the job," he explained. "We know where the shifters enter and exit their school. Eventually, Arya will come out. And when she does, you'll grab her and bring her to me."

"This task is being assigned to me alone?" I asked with uncertainty.

"You are fully reinstated here at Heritage Prep." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Just as I trusted you before your desertion fifteen years ago, I trust you again now. And you're the only one who can survive in sunlight. So yes, you'll be on your own."

I could hardly believe what he was saying. I'd expected to be trapped at Hadrian's fortress—or, at the very least, sent out on missions where other vampires could keep an eye on me.

"Nobody else that I trust is as familiar with Chicago as much as you," Hadrian continued. "Plus, you already know what my daughter looks like. You are the obvious candidate for the mission."

"I'm honored, Hadrian," I replied, bowing slightly, attempting to bury the excited emotions that threatened to burst from me. I looked into the vampire leader's sky-blue eyes. "I will gladly take on this responsibility."

Hadrian's face grew serious. "If you succeed and bring Arya to me, you will be rewarded beyond measure. Your status will elevate higher than any other vampire's—excluding me, that is—and you will have made your mark on vampire history. "

I nodded, having no intention at all to follow through with this task. And if history forgot me, I was okay with that.

Hadrian whipped his hand up and pointed his index finger in the air. "If you fail me, it'll be back to the Madness Chamber for you."

A memory surfaced briefly in my mind—one not from my distant past. I'd been forced into a tank of water in the dungeons of Heritage Prep recently. For twenty-four hours, I'd drowned over and over in that water, but that hadn't even been the worst of the experience.

The Madness Chamber's waters had been mixed with hallucinogens that threw me into memories from long ago. But the memories were muddled by my own mind, confusing my beloved Alice with Shea. It had taken three days for the drugs to wear off, and even then, the effect still remained. I blamed that disorientation for my loss of control with the beautiful witch.

"Last time, you drowned for a whole day, right?"

I nodded slowly as I tried to force the memory from my mind.

"That was punishment for abandoning me fifteen years ago," Hadrian reminded. "Failure in this mission is not acceptable. If you fail to bring me Arya, I will see that you stay in the Madness Chamber for three whole years."

Setting my jaw, I looked back up at Hadrian and said, "Understood."

Hadrian hunched over his desk and put his face right in front of me, slowly looking back and forth between my eyes. "Bring me my daughter, Julian. Bring me Arya."