“For the Dark Prince. He told us to keep our eyes out for a powerful witch.”
The pain in my head spread to my body, and I wondered how much more I could take. The vampire slipped a few inches.
“Having some difficulties?” he asked, his voice dropping a tone.
I dropped to one knee, and that’s when I felt it—a hand gently touching my shoulder.
“It is enough,” a kind voice said, though I couldn’t be sure if I’d heard the words or if they had been placed inside my head.
My gaze turned upward. I stared into the face of another vampire but knew there was nothing to fear. His commanding presence personified one who abhorred darkness and cherished truth and light. I felt his power, greater than anything I’d ever encountered, but it didn’t frighten me. I found comfort in it.
Henry, the founder of the Deific.
He nodded and smiled as if he’d read my mind. Maybe he had.
I let go of my mental grip on the vampire, but Henry, his arm out stretched, kept the vampire pressed against the wall. A second later, the pencils shot forward, piercing his heart.
I stared at him, my mouth open. He could use magic. The only other vampire I knew who could do that was Boaz, but he had to steal it from me to do so. It wasn’t this way with Henry, though. So how was he able to do it? I shook the thought from my head. I had to help the others first.
I ignored my aching body and moved to attend to Charlie, but Henry stopped me.
“He’s fine and will wake soon,” Henry said.
“What about the others?”
“They made it safely outside. The police will be here any minute, and I don’t want you answering any questions in your condition.” Henry walked to the back of the office. He didn’t have to ask me to follow—I did so instinctively.
Inside the office’s break room, he opened a cupboard and reached to the very top. He must have pressed a button, because all of a sudden the cupboards swung open, revealing a room the size of a closet. Once inside, I realized it was an elevator. Henry pushed the button going “up”.
I glanced sideways at him. He was staring at the doors with a blank expression, and yet I felt as if the whole space was brimming with all kinds of emotions. Henry had wavy light brown hair, and his golden eyes matched the color of his tanned skin. He was dressed surprisingly well in a dark suit and a floor length overcoat. His full lips parted when he said, “We’re here.”
The doors opened into a library and what I thought was the top floor. Henry walked over to a hutch and withdrew a blanket and pillow. He carried them to a leather sofa in the middle of the room. “You’ll have to stay here for tonight and probably part of tomorrow. The police will be busy for a while.”
I immediately sat down, the pain in my head making it difficult to stand. “How did you know to come?”
“Just a feeling. I would’ve come sooner, but our other offices were hit with much heavier casualties. I helped them first because I knew you were here.”
“But we’ve never met,” I said.
“Not officially.”
“The Dark Prince,” I said suddenly. “The vampires called whoever was in charge of this attack ‘The Dark Prince’.”
“I know. I questioned one of them in our London office.”
“How long ago was that?”
He looked down at his silver watch. “Twenty minutes.”
He was using magic to travel, much like I thought Boaz had.
“Oh, and the one who got away took my picture,” I added.
For the first time, the calm in his demeanor cracked, and he frowned. “Were you able to find out why?”
I shook my head.
“That is disturbing. I’ll get someone to look into it as soon as possible. How are you feeling?’
“My head hurts.”
“It’s like that in the beginning.”
“I never felt that when I used magic before. It was the opposite. If I didn’t let the evil out—” I stopped, embarrassed. I didn’t know how much he knew about me.
“Withholding evil’s power can be very painful,” he said as if he understood.
“But why do I have pain? The magic I’m using is good.”
“Because the good is you—a part of you anyway. When you let it go, your body responds physically. Whereas when one is evil, the evil only wants to escape and spread like a virus.” He narrowed his eyes in concern. “You need to get some rest.”
“Wait! I want to ask you something.” I wasn’t sure how long it would be until I would have the chance to speak with him again.
“Then ask.”
“I don’t understand how—”
“A vampire can be good? Use magic?”
“Both.”
“I can use magic because I was like you before I was turned. A witch. And I am good because I choose to be, Eve. There are certain eternal truths about our universe that can never be altered. Free agency is one of these. Every living creature has the ability to choose good or evil, life or death.”