Donovan sat in his favorite chair in the library. It was hidden in shadows, one would be hard pressed to see him unless they knew where to look. His thoughts traveled to the tenuous bond between himself and Gabriel. He had kept it hidden, had even curtailed the worst of his hunger, but now he could feel the misery from him. It seemed they had figured it out, at least partially. The oaf that had spoken with Ruben would be coming, he had no doubt about that, and he would give him what he sought. Where was the fun in this without a small tidbit of information? The game could only be drawn out for so long.
He could at least give the man credit for his skill. If Donovan didn’t have the gift of supernatural senses, he never would have heard Todd sneaking in through one of the back windows.
Donovan waited for him to step into the dim lighting before standing and moving forward, “good evening, Todd, isn't it?”
The man gave a loud shout, digging into his vest for what was no doubt some crude weapon. A gun, a bottle of pepper spray, it didn’t matter. He simply kept his hand there and at the ready. “Y--Who are you?” He asked, backing down a little.
“I apologize, how rude of me, my name is Donovan. I was just enjoying a drink when I heard you come in.”
Todd shifted from one foot to the other, looking somewhat helpless. He hadn’t expected to be caught. “Listen, I wasn’t planning on stealing anything, just borrowing. That’s all. We don’t have to call the cops here.”
Donovan couldn't help but laugh, smiling at him, “I agree, is there something specific you're looking for? Perhaps I can be of assistance.”
Despite his size, and the boorish attitude he’d displayed towards Ruben, the man Todd thought to be the owner of this residence, being caught actively breaking and entering seemed to have given the man a sense of temporary nervousness. Fear, perhaps. A man who was so confident in his abilities, that he’d never even conceived of failing.
“Chuck and Gabe told me about you,” Todd suddenly seemed struck by the thought, “didn’t think you’d still be here.” He wasn’t very good at thinking through his words before speaking them, outing his friends so quickly.
“Oh, I'm staying for awhile longer,” he paused briefly, “what did they tell you?” He ran his fingers down the spine of one of the books, the one Todd was looking for as a matter of fact.
Todd pointedly avoided any possible eye contact. The typical act of a poor liar. It wasn’t terribly difficult to do in this dim lighting, either, which suited Donovan just fine. Even in the dark, he would have made out every little detail of the aging man’s face without any trouble at all.
“I, uh--” Todd began, taking a deep breath and letting his hand slowly come away from his vest pocket, weaponless, “they said the old man had a friend over for a few days. I figured I’d just swing by to check out his books. I’m a big bookworm, y’see? Library already shut down for the night, didn’t figure he’d appreciate me swinging by after the, uh, the misunderstanding we’d had earlier.” He was babbling now, but Donovan allowed him to continue; “guess I just had too much to drink, decided to see if I could borrow one or two books before he noticed they were gone. I woulda brought them back.”
“Anything in particular you were looking for? I'll make sure he doesn't notice.”
“Just like that? You’re gonna help me?” He was stunned.
“Anything to rile him up. The man grates on me most of the time.” Donovan smiled, besides, the whole thing would go further toward reminding Ruben who the master was.
Todd scowled, “this ain’t some trick? No cameras anywhere, no--I dunno--gremlins hiding in the corner waiting to tear me limb from limb the second I doggy-ear a picture book?”
“You have my word. Just tell me what you're looking for and I can help you find it far faster than on your own. We wouldn't want Ruben to intrude, now would we?”
“I guess I’d like to brush up on my hunting. Does the old f—man have anything on bloodsuckers? Curing them, killing them, all that kinda stuff?”
And there it was, the moment he had been waiting for, “as a matter of fact, yes,” he pulled the book carefully from its place, “it is very old, so please, be gentle.”
Todd stared back at him in disbelief, “how did—were you already reading it?”
“Actually, yes, I was. It is an interesting coincidence.”
He hesitated only a little before slowly approaching Donovan with one hand out, “so if I’ve got a friend who needs a cure, do you know whether it’s in there or would we be wasting our time?”
Donovan held the book out, his hand steady, “if there is a cure this would be the place to find it.” He replied.
“Thanks,” Todd took the book, clearly not convinced this was as easy as simply asking for it. “I guess I’ll owe you one.”
Donovan couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips, “my pleasure, have a good rest of your night, Todd.”
“Yeah,” the human nodded, turning hesitantly towards the door, “I’ll do that."
“Oh, and Todd?”
He paused mid-step, “what?”
“Feel free to use the front door.”
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Todd liked to think of himself like a man of the world. Sure, he didn’t feel the need to waste his time doing research, reading books, that kind of thing, but he knew how to use a gun, and he knew how to use his fists. As long as you got real creative, that’s all you really needed to fight monsters. Never hurt to have a couple of backup plans either, just in case things didn’t work out.
He tucked his phone into his vest pocket just as he hefted himself out of his pick-up truck, patting the book under his arm. He didn’t want to have to follow through on Plan B. Todd sure hoped there really was something useful in this damned thing. Lulu might never speak with him again if he had to put a stake through Gabriel’s heart.
The jeep wasn’t in the parking lot, which probably meant Lee had high-tailed it out of there. Come to think of it, that prissy little clown car was gone, too. So the new kid probably went home, too. No reason everyone had to pull an all-nighter, Todd supposed.
When he finally made it to the front door, it was flung open before Todd could even grab the handle.
Louise stood there with bright, worried eyes. “Did you find something?” She asked, before her eyes landed on the book tucked under his arm.
“Yeah, met that guy, Donovan too,” he put the book down on the table at the center of the room, “guy handed it right over.”
“Guy?” Louise questioned, looking over at Gabriel, who was nursing a cup of coffee at his desk and watching them both silently.
Chuck, sitting at his own desk, gave Todd a puzzled look, “what, you talked to the old bastard? Thought you were sneaking in.”
“I did sneak in, how was I supposed to know someone was in the library?” Todd glared at him, “interesting guy, Donovan. Weird.”
Gabriel set his coffee down on his desk quickly, flicking his fingers when a couple of droplets sloshed over the side. “It was Donovan?” He asked, “did you tell him what was going on?”
“Not really, just kind of vague stuff.”
Louise sat down at the center table, examining the cover. “It’s old,” she remarked, “looks like an antique.”
Chuck and Gabriel left their desks, joining her at the center table. By now Todd was ready for a good, stiff drink. He’d nearly had a heart attack getting caught tonight, and then it was just as simple as asking for this thing.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Too easy,” Chuck remarked, voicing Todd’s concerns. “This is all too easy. I don’t like it.”
“We don’t know if there’s anything in this book we can use,” Louise reminded him, “so don’t jinx us.”
“Let’s crack this baby open!” Todd went to open it before stopping and looking at Gabe, “unless you wanted to read it, I mean, you’re the one that needs it.” The way he saw it, this was pretty much a lost cause. Maybe it’d be better if the kid figured it out on his own.
An uncomfortable silence followed, while nobody else at the table made an attempt to grab for the book. This was kind of a matter of life and death. Chuck sure as hell wouldn’t want to be the one to stake Gabriel when it came down to it. Todd respected the guy, though. Hell, him and Chuck had a lot in common. Still, even he would have trouble offing someone he’d practically raised.
“Yeah,” Gabriel finally spoke up, reaching for the book and dragging it towards himself, “I think I do.” He didn’t open it. He just sort of stared at the cover, a concerned look on his face. “We’ve got to agree that if there’s nothing in here to help me--” Gabriel tore his eyes away from the book and slowly gave each and every one of them a good, long stare. His gaze ended up on Chuck, “--you’ll do what you have to do.”
Chuck swallowed hard, “you’re asking a lot, kid,” his voice cracked a little, “yeah, yeah, I know what needs to be done but only doin’ it if it's the only choice.”
“It won’t be,” Louise stated firmly. “I promise.”
“Okay, well, I guess I should get to reading.” Gabriel ran a hand over the cover of the book, his fingers twitching as they reached the edge.
Chuck nodded, getting to his feet, “alright, Todd is still stayin’ here, so if you need anything you can harass him,” he looked over at Todd, “you get him whatever he needs, got it? I'm goin’ home, I'll be back tomorrow.”
Louise pressed a hand to Gabriel’s shoulder, “Do you need me to stay?”
“No,” his hand rested on the book cover, “I think I need to do this alone.”
Louise nodded before looking at Todd, “we'll be back, give him some space, got it?”
Todd would’ve liked to stay and see what the mangy old book had to say, even if ‘research’ wasn’t his style, but he needed a good rest anyway. He’d lock the door and rub holy oil on the frame just in case, though.
“I gotcha,” Todd nodded, “space. No problem.” He gave Louise a two-fingered salute, “your old uncle Todd knows how to act right. No need to worry about me.”
Louise gave him one last pointed look before walking out the door. What, did she have no trust in him? He would leave Gabe alone, hope that he found something, but he'd be ready, just in case. They were lucky they had good old Todd around.
He didn’t flinch when it came to doing the right thing. If he had to, he sure as hell would, too. He closed the door to his makeshift room, he'd do whatever it took to keep Louise safe, he had promised his brother after all.
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By all rights, Gabriel should’ve opened the book the second Todd walked through the door. Or the second he got his hands on it. Certainly the second Chuck finally left after a painfully tight hug and a mumbled exchange of affectionate words, or the equivalent. He’d been too quiet for Gabriel to make out much of what Chuck was saying.
Somehow it took him a whole hour to finally settle back at his desk chair with the book, after two painfully hot cups of coffee he’d barely tasted at all when he tossed them back. As if he even needed the caffeine to pull an all nighter. Right now he felt like he could run a marathon and still be awake enough to chow down on a whole cow. Or a person.
That last thought was enough to finally make him open the book. It didn’t actually have a title. The fibers of the cover were time-worn by god knew how many decades of rest and dis-use. He inspected the binding closely, making out the imprints of words that might have been etched in brown or black ink, but had faded far too much to tell.
The only word he could make out at the very end of the title, just near the frayed corner of the binding was ‘Sanguis’. Maybe it was just dumb luck Donovan happened to be reading this book when he gave it to Todd. It was pretty thick. He just hoped the damn thing was written in English.
The writing was in multiple different languages, the handwriting didn't change, whoever wrote this had done so over the course of many years. As he turned the pages the texture of the paper changed, further confirming the idea that it had taken a long time to compile. On a few of the pages there were scribbled notes in the margins, all in English, the font was slightly different than the rest of the tome. Of course they still didn't give him much of an idea about what was written. The further in he got, the more the language changed, slowly he was able to pick out words. A few disturbing words, things about blood and infections, about the properties of ghoul blood, if he translated that right. His French was a little rusty.
He turned another page and a single piece of paper, written in English, finally, slipped out from between two pages. Someone had inserted it recently, very recently. The folded edges hadn’t even creased enough for the letter to lay flat.
Good evening, Gabriel,
It has been with great pleasure that I've watched you these past few weeks. After you drank from that bottle, after you connected yourself to me, however unwittingly it was, it has been difficult for me to maintain my distance. I feel as though now is an appropriate time for you to learn the truth.
I know you don't remember the conversation we had, but you will soon enough, and with it you will understand so much more.
Can you feel it now? Twisting up inside you? This isn't like before, there is no magical cure, there is no going back. The moment my blood touched your tongue you were mine. You will hunger and in the end, you will drink, you will feast, and then you will understand what you are meant to be.
I have done extensive research into the properties of blood. I even sought a cure in the beginning only to discover my search was in vain. You were ‘cured’ once but the virus remained inside you, waiting. It would have continued to lay dormant until such time as you were in mortal peril. You have been wounded, you have been hospitalized, it does happen when one chooses your profession, but you have never been on the brink of death. It would have come for you, eventually, but this is much more appropriate, don’t you agree?
I do so look forward to seeing you again, however I am patient and we have plenty of time. To prolong this, I have placed a vial of my blood in the binding, it will help stave off the hunger, just press at the bottom and it will slide out.
Until we meet again,
Donovan
Gabriel wasn’t upset at first. He thought it was a joke. A very bad one. Then, of course, he remembered that only his friends, the ones he worked with, even knew he’d drunk vampire blood. Ruben certainly wasn’t a vampire. A metaphorical ghoul, maybe, but human enough for Gabriel to be convicted if he killed him. No one knew. No one!
The more he read, the more his head seemed to hurt. Like an insect boring in through his ear. Annoying, at first, but growing more and more painful as it wormed itself deep into his brain.
Then--oh god--he started thinking about blood. The blood in the bottle. The blood rushing through Todd’s veins in the next room, just waiting for him. Waiting for Gabriel.
He forced himself to focus on finishing the letter. Each sentence. Each word. It was like opening the book and looking at that page made something snap inside, and the nagging cravings for undercooked steak seemed so much worse. Worse, too, than the distant memories of the hunger he’d gone through as a kid when he’d first been infected.
This wasn’t right. He’d been just fine. He was cured. He was cured! Maybe this whole thing was a lie, or maybe parts of it were. The most convincing devils were always the ones who laced their deception with little truths. Gabriel didn’t really believe any of it was really a lie, but he tried to force himself to grasp at those straws for as long as he could. A second or two.
It had always been there, though. Waiting for him. A part of Gabriel had died when he’d lost his parents, and been forced to consume vampire blood before. Maybe there really was no coming back. Not permanently. Which meant every single word in this letter was right.
He would die. He would come back. He would be--
“A fucking monster,” Gabriel cursed under his breath, throwing his head back and closing his eyes to block out the sudden harshness of the lights around him. They’d never been so bright before.
Donovan. It was Donovan. Maybe he should take comfort in that, in some small way. At least it meant whatever weird vibes he was getting around the guy weren’t his fault. Yet, really, it would have been a hell of a lot better to be attracted to him than be some blood-drinking lapdog.
The sound of Todd’s thumping heart in the other room was getting louder. He knew it wasn’t his own, as steady and calm as the rhythm seemed to be.
He didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want the feeling of reluctant interest at the idea, but what other option did Gabriel honestly have? If he stood up from this desk right now, he didn’t have the strength to fight the need for blood. For death.
His body seemed to make the decision for him, long before Gabriel’s mind did, and it was only when he felt the rough texture of the book binding, and felt along the base for a loosened section, slipping two fingers inside to scratch at a thin glass tube, and slowly tugged it from its place.
The glass was warm. The blood was so much better than he’d expected.
The blinding lights around him seemed to fade away, dimming, just a memory of light. A dream. His eyes were open, and so much more.
He was a kid again, staring at his parents. Broken dolls on blood-stained carpet. Donovan was there to save him, usurping the mother fucker who’d first fed on Gabriel in one clean kill. Gabriel was cradling Lisa in his arms; Chuck’s little girl, and Gabriel’s only last link to sanity. Then it was all gone, and he was back in the office. Sort of.
It was just Gabriel and his master--Donovan, just Donovan. Gabriel and Donovan having a conversation that didn’t matter, because Donovan’s wrist was pressed to Gabriel’s lips, and slender fingers carded through his hair as if he were some treasured pet. Above it all, though, above every scrap of sanity and every hint of need or desire, was just the blood.
The blood.
Then, Gabriel was alone again, holding an empty vial, cursing the dream he’d forgotten, and cursing the moment it was over.
He almost thought he heard the sound of a shutting door, but maybe his mind was just playing more tricks on him.