Despite the fact that she was completely annoyed that Aaron couldn’t at least let her come downstairs without bombarding her with requests to join the good fight, she caught herself glancing in the mirror over the dresser and straightening her long brown hair before she crossed to the door. Catching her breath, she pulled it open unsure of exactly how she knew it was Aaron. But she was certain.
“Hi,” he said quietly, standing quite a few inches back from the door. She was surprised to see he was wearing jeans and a red long-sleeved T-shirt. She had just assumed that all Guardians always dressed completely in black. Regardless of what he was wearing, she couldn’t help but notice how good he looked.
“Do you have a moment?” he asked running his hand through his light brown hair. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he had been slightly nervous waiting for her to open the door.
She contemplated what he would do if she told him no, something she was pretty sure he was not used to hearing, but of course she did have a moment, so she opened the door and let him walk past her into the small guest room. There were no chairs, hardly any furniture other than the small twin bed she had just hastily remade and aforementioned dresser, so they stood just inside of the door.
“How was your nap?” he asked, surveying the room.
“Fine,” she said, though memories from the excruciating process of waking up still lingered freshly in her mind. “I’m a little surprised to see you,” she admitted. “I thought if your choices were this evening or tomorrow, it would probably be tomorrow.”
He looked a bit uncomfortable which surprised her. She would not have thought he had an embarrassed or shy side whatsoever. “Well, I hadn’t planned on coming so soon,” he conceded, “but I really felt like it would be best if I just spoke to you myself.”
“As opposed to those two incompetents you’ve got downstairs?” she asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.
“No,” he said, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. “They could do it, they’re… they’re fully competent.”
He was stammering a bit, and it seemed to catch him off guard. Cadence wondered why he was having such a difficult time expressing himself to her. She was, after all, just one more human to potentially Transform into a Hunter. Why did this seem to be such a big deal to someone who had been doing this for so long?
“It’s just, I’m not sure if they realize the gravity of the situation, honestly,” he said slowly nodding his head.
Cadence took a step backward and slowly began to nod her head as well. “I see,” she said, and then, taking a cue from her inquiry-based learning teacher, she added, “Tell me more about that.”
Once again, Aaron ran his hand through his hair. He seemed cautious, as if he were trying to choose his words with care. “We are on a bit of a precipice here. Obviously, you know I am aware of everything they told you earlier.”
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She nodded. Yes, she was aware that he was present during any and all conversations she had had with members of his team.
“Well, something that was not mentioned to you is that, while the Vampires don’t typically have a leader, they are attempting to organize. Now, this happens occasionally, and we are able to track down this newly appointed figurehead and eliminate them, thus mediating any potential uprisings.” He glanced back in her direction, as if he wanted to make sure she was following, which she was. “However, in this instance, it’s a bit different. If Holland is able to organize her clan and the rest of the Passel come onboard, well, she’s going to be much more difficult to defeat than your typical Vampire Leader.”
He paused then, which gave her an opportunity to ask for clarification. “Why is that?” she asked. She had a habit of absently twirling one strand of hair around her finger when she was deep in thought, a habit she was performing just now, and once she realized it, she stopped abruptly so as not to let him know that she was contemplating his offer.
“Holland is what we refer to as an Ancient Vampire. She’s not one of the originals. None of them survive, but she is incredibly old. In fact, I’m fairly certain she predates the assigning of the name Holland to the location you’re familiar with. Over the millennia she has increased her knowledge and power, as well as her sway with the other members of her Passel so much so that, should she decide to attempt to lead a Vampire revolt, it could be quite difficult for us to hold them in check. The potential for a holocaust is certainly present, and of course, that is something we must avoid at all costs.”
She could tell by his tone that he was not embellishing the facts in order to sway her to join his side, and yet it was nearly impossible for her to wrap her mind around the idea of a legion of Vampires sweeping in and destroying humanity. “That sounds pretty serious,” she said, withdrawing her hand from her hair and resting her pointer finger against her chin. “Do the others know this?” she asked, referring to Eliza, Jamie, and whoever else had joined them downstairs.
“Yes and no,” he admitted. “They have received the information, but I think they don’t truly understand the ramifications, considering they’ve never lived in a time or place when Vampires had free rein.”
The way he said those last few words caught Cadence’s attention. She looked at him for a moment, puzzled. “And you have?” she asked quietly.
He nodded. “It’s not pretty.” He shook his head like he was pushing those memories aside, wanting to focus on the task at hand. “We want to avoid that no matter what.”
This information intrigued her, and Cadence made a mental note to find out more information about this at a later time. For now, she wanted to know exactly what he thought she could do about this. “And how do I fit in to this proposal for preventing a Vampire uprising?”
“Well,” he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “You’re fully invested in this situation now, whether you want to be or not. I think you need to be completely aware of our position, and once you realize exactly how Holland’s rise to power may affect you and your loved ones, you’ll know exactly what you need to do.”
He looked her right in the eyes with that last remark and those penetrating blue eyes seemed to stare right into her very soul, causing her to shutter and take a step back. In doing so, she pinned herself against the wall, and even though she knew there was no reason to consider escape routes, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
As if sensing her fight or flight reaction, Aaron took a step back and turned away from her a moment, giving her some room and letting her come down a bit from her initial panicked state. She wondered if he had any other superpowers he had yet to reveal. Surely, he couldn’t read her mind. Did he realize she was near her breaking point? He at least had to realize that he would either have her resolve in the next few moments, or she would walk away, and they would have to start all over. After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, “I guess I need to hear more about that.” Cadence propped one foot up against the wall behind her to steady herself.