Page 61 of Lured

“I need to stop that vampire before he can get off this boat. But Ludis needs stopping too.”

“I'll go after Ludis,” I replied, knowing it was my mission anyway.

Despite Leo knowing he should go after the other, he hesitated.

“Go. I can handle Ludis, especially after the damage you did. As long as I find him quickly.”

“He's stronger than he ought to be.” Leo opened the door for both of us. He reached into his pocket and held a small ring out to me.

“What's this?” I asked as I took it, but as soon as I held it in my hand I knew that it had to be something special. It seemed to tingle and the urge to put it on was strong.

Leo frowned, but he motioned for me to put it on. “It will make you faster and stronger. Not a lot, and it only works on humans and for brief periods. It will also wear you out quickly, so be careful.”

I nodded, grateful that he was offering me such a tool. Hopefully I would get a chance to give it back to him.

As I came along the hallway Leo pointed to some blood splatters. “Do you think you can follow those?”

“Probably. As long as a cleaner hasn't come along in the meantime.”

“They won't at this time of night. But either way, once I've got my guy, I'll come back and see if you need help.”

“Then good luck hunting and lets hope we both find what we're looking for.” I smiled at him, but I couldn't shake the feeling of sadness inside me. If we succeeded then we were going to be parting ways after this.

For now, our ways continued together, both our quarries having taken the same route, and while neither of us wanted to move slowly, we also needed to check the route we were taking and make sure Ludis and his other vampire henchmen had gone this way.

I focused on what I saw, partially to show Leo that I had good tracking skills and partially to make sure I didn't let anything distract me.

This was going to be a difficult enough task without me letting emotions get in the way. Seeing Leo fight to protect me had already had me on edge, however.

Although I had told Leo that I was totally fine, the truth was that I was hurting and scared and tired. The ring he'd given me I had quickly taken off and shoved into a pocket. I was already very tired. I didn't need it to make me even more so until I was ready to use it.

Hopefully I would regain a little energy along the way, but I wasn't sure I would. And I was more nervous about the impending fight with Ludis. Could I really beat him?

I didn't know the answer to that question. He and Leo had been fighting so quickly that I wasn't sure I could keep up. The ring should help, but I still didn't feel confident.

This was my point of no return, however. I had to turn back now or keep going and fight Ludis. As soon as I parted ways with Leo I would have to see it through or I ran the risk of him being ganged up on, or losing this mission, or being killed. I couldn't let that happen.

He'd just saved my life and now it was my turn to do what I could.

“I think our paths part ways here,” Leo said before I could point out that the blood splatters went one way and Leo was following his nose another.

“It looks like it,” I agreed, even though my sense of scent was nowhere near strong enough to know if I was right or not for sure. “You'll hopefully find what you need from the other vampire. He's going to meet someone and probably get something.”

Leo nodded, but didn't carry on his way, even though there was nothing more for him here.

“Are you going to be able to kill him?” he asked, concern written across his face.

Although I was nervous I nodded. “With everything you've taught me, I think I can. Do you have what you need if I kill him?”

“Get his phone if you can. If I don't find this other vampire, it should still have what I need.”

“Consider it done,” I replied, still not hurrying away. We both needed to part ways, but I didn't want to and it appeared as if he didn't either.

Frowning, he pulled me into his arms, pressed his mouth against mine and held me close for a few seconds. I leaned into him, wishing we could stay like this, but eventually I pulled away again.

“Be safe, and I'll see you in the suite when we're both done.” He gave me a nod as he spoke and then hurried away.

Seeing him carry on after his own quarry soon brought me back to the task at hand. I had my chance to complete my mission. Ludis was injured and on the run and Leo had taught me everything I should need to know to kill him. All I had to do was find out where he had gone on this boat and finish the job.

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