Page 41 of Last Hope
Terrance considered this for a moment. It was a possibility. Maybe he had wanted to see if the vampire venom needles worked before creating a giant machine gun that he could shoot at the population.
But then again, vampire venom was enough to kill the host alone. So, what did Azizi plan on doing? Did he plan on sending out his vampires to push the whole population to the brink of death, give them their blood and then shoot needles at them from the sky? It seemed an unlikely ridiculous plan.
“What if…” Terrance thought for a moment. “What if he was using this whole vampire venom in needles experiment as a gateway to perfecting it? What if hehasperfected it and made it so that the people can be injected with it but not die without receiving a bite? What if that’s what he’s been doing all along so that hecanshoot needles at people and create an army of newborn vampires?” It all dawned on him at once. But of course that was what the plan was. It had been right in front of his face the whole time. It seemed the most likely answer to their problem. He looked over at Teddy.
“God help us all.”
23
Esmeralda had just put Viktor down for a nap and was attempting to clean up his toys and the giant mess he had made in her grandmother’s living room. Her grandma had gone out that night to bake bread with her friends; at least, Ezzy had thought she heard her say that.
She had been trying to learn Spanish in order to keep up with the conversations between Antonio and herabuelabut they both spoke really fast and in accents that she couldn’t seem to decipher.
Antonio was on the couch, a bag of Synthetic Blood in his hand. He was downing it like water and it made Ezzy worry for him. Ever since they had found out about the fire at Santiago mansion his mood had become gloomier.
Thank god Maria and Mr. Santiago had gotten out unharmed, Ezzy thought, but he was grieving over the rest of his coven. It had been a shock to them both. So many had died, many more had been injured. The firemen had said the fire had been deliberately started and both Antonio and Esmeralda knew it had been Caesareon’s men behind it.
“Do you ever feel like moving back to your hometown?” Esmeralda asked him suddenly, to try and distract him from his depressing thoughts.
He stared at her. “You mean here in Spain?”
Esmeralda nodded.
Antonio chuckled. “I haven’t really thought about it. Why? Do you feel your inner Latina coming out and you want to move here permanently?”
Ezzy made a face at him as she threw more toys into a basket. “I am part Mexican, you know. I should get in touch with my father’s roots. Learn the culture and all that…” Her father had been born in Mexico and had moved to Spain when he was young with Antonio and his family. He had been raised in the Spanish culture—and no, it wasn’t the same as Mexican culture.
“Ask your grandma to teach you to make tortillas.”
“She already said she would.” Esmeralda smiled to herself. It felt so good to finally feel like she was a part of a family. She had had so little time to spend with her parents; had spent most of her life locked away in a mansion and now she was watching her family grow even though there was also a probability of it diminishing. Thoughts of Isis came to mind just as her grandmother suddenly came into the living room.
“Letter for you.” She handed Antonio an envelope. He took it and stared at it quizzically.
“Who would write you a letter here?” Esmeralda asked curiously. She thanked her grandmother who nodded and went into the kitchen. Ezzy watched with open curiosity as Antonio ripped the envelope open and began reading the letter. Esmeralda immediately felt his emotions hit her like a wave. “What is it?” she asked when he simply sat there staring at the letter for what felt like forever. Silently, he handed it over to her. She sat down and read it.
Antonio and Esmeralda,
I’ve been staring at the page for a while now, thinking of the perfect way to tell you what it is you need to know. But there is no perfect way to tell your best friends that you are going to die. And there it is. The awful truth. And surprisingly, I am okay with it. Of course, I don’t want to die. Who would want that? But I have certainly come to terms with it.
I realized that Caesareon’s men will not stop until they avenge their master. They will not stop until I am dead.
So I have decided to stare down the face of the leader that wants to kill me. I will look into his eyes and I will pray for the ending to be quick until Caesareon’s creation dies with him.
I always figured I’d die at the hands of the devil and even though he’s gone, that shadow still haunts me wherever I go. There is no more running, no more hiding. And I know you won’t accept that but what kind of life would I be living if I were always a chambered nautilus? If I were always changing shells, looking for somewhere new to lock myself up in? I will not live part of a life. I will not ever see you again in this lifetime and if I have to die now in order to meet you again in the next then, so be it. I want to live. But I realize that I must die.
Don’t take it so hard. We know that life is infinite. Keep the notion that we will meet again always in the realm of thought and as time passes you’ll find that we will be reunited again. Remember that I love you. And I will always love you. Do not try to stop me. It’s one of the two things I ask you, as my final wishes.
The second thing I need is the most important and I beg of you to see it through. Take care of Anya. You may not know her well, but she means so much to me that it’s hard for words to describe it. She is my Soul Mate. I know that it will be hardest on her. I beg of you to help her through it. She is strong but not that strong and she will need you…not to forget…but to be able to deal with it as much as she can. If you could please do that for me…please…I love you. And goodbye.
Isis
Esmeralda recognized the cursive scripture to be her best friend’s. She set the letter down carefully over the coffee table as if it might shred itself to pieces any moment. For a while, a heavy silence passed between them. Neither said a word, they simply stared at the letter on the table; it was the ghost of the harsh reality, of the possible future and fate that would be bestowed upon her best friend.
In that instant, memories came flooding back to Ezzy.
Isis appeared to tower over her like a willowy tree, all long limbs and swift, graceful movements. Esmeralda had watched with frightened eyes from behind Damien’s suit pants, but she wouldn’t dare let him go. The grown-ups were discussing what would be done with her.
“Put her in a human orphanage” Maria had suggested and it only made Ezzy clutch onto Damien more tightly.
