Chapter 15 A Matter Of Time
A MATTER OF TIME
A week later…
“So, there I was, facing off against two Weryn. One was twice my size! The other was thin as a whip, but had a crazed look in his eyes. They move like the animals they can shift into when they’re in their human forms. It’s wild,” Nero said.
“Vampires are fast in general, but Weryn Vampires are something else.”
“Ryder glides more than walks,” Mairead said. “I wonder which of his animals he takes more after.”
“Ryder can turn into any animal, plus Ever Dark creatures,” Nero explained.
“So perhaps he takes after most an Ever Dark creature,” Eiji offered.
“That’s so cool,” Mairead laughed.
Eiji and Nero were seated on the couch together while Mairead was seated across from them.
The three of them had been having tea and hearing some of Nero’s stories about the past, including this one about two Weryn War Children who had decided Nero had insulted them.
Mairead could listen to him and Eiji for hours.
She told herself to record their stories on her phone–it was a brick in the Ever Dark otherwise–but she always forgot, getting caught up in stories of fights, heists and romantic entanglements.
“So what did you do?” Mairead asked. “And what did they do more importantly?”
“Well, I–”
There was a knock on the door to the dorm room.
“Who could that be?” Eiji asked. “Hue would just come in and Grayson is not here.”
Grayson was the one that got the most visitors.
It was always interesting to see who came to whisper with him, but Eiji was right.
Grayson wasn’t here and Vampires always seemed to know that.
Nero was sitting up straight and his eyes were fixed on the door, but he didn’t look anxious to let whoever it was in.
This both intrigued and worried Mairead. So she decided to answer it herself.
“I’ll get it,” she said and rose up from the couch.
She opened the door and a girl–a teenager really–with blonde hair done up in two pigtails and a smile so wide that it closed her eyes was standing there holding a white envelope. She reminded Mairead of a living anime character. Mairead blinked. Who was this kid?
“Hello!” Their visitor said brightly. “I’m here to speak to Eiji Goda!”
Eiji lifted his head and looked over to the door.
Nero was still doing his best to resemble a pointer dog.
Mairead kept a firm hold of the door. She wasn’t sure who this was or what they wanted with Eiji, but she didn’t like Nero’s reaction.
Yet he wasn’t saying anything or moving.
It was almost as if he could see the train coming down the tracks, but couldn’t escape it. Well, she wasn’t frozen.
“And who are you?” Mairead asked.
“My name is Sophia! Sophia Strange,” Sophia said.
She was definitely strange. A memory came to Mairead of seeing her beside the Immortal Seeyr during the parade. This didn’t cause Mairead to feel any better about this visit. What would a Seeyr want with Eiji? And then she really took note of that envelope.
Seeyr said that if we survived the trials and tests that we would receive an envelope with information on whether we’d be turned and who our Master will be. Is that what this is for Eiji? But he already knows that Nero is the one! So why is Sophia here?
“Eiji is busy. What do you want?” Mairead asked, her palms suddenly sweating.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want Eiji to get turned or to have “succeeded” in whatever tests he was supposed to. Nero was going to be his Master. He would be an Ashyr Bloodline Vampire. But this girl’s sudden appearance was unnerving to her.
“Goda-sama is free now,” Sophia said with a certainty that was also unnerving. She kept smiling. “I must see him.”
“I–”
“Let her in, Mairead,” Eiji said gently. “She is determined.”
Mairead stepped back and allowed the bubbly teenager with the pink, bubble-gum colored dress that poofed around her waist skip inside.
In addition to the dress, she had white knee socks and black and white saddle shoes.
She was, quite frankly, adorable. Adorable and Vampire did not go together easily yet she was exactly that.
“Sophia!” Nero sounded slightly alarmed and there was something of that in his silver eyes too. His voice grew low as he asked her, “What brings you here?”
“It’s time,” Sophia intoned.
She proceeded to skip over to the couch and bowed, extending the envelope to Eiji.
Eiji looked at the envelope then over at Nero.
Nero half rose, but, though she wasn’t sure what Sophia did, Nero settled back down.
Sophia Strange might look like a strong wind could blow her down, but Nero’s reaction to her showed incredible respect and a little bit of fear.
“I am afraid I am uncertain why you are offering me this,” Eiji said without taking the envelope.
“It’s time,” Sophia repeated.
“Time for what?!” Mairead asked sharply.
She stormed over and slid between Sophia and Eiji. While this girl might frighten Nero–and likely should frighten her–she was never one to back down. Not when her friends were in danger.
“You think you are protecting him, Mairead, but it is time,” Sophia said quietly.
“Again, time for what? What are you talking about?” Mairead demanded.
“It’s okay, Mairead,” Nero sighed. “Sophia doesn’t do things without a very good reason.”
“So why do you look ready to jump out of your chair and whisk Eiji away from her?” Mairead asked without even looking over at him.
Nero let out another sigh. “Because when a Seeyr Vampire visits you… it can be a two-edged sword. But there’s no getting around it. There’s no denying them. Your loyalty to Eiji is to your credit, Mairead, and you shall always be welcome in our house. But we must let Sophia finish her task.”
Mairead’s hands clenched into fists. She wrenched herself away, which allowed Sophia to see Eiji again.
She was still holding out the envelope. Eiji slowly took it.
He held it in both hands. His name in Japanese was beautifully written on the front.
His fingers smoothed over it, but he did not open the envelope.
“Am I correct in understanding that this is the envelope that reveals my fate? Whether I will be turned and who my Master will be?” Eiji asked.
Sophia, who had straightened up, nodded. “And more.”
“More?” Eiji asked, his voice lifting.
Sophia merely nodded, but said nothing more.
Eiji continued to smooth his hands over the envelope.
Mairead’s heartrate lifted. What did Sophia mean with that more comment?
She would have been ripping that envelope open herself if she was in Eiji’s position.
But then she amended that. He and Nero were courting heavily.
To look in the envelope would be to show doubt as to Nero being his fated Master and she knew that there was no doubt in Eiji’s mind about the Ashyr Vampire.
Yet the more was intriguing and unnerving.
But she wasn’t surprised when Eiji gracefully ripped the envelope in two without opening it and set it on the table.
“I choose my future,” Eiji answered simply. “But thank you for your offer.”
Sophia bowed again, gave one of those brilliant anime smiles, and headed out of the dorm room. Mairead found herself unable to relax even though the girl was gone.
“What was that all about?” Mairead asked. “I thought we had to succeed in these tests and all! Then we needed to track down those envelopes or something. Why did she just bring it here?”
Nero was chewing his inner cheek. He was staring at the ripped envelope as if he was considering picking it up, fishing the note inside out and fitting it together to see what it said. He wasn’t alone. Only Eiji seemed uninterested.
“I don’t know,” Nero said.
“Really? Because I’m seeing some kind of knowledge here.” She gestured to his face.
Nero scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Seeyrs do nothing without a reason. They often don’t act because those acts could make the thing they’re trying to avoid come true. So when they do…”
“It is very important and cannot be put off any longer,” Eiji said softly.
Nero bobbed his head. “But what she means–”
“You should have let me question her!” Mairead put her hands on her hips. “I would have found out what she meant by more!”
“Sophia Strange might look like a sweet teenager, but she was turned by Seeyr herself. She’s not just old, but ancient,” Nero cautioned. “And she wouldn’t say anything, but what she wanted to say. Seeyrs are known to keep their mouths shut no matter what.”
“I suppose knowing the future would make them targets,” Mairead said.
“They are incredibly useful for any House to have a connection to one,” Nero agreed. “Sophia is attached to Balthazar. She is a member of House Ravenscroft as well as her own House.”
“So she’s really important?” Mairead guessed. “And she’s handing out envelopes with cryptic sayings?”
She had lifted an eyebrow at this. It seemed more and more unwise for Eiji to have torn up the envelope.
But it wasn’t shredded. They could still read it easily.
Yet Eiji was not reaching for it nor did he seem at all inclined to do so.
His expression was distant. She knew that this was a look he got when he was thinking deeply.
“Just her visit is enough to… to be significant,” Nero admitted.
Eiji’s eyes refocused on them both. He was smiling and seemed quite calm. He’d come to some decision. Mairead recognized that. His next words confirmed it, “Nero, I am ready.”
Nero’s head snapped up. A look of surprise and then joy flitted across his face. “But I thought you said you wanted to stay with–”
“I think that when a Vampire with the ability to see the future tells you that it is time then that should be respected,” Eiji answered. “I have no need to see what is in the envelope as you and I have agreed to become Master and fledgling already. It is what I want. And it must be time now.”
“You are not alone in wanting that,” Nero said heartily. “I’m so glad, Eiji.”