Chapter 20 #2
"Do you really think that?" Viktor turned back to him. "That I'm the one falling for a fairy tale? When's the last time you questioned an assignment? Really questioned it?"
Simon thought of Charlie's file. All those murders that never happened. "This one."
"And look what you found. An innocent kid who probably would have died of starvation rather than hurt anyone." Viktor nodded at Charlie. "How long did you say he lasted on his own?"
"Three weeks."
"Three weeks without blood. Without guidance. Without anyone explaining what was happening to him." Viktor's expression was unreadable. "And he didn't kill anyone. Doesn't that tell you something?"
Before Simon could answer, Charlie stirred on the couch, making a soft sound of distress. His hand reached out, searching for something.
For Simon.
Simon kept himself rooted to the spot, too aware of Viktor's gaze on him.
It was no use. His old friend wasn't going to let him off the hook. "There's something between you two," he said, moving closer. He sniffed the air. "Something about your scent on him. It's not just that he's fed from you."
Simon stayed focused on Charlie's sleeping face.
Why did everything about this target have to bring up more questions?
"One of the vampires at the bar said something before I killed him."
"What?"
"He asked if I knew what it meant to give a starving fledgling my blood. Being the first to feed him."
Viktor went very still. "You were his first?"
Simon licked his lips. "I suppose so."
"Fuck." Viktor sat down hard in his chair. "Simon, do you know what that means?"
"It doesn't mean anything. I kept him from dying. That's all." And that was already weird enough.
Viktor rubbed his face. "When a vampire turns someone, they're supposed to feed them immediately. First blood comes from the sire. It completes the turning and creates the bond between maker and fledgling."
"So?"
"So his sire abandoned him and never gave him that first feeding." Viktor looked at Charlie's hand gripping Simon's sleeve. "And then you came along."
Simon stepped further away from the couch. This could not be right. "I was keeping a potential informant alive. Nothing more."
"You gave a newly turned vampire their first real blood. In vampire terms—"
"In vampire terms nothing. I'm not a vampire." Simon's voice came out harder than intended. "He's not my anything. He's a target who happens to have information I need."
Viktor studied him. "Can he refuse your direct commands?"
Simon's lips drew into a thin line.
"Have you tested it?"
Simon didn't know what to say. He thought of Charlie's hand dropping the pill bottle. His mouth snapping shut. But that could be explained other ways. Fear. Confusion. Charlie being Charlie.
"The Organization teaches us about sire bonds so we can exploit them," Viktor said carefully. "But they never mentioned we might be capable of forming them ourselves."
"Because we're not. We're human. Enhanced, but human."
"Right. That's why you need those pills. That's why you can smell blood through skin. That's why you're strong enough to fight vampires hand-to-hand." Viktor's voice was gentle but insistent. "We're something in between, Simon. The Organization made sure of that."
"The Organization saved us."
"Did they?"
Simon shook his head and focused back on Charlie. "He's going to turn. Eventually. They all do. Once the hunger really sets in, once he gets a taste for real hunting—"
"And when's that gonna be?"
"Soon! He's still new and clinging to human morality." Simon stared down at Charlie's sleeping face. "Give it time. He'll become what they all become."
"A monster?"
"Yes."
Viktor was quiet for a moment. "Is that what you're waiting for? For him to prove he's a monster so you can stake him with a clear conscience?"
Simon didn't answer.
"Because from where I'm sitting, the only monster behavior I've seen is from the vampire who turned him as a joke. Charlie's just a kid who got dealt a shit hand and is trying to survive without hurting anyone."
"You don't know him."
"Neither do you. Not really." Viktor stood, moving to the kitchen. "But you saved him anyway. You fed him your blood and carried him out of danger." He pulled out a beer and offered one to Simon who shook his head. "That's not normal hunter behavior, and you know it."
"I'm investigating—"
"Bullshit. You're protecting him. And maybe that's because of whatever bond got created when you fed him, or maybe it's because somewhere deep down, you know the Organization's definition of 'monster' isn't as clear-cut as they taught us."
Charlie stirred, fingers searching for Simon again. "Don't go," he mumbled, still mostly asleep. "Please."
The words hit something in Simon's chest he didn't want to examine.
"I should report in," Simon said. "Reuben is expecting an update."
"About the vampire you were supposed to kill?" Viktor took a long drink of his beer. "The one currently drooling on my couch? The one who smells of your blood? Good luck explaining that."
Simon's phone buzzed. Reuben.
"Speak of the devil," Viktor muttered.
Simon looked at the screen, then at Charlie's peaceful face, then back at the phone. He'd have to answer eventually. Have to explain why Charlie Dracul was still alive. Have to lie or admit the truth.
Have to decide what the truth even was.
The phone kept buzzing.