40. Darius – Back to The Cliffs
Chapter forty
Darius – Back to The Cliffs
We drive to The Cliffs quietly. Most of the vampires have gathered at Marcus’ manor.
I feel it the second Bella and I step through the front doors of the manor. A higher level of tension than before. The tension hums beneath the walls like a second heartbeat.
Usually the vampires of Bloodhaven Cove move with effortless control. We have calm confidence. Predatory grace polished smooth through centuries of discipline.
Tonight that discipline feels strained thin.
Bella and I rush to care for Marcus who is agitated again. Bella sedates him and then we get one of Lucy’s pills in him. Marcus slowly calms. She gives more to Charles who will be sure to keep him on a regime. I hope it’s not too late for Marcus.
We now join the gathered vampires downstairs.
Voices rise too quickly in distant rooms. Footsteps move too fast through the halls. The scent of hunger hangs faintly beneath expensive perfume, old wood, and sea salt.
Bella notices it too. Her eyes move carefully over everything. Charlie would say she smells emotionally determined right now. But Charlie remains wisely at the clinic with Finn. Possibly the only intelligent being among us tonight.
A vampire passes us in the hallway and his gaze catches on Bella for one second too long. His pupils darken slightly.
I notice immediately and growl. The vampire lowers his eyes at once and steps aside. Bella glances toward me quietly.
“That’s a new sound.”
“Yes. Get used to it if you insist on being around vampires.”
The meeting tonight was to be smaller than the earlier gathering. More controlled. Only senior vampires to discuss the situation. Or at least that was the intention.
But fear changes plans quickly. The sitting room is already crowded when we arrive. Candlelight flickers against dark walls while fog and mist swirl around the windows.
The room quiets when I enter. And stills again when they notice Bella beside me.
“She should not be here.”
Bella’s spine straightens instantly beside me. Before she can respond, I speak calmly.
“She stays.” Silence. The vampire holds my gaze for one dangerous second too long. Then looks away. Good.
Bella exhales slowly beside me.
“You know,” she murmurs quietly, “for a hidden vampire society, everyone here is remarkably dramatic.”
Several vampires hear her. All of them do, actually. Bella forgot we have heightened hearing. To my surprise, a few smile sarcastically while others just look at her.
Charles clears his throat and starts. “Three more besides Marcus now show symptoms. Two have infected donors and were isolated …. Maris donates to Lucius; Jenna donates to Kaelen who just started symptoms.”
Victor stands near the fireplace quietly while Isabelle paces beside the windows holding a crystal glass of blood wine she hasn’t touched.
He hesitates. I already dislike the pause. “And Adrien nearly attacked one of his staff.”
Adrien? Impossible.
Adrien Laurent has lived at The Cliffs since the beginning without a single feeding violation. One of the most controlled amongst us. Elegant, disciplined. Even before my controls, he was careful.
“Three are in isolation and have the sedative. Adrien, however…”
A movement near the far wall draws my attention. Adrien stands partially isolated from the others now. Beautifully still, immaculately dressed. But his posture is wrong. His gaze flicks repeatedly toward Bella.
And now stays there. My instincts sharpen instantly. Adrien notices me noticing. Shame flashes briefly across his face.
Good. That means he still recognizes himself. Barely.
“Adrien, you should be isolated.”
“Soon, Darius. I must hear what you say first.”
Bella studies him carefully and watches him continue to smell the air while looking at her.
“He’s scent-fixating, Darius,” she whispers quietly. “He should go into isolation now. And we have hopes to catch the infection early with Lucy’s pill and sedation.”
Several vampires overhear the phrase scent-fixating. The room reacts badly to it.
“We are not animals,” Victor snaps immediately.
Bella doesn’t flinch.
“No, of course not,” she says evenly. “You’re infected patients.”
Silence crashes down hard. Gods above, she really is fearless. Or insane. Possibly both. And somehow I want to kiss her for it.
Dangerous thought, especially right now. Especially when half the room already suspects my attachment.
I carefully unwrap the black cloth bundle Lucy prepared. And immediately the room fills with the sharp herbal scent. Several vampires recoil.
“Wolfsbane?” Vanessa asks incredulously.
“Yes.”
Murmurs ripple instantly.
“You expect us to ingest witchcraft? Poison?”
“We expect you to survive,” I reply calmly. “It’s only for those infected.”
Victor folds his arms. “And if this weakens us?”
“It will. It will slow the infection, the calling, the hunger, Victor,” I say evenly. The room erupts immediately. There is anger now, but fear is underneath it.
“You would cripple us—”
“We become vulnerable—”
“What if humans notice and panic—”
“What if we lose stability entirely—”
“What if we’re poisoned—'
I let them speak. Let them get it out. Sometimes fear needs noise before it accepts reason. Bella watches quietly beside me, her fingers resting lightly against Dr. Mercer’s journal tucked under her arm.
The scientist among predators.
The mortal among immortals.
Finally I speak. Softly. Which forces silence faster than shouting ever would.
“If this spreads unchecked,” I say calmly, “there will be no Bloodhaven Cove left to protect. No donors, no blood, no place for you. You’ll tear each other apart. The monster, whatever it is, will control you and, we think, kill you.”
The room hushes completely. Rain now crashes against the windows and thunder sounds in the distance. No one interrupts. No one speaks.
“You all know what we were before structure,” I continue quietly. “Before the donor accords. Before the Ceremonies.”
They are visibly tense. Let them remember.
“We built this island community together because the alternative was slaughter and eventually starvation. Or worse.”
My gaze moves across the room slowly.
“If the Hunger reaches Stage 3 broadly and spreads among us…” A pause. “It will be the end.”
No one argues this time. Because they all saw Marcus and he’s only in stage 1, maybe now stage 2.
Adrien suddenly grips the edge of a chair hard enough to splinter wood. The crack echoes sharply through the room. His breathing grows ragged. Bella immediately steps forward instinctively.
“Adrien.”
Wrong move. Every vampire in the room notices. Including Adrien. His eyes snap toward her, and black floods them instantly. The room changes to one that is predatory, hungry and dangerous.
Many fangs snap down as some vampires hiss. A few recoil automatically. Adrien looks horrified even as his fangs descend.
“I can smell her heartbeat,” he whispers shakily. Bella freezes. I move between them immediately.
Adrien jerks backward like he’s been struck. Shame crashes across his face.
“Forgive me,” he says hoarsely.
God. This is happening too fast.
Bella’s voice stays remarkably calm despite the fact that an infected vampire just scent-locked on her in a crowded room.
“The disease amplifies hunger and fixation,” she says carefully. “Appetite. Obsession. It’s not your fault. We should help treat you now, sir.”
Victor’s expression darkens.
“And if this worsens?”
No one answers immediately. Because we all know. If enough vampires lose restraint simultaneously—
Bloodhaven Cove is finished.
Charles finally says quietly what everyone is thinking.
“Adrian, let’s get you into isolation. Now.”
Silence again. Because that means: Locked rooms. Sedation. A witch’s pill. And silver restraints.
Something ancient and frightened shifts through the room.
The vampires of The Cliffs truly look afraid for the first time in their existence.