The Yellow Sun Part 14

"Thanks to groups like The Administration," she added and looked up at him through tired, worried eyes. This was about as much stress as she could handle. "If we're not called in anymore and vampires take the police...what happens then?"

"That's not going to happen," he said it as if it were a promise. Something he felt absolutely sure of. "Even if no one calls us in, we're still here to protect the general public from these creeps with our lives. It's what we do. It's what we've always done. We sign up for this, and we're all very pa.s.sionate about it. Things will be okay. I promise."

Amara couldn't help but smile a bit at that. It actually did make her feel just a little bit better. She still had to keep her mind on the case and what was going on.

"So who is your contact, anyway?" Jeremy finally asked. He set the notebook down beside him, a sign that he was keeping this particular note out of his files.

Amara needed the extra verbal a.s.surance that he wouldn't add it in later.

"Just between you and me? Off the record?" she checked.

"Completely off the record," he said with a firm nod. If Amara was willing to tell him, he could keep it a secret, or at least he hoped.

"Alexander Sef."

Jeremy's eyes widened, and Amara looked down. Why did it suddenly feel like such a shameful thing to get information from him? She had just worked with him a few months before to bring down The Yellow Sun Diner. Then again, Jeremy didn't know that. They hadn't really mentioned who helped them when they all filed their reports. It was really for Christopher's benefit, but now that she really thought on about it, maybe it was for hers as well.

"What if he's part of this? What if this is all some plot of his?" Jeremy was careful to keep his tone soft. He knew this would be a tender subject with Amara. She was his friend, and he knew she probably went through a lot with this, but he was starting to worry about the state of her mental health.

"It's not. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be sure? It's Alexander Sef we're talking about," he said it as if she needed reminding. "He's always got his own agenda. He's got his own plans and he'll use anyone-especially you-as a p.a.w.n to bring them to life."

"I know," she sighed deeply. "It's a conversation I walked in on months ago. Something I just pushed to the back of my mind at the time. I almost forgot about it, but today I was reminded. During the meeting I crashed with Stephanie and Chris, Alex talked about something which that could be the end of vampires. He said he would protect his people and wouldn't put *his people' at risk to do something to benefit vampires."

Amara sat down on the bed and looked over to Jeremy. "At first, I thought he meant his vampires. You know, the vampires are his servants. Part of his personal coven. Later, I realized he feels responsibility for the entire city. All the people-dead or alive-that live within his realm belong to him. He feels like he needs to protect them."

"You're sounding a little too attached." Jeremy sounded very concerned. "Maybe you should consider checking yourself into The Clinic for a little observation."

"I'm not kidding, Jeremy." Amara glared at him. "I'm telling you what I know. He was talking about keeping humans alive. I think he's on our side with this one. I think he's here to help this time. When it's over, we can rip his heart out. h.e.l.l, I'll rip his heart out. It's been my dream ever since he murdered my parents, but for now, we could use him. He's our inside source when no one else will be."

"That's the problem, Amara. No one else will be. Why is he being so bold?" Jeremy pointed out. If no other vampires-or even other hunters-were willing to help, then why him?

"He's Alexander Sef." She gave him a very bland look, as if she'd had this conversation before. "If he's not afraid of us ,what is he going to be afraid of?"

"If he's helping us, he's afraid of something," Jeremy remarked.

"That's the scary thought." Amara glanced out the window at the setting sun. "What's big and scary enough to worry Alexander Sef so much that he'd help The Administration?"

"No," Jeremy corrected her. "The question is: what is big and scary enough to make Alexander Sef come looking for help from you?"

Amara nodded thoughtfully. The more she thought about this the more she didn't like it. Jeremy was right. If Alexander tried to help her with this, it meant he would ask for her help later. She already figured that part out herself, but she had not put as much thought into it as she probably should have. Whatever it was he was about to ask her to face had to be something tremendous. Something he couldn't take on himself.

"Don't bring up the source, okay?" Amara asked Jeremy one last time. "Don't mention where this information came from. Me or Alexander."

Jeremy nodded. He could keep that promise to her. "You need to make me a promise too."

"What's that?" Amara asked and glanced back at her friend.

"Don't get too deep in this," he asked softly. It was almost like he was pleading with her, begging her. "Don't get in over your head."

"I promise," Amara said softly, but it reminded her of the way Christopher promised not to get killed by Crimson. It was a promise held together very loosely with circ.u.mstance.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

After a while, the murders slowed down. It was as if it were one large event to grab the attention of the world-but only got the attention of the vampire hunting societies and a few "conspiracy theorists" who blamed the government and its chemical testing for the deaths. The vampire hunters knew better, but it was for the best that the general human populous didn't know the truth.

The last thing anyone needed was ma.s.s hysteria. Well, it was the last thing anyone trying to keep the peace needed.

Amara did more digging around, trying to find something, anything, that could help. Some of the other investigators working on the case were starting to simply let it go. It was getting harder and harder for her to keep everyone motivated and on track of things. She couldn't exactly explain to them that things were going to get worse, or that they were going to happen again. Not without citing sources for them, and that just could not happen right now. So, she took the time to try to get some of the work done herself while the other hunters went back to their regular missions.

For now, Amara sat in the large, labyrinth of books that The Administration dubbed its "Resource Hall". Books, files, folders and computers filled the room. Records of every vampire, vampire hunter, lycanthrope, and any other paranormal creature or staff member who ever crossed paths with The Administration or one of its hunters was kept here. Occasionally, the company would import files from other vampire hunting facilities as well-and then keep files on its partners.

It was probably best to keep on the up and up on everyone, because right now, Amara wasn't sure who could be trusted and who could not be. The police were less willing to help with any Administration related matters, and weren't exactly welcoming of the help lent to them for their cases cla.s.sified as "Paranormal" or "Other Worldly".

Amara was convinced there was a mole somewhere, and this person needed to be found. She slowly pieced the puzzle together, and tried to pull faces out of her memory of who was in the room when she crashed Alexander's meeting. She was silently kicking herself for not paying closer attention at the time. She remembered exactly the amount of people in the room, where every exit or potential weapon had been, but all the faces drew blanks.

She could have asked Alexander for a party list, but then he would have wanted to know what the information she was pulling up was for. She wasn't willing to share with anyone that she was not one hundred percent sure she could trust. Jeremy was a good partner for now.

When Stephanie came back, she would be able to help too, but in for the time being, it was just the two of them. They were doing a fine job as things were. At least that's what Amara hoped was true.

"When does Stephanie come back?" Jeremy asked as he flipped through the pages of one of the books. It was as if he were reading Amara's mind.

"Not until the end of October. Hopefully, by then we won't need her help looking for information."

"We're really not coming up with anything," he sighed and slammed the book in front of him shut. "We don't have anything new to go off of. We know there are two groups of vampires fighting, but we're not sure over what.

"We know they've taken their fights to the street, and there are human casualties, but we can't tell those apart from the run of the mill human being eaten by a vampire." Jeremy looked down for a moment at the book's cover, then rested his head against it. "I hate to say it, but we've gotta wait for something else to happen."

"I know," she said quietly, and the words tasted bitter on her tongue. It felt like she was admitting defeat. Like she was simply giving up.

She wondered other things as well. What if Jeremy were right? What if this was all some set up by Alexander to drive her insane? What if he just kept her busy while he concocted some new scheme? If that was it, then it was brilliant because it worked. The thought made her snap out of her temporary trance and look back to Jeremy.

"Let's get out of here and get some real work done. I'm so far behind on my missions that it's disgusting." She pushed up and stretched, feeling her muscles tighten. The two had been sitting for so long that her body was falling asleep.

"That sounds good to me. I need to move around at least a little bit. We've been at this for weeks. Everything died down. I think we're in a safe zone if not in the clear." Jeremy smiled at her as he got up and put the book back on the shelf.

"Keep your eyes and ears open. If any hints or signs come our way, I want to be sure neither of us misses it."

Jeremy nodded and headed for the large, wooden double doors. Amara stood and watched him leave, but didn't follow right away. Instead, she pulled out her phone and dialed for Alexander. The phone rang a few times before he answered.

"Any updates?" he asked Amara when he picked up.

"That's a dangerous way for you to answer the phone. What if someone else got a hold of mine?" she scolded him.

"I'll be more careful next time. Did you find anything?"

"No." She sighed. "I've got to get back to normal work though, Alex. I'm sorry, but we've decided to wait for something more to happen before we can press matters forward. We need something else to go off of. Unless you have something to report?"

Amara was drawing at straws at this point. She hoped Alexander might have found something to tell her. Otherwise, they really were stuck waiting. Their trail would have truly run cold.

"Good news. I do have something, actually. Found our heart-breaker vampire." He sounded like a child announcing good news to a parent. It was exciting news.

"Really?" Amara's voice rose a pitch in antic.i.p.ation. She couldn't help but smile, and it reflected in her tone.

"His name is Alfonzo. He's only about two hundred or so years old, so he shouldn't be much of a challenge for you and your friends. I've got his address, phone number, all the information you need to find him and put a bullet in his head." The sound of Alexander shuffling through papers came through the phone as he went through the file he'd gotten on the vampire.

"That's great and all, Alex, but if he's so young and weak how is he killing all these people? You're sure you have the right vampire?"

"Alfonzo was a psychic when he was human." He sounded like he was half reading the information off the papers and half reciting from memory. "When he was turned, it enhanced his abilities. It only works on animals and humans. Never on vampires, werewolves, or anyone who can repel psychic attacks. So, even the human hunters you've got there should be fine as long as they stay on their guard."

Amara bit her lip lower lip as she thought about it. She really wasn't willing to put all the other hunters at risk. It would be catastrophic if they all went after this vampire, and his mind tricks worked on them. She wondered, just how confident was Alexander with this information?

"So, I can take Chris along then?" she asked, deciding to test his certainty, and there was a hesitation on the other line that made her just the slightest bit worried.

"As long as you can find him and get Crimson to agree to let him help," he finally answered.

"You say that like you have your doubts," Amara noted.

"I do. Crimson is on a sort of lock down with its hunters. They haven't been letting many out or in. Something is going on. If you can get Chris out of there, do it. There's more about this vampire you need to know."

"What's that?" She sighed. There always seemed to be a downside.

"His girlfriend. She's the one you need to be careful about. He's got the mind power-so to speak. She's nearly nine hundred years old and has the physical vampire strength. Warrick was only six-hundred or so. So be ready for this one. Make sure your team is ready."

"So what you're saying is when we go up against Alfonzo, we've got to take on his lover too? Typical."

"Sorry, Amara, but you know that's how things work. She's got a fiery temper so just be careful. Make sure everyone is at their best when you go after them."

Amara nodded then realized Alexander wouldn't be able to see it. "I'll get on it. I*ll wait for Stephanie to get back, and then I*ll get Christopher brought back over."

"Just don't get hurt or in trouble trying to get him out. It won't help him for you to get killed."

"I just don't want to see him stuck in that h.e.l.l forever," Amara said quietly.

After a long, thick silence Alexander finally responded. For a few moments, she thought he might have hung up on her. She was about to check when he spoke again.

"Okay. I can understand that. Just stay safe, Amara."

"Do me a favor, Alex. Don't pretend to be my friend," she said firmly. "We're working together. When this is all over, things go back to the way they were."

"By the time this is done, you might not feel that way anymore, Mirth," he said lightly.

"Don't push your luck," she said sharply and snapped her phone shut. No point in making things easy for him now.

Amara walked back to the doorway. As much as she would have loved to doubt him, somewhere deep inside herself-back far in her mind or deep in her heart-she knew he told the truth, and that was probably the worst part of this all. Amara knew something awful was about to happen, and the entire group had nothing to do but wait for it to come. All they could do would be to prepare.

Stephanie was already away at her magic retreat. Amara was sure she learned new tricks every day. The girl was already a fantastic witch, creating spells, performing auric healing, and generating walls of energy for protection or trapping their target. Sure, their personalities clashed a little bit, but even Amara believed Stephanie had the potential to become a very powerful, very influential witch.

Christopher was back at Crimson, which meant he would train every day anyway. As long as he didn't slip up and get thrown back into the Clinic and brainwashed again, that was. She hoped he could stay out of trouble long enough to help. She hadn't been able to get in touch with him about anything going on either. His phone was going to voice mail, and he hadn't returned her calls-which was normal for Christopher. If he were on a mission, she wouldn't expect the calls to be returned until after he was finished. As soon as he called, she would fill him in. She may not have trusted him completely, but the worst he could do would be to tell Alexander the information she told him-and Alexander already knew. The vampire had been the one to tell her.

Alexander, well, he was as in this as the rest of them. Maybe even deeper. It seemed like he had a lot to lose if whatever this was happened to go badly. She counted on the idea that he would stand by the rest of the group. It seemed like a stupid notion, to rely on a vampire, but it was all they had.

Jeremy wasn't really a hunter per se. He was more one of the team's investigators. As far as Amara knew, he never had any real fighting experience. Sure, everyone in The Administration learned the basics of fighting and self-defense, but Jeremy had never been in an actual fight. He was more of a thinker, which was fine when it came to getting information, and they needed as much information as they could get right now.

With their limited resources, Amara hoped things held together. Whenever-whatever this was came, they would stand together and take it down. That much, she was confident in. Because when the whole group worked together, despite their differences, they came out on top.

This time, their coming out on top might be worth more than saving a few people from a vampire. It might be worth saving the world.

About the Author:.

Elizabeth Darker grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania with a very haunting history. Her grandmother had begun to hand her horror novels at a very young age, and when Elizabeth was old enough to write she began churning out stories about vampires and werewolves. Now, Elizabeth still resides in Pennsylvania but travels often, always on the search for new inspiration. When she is not writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, collecting Egyptian artifacts, and playing with her son. To learn more about Elizabeth Darker, visit her website www.edarker.com

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