It was quiet at the dinner table. There was heaviness in the air and everyone seemed anxious. Kai didn't say anything since coming back from his parents' home. Ethan was reading through documents. Marcus was eating with a serious look on his face. Christian looked worried. Even Jeremy, who was normally the loud one, was eating quietly – looking so anxious. Kilian didn't touch his food. He just sat there, his arms crossed.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Jeremy, what is it?" He looked at me, and then glanced at Christian. "Just say it already."
"Well…" He hesitated. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "The Church is looking for you."
"What? How did they know I'm in the city?"
"Well, you remember that night we arrested you? One of those we arrested that night managed to escape when we started fighting. The woman saw your face and recognized you from those wanted posters." He said.
"Well that's not so bad, is it? I mean, they won't find me here."
"There's another problem." Christian said. "One of the elites reported to Kai's parents about seeing you in the city that night. The vampire said he tried to catch you but ended up following your companion."
"Maria! I almost forgot about her. We need to find her. Now!"
"You're not allowed to go out." Kai finally spoke. "We can't risk you getting seen."
"What did you tell your parents? Did they suspect anything?" Marcus asked.
"No. I don't think so. The council has a lot in their hands with all those low-level vampires appearing out of nowhere." Then he faced me. "You're staying here. We'll find her."
"Stop treating me like I'm a child. I managed to escape from this place years ago. I can take care of myself." I said with conviction. "I'm going to go see my father."
"What? What do you mean? What would you---"Ethan stopped and stared at me.
"I got my memories back." I announced.
"Seriously? You remember everything?" Jeremy asked. The surprise in his voice filled the air.
"Yes. Everything." I said.
"You seem pretty calm for someone who just recovered her memories." Christian said.
"I don't have the luxury to panic at the moment. I remember everything now. I remember what I failed to do. I remember what I have to do to make it right." I looked at Kai who sat there staring at me, wide-eyed. "We need to find Maria."
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He slowly stood up. "Alright. We will, but we need a plan. We can't just go around revealing ourselves out in the open."
"Okay. That's that then.'" Ethan said. "Did Maria say anything to you before you parted ways that night? A little hint, anything?"
I closed my eyes and tried to recall what happened that night. I remembered how we ran in desperation from the vampire chasing us.
….."You stay here. I'll distract them. When it's all quiet, follow that path." She said nodding towards the small dark alley to the right. "Follow it to the end. Then turn right and knock on the twelfth building door. Tell him Maria sent you."…..
"I remember now. Back then I couldn't recognize the place but now I remember. It was that building. It was that old brothel." I said.
We moved like shadows in the dark city. The streets were empty, like one of those you see in horror movies. We were all dressed in black to camouflage in the night, as if that would work against the other vampires. Marcus, Christian and Ethan went ahead to volunteer in patrolling the area. They were our backup and tasked to guard our backs in case other Elites were to see us. Kai, Jeremy, Kilian and I moved silently in a close group.
"I can't believe you raided a brothel without us. It would have been quite a scene." Jeremy said out of the blue.
"I can't believe even after seventeen years you're still as childish." I told him. "Besides, we didn't raid it; we just snuck in to look for information."
"It's the same thing. It would have been fun."
"That's enough. Let's go." Kai walked ahead and we followed.
We reached the old brothel, checking the surroundings in case we got followed. I walked to the door and knocked three times. There was no answer. I knocked again.
"Who is it?" A voice from the other side of the door asked.
"Maria sent me." I answered. The door opened and I nearly jumped when I saw the person who opened it. "Father Sinclair…"
"Get in. Hurry." He said.
The four of us immediately went inside the building. Father Sinclair locked the door and took a lamp from the floor. "Follow me."
We followed him to the stairs leading to the basement. He opened the basement door and we followed him in. It was so dark; I couldn't see anything except the dim light from the lamp Father Sinclair was holding. Kilian held me by the arm and supported me as we walked. I tripped on things I couldn't see a couple times. It was a good thing my son had vampire senses. We walked to the farthest end of the basement. Father Sinclair moved a box of tools to reveal a hidden knob. He twisted it and pushed the shelf. The shelf spilt in the middle and opened a path for us. We went in. Father Sinclair asked Kai to close the hidden door behind us which he did. We followed Father Sinclair through a tunnel-like passageway. After walking for minutes, I could finally make out light from the end of the tunnel. A couple more steps and then we stepped out of the tunnel.
The place was bustling with people, I mean vampires, I wasn't really sure. Some were eating on the table while some were goofing around. There were also young children running around the place.
"Krista!" I turned and saw Maria running towards us. As soon as she reached us, she gave me a hug. "I'm glad you're safe. I thought you've forgotten the directions I told you about."
"No. I remembered. I knew the building from before." I said.
"From before? You mean you got your memories back?" She sounded delighted.
"Yes. I remember you. You were an amazing artist." I said.
"It's a good thing you came here. Maria was about to go out to find you." Father Sinclair said.
"What is this place? Father Sinclair, why are you helping Maria?"
"Let's talk somewhere more private." He said.
We sat in silence in that tiny room which was meant to be Father Sinclair's office. He offered us tea and we gladly accepted.
"Father Sinclair, why would you hide all of them here? Why would you protect them?" I asked.
"You really must have thought badly of me." He started. "I mean, I did go to the brothel a couple times but that was the only thing I'm guilty of, and of course a little corruption. But I never knew about the research, or that they were experimenting on people under our noses."