They drove further closer into the Centennial Center, up and over the bridges that were complex and intertwining with the drive quiet while Charlotte kept to herself and zoned out while looking out at the tall buildings that were eating up the ground and lighting up the area in a brilliant white light.
It had long turned dark after staying in the company of Sera and Darion, and Charlotte laced her fingers together in her lap. Life and death were always on the line whenever she was together with Vincent, but it wasn't something that she could avoid now. The vigilante problem had only gotten bigger from the small stint that she had been a part of earlier.
At first, she thought that the vigilantes were only after Vincent for revenge when they came after her, but with the vigilantes being extremely careful about their whereabouts, they must be planning for an attack of some sort.
What were the vigilantes planning with the tubes? The vigilantes must have also been holding experiments and failed as Sera and Darion had. Either way, there were traces of torture of vampires that led to their demise.
Vincent had said that when humans first get transformed into a vampire, they would struggle with getting into their vampire skin while having human instincts still. The promises that are laid while they practically take their first step was another way of asking for another death it seemed.
They stopped at a large facility that was owned by the forensics department, the brick building seemingly normal on the outside, and Charlotte apprehensively got out of the car first. Vincent locked the car with a beep, and Charlotte turned to him about to voice her worries when he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.
There were many people bustling around inside the building, and Charlotte nodded her head in greeting whenever she made eye contact with people. She didn't who were the vamps or humans, but it didn't matter since they only needed to get the results and head out.
Vincent grabbed a lanyard with an id card at the front desk from a man who looked to be intimated and shy away from Vincent's abrupt movement and swiftly pressed it against the black scanner connected to the metal gates. Charlotte kept closely behind, and they crossed over to the other side where he swung to the left to go down a long corridor with many people going in and out.
"Who are we supposed to meet?" Charlotte asked before sliding closer to the wall as others passed by
"Kane will be there," Vincent answered before they entered a room where they were pushed to the side to get out of the way.
Charlotte watched in interest as the scientist took the swabs out of the tubes and meticulously placed them into a machine. She went on her toes and leaned over to Vincent. "I can feel that we are close."
Vincent glanced down at her, blowing out a breath, speaking quietly. "I feel it too. It's so close yet out of my reach."
Charlotte sighed. "The time will soon come."
"Yes, although we can't wait much longer."
"Why is that?"
"The vampire population is decreasing."
"Can't you all have offspring?"
"It is possible but often hard on the woman's body, especially if they are of vampire blood. To transform a dying human into a vampire, one must have been on the earth for longer than five centuries to be able to sustain giving your life force to another."
"Vigilantes are growing then right?"
"Unfortunately, vigilantes are only able to procreate with other vigilantes."
"That's so odd."
"The blood chemistry of the two subraces of humans are different and tricky to work with."
"This ongoing feud between vampires and vigilantes had started when?"
"For millenniums, Charlotte," Vincent replied. "Longer than you can even imagine."
Charlotte sighed. "The peace that I used to see before was only because humans are so blissfully ignorant then."
"That is true, however, the chance to live like that is truly what it means to be free."
Charlotte gave him a half-smile. "Maybe you should run away and live under a rock away from everyone."
Vincent went silent before sighing. "And how do you think I became a cavalier?"
She paused. No wonder. She remembered how Vincent had told her long ago that the council would only subject vampires to be in a position of a cavalier if they had done an action that was deemed abominable. It was unfortunate that he was only seeking freedom after being shunned away for being a child of a human and a vampire.
Charlotte had actually never spoken to Vincent about his roots since she was afraid of how he would respond. Now wasn't the time either, but she was curious. It would definitely be an uncomfortable topic.
A tall man approached them, his blue eyes stern and dark hair impeccably slicked back and stretched out his arm. "Vincent. Long time no see."
Vincent gave him a humorless smile. "I tend to get out of the house more often than not these days, Kane."