"You know, I thought that it was only children that used noises to talk. I guess that doesn't apply to a Van Helsing though," I said smiling at the man in front of me. Sure, he was hot, but that was part of the problem, most of the monsters were abnormally attractive. I think that it was a consequence of becoming a monster. After all, an ugly vampire would have a harder time trying to get a meal that an attractive one.
And I had the whole biology thing working against me where Alpha males were the cream of the crop for females. Something about them being a good provider and protector for any offspring. I learned about it both in science and psychology so it must be true. And here was little old me, sitting in a room full of Alphas. Oh well, fake it until you make it, I guess.
But back to Vincenzo Van Helsing, he was clearly not impressed with me calling him a child for only answering in grunts and scoffs. "A child like you is in no position to address anyone in this room. What can you offer that one of us can't do?" he asked. You could tell that he was used to being the Head of House Van Helsing before his son became stronger than him. He wasn't willing to just sit back and give up his power.
"You mean, besides being the one to tell you that there were demons on Earth? Or how about being the one to actually kill the demon? Or knowing where they are currently located, and what they are doing? Did you know anything about them at all? Because if you did, I am surprised that you let them live this long," I said as I sat back in the high back office chair. I was contemplating bringing it back to my office at home, but I think I would get weird looks carrying it out of this place.
Vincenzo's glare was all the response that he would give. "If you can do all that, why are you needing us?" demanded the person sitting to the right of Vincenzo. I turned to look at Viktor, silently asking who the new dude was. "Vaughn," came the response.
I raised an eyebrow. "Does everyone's names start with a 'V'?" I asked. I mean, Viktor, Vincenzo, Vaughn… seemed a bit weird. Viktor shrugged a shoulder. "It's tradition," he said as if that explained everything. I nodded as if I understood, but that was the furthest thing from the truth.
"Getting back to my point," said Vaughn with enough of a snap to his voice that he could cut paper. "If you can kill them all, why don't you?"
"Because that isn't my job," I replied as I leaned back in the chair and crossed my fingers in front of my stomach. And that was the complete truth. I could kill all the demons, I could kill all the Van Helsings, I could kill everyone on this planet until I was the last being here. But why would I?
There was another scoff, this time coming from the middle of the left side of the table. "What?" I smiled. "It's not. Keeping the things that go bump in the night in line is your job. I'm the Gypsy. I am the one to look for if you want potions and curses." I sat forward and place my cheek on the palm of my hand. I didn't need to go into details that I sucked at potions and curses, that could be my little secret. And I didn't lie either, even if I was dancing along the line.
"If you are the Gypsy, then what are you even doing here?" demanded a fourth man, this time from the right side of the table.
"She is the only one that can identify who is a demon and who is human," said Viktor as he looked around the room. "Otherwise we run the risk of killing humans, and then what?"
There was silence once again in the room and the other men looked at each other warily. I didn't understand what was going on, but at the same time, it was not my place to ask. The silence turned somber, the weight of whatever it was visibly crushing the men.
'Everyone has their own curses to deal with,' said my monster, finally speaking to me again since I admitted that demons gave me a sense of peace and safety. I hummed in agreement in my mind, not wanting to upset my monster again.
As the silence continued to draw on, I heard a throat clearing, breaking the uneasy atmosphere. "What do we need to do?" asked the man on the right.
"We have a human willing to work with us on this matter. The presence of the demons here seems to be connected to the House Gypsy and so Natalia is willing to work with us to hunt down those that need to be hunted," said Viktor, finally revealing the reason for my presence in a meeting full of Van Helsings.
Mind you, I could have done without every head turning towards me at the same time. That part was a little creepy. "So, she is the reason why we have demons on Earth?" demanded Vincenzo as he slapped his hand down on the table in anger.
"Nice try," I replied, not being intimidated in the least. I might be new to this whole Head of House, but I knew how to deal with Alphaholes when they were in a snit. "My predecessor felt the need to become involved with human politics and introduced the demons to them."
"And where is this… predecessor… now?" asked Vincenzo, the curve of his lip into a snarl showed me exactly what his thoughts were about me and my House.
"Dead," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "Dealing with dark magic is a death sentence to any Gypsy," I explained.
"Who killed her?" Vaughn demanded, seeming to read the mind of the man beside him.
"Me."