"Don't you think it's time I got the explanation?"
Olivia and Genesis shared a glance, an indecipherable communication passing between them.
"What do you wish to know?" Olivia asked.
"What's going on? How do you know me? Are you guys in some sort of trouble? Have I been dragged into the trouble?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth.
"Easy, tiger." Genesis chuckled. "One at a time."
"Stop it with the jokes." Olivia said sternly before turning to Ezra. "You want to know what's going on?"
He nodded. What the fuck is going on? The questions had been boiling in his head and this was his chance to get answers. How did Genesis access my email and send in the resignation letter? How did they know my name even before we signed the contract?
"Starting with your last question, yes. We are in trouble. Genesis has her own problems but as for me, Count Solomon claims that I stole something from his personal vault."
"Count Solomon?" Who the heck is that?
"Hey, you're confusing him. He's still a newbie. He doesn't know who's who." Genesis smirked at Olivia. "I'll explain."
"Counts are the vampire rulers who rule over an area of the city which we call a county. Our City, First City, has three counts. Count Griffin, Count Solomon and Count Vladimir. Our newly established coven is under the rule of Count Griffin."
"Thank you for your fine... explanation." Olivia nodded to Genesis. "Formerly, I worked as a guard for Count Solomon and after something from his vault went missing, he claimed that I stole it. I joined Count Griffin for protection."
"Did you?"
"What?"
"Did you steal the thing he claimed you stole?" Ezra asked.
Olivia glanced at Genesis. "I can't answer that."
"So you did!" Genesis crowed. "I always wondered if it was a false accusation. Who knew the loyal guard was such a....thief."
"Wait a minute." Ezra held up a finger. "You stole something from the personal vault of the Count you're meant to be guarding? A Count that I'll assume is a powerful vampire?"
Genesis nodded in agreement. "He's powerful. A Fourth ring vampire."
"Why? Why would you steal from him?" Ezra glanced at Genesis who shrugged. "Am I missing something?"
"First, I never said I stole anything and second, even if I did steal from Count Solomon, it'll be something that he can't publicly come after me for."
The two listeners stared at Olivia. Yeah, right. You didn't steal it.
"Okay. Let's say you didn't steal the hypothetical item. What exactly is the supposedly missing object that was stolen?"
Olivia was quiet and I could see the calculation in her eyes. She weighed every option before answering. "A page."
"A page? All this fuss for a page?" Genesis asked with wide eyes, perfectly mirroring Ezra's thoughts. "A page from which book?"
Olivia sighed. "A page from the Book of Nightmares."
Genesis shot out of her chair in shock. "Count Solomon had a page from the Book? You have a-" She choked, glancing around like she expected people to be listening in. She leaned forward before whispering. "Can you decode it?"
Olivia kept her silence.
"Shit! You can?" Genesis dropped into her seat like her legs were made of jelly. "Shit! This changes everything. Wasn't the book said to be destroyed by the Council?"
Olivia stayed silent.
"Why would you tell us?" Genesis asked. "This is a very valuable secret. Imagine the power in your hands right now! You could be killed for this secret. Heck, I could kill you myself."
"Think I don't know that? I have protocols that activate upon my death, hiding the book where no one would ever find it. If any one of you kills me, all you'll achieve is to lose the page, lose your one chance at decoding it and acquire the rage of a Count who'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
Silence filled the room.
What are they talking about?
"The Book of Nightmares? What's that?" Ezra asked curiously. Any book that could make vampires react that way must not be an ordinary book.
"It doesn't matter." Olivia sighed. "All that matters is that Count Solomon would do a lot to get it back. Our fates are tied together now. Whatever you do, never tell anyone about the Book."
Ezra leaned forward. "Just like you said, our fates are tied together. I think that gives me the right to know just what could cause my death."
"He's right." Genesis chuckled. "Just tell him."
Olivia sighed. "The Book of Nightmares is a book that was supposedly created by the vampire progenitor. It is said to have only seven pages but each page is said to contain something that could make a vampire so powerful, they could rival the progenitor himself."
There are books like that? Ezra fell into thought. Power to rival the vampire progenitor? I have no idea how powerful the progenitor is but he sure must have been a powerful dude. Just my luck. A page of this all-powerful book fell into my grasp with someone who can decode it? He chuckled to himself. There's no way I'm missing this opportunity.
"We've heard Olivia's trouble." Ezra turned to Genesis. "What about yours?"
"Mine's not as complicated as our loyal guard here." Genesis laughed. "All I did was kill one of my coven leaders."
Ezra choked on his spit. "You did what?!"
"She was being a bitch so I killed her."
What the hell? Did I sign a contract with a psychopath? What's with these ladies. One of them stole a very valuable object while the other committed murder for such a flippant reason. Are all vampires this crazy?
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door. Genesis and Olivia glanced at each other. "Expecting anyone?" Olivia asked and Genesis shook her head.
"I know you're in there." A female voice growled from outside the apartment. "And I'm coming for you."
Genesis stood up in delight. "What a surprise. It seems like my trouble has found me."
"Sarah." Olivia growled.
At that moment, everything went dark.