The old car chugged happily along the street as silence reigned in the car.
Y turned to Ezra and began staring at him. Ezra ignored the stare and placed his cheek on the window, watching the street go by. This was the game Y loved to play.
Act like a kid and keep people off guard. He had to play along and see what information he could extract out of him.
He kept ignoring him and after a while, acted like he couldn't hold it anymore. "What?" He turned to Y.
"What a nice night this is, right?"
"What?" He had been genuinely caught off guard by the question. He had expected something a bit more direct.
"I mean, I took part in a high stakes bidding war that could devolve into violence at a coin toss. And now, we're on our way to acquire an old relic of the progenitor. Gosh, I feel like an explorer."
"Yeah. I'm sure it was a nice night for you." Ezra said. "For me, I witnessed a high stakes battle, was captured by a corrupt police officer and was auctioned off to two masked dudes. What do you think?"
"I think we need to turn the radio on." Y turned to those at the front. "Can you turn on the radio? I can't stand the silence."
Gen clicked the button. "At number four in the music Top Ten, we have 'I'll be your unicorn' by the girl group A X E. Stay tuned-"
The radio sparked before going off.
Silence reigned once more in the car.
This time, it was Ezra's turn to stare at Y. Y had set the rules. He wouldn't just ignore Ezra.
"What? Why are you staring at me?" Y asked, just as Ezra had expected.
"What do you want to use the page for?"
"A rookie question." Ezra could feel the smirk radiating off Y through the mask. "Fine, I'll answer."
"In Vampire Society, the only thing that matters is strength. Strength is the reason why the council rules over us all. Strength is the reason why Prince Arthur can openly defy the council. Strength is the reason why Itachi Yaiba rules over this city."
"For vampires, strength is vitality. Each and every page of the Book is said to contain a weapon that has been fed vitality for centuries."
"With that power, who knows what I'll do? Maybe I'll become a City Lord. Maybe I'll join the council. Maybe I'll join Prince Arthur. With that page, the world is my oyster."
Greed was shining in the eyes of everyone in the car as silence prevailed once again.
This time, it was Gen's turn to stare at Olivia.
"Stop staring. Ask." Olivia kept her eyes on the road.
"How did you steal the page? It couldn't have been easy."
Olivia remained silent as everyone in the car stared at her in expectation.
"Come on, everyone knows you stole it! We're all heading to where you kept it. There's no point in hiding it anymore!" Gen prodded.
Olivia sighed in resignation. "I've never been part of a coven." She started. "I've always been independent. Ten years ago, Count Solomon extended an invitation for me to become one of his guards. Lacking resources of my own, I accepted."
"Since then I've been guarding the Count's interests. After earning his trust, he sent me to guard his vault. One day, he took me inside. He wanted to gloat. He showed me the treasures within and when I saw the page, I realized…." She trailed off.
"Before we left, I dropped a special item of mine into the vault. Using that item, I was able to open a passageway into his vault. I used up most of my resources to survive in the vault and I stole the page."
"You used up your resources? So, you're broke?" Gen asked.
"That's what you got from that?" Ezra stared at her incredulously.
"Yes, I'm broke." Olivia answered simply.
"Fuck!" Everyone stared at Gen in surprise. Why was she so worked up about Olivia's financial state? "I'm broke too."
As one, the two women turned to stare at Ezra. "I'm in debt." He said flatly. The two women turned forward with a sigh.
"In case you're wondering, I'm broke too." Y piped up.
"No one's wondering." Gen answered.
Silence.
"Wait a minute." Ezra turned to stare at Y.
"Just ask." Y sighed like it was some kind of burden but Ezra could tell he was enjoying what was going on.
"Okay. What happens to us after you get the page?"
"You guys? Don't I own you?" Y laughed. "I clearly remember paying two hundred million credits."
"That's the price for the page, not for us." Olivia spoke.
"Wasn't it a package deal? You guys and the page."
"Come on, you get a weapon that puts you on par with the vampire powerhouses. What do you want with us?" Gen asked.
"Is it a crime to want ingenious minds? One of you managed to steal from a Count after all."
"If you have the power, can't you do the stealing?"
"Hmmm." Y adopted a thinking pose. "That's true. Maybe I'll kill you guys after I get the page."
The three vampires stiffened in shock.
"I'm just joking." Y laughed. "Or am I?"
Ezra kept his eyes on the man, his mind cursing like it was a mantra. Y was definitely going to try to kill them. Not now, but later.
This meant that he now had a countdown for how long he had to come up with a plan.
All he had was an Aura, Gen had her axes and the sticky rope while Olivia only had her wings and feathers.
Restraining Y shouldn't be too hard. If they caught him off guard, they should be able to do it.
But the problem was the chains he had on their neck and the fact that they were already low on vitality.
Fuck! He cursed in the privacy of his mind.
There's no way out. There's no way home.