The air outside Kadir's library was heavy with the scent of rain yet to fall. The glow of streetlights bounced off the wet pavement, casting faint reflections beneath our feet. Sia walked a step ahead of me, her arms folded tightly across her chest. She hadn't said a word since we'd left, but I could tell by the tension in her stride that she was still processing everything Kadir had said.
I checked my phone again. 6:42 PM. Time wasn't slowing down for me. Less than an hour and a half left to make a decision that could reshape everything I knew—or destroy it.
"We should go to Lawrence," Sia said abruptly, breaking the silence.
I hesitated. "You think he'll help? You know how he feels about vampires."
"That's exactly why," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "Lawrence might be rough around the edges, but he's been in this fight longer than either of us. If anyone knows what someone like Conrad is capable of, it's him. Besides…" She paused, her expression softening. "He's the one who saved you. That has to count for something."
I nodded, though doubt gnawed at me. Lawrence wasn't the type to mince words, and I wasn't sure I was ready for his reaction. Still, Sia was right. If we were going to walk into this, we needed every scrap of guidance we could get.
The bar was tucked into a narrow side street, a place so unremarkable it was practically invisible. The sign above the door had long since faded, and the windows were clouded with grime. Inside, the air was thick with smoke and the low hum of conversations that no one wanted overheard.
Lawrence sat in his usual corner booth, nursing a glass of something amber-colored. His eyes met mine as we entered, sharp and calculating. He didn't wave or acknowledge us, but his gaze lingered just long enough to let me know he'd seen us.
"Still hates phones, I see," I muttered as we approached.
"Too easy to track," Lawrence said without looking up. His voice was rough, like gravel grinding underfoot. "If someone wants to talk to me, they know where to find me."
I slid into the booth across from him, Sia sitting beside me. "We need to talk," I said.
"You always do," he replied, finally setting his glass down. "What's it this time? Another vampire nest you can't handle?"
"It's… more complicated than that," I said, pulling the envelope from my pocket and setting it on the table. Lawrence's eyes flicked to it, and his jaw tightened ever so slightly.
He didn't touch it. "Who?"
"William Conrad," Sia said before I could.
That got his attention. Lawrence leaned back in his seat, his expression darkening. "You're joking."
"I wish I was," I said.
For a moment, Lawrence said nothing. He just stared at the envelope as if it might explode. Finally, he picked it up, opened it, and scanned the contents. His brow furrowed deeper with every word.
"Conrad doesn't invite people to dinner," he said when he was done. "He summons them. And when he summons someone, it's because he wants something."
"What could he want from me?" I asked.
Lawrence's gaze shifted to me, cold and piercing. "You're a daywalker, Kyon. A hybrid. That alone makes you a curiosity. But Flux? That makes you a threat."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low growl. "Vampires like Conrad don't fear many things, but they fear the unknown. And you, kid? You're the biggest unknown they've ever seen."
Lawrence's words hung in the air, heavy and unyielding. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, he spoke again.
"You want to know why I hate vampires?" he said, his tone suddenly sharp.
I blinked, caught off guard. "I—"
"I'll tell you," he interrupted. He took a long sip of his drink, then set the glass down with a loud thunk. "You think I was born with this power? Think I just woke up one day and decided to start throwing Flux around like it was nothing?"
I shook my head, unsure where he was going with this.
"No," he said. "I wasn't one of the lucky ones. I didn't have a gift like you. Took me years to figure out I even had it, and by then…" He trailed off, his jaw tightening.
Sia shifted beside me, her expression softening. "Lawrence…"
He waved her off. "My family lived in a little town on the edge of nowhere. Quiet place. Peaceful. Until a group of vampires decided it'd make a good hunting ground."
He paused, his hands curling into fists on the table. "I watched them tear through everything. My neighbors. My friends. My parents. I was too weak to do anything. Too scared."
He leaned back, his eyes distant. "And then my mother… She—" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat roughly. "She died right in front of me. That's when it happened. The Flux. It just… exploded out of me. Burned the whole damn place to the ground, vampires included."
He looked at me then, his eyes hard. "So yeah, Kyon, I know what it's like to be angry. To feel powerless. But don't think for a second that Conrad sees you as anything other than a tool—or a threat."
I didn't know what to say. Lawrence's story was brutal, raw, and it left a heavy weight in my chest.
"He's not wrong," Sia said softly, her hand resting lightly on my arm. "Conrad isn't inviting you out of kindness, Kyon. This is a power play."
I nodded, but my mind was spinning. "I get that," I said. "But if I don't go, what's to stop him from coming after me anyway?"
"Nothing," Lawrence said bluntly. "But at least then you'll be on your terms, not his."
"Except that ignoring him might make me look weak," I countered.
Lawrence scoffed. "Better to look weak than to be dead."
"Is it?" I shot back, my voice rising. "If I keep running from this, I'll never get answers. I'll never know why I'm… like this. Why I exist at all."
The words surprised even me, but once they were out, I couldn't take them back.
Lawrence's expression softened, just a fraction. "Kid," he said, his tone almost gentle, "sometimes answers aren't worth the cost."
I shook my head. "Maybe not to you. But to me? They are."
The conversation ended there, but the tension didn't. As we left the bar, Lawrence's final words echoed in my mind:
"If you're dead set on doing this, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. Conrad doesn't just play the game, Kyon. He rewrites the rules. And if you're not careful, you'll find yourself on the losing end."
The night felt colder as we stepped onto the street. Sia walked beside me, her silence heavy with unspoken worries.
I checked my phone. 7:18 PM.
Time was running out.