But there was only one person it could have been. Or rather, one creature. And that was one of the guilty vampires that Isaiah knew about.
Kenzie closed her eyes again, willing the pain in her head to subside. She tried to make sense of everything that was happening to her. First, vampires existed and they were thriving in Bridgeport. Second, three of them were killing innocent people and drinking their blood. And third, those same three vampires had taken her hostage, proving the danger Isaiah had warned her that she was putting herself in if she remained in town.
She prepared to open her eyes again when she heard scuffling and voices nearby.
"Is she awake?" a masculine voice asked. A second male voice responded, "I don't think so."
"I wish she'd hurry up and wake up," the first voice said. "Her blood will taste better if we make her suffer and beg for her life."
"That'll do, son," a woman's voice said. Kenzie cracked her eyes open slightly, just enough to see what was happening but not enough so that the room's other occupants would notice.
"Why do we have to wait, Mother?" the second voice, a young man with slightly blonde hair, whined. "I'm thirsty."
"Wait for your brother."
"He won't want any! He never does!"
"He won't have a choice this time."
Just then, the woman with her raven black hair turned to face Kenzie, her mouth crooked up into a smile.
"I see our visitor is awake," she announced. Her eyes glowed an eerie green. The blonde's eyes were yellow, and the third vampire's red eyes matched his hair. All three sets of eyes were focused on her, their fangs visible, as she raised her head, trying to keep it from spinning.
"Welcome," the woman said. "You've done very well getting closer and closer to the truth. But we can't allow that to happen. You know too much already thanks to someone's incapability of keeping his mouth shut about certain things. Your meddling hasn't helped matters, either."
Isaiah's face flashed through Kenzie's mind. These were the three vampires he'd known were responsible for the deaths in Bridgeport. But who exactly were they? What or who was Isaiah to them?
"What's to stop me from screaming?" she asked to stall time. "You haven't put anything over my mouth. Anyone could hear me screaming."
"My dear, you don't realize where you are, do you?" the woman said smugly. "You're in the mausoleum, very far down. No one will be able to hear you. And if they did, they wouldn't be able to save you."
Kenzie finally managed to sit up. She looked around for the first time and saw skeletons littered about. Cockroaches scurried across the floor, and there were probably a few rats hidden in the darkness as well. Kenzie was an animal lover, but not enough to enjoy bugs and rodents that she couldn't see.
"Who exactly are you?" she managed to ask in what she hoped was a brave tone.
"I see Isaiah hasn't shared everything with you after all," the woman replied snidely.
"What is Isaiah to you? How do you know him?"
"Perhaps we should start at the beginning. My name is Serrina, and these are my sons Dante and Xander. We've been like this for nearly a century. Of course, this day and age, vampires aren't believed in. They aren't meant to exist. But where is the justice in that? We are a far superior species, yet we're ostracized as myths. That will soon change."
"How do you plan to change that?"
"Isn't it obvious? We're vampires, dear. Our purpose and means of survival is to drink human blood. We'll acquire it in any way we can. And soon, humans will once again be aware of our presence. They'll bow to us, provide us with what we need, lest they suffer a fate far worse than death."
"What fate could be worse than death?"
"You are so naive. A lifelong suffering is worse than death, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah, but you're not suffering. From what I can see, you're enjoying being a vampire."
"Of course, but it doesn't come without its consequences and downfalls. For instance, I can no longer feel the warm sun on my face. Instead, it burns me with unimaginable pain. I must live in secret, hiding in the shadows. But those are small sacrifices to pay for a lifetime of youth and beauty."
Kenzie pulled herself completely upright and gaped at Serrina.
"You mean, you became a vampire so that you could live forever just to stay young and beautiful?"
"Not entirely, but even so, what's so appalling about that?"
"Everything! People are supposed to age! That's how it works! You turned yourself into a vampire for completely selfish purposes! And your kids! They never got a chance to have a normal life! You didn't let them decide what they wanted!"
"I wasn't going to outlive my children."
"You shouldn't have outlived anyone within the past, like, fifty years."
"Call it what you want, but the time has come for humans like you to realize that vampires are far superior to humans. As I said, our time for hiding is over."
"So that's why you've been leaving the bodies out in the open. You were sending a message, just like I thought."
"You're quite the smart one."
"Well, all I can say is, you want to stop hiding? Fat chance finding a place to be out in the open as long as the sun's shining."
"Shut up!" Dante, the red-eyed vampire, barked. "Are you blind? Bridgeport hardly gets any sun! This city will become ours! All the vampires that are living in Twinbrook and anywhere else that they think doesn't have sun will come here, and Bridgeport will belong to us, like it did all those years ago!"
Kenzie took a minute to digest this information. "You mean...there are vampires in other places besides Bridgeport?"
"Of course," Xander replied arrogantly.
So, vampires lived everywhere. Great. Was Kenzie going to have to look over her shoulder and clutch a wooden dagger for the rest of her life?
Which reminded her – Isaiah had kindly given her a stake earlier that day. It would come in handy now. Unfortunately, she only had one stake, and there were three thirsty vampires staring down at her with determination in their eyes.
Still trying to stall for time, Kenzie asked, "So, was it one of you three that attacked me earlier? When Isaiah saved me?"
Xander's eyes glowed as he muttered, "Always getting in the way. I finally had you alone and away from civilization, because I didn't want to cause a scene until I had to and until Mother was ready, and there he was, interfering. You were getting too close to the truth and you had to be stopped. I don't know why he turned into such a softie."
Kenzie ignored that and turned to Serrina. "You said you wanted to stay young and beautiful forever, and you didn't want to outlive your kids. What about your husband?"
"He's the sole reason for my decision. I wouldn't have lost him had I been younger. But alas, my age began to catch up with me, and my husband found me unflattering. He found another pretty little thing to occupy his time. I wasn't about to play second fiddle to a younger woman. I was well acquainted with a vampire myself, and I persuaded him to turn me and my children into creatures of the night. That gave me the strength to enact my revenge."
Kenzie raised her eyebrows. "So, your husband was cheating on you, and instead of talking about it or leaving him, you turned yourself into a monster and killed him? Oh, that makes a lot of sense."
"Don't presume to judge me. I've had no regrets. My sons and I have lived a good life, but we've grown tired of the knowledge of vampires turning into nothing more than fantasy. It's time to show these pathetic humans who the dominant species truly is."
"You dare call humans pathetic when you're the ones acting in such a manner?" a voice asked from the doorway.
Everyone turned and Kenzie almost shouted with relief and surprise at the sight of Isaiah. She also felt like shuddering when she saw how menacing he looked with his fangs emerged and his fists raised as though he were expecting a brawl.
"So you've come at last," Serrina said. "We've been expecting you."
Had Kenzie heard that right? They'd been expecting Isaiah? Did that mean that he was playing her all along? Had his "sincerity" all been a scam to trap her?
"Enough is enough," Isaiah stated. "This has gone on for too long. I should have stopped you when I had the chance."
Serrina actually looked surprised. "Stop us? Why would you do that?"
"What you're doing is wrong."
"We're simply living as what we are. And you foolishly don't embrace it. Do you truly think we should allow ourselves to be dominated by humans? Isaiah, you're a disgrace."
"I'd rather be a disgrace than a criminal."
"You think it's a crime to do what we were made for?"
"We weren't made for anything; and you were the one who chose this life for us. I wanted nothing to do with it."
Upon hearing these words, Kenzie realized who these vampires were to Isaiah. Why he'd been so reluctant to tell her who was responsible for the Bridgeport deaths. Why Serrina was waiting for him to show up.
"You disappoint me, son," Serrina said to Isaiah.
"Not as much as you've shamed me, Mother," Isaiah replied.
"I merely wanted to keep you with me for all time. What happened all those years ago was out of my control."
"That's not true. You had the choice of how to deal with Father's infidelity, and you chose to live a life as a monster. And you chose that for us. You didn't even consult us."
"Is it so wrong for a mother to want to be with her children forever? I could not bear to outlive my children. I didn't want to watch you die. I'd already lost your father; I didn't want to lose my children as well."
"That's how life is supposed to be. You're supposed to live naturally and die naturally. We've been turned into monsters."
Serrina looked taken aback. "Monsters? Why, this life is far superior to that of a human's."
"I don't care. I never wanted this, and you're crazy if you think I'm going to stand idly by and watch while you kill innocent people. You say you refuse to lose any of your children, but I have news for you, Mother. You lost me long ago. The day you chose my fate for me was the day I lost all hope and respect for you."
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Dante barked. "I remember when you went off on your own and killed people. You tried to justify it by only killing criminals, but that doesn't make you any better than us."
"I've changed my ways," Isaiah retorted, "and had there been any other choice, I wouldn't have done that. For many years, I've wished I'd just let myself die through the sun or by thirst. But I couldn't do that. I knew I had to stop you three. You were completely out of control, just like you are now."
"If you are so adamant about dying before me," Serrina snarled, "then so be it. But I will not be the one to take your life, for I already gave you life. However, you will have one final chance to redeem yourself."
Serrina turned to her other two sons, Isaiah's brothers. "Dante, Xander. Extract some blood from this woman." She indicated Kenzie. "Allow your brother to drink the blood of a human and savor the delicious taste. If he still does not recognize the error of his ways, and if he can't recall how advantageous it is to live as the creature he is, then do away with him. I no longer wish to listen to his nonsense."
Dante jumped toward Isaiah before he could leap in front of Kenzie. Xander extracted a knife from his pocket and walked toward Kenzie.
"Just leave her be," Isaiah demanded in a commanding tone. "She has nothing to do with the grudge you have against me."
"On the contrary," Serrina replied. "She knows too much."
"What difference does that make if you want to be known to the public anyway?"
"Don't you see, Isaiah? She'll try to stop us. She'll spread false accusations about us and rally people to side with her rather than us."
"Uh..." Kenzie felt the need to interject, "I don't exactly have that kind of influence over people. I don't have fangs or glowing eyes, and people would find that a lot scarier than me telling them something."
Dante focused his blood-red eyes onto Kenzie and she couldn't restrain a shiver.
"That's not the point," he growled. "The point is, you were sticking your nose in where it wasn't wanted, and we're not about to risk you screwing something up again."
Kenzie, finding a newfound courage, turned to face Serrina.
"You're sick," she told her angrily. "You're disowning your own son for having his own beliefs. What kind of mother are you? You're a monster just like he says!"
"Enough!" Xander said loudly, raising the knife. Then he lunged forward.
Kenzie lowered herself to the ground and covered her head, waiting for the knife's blade to plunge into her skin...waiting to die.
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