Revamped (14 page)

“Dawn!” my father exclaimed excitedly, rising from his chair. Thought he didn’t say it, his bright smile told me that the feeling was mutual. “What a surprise! I’m so glad that you were able to make it to the party!” he gushed. Then, noticing my uncharacteristically lavish attire, added softy, “You look very lovely.” He seemed like he was about to stride over and embrace me, but decided against it, and sank back into his seat. He motioned for me to do the same.

“I’m sure you’ve heard all about the election news. Some young vampire hotshot wants to take me on,” he said irritably.

I smiled. “Yes, but I’m certain that he doesn’t stand a chance. Everyone loves and admires you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, I’m afraid.” My father frowned, his face riddled with a frenzy of worry lines. “Senator Twitbrook has a larger social media following, Dawn. It could get ugly.”

“There are far worse things in life than not having enough online friends,” I muttered.
Like allowing a helpless human to be kidnapped on your watch.

My father was studying my grim face. “Forgive me, Dawn. I’ve been so selfish. I haven’t even asked about your mission yet. How are things progressing? Anything new to report?”

I swallowed hard. “That’s why I’m here, actually. We’ve run into some trouble.”

“Oh?” He raised his thick, brown brows.

Over the next few minutes, I rehashed the previous day’s happenings. My father tensed when he learned that I was poisoned by vampire blood, and slammed his fist against the heavy oak desk when I confessed that a human girl was kidnapped.

“None of that was ever supposed to happen! This was supposed to be a simple mission in a peaceful little town. An easy task. You were never supposed to be in any real danger. I’m so sorry.”

I blinked back hot tears. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I failed the mission. Failed you. Failed everything!”

“That’s nonsense, Dawn,” he chastised me. “This is just an unexpected setback. We’ll figure it out together.”

I forced a smile, slightly comforted by the realization that my father wasn’t disappointed in me after all. He was, however, concerned over the reports of rogue vampire activity, and even more rattled by the news that humans were consorting with them. To my dismay, he didn’t have any information about a rogue camp near Millwood or about Vampiricol. It was the first time that had heard about the drug and this caused him further agitation.

“I’m going to put my best team on this. We’ll hunt down the rogue vamps and find the human girl,” he promised. “For now, Dawn, I would like you to stay here. I don’t under any circumstance want you going back to Angel Creek.”

I froze. “I can’t do that, father!” I cried frantically. “I’m on a mission. I have a duty to the vampires of Angel Creek.”

“I’m officially taking you off the mission. In fact, I’m taking those misfit vampires off the mission as well,” he said, grabbing his phone. “I’m going to give the Fab Five a call.”

“The Fab Five are no longer the guardians of Angel Creek!” I shouted.

My father shook his head. “Two of them got voted off
Next Vamp Idol
last week and the others got kicked off
Transylvania Shore
right away for not being pale enough. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to return to their posts in Angel Creek. They’re currently moping around Hollywood, begging for a gig.”

“No!” I yelled, flying over to my father’s desk. I seized the phone from his hand. “I won’t let you take me off the mission. I’m going to see this thing through,” I said, disconnecting the call.

“Dawn, I’m sorry to do this, but it’s for your own safety. I can’t bear to see you get hurt. I love you more than anything in this world.”

I softened, pleased to hear my father speak those tender words, then quickly sobered up. “I can’t give up now. I have a mission to carry out and a friend to save. ”

“You’re off the assignment,” he commanded. “That’s an order from both your father and your President.”

“We’ll see about that!” I shot back, storming out of the room. “And, by the way, those
misfit vamps
really aren’t so bad,” I angrily threw over my shoulder.

Back in my room, I grabbed a perplexed Sebastian by the arm. “We’re leaving,” I stated, pulling him out of the house.

I sped back to Angel Creek, calling the team members on the way and instructing them to assemble at Sebastian’s home. The small cottage I had grown accustomed to over the past few weeks was no longer a safe place. It would only be a short matter of time before my father sent his team after me in an attempt to drag me back to the safety of the Scarlet House. I wouldn’t allow that to happen. I wasn’t going anywhere until I had safely rescued Hannah.

No matter what.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Tell me everything you know,” I urged as the team assembled around the large, round dining room table of Sebastian’s exquisite manor. Despite being almost two hundred years old, the spacious mansion had a sleek, modern interior. Each room was outfitted in simple contemporary furniture, black and white in color, embellished with glass and crystal adornments. The early morning sun shone through the spacious bay windows, filling the house with light and giving it a bright, airy look.

Ethan was the last to sit down, looking extremely shaken. His eyes were blurry, his hair tousled. Even the buttons of his green shirt were fastened incorrectly.

He must have spoken with Hannah’s mother,
I thought with pity. The poor woman was very ill; the last thing she should have to hear was news that her daughter was missing. I hoped that Ethan had been gentle with the details and had not divulged the entire truth behind the kidnapping. At least, not until we had a chance to find Hannah.

“Who wants to go first? Any news about the rogue vamps? Vampiricol? ” I pressed urgently. “Please tell me someone found out something!”

“Sorry Dawn, my books did not prove very beneficial. I couldn’t find anything at all about rogue vamps or Vampiricol,” Sophie said in a gloomy voice. Daisy, the permanently-quivering puppy, was sitting on her lap, attempting to lick her glasses. She scratched the tiny dog between its ears, sending it into an even bigger licking frenzy. “I guess the only thing we can infer from that is that they’re both fairly recent phenomena,” she added, pushing her round glasses up on her nose.

“Good. That’s something,” I said, trying to keep positive. “Brooke?” I turned toward the blonde.

“I also didn’t have much luck. Although, I did score with one really hot football player,” Brooke winked at me, loudly chomping on a wad of pink bubble gum.

“
Brooke
!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, Brooke. This is no time for your promiscuity,” Seth spat.

Brooke waved her hand in our direction, her bright nails matching perfectly to the color of the gum. “Chill, guys. I scored
information
from a football player. Isn’t that, like, what all the detectives on TV say?” She extended her fangs, popping a bubble.

“So, what did you find out?” Sebastian urged.

“Well, he had taken Vampiricol once. It made him feel like a million bucks. He said that he was stronger and faster than anyone else on the field. And apparently, he was also a much better lover.” Brooke giggled.

“Okay, well we knew all that from Ethan.” I said, dismayed by the lack of information. Sebastian’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing in my direction. “Uhh, except the lover part, of course,” I clarified uncomfortably.

To my surprise, Ethan didn’t say anything. He was looking off into the distance, his usually bright eyes glazed over, not focused on anything in particular. It was then that I noticed just how bloodshot the whites around his pupils were. I had forgotten that, for a human, staying up all night was a feat. I was about to suggest that he take a nap, when Hunter interjected.

“Well, I can help add to the information about Vampiricol,” he announced. “According to a dealer I spoke with, it’s the hot new drug on the underground market. It’s developed by doctors, or scientists—some really smart
people—and made with a bunch of pretty killer materials. The worst of them all being vampire blood.”

Sophie gasped.

“Whoa!” Brooke froze, mid-bubble blowing.

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asked. “That’s very serious.”

“Yes. My old dealer had an in with one of the rogue vamps. Rumor has it, these guys get paid good money for donating their blood.” Sober, clear-minded Hunter was proving to be quite an asset to the team.

“But here’s the thing,” Seth interjected. “This company—they call themselves
BloodCorp
—doesn’t want to keep things in the underground drug market for very long. According to a classified medical chartroom I hacked into, they want to go public with Vampiricol as soon as possible. They’re trying to get it FDA approved and get it out on the mass market.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Putting it out into the world would earn them billions of dollars. And in the process, it also could cause vampires to become obsolete.”

“What?
Obsolete
? I don’t wanna be obsolete,” Brooke cried, then looked over at Seth and whispered, “That’s like
really fat
, right?”

“You’re thinking of
obese
Brooke,” Seth rolled his eyes. “No, by putting Vampiricol out on the mass market and allowing every human to, in essence, become a vampire without any of the negative side-effects, we’re going to be rendered completely futile.”

“Completely useless,” Sophie clarified, seeing Brooke’s perplexed face.

Brooke’s blue eyes grew wide with fear. “Oh, no! That’s even worse than being fat!”

The news about Vampiricol and
BloodCorp
was monumental. Many vampires, especially those currently holding esteemed positions of fame and power, would be devastated if
BloodCorp
ever went public with Vampiricol. Modern vampires prided themselves on being superior to human beings. After all, their exclusivity and phenomenal characteristics were the main reasons vampires were able to freely exist in society. But, if every human could easily obtain vampire powers through a tiny little pill, then real vampires would no longer be the revered, magnificent things of popular culture. Their entire existence would be threatened. Not to mention, such a potent drug could lead to a power-struggle between humans and vampires. Wars have broken out over much more trifling issues.

“Well, here’s the kicker.” Seth continued gravely, snapping me out of my rumination. “BloodCorp is still in the testing stages of Vampiricol and, apparently, they’re running out of voluntary blood donors. They’re starting to take innocent vampires off the street.”

“That must’ve been why they tried to stage an ambush back at the werewolf camp,” I mused out loud.

Seth nodded.

“I can’t even bear to imagine what they would have done with me!” Brooke sobbed.

Sebastian shot me an uneasy look. “Think of what they would have done with
you
, Dawn,” he said.

“He’s right!” Sophie exclaimed, looking over at me worriedly. “The blood of a Born vampire is a hundred times more potent than that of a Made!”

“You have to be careful,” Sebastian warned.

I shuddered, remembering how close I had come to being taken.
If Sebastian hadn’t appeared when he had
…

 
I collected myself, rising abruptly from my chair. “I’ll be fine. Right now, we have to think about Hannah. Rescuing her is our priority!”

I paced around the dining room, everyone’s eyes following my every move. Everyone’s except Ethan’s. He had his head in his hands and was tugging at his gold locks nervously. Out of all of us, Ethan was the closest to Hannah.

Her disappearance must be driving him crazy, I thought glumly.

“Ok, so far we have determined what
BloodCorp’s
motives are. We’ve also figured out that we will likely have to face rogue vampires, humans doped up on Vampiricol, and possibly even some crazy scientists. But does anyone know where in the world these people are keeping Hannah?” I asking, clenching my fists in frustration.

“No,” Sophie and Brooke responded in unison.

Hunter shrugged. “Sorry, Dawn.”

“I’ve searched the internet for pharmaceutical companies, science labs, and even underground army bases that could be connected with
BloodCorp
. I’ve come up with absolutely nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch!” Seth cried, quietly adding, “My online game quests were
much
easier to complete.”

“Great,” I sighed.

How in the world could we save Hannah if we didn’t even know where she was being kept?
I considered calling my father to ask for his help. I wouldn’t have minded swallowing my pride and apologizing for my outburst if it meant that Hannah would be found. Unfortunately, I knew exactly how that particular conversation would go. My father would order me to cease the mission, forcing me to come back home. He would perhaps even replace Brooke, Sophie, Hunter and Seth with the Fab Five like he had previously threatened. I couldn’t let any of that happen. I was finally starting to see potential in my trainees—a true passion for being Angel Creek guardians.

At the same time, I had to quickly acknowledge that Hannah was running out of time. I could never put her life in danger to simply illustrate a point. Settling on a compromise, I sent an impersonal, anonymous note to my father’s email account, divulging all the details we had so far on the rogue vamps and
BloodCorp
. This way, I reasoned, the bubbly redheaded girl would at least have two groups searching for her.

Not wanting to waste any more time sitting around the house, I suggested that we drive back out to Millwood and search the area once again. I wasn’t sure what we were looking for, or what we would find, so I made certain that we were well-prepared for all possible scenarios. I packed an array of supplies—weapons, computers, and various other gadgets—and instructed the team to dress in black for better camouflage. For some, like Sebastian who always dressed in shades of black or white, this was an easy feat. Others, namely Brooke, fiercely fought the dress code. According to her, “pink was currently the new black”.