BXBX NOVEL Chapter 16: No Way Home
"What a nice night this is, right?"
"What?"
"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. A nice night for you. I witnessed a high stakes battle, was captured by a corrupt police officer and was auctioned off to a crazy masked dude. Thankfully, the night is almost over.
"Can you turn on the radio?" X asked. "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 X.
The Book of Nightmares must be really powerful if vampires are willing to spend two hundred million credits to acquire it. Just how powerful is the vampire progenitor?
"What? Why are you staring at me?" X asked.
"What do you want to use the page for?"
"A rookie question." Ezra could feel the smirk radiating off X. "Fine, I'll answer. In Vampire Society, the only thing that matters is strength. Strength is the reason why the council rule 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. Only those old enough to remember Prince Caspian wield that kind of power without a relic."
"With that power, who knows what I can 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."
Damn. No wonder he's willing to spend a fortune. The most impressive one here is Olivia. How did she even steal it?
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."
So it was Count Solomon's recklessness. Wanting to show off in front of a pretty lady.
"You used up your resources? So, you're broke?" Gen asked.
That's what you got from that? Ezra stared at her incredulously.
"Yes." Olivia answered simply.
"Fuck!" Everyone stared at her in surprise. Why is 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 broke too." He confessed. The two women turned forward with a sigh.
"In case you're wondering, I'm broke too." X piped up.
"No one's wondering." Gen answered.
Silence.
Wait a minute.
Ezra turned to stare at X.
"Just ask."
"Cool. What happens to us after you get the page?"
"You guys? Don't I own you?" He laughed. "I clearly remember paying two hundred million credits."
He wants to enslave us?
"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." X adopted a thinking pose. "That's true. Maybe I'll kill you guys after I get the page."
The three vampires stiffened in shock.
What's wrong with you Genesis? Couldn't you keep your mouth shut?
"I'm just joking." X laughed. "Or am I?"
Shit! Shit! Shit! He's definitely going to kill us. How do we escape? I only have an Aura.
Genesis has her axes and that sticky rope. Olivia has those feathers. Shit!
Wait a minute! If we can find a way to restrain X, I'm sure we'll be able to escape. If Gen uses her sticky rope and Olivia uses her black zone, we can do it.
No, wait. They're both low on vitality and X has already rigged them with some kind of remote controlled chains. Fuck! It all boils down to killing X. How do I kill X? Can I even kill X?
Fuck!
There's no way out. There's no way home.