Damien
We go down the hill from the old mansion after promising Lazarus we are going to bring him the humans he turned. I never expected this to be one of of his condition. Gosh! I never expected anything that happened in there.
I should tell the council that Lazarus is the one doing all the turning of the humans. What on earth does he want them for? Is he planning on building an army? A clan? What would he need a clan for? Probably to enslave them and make them do everything he wants.
What the hell would he benefit from turning the whole town and destroying the peace between the humans and the Vampires? I don't understand any of that. I thought he wanted to take revenge on me and the council for banishing him but this? This was never in the wildest of my imaginations.
"Are you really going to let him have them?" Luther asks me as we head into the woods.
"That is what he wants, right? If I don't give them to him, he might attack our family and cause even more danger," I respond.
"What if this is all just a scam? What if he just wants you to give them to him and then capture you at the same time? I don't think he would let you go just like that. We all know how much he hates you. Why would he just give Clara to you and expect everything to go back to normal?" Victoria says.
"She is right Damien. It is obvious that he won't just let you go away with Clara and continue his plans of turning the humans. Will you just sit back and let him continue doing what he is doing to the humans? It is against the Ventrue rules and as a leader he might use that against you for his revenge," Katherine says.
I have always treasured my responsibilities as a leader but this is a test for me. I can't lose Clara. I haven't even told her how much I love her yet. Jeez... I just got her. Everything is happening so fast.
I thought Fabian was the only thorn tearing through our relationship but now Lazarus is going to ruin everything. What will happen if he involves Fabian? Everything will be ruined.
"Let's go get them. We will think of a better plan when we reach home," I tell them.
Reaching home, everyone is up and down. Amber dashes to the door when us coming through.
"What happened? Did you find her? Are you alright?" she fires me with questions, her eyebrows farrowed in concern. I don't know whether the concern is directed to me or to Clara.
"We are alright, but we weren't able to get her," I reply.
"Why? Did you find Lazarus?" she inquires.
"Yes, we found him. He has Clara and he won't let her go until we give him the turned humans," Luther replies her.
"Why would he want them? l don't understand?" she inquires. I look around the house and everyone is there. Even the newly turned that we just brought in. They are already fitting here. They look like they belong here. How can I just give them away like they are some kind of possession?
Logan's eyes fill with worry when he hears the words. The other three are sited on the couch. They don't look any less worried. This is so difficult.
"Lazarus is the one who has been turning the humans. He is the one responsible for all of this. He kidnapped Clara so that he could get me to agree with his conditions. He wants me to take them to him so that he can continue turning the humans and going ahead whatever his plans are," I say.
"You should inform the council about this," Darren says.
"We can't. Lazarus will know and he will kill Clara on the spot if we do that," Victoria replies.
"We already thought of that but it won't be of help. There are many more turned humans that he is keeping with him. We need to also get them out of there. The situation is just messed up," Orpheus says.
"We need a good plan," Luther says.
"We can't just give them up. They are now family. We have to think of a better way of getting Clara back without losing them. We can't let Lazarus win. Who knows what he will do next time when something comes his way. He will keep making threats," Victoria says.
She is right. We can get Clara back, keep the kids and take Lazarus down but how?
"We can't keep the council out. They need to know what is happening," Luther says.
"Maybe someone should go secretly and I inform the council. Then you guys take them to Lazarus and go according to plan. We will come according to the decision of the council," Orpheus suggests.
"I know Lazarus is keeping a close eye on our every move. He has spies everywhere. How are we going to inform the council without him knowing?" Raul inquires.
"He might be able to spy on anyone but not on some with Obfuscate abilities," Orpheus says with a raised eyebrow. We all turn to Athan who is standing quietly behind Logan.
"Yes, Athan has Obfuscate abilities. He won't be able to be detected. I will go with him. He will be able to also conceal me from detection too," Darren says.
"That's good. Athan are you willing to go?" Luther asks him. I know this matter is majorly my concern because I want to get Clara back so I don't want to force anyone into getting involved in this matter against their own will.
"Ofcourse I want to help," Athan responds with a smile on his face. Athan is a really quiet fellow. You might misunderstand his character if you don't know him well.
"I am going with you. Just incase you need to know where Lazarus is," Orpheus says.
"We are running out of time guys. Lazarus threatened to involve Fabian if we don't follow his conditions. I think he wants war," Raul says.
"We don't want to fight. We want to solve things in a more peaceful and civilized manner," I say.
"Let's get going now. You guys should come with us. You shouldn't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I am going to make sure you come back home safely," I assure the new members of the family. They get up from the couch and walk to me. Logan comes behind them.
We head out of the house, leaving Athan, Darren and Orpheus with the mission to go to the Ventrue headquarters and inform the council about what is going on. I am confident about Athan's abilities. They are the same as Lazarus's. He will be able to get there without being caught by Lazarus's spies or whoever his eyes and ears are.
We head into the woods towards the hills. Please wait for me for some more time, Clara. I am coming for you. I am not going to leave without you this time. Just be more patient with me. I keep saying that in my head as a prayer as we approach the old house.
On my way up the hill, I can smell Clara's scent around the area. It is so strong. It is like as if she has just been here. It isn't as faint as it was when I came here for the first time. It is much stronger.
I shake my head off the thoughts. Clara is in there. She is waiting for me to get her and she has been waiting since yesterday morning. Time has really gone so fast. It is almost morning and Fabian will notice that his daughter is missing if Lazarus doesn't go and inform him himself.
Entering the house, the annoying woman is waiting for us. She looks less confident than she was when I left. Something must have shaken her.
"Where is Lazarus?" I ask her.
"He is on his way down," she replies.
"I don't want to waste any time here. Tell him that I have brought what he asked for and I want the girl right now," I tell the woman and she nods before walking away.
I wonder if there is someone else around watching us. Maybe there is. They couldn't leave us here without being watched, would they?
I take walk further into the house and look around. This house is really old. Did Lazarus rent it or buy it? I guess he just found it as an abandoned building and decided to move in.
"I have a feeling that Clara is not in here," Katherine says.
"Why would you say that?" I ask her.
"They wouldn't just leave us here on our own if she was in here. They would keep a close eye on us. I think she isn't here, because that woman looked very suspicious," Katherine replies.
"Where could she be then?" Victoria inquires.
"I don't know. They must have taken her else where but not in here. I don't think he is going to give her to us. I think he is fooling us," Katherine replies.
"I see you made it," Lazarus says while entering the room. He has a wide grin on his face. He grins on useless occasions so I don't find that suspicious.
"And you brought me what I asked for. Good job, Damien. I knew you wouldn't just give up on her_"
"Where is the girl? I want to first see her and make sure that she is fine like you promised," I cut him off the nonsense talk.
"She is fine," he replies.
"Then bring her here so that I can prove it myself," I tell him. He first remains silent for a while.
"Why are you quiet? Do you have the girl or are you just fooling around?" I inquire from him.
"She is upstairs, waiting for you. She won't come down unless you go get her yourself," he replies.
"I am not stupid, Lazarus. I have sense and I can understand that you definitely don't have her. So tell me where the hell she is!" I say, my voice raising at him.
"You think you are too smart. Why don't you find out yourself?" he says.
"So she really isn't here? Where did you put her?" I ask him and an evil smirk spreads over his face.