Chapter 48 There was no turning back
“We attack him first.”
“But, he’s not here yet,” Izabella replied. “I’ve been checking.”
“I know exactly where he is,” Brandon assured her. “I’ve been keeping him busy in London. I have a friend there, who wanted to help me, so he kept Dante occupied with work, at their university. Dante should have arrived back to Zeadore this morning, if I’m not mistaken.”
“How can we be sure of this?” Izabella asked.
“Only one way. We go and check personally,” Brandon nodded.
“At his office?”
“No, he won’t be at his office now. He’s probably tired from the trip. He might even be sleeping already. That’s why we need to head over there now.”
“And where is there?”
“His lodge, of course,” Brandon nodded.
“But… we can’t just go there, like that… without any preparation… or anything…” Izabella was nervous, she was scared, even though her big brother was by her side.
Dante’s reputation preceded him. He was ruthless, merciless, dangerous. Izabella couldn’t bear the thought of potentially losing her brother now that she had found him, safe and sound. She felt like she wasn’t ready, like she spent all that precious time hanging out with these guys she liked, instead of preparing properly for the face off with Dante.
However, if someone asked her whether she thought she’d wasted that time, she would shake her head immediately. Whatever happened in the end, she’d never regret anything here, in Zeadore Academy. If her love life took a hit because of this, she’d still consider herself lucky to have been able to experience something so wonderful with Thorne, Hendrik, Raphael and Renwick. They were just something else, and she’d always think of them with a sense of happiness.
“We need to do this, Izabella,” Brandon spoke softly, stirring her from her thoughts and she knew he was right.
The time had finally come. There was no turning back.
The whole Bunker gang, led by Brandon in front, headed towards Dante’s lodge, in one long row. It was late at night already, so it was easy to stay hidden from plain sight. Izabella stayed close to Hendrik, all the while, feeling the need to apologize for her previous behavior. She felt like she’d jumped him for no reason. She was about to shoot the messenger for a bad message, while it wasn’t his fault at all.
Maybe he could have mentioned something but Izabella knew how convincing her brother could be when he wanted. He probably gave them all strict and clear orders, and there was no way anyone would disobey him. She couldn’t blame Hendrik. She couldn’t blame any of them for doing what they were supposed to do, for doing what was meant to keep her safe.
They all moved carefully, stealthily, knowing they’d need to get out of school grounds, because the lodge was located on a nearby hill, about fifteen minutes on foot from the school. The road was easy to traverse, going through the forest, but the path was there. They didn’t need to wade through wild bushes and trees.
“Hendrik?” Izabella spoke quietly, just after they all squeezed through the hole in the wall, and ended up on the other side.
Brandon was already way ahead, and he’d occasionally turn around to make sure everyone, especially Izabella, was close behind.
“Yeah?” Hendrik said under his breath.
They walked hunched downward, hiding behind every tree, every bush, listening to the crunching of the dry leaves and branches underneath their feet. Izabella felt bad. The way she’d behaved wasn’t right. She needed to tell Hendrik that. The last thing she wanted was for him to be upset with her.
“Listen, I…” she hid next to him, behind a large bush.
There was nothing but darkness all around them. All the animals were asleep. Izabella could hear the wild beating of her own heart, as if it was in her throat, about to jump out and run away. She wasn’t sure if that was because of Hendrik’s closeness or because they were about to face Dante. She wanted to believe that she was ready for both: ready to apologize, ready to fight. But, that tight grip around her heart made her feel uneasy, as if she may not have been as ready as she thought she was.
“It’s okay,” he replied, before she was even able to say anything.
She couldn’t see his face in the dark. He kept looking forward, his head always looking ahead, turning back to her only to reply softly. She kept close by.
“No, it’s not,” she whispered back.
“I understand,” his smile told her everything she needed to know. “Besides, now’s not the time for a chit chat anyway.”
“You’re right,” she replied, as quietly as she could.
“If we get out of this mess alive, you owe me a dinner, deal?” he suggested.
His eyes were shining wildly in the darkness. She wanted to read them, to get lost in them, to be the last thing they saw before Hendrik closed his eyes and went to sleep.
“Dinner and anything else you’d like,” she quickly added, surprising even herself with her boldness, remembering how she’d trembled in his arms in the janitor’s closet.
“Shhh!”
Someone behind them urged them to be quiet and move it along. Conspiratorially, Hendrik squeezed her hand in his, then let her go. That was enough for her to know that he wasn’t holding any grudges.
She continued slowly, following him closely behind. About fifteen minutes later, a small group was crouching in the forest, having a clear view of a small lodge. Smoke was coming out of the chimney in little puffs. The light in one of the rooms was still on and Izabella wondered if Dante sensed they were coming or maybe he just fell asleep with a book in his hands. That would be too convenient. She couldn’t imagine that he had absolutely no knowledge about what was going to happen. It just seemed too farfetched.
So, she was on her guard even more than usual.
She looked over at her brother. There was deterIzabellation written all over his face. He was unflinching. He had a mission and he would push it ’til the very end, no matter what. He wanted to keep the book safe, to bring back peace between humans and vampires. It almost seemed like Mission Impossible but if anyone could do it, it was Brandon.
Izabella understood that desire to bring together the two worlds, because she felt like she belonged to both. Now, with her emotions wreaking havoc inside her mind and heart,
she knew that the only way to truly be happy was to bridge this gap.
A part of her hoped that Dante would surrender without a fight. Somehow, all that hate she was feeling before had disappeared. She didn’t feel it anymore. Instead of it, there was compassion and understanding, fertile ground for love. She didn’t want to kill any more vampires, whether or not they deserved it. She wanted them all to live in harmony, in that peace they were all promised a long time ago.