Chapter 50: Useful piece of information
The packs in the woods had finished dealing with the vampires camped close to the school. It was an easy fight for the werewolves since they fought during the daytime.
Again, Xavier thought they were the luckiest creatures. they could work freely during the day and even more at night when the moon was up, and they didn’t depend on human blood for sustenance. The vampires were indeed cursed creatures.
The werewolves didn’t cause much damage to them; they simply needed Valarie to clear the canopy of trees above the vampire camp and allow sunlight to hit the area.
In hand-to-hand combat, they aimed for the mask on the vampire's head. Sometimes the vampires were conscious of their protective masks and wouldn’t let the werewolves get close, so the werewolves had to re-strategize mid-fight, using their sharp claws to tear pieces of clothing off the vampires and let the sun do the rest.
Xavier couldn’t help but feel a grim satisfaction as they fought in the daylight. It was like watching the heavens punish these creatures of the night.
None of the werewolves had transformed in this fight except for Edward, who fought better in his wolf form. Xavier had told Valarie to keep an eye on Sage while he fought closely.
Valarie didn’t do much other than focus on holding the tree branches open for sunlight. While they were fighting, a vampire launched at Sage, its claws aiming for her throat.
Fear surged through her as she fell on her back, her mind racing. She didn’t want to call for help; she needed to prove her strength, so she used whatever strength she had to push him away, but her hands were giving out. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, until Xavier showed up.
When Xavier noticed Sage was not beside Valarie anymore, his eyes darted around, searching for her. Seeing her struggle, he charged at the vampire, his claws slicing through its neck with a feral growl. The vampire’s head rolled away as Xavier decapitated it in one swift motion.
To avoid too much blood on their hands, they used the sun to kill the vampires, but seeing Sage in danger, Xavier's protective nature kicked in, and he didn’t hesitate to slice the vampire’s head off. Xavier’s heart pounded as he knelt beside Sage, relief and anger mingling in his eyes.
The group had rounded up, leaving no dead bodies as the sunlight had burned them away. The only body left was the headless vampire on the floor. They kept one vampire alive, the head of the operation for his unit, to get answers from him. They tied his hands and put him down on his knees before them.
“Why did you attack the school?” Xavier asked, fuming with anger. But he got no reply from the vampire.
Sage looked at the middle-aged man on his knees. It was odd to see an older person in such a position. She stood to the side, observing everything. She was getting to know everyone's character bit by bit and understanding what they fought for.
“Answer me!” Xavier barked, startling Sage with his sudden outburst. He picked the vampire up by his collar, raising him above ground level, his legs dangling.
“Ho ho, you better give him answers now, darling,” Valarie warned. They had all witnessed Xavier's anger before, but he seemed more composed since their walk down here. Earlier, when Edward stepped away from the young female vampire they had caught, Valarie thought Xavier would act, but for some reason, he seemed more relaxed. Valarie glanced at Sage. ‘Is her presence changing him?’ Valarie wondered.
“Hold on, Xavier,” Red said softly, placing her hands on his shoulder. When he lifted the vampire, she noticed something poking out of his jacket.
Red reached out and unbuckled the jacket. When it was fully open, they could all see a piece of paper tucked into the vampire’s trousers. Red took the paper out and looked at it; she turned the paper over and gasped at what she saw, her eyes widening in shock.
“What is it?” Valarie asked, stretching her neck out of curiosity to see the paper.
“Does this look familiar to you?” Red asked, her voice trembling as she turned to Sage.
“Oh, oh!” Red exclaimed, turning her gaze to Sage.
Sage frowned, confused by their reactions. Why were Valarie and Red looking at her that way? She walked up to them and took the paper from Red’s trembling hands. Her heart stopped as she stared at the photo.
“My sisters!” Sage’s voice broke, her mind reeling. The image of Clara and Jane stared back at her, their faces smiling in a school photo.
Xavier, still holding the vampire up with two hands, switched to one hand to take the paper from Sage. On it was a printed copy of Clara and Jane, seemingly from a school photo book, with the caption ‘sassy twins of grade nine.’
While Xavier was distracted, the vampire struck the joint in his arm, weakening his hold around the collar.
The vampire’s eyes gleamed with desperation as he broke free, sprinting into the woods with all the speed he could muster.
“Quick, go after him!” Xavier ordered, his voice laced with frustration.
“I knew we should have taken off his mask,” Valarie murmured. Without his mask, the vampire would be slow under the sun. Now he was running free and fast, especially with those magic boosters which made him a blur and difficult to get a hold on.
The middle-aged vampire’s heart raced faster than his feet. When he heard their camp was being attacked by werewolves, he quickly hid any clues that would alert the vampires about their activities. He had run out of time and decided to hide the last piece of information inside his clothes. Just when he thought he might die, the girls found the paper and caused a distraction. He also obtained a useful piece of information: ‘Someone who knew the twins was with the werewolves!’
The vampire believed this because Sage was the only human present.
The werewolves were hot on his tail, but he was way ahead of them and knew a quick route to escape. He needed to get the information to Venzy and fast.