Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Colette was speechless at first, since she couldn’t make the connection of how a vampire drinking the blood of a human would even warrant such a transformation. She knew that if Ingrid bit Rohit and consumed his blood, he would either become a vampire himself, or be subject to the young woman’s will. Because of this, she decided to clutch the vampire heiress by her shirt again and confront her on it. “Are you insane?” she upbraided. “That’s not how it works! The closest anyone of our kind can get to being a human was to be born of one—like I was born with half of a human’s blood running inside me. But consuming it doesn’t do anything!” She then shoved her back, to which Ingrid simply flattened the wrinkles out of the shirt, since it belonged to Rohit.
“I know,” Ingrid casually replied. “Which is why it’s not just any blood partnership. It’s an ancient ritual with a lot of conditions.”
Colette spat with disgust. “There are different starting points when you wanna calculate the sum of a set of numbers, but the end result is always the same. Likewise, no matter what you call it, the methodology of biting and drinking the blood of a human doesn’t change the outcome. It’s one of two possibilities. There is no gray area.” She rubbed her forehead and asked who even proposed that crackpot theory in the first place.
“In the notes of Lord Jure in his quest for immortality,” Ingrid bluntly replied.
Hearing that name caused Colette to raise her eyebrows in shock, but casually tried downplaying the situation. “Yeah, yeah,” she remarked, waving her hand, “we all know he was the progenitor of all vampires who discovered the Fountain of Youth, but that’s all there is to him.”
“But he also proposed a way to undo the vampirism.”
The dhamphir pursed her lips, knowing of this particular theory, as she glanced at her and sighed. “You’re just spewing nonsense… You can’t undo what already is, Ingrid. As much as we all wanna try and fit in with society to lead normal lives, you have to deal with the hand you’ve been dealt in your life. Lord Jure sought more than that and look at what happened to him.” After saying that, Colette placed a hand on the vampire heiress’s shoulder, “Your best bet is to just give up on trying to pursue this quest and live out your immortal life to the fullest,” and then glanced down at Rohit, who was ruffling his hair in distress. “You should start by spending your time with him and focus on just creating memories… but also keeping your guard up against the vampire hunters. Even they aren’t gonna take kindly to this if they discovered your intentions.”
Ingrid flexed her cheeks, while gazing down at Rohit as well before returning her attention to Colette. “And that’s exactly why I need to try and seek this solution out—so I’m no longer hunted by them.”
The store clerk removed her hand from her shoulder and adjusted her glasses, as she wore an expression of disapproval. “I can’t say I condone your willingness to go that far, especially with a legend containing so many mysteries…” she muttered, as her voice trailed off, then increased her pitch afterwards. “So are you gonna join his side again, or what?”
“I am, so you needn’t worry,” Ingrid assured her, regaining her confidence back.
As she proceeded to leap off the edge of the building, Colette added, “Keep in mind you’re still gonna have to tell him. So I hope you’re ready to disclose everything you just told me.”
The young woman halted in her departure to continue listening.
“It’s likely he’ll help you, so you better not hold back.”
Without responding, the vampire heiress internally acknowledged her advice and jumped off the edge of the building so she could be with Rohit again.
Colette sighed, musing, ‘She’s treading in dangerous waters if she thinks she can complete Lord Jure’s ritual… The only reason he died in the first place was because the blood awakening ceremony didn’t meet the correct parameters,’ and flexed her cheeks, as she gazed up at the moon. ‘I’m sure Ingrid is aware of the risk to herself, so could Rohit really be the missing link? It would make sense, but that could also be a false lead into a greater scheme...’ She gritted her teeth the more she thought about it, ‘She could also be involved much deeper than I anticipate,’ then clenched her fists. “It’s like history is repeating itself…” Colette muttered spitefully. “Mother joined her kin to do the exact same thing… I must keep an eye on them, because it’s times like these where the villains start making their move. We all know how dramas work on television.”
It was common knowledge in the vampire world, as well as the upper echelons of the vampire hunters, that Lord Jure von Anfang, Ingrid’s ancestor and progenitor of all vampires, was not only granted immortality by the Fountain of Youth—the forbidden sanctuary lost to time, but a possible method to undo this was considered a thing of legends. The theory itself was too outrageous anyway, because the parameters were always thought to be hypothetical.
One of which required a certain kind of individual with a dormant power sealed inside them—a human of all beings, who wasn’t granted any kind of supernatural abilities outside of the intelligence they refined over the millennia. What kind of power this turned out to be was unknown, but one would just know whether or not they possessed it. And as a result, Lord Jure perished without ever knowing.
At least that was the story passed down by the vampires.
The vampire hunters had their own rendition of this legend from what they managed to document over the centuries.
But for the time being, Ingrid followed through with what she believed to be the unfiltered legend of undoing the vampirism, if it was even possible. And after some time of explaining it to Rohit, who was absolutely speechless at what he’d just been told, she expected the young man to, at the very least, take some time to himself if he was going to be apprehensive of the situation. Instead, the vampire heiress was met with intrigue and fascination.
“So I’m kinda like a catalyst for change or something?” he remarked, nodding and stroking his beard. “That’s quite the speculation. But I guess in time I’ll be able to harness these powers.”
Ingrid raised her eyebrows, as she allowed Rohit to continue venting. She was still surprised he wasn’t mad at her for abandoning him for so long, and decided to press him about his behavior, since it frustrated her.
“Be straight with me,” she implored. “Why are you so level-headed? Aren’t you in the least bit worried about all this? Or are you just plain naïve? I guess it would make sense, since you don’t seem to get involved with a lot of things around you. And that explains why you’re so giving—it’s because you’ve got nothing else going on!”
After her sudden spout, Ingrid sat back in the passenger seat and cupped both hands over her mouth, as she widened her eyes. She knew she said some things she didn’t intend on coming out the way it did in that tone, but the building anxiety she was having about Rohit’s behavior threw her off. The vampire heiress just didn’t know how to handle his stable personality. He was just unlike anyone she’s ever met in over two centuries.
Rohit sighed and sat back in his seat too. “You’re right. I don’t know what you want from me, Ingrid,” he confessed, “but all I can say honestly is that I’m just trying to make light of the situation and see things in a positive point of view.”
Ingrid slowly lowered her hands, as she swallowed and let him continue.
“Because to me, once it’s already said and done, we can’t go back and try to change things. We have to keep moving forward and do the best we can with the resources we’re given. And ever since last night and everything happening now, I just can’t abandon my—” He motioned with his hands in trying to find the right words to describe his situation. “—destiny, I believe is what it is? Which I firmly believe our paths crossed for a reason. So I’m willing to see it through with you.”
He then reached over and held one of her hands comfortingly. “You don’t have to worry about me changing my mindset. I know that if we stick together, we can make it through no matter what comes our way. I trust in you, Ingrid.”