RomaniaxReader~Sustenance Pact~Ch 12

Sustenance Pact~Ch 12~

"___________, the phone's ringing," Vladimir told you dangling the phone in front of you.

"You don't have to rub it in my face if it's right in front of me," you growled and snatched the phone away.  "Hello?"

"____________ _____________," an automated voice spoke through the phone. This was not going to be good. "We have received a report that you are involved with intimate terms with vampires, regarding physical contact and/or an alliance. If vampirism has not claimed you at this moment, then we would like to give you an advanced warning notifying you of our arrival to fumigate your residence. Please stand by. A group of professionals will be on their way shortly." Click!

"Fuck!" you cursed.

Vladimir was listening, too. "What does that mean? Are you in trouble?"

"Ludwig must've reported me to GERUN! They think—okay, maybe I am—but they think I'm helping you!"

"It's something along those lines, yes," your vampire deduced.

You threw him a serious look. "Vlad, we're in deep shit right now."

"What about Roddy?"

You shook your head hopelessly. "I don't know, Vlad, but whatever information he has is probably important. Eliza wouldn't have told me about him if he didn't."

"But if GERUN's on our trail, then how will we ever get inside the main headquarters?"

"You tell me. You're the vampire."

"I've never been to the main headquarters before."

"Neither have I," you admitted.

"Do you know anyone who has?"

You thought for a moment. "I believe I do…"

-----

"Ve! What do you want? I'll do anything! Just don't-a hurt me! Okay, maybe you can't-a hurt my kitties, either, but whatever you-a do just go away! I'm too young to die!"

"Feli, relax. It's me," you sighed.

Your bumbling informant calmed down and looked at your familiar face.

"___________!" he cried in relief. "Boy, am I glad to see you. For a second there, I thought you were a vampire!"

You raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"

"Ve, aside the cold air, it's because GERUN has been saying that your in-a line with a vampire. Is that true?"

"Feli, look at me," you said with a serious expression. "Do I seriously look like the type of person who would work with vampires?"

"Well…" Feliciano hesitated. God, he's slow… "No, but then why would they say that in the first place?"

"Ludwig just got the wrong idea," you told your informant. "But, hey, listen, I need you to do a small favor for me."

Feliciano blinked. "And what-a would that be?"

You stepped to the side and revealed Vladimir who was waiting in your shadow in entire time. Feliciano was startled, but knowing that you were here made him feel a little more stabilized.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"A friend of mine," you said. "Can he come inside?"

"Ve…" Feliciano thought about it. He actually thought about it.

Your shoulders dropped, and you let out an exhausted sigh. "Come on, Feli…"

"Sì, he can come in!" your informant finally said. "I just kind of lost it there for a seco—VE!"

Without so much of a warning, Vladimir leaped inside Feliciano's home and pinned the weak and surprised informant to the ground.

"Careful, Vlad," you said eyeing your vampire watchfully. "We don't want to give him a heart attack now."

"__-__________?" Feliciano babbled. "Y-You're really helping them? But why?"

"I'm not," you said with a bitter tone and shut the front door behind you. "I'm doing this for Eliza. Now stay still so he can hex you."

"Ve, no!" Feliciano wailed and began to thrash about, but his meager strength was no match for Vladimir's overpowered vampire body. It didn't take long before his body stopped moving as his mind was under Vladimir's control. Then, when he had stopped moving all together, Vladimir got to his feet and turned to you.

"He's all yours, ___________," he said and waited for the interrogation to begin.

You asked your first question. "Feli, where exactly is GERUN's main headquarters?"

"It's located underground in this very city," Feliciano answered automatically.

"How do we get there?" you then asked.

"You need to follow the sewage system until the water stops draining," Feliciano then answered.

"Are there any security mechanisms we have to watch out for when we get there?"

"There are elite hunters everywhere always guarding the entrance and the bulk of GERUN," your hexed informant explained. "There are even vampire detectors that can detect the temperature so any appearances of vampires will be notified immediately. The walls are all made of tempered glass and reinforced steel and…ve…I forget."

"You can't even remember the place your grandfather works?" you sighed. "Alright. Now you can ask me a question."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No," you answered. "I'd never do something like that."

And the hex was broken—right before Vladimir cast a memory-wipe hex on poor Feliciano.

As you watched his eyes close while the hex took place, you bit your lips together while trying to gather everything you had just learned. "I'm sorry, Feli. I'll try to fix this somehow."

"Done," Vladimir said and pulled back from Feliciano's unconscious body.

"Thanks, Vlad," you said and headed out of Feliciano's house. "I think Lovi should be back by the time Feli comes around."

"Alright then. We're going to find GERUN's headquarters now?"

"Yeah," you nodded. "I can't believe it was under our noses this whole time."

-----

You wrinkled your nose. "It stinks down here."

"How do you think it must feel for a vampire?" Vladimir asked.

"Sorry. I forget sometimes."

"You do?"

"Not now, Vlad," you sighed. "Just lead the way."

Since Feliciano had mentioned that there were temperature sensors, you had to hold onto Vladimir's hand the entire time. You didn't really mind since you couldn't see no more than an arm reach's away from you so letting your darkness-dwelling soul-mate lead the way was only common sense.

"I can hear voices up ahead," you heard your soul-mate say.

"We must be getting closer then," you concluded. "Are you scared?"

"A little," Vladimir admitted. "You're sort of expelled from GERUN, aren't you? And besides, we don't even know what we're really up against."

You frowned. "Feli didn't give us that much information."

"No, he didn't," Vladimir sighed. "But whatever happens in GERUN, I'll be there to protect you, okay?"

"Vlad, you should be more worried about protecting yourself."

This made him laugh. "Are you saying that you're worried about me?"

"Well—! I mean—You've still got some explaining to do about this Arthur guy."

"True, true," your vampire said.

"Are you going to tell me after we see Roddy?"

"Sure," Vladimir replied.

"Promise?"

"Promise, _____________."

"That settles it, then. Once we talk to Roddy, we're splitting this city."

-----

GERUN's main headquarters were huge. You could hear the roaring sound of fans pumping oxygen from the choking surface down to the magnificent underground vampire extermination organization. It was really a sight to behold. Almost all of the walls were made of reflective material, and there were loads of hunters in black coats. If anything, they looked beast.

"Wow," you breathed. "I knew GERUN was huge, but I never knew it looked like this. I wonder where Roddy could be. I hope he and Eliza are alright."

"Don't think too much about it, ____________," your vampire said. "What would Eliza think if she knew you got hurt because of her?"

"Pretty upset."

"I'd think so, too."

You tightened your first around Vladimir's cloak. "Vlad, I'm scared."

Your soul-mate turned around and pressed you close to his warm, inviting body to comfort you.

"I am, too, ____________," he whispered softly. "We'll make this as quick as we can, okay?"

"Yeah," you nodded.

-----

With the temperature detectors on, you had to remain in physical contact with Vladimir the entire time. You were surprised at how strong he was as a vampire—even without your blood to help him he was able to carry you effortlessly from one wall to the next avoiding any clutter or human eyes.

How does he do that? you wondered. You noticed that there were cameras everywhere, too, but the entire time you and Vladimir were scouring the headquarters, no alarm went off, and none of the hunters were putting up any suspicions.

After Vladimir landed on a column behind some crates of what appeared to be weapons for training, you heard a pair of men talking not too far away.

"Yeah, the girl won't talk," the taller one said.

"Goddammit, doesn't she realize how important it is for us?" the shorter one asked frustratingly.

The taller one scratched his head. "I know. The vamp won't talk, either. He only mumbles things about being hungry and wanting to see the girl."

"I can't believe he was a famous pianist all of this time. He was right under our noses. Kinda makes you wonder what other celebrities are vamps, huh?"

"Tell me about it."

"Oh, yeah. Where are we going to be moving the vamp again?" This got your attention.

"The silver hall. Since we weren't able to coax out any answers, the higher-ups suggested we torture the guy."

No! you thought horrified.

"Really? Gee, I wonder how that's going to go down."

"Yeah, well, it's only for the elite factions to watch. We don't want it to get too hectic if he manages to escape."

"I sure wouldn't want anything happening." Then men continued to get further and furth until you couldn't hear them anymore.

"Vlad, what are we going to do?" you whispered.

Vladimir wore a look of concern on his face. "Silver hurts, ___________," he told you. "I don't know how long Roddy will be able to last if they really use silver on him."

"I don't even want to think about it," you said. "But if we're to get a chance to talk to Roddy, then how are we going to do that with the place crawling with elites?"

When you finished asking your question, you noticed that there was a sparkle in Vladimir's eyes.

"Wh-Why are you staring at me like that?"

"There's a spell…"

"Oh no…"

"…that makes a group of people freeze for a short time…"

"Vlad…"

"…It doesn't last very long…"

"Vladimir…"

"…but if I had some blood…"

"Why do I get the feeling like I'm being cheated of my part of the pact?" you sighed.

"You just haven't given me enough opportunities to help you," Vladimir pointed out. "If you did, I'd gladly hold my end of the pact."

"But either way, you'd need blood from me at some point," you bitterly reminded him.

"True, but don't you want to know what Roddy has to say?"

"Y-Yeah…" you reluctantly admitted.

Your soul-mate ginned a fanged grin. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go talk to Roddy~"

-----

You shivered. Not because of the fact that you were close to anemic after Vladimir had taken your blood only a day ago, but because the time-freezing process was so eerie. The air was stale, and the hunters were frozen in place…but their eyes still had that lively glint, like they were just playing mind games with you the entire time.

"Why haven't you used this spell before?" you asked while pressing yourself close to your soul-mate for warmth.

"It's a really hard spell to do," Vladimir explained. "It's hard to space of the dimensions if there are a lot of moving things, but if everyone's still like in this case, it's easy to pinpoint where I want the freezing process to take place."

"Then why haven't other vampire used this spell?" you asked as you and Vladimir approached Roderich's restraining platform.

"Only originals remember how to use it," Vladimir answered. "It's a sort of lost art."

"An art…" you scoffed. By now you were in front of Roderich. He looked exhausted, like he had been starved of blood for a long time, but if anything, he was still alive.

"Hey, Roddy!" Vladimir greeted the vampire in his usual cheery voice.

"What are you guys doing here?" Roderich asked bewildered. "Especially you, Vlad. Don't you know that you're not welcome here?"

"Neither of us are," you said, "but that's not important right now. Roddy, before Eliza was taken away, she said you might have some information about another vampire. Do you know what she was talking about?"

"Ah, that." Roderich looked off in a far-off gaze. "Do you know Arthur by any chance, Vlad?"

Vladimir only nodded.

"Then this might makes things easier for you. Gilbert, you know, that wretched albino informant—"

"He was hexed by Arthur," you said.

"So you know something, too," Roderich concluded. "Even easier. But do you know why?"

"That's what we were hoping to find out from you," Vladimir answered.

"Ah. Well, then," Roderich cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should get out of here. The explanation might take longer than a few minutes."

"I know," Vladimir grinned. "I just wanted the image of you being tied up like this to stay with me for another century or two."

"Oh, I'm so flattered," Roderich said sarcastically.

"Really, Vlad?" you hissed at your vampire and began to undo the straps and buckles that held Roderich down.

"What about Eliza?" Roderich asked as soon as he was free.

"I don't know where she is," you confessed. "I don't think GERUN's going to hurt her, though."

"Yes, but…" Elizabeta was Roderich's soul-mate. That was one thing that couldn't be falsified no matter how many times it was refuted.

"Roddy, if Eliza gets out, she'll become like me: a vampire's accomplice."

"I need to know she's alright," Roderich said stubbornly.

"Guys, the spell's wearing off," Vladimir said hastily.

"We should get out of here, then," you said. Roderich and Vladimir agreed.

-----

Be it an invisible thread between soul-mates or a bond of love or some other cheesy, sugary crap like that, Roderich was able to find Elizabeta within a significantly short amount of time. She was contained in a glass container much like the one she was in when she was first detained.

"Eliza!" you cried and went over to the glass barricade that separated the three of you from your friend. Other than looking bored out of her mind, Elizabeta looked quite all right. GERUN may have been total douche bags to you for these past few days, but they were still civil folks. While you were trying to find a way to get her out of her confinement, the two vampires behind you were exchanging wary looks.

"You know if we bust her out of here, an alarm's probably going to go off," you heard Vladimir say.

"Ja, but you're fast enough, aren't you?"

"I took a lot of ___________'s blood."

Roderich groaned. "Could you be any more inconsiderate?"

"Hey, if was thanks to my 'inconsideration' that your ass is out of there in the first place," Vladimir snapped.

"I can hold on just a little longer," you said.

"_____________, are you sure?" Vladimir sounded worried.

You nodded. "It's only going to be a little bit, right? If that's the case, then I'd be willing to do it to save Eliza."

"Well, this makes things easier," Roderich commented on your determination. "Now the two of you will be able to hear about what's going on."

"That's only if we get out of here on time," Vladimir said giving a quick look behind his back to make sure no one was watching.

"Okay, I've had about enough with your stalling, Vlad," you said and seized your soul-mate's hair and pulled him down to your throat. "Just don't take too much, okay?"

"I'll try not to," Vladimir said, but there were no guarantees. Roderich watched in mild discomfort as his vampire counterpart began to drink more of your blood. You could feel your life slipping away from you as the world began to give off a fuzzy appearance and your skin felt colder. Then, your vampire stopped and pulled away from your neck, but the surrounding images were beginning to grow black once more.

"Not again…" you croaked as you fell backwards. You felt something heavy lurch from your back; Vladimir must've caught you. Damn it all, he and Roderich had better get you and Elizabeta out of here alive.