Blanket of Fear

“Think this over carefully before you make this decision final, Matthew,” Sean glared hard at Matthew as he packed the few belongings he’d brought with him to the man’s home. Matthew just rolled his eyes as he turned around to fix the sinister vampire with a steely glare of his own.

“There’s no thinking over this, Castro. I’m done here. I’ve gotten what I wanted to accomplish done,” Matthew said airily as he turned away from Sean again, zipping his suitcase shut before he turned to face the man once again, shoving past him as he made his way for the door. “I have no interest in helping you destroy my brother’s life any longer.”

“You and I both know there’s more to it than just the fact that he’s family, Matthew,” Sean sneered. “You’ve never cared much for familial bonds. I don’t expect that you’ve suddenly found yourself attached to your little brother after this many years hating him.”

“This isn’t about hate,” was all Matthew said as he descended quickly down the staircase. He had made his decision more on a whim than anything else. And while Sean was right about there being more to his decision, Matthew wasn’t about to let him see his hand. The ultimate factor in Matthew’s choice to leave had been, quite simply, that Sean Castro was not a clean player. He fought dirty, and Matthew wasn’t like that. The vampire that had sired him had taught him that he was to be honorable, even if he chose the wrong path. And while Matthew had clearly chosen the wrong path the moment he’d watched his sire’s life flee from his cold, stiff body, he still lived by that code of honor that had been instilled in him.

“If I find out you’ve double-crossed me, you will live to regret it,” Sean threatened, stopping Matthew in his tracks. A small smirk formed on his lips as he turned to face the Latino vampire, crossing the short expanse of floor that separated him as he set the leather suitcase on the floor.

“We both know that you don’t have that kind of power, Castro,” Matthew said in a low voice. “We both know that I’m a much stronger vampire than you, and we both know that, if it came down to it, I could kill you with my bare hands.”

The air became stiff between the two of them as Matthew’s blatant threat made its way to Sean’s ears, and though the glare stayed in place on his strong face, he held up his hands in a motion of retreat. “Now, now, Matthew. There’s no need for hostility.”

“That went out the door the moment you threatened me, Castro,” Matthew said, his voice still low as he looked at Sean. If it weren’t for the fact that Sean was going to play into his ultimate plan for Bat Country, he’d kill the vampire right now and be done with it. But that could wait until later. After he’d gotten what he wanted, he would deal with Sean Castro once and for all. He was a pitiful excuse of a vampire, and he wasn’t worth the human blood he went through as if it were a novelty. Yes, someday soon, Castro would realize that he’d messed with the wrong person when he’d involved Matthew in his scheme. But it could wait for now.

With nothing else being spoken, Matthew turned around on his heels, grabbed his suitcase from the floor, and walked out of the house to leave. He knew exactly where he was going. It wouldn’t take more than a few days to get there, and though he knew that it would be difficult to play this hand the way it needed to turn out, the payout would be well worth the work.

-x-

“Baby, wake up,” Zack whispered into Eliza’s voice early in the morning a week later. She was back to normal now, although there was a subtle change in her personality. It wasn’t something that anyone but Zack noticed, but it was there nonetheless. She was beginning to show that she cared about him, beginning to let him into her heart the way he’d been trying to get her to. He knew she’d cared about him for awhile now, but he didn’t believe that she’d actually loved him before the nightmare. Now, however, he could tell that she was beginning to feel genuine love for him.

“What?” She asked him in a groggy voice, turning around to face his chest and smiling sleepily while she placed her palms on his chest, snuggling up against him and letting the sheets warm her body. She had gotten used to the way that his body was colder than hers, and sometimes she could even feel a sort of warmth there that wasn’t physical, but rather emotional that seemed to radiate from him. This morning, however, she was physically cold, and the blankets were pulled snugly around her shoulders.

“We’ve got to go downstairs and get you some breakfast,” he murmured softly against her ear, kissing the skin there softly before sitting up and pulling her with him. “C’mon, Val made pancakes and sausage.”

“How do you know that already?” She frowned, tilting her head to the side before she thought about it for a moment, a small ‘o’ shape forming on her lips, her cheeks tinting red when she realized she already new the answer. “I forgot you have a better sense of smell than I do,” she said sheepishly.

Zack chuckled. It was moments like this that he felt they were a human couple rather than a vampire and mortal one. The way she would hold him tightly to her, even though he chilled her skin, and the way that she talked with him as though he were a human man rather than a vampire. It almost made him recall his days as a human, and he was finding that, the more that he thought about those days, the more he missed them. Not in the homesick sort of way that tore some vampires apart from the inside out, but…in a more subtle way. Still, he didn’t regret being a vampire. It allowed him to better protect Eliza, and he couldn’t exactly complain about his powerful stature in the world of vampires. Bat Country was a country that had gained high recognition for being a well-organized government, even under attack, and they had many more allies than enemies because of the way they handled their business. That was one of the reasons he was waking up early today. They had someone coming to the house that was a potential powerful ally; one who could help them with Sean Castro.

“C’mon,” Zack said as he chuckled, picking her up bridal-style out of the bed and carrying her over to the closet, where he stood her on her feet before taking a few steps back, giving her a small smile. “Get dressed and then come downstairs, alright?”

She nodded, a small smile on her face as she closed the small space between them, leaning up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips before pulling back, resting her head against his chest as she hugged him tightly. “I love you, Zack,” she whispered, almost as if she was afraid that he’d reject her for it. A quick look into her mind told him that that was exactly what she was thinking, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her to kill that thought.

“I love you too, Eliza,” he whispered back, kissing the top of her head. “More than anything. Always remember that, okay?”

Eliza didn’t say anything, but just responded with a small smile as she walked into the closet to pick out some clothes for the day. When she’d figured out what she was going to wear, she walked out of the closet and into the bathroom to take a quick shower and to put some makeup on before walking downstairs to the kitchen.

When she got downstairs, however, she could quickly feel the tension that filled the atmosphere. No one was saying a word, and when Matt saw her, he quickly walked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into a small room at the back of the kitchen that she realized was the pantry. When he pulled her inside, she saw that Nicole, Leana, Val, and Sparrow and Harlow were all in the small room as well.

“Stay here,” Matt said to her with a small frown as he closed the pantry door again, leaving them in the small, windowless room. She looked over at the other three women, all of whom had worried expressions on their faces.

“What’s going on?” She asked them, crossing her arms over her chest. Just a few minutes before, everything had been so relaxed and easygoing; what had possibly changed so much in a few short minutes?

No one seemed willing to say anything as they looked at each other. Leana was the first to speak, Val looking at her with a hesitant glance. “You might as well tell her, Val. She’s going to need to know. I mean, Zack is her boyfriend,” she said in a quiet voice.

“What’s wrong with Zack?” Eliza asked immediately, fearing that something had happened to him.

“Nothing,” Leana said softly. “Nothing is wrong with Zack. He’s fine, for now…”

“Tell me what’s going on, guys,” she said in a quiet voice, a bad feeling washing over her and leaving her under a cloud of dread. She had a feeling that, whatever they were about to tell her, it wasn’t anything good.

“Matthew Baker is here,” Val finally spoke, the worry unmistakable in both her eyes and her voice. “And he says he wants to make an alliance with Avenged Sevenfold.”