In The Shadows Where We Lie

Seth’s POV

I sat in the chair, turning the necklace charm over and over again between my fingers. It was one of Gracie’s. She had stopped wearing it for some reason, but I wore it now because it reminded me of her.

The others were crowded in this large room of the building Eryn had told them all to meet us at. It was like some old abandoned warehouse, perfect size to fit our crew of friends that were joining our search party. Few could not make it, but most of them agreed when we made them aware of the situation.

“Seth.” Eryn appeared at my side, her hand on my arm. “Do you want to address them, or should I?” She whispered to me. I hadn’t spoken much lately; I’ve spent most of my time thinking, so I could tell she wasn’t sure if I would speak or not. I looked at her for a second, then nodded my head and stood.
I was already at a point of the room where everyone could see me, and as soon as I stood, a hush fell over them and all eyes were on me.

I stood up straight, facing them confidently though I felt that I may collapse at any second.

“Hello friends. I want to thank you all for coming here. You really have no idea how much this means to me.” My voice rang loud and clear, and I saw some people’s heads nodding, acknowledging my words. “I’m sure you all know why you are here. Many of you knew before we had even called you, and some had just heard about it from others and came here to show your support, so thank you. But the issue at hand is a personal one for me. Not many of you know Gracie. A few of you may have met her at the party recently held, but most of you have never met her.” I choked a bit when a spoke of the party, the night she disappeared…

“But you are all aware of the current leader of the rebel vampires, Kradence Debela. Kradence is a very powerful vampire, as we all know. Some of us have had the misfortune of coming in contact with this vampire, but luckily many of you have steered clear. I, myself, know how dangerous he can be and the evil way his mind works.” My voice took on a darker tone when speaking of Kradence.

“My girlfriend, Gracie Meyer, has been taken captive by Kradence. We are not sure where the rebel vampires’ hideout is, or where they are keeping Gracie, but we hope that you all can help us. I know that it is asking a lot of you to go up against Kradence and the other rebels, but we should all be aware of the growing battle between Goodies and Rebels. I know that this is one of Kradence’s strategies; he is using Gracie as a trap for me and Eryn and many other head Goodies. Kradence already has much control over the vampire world; we cannot let him gain more.

"So I’m asking you as a friend, as a fellow goodie vampire, to please help us. We need all of you, and any more vampires that we can get on our side. The war is coming; this is only the beginning.” I ended fiercely, emphasizing the truth behind it all.
A buzz came over the crowd of vampires before me. Confused whispers, angry shouts, and many decisions were being made among them. Some were nodding their heads, instantly agreeing. Others, however, seemed cautious.

“Seth!” Draco Falkon called to me from within the crowd. I turned to look at him where he was several people away from where I stood.
“How do we know that this isn’t just a scheme that Kradence has planned to kill all of the goodies? For all we know, he could have heard about this and be getting ready to bomb the place right now.”

“Interesting thought, Draco.” Eryn piped up. “But I’m afraid that you are wrong. I would know if Kradence, or anyone else, were planning something horrible for us all right now. I’ve had my mind’s ears open, I can hear the thoughts of anyone within a few miles, and I’ve especially been on my guard for any detrimental thoughts.” She smiled like the smartass she is, and turned back to me, satisfied that she handled the only opposition so far.

“Yes, thank you Eryn. She is right, Draco. We would know if they had something planned, because they would be close enough for us to hear and giving us just enough time to clear everyone out. Rest assured, my friend. The severe danger is not present yet.” I smiled to Draco, who eased just a little bit.

So I stood there another second, waiting for some other confrontation from another vampire, but when none came, I turned and left the room. I needed to be alone. Okay, so the last two days I was pretty much always alone, but now my head would not stop spinning. We were finally going to get some things done. We have a large group of other vamps to help, so it would make finding Gracie that much easier.

I could hear Eryn in the room now. She was giving them all of the details; that we were meeting here directly after sun down the next night to begin our search, groups that needed to be divided, anything they might need to help us. We were going to cover the entire town looking for Gracie. I was not going to give up, and with the other Goodies on my side, I was confident we would find her soon.
But after we found her, getting her away from Kradence was an entirely different story. One that I wasn’t sure of how it went yet.

"Hello Seth." A small, sweet voice came. I turned to see Emily, Aiden's girlfriend.

"Oh. Hey Em." I mumbled. I barely saw her ever, so I was shocked that she was talking to me now.

"I want you to know that I am going to be there helping to find Gracie tomorrow. I know I don't really know her, but Aiden likes her and she seems like a sweet girl, and I hate seeing you so devastated by this. I will really try to do all that I can." She smiled.

I just stared at her, even more shocked. I would never have expected Emily to be the one to come and talk to me like this. Really, I had only ever spoken to her like 3 times, which is shocking since she has been with Aiden (on and off!) for quite a while.

“Th...thank you Emily. This means a lot to me. We can use all the help we can get, and it’s…sweet of you to come and speak with me like this. So, thanks.” I smiled back at her.
She hugged me tightly for just a second, and then disappeared back into the giant room to find Aiden.

Hmm…you know I don’t think I ever asked Aiden what Emily’s power is. I have to make sure I do that sometime soon. Maybe she could be more useful than I thought.