The passages beneath Jeweler’s Row in the Center City area of Philly were the stuff of legend; tales of what might have been going on under this section of town dated back to the time when what used to be a section of row houses was converted into shops with a plethora of jewelers taking over the area in the mid-eighteen hundreds. While very few humans had ever seen any evidence at all of their existence, the Vampires had dwelt here for decades, finding solace in the dark, dank tunnels and vaults that snaked for miles beneath the innocent city above.
It was the perfect place for Giovani to bring Gibbon, and it would be the perfect place for Cadence Findley to die.
By the time Nina and her group of incompetents had carried Gibbon from their arrival point by the river down the tunnels to the chamber he had arranged for his new weapon, Gibbon was not doing well to say the least. His breathing was shallow, his wounds were bleeding, and his heart was barely beating. Giovani had them place him on what appeared to be a castoff operating bed from a turn-of-the-century insane asylum, and quickly went about the process of turning him. He had to be cautious; too much, and Gibbon would die. Too little, and the change would take far longer than Giovani cared to wait. He had sunk his teeth into Gibbon’s neck, elated with the taste of his thick, dark blood and the prospect of what he was embarking upon. Though he’d been tempted to draw as much of the delectable liquid as he could, he was able to practice some control. Now, he sat in the dimly lit room, waiting anxiously for Gibbon, who had been strapped down to the table for his own safety, to awaken at last.
Once he was awake, he would begin to train him, to ensure he knew who the enemy was and how important it was that she be destroyed. And with promising news from Robert, things were beginning to look up. Cadence Findley was on her way to meet him, on her way to meet her demise.
* * *
As soon as Cassidy was sure her sister and her friends had left for the airport, she made her way to Cadence’s guest bedroom and began throwing her belongings into her bag.
Brandon followed behind her, a questioning expression on his face. “What are you doing?” he asked. “We don’t have to leave right now, and we certainly don’t have to be in such a hurry.”
“You may not have to,” Cassidy said, throwing the clothes she had worn the day before into her bag, “but I do.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, still standing behind her. “I’m your ride.”
“No, you’re not,” she said zipping her bag. “I’m not going back to Shenandoah, not now.”
“Whoa—what are you talking about?” he said, grabbing her hand where it sat on top of her bag, essentially making her stop. “Cassidy, what’s going on?”
She let out a sigh and pulled away from him, dropping onto the bed. “You have to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone—at all. Or else I won’t tell you.”
Brandon’s forehead furrowed. “Okay…” he said slowly, sitting down beside her on the bed.
“Promise, Brandon,” she repeated, sternly.
“I promise,” he said. “Now, what are you doing?”
Cassidy huffed and looked down at the floor. “I’m going to the train station,” she explained. “I’m going to Philadelphia.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Brandon exclaimed, jumping up. “You can’t do that.”
“I can. And I am,” Cassidy shot back. “And you can’t tell my sister. I have to get up there. I have to be a part of this. I’m sick of sitting by while everyone else is ridding the world of evil. I’m ready, Brandon. I can’t wait anymore! Like you said, it’s time to take fate into my own hands.”
“All right, all right, calm down,” he said sitting down next to her.
“I am calm!” she exclaimed.
“Sorry—I was talking to myself,” he covered, seeing that telling her to calm down had the opposite effect. “Let’s say you do go…”
“I am going!”
“Fine, so when you get there, what are you going to do? Cadence and Aaron will be furious,” he reminded her.
“I’m sure they will be, but by then it will be too late, and they’ll have to let me stay,” she explained, jumping back up and looking around the room to see if she had everything she had brought with her.
“And then what? You hang out in a hotel room while everyone else is out hunting down Giovani? How is that any different than hanging out here?”
“Look, my friends and I have already been helpful. We found him in the first place, remember? She’ll have to let me help. Maybe she’ll leave me at the Philly headquarters, or whatever, but she’ll let me do something. I’m going, Brandon, and there’s nothing you can say to stop me.”
She was standing in front of him, her arms crossing her chest, a look of determination on her beautiful face, and he realized she was right; there was nothing he could say to stop her.
Letting out a deep breath, Brandon said, “Fine. But I’m coming with you. There’s no way I’d let you do this on your own.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’d come with me? But, Brandon, I can’t let you do that. When my sister finds out, she’ll kick you off of the team.”
“Maybe,” he agreed, putting his hands on his hips. “But if I let you go by yourself, and something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. Besides, I can protect you. I am a Guardian now.”
She smiled at him meekly. “But what about the team?”
“Hey, if you can talk your way out of this, so can I. Besides, they can’t get rid of me completely—nothing can kill me, remember?”
“My sister can,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, well, she won’t do that. I may end up in Siberia with that Eliza chick, but at least I’ll know you’re safe.”
“Okay—well, thanks,” she said with another smile. “I guess I can cancel my Uber then if you want to drive to the train station.”
“I guess I need to buy a ticket to Philly,” he replied, grabbing her bag.
“Oh, one more thing,” Cassidy said, putting her hand on his arm. “Give me your phone.”
“What? Why?” he asked.
“Just in case. I want to make sure you don’t call my sister.”
“But I just got it back from Aaron a few hours ago,” he complained.
Cassidy stuck her hand out, and he drew his phone out of his pocket and dropped it in her open palm. “Thank you,” she said, putting it in her jean’s pocket.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s go grab my stuff, and then let’s go cause some trouble.”
“Let’s go hunt a Vampire, you mean,” she corrected him.
“No, I’m pretty sure what we’re doing is definitely causing trouble,” he muttered. “But as long as you’re safe, that’s the most important thing to me.”
“I’ll be just fine,” Cassidy assured him, stepping out into the hallway and locking the door behind them.