The Breaker

Grayson's POV (continued)

"But in any case, I need him out of there. We need to prove Vladimir took him, and once we do that, thus proving that he has violated the rules then we can end him, once and for all." And we all can finally stop sleeping with one eye open.

Stravos chuckled without mirth. "You make a mistake child, even if we were to prove that Vladimir took Arthur Braille, we can only place more restrictions on him, imprisoning him within a certain place, probably this country. Or kill his coven members in a fight. And if we are extremely lucky, wound him but not one hunter... No, not the entire hunter's guild can kill the vampire king."

I stared at him disbelievingly. Surely, that's not possible. "He's just one vampire, oldest there is, but still just another vampire."

His smile was full of teeth. "It seems you failed to pay attention during your history lesson. Vladimir is just over four hundred years old, so no, he's not the oldest to walk the land, in fact he's barely old enough to be considered an elder. He's however the most powerful vampire that has ever walked the earth. As a matter of fact his reign of terror was so vast and devastating that he nearly killed every single witch on Earth. The great pact, you know the one that has elevated us to the level of power amongst the supernatural Community? It was created to stop the war between the witches and vampires, yes but it was brought up in the first place as a last ditch attempt specifically to stop Vladimir. In the end, all they were able to do was diminish his powers greatly and ban him from his home. That pact took from everyone involved. We lost our leaders, the witches lost all the coven elders who created the spell. And Vladimir, it was said that he lost his beloved and all the original members of his clan. Vladimir swore to visit his vengeance on everyone who took part in and upheld the pact no matter how long it takes. If he regains the full range of his powers, we won't have to worry about his reign of terror happening again because we won't be alive to witness it." I don't think there's any blood left in my body as I stared at him, unwilling to comprehend the magnitude of the bomb he just dropped on casually.

"I always thought Vladimir meeting the breaker meant he ruled over Russia once more and kills the witches, not that every single hunter would be fair game as well!" I shouted when I finally found the strength to speak.

Okay, this was bad. This was so very bad. "Why did you never tell me this?" I yelled once more in anger. What the hell was the point of giving me the mission of he wasn't going to tell me everything about it?

He shrugged. "Every intake of the guild is told this story during their lessons. If you do not know the full details, you only have yourself to blame."

"I know meeting the breaker brings Vladimir back to full power but I didn't..."

" You foolishly thought the only people at risk were the witches? How naive of you. The only thing we can do now is take the breaker to a place far away from here, at least until we can manage to get Arthur out of the Blood Shadow's coven."

I blanched, betraying my nerves and stared at the gyrating bodies. Stravos glanced at me sharply.

"What is it?" He asked uneasily.

"Vladimir has already met Josie."

"What?! How? when?" His roar was enough to cause my bottle of whiskey to topple off and shatter on the floor. Neither of us paid it much attention. "How could you let this happen? Where are they?" He shot off his stool and grabbed the collar of my shirt.

" He doesn't know who she is. Yet." His stare only became more furious and I hastened to clarify. "The conference, that's why he came to the house. He wanted to know why she claimed the things she did at the press conference. Now he has asked her to meet him at his manor."

"She can't go?!"

"I know that!" I yelled back, getting up in his face. "Why do you think I desperately need you to find Arthur? I need to give her a tangible reason not to see Vladimir."

"He's very perspective, extended time in her presence and he'll know what she is! This is why I keep telling you to make her yours." He yelled over me.

Again with this? "How the hell does me marrying Josie now keep Vladimir away hmm?" I sneered back.

"Is there a problem gentlemen?" A voice asked from faraway. We both turned to find the bartender staring at us in apprehension.

"Nothing." Stravos snarled at the fool who dared interrupt us before letting go of my shirt. In hind sight, choosing a loud bar as a meeting point might not have been the best choice. It was the only place I could guarantee Stravos wouldn't rip me apart once I told him my news.

"Because of the spell that binds the pact together you fool. Once she gives herself whole heartedly to someone, then Vladimir's chance is gone. Only the breaker can return all of Vladimir's power to him, but only if she belongs to him. Once she belongs to another, she is no longer useful to him. That's why you need to make her yours." Really?

Couldn't he have just explained that to me from get go? "You never told me any of these." He frowned and opened his mouth to object. "No! Don't even think about using the history lesson excuse. What I was told, what we were all told was that the breaker coming into contact and allowing the vampire king entry into his seat of power will give the vampires the edge over the witches and then they'll reign supreme, free to do as they wish. You didn't tell us that the whole damn pact was a scam to keep one vampire weak!" It was a good thing this place was so damn loud and that Stravos had activated the silencer, else my voice would have drowned out that godsawful music.

"The vampire. Not just any vampire. The only born vampire in history."

"What?" His non sequitur blew the wind out of my rant.

"That's what makes Vladimir so dangerous. No one knows whence he came from." Whence? What era was this? The 16th century? But he was still speaking, so I forced myself to listen to him ".....only that he was born a vampire, not made. His powers, his abilities." He shook his head, unwilling to continue.

"For the safety of everyone, you need to put your hang ups aside. She is reckless, yes and not as pretty as the other one. In all fairness, she's just a step above being plain. But she's not an inherently bad person, is she? You call her your friend, that means you have more in common than most couples. And it will be for a worthy cause."

"There...there has to be another way." I murmured with a defeated sigh. There has to be.

"Then find it before Vladimir gets his claws into her or it will be the end of us all."