Leap of Faith

In a way, Charlotte could tell with one look at Stone that he was meant to be a leader with how his words seemed to ring with a final statement, unlike a question that Vincent liked to linger about. Most vampires had their way of going through their day, but Vincent was extremely respectful now that she had thought about it.

He had always taken responsibility if anything had ever gone wrong, and Charlotte watched as Stone dropped his gaze from hers to take out a small device about the size of her cell phone which looked to be a tracker that had a long antenna that extended out further. It didn't seem to be a state of the work art but did the job.

Stone pressed some buttons, making the device squeak, and a red glow of light come up from the bottom when he sent out a message by pushing the buttons in order. The slight clicking sound probably meant nothing, but she was carefully listening to the three-beat order with a slight pause in between.

Charlotte slid her eyes over to Lucia who was still inching her way over to make a getaway, and Charlotte tipped her chin slightly down to let Lucia know that she was okay and that her work was done. Lucia gave her a shaky smile in return, and Charlotte knew that Lucia would never see her the same again, but all was finally done.

Lucia finally made it to the doorway of the staircase exit after the slow minutes crept by, and her left hand was gripping the metal doorway frame so tightly that her knuckles went white. Charlotte could see the hesitation and fear written all over her face, but Lucia was able to get one foot out of the door.

It prompted her enough courage to suddenly break out into a sprint after taking a huge leap of faith. Stone flicked up from the device, and his eyes which had a golden rim around what seemed to be a dark color when they were speaking earlier went all gold when shifted over to lock onto his target, Lucia.

Stone practically flew across the room at an astonishing speed, and Charlotte screamed for Lucia to turn around, and Lucia whipped her shoulder around and started shooting bullets into Stone.

Each bullet hit strong and true, making Stone shout in pain. He crashed into Lucia and grappled her back into the room before ripping the gun out of her hand and snapping it in half.

His teeth elongated in a pulsing roar that made all the air on her arms stand on end, and Lucia covered her ears as she slinked back to the wall. Charlotte screamed. "Don't! Stop, Stone!"

Stone reached for Lucia, and Charlotte's mouth dropped open in horror, knowing that she couldn't do anything for her. Silent tears slipped down Lucia's cheeks, and she brought her hands up to protect her face. "Please don't kill me."

Ignoring her plea, Stone plunged his teeth into the skin of Lucia's neck, making her scream in pain, and Charlotte tried to get Vincent off her to no avail. "Stone! Stop! Please spare her!"

Lucia was pushing against Stone with all her might but eventually lost all strength in her legs and was about to crumple to the ground when Stone grabbed her waist to steady her as he took her blood. Withdrawing his teeth from Lucia, she fell to the ground, and he wiped his lips and turned back to Charlotte with a blasé attitude.

His lips were still stained scarlet while the corner of his mouth twisted upwards in a smile. Charlotte dropped her gaze to Lucia, who was clutching her head as she wiped her tears to try and gather herself. Lucia eventually looked up underneath her lashes, and Charlotte could see the fire underneath the pale blue coloring of her eyes.

"Don't be too upset, Charlotte," Stone said in a bored tone. "I only needed to wipe her memories before I take her back down to resume her life."

"You didn't need to do that," she spat out. "Lucia wouldn't have told anyone."

Stone shrugged. "It's only a matter of precaution. I also needed some blood which worked out well. Tell me now, how well do you truly know her?"

But Charlotte knew that Lucia's memories hadn't been erased as expected when a vampire normally fed. The hatred and horror in Lucia's eyes were enough to convince Charlotte that Lucia would soon end up in a similar situation as her. That in itself was something that Charlotte never wanted to condemn Lucia to.

"Well enough," she snarled.

Lucia sat back tiredly and leaned her head against the wall to expose her glassy irises. She swallowed thickly and rolled her head over to Stone's direction. "If your goal was to clear my memories, you had failed, vampire."

Stone squatted down and squeezed her mouth shut before shaking her head around. "I would suggest you close your mouth before your voice really gets to me."

Lucia smiled against his hand. "That's funny. If you hate it so much, just kill me right here. Or better, let me go."

He gave a long sigh before straightening up. "What is up with you women?"