Page 40 of Beasts

“Absolutely not. Even if we drove with the traffic that's about to hit us, we would take too long to get there. Once the sun starts to set, we're on their turf. Unfortunately for us, none of us are strong enough to defeat one vampire, even as a group. Even if I were to let loose, I might kill Seth as well in the process.”

“Okay, no harm in asking. I just thought that perhaps with Seth he might be able to tell us a way out of this mess.”

“Seth simply predicts what's going to happen, but he can't always change it. Once a decision is made, that's it, everything changes.”

“Wait, so you're saying choices will impact what happens in the future?”

“I mean, that's how he explained it to me. If you decide to throw a ball and it happens to break somebody's window, then that was the cause that happened from you picking up that ball. But if you go and pick up that ball and decide that you don't want to throw it and you simply drop it on the ground, then you don't break a window. Apparently, there is an expected path that we all take, but the ways that we get there can alter and differ. When Seth concentrates on someone hard enough, he can see their path.”

“Do you think if he saw Oliver dying today, he would have said something earlier?”

“We're not gonna let Oliver die today. But Seth knows he can't alter the future like that. He has explained it to us many times before, and we've agreed that if we're destined to die on a certain day that we shouldn't know about it. The fact is, nobody should know when they're going to die. Of course it's going to hurt us, but we can't just expect him to warn us whenever something bad is going to happen.” It's completely fair of him to say that, and I totally understand it, but I absolutely hate it.

“Alright, I understand.”

“Speaking of, where is Oliver anyway?”

Hugh speaks up, “That's what I was just trying to tell you. He's not upstairs.”

“Oh, he is now.” I lie. “I think he was just in the bathroom or something, but he's upstairs now. He doesn't seem well. Maybe you guys should go check on him.” They both exchange a concerned look before walking themselves upstairs. I'm a terrible liar and I hope they don't immediately assume that I'm doing this to hurt them. The moment they're out of sight, I open the front door and I run.

Chapter twenty-three

Laws of Demons

Nolan was right. By the time the overly expensive taxi drops me off a block away from the pier, the sun is already starting to set. I feel a little bit helpless right now. I don't really know what I'm going to do or say. All I know is that I have to convince them that they shouldn't hurt Oliver just because I know what they are. The bottom line is, it truly isn't Oliver's fault. I know Oliver is taking the brunt for Nolan. But I think if both of them knew the truth, neither would have said anything. This is what I get for keeping secrets to myself.

As I slowly start walking around the shipping yard, I look around for any sign of movement. It's possible that they would have gone to the house instead of here, but this is my only lead. My only other option is to figure out where the house is by perhaps breaking into a admin area and looking through some paperwork. That's when I start to hear mumbled voices. As I walk closer to where they're coming from, I can see that Oliver, his father, and several others are standing around him while they are having a discussion out in the open of the pier. I suppose with the sun so close to setting, it's comfortable for them to be outside now. I stand behind the closest shipping container. I wonder if they can hear my heartbeat like Oliver can sometimes. If they can, they'll hear it similar to a hummingbird. I couldn't quite hear the conversation until they started getting a little bit louder.

“You broke our laws, Oliver.” Mr. Pierce exclaims.

“Your laws are stupid. Just because someone is a human doesn't make them untrustworthy. You know for a fact there are several vampires that have human mates.”

“Those vampires have their own clans with their own rules. As a member of our clan, you follow our laws.”

“Since when have I ever been a part of your clan? I've basically lived with Nolan my whole life.”

“Day-Walking vampires should be something to be ashamed of. I still have no idea when or how you accumulated that ability. It's a disgrace to our kind.”

“Whatever. I already know the sentence you are going to pass down to me, so why not just get it over with?”

“So I assume that means you came here without either killing or turning that girl then?”

“The others are making a decision about her. But me? No, I refuse to do either of the other options.”

“Regardless of whatever they decide, you still must suffer the consequences for your actions. You revealed who you were to a human. That, in turn, revealed the rest of the household as demons. Actions such as that are punishable by death, but it didn’t have to be your own if you just got rid of her.” As Oliver stands there with his hands shoved in his pockets, one of the vampires from behind him comes forward grabbing onto his shoulder and slicing a clawed hand along his back. Oliver screams out, but doesn't collapse, and my feet finally moved.

“Wait!” I shout as I push through the ring of guys and stand in front of Oliver. I'm pretty sure I just brushed past vampires, which is not a good thing.

“Amelia!” Oliver shouts at me.

“You can't hurt him or punish him for something that he didn't do.” He grabs my elbow and spins me around.

“Amelia, the person that dies, is the person that revealed themselves to you, which was me.” I know he's trying really hard to protect Nolan right now, but I need to tell the truth, otherwise I can't protect either of them.

“No look, I've been keeping a secret from you guys for ages now. None of you revealed yourself to me in any way. I knew what you were the second I saw you.”

“What are you talking about, girl?” Mr. Pierce asks me. Oliver loosens the grip on my arm and lets me turn around to face his father.

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