Page 26 of The Vanishing
Thirteen
Personality, problem-solving, behaviors and emotions… judgment. Speech? No—not this. Body movement… motor strip?
Haruka pushes his current book aside and picks up a heavy clinical anatomy reference. He flips to the index and scans with his finger as he sits crouched on the floor.
He doesn’t know what time it is. It doesn’t matter. It’s dark.
Motor strip—primary motor cortex… controls voluntary movement, speech, swallowing. The thalamus relays sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex… cerebral cortex. Higher intellectual functions… Perhaps—
He tosses the book away in a lazy motion, then lifts to grab another reference, flipping to the back once more. Haruka’s head snaps up as he senses the vaguest hum of energy, like electrodes shifting in the atmosphere of the room. He stands upright, slow and with every muscle in his body tensing. On instinct, his eyes alight against the darkness.
The intruder materializes in the center of the room, his thin body solidifying from a misty wave of atoms and silver particles. It is Lajos, wearing the same dark, formal and outdated clothing. He taps his cane against the tatami and flashes an arrogant smile. “Have you reconsidered, young male?”
“Return my mate.” Haruka stares, trembling. Burning fury and desperation swirl within his mind, chaotic. Being at this cruel creature’s mercy… Hehatesit. “Return him nowand you can have the manuscript.”
Lajos raises an eyebrow. “Both you and your mate insist on negotiating with me. Is this how things are done in the modern age? Quid pro quo and diplomatic conversations—”
“Enough talking.” Haruka takes a breath, seconds from shattering. “Return him, take the book, leave us.”
Lajos stares at him for what feels like an eternity before his white eyes finally alight. “This arrangement suits me. Consider yourself fortunate that I do not teach you a lesson about respecting your elders.”
The energy in the room shifts again, silvery atoms waving and gathering in the air of the space between them. Nino’s body forms, then drops hard against the tatami. He groans, his eyes clenched as a bright sphere of blood-orange light flashes, growing and radiating around him. Haruka rushes forward, smoothly passing through the warmth of the shape and dropping to his knees to cradle Nino’s head against his thighs.
“You insufferable little twit,” Lajos snarls, his gaze focused on Nino. He addresses Haruka. “Where is the manuscript?”
Haruka holds Nino’s head. He is gray and in a great deal of pain. The bronzed glow of his skin tone is diluted and ashen, the texture of it flaking and dry. Haruka answers while examining his mate. “The table behind you.”
Nino’s chest is heaving, his face clenched in distress. Haruka runs his fingers into the top of his hair, then holds Nino’s cheek. “My love, you need to feed.” He presses his palm against his mate’s mouth to urge him, but he surprises Haruka when he shifts his head away, shaking him off before coughing and choking in violent spasms. “Why?” Haruka asks, the relief he felt from having Nino in his arms morphing into anxiety.
A loud, sharp tap of something hitting glass makes Haruka look up. Lajos is standing over them, his cane resting on top of the sphere. Haruka blinks.It’s solid?He hasn’t taught Nino to manipulate his aura to this extent. He has never even seen Nino create this shape of his own volition.
“The fact is”—Lajos grins—“your exquisite youth combined with your ancient blood and powerful aura impresses me. Are you certain that you would not be interested in visiting my realm?”
“Leave our home. Never return. If you do, you will regret it.”
Lajos laughs. “Is that a threat, young male—”
“It is a promise.”
“Hm… you have challenged me, negotiated with me and now threatened me. I have not been this entertained in almost two centuries. I’m certain that we will meet again.”
Before another word is spoken, the bright light within the old vampire’s eyes flashes. He disappears. The putrid scent of sage lingers in his absence. Haruka refocuses on his mate. “Nino,pleasefeed, you must—”
The energy around them fizzles out as Nino’s head falls to the side against Haruka’s lap. When the door to the library slides open, Asao is there with Cellina close behind.
“We need to go to the hospital.” Haruka stands, wrapping the power of his essence around Nino as he cradles him against his body, lifting and carrying him. The two are engulfed in a fiery glow. “Please bring the car to the front.”
Cellina rushes forward, observing Nino’s anguished expression as they move. “What’s wrong? Is he alright?”
“I don’t know,” Haruka says, careful in moving through the doorway. “He won’t feed and he hasn’t spoken.”
* * *
Asao makesthe drive to the hospital in Himeji in half the time it would normally take. At four in the morning, the roads are clear.
Sora Fujihara had told Haruka about a human doctor in Himeji that specializes in vampire health and medicine. The doctor has just recently moved to Japan. Already, very low-ranked vampires within their realm visit him on a regular basis to receive donated blood bags for feeding and other medical or psychological purposes.
Nino is almost catatonic when they reach the hospital. Haruka had tried to feed him during the car ride, but he refused over and over, elevating Haruka’s internal distress. The nurses attend to him as soon as they arrive, setting him up in a room and withdrawing Haruka’s blood for an IV drip.
