CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
When they arrived at the boys' dorm room, all of Eric's things were gone. All that was left of him was his cellphone sitting on top of a note addressed to Joseph.
"I'm sorry, little bro," Joseph read aloud. "I screwed up. I'll be in touch. I just need to clear my head, and I can't do it here. I love you."
Joseph crumpled it up and threw it on the floor.
"Guess we'll have to find him," said Hannah. "Do you know where he would have gone, Joseph?"
"What? I... no. I don't think he'd really leave, honestly."
"Well he's gotta be close, right? If we split up and canvas the city..."
"Are you kidding me?" interrupted Joseph. "The four of us are going to find one person in the middle of a city? We don't even know that he's still on the island. He could be on a train halfway to Florida by now."
"Or perhaps he's just out cooling off?" suggested Tom.
"Yeah, perhaps," said Joseph, glumly. "I sure hope so. I can't believe he left his phone."
"Okay, fine," said Hannah. "We'll wait for him to turn up. In the meantime, we could all probably use a little break."
"Hold on," said Taylor. "Not so fast. I think you need to tell me what's going on, Hannah."
"With?" Hannah asked.
"Well, for example, you said I'd never meet a gargoyle, and one just tried to do God knows what with me. And you said leprechauns were extinct, er... no offense, Tom."
"None taken," he replied.
"Right, so what is going on? It seems entirely likely that keeping me in the dark is going to get me killed. So fess up."
Tom spoke up as Hannah was about to reply.
"Look, Taylor. I don't know much about gargoyles, but there are no leprechauns but me. She didn't lie to you about that. And I need you guys to keep a lid on it. Like you, I'm kind of... unique... and I don't want to draw attention."
"Okay, fair enough, but gargoyles?" asked Taylor.
"Guardians. Technically they're guardians," said Hannah. "Each of the cursed races has one and only one. You see, once a person is cursed, they cannot have children. So even though the forsaken are generally much more powerful than their uncursed brothers, they need to preserve their uncursed race to continue on. Otherwise, they'd die off."
"I'm not sure I'm following," said Taylor.
"Okay, take humans. When humans are cursed they become vampires. But if all humans were cursed, and everyone was a vampire, then eventually they'd die off. This is what happened to leprechauns, or at least, what everyone believes happened," she said, nodding at Tom. "So the guardians stand up for the little guy, so to speak. They maintain balance."
"So... shouldn't he be on our side, then? He didn't seem like much of a protector to me."
"Oh, they are on no one's side but their own. Alistair, especially. They must maintain balance. If the race they protect dies off, then so do they. But they are hardly creatures of good. They are as self-interested as any. You're kind of a loophole, honestly, Taylor. Your blood tips the balance. Which is why we need to keep you inconspicuous."
"But he's gone now, right? I mean, I... Oh God, I killed someone," said Taylor, the realization suddenly sinking in.
"If only. Gargoyles don't ever really die. At least not permanently. He'll reincarnate somewhere, but it will be a long time before he's old enough to bother you again. But he's not the only one."
"But you said I'd never encounter a gargoyle. Though I guess Alistair disproved that."
"Well, it seemed unlikely. There's only eight in the entire world. Effectively now there are seven."
"So, one for each of the... accursed races, right?"
"Right."
"Okay, so, to be safe I lay low," said Taylor.
"Right. And everyone needs to keep this to themselves. Tom, you're in exactly the same boat, so I'm sure we can trust your discretion. It's just Joseph that I'm concerned about."
"Wait, what? Why me? I haven't done anything to earn your distrust," said Joseph.
"Like lying about enthralling your brother?"
"Oh, right. Uh... fair point, I guess."
"So we'll make you a deal. You keep Taylor's secret a secret, and I won't turn you human in your sleep. Deal?"
"What if I want to be human?" he replied.
"Do you?"
"Of course not. Or maybe I'll just use some of that blood to turn you human in your sleep."
"Can we stop threatening each other?" interjected Taylor. "Especially when we're talking about using my blood to do it? It's mine, and I'm kind of fond of keeping it to myself, honestly. Besides, Hannah, his brother just ran away on him. The worst thing Joseph has ever done to any of us is being loyal to his brother. I trust him."
"Trusting people is just going to get you in trouble, Taylor," said Hannah.
"What, like trusting you? Aside from all the curse stuff, college is hard enough as it is without friends. Why don't we all just agree to give each other the benefit of the doubt?"
"I trust you guys," Tom offered.
"Thanks, Tom. And we'll keep your secret safe too, right Hannah?" asked Taylor.
"Right," she replied.
"Okay now, enough bickering. I don't know about you guys, but I could really use a shower," said Taylor.
"Me too," agreed Tom. "You okay, Joseph?"
"What? Sure. Peachy. Everything's great. I just need to clear my head. Can I just have some space?"
Hannah eyed him suspiciously, but didn't argue any further.
"Of course, Joseph. I'm here if you need anything," Tom said and then closed the door gently behind them.
***
Eric stood at the edge of the dock waiting for the ferry to Manhattan, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He didn't know where he was headed or how he would get by, but he felt a sense of relief to be away from that campus. Besides, he had survived rougher things than being homeless. His mind drifted off to the possibilities of his future until a voice from nowhere startled him back to attention.
"Eric," the voice said.
"Hello?" he replied, turning to see where the voice was coming from.
He couldn't see anyone, however.
"I'm right here, Eric."
"Dean?"
Eric recognized the voice of the professor he had spoken to earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was almost as if the voice was coming from inside his own head.
"That's right, Eric. It's me. You've done well, boy. Well indeed."
Continued in Book Two
in the Vampire University Series
The Last Leprechaun.
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