Afterthe front door clicked closed, I sat down on the couch opposite Alek. “What’sup?”
Aleksighed. “I feel that if I told you certain things, I would be betraying my kind.But I need to tell you something.”
Fearcame over me and I sat up straighter. “Tell me what?”
Alekput his hands out. “Nothing serious. Just … vampire knowledge is kept verysecret. If you are to truly defeat the queen, I think I must help you. Tell youthings.”
Iswallowed, relaxing slightly. “Okay.” Hell yeah, tell me secret vampire shit. Iwas slowly cataloging little pieces of information against these two. I had Prudence’sfull name and now I was getting something on Layla.
Aleknodded. “I would kindly request you don’t share this information with Kai, thepack, or the witches.”
Notshare it with Kai? “Okay. You have my word.” Kind of, I mean I couldn’t keepthings from Kai.
Aleknodded. “When this is over, I would hope that my people can start anew. Thisknowledge would help those that want to harm us, so it needs to be kept secret.”
Whoa.This was about to be some juicy gossip. I nodded. “I understand. You have mysecrecy.”
Alektook a deep breath. “When a vampire bites a human and then offers them theirblood, it turns them into a vampire.”
Inodded. I knew that.
Alekchewed his lip. “When that new fledgling vampire completes the change, they arepowerful. Strong. The sire or vampire that changed them feeds off of thefledgling once more. It gives the sire the power. A sire that has changed tenhumans into vampires, is ten times as powerful as a vampire who has changed one.”
Mystomach sank, because I knew where this was going.
“Okay.So how many has she changed?” I didn’t have to say her name. We both knew who Iwas talking about.
Alekshrugged. “Thousands. Maybe more.”
Thebreath went out of me. “So she can’t be killed? It’s impossible if she’s thatpowerful.”
Alekput his hands up. “That’s not true. Do you know why a stake through the heartor decapitation kills a vampire?”
Excitementran through me. Did he know? “No.”
“Ishouldn’t be telling you all of this,” he said, running a shaky hand throughhis hair.
“No,Please. I promise not to tell anyone. You can trust me. I only want peacebetween all of the races. I want balance. A new way for all of us.” It wastrue. It reminded me of something Nahuel said. Killing all of the vampireswouldn’t bring balance. We all needed to coexist. I just wanted the bad ones tobe nice, pretty piles of ash.
Henodded. “When a vampire changes from human to vampire, it’s because of a virus.Similar to the lycanthrope virus. The vampire virus is transported throughblood, it shuts down the humans’ organs, effectively making them somewhat dead.Preserving them. That’s why we don’t age at all, ever.”
Mymouth was open in shock, absorbing everything.
“Butour heart and our brain are the weak spots. It’s what keeps usalive.”He did air quotes. “Pierce the heart or detach the brain from the body and yourender the vampire virus useless. Those two organs are what keep us animatedand moving and thinking. Without one, the virus dies. Our bodies decomposeimmediately. Into Ash.”
Ialready knew how to kill them, but it was helpful to know the mechanics of howit worked.
Heleaned in so close to me, I could barely hear him. “If you want to kill Layla,you will have to kill Prudence first. The witch has done dark magic to tie themtogether and make each other stronger.”
Holyshit. Alek had just given me news that would change the game.
Heleaned back and went on. “When a vampire sires a new fledgling, that vampire ispowerful, yes. But not invincible. I’m telling you this so that when you get tothat point with the queen, you remember that she has a weakness. They all do.No matter how powerful, no matter how many she has sired. She is infected witha virus and can be defeated. Her heart, her brain. Take those and she will beash in your hands!”
Alight growl ripped from my throat. His speech had given me the boost I neededto go after her. When Kai got back from Arizona, I was ready.
“Thankyou,” I told him.
Henodded and after a few moments, wished me a goodnight and walked back down tothe basement.
