Chapter 107Of Past and Presented

"A few nights ago I walking was on the rooftops, as I often do, and was found by Isabel. She made me faint and as soon as I regained consciousness I was chased by Kryss." I took a deep breath. "I escaped by hiding in the park and met Afentis right after. He talked to me and gave me new strength."

His blood. I didn't want to tell them plainly. It's not that I wanted to keep it a secret, but it just felt impolite to right out say it.

"Kryss found me again right after that. I surprised him by pushing him off the roof and fled again. They managed to lure me into a trap and capture me, dragged me to an old oven thing with a high chimney and left me there for the sun." I sighed. "By covering myself with my clothes I managed to stay alive. In the evening they wanted to verify my passing and opened the door, not expecting me. Kryss wasn't among them, unfortunately. I knocked them unconscious and took some of their clothes to cover myself."

All three were looking at my skin at this point, the difference in color between left and right still noticeable. I shrugged. I was well aware that it looked a lot better than it did a week ago and was happy they didn't see me then. They were looking at my eyes again, time to continue.

"Of course I was mad at Kryss, and wanted to get some revenge and chase him away. After drinking some blood, I found him, chased him and took him away to fight with. He forced himself into a metal factory and ended up in one of the smelters. It wasn't something I wanted."

Khuna cried very softly. A few tears sprung from her eyes but she didn't interrupt me. It hurt her, but she appeared to forgive me. Valerie held her hand but kept her eyes on me.

"After that I wrote a letter for you three and was found by Afentis. He asked me if I would like to travel with him, giving me a week to decide. I went to the park to think and met the gypsy woman again and told her of the orphanage. I danced and then slept through the week, waking only this evening to fix myself up again. Buying clothes, showering in a hotel and generally make myself look and feel better again.. I saw Janus before I met up with Afentis and now I'm here."

Kai spoke up. "You saw Janus again?"

I nodded. "Yes, and he says he only wishes to protect us, but it's hard to say what he is like. He always hides his face and I think he changes his voice."

Khuna got up and hugged me. "I forgive you."

It took me a moment to realize she meant Kryss. I whispered softly in her ear. "You loved him?"

She nodded sadly. "But he always hurt me... I didn't want to love him anymore. You... You didn't..." She stuttered. "You didn't kill him, couldn't kill him. He killed himself."

It was kind of cute to see Afentis take a step backwards to give more space to Khuna and I. Before I closed my eyes to enjoy the hug I noticed Valerie staring at him with a kind of judging look. It flashed through my head that it was more than fifteen years ago since she was turned. Was Afentis the one who turned us all? And if not, who turned the others?

"Can I speak?" His warm voice and a simple smile broke the tension.

Khuna and I sat down on the sofa next to each other, with me in between her and Valerie, still holding hands. We nodded and looked at him in silence.

He cleared his throat. "Alright, first of all let me clear some old things up. I did change Amy, but only to protect her. There were very strong indications they were planning on putting her on the list for the orphanage. I didn't know anything about the Brotherhood however."

The book... Should I tell Afentis about it?

"I did know about the book and the Silver Abbey, but not the mess they left behind. I believe there are even a few pages dedicated to me." He smiled teasingly. "Anyway, I chose to turn her because she was strong and had a way of accepting things that would prove useful in finding her way in a new life. Janus took care of the parents for me and kept them safe. And he did, up until the police took your mother, Amy."

I nodded. "Alright, so what about the others? Did you turn them?"

He looked down. "All but Kai. But it was strange, I wanted to turn him, but someone else did before I had the c

hance..." He sighed. "I don't linger long in a city. I move around as people start to notice things when they meet me more often."Valerie finally blinked, it felt like an age since I last noticed her doing so. "So, you did turn me." Her voice soft, her movements slow as she stood up to face him.

Afentis nodded. "Yes." His voice warm and calm.

Silence. She looked at him with the promise of tears in her eyes. Her look so intense it was impossible to say if she was going to hit him or kiss him. I remembered that Valerie was very interested in me seeing Afentis in the beginning, I'd almost forgotten about that. Seconds passed with both of them just standing still until finally Valerie made her move.

She hugged him.

"Finally..."