Chapter 227Kindle of Fire

The building behind me was a tad more broken than the one I was looking at. Kai was standing in a window not far from me. His whisper had been soft enough to carry to me, but not much further. At least I hoped it didn't. Keeping the brick in my hand for some reason, I made my way over to him, climbing through the window. Kai welcomed me with a smile.

Imagine a whisper. But not just a whisper, a whisper so soft that it is done by no more than slightly moving your lips and breathing out. Almost inaudible, even to yourself. It would have no echo, no reverb, as the sound would be too soft. But this close, with the sensitive hearing that came natural to a vampire, it was good enough to communicate.

"What are you doing here?"

Kai frowned. "Police reports of a slaughter. It looked too much like vampires to ignore."

"But why were you looking through those reports?"

Kai looked at me, a simple glance, but filled with questions. "I'd rather not say... It's complicated."

Something about his manner made me remember someone else. "Has it to do with Janus?"

Kai was visibly shaken. "How did you know?"

I tried to remember. "He told me to say you that 'you did know him'"

Kai looked confused. "Is that how he said it?"

Suddenly I heard it clearly again and I tried to mimic his voice, as far as that was possible in a whisper. "Tell him he DID know me."

Kai blinked.

And again.

Then he breathed out slowly and nodded. "DID... Of course..."

"So he changed his name... Janus... I should have known."

The weird thing is, I wasn't sure if he actually said the last part. He may have been thinking it so loudly that it appeared as if the words left his lips. Somehow something clicked in my mind. So Janus and Kai knew each other from the past. Is that was Kai was looking for in the Police reports? News from Janus?

A moment of silence fell between us, but it was alright. Now there were more troubling things at hand. It would be smart to tell Kai about my plan and ask him if he had any better ideas. I hoped he did...

"Kai, we are planning to lure them to that wooden silo thing where you once slept and put them to the flame."

Kai looked up sharply. "What? You want to kill them?"

I nodded. "We don't have a choice anymore, if they keep on killing it's our fault for not stopping them. We're the only ones that can."

He took a moment before he replied, thinking deep. "I see. And what were you using as bait?"

"Me."

Kai frowned and looked at me closely. He was probably assessing my strength, wondering if I was strong enough. "This is a tough one, it's far too dangerous, but I can't think of anything better on short notice. That building is a nice touch though, I'm surprised it's still standing." He smiled worriedly. "Are you sure you're strong enough?"

I nodded. "I'll have to be."

Kai was still frowning in thought. "You know, if we can take them out one by one, it'd be all the better. But there is something..."

He smiled. "I know... A duel..."

I looked surprised. "A duel?"

He was grinning now. "Yes, they won't be able to resist. Call a duel for leadership with their strongest. You're probably much stronger than one, and you can call the time and place. The wooden building is no good then, but there are others nearby where we could fight. If we barricade the doors before they arrive, we should be able to contain them."

That actually sounded like a good plan. It would limit the risk I was in, a one on one fight was always better than one on nine. It also solved the timing problem. We could make the duel last. Of course if it was high enough we'd be able to keep them in while I could escape.

"But what about the fire?"

He nodded. "I've got a few surprises hidden away somewhere. Like very good little nerd, I've known how to make fire-bombs a long time ago. Of course I never made them to destroy anything, just out of curiosity to see if I could."

I giggled. Typical.

One last thing on my mind though. "Can they be remotely detonated?"

He nodded. "That's easy."

Now that was a plan I could work with.

Truth be told, I was looking forward to the duel as well. Not to hurt them, but to prove to them, and myself, I was better.

It was a strange thought.