Brotherhood

Mama, I just killed a man

I let my fingers run over the old books that filled the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that kept the right wall of the study room hidden.

I took all the non-fiction books related to vampires and placed them on the floor near the fainting couch. I sat cross-legged on the couch and began to read the first book of the selection.

Most of the books focused o techniques to kill vampires, including an atlas of weapons to be used against vampires. 

One of the books explained that garlic's odor deters vampires due to their keener sense of smell, making me laugh at the idea of pranking Adrian with it. 

The same book talked about various plants that could weaken vampires, such as roses, dog rose, holly, linden flower, and mayflower. 

Funny enough, I could find all these plants in our garden. And of course, Wolfsbane was also on that list.

I also found out that iron weapons could bypass vampires' healing powers and if a wound caused by these weapons was left untreated, vampires could begin to fester and rot.

The next book, entitled 'Vampires' Strengths and Weaknesses' stated that sprinkle seeds or grains on the ground will force vampires to pick them up because of their obsessive nature. That was certainly a curious weakness. I never noticed that in Adrian. Then again, his house is tidy.

I only found useful information for Violet's case in the last book. It was about the transformation process of humans into vampires. 

Basically, vampire fangs release venom, so when they bite a human that venom spreads through the human body. After that, if the human drink the blood of the vampire that bit him within twenty-four hours the transformation starts. 

In addition to this, when mixed, vampire blood will alter human blood; however, the book didn't explain what types of changes can occur.

I now know that I can't just mix Violet's and Adrian's bloods. I would have to look for an antigen capable of inducing an immune response to Violet's disease. It would be a challenge; nevertheless, a challenge that I must overcome.

I decided to start reading my ancestors' notes before lunch. I activated the secret system to unlock the secret door hidden under the form of a bookshelf.

How creative.

I opened the door and walked down the stone stairs. Our secret basement was small. It only had a wooden desk, two classical accent chairs safe and four old-wooden trunks. I started going through the trunks that stored the notes.

I ended up not eating lunch as I was immersed in these parchments filled with different handwritings. My great-great-grandfather, William, was the only one whose notes had new and interesting information.

14 March 2544

The body of a young man was found in the Redhill wood. All the hunters of the region were summoned to the site to assess the situation.

We couldn't identify what creature was responsible for the attack, but it was definitely a Mythical. We found werewolf footprints near the body, but they were much bigger than usual.

The body had various injuries, some could have been done by vampires, others by ogres and werewolves. The tree behind the body was broken, probably due to the impact of the body which could be a sign of extreme strength.

16 March 2544

I've spoken to my young friend about the attack. He told me that he would investigate it, but he doesn't believe that the author of the attack was a vampire.