“I hope you’re right.” He had a lot more faith in Dr. Blackwell than I did. Then again, he’d known him longer than I had — a lot longer. “But my visions have never been wrong before. What makes you think that this time—”
“Because we know. We can be prepared, right?”
“I guess,” I conceded.
“Hey, are you cold? I can have Trevors light the fire.”
“Nah, I have to leave soon, anyway. So, go on, let’s hear the rest of it.”
“Okay. First, a question. Were you, by chance, born on a Saturday?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a shrug, “I think. So what?”
“Most of it fits, then. You’re their weapon.” He said these last words so quietly that I was sure I must have heard him wrong.
My heart accelerated, and my palms started to sweat despite the cold. “What are you talking about?”
“A Sâbbat. Born on a Saturday. Comes from the word ‘Sabbatarian.’ It’s an old legend, and fairly obscure. But, according to my sources, there are never more than three Sâbbats in the world at any given time, all females, all born on a Saturday. They’re vampire hunters — slayers. Their weapon is a stake, usually made from the wood of the hawthorn tree.”
I felt the hair on the nape of my neck rise. A stake? That sounded way too much like traditional vampire lore — garlic, crucifixes, stuff like that. Stuff that I’d since learned was completely made-up. “So the thing about a stake, that’s true? Not just legend?”
“Oh, it’s true to a degree, especially in the hands of a Sâbbat. You see, a Sâbbat’s powers are, in many ways, equal to a vampire’s. They can breach a vampire’s mind, read his thoughts. Some say one can even communicate with a vampire via telepathy.”
He paused, watching me closely.
“And. no other mortals can?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
He squeezed my hand. “No, love. No other mortals can.”
For a minute there my vision began to swim as I digested the meaning of his words. It was crazy. Crazy. “So you’re saying. what are you saying? That I’m one of these Sâbbats? That I’m supposed to be some kind of vampire killer?”
“Something like that. Possibly,” he amended. “I’m not yet entirely convinced.”
“But. but I can’t read your mind,” I stammered. “Or Dr. Blackwell’s.”
“Are you sure about that? Have you ever tried?”
I shook my head. “No. Why would I? I don’t even know how.”
“Well, I can teach you.”
“You’re not supposed to just go around reading other people’s minds. It’s against the COPA.”
“Not if I teach you to read mine; I’d give you permission, which makes it okay. It’s not any different from working with Sandra.”
“I guess,” I said, not completely convinced.
“I doubt you’d be able to read Blackwell’s, regardless. Even amongst our kind, his mind skills are unparalleled. I’m sure he’s figured out a way to protect his mind from any possible threat, Sâbbat included. But you should probably give it a try, to be sure. Just. don’t tell him, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to.” I wasn’t going to take a chance like that, not with the headmaster. What if he could somehow sense it?
“Anyway, if it’s true, if you are a Sâbbat, then you and I. well, we have a very unusual connection. Something never before encountered.”
I shuddered, completely unnerved by the whole idea.
“Hey, you’re not scared, are you?” He drew me closer, cradling me against his chest. “Because if it’s true, then I’m the one who should be afraid.
You know, of you,” he added, his tone teasing and light.
I pressed my face against his shirt, breathing in his scent. “That’s not funny.”
“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “Still, you must at least appreciate the irony of the situation.”
I sat up, shaking my head. “I don’t buy it. I mean, what are the chances? Three girls at any given time — just three — and you think I’m one?”
“Clearly Julius thinks you are, though I’ve no idea how he would know such a thing. It would seem that he wants to use you to kill me.”
“Well, why would he need me? Can’t a vampire kill another vampire?”
“They can, but there are consequences for such an action. For all he knows, that would start a war against the Propagators. No, he’d much rather you do it. It’s your purpose, after all.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice rising. “My purpose? Like, my purpose in life?’
“Something like that, I guess. It’s hard to explain, but you know how I said that female vampires have this biological urge to spread the infection?
Well, I think it’s something like that for Sâbbats. An irresistible urge, coupled with the ability to take a vampire by surprise, catch them off guard. The stake, put precisely through the vampire’s heart, temporarily immobilizes him, making him vulnerable. Giving the Sâbbat time to, well”—he winced
—“permanently destroy him. Or her, of course.”
Horror coiled in my belly, just imagining myself doing such a thing. My purpose was to kill vampires? No way. I couldn’t even kill a spider, as much as I hated them. “I should go,” I said, struggling to stand.
Aidan held me firmly. “Don’t, Violet. Not yet. Not like this.”
I sensed something in his voice, something vulnerable, and I relaxed against him, dropping my head onto his shoulder. “This is just too crazy. I mean, it’s all crazy. Everything, since I came to Winterhaven. It’s just been, like, one crazier thing after another. But this. this really takes the cake.”
I felt his fingers stroking my hair. “Now you see why I wasn’t anxious to tell you?”
“But how is it possible? You’re saying we’re, like, mortal enemies or something. Wouldn’t we have. oh, I don’t know, hated each other from the moment we met?”
“I don’t know, Violet. Honestly, none of it makes much sense to me, either. But what I do know is that we should probably discover the full extent of your skills, and then hone them.”
“Hone what?” I asked, my voice rising. “My vampire-hunting skills? Do you realize how totally insane that sounds?”
“To me it doesn’t. You should know exactly what you’re capable of. If nothing else, for your own protection. If what you’ve seen. well, if Julius comes for me—”
“Don’t even say it. You told me not to worry about that. Besides, there’s not a chance in hell that I would ever hurt you, so whatever I saw—”