A/N:
Released on January 19, 2019

Once again, I actually updated on the day that I had planned! Woot woot XD

I hope you're ready, because this is the official beginning of the end!

I'm aiming for around 45 chapters for this book (like the first one), but I won't be sure until I'm actually at the end of the book :)

So enjoy!

Word Count: 2310

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Chapter 38: Another One for the Cause

We headed out an hour before nightfall, wanting the dark to provide a bit of cover when we arrived at our destination.

Zane informed me that it would take a little over thirty minutes to get there by car, so it would take us about an hour if we ran there, careful not to push for our fastest times.

We wouldn't want to spend energy on getting there, even though we've run further at a much faster pace before.

My nerves jumped at every suspicious noise, but I was more determined than anything.

I didn't have time to be nervous, and there wasn't room for it anyway. My mind was occupied by wondering about the plan and knowing that we had to get it right.

We came upon the building easily, no other civilization in sight as the sun continued its descent.

The place was relatively small, something that you'd probably overlook while driving past.

A total of two guards patrolled the entire area as we watched from afar, glad to have my heightened sight to see in such detail as if I was much closer.

Zane got my attention so that we could speak telepathically. "Time to go over the plan again."

I nodded my head, ready to listen and prepared to add to anything that might help make the plan better.

Once we were both thoroughly caught up to speed, we waited for the right timing.

We laid on our stomachs to avoid detection, atop a hill that gave us a great vantage point.

"What happens if you get the code on the door wrong?" I asked in his mind after a few minutes of silence.

"I get five tries before the system alerts someone, so it'll be fine." He replied confidently.

But I wasn't as sure as he was that they hadn't changed the code in the past few months.

Staying there motionless for over an hour proved to be a bit difficult due to my restlessness, but we stuck it out.

"After this guy turns the corner," Zane thought to me, referring to the first security guard, the other not in sight. "That's our chance to get to the side entrance."

I nodded my head once in understanding, knowing that he was right about it being our best option.

From our observations, we had a minute before the second guard rounded the other corner and came into view of our entrance.

I waited until after the guy went around the corner to make sure that he didn't hear our approach.

"Go." Zane whispered in his mind, although I didn't think it was intended for me, being more of a signal for himself.

I dug my heel into the dirt and pushed off, running faster than could be clearly seen.

If we had timed it wrong and were seen, we were moving too fast to be noticed in the dark. They would write it off as a trick of the eyes.

Zane reached the door a second before I did, already typing in a code in the keypad to gain access to the building when I arrived.

The negative beep and red light that appeared made my heart sink. So they had changed the code.

My boyfriend clenched his jaw in frustration but tried another number as I put my back to his to be the lookout.

There was another beep and I knew that we were going to be in big trouble very soon.

We might've come all that way for nothing. We couldn't even get inside, how did we expect to get any further, even if we managed to get inside?

I shoved the pessimistic thoughts from my mind, focusing on listening for incoming threats. Instead of someone approaching, I heard a different beep come from the door.

A sharp intake of air from my partner caused me to spin around in delight, just as Zane grabbed the handle and pulled the unlocked door open.

"They're so predictable." He thought with an overconfident grin that I couldn't help but share in.

We stepped inside as silently as we could, seeing no one in the room, the first part of our mission complete.

I didn't have time to marvel at our success as we glanced at each other, faces growing solemn once again as I followed him out of the room.

Zane stopped us in the hallway, standing at a corner to listen into where people were. Once sure the path was clear, we sprinted down the hall to the next corner.

It went on like that until we made it to a room simply labeled as the lab.

Peeking through the small window in the door, we could see that there was only one person inside, a middle age man in a white lab coat with his back to us, looking the way you'd think a typical scientist would.

"I recognize him," Zane thought bitterly. "From the team of people that stole my telepathy."

I glanced back to the window where we saw into the room. The man, whom I now had feelings of hatred toward, still had his back turned, seemingly working on something.

I didn't waste another moment, throwing open the door and flying through the room in record time.

I spun the man around, grabbing him by his pristine coat and shoving him against the wall a foot away, careful not to make too much noise that could alert others in the building.

I heard the slight click of the door being closed and locked, signaling that Zane was watching my back.

"Don't say a word or this will become much more difficult for you." I demanded fiercely, tightening my grip.

He nodded his head a bit frantically, hands up in surrender. I didn't let go yet, waiting for a clue as to what to do next.

Then the man's gaze wandered to something behind me, his dark blue vampire eyes widening in disbelief.

I didn't dare look over my shoulder, not willing to let my guard down for one instant. Besides, I knew there was no one else in the room.

"You..." The scientist muttered, words directed to Zane. "I know you."

Once the words were out, his expression turned to one of guilt and shame.

"I feel awful about what we did, believe me." He said mournfully.

I checked his thoughts and found them sincere. "He's not lying, and he's not going to fight us."

"Let him go." Zane agreed to my unspoken question, voice unreadable as he hid his emotions the way he usually did around others.

I released the stranger, backing away in case he decided to strike out. I kept an eye on his impending thoughts, to be sure that nothing unexpected occurred.

"You're going to return his telepathy to him." I ordered, eyes narrowed and fists at my side.

He nodded his head, pulling his coat into place and looking back to Zane, who had his eyes set in a steely stare. "I figured you'd be back for that, and I'd be glad to help, but it isn't that simple."

I noticed that his coat had a nametag on it, reading "Dr. Elcott." He went to the place where we'd found him, straightening up the items on the desk before turning back to us.

"It was given away." He announced regretfully. "We had no choice."

"What do you mean?" Zane took a step forward with a clenched jaw, clearly angry about the situation, beating me to the punch.

Dr. Elcott's eyes fell to the ground to avoid my boyfriend's wrathful stance. "Storm ordered us to give it to someone useful to him, so we did. More or less, we succeeded in giving a vampire telepathy."

Zane's eyes flashed red and his hands shook for a moment, on the brink of releasing his sudden fury.

"Let me guess," He snarled out, "Storm has been using that guy to get to Alicia."

I held my breath in horror, realizing what Zane had already presumed. The telepath that had attacked me in my dream was the one that was given my boyfriend's power.

"Yes, he has." The scientist replied, shifting his attention to me for the first time, looking intrigued. "And you must be the infamous Alicia Marie. The pleasure's all mine, I'm sure."

I crossed my arms to show that I wasn't in the mood for funny business.

"You will get me my telepathy back." Zane growled out menacingly.

Dr. Elcott nervously fiddled with his coat color as he responded. "You do have a bit of it left. The removal being a slow and painful process, we couldn't get it all. And I certainly didn't want to take it all from you, but we had orders. I can't imagine how you must feel, being without it. The emptiness must be-"

Zane cut him off quickly, not one to talk about his feelings or admit that he felt weak without his power. "Let's skip the sob story and get right to returning what's mine. How do I get it back?"

The doctor shook himself out of the thoughtful state he was in. Since I was still listening in, I knew he had been lost in thought, thinking about what it must've been like for Zane and what power he had left, his concerns strictly for the scientific aspect of it.

"As I said, it's not that easy. The removal was a delicate process. We had to be extremely careful to not cause any damage. It's the same with returning it." He explained, mostly for my sake since Zane already knew about it, seeing as it happened to him.

Dr. Elcott saw the confused look on my face, deciding to explain the process. "The cerebrum is where your thoughts occur in your brain. Upon intense studies, we found that a telepath's cerebrum contains distinct parts scattered throughout it that give them telepathic power."

"So you just removed it, without any damage?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, not really. The subject we took it from had migraines for a few weeks, but they got better. And we found that those special parts if removed, began to fail within a few days if not put back into the cerebrum. That's how we transferred it to someone else. It conforms to whatever brain it's in. We obviously don't understand everything, but it's a start." He answered, knowing more than I expected him to.

"And it's a good thing I left some behind because we found that putting that in someone else had repercussions. The test subject was hospitalized for months after the operation. His body took a long time to adjust, and almost as long to be able to control his abilities enough to live normally. Well, as normal as a telepathic vampire can live."

"So you're saying that Zane will be okay after you put his telepathy back?" I inquired, hoping that was what was being implied.

"Yes. But you have to do something first, before I can perform the operation." He added, getting a negative response from the aforementioned subject.

"This isn't a negotiation." Zane hissed out threateningly.

"No, I believe you've misunderstood me. You have to do this in order to get the telepathy, it's not a bargaining chip. To take your power from the one who has it, another telepath has to defeat him in order to weaken his powers. We had to make Zane drain his powers before removing the telepathy to give to the other boy, so we have to do the same thing here." Dr. Elcott went on, saying what I had imagined would need to happen from the moment he started explaining things.

The doctor's gaze wandered over to me expectantly because I was the only one around who could do what was required.

"Does this guy have a name?" I questioned, wanting to be sure that I was right. If I was correct in my assumption, the guy was the same one that I'd planned to fight all along.

"Storm's telepath is known simply as the Dark Seer." He replied in a tone that said he thought the name was ridiculous.

That was the name that we heard from the vampire who gave us information. So that confirmed that we were right about the telepath having Zane's power.

"I'll do it." I answered firmly, ready to do what needed to be done for my boyfriend.

It wasn't fair that Zane's power was stripped from him because he didn't agree with Storm's horrible methods as a leader.

So I refused to stand by and watch him suffer without that part of himself any longer. It was time to fight.

"And I'll be right beside you." Zane spoke up, ready to defend me even when the doctor said it had to be my fight.

"In the background, away from the fight." I clarified, giving him that much because I knew he wouldn't back down. He was as stubborn as I was.

"Okay," He conceded. "But I have to be close enough to jump in if you need me."

"You heard the doctor's orders." I reminded him. "A telepath has to defeat him."

I knew that fact had to have stung, but it was true.

Zane grumbled to himself for a moment before agreeing reluctantly. "Fine. At least I know you can do this on your own."

I nodded my head with a forced smile, gaze stuck on the wall dazedly. I was reluctant to be so confident in myself, but I let that slide and just took comfort in his words.

"Where can we find this guy... the Dark Seer?" I asked since Zane hadn't done so yet.

Dr. Elcott walked over to the open closet and pulled two white lab coats from hangers. "Put your backpacks away somewhere, then put these on and I'll show you."