Chapter 47

Blade held the steering wheel of the van with such a tense expression that I started to seriously worry. Was she angry with me? Well, inviting someone over when you yourself are living as a guest isn't the best idea. But I didn't think it would upset her this much. Especially since this morning, she herself had mentioned the possibility.

She knew that I wanted to meet with Jubilee, and she took it surprisingly calmly and with understanding. Although I emphasized that my relationship with Lee was purely friendly, I'm sure she didn't believe me. Still, Erica made an effort not to show that it bothered her.

For the most part, she was good at keeping her face neutral. While maintaining a poker face, she even mentioned that if I wanted to invite Lee over, she, Blade, had a few perfectly ordinary apartments where we could stay without exposing her secret base.

"Are you angry that besides Jubilee, I also brought Ororo along?" I decided to ask directly.

We were riding in the van together. Storm was driving her car, tailing us. She'd called her school, reported in, and took the day off. Lee was peacefully napping, her head resting on my shoulder. Though she had a chance to nap for an hour while I was fixing her up, it clearly wasn't enough. In general, it was possible to have somewhat open conversations with a vampire hunter.

"What?" she asked, a bit late in responding. "No, not because of her."

"But you're angry," I said, more as a statement than a question.

Blade furrowed her brow even more but didn't go silent. She had already learned that sometimes it was easier to answer my question than to wait for me to bring up the topic again.

"Morbius," she said briefly.

That made my brain work harder. She named the reason but didn't explain it specifically. Hmm, what else did I expect? I couldn't come up with any smart thoughts to clarify things all at once, so I decided to bombard the girl with questions:

"You don't like him? Do you suspect him of something? Do you regret giving him your serum?"

Erica groaned heavily.

"I let him go. The second vampire I've let go willingly."

I see! So, it's the trend that's bothering her? Well, before, the only thing she could do with vampires was choose how they would die. Now, there was already a second vampire she was forced to let go because, apparently, he was somewhat sane.

"Wait!" I suddenly stirred in my seat. "Who was the first?"

"You," she said briefly.

"But I'm not a vampire," I protested tiredly.

"But you were."

And with that, the conversation kind of fizzled out. I kept trying to understand if Erica regretted not killing me when we first met, or if she was joking. I'd never heard her joke before...

Soon, the van pulled into a small yard hidden between some rather worn five-story buildings. The hunter had a hard time finding a place to park. Storm pulled up right behind us, blocking the exit, but since we were together, it wasn't a big deal. We wouldn't be late for work.

Lee was still asleep, and I didn't want to wake her. In her condition, a good sleep wouldn't hurt. I lifted her into my arms and carried her toward the correct entrance.

"Marius!" Ororo quietly protested. "Let me carry her! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Two weeks ago, I would have agreed with the blonde, my body being so frail. But now, after some exhausting training under Blade's guidance, I'd gotten a bit stronger. Just a little, but enough to carry her without worrying about pulling my back or getting a hernia.

"A little more faith, Ms. Monroe," I smirked, silently praying that Erica's apartment wasn't on the fifth floor.

"But how is this possible?" she kept protesting. "Since when does a guy...?"

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I could barely hear her. That was because my cellmate, known as Masquerade, was speaking up once again.

"Look at this sour face we're carrying!" he was saying. "Since she's going to end up a hybrid of human and vampire anyway, let's decorate her face. Let's make it like that devil, Morbius! I think a pig's snout would really suit her! Ha-ha!"

"Shut up!"

Right now, I couldn't show weakness, so I kept walking almost on autopilot, putting in a lot of effort not to trip while simultaneously trying to quiet the voices in my head.

"Freaking clean freak! Step aside for a real professional, and just watch!"

The worst thing about these situations was that I felt all of Masquerade's emotions, along with the voice. I literally felt like I was ready to follow his desires. Part of me was merging with his personality, becoming just like him. It was tough to restrain urges that weren't my own.

Damn it! By the time we got to the apartment, while Blade was fumbling with the keys, playing with the lock, and I had just managed to lay Lee down on the slightly dusty bed, I barely kept control.

Once I knew where the bathroom was, I quickly locked myself in and splashed cold water on my face.

No. This isn't going to work. Something needs to be done about this mess. And I even know what, I've known for a while, but there's never been time. But with each passing time, it gets harder to endure Masquerade's attacks, despite all my tricks and meditation. So, what now? I'll watch Jubilee's condition for a couple of days and then act.

Hmm, no. Even those couple of days are too long. The only time I have is tonight and tomorrow. I'm afraid that if I have one or two more of these episodes, I'll go down a very dark path. Now I understand what it's like to be a jinchuriki or someone possessed by a demon. Except for Naruto, of course. That guy has a pretty awesome sealing jutsu that I wouldn't mind having right now, but unfortunately, I'm a complete noob in fuinjutsu.

After washing my face once more, I finally got myself together, and only then did I leave the bathroom. The girls were in the living room, sitting on the couch, silent. Hmm, I don't think they'd fought, but they weren't exactly fast friends either, and considering Blade's nature, starting a conversation with her was already quite an achievement! So, everything was normal, though Monroe clearly wasn't used to this.

"Don't you have a TV?" I asked in surprise, to which Erica just shrugged.

The apartment was pretty sparsely furnished. One room had a wardrobe and a bed, where I placed Jubilee. The other room only had a sizable corner couch and some curtains on the window—nothing else.

"Is it pointless to check the kitchen?" I asked rhetorically, receiving the same shrug in response.

"Well, is anyone hungry?"

This question made both girls shake their heads in unison. Since Erica clearly hadn't been to this apartment in at least three months, judging by the dust, there was no hope of finding a fully stocked fridge. Fortunately, we could always order food delivery.

For that, though, I had to send the hunter to the van. She got on her laptop, found the number, and called. While I was ordering, Storm went to undress Jubilee, since sleeping in clothes is no fun.

Half an hour later, we had a huge delivery bag with the aromas of fresh pasta and other Italian dishes. I only lazily picked at my portion since I'd already had a decent meal with Lee.

The girls, however, hadn't eaten all day and quickly devoured everything in sight, almost licking the containers clean. Smirking, I divided my portion in two and handed it to them. Ororo initially refused, but seeing Erica eat without any shame, she gave in.

This whole fuss with battles and their consequences took up quite a bit of time. It was already night outside, and it was time for us to sleep. But the girls, having stuffed their bellies, couldn't get up from their spots, and I didn't rush them since I was still focused on building mental barriers between myself and Masquerade's personality.