THE VISCOUS DROPS of liquid traveled slowly down the extended talon. It was beautiful beyond belief, powerful, exciting, and delicious. Lifting his hand, the vampire let the blood drops fall on his tongue. Closing his eyes Valryn savored the small tingle of enhanced power that came with his indulgence.
"My Lord Kadell?" a sengi vampire, had stopped in the doorway, his eyes straight ahead in difference. "How many times do I have to tell you, Ander, my father is Lord Kadell. Call me Val, or Valryn, or prince Valryn, if you really must be so formal."
The sengi nodded his acknowledgment, his head dipping left ever so slightly, "Yes my lord. Your father sends word that the new resistance leader has surrendered along with three other humans. He requests that you return from the hunt to confirm their identity."
Valryn replaced the seal on the vial of human blood he always carried with him before turning to completely face his subordinate. "Only three others? I would be highly surprised if the resistance was less than a few hundred strong in this sector alone. Their scents are many."
Valryn Kadell was the only son of vampire lord Lucar Kadell. The prince had grown restless in the city, choosing instead to hunt the factions of humans who still fought against vampire rule. Most humans were short-sighted and stupid in the prince's opinion, but those who still fought for their freedoms were different. They were sneaky, cunning, and above all fun to hunt.
"Only three and the leader, my prince."
Pondering the possibilities Valryn decided the humans must be trying some scheme. "Thank you, Ander. I will return to the capital at once. Please send for the nearest Lilitu to accept command of my squad. Tell them to stay on the trail. Do not let it go cold. In the meantime, you are in charge."
The sengi's eyes flickered briefly to meet Valryn's, "Thank you for your trust. It shall be done."
While Valryn could have winnowed straight out from inside the house he and his squad had chosen to stay in for the day he decided to run for a bit instead.
The sun was hot on his pale skin as Valryn sprinted across the sandy desert expanse. He wouldn't be able to run for long before he was forced to winnow or risk not being able to access the bulk of his powers until nightfall. The miles were eaten up in quick vampiric strides. Even the fastest human was no match for a vampire's speed, add in the ability of some vampires to winnow and no human even stood a chance of keeping up. Because of this, it was somewhat impressive that the humans of the resistance had managed to hold out for so long. Valryn was suspicious that the humans had enlisted help from a non-human source.
As perspiration began gathering on his forehead he stopped running, glanced at the sun then with a force of will he winnowed first to a shady forest nearby, then winnowed the rest of the way home. The rules for winnowing were simple; you had to have enough magical essence and focus of will, to perform the spell, you also had to have previously been to the location you wished to winnow to. The farther the distance you wished to winnow the more magical essence the spell demanded unless you had previously established a winnow anchor. Winnow anchors were a set of runic circles established with the use of high magic, they cut the cost of winnowing to a mere pittance of what it would otherwise cost. However, they took a great deal of time to initially establish.
Flickering from place to place, it took only an hour to return to the capital city of Niarcana. Set on a large island just off the coast it was once home to the densest population of humankind. It still was. Only now the territory and every soul in it was owned by Valryn's family.
Winnowing into his room near the top of Kadell tower, the prince quickly changed into more formal wear before going down to answer his father's summons.
