The Vampire's Executioner

Chapter 2

The train ride to the Dragulia castle was only a forty-five-minute trip outside of Somerset, but Lizzie felt like it took forever to get there. She spent the entire time taking notes on wrinkled napkins about how to successfully babysit a royal vampire. Though, to be honest, she wasn't happy about the prospect whatsoever. This vampire was not only a royal, but he was also supposed to be hundreds of years old. Nikolai Dragulia was the eldest son of the infamous vampire brought to humanity's attention by vampire slayer Bram Stoker. Stoker wrote a factual account of the king, Vladislaus, known today simply as Dracula. Nikolai was next in line to take over his father's place as king of the vampires. Lizzie didn't know exactly how everything worked when it came to vampire royalty besides what they taught her at the academy. She wondered if vampires really could step down from the throne since they were, in fact, immortal. Regardless, by retiring from the throne, Vladislaus had caused an uproar among his colony when he announced the passing of the crown in a few months' time.

A tea cart passed by. Lizzie looked up and almost called her back. She could use some chocolate right about now.

Instead of indulging her craving, she looked down at her notes. The vampires seemed to fall into one of two categories regarding the entire situation. One group thought it was an excellent decision. While Vladislaus was a strong, admirable leader, they thought a new ruler would be more relatable to the younger generation of vampires and might bring a new perspective to them while still maintaining traditional beliefs..However, the other half was more old-fashioned. They either disapproved of Vladislaus resigning or they thought the crown should go to someone else, namely Vladislaus' youngest son, Lewis.

Lizzie wasn't exactly sure why some people preferred the younger brother over the older one, but apparently, some did. Lizzie had found this interesting when she had researched them earlier during her excursion, learning that Vladislaus chose his heir not based on the age of his sons or who was better liked by the colony, but by whom he felt would be most capable of ruling.

Lizzie frowned, realizing that she felt a tad sorry for Lewis. However, based on her extensive knowledge of history and societal structure, every kingdom was usually passed down to the first son, so it shouldn't have been that surprising. Oddly enough, that was really all she could find on the subject of the royal vampires, besides a basic profile of the family. Hell, she couldn't even find pictures of them no matter what database she searched through. Luckily, Jackson managed to snag two photos for his best assassin, and they were currently in the manila folder on the table she was occupying in her private suite. She wasn't exactly sure how Jackson came up with these and didn't plan on asking him. He had his way and that's all she needed – wanted – to know.

Before looking over the pictures, she glanced out one of the many windows occupying the suite. Trees and sky painted the glass – the sun was dipping low, so it wouldn't be long before the vampire colony woke up. Her stomach rumbled even though she devoured the complimentary finger sandwiches and pastries. Maybe she should have grabbed that chocolate... She even drrank the tea they had offered earlier – even though she didn't like the taste – and made sure to drench it with cream and sugar.

The furniture was soft and relaxed; her body melded to her chair, and there was a pull-out couch with the most comfortable bed she had ever slept on a few feet away. The furniture was all a smooth, deep oak and made the already grand train car appear even bigger. There was a flat screen television hanging in the corner of the screen with digital cable, but because the train ride was so quick and Lizzie had a lot of work to do, she wasn't able to enjoy it.

The first picture was a full-body shot of Lewis Vladislaus, who took after his mother – or so everyone said. He was younger than Nikolai by a few hundred years which, in vampire time, was not that much. He wasn't really tall, maybe five-foot ten, and he had long, strawberry blond hair that was pulled into a casual ponytail. His eyes were a sapphire blue that highlighted his alabaster skin quite beautifully. His body was toned and well-kept, and he was wearing an outfit that was predominantly black. His hooked nose only enhanced the enigmatic smirk on his face, and something about him caused Lizzie to shift uneasily as she regarded the picture. It wasn't because she was afraid of him; something about this man rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't explain why.