The Familiar || ONC 2022

Chapter 3

Arius smiled in glee as he tossed the pale, lifeless body aside. All of his plotting and patience finally paid off.

Not even those damn witches could get in his way now.

He stared at Wilfred's lifeless form in the corner of the room. They shared opposing views about the future of vampire society and a thirst for power. For those reasons Arius had to kill him.

The vampire's tongue ran along white fangs to clean the blood, so dark it looked black, from his lips. With a grimace he spit on the floor to rid the bitter taste from his mouth.

"Congratulations on your victory, My Sire." Arius' second in command bowed low.

"Pity another Original tastes so terrible." Arius complained as rush of power surged through him, bringing the dimly lit room into blinding focus. "Blood containing this much power should have a flavor I can relish."

"I have blood bags on hand, Sire."

Arius waved a hand. "An occasion such as this is cause for celebration. Bring me a live specimen. I need to wash away the taste of Wilfred's decay." Arius ordered his second in command.

"Is that wise sire? What if the humans notice?"

Arius leveled his cool gaze on the lower ranked vampire. "Soon enough it won't matter."

Fearing the wrath of his master, the vampire bowed.

Arius slid into the chair behind Wilfred's desk, looking every inch the conquering king he was. "Have any survivors brought to me, and my little pet too."

The other vampire disappeared from the bunker-like basement to the club floor above in search of a human Arius would enjoy.

Arius put his feet on the desk, his enhanced hearing picking up the thrum of the club music floors above them.

He had to admit, Wilfred had a nice system for feeding his coven. A club full of drunken humans enjoying the city nightlife was a perfect hunting ground. No one would miss an inebriated human for an hour or two.

As long as Wilfred's coven didn't get too greedy, the aftereffects of a feeding were easily confused with those of being drunk or drugged. Wilfred brought the prey to him instead of hunting them through dark alleys like they had in the past.

Too bad Wilfred's easy lifestyle dulled his senses.

Arius opened one eye at the sound of clanking chains. "Did you enjoy the show this time, Pet?" He asked the untidy woman dragged around the desk to his side.

"It is barbaric."

Arius chuckled. "Any updates from your coven, witch?"

The dark haired woman spat at him, hate burning from her eyes. "Even if they were stupid enough to contact me, you would learn nothing."

The vampire stood and struck, relishing in the screams of his victim as his fangs pierced her shoulder. Memories of a clumsy girl with black hair flickered through his brain again, but none of them useful enough to pinpoint a location. Perhaps he should have gone through the effort to capture the Sylvane matriarch instead of another family member.

He pulled away as the disheveled witch cured up in pain. "I don't know. Four years is a very long time to wonder if your daughter is dead or alive, and your mother has to worry about two of you." Arius smiled, "or is it that she places more value on one daughter than the other?"

"You will never get your hands on her, filthy leech." She said through the pain.

He had half a mind to kill the witch. Arius did not like to lose and he considered searching for four years a loss. The witches had hidden their descendant well. This one had gone so far as to alter and destroy her own memories. Arius hadn't been able to glean a name or even recent facial details about the one he sought. Every avenue the witch's guarded mind provided proved to be a dead end and she was outliving her usefulness.