Kit pushed the door to the drawing room open, revealing the large space inside. Various seats were scattered around the room, couches with side tables and chairs with large tables. A fireplace sat at one end, lit and filling the room with a warm orange glow. Sitting inside the room already was Niccolo and Viktor, the two talking in hushed tones as Kit entered.

"Ah, finally. You're here." Niccolo said, watching as the vampire entered the room and took a seat on one of the opposing chairs. "I was wondering when you would show your face again."

It was the following day, Kit returning to the estate. Sebastian had found him and congratulated him on his lover, saying he met her while she was being harassed by Enzo of all vampires. Kit thanked Sebsatian for saving Vivian from that, as Kit was too absorbed in his guilt to even think about Vivian running into distasteful vampires like him.

"Well I am back." He said, crossing his ankle over his leg. "We should discuss the rabid problem."

"Ah, yes, that." Viktor spoke, pulling both pairs of eyes to them. "There's been two more missing people reported from Lake Ashton. One of which is staying here as a newly turned vampire, am I correct?"

Niccolo nods. "Yes, he is still adjusting."

"There seems to be more rabids every night." Kit pulled the attention to him. "We need to figure out who is turning humans and why."

"The humans that are being turned don't seem to be coming from here or any town around us." Viktor chimed in, taking a sip from his teacup. "I wonder if they're coming from some big city like Salem."

"Possibly." Niccolo agreed, nodding his head. "But who would be turning them? And unleashing them into Lake Ashton of all places."

"Maybe the culprit is Ezra." Kit said, looking between the witch and Niccolo. "I mean, we know he is in town."

"True, but what would his motivation be?" Niccolo responded.

Kit shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know. He is a psychopath, so there is that."

"There has to be a way to discover who is turning the rabids." Niccolo mused, sitting back in his chair.

"There is."

Both Niccolo and Kit look at Viktor. "There is?" Kit asked.

"Oh yes, it's a very old spell though, and I would need two sets of extra hands." Viktor went on, setting their teacup down. "But there is a spell to be able to see who turned a vampire."

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?" Niccolo seemed to scold.

"You didn't ask."

Again, both the vampires just looked at the witch. "So you've had this spell the whole time and didn't mention it to us?"

"Niccolo, I am a very busy witch and you know I only get involved in things once I've been asked." Viktor defended themself, placing a hand to their chest. "You told me yourself-."

"That's not what I meant when I said 'don't get involved' and you know it." Niccolo argues, but the witch just shrugged their shoulders.

"So this spell, how do you perform it?" Kit asked before Niccolo could scold the witch some more.

"Well for starters, I need a live rabid." They began, holding one finger up. "I'll need a large space to perform the spell, and my usual salt blend. Oh, and the two sets of extra hands I've mentioned."

"Who would you bring in to do the spell?" Niccolo asked.

Viktor seemed to think about that for a moment. "Well Ophelia is a very powerful witch, her whole family is for that matter. Maybe I'll ask her and her mother, Camila."

"And they can be trusted?" Kit questioned.

The witch nodded their head enthusiastically. "Oh yes. I've known that family for many generations. They like to keep a low profile in Lake Ashton, but I'm sure they'll want to help out with solving this rabid problem."

"Good, good." Niccolo mused, lifting a hand to his chin. "Now all we need is to catch a rabid. And keep it alive."

"Sebastian and I can do that." Kit chimed in, both the vampire and witch looking at him. "Would we bring it back to the estate?"

"Yes, I can perform the spell here. This drawing room might actually work really well. We would just need to rearrange the furniture." Viktor looked around the room, assessing the place.

"Perfect." Niccolo said as he stood from his seat. "How long will preparations take?"

"Not long at all. It's still pretty early in the evening, so I'll go pay them a visit and see if they want to help."

"Convince them." Niccolo responded, moving towards the door. "Kit, go and catch me a rabid."

The vampire rolled his eyes but also stood from his chair. "Yes, sir."

It was only a couple hours later that Sebastian and Kit were out on patrol, hunting down rabids. When Kit told Sebastian of the plan, the other vampire seemed excited. It almost felt like they were coming closer to solving the mystery of who was plaguing Lake Ashton with rabid vampires. They had brought a potion that Viktor made that would knock the rabid out so they could easily transport it back to the estate. Luckily the rabid would only have to smell the fumes coming from the potion and would pass out, so it would be pretty easy. Kit and Sebastian were very careful to keep the potion away from their own noses, not wanting to feel the effects of it.

They were out for only about an hour before both of them sensed a rabid coming in from west of town. Instantly they were on the move towards it, disappearing into the forest surrounding Lake Ashton.

"Remember, do not kill it." Kit called out to Sebastian as the vampire ran a little behind him.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied, a little less enthusiastic. But Kit knew he could trust Sebastian to do his job right, he had only been working with the vampire for the past fifty years.

When they spotted the rabid, Kit moved to tackle the thing from the front while Sebastian moved to take its back. Kit launched himself at the creature, claws out to maim. Only, the thing dodged him, the vampire nearly stumbling. He caught himself though and was chasing after it, along with Sebastian.

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"Almost got him!" Sebastian teased as he ran past Kit.

Kit moved to catch up with the rabid, taking only a moment before it was within arms reach. His claws swiped out and dug into the things back. It roared out in pain for only a moment before turning and swinging back at Kit. He had to move quick to dodge the attack, the rabids hand flying past his face. Kit took the moment to dig his claws into the creature's side. Blood covered his fingers as the rabid threw itself back, out of Kit's reach. Sebastian came up behind it though and tackled it to the ground. They struggled for a moment while Kit made his way to the pair, but the rabid threw Sebastian off of it and got back up. Kit took off towards it, claws seeking flesh. The rabid moved back, but Kit's claws still sunk into the creature's chest. It howled in pain as it stumbled back. Sebastian took that chance from where he was on the ground to trip the creature, and it fell to its back.

Kit jumped on top of the thing, grabbing its arms and trying to pin it to the ground. "Sebastian, the vial!" He yelled out as the rabid snapped its jaw at him, struggling against his hold.

"Right!" The other vampire yelled, running over to Kit and the rabid before dropping to his knees. Sebastian pulled the vial out from a small bag at his side and opened the vial. He poured it directly onto the rabids face, the creature blinking through the dark blue liquid. Its movements began to slow, eyelids sagging as the potion did its job. After only a few moments, the creature lay still underneath Kit.

The black haired vampire pushed up from the ground and stood next to Sebastian, who was staring down at the rabid. "Well that could have gone a little smoother." Kit said, brushing the dirt off his palms.

"Could have gone a lot worse, too." Sebastian reminds him before going to pick up the knocked out rabid. "Come on, we've got a spell to do."

They made their way back to the estate with the rabid in hand, bringing it immediately up to the drawing room where Viktor was getting everything set up. The witch used enchanted binds to tie the rabids hands and legs, just in case the creature woke up. It was then set inside a large chalk pentagram, writings of an old language along the outer circle. There was a symbol in each triangle of the star, representing the five elements. After the rabid was set in the middle of the star, Viktor took to lining the circle with their blend of salt, rosemary and lavender, each possessing a property that would aid in the spell. It reminded Kit of the aether reservoir spell, the circle and the salt, but this one seemed much more complex.

It was later into the night when Ophelia and her mother showed up to the estate, Viktor having gone to visit them while Kit and Sebastian were grabbing the rabid. The two women were ushered to the drawing room where everyone waited for them.

"Thank you so much for helping out, once again." Viktor said to the two witches, taking who he assumed to be Ophelia's mothers hand. Her name was Camila, right?

"It's no problem Viktor, these rabids have taken too many people from our town, I want to help." Camila replied, coving Viktors hand with her own. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Viktor had a sincere smile on their face. "You're always so reliable Camila." The witch praised.

Viktor had taken the two witches over to a table where they explained the spell and their parts in it. Kit and the others stood to the side, meer spectators. Sebastian stood to Kit's right while Niccolo was standing in front of them, arms crossed. "This better work." He mumbled to himself, but both Kit and Sebastian heard.

When the witches were ready, they all took their respective place around the circle. Raising their hands, the three witches began to chant in a low tone, their voices mixing into an eerie song. Aether flowed from the witches and into the circle, white light like silky smoke escaping from each witch and traveling towards the rabid in the center. The aether surrounded the rabid, pulsing and twisting as it seemed to seep into the creature. Then the aether began to turn black as it was pulled from the rabid, flowing out and traveling towards Viktor. The witch held their hands towards the black aether, welcoming it. It flowed up their palm, moving up their arm until encasing Viktor entirely. Then in one breath the witch absorbed all the black aether.

Viktors eyes snapped open, completely white and unseeing. Kit felt uneasy at the sight, but didn't move. He knew this was all a part of the spell, but that thought didn't really help. He watched as Viktor leaned forward, the black aether seeping out of them and back towards the rabid, until it coiled around the creature and sank back into its body. The white aether slowly returned to the witches, each one taking a breath before opening their eyes. Everyone looked to Viktor as they sat back up straight, lilac eyes looking outward. Was that it? Was that the spell?

"So?" Niccolo asked, stepping forward. "What did you see?"

Viktor looked like they were hesitating, face scrunching up with dissatisfaction. "You're not going to like it."

"Tell me." Niccolo pushed.

Releasing a breath, the witch stood from the circle, along with the other two. "I saw your uncle, Vincenzo."

Niccolo stood frozen at that response, staring at Viktor. "Are you sure?" The elder vampire asked, voice tense.

Viktor nodded. "I would recognize his face anywhere."

Niccolo turned and raised his hands to his head. "Why would Vincenzo be doing this?" He asked aloud, ruffling his slicked back brown hair. "Why would he be turning rabids and setting them lose in Lake Ashton?"

"Well he was pretty upset about you stepping into power after your parents died." Viktor answered, seeming like he knew something the others didn't.

"He was." Niccolo agreed, beginning to pace the room. "But enough to do something like this?"

"Maybe." Viktor went to sit down in one of the chairs pushed against the wall. "It has been a long time since then, but he still might hold a grudge."

"Wait." Ophelia interrupted the two. "You think your uncle is doing this? Why?"

"After Niccolo's parents died," Viktor began, "he became the Head of Vampires in North America. It was the title his father held before him, and as the eldest surviving male son, the position went to him. He was very young though and Vincenzo thought it was improper for someone of his age to be put into power."

"How young were you?" Sebastian asked, also intrigued by his boss's backstory. It wasn't like Kit really got to hear it often either.

"I was only five hundred." Niccolo said as if it was nothing, but Kit was still shocked to remember just how old Niccolo was. For pure blood vampires like Niccolo, who had been alive for dozens of centuries, five hundred was nothing. But for vampires like Kit and Sebastian who were born human, that same amount of time was incredibly long. "It happened over two hundred years ago, I'm sure he wouldn't hold that grudge anymore."

"I know what I saw, Niccolo." Viktor spoke from their seat. "Vincenzo is the one turning the rabids."

Again, Niccolo was silent. Whatever was going on in his mind, none of them had any clue. They just watched as the vampire seemed to process everything, as he seemed to come to an acceptance. "If Vincenzo is the one turning rabids," Niccolo began, "then we have to stop him."

"How would we do that?" Kit probed.

All of them were quiet as they thought about it. How would they be able to catch a thousand year old vampire? And a pureblood one at that, which was always much stronger than any human turned vampire.

"We could throw a ball!" Viktor said enthusiastically, standing suddenly. "Vincenzo could never resist a ball."

"That would get him here to the estate." Niccolo mused, as if thinking about it. "And then I would be able to bring him to my office where I would bring an end to him."

Kit immediately felt uneasy about the idea. A ball? A vampire ball? That would mean dozens upon dozens of vampires coming to the estate, staying a day or two and crowding the large home. It would mean Vivian would be unsafe, with so many vampires around. He already felt like her safety was something of concern with the current amount of vampires in the estate, but with a ball, it would just worsen.

But he didn't say anything, instead choosing to keep his mouth shut.

"Vivian would not be allowed to leave her room while the ball is happening." Niccolo asserted, looking back at Kit. "You will make sure she understands that she's staying in the room."

"Yes, I will watch after her-."

"No, you will be attending the ball with the rest of us, except you Viktor. You're not coming." Niccolo cut Kit off before looking over to the witch. "He might suspect something is amiss if you're there."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Viktor agreed, walking to stand besides the two witches who stood silently this entire time. "Well if you'll excuse me, I ought to get these ladies home safely."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance." Camila said, as she was ushered out of the room along with Ophelia. The three witches were gone which only left the vampires in the large space.

"Well then." Niccolo put his hands on his hips, a sudden determination. "I suppose I have a ball to plan."