Justin carefully set Eve down and AnnaLeise propped Dae up against the back wall. His arm bent at an awkward angle as bone threatened to burst through his skin.

She averted her gaze and shuffled uncomfortably in the spot she stood.

While carrying the two down, AnnaLeise had dropped Dae down the stairs by accident- and though it only seemed to break his arm somehow, she was riddled with guilt.

“Humans are so fragile; I feel so bad. I hadn’t meant to-” AnnaLeise started, gazing remorsefully at the unconscious blond man.

“You say that like you weren’t once human Anna…” her brother responded dully as he placed Eve’s glasses back onto his face. He gave him a pitying look before standing up and turning to his sister.

“I know. That was so long ago- I’ve forgotten what it feels like. I can’t even remember what mom or Viktor’s face looked like.”

“Enough” Justin responded curtly, looking up at her, “Please, Anna. I don’t want to think about that; about them.”

AnnaLeise glanced away, a pained expression painted on her face. “I’m… I’m sorry. Let’s just go back upstairs. Siera is waiting for us. Come on Justin.”

AnnaLeise walked out and made her way toward the stairwell as Justin stood up and exited the cell.

He shut the door behind him

The door clicked loudly and the noise bounced off and into his ears like a taunt.

“Der’mo!” He cursed loudly; his hand shot out and he pulled at the bars with futile efforts, “Anna! The fucking door’s locked itself!”

She frowned, “Oh uh… that’s alright/ I suppose a locked door may end up providing a bit more protection till you’re able to get them out. Also, go write your report. I’ll ask for someone to come and escort you. They’ll meet you outside at the edge of the forest. Kuroi will be coming at midnight, so hurry.” She spoke quietly but curtly then made her way up the stairs.

Justin sighed and cast a fleeting glance at the two in the cell before quickly rushing up the stairs to meet the women at the top.

Seira stood, awaiting the pair while she boardly picked the dirt from beneath her nails.

“Took you long enough. What was that crash?” She asked, finally looking up and peering behind them at the winding stairwell.

Justin frowned and jabbed a finger towards AnnaLeise, “She did it, not me. I am innocent in this.”

The blonde woman shot her brother a glare before turning to Seira, “I dropped the one I was holding. He’s fine, but his arm is broken.” She muttered, casting her gaze to the ground.”

Seira sighed softly, “As long as it isn’t too damaged it should still be perfectly edible, so I suppose you’ll be fine.” She ran her fingers through her long green hair, “Anyways I-”

The sound of heels clicking against the linoleum cut her off, and the trio looked up to find a well-built woman with long brown hair tied into a braid. A long scar cut through her face, the pale skin contrasting well against the dark crimson eyes that stared back.

“Mother?! What are you doing here? I-I thought that you and father were still out? You said you wouldn’t be back until dawn?”

The woman smiled and neared closer

“We finished early dear. Come, have dinner with us. You’re in for a treat tonight. Your father found one of those warlocks- we found it’s sigils it dropped when trying to flee the area; lead us right to her. Its partner got away though, she was one of those winged ones.”

The woman caressed her daughter's face, using her thumb to wipe away a bit of dirt on her cheek while fixing some of the askew hairs.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Seira’s eyes widened, “Those still exist?”

Her mother smiled again, her left eye twinkling in the light, “Not for long. We'll get our hands on her and then we’ll truly be unstoppable.”

The woman turned to Justin and AnnaLeise, “Yalkov, Ivanov, good job this evening. I’ll be taking my daughter, you both are free for the day.”

The siblings gave a small bow, “Thank you Mrs. Rosalyne.” Justin called out, staying bent over until he heard their footsteps receding.

He looked up and watched them walk away. Justin didn’t know how to feel about his… friend? Acquaintance? He truly wasn’t sure what he would consider Seira… a coworker? Nothing sounded quite right. He shrugged to himself, it was unimportant.

Justin glanced over to his sister and gave a small nod, “I’ll be off to write the report then. Once you get it, have it delivered immediately, we need someone here as soon as possible. Meet me in the bedding corridor in half an hour.”

AnnaLeise responded with a hum and trotted off.

Justin quickly made his way to the mess hall.

He peered inside and it looked like a ghost town, it was perfect.

He took a seat at one of the many long oak tables that lined the dimly lit room. He fished out a sheet of paper from his pocket and quickly began writing as his eyes darted across the room as if looking for something.

He soon finished his note, folded it up neatly, and shoved it back into his pocket before looking at the time.

“Twenty minutes…” Justin muttered to himself. He let out a troubled sigh and closed his eyes as he lay his head down on the table.

He sat there for about five minutes before he felt a sharp pain against his sides

“Yebat’!” He shouted loudly as he shot up and whirled around.

His eyes landed upon the culprit, and he scowled. “Luca- that fucking hurt!”

Luca Garcia was a fellow vampire and was a good friend of Justin’s from early in his life. He had light brown skin with black and purple hair tied back into a long ponytail.

Luca straightened out his red jacket and smiled

“It’s just funny to see you jump, Justin. What are you doing here?” Luca asked as he took a seat on the table beside Justin.

“Oh, I’m just trying to relax a bit. It’s quiet in here- or- at least it was.” He shot a playful look up toward the other man.

“How was your hunt, Justin?” Luca asked, reaching down and gently playing with the other man’s pink strands.

Justin offered a small smile, “We didn’t really get anything.”

Luca cocked his head to the side, “Really? I know I’m old but I swear that I saw you and Anna come in with some-”

Justin forced a small laugh, “True, however, both were regrettably… low quality. They both perished on the journey here.”

The other man let out a soft hum, “I see, that’s unfortunate really. You usually find the best ones. I have to admit I was a little excited, I thought perhaps you would let me try something truly spectacular.”

Justin feinded an apologetic smile, “I’m afraid that you will have to wait a bit longer. Poor mistreated Luca. So sad.”

Luca frowned and crossed his arms. “Not fair at all, amigo-”

Justin gave a hearty laugh and got up, “All right Luca, It’s always a pleasure seeing you.” His eyes darted to the large clock on the wall behind the man, “Since someone so rudely interrupted my nap, I’m going to go see my sister. I needed to talk to her anyway.”

As he stood up Luca slid off the table.

“I’ll go with you.” the man offered, “I haven’t seen Anna in a while.”

Justin quickly shut him down, “No!-” he cleared his throat, “I just mean that- this is about some private- family matters.”

Luca frowned, “Since when wasn’t I family?”

Justin sighed, “That’s not what I meant, Luca. You know that. We just need some privacy today, alright? It’s… about our father-”

Luca gave in reluctantly. He thought it rather strange. The two had never kept anything from him before, Justin especially.

He watched as Justin left the room, keeping note of how the man looked back and forth before he left. Luca decided then and there to follow him. He kept himself hidden just a few feet away.

Justin rushed into the corridor. AnnaLeise was already there, tapping her foot impatiently.

“You’re late.” She spoke coldly. “What part of ‘thirty minutes’ did we miss? You were the one who set the time!” She scolded him, her arms crossed over her chest.

Justin frowned, “Anna, I’m sorry. Luca kept me for a little bit.”

A small smile crept onto AnnaLeise’s face and her tone softened

“Oh, Luca! How is he these days? Such a sweet kid. You could learn something.”

Justin frowned, “He’s only like that in front of you. Luca’s mean to me.”

AnnaLeise rolled her eyes then the conversation became so hushed that Luca couldn’t hear it.

He spotted Justin passing her a small folded piece of paper and whispered something in her ear.

Luca swiftly hid behind a pillar as AnnaLeise put the paper in her pocket and left the corridor, a faint breeze following in her wake.

Justin ducked into his room and quickly shut the door; leaving Luca alone in the hall.

He stood in the hall for a long while, pondering about the exchange he had just bore witness to. He spun around on his heel and left for his own room.

Justin has kept attention on the corridor. He felt someone was there the moment they moved as he passed on the report. He figured Luca had likely followed him, thus he whispered such things to AnnaLeise. Having sensed the person’s departure now, he opened the door just a crack and peeked out. Seeing no one he exited the room and left for the basement. He had to get those two out of there.

As he neared the basement door someone who was coming up and out of the cellar knocked into him.

“You!?”