His eyes opened to find Alessandro looking at him; he hadn’t imbibed any of the blood in his own glass. Kenneth betrayed himself by allowing his eyes to dart back and forth between the two glasses. Is it poisoned? He flicked his gaze back to his master who then silently tipped his glass towards him. Kenneth’s throat was suddenly very dry and he held the glass stem gingerly. At least it had been of exquisite taste as he had expected from his master.
He waited for the end to come as his master set down his glass. The poison must be a very slow one. Alessandro always had a flair for the theatrics, and what could possibly be more theatrical than watching an enemy die slowly knowing that there was nothing they could do about it.
“Do I at least get a reason, Alessandro?”
The man behind the desk said nothing but folded his propped up hands in front of his face, obscuring his mouth. The gesture was not one that Alessandro used often but when he did it was when he was content to allow his rival to talk himself into giving Alessandro every piece of information that he wanted.
Kenneth wouldn’t give the old man the pleasure. He could play the same game and death would take him eventually. The poison will kill me far too soon for you to get anything out of me. The thought of frustrating his master in this final act of defiance was enough to keep his lips sealed. This was the first time this game had a time clock and Alessandro was on the losing end of it. Kenneth allowed a small satisfied smile to creep across his face.
The smell of the blood was still very strong from the two crystal glasses. He could smell the type too: AB negative, a good type. What kind of poison could have been so subtle to avoid his sense of smell? He had become familiar with the scent of most poisons over the years, and when he didn’t know the type, he had been taught to identify it by other means.
He met his master’s eyes who still studied him with an even gaze from across the desk. What is he thinking? What is he trying to figure out? And then the most obvious question rammed into his mind like a freight train, why me, Alessandro? That was a question that he wanted to ask right now. When one’s creator strikes you down, one would like to know the reason why. Silence stretched out between them.
Kenneth turned his attention to his own body. His vampiric senses allowed him to acutely know his body, inside and out. He mentally traced his blood vessels through his neck down through his chest. His heart lay still as death, the last time it had beaten was over fifty years ago. Sometimes though, he could swear he could still feel it, as it had meant to be, beating strongly with the life he had left behind.
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He could feel no fire, no pain anywhere. He gently flexed his leg muscles and felt nothing there that should not be. His vision was just as clear now as it had been a few hours ago. His hearing and sense of touch were still razor sharp. He could even detect the slight difference in smell between his wine glass and that of his master. What was going on?
He returned his full attention back to Alessandro. His master was sitting there as still as stone. Then one eyebrow arched a fraction of an inch. It was a gesture that could only have been spotted with a vampire’s keen eyesight. Kenneth finally broke the silence between them, “What is this, Alessandro?”
Without moving Alessandro did answer behind his folded hands, “A lesson, perhaps? Or something more.”
“A warning?” Kenneth asked.
“Perhaps,” Alessandro dropped his hands to take up his own wine glass and drank deeply from it. Alessandro’s dignity and poise had been cultivated by years spent in the upper circles of high Italian society; he had the culmination of all the training on full display here tonight. He gently placed his wine glass back down on his desk.
He locked eyes with his student. “What would you take away from this night, Kenneth?”
The ease at which he could die when his guard was down came to mind, but he figured that Alessandro wouldn’t care too much for that response. “Control and dignity,” he answered instead.
Alessandro regarded his pupil. “Control and dignity... Is that all that there is for you in this world, control and dignity, even in the face of death?” He waved away Kenneth’s comments before they were aired. “I know full well that you were convinced of your own death, so don’t try to deny it.” He leaned back in his chair. “I don’t want you getting too full of yourself, Kenneth,” his gaze hardened, “Remember your place or you will find everything taken away from you, faster than you can realize.”
The younger vampire returned the gaze without flinching, “Have I done something to offend you, Master?”
Alessandro nodded once slowly, “Yes, as a matter of fact.” He stood up and walked over to his windows to look out at the city night. “Why don’t you tell me what you are hiding and your existence in my favor might be prolonged.”
Kenneth looked confused, “I don’t understa…”
“Don’t,” Alessandro yelled as he whipped around in half an eye blink. Kenneth found himself pressed against his chair, pinned by his master. The elder vampire leaned close. “I have been patient with you because you are mine, but even my patience has limits, and you are dangerously close to pushing mine past its breaking point.” Alessandro leaned in even closer as his grip on the arms of the chair tightened audibly. “What…are you…hiding…Kenneth.”
The junior vampire knew now was not the time to try to scheme and maneuver. He had seen his master like this on occasion and almost every time someone had ended up dead. Kenneth had very important things to do and dying was not something he wanted to revisit so soon. “I have held back my profit and gain margins, Master. The true numbers for my portion of the House business is in another ledger that I keep in my locked desk at my house.”