Simon’s eyes never really opened but his struggling muscles relaxed and he sank down a bit into the couch.

The blood bag was drained and Noemi threw it back towards the kitchen. “I guess all we can do is wait till nightfall and see if Simon is healed up enough to talk.”

Marco smiled a small wry grin. “Don’t worry about him, kid. I’ve been through the grinder and back with Simon. I doubt these little injuries will keep him down for long. Hell, if he was still human I wouldn’t be surprised if he was up and walking around in a month.” He patted Noemi on the shoulder comfortingly. “He’ll be fine, you did good. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Noemi reached up and squeezed the offered arm of the older man.

“Now as for the rest of us we should all get some rest,” Marco said to the room. “The sun is already up.”

Noemi was shocked to hear that. She could feel the exhaustion in her undead body but they had carefully blacked out the rooms they were staying in so to her sight it was still deep night. She gratefully followed Marco’s instructions and made her way to her bed. Simon had one hell of a story to tell and she wasn’t going to miss it.

Noemi arose from her bed with the final sinking of the sun outside. Her vampire senses knew it was safe for her and her kind now wrapped in the protection of night. It was instinctual, with the setting of the sun she could finally be about the dark business of her kind. The predator was awake, but her prey was as yet unknown. Hopefully Simon could shed some light on that subject.

She found him still laying on the couch where she had left him that morning. His eyes were open and alert and the rest of the team was already gathered around their injured team leader.

“We were right about Kenneth,” Simon spoke gruffly and harshly every word caused him pain. Vampire though he was, his injuries could have killed him. It would take several days for him to recover fully.

“It’s a lot worse than we imagined. Kenneth killed Alessandro and has taken over House Dukart.”

Marco glanced over at Noemi and Lorenzo. Sofia was silent and her eyes were focused. “So we’re going after Kenneth.” The raven haired woman spoke with a deadly quiet belying her roots as a silent killer.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Simon nodded. “I can’t ask any of you to stay. This isn’t what you came here for.”

Noemi scoffed, “Oh please, I watched you get thrown out of a tower window! I’ll be damned if I’m not going to see this thing through.”

Simon smiled through his pain. “Actually I jumped.”

“And people say I have a death wish,” muttered Lorenzo.

Marco looked at everyone in the room. “Simon,” he said. “We have been through some shit together and this is no different. Don’t try to play the hero with us. We’re in this till it’s done, all of us.”

Simon’s eyes closed and he slowly nodded his head.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Valentina said, “how are the six of us going to take on a whole House? Whose new Head will be watching and probably out looking for you, the guy who got away.”

The room got very quiet. They were all thinking the same thing. None of them were cowards and they had been in hostile territory before. But six people trying to take on a whole House in a city where they had no allies and no support? The only sound in the room was the cheap clock that ticked loudly as each second was counted and slipped away into the oblivion of wasted potential.

* * * * *

It had been a month since she had led the small surviving group of refugees from the City Under the Mountain to the relative safety and sanctuary of the City Under the Sand.

It had not been a pleasant welcome. The Elders of the City Under the Sand seemed to want to blame her for not only the loss of their city, but also for the loss of Efraim who had died in the surprise vampire attack.

Huan Li had woken up not long after they had arrived and it was his word that ultimately allowed their group to stay. Ansuya had experienced this kind of thing of before. The blatant sexism that was rampant in this part of the world had infected even the werewolf city here. But they had been allowed to stay and that’s ultimately what mattered. If she had to play the meek woman to keep them all here and safe, she would. Soon she would leave and begin the task of retaking her home Under the Mountain, with or without the help of the City Under the Sand.

As she walked through the streets of the city she found that it was all very familiar. The buildings were of the same two or three level design that the Mountain had, except here the building were made from sand stone and thick smoked glass made from the desert sands that hid this place. The city was buried deep underground and the ceiling was solid stone lit by crystals just as the City Under the Mountain was. The city held at least two nature areas much like the Mountain did except they were born of the desert; there were no pine trees or greenery of any kind that she could see over the city buildings. The areas, she knew, were desert terrain and filled with the flora and fauna of the region. This city was naturally cooler than the mountain which was a bit surprising considering where in the world it was. But where the City Under the Mountain was powered by the geothermal energy of the volcano that helped to conceal it, this city was powered by a combination of solar, oil, and natural gas. This city was beautiful, in its own way.