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3.

Elizabeth hurried next to Jefferson on the dark street without a word. After Dave’d left on that dim day, she got the call she was waiting for. They were heading to the spectacled man’s master, where she finally can ask her questions. She had some doubts whether it was really a good idea to meet an unknown vampire master, but she trusted her power. Until now it never let her down. She managed to shoo away Dave’s picture in her head with an inpatient grimace and followed her attendant to the imposing house. The thick oak gate opened quietly before they approached it, but as they walked into the house, she didn’t see anyone who could have opened it. She couldn’t decide now whether it was magic, or a vampire who had great hiding skills.

“This way!” Jefferson waved towards a long white marble stair which led onto the next floor.

Liz didn’t pay too much attention on the vampires lurking in the half-light, or onto the nicely lit portraits, which seemed to follow them with their eyes.

“If my Master’s answers aren’t satisfying to you, and you’d decide to come back to see him in this house again, don’t think that you’ll get in this easily. There are numerous invisible spells protecting us.”

“I’m not a beginner. I can feel them” Liz said drily. From the corner of her eyes she saw the man’s eyes flash belligerently, but he led her further into the house and didn’t say a word until they reached a gorgeously decorated corridor. Its walls were a nice yellow between the paintings, armors and carpets.

Jefferson remained silent, just stopped in front of the two guardian vampires and Liz assumed that they were waiting for his Master’s permission to step in. And yes, in the next moment the guards stepped aside and the door opened. A nice half-light welcomed Liz. She quickly checked the room. There were more sofas here and there and along the walls rich flowers and plants made the air fragrant. As she turned her head to the left, she could see some kind of a throne on a little podium, just between two windows. This gave a nice effect – the one who sits there can see everything, but the visitors can’t see his face just in case he wants it. But the throne was empty now.

“Elizabeth Townsend-Goldwing has arrived, Master!” Liz heard Jefferson’s voice next to her but when she looked to the side, the man was already gone and the door’s wings closed.

She swallowed unnoticeably. She didn’t like this. In the next moment she saw a movement to her right and turning that way she saw a man’s figure slowly evolving from the half-light. He was breathtakingly attractive. Liz was sure that back then that someone who’d chosen him for the Dark Blood’s Gift did so after a careful selection. His tall and slender figure walked on thick red carpet lithely – giving the image of a royal predator. His wavy brown and red hair reached down to the half of his back and the light glimpsed on it mildly. The fascinating blue eyes reminded her on the icy Nord’s blinding blue skies. The nice full lips curved into a smile, keeping the canines hidden. It was easy for Liz to imagine even through the clothes’ material how his muscles could strain in his broad shoulders as he stepped to her and took her hand to give a featherlike kiss onto it.

“Welcome to my house, Miss Townsend. I was waiting for this moment” he said on his soothing baritone, which made Liz feel as if someone stroked silk along her spine. She felt her nipples harden even from this short sentence – luckily her long black coat hid this – but she quickly composed herself. Somehow he looked familiar, but she didn’t know from where.

“If I knew your name, I’d say thank you” she said with a faint smile.

“Oh, please, forgive my rudeness, it’s just that it is quite out of common to have such a strong witch-master in my house.” Liz didn’t answer just nodded barely noticeable, accepting the compliment. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Lord Tharsis” he gave her another smile.

Liz had to strain her jaw not to smile back from reflex. She pulled herself together and hardened herself, closing the master vampire’s tricks out of her mind. She could see now more clearly – now the faint light didn’t seem to have an own life in his hair and blue irises.

“Please to meet you” she nodded again “I guess you know why I wanted to see you.”

“Oh yes, but please, take a seat” he waved with his long fingers towards two comfortable sofas.

Liz obeyed without a word and sat down onto the edge of the sofa, closing her legs, and she started pulling down her thin black leather gloves with gentle moves “Well, I’m listening, Lord Tharsis. I’d be curious to know why you kept important information back, risking my job’s success with doing so.”

“And your life, right?” he sent her a faint smile as he sat back comfortably on the soft pillows.

“Exactly” the woman nodded deliberately and took off her sunglasses, which hid her softly glowing gold irises, which was her former Lord’s legacy. Tharsis eyed her from head to toe with pleasure in his eyes then he returned to her unusual gaze.

“This eye-colour suits you” he mused.

“It’s a result of an unlucky accident” she shrugged “The delinquent is long dead. But you didn’t answer my question.”

“True. Well, if I said that I had no clue that your targets were magic-users, you wouldn’t believe it, would you?”

“No, it’s not likely I would” she crossed her legs.

“I guessed so. Elizabeth – can I call you like this?” She nodded. “Thank you. So Elizabeth, what’d you say if I told you that I wanted to test you?”

“What for?” she frowned.

“Well, let’s say that your former job was your exam work. I had to be sure that you are as strong as the rumors say in high quarters. There are some people who’ve heard this and that back in those days when you’ve performed your spectacular massacre. I had to check these rumors before I wanted to entrust you with a more serious job.”

“And doing so you risked my life too… I get it. And haven’t it crossed your mind that even if I survived that action, I would not say yes to your offer?”

“Oh it has crossed my mind” he stroked along his white shirt on his chest “But I think, you won’t be able to refuse my offer.”

“Really? You make me curious. What’d it be?”

Lord Tharsis smiled and pulled out a silver cigarette case from his black trousers’ pocket and with slow moves he lit one. Liz was getting tenser as she watched the man. She knew that he was just playing for time to make her more curious.

“Well, sadly some clashes came up between me and a few influential vampire lords. I’d like you to solve this problem for me – of course I’d repay your service usury and would give you a magical object as well, which could extend your power, I think. What do you say?” he looked at her.

Elizabeth hesitated then her calm voice broke the silence “This is too few information yet. Please, tell me exactly what you want…”

“Well” he inhaled the smoke then slowly exhaled it “There’s a smaller group – all vampire lords – which started intriguing against me, hoping that they can claim my high position in the vampire council in the case of my death. And you can understand that I want to put this off.”

“How big is this group and how strong are its members?” she asked calmly. Her face showed no emotions.

“Five vampires. Master vampires. Each one of them is more hundred years old. The youngest can be around two hundred. But don’t let yourself be fooled – it’s not sure that he is the weakest among them.”

“And I should kill them?”

“Exactly…” he puffed white smoke towards the ceiling. Liz watched it deep in thoughts for a moment.

“And where’s the trap?”

Lord Tharsis laughed on his magical voice “There’s no trap.”

“I don’t believe you. There’s always a trap. Maybe they are magic-users too, like the ones you made me kill?”

“Not all of them.”

“How many of them?”

“Three. Two is more risky. One of them leads a Clan too. But you’ll get more information from my kind servant, Jefferson. He’ll give you some files, if you accept the job.”

“And why would it be good for me to accept it?” she asked with a hard expression.

“You became a bloody professional businesswoman during these years, didn’t you?”

“Please, leave the empty compliments and comments and don’t engross our precious time. I’d like to get some answers.”

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth…” he shook his head a bit “Always this rushing… Well, you want to know why this job’d be rewarding for you?” he stood up and walked around the couch where he had been sitting and started pacing slowly behind it “I’d put more than enough money onto your bank account…”

“Money isn’t top priority for me. I like to think that I’m not too worldly.”

“Oh yes, I know this about you as well.”

“You dig into my past?”

“To know a little more about you, yes. I like to know my business partners.”

“What makes you think that I’ll accept your request?”

“I’m hoping you will” he smiled secretly.

“What’s that you keep for yourself?”

“Hmm… I think, you should think about this.” In the next moment Liz felt his breath next to her ear as he slid a folded paper into her hand. “This… would be your other payment…” he whispered into her ear and she had to concentrate hard not to shiver and reach for her ornate knife, which she always kept by her.

She held the yellowish paper between her thin fingers and unfolded it with an expressionless face. “How did you get this?” she turned her surprised gaze to him.

Lord Tharsis just smiled and straightened up to go around the couch and take a seat across Liz. “Let’s just say that I have my connections” he ran his index-finger along his lower lip and half-closed his blue eyes. This gesture was familiar for her too, but she couldn’t remember from where. Did she saw him earlier?

She looked at the paper again. There was a drawing of a pendant on it. But it wasn’t an ordinary one. She could see as the black, deep-green and deep-blue smoke melted into each other again and again, just to diverge in the polished oval pebble. In real life the smoke never stopped moving. A graceful silver holder attached it to a thin but strong chain. Elizabeth Goldwing, who was still living inside of her, recognized it immediately – this way Liz too. Back then in the distant past the witch freed her whole energy with the help of this object and she would have done many other things with it if she had had enough time to examine the power of the stone. But her Lord’s servants had killed her while she fled from them and with her death a big amount of her Lord’s power had vanished as well… If she could get it back… if she could try the stone… Her more rational side sensed danger. She knew that the power of the stone can be dangerous too, if she uses it misguidedly, but she was too curious about how much stronger it could make her…

The vampire watched the motionless woman contentedly. She was sitting there lost in thoughts. He could nearly see as the promise of the relic gets into her head, bewitching her thoughts. He knew that it’s a huge temptation for the already strong witch, who was still far from discovering her full power – though it was possible that she wasn’t clear with that at all. If he could win her for himself…

“How do you want me to execute them?” she looked up with a sterner glimpse.

Tharsis smiled “You can hunt them down individually as well and use the method which suits you the best. I trust your creativity. The main point is that it has to be discreet. Or I should say not too ostentatious. Those who’re involved will know that I’m the one who started cleaning the lines of the combiners anyway. But until they have no proof against me…”

“I have the freedom of action…”

“Exactly” he nodded with a broader smile then smacked his fingers. From the half-light a slim, but short pale woman appeared with two glasses on a tray in her hands. “Well, I’m glad that we could come to an understanding. You’ll learn more about the details through Jefferson. Let’s drink for the success of our deal!” he raised the glasses and offered one for Liz.

For a few moments she watched the vampire suspiciously then her pale fingers reached out for the glass. Despite the illusion he made she could feel the coldness of his skin on her fingertips. She clank glasses with him without a word, but before she could taste the red fluid she asked “And why do you offer the pendant for me? Why don’t you use it – or someone from your Clan?”

“Because not everyone is allowed to use its power. I’m not a witch and my Clan is in lack of such high-level fire wizards who could do something with the power of the pendant. At any rate I’ve kept it, thinking forward. As you can see, I did the right thing” he flashed another disarming smile, but Liz remained suspicious.

She examined her opposite while she sipped from the glass. It was human blood. She knew it from its smell as well. It was still warm. She could imagine herself as the light in her eyes got a bit brighter as she tasted the liquid. She wasn’t sure whether she did the right thing with accepting the offer, but now there was no turning back. She put the nearly full glass onto one of the tables – she took just one sip – and put on her delicate gloves and sunglasses deliberately.

“If we have discussed all the important questions concerning the case, I don’t want to hold you up, Lord Tharsis” she stood up “I guess I’ll get the missing information soon.”

“Yes, indeed. Soon you’ll hear from us” he stood up too then led his guest to the door and kissed her hand elegantly again.

Liz nodded and left the building with the cool imprint of the kiss on her hand. She felt something in him. Something disturbing. She didn’t trust him.

***

Another chair fell into pieces as it hit the wall powerfully. The room soon turned into a battlefield in the dim twilight. Just someone’s panting could be heard in the sudden silence then some more unarticulated growls came too. A slender figure’s outlines appeared as it crawled in the room from wall to wall, tearing on himself. Then suddenly light flooded the room from the survived lamp on the nightstand. It was switched on by the exhausted man, who leant against the foot of the bed now. He was still loudly panting from the last outburst – they came upon him again and again since he’d left the imposing building. He was gasping for air as he bent his head back and rested it on the creased sheet. With his light-green shining eyes he stared at the ceiling and let himself get lost in his rugged thoughts. It was a long while ago since he had to fight the beast inside of him this hard. She broke out from her mental cage wildly to take control over Dave’s body. Dave just wanted to destroy and kill. He didn’t know why Liz’s blood has such an effect on him. It was still running in his veins like burning fluent fire. He wouldn’t have thought that she can get this strong during the years. Her blood was stronger even from Dave’s former Mistress, who had been more than a thousand years old until Elizabeth had killed her.

The bloodlust and sexual desire which came upon him again and again since she threw him out a few days ago amazed and confused him. But he tried to hold himself back, to suppress the unbearable need. For now he’s managed to do so, but he knew that sooner or later he’ll have to go out during the darkness to drink some human blood. He hoped that this way he’ll be able to “water” the strong witch blood in his system. He remembered that he barely felt hunger for days after feasting on Liz’s blood to survive that damned night in the past. The only difference was that back then she gave her blood willingly and now he took it with force. He wasn’t prepared for it.

Dave had no idea how he could lose control during their lovemaking and ended up doing this shameful thing to her. But he did it and maybe he’d lost her for good. Though he came back here because of her – to influence her and try to stop her from killing. But he found a completely different, a cold Elizabeth in London who gave up so many principles of hers during the years… It was true that he had no idea what kind of things she had to live through to stay alive, but he could guess it. He was sure it wasn’t easy for her in this world he dragged her in. It was never easy to survive in the children of the night’s world. Here everything was about surviving and the short-term safety which could be gained from fighting for positions. And he let her go on that windy Thursday. He let her go through this alone. Sure he saw that she managed to go on with her life, but now he wasn’t sure at all that she’ll listen to him after the thing he did to her.

He has to visit one of the influential vampires, whom he got to know while he was still Dita’s child, but he stayed in connection with him since then. He helped for Dave several times if he needed advices how to make the New York Clan work, how to govern it. Because after Elizabeth’s “great clean-up” Dave collected the survivors and the new vampires and he became their leader for a while, sharing and dividing the territories. After a few years he picked a replacement and since then he became the ‘lonely wolf’ again. He helped for the Clan just when a bigger problem occurred.

He hit the mattress with his fist exhausted and nervously. He has to pull himself together! In this condition he cannot go to that party where he wants to meet his acquaintance! Going out to seek for a victim right away seemed a good idea. He wanted to be calm the next evening. He didn’t want to draw attention on him if not necessary.

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