by C. M. Sipes
The man nodded slowly and she gently pulled him to her, tilting his head to the side.
“Riposa in pace il mio amico,” she said quietly. Her fangs sunk easily into his neck, and she began to drink.
A low growl rumbled in her throat as she drank, listening to the man’s heartbeat begin to fade slightly. She tensed upon hearing light footsteps in the distance. She recognized the familiar sound though and relaxed, continuing to drink her fill. His heartbeat gradually slowed, and she pulled away slightly—just enough to hear the footsteps better. Vittoria listened a moment before returning to her kill, drinking the last few drops of his blood before his heart stopped and she licked the wound closed. She sat him against the wall before disappearing in a swirl of black.
She watched from above the rooftops as the vampire entered the alleyway where she had just been, looking about in confusion at her absence. The swarm of bats the Vittoria became flapped their wings in the night sky, subtly flying away from the alley. She looped back around, ready to approach from behind the vampire as he looked up at the rooftops for her.
Vittoria descended rapidly, the swarm flying at him with extreme speed and silence. He spun around quickly, barely having enough time to put his hands up as she roared and slammed into him, crushing him against a nearby building. Dust fell around them as her swarm disappeared into her body, her hand wrapped tightly around his throat, lifting him off the ground and pressing him into the hole his body had created.
“Hello, Demetri,” Vittoria growled, snapping her teeth near his neck.
“Vittoria,” he replied, his voice shaking slightly.
“So. It must be that time again, when you follow me and report back to Marcella.”
“I didn’t come to spy on you, Vittoria,” he replied, his glowing blue eyes meeting her red. She tightened her hold and slammed him into the wall. “Okay, okay. So maybe I was spying as well. But, I had news to deliver to you, from Marcella.”
Vittoria snarled, her nose crinkling in irritation. “I want nothing from her.”
“Please, just listen. There are bloodlusters here. We’ve been keeping an eye out for them, and killing them when we can.”
She cocked her head to the side in confusion, a growl rumbling in her chest. “She has agents here?”
“The coven is here, Vittoria. We just moved here a week or so ago,” Demetri explained, his hands grasping at hers.
“The coven is living here?!” Vittoria yelled, tightening her hold on him.
Demetri choked, lightly coughing from her grip. “We think things are brewing. Marcella wanted to be near you—we need you,” Demetri gasped out in a rush. “Vittoria, you’re our Queen.”
Vittoria dropped him to the ground, snarling in irritation and anger.
“What do you believe is brewing?” she asked.
Demetri struggled to stand. “There’s been a lot of activity, even before we got here. We were in—”
“New York,” she interrupted. “I am aware. I caught you sniffing around there ten years ago, remember?”
He nodded and swallowed. “Well things started to get strange there, after you left. A lot of bloodlusters were popping up and—and something else.”
Her forehead creased. “What else?”
“There has been an increase in the werewolf population. Marcella has tried to get Aerona to speak in negotiations, figure out if she is responsible for the influx, or if it’s a rogue faction.”
“Aerona isn’t cooperating?”
“She won’t speak to Marcella.”
Her eyebrows rose. “That doesn’t make sense. There is a peace treaty. I was there when it was signed.”
“She wants to speak to you as well, Vittoria. She refuses to speak to Marcella without you present.”
Vittoria growled, slamming her fist into the bricks. “I want nothing to do with coven matters.”
“It’s your coven though! Just because you abandoned us does not mean we abandoned you. We are fiercely loyal to our monarchy,” Demetri snarled. “I wish you would be as loyal to us.”
Vittoria roared, attacking him and slamming him into the wall once more. He yelled in pain as she dropped him on the ground.
“My loyalty was not an issue until she betrayed me,” she growled, kicking him in his stomach.
“Vittoria,” he coughed. “We need you for the negotiations. This is a problem. An influx of werewolves, bloodlusters running throughout the city—something is brewing and we want to stop it before it becomes too bad.”
She growled in frustration, tilting her head to the sky and taking a moment to collect herself. “I will investigate this matter on my own. If I deem it pressing, I will come and speak to Marcella.”
“But Vittoria—”
“That is final, Demetri!” Vittoria snarled, baring her fangs as she stared him down.
Demetri paused. “As you wish, Your Highness.” He bowed before limping away from her. “I will tell Marcella of your decision.”
“Go, Demetri,” Vittoria replied harshly as she walked past him and out of the alleyway.
“There was one more thing,” Demetri began hesitantly. Instantly, she knew she was not going to like what he was about to say.
She stopped regardless, and waited for him to speak.
“Marcella told me to tell you that she misses you and wants you to come home.”
A shaky growl rumbled in her chest. “Go back to Marcella, Demetri. You do not want to try my patience anymore.”
He bowed once more before running off as fast as his legs would allow.
Vittoria took a few moments to calm herself.
She sniffed the air, her eyes turning to the scene the homeless man told her about. Demetri was truly pathetic at his job; he couldn’t even smell the blood that tainted the air still.
She walked close to the scene, noticing the dead bodies that lay in the alley. She examined the one, though not much was left of him. The majority of his body had been devoured, including the heart. She found it strange that the man did not see the devourer in his true form when he fed.
Her eyes turned to the other dead man. His skin was pale from blood loss and the muscles in his neck hung loosely. Her brethren certainly had ripped his throat out.
“This is not normal,” she muttered to herself. She didn’t understand why a bloodluster and a devourer would be working together. They should be tearing each other apart over a meal, not hunting together.
She sighed heavily.
Vittoria really didn’t want to involve herself in coven matters. Investigating it herself would be the only way to avoid that situation. She checked the time on her phone, noting that she still had at least three hours before sunrise.
She closed her eyes and smelled the air, focusing on the stench of the dead bodies next to her. Besides the smell of the dead, she could smell dirt and dampness, heavy amounts of it, as well as the smell of wet dog. Vittoria glanced up at the night sky, once again becoming the swarm of bats and taking flight. She scanned the city as she flew, tracking the scent as she went.
She noticed a blur running swiftly through the street, weaving in and out of traffic before turning into a nearby park. She flew lower, nearing the figure as it slowed to a stop. She swooped down to him, swarming around him briefly before flying back up into the sky and landing in a thicket of trees. It was definitely the vampire who was working with the wolf—he reeked of dirt and dampness.
Vittoria transformed back to herself, crouching within the treetops as she watched the vampire stare intently at her position. His scleras were heavily bloodshot, while his irises remained bright green—a sure sign of a bloodluster.
Due to their excessive blood binging, whenever they turned mad, the whites of their eyes became bloodshot while their irises stayed the same color as when they were turned.
The vampire finally looked away from her position before eyeing the park, no doubt looking for someone to eat. She scanned the area as well, her eyes landing on a young woman walking alone
down a nearby path. Vittoria internally groaned when she saw her.
Humans were so stupid sometimes.
She glanced back at the bloodluster. He had spotted her as well, running at her as fast as he could. Vittoria leapt from the tree and ran after him, slamming into him and knocking him to the ground just before he reached the woman. She screamed and ran off, leaving Vittoria alone with the demon.
“Hello there,” she greeted, her hand grasping his throat tightly as she sat on his chest.
A choked growl was his only response.
“A friend of mine told me a tidbit of information. Something about you working with a devourer.”
His eyes widened before narrowing, his hands coming to grasp Vittoria’s in an attempt to move them. His eyebrows creased in confusion when he was unable to budge her grip.
She clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You won’t be able to move me.” Vittoria willed her eyes to change and watched as he stopped struggling. “You’re no match for me. Resisting me is pointless.”
He growled in defeat. “What do you want, Your Highness?”
“Ah. He speaks, and so formal.” Her grip tightened, choking him slightly. “I want to know why you were cavorting with a devourer.”
“Not all of us hate each other. Some of us have similar desires,” he replied with a smirk.
“Mmm. Interesting. Not the answer I was looking for, though,” she responded, tightening her grip again and forcing him to gasp. “Why?”
“Common goals.”
“What goals?”
He remained silent.
“Answer me!” Vittoria dug her nails into his neck, blood oozing from the fresh wounds.
He still did not answer.
“At least tell me if there are more here in the city.”
He gasped out a “yes.”
She snarled in frustration. “Why are you working with a devourer?” she asked again.
He grinned once more. “Common goals.”
Her eyes narrowed and she roared—ripping his throat out and severing his head from his body. Low growls rumbled from her chest as she stood, watching his body dissolve into dust. The situation was slowly turning into a mess. Bloodlusters were incredibly dangerous. They fed constantly, killing whoever happened upon them, with no regard for the possibility of being discovered. Now, to make matters worse, a bloodluster and devourer were working together. Marcella’s words echoed in her head.
They could not be discovered, no matter the cost.
Vittoria sighed, looking at the pile of dust that rested at her feet. She needed to find out what these bloodlusters knew.
* * *
The sun tentatively peeked through the thicket of clouds, masking most of its brightness but leaving just enough to make her feel slightly groggy. She groaned as she picked up her pace, hurriedly walking to the library to meet with her group. Emma had the bright idea to meet up and begin going over what they already knew about the plague. She rolled her eyes as she recalled Emma’s email. She already knew everything there was to know about it and found the meeting pointless. Not to mention she was out until sunrise, backtracking the bloodluster’s steps before the park. She had hoped to find a nest of some sort but—much to her disappointment—there was nothing. He seemed to just have been wandering around the city before going to the park to find a victim. At least he wasn’t stupid enough to rush into the street and kill someone on the spot for the entire world to see.
Vittoria walked up the library steps, sighing in relief as she entered the building and hid from the light. She moved toward the café, her eyes instantly landing on Emma sipping coffee while looking through some notes.
“Morning,” Vittoria said groggily as she took a seat next to the other girl.
Emma’s eyebrows rose in amusement, her eyes looking over Vittoria, “It’s one in the afternoon, Vittoria,” Emma stated, her voice laced with laughter. Her eyebrows creased in concern a moment later. “You don’t look alright though. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, dear. Just…didn’t get enough sleep last night, I guess,” Vittoria replied with a sigh. She sat back in the chair. “So, we couldn’t have done this at night?”
“Next time we meet, we can. I just thought today would be good to kind of hash out some ideas of what we want our presentation to look like.”
“You know, this isn’t due until the end of the semester,” Vittoria supplied with a tired smirk.
“I’m a bit of an overachiever,” Emma replied sheepishly.
“I can see that. You have that first year enthusiasm, but you aren’t a first year, are you?” Vittoria commented, watching as Emma’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“This is technically my fourth year, so I would normally be graduating now, but I transferred here this semester so...” she trailed off, offering Vittoria a small smile.
“So you’re legal to drink then?”
She nodded. “I’m twenty-two, actually.”
“Good. I have a feeling we’ll have to go for drinks soon then,” Vittoria replied easily, her eyes moving to focus on the other group members. “The cavalry has arrived.”
Jason, Maria, and Sarah chatted happily to each other as they walked to the table. They took their seats around the others and offered greetings before delving in.
“She wants us to wow her,” Jason said with a slight groan. “Do you know how hard it is to ‘wow’ that woman?”
Vittoria chuckled. “I am familiar with that difficulty.”
Jason grinned before looking to Emma. “Vi and I have had a few classes together. She always manages to get an A in that woman’s class.”
“It’s because I know my shit,” Vittoria replied with a smirk.
Maria laughed at the remark. “Well then, ‘oh wise one,’ indulge us with your knowledge,” she teased, raising her eyebrows in expectation.
Vittoria merely snorted.
“Well, what do we know about the plague so far guys? What’s our existing knowledge?” Emma asked, attempting to get the group back on track.
Vittoria smiled. It was cute how she tried to steer the discussion.
“It wiped out half of Europe,” Sarah answered, tapping her pencil against her notebook.
“It started in 1348,” Jason added.
Vittoria shook her head. “It started in the fall of 1347 in Italy. Venice, specifically. It spread quickly afterwards.”
Emma smirked. “I was unaware that it started in ’47.” She typed away on her laptop for a moment. “Anything else?”
“Spread by fleas on rats,” Maria added.
“Good,” Emma replied, continuing to type. “What about symptoms?”
“Fever, sweating—almost resembled the symptoms of the flu. It takes a few days to become sick after exposure. As it progresses, your fingers can turn black, your lymph nodes become swollen. Buboes form under your armpits and around your groin. There’s pain,” Vittoria commented, her eyes staring intently at Emma’s coffee cup.
“I guess she does know her shit,” Maria said with a light laugh before giving Vittoria a playful smack in the arm.
Vittoria shook herself lightly, the memories of her sickness beginning to dance in front of her eyes.
Her head turned quickly to the right, suddenly, as a scent drifted through the air. Her eyes narrowed on the figure that stood in the middle of the room. His eyes, focused on a girl, slowly began to glow. Vittoria’s eyes widened, and she stood from the table quickly, causing the group to look at her strangely.
“I’ll be back,” she muttered before walking to the man.
His head turned, eyes widening as they landed on her approaching form. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he smelled her scent. His bloodshot eyes began to glow yellow as he looked at her with disgust.
“Control yourself, whelp,” Vittoria snarled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was following the girl I was eyeing. Thinking about making a meal out of her later,” he replied, his eyes glowing brighter.
Vittoria heard a sharp intake of breath come from the table and she instantly moved, blocking his eyes from sight.
“I said…control yourself,” Vittoria growled, her own eyes changing briefly before returning to normal. “Do those words mean nothing to you anymore?”
“We shouldn’t have to hide anymore,” he replied, his breathing finally evening out.
“No. We should hide. We are dangerous. Mortals do not need to know of our existence—to live in constant fear of us,” Vittoria explained. “When humans are afraid, they don’t think, they act. It will be all-out war. How many of our kind have to die for that?” she asked with a snarl.
He swallowed before grinning. “You will see, Vittoria da Verona, future sole queen of the Coven Sanguinis, how many of our kind must die to achieve our rightful place in this world.”
Her eyes narrowed and she growled. “How lovely, another fanatic.”
“We will finally be free,” he replied with a sickening laugh.
Vittoria growled again and stared him down. “I cannot kill you here, consider yourself lucky. Go crawl back into whatever hole you came from, whelp.”
“Our savior is coming.”
A low growl rumbled in his chest, but he turned away and headed for the exit. Vittoria waited, mulling over his words until he disappeared from sight.
Vittoria masked her emotions, steeling her expression, as she walked back to the table. She felt all their eyes on her, looking at her strangely as she took her seat again.
“You alright, Vi?” Jason asked, his expression conveying his worry.
“I’m fine, just some trouble. Nothing I can’t handle,” Vittoria replied easily.
“You sure? You looked pretty angry there at the end,” Sarah added, reaching over and touching Vittoria’s hand in support.
Vittoria smiled. “Seriously guys, I’m fine. But thanks for the support. Now, where were we?” she asked, attempting to get them distracted.
A devourer making an appearance in a mortal crowd was not something that she had expected, let alone damn near ousting himself to the world. She glanced at Emma, her forehead creasing in worry as she saw her intently staring at her notebook. She could smell the anxiety and curiosity rolling off her in waves. Vittoria began to wonder briefly if Emma caught the small glow in his eyes.