Free Web NovelChapter 70: Minor chore
The vampire capital came alive at night, Crimson lanterns hung from elegant stone arches, casting warm red light across polished streets while music drifted from distant taverns and gathering halls.
The city never truly slept. If anything, darkness only seemed to wake it further.
Xandros and Adrian moved through the crowded streets side by side, drawing occasional glances from passing vampires. Neither paid much attention.
Well...
Adrian didn’t.
Xandros was still plotting.
Which was usually a terrible sign.
"You are thinking too loudly."
Adrian’s voice carried the familiar exhaustion of someone who had spent years dealing with the same problem.
"That’s not possible."
"It absolutely is."
"I haven’t said anything."
"You haven’t needed to."came his playful and serious word at the same time.
Xandros clicked his tongue.
"You’re becoming judgmental."
"I’m becoming experienced."
The white-haired vampire continued walking.
Unfortunately, experience had taught him exactly what that particular expression on Xandros’s face meant.
Trouble.
Large amounts of trouble.
The expensive kind.
The pair eventually stopped before an old tavern built from black stone and dark oak. Laughter spilled through the open doorway while warm lantern light illuminated the entrance.
Above the door hung a wooden sign depicting a dragon wrapped around a wine barrel.
Xandros immediately grinned.
Adrian immediately became suspicious.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"We’re going inside."
Adrian stared.
Xandros smiled wider.
The answer had already been decided.
Several minutes later they sat across from one another inside the crowded tavern.
The atmosphere was loud.
Comfortable.
Chaotic.
Vampires filled nearly every table.
Some played games involving cards.
Others exchanged stories over drinks.
A few sang terribly.
Very terribly.
Xandros approved.
The tavern owner soon arrived carrying several bottles.
Dark amber liquid shimmered beneath the lantern light.
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"You don’t even like drinking."
"That’s irrelevant."
"It seems extremely relevant."
"Not tonight."
The game began shortly afterward.
A simple game involving carved dice and increasingly poor decisions.
Within ten minutes, Xandros had somehow lost four consecutive rounds.
Within twenty minutes, he had lost eight.
Within thirty minutes...
Even the tavern owner looked at his worker impressed.
"That has to be deliberate."
"It isn’t."
"It absolutely is."
Xandros pointed dramatically.
"The dice are conspiring."
Adrian buried his face in one hand.
The tavern erupted into laughter.
Another round began.
Another loss followed.
Then another and another.
Each defeat required a drink.
Soon several empty bottles occupied their table.
A slight flush appeared across Xandros’s cheeks.
His posture relaxed.
His words became louder.
Much louder but unsteady.
"I demand a rematch."
"You’ve demanded twelve."
"This one is important."
"They were all important."
"Not equally."
Adrian sighed.
The tavern owner laughed.
Several nearby patrons began openly watching.
Xandros continued losing.
Spectacularly.
By the time midnight approached, he looked completely intoxicated.
His movements lacked coordination.
His speech occasionally slurred.
At one point he nearly fell from his chair.
At another point he accused a bowl of peanuts of looking at him.
Adrian had seen enough.
"We’re leaving."
"No."
"Yes."
"Nooooooo."
"You can barely stand."
Xandros immediately stood.
Then almost walked into a wall.
The tavern erupted with laughter again.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Patience.
He needed patience.
The two eventually exited the tavern together.
Cool night air greeted them.
The streets had grown quieter.
The city lights stretched endlessly beneath the dark sky.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Xandros pointed toward absolutely nothing.
"Look."
Adrian stared.
"There is nothing there."
"There could be."
"Go home."
Xandros looked genuinely hurt.
"You don’t believe in possibilities."
"I believe you’re drunk."
"A tragic accusation."
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
The question lingered.
For a moment Xandros simply stared at him.
Then he laughed.
A loud laugh.
The kind only drunk people produced.
"I can walk myself."
"I don’t think so"
"Yes I can ."
"No."
"Adrian."
"What?"
"I am a very powerful vampire."
"You just lost a fight against gravity."
Xandros considered this.
Then pointed dramatically.
"That was different."
Eventually Adrian surrendered.
Not because he believed Xandros.
Because arguing had become pointless.
"Fine."
"Excellent."
"If you get lost..."
"I won’t."
"You will if this intoxicated without me by your side"
"I won’t."
"You absolutely will but I can..."
Xandros waved dismissively to shut him up then staggered away.
Adrian watched him disappear into the darkness.
Something felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Just...
Wrong.
Yet after a moment, he shook his head and turned toward home. free𝑤ebnovel.com
He never noticed the shadow that detached itself from a nearby rooftop.
Never noticed the figure that immediately began following Xandros.
The spy moved silently.
Carefully.
Every movement practiced.
Every step measured.
Jamie had spent years gathering information.
Years learning how to follow targets without being seen.
Tonight’s assignment had been simple.
Follow Xandros.
Find the girl.
Learn who she was.
The task should have been easy.
Instead he had somehow lost the girls earlier.
An embarrassment he fully intended to correct.
Now fate had offered him another opportunity.
A drunk Xandros was exactly the kind of mistake spies dreamed about.
Jamie followed.
Xandros stumbled through streets.
Turned wrong corners.
Walked into dead ends.
Changed direction repeatedly.
At one point he sat on a fountain and spent several minutes arguing with a statue.
Jamie nearly laughed.
This was pathetic. freewēbnoveℓ.com
The great Xandros.
Son of Lord Morvane.
Reduced to this.
The spy continued following.
Patiently and most especially confidently.
Eventually Xandros left the city.
Then the outer districts.
Then the hidden domain itself.
Ancient magic shimmered around him as he crossed the boundary separating the vampire kingdom from the outside world.
The illusion rippled.
The hidden city vanished behind him.
Human forests stretched endlessly ahead.
Jamie smiled.
Finally.
Now he would learn something useful and present it to his master.
The spy continued forward.
Trees surrounded him.
Moonlight filtered through branches overhead.
Silence settled across the forest.
Then...
Xandros disappeared.
Jamie froze.
His smile vanished instantly.
One second the vampire had been there.
The next...
Nothing.
The forest suddenly felt much larger.
Much darker.
The spy slowly turned searching and listening.
Confusion spread through him.
Where?
How?
He had only looked away for...
A hand closed around his throat.
The impact came so suddenly that Jamie never even managed a scream.
His body slammed violently against a tree.
Wood cracked.
Leaves fell aggressively from the branches above.
Pain erupted throughout his entire body.
Jamie stared.
Shock flooded his face.
Because standing before him was Xandros.
Perfectly sober.
Perfectly focused and calm.
Not a trace of drunkenness remained.
Grey eyes met his own.
Amusement danced within them.
Dangerous amusement.
The realization hit Jamie immediately.
The tavern, drinking, staggering and the slurred speech.
Everything.
Every single thing.
Had been an act.
"You know, Jamie..."
Xandros’s voice remained calm.
Almost friendly.
Which somehow made it wierd.
"If you’re going to follow someone..."
His grip tightened.
"...you should learn when they’re pretending."
Fear entered Jamie’s eyes.
Real fear.
For the first time that night, he understood exactly how badly things had gone.
Xandros smiled.
A slow smile.
The kind predators wore before feeding.
"You look surprised."
Jamie struggled.
Instinctively.
Pointlessly.
The hand around his throat felt like iron.
"You..."
"Me." Xandros repeated taunting him.
"You knew."
"I knew."
The smile widened.
"I knew the moment you started following me for the bridge thanks to you foolish master."
Jamie felt cold.
Very cold.
That wasn’t possible.
He had trained for years.
He had hidden perfectly.
No one was supposed to notice him.
Especially not Xandros.
Yet somehow...
The vampire before him had known all along.
"W-why..."
Xandros tilted his head.
"Why what?"
Jamie swallowed.
Why hadn’t he stopped him earlier?
Why wait?
Why create this entire trap?
The answer came immediately.
Because Xandros wanted information.
And because Xandros enjoyed making people uncomfortable.
Unfortunately.
Jamie possessed information.
And he was very uncomfortable.
"You work for Silas."
It wasn’t a question.
The spy stiffened.
Xandros laughed softly.
"Of course you do."
Silence followed.
The forest felt impossibly still.
Moonlight illuminated the clearing.
Neither moved.
Then Xandros leaned closer.
His voice dropped lower.
Colder.
More dangerous.
"I know Silas sent a rat to follow me after he claimed he caught a rumour."
Jamie’s heartbeat accelerated.
"I know he wanted information."
Grey eyes narrowed slightly.
"And I know exactly who he was interested in."
For the first time, genuine anger flickered beneath Xandros’s calm exterior.
Not loud anger.
Not explosive anger.
The quiet kind.
The dangerous kind.
"The girl."
Jamie said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
The silence confirmed everything.
Xandros’s expression darkened.
"Here’s the problem."
The vampire smiled again but it was not a nice smile.
"I’m not going to let anyone find her."
The words hung heavily between them.
Jamie froze.
"Not Silas."
Xandros’s grip tightened.
"Not his spies."
His eyes hardened.
"And certainly not my father."
Something terrifying flickered across his face.
Something Jamie had never seen before.
For a brief moment, the spy understood why Xandros’s enemies tended to disappear.
The vampire wasn’t angry because of Silas.
Wasn’t angry because of the investigation.
He was angry because someone had pointed that investigation toward the green-eyed girl.
Jamie reacted instantly.
His survival instincts finally took control.
His nails elongated.
Sharpened.
Turning into deadly black claws.
A desperate strike.
A final chance.
The claws shot forward.
Straight toward Xandros’s throat.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
However, they never reached him.
Jamie’s eyes widened.
His attack stopped halfway.
Strength vanished from his body.
Confusion flooded his mind.
Then pain arrived.
A terrible pain.
Slowly, he looked down.
Blood dripped from his lips.
Warm.
Thick.
Endless.
Below them, Xandros’s hand had disappeared into his chest.
Straight through bone.
Straight through flesh.
Straight through his heart.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Xandros smiled.
The same smile.
Calm, cold and terrifying.
"You really should have tried that."
Jamie’s vision darkened.
The last thing he saw was Xandros withdrawing his hand.
His heart came with it.
Then everything faded.
The body collapsed.
Silence returned.
For several moments, Xandros simply stood there.
Blood dripped from his fingers.
Moonlight illuminated the clearing.
The forest watched silently.
Then he sighed.
Reached into his coat and took out an handkerchief.
And carefully cleaned his hands.
Every finger.
Every drop methodically and patiently.
As though nothing unusual had happened.
The corpse remained where it had fallen.
Forgotten.
Irrelevant.
Eventually Xandros folded the stained cloth and slipped it away.
Then he stretched.
A long, lazy stretch.
The kind someone might perform after finishing a minor chore.
His gaze drifted toward the distant human settlement.
Toward the village beyond the forest.
For a moment, silence lingered.
Then he laughed softly.
Because now that Jamie was dead...
There was really only one thing left to do.
And perhaps...
Just perhaps...
It was time to see whether a certain green-eyed girl had managed to cause trouble for him.
With that thought lingering in his mind, Xandros slipped his hands into his pockets and began walking toward the human village.
The night swallowed him whole.
