Page 44 of The Rising Dark
“Exactly.They were found by a civilian vampire passing by.His name is Claudius, son of Claudia, seventh of her name.He smelled the blood while he was walking across the street and got curious.As he went to the back door, he heard someone exit the house through a window at the front of the house.Once he realised what had happened, he called the Magistrate.They let us know.”
“Did the civilian hear anyone else?”Lavinia asked, kneeling beside the body at the doorway.It was difficult to guess the man’s age.His face was covered in deep scratches, blood obscuring his features.
“No,” Octavia said.“Which brings us to our problem.”
“What problem?”Quintia asked.“Besides all of the murdering.”
“Smell them,” Octavia answered.
It was difficult to penetrate the stench of blood to take in the more subtle scents that lay underneath.Lavinia sniffed the man.There was the rogue, unmistakable in its bitter note.Human blood, of course.The brimstone of a demon, an uncomfortably sulphurous odour.Then, the scent of the human himself: soap, beer, sweat, and a hint of cinnamon.
She swapped positions with Quintia, examining the woman.One of them lay beside a summoning circle carved into the floorboards with a knife.It was surrounded by symbols that meant nothing to Lavinia.They carried the odour of witchcraft, the unmistakable smell of spice that all magic brought with it.Michelle stood in the corner, staying out of the way, while Lavinia and Quintia investigated.
“I don’t get it,” Quintia said.“Humans, check.Rogue, check.And it reeks of magic.”
“There are only four,” Lavinia said slowly.
“Four what?”
“I can only smell four individuals.Plus the demon, of course.”
“So?”
“If this is the work of a summoneranda rogue, there should be five,” Octavia said.
Quintia frowned.“But that’s impossible.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Octavia said, troubled.“But I have been here for half an hour, and I am sure of it.No other person beyond these three humans and the rogue have entered this room over the last couple of days.”
“What does that mean?”Michelle asked, her voice somewhat choked.The room really did reek.Lavinia wished she could whisk her away and keep her from these horrible realities.
“Logically, it means that the rogue and the warlock are one and the same.There were never two people working together.Except that vampires have no magic.Vampires can’t be witches.No vampire has ever been born with those capabilities.”
“Until now,” Lavinia said quietly.
Octavia nodded.“Until now.”
Quintia swore.Lavinia didn’t say anything, but she agreed with the sentiment.Rogues were bad enough as they were.They had a level of animal cunning, able to hide in the corners of society until they were caught.But none of them had the foresight or capability to manipulate magic and summon demons.Lavinia had always assumed complex thought was beyond the mind of a rogue.Apparently, everything they thought they knew had been wrong.
“What do we do now?”Quintia asked.
Octavia answered, “The way I see it, there are two positives.First, we now know what we are dealing with, even if we don’t understand it.Second, we can follow the rogue’s trail.All of us have his scent now.He won’t be able to hide as easily anymore.”
“True,” Quintia growled.“Let’s go after him.”She breathed deeply, eyes closed, committing the scent’s profile to memory.Then, in a whirlwind of movement, she was gone.
“We will need to let the witches know,” Lavinia said, turning to Octavia.“Even if we’re wrong, and the warlock somehow managed to successfully cloak their scent, we can’t keep this suspicion to ourselves.”Better safe than sorry.Lavinia wasn’t keen to find out what the witches would do if they considered the treaty between vampires and witches to be broken.It had been a messy couple of centuries before the treaty was agreed upon.
Octavia nodded.“Agreed.I will call Vesta, let her run point on the communication with the Witch Council.Quintia will be tracking the rogue already, and we will join her on her trail.I imagine Luce will want to send reinforcements.If this is truly a rogue who commands magic, we need as many of us as we can spare.”
Quintia’s absence manifested as a minor itch on the edge of Lavinia’s consciousness.She had to join the hunt, join her Sister.There was only one issue: Michelle.
Michelle still stood in the corner of the room, looking lost in the shadowy interior.She had wrapped her arms around herself tightly, and the shallow and fast heartbeat that thrummed through her veins spoke of her distress.Lavinia ignored the call of the hunt and approached her, cupping her cheek, stroking that buttery skin with her thumb.“Are you alright?”she asked softly.
“Yeah.I think.”Michelle’s eyes were wide, a wisp of panic moving below the surface.“What will happen to these people?”
“When we’re done here, we notify the human police.Call from a payphone, tell them we heard or saw something suspicious.They will take everything from there.”
Michelle closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into Lavinia’s touch.“Who are they?”
