CHAPTER SIX

Martin drove in his car alone. His thoughts drifted to the woman he met today. Alice that was her name. Her face reminded him of Patricia. She was his fiance back then. They loved each other with their whole hearths. Despite their differences, her being human and him a vampire she still accepted him for who he was. She made him feel special in a way he couldn't explain and she was his hope of a normal life not until she was killed. He had been broken since then.

He thought all those feelings and emotions had been buried but he was certainly wrong. As soon as he saw Alice everything came rushing back to him and it took everything within him not to break into a sob immediately he saw her. He shook his head to clear his haze. She mustn't get to him. He knew what would happen if he should fall in love with another woman. She would be made an example. But Alice seemed different from other women.

He finally arrived at where he was heading to. He packed his vehicle and walked into the building. The building was built with brick and the walls were very thick. The windows were also few and covered thoroughly so not even a tiny amount of light could pass through it. He walked out of his car. This was one of the meeting places for most of the vampires in the city.

He walked in majestically. Most of the vampires in here couldn't walk out during daytime as the sun would burn them off. He was lucky that he could walk in sunlight because he was the product of a higher born vampire. Only higher born vampires from distinct bloodline could survive in the sun. His mother married a royal prince and hence gave him a son. They however didn't last long enough when a coup took place which led to their execution. He however was saved as his parents managed to sneak him out of their palace before they were caught. He had been on his own since then. All that happened when he was seventeen. He wasn't even sure which of the bloodline attacked his kingdom not that it mattered anyway.

He stepped into the building and walked through a tunnel like pathway. It was dark which was what vampires loved. He reached a door which had an electronic card ID as security clearance on the door. He brought out his card and placed it on the scanner. He waited a few seconds as it scanned it and the door beeped and unlocked. He placed his card back into his pocket and walked into it.

The moment he walked into the room the blaring of speakers and music hit him. "Come on guys",he complained, "don't tell me you're partying again."

"Come here and take a drink" one of them said. The man looked much older in appearance than Martin though this was mainly due to his rough face and scars which were scattered across his face signs that he must have lived a hard life and fought so many battles.

"Not everyone is privileged to walk in daytime" he said, " what better ways to spend our time before the sun goes down." Martin smiled. He knew he was right. He walked towards where the man was and sat down on a chair.

"What would you like to drink?" The man ask.

"Something hot" Martin replied. "Give me vodka." The man smiled to himself as he brought out a drink from the shelf and also a little cup. He set it down and poured a drink for Martin which he accepted and gulped down its contents quickly. He stretched the cup to the man and the man poured him another.

Martin's mind drifted to Alice. Something was off about her. Her scent was distinct. It was somehow dense and his senses picked it as danger. Coming near her made it almost choking. There were only few people in the world who had those kinds of effects on vampires. They were vampire hunters. He wondered why he couldn't pick that up sooner. Perhaps it was because he was ruminating over her face and its resemblance with Patricia. The thing about her was she didn't know who she was. No vampire hunter will come near a vampire and not know. She must have sensed him but didn't know or she was playing a game with him either way it was bad for her and.....

"What's her name?" The rugged man asked. Martin almost choked himself on his drink.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on", the man said, "I know that face, you can't fool me. The last time I saw that face was when you were with Patricia." "I don't know what you're talking about", Martin denied. He wondered what the man must have seen on his face to jump into such conclusions.

"I won't force you to open up to me" the man said, " and I can't dictate to you what to do as you are more than two hundred years old, what I can tell you for sure is don't make the same mistake twice. You saw what happened to Patricia, she made you weak and vulnerable. Thank God our boss was quick to correct you."

"Having someone to love you doesn't make you weak" Martin almost screamed, his anger flared dangerously, "having someone to love you only makes you stronger and more determined as you would do anything and go to any length for that person."

The man smiled at Martin, " but what happens at the end of it all, she died and you were left broken and miserable something shameful for a highborn vampire like you that's why you became weaker than us all."

Martin's eyes turned crimson immediately, his wrist balled into a fist. "Take that back" he said in an inhuman voice. Danger flashed about him. Everyone in the room turned to him not that he cared anyway. If he wanted to he could kill them all within a short amount of time.

The door suddenly opened and Norman walked in. All eyes turned to him immediately as he walked and everyone gave a slight bow. Martin closed his eyes and calmed himself down. He shot the man a warning look.

Norman walked towards Martin and sat on a chair beside him. He could tell the room was in tension before he came in. It didn't matter to him, he had problems of his as it is.

"Welcome boss" Martin said dryly. Norman nodded at him eying the drink beside him. " Someone's in a bad mood" he said.

Martin shook his head. "Just stress from work is all. "

"Give me a bottle of whisky" he ordered. The man took a bottle from the shelve and poured some of its content into a glass. Norman drank it quickly and offered the cup for more.

"Looks like you're the one in a bad mood" Martin said, "what's wrong?"

Norman glanced at him. " Tell me, what's going on in that office of yours." Martin sat straight. "We've started discovering bodies in the city" he said.

"People die everyday in this city", Norman said nonchalantly.

"Not like this" Martin pressed. "They have their skins peeled off and left on the street. I've seen the bodies. It's the work of a vampire not just any vampire I think an ancient vampire. The marks on the body,the way the murder is done, the depths of the scratches, I think no random vampire could do that that smoothly and smartly."

"What if you're wrong?" Norman asked, "thought of that,it could be an angry vampire taking out revenge."

"Three murders" Martin said, " all connected to the same person. The murder was done for hours probably. The person was patient, besides I've seen the marks on the body only patient and ancient vampires can do that. Another thing is the same pattern of murder also happened in New York."

"How do you know this?" Norman asked eying Martin as he gulped down the content of his cup.

Martin bit his lips, he didn't want the conversation to head that way. "A female detective told me" he replied, " she was transferred from NYPD to look into the case."

"Why would they do that?" Norman asked , "I mean aren't you all competent enough?"

"I guess she seeked transfer here", Martin said.

"Sounds like she took it personal" Norman said, "tell me how was the victim related to her?"

Martin's breathing was becoming shallow, he knew where the conversation was headed. He paused a bit, "they were her husband and child", he finally said.

Norman became thoughtful for a while, "you know earlier today I saw someone I couldn't compel. A man, he also had a sister who I believe couldn't be compelled too. From what you're telling me I can say that the female detective was lured here by someone. I can say everything is connected. Did you notice anything strange in her? Her scent or maybe something not human."

Martin clenched his fist tightly. The dreaded question was here. He wasn't sure of what to do. If he lies to Norman now and Norman later finds out and he will anyway that he knew she was a vampire hunter and kept it from him, well he'll be pissed and chop his head off but if he tells Norman about her, he'll hunt her and kill her. Martin couldn't stomach the thought of loosing her. Memories of Patricia flooded through his mind.

" No" he finally replied.

Norman gave him a suspicious look. " Are you sure?" He asked.

"I'm sure" Martin replied ",she's human". He took a quick sip of his vodka and stood up. " I have to go" he announced. "They'll be expecting me in the office." He rushed towards the door and went away. Norman trailed him with his eyes till he disappeared behind the door. Norman knew something was wrong. He could hear Martin's hearth beating wildly and rapidly against his chest which meant he was lying.

"Ivan!" He called and shortly after a vampire appeared before him. The vampire was also a highborn like Martin except he was lower in ranking. The man at the bar stared at them. He didn't want to tell Norman about the girl Martin was probably drooling about. He feared for Martin's life.

"Follow Martin wherever he goes and report to me whatever he does." "Yes sir" Ivan replied and turned to go.

"One more thing" Norman called out. "Find out what you know about the new detective in Martin's office."

"Yes sir" Ivan replied again and left disappearing behind the door. Norman took more sips, he could feel the frustration getting to him. Everything was suddenly going wrong under his watch and now his best man couldn't be trusted.

"Shit!" He cursed aloud, he hoped he was mistaken, he hoped Martin wasn't lying to him. The last thing he wanted to do was punish his best man.