Chapter 63

☆ ☆ James ☆ ☆

I awoke with my head on Kara's lap, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and her fingers entangled in my hair; it was the best sleep I had gotten in several days. She was resting upright against the pillows, and I eased myself away from her, careful not to wake her.

I got dressed and headed to Sylas' office to train; this being Kara's first full day back, I didn't want to give him any excuses to harm her again, especially after all he had done and the loss he had recently suffered. I rushed to him so that I could return to her more quickly. I heard him on the phone when I arrived just outside his door.

He hissed, "Excellent; I'm eagerly awaiting your report." I knocked on the door frame before entering. He hung up the phone, and I asked, "What's the good news?" His nefarious grin swallowed his face, and he laughed wrathfully. He said, "I contacted some old allies, and they've tracked those flea-ridden mongrels down.

He paused briefly, "I hope they enjoyed their last meal." Stunned, I asked, "How far north did they make it?" His vile smirk could not be contained, "Tipp City, Ohio. They caught up to them while they were at a diner." Vampires could track shorter distances with no problem, but to find them so far away was a miracle.

"How?", I asked, still befuddled. Sylas replied, "Viviana, an old acquaintance from my first clan, her bloodline has the gift of prognostication. I contacted her yesterday after everything happened, and she performed a bloodletting ritual, leading us right to them. He cackled maniacally.

I asked, "Can she see about the blood bond ritual?" Sylas shook his head, "She can only use forced visions once a month; I, myself, was fortunate that she hadn't used it already when I asked her to locate them. I paused, wondering if I should question his one-tracked revenge-seeking mind. Her gift could have been put to better use, but I let it go. 

Instead, I responded, "I see." and changed the subject, "Are we going to train tonight?" Sylas paced, "I want to hear back from them first; I need to know they have successfully killed the beasts." I thought back, recalling Sylas' previous statements, and asked, "Aren't they near humans? Aren't they worried about exposure?" 

He sneered, "Viviana and her clan are small but mighty; I've paid them a hefty sum, but they are all direct descendants of the first vampires. They are older than me and, in many ways, more powerful." I asked, "How many first vampires were there?" He replied, "Seven."

I questioned more, "So there are seven different traits?" He nodded and smiled eagerly, "Would you like to hear about them?" I was intrigued, "Yes." Sylas sat in a chair, and I knelt beside him like an eager child ready for storytime. My eyes widened in preparation to hang on to every word he spoke.

He began, "The seven deadly sins gave birth to the first seven vampires to walk among the earth. Pride was the first; prognostication was their trait; being all-knowing, they often compared themselves to the Gods. The first vampire with this ability could use it endlessly, and Viviana has come a long way with her training. Initially, she could only use it once every decade." 

He continued, "Greed was the second. They could temporarily steal a human's form, voice, and personality, essentially becoming them when they fed. Their shift changed once they fed on a different entity, but they have mastered the art of intermittent feeding. Their shift also allowed them to walk in the sun doing anything that the being they fed upon could do." 

He said proudly, "Wrath was the third to emerge; hemokinesis was their trait, and we are the descendants of Wrath. Our blood manipulation allows us to destroy our enemies swiftly without them ever getting close enough to harm us. We also have a propensity for vengeance." 

He chuckled, "Envy was the fourth, not to be outdone by any of the other sins; they can commit diablerie without any of the negative connotations, their auras do not change, and they do not lose their humanity; they only gain the powers and progenies of those souls that they have devoured. They typically hunt down other vampires who have committed the act, taking their ill-gotten gains for themselves." 

He added, "Lust was the fifth; they could glamour humans, putting them in a trance-like state and controlling them for a time. More recently, they discovered that they could use their ability to cause their victims to have retrograde amnesia, although the longest they have been able to make a person forget is three hours."

He said, "Gluttony was the sixth, and his descendants are the most common vampires to date. He desired to have the most underlings, turning humans recklessly. He also failed to share his unique trait except with his first three progenies. He was able to remove the blood from his victims without even sinking a fang into them."

Sylas paused, "Luckily for us, his progenies thought better of the entire race and decided to keep this skill secretive so as not to wipe out our entire food supply. In order for a skill to be passed on, it must be taught, just like the hemokinesis ability was in you, yet you had no clue about it until I trained you." 

He continued, "Sloth, the final sin, has complete control over the recently deceased; he can essentially bring them back to life, but they are a lobotomized version of themselves. Most people are none the wiser, typically explaining away their strange behavior on depression or exhaustion, but it allows him insight into their new lives, essentially seeing the world through their eyes; it's the perfect way to gain information." His eyes gleamed at the thought.

I nodded and said, "So Viviana's clan consists of seven vampires, each with one of the descendants who has mastered the trait of their bloodline. Sylas nodded, "Precisely." I asked, "Why aren't you part of her clan?" "I chose to pursue other things.", he said, tapping on the scroll.

He added, "Besides, her blood manipulation user is far more advanced than I, and if you want to become a member of the Seven Shadows, you essentially have to dethrone a current member." I asked, "Why have I never heard of them?" He sneered, "They prefer it that way. They have always been very secretive, making moves in the night to change outcomes that you and I were never privy to."

I thought about everything he had divulged: "So they aren't just going to kill them, are they? You're going to have them use their powers to infiltrate the werewolves, aren't you?" Sylas's malicious smile returned, and he laughed deviously again: "It's perfect, right? They'll never see it coming, and this will secure our victory."

I nodded; I had no clue we were even capable of such things. I had just solidified my plan; though, I wouldn't commit diablerie to rid myself of Sylas; I would train hard enough and become so intuned with my demon that my hemokinesis could defeat the current user of the Seven Shadows. If I did that, surely they would be able to provide Kara and our unborn child protection, and in return, I would assist them with their missions.

Just then, the phone rang, I assumed, with an update. Sylas snatched it quickly and answered, sounding almost desperate. Breathlessly, he said, "Yes?" I could hear the high-pitched bird-like voice on the other end, though I couldn't quite make out what she was saying; I knew I would find out soon enough. 

I sat there holding my breath. This moment would tell me how truly powerful these vampires were. The Betas were strong and defeated the six vampires from our clan fairly easily. Seven vampires shouldn't make that much of a difference unless they truly were as powerful as Sylas claimed.

Sylas hung up the phone and grinned maliciously, "It's done." I stammered on my words, "Th-that didn't ta-take long at all." The Seven Shadows were indeed incredibly powerful. I would have to train hard to take a seat for myself. I asked, "Do you want me to train now that you've received the good news?"

Sylas waved his hand, "I don't want to train; I want to celebrate." He clapped his hands, and one of the servants brought several women into his office. "Join me for a drink, and then you can return to your bitch." I nodded as he toasted ceremoniously and took the woman by the neck, knowing that if I drank from her wrist, I would only sour his mood.

We drank in celebration, and once I was finished, I wished him a good night and told him I would return for training tomorrow. He waved his hand dismissively while draining the woman sitting on his lap. I knew his portion of the celebration would end with their corpses, but I personally wanted no part of that.

I returned to our wing as Dr. Lex was leaving, and we met on the stairs. I nodded to her politely. She asked, "Just getting home from work?" I responded, "Yes, how is Kara doing?" Dr. Lex smiled, "She's doing much better. We had to add more milk to the mashed potatoes, but I'm confident she'll be able to eat them easily in no time." I said, "That's great.", and rushed past her to see for myself.