As Collin steps toward Thomas, for the first time since their altercation begun, Victoria showcases a scared look on her face.

  However, Sincir is the one to jump from his seat before things could escate further, cpping his hands as he does so. “Okay, okay! Collin, pal, remember what you promised me?!”

  Collin pauses, growling from deep within his throat.

  “Listen, I’ll help you, but take a deep breath, okay…? And you, servant number two, stop gaping and go grab Victoria’s robe-”

  “I tore it to shreds,” Collin grumbles, all but growling again.

  “…Go grab her a new robe; And you, Thomas, for the love of the Creator, lower that toothpick before Collin shoves it where the sun doesn’t shine, will you?”

  The servants hesitate, but they begin to move after a moment, once Victoria nods in their direction.

  Seeing that nobody has died yet, Sincir releases a sigh of relief, sitting back down as he does so.

  “Lords, I’ve never seen such terrible self-preservation instincts before…”

  “It’s not that... They think I’m a joke. Not a single one of them respects me…” Collin says, sounding as though he had to force the words to come out, “Did I mentioned I was the one who convinced our master to allow Victoria to roam the city? And still, they think I’m just a pdog, unable to think or act for myself…!”

  Once Victoria screams, Sincir realizes Collin has tightened his grip to a point where strands of her hair are starting to come loose, and so he quickly rises again, approaching the vampire.

  “Hey, listen; Whatever Victoria thought of you before, I’m sure she is coming around right about now, okay? So why don’t you come sit with me for a second, while we talk about this whole thing like civilized creatures…?”

  Collin throws him a dirty look, but he does allow his shoulder to be grabbed, and Sincir to pull him away from Victoria, who immediately intakes a sharp, pained breath of air once she is released.

  “Listen, I understand why you’re angry, but beating her up won’t help things,” Sincir tells the fuming vampire as they walk toward the couch and Thomas runs toward a bloodied Victoria with a concerned expression on his face.

  “I know… I did it because I wanted to punch that smile from her face…”

  Sincir snorts. “Fair enough. Say, after we’re done here, I’m heading home, and I bet Esme wouldn’t mind sharing the bath for a second time…”

  Collin grimaces. “Mr. Sincir shouldn’t make promises in her name.”

  “You don’t want it?”

  Collin tightens his jaw, and several expressions go through his face before it eventually settles for tired acceptance. “…It occurs to me Mr. Sincir might be the one who respects me the least,” he murmurs bitterly.

  “Naw, you’re imagining things. But the bath won’t happen if you don’t behave yourself, so-”

  “I understand,” Collin cuts in with the same bitter, yet accepting tone from before, “I’ll be a good dog for the remainder of this encounter.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes, gesturing for the vampire to sit down while he himself does the same.

  Now, with Eleanor sitting by his left and Collin by his right, Sincir faces Victoria, who has been helped to a standing position by Thomas during their talk… Gring at them, she licks her bloodied lips nervously.

  Seeing the obvious defiance in her eyes, Sincir shakes his head. “I admit, if it was up to me, things would’ve been handled differently… But Victoria, you understand why Collin is so angry, yes?”

  “Shove it, the both of you.”

  Sincir sighs. “Then how about this? You’re going to crawl over her, get on your knees, and beg Collin for forgiveness; If not, each ten seconds past the end of this sentence, Collin will break one of Thomas’ bones.”

  Victoria pales.

  “…No? Nine, eight-”

  “Wait! I… I’m willing to talk.”

  Sincir smiles, then sighs sadly. “Why is it that the nice guy approach never works? I don’t exactly like being an asshole, you know…?”

  Victoria’s second servant chooses this moment to enter the room with a new robe in his hands, which he rushes to press against Victoria’s naked shoulders.

  “…Thank you, Adam.”

  Ah, so his name was Adam.

  “Lords, the three of you look pitiful. Grab something to sit down, will you?”

  “Whose house how do you think this-!”

  Seeming as though she has to go through great lengths to stop herself, Victoria takes a deep breath, then adjusts her robe, throwing her servants a look of barely contained anger.

  “…Thomas, grab us one of the couches and a table. Adam, is there food in the kitchen? For our guests?”

  Adam blinks. “We were about to prepare for dinner… Marcos should be back soon.”

  Sincir chuckles. “How many of them are there, anyway?”

  “Like you’re one to speak,” Eleanor murmurs under her breath.

  “Again, I’m not-”

  Collin clears his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’d like get this over with, as soon as possible.”

  Sincir smiles at him. “Thinking of Esme, are you?”

  “Is this a comedy skit?” Victoria butts in, gring at them as Thomas returns with another of the couches and pces it behind her… Considering the easiness with which he carried the furniture, it is obvious being a vampire servant has given him a good amount of extra strength.

  “By the way, you’re welcome for the save back there,” Sincir says, “If not for me, poor Thomas might’ve had his head separated from his shoulder a couple of times, by now.”

  “That Collin is here was your fault to begin with!”

  “Is it now? Are you sure the fault is entirely mine, dear Victoria?”

  After a moment of locked stares, Victoria humphs, taking a deep breath as she sits back and crosses her leg… If not for the fact she is now dirty, bloodied, and only half of her nails are painted, the effect might’ve been alluring.

  “I may have… Some of the bme for what happened,” she admits, “How come Collin has become your underling since the st time we talked, anyway?”

  “He was already my underling at that point…”

  Victoria’s eyes widen. “The girl! The girl I saw at your house that night! I thought one of the others had bitten her, even if she smelled like him… I see. So she is this Esme, and the reason Collin isn’t as weak as he used to be…”

  “Even in my weakened state, I’d never have lost to you,” Collin interjects grumpily.

  “I can’t believe you sold yourself for a woman,” Victoria continues, “She isn’t even-”

  “I’d stop right there,” Sincir cuts in, “I’m not sure I’d be able to appease Collin again, were you to continue.”

  “No, keep going; C’mon, tell me you think about Esme,” Collin growls, fists clenched as he stares daggers toward Victoria.

  Closing her mouth, Victoria licks her lips. “…Then? Have you found a way to handle Leon yet?”

  Wisely changing the subject, huh?

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “Have you committed yourself to becoming mine yet?”

  As he is about to pce a small table in between both couches, Thomas freezes.

  “Vic…” he murmurs, throwing her a look, “You promised not to sell yourself again…”

  Victoria clenches her jaw. “He doesn’t mean it that way,” she crifies, “And this was a necessary concession to have Leon handled once and for all, so it doesn’t count.”

  Hey, what happened with mistress? Also, should he mention Victoria tried to sell herself and he is the one who refused…?

  Thomas doesn’t seem fully convinced by Victoria’s answer, but in the end, he simply sighs and murmurs, “I’ll go grab a new change of clothes.”

  As Thomas walks away, Victoria gres at Sincir. “See what you did?”

  “One of your seven boyfriends is upset… How could I ever sleep tonight?”

  She clenches her teeth. “I hate you so damn much…”

  “And your answer?”

  “As if I have a choice! If I at least knew what you wanted from me, then I might give you a more direct answer!”

  Sincir throws Collin a look. “Have you not told her yet?”

  “Does it look like I enjoy being here?” Collin murmurs grumpily, “She could’ve found out from the others, if they all didn’t hate her as well.”

  Sincir sighs. “No wonder she is so combative.”

  “What is it?!”

  “I’m building a kingdom,” Sincir expins, causing Victoria to blink, “Well, I will, eventually. Collin over here has already committed himself to becoming one of my subjects, but we’re still in the process of convincing the other vampires to do the same.”

  Victoria opens her mouth, then closes it again.

  “I… I don’t even know where to start.”

  “I guess I’ll cover the basics,” Sincir says with a small sigh, “In exchange for servitude, I’ll allow your kind to roam under the moon unimpeded. No more fear of being uncovered, no more having to hide yourselves under the earth, no longer having to move every couple of decades in order to hide the immortality of your servants… Granted, you’ll have to obey the kingdom’s ws, just as any other citizen, but you’ll be free to come and go as you wish, otherwise; This is the deal I offered Inquiry, and the one I’m offering you, though, of course, in your case, it comes with the added bonus of Leon.”

  Again, Victoria seems at a loss for words. “Does that mean… I’d be able to perform? As myself? Without having to hide anything?”

  “That’s what I said, isn’t it? However, keep it in mind that-”

  Victoria suddenly rises, beginning to pace in front of her couch with slightly widened eyes while biting her nail and murmuring to herself thoughtfully, “Of course, the rest of the world would still see us as monsters… And how many taverns could a newly founded country even…? No, as an immortal, I need to think in the long term… People would visit, and spread the word once they leave…”

  Sincir chuckles. “I was thinking of having you as our promotion girl, actually. You could visit nearby countries, as an envoy, and tell people about our wonderful, filled with opportunity cities… It won’t happen for a while, but it is something we’ll have to think about, sooner or ter.”

  As abruptly as she had begun, Victoria stops, throwing him a look filled with suspicion as she does so. “If this is some sort of joke…”

  “It is not.”

  “…What is your objective? What do you have to gain by all of this?”

  Sincir shrugs. “Becoming a king is nice a objective in life, isn’t it? And since I don’t happen to have been born a prince…”

  Victoria swallows. “It’s too good to be true.”

  “I felt the same at first, but he seems serious about it,” Collin interjects, “And if nothing else, he has the courage… Besides, as you’ve said earlier, it is not like you have a real choice, Victoria.”

  “He said it,” Sincir adds.

  Looking as though she had the wind taken out of her, Victoria finally sits back down.

  “…Is swearing loyalty to you really all I have to do?”

  “Sort of? You understand you’re supposed to take orders from me once that happens, right?”

  Victoria grimaces. “How stupid do you think I… What I meant to ask is that-”

  “If I’m going to abuse my authority once I have it? I’m afraid you’ll have to decide that for yourself, as any answer I can personally give would be worthless.”

  Victoria takes a deep breath, then shakes her head. “I admit, you have me interested.”

  Sincir smiles. “In this case, let’s talk about Leon... Collin?”

  The vampire sighs. “As you’ve tasked me with, I have found a way to approach the duke’s son.”

  “Well, had you failed, this would’ve been quite the awkward point in the conversation… What have you got for me?”

  “Tomorrow, he’ll be throwing a party in one of his favorite taverns. It is not the ideal set up for a murder, but the rooms upstairs will be empty, and considering the deadline you gave me…” Collin continues.

  “Is that the one you’re supposed to perform in, Victoria?”

  She grimaces. “No, it is not.”

  “Collin?”

  “Coincidentally, one of Gracelyn’s human servants will be working at the party as a waitress, and she says she is able to acquire invites… I was hoping your magic would do the rest.”

  Gracelyn... Sincir remembers her, as she was the female vampire who butted heads with Collin during their first meeting.

  “Could she grant us access to the tavern before the party starts?” Sincir asks, to which Collin nods. “In this case, the traces we might leave behind would be the only problem, magical and otherwise...”

  “Killing Leon would be a problem in and on itself,” Collin adds, “At least for my people.”

  “Which means we should find a way to have him quiet down without going that far… Any ideas? Victoria?”

  She sighs. “You think I haven’t tried? He seems to think the world is his pyground, and his delusion makes him dangerous, unpredictable…”

  “How old is he?” Sincir asks curiously.

  “Seventeen, st I heard,” Collin supplies.

  Sincir blinks, then grimaces. “…Are you seriously asking me to kill a seventeen-year-old, Victoria?”

  Victoria tightens her jaw. “I’d have done it myself, if not for many of his friends knowing about our retionship.”

  “A seventeen-year-old fucked you in front of your boyfriends…?”

  Victoria’s cheeks turn crimson, and she gres at him. “Do not dare to mention this in front of any of them.”

  With a sigh, Sincir waves his hand dismissively. “Perish the thought. What’s your deal with them, anyway? Are they sves? Forced to do anything you tell them to?”

  It seems to take Victoria a good amount of effort to control herself, but she does manage, after a few breaths and an ice-cold look thrown at him.

  “They swore certain vows when they pleaded their existence to me… Willingly, I might add. If you must know, I haven’t asked of them anything unusual for a vampire’s servant… This is how things are often done by our kind.”

  “Did they know they’d be sharing…?”

  “Yes, they knew what I expected of them, and they are free to leave, if they so wish.”

  “Are you able to physically force them to do something, or is their servitude merely volunteered?”

  Victoria sighs. “I am able to exert some amount of control over their will, but it is not easy, and so far, I’ve seldom had to utilize such drastic measures… They love me, and I feel the same for them. Satisfied?”

  “Can they see other girls?”

  “No, they cannot.”

  “Jealous type, are you? And you have so many of them, too…”

  Victoria clenches her teeth. “Is there a point to any of this?”

  Sincir chuckles. “Collin, if it were you, would you be able to force a human servant to behave?”

  Collin blinks. “I confess I have little experience in the matter… But drinking human blood, and being as old as I am, it should be possible, yes.”

  “To what extent?”

  “Again, not much experience… I wager I should be able to force them to do anything, as long as we are in the same room. However, during the day, they’d be free of my influence.”

  “Could you force them to tell the truth? Confess their worst sins?”

  “…Yes, I could.”

  “Please expin to me what the process of creating a human servant entails.”

  At this point, Collin hesitates. “Are you thinking of…?”

  “Maybe. I need to know more about how this all works, first… Don’t worry, I won’t force you, if you feel disgusted by the idea.”

  “No, many of our kind have non-sexual retionships with their servants, it’s just that…”

  “You don’t like the idea of having a non-willing servant?”

  “It is dangerous, not to say of poor taste, to force such a fate upon a human.”

  “With you sleeping at Inquiry, he wouldn’t be able to threaten you... That being said, is there a way to undo such a bond, once created?”

  “Yes, but it takes a lot from both vampire and servant… More often than not, the servant will carry consequences created by the process of losing the gifts they acquired with the bond. If too much time has passed since it has been created, then they’ll die, simple as that.”

  Sincir sighs. “I think we might not have much of a choice, in this case. Leon is dangerous, but killing him might be even more so… Our options for dealing with him aren’t exactly abundant.”

  Collin lowers his gaze, becoming thoughtful.

  Meanwhile, Victoria has a huge smile on her face.

  “What?” Sincir asks her.

  “Collin, once the process is done, give him to me for a week… No, even a day will do…” she murmurs alluringly.

  Collin grimaces. “If you think I’m letting you touch one of my servants, you’ve lost your mind… If somebody is going to punish him, then I’ll be the one to do it.”

  “Bet you’re now regretting how you treated Collin so far, Victoria…” Sincir butts in with a smile.

  Victoria snorts. “Becoming Collin’s servant is punishment enough, I wager. Poor Leon will never see another woman, for the rest of eternity.”

  Collin growls. “Can I beat her up again…?”

  “Calm down, the both of you. Collin, does this mean you’re willing?”

  Collin sighs. “Yes... As much as she is to bme, the fact Leon knows about us goes beyond Victoria, or even my distaste for her. The problem is, a human must be willing, in order to become a servant…”

  “Is there something magical about that fact?”

  Collin cocks his head. “I’m uncertain… As far as I’m aware, so long as they possess an honest desire to accept the vampire’s blood, the process will be successful… Otherwise, it’ll not.”

  “A bit of persuasion should work, then; You can leave that part to me. What about the process itself?”

  “It is not complicated. The vampire drinks the human’s blood, while the human drinks the vampire’s… If the desire is there, the change will begin; If not, nothing will happen. There is usually a ceremony involved, but it is a tradition, not a necessity.”

  “You wager we could get it done in half a night?”

  “Depending on how long it’ll take for Mr. Sincir to persuade Leon? Yes.”

  Sincir nods. “It is settled, then. We’ll need to think on how we’ll control Leon once he is your servant, and I’ll need access to the room we’ll use at least a couple of hours before the party starts, but this is a much better pn than simply killing him...”

  A sudden clearing of throat attracts Sincir’s gaze toward the room’s entrance, where he spots Adam, finally returned from the kitchen, as well as a tall, bck skinned man, carrying a tray of snacks in his hands.

  Marcos, he presumes?

  Having politely announced their presence, the men walk in, Marcus with a frown on his face as he inspects Victoria’s current state, and Adam with a nervous one.

  “I see you like them handsome and tall…” Sincir comments, fshing Victoria a grin as he does so.

  She grimaces, then gestures toward Marcos, currently pcing a pair of ptes in front of them.

  “This is Marcos, my oldest servant. He cares for our house, and the yard, as well as the food… Most of which is for his own benefit, ironically enough.”

  Marcos smiles. “The others enjoy my work just as much, Mistress,” he retorts, his voice deep and almost as melodic as that of his mistress.

  Victoria sighs. “Come sit with me, the both of you. Where is Thomas?”

  “I asked him to go warn the tavern about the show being canceled,” Adam answers, “He’ll say Mistress caught a cold and apologize… I thought it might be a good idea to have him cool his head, for a while.”

  Victoria nods. “You did good... Now come here.”

  Once both Marcus and Adam are sitting by her, Victoria turns her gaze toward Sincir once more… With them here, or perhaps because of Marcus in specific, she seems decidedly calmer.

  Is it that she doesn’t wish to show them her ugly side? Well, it’s a bit te for that, when it comes to Adam and Thomas…

  “…How is the food?” Victoria asks.

  Sincir stops chewing for long enough to smile at her. “It’s nice. Marcus is a good cook… Eleanor, aren’t you going to try some? You’ve been awfully quiet this whole time.”

  Suddenly under the room’s attention, Eleanor fidgets uncomfortably on her seat, grimacing. “I didn’t have much to add.”

  “Nonsense, you’re at least twice as intelligent as Victoria over there… What do you think about our pn to make Leon a servant? Too nice? Too cruel?”

  As both Victoria and Marcus grimace over his comment, Eleanor sighs.

  “If even half of what I heard about him is true, Leon has it coming, and I’m sure Collin will make for a merciful master… As for the pn, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. With Collin being able to force him to tell the truth, it’ll be easy to gauge his intentions, and crush any resistance before it can take root.”

  Sincir nods. “You’ll have to keep a tight leash on him, Collin… Think you can manage?”

  “It doesn’t sound as if I have much of a choice…”

  “Then it is decided… At least now you won’t have to worry about blood.”

  Collin makes a face. “Is there a reason why I must…?”

  “Everything would be much easier if he fell in love with you.”

  “…Please don’t joke.”

  Sincir chuckles. “Anyway, now that the Leon problem is settled, there is something I wanted to ask from my faithful vampire subjects currently present in the room…”

  As Marcus and Adam throw Victoria a questioning look, she sighs. “I’ll expin ter. What is it, Sincir?”

  “The sooner you wrap your head around-”

  “I know. Please, it has been a lot to handle, already.”

  Fshing her an appeasing smile, Sincir raises his palms. “You’re right. I’m sorry… This has to do with the disappearances happening across town, recently. Do either of you happen to know something about it?”

  Collin’s expression darkens, while Victoria and her men exchange gnces.

  “…By your expressions, I see that you do.”

  “We’ve been trying to catch the culprit, with little to no success so far,” Collin admits bitterly.

  “Victoria?”

  “I’m afraid there’s not much to share on our end, either. Thomas is a part of the city guard, but what little information he was given by his superiors doesn’t help much… Really, the only lead they have is what the mages of the Council where able to find: traces of dark magic.”

  Sincir blinks. Dark magic… In other words, shadow magic, his people’s bread and butter.

  “…Cultists, then. Demon contractors.”

  Victoria nods, and out of the corner of his vision, Sincir notices that Eleanor has gone pale.

  “I suppose it makes sense… They need people for their rituals, and they can offer more than just money to entice the common popuce…”

  “Why would anyone…” Eleanor murmurs through clenched teeth, her disgust obvious in her voice.

  Sincir shrugs. “Power, knowledge, riches… Even immortality. A powerful demon has much to offer for those willing to pay the price, and mortals often don’t understand what they are signing up for until it is too te.”

  Eleanor sighs. “If this many people have disappeared…”

  “They are pnning something big,” Sincir completes, nodding.

  But how big, exactly, is still a question… He feels as thought he is still missing a piece of the puzzle, when it comes to these disappearances. Cultists tend to be much less bold than this, and they have no need for a member of nobility to make part in their sacrifices…

  “More importantly, there is a chance No’s father is being kept alive, as well as some of the disappeared people, if they are pnning for a big sacrifice in the future. If we manage to find their ir…”

  “You mentioned that No thinks they have an interest in her nds,” Eleanor says, “Is it possible for their hideout to be located somewhere in it?”

  Sincir pauses. “But No’s nds… The nest? Insect Burrows? If they are hiding near it…”

  “Or in it... It’d make it almost impossible for anyone to track them, let alone rescue the hostages,” Eleanor continues, her voice now slightly shaky, “And if push comes to shove, they can always escape through one of the many exits...”

  It’d expin their boldness, and how no one was able to find any bodies so far… They must have a way to find their way through the nest, and perhaps even fend off the insects without having to fight them… A scary thought, for certain.

  Sincir takes a deep breath. “…Fuck.”

  “What now?” Victoria asks.

  “If we are right… Then it is imperative they do not realize we already know so much about them. Having they leverage the hostages against us or move locations before we can strike would put us in too much of a disadvantage; However, if we manage to rescue these people before they’re sacrificed, then…”

  “We must find their hideout,” Collin summarizes, “But without giving them reason to suspect we are coming.”

  “Easier said than done, I’m afraid… But yes.”

  Sincir leans against the couch’s backrest, grabbing his chin thoughtfully.

  “Eleanor, you said Insect Burrows’ closest entry point is three or so hours from the city, right?”

  She nods. “But there’s more than one entry at simir distances… Many more.”

  “Still, they’d have to carry their victims across that distance… Collin, do you think it’d be possible to pce your people in between the two pces?”

  “Yes, but they’d have to return a couple of hours before dawn… Following the cultists too far in would risk them being outside at sunup.”

  “For now, we should focus on finding out which routes they usually take, their numbers, and if they’re really stationed within the nest, rather than simply in its vicinity. Depending on the information we gather…”

  Collin nods. “I’ll make sure they understand they are to remain undetected, and follow from a safe distance, in the case they happen to spot the cultists... If you’re right about the location of their ir, Miss Eleanor, I wager it won’t take much time for it to happen.”

  “We have good senses,” Victoria supplies, “As you well know.”

  Sincir nods. It won’t be easy, but with this new information, they might have a chance of stopping the fools before it is too te…

  He only hopes it isn’t already so.

  JBDantas

  Reminder about the nests:

  Insect Burrows: Spawns insects, has been theorized to be 20 years old or so, and it is possibly the cultists’ hiding spot, with it’s closest entry point being three hours or so from the city.

  Mud Holes: Spawns reptiles, and has been theorized to be 30 years old, with it’s closest entry point being four hours or so from Elderspire.

  Garden Of Fire: Spawns elementals, and it is one of the original nests to have appeared in Itera, being more than 100 years old, and the furthest nest from the city, with its closest point being more than eight hours away.

  [colpse]