The flashlights cast an eerie glow over the woods as the K9 dogs barked into the silence of the night, sniffing out every trail. The police officers' voices could be heard; they were holding heavy chains to keep the dogs in check.
Aleksander sat on a tree branch, high above the others, watching the activities below. "Even the innocent souls have made it their duty to poke the den of their predators," he thought to himself.
He began to glide through the woods and suddenly jumped into the sky, recreating a scenario where his shadow was cast onto the moon.
The Count's Mansion
Ethan sat at the edge of the dining table, wearing a white corporate shirt and tie, sipping from his cup. He was busy examining the photographs laid out on the table.
Lisa said, "After a while of peace and comfort, our brother decided to come back."
Ethan replied, "Maybe the killings might be a hunt game from the society."
Lisa responded, "The society has its own rules, Ethan."
Ethan said, "Rules are always rules, until they are broken."
Lisa added, "I won't count that as your long-time enmity with Silas Deane."
Ethan gave her a long stare, then swung the photographs across the room. Lisa skimmed through them as Ethan stood up, placing his chair back into the table like a gentleman. He vanished into thin air and reappeared holding a suit and an umbrella.
"Follow me; we're going to the quarters," Ethan said.
As they walked out, Caleb appeared and said to Ethan, "Brother, you should learn to live and love life. All these things you're busy with aren't helping you."
Ethan replied, "We all have our own demons to take care of."
Caleb said, "Our brother can't be the demon always; it might be you this time."
Ethan smiled, and a cab stopped to pick them up. They arrived in an area of the city with high buildings and loud noises. Ethan wore gloves to cover his hands, and Lisa entered the quarter.
The sound of jazz music filled the air as a boy ran into Lisa. Lisa knelt down and asked, "What's your name, boy?"
He didn't answer, chewing on his thumb instead. Lisa asked again, this time with golden-yellow eyes, and the boy replied, "Lucien."
Lisa sighed, "Hm, Lucien, you should probably stop running around."
Ethan said, "Are you done?" and walked away, entering a building. He immediately called out, "Silas Deane!" The rowdiness ceased, and he approached the crowd.
His eyes were golden-yellow, and like a resonating effect, every other person's eyes glowed in response. There was an immediate murmuring within the crowd: "The Count's are here."
Lisa asked, "Can any of you call Silas?"
Someone responded, "You don't get the power to order us around."
Lisa went after him, raising him into mid-air. "Seems you're a newbie vampire; your scent is still green." She smacked him into a wall and yelled, "You newbie vampires should learn how to respect your elders."
A caramel-skinned man wearing dark shades said loudly, "Yes, he's just stating a fact; you have no power to order them around."
Ethan said, "Silas Deane."
Silas walked towards them, removing his dark shades. "Long time no see, Ethan D'Oreal Count, Clarissa D'maria Count. I hope you weren't expecting a more polite form of greeting, like Ethan. How are you, brothers Aleksander and Caleb? Nah, you aren't getting those here because you can't just come into THE SOCIETY grounds because you're a count and a primordial vampire, believing you are."
He stopped and walked towards Lisa, continuing, "Gods, in the quarters, in the society, I am the only one; I am the god here, whether you're a God-forsaken witch or a rampage werewolf or a primordial vampire. As long as you're on society grounds, I am the only one with power."
Ethan smiled, removing his gloves, and held Silas by the shoulder. "You're the god here, right? Unless you don't want me to be the one who kills the god, shut up and listen." His eyes gave a sharp glow.
Silas understood the gesture and said, "What brings you to the society? I banned your family from the society a long time ago."
Ethan moved a chair and sat down. "If you would excuse me, recently in New Orleans, there have been several killings being investigated by the police officers. I looked into it personally, and they can be tied to a rampage vampire."
Silas retorted, "Why not a werewolf or a witch?"
Ethan replied, "You aren't speaking for them."
Silas said, "Here in the society, we vampires don't kill innocent humans."
Lisa added, "From where my brother stopped, so we might be actually looking for a killer who might be hiding within you vampires."
A lady who looked like Silas' right-hand man answered, "How do you expect us to provide you with any killer? It might be your brother Aleksander."
Silas said, "Right! Maybe you forgot to ring your brother's hotline."
Ethan said, "If he is truly responsible, I will find him myself and deal with him."
Silas said, "Then we have a deal."
The Counts left the hall as Silas called together every vampire, saying, "The Count's want the killer."
A vampire retorted, "They can't order around the god of the society."
Silas said, "The society is a den of peaceful and raging vampires alike. I alone know what it means to have the Count's family back in action, two primordial vampires. Even the blood purge couldn't keep them away."
Marie, Silas' right-hand man, asked, "Are you scared, Silas?"
Silas said, "Those two are nothing compared to Aleksander. He is the demon to be scared of."
Marie said, "No matter who he is."
Silas said, "If Ethan himself isn't walking into Alek's den, then it might be your own death trap."
He looked at his own arm, where there were scars from his wrists to his shoulder. A memory flashed in his mind: a younger Silas, covered in darkness, bleeding profusely from every opening in his face. Alek was walking towards him, almost covered in a shadow-like aura emitting from his body. His eyes were completely black as he diminished Silas' life source.
Silas immediately snapped out of the flashback and said to himself, "I am going to make the whole family pay."
Marie entered a place like a graveyard, where people dressed in black, wearing beads, and all had a white mark on their foreheads.
Marie said aloud, "Witches of New Orleans."
A woman in white, holding a staff, answered, "What again? Do you vampires want? Silas wants to take everything from us, right?"
Marie said, "It would be such a pity, but he only wants you to find Aleksander D'thane Count."
The woman in fear said, "Aleksander."
Rhenna, a woman being held by two younger ladies, said, "The dark beast."
Marie held Rhenna by the neck. Rhenna's eyes suddenly turned white as she began to experience seizures, speaking in a strange voice, "The Count is running thin. He who is closer than blood and subtle like water will come after you all."
She began to speak in an ancient language when a wave blew Marie to the gate. Annabelle, the woman in white, who was the Straylin Bearer, the title of the queen of the witches, started to speak in the ancient language as well, hitting the ground with her staff. Rhenna fell to the ground, and Marie disappeared into thin air.
Night fell, and voices could be heard, "Tasha, Tasha." There was no answer. A lady ran down the street, running down an alley, when suddenly there was a piercing sound to her chest from nowhere. She bled profusely as she fell to the ground. Her lifeless body was dragged into a building as the killer lit a candle and picked a severed finger belonging to a vampire. He used it to slash her forehead, wrist, neck, and ankle.
Meanwhile, in Alek's abode, Lydia watched Alek, who was busy stargazing. As she walked towards him, Alek's mind was caught up in a flashback where he was standing in front of a little hut, from which came a loud scream. He moved to another memory where he was stabbed with a silver dagger and another memory where he was hugging someone, and the person's face wasn't shown as he plucked out the person's heart, and blood splashed on his face.
Lydia called out to him, "Hey, Mister."
Alek turned to her, his eyes glowing in the dark.
Lydia said to him, "You are a vampire, aren't you?"
Alek replied, "Yes, I am."
Lydia continued, "I thought vampires turned into bats at night and sucked on human blood."
Alek answered, "Such fallacy can only be brought up by minuscule creatures."
Lydia asked inquisitively, "Why do you live here?"
Alek said, "I love it here."
She looked into Alek's eyes as he said to her, "Don't stare; I could rip your throat."
Lydia said, "I know you can do that, but you won't."
Alek, with his glowing eyes, said, "Don't I look intimidating as a devil?"
Lydia said, "I would love to learn more, if you would spare me till then."
Alek said, "Unless you want a quick death, you won't wish to learn about what vampires are."
Lydia smiled and asked him, "What is your name?"
Alek replied, "I am Aleksander D'thane Count."
Lydia asked, "What do you desire, Aleksander D'thane Count?"
He answered with a smirk, "Power, fear, and respect. The whole of Louisiana kneeling before me."
He looked into the sky and said to her, "In the next 25 hours, the police officers will be all over this house. Once they find you, you can go with them."
Lydia said, "I have my own right to decide what to do."
Alek vanished into thin air.