July 6, 2002 – 01:00
"Wait, it worked? That was what? 5 months ago?"
"Damn right, it worked. As far as Father is concerned, you're now considered like family."
"I wasn't sure if it would. I'm still a beginner when it comes to creating spelled objects and never done a cursed one before. You found out who was after your family?"
"Oh yes! The vampire we captured that night wouldn't talk, kept claiming he didn't know anything about it, so my dad killed him. The troll, however, turned out to be a chatty box. He did not appreciate the djinn controlling him that night, he didn't want to attack Charlie, so he talked out of spite."
"Never piss off a troll, people say."
"You know it! He didn't know much about the vase, but he said that the djinn had been mentioning the name Alfredino a lot and that he'd been talking to an English vampire from London the night before, at a motel in the outskirts of Chicago."
"Hmm so that English vampire is probably the one who wanted the vase."
"Yes, but not for himself. I'm not done, sis. There's more."
Coralis drank the remaining of her glass and Frank refilled it.
"You're talking about the night you started explaining your world to me, right?" he said, looking at Coralis.
"Oh hey, Frank! I think I need to come to Montreal just to meet you. If you're referring to a night she went back home covered in vampire and goblin blood from head to toe, yes it probably is. The vase saga started about 2 weeks prior, but that night, Blue's cursed replica got stolen and we took in the two prisoners I mentioned."
"Hi! Princess Veronica, right?"
"Yes, but no. I'm Veronica to you. If Blue told you about us, that means she needs to take you to The Bloody Velvet. Don't worry, we won't bite you."
"You said there's more?" said Coralis, wanting to go back to the topic at hand.
"Ahhh, yes! As I was saying, there's more. Grok is the troll's name. After Grok told us about the English vampire, my dad sent Hendrick to London with two warriors to investigate it and see if he was telling us the truth. Ready for what's next?"
"You sound like you're drooling over your story."
"Almost sis, almost. Hendrick did find the clan of vampires who wanted the vase. They were indeed based in London. Do you know a vampire named Plurio Van Lur?"
"Yeah, I do. He's a nasty one. After I graduated school and started my apprenticeship with the EBEE, he wouldn't leave me alone for a while. He kept sending me vampires to convince me to work for his clan, arguing that he and I working together would make us unstoppable and that we should rule the city's underworld together. I killed all of the vampires he sent me."
"Hendrick spoke with the ruling clan in London. They have been able to identify the vampire the djinn had been talking to, based on Grok's description."
"Was Plurio the vampire Grok saw the djinn talking to?" said Coralis.
"No, it was Marcus Belair, his second-in-command. Apparently, they have been stirring a lot of trouble in the past years. It took some time for my brother to find him, even his clan members were hard to find."
"If the vase wasn't for Marcus, I guess Plurio wanted it… and got the EBEE to inquire about it. Did he find the vase?"
"Yes. Turns out, Plurio was a good friend of Alfredino. My brother saw one of his clan members having lunch with him once. He hasn't been able to overhear their conversation, security was pretty tight around them, he said. He also thinks that magic was involved to make sure no one could overhear them."
"There probably was. If Alfredino is involved with Plurio's clan, that ain't good news."
"It's really not. Hendrick managed to follow the vampire to a blood den type of club on the city's outskirts. With his warriors, they went in there during the night and sneaked into a trap leading into tunnels… and they stumbled into bodies… You know that we don't just die, right? Either you behead us or burn us, but we don't just lay there."
"Were they passed out because they haven't drunk blood in too long? Which would be odd, considering the blood den club above."
"They were passed out all right, but not from lack of blood, no. My brother and his warriors found Plurio's lair, his… throne room. In there, he saw Marcus unconscious in the middle of the room, next to the vase. In the vase… he saw a pile of half-burned bones, covered by overcooked muscles, melted skin, and hair all around. It was gross, his words, and you know Hendrick doesn't get grossed out."
Frank started laughing.
"Ahhh see, your dude gets it, and I'm not even done with the story, the funniest part has yet to come," continued Veronica.
"I wanted it to boil the blood of whoever would fill it with holy water and bathe in it. A vampire soul isn't quite the same as an elemental or a shifter one, but there is one… I coated the inside of the vase with a spell that would activate upon contact with holy water and a vampire… to enter his soul and aura… and search for all the places his imprint could be found… in any vampires he ever created… to cryoprecipitate… and cryocautery… frozen plasma and tissue… so not dead, but… well…"
"And it worked all right. Remind me to never piss you off. You kind of decimated an entire clan of naughty vampires just like that, and you said you've never done cursed objects? Damn girl, I don't wanna see you mad at someone. No, scratch that, I do wanna see that."
"And just like that, you probably made new enemies," said Frank, as he pulled her back against his chest and held her tight against him.
"Yes, she did, as if she didn't have enough already and she's nowhere close to my age. Thankfully, besides us and Eva, no one knows that she's the one who made the cursed vase and we'll keep it that way. My brother and his warriors helped the ruling clan transport the unconscious vampires they found into their dungeons. They killed all of the walking vampires from Plurio's clan… and there weren't many still walking."
"Glad to see it worked, did your brother take the vase back to Chicago?"
"Yes, and we put it where it originally was. Bet no one will go after it again, you know that story will spread. The real one is still acting like a huge flower pot in my room. Wanna hear the best part?"
"I thought a dead Plurio was the best part."
"And I told you I wasn't done. None of the unconscious vampires woke up."