Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

M any of the men in the foyer glanced at my daughter as we escorted her to the main entrance of the mansion. There were fewer clan members gathered in the grand foyer as it was less than an hour from dawn. Even though many vampires didn't require much sleep, they tended to retire to their rooms during the day for quiet activities.

Jana gave me a quick hug before she slipped through the door. Her car was sitting at the end of the canopy, and I waited till she got in before I turned to Rene.

"Are we meeting Manu in the conference room?"

Rene nodded and placed his hand on my back as he led me through the foyer to the hallway. We passed several distinguished-looking portraits in the hall before I stopped in front of one of them.

In the dimly-lit hallway, I found myself drawn to a portrait hanging on the wall, a perfect replica from a bygone era. My gaze locked onto the image of an older man, whose presence seemed to emanate from the canvas itself. I knew he was a vampire by the otherworldly gaze in his eyes. Years that had passed since he walked the earth, but it hadn't dulled the intensity of his painting.

His eyes seemed to cut into an onlooker's soul, as if he were whispering secrets only a vampire understood. They were a shade of indigo and held mysteries as ancient as time itself. They conveyed his life experiences. Both the joys and sorrows of a life that had spanned centuries.

His face was a medley of sharp angles and soft curves. A timeless embodiment of both danger and charisma. His pale skin, a porcelain canvas, was a stark contrast to the rich darkness of his hair cascading in untamed waves over his shoulders. The moonlight filtering through the chamber he sat in during the portrait's creation seemed to kiss his features, highlighting the regal arch of his brows and the chiseled line of his jaw.

The clothing he wore, a medley of velvet and lace that draped his rigid torso, expressed his importance in the era in which he lived. A high-collared red cloak billowed behind him, adding an air of mystery and a hint of the supernatural. As my eyes roamed over his attire, I imagined the nights when he prowled the cobbled streets, a shadow amongst shadows.

But it was his expression that held my attention—a delicate balance of sorrow and yearning, as if he had lost his connection to the light and walked in eternal darkness. His full lips held a hint of a melancholic smile, one that hinted at untold secrets.

"You must have lost a lot of people over the years. It must be hard for you to walk these halls."

Rene glanced at the painting. "Many of my brethren have passed in the last two thousand years, but Mortas was not one of them. He was the overseer prior to Siam. He was a young overseer and Siam was a skilled fighter. There are several scrolls that say Siam tricked him and his death was not true."

"I'm sure some men would use anything in their arsenal to bring down a stronger opponent."

Rene nodded. "The story suggests Mortas was entombed and there was no true ascension, but that was thousands of years ago, and he would be long dead by now, regardless of how he was killed."

I shivered. "I hope it was a fight. Buried alive and left to die of starvation. That is about as bad as it gets."

Rene nodded. "Especially for a vampire. It could take hundreds of years for the body to fully give up in such conditions."

I placed my hand on my stomach. "That's horrible. Let's head to the conference room." We passed another young couple just before we reached our destination, and they nodded respectfully at Rene.

Manu's head popped up as we entered the conference room, and it was impossible not to detect the excitement on his face. "Rene, look at this." His shiny black hair fell in his eyes when he moved and he shook it away as he pointed to a strange scroll.

Rene moved to his side of the long table so he could read the scroll Manu had unfurled on the table. "That is the last will and testament of Count Vladir. He was a clan head when Siam was the overseer, but became an author after his duties ended. I liked him. He died fifteen hundred years ago."

Manu rubbed his chin. "How did he die, Rene?"

"He was murdered. I assumed it was a monster hunter. They were still active at that time in our history."

"Maybe, but look at the scroll next to the light." He stood and placed the ancient parchment in front of a wall sconce.

Rene leaned forward as a small mark appeared. "That is a witch's mark. Specifically, Magda's. What is it doing here and how was it imbued in the scroll?"

I recognized the spell. It wasn't powerful, and most witches of power could easily perform such a feat. "Magic. A witch added the mark when the document was created."

Rene's eyes flickered. "How can you be sure it was at the same time? The mark could have been added after Vladir's scroll was created."

Manu shook his head. "I agree with Raven. This mark was on the paper before he wrote it. He either had contact with the witch or he was forced to leave this where a future generation would find it."

Rene's eyes narrowed. "You believe he was forced to seek his rest. Set up to die so this document would lead to him."

Manu nodded. "Which insinuates that either Magda, or another witch from that time, was working with the monster hunters."

Rene took the parchment from Manu. "The only thing left of Vladir is his portrait and his grave."

I gagged. "I am not into digging up a coffin from fifteen hundred years ago."

Rene shook his head. "That would not be necessary. He has a fairly-large mausoleum in the cemetery."

I shivered. "I hate crypts."

"It is still preferable to digging," Manu said.

Rene passed the page back to Manu. "You wish to search Vladir's crypt."

Manu smiled like a child with a new toy. "Yes. Very much so. It may not be a page, but I suspect it is."

Rene nodded. "We know there is a page on clan property and are already checking any leads regarding the prophecy. The three of us will check this one."

Manau glanced at the door. "Where is Cass?"

"She has some personal business to attend to," he said.

Manu rolled the scroll back up and affixed the twine, before placing it on the shelf. "I'm ready. Lead the way."

Rene took my hand and led me from the conference room as Manu followed.

I lowered my voice and leaned toward him slightly. "What is Cass doing?"

Rene and I passed several couples in the hallway as we reached the parlor. "She is training her younger members." It was Cassara's job to train the death dealers, and while there was no inflection in Rene's voice, I had a feeling there was more to it.

"She is training all the younger members. Not just Kirnen?"

Rene opened the main door for me and indicated for me to exit the mansion. "She is spending some... quality time with Kirnen."

I paused outside as Manu exited. "This better not have anything to do with him sparring with me."

Rene took my hand. "Of course it does. He is talented enough that he should not have made such a mistake."

I stopped and tried to release Rene's hand, but found him reluctant to do so. "Don't hold him accountable for my mistake. His weapon could never have done any permanent damage to an immortal."

"It could have if he stabbed you in the heart," Rene said coldly.

"He didn't aim at my heart. If you want a serious relationship between us, then you can't wrap me in cotton. I have to live that undead life the best I can. If people have to step on eggshells around me, I won't make it here."

Manu stopped and stared at the overseer. He was clearly interested in Rene's response, but he remained quiet.

Rene rolled his shoulders, and it was clear he was not used to being questioned in clan matters. "I understand." It wasn't exactly an apology, or even an admission of guilt, but I understood he was unused to changing his mind about a decision.

Manu winked at me when I glanced at him. I was expecting to drive to the mausoleum, but we turned left at the end of the canopy and made our way to a trail on the side of the mansion.

The wrought-iron gates of the private cemetery were intricate works of art. They were open slightly, as if welcoming their fellow clan members to visit. The cold breeze washed over me, sending shivers down my spine. I didn't have to ask which one we were visiting as Vladir's name was etched in thick bold letters above his final resting place. It was one of the oldest and grandest in the area.

His private mausoleum stood as a testament to a bygone era, but retained its grandeur after all this time. The stone walls were pitted and weathered by time, but seemed to tell a story in their own right. This was no ordinary burial site; it was a place of reverence for a vampire and was a reflection of the prestige he held within his clan.

The door scraped the stone loudly when Rene opened it and cobwebs stretched out before breaking their silky threads.

Inside, the air was a heavy mix of mustiness and antiquity as dust particles floated in the air from our intrusion. A hushed silence lingered around us, as if the walls held their breath in respect. Vines draped gracefully over the stone from a crack in the rear of the chamber, making a green latticework of the interior.

My footsteps echoed through the cool and damp air. It embraced me like a comforting presence as my eyes were drawn to the centerpiece—an ornate sarcophagus, adorned with delicate engravings that seemed to dance in the half-light. The details were exquisite, a testament to the craftsmanship of its creator.

"Where do we look first?" I asked, breaking the ancient silence.

Manu went to the vine-laced walls, sliding his hands over them. "There don't appear to be any unnatural indents. Look for anything that appears out of place and may have been added after Vladir's death."

We all inspected the walls, but after fifteen minutes, we had covered every nook and crevice without any success. I dusted the dirt from my hands.

"Any idea what to try next?"

Manu pointed to the sarcophagus. "We need to open it."

Rene's lips pursed slightly and while he said nothing, I was sure he was not thrilled with the idea of disturbing Vladir's eternal slumber. "I will breech the seal." He moved to the side of the intricately-carved sarcophagus and pushed on the top. There was a grating sound as a burst of stale air fermented the room and Vladir's body was exposed for the first time in fifteen hundred years.

The desiccated body of the ancient vampire lay inside the sarcophagus, wrapped in tattered remnants of what might have once been regal attire. The fabric clung to the fragile bones, reluctant to release its hold even after all these years.

He held a simple wooden staff in his hands and Manu gently took it from his grasp as Rene stared at the remains of the former clan member. It was a stark reminder that the undead were not truly immortal. They simply had a different life cycle than humans.

Manu inspected the thick circular piece of wood. It looked unimpressive except for a few strange symbols etched in a line. "This is it, but I am unsure how to open it. There doesn't appear to be a device."

Rene pushed the lid of the sarcophagus back in place. "How can you be sure that contains the page?"

Manu pointed at one of the symbols. "This one is on the first page. Vladir's seal is the last one in the line. There are a few I don't recognize."

Rene dusted off his hands before holding one out to Manu. "Let me see."

Manu handed the wooden baton to him. "Do you know what the other symbols are?"

Rene rolled the staff over in his hands. "One of these is the symbol for the overseer. I have not used it in over a thousand years."

"Why would you change your seal?"

Rene rolled his shoulders slightly. "I did not like what it represented."

I touched his back slightly. "What does the symbol mean?"

"Supremacy."

I arched an eyebrow. "Over the human race?"

"Over all races. It was the creed of the previous overseers. I changed it after the Lycans were destroyed. Victory is hollow when you have eradicated an entire species."

I pursed my lips. "Do you have a new seal?"

He nodded. "It is a symbol from the old language. It means harmony."

I smiled. "I like that."

"As do I." He continued to turn the staff over in his hand.

I felt a slight tingle and turned to glance outside the mausoleum. The breeze sent a leaf fluttering over the stone floor, but nothing was amiss. Still. The sensation in my chest continued to grow. "Do you feel that?"

Rene and Manu both turned to stare out the open stone slab that doubled as a door.

"I do not," Rene said.

Manu shook his head as I tried to focus on the source of the strange sensation. It took me a few seconds to ascertain it came from the wooden wand in Rene's hand. "May I see that?"

Rene handed it to me. "It's a spell. You need magic to open this. I hate to admit this, but a witch was involved in Vladir's death."

Rene pointed to the wand. "Can you break the ward around the scroll?"

I frowned. "I am not sure." As I held the etched wood in my hand, words formed in my mind.

"Ancient of the midnight sky, reveal the mystery that lies. Unveil your secrets deep and continue your endless sleep." The wand hummed in my hand before the end dissolved and a circular hole was revealed. I tipped the wand toward my hand before a scroll slid from within.

Manu put his hands out eagerly. "May I?"