Chapter Eight

Alexandru was carefully tending to the Venus flytraps his pet had him nurturing in the greenhouse when he suddenly felt the hairs of his nape standing up and evil eyes glaring at his back.

“Rule #23.5 Verbal abuse from Masters should be considered a serious offense and violators should be sanctioned accordingly.”

He turned around, saying in exasperation, “I haven’t even said anything yet.”

She continued glaring at him.

He threw his hands up. “What do you want me to say, pet? I’ve already apologized for that incident, have I not? I have expressed my support for this proposal of yours—-”

“The sanction for this offense is for a Master to serenade his pet in public.”

His brow shot up.

She said seriously, “And it has to be a Sam Smith song. No one sings love songs like Sam Smith, Master.”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “Who the fuck is Sam Smith?”

WHEN EROU RECEIVED the summons from Alexandru, he knew what it meant. A meeting at midnight in a location outside the school? It was a duel, definitely, and one he was determined to win.

But when he reached his destination, he was stunned to find the hunter accompanied by his men, and all of them were dressed for battle.

He said in disgust, “I had expected more from you, Lord Alexandru.”

Alexandru only smiled. “Is that so?”

Someone stepped out from behind the older vampire, and Erou was even more surprised to discover it was Zari. She was not wearing her school uniform. Instead, she had on a cotton shirt and jeans, and her feet were clad in heavy-duty sneakers. He shook his head in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

She appeared just as shocked. “What are you doing here?”

What the hell was this? Had the human girl just been leading him all along? Erou said coldly, “I’m not sure what game you’re playing—-”

“I’m not playing any games,” Zari protested, her eyes darting nervously between Lord Erou and her Master...for now.

A smile that didn’t reach his eyes still playing on his lips, Alexandru was the one to answer the younger vampire, drawling, “Relax, Lord Erou. This is no setup. As you appear to play a special role in my pet’s life, I thought it would be prudent you were made aware of the truth about her.”

Erou asked warily, “And what’s that?”

“She is no ordinary human pet. Zari is a soul seer, one of the last of her kind in fact.”

The younger vampire shook his head in disbelief. “A soul seer?” Like many, he had believed that reports about soul seers still existing were just rumors.

“You must swear to keep this a secret, of course. Too many are willing to be in possession of a soul seer’s skills.”

“I will never do or say anything that will harm Lady Zari,” he countered stiffly. “But I must confess, Lord Alexandru, I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

Instead of answering the other vampire, Alexandru glanced down at his pet, who still stood quietly by his side. “Do you know what Lord Erou was thinking when he came here?”

Slowly, she shook her head. Although his tone and gaze were both unreadable, Zari had a feeling she wouldn’t like his answer.

“He thought I was challenging him to a duel. For your ownership.”

Her gaze flew to Lord Erou in dismayed surprise.

Behind her, her Master continued, “And despite seeing me with my men, he did not back out. He still intended to fight me – and even my men – for the right to claim you.”

For a moment, their gazes locked, Master and pet.

He waited for her to say something.

She waited for him to say something.

But the silence remained, and Alexandru was eventually the first one to break it. Looking away, he gestured to his men, his voice turning brisk as he said, “But we can talk about that later. For now, we have a case to solve.”

Glancing at Zari, he asked, “Is this about the spree of murders in the nearby towns?”

“Correct, Lord Erou. An astute guess to make. Lady Zari should be quite impressed.”

Erou flushed at the mocking approval in the older vampire’s face, knowing that the hunter was well aware he had said it because he wanted to make Zari realize he truly could be of help in cases like this. When standing next to the five-hundred-year-old vampire, Erou knew his measly ten years of fighting paled considerably in comparison.

Zari, however, appeared truly impressed. “You knew about it, too, Lord Erou? I hadn’t heard anything about it, I’m afraid, and I’ve been trying to get a vision the whole time I was here.”

He said readily, “It’s not your fault, Lady Zari. The enforcers did their best to suppress the news.”

Alexandru knew he should have been the one to say something like that to his pet. But he was not that kind of Master, and he wouldn’t be like that, he told himself grimly, even if it meant Zari choosing someone ‘kinder’ than him.

Kinder, ha. A kinder Master might be able to wipe away her tears, but it wouldn’t be able to keep her alive when the world learned about who she really was.

Even knowing it was childish, Alexandru stepped in between the two. They had been looking at each other far too long.

“I never thought someone like you could be this immature,” Erou said under his breath, making sure his voice was low enough to be undetectable to human ears.

“Immature or not, you must take care to remember who this girl belongs to,” Alexandru returned in the same tone of voice.

Zari, sensing a sudden tension in the air, instinctively huddled closer to her Master.

Alexandru automatically wrapped an arm around her waist even as his gaze went to the boy.

Erou’s teeth gnashed against each other when he saw the other man smirk. Damn him. He swore to himself then that he’d get back at the hunter, no matter what.

“Lord Erou, my pet had her vision when she was in your company. This is likely to mean that the murders had occurred at a place you had recently visited.”

Erou raised a brow. “I’m surprised you aren’t considering me a suspect.”

“I would have known right away if you meant my pet harm. I am her Master, after all.”

Zari couldn’t make herself look at her Master after such words. She was blushing too hard because of it. However, it didn’t make her completely happy, the words making her glumly wonder if this was the last time she would hear Alexandru call himself her Master.

Her heart lurched at the thought, but she forced all feelings of despair aside, telling herself she had to concentrate on the case. Several innocent people had already died, and she had to do what she could to prevent another murder from taking place.

Erou was recounting the places that he had been to, with Alexandru listening intently. “None of those seem to fit. All those places are too public, and the way the bodies have been mutilated, it appeared the killer had all the time in the world to torture his victims.”

Erou rubbed his jaw. “A private place...”

“But what about the library, Lord Erou? Didn’t you tell me earlier about visiting the library?” Zari ventured.

Alexandru asked, “You went to one?”

Erou nodded. “But I didn’t think it was worth mentioning because a library didn’t seem a likely place for the murders to take place.”

“But what if the killer had access to the library at night?” Zari suggested. “Like an employee, something like that?”

“The lady may be on to something, milord,” one of Alexandru’s men piped in.

The compliment was unexpected, and Zari would have blushed if not for her Master suddenly flicking her forehead. She yelped in pain instead. “What was that for?”

Not wanting to tell her he didn’t like her looking cute in front of so many men, Alexandru lied gruffly, “There was an, err, insect about to bite you.”

Behind Alexandru, his men groaned in unison through the blood bond they shared with their leader.

Alexandru grimaced. Shut up.

THE LIbrARY WAS A THREE -story concrete building, with guards at every entrance. Located at one of the smaller streets in town, she saw how it could serve as a place of murder. Her skin chilled as she continued to study its dark shadow, and she knew it was an ominous sign of things to come.

She closed her eyes and when she opened it, everything was red again.

She gasped, and the red veil covering the world disappeared.

Beside her, Alexandru asked sharply, “Another vision?”

Zari nodded. “I feel like...something’s about to happen.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I wish I could understand how this...I wish I could understand my visions more.”

Seeing Erou about to open his mouth and spout out more useless platitudes made Alexandru say harshly, “It’s not like you could readily do anything if you did see more of the murders.” He had wanted to assure her that she was not to blame. But the moment the words left his mouth, Alexandru knew they hadn’t come out the way he intended them to.

The words had his men looking away uncomfortably, Erou glaring at him, and Zari—-

She didn’t look like she was about to cry. This time, she only looked sad .

Alexandru cursed under his breath. “Zari—-”

“I understand.” She bowed her head in apology.

His mood worsened, the fact that she had preferred to bow in apology like a supplicant instead of calling him Master not slipping his notice. The distance between him and his pet just kept growing. He should have been happy about it, but he wasn’t. Goddammit, he wasn’t.

Without a word, he stalked towards her, curved an arm around her waist, and made a leap to the third-floor balcony. He took another leap, landing on the roof of the building. Through his blood bond, he told his men to scatter and take Lord Erou with them. I’ll take care of the third floor with the soul seer. Just be certain you keep Lord Erou well away from me unless the killer’s been found.

Zari’s eyes closed the moment she realized they were up in the air, and her arms automatically went around him.

When she opened her eyes, they were on the—-

“What are we doing on the roof?” she cried out. This was her first time to find herself so high off the ground, and it was not a good feeling.

He slowly set her down on her feet, which would have been good if not for the fact that he had placed her at the very edge, with half of her feet floating in the air.

She clutched his arms tightly. Do you want me dying with fright?

I’m considering it.

She gasped. Master!

His eyes darkened. Because of that, he snarled. Do I really have to place you here just so you’d call me Master again?