Lethal Beauty

LII - Nightmare

The fright of facing a different kind of shtriga was still vivid in his mind that after Carlisle did his part, he agreed to stay in one of the private residences owned by the Elder who called himself "Jessen". All the information they shared was received with a lukewarm reaction. It was evident that Carlisle was distraught and was barely able to catch up with all the information they shared. Like how Judy turned out to be the real "Janne Marie Rosenthal" and that she was a dhampir and part of the project organized by the leaders of the World Government and the members of the House of Elders. There was also the data that suggested that the human who passed the exam to determine who would be sent to Saint Constantine happened to be a dhampir too with the ability to maximize the ability of the purebloods and turn those they infected with the "Gift of Lilith" back to human. What was even more frustrating and most likely what triggered his mistrust was the realization of how easy it was for these pureblood vampires to infiltrate an organization built solely to protect mankind against these bloodsuckers.

"Are you sure you can drive this thing?" Delbert probably asked for the umpteenth time as Jessen ushered them onto the rooftop where a helicopter was waiting for them. "I'll just remind you that I am not like any one of you. You crushed that thing and I'm DEAD."

"Chill out," Jessen only laughed and winked at him. "I won't let you die."

"That sounds comforting, thank you." Delbert exhaled loudly before he huddled in the back of the chopper with Judy who was already seated comfortably. "How long have you known this person?"

Judy laughed, she found his reaction very amusing. "You'll have to get used to Jessen. He suffers from a deplorable excess of personality which explains why the House of Elders kicked him out."

Jessen snorted, not even bothering to cover his contempt for the race he used to associate himself with. "Hey, I exit gracefully! We don't cling to our positions when the time is over or circumstances change. We don't end with bitterness or adopt a defeatist attitude when things go wrong."

Delbert hummed a response and nodded in agreement after a moment. "That's sound advice," he said and earned an oily grin from Judy who also rolled her eyes.

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧

Elder Vanguards did not differ much in strength with the purebloods and they only heed their master's call. With Abel and Iris gone, Civet closed his fist and looked around the room---eyes were more golden, glassy, and hollow fangs descended as he found his target.

CC saw where he had directed his gaze and shouted, "Lux!"

Heads and limbs twirling through the air in beautiful slow motion...Lux gracefully cut down most of the Elder Vanguards in front of her, beheading them in a beat. She destroyed another...and another...and another---until the distance between her and Civet became smaller.

Both Milo and Lexus saw what was happening, but given the circumstances, they couldn't even catch a breath or take a rest against these Elder Vanguards. When CC stepped forward, Lux immediately pushed her aside and cast her a wry look. "Do not be a hero," she reproached. And she was right, for Civet was a lot stronger than any of them combined.

Racing along the chaos, a snow leopard flew over the room after climbing up the building. On his back, Abel sat and his crossbow was locked and loaded, this time, with a silver arrow. The unexpected entrance caught Civet off-guard. The arrow missed as he hopped from the window of the tenth floor turning into a lion. Iris, in his form, pivoted as well and followed in pursuit with Abel riding behind him recklessly.

Hold on, Abel...

Abel's forehead wrinkled as he realized something. "Did you talk inside my head?"