Undercity: Manifest

Chapter Fifteen

'Did you check everywhere.' Zach's voice was laced with amusement as it come through on Dante's phone.

Dante was staring at the mortician slab currently serving as a temporary resting place for the vampire he had tracked down and killed. The blood on Dante's face was long dried following the brutal fight he was forced to engage in with the recently deceased. The fight lasted longer than he had expected it to.

The vampire was young, only recently turned and acting on bloodlust, he had killed a young woman who became separated from her friends at the end of a long night of partying. The woman's throat had been ripped open like the other four victims he had seen since his time working in the West District. The young vampire had been sloppy and killed her where CCTV cameras picked up everything. Dante was able to identify him and track him down before the Coven deleted the footage from Human databases.

'Of course I did.' Dante did not share Zach's humour. He shuddered remembering how he watched the Mystic mortician lift the bloodsucker's balls to check underneath for his brand after exhausting every other inch of his body.

The brand, as the vampire population coined it, was made up of the two puncture holes left behind from any bite which turned a human. The only vampires who did not wear the brand were The First. The First vampires were the ones created by black magic, almost completely extinct following the Coven's attempts to right the wrongs of the past. The majority of the modern vampire population was made up of those turned by other vampires.

'He doesn't carry a brand.' Dante finished filling Zach in on his finding.

'So he's a First?'

'No, he's too young. Recently turned if the bloodlust is anything to go by. His human records show him as a thirty-year-old man.' The vampire's appearance was in-line with his age and most of his family were still living.

The line went quiet.

'Are you certain he has no brand?' Zach finally asked.

'I've looked at every inch of him. I even cupped the fucker's balls myself Zach. He wasn't turned.' This time, there was no amusement from either of them.

'This can only mean one thing.' He didn't need Zach to say anymore. Dante knew exactly what this meant.

Somebody was practicing black magic.

'I need to keep my meeting with Rue.' Dante reminded Zach of his appointment with the self-appointed Vampire King in hopes of ending the conversation. 'Do I tell him about this?'

Zach was quiet for a moment. 'Yes, I want you to gauge his reaction, see if he knows about this already.'

'And if he does?'

'See what you can find out from him. Don't make any moves. We need to handle this quietly for now. I can't imagine Rue will want news spreading either, so he shouldn't be a problem. Do you want me to send some back-up?'

Dante would have been insulted if he didn't know how fucked the situation was quickly becoming.

'Nah, I'm good. I'll see what I can find.' He hung up without a goodbye.

...

The sign for the Fox and Crown was hanging by only one hinge outside the old pub Dante had arranged to meet Rue in. There was the faintest blush of green clinging to the barley painted door at the side entrance. Inside was dimly lit and carried the stale smell of one too many spilled pints marring the worn carpet. A wooden countertop lined with bar stools ran along the entire length of the single-room establishment.

Rue sat alone at the bar nursing a pint of beer tinged red from the addition of blood. Vampires could tolerate small quantities of food and drink providing they added blood to it first. His pale skin was given a slight warm undertone from the lighting provided by a hanging lamp near to where he rested. He wore a floor-length black leather jacket covering most of his body. His Jeans were faded and to anyone who didn't know him, he looked almost ordinary.