Bloodlines Legacy Arc 1 Eternal Night

Chapter 19: A Dangerous Game

The tension in the room was palpable, every leader seated at the table locked in their thoughts as Ivan Molchalin sat at the center of it all. His normally stoic face was twisted with frustration, his eyes darting from one leader to the next as accusations hung over his head.

"I didn't cause these murders," Ivan spat, his voice laced with anger. "This is a setup, and you know it."

Cedric, seated at the head of the table, leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. "I had my suspicions, Ivan, but I didn't have proof. Thanks to our wonderful team of Cleaners, the truth has come to light."

Ivan's fists clenched as he tried to stand, but the weight of the accusations pressed down on him. He knew his fate was teetering on the edge, and without any way to prove his innocence, he felt doomed. His mind raced, searching for a way out. His eyes flicked toward Alistair, and a twisted thought formed in his mind.

"This is his doing!" Ivan shouted, pointing a finger at Alistair. "He's the one who wants to farm humans again. He's the one willing to risk exposure to the humans, not me!"

Alistair's eyes flashed with indignation as he shot to his feet. "Yes, I'd prefer to go back to the old ways," he retorted, "but not at the cost of our survival. I would never be so reckless as to risk exposure to humans. You, Ivan, are the one with the hunting problem, not me. You've never been able to escape your love for the old power."

The room fell into a tense silence. Ivan opened his mouth to speak, but his defense felt weak even to him. "It's been almost three centuries since my last relapse," he muttered, desperation creeping into his voice. "Three centuries without taking human blood. That's a long time for most... but for us, for vampires as old as we are, it's not that long at all."

Cedric rose from his seat, his voice cold and steady. "For vampires as old as us, Ivan, that is precisely why we should be above such temptations. You know the law. You know what you've done."

Ivan's eyes flickered with fear as Cedric turned toward the Cleaners. "Leave us," Cedric ordered in a calm tone. "The four remaining families will vote on Ivan's fate."

The Cleaners exchanged glances before nodding and exiting the room, leaving the leaders alone to deliberate. They waited in tense silence, each of them processing the weight of the decision before them. Moments passed, and then a loud, pained shout echoed from within the room—a single word, filled with dread.

"No!"

The shout belonged to Ivan.

The Cleaners were summoned back inside, the sun setting in the distance and casting a golden glow through the large windows. Cedric stood at the head of the table, his face impassive as he addressed them.

"Ivan Molchalin has been sentenced to banishment," Cedric said, his voice as steady as ever. "You are to escort him to the Blackthorne estate, where he will be locked in the dungeons for the remainder of his existence."

From a hidden compartment in the table, Cedric pulled out a syringe filled with a glowing substance—a formula designed to temporarily dampen a vampire's strength and abilities. It was engineered specifically for situations like this, to subdue even the most powerful of their kind.

Cedric approached Ivan, who now sat slumped in his chair, defeated. Without a word, he injected the substance into Ivan's arm, watching as the once-mighty leader of the Molchalin family grew weaker with each passing second.

Ivan's eyes fluttered, and his body sagged, unable to resist as the Cleaners approached him. Sergei, Hugo, and Lucian lifted Ivan from his seat, each of them holding him by the arms as they prepared to take him back to New York.

"We'll take it from here," Sergei said, his voice lacking any trace of sympathy.

As the Cleaners left the room with Ivan in tow, the remaining leaders sat in an uneasy silence. Cedric watched them all carefully, noting the way Saraphina and Aiko exchanged troubled glances.

"Until a new leader can be elected to the Molchalin family," Cedric announced, "I will assume control of Ivan's branch of EternalCorp and oversee his family's affairs."

The words hung in the air, and though Cedric's tone was calm, the tension between the remaining leaders was palpable. Saraphina's usually unreadable face betrayed a hint of unease, and Aiko's gaze lingered on Cedric for a moment too long.

The meeting was over, but the ramifications of what had just transpired were far from settled.

As the sunset bathed the room in a fading golden light, Saraphina and Aiko left the table in silence, their thoughts dark and unsettled. The Eldredge and Yamamoto families had every reason to feel uneasy. The balance of power had shifted, and with Ivan gone, there was no telling what Cedric's next move would be.