Bound in Blood

Chapter 11: Conflict of Interest

Taking an hour long drive in the dark was not what Mia Bordeaux had in mind for her Friday evening. But here she was in her plum colored Dodge Dart driving down to handle the family business. That's what she does, when family calls she comes. She looked over to her passenger seat at what looked like a utility belt full of stuff. When she pulled up to the town she could see the problem that her TT was worried about. You could just feel how wrong the air was in the place. Not to mention it was pitch black not a single street light or house light was on. Cars were parked haphazardly as if someone just abandoned them where they stopped. She could smell the undead on the air but she was having a hard time seeing. She reached into a pouch on her lower back and pulled out a circlet and placed it on her head. She said a few words in an unintelligible language and the gem that was in the center of the circlet and now the center of her forehead glowed for a moment then her eyes transmuted into something otherworldly. They were faintly glowing green and looked feline, she could now see perfectly.

She creeped along the main drag of the town waiting for someone or something to jump out and try to kill her. Then a shadow played on the corner of her eye, something moving really fast. Without thinking about it she dropped to a knee and said two syllables then leaped out of the way. What was left on the ground was a circle of arcane writing that was about five yards in diameter. What was trapped in this circle of magical writing was a sickly looking vampire. It looked starved and crazed. The circle immobilized it and was wracking its body with immense pain. It stood there struggling against the magic its feet and hands stuck to the ground as it hissed snapped and growled like a mindless beast. Mia got up and walked over to it, not fearing to step into the circle.

"Where is your master?" She said through her teeth. The monstrous vampire said nothing but continued to hiss and growl. "Show me who twisted your mind to nothing!" She demanded as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the vampires head. She tried to dig into the monsters mind but only a face and a location came to her. She nodded and knew where she had to go. She said a half dozen syllables and snapped her fingers and the vampire burst into flames. She then turned toward city hall and started her way there. That is where her target was.With an incantation the double doors to City hall flew off their hinges. She was expecting and onslaught of Vampires but there was only one that was standing in the atrium near the staircase. It must have been starving because it came at her so slow that she had enough time to pull her heartseeker stake from her lower back and launch it at the vampire with magical acceleration. After the Vampire was ash the stake reappeared in her hand and she shoved it back into her belt. She was close she could feel his aura.

She walked up the central staircase and it led to an expansive open area that had a balcony over- looking it, and just like the vision that and been put in her mind there he stood. He was tall very tall nearly seven feet. His skin was pallid and his head was bald and even at this range she could see that his eyes were an unnatural red color.

"What is a beauty like you doing in my kingdom?" His voice was grating to listen to. It was scratchy and throaty.

"Kingdom? All is see is a perfectly good town that you have turned into a graveyard." Mia shot back. The pale tower of a man chuckled.

"Why have trespassed in my home little witch." He said this time a lot less jovial.

"You know why Necromancer." She spat.

"You really think you have what it takes to kill me?" He leaned forward on the banister his golden teeth bared.

"I have more than enough." Before she could finish her statement he laughed loudly.