Perfect Pet

Ch. 5: Flash of Fangs

Malik's P.O.V

Eli and I walked through the halls of Rigryce, already familiar with the layout from being brought multiple times as children. Our parents may not be at the level of the Council but they still held esteemed positions in the vampire community. As such, they were invited quite often to share their view on certain subjects with other ranking members to develop and maintain better laws.

Madam Moreau wanted all her vampire students to come and few days before the potential pets to let us get settled and adjust to each other's presence. My demon was alert, noting the other's power ghosting over my skin even at a distance. Nothing overly potent so he wasn't demanding full reign. A pissing contest wouldn't go over very well in such an esteemed school. Supposedly I should be able to control him the older I got. I didn't hold out much faith, sometimes thinking my demon was a separate essence just sharing my body with me. His will was just as strong as my own and he fought me at every turn just to be difficult.

Taking a flight of stairs up to the fourth floor, which only housed Madame Moreau's massive office, I knocked on the wooden door. There was a pulse of her power, leaving a tingling sensation like static shock as I heard her call out to enter. Giving Eli a side glance, I turned the knob and strolled in like I didn't have a care in the world.

I was still unsettled by her appearance last month, a feeling not helped when she asked us to come to her office immediately on arrival. She acted like she expected something from me and I didn't like not knowing what it was. It could have something to do with my prevalent demon, a common sign of a powerful vampire, or my decision on a pet if I found one. Whatever it was, feeling like a bug under a magnifying glass wasn't welcome or appreciated.

Vampires could be incredibly vain and egotistical creatures. The higher class especially seemed to think the sun shined out of their asses, conveniently forgetting that nothing is concrete. They should always be wary that someone would come along and steal the position they'd held for years. Power was respected and awarded. If you didn't have it, you were considered an embarrassment. If you held a high position and lost it? You became a para that wasn't worth being acknowledged. The headmistress possibly felt threatened by me, due to my high level of power and strength at only fifty years of age which would only get stronger. Vampires didn't fully mature until around three hundred so I had lots of room to grow.

My parents had warned me that such things would happen, whether I wanted to play their games or not. It was how vampire society ticked. I wouldn't start anything but I wouldn't hesitate to finish it. My demon growled his approval, disrespect a thing we both wouldn't tolerate. Sometimes force was the only way to get others to submit. Humans may have left their wild instincts behind but vampires would never be fully civilized.

Madam Moreau sat behind a giant desk that almost seemed to buckle under all the crap she had on it. Piles of papers, charms, and knickknacks, and several old law books only scratched the surface. She didn't say anything, finishing the paper she was writing with a good old-fashioned quill. The sound of the tip dragging across the surface merged with the ticking of a grandfather clock I couldn't see.

Knowing better than to interrupt, I dropped into one of the plush red chairs set in front of her. Eli settled more gracefully, his silver hair glowing in the faint light, giving him an angelic appearance. Fitting since he didn't act like a typical vampire. Soft-spoken and led more by his head than instinct, I often wondered what his demon was like. Or if he was one of the rare few that didn't have one. It was taboo to ask about another's inner beast, which is why I was so surprised when the headmistress did.

"Boys," She greeted in her feminine but cool voice. Everything about her seemed covered in a light layer of ice, from her tone to the frosty blond in her hair to the pale sheen of her skin. Would that infect you with a touch, freezing you from the inside out? I would make it a point not to find out.