The Sanguine Seraph

Chapter Six - One Night, Two Knights

"A knight? No." Kat trailed after him, not trusting him enough to get any closer.

Her gut twisted into writhing knots. She didn't like any part of the situation. Not only did she have to follow around some maniac that thought he was a vampire, but he also thought killing her would free him from some imaginary curse. And that wasn't even the end of her problems. Walter seemed to trust him, kind of. But who was Uriel really? And, why didn't anyone ever mention him before?

Kat bit her lip, and they made their way up the main staircase.

"Well, to be honest, it could be the Templar or the Order of Malta, but for our sake, let's hope for the first."

"I haven't heard of the Order...of Malta, was it?"

They passed a couple of maids carrying a few small medical kits. The shouting grew at the end of the corridor.

Uriel tensed and edged them along the side of the hall. A large mirror had shattered on the opposite side along with an end table that was missing two of its legs. Whoever was after them had definitely come down that way. Kat glanced around for the few guards they employed, but none of them were in sight.

"Let's just say the Order keeps everything in balance. There are multiple factions that most people aren't aware of and the Order keeps anyone of them from gaining too much power."

"But Uncle Charles didn't have power like that."

Uriel stopped and turned to her. His eyes held that same frost once again. "If you truly believe that, then you are more naive than I imagined."

She narrowed her eyes. "Let's get one thing straight here. No one told me a damn thing about any of this. As far as I'm concerned: you're crazy, Walter is senile or a liar or both at this point, and I am going to have to interview you and every other person here to give an official report to the local force in town. I've got my work cut out for me, so stop making my job harder or I will find a way to make your life a living hell. I'm not in the mood for your idiotic remarks. I don't know who you are, why you're here, or why we are being attacked. Everyone has obviously left me in the dark, so it's not my fault, alright?"

The fake vampire's jaw tightened, then he continued toward the ballroom. "If you say so." He huffed out a small breath, glancing back at her again. "I simply find it difficult that someone whose entire family is from the Order would have no idea about any of it."

Kat stumbled to a halt. "What did you say?"

"Look," Uriel growled, grinding his teeth together. "I don't have time to play school right now. If you want to ensure the old guy's safety, then I suggest we hurry and save the questions for later, or at least keep walking."

"Fine." Kat jogged up behind him.

She rolled her eyes and kicked the side of his foot, making him stumble. She smirked at him when he whirled back glaring at her. Kat wasn't usually playful by nature, but it was an excellent way to test how far he was willing to go with the insane idea of a curse.

"I didn't take you for the childish type," Uriel snapped with his eyes narrowed. He spun to continue walking before she replied.

"I'm not. I just like watching you suffer. If you're going to kill me anyway, might as well cause you as much grief as I can until then."

The key chilled her skin and she fished it out with its cord still around her neck. She examined it in her palm as they walked. Despite her relaxed front, she couldn't bring herself to let the subject go. "What do you know about my family—"