"Rush, come closer."
The young vampire stepped further into the utter blackness of his uncle's library. The rain still fell gently outside, a sound that comforted Rush slightly. It was natural, something that occurred with the meeting of elements. It was something utterly foreign to him. He was not natural.
He shook these thoughts away and focused on his uncle. He could make out the shape of the huge, leather chair his uncle loved so, but it was turned to the window, away from him, hiding the old man from view.
"The Crusnik has escaped. I want you to go and capture it. No doubt it will be headed back to Rome… Back to the Vatican. I need you to retrieve it before it gets there… We need it on our side, no matter what, nor how we get it to cooperate."
Rush felt a stab of anger at how his uncle referred to the Crusnik. True, it had been created, and thus was just as unnatural as he, or his uncle, or the two trusted guards outside the library door.
But it didn't look unnatural. It was a girl, a created being but with feelings nonetheless. And he hated the way his uncle referred to the girl as an 'it'. But he had no control over the leader of his clan, until the time his uncle was killed or stepped down.
Only one thought came to mind when he realized that this was an assignment.
"Uncle, why me? I'm sure that there are several others fit for this assignment."
The chair spun slowly around, and he could now see the faint outline of his uncle's bulk, slightly lighter than the shadow of the chair. His uncle's eyes gleamed yellow in the dark, a sure sign of discontent. But at what-- losing the Crusnik, or his nephew's questioning of his orders?
Rush waited until his uncle answered. "You are young, I'll admit. But you are my sister's son. I brought you here after her death, made you what you are today, and you must be loyal to me! I'm sending you on this mission because I trust you. And you ask me why?"
Rush knew his uncle was angry, but he also realized that he was expendable. His uncle had never really liked his sister, if rumors Rush had heard were true. And so, he was sending his nephew after the Crusnik, no because he trusted him, at least not fully, but because, deep down inside, he was afraid of Rush. Rush was younger, less experienced, but stronger, and would one day be the leader of the clan. And it was possible that the old man was afraid of that time. What better way to get rid of his biggest rival, at least in his own mind, than to send him after the Crusnik, who could easily kill him? Then, disposal of the Crusnik, if not able to turn her loyalty, would mean that two of his biggest threats would be of no more consequence. And other rogue vampires would pose no threat to a man who ruled such a big clan.
But Rush really had no choice. If he disagreed, his uncle could easily destroy him, or have one of his guards to the deed, if he had no desire to get his own hands dirty. So Rush nodded in agreement, and the eerie yellow glow of his uncle's eyes faded.
"Very good, Rush. I have a good idea of where to start looking for her. There are only a handful of trains leaving this city in the next week, and only one airship. Finding the Crusnik shouldn't be too difficult."
Rush nodded again, then turned and walked back to the library door. His hand was on the knob, about to open the solid wood to the light in the hallway, when his uncle spoke again, softly and only for Rush's ears.
"Do not fail me, Rush. Family or no, the Crusnik is worth more to me than your life."
Only confirming what Rush had already realized, he nodded once, curtly, then opened the door and stepped out between the guards, stamping down the urge to slam the door, if only to annoy his uncle, and shut it again with a quiet, almost threatening, click.