Basil
It became a routine for us after that first night. I trailed the vampire hunter for almost two hours that first night, and I would have continued following him if he hadn't left the sewers from frustration.
I didn't learn much about him that night. It's not like he said anything, trying to be quiet. He wasn't good at being quiet. His footfalls were loud, sometimes even echoing, and he kept one hand on the wall as a guide. I could hear the scrape of skin against stone the entire time and I imagined his fingertips were fairly raw by the end of the night.
He also kept his shoulders tense, his muscles seemed permanently coiled, ready to spring and fight at any given moment. And I could see the faint outline of his clothes that he had muscle, he wouldn't be the easiest to take in a fight.
After that first night I came back to the same manhole cover that the hunter followed me through. I didn't know what I was doing, was I hoping he'd show up again? Did I want to follow him again? What was wrong with me?
But then the manhole cover lifted above me, and I moved out of sight and watched from the shadows as the hunter lowered himself down into the sewers. He pulled something, a lighter, from his pocket and lit it to see his immediate surroundings. When I saw the fire I moved further back, down the tunnels, and left a trail again for him.
Let's see just how good you are at tracking.
I let him follow me that second night, for almost three hours. Draining and leaving rat carcasses every now and again to follow. Alternating between silent and audible footsteps for him to follow. He never got too close, I was careful to keep a distance, but the thrill of it all was still there.
Simon
Nothing about this vampire makes sense. Nothing
I've never seen a vampire drink blood from rats, not even as a decoy. And a decoy is the only explanation I can think of that would explain all these rats. He's probably leaving them to throw me off from finding his real victims.
Although who he's hunting down in a sewer is beyond me. In the whole two weeks since I started following him I have not seen another soul down here besides the two of us. And in the last two weeks I am only more confused by this vampire. He eats rats, doesn't seem to be going after people, he doesn't attack me, and something about him just feels different.
My entire focus down here is on the vampire, and tonight that was a mistake. He'd gone down a different path tonight, wandering further out than normal. I had no idea where we were, I never really knew where we were down here, but the further he went the more disoriented I got in my location. It took me almost four hours to find my apartment the other day when I resurfaced.
Suddenly I feel a hand on my back, grabbing at my jacket and pulling me backwards. Instinctively, I turn and knock the hand off of me and flip open the lighter I always held down here.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" An old and gravely voice demands. It's not the vampire I'd been tracking like I thought. With the light of the small flame I can see it's a homeless man.
He's draped in layers of torn and filthy clothes, he's half bald and what's left of his hair is graying. There's a deranged look in his eyes, I don't think he's sane.
Before I can recover from my shock of having been found by a homeless man and not my vampire he's grabbing at the collar of my jacket and pulling out a knife. "Yah here to steal my treasure yah brat?" Nope. This man is definitely not sane.
I'm reaching for my own knife when I'm stunned again for the second time tonight in the span of less than a minute.
"Have a Safe Trip!"
The next thing I know the deranged homeless man that had been holding me was flying backwards, into the dark and out of my small circle of light. Turning back around I see the dim shadow of the vampire turning and running.
I'd recognized that voice, it was definitely him, but just what did he do? Abandoning my attempt at stealth I chase after him as fast as I can with nothing but my lighter to light the path. But he can't get away from me now, not after that. I've never seen a vampire with such abilities, power, magic.
"That was magic!" I shout after him, and he instantly picks up his pace. At the first ladder out he swings himself up, climbing out of the sewers as fast as he can. He's not as fast at climbing as he is running and I'm able to catch up a bit, especially when he has to pause to move the manhole cover.
He's halfway out of the sewer when I manage to grab a hold of his ankle. I hear him curse under his breath and look back down at me. "You're not getting away from me tonight" I tell him as threateningly as one can be when they're climbing out of a sewer and trying to hold onto the ladder with one hand while the other holds someone's ankle.
The bastard has the audacity to scoff at me and I'm about to pull him down when he somehow manages to kick me in the shoulder with his other foot. Next thing I know I'm falling down the ladder and back into the sewer while the vampire crawls out of the sewer and runs.
Basil
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck!
I might as well dig my own grave after tonight. I should have known better than wandering down new paths so far, but over the last two weeks the rats had started to avoid the normal route I led the hunter along. And when I walked past that homeless man he was asleep, but the hunter's heavy footsteps must have woken him.
When I drew my wand and spelled the homeless man away I thought it was dark enough that the hunter wouldn't be able to see what I did, I don't think he did see, but he knew. He's a hunter, so of course he knows mages exist and he was able to recognize a spell being cast.
If he figures out who I am I'm dead. They'll snap my wand, rip out my fangs, and then probably kill me. That's what they should do, my very existence is a disgrace to the world of mages.
But I didn't know what else to do in the moment. The entire situation was my fault: I lead him down there, I lead him past the homeless man, and when I saw that man pull out a knife all I could think was No!
So I saved the vampire hunter … and then I kicked him off a ladder when he grabbed my ankle. As soon as I did it I regretted it, and stayed by the entrance of the sewer for a moment to make sure he got back up and was okay. Once I knew he was fine I ran, figuring out where I was and heading home from there, looking over my shoulder every thirty seconds to make sure no one was following me.
I could go to my father, but he'd have me removed from the country and the vampire hunter killed immediately, and I don't want that. I don't want to kill him. The more that I've seen of him the more I feel that I could never truly harm him. There's my Aunt Fiona, she's a vampire hunter too, but she's out the country following a group of vampires right now. If she were here I could at least figure out who this vampire hunter is. No one outside of my family knows I'm a vampire, so without their help I'm on my own with this predicament.
Simon
I don't even bother going back to my apartment after everything that happened in the sewers, instead I hightail it straight to the only vampire hunter who is still in the area that could possibly help me with this new information: Ebb.
She's a mage who joined the Coven. Why she joined is unknown to me, the other hunter's, the older ones, don't like her much. She wasn't raised as one of us, why she joined is a mystery, and she doesn't have a high head count for dead vampires. To the Coven she's suspicious, but I like her.
There's this air about her that she's gone through some rough stuff and that this was the best option for her.
When I barge into her small apartment she is at the stove cooking what smells to be beef and barley soup. "Ebb. I think I found a problem."
Ebb hums in recognition, this isn't the first time I've barged into her apartment without saying hello and dumping my problems in her lap. "Tell me while you help me eat this soup Simon."
"This can't wait Ebb, I found a vampire and I've been following him around," Ebbs grabbing some pot-holders to bring the soup to the table as I talk, nodding her head as I talk. "And then tonight, he used magic and I saw his wand, he has to be a mage."
The soups on the floor. The doors locked. The blinds are shut. The lights dim. It's Ebb's magic but it still scares me, she uses it so rarely.
"A vampire mage." It's a statement, not a question.
I nod slowly, keeping my eyes on Ebb. I've never seen her like this. Her happy demeanor is gone and she has this crazed longing look in her eyes. After a long moment of silence Ebb finally talks again. "That's not possible. They snapped his wand."
"Wait you know this vampire mage?"
Ebb nods, the chair by her slides out and she slumps into it. With a wave of her hand the soup that was on the ground is cleaned, back in the pot and on the stove top.
"Nicky … I haven't seen him since I was your age, they ripped out his fangs and snapped his wand, he shouldn't be able to use magic anymore."
"Ebb, you're not making sense. The vampire I found? His name is Nicky?" I ask, needing more information, all the information that Ebb has to offer.
She nods, running a hand through her straw blonde hair, "no one has ever told you why I joined the Coven?" I shake my head, I don't know, no one has ever told me. With a sigh she sits up and leans close to me. Her voice is barely a whisper when she speaks.
"My brother, my twin brother, he crossed over and joined the vampires. His head was full of these crazy ideas of becoming more powerful when we were already the strongest in our generation. When he turned they were on him instantly, they struck him from the book of magic, pulled his fangs, and snapped his wand. He's lucky to be alive.
After he left I was forbidden to talk of him, it was to be as though he never existed. Natasha, the headmistress, gave me a job at Watford. I took care of the goats, it was quiet and peaceful work. Kept me busy, kept me close to the school and the good memories of my brother, and it allowed them to keep an eye on me. They were always worried I'd cross over to join Nicky. Tasha knew I wouldn't, she was a good friend, but working for her eased the others.
But then Tasha was murdered by vampires, and I couldn't stay. I'd lost my brother and now my friend, and my home wasn't safe. So I joined the Coven."
By the time Ebb was done with her story I was speechless. She'd lost so much in her life to the vampires, it only made sense that she would join the Coven. But there was one problem with her story.
"Ebb … the vampire mage I found, I don't think he's your brother."
"What? That's not possible, there's no other mage that would dare cross over after what they did to my brother." She replied defiantly, her voice rising from a whisper now.
I shook my head at her, "this mage, he was my age and his hair is black. He doesn't have a single one of your features. I wouldn't even peg him as a distant cousin."
More silence from Ebb before she finally spoke, "describe him, more, everything you know so far."
"Okay, well, like I said he's about my age, or at least looks it. He's a few inches taller, maybe three? His hair is black, looks silky in texture and comes down to around his shoulders, and he's got this real stereotypical widows peak. Umm, he's pale, like any other vampire. Oh, grey eyes. That's about all I know."
When I'm done describing the mystery vampire Ebb reaches over and grabs my hand, looking me in the eyes with a serious and determined look. "Leave this alone Simon. Don't follow him." And with that she's standing. The conversation is clearly over, and behind me I hear the door open.
I leave without a word, angry now with Ebb for telling me all of this information and sharing with her what I know only to be told to leave it alone. This is my chance to show the Coven I am a competent hunter, I can't let it go.
I can't.
Ebb
Natasha… Do you know up there? Do you know what your son has become?
All the reports said that the only casualty was Natasha Pitch, that the children were all unharmed, but they lied. There was one other casualty, Natasha's own son: Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch.
His father must have swooped in and taken care of any evidence before anyone could be the wiser. Malcolm always was quick and sharp, partly why a genius like Natasha fell for him.
I need to get in contact with Fiona, let her know that her nephew is in danger of being found out. That I found out. But she's off with the other hunters, with Davy, chasing a large group of vampires out of the country. Hopefully Simon will listen and leave it alone until everyone gets back.
