The mix of blood and seawater stung her nostrils like a bad scent. For the years she had spent tracking down the original Corvinus, Aleksandria was surprised to find the ship so…unprotected. Something was wrong. The distinct sound of wings erupted from the south side of the docks as Marcus Corvinus, the forebearer of the Vampires, took off in swift flight headed towards the Carpathian Mountain range. Perhaps that explained the lack of security roaming around the premises? Aleksa waited until he disappeared from sight, not wanting to take the chance of him catching her angelic scent. Coming here was a risk, but an unavoidable one. The war between the Lycans and the Vampires had spilled into the mortal world; Corvinus was getting sloppy. More conceivably, he was tired; tired of cleaning up the messes left behind by the descendants of his two sons. Whatever the reason be, the object she had left in his possession was no longer safe and so she was here to collect.
The door of the 1986 Pontiac Firebird opened effortlessly as the tall, long-legged brunette stepped out of the vehicle, closing it gently behind her. Dressed in her typical hunting gear, a pair of tight-fitted pliable jeans and a leather jacket covering her bare shoulders that were exposed by the spaghetti straps of her black tank top, Aleksandria walked over to the gangway. The water lapped methodically beneathe the refitted naval frigate. The ship itself was over three hundred feet long from bow to stern, equipped with radar and sonar equipment and a helipad. The stench of human blood grew stronger the further up the gangway she walked. Scattered across the deck was a massacre; the human bodies of the Cleaners lay strew across the deck mixed with shell casings from their guns. Her heart dropped at the sight of their mangled bodies as her mind wandered towards one name: Marcus.
Aleksandria shook the name out of her mind and did her best to ignore the carnage that lay before her. She had more important things to worry about than an eternal blood feud between a man and his unruly sons. Life was more bearable when she wasn't running around chasing after Lycans and Vampires, trying to keep them in line. Once before she found herself tangled with a Vampire and years later, a Lycan: both ended in heartbreak. She even once fell for a human, but as an immortal, their romance was short lived. One human lifetime was nothing compared to the hundreds of years she had already walked the earth. Maybe it was best that Corvinus met his end…his lifespan extended far past her own and she was already feeling the misery of repetition.
Cautiously stepping over the bodies, she navigated to the entrance of the ship. The passageways were no better than the deck of the ship, bodies covering nearly every inch of the floor. The sound of blood squelching beneathe her boots left a sickening feeling deep inside her bones. The last time she had seen so many casualties was in the trenches of Germany in 1942. She pressed on. It took her some time to maneuver through the ship, but eventually she arrived at her destination; an ornate office outfitted with artifacts collected through the ages by a man with nothing but time on his hands. In the corner, hidden by his desk, he lay in a puddle of his own blood.
"So, this is how it ends?" he choked as his lungs coughed up what little blood he had left. "You, who have died so many times. Tell me, what is like on the other side? For creatures, such as us?"
Aleksa didn't have it in her to lie to the old man, so she spoke the truth. "It's cold. And dark. Empty."
"Is it quiet?" he asked.
"Very," she replied as she knelt beside him. She placed her hand on the side of his face and whispered, "I'm sorry Alexander, but I must ask you."
"I don't have it." Her breath caught. "I thought that if I left it in more capable hands, it would be safe. And I was right."
Aleksandria balled her hand tightly into a fist and slammed it against the desk. She rocked back off her heels and sank further onto the floor. "Where is it?" she asked.
"At the Fortress…of the Eastern Coven," he replied.
"And William?"
"Markus has the key."
"If he let's William out, they will tear this world apart," Aleksa warned. She knew that if the twins were let loose out into the modern world, it would be even more devastating that it was even before Aleksa was born. Still, there were worse things that Vampires and Lycans. There was still the Forsaken. "If anyone inside the Eastern Coven drinks from that Cup, the world would wish that it was only the Lycans and the Vampires they had to worry about."
"There is one who can take care of William," he spoke with life barely left inside of him. "She has my blood running through her veins, the original strain."
"Do you trust her?" Aleksandria asked.
"I trust her to do her job," he coughed.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because," he smiled. "Her heart has been broken. Hell, hath no fury…" his breath faded as the last of his life drained from his eyes."
"Like a woman scorned," she finished. With Alexander Corvinus gone, and William and Marcus set to meet their end, Aleksandria Deianira remined the oldest living immortal, that she knew of, in existence. She sobbed silently inside the ghost ship. With a deep breath in, she pushed her feelings as far down as she could and grit her teeth. Determination pushed herself from the floor, hands caked in the blood of the eldest Corvinus. She pulled open drawer after drawer until she found what she was looking for: high-tech grenades. Neatly she stacked them near the body and set the charges for three minutes, just enough time for her to get off the ship and clear the docks. "Goodbye Alexander." She left a kiss on the old man's forehead and closed his eyes.
This time, Aleksandria was not as careful exiting the ship. She quickly made her way to the deck of the ship and back to the Pontiac before turning back one last time to say goodbye. She climbed into her car and drove off the docks as the ship exploded into a fiery ball of flames and smoke. Multiple explosions rocked the docks as metal shrapnel rained from the skies above her. As she drove outside the blast radius, all she could do was hope that whoever it was that was tasked with the job of eliminating the Corvinus twins was well suited for the job. As for her own task? Find the Mortal Cup in a fortress full of vampires that regularly drank blood from chalices that could easily resemble the one she needed. The real question was…how the hell was she going to get inside a fortress that was the home of the infamous Death Dealers?