1 *Thanks to Hope for her praise and gently informing me that I still have
no idea how to use the site. Hopefully, I'll have figured out how to turn
off that option sometime soon. Appreciative smiles and waves to Lotrangelle
and Aglaia for their enthusiasm regarding Damon and Bonnie fics.*
2 Chapter IV
A group of five vampires sat silently around an oval table. They all stared at Damon, still too shocked to understand what their sire was asking of them.
"You want what?!" Giovanna asked him. She had been brought across by Damon in 1605 and was one of the first vampires he had sired. She stared at him incredulously, her hazel eyes wide in shock.
"I want you to find a human woman named Bonnie McCullough. She went missed about a month ago. She is important to me, thus part of the responsibility in finding her rests on you. Whoever does catch the scent will have settled the debt they owe to me. If I find out that one of you deliberately faults another, I will personally deal with them." A cruel and sensuous smile appeared on his face. "Any questions?"
"What leads have you acquired so far, liege?" Leopold asked. Unlike the other vampires, he remained loyal to Damon without anything to settle. He was ready to bear his throat to his sire at any time. His wife and children had lived thanks to the cold man seated in the chair across from him. And the enemy who had threatened their well-being? Ripped to pieces centuries ago.
"She was last seen in Virginia in the company of an Alaric Saltzman. He is a paranormal psychologist. And far more annoying that I believed anyone possible," he muttered.
Giovanna was still dumbfounded. He wanted them to search for information on someone. A human. It took her a few seconds to gather her wits, when she realized that she was the only remaining vampire left in the room besides Damon. He stared at her oddly, with his fathomless black eyes.
"Problem, Giovanna?" His teeth were clenched, as if he didn't like being questioned.
"She's human," she replied cautiously.
"Your point?" he snapped. He took a deep breath and turned to look out the window. "You were once."
"Why is she important?" she pressed, still needing something more to understand. "Are you planning to turn her?"
He smiled without humour. "I don't believe it very intelligent to turn someone into something else, before they have the opportunity to realize what they already are."
Giovanna stared at him.
"She's psychic," he answered her unspoken question. "A witch."
"Her powers helped you once," Giovanna whispered.
Damon was silent for several minutes, before he answered, "Yes."
Needing nothing more, she bowed to her him and left the room. What better way to pay off her debt than by allowing Damon to settle his? Life was filled with strange twists and turns.
She shook her head. This was amazing. Never before had anyone, mortal or not, been in Damon's good graces. Certainly, he had people he associated with and didn't completely despise for one reason or another. But to be indebted to a human? No wonder he wanted it settled.
She left through the glass doors of the lobby and walked out into the street. She sniffed the air. Oddly enough for being in the city, the air wasn't polluted with anything but crisp, lung freezing oxygen. Making sure no one was watching, Giovanna shifted into an eagle and flew towards Virginia, sensing the presences of the other vampires who already had a lead on her.
She could feel Damon's eyes watching her from the windows. She glided on the rough air currents, knowing exactly when he slid open the glass, shifted into his own bird form and followed her path.
2 Chapter IV
A group of five vampires sat silently around an oval table. They all stared at Damon, still too shocked to understand what their sire was asking of them.
"You want what?!" Giovanna asked him. She had been brought across by Damon in 1605 and was one of the first vampires he had sired. She stared at him incredulously, her hazel eyes wide in shock.
"I want you to find a human woman named Bonnie McCullough. She went missed about a month ago. She is important to me, thus part of the responsibility in finding her rests on you. Whoever does catch the scent will have settled the debt they owe to me. If I find out that one of you deliberately faults another, I will personally deal with them." A cruel and sensuous smile appeared on his face. "Any questions?"
"What leads have you acquired so far, liege?" Leopold asked. Unlike the other vampires, he remained loyal to Damon without anything to settle. He was ready to bear his throat to his sire at any time. His wife and children had lived thanks to the cold man seated in the chair across from him. And the enemy who had threatened their well-being? Ripped to pieces centuries ago.
"She was last seen in Virginia in the company of an Alaric Saltzman. He is a paranormal psychologist. And far more annoying that I believed anyone possible," he muttered.
Giovanna was still dumbfounded. He wanted them to search for information on someone. A human. It took her a few seconds to gather her wits, when she realized that she was the only remaining vampire left in the room besides Damon. He stared at her oddly, with his fathomless black eyes.
"Problem, Giovanna?" His teeth were clenched, as if he didn't like being questioned.
"She's human," she replied cautiously.
"Your point?" he snapped. He took a deep breath and turned to look out the window. "You were once."
"Why is she important?" she pressed, still needing something more to understand. "Are you planning to turn her?"
He smiled without humour. "I don't believe it very intelligent to turn someone into something else, before they have the opportunity to realize what they already are."
Giovanna stared at him.
"She's psychic," he answered her unspoken question. "A witch."
"Her powers helped you once," Giovanna whispered.
Damon was silent for several minutes, before he answered, "Yes."
Needing nothing more, she bowed to her him and left the room. What better way to pay off her debt than by allowing Damon to settle his? Life was filled with strange twists and turns.
She shook her head. This was amazing. Never before had anyone, mortal or not, been in Damon's good graces. Certainly, he had people he associated with and didn't completely despise for one reason or another. But to be indebted to a human? No wonder he wanted it settled.
She left through the glass doors of the lobby and walked out into the street. She sniffed the air. Oddly enough for being in the city, the air wasn't polluted with anything but crisp, lung freezing oxygen. Making sure no one was watching, Giovanna shifted into an eagle and flew towards Virginia, sensing the presences of the other vampires who already had a lead on her.
She could feel Damon's eyes watching her from the windows. She glided on the rough air currents, knowing exactly when he slid open the glass, shifted into his own bird form and followed her path.