"I won't tell you anything!" the vampire spat at Wolfric, fangs fully bared, spittle flying.

I cocked my head and stood in front of the bad guy. "They," I drawled, "always say that." Leaning in, I winked at him, making him glare daggers at me, "But, 'we have ways of making men talk'."

"Gary Cooper fan?" Wolfric asked as he rummaged through his desk.

I sent him a smile over my shoulder, "I am indeed. Whatcha looking for?"

He didn't answer me, but he made a noise of approval as he pulled a case full of rather sharp looking blades and other painful looking objects out of one of the drawers.

"Uh oh," I told the poor bastard in the chair, "you're in for it now, buddy. He's found his toys."

The rogue's eyes zeroed in on Wolfric's instruments of torture. Panic reared its ugly head, but the stubborn fool remained silent.

Still keeping quiet, Wolfric brought his utensils over and set them down. Gently taking a pointy knife in his big hands, he toyed with the tip. Never taking his eyes from his reflection in the blade, he spoke. "You know who I am, don't you?" When the vampire remained silent, Wolfric's cold eyes flashed.

The next thing I knew, the rogue was screaming his head off. Startled, I looked down, only to find the very same knife that Wolfric had been fiddling with, now embedded in the upper thigh of the screaming vamp.

Eyes wide, I looked at Wolfric, who was reaching for another toy. I hadn't seen him move and I'd heard nothing.

Rummaging in my pocket, I held out a penny in the palm of my hand, "If you can take this penny from my hand, Grasshopper…"

Ignoring me, Wolfric drew closer to the vampire. He had stopped screaming, but he groaned in pain here and there. "I believe," he drawled, "I asked you a question."

"I'd answer him if I were you," I advised him, a little good cop bad cop eh? "He really likes playing with those things."

"Yes!" the vampire hissed through his teeth, his eyes mere slits in his skull.

All of a sudden Wolfric was there, all up in the rogue's face. Fury burned in his eyes, making them gleam like polished emeralds. Baring his teeth in a snarl, he growled, "Who am I?!"

"You're Wolfric, the Master Vampire of New York City."

The Master smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile by any means, "That's right. Which means ye should serve me." His head cocked to the side, the golden waves brushing his shoulders, "But you do no', do ye? Ye and other pieces of shite like yerself serve another, one who seeks to dirty my city with his filth."

Wolfric's voice may've been soft, but I could tell just how angry he was by the thickening of his brogue. The Highlands only slipped out of his otherwise cultured words when he was really, really pissed off.

I'm so glad I'm not the rogue right now.

Okay, I thought to myself as I moseyed on over. Bad Cop had has his turn, now it was Good Cop's time to shine. Patting Wolfric on the arm, I gently, but firmly reined him in. "What's your name, bud?"

At the change in tones, the vampire merely blinked up at me. I'm pretty sure it was simply the surprise at the question that had him answering, "Lance."

I rewarded him with my best smile. Perching myself on the edge of Wolfric's desk, I pushed my hair back from my shoulders, giving the slimeball a good view of the goods and my jugular. Hey, anything to get him off guard. The knife sticking out of his leg was just the icing on the cake.

Twirling a curl around my index finger, I kept all of my attention on Lancey-boy, "So, Lance. Tell me, who exactly do you work for? Who sent you here tonight?"

He sneered, actually sneered, at me and didn't open his damn mouth. But, it wasn't totally unsuccessful, the little prick's eyeholes were glued to me.

I let him hear my sad sigh, "You know, you can talk to me. If not, you're only other alternative is him." I jerked a thumb over at Wolfric, who had gone back to his knives, carefully picking one up only to scrutinize it before setting it back down. Apprehension had the sneer vanishing from Lance's face.

Returning my hand to my lap, I once again smiled at Lance, "Now, who seems like the better option here?"

Eyes darting between me and Wolfric, I could practically see the little wheels turning in the idiot's head. Tell them and possibly be horribly killed by my boss? Or, not tell them and more than likely get made into a pincushion by ultra scary Wolfric and super sexy me.

"He'll kill me," Lancey-boy, soon to be our little canary, whined in a last effort of loyalty to his boss.

Before I could open my mouth to reassure him, Wolfric barked out a laugh behind me, "If he doesn't, I most certainly will."

I nearly lunged at the big idiot! I hastily found words, "What he means to say is that we'll offer you protection if you spill- I mean- tell us who your master is." I shot a death glare at Wolfric, and, thankfully, he had the brains this time to remain silent.

Relief was starting to replace the fear and desperation etched into the rogue's face. The air left his lungs in a breath of relief, "Fine. If you can guarantee protection, then I'll tell you who he is."

I barely stopped myself from doing a victory booty shake, "You have my word. Now spill." I could feel Wolfric draw closer.

"His name is-!" the vampire's eyes bulged out of his head, the whites of them overpowering the irises. His mouth opened but not words came out, he looked like a fish out of water, gasping for air. When he started to shake I hopped down from the desk and started towards him, "Wolfric? What's happening?"

I reached out to the rogue's shoulder, my intent was to shake him out of whatever had gotten ahold of him. The air in the room seemed to have been sucked out, making it hard to breathe. The lights started to flicker and the feeling of dread and despair seeped into the room.

"Do no' touch him!" Wolfric commanded, his voice strained.

Too late, my fingertips brushed the vampire's shoulders and as if waiting for my touch, his body slumped. His head of dark blonde hair hung in his face, and his shoulder that were so rigid only a moment ago had gone as limp as a noodle.

I stared in horror at my hand, what just happened?!

"Lance?"

No, answer.

The evil aura hadn't dissipated in the least, it still surrounded me like a blanket. One that sought to smother me, instead of offering warmth.

"Rowena." Wolfric spoke softly, he was only a few feet behind me but his voice was muffled, as if he were a mile away. "Get away from him. Now."

I was so freaked out, I didn't need to be asked twice. I took a step backwards.

Lance's blonde head snapped up and I could only gasp. The vampire's eyes were no longer the chocolate brown that they'd been, they were now a cold, icy blue. I found myself trapped in that cold gaze like a deer caught in headlights. This was not the same vampire. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt that I was looking into the eyes of a murderer.

For the first time in a really long time, I actually felt the heavy weight of pure fear. It takes a lot to scare me, but the menaical promise of pain and suffering in this ancient's eyes had me actually trembling.

A smile of wicked appreciation spread the vampire's lips, "Well, hello. I don't believe we've been introduced. You must be Detective McCoy."

Ice filled my veins, causing chills to creep down my arms. I fought not to wrap my arms around myself, "So, you know my name. I'm afraid I can't say the same."

Even with the body he was occupying tied to a chair and a knife sticking out of the leg, the stranger still managed to perform a courteous bow, "How rude of me, I do apologize. My name is Sebastian." Straightening he tilted his head and looked me up and down, "I've heard you've been asking after me. It's so flattering to have the attentions of a beautiful woman. Don't you think Wolfric?"

Stepping up behind me, Wolfric wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me back against his chest. I didn't mind in the least, the bad vibes in the room were giving me the heebie jeebies and it felt good to have someone hold me close, even for just a moment.

"It certainly is. Now, what can I do for you, Sebastian?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment, humming to himself while he pondered Wolfric's question. "Well," he finally said, "you could turn your city and all your followers over to me. It would save me a considerable amount of time and effort." Those chilling eyes focused on me and he tilted his head considering, "I wouldn't mind taking the lovely Miss McCoy while I'm at it. She looks delicious."

I bared my teeth in a snarl, "Touch me, mother fucker, and I'll cut your balls off and make you eat them."

Sebastian wasn't intimidated in the least. He actually laughed, not a measly chuckle, but a full blown laugh. "Oh, I do like the ones with that fighting spirit." His voice changed from a carefree, maybe even a somewhat whimsical tone, to a delicate, seductive whisper, "It's oh so much more enjoyable watching them break." I could practically see the different ways he intended to "break me" in those pale eyes of his.

Wolfric's arm tightened around me just a little, "Why New York? Why have you set your sights on this city to take over? You've been killing all over this country, why stop now?"

It was a good question, one I wish I'd thought to ask. But apparently, fear makes it a little hard for me to think straight.

Sebastian chuckled, "Oh, my dear boy! Who says I intend to stop? I like New York. So many tasty morsels just begging to be sampled. Once I've taken over, I'll have to be a little more discreet, of course, but I'll have one of the most powerful cities in the world under my thumb." He sighed with nostalgia, "And who knows? Perhaps I'll contact the other Masters and persuade them to go back to the good ol' days when we were the things to be feared in the dead of night. The humans will both fear and respect us, they'll be treated like what they really are. Food."

I snorted and he glared at me, "There are way too many humans for you to plan some sort of world domination thing. A war would break out between the humans and the vampires, perhaps all monsters, but in the end, we wouldn't win."

"Are you so sure about that?" Sebastian questioned. "Since our unveiling ten years ago, our numbers have only grown. And I'm sure that there are others like me that wish to be the ones that control how things are. I'm not so sure as you are, Detective, that it would be such a complete win for the humans."

"Well then," I drawled, "I'll just have to kill you before something like that happens, won't I?"

Sebastian smiled with Lance the vampire's lips, humor lighting his otherwise lifeless eyes, "You can try, Detective. But, a half breed doesn't stand a chance against me. I hope you do attempt the impossible, my lady, and come for me yourself. I can't wait to take you while I bathe us in the blood of the soon to be former Master Vampire here." He looked at Wolfric in emphasis.

I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands so hard my fingernails drew blood from my palms, "I'd rather die than let that happen."

"Be careful what you wish for, Detective," Sebastian crooned.

With that last retort, and a wink at me, Sebastian's crazy blue eyes faded away only to be replaced by the rogue's glassy, brown eyes. When I felt the dark aura evaporate from the room, I crept closer to the rogue, praying that Sebastian wouldn't make a second appearance.

Reaching up, I placed two fingers against the vampire's jugular and waited.

Not. A. Damn. Thing.

With a sigh, I withdrew my hand, letting it hang in defeat at my side. Somehow, this nasty mother fucker had possessed this rogue's body and had killed him in this process. Ensuring that he couldn't spill his guts. Fuck.

"Wolfric? How powerful would someone have to be to do something like this?" I asked him without turning around.

He didn't answer at first, which was not a good sign. "This ability is quite rare. I've only heard about it once, but apparently, only the strongest of the strong posess this power. Purebloods."

"Terrific." Purebloods, as their name suggests, are those vampires that were born to vampire parents. Vampires rarely have children, female vamps can certainly get pregnant, but the fetus is hardly ever carried to term. Most vampires are created in the usual way, they were once human and, whether willingly or not, had taken blood from a vampire three times. But purebloods were never human, and for some reason, they're stronger than everyone else.

I glanced at him over my shoulder, his face was impassive as he stared at me. But somehow, I got the feeling he wasn't really seeing me, but something else. "Have you ever encountered a pureblood before?"

He seemed to snap himself back from la-la land and focused on me. That tempting mouth flattened and a muscle in his jaw ticked, "Once."

That surprised me, "Who? When?"

Wolfric glanced away his eyes obviously troubled.

I turned fully around and held out my hands in front of me as I stepped closer, "Okay, I didn't mean to open up a door that you keep locked. You don't have to tell me. But, please tell me one thing." I met his eyes and they were as grave as mine, "Can I kill this bastard?"

He didn't answer, but continued to stare at me for a moment before turning on his heels and walking out of his office.

I released a shaky breath. I got my answer, and I didn't like it one bit.