Chapter 27: The Red Concoction

"We've had this talk many times before Jim!" he said exasperated at his lover, "we don't need a bigger coven than what we already have!" He explained as he stared out at the city below from where he stood in Jim's bedroom in their apartment.

Jim sighed, sitting up in bed now, "Sherlock, if you want to be powerful you're going to need a bigger coven. The handful of us isn't enough. Our coven as it is won't even do our work for us!"

He sighed, glancing back at the disheveled bed from their mating the night before, his eyes looking to Jim who lay there, his dark hair a mess, skin still covered in his marks, his lover. Sometimes he didn't understand how Jim thought, "They have their own lives too, they may be in the coven with us but they have their own lives to lead. They're not servants," Sherlock explained. "They don't need to obey our orders."

"Okay than how about I get us some more? How about I actually get us those that will listen?" Jim asked, pushing back the sheets now to reveal his still naked self. Jim took his time, giving him a little catwalk as he made his way over to him and wrapping his arms around him, staring up into his eyes. Sherlock sighed, letting his arms wrap around Jim as he pulled his lover's smaller frame to him.

"You don't just go around converting people like this, Jim. They have lives and families, these are things that are important to them and changing them means that they'll have to leave all that behind," Sherlock tells Jim, his fingers gently combing through his lover's hair, "Imagine just loosing your child and not knowing what happened."

"Family's are stupid! You know that!" Jim says, his voice raised in anger as he pulls away, "Why don't you understand me? What is wrong with you? All I want is to give us the perfect eternity Sherlock…"

"I know what you mean. But you have to treat the humans as humans not just as fodder that we're going to use."

"Well that's what they are!" Jim yelled, "They are nothing compared to us! We are the hunters now! The apex predators! And they can do nothing about this Sherlock! We deserve to rule over them, to lord over them! Why can't you see that?"

He sighed watching as Jim, pulled on his robe and stormed off. Jim was always like this, going on and on about them needing more servants, more people to work for them. More…power. Wasn't he happy enough as it was with just the two of them being together? Sherlock didn't mind as long as it was just the two of them. But he had this nagging feeling that Jim…he needed more and more; he wasn't satisfied with what he had. Jim craved power. Sherlock moved away from the window now and he sat down at the edge of the bed, pulling open the drawer of the bedside table. He kept the concoction there.

Sherlock took out the velvet satchel, slipping the vial out onto his palm. The vial contained a red liquid. It was something he'd created right after he'd changed Jim. It was sort of a reset button for him. He'd always kept it on standby should Jim ever have a horrific time about his change he would use it to erase his memories. He's worked through many different concoctions, ranging from erasing a minute to a day and then this one. This concoction erased special moments in one's life. It worked hand in hand with magic.

Should he need to…he would erase the part of Jim that made him a vampire and suppress his memories of ever being changed.

He jolted awake now looking around the room, "He's still not back yet?" Sherlock asked. He puts his head in his hands supporting it he's still feeling a little drowsy. He remembered dancing with John for the most part of tonight and then nothing. John was gone he'd just run off into the crowd of vampires and no one had seen him again.

"No…" Irene murmured, wringing her hands. Sherlock could see she was just as worried about John.

"You all were supposed to be taking care of him!" he growled, looking at them, "He went there thinking we'd protect him and look what happened, you all let him go," he said looking pointedly at Lestrade. It was his fault after all. He hadn't stopped John when the hunter had tried to get away.

"He fought me! John clawed at me and ran out of my arms to get to you because you were dancing with that green eyed man!" Lestrade growled at which Mycroft put a restraining arm on him. "Did you even know how jealous he was?"

"Jealous? I danced only with John…" Sherlock said his brows furrowed in confusion.

"You don't remember seeing him at all?" Mycroft asked, "He had emerald green eyes and light brown hair. He was the one with the twin doves on his mask?" he offered, trying to jog his brother's memory. "It was a golden coloured mask, ring any bells yet?"

He shook his head, "I didn't dance with anyone but John!" Sherlock said running his hands through his hair, exasperated. Why did they keep telling him about this emerald-eyed man? There had been no one there but John the whole time and now he was beginning to worry even more. They had gone to look for him, from the moment that Lestrade had said that John had run off right until the ball had ended and the guards had chased them out. Then they'd fought, killed the guards but there was no way back into Stowerling Keep, they were locked out.

"It was a trap all along," Kate murmured, "You should have seen it coming."

"You should have said so earlier!" he growled. He didn't need someone like her to tell him that. He'd known it would be a trap…but he hadn't thought that they would take John…since it had been him that The Father had shown specific interest in since the beginning. After their failed attempt at trying to get into Stowerling they had returned back to John's mansion in the hopes that the hunter himself would return but it had been close to three hours and he still hadn't showed.

"I don't understand why The Father would want to take John!" he muttered as he stood, beginning to pace the length of the couch in the sitting room now.

"He's your weak spot," Mycroft said, earning a glare from his brother.

"He should have just taken me instead," he groaned, "They have him locked up in god knows where and here I am sitting and doing nothing! Who the hell knows what they're doing to him! I feel useless…"

All at once the vampires paused, they could smell it in the air, the blood, the scent of John. He was wounded but alive and he was close.

"He's back!" Sherlock gasped and they made a rush for the doors of the mansion, all eager to meet the hunter.

AN: Sorry for not updating in so long I've been really occupied with Thorki and I'm currently working on a story for Christmas, so fans of Thorki can wait for that story :) Anyway I hope you enjoy the two new chapters! Do leave a comment to let me know what you thought of it!