Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!
Diamond sank down into the bath that had been carefully prepared for him. He sighed as he relaxed and eased his aching muscles in, the scent wafting up comforting him. He was long overdue for this luxury, and his body started to show the strain. Not that he hadn't worked to conceal that fact carefully.
He reached his hand out and gently plucked the long stem wine glass from the table set up for him next to the ornate claw foot bath. He sipped the Pinot Noir, his favorite and just the vintage he ordered.
The soft light from the black candles lit around the room added to the aura that relaxed him. He felt the aches from his body slowly easing out of him. The tension that had gathered in his shoulders slipped away too.
He took another sip of the wine and let out a cleansing breath. He leaned back, careful to keep his white hair out of the tub, and closed his eyes. This time he had for himself to rest and recharge was everything to him.
He worked very hard to put recent developments out of his mind. Five murdered men wasn't a mistake. Someone knew what he was doing and was actively working against him. It wasn't a coincidence that the very blood he needed was purposely drained from those men and left to be found by the police. Whoever did it wanted him to know they were destroyed, which had infuriated him. He needed them.
He took a long sip of his wine, trying to calm his fraying nerves. It didn't work. The whole issue was the very reason why his restoring bath had been delayed.
Diamond looked down at the blood he was bathing in and tried to reassure himself in the fact that his witch had been able to complete the ritual to extend his long life.
A life that had stretched one hundred and thirty years so far. One that benefited from him living in the shadows and only a few trusted people near him. Ones that knew his "father", the one who supposedly killed Wiseman, was really him. He just learned to lie about having a son in hiding and then go into hiding himself for a time and reappear to the world, pretending to be his own child.
His witch–it was the only reason he put up with his sister; besides the fact that she could seduce almost any man. She was obnoxious, but she was powerful. It annoyed him that he didn't have that power. It was the strength of her power that lengthened her life.
What lengthened his life was a dark spell that required suffering. He lured men in with the promise of power, ones who enjoyed the suffering of others. Emerald then did a ritualistic spell with each of them. It caused them to draw power and energy from the suffering of others. He then sent them out, telling them to act as depraved as possible, and they'd be rewarded.
The promise was a lie. When they returned, they were collected until there were enough of them to finish the spell. Emerald then did a new incantation and slit their throats, pouring their blood into his bath. That very blood was what sustained his life. The dark energy pulled from the suffering of others literally fueled his body and life.
He would soak in the bathtub of blood for four hours to get the full benefit. He just hoped his next bath wasn't as far away as he feared it would be. He needed a way to stop whoever it was from picking off some of his human sacrifices.
"I'll talk to Yamato the next time he's in and explain what's happening. I'll disclose the issue, you don't need to threaten me," Mamoru snipped.
Serena scoffed, "I wasn't threatening you. It was the opening salvo to offer you my help."
"I don't need your help."
"Really? Do you think he was the only murderer there? All four of them work for Diamond. How did you get mixed up with this poker group?"
"They're the only ones who presented a challenge. Well, until I met you."
She smiled at him and shook her head in disbelief. A human could keep up with werewolves; he must be brilliant. "And I told you there were four killers there and you aren't fazed in the least."
"I would have to believe you, wouldn't I, in order to get worked up?"
She raised her eyebrows at the challenge in his voice. "And you're being prickly because…?"
Because I'm attracted to you, was his unvoiced answer. The degree of his attraction shocked him and made him nervous. It was something he hadn't ever felt before, and it didn't fit into his ten-year plan.
Instead he said, "Because a four foot eleven inch girl who shows no fear is telling me we were both in the room with four members of the Negamoon crime family."
"Underestimate me, this should be fun."
"Don't get offended, but even if you were incredibly strong, you don't have the ability to protect yourself. Leverage isn't on your side. It's math." She groaned, she hated math.
She took another attack at it. "Aren't there any detectives you can ask at work?"
"I only know two detectives, and I think one is hiding a vigilante and the other is dating him."
It took Usagi's centuries of experience not to flinch at that. He already suspected Artemis. Dang.
And just when she was noticing the uptick in spelled assholes. Diamond had increased the potential blood base in case more were killed, she suspected.
"And you suspect either would help Diamond?"
"Actually, no."
"Then ask them. Also, don't go to that poker game again."
Kunzite watched as Zoisite nodded, "The system is down. You have ten minutes. Luckily you can move fast."
Zoisite had managed to hack into the police station and drop their security. It was imperative they found out if the dead cop was Wiseman's son. None of them could rest until they knew. They all needed Kunzite to see it with his own eyes.
Kunzite had used his increased werewolf speed and strength to make it to the thankfully empty morgue. He quickly found the man he killed, flipped on his cell phone flashlight, and took a picture of the not-so-well-hidden tattoo. It was him—damn.
Half an hour later, the four of them were sitting together looking grim. Kunzite had killed the son of a man they had all respected.
"Do you think Diamond knew?" Nephrite asked.
"No, honestly, I think if he knew he would have killed him himself."
"And we served him after he betrayed Wiseman."
"Yes, but he didn't murder him, and we know why he did. He sensed weakness in Wiseman, and that's a cardinal sin for us."
Kunzite sighed, "And I have to live with the fact that I killed him."
"You didn't know," Jadeite argued.
"That's the only thing that helps right now."
"Yeah, and that little wisp of a girl suspects you."
He laughed, "What can she do to me?"
Ami smiled as she poured the vial in her right hand into the beaker that was suspended above the Bunsen burner. The dark blue solution was now in and she mixed everything with a glass stirring rod. When that was done, she picked up the dropper of blood and placed four drops of human blood into her experiment. When that was done, all of the liquid in the glass had turned dark red.
She smiled hugely, picked up the beaker, and not caring that it was hot, she drank. She was too excited. It was hot, but the whole thing tasted like blood. She drank down the whole thing.
Once she did, she cleaned up the University lab room and made sure to hide her activity. She also returned the things she brought along to her school bag, tucking them away carefully.
Now it was a waiting game.
Did what she just made not only taste completely like human blood, but nourish like human blood? If it did, she just found the solution to having to drink from humans. She planned to make it into a tablet form that could be dissolved into water and drunk. Instant meal and a way to survive undetected among humans.
Rai felt an uneasiness in the wind that night. It was the first time she ever got a reading off of anything other than the Great Fire.
Something was happening and she just knew it was happening to Jadeite.
She decided to throw caution to the wind and knocked on his door. No one was home. Her sense of dread increased. Somehow she knew he was somewhere, hurting.
Yamato stared at his computer screen as he sat in his living room. Despite his worries, it had taken no time at all to get a response. The M.O. didn't match but the method of death did. Someone was killing in the exact same way in the United Kingdom of all places.
This time though, they were killing known criminals being investigated by the police department.
He mumbled under his breath, "Both have a link to crime and the police. Can that be a coincidence?"
Usagi had long since given up on the idea of the night ending with kissing. She could see him fighting his feelings for her and it frustrated her.
"Just what makes you suspect him anyway?"
"Honestly, deduction. He's the only one that could make the shot. Well, the only one who would make an illegal kill. Japan has plenty of good snipers, but they work for the military and aren't into hiring out for murder."
That answer shocked him. "How do you know he's a sniper?"
She pulled out a photo and handed it over to him. "Simple, he loves to practice. Diamond has a bunch of land and see," she then pointed at the picture. "He takes aim at cans."
Mamoru was looking at a photo of Kunzite using a Type 89 (Japanese military rifle). He handed it back to Usagi. "How did you get that?"
"Simple. I took the picture. I told you, I'm investigating Diamond."
"And that was on his property?!"
"Yes."
He looked upset then. "That's so dangerous! They could have killed you." As much as he was fighting it, he knew she was important to keep around.
"Don't worry about me. It's not like we're dating or anything," she said, hoping it would taunt him.
He only grumbled in response.