The author's notes:
2021-12-22: Hey, I would like to share a short preview with you. Though as I have mentioned recently, I will try to take more time to finish each chapter, rereading it a couple of times. So, please do not be surprised if some parts of the preview do not make it through into the final release. Besides that, enjoy the text :)
2021-12-25: Hey, a small update. I will not be able to finish the chapter before Christmas. But, here is what I have come up with so far. Enjoy the reading, and Merry Christmas :)
2021-12-27: Hey, I have managed to finish the chapter. It is not that long as I have intended initially, but I think it will do :) On the side note, I think I will need to look back at the story as a whole and make adjustments. Anyways, do tell what do you like or dislike :)
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2021-12-22]: A preview was released.
[2021-12-25]: Updated the chapter. Added around 1k words.
[2021-12-27]: The chapter has been updated. Its final version was released.
Info: Overall, the current plan is for me to write 'My home is where my heart lies' and 'Family tree' alternatively. Between the updates of these stories, I will try to upload other texts. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finish some of the short stories. However, I truly doubt that. It seems that most if not all of the stories will be extended both in terms of the time and the number of chapters.
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even 2 stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
References:
Sabaton - The price of a mile
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.
Cold sweat immediately came upon Vayne's brow. Followed by an unpleasant shiver running down her spine. The situation quickly switched from bad to worse.
A heavy gulp appearing in the woman's throat could barely be swallowed. She was obviously nervous, but she would have never expected such a severe reaction. After a moment or so, she realised that the vampire's aura must have been switched on. It would have explained why her fear to go over the roof. Still, it would have been greatly appreciated for that aura to disappear.
The white-haired vampire remained composed compared to the RDT officer. Within a second or so, Miss Tepes opened the door. From Vayne's perspective, it looked like magic.
"Follow me," Akali ordered, speaking in a low tone.
The onyx-haired woman did not reply. After all, there was no need to. So instead, she did as she had been told, following the vampire closely.
Again, the RDT officer got surprised by the distinguished difference between them. The white-haired council's leader moved effortlessly, gracefully whilst making no sound. On the other hand, Shauna made some noises even though she tried her hardest not to.
Soon enough, the heavy scent of blood hit Vayne's nostrils. As they climbed, the smell intensified. They must have been getting closer and closer.
"One dead and at least two wounded," the white-haired woman informed Shauna.
"How do you know?" the officer asked, surprised yet quietly.
"Is it of any value, right now?" Akali asked emotionlessly. "I will try to satisfy your curiosity once the situation is once again under control. Will it be enough?" she added in a whisper-like manner.
"Deal," Shauna spoke.
It was only a matter of time before they reached the flat located on the very top level of the building. Even without a stench of blood spreading quickly, it was evident something was happening behind this door. The crimson-red stains could have been easily spotted at multiply areas of the frame. Additionally, the wooden construct was not entirely closed. The locking block could be seen in the gap between the door and the frame. The mechanism was damaged, pushed into the wood.
"Do not intervene," the vampire requested silently before coming in.
The entrance was opened once again without making a sound. The council's leader did not waste a moment, delving deeper into the flat. Her posture was emitting one evident emotion, confidence. The poorly furniture aspect of the apartment was immediately discarded into the depth of Vayne's mind. There was no time for such details with little to no importance.
"Come on, Dori," a man's voice sounded. "Your man is gone; you know that, don't you?"
"That's right, Dori," another man's voice uttered enthusiastically. "Join us, and we'll take good care of you and the kids," he spoke his mind. "Your oldest soon could start working, if you know what I mean," he began laughing.
Within the next couple of moments, they reached what seemed to be a living room. The voices belonged to two black-skinned men, clothed in worn-out jackets. They talked to a woman of average height curling defensively near the wall. A still bleeding flesh wound could be spotted on her neck. Her dark, curly hair was wet, glued to her skin. Like the men, she was black though of a much lighter skin tone.
To no one's surprise, Akali was right once again. An elderly man with almost white hair was the dead person the vampire had informed her about. In his once-broad chest, 3 stab wounds could be spotted. One of these attacks must have pierced through his heart.
"Where's the other wounded, though?" Shauna thought to herself.
"Come on, Dori," the first voice sounded again. "We might be rough in bed, but we'll treat you about right. You know that you'll end up as someone's bitch no matter what you do. So, why don't you stay with us?"
"Fuck you!" the woman uttered quietly. However, considering the lack of courage in her voice, she had already given up.
"Come to us," the other man spoke. "I'll even forgive you for that scratch on my cheek. Of course, after you make it right," he added, laughing.
The council's leader came into the room without wasting any moment more. A short, curved, slightly glowing dagger flashed twice before the men fell onto the ground, dead. These we some of the cleanest kills the officer had ever witnessed. The inflicted damage was bound to the bare minimum, nothing more. Two small holes piercing right through their hearts, nothing more. Though the blood still poured out of them, staining the floor.
The black woman screamed, piercing the night.
"Can you stop screaming already?" the council's leader asked, annoyed more than anything. "If I wanted to kill you, trust me, you would have been dead by now," she added, fixing her crimson-red irises on the black-skinned woman.
"What are you doing here? I didn't do anything!" the ebony-skinned woman began squicking.
"Mrs Clarke!" the vampire hissed coldly. "Please, do listen to me for a moment. Can you do it?" she added, closing the distance between them.
"I didn't do anything!" Mrs Clarke pleaded. "Please, leave my children and me alone."
"We know that, Mrs," Shauna spoke up, closing in as well. "We're here because of your husband."
"He's dead, isn't he?" the black-skinned woman asked rhetorically. "I knew something was off when he hadn't returned home from his night shift," she gasped, her voice filled with sadness.
"Yes, he was murdered," the white-haired vampire took back the lead. "As my apprentice said, we have come here to ask some questions. And… by the look of things, our timing could have been a bit better."
"Who's that?" Vayne asked Mrs Clarke whilst pointing at the dead elderly man.
"Our neighbour, James Reed," Mrs Clarke responded, casting her sight even lower. "He heard an argument between me and these two dickheads. He meant good; he tried to stop them from whatever they had planned. God… one of them just turned around and stabbed James with a knife," she told them, shaking all over.
"Why these two come here?" the RDT officer asked.
"Is it not obvious, Miss Vayne?" the council's leader uttered in a low tone. "They wanted her and her body for themselves. But, Mrs Clarke, Carline, did Tom has any enemies down there? Maybe, someone envied him, wished him harm?" she asked, softening her voice a little.
"I don't know," Carline replied quickly. "We tried to… we tried to befriend our neighbours."
"You wanted to get out of here, am I right?" Akali asked another question. "That is why your husband picked up that job?"
"Yes," Mrs Clarke simple uttered. "We needed money to move out. We wanted our children to grow up in a better place than this shithole."
"Your oldest daughter is not Tom's, is she not?" Miss Tepes changed the subject swiftly. "Her father died when she was a little girl. He did not belong to that world, per se," she added, kneeling before the woman.
"How do you know that?" Carline gasped. All colours faded away from her face, leaving the pale-white shade. "Who are you?"
"Does it matter?" the vampire asked, switching her irises colour back to silver. "You need to move out from here immediately. These scums were only part of the first wave of unwanted attention you will soon receive."
"I can't," Carline replied simply. "We don't have money to do so," she added sadly.
"Then… I have a proposition for you," Akali instantly followed. "Your oldest daughter is special, is she not?"
"I won't trade my daughter to be a lamb meant for a slaughter!" Mrs Clarke yelled.
"I do not intend on killing her," the council's leader uttered somehow softly. "I see a lot of potential in her. I would love to guarantee her a bright future. So, the offer is as follows: you will be granted a significant amount of money to start a new life. But, your oldest will come with me. You will be able to visit her once your life returns to normality. Is it feasible for you?"
"You ask much from me," Carline uttered in a whisper-like manner. "You ask for one of my daughters in exchange for the future of the others," she whispered.
"I accept your terms," a faint gasp sounded after a couple of minutes of silence.
"I can assure you it is the best choice you could have made," Miss Tepes commented. "Miss Vayne, please keep Mrs Clarke's company. I need to make a few calls."
The vampire rose up without anything more to say, then exited the poor flat. Again, the crucial pieces of information were kept away from Shauna. And, for sure, the raven-haired officer did not like that feeling. But, with little to no choices left to make, she opted to follow the direct request.
"Miss Tepes mentioned something about your oldest daughter's father," the RDT officer started softly. "Could you elaborate a little, please?" she asked, offering her hand to help the woman rise up.
"She didn't tell you a thing, didn't she?" Carline replied in a whisper-like manner, taking the offered hand. "Let's sit, then I'll try to answer your questions."
2 hours later:
"That was an utter failure," the raven-haired officer complained once they had returned. "Aside from saving Mrs Clarke and her children, all we did was a waste of time," she allowed herself to continue.
"Do you really think so?" Miss Tepes asked, fixing her gaze.
"Oh… forgive me," the RDT officer mocked. "You've gained a new puppet to play with. Yet another apprentice to follow your orders!"
"Did you even see that child?" the council's leader asked emotionlessly.
"What would it change, hmm?" the pissed off officer grunted.
"Nevermind," Akali sighed heavily. "We will continue that discussion once you cool down. But, let me tell you that there was a clue there."
"What clues?"
"Have you taken a look at these men's knives?"
"No, why?"
"They would have not been able to get these themselves," the vampire uttered coldly, passing Vayne a tablet. "Each of these is worth more than someone like them could have earned throughout their lifespan. Additionally, these are not mass-produced," she explained.
"How do you know that?" Shauna asked a stupid question. "Nevermind, don't answer; you know more than I'm willing to give you credits for," she added a moment later.
Then, the raven-haired woman took a look at the photos displayed on the tablet. All it took for Vayne to grasp the concept Miss Tepes had mentioned was one glance. The knife was maybe an inch longer than a typical chef's knife. Its blade was carved in a more Japanese style, getting thinner and thinner toward the cutting edge. On its surface, some beautiful engravings could have been witnessed.
"Do we know who made them?" the RDT officer asked.
"Not yet, but it is only a matter of time," Akali replied.
"Have you thought about the theft possibility?"
"Yes," the snowy-white-haired vampire slowly exhaled. "It is possible for them to steal these. However, I doubt that. Still, it is the only lead we currently have. Therefore, I believe it is worth investigating a little bit deeper."
"I feel like this clue is more than shady," the raven-haired woman commented. "Though I agree that it's our only possible clue for the time being. How do you want to approach that lead?" she asked, sighing.
"Slow and steady," a simple response was provided. "I do not think there are a lot of places that offer such beautiful, custom-crafted knives. It should not take us long to find who has sold that item."
"Nearly unlimited resources sometimes do the trick… I guess," Shauna replied whilst scratching her left cheek. "Are you going to call the Doc?"
"No," Miss Tepes spoke. "It will be beneficial for her to sleep some more," she added, heading toward her desk.
"I guess… you're right," Vayne uttered, shrugging visibly. "So… what's the next step?"
"Aria," the council's leader called the AI.
"At your disposal, Miss Tepes," the synthetic voice sounded instantly.
"Can you analyse the pictures of these knives?" Akali asked, sitting in her comfortable armchair.
"But, of course, Miss Tepes," Aria informed. "What should I focus on? Which details are you interested in, Miss?"
"On the blade, you can find the signature and the identification number," the vampire sounded. "Please, try to match them against our databases. I want to know who makes such knives and who is selling them. There is a slight possibility it will be the same person, organisation."
"Should I restrict the area of search?"
"Try to find a match in the USA first, then if it fails, try Japan," the council's leader provided instructions. "If it still does not provide a result, lift the restrictions."
"Understood, Miss Tepes," the AI acknowledged. "Though with sadness, I must inform that it might take a while," she informed the vampire.
"I see," Akali simply uttered. "Please, proceed nevertheless."
The AI did not reply; there was nothing to add after all. So the silence was allowed to take a reign over the room for the next couple of minutes. The RDT officer did not feel that asking further questions would do her any good. So, instead, Shauna starred into the beautiful snowy-white-haired vampire. At least dozens of conflicted emotions ran through Miss Tepes's face within the next minute or so. With her eyes closed, the woman seemed to be contemplating something deep inside her mind.
"Do utter that question," Akali sounded. "Doubts are visibly consuming you. I can picture that these are related to some information being kept away from you. Is that so?"
"Yes," the raven-haired officer spoke. She did not find any benefit in lying. Additionally, it would have been possible for the vampire to see through the lie. "I'd like to know more," she requested.
"Ehh," the council's leader sighed heavily. "Ask away, then. Though bear in mind, I might not provide you with the answers you seek."
"Fair enough," the officer replied. "Let's start with something easy, shall we? You've mentioned earlier something about the degenerated vampires. Care to elaborate?"
"The picture you have engraved in mind does not show a degenerate," the white-haired woman spoke in a whisper-like manner. "What you consider degenerate is most likely an E-level or a D-level vampire. The degenerates are designated in our society as F-level."
"What is the difference?"
"What do you know about my kind?" Akali countered with a question of her own.
"Frankly… not that much," the RDT officer whispered back, reddening a little.
"It is perfectly understandable," Miss Tepes commented emotionlessly. "To explain what the degenerates are, I will need to brief you a little regarding my kind."
"So, as I have already mentioned, our heritage is divided into levels," Akali continued a moment later, opening her eyes. At the very top of the food chain, there are pure-bloods. We do not designate a class for them because, frankly, these units differentiate a lot between themselves. As you might have heard or known before, I am a pureblood. Below there are the S-levels. Then, there are A, B, C, D, E, and F levels," she added, rising up. "These groups segregate our society and are related to the power held by these vampires."
"So, the degenerates are the lowest possible rank within your hierarchy. But… how are they made, turned?"
"These unfortunate and poor souls were converted by members of E or D class," the white-haired woman replied. "Usually, it would not have been enough to turn a man or woman to the degenerate tier. Unfortunately, however, they were not offered any vampire blood."
"Offered vampire blood? What do you mean by that?" the raven-haired officer asked, confused.
"When you are bitten, thus turned, in most cases, your initial class is one tier lower than that of the vampire that had turned you. Though it can be uplifted by offering vampire blood to the newly turned. So, for example, if you had been bitten by the B tier, you would be initially turned into the C tier. However, if said vampire offered you blood, your status would have been uplifted into the B class. Of course, the more powerful vampires can offer their blood as well. In such a situation, you could outright exceed your turner. Though it is not that common. If all the vampires had followed the rules, the F class would not have existed."
"So, the degens are the ones who had been left to their own device?" Vayne asked with horror in her eyes.
"Yes," Miss Tepes uttered simply. "In the case of most vampires, the blood status can be uplifted at any time. Unfortunately, however, the same can not be said regarding the Fs. For years we have tried to experiment with them. We tried to find a cure for them. But, in the end, the only thing we can offer them is a swift death," a hint of sadness could have been heard in her voice.
"That's why they're so desperate," Shauna spoke in a hollow voice. "That's why you've said they'd have devoured these men?" she asked even though she knew the answer.
"It is a rhetorical question, Miss Vayne," the council's leader replied in a whisper-like manner. "Next question?"
"Who's that girl you've taken in?' the raven-haired woman asked after a moment of hesitation.
"You are referring to Mrs Clarke's oldest daughter, I presume," Akali whispered. "As I have stated before, she is special."
"You've mentioned that she isn't Tom Clarke's daughter. So, who's?"
"Her true father's name was Rick Rauscher," the white-haired woman responded.
"Who was he to you? Past lover?"
"One of my guardians," Miss Tepes whispered. "Died almost 16 years ago."
"16 years ago?" Vayne asked, swallowing a gulp. "It was…"
"Yes, he died during the war," the vampire responded quickly, focusing on the window. "I did not know that he had entered a relationship with Mrs Clarke until tonight. I refused to read the KIA reports during the war."
"He was German?"
"Just like most of the guardians," the council's leader uttered, sighing. "Yes, he was white too. There is no need to ask that question."
"An interracial relationship during the war? Fuck," the RDT officer started to mumble.
"It seems that way," Akali commented. "They would have killed her if even a rumour had sounded back then. An interracial couple, even worse, black and white couple. I should have found out earlier. I would have never allowed his wife and child to suffer there," she continued her monologue. In Miss Tepes's voice, the hint of guilt could have been heard.
"It isn't your fault," Shauna tried to reassure the vampire.
"Pff," Miss Tepes scoffed, then laughed. "Do not try to pitty me. Even back then, I had enough resources and influence to find out. It is my fault that it slipt past my watch. Anyways, I will not be able to turn back past. The only thing I can do is to make the future better."
"What are you going to do with that child?" the officer asked.
"First of all, her future belongs to her," the vampire replied, turning back. "I will not try to push her toward any direction. She will be free to choose her destination, goals. I will merely provide her with everything she might need," she added, flashing her crimson-red irises.
"Alright."
"Let me ask you a thing, shall we?" Akali asked, but she did not wait for any response. "What do you know about your parents?"
"They've been killed when I was little," the raven-haired woman replied quietly. "They were killed by one of your kind," she added with a hint of blame carried in her voice. "But, I assume you've that before you even asked. So, the question stands, why did you ask? What do you intend on gaining?"
"I know a thing or two about your family that you might not. So let put it in such a manner," Miss Tepes responded evasively. "Though I can assure you that the vampire responsible for that brutal murder is long gone."
"Who's killed him?"
"Me. I have killed him with my bare hands."
"Good."
"Miss Tepes, with pleasure, I can inform you that the match has been found," the AI announced unexpectedly.