Curse of Ravens // Mikaelson

31 This is Hell

The mausoleum had a cement slab in the center of the room. The vampire's body laid there, a wooden stake poked out of it's chest. Aleksandr walked around to it's head. I turned to Davina, and she gave me a little nod, leaving me to it. When she was gone, and it was just me, the warlock, and the body, I moved around the slab to investigate further.

"It's definitely a vampire. Desiccation and fangs." Aleksandr used a branch to shift the lips upwards, exposing vampire fangs on the corpse. The vampire looked young, maybe in his mid twenties at the oldest. His skin was ashen and veiny. But he was familiar. He was a vampire native to New Orleans. He lived here, he was part of the supernatural community here. Even if he was involved in the uprising with Onyx, he was not a member.

I lifted his eyelids to examine his eyes, and then walk over to one side, lifting his hand and looking at the daylight ring on his finger. "He's a young vampire, no more than a hundred years old."

"How can you tell?"

"His choice of jewelry." I indicate. "Which means he probably wasn't sired by an original. If I had to guess, he turned when Marcel was still running the city. He was probably one of Marcel's daylighters."

"His what?" Aleksandr wondered.

"It's not important." I examine the vampire's clothing, the casual jeans and sweatshirt. I slip my hand into his pockets, trying to find anything. I didn't know what might help. I pulled out his cell phone, but it was password protected, no fingerprint or Face ID. Not because he was clever, but because the phone was out of style, it wasn't a new model. Burner. I pulled the SIM card out of the phone, and tucked it into my pocket.

I search the rest of his pockets and clasp a few items, pulling them out. Aleksandr was still looking at the vampire closely, like he was searching for something specific. There was some money, a few bills and coins. A receipt, and a keychain without a key that looked like one of the cheap souvenirs sold in town. I inspect the keychain, but it was a basic flashing New Orleans sign that looked more appropriate for Las Vegas than this city.

I grabbed the receipt, and noted that the only item there was the keychain. Why would a vampire, who lived in New Orleans, need a cheap souvenir? My face scrunched up in thought.

I read the name of the shop on the receipt. Gautier's Gifts. I know the shop, because it wasn't my first day in New Orleans. It was a basic gift store, with similar stuff like this. License plate frames, key chains, hoodies, shirts, all souvenirs for tourists. Even some faux vampire-themed items because of New Orleans' reputation for the supernatural.

"Hey, look at this." Aleksandr gestured. I walked back over to him. He tilts the vampire's head to the side and pushed the vampire's hair off the back of his neck. It revealed three black lines, that looked like tattoos, and where about two inches in length. "What does this look like to you?"

My heart rate increased, and my palms began to sweat. "These are Kramer marks." I looked back at Aleksandr. He looked as nervous about it as I was. "What the hell are Kramer marks doing on a vampire?"

"It can't be anything good." Aleksandr concluded. I took my phone out to take a photo of the marks, and then a photo of the vampire's face.

The door opened back up to the mausoleum and both of us straighten as Davina and Kol entered.

"Well?" Davina asked. I shrugged.

"There's nothing physical that would suggest why they could enter without invitation." I reported to her. "But I'm as determined to figure out how this happened as you are." I glanced to my uncle. "Do either of you know why they were invading these houses anyway?