Breaking Fate

Chapter 3

My Salvation

I had no time to alert Timothy and the security teams as I flew from the building and into the thick trees behind the cathedral. I trusted that someone other than me must have heard the desperate screams of a person on the edge of death, and I followed the sound and growing scent of blood to a clearing which was awash in moonlight. What I saw had my blood boiling from rage. There, holding a savage human body with its neck ripped out, Akihiro stood, casually feasting on the dead human's blood. The clothing the human wore was tattered and dirty, nothing like the impeccable black uniforms worn by the employees of the party company, but that did little to quell my outrage.

I'd ordered that no one take life, not in my jurisdiction.

But there the Asian Order delegate stood, smirking darkly at me while he feasted, having directly disobeyed my orders.

I growled, enjoying the flash of fear in Akihiro's eyes before the vampire managed to quash that fear.

"I believe, Akihiro, that I demanded everyone in attendance abstain for the evening. I will not allow wanton killing in my territory."

Akihiro stopped feeding then to grin at me, his voice full of arrogance as he spoke. "You cannot deny us, Dracul. I know you hired humans to work this event to restrain our baser instincts. You thought we wouldn't dare risk exposure by attacking with all these humans present, that we would cow to these rumors about your American Hunters slaughtering our kind. But feeding is my right, and neither you nor the rumored Hunters in your land will rob me of that."

The figure shook the body of the human a couple times before he grinned and continued. "But do not worry. This is a homeless human from the city. He will not be missed like the humans inside the cathedral, Dracul. It was our concession to you."

Concession to me. The gall of the man. As if I wouldn't know what he was actually doing, as if I wouldn't know that the vampire was testing his boundaries with me, expecting me to cave to his power.

I, Dracul Invictus Byzantus, cowed to nobody. Not anymore.

"No." As I spoke, I stepped farther into the clearing, "This is my land, my territory, and you willfully ignored my very reasonable demand and threatened exposing my people by drawing the attention of the authorities to us."

Incensed by my reaction, the vampire replied with a dark snarl. "Your request that we oblige by your ridiculous, arbitrary, and downright offensive rules was unreasonable for one of my social standing."

How dare this man come into my territory and flagrantly violate my orders? My ire continued to surge as I spoke. "I demand that you leave the American Order's jurisdiction immediately."

Akihiro was almost as old as me, which meant he'd be a formidable opponent, but my mind was already racing, watching his movements and calculating where his weaknesses would lie when we inevitably fought. The vampire then dropped the human's body to the ground and spoke.

"But I like it here, and I do not wish to leave. Livestock is much more abundant than when I last came."

Although in the past, it wouldn't have been in my nature, now I did want to give Akihiro a chance, so as much as it pained me, I said, "Leave my jurisdiction, Akihiro. Return to your Order at once."

Sick relief flooded me when the evil being drew himself to his full height and snarled in defiance of me. "No. I intend to stay for a while. If I recall, you cut me off last time I visited the American Order's jurisdiction, too. I won't be disrespected like that again, not by anyone. Not even Philomena's lapdog."