I'd walked into an office that belonged to a demon. It was a bold move but not overly unexpected. Technically I was still a student at this school.
"Please, take a seat." Principal Harlwood said, gesturing to the chairs.
He looked at Anzide, offering a slightly raised eyebrow.
"I assume that your companion is here for guidance and to ensure that I won't harm you."
I said nothing, just giving him a dumbfounded look.
"It's alright, Miss Newton. I am not offended. After all, I am a demon, and you are,"
He smiled, offering that devilishly charming smile.
"Well, you know what you are."
Harlwood sat down, stretching in his seat as it tilted back.
"I can assure you that my interests for the future require you to be alive, so I am very inclined to keep you in the best shape possible."
"Is that why you put the protection over my property last night?"
"Those horrid creatures," Harlwood snarled, leaning forward onto the desk. "They would have slaughtered you and your uncle while you slept. The protection that I have placed over the two of you is because I cannot stand that vile thing leading that coven. He is a slimy little pest, and he preys on the students of this school. They should not be fed on nor dragged into that world at such a tender age."
Harlwood paused, calming himself down. When he smiled again, I knew he'd returned to mister charming rather than the monster that had just lashed out.
"Vampires are supposedly well-behaved. They are refined, they are dutiful. Your great-grandfather was an incredibly good man, Miss Newton. I had the pleasure of knowing him for many years, and if I'd known where he was, I would have flattened that house to remove him from it. That was a crime in itself, one that you must be aware of if you are going to approach this situation in the most legal way possible."
"Legal?" I whispered.
The principal nodded firmly, his gaze pinned on me.
"You are the leader. You should do things correctly. Do not base your leadership on anything that you have seen from that monster Drakkus, he is not someone that you should learn from. If you want, you should keep in your mind, what would Niko do? That is the best guide for you because Niko Corbin was, in all respects, the kind of vampire that the old world would have approved of. If they come here and see this mess, they will wipe out all vampires and that includes any who are only partially vampires. You, my dear Eternal, won't be affected, but your uncle will be. For his sake, you must clean up this town before the vampires in Europe get wind of what is happening here."
I glanced at Anzide. He gave me a grim nod.
"It's true. They're a bunch of moralistic jerks."
"Great," I sighed. "So, I clean up the town of vampires who don't respect me because I'm not a full vampire."
"They are scared of him. They have seen what he has done to those who question his authority. It is not just Niko that suffered his wrath. There are many who have disappeared over the years. I know where they are because I can detect that. Ashes, if you're wondering. Drakkus has a furnace in a warehouse at the edge of town. He bought the cop off, ensuring that he's too busy handing out fines to the knitting brigade for overstaying the parking limits. Drakkus just coasts on by, and that moron pretends that he sees nothing. The bodies are transported out to this place, and then they're never found."
I frowned at the principal.
"Knitting brigade?"
He rolled his eyes, leaning back into the seat.
"This is the drama of my life, Miss Newton. My neighbor is one of them. They're a bunch of old women who congregate in the town hall for a knitting circle. They donate their knitting to the preemie ward at Clarkson Hospital. She whined no end because she'd been in town and parked her car for two hours and five minutes. That overfed moron gave her a ticket because she was there for five minutes too long. Can you imagine that? These women take time out of their lives, spend their own money to make tiny beanies for those babies, and that asshole strolls down Main Street every time they're in the building and waits."
A demon that has a heart? It seemed impossible, but there it was.
Harlwood pushed a notepad and pen over the desk.
"Please write what you would like, and I will do the same."
"Don't you worry that someone will hear us?"
"No. I have protections over the room and the building so that Drakkus cannot intercept any calls."
"Is that why the phones never work?"
"It's why the cell towers are always intermittent, yes."
Pulling the notepad off the desk, I rolled my eyes.
"Okay. When he's gone and I'm the undisputed leader, you won't need to worry about that. I have better things to do with my days than listening to people on the phone."
"Duly noted."
Looking at the blank piece of paper, I thought about what I wanted for this town. It was simple. I wanted the Corbin line to return to the proper rule of the vampires in this town.
Harlwood held up his notebook.
To be the only demon in Hades.
I showed him my notebook, and the demon nodded.
"Right. Now we have to figure out how we are going to achieve our goal, what we can offer each other and what we can give in return."
To achieve this, I had to remove Drakkus, and that was basically it. Offering something to Harlwood was the tricky part. Then I remembered that he wants to be the only demon in this town and what he mentioned last night. So, I wrote down that if a demon asks to be the soul feeder for the Corbin clan, I will refuse them to ensure that Harlwood was our only soul feeder. In return for this offer, I wanted Drakkus and the four vampires dead. There were only four out of the five remaining. I'd already killed Andross. They were the vampires that taunted Niko in the forest. They were the ones that killed him.
I could do this for myself, but I had no idea how I'd killed Andross. It was an accident, and I don't want to risk facing off against these vampires and not knowing what to do.
When I was done, I waited for Harlwood. He held out his hand and took the notebook, offering his own for me to read.
I want to be the only demon in Hades. To get this, I will remove the other demon. To ensure that this demon does not approach the true vampire leader of this town and request to be the soul feeder for her clan, I will offer my services and remove the vampires of her choosing. This will benefit me because once the self-appointed vampire leader, Drakkus Fleming is dead, the demon will not have a clan to be attached to.
"Do you know who these other four vampires are?"
I shook my head.
"I cannot assume, Evelyn. I need names or pictures. Other than that, your offer and request are acceptable. What about mine?"
Anzide looked up from the notepad, giving me a soft smile.
"Plain and simple, exactly what this town needs. No Drakkus and only one demon."
"You will note that I have written the vampires of your choosing. I will remove any vampire that you desire, in addition to the ones that you've got rattling around in your head. Just don't go too nuts, okay?"
"Sure,"
"Okay. We'll pick this up again when you've got names or pictures, yeah?"
"Of course."
Harlwood followed us to the main door. As I turned to say goodbye, I noted that Jane, the receptionist was not at her desk.
"Don't take too long. The protection around you and Brad will remain for as long as I want but that doesn't mean that Drakkus or his goons won't approach you. The sooner we deal with this, the better our lives will become."
"Sure. Hey, I forgot to get my books. Will they still be in my locker?"
"Yes. You are still a student at this school and can return anytime you desire."
"Thanks, but it's a little difficult at the moment."
Harlwood nodded, stepping away from the door. I'm sure he didn't care but probably wanted the true vampire leader walking his corridors for the next few months.
Anzide and I made our way to my dark little hovel, the corridor that was home to my locker and no one else's. I was the new kid, I was given a locker in the new and yet to be used wing of the school. It was right next to the main corridor, but it was dark, and they never turned the lights on.
Fetching everything out of the locker, I shut the door and sighed.
"School was meant to be a way for me to be young and free," I whispered.
"Having never been in school, I don't know what to say here, but I think you are not missing anything."
Hearing Audrey giggle, I felt my body tighten. She was a horrid human, desperate to do anything that pleased Drakkus.
Anzide put his hand on my shoulder.
"She cannot harm you."
"Audrey," Kannon called out.
Stepping back, I pulled into the darkness.
"Hide me."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes." I hissed.
Audrey stopped at the edge of the two corridors, looking back as Kannon approached. She was all smiles which was not surprising.
Kannon pressed Audrey to my locker, kissing her hard. It was far more passionate than anything he'd ever given me.
"Bastard," I whispered.
Audrey pushed Kannon away, frowning at the darkness.
"Did you hear something?"
"No," he murmured against her neck.
The hand was moving under her skirt. Kannon had always given the impression that he despised Audrey, yet clearly it was not the case.
She giggled, trying to push him away. As much as Audrey tried, she wasn't trying that hard. There was nothing new about this. It was obvious they knew each other's bodies and had been physical for a long time.
"Not here."
"I miss you. It's been too long."
"I know. It was killing me to see you with her. Tell me you still love me."
"I do, baby. She meant nothing."
"You say that, but you didn't seem too put out when you had to kiss her."
Kannon sighed as he stepped back, running his fingers through his hair.
"Look, I told you. Drakkus had made a lot of demands, and I had to follow them. He wanted me in that house. Keep Evelyn occupied while my parents searched. Even Jess had her role to play."
"But you didn't find anything."
"I know, and trust me, we're struggling because of it. Now we'll never get back into that house."
"You will," Audrey said, stepping out from the locker.
She reached out for him, clutching the sleeve of his shirt.
"Your new plan will work. You've just got to push the friend angle. She's dumb enough to believe anything you tell her. Just keep making her think that this was all your dad's idea."
"And not mine?"
Audrey bit her lip as she shook her head. A playful smile crossed her face.
"But you didn't mean any of it, you don't like her, right?"
"No and no. Just what the boss wanted, you know how he is. It will all be over soon."
Audrey pouted, playing with his shirt buttons.
"How soon? Daddy wants answers. He said that you should be doing the right thing by me. We should be getting married."
"Jeez, Audrey, you're not even a vampire yet. Tell Ryan to hit the brakes."
"Well, give him something to work on then."
"I don't know. Drakkus said that once we've got the leadership, he'll put the deal on the table to be signed."
Audrey grinned, kissing Kannon more.
"You'll be the official second in charge?"
"And you'll be a vampire."
Anzide held me tight, his arm across my chest to ensure that I didn't lunge at the lying couple. I wouldn't. The longer these two kept offering information, the longer I'd stay and listen.
I was of that opinion until Audrey's panties fell to her ankles. Giving Anzide a gentle tap on his arm, I waited for him to get us out of there. I didn't want to be around to watch.