Introduction

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Le Boursier manor. Nobody lived there any longer. Decrepit from the outside but imperial on the inside. Interior walls were lined with magnificently done portraits of individuals that showed the mansion’s lineage dating back to mid seventeen hundreds, a family of highborn socialites with a respected reputation but a sinister secret, the confidentiality of which was taken very seriously. There was no other choice. Killing humans, vampire or otherwise, was a cryptic business not suited for a family born in their class. They took no pride at being the founders of the Coven. Slaying didn’t seem like the type of thing anybody would be proud of in the first place.

Still, that didn’t deter them. Vampires, pure bloods or half-breeds, were not to be taken lightly. True, their circumstances were unfortunately brought unto them by a certain sickness but their actions were their responsibility. Once swayed, they would be killed. A fate not wanted by both sides. One, for fear of their lives while the other for the horrendous act itself.

Some, however, enjoyed being called slayers. Maybe it was some sadistic satisfaction in their part or an act of twisted retribution, only a few understood. These lot were the looked-down-upon group by the very people who were themselves discriminated for being slayers in the first place. Yet, most, if not all of these individuals were a part of the blue blood. The center of society. The high-classed. It was a contradiction they all but ignored.

Though notorious, slayers were not feared by all. Their influence may have been wide but their permission to execute a vampire was always strictly overlooked. Missions were not as numerous as one might think. Killing had always been the last resort. Vampires had the right to be protected by the High Council, a faction that governed all their activities. Word from them was order. Scouts were under the High Council’s command to keep the rowdy vampires in check. For the more rebellious ones, that was the only time slayers were called upon.

As powerful as they might have seemed, the le Boursier family’s line had ended with a boy named Quentin. Nephew to Dominique le Boursier, the first woman slayer, and son to Aaron and Moira le Boursier who died in vampire hands not long after the young boy was born. Though their deaths brought great disappointment to many that did not stop the Coven from doing their job. If anything, they were more determined than before.

Being that the last of the le Boursier’s death was imminent, seeing that the young boy was rather sickly, the Coven authorities saw it fit that all documents made by the family be kept under lock and key. Every secret of their cause, every information about rebellions that were connected to them were tucked away in the family’s archives. And in these archives laid the current dilemma.

Eli Pagan, leader of the scouts under High Council authority, had just received a report about an attack at the le Boursier manor. Such account was rather surprising for him owing to the fact that all these years, the founder’s mansion was mistaken to have been empty. Apparently, it wasn’t.

What’s more, it seemed that the Coven had been hiding documents from the High Council that were hidden away in the family archives. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded but the fact that the Coven had documents hidden in the le Boursier household sounded quite suspicious. To make matters worse, Sebastian Tobin speaker for the Coven and a pure blood member of the High Council was not allowed to say anything about the matter because of a confidentiality agreement that was made between him and Armand le Boursier himself, founder of the Coven. It grew complicated by the minute.

If that wasn’t enough, the faction that attacked the le Boursier manor was a rebellious group who longed to overthrow the current Council authorities from their positions. The Invictus is what they were called. The bane of Eli’s existence.

Tiredly, the pure blood couldn’t help but sigh. What would the Invictus gain from this? It really didn’t help that they didn’t know what kind of documents were hidden in that place. The Invictus always did everything with a cause. This little encounter didn’t bode well in the scout leader’s conscience.

Feeling his temples throbbing, Eli rifled through the mounting folders on his desk in hopes of finding some report that was less foreboding than what he just read. Finally, he found a small manila envelope that wasn’t labeled. Deftly recalling that one of his men brought it in, his eyebrows furrowed lightly in curiosity. It was barely bigger than his palm. Fingering its surface gingerly he felt something thin, hard, and spherical inside. With practiced movements he opened the seal that kept the opening of the envelope secure and deposited the small piece inside into his palm. It was a ring. One that he knew all too well.

It was made of platinum. The band looked plane except for the elaborate and gothic insignia of the letters ‘N,’ and ‘V,’ engraved on top of it. If memory served Eli correctly, there were only four of these existing. None of them were given to untainted hands; meaning only four vampires had this same ring. Nicholai Vonderheide had made these to show his loyalty towards the three people that he had tainted. One of which was Pietro Vondrak, a vampire connected to the le Boursier family in more ways than one. He was the lover of the first female slayer, father of Dominique’s daughter, and an enemy even to their kin.

The ring on Eli’s hand was found in the mansion, which meant that Pietro must have given it to Dominique when she was still alive. The scout leader couldn’t help but lean back in his chair with resignation.

Not a minute later, the pure blood straightened again and meditated hard on the thought that crossed his mind for what seemed to have been the nth time that afternoon. For the past few days, Eli had been debating on whether he would dare and ask Pietro about insights on the le Boursier incident that had just taken place. If he did follow through with that then he had to do it in secret. Pietro was still a renegade and contact with him would not look good.

What other choice did he have anyway? The investigation was stuck on a ditch and they didn’t have jurisdiction to step into the manor to inspect the scene. Even though it was Invictus related the confidentiality agreement that had taken place centuries prior was still active today.

Complications. Nothing but complications.

Pietro on the other hand . . .it was possible he might have had an inkling as to what was inside that mansion. It was so easy. Eli had a scout he could count on when it came to finding things. Discovering where Pietro was would have been a certainty. One command and it was done.

Then, came the realization. The reason why Eli hadn’t followed through with this plan before was because Pietro might not be so willing to cooperate. It was true that the said vampire’s lover was a le Boursier but that didn’t give them the assurance that he would help. The Invictus was not Vondrak’s problem and aside from his daughter, he no longer had ties with the name le Boursier that would give him the desire to assist in the investigation. In short, he had nothing to gain from this.

The scout leader couldn’t promise Vondrak a clean slate from all his criminal charges since Pietro insisted he didn’t want it. That fact he had mentioned before and no doubt his mind hadn’t changed. It rarely did.

Guilty was what he wanted the vampire community, the Coven, and all other related parties involved to know. That’s what he was, guilty. Feeding off of humans was a deed he never took pleasure in but still found himself addicted to. Something in his past he dearly wished to forget but couldn’t find the strength to do so as he still craved for human blood.

Another thing, Pietro might already be settled down from the hurdle that was the Bagno Di Sangue, another rebellious group that was against High Council law. Unlike the Invictus, the BDS (Bagno Di Sangue) was already a finished case. They were finally taken care of. Eli doubted that Vondrak would be eager to step into another problem after dealing with one that he undertook for centuries. Asking him for help appeared to be an impossibility.

Gambling was never Eli’s strong point. It was either go with the plan or remain where they were, stuck in a ditch. Obviously, the former looked more inviting but not necessarily logical.

That thought in mind, the scout leader pressed a button on his telephone that connected him to his secretary.

“Caden?” he inquired waiting for the customary reply.

“Yes, sir?”

“Contact Tobias and tell him I have something to do for him.”

“Right away sir.”

Again, Eli pressed the same button to end the call and after doing so, dropped the ring and rested his elbows on the table while locking his fingers together. Leaning his forehead on his wrist, the scout leader stared at the band as it rolled away from him on the desk’s surface.

So, he took the illogical choice. There was no turning back now.

Majority vote goes to #2. Sorry for the rest. If, by any chance, you are a new reader and have no idea what i'm talking about, this story is a sequel to my other story Bitten. Rather, this is a story about Pietro, a character from that story. So, if you want to understand this story more, go read Bitten first.

As for other readers, don't panic. This is just an intro which is why it's just four pages long thus the short chapter. I promise that the next ones would be longer.

That's about it I guess.

Oh, another thing...please review!

:o)

Some names are from www. seventhsanctum .com

The errors in this fic only prove that I am human. I will strive to improve. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them.

Disclaimer: any branded names of products or places in this fic have been used to further make your reading interesting. 'Nough said.