Black Blood
Chapter Twelve
Chloe was no longer there when Claude arrived, so he cursed under his breath. Her scent lingered in the air, though the scent of her blood had faded, as if she had managed to stop bleeding. This concerned him mildly.
There were two bodies. The vampires that had attacked her. He wondered vaguely how she had managed to off them, and then he took a closer look at one of them.
The pigmentation in every cell in his body had been drained. His flesh hung loose over his bones as well, as if he had rapidly lost fat and muscle mass. Claude knelt next to the corpse, one hand on his jaw and the other reaching to close the lids over those dead, staring eyes.
"What on earth happened here, Chloe?" Claude whispered.
He straightened back up, tipping his head back and breathing in deep. There had been five other vampires there, momentarily. With their appearance, Chloe's soon disappeared. There was no way for him to trace either scent.
Claude tried to recall which clan had the ability to mask their scents, along with masking that of nearby humans. The name was on the tip of his tongue... The Rosethorn clan. Of course they had taken interest in her, they were rivals of the Blackblood clan. He sniffed the air again, but only got the scent of roses and even that hadn't traveled anywhere so it was a useless scent to him.
Claude's phone buzzed in his pocket, the vibration causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. He had been so focused on locating Chloe that he had forgotten he even had the infernal device on his person.
"Hello?" Claude answered.
"Claude," his boss, Ami, was on the other end. "Has the situation been dealt with? We had received no response from you for two hours. We were growing concerned."
"It's been..." Claude trailed off and clicked his tongue. He sighed; he couldn't lie to her. "It has been dealt with, in a way. Another situation has come up."
There was silence for a while before Ami finally said, "What do you mean 'another situation'?"
Claude thought for a moment. Would she believe him that there was a human Blackblood roaming about? And if she did, she wouldn't be too happy that he had managed to lose track of her.
"One of the humans there," Claude began again. "She wasn't quite... normal. There was something off about her, and I couldn't figure it out at first. But my sense of smell is stronger than most vampires. There was no mistaking it. She has the blood of the Blackbloods flowing through her veins."
"A human Blackblood? At her age?" Ami responded immediately. "That can't be possible. Any fluke humans born into that demon spawn's bloodline are always either turned before their tenth birthday, or killed."
"I know," Claude sighed. "I'm not wrong. I smelled what I smelled. I was bred for this kind of thing, Ami. You should know."
Another silence dragged across the line. Claude shifted his feet, switching his balance from one foot to the other.
"I know, I know," Ami sighed. "So what have you done with her?"
"I... I intended to bring her back with me to you, to the council, to the King; to see what should be done with her," Claude said.
"But...?" Ami urged when Claude didn't continue. Claude sighed deeply again.
"But she let go while we were traveling between realms," he said. "We got separated. I can hardly blame her; she'd never traveled between realms before. Unfortunately before I find her again, some other vampires beat me to it."
Ami didn't have a response to that for a long while. Claude could practically hear the crackling of her anger down the line.
"Find her," Ami demanded.
"The Rosethorn clan took her," Claude said. "It may take a while to find her."
"I'm sending you addresses for all their known... hangouts," Ami said, determined. "I want her brought back at all costs. A human Blackblood- do you even know the story of the original vampire?"
"It's said that Edward Blackblood sold his soul in order to become the first vampire," Claude said. "But it altered his blood- turned it black, gave it unique qualities. Hence the chosen name. I am well-aware- I am educated in some of the histories."
"So you know how risky it is to leave her in the hands of the Rosethorns? What a human Blackblood is capable of?" Ami pressed.
"Well- no," Claude had to admit. His eyebrows knitted together. "She's just a human; there can't be anything-" Claude trailed off and looked to the drained vampire corpse.
"Find her," Ami said once more before hanging up.
Claude vaguely recalled a story he had been told when he was younger, to scare him into behaving. The story went that there was a human whose blood was poison to vampires, and that if he didn't behave he'd be made to drink some of it. Claude swallowed hard.
There were two bodies. The vampires that had attacked her. He wondered vaguely how she had managed to off them, and then he took a closer look at one of them.
The pigmentation in every cell in his body had been drained. His flesh hung loose over his bones as well, as if he had rapidly lost fat and muscle mass. Claude knelt next to the corpse, one hand on his jaw and the other reaching to close the lids over those dead, staring eyes.
"What on earth happened here, Chloe?" Claude whispered.
He straightened back up, tipping his head back and breathing in deep. There had been five other vampires there, momentarily. With their appearance, Chloe's soon disappeared. There was no way for him to trace either scent.
Claude tried to recall which clan had the ability to mask their scents, along with masking that of nearby humans. The name was on the tip of his tongue... The Rosethorn clan. Of course they had taken interest in her, they were rivals of the Blackblood clan. He sniffed the air again, but only got the scent of roses and even that hadn't traveled anywhere so it was a useless scent to him.
Claude's phone buzzed in his pocket, the vibration causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. He had been so focused on locating Chloe that he had forgotten he even had the infernal device on his person.
"Hello?" Claude answered.
"Claude," his boss, Ami, was on the other end. "Has the situation been dealt with? We had received no response from you for two hours. We were growing concerned."
"It's been..." Claude trailed off and clicked his tongue. He sighed; he couldn't lie to her. "It has been dealt with, in a way. Another situation has come up."
There was silence for a while before Ami finally said, "What do you mean 'another situation'?"
Claude thought for a moment. Would she believe him that there was a human Blackblood roaming about? And if she did, she wouldn't be too happy that he had managed to lose track of her.
"One of the humans there," Claude began again. "She wasn't quite... normal. There was something off about her, and I couldn't figure it out at first. But my sense of smell is stronger than most vampires. There was no mistaking it. She has the blood of the Blackbloods flowing through her veins."
"A human Blackblood? At her age?" Ami responded immediately. "That can't be possible. Any fluke humans born into that demon spawn's bloodline are always either turned before their tenth birthday, or killed."
"I know," Claude sighed. "I'm not wrong. I smelled what I smelled. I was bred for this kind of thing, Ami. You should know."
Another silence dragged across the line. Claude shifted his feet, switching his balance from one foot to the other.
"I know, I know," Ami sighed. "So what have you done with her?"
"I... I intended to bring her back with me to you, to the council, to the King; to see what should be done with her," Claude said.
"But...?" Ami urged when Claude didn't continue. Claude sighed deeply again.
"But she let go while we were traveling between realms," he said. "We got separated. I can hardly blame her; she'd never traveled between realms before. Unfortunately before I find her again, some other vampires beat me to it."
Ami didn't have a response to that for a long while. Claude could practically hear the crackling of her anger down the line.
"Find her," Ami demanded.
"The Rosethorn clan took her," Claude said. "It may take a while to find her."
"I'm sending you addresses for all their known... hangouts," Ami said, determined. "I want her brought back at all costs. A human Blackblood- do you even know the story of the original vampire?"
"It's said that Edward Blackblood sold his soul in order to become the first vampire," Claude said. "But it altered his blood- turned it black, gave it unique qualities. Hence the chosen name. I am well-aware- I am educated in some of the histories."
"So you know how risky it is to leave her in the hands of the Rosethorns? What a human Blackblood is capable of?" Ami pressed.
"Well- no," Claude had to admit. His eyebrows knitted together. "She's just a human; there can't be anything-" Claude trailed off and looked to the drained vampire corpse.
"Find her," Ami said once more before hanging up.
Claude vaguely recalled a story he had been told when he was younger, to scare him into behaving. The story went that there was a human whose blood was poison to vampires, and that if he didn't behave he'd be made to drink some of it. Claude swallowed hard.