Black Blood

"So, my little love, you've come back for me?" Marie, Claude's old flame, cooed from over the bar top.

Her hefty tits were made even more dramatically large by the corset she wore, and she loomed over the bar in hopes that they'd capture Claude's attention. Claude was looking anywhere but at the busty woman with fire-red hair. She pouted, making her red-coloured lips appear even larger.

"Come on, my little love," she sighed. "You must know how I've missed you. No matter, what is it you're here for?"

Claude cleared his throat, running a hand through his bright green hair. He met her gaze briefly and then looked away again.

"I'm looking for the ever-elusive Rosethorn clan," Claude said. "A few of their members have been known to frequent here. They've... made off with my human."

"Kidnapped a human, eh?" Marie made a tutting sound. She leaned away from the bar, grabbing a large tome out from under it.

"Yes, she's nothing but trouble, unfortunately," Claude sighed. "But I can't just let her slip away."

"A woman, huh?" Marie cooed, her interest piqued. A sly grin spread over her face. She nudged Claude's arm. "Well, now. I see you have moved on from little me."

"It's not like that, Marie," Claude grumbled. He met her gaze again, but with a glare rather than a smile. Marie pouted again.

"Oh, alright, if you say so," she said with a shrug. She flipped the tome open and started looking through the pages. "Well, it's not like we keep track of the addresses of our patrons, because that would be... creepy. But..." She dragged the last word on, stopping on a page.

With a grin she turned the book around so Claude could read, placing her finger on the line the information she wanted him to see was on. Claude loomed over the book, placing his hands over the sticky bar. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Adrian Rosethorn... What's this?" he asked.

"My boss' hit it and quit it list," Marie said, that perverted grin of hers growing even wider. "This particular one took my boss back to his place. Left a number, said to call any time. You can trace numbers, right?"

"If they stay on the line long enough," Claude said. He chewed his lip; that would be the tricky part.

"So... What's a member of the Rosethorn clan want with your human?" Marie asked. She trailed her fingertips over Claude's arm, and he flinched away at her touch, clearing his throat.

"Unfortunately that's not something I'm at liberty to discuss with you," Claude said, avoiding her gaze again. "Is mister Davide in, currently?"

Marie sighed, but she resigned, leaning back and away. She slid her hands around the surface of the bar, licked her teeth and stared at him for a moment longer. Then she leaned back further, turning her head to the side.

"Hey, boss!" she called. A muffled shout could be heard from behind the door at one end of the bar. "You got a minute?"

A man built like an ox soon after stepped out of the room from behind the door. He held a glass tumbler and cloth in his massive hands. Claude gave him a quick once over, and then returned his attention to the tome laid out before him.

"What is it?" Davide grumbled. He set the now clean tumbler down on the bar.

"One of the king's dogs has a request," Marie said, grinning up at Davide with her hand on her hip. Davide stared down at her a moment, then looked over to Claude. A smile quickly spread over his face.

"Claude! You're back again," David said. He made his way around the bar and then proceeded to slap a hand over the younger vampire's back. "What brings you here, king's dog?" He winked at Claude.

"The Rosethorn clan has made off with my human," Claude said, a bit tightly. It was bad enough that Marie was an ex lover of his, but the incredibly flirtatious Davide was an ex lover as well.

Davide paled, swallowing nervously.

"Have they, now?" he said. "And you need my help, because...?"

Claude pointed to the line in the tome that Marie had shown him. Marie watched their exchange, grinning and swaying her hips a little. Claude ignored the movement.

Davide went from ghostly pale, to brick red in a matter of seconds. He quickly scooped the book up.

"Marie!" he cursed. "I told you to stop showing this to people!" Marie squeaked and giggled, quickly rushing off and away, pretending to be needed by another patron. Davide sighed.

"So, yes, I know a Rosethorn," Davide grumbled. "What do you need me to do about it?"

"Call him," Claude said.

"Oh, no," Davide said. He set the tome down and held his hands up. "I'm not contacting that creep again."

"Then why put him on the list?" Claude raised an eyebrow. Davide looked away, somehow turning a deeper red. "I just need you to keep him on the line long enough for me to be able to trace the call."

"Fine," Davide agreed.

The line had been busy when the first call was made, and Davide had tried to talk his way out of it altogether, but Claude pressed on. Claude had Ami and her team waiting with a call from his cell. Finally the call had gone through, and despite his embarrassment and discomfort Davide had managed to keep a member of Adrian's household on the line long enough.

Claude urged Davide to keep the conversation going as naturally as possible, so as not to cause suspicion. Davide was relieved that it had been a success, and even more relieved when whoever was on the other line explained apologetically that Adrian wasn't able to come to the phone.

Claude had patted Davide on the back and said, "Well done. I owe you one."

To which Davide had responded, "Don't bother with such things. Just buy a few drinks next time you're here."

And with that Claude had left, the coordinates of Adrian's manor plugged into his GPS. A wave of exhaustion washed over Claude. When had been the last time he had slept?

He stumbled forward, nearly falling into a tree. He shook his head and growled in frustration. As much as he really wanted to put it off, the last time he could recall sleeping had been weeks ago. Even with the altered genes he still needed to rest occasionally.

Claude found a more secluded part of the wood and settled down against a tree there. With his eyes still open to catch any sudden movement, Claude drifted into a state somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness.

He must have been pulled into a deeper state of sleep at some point, as his eyes had ended up closed.

Now he woke to the nearly blinding light of the sun. At least in this realm its rays could not set his skin aflame. Still he could feel the heat of it and it made him uncomfortable. He undid the top button of his shirt, only then noticing the dried blood.

How no one else had noticed was beyond him, but they were a community of vampires. He supposed it didn't matter to them. He shrugged and stood, pulling his phone back out and reopening the maps app.

Of course the manor had to be back all the way on the other side of the realm. Claude sneered and cursed under his breath. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and ran his hands up his face, through his hair.

He needed to feed, and a change of clothes, before he could go any further. The deepened thirst he had been ignoring for days was starting to drive him mad.

He pulled his phone back out and saved the address entered in the maps app, then searching for the nearest brothel. There would be a human there to suit his needs, and he could buy some clothes after. He licked his lips and started on his way.