Marcus Verrico was lying in complete darkness, meditating on his position in the world. It was nine o’clock in the evening and the sun had just set. If he had opened the blackout blinds and let the sunlight in earlier in the day, he would have died within a matter of minutes. He suffered from a blood disorder that had several side effects, one of which made his skin hypersensitive to the ultraviolet rays from the sun.
He was a vampire.
In just over five hundred years he had worked his way up to the leader of a clan. Hundreds of his brothers and sisters were under his command and looked to him for guidance in their undead lives. Marcus and the other clan leaders answered to only one man: the Lord Chancellor. It was his ambition to one day assume the role of Lord Chancellor.
Marcus already had the favour of the Lord Chancellor and he knew that by finding Doctor Owen, he would have a good chance of working with him more closely. The Lord Chancellor already had an apprentice though. The apprentice was the deputy Lord Chancellor; the person who would take over leadership of the global vampire community should anything happen to their leader.
The deputy, Luca Salazar, supposedly commanded a large number of clans, including Marcus’ but Marcus refused to consider him a figure of authority. The deputy was a brown-nose who had slimed his way to the top. He had only been a vampire for fifty years but had friends in high places.
One day he’ll get what’s coming to him, Marcus thought to himself. Maybe that day will be a lot sooner than he thinks.
The door to his room opened and in walked Roxy, his loyal assistant. Dressed from head to toe in black combat gear, she was not a woman to be messed with. As assistant to the leader, she was more heavily armed than other members of the clan. She carried two swords on her back, one with a solid steel blade, the other silver-plated. Roxy was one of the few members of the vampire community with a licence to kill her brothers and sisters.
Marcus and Roxy had worked together for almost three hundred years. They had circled the globe together many times, moving from clan to clan, setting the standards for vampires to live by. They had been instrumental in helping the vampire community gain influence in high places. The seeds of corruption and influence they had sown all those years ago allowed their brothers and sisters to live in the freedom they now enjoyed.
They both owed each other their lives. They had made a pact to stick together forever and swore that whoever was given an opportunity would take the other forward with them. As it turned out, Marcus had moved up the ladder quicker than Roxy but she didn’t care. She respected him and lived to serve her great leader. In her eyes, Marcus was born to lead their brothers and sisters to glory.
Marcus awoke immediately and sat up straight.
‘Forgive me for waking you, my master,’ Roxy said in her calm, soothing voice, ‘but I have important news.’
‘I understand. What is it?’
‘They have the doctor,’ she said.
‘The Brotherhood?’
‘Yes, sir.’
The doctor had been captured and lost on Marcus’ watch. He had been quick to report back to the deputy Lord Chancellor on the capture but the loss of their precious hostage would have to be dealt with quickly. If they could get him back before the news filtered up to the deputy then Marcus would stay in the favour of the Lord Chancellor.
There were many clan leaders waiting for Marcus to put a foot wrong so they could take the opportunity to side-step him to the top.
‘And what of our brother who was guarding the doctor?’
‘Dead.’
Marcus closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. ‘Get the doctor back at all costs. Tonight.’
‘Yes sir.’
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