Chapter 10

Draken knew things had not gone as planned. Little signs gave it away: the sound of Artur's slower than usual approach to his door and the slight hesitation in his adjunct's knock. The faintest whiff of fear had also begun to seep through his home in the last few minutes as all his servants avoided coming anywhere near his chamber.

"Come," he said. His voice sounded low and calm, but it belied the fury that was already starting to bubble deep down inside him as he waited to hear the news.

The door opened, and Artur crept inside. Draken pretended to ignore the timid bow he was offered, although he was glad to see his adjunct still had enough sense to fear his wrath. A lack of fear would have told him that his right hand man was getting aspirations above his station.

"Well, tell me what happened," he demanded eventually when Artur seemed reluctant to speak.

"My lord, I regret to report that we were unable to detain the Day-Walker." Artur's voice wavered towards the end, and Draken gazed unrelentingly at his servant until he'd made him cringe.

"Who was responsible for the arrest? Bring the man before me that I may devise a suitable punishment for him."

"I fear that is not possible, Master. Gilbert is dead, killed by the Day-Walker in fair combat according to the account of my human."

"Why was your human there?"

"It was this slave who first discovered the Day-Walker. I sent him to keep an eye on Gilbert and make sure the correct vampire was brought before you, Lord."

"Where is the Day-Walker now?" Draken began pacing, his long robes billowing out behind him.

"I do not know. My human left immediately to bring me this news in person and did not see anything else except that he was taken back into the house."

"Which house?"

"Stefan Koske's, my lord."

Draken paused in his walk. "Koske? Have him brought before me tomorrow night. I must discover how much he knew of this stranger."

Draken pondered whether or not he should punish Artur. Something lingering, with fire perhaps, something that would inflict the most amount of pain without actually killing. Artur interrupted his thoughts with a discreet cough, and Draken glowered at his adjunct, ready to create a harsher punishment.

"If I may, Master, there was another there also, a human female."

"That is Stefan's plaything. She is of no consequence."

"No, Lord, I meant another human, one who arrived with the Day-Walker. My slave tells me it was the same woman that accompanied him on the day he was first confirmed to be a Day-Walker."

Draken's desire to chastise Artur diminished in the light of this new information. Perhaps it was not too late to catch the Day-Walker after all. Maybe all they needed was the correct bait for the trap. A frontal attack had failed, but careful persuasion might be a more suitable approach in this case.

"Artur, take Hans with you and find me this woman. Follow the trail from Koske's house if need be."

"That will not be necessary, lord. My human knows where she lives."

"I had a mind to make an example of you, Artur, but your human has redeemed you for now. Amazing to think there is some use for them other than for food. Go, bring me this woman! Get her here quickly and I will pardon you fully for your failings earlier tonight."

Draken watched Artur leave then whirled around and wandered across the room to his throne. He sank into the firm wooden seat, placed his arms on the armrests, and closed his eyes. His anger had subsided. He would still get his Day-Walker, only this way he could inflict the most amount of pain. He would offer to spare the human woman in exchange for the Day-Walker's blood, but once the other vampire was under his power, he would kill her first and then drain the elixir that would make him invincible.

He smiled and reached out with his mind. He intended to observe this mission first-hand, and it wasn't long before he found the unique print of Artur's mind amongst the hundreds of thousands in the city. Most vampire minds were closed to him, but he and Artur exchanged blood daily in order to maintain this link. He travelled with Artur through the deserted night streets, out into the sleeping suburbs.

He allowed himself a moment to revel in the night: the darkness, the purity, the play of the shadows where they touched the pale filtered rays from a streetlamp. It was a world where anything seemed possible, and yet, it was one he had conquered long ago. Its mystery was beginning to lose its charm, and he was desperate for new horizons. Soon the blood of the Day-Walker would open up a world of light for him, and beneath the heady glow of the sun, he would slowly extend his control to the daytime hours until he was master of all.

He had waited centuries for this dream, pursued it with every resource available to him, and now his patience and dedication would be repaid. He became aware that Artur had stopped. They had reached the woman's house. He stretched his mind outwards, finding no sign of any human presence inside the small dwelling. The only mind pattern he picked up was that of a cat lurking in the garden, out on the hunt. He let himself walk with it for a while as it stalked through the grass. The cat was a predator too, but barely a speck of dust in comparison with him. He experienced an overwhelming urge to reach out with his mind and suffocate it.

At that moment, he felt the shift and Artur's buzz of anticipation, and he forgot the cat as he returned to the task at hand. The scene had changed. In Artur's mind, he saw the approaching headlights as a car pulled up outside the house. Then he noticed the push of two new minds entering the scene. One was closed to him, a fellow vampire, and would be dealt with in due course, but the other was new, and he realised this was the one they had come for. He eased into her mind, wanting to ensure everything went according to plan this time, then settled back in his chair and waited.