With a wave, a syringe appeared in her hand. The syringe was the same size as the length of her arm, and the needle gleamed with a sheen of blue. Just looking at it would have brought chills to a person. Nine had specially made this syringe for the sole purpose of collecting blood from Vampires. She had been looking for a normal Vampire, but since she was lucky enough to find one from the upper echelon, then she wouldn't be polite.
The needle of the syringe had been made with the strongest metal – mythril. Just this small amount of mythril already cost a shocking sum. Even the syringe itself had been imbued with runes to preserve the freshness of the blood and to keep it in stasis.
Gleefully, she stabbed him in the neck without a care. Anyway, he was still sleeping, so it didn't matter. It wasn't like he could feel it. She ignored the furrowed expression on his face.
One pull of the stopper drew a startling amount of blood from the sleeping Duke. She casually drew until it was full, filling up all the space she had in the giant syringe.
Nine pulled the syringe out of his neck and looked the blood with wonder. It was the same shade of red as a normal human's blood, which made sense since they were always drinking human blood anyway, but there was a notable difference. The blood seemed to shine and glitter in the light.
She squinted at the radiance of the blood. How was that possible? How could blood emit that kind of light? In the dim light of the room, she could tell that it glowed slightly in the dark. She frowned, wondering if it was because of magic. But then, how did they hide their injuries in the dark if they were escaping from a pursuer?
She turned the syringe this way and that, watching as it sloshed slightly. Maybe it was because of the stasis seal, keeping the blood fresh. She theorised that the sheen and radiance probably dissipated on its own once it left the body.
Meanwhile, Seyton who had been disturbed from his sleep for the first time in decades, was struggling to wake up. He felt a slight sting on his neck, akin to the feeling of a mosquito biting him and sucking blood. Irritably, he slapped a hand on his neck as he groggily opened his eyes.
What greeted him when he finally opened his eyes was startling. The moment he clapped eyes on the other, he was instantly stunned. He had never seen such a beautiful person. Even amongst Vampires, he had never seen a beauty so resounding that it drowned out everything else in the room. It felt like he couldn't tear his eyes away – his Vampire aesthetics working against him.
The youth was barely in his teens, his cheeks still contained a bit of baby fat, and his hair was the darkest shade of the night. It curled lightly against his cheeks, looking soft and fluffy. He seemed to shine even in the dim lighting. His blue eyes had a spark in them as he looked at a giant syringe full of blood – wait.
He drew his hand away from his neck, the last of the sleepiness dissolving from his mind as it came away red. The blood in the syringe was his! Rapidly, the wound on his neck healed and disappeared, leaving only the slightest traces of blood on his neck.
Instantly, all the possible ramifications flew to the forefront of his mind, and he got out of his coffin. His eyes were ice-cold as he looked at the audacious intruder into his home. If looks could kill, Nine would already be six feet under.
Taking blood from someone, not to mention that amount in the syringe, was taboo. Not only because of the things they could do, but because as a Vampire, any blood that was used to turn someone else would be his descendant or descend into a thrall. Seyton had long since sworn off making any descendants, and he wouldn't break it now. Thralls were easily taken care of, but in the case of a descendant being born, he would have a duty and responsibility to care for the other. A Vampire's blood was incomparably precious and leaving any of it in an enemy's hands was tantamount to suicide, so they were always careful not to leave any traces.
While he was thinking, Nine, who had ignored him all this time, finally put away the syringe in her hand into her interspatial bracelet, making Seyton's eyes flash with murderous intent even as he smiled gently. He launched himself at her, intent on using his superior speed to take care of the intruder who had so brazenly taken his blood.
In response to his actions, Nine released the full might of her magic, causing Seyton to freeze in his tracks and struggle to resist dropping to the ground under the pressure of her magic. He breathed as he reined himself in, a smile appearing on his face as he talked.
"Good day to you. May I ask why you've intruded in my house? Pardon my being unable to welcome you," he said, his voice giving nothing away. Hidden in his words were a disguised jab at her entering his house and then daring to make a move on him in his own house.
All traces had been wiped from Nine's expression and eyes, her eyes as cold as a winter night. She looked at the Vampire without saying anything, casually increased the might of her presence, causing the Duke to struggle harder as he unwillingly dropped to one knee as the pressure because too much for him to resist.
His eyes flashed with surprise quickly before it was wiped away. This youth was actually stronger than him! All thoughts of fighting back fled his mind for now as he weighed the pros and cons. Logic told him that he should submit for now and bide his time, but for some reason, a voice inside him was telling him he should follow the teen, or he would regret it in the future.
Nine lazily lay down in the coffin, finding to her surprise that it was rather comfortable. Then again, leave it to the Vampires to know how to enjoy life. She closed her eyes as she released Seyton from the pressure of her magic, causing him to inwardly heave a sigh of relief.
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to attack the teen even when he looked vulnerable. There was something inside screaming at him that the blue-haired teen wasn't as unguarded as he looked. Maybe it was the way he casually dismissed him, but Duke Seyton felt a very acute sense of danger from him.
It hadn't been apparent before he released the full weight of his magic, but now all his instincts were screaming at him to wait for the other to speak before he spoke any more.
Seyton knelt next to his coffin, watching the unknown intruder with sense of fear so faint that he himself didn't discover it.
Nine propped herself up on her elbow, looking like a lazy and arrogant Persian cat. She looked regal, like she was held above the world. If Seyton had a heart, it would be beating wildly while he looked at the sight she made.
"Duke Seyton Mort," she said slowly, shutting the coffin and sitting on it cross-legged.
When she said nothing else, Seyton felt saying something, but held back from years of repeated training from dealing with the council. The initiative was now in the teen's hands. Saying anything now meant that he would lose the upper hand.
Nine's eyes flashed in approval. "Work for me, and I promise I won't use your blood for anything unsavoury."
Seyton's eyes darkened, even as his expression remained in its gentle mask. "What would working for you entail?" he asked softly, his voice even and smooth.
Nine smirked, able to see that he wasn't as unaffected as he portrayed himself to be. His emotions were fluctuating wildly even though no trace of it was shown. She could use someone like this. Everyone else around her seemed to wear their hearts on their sleeves. They were utterly incapable of hiding their emotions successfully, which was soothing and rather cute in its own way, but it wasn't very good at dealing with certain things she needed to be done.
"That's entirely up to you," she said, throwing the ball into his court so to speak. Her voice was low and enticing, reminding Seyton of a viper before it struck.