A black mare trotted up to the gates of a grand castle as the moon was just at its apex within the sky. Angelus gripped the reins of the horse in his hands. The black beast he sat upon stopped and fidgeted impatiently before the metal portcullis.
"The Scion has returned! Open the Gates!" A man called from up above the wall. Below him, a man pulled a lever and, with a loud clunking, the iron gate rose. The horse that Angelus sat upon walked right inside the second it raised. It could not wait any longer.
As Angelus got inside the gates, he hopped off his mare. A nearby thrall took the horse by its reins to lead it to the stable by the inner castle walls. He didn't get the chance to turn around when he heard his name being called by a woman. A soft sigh escaped from his lips. He had just made it back from the Duke's event and already more work awaits him.
"Angelus!" This time, the woman was right at his side. Just from her voice, Angelus knew that this was one of his father's personal thralls. She was an age somewhere between his own and his fathers. He turned to give her his attention, but before he could say anything, she spoke once more. "Your father has requested your presence. He sent me to find you."
He couldn't help but be curious about what his father could want with him so soon. Had word of his arrival reached him so soon? There was only one way to find out. "Lead the way." Angelus said, giving a nod of confirmation. As soon as she walked away, he followed her. Coven members within their path stepped aside to let Angelus through and lowered their heads in a sign of respect for their scion. The female thrall stopped in front of a door and tapped her knuckles against the wood several times.
"You may enter." Exarch Vargha's voice came from within. The thrall was the one to open the door for Angelus and waited for him to walk inside. She only remained in the doorway.
"Your son is here, Exarch Vargha."
"Thank you. You're dismissed." Vargha said, not bothering to look up. He was occupied with going through various pieces of paper and trying to organize them into separate piles. The thrall promptly left after being excused by the Exarch. "How did things go with the Duke?" He asked. This time he glanced up for a very brief second, then returned his attention to his task.
"Everything went as expected, Father." Angelus said he took a seat in front of Vargha's desk within one of the chairs.
"Good. Now, As for why I called you here.. The Elders will arrive on coven grounds soon. We need to be there to greet them when they get here." Vargha stated, finally settling the papers he was rummaging through to look up at his son.
"The Elders? Did they mention what reason they were coming?" Angelus watched his father closely. He leaned forward slightly. Word of the elders arriving sparked his attention and he couldn't help but be curious why they were coming. He could not remember the last time that they had come to his coven. He must have been a young boy or even a mere infant the last time.
"No. Nor is it our place to question them, Angelus. They don't need a reason to visit." Vargha spoke a bit harshly. He gave his son a stern look of warning.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to question them."
"Let's go."
Angelus sat up from the chair to meet his father at the door of his study. He followed him through the dimly lit stone corridors. It wasn't difficult for Angelus to keep up with Vargha. He remained at his side despite him walking quickly, as though he was trying to flee a quickly spreading wildfire. Vargha led Angelus to the foyer and stopped as they waited.
The grand room had black candles that illuminated the area upon every surface. Stone gargoyles with skeletal faces hid themselves in corners to keep watch on those who entered. From the ceilings, blood red tapestries hung for all to see. The center of the room was a large runway rug that matched the color of the fabric hanging.
Vargha and Angelus didn't have to wait too long when the doors opened to reveal a group of vampires, two men, and a woman.
"Welcome to the Sanguis Aeternus coven. We hope you had safe travels." Vargha greeted the three newcomers. He took a few steps forward, before turning to gesture towards Angelus. "I am sure you remember my son, Angelus." He returned his attention to the elders. "Angelus, meet the elders. Kraven Aleksandri."
A man with short hair swept back and light skin stepped forward, "I doubt your son could remember us. It has been so long since we last visited this coven." Angelus assumed that this man was the one Vargha called Kraven.
"I'm sorry... I hope you take no offense to my lack of memory." Angelus said.
"No need for apologies. It would be foolish to expect you to remember, considering how young you were the last time we met." Kraven offered Angelus a smile. He seemed rather unbothered by Angelus, not remembering.
"Acheron Vasilescu." Vargha gestured to the second male of the three. He was a brown-skinned male with black hair and neatly trimmed facial hair.
Acheron remained where he was and nodded in greetings to both Vargha and Angelus. The elder remained quiet compared to the other, Kraven. Whether he had nothing to say or just was uninterested in the meet and greet, Angelus was unsure.
"And finally, we have Magda Lazar." Vargha nodded towards the last elder. Magda had long red hair looked like it was dyed in blood.
"My, How you have grown. As for you..." Her eyes scanned Vargha, filling with a lustful hunger. "How I have missed you.." she said seductively. Angelus was almost certain if it wasn't for them being in the middle of the foyer, Magda would have pounced on Vargha in that second. Just the thought of those two together made him nauseous.
"Enough with the idle talk. We came here for a reason." Acheron cut in before anyone else could say anything more.
"Of course, let us get down to business.." Vargha said.
"Actually, we wish to speak with the boy." Acheron looked directly at Angelus.
For a split second, Vargha's expression twisted into something undecipherable. He cleared his throat quietly before nodding once. "Very well. I can lead you to the meeting room." He led the elders and his son to another room. Angelus walked alongside his father, with the Elders following behind the two.
Angelus was curious to know what it is the elders wanted with him, but his father's words kept playing in his mind. It wasn't his place to question them. Besides, he would find out just what this was all about soon enough.
Vargha finally stopped before a door and opened it, stepping aside. Angelus stepped to the opposite side and let the Elders through before walking in himself. Vargha grabbed him gently by the arm to pull him aside.
"I wanted to wish you luck in there, Son... Whatever they want, do it."
"Of course Father. It isn't my place to question them." Angelus repeated what his father had said earlier. Vargas's hand slipped from his son's arm and the two parted ways. Angelus walked into the room and Vargha walked the opposite way.
The room inside was of a decent size, but felt a little on the empty side with just four people in the room. Large intricate columns connected the ceiling and the stone floor to support the structure and lined either side of the room. Towards the back end was a marble table with three seats behind them. The wall behind that curved into a half circle.
The Elders took their seats at the table with Kraven on the right, Magda in the center and Acheron on the left.
"Before we begin, we wanted to congratulate you on becoming a nightlord." Kraven said, Magda and Acheron simply nodded in agreement. "As for why we called you here, there has been an execution order placed on a vampire in the area. We want you to be their executioner. Amongst the covens, you are one of the strongest wraiths."
"Actually, there are two execution orders we want you to take care of." Acheron corrected Kraven. "Matei Covaci and the slayer Elaina Van Angeline."
Angelus sucked in a sharp breath at the second name. Of course she was a slayer. How did he not know that sooner? There was an unexplainable weight on his chest. It would explain why she was so adamant about being able to deal with things herself. She knew exactly what was out there and was trained in dealing with it. Everything made sense now. Angelus nodded in acknowledgement, but remained quiet while he waited for the elders to speak more.
Hearing Elaina's name being mentioned, Kraven's expression became grave. It didn't take a genius to tell that he didn't agree with her being marked for death.
"The girl does not deserve to die." Kraven protested, his eyes narrowing on Acheron.
"She. Is. A THREAT. to our kind! She needs to be eliminated, Kraven!" Acheron bellowed. His eyes became blood red and burned with intense anger.
"She does not know the truth, Acheron. She does not deserve death for being misled against her own kind." Despite the other yelling at him, Kraven remained level-headed and calm.
"She is not our kind, and what truth would that be?"
"What really happened that night. Whether or not you want to accept it, Elaina is still part vampire."
"Acheron has a point, Kraven. The girl is a threat, and the order has been made. It cannot take it back, my dearest Kraven. The girl is to die." Magda spoke up, backing up Acheron in the argument. Kraven instantly shot her a deadly glare.
Angelus was curious why Kraven was so quick to defend Elaina. What did the elder know about her? With the way he spoke, he certainly knew something that the others didn't. Even though her beauty was breathtaking, she was still a slayer, and that made her a threat to him and his coven.
"Matei has committed several crimes. The first of which he has revealed himself to mortals. He has also killed multiple coven Exarchs in the name of the Inferna Sanguine Coven and taken them over. We believe he is trying to start a war. We could not determine his true intentions of killing them," Acheron explained. "As for Elaina, as mentioned, she is a threat. She has killed hundreds of Kindred over the years. We also believe that Matei wants something with her, something to do with his goals. Eliminate the slayer and at the very least delay whatever it is he has planned." He added.
An order from the elders was an order, and although one of them seemed to disagree with the others, Angelus had no choice but to follow. It was his duty to do so, especially as a wraith. He was essentially a soldier to his coven and the elders.
"It will be done." Angelus agreed to their demands.
"The meeting has ended." Kraven said begrudgingly. He stood up quickly and left saying nothing else to the others.
Magda looked over at him and opened her lips to say something, but he was already gone. She sighed softly before smiling at Angelus. "Keep us updated with how everything goes, will you?" Magda stood slowly before leaving as well.
"We expect great things from you, and quick results." Acheron's eyes narrowed on Angelus. He was the last of the elders to leave.