Derek mustered his courage and attempted to reason with Damien, his voice laced with concern. "I'm afraid I can't comply, Damien. Just wait a few more hours, and then you can come out."
The relentless banging persisted as Damien bellowed, "I said open this door, Derek!" His words dripped with unrelenting anger and frustration, each impact on the door echoing his seething impatience.
"He's going to tear that door down eventually," Serafina lethargically commented, her attention returning to her unfinished nail painting.
Venessa, aware of the mounting tension, turned to the others, seeking their guidance. "What should we do? Should I open the door?" she asked, uncertainty lacing her voice.
"No, it's the rage speaking. Let us bide our time. In a matter of hours, he will exhaust himself, and this storm will pass," Derek asserted, attempting to maintain a sense of composure amidst the rapidly escalating situation.
However, before Derek could complete his sentence, a deafening crash on the floor resonated through the room. The once-impenetrable steel door had been forcefully torn from its hinges. There, in the doorway, stood Damien, a fearsome and bloodied figure. His eyes blazed with a fierce crimson hue, his fangs ominously revealed.
Shocked, the group watched as Damien swiftly and effortlessly lunged forward with an almost imperceptible whooshing sound, moving with the speed of light. He came face-to-face with Derek, his talons elongated into menacing points that encircled Derek's neck, pressing him forcefully against the wall.
In a voice dripping with both desperation and menace, Damien demanded, "Where is the drug?" His fangs gleamed menacingly, a chilling sight that caused a collective shudder among the others.
"Damien, that drug you seek is an untested drug, intended only for dire circumstances. It is unreasonable to resort to it now when a few moments of patience could bring an end to this ordeal," Derek calmly reasoned, undeterred by the lethal gaze emanating from Damien's eyes.
"Where is it?" Damien demanded, his grip tightening around Derek's neck. Derek maintained his composure, meeting Damien's intense stare.
After a brief pause, he motioned with a subtle nod towards Damon, signaling him to retrieve a suitcase from Derek's room. Without hesitation, Damon complied, retrieving the required items as instructed.
Releasing his hold on Derek, Damien allowed him to turn slightly, silently indicating the suitcase. Derek's gaze remained fixed upon Damien as he reached inside the case, producing a syringe and a small bottle of liquid.
Wordlessly, Damien administered the contents of the bottle into the syringe, plunging it into the flesh of his thigh. Within minutes, the elongated fangs and menacing talons retracted, his once-crimson irises shifting back to their familiar golden hue before gently reverting to their original heterochromatic color.
As Damien's heartbeat returned to a steady rhythm and the insatiable hunger for blood subsided, he posed a question, his voice steady and resolute. "Who was it that took Lauren?" His gaze fixed upon Damon, who stood in awe, witnessing the transformative process unfold before his eyes.
Startled from his daze, Damon stammered briefly before responding, "Oh, right. Perhaps it's best if you watch the footage here." He handed Damien his phone, on which the security footage captured by his firm awaited scrutiny.
Damien watched in solemn silence, marveling at the immense power Lauren possessed. Once he finished reviewing the footage, he handed the phone back to Damon, his gaze filled with inquiry.
"Who are these vampires?" he inquired.
Damon proceeded to provide Damien with a comprehensive briefing, detailing all the information he had gathered within the past hour regarding the mysterious vampires. "Vladimir Nabokov seems to be their leader, and the Benneth witches have also entered the fray," Damon relayed.
Damien's focus sharpened, his thoughts buzzing with analysis. "Vladimir Nabokov... hmm," he muttered to himself, mentally arranging the pieces of this intricate puzzle.
Seeking further clarity, he turned his attention to Damon once more, curiosity shining in his eyes. "What about the Benneth witches?" he inquired, simultaneously changing into the clothes Venessa had thoughtfully provided.
"From what I've learned, Veronica Benneth, Lauren's aunt, has sent a message to the vampire council. It bears a potent threat along the lines of 'return my niece or face the wrath that shall exterminate every vampire within our city'," Damon revealed, emphasizing the grave nature of the ultimatum.
Derek seized the moment to propose a solution, turning towards Venessa with a hopeful gaze.
"Venessa, could you perform a location spell to track down the place where they took Lauren?" he requested.
"Thats the easiest trick in the witches' spell book," Venessa replied, a sly smile adorning her face. The unexpected revelation of possessing something belonging to Lauren to help with the locator spell left the group astounded.
With a flick of her hand, Venessa produced a small container, revealing strands of hair nestled within.
"Are those strands of her hair," Damon chuckled, amused by the unusual turn of events.
Venessa smirked mischievously before conjuring a pristine white circle and aligning it with lit candles of various colours.
"If you kindly excuse me," she declared, stepping into the designated circle and closing her eyes. Deep in concentration, she commenced her incantation. After a few intense moments, the candles flickered with heightened intensity before abruptly extinguishing. Venessa opened her eyes, bearing the knowledge she sought.
"So?" Damien inquired eagerly, anticipation radiating from his every word.
"They took her and created a portal merely a few meters away from the scene," Venessa said, revealing the limited information she had gleaned.
Derek, eager for more details, queried, "But where does this portal lead?"
"Regrettably, that information eludes me," Venessa admitted, an air of frustration permeating her tone.
"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you a witch?" Damon inquired, raising a questioning eyebrow in her direction.
Venessa clarified, "They employed a powerful dark magic to conceal their location, rendering them untraceable by conventional means."
"But surely, as a practitioner of dark magic, you possess the ability to unveil their whereabouts," Serafina interjected, her curiosity tinged with a hint of skepticism.
Venessa responded, "Indeed, while I possess the knowledge and skill to undo their cloak, I lack the necessary ingredients to prepare the potent concoction required for such a spell."
Damien, resolute, directed his attention towards her.
"Where can we acquire these ingredients?" he asked, determined to aid in the search for Lauren.
Venessa revealed, "The ingredient in question is a plant known as Oxandra, possessing potent properties for both powerful spells and dark magic. It is exclusively cultivated by the Benneth witches, a covetous possession within their coven."
A silence descended upon the room as the weight of Venessa's words settled upon them. The Benneth witches' animosity towards vampires was already well-known, and now, with the knowledge of their involvement in Lauren's kidnapping, their enmity would undoubtedly intensify.