The VIP section was guarded—two tall figures in dark suits, their red eyes barely hidden beneath the dim lighting. To ordinary people, they looked like bouncers.
To exorcists? They screamed danger.
Damon sighed, rolling his shoulders.
"I'll handle this."
Before Chi or Rayna could protest, he moved.
A flicker. A blur.
The first vampire barely registered his presence before Damon drove a sharp strike into his gut. A pulse of raw force—air forced from his lungs, his body collapsing.
The second guard twitched, sensing something wrong—but Chi was already behind him. A single precise motion. A strike to the nerve.
Neither vampire made a sound as their bodies crumpled to the floor.
Chi adjusted his cuffs.
"Efficient."
Rayna smirked.
"Let's go before someone notices."
And with that, they slipped inside.
The Predator's Lair
The VIP section was different.
Darker. More predatory.
Vampires lounged in private booths, sipping red liquid from crystal glasses. Some danced, their movements hypnotic, while others whispered conspiratorially.
The exorcists couldn't afford to be exposed.
Damon and Chi blended in, taking seats at the bar, eyes scanning for threats.
Rayna, however, had another approach.
A vampire approached her—a man with an easy smile and a dangerous aura.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself," he said, offering his hand.
Rayna played along, taking it.
"Isn't that the point?"
He led her onto the dance floor. They moved through the thrumming music, Rayna's mind racing behind her coy smile. She needed information.
After a moment, she leaned in.
"I heard rumors," she whispered, voice teasing. "About a… heart?"
The vampire stilled. His grip on her waist tightened slightly.
"You're interested in power?"
Rayna hesitated—then played along.
"Who isn't?"
The vampire studied her, then smirked.
"Come with me."
He led her away, toward a staircase leading downward.
Rayna shot a glance at Damon and Chi as she disappeared into the shadows.
The Heart of the Nest
The basement was cold. Dark.
Rayna felt it immediately.
A pulsing energy, sickly and wrong, filling the air with a heavy presence.
At the bottom of the stairs stood the heart.
It was massive—blackened and twisted, beating with a slow, unnatural rhythm. Thick veins stretched across the walls, pulsing as they fed energy through the nightclub.
The vampire gestured toward it.
"This is the source of our strength. Drink from it—restore your power."
Rayna stared. She couldn't destroy this.
Not with fire. Not with sigils.
It was anchored to something deeper.
The vampire watched her expectantly. He was starting to suspect something.
Before he could act, Rayna moved first.
A flick of her wrist—her summoning sigil ignited.
Silver chains shot forward, wrapping around his throat. He barely had time to choke before she slammed him into the ground.
A dagger to the heart.
Quick. Silent.
Rayna exhaled and turned to the heart.
She couldn't destroy it…
But she could take it.
With a deep breath, she reached forward—
—and ripped it free.
The entire room trembled.
The Moment of Exposure
Upstairs, Chi felt it immediately.
The club shuddered. The music stuttered.
Glasses rattled on the bar.
Then—Rayna burst through the VIP doors, the heart in her hands.
A single beat of silence.
Then—
"You…"
A vampire woman's voice dripped with venom.
"You stole from us."
The music cut off.
Every vampire in the room turned toward them.
A slow, creeping realization.
Then—fangs bared. Claws unsheathed.
Damon sighed.
"Welp."
Chi flexed his fingers. A dagger slid into his palm.
Rayna smirked.
"Guess we're doing this the hard way."
The hunt had begun.
To Be Continued…