Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
AZIZ
“I need you to send a message to the Night Dwellers,” Orpheus announces from behind his desk. His eyes never looked up, not even upon my entrance.
“What have they done now?” I ask, showing no emotion at the mention of the annoyance, the Night Dwellers were. I’d much prefer to be rid of them and not have to deal with them again.
“They’ve been lurking in the shadows and feasting on the residents of Redwich.” Orpheus lifts his gaze but not his head. The way he does this would scare others, but not me.
Orpheus is the oldest vampire that I know to roam the earth.
Never did I learn what year he was actually born.
But for me, I was born 205 BC along with my twin sister, Sibley.
Orpheus had not made another before the two of us, but since, he’s made several.
Though only a few of those several he has kept to serve under him.
Sibley and I are two of them. We’re free to leave him if we so wish to do so, but it’s not something either my sister or I wish. In a strange way, we’re family with him being the big brother. He could never be a parent to either of us, but big brother, he can be.
The fact the Night Dwellers were doing this isn’t something they haven’t done before, each time I’ve had to send them a message. One of them seems not to understand fully.
“Should I switch up how I send the message across in a way they’ll finally get?
” I ask, hoping Orpheus will agree. I grow tired of the bloodsuckers who think they can do as they please.
Especially here in Redwich. There’s an order to everything in our world.
Order is what keeps us going without the rest of the world learning the truth about us.
When it comes to orders from Orpheus, they’re law.
“Do what you think will get the message across that they can’t do as they please on my territory. Not without my permission. I’m tired of the headache. We do not need them causing problems in Redwich. Not now, when everything else is going down between the shifters and blood witches.”
The blood witches were another type of headache that we could all do without.
And our alliance with the Spiked Raiders MC draws us into the fight they’re in the middle of.
More than that, though, those witches want to use vampires to do their dirty work.
Somehow, they found a way to put a vampire in a trance to do their bidding.
Meaning this isn’t something we could allow to happen. Who the hell knows what they’d be able to do if they managed to do more than just one vampire at a time?
If not for Corbin’s ol’ lady, Karsyn, we’d be fucked.
Corbin’s the President of the Spiked Raiders MC and a pain in the ass some days.
That’s a lie. He’s a good shifter to have at your back if you need a shifter there.
He’s not someone you want to get on the bad side of.
There’s nothing he won’t do to rip someone apart if you cross him.
His mate, however, sweet as she is, she is also not someone you want to be on the bad side of.
Not for the same reasons. I watched her kill a blood witch.
While doing this, she drained every bit of power from the witch.
She’d been nothing more than a skin-coated corpse when she was done.
Because she’s able to do this and can syphon from the damn earth, we know better than to be stupid and go against them.
Besides, Corbin’s club has always been an ally of ours.
Karsyn had done a favor for us all with the barrier she placed around the town to keep the blood witches from casting any enchantments on the residences within it.
By doing this, she earned the respect of Orpheus and me.
Orpheus might not be about to trust her or anyone, but he will protect her.
Then again, with what she’d done for all the supernatural beings within the town lines, she earned his trust.
“I’ll see to it that my message is being received in a way they stop feasting on residences.” I bow slightly as I’ve always done in respect to the Vampire King. Didn’t matter if Orpheus didn’t care if I did it or not, but it’s something I’ve done since he first turned me.
“By the way, did you know Sibley met with Justice the other day?” Orpheus asks, standing behind his desk, eyes focusing in on me.
I used to shudder any time he’d lock those eyes on me.
However, I haven’t done so in a very long time.
I grew accustomed to it. However, many women and men alike have been known to fear when the Vampire King glances in their direction.
There’s a thing about Orpheus no one knows, however, there are rumors. A lot of them are outlandish and not to be believed. Others could be seen as true, but I know the truth. It’s a secret that Sibley and I know and will carry until we’re no longer walking the dark nights.
“I know.” I smirk and shake my head. “Sibley finds tormenting Justice to be a fun pastime for her.”
My twin sister wasn’t just a vampire; she was also a seer.
A gift she held before being turned, and it only became heightened after the transition.
She doesn’t spend time with a lot of other vampires.
They tend to fear her as they should. She’s been known to tell them when and how they will die if they get on her bad side. Each time it’s always been true.
The fact that she enjoys tormenting Justice should bother me, but it doesn’t.
I know she won’t be doing anything with him she shouldn’t.
Not that Orpheus or I would stop her, but Justice is a shifter, and the VP of the Spiked Raiders MC.
The two of them have a weird relationship.
They seem to love picking on each other.
Mostly, it’s Sibley who likes to pick on him while he ignores her and snaps or growls back.
“What exactly were they discussing? I was supposed to meet with Justice, but hadn’t been able to at the time.” Orpheus cocks one of his brows.
When Corbin isn’t able to meet with us, Justice, as the VP, comes instead. The two of them make a good team as heads of the MC.
“From what I gather, she was telling him about his mate. This being something he didn’t want to hear.
She does it to him anytime Corbin sends him to meet with you.
You know this as well as I do, she finds it humorous to screw with him.
” It was indeed truly hilarious. Justice isn’t a shifter that wants to discuss even the idea of his mate being out there for him.
“I think I’ll have to speak with her again about telling futures to those who don’t want to hear it.” Orpheus sighs.
“I believe she’s just trying to have a little fun.
” Knowing Sibley, she’s trying to let off steam because it’s the only way she’ll be able to handle her own thoughts toward the future.
Sibley calls her gift a curse. She hates it.
Being able to see the future and not doing anything to change it torments her.
It’s why when those who upset her find themselves knowing things they shouldn’t, and end up freaked because they know she never lies.
“True, but times right now, we need to be on guard. With the Night Dwellers causing problems along with the blood witches, we don’t need anything else to go wrong.”
I couldn’t agree more.
But wait.
“Is there something I’m missing?” The way he said we don’t need anything else to go wrong doesn’t sit well with me. Makes me question if there’s something else going on.
“There are rumors that one of Apollo’s children is a resident of Redwich. A daughter. One that he favors most over others.”
“You want to know if this is true, I’m guessing.” If there is a child of a God in Redwich, Orpheus tends to know these things. He doesn’t like to be threatened, and a child of Apollo could indeed do that if they so wanted to.
“Yes,” Orpheus confirms. “See if you can’t find this daughter and get a feel for her. The last thing we need is for her to come around here and somehow recognize me . . .”
“You’re worried someone would figure out you’re the son of Hades?” I watch him closely after boldly interrupting him. I was the only one who could do so without repercussions, but I knew never to do so with others present. Right now, it is just the two of us. Family.
“The last thing we need . . .” Orpheus nods, eyes flashing blood red, his powers whipping around him. “Is for my secret to get out. I’m a vampire, but I’m also a demigod. Those lesser than me would surely try much harder to remove me from my power if they could.”
The only way they can do that is by draining him of his power. Not an easy feat, but it’s still doable. It’s why I forever serve him as his right-hand man.
“I’ll check into her.” I nod. It shouldn’t be too hard to find this woman. She’d carry the aura of a demigod.
“One other thing,” Orpheus states, his eyes going back to normal. “The Blood Moon is tomorrow night, and the witches have been gathering more and more. We need to ensure they stay out of our way. Better yet, stay outside the town line.”
“You want to ensure they don’t grow stronger,” I point out.
“Exactly.”
“I’ll handle it.” I nod.
“I want you to be the one to do it,” he states.
“Right. I’ll see to it.” I nod again, knowing what he’s stating. He doesn’t want me to task it to someone else to see to.
Leaving Orpheus’s office, I go over all that he needs me to handle and prioritize them all in my head.
Deal with the Night Dwellers, look into finding Apollo’s daughter, and take out the threat the Bloodmoon witches will cause.
These witches have no problem killing to get what they want.
With the Blood Moon, they’ll call upon it to enhance their powers as a cult to be able to do as they wish.
This is something none of us can afford.
They’ll have to be dealt with first and foremost.
Means I’ll deal with the Night Dwellers and finding this woman between taking out those of that I’m able to find.