Chapter 4
CHRISTOPHER SEPHTIS
O ctober was a month of temperate weather, dedicated to fun, celebratory observances for humans. Vampires were known to partake in particular celebrations for further assimilation, however, under the Sephtis household, the tenth month of the year was the beginning of tumultuous measures in the act of revenge.
The schemes begun as a means to release anger between the seven of us, to showcase the suffering that our society and That Man had bestowed on our mother. The message was never received, and in turn, the schemes simply increased—from staged, small scuffles in social events to arguments targeted toward Ministry members to destruction of property that infiltrated national news and resulted in permanent bans.
For five years, amongst ourselves, the schemes were our source of entertainment. Until it wasn’t. And nearly two weeks ago proved so.
Kaleb, the third oldest of the Sephtis name, acted on pure impulse to repair his inflated yet sensitive ego, utterly ignoring the positions I’d set in stone. Schemes, with their rigorous mechanisms, could never simply be enacted by one or two. All were to contribute their part to balance its scales—because if the equilibrium unsteadied, all collapsed.
His scheme wasn’t merely for entertainment. Dragging Alek, the fourth oldest, permanently rooted in the middle, was dense. Nearly unjustifiably killing two of our guardians was senseless. However, committing to all of this and endangering the Ambrogio sisters was pure homicide.
Thankfully, through the help of Anabella, I’d secured their words that the actions of that day wouldn’t escape the household’s walls. But even the simplest favors had the heftiest dues.
A swift knock reverberated from my chamber’s door. There was no need for a response when this territory harbored one person who warned rather than sought approval when entering.
“Sonia.”
Our Senior Guardian was as unchanging as this household. Dark, metal-black hair withstood gravity in a sleek ponytail, the waist-length, pin-straight strands unmoving along her broad back as she paused. Large mirrored-shades enhanced her sharp cheekbones and contoured her cool amber flesh as she bowed.
Over two decades stood no ground against her and the vibrant, ruby red lipstick she appeared to live in.
“Christopher.” Honorifics were dropped long ago in the chaste separation of That Man. Her tone perpetually carried a monotone pitch to it like the rest of the guardians. However, whenever she uttered my name, there was a certain rare chime to it similar to our mother. As if warmth seeped through its crevices.
“Did you receive the invitation?” I asked.
Visitations to Le Maudit weren’t done through biddings. All vampires were welcomed regardless of their social standing. But to visit with a guardian or human was rare, and as a result, required a proper and special request in a timely manner that was scarcely granted.
She retrieved an envelope from her guardian uniform. I recognized the owl sigil imprinted into a magenta wax seal.
Based on Anabella’s urgent notice, the night ahead of me would likely be long. Relief eased the tension in my knuckles, yet the strain in my muscles persisted.
“The limousine is waiting outside the guardhouse.”
Hesitation weighed each step like a chain as I followed her lead. Presences didn’t hang in the air, but rather, the penetrating silence this household harbored. With its dark interior and low lighting, there was a sense of dread that coated its bones, a hollow shell of what it once was. Years had slipped through the cracks, but the caging misery remained the same.
I took my accustomed seat in the burnt burgundy velvet-lined compartment. The door behind me shut, and shortly after, the front echoed as Sonia settled into the passenger seat. A frosted partition divided us, but the driver's thick presence and Sonia’s cut-throat response confirmed the company I’d be subjected to until my arrival.
To the eye, the scenery between Woodstale to Ottawa shared no differences with its towering trees and jagged mountains, heightening a newfound sensation.
“ You owe me a debt .”
One that heated my flesh and set my veins aflame.
“ A debt that can only be redeemed with a name, Doll. ”
Anticipation.
“ And I have no plans on giving you that .”
The man had taken residence in my mind, the ghost of his body and the whisper of his lips etched into my flesh.
A hand traveled to my pocket and met the cold device I’d collected the night I saw him.
I’d never been kissed in that manner. Never been aggressively handled the way he had done. And yet, it would be an utter lie if I’d thought I hadn’t liked it.
I had, too much, and it was all-consuming.
That imbecile.
The limousine halted, the force of its harsh brake alerting my attention to the side. There, before Le Maudit’s grand entrance, stood Anabella in a periwinkle, floral lace dress. She frequented the parlor more often than I did, on the weekends nevertheless, yet the gravity of her stare screamed anything but pleasure.
“I’ll remain here,” Sonia noted as I stepped outside. The invitation was a security measure and granted her leeway inside, but the three of us understood the stares we would receive if she entered. It was in our best interest to ward off prying eyes. Before parting to the limousine, Sonia added, “You have until the morning.”
Anabella’s tight smile vanished the moment we entered and the main door shut. “You couldn’t have brought the other guardian with you?”
“Mr. Amelle is still healing.”
A shadow of worry glazed her obsidian eyes. “Is he alright?”
“He’s fine,” I corrected myself. The Chief Guardian had received the brunt end of my brother’s poor excuse of a scheme, hauled as a pawn like Alek. “He’s been relieved from the majority of his duties until he’s fully recovered, but he’s out and about.”
Half-humans had exceptional healing capabilities through their intake of vampire blood. However, his injuries were like no other. From the simple glimpses I’d stolen in the aftermath, they were enough to mark his death. Details outside the necessary weren’t shared and in truth, Sonia’s assurance wasn’t enough to subdue my suspicions toward the new guardian who had done such a number.
What was Katerina Eli ?
“Oh, that’s good to hear.” She attempted to conceal her alleviation and guided us into an inhabited den. “Christopher, there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Is it about the marriage arrangement?” After the sisters visit, the pressure unfolded overnight with the Mubaraks disappearance and That Man’s failed attempts to sustain human relations in addition to the Two-Species Treaty. Two months weren’t enough to make a decision, particularly when an engagement was meant to be announced during their annual Christmas Ball, the grandest event for vampires and humans alike.
“No, as we've talked about this countless times before. My decision still stands and it’s in your grasp.” She avoided my gaze as she looked forward into the venereal act across from her, the unspoken words hanging between us. “The Ministry is after Mal.”
“Why?” No one in our society paid mind to Sylvester, especially those of the highest standing. Yet, it was still of importance to be conscious of our relationship with him since harboring a slight connection with someone as scandalous as him was scorned upon. Though it would have no impact on my name, it carried enough weight to destroy Anabella’s.
The Sephtises had long been condemned and high-powered, growing greater after That Man’s position as Premier. The Ambrogios, however, were held to a particular light of immortalized resilience, as Anabella’s father, the head of the Ambrogio family and Secretary of the Ministry, was second in command after the Premier.
“There’s whispers of his correlation to the Mubaraks’ disappearance.” Her tone lowered. “They say he’s behind it.”
“How is that possible?”
“I’m not sure. But Christopher,” her whispered words reduced at each one as she closed the gap between us, skin to skin, and continued, “when I arrived here today, I discovered this in my accustomed domain.”
Slender fingers reached into a hidden pocket at her hip and retrieved a pale envelope, familiar black letters encompassing the front. The lines and curves were sloppy, illegible. But only one individual had that handwriting.
“That’s Mal’s.”
She nodded. “And it’s addressed to you.”
Silence deafened my surroundings, the sudden shift in the air bringing focus to the envelope in my hands.
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know.” Anabella stared at it with the same bewilderment emitting from my gaze. They shook as she glanced at me. “But, Christopher, if what they say is true, then Mal’s disappearance might not be coincidental and neither is this invitation.”
Society believed secrecy wasn’t in Sylvester’s arsenal since he was a newsmonger and all. But after that night and the scene I witnessed. . .was it intentionally painted that way?
“If you accept this, you’ll sign your death away.”
Confusion tightened her features, however, not my own. This wasn’t an accident. It was orchestrated.
He knew I saw them.
My nostrils flared as I inhaled a sharp breath and pocketed the envelope, the weight of the matter settling in my muscles.
“Christopher,” she choked out, her tone clipped. “Listen, I lo?—”
“You know what occurs to those who share those words with me.”
My strained relationship with my brothers never equipped us to understand those three little words. Our mother had taught us the dangers of such a phrase, never uttering them and staying true to her word.
“ You must find someone who sees you as an equal and values you to your very core. Not your status or goods,” she’d said. “But never let love infiltrate such parameters, because once you do, everything will be wrecked. You will crumble like I did.”
The depths of Anabella’s eyes darkened as she cleared her throat and rested her frigid hands on my own. “I care about you. You have been my betrothed since birth, but my friend first and foremost. My happiness is yours if you desire, but I cannot see you digging your own grave.”
The distant echo of my mother’s voice burrowed into the void in my chest. In my youth, my mother’s words were a shadow that always hovered but never influenced—until she uttered those three words. The shadow of her touch and metal frames grazed my palms. That Christmas night, hope had flourished through celebrations, only to be crushed and disposed of when we’d returned to a manor where she had laid lifeless.
“I cannot dig into what was already framed for me.”
The commute back to the household hadn’t changed, each turn the same as from the departure. Why did the road suddenly seem to be endless underneath the depth of night? Why was the envelope which bore my name straining my pocket?
Neither Anabella nor I dared opening it to reveal the contents in such a public setting. But by not doing so, the responsibility of what Sylvester addressed to me now burdened my shoulders.
A hand traveled to it, but a cold device with a button met my touch.
“Investigate the mechanisms of this,” I said and placed it in Sonia’s palm once the limousine vanished from the inner gate and beyond the outer. “Report as soon as you uncover everything.”
“Is there anything of importance I should know regarding it?”
“Be sure to not press it.” Hesitancy itched in my fingertips. While Sylvester and I were not affected by it when he had activated the device, the man’s sudden shriek and paralysis was drastically polarizing. It wasn’t worth experimenting if half-humans were affected by it or not.
With a swift dismissal, Sonia bowed and faded into the darkness, toward my opposing direction. Still, I wasn’t alone.
Guardians surrounded both gates like statues, their threadlike presences blurring into one another. Unlike humans, theirs weren’t concentrated, but it always hovered like a cloud of smoke. Elusive yet dense. Never-changing. If devoted to differentiating them, their presences could be plucked one by one.
Yet, that’s not how I recognized the broad outline in the distance. It was through the craving that sparked awake through his familiar, reverberating footsteps, walking toward the same direction of Sonia—to the employee base.
The Imbecile was here, in Woodstale, on Sephtis soil, where all debts must be paid.