Alice felt her ego wince when Dacha claimed to know more of the vampires than she did. She had been fighting vampires for a millenia. There wasn't a lot about them that she didn't know. Still slightly confused by the sudden turn of events, she followed Dacha to the reception, vaguely listening to his self-righteousness. Her attention returned when she felt a cold stone being dropped into her hand. She looked down at the stone. It was perfectly circular, a veiny network of colours and cracks ran just beneath the surface. 'Semper vigilant ad lamia' was enscribed on the edge. She felt the room grow a little colder. Looking up, she saw Dacha leaving. Clutching the stone, she raced outside, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, "Wait!" She called. A few passers by gave her odd looks as she looked up and down the street for Dacha. He was gone.
Alice tied the stone around her neck as her thoughts tried to order themselves. Dacha was, presumably, an angel. Why had an angel wanted to free her? She was a product of the Fallen Ones, Heaven's enemies. Which angel was Dacha? If she could figure that part out, it might help figure out why he had freed her. The bigger question was why were angels walking the earth again? Was Dacha an isolated rebellion or were things a lot more serious than she had realised? Alice stopped dead in the middle of the street, quickly apologising to the man who walked straight into her. "Oh hell," she whispered. It couldn't have been...could it? Alice wanted to scream and rip her hair out. The vampire who was watching, he might not have been any Moloch Vampire, he could have been the Moloch. He was so close. She could have ended him if she had just been paying enough attention. Alice headed back down the street, instinctively heading for her hideout. The newborn was most likely recovering in the morgue but she had to deal with the nest properly. He would have to wait.
"How are you?"
Moloch looked at Belial with no real interest. Compared to himself and Ba'al, Belial looked positively ancient. Guilt was not an emotion he was familiar with. It seemed that over the centuries, Belial had become all too familiar with it. "Nice to see you've finally emerged from your well of self pity, brother. The mortals are yet to create a suitable expression for my current state, but that is their problem, not mine," he answered, barely containing the venom in his voice. Despite his current plan going rather well, there was a considerable part of Moloch that despised Belial. Humanity could have been conquered before it had ever really had a chance to start if Belial hadn't been so cowardly. All it would have taken was one swipe of his blade and Michael would have been destroyed. But no, Heaven had won and they were forced to live among the creatures he loathed for eternity.
A young police officer came towards the trio. She was pretty, for a human at least. She exuded confidence. Her pulse was steady as she approached them. There was no sign that she was intimidated by the three men before her, although given Belial's current state, not even a mouse would be intimidated by him. Moloch decided he would turn her when the time was right. She would make a good vampire. "Sirs, I have to ask you to move along. This is a crime scene."
Moloch smiled, enjoying the small amount of fear that came from the woman. Smart girl. "Of course," he answered, "We'll be on our way." He began walking away from the house, not bothering to check if his brothers were following. Despite his low tolerance for his brothers, there was something rather grand about the three of them being together once more. Third time lucky, perhaps? a small voice echoed in his mind. No, he dismissed the thought, 'luck' was something you made happen, it didn't happen to you. Nothing was to be left to chance, not this time.
Back at her den, Alice lay herself out on the floor, letting her eyes flicker closed. Staying still wasn't much of a problem as she went over what she had to do. Go back to the house, clean up, slay any vampires who have already returned. Get her kopis back. Ditch the dust somewhere. Then deal with the pup. First things first though, she needed to feed. Flicking up onto her feet, Alice inhaled deeply, searching for a scent. There was a farm nearby. She could more smell the hay and then came the blood. She shed her clothes and took the form of an eagle as she dived from the window.
Soaring through the air, she could feel the wind in her feathers. Looking beneath her, she could see each individual leaf on the trees. Cats were a lot of fun to be, but there was something about taking to the skies that just couldn't compare. She glided over the farm, waiting for the farmer to leave the sheep before she could feed. After what felt like an age, he left. Alice bombed down, snatching up a lamb before flying off somewhere more secluded. Landing next to an old tractor shed, Alice turned back and slipped inside, the lamb cradled in her arms. She could feel the pulse race beneath it's skin, almost as if it knew she was it's predator. There was no point in trying to calm it, she thought as she sunk her fangs into it's neck. The lamb gave a feeble bleet as blood gushed into Alice's mouth. It's pulse slowed to a stop and the creature went limp in her arms. Draining the last of the blood from the lamb, Alice shifted back into an eagle, the transformation somewhat easier now that she wasn't hungry. She rolled back into her den, feeling happily full and waited until night came down.