Aurora Mortenson emerged from her bathroom in a cloud of steam. With a sigh, she ran a thick black brush through golden blond hair and sat on her bed, checking the clock. Two in the morning. Not a bad time for a vampire to be just getting ready for bed. Not bad at all, in fact, most of her coven was probably still wide awake. She'd just gotten back from a midnight investigation into the murders and disappearences that had been happening lately . Her findings had shocked her and she'd needed a good bath to think. Now, sitting on her bed, she placed the brush down and picked up the small figurine sitting on her bedside table.
The figure was one of a woman, pulling a bow back, ready to shoot. She closed her fingers around it, squeezing harder and harder until there was a brief second of pain and then the thing snapped in two. Just like that. A month ago, her closest friend had gone missing, vanishing out of no where.
Tonight, Aurora had found the huntress figurine laying beside her mangled body. She had had to use all her willpower to force herself to inspect the wounds and after careful examination, found exactly what she'd feared. None of the marks were werewolf claw marks or bites.
Meaning someone else had done this. Someone who'd left the figurine. Aurora glared at the broken thing in her hand, demanding it to provide her tired mind with a logical answer. Sadly, it did not answer her and she sighed, setting it aside and standing to change into her white nightgown.
As soon as she stood, Aurora was forced to sit again. A blinding white light seared through her eyes, burning her, and making her scream. As a vampire , one of her greatest fears was blindness, but just as she'd thought she'd never see again, the light dimmed and the pain subsided.
Aurora found herself panting hard and she slapped a hand down on her bed to reassure herself that she was okay. Her hand struck paper. She looked down to see that she'd smacked a yellowed letter that had certainly not been there a moment ago. What the hell had just happened? Confused, Aurora lifted the letter delicately and read through it.
She dropped it, letting it float gently to the floor at her feet. For the first time in a hundred years, her hands shook with shock as she quickly threw on her lace nightgown and grabbed the letter. Without even stopping for slippers or a robe, Aurora marched straight down the hall, white lace billowing behind her as she moved purposefully.
She didn't stop until she'd reached Julien's door, her second in command. Outside, she pounded on the door urgently. "Get your lazy ass out here Julien, I don't care what you're doing!" she barked through the door. Another second and no answer. Too long. Without another word, Aurora shoved the door open and stepped inside. "Downstairs in the livingroom now." she ordered impatiently before turning on her heel and heading back up the hall.
As she did so, she made sure to jiggle the handle of each door, giving the others her sign for "get downstairs , meeting.
Once Downstairs in the main livingroom, Aurora selected the largest of the many velvet chairs all wrapped in a "U" shape around the grand fireplace. The fire was still popping soft, bathing the room in a warm glow. The open windows let in the cold night air and for the first time since reading the letter, she realized she was shivering in her nightgown and scooted her chair closer to the heat of the fire.
As she waited, Aurora crossed her legs daintily and thought. What was she going to do? She glanced down at the letter. You know what you have to do Aurora. She thought to herself. Yeah, but is that what's best for my family? The idea made her cringe, but she knew what to do. Based on the letter, it was her only option.
Slowly, the members of her coven started pouring in and Aurora lifted her blue eyes from the letter. She waited until everyone had arrived before speaking, voice as casual as if she was talking about the weather. "We're moving in with the werewolves." She said bluntly, letting hee crystal clear blue eyes make contact with each one of theirs , knowing it would enraged most of them, if not all. "There's a race of humans." She lifted the letter for them to see. "They know our secrets and they're hunting us. These disappearances have been due to them. They're called the Cacciatori and they're absolutely deadly." She lowered her eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't care how strong you think we are, we can't take them on ourselves. I've received this news from the lost princess Daniel herself." She said, lifting the letter again and raising her eyes.
She rested her gaze on Julien's, then the others one by one challenging them. "I'll hear your protests out, but you won't change my mind. I don't like this just as much as you don't, but it has to happen or we"ll all die. Anyone who doesn't believe me can read the letter." she looked up to Julien for support. He was her right hand and no matter how crazy he drove her sometimes, he was good at his job otherwise she wouldn't have chose him.
A cold breeze flooded in through the window, cutting through Aurora's nightgown , making her shiver. Silently, she hoped it wasn't a bad sign .
Caprice Mornelli sat in her office, a stack of files in her lap. Her clock read two in the morning, and as she worked, she held a cup of coffee in one hand, heels propped up on her desk almost carelessly. Large brown eyes scanned line after line of tiny 8 pt font, not even tired despite the late hour. She was used to late nights. Not only was Caprice a workaholic, but there was also no better time to catch a vampire or slay a werewolf than two or three in the morning.
Or apparently read files.
A disturbance at her door made Caprice look up, one eyebrow hooked upwards as if to say: "can't you see I'm busy?" At her door stood her messenger. He wasn't good for much, but he knew how to protect himself at least. Sad really, what became of her fellow Cacciatori members who really had no skill. "What is it Albert?" She asked rather impatiently.
"Its Bryce, Miss Mornelli. The man said sheepishly.
"And? What about him? Because short if him being dead, there is absolutely no reason for you to bother me while I'm working." She said annoyed. As if to prove a point, Caprice stood, towering over the man.
"uhm.. Actually.. He is dead. Killed by a vampire just now."
And with that, Albert scampered out of the room barely missing the vast that was pitched at his head when she'd registered what he'd said . "WHAT?!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, the photo on her desk rattling violently. Bryce was dead? How? He was her top man. Her right hand. She shook her head. Dam vampires, if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.
Sitting, Caprice managed to calm herself again and think logically. Papers forgotten, she grabbed for the phone. The secretary's voice came, adding her who she wanted. "Chandler please." she said an waited a minute. Since most agents were at the office either for last minute paperwork or a late night hunt, it only too Bryce's brother a second to answer. "Chandler , yes, its Caprice . I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you, but Bryce has been killed by a vampire. I would like you to take his place as second in command. It would do your brother proud." Her voice was pleasant and sympathetic as she spoke. Sure, she could have chosen her own sister to take bryce's place, but she hadn't. Mila was too soft for the job, and while she loved her, probably the only person Caprice ever had loved , she wouldn't give her a job she couldn't handle.