[Charles]
Charles stood in front of his trophy case full of his most precious artifacts. Over the years he'd filled it with ancient runes, scrolls, talismans, and other priceless items.
Among his favorites were old navigation tools excavated from a fifteenth-century shipwreck off the coast of England and some Egyptian treasures, including Tutankhamun's mask.
In the center of this case, on its own special shelf, was a wooden cross. It was about eight inches tall and five inches wide, and it looked similar to the one Richard Downing was supposed to use to pay Charles.
However, its design was more impressive. Instead of its tips being carved into elaborate swirls, Charles' cross's ends were square, and each had a tiny scene carved into it. The top square depicted someone being dragged from the clouds by demons, and the bottom square appeared to be Hell's fire and more demons with horns, forked tongues, and pointed teeth.
Along the vertical board of the cross, men, as well as demons, crawled up a thorny vine. The left square pictured a man burning in sunlight, and the right pictured the same man shrinking away from silver knives. And in the center, carved into a circle rather than a square, the same man was depicted with more defined muscles and sharper teeth.
He carried two rabbits and a wolf in one hand and in the other, he carried a woman by her ankles. All were dripping with blood.
Burned into the horizontal board was a saying in Latin. It translated loosely to "Die by the great bite and live by the blood."
After becoming a vampire himself and learning more about history, Charles found a strong interest in it. He was fascinated with how everything was connected, but each item had its own style and its own story.
With a few exceptions, most of the art and artifacts around the Prince Mansion were somehow related to being a vampire.
Richard Downing's cross was one of those things. It was beautiful and rare, indeed, but it was not as special as the cross Charles already owned. Charles was sure Richard's cross did not contain vampire venom within it as he did.
He wished he could have at least gotten his hands on it to study it further, but Richard would not let it loose, and Charles was not one to use unnecessary force. He'd grown more reserved in his last twenty years of being a vampire.
Even still, Richard's cross would have been a nice addition to Charles' collection. He would still have to try to get his hands on it.
Regardless, Charles wasn't too upset that he didn't get Richard's cross. In fact, he was all too happy to have received Virginia instead. It pained him to think of her as payment, but he couldn't have refused Richard's offer to use her to settle his debt owed to the Prince family. Charles accepted the offer before he could think.
He was totally taken by her beauty. Even freshly aroused from sleep with her long brown hair tangled, she was radiant. Her eyes were such a pure and lively blue, like sapphire. And she smelled so sweet.
Charles wasn't sure what he was going to do now with her in his possession. He knew being taken away from her family would be difficult enough, but learning to live as a servant after being used to being served would make the adjustment even harder. As selfish as it sounded and made him feel, Charles was simply content with the fact that since she'd be living with them, he'd get to see her around his home quite often.
Still, he had his father to worry about.
Gabriel Prince was sure to be furious once he realized that Charles had taken a human girl as payment rather than that expensive cross like they had planned. He and Richard Downing had come to an agreement: the invaluable cross for their protective services for the Downing family. If there was one thing Gabriel hated most, it was when things didn't go as planned.
Charles was surprised that Gabriel had let him go to make the deal at all. Gabriel liked to keep things orderly and in his control, so ever since Charles quit working in the protective services and started working in the historical artifacts side of their business, Gabriel thought it best to keep the two things separate. But this case was special.
First off, on the night Richard and Gabriel planned to meet to seal the deal, the Devoe clan struck one of the Prince's protected families. So everyone on the fighting side of the business was busy. Secondly, the payment was said to be a precious artifact, and nobody knew their history like Charles, so Gabriel made an exception and sent Charles to verify the cross's authenticity and settle the deal in his place.
It was a simple task really: get the fourteenth-century Catholic cross and they would provide their services for Richard's family. So Charles knew Gabriel would be upset when he discovered that the deal didn't go as planned.
Charles stood at the case, trying to concentrate on each item. He was expecting his father at any moment, and he wanted to be sure that he was in the right mindset to talk to him. But knowing Virginia was somewhere on the level beneath him, and occasionally being able to catch the faint metallic scent of her blood, made it nearly impossible for him to focus.
There was a rap on Charles' bedroom door. Before he spoke, his father strode in.
"Good morning, son," he said in his low voice. Gabriel had a strange accent due to the fact that he'd been alive for several hundred years. He usually did his best to sound like a modern man, but when he was among his family or any other fellow vampires, he didn't care to disguise his voice.
"Hello, Father," Charles replied with a nod.
Gabriel was still dressed in his combat attire, so he must have been fresh from the previous night's assignment. It was still very early in the morning, so perhaps he'd just gotten back.
His midnight-black hair was tied back in a ponytail, his signature looks, though it was slightly tousled now.
"How are our friends the Devoes?"
Gabriel scoffed. Even joking that they could be on good terms with evil vampires like the Devoes revolted him.
"There's a reason people trust us to protect them from the Devoe clan. We managed to kill three of his men."
"Ah." Charles was reminded then why he wanted to leave that side of the family business. "A successful night then."
Gabriel nodded once. "Of course."
Sometimes Charles appreciated his father's confidence, but he occasionally found it rather annoying. Now was one of those moments where he felt neither. Charles was too busy trying not to think about Virginia.
He wasn't sure what he would say to his father, so he hoped that Gabriel wouldn't say anything about it.
"Have you retrieved the artifact from Richard Downing?"
Charles hesitated. Of course, his father would bring it up immediately. It was business after all. "Not quite."
Gabriel's gray eyes darkened and narrowed. "You didn't get it?"
Charles shook his head no but kept eye contact with Gabriel.
"Well, where is it?" Gabriel asked, already growing impatient.
Charles cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice light, hoping to avoid Gabriel's fury.
"Well, it's still with Richard Downing. That man is not going to let that thing go."
Charles was growing aware that his father was beginning to simmer.
Charles pressed his hands together in excitement. He knew his father would be angry, but he thought if he could show his father how enthused he was with the trade, his father would take it easier on him. "But! I've got something better."
Gabriel raised his eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
Before Charles was able to get one word out, the scent of Virginia's blood wafted through the room. She must have been on the move with Angela. He could now hear the faint thumping of her heart. She seemed to be calmer now than she had been when they first arrived at the Prince's mansion.
This eased Charles' mind a bit.
Gabriel's eyes widened and his mouth twisted into a grimace. He breathed in heavily through his nose then let out a deep growl. "You foolish boy!"
Charles was not afraid of his father, but he did not like to be the object of his anger.
However, as Gabriel stood there snarling at him, Charles began to feel a bit uneasy. He began to worry about how Gabriel would react.
Would he have Virginia sent back?
Even though he'd brought her, a human, to a mansion filled with vampires, he didn't want to let her go.
Something about her soothed him, and he was intrigued by her.
"Father," Charles started.
"No!" Gabriel yelled. "This is precisely why YOU are on the artifact side of the business and not on the protective side anymore. You are weak!"
Charles stood there silently, composed. But underneath his stolid face, he, too, was seething.
"I thought you were smarter than this! But you couldn't follow through with a deal so simple?"
Charles grew irritated with his father's anger and before he or said something to make matters worse, he left the room.