Ezra had been working, sorting through reports when Olivia burst into his office.
"We have a problem." She said, stopping Ezra's greeting in his throat. "Hyde's dead."
"What?" Ezra was on his feet in an instant. "Count Hyde?"
"Yes." Olivia nodded, passing a tablet to him. "He was found dead at the Red Veil just a few minutes ago."
Ezra took the tablet to see pictures of a dead Hyde, with dried blood everywhere. It didn't look like a dead vampire with super pale skin and dark blood but like a dead human.
"When was this picture taken? And who took it?" He asked, handing back the tablet and striding out of the room, Olivia following behind.
"When he was found, his body gathered a crowd of patrons and they took pictures. The pictures are going viral on social dia."
"Fuck!" Ezra swore. "Gather any available personnel and go secure the scene. We must contain this and stop it from spreading further. Also, get soone to find every photo and take them down. Wipe them from existence. There must be no traces of them before the night is over."
Olivia saluted and rushed away to carry out his orders.
As for Ezra, he stopped, standing in front of the man who was obviously here to see him.
"Alfred." Ezra nodded in greeting.
"Captain Ezra." Alfred nodded back, his face as expressionless as ever. Alfred is Jas Harlow's advisor and right hand man. He was unnaturally tall and thin, always sporting a thin mustache.
No matter where he was, he was always dressed in tailored black trousers, a crisp white shirt, a bow tie and a black waistcoat. His hands were also always covered with black gloves. He looked like a butler but without the coat.
"To what do I owe the visit?" Ezra asked.
"The City Lord requires your presence at his domain imdiately." Alfred answered.
"Ah, I see." Ezra said. "Very well. Give a minute. Let grab my car keys."
"Don't worry." Alfred stopped Ezra. "You won't be needing it. The City Lord had authorized teleportation for you and you only, accompanied by , into his domain. We must leave right now."
Ezra paused and narrowed his eyes. The City Lord wasn't playing around. This had to be about Hyde's death. He stepped forward. "Alright. Let's go."
Alfred took him by the shoulder and they teleported together, appearing in a familiar and spacious corridor. This was not his first ti here, so Ezra recognized where they were.
Just like Itachi in First City, Jas was the richest man in Faewall. As the chairman and majority shareholder of Harlow Industries, he was just as reclusive and always worked from his estate.
Unlike most lordly vampires, Jas didn't have a throne room. He conducted all work, both vampire and financial, from his study. Alfred walked to the door of the study and knocked politely.
"Co in, Ezra Matten. You can go, Alfred." Jas' voice sounded through the door.
Alfred gave a slight bow to the closed door and left.
Ezra opened the door and entered the study. The study was large, with both walls on either side of him covered with a bookshelf filled with books. Opposite the door was a large window and right in front of that window was a desk and a chair.
Seated on the chair was the man he was here to et. Jas Harlow.
Just as one would expect from a sixth ring vampire, he had a presence that was not an Aura but was just as physically imposing on the world as everyone was. In any room he was in, the air was a bit more heavier, like he had his own gravitational force.
His red eyes shone in the darkness, staring at Ezra. His elbows were on the table and his fingers were entwined in front of him.
Just like the other sixth ring vampire Ezra knew, his arm was covered with scales but these ones were a dark red in color. It was a physical sign of their sixth ring ability, Dominion.
Ezra walked to stand in front of Jas, saluting the man. "My lord."
"Captain." Jas nodded, his voice sounding like the calm before the storm. "All I have for you is a simple question. What have you been doing?"
Ezra stood there silent. He could recognize that Jas was not in a good mood and saying the wrong thing could just be the thing that tips the man into full blown anger. He'd experienced Itachi's anger. It had not been a good thing.
Coupled with the uncomfortable feeling of Jas' relic calling out to him, Ezra knew he was making the right choice. Read the latest on mvl
"Where were you when Hyde's death was splattered all over the web? What were you doing when all this went public? This should have been contained before it could go public like this!"
"Calm down, Jas." A voice spoke from the side. "You know this is not his fault, so don't take it out on him."
Ezra looked to the side, finally noticing the second vampire in the room.
Anya. Faewall's Arbiter.
Of average height, her golden hair was long enough to reach the back of her knees. She smiled at Ezra, her gold scaled arms crossed under her modest bosom.
She was the second sixth ring vampire in the city.
She had been leaning against the shelves, dressed in a turtleneck sweater, blue figure hugging jeans and knee length black boots.
"There's no need to go on these rants. Just tell the man what you need." She drawled.
Jas sighed, leaning back in his chair. He stared at Ezra for a mont before speaking.
"Hyde was a dear friend of mine. I find the news of his death… troubling."
Ezra said nothing and kept his expression neutral. He could feel Anya watching him like a hawk.
"I want you to personally take charge of this case. Do not give it to your subordinates." Jas held Ezra's gaze. "Contain it. Keep the humans away and find the killer. Understood?"
Ezra saluted. "Yes, my lord."
"Dismissed."
Ezra turned and walked out of the study. Jas wanted him to personally investigate but one thing kept nagging at him.
Why did they think he'd been killed and this was not a suicide? Vampire deaths were a lot more… grueso than this.
Did they know sothing and were not telling him?
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