Jas Harlow sat in the backseat of his car, his fingers tapping absently on the armrest. He stared out of the window as the city of Faewall passed by in a blur, the streets drenched in mist.
Beside him, Alfred, his loyal driver and right hand man, remained focused on the road as he drove, his face a mask of calm professionalism.
Jas was looking out at the city but he wasn't seeing it. He had received a ssage. A ssage from Hyde.
Everyone and their grandmothers knew Hyde was dead. Had known for days. And yet, when the mysterious ssage had arrived, he hadn't hesitated. There were too many pieces in motion, too many shadows moving in the dark. He had to see this through.
The car eventually slowed as they approached their destination. An old, crumbling chapel on the outskirts of the city. This was where the ssage had directed him to.
As the car rolled to a stop, Jas opened the door before Alfred could get out to assist him. His boots crunched on the gravel as he stepped out, the cold night air biting at his skin.
He paused, looking up at the dilapidated building in front of him. He had nothing to fear. He was the strongest vampire in the city. Even fifth ringed vampires couldn't stand under his dominion, not to ntion his relic.
"Are you sure about this, sir?" Alfred asked, his voice cautious.
Jas nodded curtly. "Stay here. I'll take a look."
With that, he strode toward the chapel, the door already wide open. The inside was dark, lit only by the faint moonlight filtering through the cracked windows. The air was thick with the sll of rot and decay.
As he stepped inside, his eyes were imdiately drawn to the floor. There, scrawled in dark, drying blood, was the ssage:
"I know your secret."
His gaze shifted to the box placed carefully beside the bloodstained words. Even before opening it, Jas had an idea of what was inside.
He crouched down and lifted the lid with steady hands, revealing two hearts. Hyde's… and another vampire's.
The sight of the hearts sent a shiver of anger through him. He exhaled slowly, rising to his feet as he felt Alfred enter the chapel behind him. Jas didn't turn. He kept his eyes on the box before him.
"I just received news. Hyde's body and a vampire known as Green are missing from peacekeeper HQ." Alfred said quietly. "Green was one of Hyde's Subjects, low-level. He was frad by Hyde for breaking the Law of Secrecy. Captain Matten had him in custody, but it seems soone else had other plans."
Jas felt the pieces falling into place, the last threads of doubt fading. He clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself to remain calm. He had suspected the identity of Hyde's killer, but this… this was confirmation.
"And Ezra?" Jas asked, his voice low.
"He knows nothing of this yet," Alfred replied. "Shall I inform him?"
Jas shook his head, the decision imdiate. "No. Matten is not to be told. This stays between us."
"Yes, my lord." Alfred bowed his head.
Jas looked down at the bloodied ssage again, the weight of the situation sinking in. "this confirms it. We now know who killed Hyde. They've made themselves known." His voice was grim as he turned to face Alfred.
"Keep an eye on them. Watch their every move. Now that we know our opponent, we can keep them in check. I want to know what their goal is."
Alfred nodded, his expression hardening. "Understood, my lord."
Jas took a deep breath, feeling the tight pull of sothing darker, sothing that had haunted him for decades.
The relic inside him, the Progenitor's relic, stirred, responding to the tension, the threat. It whispered to him, urging him to act, to hunt, to kill. It had always been there, gnawing at him with its primal hunger.
"I'll handle the rest." Jas said softly. Explore more at мѵʟ
He turned away from the bloodstained chapel, heading back to the car, but when Alfred moved to open the door for him, Jas shook his head.
"I'll drive myself back," Jas said, his voice calm but firm. "Stay here and clean this up."
Alfred gave a brief nod. "Yes, my lord."
Jas slid into the driver's seat, gripping the wheel tightly as he drove away from the chapel. His estate wasn't far, but the drive gave him ti to gather his thoughts.
His finger tapped against the steering wheel as he considered his next steps, the pull of the Progenitor relic inside him growing stronger with each passing mont.
When he finally arrived at his sprawling estate, the gates opened automatically as he drove through, pulling up to the grand, dark mansion.
He stepped out of the car, leaving it in the driveway, and walked with purpose toward the entrance. His destination was not the lavish rooms of the main house, but the basent. The place where his darkest secrets were kept.
Jas descended the narrow stone staircase, his boots echoing off the cold walls as he went deeper underground.
He could hear it before he even opened the door. A low, feral growl, the sound of chains rattling against stone. When he pushed the door open, the sight that greeted him was both terrifying and familiar.
In the center of the room, chained by golden chains that shimred faintly, was a vampire. But this was not just any vampire.
This was a feral, mad creature, more animal than man. Its once regal features were now twisted with fury and insanity, its eyes glowing with a hatred that was fuelled by madness.
The vampire snarled as soon as Jas entered the room, lunging against the chains with all its might. But the golden chains held strong, keeping the vampire confined, though it still strained against them, its claws scraping uselessly at the stone floor.
Jas took a deep breath, feeling the pull of the Progenitor relic inside him intensify. The relic thrumd in his soul, urging him to strike, to destroy the creature in front of him.
The vampire's very presence, its connection to the Daydream Court, stirred the relic's deepest instincts.
But Jas had been fighting this urge for over five decades. He forced himself to resist, his body taut with tension as he moved to the chair across from the feral vampire.
It snarled and snapped, the chains keeping it just out of reach.
"Calm yourself." Jas said softly, his voice steady. "You're not the only one who knows the secret anymore."
The vampire's eyes blazed with fury, but there was a flicker of recognition in them. It growled, but Jas could sense the shift. It understood him, even through the madness that consud it.
Jas leaned back in the chair, his gaze never leaving the vampire. "You must be glad, in so twisted way. Because now, soone else is aware of what we've tried so hard to keep buried."
The vampire hissed, its fangs bared in rage, but Jas only smiled coldly.
"This changes everything." He said quietly.
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