After he sent them off, he went to his private suite that wasn’t hideous black decor and stripped off his clothes. He peeled away all the black leather and showered gel from his hair and sweat from his body. He hated playing lord of the night, but blood groupies had their expectations.
He was out of the shower and changing into clothes that he was willing to be seen wearing in public when something unusual appeared in front of him. It was like a tablet screen, except that his phone and tablet were sitting on the dresser.
You have received a voice chat request from [Jason Asano]. Accept Y/N?
“That’s highly unusual. Er… accept?”
“Craig,” Jason’s voice came into his head. Vermillion had experienced telepathy before, although this was the first time it came with an operating system.
“Mr Asano?”
“Let’s stick with Jason, shall we, Craig? Don’t want to be confused with my uncle, especially when things are delicate. I’m going to bring Uncle Hiro along when we go see Victor, so can you swing by his place so we can all go together?”
“I know where it is,” Vermillion said. “That’s a good idea. Victor respects Hiro’s opinion, and knowing that Hiro has taken the out will make it easier for Victor to do the same.”
“Unless it backfires and Victor sees Hiro as a traitor,” Jason said, playing devil’s advocate.
“It’s worth the risk,” Vermillion said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Vermillion was back in tall, dark, and mysterious mode when he arrived on Hiro’s balcony by means unknown. He wore a dark suit, his hair expertly groomed. Taika and Hiro did not notice his arrival until Jason opened the balcony door.
“Out of curiosity, do you need a formal invitation?” Jason asked.
“Only as a matter of manners.”
Jason and Vermillion stared at each other.
“You’re not going to invite me in, are you?”
“You could be lying. If I was a vampire, I’d be lying all the time. Sure, I don’t need an invitation, but it would be the polite thing. No, that’s not stench of death. Of course, tomato juice coagulates.”
Vermillion looked at him from under raised eyebrows.
“Alright, come in,” Jason said.
Hiro and Taika were nervous, but Vermillion’s aura was toned down from the aggressive and intimidating norm he employed against his criminal associates. Both of the normal men seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Shall we?” Jason asked, gesturing at the elevator. As they rode down, Taika kept glancing at Vermillion.
“How’d you get up on that balcony, bro?”
“Taika!” Hiro scolded.
“No, I’ve got to ask, boss. There’s some spooky stuff going on lately and I’m not sure I can protect you properly.”
“I respect your work ethic,” Vermillion complimented, “but a man in my position keeps his capabilities as secret as he can.”
Jason silently nodded his agreement. He had been very careful about using his portal arch because it was a powerful trump card, especially when no one knew that he had it. After testing to make sure it wasn’t impaired by the weak local magic, he had refrained from using it again, relying on Shade for transport.
Taika took the wheel of Hiro’s large town car, with Hiro next to him in the passenger seat. That left their backs to Vermillion in the rear with Jason. Although Vermillion’s aura was subdued, out of courtesy to Jason, he still maintained a certain level of unnerving pressure. He had an image to uphold, after all.
“Could we swap aura manipulation tips later?” Jason asked quietly. He modulated his voice low enough that only enhanced senses would make it out clearly. “I’m pretty good at using my aura as a weapon, but I don’t have a lot of practice using it on regular people, so it’s bit of a blunt instrument. I appreciate the nuance of your fine control in projecting on normals.”
“I’d like that. I’d love to pick up some of your high-end control. It’s like an iron sphere.”
“Sounds good.”
“I have a club full of blood groupies who get off on aura manipulation. You’ll get all the practice you can handle.”
“Are they a bunch of emo kids?”
“Some,” Vermillion admitted. “There are all manner of thrill-seekers in my circle, though. Hedonism comes in many flavours.”
Hiro and Taika rode in silence, the unintelligible murmurings in the back making them all the more nervous. Then the murmuring stopped as Jason spoke out loud.
“What are those auras?” Jason asked. “I don’t recognise them.”
“What?” Taika asked.
“Just be ready to drive,” Jason told him.
“I am driving, bro.”
“I mean really drive.”
“What was that about auras?” Taika asked. “Are there crystal therapists coming after us?”
Vermillion let out a dark chuckle that chilled Hiro and Taika to the bone.
“You were going to tell them after the EOA deal was done, right?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I think it’s time to rip off the band-aid,” Jason said. “There’s at least two dozen of them, so I don’t think holding back will be an option.”
“Twenty-nine, by my count.”
“Twenty-nine what?” Hiro asked.
“Blood servants,” Vermillion explained. “People who have drunk the blood of a vampire without going through the turning process.”
“Did you just say vampire?” Hiro asked.
“I don’t know about vampires or whatever,” Taika said as the car sped up, “but there’s a bunch of bikers riding up on us.”
In the thick traffic, it had taken Taika a while to notice the bikers converging on them. Although he had sensed their auras for a while, Vermillion now turned to look through the back window.
“The Blood Riders,” he said. “They’re a motorcycle gang entirely turned into blood servants. My people forced the ones behind it to cut the bikers off. It seems that someone is trying to get some final work out of them before the strength leaves them.”
“Does that help us?” Jason asked.
“No,” Vermillion said. “Vampire blood is addictive, which is how vampires control their servants. Most likely, they were told that if they deal with us, their supply gets restored. They were probably told to be discreet, but blood servants get very focused when their supply is on the line. Once the effects start wearing off, they become aggressive and unstable.”
“Not so good at following directions,” Jason said.
“Exactly,” Vermillion said. “I’d bet that whoever sent them hasn’t dealt with desperate blood servants before. They’re nice and obedient while the blood keeps coming, but they get very stroppy when it stops. Otherwise, they’d never come at us in the open like this. The Network is not going to be happy, however it plays out.”
“Uh, Jason,” Taika said. “There’s two more bikes.”
“More bikers?” Vermillion asked.
“No, bro,” Taika said, sounding off-kilter as he watched the mirrors. “These look like your bike and the riders all look like they’re wearing a big black coats or something.”
“That’s my ride,” Jason said.
“Your ride?” Hiro asked, then goggled as Jason was shrouded in dark mist. At the same time, bullets started hitting the car.
14
BULLETS, BIKES AND BLOOD