“Of course,” I said, confused. I looked from Sarge to Captain Reese, then back at Sarge, trying to make sense of the meeting.
“In your text you said that you were requesting a meeting to inform me about something having to do with Ruin,” Sarge said. “I thought Captain Reese should be included in the conversation.”
Captain Reese nodded as she set the can of compressed air down on her desk. “Any news about Ruin is… well …ruinous?” She laughed at her play on words as she removed her prosthetic from her desk and set it on her lap.
I shifted uncomfortably. “Wouldn’t it be best to follow the chain of command and—if you think whatever information I have is important—you take it to Captain Reese?”
“That’s how the humans do it on their shows, but that’s not very efficient,” Captain Reese rolled her eyes as she picked up a glass of water that was leaving a ring of moisture on a paper and put it on a wooden coaster.
Sarge acknowledged Captain Reese’s words with a nod but set his eyes on me. “I wanted to bring Captain Reese in on the conversation because it was safe to assume the information is important—you don’t lightly broach topics. Now. Tell us.”
Sarge stood with his hands behind his back, his shoulders squared, his feet spread hip width apart.
I automatically started to mirror him, then realized I was facing him and not our commanding officer so I awkwardly turned to face Captain Reese.
She pointed to a sturdy chair. “Sit.”
I shifted uncomfortably.
“Or stand,” Captain Reese amended. “It makes no difference to me! Do whatever feels best—personally, I’d rather be running around in a park than stuck in a stuffy office.” She made a face, then switched back to her warm infectious smile. “So, what’s going on, Blood? Did Ruin do something to you?”
“April and Binx both included notes on your interaction with Ruin last night,” Sarge said. “Is there something they missed?”
“No.” I hesitated and wondered just how I could phrase this without 1) making them angry that I’d waited to tell them and 2) keeping anyone from getting upset that I’d used vampire slayer resources for an open case.
Ruin technically isn’t a case. He hasn’t done anything we can investigate since, strictly speaking, we don’t care if he beats other supernaturals unconscious as long as he doesn’t involve humans.
I bit my lip, then belatedly remembered I wasn’t wearing my mask so Sarge and Captain Reese could see my expressions.
I better just start talking—I’ve been practicing at home. I can do this.
I took a deep breath and stared at the wall behind Captain Reese, which was painted a soothing forest green color and was covered with framed photos of her Pack. “I believe Ruin is actually the vampire elder Considine Maledictus.”
Sarge and Captain Reese stared at me.
“Okay,” Captain Reese eventually said. “I guess that’s good to know.”
I gaped at them, and I’m ashamed to admit I questioned their reaction for a moment, until it occurred to me that Sarge was a naiad and Captain Reese was a werewolf so it was perfectly normal that neither of them would recognize the name of what was basically the vampire bogey man, who hadn’t been officially sighted by slayers in decades.
“Considine Maledictus is one of the oldest vampires alive,” I said. “He was changed in the Archaic or Classical period of Greece, though we don’t know precisely when—he changed his name multiple times.”
“Oh.” Captain Reese grimaced with the news. “That does change things.”
Sarge pressed his lips together. “We?”
“Vampire slayers,” I supplied. “I used a slayer resource to research Ruin after he helped me kill the fae snake. He showed off a skill that only the oldest of vampires have. That significantly narrowed down who he could be, so I thought I would check with slayer resources and see if I could figure out who he was.”
There. I avoided revealing we have a searchable database, so even if word gets out, vampires won’t know just how good of records we keep.
Captain Reese rested her hands on her desk. “Where is his Family based?”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t have one.”
Sarge scowled, the wrinkles on his forehead multiplying. “He’s that old and he hasn’t sired a single vampire?”
“Correct,” I said. “The resource clearly stated he has no Family.”
“Could the source material be incorrect?” Captain Reese asked. “I’ve never heard of a vampire being that old and not having any offspring.”
I shook my head. “There is no chance we slayers would have missed such an important connection.”
Captain Reese nodded and started tapping her fingers on her desk.
Sarge relaxed out of his stance so he could rub his face, his scales shimmering in the florescent lights.
I waited for a few moments, then added. “His best known association was with Ambrose Dracos, another elder vampire who was turned around roughly the same time as Considine.”
Captain Reese frowned. “Does that mean this Ambrose is likely to show up?”
“No,” I said. “Ambrose died centuries ago. But his Family—the Dracos—has survived and become one of the most powerful vampire lines in existence.”
“Then his offspring are still around?” Sarge asked.
“Yes.” I hesitated, then added, “One of the Dracos offspring lives here in Magiford.”
Captain Reese lowered her hands to clutch her prosthetic leg. “What? Wait—it couldn’t be.”
I nodded. “Killian Drake is the youngest of the Dracos line.”
“Dracos, Drake, of course,” Captain Reese muttered.
“As Dracos is Latin for Dragon, all of the Dracos line have taken last names that are offshoots of the term,” I said.
“Could that be why Ruin is here?” Sarge asked. “To see Killian?”
I grimaced. “I’m not sure. While it’s recorded that Considine Maledictus is an associate and closely connected to the Dracos vampires, slayers haven’t sighted him in decades. We have no idea what he’s been up to for at least a hundred years.”
“That’s not reassuring,” Captain Reese sighed.
“Can we take this matter to Killian Drake?” Sarge asked. “Ruin, or Considine, has done enough that we could reasonably take it up the chain.”
Done enough? He micromanages downtown and he’s outrageously dangerous, but I didn’t even have a clue that he was as powerful as he is until I saw him fight the snake.
Sarge glanced at me, and there must have been confusion in my expression. “He’s attacked you,” he pointed out. “Multiple times. Since you fought together with the snake it seems he’s less hostile to you, but if he’s as old as you say it’s even more reason to report his actions. He’s drawing you into a game that very few vampires would be able to engage in. It means you are in more danger, not less.”
“But that’s just me,” I pointed out. “He hasn’t done any damage to the city. He’s put down other supernaturals who have made trouble.”