Chronicles Of A Fallen Angel-Chapter 36: Hunted

I kept my blade ready. "Why should I believe you?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Because I have no reason to lie. I don’t care about Selene’s little kingdom or her power games. I’m just passing through."

"Passing through and leaving vampire corpses for humans to find?"

"That was unfortunate. Young vampires are... impulsive. I was trying to teach them control when your group attacked."

The rogue vampire on the ground coughed blood. "Master... they killed everyone..."

"I know." Marcus’s expression hardened. "Which is why we’re having this conversation instead of me simply killing you all."

"You could try."

"I could succeed." He moved, and suddenly he was right in front of me.

I hadn’t even seen him cross the distance.

His hand was on my throat before I could react.

"You’re fast," he observed. "Strong. Not vampire, not human, not quite sure what." He tilted his head. "What did my progeny call you? Angel?"

I grabbed his wrist, channeling divine energy.

He hissed and released me, staring at his smoking hand.

"Fallen," he corrected himself. "How fascinating. And Selene doesn’t know, does she?"

"That’s none of your concern."

"On the contrary, it’s very much my concern. I have no desire to fight a celestial being, even a fallen one. Too much trouble, too much risk." He stepped back. "So let me propose something."

"I’m listening."

"You tell Selene the rogues are handled. I take the last one and leave your city. Everyone walks away intact."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I’m old enough to know when to cut my losses. This city isn’t worth the trouble, and you – " he gestured at me " – are far more dangerous than you appear."

Before I could respond, the wall exploded inward.

Victor came through, Natasha right behind him.

"Found them!" Victor shouted, then stopped short when he saw Marcus. "Who the fuck – "

Marcus moved.

Not toward them.

Toward the wounded rogue.

He grabbed the younger vampire, and they both vanished.

Actually vanished – some kind of vampiric speed that turned them into blurs.

"Shit!" Natasha ran to where they’d been. "He’s gone. Took the rogue with him."

Victor rounded on me. "What happened? What did he say?"

"He offered a deal. Leave the city, we report the job done."

"And you believed him?"

"I believed he was old enough and smart enough to mean it when he said this city wasn’t worth the trouble."

Jade arrived, breathing hard. "I felt massive magical displacement. What did I miss?"

"The vampire in charge escaped," Natasha said. "Took the last rogue with him."

"So we failed," Victor said flatly.

"We eliminated the immediate threat," I countered. "Seven rogues dead, the last two leaving the city. That’s what Selene wanted – the problem solved."

"She wanted proof they were handled. Dead bodies, not stories about deals."

"Then we find them before they leave." I headed for the exit. "We’ve got until tonight. Let’s use the time."

---

We spent the rest of the afternoon searching, but there was no trace of Marcus or the rogue. It was like they’d vanished into thin air.

"He’s gone," Natasha said finally, standing on a rooftop overlooking the North District. "Someone that old knows how to disappear. We’re not finding him unless he wants to be found."

"So what do we tell Selene?" Jade asked.

"The truth," I said. "Seven confirmed kills, two escapees who are no longer in the city. Mission accomplished, even if it’s not perfect."

Victor looked like he wanted to argue, but Natasha cut him off.

"Cain’s right. We did what we could with what we had. Selene will either accept it or she won’t." She checked her phone. "She wants us at the club at ten. All of us."

---

The Velvet Room felt different that night. More crowded, more energetic. Like the entire supernatural community had heard about the vampire hunt and wanted to see the outcome.

We were ushered directly to the VIP level, where Selene waited in her private area. She sat in a high-backed chair that looked suspiciously like a throne, surrounded by her usual court of powerful supernaturals.

"Well?" she said as we approached. "Report."

Jade stepped forward. "Seven confirmed kills. Two escapees. We tracked them to the North District, but they left the city before we could eliminate them."

"Names of the escapees?"

"One rogue, identity unknown. One vampire calling himself Marcus, approximately three centuries old, possibly older."

Selene’s expression didn’t change, but I saw something flicker in her eyes. Recognition? Concern?

"Marcus," she repeated. "And you’re certain he left?"

"As certain as we can be," Natasha said. "He made it clear he had no interest in staying."

"Did he." Selene stood, moving to the windows overlooking the city. "What else did he say?"

This was the test. Tell her about Marcus’s claim that the rogues were hers, or keep it to ourselves.

"He claimed the rogues weren’t his progeny," I said. "That they were old failures someone else had created."

"Did he say who?"

"No."

Selene was quiet for a long moment. Then she laughed – cold and sharp.

"Marcus always was dramatic. Creating stories, sowing doubt." She turned back to us. "The rogues are handled. That’s what matters. You all performed adequately."

"Adequately?" Victor bristled.

"You left two alive. That’s not perfection. But – " she raised a hand to forestall his protest " – you worked together, eliminated the primary threat, and showed competence under pressure. That’s worth something."

She moved back to her throne, settling into it like she owned the world. Which, in this room, she basically did.

"Victor, you’re impulsive but effective. Natasha, you’re reliable as always. Jade, your magical support was crucial." Her eyes landed on me. "And Alexander... you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?"

"I try to keep things interesting."

"You succeed." She gestured to someone I hadn’t noticed – a assistant standing in the shadows. "VIP access for all four. Permanent, unless they give me reason to revoke it."

The assistant brought forward four black cards, identical to the ones I’d seen other VIP members use.

"Welcome to the inner circle," Selene said. "Don’t make me regret it."

We took our cards, and I felt the weight of what I’d just accomplished.

VIP access meant access to the upper floors. To the private areas. To the locations where our three retrieval targets were hidden.

The mission had just moved to the next phase.