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“Stop,” I roar so loud the chandeliers above shake. All eyes turn toward me, including Ratilda’s. Her momentary confusion is just enough for Katina to get the upper hand. Her arm flies up, striking Ratilda in the jugular.
Her grip loosens as she cries out and Katina wiggles free. Without pause, Katina punches her in the face with a force so violent Ratilda’s head snaps back. I wonder for a second if Katina will show her sister mercy, but my question is quickly answered as she steps behind her, grabs her head, and twists.
Ratilda falls to the ground with a hard thump. I don’t wait around to see what comes next. I know that there will be no mercy. Katina can take care of herself. None of the vampires watching will get their hands dirty by getting involved. They’re all there for the sport. The bloodshed will keep them entertained.
They’ll probably celebrate the kill afterward. These vampires are the evil among our kind. They’re swine that hide in their lavish mansions, draining the blood of innocent victims—no hunger involved. They attend the auction to show off the riches they’ve attained, as if somehow that alone will gain them access to the highest echelon of vampire society. They buy expensive girls at the auctions to toy with. When they’ve had their fun, they kill them and come back for more.
This is the very reason I’m here. To stop this revolting auction and to begin the first stages of setting new laws. What other reason would it make sense to rule if I can’t make a difference?
For now, I have to forget about these vile vampires. Law needs me. I run to the door, swing it open, and find that it connects to a series of dark hallways. I’m not sure which direction they went until I hear commotion up ahead and to the right. I take off in a sprint, winding down hallways, following the noise. There’s shouting, but I can’t make out who it is.
When I come around the corner, I witness Law take a blow to his face from Marcellus’s wicked right hook. His head jerks back, but he doesn’t look fazed otherwise. He counterattacks with a jab to Marcellus’s nose. Blood gushes, but he simply wipes it away.
“Stop running and this can all end.” Law takes several steps forward and Marcellus moves back. “You’re surrounded. You can’t escape.”
I stay in the shadows for a moment watching my two brothers. Marcellus wears his signature glower while Law looks entirely too calm and collected given the circumstances. In another era, we would’ve all laughed about the two of them duking it out in a dank corridor, but those days are long over.
“You damn fool. You have no idea what you’ve done,” Marcellus grates. “You’ve always been Julian’s little lap dog. When are you going to live for yourself?”
“See, that’s where our opinions differ. I’m not a selfish bastard. I care about people, and so does Julian,” he says. “You’ve only ever cared about yourself.” His hands come up, motioning around. “You maintain places like this where innocent girls are abducted, sold, and tortured.”
I move closer, ready to step in and help end this once and for all.
“Our father built this place, not me.” Marcellus spits blood onto the floor. “I’m simply looking out for his interests. Oh, good. You’re here too.” He rolls his eyes when he notices me. Law doesn’t so much as turn.
“Fuck you,” he yells at Marcellus. “You’re only looking out for your own.” Law springs forward, but he’s too late.
He’s managed to back Marcellus into a wall. It’s so dark in this corner that neither one of us realized there was a door right behind him. One he managed to slip out through.
“I can’t find a doorknob,” Law calls. “How the hell did he open it?”
“Let me see,” I say, lightly pushing him to the side.
I run my hands along the wall, feeling for a groove or anything out of place. My fingers come to an indent and that’s when I know I’ve uncovered it. I lift and push, opening the door.
The door led outside, which was probably why it was hidden. Marcellus is surrounded by the coven. Shante and her sisters’ hands are joined while they chant.
“What the hell are they doing?” Marcellus screams in agony, clutching at his stomach first and then his ears.
They’re binding him. I’ve seen it before. The goal is to put him in the ground where he’ll lie in a slumber-like state, not dead but not alive, for eternity.
“Enough,” I shout, but the coven doesn’t stop.
Marcellus writhes on the ground in pain, and I know I have to act. As much as he deserves to be punished, he also deserves a fair trial. There’s much knowledge to gain from Marcellus’s capture and none by his death.
I rush toward Shante. “Shante, no!”
Her eyes open, meeting mine. She drops her sister’s hands and raises her arms above her head to halt what they’re doing.
“Julian?” she questions, eyes narrowed. “This is what he deserves. This is what will save you.”
I shake my head. “Nothing good can come from his death, Shante. He must be put on trial. That’s the only way I’ll rule.”
She nods her head briskly before turning and walking off into the night, leaving Law, Marcellus, and me alone at the back of the building. Whether she’s angry with my refusal of violent justice, or she simply finds we have the situation handled, I’m unsure. Shante has always supported me and my family, but her loyalty belongs first and foremost to her coven.
I move to Marcellus, who’s still trembling on the ground. He looks young and scared in this moment.
“Julian,” Addy yells, running toward me, Bash hot on her heels. “You got him.” She beams.
