A Heart For The Heartless

A few days later, the knock that Mikhail heard at the front door changed their routine from then on. A change they both knew was coming from afar.

Mikhail was making some progress at this point regarding Case RV-13400. Ever since he’d decided to investigate the source or look for clues within the city walls, he realized that some of his theories weren’t too far off.

To get to the bottom of the case, he had to suspect everyone involved, including those in charge of the investigation.

If Erik was correct in his little hunch, it meant that someone from the Council had to be involved. Keyes would need someone powerful to back him up if he was indeed involved.

At first, Mikhail suspected the Human Council, but compared to the other option, it seemed a bit weak. After all, as he had suspected days ago, the rogues were attacking humans. It didn’t make sense for the Human Council to be involved in such a conspiracy.

This made him direct his doubts to the Supernatural Council instead.

If the Human Council valued humans the most and would do anything to keep the human race intact, the Supernatural Council was the same towards their kind. He supposed that the others also suspected the supernaturals on the Council, but they had no proof.

Mikhail didn’t have any either, but with doubt came a number of possibilities, and that meant opportunities to explore his suspicions.

He would make a personal visit to Council headquarters and report his findings. However, he would also be careful not to reveal his suspicions to the Council members. That would be foolish.

Instead, he would ask them to send a few more capable vampires at his disposal to check the whereabouts of The Gauntlet once again and to see if they had a secret lab stationed somewhere. If they were going with the virus concept, it had to exist, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.

That was Mikhail’s plan, but with Cassy living here with him now, he had one hurdle to clear before he could make his move.

Deidre was startled by the knock on the door and was about to go answer it, but Mikhail stopped her in time.

“I will go,” he said flatly.

Cassy, who was in the living room like always, turned to him with a puzzled look on her face. “Are you expecting someone?” she asked warily.

Mikhail could tell how guarded her tone was right now and couldn’t help but feel a little amused. She probably thought it was the other vampires who lived here as well, especially Madeline.

“It’s the Council,” he told her, and his answer made her eyes widen. “I have informed them that you will be staying here with me for three months. They will ask you some questions first.”

Cassy was silent for a moment, seemingly in shock, before her expression turned to irritation. “And you didn’t think to warn me beforehand?”

“Why should I? You don’t need to prepare anything in advance,” Mikhail said nonchalantly before heading for the door, ignoring Cassy’s scowl that was directed at him.

The door opened to reveal three individuals, each of them striking in their unique appearance. Two men and a woman to be exact.

The man and the woman were standing together, while the other man stood a short distance away, his expression bored.

The man on the left was in his early forties, wearing a tailored dark gray suit with a crisp white shirt and red tie. He had graying hair at the sides, but his expression was kind and disarming, giving him an approachable aura.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He also wore polished black leather shoes and a number of silver accessories. These accessories were known to be rare materials worn by the Council members to fight against the supernaturals.

The woman, on the other hand, had a no-nonsense, stern expression on her face, in contrast to her male partner. She was dressed in an elegant knee-length navy blue dress with a tailored blazer. She also wore low-heeled pumps, and her blonde hair was neatly pulled back in a bun. She also had silver accessories on her arms, fingers, and neck.

The other man, standing to the right, was dressed in a dark, flowing cloak of expensive burgundy fabric that seemed to move with an ethereal quality. He was also wearing a fitted black tunic with intricate embroidery, slim black pants, and boots made of fine black leather. He had a bored look on his face, as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. As if he had much better things to do with his time.

Around his neck was a red glowing pendant, a symbol of his vampire identity.

“Mr. Alderman, Ms. Lincoln, and Mr. Slazenki,” Mikhail greeted monotonously, folding his arms across his chest. He was taller than them in height, even compared to the other vampire, so his figure was undeniably imposing at the moment. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Mikhail had a strange relationship with the Council. They often worked together to keep the peace between humans and supernaturals. But at the same time, they stayed out of each other’s way as much as possible.

It was clear, however, that the Human Council despised him no matter how many times they cooperated. Their feelings never changed. He could sense it even without reading their minds.

Some members, such as Alderman, were either neutral or willing to live with the supernaturals. However, members like Lincoln showed a subtle hostility.

Their true intentions were still unknown. If he attempted to read their thoughts, they would detect it. Their small gadgets – the accessories – made sure of that.

There were countless possibilities. There could be spies or dishonest people. In any case, it was best not to trust anyone, especially the Human Council, considering he was a vampire. He had no doubt that they might have been planning to assassinate him for years now.

So, it was a professional relationship, but it wasn’t really at the same time.

“Ah, Mr. Ivanov,” Alderman, the kind-looking man, greeted with a smile. He was known for his warm and friendly demeanor, treating everyone with equal kindness regardless of whether they were human or supernatural. “Polite as always, aren’t you?”

“As he should be,” Lincoln said with a huff.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Slazenki said with a shake of his head.

Mikhail stepped aside for them to go inside the mansion, and then he shut the door.