The strigoi bolted up, its eyes red and menacing. Its once-tranquil face filled with an incredible thirst. Sniffing the air, the strigoi took in its surroundings. In less than a second, it swept its eyes over the room. Armand gulped when its gaze met with his.

Master Werner stumbled back, making his way to the door. The mercenaries in the room with his rushed forward. With a single motion, the strigoi lunged for Master Werner. It grabbed his head and dragged him between itself and the armed men.

"No one move, or I will crush his head like a ripe grape," the vampire threatened.

The mercenaries stopped dead in their tracks. Armand clenched his teeth.

"We need to kill this strigoi. He won't let humans who trapped and dissected him live," the noble thought. "But should I run up the stairs and just collapse this place? It would trip the strigoi, but I might be able to save the people here."

Sheer panic flashed through Master Werner's eyes, but he kept his expression calm.

"You have no chance of making it out of here alive, vampire. You might as well surrender," the old man said.

A scoff escaped the strigoi's mouth.

"If I surrender, I'm dead anyway. I might as well fight and die a warrior or do my best to escape," it stated.

The vampire smiled wide, exposing its fangs.

"And if I drain you of every last drop of blood in your body, I can salve the wounds you inflicted upon me. Then, I will slaughter everyone in this room," the strigoi threatened.

Master Werner did not let weakness show anywhere except in his eyes. Armand felt an increased respect for the old man.

"You will not live long enough to if you try," the Order of Hermes member said.

"I suppose you have more courage than sense, old man," the strigoi replied. "But perhaps we could make a deal."

Armand turned inward.

"A deal? He shouldn't be trying to make a deal. But I can't see the strigoi making any other moves. Is he looking for information, or maybe he's..."

Then, a sudden terror flickered through Armand.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"That vampire smelled the air. Did he smell me through the walls? Does he think I'm a moroi puppet working for one of his rivals? He looked right at me, so he could have smelled me."

A shiver went down his spine.

"If he tells Master Werner that I'm a moroi, I won't be able to let anyone here live. That must remain a secret at all costs. But if I approach the door, the strigoi will smell me coming. I'll have to act fast at an opportune moment."

Master Werner glared at the vampire.

"What deal do you want, monster?" he asked.

"Nothing much, just whoever put you up to this," the strigoi answered.

He turned his gaze completely to Master Werner and the mercenaries. Armand used this chance to start moving, rushing to the door. Reaching into his clothes, the boy grabbed a gun.

"No one did," Master Werner said. "This was my idea."

The vampire chuckled as the door opened.

"Please, I know that there's a..."

Bang!

Armand fired his gun. The shot pierced through the strigoi's head. Blood gushed out of the creature's skull, bits of brain following it. Everyone except the boy and the strigoi were stunned. However, the vampire looked annoyed.

"A pistol shot?" the strigoi sighed. "Really?"

"Grab the damn old man and pull him away!" Armand shouted.

He reached into his clothes again as the mercenaries lunged forward. They dropped their greatswords to better carry the old man, and the strigoi rushed back. Armand pulled a grenade out of his clothes before lighting it.

The vampire threw Master Werner into one of the mercenaries. It turned and grabbed Armand by the throat, pushing him against the wall. This caused the boy to drop the grenade. Everyone who could, except the strigoi, backed away as the bomb rolled on the ground.

"In a confined space like this, a grenade could kill you all," it noted.

"I planned for that," Armand replied. "Look closer at the walls."

The vampire scoffed.

"I'm not falling for a distraction like that. Your feeble attempt at killing me is over, boy."

As the vampire spoke, Armand broke off a piece of another of his concealed pistols. It made a small sliver of wood. Not quite a stake, but with how the vampire's heart was exposed already, it might just be enough.

"Your arrogance will cost you your life," Armand said.

"Arrogance? No mortal is as good as a strigoi. Of course, you're not exactly a..."

Armand flicked the splinter into the vampire's heart. It let out a gasp of pain and its grip on the boy lightened. This was used by Armand to wiggle out of the vampire's grasp and grab the grenade. He threw it at the vampire before ducking for cover.

There was a loud noise and a flash of smoke and light. Scrapnel filled a portion of the room. Some of the mercenaries' armor deflected it. A shard was poking out of Master Werner's leg.

The strigoi was a bloody mess. Parts of him were scorched. Bits of shrapnel stuck out of his body. Armand grabbed the stake from the ground and rushed the vampire. Some of the mercenaries did the same thing, drawing their backup swords and swinging. However...

...a grin crossed the strigoi's face. Its body turned to mist. Their attacks moved through the vampire's body without doing any harm. Fear trembled through Armand.

"Ever since the stake left the strigoi's heart, he could have left at any time. He stayed on purpose to get more information."

"It seems that I have underestimated you," the strigoi spoke as its mist floated through the door, going under it. "I believe I know who is behind this now, and I will enjoy having you as an adversary. It has been too long since I've had a worthy rival."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.