Stavros

I threw my phone across the room, letting it crumble into little pieces and even damage the wall. “Calm down, Stavros.”

“Woman, please stop it. They are fucking winning at every opportunity. They easily dispatch my soldiers. They always know when a strike will happen. I can’t get them to fuck up. The castle attack only wised them up.”

“We know that they have a seer on their side, but she’s not that like Falcon’s mother. They haven’t been able to catch all our attacks, or we wouldn’t have their scientist and destroyed all of Lombardi’s homes.” Yes, DeRosa came to us after the battle to inform us that they had a seer in their midst. Of course, she wasn’t that good because she didn’t see through the De Rosas. And she needed to die as well. Then again, I may be able to use her.

“You are right, my mate. But I can’t win if the prophecy is to be true.” That nagged at me and made my ire grow. After all these years, they would still win. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen.

Slamming her hands on her larger waist and rolling her eyes, she bitched, “Then find a different way to strike. We are talking about centuries between the prophecy’s inception to today. They had no idea what the future would be like. Human advances in weaponry have been elevated. You can nail him to the wall and let the humans slake their lust in his mate before they are both killed. Remember, you’ve stopped the potential end before.”

“Yes, speaking of, I could truly use good old ‘Jack’ again.”

‘Jack’ was rumored to be brutally cruel to humans. Having lost his mate to them, he refused to die in hopes to destroy as many lives without getting caught. He has never been whole since. Vampires who lose their mates, never become whole. They can perish or carry on. Most develop vices of gambling or imbibing until they begin to waste away. He carries on a mission to destroy humans with a promise of payment from the highest bidders.

I thought back to the conversation I had with him.

“Please come in. Lord Grayson will see you.” I followed the servant, hearing his thoughts. The master is weak again. This guy will not be good for the master. I am certain, more trouble is ahead.

“Thank you,” I muttered, thinking that this guy would need to be disposed of soon if I didn’t get my way.

“Welcome, Mr. Stavros. Time has been good to you.” I saw a scrawny looking man standing before me who although a supposed vampire, seemed to truly be fading away.

“Yes, it seems that I can’t say the same for you,” I confessed. This surprised me because of his cunning and reputation in my kind of circles just five years ago.

“Well, it will never be good until I meet my own demise,” he remarked, pouring himself a glass of brandy. He lifted the bottle towards me, but I waved it off.

“If life after your loss has been so damn traumatic then why not end it,” I told him. He looked fucking pathetic.

He leaned forward, pressing his hands on his desk practically snarling at me. “I have my reasons. How can I help you, Mr. Stavros?” For the first time, I saw something evil in him and I liked it.

I smirked, “I would like you to dispose of a few witnesses including a child.”

“A child. Are these humans? Vampires? Others?” he asked me, knowing that he and I were not above the evilness to kill our own.

“Humans and a witch.”

He sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin. “A witch? The last time I ran into one of those it wasn’t pretty.”

“Well, I will pay you two-hundred thousand pounds.”

Money is the root of all evil they claim, and I found my way in. “I shall do it. Please elaborate for me.” I spend an hour telling him of my goals to achieve and he agrees to do them. “It will not happen all at once. It must be done with precision and patience. If your soothsayer is correct, you have time. I will have fun bringing their demise.”

“Very well. I expect half the money before and half after. Agreed?”

“Yes,” I approved, shaking his hand and leaving his residence in the dark of night.

“Stavros, snap out of it,” she cried out.

“What do you want, woman?”

“If the women and child were killed then why is there now a baby girl? Did he truly kill the child, or did he lie to you?”

“The papers reported the slaying the morning he came to collect payment.”

“Perhaps the soothsayer you met wasn’t on your side. That’s what happens when you trust humans with special gifts.”

“She died for her treachery.”

“Well, we need to think about a way to get to the Lombardi family.”  

“That’s what I want ‘Jack’ for.”

“He’ll be able to get past their security as long as they aren’t in their island fortress.”

“Yes, we need to get their seer away from them. If she’s isolated, then it’ll be easier to get to Falcon’s mate. I want Leonora to pay for Falcon’s failings.”