The Bite of Vengeance by Connor Wolf Page B

flipping into a crouch as he landed on the roof. From here he would be able to scout the area, memorizing as much of it as he could for when he was walking in the streets. He spotted a few men in the distance, vampires by the look of them, on the roof of a tall building. As soon as they noticed he was looking at them, they sped off in a flash. Roconn could tell they were afraid, for the air became thick with the stench of fear.
    Roconn changed his mind on hunting. He would do that tomorrow night. Tonight he would get acquainted with this maze of a city and memorize as much of it as he could. He ran at lightning speed towards a tall clock-tower, leaping and climbing where necessary. He scaled the clock-tower and perched on the edge, leaning over towards the city. With eagle eyes Roconn scanned Venice, memorizing locations and how to reach them. After a while he could see dawn approaching, so Roconn leapt from the tower, spinning and flipping. He watched each as each brick seemed to float upwards as he fell, until he landed silently in a deserted street. A breeze blew past and the scent of a vampire filled his nose, but as quickly as it had come, it was gone, leaving Roconn confused.
    He walked the streets of Venice until he found a place to stay for the day. It was a small shop that looked deserted. Windows were smashed and boarded up, the door hung from its hinges, and the whole building reeked of mildew. When he walked inside, his feet were submerged in a grey cloud as he disturbed the years of collected dust. Roconn walked into a large room which was equally as dusty, no scent of humans or vampires hit his nose. Instead, the only smell was that of the rotting wooden desk and bookcase standing on the right-hand side of the dingy shop.
    He decided this would be the perfect place to hide from the burning sun. While walking slowly and carefully towards the desk and bookcase, he noticed an upturned stool behind the desk and set it upright, releasing another cloud of dust and filth. Mould on the walls created a dense, musky, smell, it would have been repulsive enough without the enhanced sense of smell a vampire has. Roconn started to relax as he set in for the day. Dawn started to approach; Roconn had been a vampire for so long, the daylight hours felt like seconds to him. Roconn noticed dark clouds above that were threatening a wet day ahead. Rain started to pour in within minutes of this thought. He was highly tempted to take a risk and find a meal, but he didn’t know how long the sun would be gone, and Roconn was not one to take an unnecessary risk.

A Friend
    Roconn slumped onto the stool and stared at the dusty stone floor when he heard a faint footstep in the hall. It was too quiet to be a human. No breeze blew in, so he could not pick up a scent. Roconn tensed and kept his eyes firmly upon the doorway, clenching his steel fist. The footsteps sounded again. It was surely a vampire stalking him, he thought, but it seemed rather odd. If a vampire was stalking him they would know he was the clan-king. Roconn noticed that they did not seem to be making an effort to muffle their footsteps. Was this a message? He stood and spoke to the unseen stranger.
    â€˜Come out, I would speak with you.’
    The vampire, who had no choice but to obey the command, crossed the threshold and into the room in full view.
    He stood with his arms rigid at his side and sank to one knee.
    â€˜My lord,’ he whispered, ‘it’s wonderful to have you here in Venice.’
    Roconn could not return the enthusiasm, so he grunted in response. This did not seem to faze the vampire. Instead, he remained silent, calm, under Roconn’s glare. He did not dare speak unless spoken to.
    â€˜How did you find me?’ Roconn shot at the vampire.
    â€˜My lord, forgive me, but I had to see if the rumours were true. The others, Malun, Kiran and Desuchio, swore they saw you on top of the clock-tower. They saw you, and fled to bring the news