The Delacours: Part Deux

sixteen.

As I surveyed the crowd, I tried to zone in on the heartbeats of everyone, trying to listen for the ones that didn't and kept a watch on them. A lot of them knew Jason and they had some quick conversations with each other. He told them about the registrations and to make sure they sent them in by the end of the next week. Most of the vampires didn't cause a problem and were actually pretty pleasant to meet with. A lot of them were excited to meet me and get to know me but I told them I was here on business and if I returned for pleasure, I would be sure to come find them and visit their establishments.

It took until almost midnight for anything to arise. Most of the vampires had their own human or just walked around enjoying their time. There was one vampire that I continued to watch circle around the area the entire time though that just gave me a really bad vibe. I caught Jason's attention and pointed him out. He wasn't aware of the vampire's name but was sure he'd recognized him from his stack of paperwork, so I followed behind him, keeping a good distance between him and myself. I waited for him to compel a human to follow him down the street and around a corner to an alleyway between some of the buildings.

We saw the Ripper in the middle of his feed, he hadn't compelled the human to not scream or cry, just to follow him. Jason jumped from the shadows and pulled the Ripper off the human. I ran to the human who was grabbing at her neck. Her heart rate was slow but strong enough to survive if I acted fast enough. I nearly ripped my arm open trying to get her to drink my blood while Jason fought the Ripper. He was tossed across the alley. I saw the human's injuries heal and I grabbed her face in between my hands.

"You won't remember any of this. Go find your friends. Tell them you needed to use the bathroom. Go!" I turned to the Ripper and Jason and saw that the Ripper had Jason by the throat, in the air, crushing his windpipe against the wall. Jason was kicking and snarling, and I ran towards the Ripper, throwing him off balance. Jason fell to the ground hard. The Ripper turned towards me and cracked his knuckles while walking towards me.

I snarled at him and as he ran towards me, I put my hand out in front of me, grabbing him by the throat. He grabbed at my arm, scratching my skin enough to make me bleed but I didn't let him go. I took him into my arms and broke his neck. Jason helped me carry him back to his office to throw him in a Ripper cage.

"I thought we weren't going to rehab them?" he said, as we cleaned up.

"I thought you could fight."

"I can!" he said, defensively.

"A born and raised New Yorker calls that fighting?" I laughed. "I thought New York vampires were tougher than that."

"And what would you know about New York vampires, Bay Stater?" I gave him a side glance as I dried my hands.

"I am one." Jason stopped in his tracks.

"No, you're not!" I smiled.

"If you count my human life, I'm not 'born and raised' since I was born in England. But I grew up in New York from a young age, and I was turned in New York. Therefore, I'm a New York vampire."

"No shit! Well, welcome home, jefa." He patted my back as I walked towards the Ripper. He was starting to wake up.

"You made sure he had nothing on him, right? He's completely naked?"

"I mean I left his boxers on, but yes..." I rolled my eyes and looked through the window on the cage.

"Jason, what the fuck?" I grabbed the keys and pulled the door open.