《The Monster Inside: The First Vampire》109 (18): A Shadow in Red

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Despite having warned the Captain the night before, it didn't sit well with Rassa to just leave things as they were. Something, an instinct of some kind, was telling him that things would be a whole lot better if he just helped. He'd been distracted for most of the day just thinking about it. Had even purposely chosen to work at the Saar Docks, those right next to the Token Docks, so that he could monitor the situation better. His hearing had been on high alert all day, and his ears were beginning to feel strained, a headache forming in his temples.

His suffering and strained concentration had not gone unnoticed, so when he went to follow Aegin and Ebony home at the end of the day the two of them paused and turned to him.

"Look, you've been fidgeting all day, we know something is up," Aegin said.

Rassa paused, hesitant. Aegin went to speak again but Ebony slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Just go. We'll meet you back at the apartment later tonight," Ebony said.

Rassa looked at the two of them, recalling the conversation between them he'd overheard. They were trying, for his sake. He shouldn't condemn them for that even if it did make him uneasy with the feeling that he required their permission to do as he pleased. He nodded in thanks before he turned and headed for the Token docks. Aegin slapped Ebony's hand away.

"I wasn't gonna push him," Aegin grumbled.

"Sure you weren't," she replied, "Come on, I'm hungry".

For once, Aegin didn't argue with her.

Meanwhile, Rassa followed his senses through the streets. Seeing as it was still daylight, he'd be more easily spotted along the rooftops even if he did take advantage of his speed. Instead he chose to weave through streets and alleys at a human pace, though somewhat hurried, in order to find those he was looking for.

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He found them eventually, waiting on the edge of one of the quieter outer parts of the city. It was one of the back roads certainly, but most of the carts headed for the Token docks took this road because it was less busy than the main streets.

If they were still waiting here, then the goods hadn't been delivered yet.

Rassa watched from the shadows as Ewan handed out swords to his companions.

"Remember, no one gets out alive," Ewan said.

Clearly, the hours between last night and now had thrown Ewan further over the edge. Either that or he didn't expect to be caught. Rassa supposed the lack of witnesses helped in that regard, along with the fact that there was no evidence to catch up to him from last time.

Still, this was a stupid idea conceived by a vengeful man. From what Rassa had seen, the others Ewan had brought with him were average in fighting at best. While he hadn't actually witnessed them fighting before, he'd seen enough of their movements to be able to determine minimal training and experience, a trait both his father and Victor had insisted he train in order to size up his enemies as accurately as possible.

Suddenly, Rassa registered the sound of a cart approaching, he moved further back into the shadows, a frown appearing on his face.

Should he take care of it now? With how spread out they were, Rassa ran the risk of missing one. His first instinct was to use his shadow magic to take them all down, but shadows were not as easy to manipulate, not as powerful during the day. With so much light available they were thinner and harder to stretch, let alone solidify. To take down this many individuals quickly it would be difficult.

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Realistically he could take them all down with his physical abilities alone, but he'd either have to erase all of their memories, which would take time he didn't have seeing as he had to meet all of their eyes individually, or kill them, which would leave evidence against him. After a few seconds hesitation, Rassa decided to only interfere if it looked like the Captain couldn't handle the situation, after all, it appeared he'd brought enough individuals to put up a fight against Ewan and his nine friends.

The cart rounded the corner, showing the driver and a large man sitting up front with him. Seven others, including Jeremiah, escorted it the carriage at a slow pace.

Ewan waited until the cart had passed the first of them, then gave the signal to attack.

The group of ten rushed forward, spooking the horse and catching some of Jeremiah's group off-guard. Three of them backed up several steps in order to avoid the initial attack, then they seemed to find their senses and draw their weapons. The others entered the fight immediately.

Straight away, Rassa could see that Jeremiah's group were at a larger disadvantage than he'd thought. Despite the lack of training in Ewan's group, they were ruthless and unpredictable, and many of Jeremiah's sailors received injuries quickly due to the fierceness of their attacks. Jeremiah himself, while no injuries were present on his body, had come up against two of the enemies, and seemed to be doing his best to simply hold them off.

Ewan was the only one on his side that seemed competent, he quickly defeated his opponent, slicing across the opponent's stomach and walking past to the next as the sailor collapsed.

Rassa's eyes narrowed, the scent of blood wafting his way. It seemed to call to him, begging him to join in, to bathe everything red. Rassa's eyes turned to Jeremiah as Ewan approached from behind.

The sword rose up threateningly like the knife had in The Leaky Boat the night before. Blood sang as another sailor was caught off guard, joining his friend on the ground. It seemed to sing the one thing that Rassa needed to stop holding him back, the one thing to convince him to take that step forward.

This is your territory, your prey. They cannot stop you, they have no right nor power to anyway.

Rassa felt his fangs extend as he stepped from the shadows, parting the air before him with his speed. He scooped up a sword that one of the sailors had dropped then stepped in between Jeremiah and Ewan.

The clang of metal ringing stopped Ewan dead cold, the man's arrogant and cold gaze meeting red eyes and a grin that chilled him to the bone, that sense of familiarity jumping to the forefront.

"That's just rude," Rassa's voice came out, even and velveteen, "How could you not invite me to join a bloodbath?"

Ewan's eyes widened and Rassa threw him back, the force knocking Ewan off his feet.

Rassa didn't bother with his speed now that he was in the fight, it was much more fun to fight this way.

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