บท 26: Ch. 25
November 30, 2009
Alaric was the next big thing I had to deal with after the fun I got to have with Lexi. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as hot as her, and lacked the wrong equipment to get me revved up. He arrived in Mystic Falls at the same time he did in canon, but because of my machinations, Mr. Tanner still lived and there was no teaching position open for Alaric to take.
However, Alaric had become a vampire hunter first and a teacher second since his wife's disappearance, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get close to Damon Salvatore. It seemed that meant applying to join my private security force because of the friendship I appeared to have with Damon. The application for the job was very rarely used considering I promised awful pay and hazardous work conditions but every once in a while someone put one in.
I'd even gone out of my way to have the online method for applying made as complicated as possible, but still people tried. Alaric Saltzman was nothing if not committed to his goals, and when his application was flagged because of the name and brought to my attention, I couldn't help but be intrigued. Much of his supposed resume was forged and judging by the quality, it was done by an over-enthusiastic amateur.
The application would never have gotten through any serious screening, and from that alone I could see how desperate he was to find out more about what Damon did to his wife. So I smiled and arranged an interview with the man. Normally there was a subordinate to do such things for me, but I usurped the privilege and soon enough I was sitting with Alaric Saltzman in my study, offering him a glass of whiskey.
He declined, though I could tell he wanted nothing more than to accept. Alaric had become a bit of a drinker since losing Isobel, I remembered that much. Smiling and taking a sip from my own glass I cradled it in my hands and raised an eyebrow, "Your resume is very impressive Mr. Saltzman."
He smiled politely in response, "Thank you Mr. Masters. And thank you for interviewing me yourself. I must admit I wouldn't have expected someone like you to have the time or even the desire to do something like this."
I grin and set my glass down on table beside my chair before shrugging my shoulders and saying, "Well now, it's not every day a vampire hunter applies to my security team, is it?"
I almost wish he had taken me up on my offer for a drink, because I'm absolutely sure if I'd timed it right, I could have gotten him to do a spectacular spit take. Instead he freezes up for a moment, tensing almost imperceptibly before attempting to grin easily, "I'm not sure what you're talking about Mr. Masters. Vampires?"
I chuckle in response and spread my hands wide, "Come Mr. Saltzman, I and my people do our homework. Just as I know you did as well. Could I really be so close to Damon Salvatore, without knowing what he is?"
I was trying to give off the impression of a human businessman aware of the supernatural, but as Alaric suddenly stands and activates the wrist launcher on his left arm, I do believe I've failed to contain my menace. I easily catch the wooden stake that propels forth, aimed at my torso. With a contemptuous toss I plant it in the wall to our right before looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
His reaction is to fire the launcher on his right arm alongside the one on his left arm this time, rapidly going through his remaining stakes. I grab two, dodge two, and grab another before he's done. However he doesn't stop to see if he got me, he runs over to the wall and pulls the wooden stake I'd thrown into it free before turning back to me in some sort of combat stance.
I sigh, "Really Alaric? Do you really see this going well?" I don't bother waiting for a response, blurring behind him and stabbing the one stake still in my hands into the back of his leg viciously, causing him to roar in pain and fall to his knees. As he attempts to swing his arm around and bury his own weapon in my body, I catch his wrist with contemptuous ease and crush that too.
I pull the stake I have in his leg out and toss it away, letting him fall to the ground and slowly bleed onto an expensive rug. I look down at him with a pitying expression, "I'm not sure this interview is going well Mr. Saltzman. You don't seem to be a good fit for my security."
I punctuated that statement by plunging the stake from his leg into his stomach, watching him scream in pain again with a smile on my face. I hold the stake in even as his still functional hand scrambles at my grasp, trying to get it out. Leaning over him, I speak quietly even as I reach down and slip the Gilbert Resurrection Ring Isobel had given him off his finger, "Death by gut injury is a terrible way to go Alaric. Do you want me to end your suffering?"
There's blood leaking out of the corners of his mouth now, and his gaze is becoming unfocused, but he manages to nod shakily. I grin and use a fang to tear open my wrist, shoving my blood into his mouth and forcing him to swallow it.
"You should be honored Alaric Saltzman. It has been a long time since I personally sired a vampire."
He doesn't react as if he's honored, struggling against the bloody wrist I've forced into his mouth. It's too late for him now though, my blood is in his system. I hold him for a few moments more before grabbing his face with my hand and wrenching to the side violently, breaking his neck with a pop.
I stand slowly, looking down at the corpse of Mystic Fall's resident vampire hunter with a small grin. A sharp whistle brings in some of my attendants, who clear away the stakes and strip Alaric's corpse of any other weapons he has. A softly spoken order also brings me a clean stake and a blood bag, which I poor into the glass Alaric had declined earlier. Then, I sit and wait.
When Alaric comes back to life he sits up with a gasp, eyes wide and hands moving over his bloody clothing, finding nothing but smooth skin where there should be grievous injuries. Eventually, he notices me and stands quickly, looking down at himself and then back at me, "But… you killed me."
I grin as I lounge in my comfortable chair, one hand loosely holding a stake and the other holding a glass of blood, "I killed you, yes. And I saved you as well."
He's confused at first, but Alaric is no dimwit. I see the light dawn in his eyes as he looks at the glass of blood, "You turned me didn't you? That's why I want that so badly."
I keep the grin on my face as I once more repeat his words back to him, "I turned you, yes. Truthfully, I feel a bit bad about how our meeting went. So I'm going to offer you a choice I never had." I'm inwardly giggling at the reference I've just made, even if my statement is only partially true at best.
He blinks at that, brow furrowing as he just stares at me and waits to find out where I'm going with this. I hold up the items on my hands and explain, "You are currently transitioning into a vampire. If you drink human blood in the next twenty four hours, you will complete that transition. If you do not, you will die a final time."
I grin and continue, "Your choice is this. Take this blood, drink it and join me and mine as a vampire for all eternity."
I pause before holding up the stake, "Or. Take this stake and slide it into my heart. End it for both of us."
His eyes flicker between my smiling face and the stake, a frown etched on his features, "Just like that?"
I shrug and smile, "You tell me Alaric Saltzman, Vampire Hunter. Does a stake to the heart not kill a vampire?"
He nods slowly, causing me to flip the stake over in my hand and hold out the handle to him, while also holding up the glass of blood, "Than choose."
He creeps forward, clearly expecting a trap from me. I just sit patiently, staring at him with undisguised curiosity. Eventually he's in range of the stake and glass I'm holding up. He looks between them, and I see the longing in his eyes as he stares at the glass of blood, the desire he has for its contents. His eyes still on that blood, his hand comes up quickly, taking the stake from my grasp and plunging it into my chest and through my heart.
I feign a gasp, widening my eyes and opening my mouth partially, before breathing out and letting my body collapse into the chair I'm sitting on. The call of blood is too strong for the poor vampire hunter though, and after he stakes me, his hand comes up to catch the glass as it begins to fall from my slackened grasp, and he drinks greedily from it, turning away from my supposed corpse.
I can't help it though, I end up chuckling at the way he's nursing the glass and it gives the whole game away. He turns back to me slowly, eyes wide and emptied glass slipping from his fingers as I stand and pull the stake from my chest, tossing it to the ground casually and stepping closer to him, "That's what I was looking for. That fire, that strength of will. The conviction to do what you must and the ability to take what you want!"
He steps back from me, gaping now as he stares at me, "How? How are you not dead?"
I just laugh and in an instant I'm in front of him, my hand clasping the back of his neck, "I am not your ordinary vampire Mr. Saltzman."
A moment later I begin the compulsion, "Now then, you're not going to feed on living beings unless I allow you to. You'll get your blood from blood bags that I will provide. You will follow my orders and you will not plot against me or attempt to disrupt my plans. If you hear of any plans against me, you will make me aware of them. You will not kill unless someone is trying to kill you."
I smile and then move to the more personal side of the compulsion, "Listen to me Alaric. Damon Salvatore did not kill your wife. Isobel sought him out and begged him to turn her into a vampire, and he gave her what she wanted. Your wife left you for a chance at immortality, and it's time for you to move on. You're going to find someone new to love and you're going to forget your love for Isobel. She's not long for this world anyways."
I release him and step back, and he blinks at me, "What? What was that?"
I grin in response, "That was compulsion Mr. Saltzman. You'll learn how to make use of it to great effect eventually."
He furrows his brow at that, shaking his head, "But wait, no. I'm a vampire now. You shouldn't be able to compel me."
I chuckle and move to the table nearby, grabbing two clean glasses and pouring drinks for the two of us. I turn and hand one to him which he now drinks gladly, before I slyly add, "I did tell you, I am not your ordinary vampire. Tell me Alaric, in your research into myths and legends concerning vampires, did you read anything about the Master?"
He frowns, "Once or twice, usually in conjunction with the Disciples. But even in the lore it says that vampires consider it a legend, that there's an Original Family of vampires that don't match up with the idea of a singular Master who started the entire vampire race like the myths say."
I nod, "Indeed, things get exaggerated and blown out of proportion as the centuries go on. To keep things simple, I am the Master. I am also a member of the Original Family. I have lived for a thousand years, and being one of the first gives me certain liberties on the vampires that have come after us."
He accepts this easily enough before frowning, "What you said about Isobel, is it true?"
Damon proves to have perfect timing, as he walks into the room at exactly that moment. He takes in the blood on the floor, Alaric's disheveled appearance, and the bloody holy in my shirt resting over my heart. He raises an eyebrow and speaks slowly, "Should I, uh, come back later?"
I grin wider and just gesture for him to come further in, "No Damon this is perfect! I wanted you and Alaric here to meet sooner rather than later, so you two could discuss your differences and come to an understanding."
Alaric is staring at Damon with undisguised anger, his fist clenching and unclenching as he clearly wants to attack the other vampire, but can't because of my compulsion. Damon frowns but steps closer, looking at Alaric with confusion, "Differences? I've never met this guy before, what differences could we have?"
I sigh over dramatically, "Well you see, Alaric here was a vampire hunter. And he only became one after you stole his wife away from their home right in front of his eyes."
Damon blinks at that, looking at Alaric in a new light but still seeming confused, "Alright, but let's be honest, I've preyed on a lot of wives over the last few years, let alone the last century. You're gonna need to be more specific."
"Ah, you'll remember this one Damon. You didn't prey on her at all actually. She found you and begged you to turn her. Her name was Isobel Flemming."
Damon blinks at that before nodding slowly in recognition, "Yeah, yeah I know who you mean. She found me in 2007." He looks at Alaric and grins a cocky grin, "You came all the way to Mystic Falls for little ole me? How'd that turn out for you?"
Alaric growls and I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose with two fingers, "No purposefully agitating the new vampire Damon or I'll tell you to stand still and let Alaric take his pound of flesh from you physically. Understood?"
Damon grimaces but falls silent, while Alaric practically lights up at the prospect. I dash his hopes though as I continue, "Alaric, you need to forgive Damon here. Yes, he turned your wife into a vampire and left you hanging with no clue what had happened. But it was Isobel's choice. Damon was used as nothing more than a tool in this situation. It was Isobel who betrayed you. Understood?"
My compulsion may have had a bit of a hand on forcing him to understand that point of view, but Alaric reluctantly nodded. I smile and clap my hands together, "Wonderful! Damon, I want you to take Alaric under your wing and teach him all about being a vampire. I think the two of you will make an excellent team! And despite him being the first vampire I've personally turned in several centuries, I honestly don't have the time to take on a pupil right now."
Damon lets out a groan and Alaric looks just as unhappy, but both have no real say in the matter. I shoo them both out of the room and settle down in the chair that isn't covered in blood from Alaric stabbing me through the heart, smiling contently. It was always fun to acquire a new toy. Only time would tell how well Alaric held up under the pressure I put on my playthings.
-x-X-x-
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