2025-11-13 20:44:55The council chamber of the Monaghan empire carried the hush of a room built to intimidate. Polished obsidian reflected candlelight into hard, cold bars across the faces gathered around the long table.
Dominic Monaghan sat at its head like a king carved from shadow, the air around him taut as a drawn wire. To either side stood Lewis and Leo, his pride, lean and confident, embodiments of everything Dominic admired and expected. The men seated around them were the empire’s highest aides and enforcers: trained, loyal, and useful. None of their faces betrayed amusement at the news; fear and calculation lived there instead. An enforcer stepped forward, head bowed, voice firm. “My lord, we have located him. Diego Monaghan is in the human city. He survived the escape and collapsed near the forest. Civilians found him and took him in. We are tracking the trail.” Dominic’s eyes narrowed. A dark flame lit behind the calm of his features. He rose slowly, every move deliberate, the room shrinking with the weight of his presence. His voice fell to a blade‑thin whisper that somehow filled the chamber. “Find him fast. Bring him to me. Fail to do so, and it will be your head I take first.” Silence swallowed the space after that. A higher‑up, unable to hide his contempt, leaned forward with a sneer. “It is Diego, is it not, the son who is afraid of drinking blood? A disgrace to our line.” His question was meant to wound and to echo through the room. Dominic’s jaw flexed. “Disgrace or not, he is Monaghan blood. He cannot be allowed to squander it.” He turned his gaze toward Lewis and Leo, cold and precise. “Prepare yourselves. The city will not hide him for long.” “We will find him, Father,” Lewis said, voice steady. Leo’s expression was a hard smile, hunger barely concealed. The enforcer inclined his head deeper. “He’s cautious. He senses danger. Civilians have him now, but the trail is faint and fresh. We are closing in.” Dominic tapped his knuckles on the table once, an almost inaudible punctuation. “Close in faster. I want him brought to me.” He let the words hang, lethal and absolute. “Do not fail.” Outside the obsidian tower, the city moved on, indifferent, loud, and oblivious to the storm of Monaghan will sharpening its teeth. But in the underbelly of the metropolis, gears of pursuit had begun to grind. Meanwhile, back in the human world, Diego’s day continued, unaware of the storm brewing in the city above him. Claire’s mother, Mara, returned from the errands, the car doors clicking softly as they entered their home. Diego followed, small but steady steps, still adjusting to the rhythms of ordinary life. “Let me help with the groceries,” Diego offered, hands reaching instinctively toward the bags. Mara smiled, shaking her head. “No, Liam… you’ve done enough today. Sit for a moment. Rest. If you’re bored, I have something for you.” She led him to a small nook in the corner of the living room, a cozy shelf stacked with books of all sizes. Diego’s gaze swept over them, eyes lingering on the spines, absorbing the titles. Curiosity, a feeling he hadn’t indulged in centuries, pricked at him. One book caught his attention immediately. The cover bore the image of a vampire, pale and fearsome, eyes glowing crimson. Its title, etched in deep red letters, sent a subtle shiver down his spine: The Red Blood. He reached for it, fingers brushing the smooth surface. Carefully, he opened the book, scanning the pages. The illustrations were vivid, blood, shadows, hunters, and creatures of the night. Words filled his mind with strange knowledge, a blend of fascination and unease. Diego sank into the small reading nook, the book heavy in his hands, his mind alive with new thoughts and questions. For the first time since leaving the Monaghan estate, he could explore, learn, and, for a fleeting moment, exist on his own terms. Outside, the city moved without pause, unaware of the dark chase tightening its invisible noose. Somewhere in the distance, Dominic’s enforcers were still moving, still searching, still closing in. And somewhere among the streets and shadows, another presence stirred, drawn by the faint trace of crimson Diego had left behind, a hunter of sorts, one who sensed the extraordinary and hated the unnatural. The human world felt safe, but Diego knew, instinct whispered, that danger was never far behind.
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QUIET THINGS THAT DON'T BREAK
The room was too clean.Diego sat on the edge of the bed, hands resting flat on his thighs, spine straight the way Dominic had taught him. Even alone, his body held the posture. Control first. Always.The walls were pale stone, unmarred by decoration. No windows, only a recessed panel that adjusted light according to schedules he hadn’t chosen. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and metal, a neutral scent meant to calm, to erase.It didn’t.Something inside him kept reaching—then stopping short, like fingers brushing glass.He closed his eyes.Breathing in. Counting. Breathing out.It worked. Mostly.But memory didn’t listen to discipline.The Evans’ kitchen came back to him without warning, the clatter of a spoon dropped into a sink, the hum of an old refrigerator that complained more than it cooled. The way the floor creaked near the back door. The smell of burnt toast on mornings when no one was really paying attention.Claire’s laugh. Too loud. Too sudden. The way it burst o
UNLEASHED, NOT UNBOUND
Lewis stood at the edge of the chamber.The Underworld did not resemble a city so much as a body—layered, pulsing, alive in ways the surface could never understand. Sound traveled differently here. So did fear.The feral vampires waited.They filled every level of the space, gathered on iron walkways and concrete ledges, crouched in shadows and open corridors alike. Hundreds of them. Some old enough to remember the Monaghan name before it meant domination. Others so recently turned that their hunger still outpaced their thoughts.None of them moved.Lewis had broken that instinct out of them months ago.“Dominic will respond,” the Unknown Man said. “He always does.”Lewis didn’t look at him. His attention remained fixed on the central display—a map not of streets, but of influence. Territory. Lines of obedience glowing faintly across the city.“Of course he will,” Lewis said. “That’s the point.”He stepped forward, boots echoing once. The ferals reacted instantly—backs straightening,
DEAD ZONES
The call came in just before sunrise.Detective Mira Alvarez was already awake, sitting at the small kitchen table in her apartment, coffee untouched, files spread out like a losing hand. She’d stopped pretending sleep was an option weeks ago. Not since the bodies started turning up wrong.Her phone buzzed.She didn’t look at the screen before answering.“Alvarez.”“We’ve got another one,” dispatch said. “Warehouse district. Dockside. You’re closest.”Mira closed her eyes for half a second.“On my way.”The warehouse smelled like iron and salt and something sour that didn’t belong near water.Police lights painted the corrugated metal walls red and blue, but the colors didn’t warm the place. They never did anymore. Too many scenes like this. Too many nights where the city felt hollowed out.Detective James Rowan ducked under the tape as Mira approached.“You’re late,” he said.“You’re early,” she replied.He handed her gloves. “You’re not going to like this one.”She put them on anyw
BLIND ANGLES
The city kept moving.People crossed streets. Trains ran on time. Screens flashed headlines that meant nothing to the ones who mattered. Routine wrapped itself around the city like armor, convincing everyone that structure meant safety.Dominic Monaghan returned to his study without a word to anyone. The door sealed behind him with a muted click, shutting out the rest of the mansion.Raphael’s voice still lingered in his mind—not loud, not threatening.Worse.Certain.Dominic set his phone down slowly as systems recalibrated around him. Security feeds shifted. Patrol routes updated. Surveillance priority lists reordered themselves in quiet obedience. Names surfaced on internal displays—old ones. Forgotten ones.Blood that believed it was owed something.“Find him,” Dominic said quietly into the room. “I don’t care where he’s been hiding.”The system acknowledged at once.Raphael had always been dangerous—not because he was reckless, but because he understood restraint. Because he kn
GATHERING PRESSURE
The city kept moving.People crossed streets. Trains ran on time. Screens flashed headlines that meant nothing to the ones who mattered.Dominic Monaghan returned to his study without a word to anyone.The door sealed behind him with a muted click.Raphael’s voice still lingered in his mind—not loud, not threatening. Worse.Certain.Dominic set his phone down slowly, eyes narrowing as systems recalibrated around him. Security feeds shifted. Patrol routes updated. Names surfaced on internal lists—old ones. Forgotten ones.Blood that believed it was owed something.“Find him,” Dominic said quietly into the room. “I don’t care where he’s been hiding.”The system acknowledged.Raphael had always been dangerous—not because he was reckless, but because he understood restraint. Because he knew when not to move.And now he had.Dominic’s jaw tightened.Too many pressure points were activating at once.That never happened by accident.Leo stood alone in the main hall long after Dominic disapp
PRESSURE POINTS
Morning crept into the city like a cautious intruder.Not sunlight—movement.Traffic resumed in careful waves. Office lights flickered on floor by floor. People stepped back into routines they trusted would protect them. The illusion of normalcy slid into place with practiced ease.From the upper level of the Monaghan mansion, Dominic Monaghan watched it all unfold.The glass walls of his private observation gallery reflected the city back at itself—orderly, structured, obedient. From here, the streets looked like arteries feeding a body he had built and maintained for decades.Alive because he allowed it to be.“Status,” Dominic said without turning.Behind him, screens adjusted instantly. Data flowed—security reports, financial movements, internal communications. Nothing alarming. Nothing obvious.That, more than anything, irritated him.“All systems operational,” a voice replied through the wall interface. “No breaches. No external threats detected.”Dominic clasped his hands beh
