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Description
Brittle wood snapped below Robert's feet and even more debris simply mashed to muck.  Only the parts of the apartments that had been brick remained. The far end was burned to the ground.

He glanced at his watch. Any survivors would have returned by now. The hunters had attacked in the early morning hours barely giving him time to call the authorities before the sun rose. It had been full dark almost an hour now. Surely everyone was gone then. He had half expected William to be waiting for him. He wondered if he was actually disappointed.

"I see you finally gave up ..." He whispered to the darkness.

The scent of smoke was thick in the air even after having been doused by fire hoses. It made it difficult to keep his wits about him; especially with his mind already frolicking with the possibilities that lay before him. All the assets William had squirreled away for his clan, the entire city... it was all his.

He was careful entering the main office, any bump could bring it down on his head. He looked over the safe. It was large, a whole room really, and though it was blackened on the outside he was sure the contents had mostly survived. The discs were probably a loss, but all the paper documents had most likely suffered little to no damage.

Even after having all day to cool Robert tested the handle for heat. it was still hot, but not enough to burn. He input the combination and pulled the door open. A wave of heat gushed out. He shielded his face waiting for the temperature to adjust before stepping into the door way.

A lump on the floor drew his attention. He tensed before realizing that a body on the floor had a normal explanation. Dhampirs don't crumble to dust. Disposing of his brother's child would be a chore, but he couldn't help but to smirk at the idiocy of locking one's self in a metal box during a fire.

That simple pleasure however was short lived as he heard a soft wheeze. The creature was still breathing, even if just barely. He glanced over the weapon-lined walls of the safe. This was easy enough to fix.

He took up a plain sword, it burned his fingers, but not enough to cause him to drop it. The sword was plain, no silver plating. Not for battle. Likely it had been purchased for executions, yet there was no wear to the blade. Robert didn't find it surprising, his brother had never liked to dirty his hands.

He turned and placed the tip of the sword against the boy's ribcage. One quick jab between the ribs would pierce the heart and leave far less of a mess than beheading. Dhampirs were so easy to kill, pointless creatures, no good in combat against vampires.  If not for their pathetic protectiveness over humans they'd have no purpose at all.

A smile tugged at Robert's lips. Perhaps he did have a use for this child and his younger brother had loved it so. He had no issue fulfilling his promise to spare the boy as long as it was convenient.

With the potential of the situation dancing in his mind and the scent of smoke filling his nose he didn't notice the intruder until it was too late. He was struck in the side and sent careening into the wall of the safe. He fell to the floor with a clatter of weapons landing around him. He looked up in time to see a woman, long blonde hair whipping behind her, snatch up the dhampir and flee through the door slamming it shut. Robert surged after her. The foolish woman, he knew the combination and would be on her in an instant. He reached for the keypad, but stopped short balling his hand into a fist. All the keys had either been clawed out or smashed in, likely by the boy in a frantic attempt to escape.  He forced the roiling anger in his belly into a gentle seethe as he grabbed his cellphone. No reception.

No matter. He had other ways. If this vampiress wench thought she could escape his city alive, she was sorely mistaken.

Description
Brittle wood snapped below Robert's feet and even more debris simply mashed to muck.  Only the parts of the apartments that had been brick remained. The far end was burned to the ground.

He glanced at his watch. Any survivors would have returned by now. The hunters had attacked in the early morning hours barely giving him time to call the authorities before the sun rose. It had been full dark almost an hour now. Surely everyone was gone then. He had half expected William to be waiting for him. He wondered if he was actually disappointed.

"I see you finally gave up ..." He whispered to the darkness.

The scent of smoke was thick in the air even after having been doused by fire hoses. It made it difficult to keep his wits about him; especially with his mind already frolicking with the possibilities that lay before him. All the assets William had squirreled away for his clan, the entire city... it was all his.

He was careful entering the main office, any bump could bring it down on his head. He looked over the safe. It was large, a whole room really, and though it was blackened on the outside he was sure the contents had mostly survived. The discs were probably a loss, but all the paper documents had most likely suffered little to no damage.

Even after having all day to cool Robert tested the handle for heat. it was still hot, but not enough to burn. He input the combination and pulled the door open. A wave of heat gushed out. He shielded his face waiting for the temperature to adjust before stepping into the door way.

A lump on the floor drew his attention. He tensed before realizing that a body on the floor had a normal explanation. Dhampirs don't crumble to dust. Disposing of his brother's child would be a chore, but he couldn't help but to smirk at the idiocy of locking one's self in a metal box during a fire.

That simple pleasure however was short lived as he heard a soft wheeze. The creature was still breathing, even if just barely. He glanced over the weapon-lined walls of the safe. This was easy enough to fix.

He took up a plain sword, it burned his fingers, but not enough to cause him to drop it. The sword was plain, no silver plating. Not for battle. Likely it had been purchased for executions, yet there was no wear to the blade. Robert didn't find it surprising, his brother had never liked to dirty his hands.

He turned and placed the tip of the sword against the boy's ribcage. One quick jab between the ribs would pierce the heart and leave far less of a mess than beheading. Dhampirs were so easy to kill, pointless creatures, no good in combat against vampires.  If not for their pathetic protectiveness over humans they'd have no purpose at all.

A smile tugged at Robert's lips. Perhaps he did have a use for this child and his younger brother had loved it so. He had no issue fulfilling his promise to spare the boy as long as it was convenient.

With the potential of the situation dancing in his mind and the scent of smoke filling his nose he didn't notice the intruder until it was too late. He was struck in the side and sent careening into the wall of the safe. He fell to the floor with a clatter of weapons landing around him. He looked up in time to see a woman, long blonde hair whipping behind her, snatch up the dhampir and flee through the door slamming it shut. Robert surged after her. The foolish woman, he knew the combination and would be on her in an instant. He reached for the keypad, but stopped short balling his hand into a fist. All the keys had either been clawed out or smashed in, likely by the boy in a frantic attempt to escape.  He forced the roiling anger in his belly into a gentle seethe as he grabbed his cellphone. No reception.

No matter. He had other ways. If this vampiress wench thought she could escape his city alive, she was sorely mistaken.