A dull, insistent trill dragged Vlad from his sleep. It was one of those rare days that found him at home, burrowed beneath a metric ton of blankets, rather than snoring into whatever manuscript happened to be passing through his office that weak.
Reaching out, he groped blindly at the nightstand in search of his cellphone. 'This had better be good', he thought, his fingers closing around the slim plastic shape as he lifted the phone to his ear.
Whatever sharp retort he had at the ready -- 5:00 am was not a civilized hour by any stretch of the imagination, vampire or no -- died swiftly as soon as he heard Claudia's voice on the other end of the line.
"Ezio's missing," she explained, because while they knew one another they were hardly the sort to engage in casual conversations however much her brother was convinced that they conspired together in secret, and Vlad could hear how she was gnawing on the bottom of her full lower lip, worry creeping in at the edges of her otherwise calm exterior. This was the day she had been dreading since the day her brother had begun his quest for revenge.
Except.
Except that Ezio wasn't that angry, reckless boy anymore. He'd grown up, had learnt the hard lessons one learnt as you left your childhood behind, and things were... things were finally looking up.
Peeling back the covers, Vlad swung his legs over the side of the mattress, what heat he'd managed to gather during the few hours of sleep melting away like morning mist. It didn't matter, he had other things on his mind. "Tell me what you know."
no subject
Reaching out, he groped blindly at the nightstand in search of his cellphone. 'This had better be good', he thought, his fingers closing around the slim plastic shape as he lifted the phone to his ear.
Whatever sharp retort he had at the ready -- 5:00 am was not a civilized hour by any stretch of the imagination, vampire or no -- died swiftly as soon as he heard Claudia's voice on the other end of the line.
"Ezio's missing," she explained, because while they knew one another they were hardly the sort to engage in casual conversations however much her brother was convinced that they conspired together in secret, and Vlad could hear how she was gnawing on the bottom of her full lower lip, worry creeping in at the edges of her otherwise calm exterior. This was the day she had been dreading since the day her brother had begun his quest for revenge.
Except.
Except that Ezio wasn't that angry, reckless boy anymore. He'd grown up, had learnt the hard lessons one learnt as you left your childhood behind, and things were... things were finally looking up.
Peeling back the covers, Vlad swung his legs over the side of the mattress, what heat he'd managed to gather during the few hours of sleep melting away like morning mist. It didn't matter, he had other things on his mind. "Tell me what you know."