Griffin leaned back in the chair, trying to whistle as X drove.


    If he was using his normal voice, it would have sounded hypnotic and melodic but with the voice modtor, it sounded horrible.


    He chuckled as he nced at X. He knew the man hated the sound of his whistling but he had no intention to stop. How else would he derive entertainment from this journey?


    He nodded his head to an imaginary beat as he whistled the sound of that masterpiece the A X E girl group had created. Beautiful group of vampires blessing the world with their music. If he ever meets them, he''ll have to ask for an autograph.


    He closed his eyes, sinking into the plush seat of his car with a satisfied sigh. Life was good.


    In a few minutes, the car slowed to a stop and X''s voice reached him. "We''re here, my lord."


    Griffin opened his eyes to take in their new location. They were parked at the beginning of the street on which the house they would be assaulting on this night was.


    The street lights were on, illuminating the street.


    "That''s the ce." X pointed out a red bricked apartment building. The home was new and built with a sleek vintage appearance. A ce for pretentious rich young heirs to have their house parties and whatnot.


    Griffin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Notify me when the others are in ce."


    "Yes, my lord."


    Griffin used the time to think on his ns. Once the ckthornes are in custody, he''ll finally have the location of the well. Itachi might have hidden it but he knew that if he found it, opening it would be easy. Itachi would''ve used one of the progenitor''s locks and lucky for him, apart from Itachi himself, only princes could open it.


    Only three people in the whole of First City could open it. Itachi, himself and Ezra Matten. Which was why Ezra could not be allowed to meet the ckthornes.


    When he has the well in his grasp, he''ll allow a handpicked set of subjects under him to advance to the fifth ring, strengthening his power base. Then, he''ll use Ezra Matten and take over the Southside. piece by piece.


    After a few minutes, X spoke up. "Everything is in ce, my lord."


    Griffin felt a grin stretching on his face. "Perfect." He gathered his vitality, his astral projection coalescence in front of him. He gave himself a cheeky nod before diving into the floor.


    There was no need to let any possible watchers see himing. His projection moved slowly through the ground, before rising in the basement of the apartment building.


    A few secondster, he found the stairwell. "What floor?" He asked X in the car.


    "Fourth, my lord."


    Griffin floated to the fourth floor, moving through the wall to check it out. The corridor was empty. Perfect.


    He dispersed his projection, some of the vitality dispersing into the air and the rest seeping back into him. He grabbed X by the shoulder and in a sh of light, they were in the corridor.


    Griffin paused, listening intently. From the apartment they would be attacking, he heard heartbeatsing from it. He wasn''t disappointed though. It was a standard tactic employed by hiding vampires.


    They would hypnotize the original residents of the apartment and live among them. The heartbeats would mask their presence, telling searching vampires that the ce was inhabited by humans.


    He gave X a nod and raised a finger. X brought out his phone and sent the message to the teams at the other two sites. The synchronized attack would begin in a minute.


    The time passed slowly and when one minute finally arrived, Griffin gave X a nod.


    X dashed forward, bashing the door in, sending splinters raining around the room. Someone screamed, the sound abruptly shutting off as X dashed into the apartment.


    Griffin smirked, deploying his ck zone and striding into the apartment. He sniffed disdainfully at the corpse on the floor. A young woman bisected through the middle.


    He deployed his Aura, his vitality stretching to cover the whole apartment. In an instant, he knew the state of everything.


    Apart from the two humans still alive in the inner rooms, there were no vampires present. The ckthornes were not here.


    It didn''t matter. They had to be in one of the other two locations. He shook his head with a slight smile. "Kill them." He said simply.


    X, who was in the inner room, was able to hear him and immediately killed the humans. There was no need to leave any evidence. The Law of Secrecy was easy to break. He wouldn''t be taking any chances.


    He reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a bottle of blood wine. He reached out with his Aura and grabbed a ss from the kitchen, floating it to him.


    He strolled into the living room, taking a seat on an elegant single seater couch. He poured himself a ss of wine and took a sip, sending the bottle back into his personal space.


    He sighed deeply, savoring the aroma of the wine. Sourced from a pr bear. Tangy. Just the way he liked it.


    X walked back into the room, taking his ce at Griffin''s right hand side.


    In a few seconds, the first report came in.


    "My lord." X spoke up. "The ckthornes were not at the second location."


    Griffin nodded, taking another sip. That was okay. There was still one location remaining.


    A few secondster, the second report came.


    "My lord. Traces of the ckthornes werefound at the second location, however, they were long gone before the appearance of our team."


    Griffin took in the news. Disappointing, but he could work with this. "Tell them to canvas the area. The ckthornes would have left a few clues as to where they would be going."


    X nodded sharply, rying hismand.


    He leaned back into his chair, taking another sip of wine.


    A few secondster, X spoke up. "My lord. We found where the ckthornes went."


    "Hmmn?" Griffin raised a brow. "That was fast."


    X hesitated, before continuing. "They attacked the sanctuary, my lord. The Maguires have been taken."


    Griffin shot to his feet at those words.


    He took a step forward, teleporting mid-stride to the underground room of his sanctuary. He was met by the confirmation of what he''d just heard.


    The empty chains dangled from the wall. Lucien Maguire was gone.


    With a roar of fury, he hurled the ss in his hand at the wall.


    Whatever it took. He would find the ckthornes and crush them beneath his feet.