His Blood Would Have to do

Inside the Dean's Office:

Ladislas looked at the opulence of the room and scoffed. The chair he was sitting in cost a thousand pounds, let alone the expensive painting hanging over his head and the diamond fountain pen he used to sign papers.

The man in question, the Dean of Students, Richard Koffman, was on his knees, kneeling in front of Ladislas, groveling for his life.

"Mr. Forester, please. You can't do this to me," he choked. His expensive trousers rubbed against the carpet, leaving a white-ish scuff mark.

"Watch me," he said shortly. He looked at the little box of pills beside the man's laptop monitor and shook his head.

"I need the pills to survive, sir." Groveling didn't help in front of Ladislas. He had seen far too many insincere men bend their knees to get what they wanted. And they had never reformed themselves. It got irritating after some time.

"Yes, you do. But that sounds like your problem, not mine." He clucked his tongue as the man in his late fifties scrambled to grab his ankle. He kicked the man away and huffed. "Don't be dramatic, Richard. You knew what you were getting into thirty-seven years ago when you signed the contract with me."

His eyes roamed over the balding head of the man as he remembered his youthful expression.

"I was young and foolish!" he protested. "I just wanted to live past the age of thirty and enjoy life a little…"

Ah, cancer. The disease that rots humans from within.

"You enjoyed too much, in my humble opinion," he snorted. He looked pointedly towards the safe in the room and Richard shuddered.

"I told you that as long as you lived your life to the fullest, I would supply you with the pills to keep you alive." He waited for Richard's acknowledgment.

"Yes," the man's voice shook.

"I never promised you eternal youth or bullshit like that. Yet, you go around running your mouth to those dreaded cult leaders." He rolled his eyes. "God, I hate those brainwashed, power-hungry snakes."

He swept a strand of hair that had escaped his bun behind his ear.

"I'm sorry. They asked me how I was still alive and I… I slipped."

Ladislas gritted his teeth.

A bunch of white-clad men and women had stormed his house and accused him of being the devil incarnate and whatnot. He had politely asked them to sit down and then held in his instinct to kill them and make them vanish without a trace.

"Did they offer you an alternative or something?" he asked curiously. He had to know why one of his pet projects had turned to another organization.

This was a black mark in his record! How could he stand for it?

"They said they would cure the cancer," Richard admitted.

Ladislas scoffed. "Right. Even modern medicine hasn't been able to do it and somehow they will."

"Please, sir. They told me you were feeding me lies and I just spewed everything to them. Please forgive me."

Ladislas shook his head. "I wasted all those pills on you." He clucked his tongue. "It's time to repay my debt, what say you?" His grin was wide and the effect terrible on the poor Richard Koffman.

"Repay?" he squeaked. It had been so long that he must have forgotten all about it.

Ladislas leaned in closer, his elbows planted on his knees as he looked deeply into the eyes of the man. "Did you think I would give my help without anything in return?"

For someone exalted to be smart, this guy was terribly dim-witted.

"But I already let you work here as a Professor. What more do I have to do?" he was about to shout, but his mouth was sewn shut. He struggled to free himself but could only sob.

"You call that repayment? Four decades of your life exchanged for a position as a teacher?"

Richard remained silent.

"Your blood. I'll be taking your poisoned blood." He looked over the man critically with the tilt of his head. "Your organs aren't much to talk about, so your blood will have to do."

Richard flinched.

"Brace yourself," he offered as a warning and got up. He sauntered over to the door and wrenched it open. Outside, the curious red-eyed students gawked at him.

One pair, in particular, made him pause. He looked over her and felt a rush of misplaced anger.

"What happened to these kids?" he asked the secretary. She spared the group a glance and shrugged.

"It's a group of troublemakers, sir. I see one new face but apart from that, it's the same group that comes in for getting stoned behind the English building."

Ladislas peered over his shoulder at Anna.

She was not looking at him, instead, her eyes were focussed on the floor plan. She looked unfocused and thoughtful. He thought nothing of it and spoke to the secretary for a bit.

Anna stood up slowly and peered at the couple who were flirting. "I'll just go to the washroom," she said softly.

Ladislas turned and cocked his brow.

"You can't leave," the secretary said quickly. Her phone rang and she picked it up. A frown came upon her face and she hummed before slamming the phone down.

"The Dean will not take visitors right now. He will see you in thirty minutes," she announced with a hint of irritation in her voice.

Anna squirmed as she stood. "I really need to go," she grumbled. "Anna Dunn. Third-year student, Department of Philosophy. You can hunt me down with these kids if I run off." She paused. "Can I go now?"

The secretary grimaced and nodded quickly. "Don't think of running away!" she warned, but Anna had already bolted out.

Ladislas watched her disappear and grew intrigued.

The restrooms were to the right, then why did Anna Dunn brusquely walk towards the left after she was out of everyone's sight?