Denied

Irene breathed in the cold air coming through her open window. It had been a while since she submerged her body into the hot water in the bathtub.

She couldn't believe how intoxicating the smell of accursed blood was. It was unbelievable. Now she understood why her mother never wanted her to ever smell it. Even now, she craved for more, she wanted that sweet smell to fill her nostrils, to cloud her mind.

She shuddered despite the warm water. It had almost felt like she was about to turn feral. Into a beast that couldn't control its instincts. If Ivy hadn't been there… She shook her head. There was no point in thinking about such a scenario.

Despite the cold air clearing her mind, she chose to stay in the tub for a while longer, long enough to gather her thoughts. She hoped the thief hadn't died after she threw him aside, she still had a use for him. Even more so now than ever, as suddenly the gathering she had requested had taken on a completely different meeting.

Now that the last drops of accursed bloods she knew of were in her hands, she could focus on attempting to find the murderer, and with that, the blood in their possession. A smile formed on her lips. Now, things had started to turn for the better.

-

"You want me to steal what?" Aoric exclaimed. he had this odd feeling of Déjà vu as he leapt up on his feet.

"It shouldn't be too difficult." Irene said with a wicked smile on her lips. "They keep the ledger in the office, I want you to get it."

Aoric shook his head. "I broke into that same mansion twice. I won't do it again." He firmly declined. Besides, a 'ledger' was too vague of a description. A mansion of that size could have a hundred of them!

"Why not? Doesn't your previous success prove it is easy to do so?"

Aoric rolled his eyes. As he expected, neither two of these women understood what was needed for a successful break in. "No, it proves that they probably learned their lesson, and that I won't make it out of there!" He protested. "Ask for something else, I'm not doing this."

Irene clenched her fists. She took a step closer to him. "Listen, thief." She snarled. "I wasn't asking, I was ordering you to-"She was reaching for him when Ivy stepped up and grabbed her arm. Irene's eyes widened.

"No touching." Ivy reminded her. "Or have you forgotten?"

Irene pulled her hand away and stepped back. Her furious expression wasn't any less terrifying. "Think about it, thief," She snarled. "We'll talk again tomorrow." She turned her back on him and headed upstairs.

Ivy sighed as soon as Irene was out of earshot distance. "Well… that didn't go so well. Why are you refusing though?" She asked. Aoric could hear a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Look, I already stole something from them. No way they haven't taken at least some precautions. I'm not about to take that chance. It's too dangerous."

Ivy chuckled. "A thief complaining about danger?" She asked with an amused expression. "That must be a first."

"The only thief that survives long enough to be hired by others is a careful thief." Aoric said with a flat voice. "I'm not about to stop being careful because your sister decided she wants a damn ledger." He walked to the door. "I'm not going back in there." He said before opening the door and leaving.

The sun had set already, and the cold made him shiver as he made his way back to the cathedral. Unlike what Ivy would think, his day wasn't quite finished yet.

The cathedral was empty save for a few people silently praying. Aoric made sure to walk silently past them and headed through the door leading to the library.

"You took longer than I expected." The Sorcerer's voice sounded. He was sitting by the hearth, a book in hand and two steaming cups on the table. "Have a seat."

Aoric took off his cloak before sitting down across the low coffee table. "It's done." He muttered before reaching for one of the cups.

"Good." The Sorcerer smiled. "It was about time we got rid of that old blood anyways." He chuckled upon seeing Aoric's somewhat confused expression. "Having a hard time?" He asked.

"Isn't that blood supposed to be holy?" Aoric asked. "Why just give it to me on a whim?"

The Sorcerer shrugged. "Holy? No, quite the opposite actually. It's accursed, it tempts the supernatural, the inhuman. She almost went into a craze when she smelled it, did she not?"

Aoric nodded, and instinctively rubbed his neck. "yeah." He muttered.

"I keep accursed blood in the cathedral as a reminder." The Sorcerer explained. "A reminder that no matter how much power those two clans hold, they are still mortal."

"But now you don't have the blood anymore." Aoric reminded the man. "Your reminder is gone."

The Sorcerer chuckled. "Oh, no need to worry. I refreshed it. I do it every several decades, old blood becomes stale after a while, loses its scent."

Aoric's eyes shot open. "You have more of it?" Then… this entire theft was meaningless.

The Sorcerer chuckled. "Of course. Contrary to what the wolves want to believe, and the bats fear, accursed bloodlines are still well and alive. It is rare, sure, but not impossible to find. Almost too easy actually."