A New Lead

The dark magic the human witch used to contain the demon inside Florian had failed miserably. It was like trying to calm a child's week-long tantrum with a single piece of candy.

The spell only held for the first two nights. By the third night, without Lady Maris or King Valentin knowing, the demon took control again. Florian slipped out of the palace, lost to the demon's influence. Another vampire fell victim to its cruelty.

When Margrave Boris brought the news, King Valentin felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Wasn't the dark magic supposed to be enough?" he murmured, more to himself than to Margrave Boris.

But the margrave heard him and decided to answer. "I consulted the Holiness at the High Temple, but they know little about dark magic. And since I couldn't give them all the details, they couldn't provide the answers I needed."