•••

As massive as the Hall was, there were still so much left if the building besides it. Its High ceiling didn’t even account for more than two floors of the near four story tall building.

Guided by his senses, Caius leaped onto a spiral staircase and went dashing up to the third floor. He could sense Lyanna was close and would have lived to Shift and get a more precise lick on hey location. Alas, it seemed very foolish to shift in the current environs. Who knows what security measures are in place.

Vampires are able to assume a human appearance precisely to blend in and while it can take so much to force them to shift—best would be tempting them with blood—it can still be done. So far nothing had forced Caius to Shift but he didn’t want to make that any easier for them.

’There,’ he thought in his head as he headed down a corridor. He turned the corner and there Lyanna stood against the wall, the Leopold Guards standing at attention with her.

"Lord Caius," they said with reverence, stepping aside so Caius could approach her.

"Lyanna," Caius called her as he placed a hand on her back, pulling her away from the door so she could lean against his chest,

"What’s wrong?"

"They’ve got something here you should see," Lyanna said, looking like every word was a struggle. She gestured up ahead but Caius didn’t care for that and just kept his eyes of concern on her.

"I’m alright," Lyanna told him with a slight frown, "Just more distress than I care to let into my head.

Just go see."

Caius let her go then and stepped toward the area she had gestured at. Once he was close enough, Arcane symbols glowed on the ground in a set formation. With narrowed eyes, Caius observed them, reading the symbols and seeing none were particularly dangerous to him. They were all sealing Symbols keeping things secure within their borders.

Caius took a confident step over them and now within the borders of the Sealing Formations, he was swarmed with so much sensory stimulation that the formations had been Keeping away from him. A pungent smell like rancid blood, sounds like growls and mewls and just an overall stench of despair.

"Fuck," he couldn’t help but let out.

-"Be careful, Mh Lord,"- Lyanna’s voice said in Caius’s head. Caius understood why she was using Telepathy; The Formations were blocking out sounds and other sensory abilities from getting in here from the outside just as they were keeping the sensory stimulations in this region sealed within their borders.

Caius couldn’t respond to Lyanna but he gave her a nod to show he acknowledged her concern. He stepped forward even more until his hand closed around the handle of the solid metal door at the end of the Hall. He pulled but couldn’t open it. As he pulled, Arcane Symbols glowed around the edges of the door, signaling that its sealing was magical.

Caius frowned and then noticed a small window on the door. Placed their clearing gif the sake of looking in. This one didn’t have any magical seals and Caius could grab its little knob and pull it open.

A snarl came out right after as a hand thrust between the bars in the window, its sharp claws glinting with the ability to tip through any flesh no matter how strong;

Vampire Claws.

"Ah!" Caius recoiled, startled at the claws reaching out at him. And then he noticed the fingers shiver. There was no strength behind the thrust. Whoever it belonged to was reaching out, not to attack, but for support.

The hand dropped soon, its sharp claws raking across the metal door in a grating sound that didn’t seem chilling and rather just added to the sullenness of the moment.

Caius peered into the window now and he counted six Vampires slumped against the walls, their red eyes dim like they were much too weak to truly exude bloodlust. Their faces were sunken, their skin very pale. They looked as undead as a lay man would think a Vampire should look. The longer he looked into what looked like a dungeon, the worse Caius began to feel.

"Well, this is interesting."

Caius turned his head to the side and saw Alexia standing beside him, looking through the window, a smirk in her lips. He looked back and saw Lyanna blinking at Alexia as though she had be seen her arrive. Caius found that understandable; Alexia was incredibly quick when she wanted to be.

Alexia looked to the side at Caius.

"This is what you got away from me to see?" She asked and then nodded appreciatively,

"I can respect that."

Caius frowned and just directed his eyes back at the inside of the Dungeon. That terrible feeling he was getting was only getting worse.

"I told you to stay," he said.

"I’m your Chaperone. I should be the one giving you instructions," Alexia said and then looked into the Dungeon as well,

"This Leonce Duval is more resourceful than I gave him credit for."

"Why do you say that?" Caius asked with a little scoff, "Because he got a few Vampires locked up?"

"No, because he made them look such a mess," Alexia said with a delighted smirk,

"The sunken cheeks, the shriveled up bodies... That’s not a normal look for Vampires."

Caius’s eyes widened slightly as he realized she was right. Vampires, no matter their hunger don’t depreciate. It’s part of the whole eternal-youth thing. A thirsty vampire just becomes more and more bloodthirsty. It could be weak from thirst but that had no bearing on its physical body.

"He did something to them," Caius said.

"He sure did," Alexia said and she sounded almost impressed and then she frowned as she gave it some more thought,

"Usually, the Alchemical product required to get this effect is a Von Helsing Family Secret. I suppose Duval could have created his own though.

Hmm, he’s either a thief or an Alchemical genius. Intriguing—"

"Ack!" Caius cried out then and grabbed his midsection as he doubled over.

"Caius?" Alexia looked at him with concern.

"I’m fine," Caius told her and did his best to straighten up again. And then his vision gained a tinge of red and he could feel the Vampire savagery taking over him.

That was strange. He only ever felt it coming over him after Shifting and giving himself up to the primal state of the Vampiric self. For him to hush suddenly feel it coming on out of nowhere was... strange.

He closed his eyes tight and worked hard to keep it suppressed. To keep from shifting right then, revealing himself to Alexia as her enemy.

"Caius—" Alexia started, seeing the expression on his face he was one of struggle.

Caius turned away from her, and stepped away from the door. He opened his eyes slowly and looked down at his hand. He might have been imagining it but it was starting to look shriveled up.

’Shit,’ Caius said in his head. Whatever had turned this vampires in the Dungeon into what they were was starting to affect him as well.

It explained the terrible feeling Caius had had since he opened that window and looked in. After all, despite being one himself, he had no kinship to average Vampires and had no reason to give a shit about their plight. None of them were part of the Leopold Coven—he would know thanks to the connection he had with them as their Lord—so he couldn’t care less whether they lived or died.

"We should leave," Caius said in as much of a level tone as he could manage and began to walk as steadily as possible out of the border of the Sealing Formations. To where whatever was affecting him would have no more reach.