Vampire Assassin: Love and Lies

Mr. Saville's office was a mess. Papers littered the floor, his desk looked as though it had been ransacked, and the man himself appeared on edge, muttering under his breath as he searched for something. The group stood in the doorway, unsure whether to step in or wait.

The moment Mr. Saville noticed them, his demeanor shifted. His shoulders stiffened, and his face twisted into a scowl. "What are you doing here?" he snapped, his voice sharp and accusatory. "You have no right to be in my office!"

Emma, always the optimist, plastered on a nervous smile and stepped forward. "We're just here to, um, collect our first-year results," she said sweetly. "You know, the ones we didn't pick up last year…"

Mr. Saville slammed a drawer shut, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Do you take me for a fool? Get out! This is no time for your excuses."

Oliver leaned closer to Damian, his voice barely above a whisper. "Compel him. It's the only way we'll get answers."

Damian hesitated, but before he could respond, Zoe sighed loudly. "I've had enough of this."

In a blur of motion, she was behind Mr. Saville. With a sharp blow, she knocked him out cold.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Emma hissed, her hands flying to her head in exasperation. "You can't just—"

Damian held the bridge of his nose helplessly. "Let's move him"

Without further argument, they carried Mr. Saville's limp body to a secluded, abandoned storage building on the edge of campus. The air inside was musty with dim light from a single window casting shadows across the room.

Damian slapped Mr. Saville's face lightly, and the man groaned, his eyelids fluttering open. He flinched when he saw them surrounding him, his eyes darting around for an escape route.

"What do you want?" he growled, trying to mask the tremor in his voice.

Damian crouched in front of him, his expression cold and calculating. "We're going to ask some questions. And you're going to answer them."

"Is that so?" Mr. Saville sneered, though fear flickered in his eyes.

Damian's voice dropped, laced with compulsion. "Tell us what you know about the missing students."

Mr. Saville's smirk widened, and he let out a dry laugh. "So it was you. Nice try, boy. But that won't work on me anymore."

The group exchanged confused glances.

"I felt it," Mr. Saville continued, his tone almost taunting. "The blank in my memory after I dozed off in my office one evening. That's when I started taking hawthorn leaves."

"Hawthorn leaves?" Zoe asked, her tone skeptical.

Oliver adjusted his glasses, his voice measured as he explained. " When Damian compelled Mr. Saville the other day, I began to..."

Zoe snapped "WHAT ARE HAWTHORN LEAVES?"

"They are leaves. If ingested they can resist vampire compulsion" Oliver replied hurriedly.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Simple"

Priscilla crossed her arms, her voice sharp. "If we can't compel him, then we'll have to make him talk. Torture might be the only way."

Damian blinked at her, momentarily surprised by her suggestion. Then, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Emma's reaction was immediate. "No way! Absolutely not!" She stepped forward, her eyes wide with disbelief. "We can't torture our school's vice principal!"

Zoe scoffed. "Oh, come on. You think he'll talk if we play nice?"

Nadia sighed. "I don't like it either, Emma, but what choice do we have?"

Emma glared at her. "Don't you even dare talk to me. This is insane!"

Oliver stepped in, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Emma, think about Jacob. He was your friend, wasn't he? He's still missing. You want to find him, don't you?"

At the mention of Jacob, Emma's protests faltered. She turned away, tears glistening in her eyes as she retreated to the corner with Oliver and Nadia following to console her.

Meanwhile, Damian, Priscilla, and Zoe stayed behind.

Priscilla glanced at Mr. Saville. "Let's start simple. A few punches should loosen his tongue."

Zoe snorted. "Punches? Really? Let's break a bone or two. That'll get him talking."

Damian remained silent, his gaze fixed on Mr. Saville. The air around him seemed to grow heavier, darker.

Mr. Saville squirmed under the weight of Damian's stare, his breathing quickening. "What… what are you—"

Without warning, Damian's claws extended, gleaming in the dim light. In one swift motion, he slashed across Mr. Saville's chest. Blood sprayed, and the man's scream echoed through the room.

Priscilla gasped, taking an instinctive step back, her face pale. Even Zoe, usually so brash, stared at Damian with wide eyes, a flicker of fear crossing her features.

Damian didn't stop. He slashed again and again and again spraying blood all over his clothes and the walls, the precision of his strikes unnerving. His gray-blue eyes burned with a chilling intensity, his movements cold and methodical.

Mr. Saville sobbed, trembling uncontrollably. "Please… stop…"

Damian leaned closer, his voice low and dangerous. "I'm listening "

But when Mr. Saville hesitated, Damian snarled. His claws shot forward, piercing the man's eye. With a sickening squelch, he plucked it out.

Priscilla turned away, unable to watch. "I… I can't…" she whispered, hurrying out of the room with Oliver, Nadia and Priscilla following closely behind.

Zoe stood frozen, her bravado shattered as she watched Damian's merciless actions. This wasn't the Damian she knew - this was someone or even something far darker, far more terrifying.

When Damian finally stopped, he bit into his own arm and let his blood drip onto Mr. Saville's trembling lips. "Drink" he commanded coldly.

Ten minutes later, Mr Saville's wounds were completely healed, his eyes restored but his spirit...utterly broken.

Damian crouched in front of him once more, his expression eerily calm.

"Where are the missing students?" He asked softly, his tone menacing.