Marcus walked into Veronica's office. "Well?" the Patriarch demanded as he sat down.

  The other Vampire tapped a few runes on her desk, and it activated the enchantments to make sure no one could listen in on their conversation, "I managed to track her, Serafina took a flight out of Austin to New York, from there she flew to London.' the woman reported as the dispy pyed short snippets of various security feeds, 'From London she flew to Rome, but we lost her there. Before she flew off, she took a few thousand dolrs from her bank account, shut off her phone, and removed the SIM card. If I had to guess, she probably got a new phone and ID in Rome." Veronica reported.

  Marcus frowned, "There are no Demi-Human factions based in Rome, what about Human factions or one of the Guilds or a powerful Cn?" the older Vampire asked her.

  Veronica shook her head, "The Guilds wouldn't need to have her go to Europe to get a new ID and while there are a few powerful Cns based out of Rome, none of them have interests in the Midwest Region and the Night Lord that rules Western Europe is based out of Paris, not Rome." Veronica reported.

  Marcus frowned. None of this made sense. "I will reach out to the council, see if they have heard of anything coming out of Rome. I will notify the Twilight Council and see if they can figure out what is going on. Any word from Josephine Cruze?" Marcus prompted.

  Veronica shook her head, "Nothing but cleaning house and getting rid of any problems, more importantly, she has kept her mouth shut about Victor's presence. It seems the new Pureblood made a real impression on her." Marcus grunted as he stood up.

  Serafina had been thoroughly vetted, which begged the question of why she ran and who she was working for. "Keep her fgged in our systems, if she pops up anywhere, I want to know about it within a day," Marcus instructed before turning and leaving.

  Serafina looked around nervously, She had used the emergency line to set up the meeting with her handler, knowing it could mean her life, exposing herself. The order pnned long-term, and her abandoning her position was not part of the pn. "Well, child, you called, so this better be good." Father Thomas stated as he walked out of the dark tunnel.

  Serafina bowed her head and offered up the file to the man as well as the small globe, "The artifact reacted to the test Pureblood father, I brought a copy of the Guilds file on him as well as any information Marcus Aldbridge was able to gather." the woman reported as the older man snatched the small globe out of her hand and made sure they were alone.

  Father Thomas's face darkened. "You risked exposure because of this? You should have reported your findings through normal channels, now they will be on guard," the man chastised her as he considered what to do with her. He knew what the Elders would demand, and the man understood it. "Go to this location, they will give you a new identity. Don't ever make the same mistake again, child." Father Thomas told her as he produced a business card and shoved it into her hand.

  Serafina nodded before turning and disappearing down a nearby alleyway. Father Thomas grimaced, knowing the girl would be dead within a few hours. The Order did not suffer fools or failures; they had existed for thousands of years, and they would not be brought down by the actions of one foolish girl.

  Father Thomas opened up the folder and looked at the pictures of pre- and post-Awakening. The man noted the white hair and silver-grey eyes that the Pureblood sported and frowned. Everything was lining up as the stories stated, and the world wasn't prepared for what was coming.

  Father Thomas looked towards the small globe, activating it, causing runes etched into the ancient artifact to light up as an image appeared above the globe before he shut it down. While Serafina had been right, getting the information about Victor Bck to the Elders was crucial, she would have been far more valuable staying near the Pureblood. Now they would have to work to pce another agent within his inner circle or compromise someone there.

  Father Thomas sighed in frustration before turning and heading down into the tunnel. A globe of light appeared bobbing next to him, pushing the surrounding darkness and illuminating what y ahead of him.

  AnnouncementThis wraps up Book 1 of Marked for Adventure, but Victor's story is far from done. Book 2 is well into development, and editing will begin within a couple of weeks at most once I am completely satisfied with the flow of Book 2. Books 1 and 2 will be a slow burn, but once I hit Book 3, the pace will pick up greatly and the story will expand. If you enjoyed Book 1, please feel free to leave a review, and I hope to see you all again when Book 2 starts to come out!

  If all goes as pnned, Book 2, Marked for Adventure: Ascension, will start being released in 3 - 4 weeks. I will update my page with any further information once that time comes closer!