My Vampire Harem Will Dominate Everything

Ezra stood silently on the edge of a tall building, his sharp eyes scanning the area around Ascendant Capital.

The familiar structure towered over its neighbors, its windows dark, showing no signs of life inside of it. If the Necromancer was somehow inside already, he sure was hiding it well.

Ezra had been waiting for what felt like hours, every one of his senses on high alert, but there was still no sign of the Necromancer.

"Fucking bitch." He shook his head. "I can think of ten better ways to spend my time right now."

The breeze this high up was cool against his skin, the silence almost oppressive. Behind him, Red, Gen, and Olivia stood watch, each of them ready for an attack from any direction.

They had anticipated some kind of battle tonight, but as the minutes slowly ticked by, the absence of the Necromancer had them all on edge.

What was he planning?

"Do you think he\'s even coming?" Gen asked, her voice barely above a whisper, though it carried easily through the quiet night.

Ezra\'s eyes remained fixed on the Ascendant Capital rooftop, his jaw clenched tight. "I don\'t know." He replied, his tone betraying his frustration. "But something\'s off. He wouldn\'t just call us here for nothing."

"Or maybe," Red suggested, rolling her eyes, "he\'s doing the same thing we\'re doing. Waiting for him to show up first."

Just as the words left her mouth, a sudden ringing pierced the silence, the sharp sound echoing off the nearby buildings.

All four of them tensed, eyes locking on the source of the noise. The ringing was coming from the rooftop of Ascendant Capital, a place where there shouldn\'t be anyone yet, especially not at this hour.

Ezra exchanged a glance with Red, Gen, and Olivia.

"We\'ve been watching that building, haven\'t we?" Gen asked with a frown.

"Never took my eyes off it." Ezra answered.

"Which means the phone had been there the whole time." Olivia said as the phone kept ringing.

"Or the Necromancer has an invisible vampire on his hands." Gen said.

"Unlikely." Red said. "They\'ll have to mask a lot to pull it off. Sounds, smell, vitality signature. And it\'s not an easy thing to fool vampire senses."

"Doesn\'t matter." Ezra said, his voice low. "Stay here. I\'ll check it out."

"Wait, what?" Red raised a hand. "What if this is the trap?"

"And what if it isn\'t?" Ezra asked. The only way to find out is by going. You guys just need to be ready."

After a pause, they all nodded in agreement. They needed to keep the Necromancer\'s interest.

Red stepped forward, concern etched on her face. "Be careful, Ezra."

"I will." He replied, giving her a brief nod.

With that, he disappeared from the rooftop, reappearing in a blink on the rooftop of Ascendant Capital.

The cool night air greeted him again, along with the persistent ringing of the phone that sat, oddly out of place, near the edge of the building.

The phone was a very old model, the kind with physical buttons and a small screen. It continued to ring, an annoying sound that grated on his nerves.

After a moment\'s hesitation, Ezra reached out and picked it up, bringing it to his ear.

"Hello, Ezra," came the smooth, mocking voice of the Necromancer on the other end. Ezra could hear the amusement in the man\'s tone, as if he was enjoying some private joke at Ezra\'s expense.

Ezra\'s grip on the phone tightened. "Where are you?" He demanded, his voice hard.

The Necromancer chuckled softly as he answered. "Oh, I\'m around, but you didn\'t really expect me to show up in person, did you? I\'m disappointed, Ezra. I thought you knew me better than that."

Ezra\'s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent, waiting for the Necromancer to get to the point.

"Don\'t be so tense." The Necromancer continued, his voice dripping with false concern. "I\'m not here to fight you. At least, not tonight."

Ezra\'s eyes narrowed. From his words, the Necromancer had to be somewhere nearby, watching him.

"Instead, I wanted to offer you a game." The Necromancer said.

"A game?" Ezra frowned.

"Yes, a game." The Necromancer repeated, his tone as light as if they were discussing the weather.

"You see, I took something of yours, and I know you want it back. If you manage to complete the game I\'ve set up, I\'ll return what\'s rightfully yours. How about that?"

"And if I don\'t play this... game?" Ezra asked, already knowing the answer.

"Then you lose, and so does your coven. Your money, your life, your everything." The Necromancer replied smoothly. "But let\'s not think about that. Let\'s focus on the task at hand."

Ezra nodded calmly. If the Necromancer was really watching, he wouldn\'t get the satisfaction of seeing Ezra\'s true reaction to his words.

Ezra clenched his teeth, calming himself before speaking. "What\'s the game?"

"You\'ll find out soon enough." The Necromancer teased. "For now, keep the phone. I\'ll use it to communicate with you throughout the game. And don\'t bother trying to trace it. You\'ll only waste your time. Just be ready, Ezra.

I\'ll be in touch."

Before Ezra could respond, the line went dead, leaving him standing alone on the rooftop with the phone still in his hand.

He stared at it for a moment, as if willing it to give up more answers, but the device remained stubbornly silent.

With a sigh, Ezra pocketed the phone and teleported back to where Red, Gen, and Olivia were waiting.

"What happened?" Olivia asked as soon as he reappeared, her eyes scanning him for any sign of trouble. "You kind of froze there for a moment."

Ezra took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "It was the Necromancer. He… he wants to play a game. He said that if we complete his game, he\'ll return the slush fund."

Red frowned, clearly unimpressed. "A game? What is this, some kind of sick joke?"

"It\'s the Necromancer." Gen replied dryly. "Of course it\'s a sick joke. What did he say exactly? Will the game at least be fun?"

The rest of the Matten Coven groaned.

"Classic Gen." Ezra smiled, shaking his head.

Gen\'s evil cackle filled the night, waking up a few innocent humans from their nightmares into another nightmare.