《Vampires of Eld》


 Chapter 1: Wrong Side of the Bed

    Chapter 1: Wrong Side of the Bed


    As a vampire, I had all the time in the world to make plans, so when the coffin lid was sealed in 1819 I trusted my lovely retainer to do what I asked of her.


    My sire worked on finding out the truth of who was feeding the hunters information, but they were hot on my tail, forcing me underground. We both figured a week in torpor would give the city enough time to calm down. Then we could kill the hunters without alerting the mortals. It was never a good look on a fledgling city when the Inquisition decides to pull people out of their homes and put them to the flame because they might be a vampire.


    But, as I closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness, something nagged at the back of my mind. A worry that something wasn''t right about the whole thing. It was too easy to hide. Then my world went black and I fell into a dreamless state of nothing until I heard screaming and tried to rouse. Strange flashes of unusual sights filled my mind for a moment. A world asunder by ungodly flames. They ceased just as abruptly and I found myself back in the black of torpor.


    Heartbeats pulsed through my ears, pulling a strange thread in my mind as I awakened from torpor. Distant voices called out in the dark. Three mortals by the heartbeats I heard.


    The comfortable darkness within the coffin tried to lull me back to sleep, but the voices felt odd. Speaking English, sure, but not any accent I ever heard. They walked above me in my house and were likely hunters searching for me, because one called out. ¡°Hello? Anyone here?¡± a man with a calmly beating heart asked.


    I could have replied, but only an idiot would expose themselves to hunters like that.


    My heavy eyes closed in the abyss, not doing much at all anyway, but then they snapped open as another voice spoke, ¡°Amelia? Are you with us?¡±


    ¡°Alright, guys!¡± a third voice said far, far too loudly as he wandered through the front door. ¡°We¡¯re bringing you another ghost hunt this week and this time it''s out in Westcal. Deep in the heart of the Halifax Shard. Locals tell tales of a phantom haunting this old mansion that¡¯s been abandoned since before the Collide.¡±


    There is no way my house was abandoned!


    It had Amelia and I in it, which meant the cretin was mistaken. And¡­ Halifax Shard? My house was in Encinar, California!


    I pushed on the coffin lid, but the heavy wood resisted my efforts like something was weighing down on it. Dirt most likely if Amelia buried me in the ground like planned. I tried again and my weak limbs barely cracked it open.


    ¡°One legend says that on the longest night of the year you can hear sobbing coming from an upstairs room. Other nights, people report candlelight moving throughout the house. So we¡¯ve got a real haunting on our hands.¡±


    Light blasted into the coffin as a set of ethereal fingers pushed their way between the gap, blinding me for a moment. They lifted the lid with a gentle creak. A glowing figure stepped aside and turned away from me. Her fancy dress reminded me of one from my wardrobe as she floated over to a set of candles inset into the stone wall.


    The ghostly woman¡¯s billowing hair moved with the dress on a non-existent wind while she wordlessly worked to light candle after candle. It gave the room a soft glow that should feel warm, but wasn¡¯t.


    I rubbed my face in an effort to beat back the effects of torpor, but I needed blood. My gnawing stomach yearned for it. But, at least my dress stayed nice and neat in the coffin. It was a wonder the damned thing fit under the lid, as changing attire into a nightgown wasn''t a priority at the time.


    The ghost turned away from the wall and floated past me, all the while holding a hand to her face so I couldn''t see who she was. I took a deep breath, letting in as much air as my dead lungs could take.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked softly, as I didn''t remember making any mortal my eternal servant and the way this ghost was acting was strange.


    An urge to feed from the three blood sacks pulled at my fangs, begging for them to slide out.


    One of the loud newcomers exclaimed something I didn¡¯t fully understand, as it was a bit of jargon that the others failed to respond to aside from saying their hellos.


    ¡°Who is the blood sack talking to?¡± I whispered to the ghost. The hunger tore across my scalp and fangs with an ache I shouldn¡¯t ignore for long. I really should get up there and deal with them, but I couldn''t if they were hunters. I wasn''t strong enough in my current state, which felt a lot more than three days without food. Three days is nothing, but the feeling was vastly different to that.


    A visceral hunger I thought I kept hidden. One which I wouldn''t be able to stop myself from killing the first blood sack I sank my fangs into. While not a problem, it might draw the hunters to us again. Unless the blood sacks were hunters. Then it didn''t matter. They get a shallow grave out back.


    ¡°Amelia,¡± the woman above said, drawing the ghost¡¯s attention up to the ceiling.


    The ghost can''t be Amelia, can it?


    I blinked a few times, and then squinted in the dim light even though it did nothing. Her face was away from me, so I climbed out of the coffin and stood on shaking legs.


    ¡°We are only wanting to ask you some questions,¡± the woman said quietly. ¡°Can you answer them?¡±


    The ghost looked over at me and that¡¯s when a shiver ran through my body as if I just jumped overboard from a ship into arctic waters. I don¡¯t recommend it. Even as a vampire. Her round face and beautiful cheeks were Amelia¡¯s. Those empty eyes of hers held no joy, only sorrow and anger at the life lost to time.


    A life I could have saved had I been there for her¡­


    I reached out for my retainer¡¯s help and fell to my knees, feeling only a slight stab of pain as the wood slammed into them. Amelia dashed to my side, gently wrapping her glowing hands around my waist and hauled me to my feet. She next put a cane in my hand, floated back and nodded.


    I didn''t need a cane normally, but the gesture didn''t go unnoticed.


    ¡°Did anyone hear that?¡± the third voice asked as his heart rate picked up, practically fluttering in his chest.


    ¡°Hear what?¡± A fourth voice called out.


    ¡°I thought I just heard something move, but I don''t see anything.¡±


    Likely because he was above us walking like a child with his heels digging into the ground first.


    ¡°I found a storage crate of clothes,¡± the calm man said from one corner of the basement. ¡°Some really old paintings, too. Looks like an old woman lived here with her servant.¡±


    ¡°What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Is anybody with us?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°May I? I feel¡­ drawn to speak with them,¡± Amelia whispered in an odd tone, colder and sadder than I remembered her ever being in life.


    What happened while I was in torpor?


    I nodded. ¡°Let us toy with these blood sacks before we make ourselves known.¡±


    Amelia floated off to the door and passed through it, leaving behind a ghostly after image, just before it faded to nothing.


    Above me, I heard another voice. It was distant, but filled with an unusual noise making it hard to hear clearly. All it said was, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The woman gasped. ¡°Guys! I got something! Can you tell us your name?¡±


    ¡°Amelia,¡± the strange voice said.


    The other mortals seemed to be drawn to the woman as well, as their footsteps moved in her direction. Based on where they were in the room I could leave my hidden chambers and get behind them without any of the blood sacks knowing. If I could climb the stairs in my current state that is. All I needed was a sip and could smell blood closeby.


    They asked if Amelia was a spirit, which she answered accordingly. I still had a hard time believing it was her. I remembered her worried bright brown eyes just as the coffin lid shut, sealing me away to keep me safe.


    It was going to be okay, she had said. We¡¯ll deal with them for you, Mistress.


    ¡°Can you give us a sign?¡± the odd woman asked.


    Something slid across the floor above.


    The woman gasped excitedly like she hadn''t ever seen a ghost move a box, followed by the annoying one saying, ¡°Look! Look! Look! There''s actually a ghost. We captured our first ghost on camera!¡±


    Capturing a ghost on camera didn¡¯t make much, if any sense, because the exposure was too slow to do anything.


    I wobbled my way to the door, pausing next to a soup bowl at the foot of my coffin. An iron-filled scent teased my nose as I stared at the glittering crimson liquid. There were stains around the edges where dried blood overflowed at one time. Even in death, she knew how to take care of me.


    I gently picked the warm bowl up and brought it close. Rabbit¡¯s blood if the sip was anything to go by; rancid and foul, but any blood would do and she knew it. I wasn''t some proper princess like some of those stuffy nobles in London who only drank from the upper class.


    Those fucking Blue Bloods like Jean looked down on my sire and I because we were nomads who wanted our own cut of the world.


    As I brought the steaming bowl to my lips, the woman asked Amelia if she could describe what she looked like.


    To which Amelia said no.


    Then, the woman asked a few rather personal questions like if she lived here and if she had a message.


    Both of which were yes. Amelia¡¯s message was simply, ¡°Leave.¡±


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    The warm blood flowed into my mouth and fangs, down my throat and was absorbed before hitting my stomach like a boiling hot cauldron.


    ¡°But we only wish to talk with you and help you move on,¡± the woman stated.


    I closed my eyes, steadily slurping from the bowl while my system absorbed the liquid nourishment. It wasn''t deer, and certainly wasn''t human, but it''ll do. It''ll do.


    ¡°Do you hear something?¡± another voice called out above me.


    ¡°Run!¡± Amelia yelled through whatever object they were using.


    ¡°I think we should listen to her,¡± the woman said. ¡°She sounds frightened.¡±


    Or annoyed.


    There were only three heartbeats, but four voices. ¡°Something about this room feels odd,¡± the fourth voice said. ¡°Does anyone else feel it? I smell¡­ no, it can''t be. This house is abandoned, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Caleb?¡± the second voice asked.


    ¡°Run!¡± Amelia shouted through whatever it was they were using. They could be witches from Nassau come to collect a debt and that¡¯d be bad for us both, but they seemed like they were new to whatever they were doing.


    The fourth voice, Caleb, stood right over top of me and tapped his foot against the floor as if he was looking for something. ¡°Nothing. We should leave like the ghost says.¡±


    The woman whined, ¡°But we found a ghost. We can''t leave yet!¡±


    ¡°Something feels wrong, Jezebel! I think the house is occupied.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean occupied?¡±


    ¡°Trust me! I have a bad feeling about this.¡±


    ¡°But we have a ghost!¡±


    While they argued over whether or not I lived there, I tilted the bowl back and drank the last of the piping hot liquid. A gnawing in the back of my mind and fangs demanded I march up there and kick them from my abode. She demanded to drain each blood sack until they breathed no more. A deep, unsealed, yearning for blood spurred me forward. Living. Mortal. Blood.


    I had to feed properly and rabbit¡¯s blood was only a disgusting entr¨¦e to the proper main course; Every single drop of a human.


    My feet made nary a sound as I ascended the dark and ancient staircase under the cover of Amelia throwing things around. Dust fell from my shoulders and trailed behind me like snow.


    She better clean up after herself when these blood sacks were dealt with.


    From what I could gather, the walking blood sacks were both terrified and excited to see furniture moving all on its own. I would be, too, if I was still mortal. I should feel something for Amelia, but there was only a gaping wound she used to occupy in my chest.


    Not only that but the group was conflicted on what to do, because they kept arguing about staying or not. That was perfect. Their shouting would mask my approach.


    As I approached the hidden door, I heard one of the others speak out about stubbing their toe in the dark, which was a good thing, as that meant they wouldn''t see me until it was too late. I opened the door and rusty hinges betrayed my movements with the ungodliness of a banshee screeching through the darkness.


    I froze.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± the woman shouted from somewhere in the dark. Small hand held lanterns swept through the dark, revealing dead wood, a pitifully sagging ceiling, and far too many luggage boxes to see clearly through.


    I crawled out and closed the door behind me, allowing the enchantment to cover it once again and hide the door from prying eyes. At least that part of the wall wasn''t so damaged the rune was exposed. Then, I focused on willing what little blood I had into the shadows around me. My heart thumped once as the darkness enveloped me in a warm blanket.


    ¡°Did you guys hear that?¡± Caleb asked from far away.


    Three people, not four, were in my basement. Two clustered near each other with objects in their hands: one with a hand held lantern of sorts and a strange device in the other. The second person, another lantern and another equally strange device that resembled a pen with tiny lights.


    From what I could make out, the people wore trousers and shirts better suited to working outside than attending a ball. As for the third person, she was the most underdressed woman I¡¯d ever laid eyes on. Not even saloon girls or prostitutes dared to show that amount of skin.


    Undershorts and a top that showed off her stomach? Prime real estate for biting into anywhere I pleased. The perfect target. With a small smile, I stayed low behind the boxes and moved toward the least dressed blood sack, waiting for the opportune moment. I assumed she was Jezebel, as I didn¡¯t see or hear any other women.


    ¡°It is too late. My mistress has come for you,¡± Amelia said through the strange device the woman held in her hands.


    Jezebel brought the device close to her ear, glancing around as she waved the lantern like a lunatic. ¡°Guys?¡± she called out. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think we came into someone¡¯s house...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been saying that!¡± Caleb called from the dark, but I didn¡¯t see him anywhere. ¡°I think¡­ I think¡­ it¡¯s not making any sense!¡±


    Jezebel¡¯s hands trembled as she swung her mini lantern all across the room looking for something, anything out of the ordinary, but she wouldn¡¯t find it with the darkness keeping me hidden from view like an old friend. Once her back was to me, I stepped out from the shadows and stalked toward her.


    ¡°Good bye, mortal,¡± Amelia said.


    ¡°We should leave. Now!¡± Jezebel shouted as she walked toward the stairs.


    I wrapped my arms around her, one hand going for her mouth to muffle the scream that came next while my other moved to pin her arms in place. Her wild hair looked strange and made her head look a little¡­ off? Didn¡¯t matter. Blood.


    Fangs bared, I opened wide to bite down.


    ¡°It¡¯s been abandoned for over two hundred years!¡± a voice shouted at the same time I leaned toward Jezebel¡¯s neck. ¡°That ghost is just fucking with us.¡±


    Two hundred years?!


    My hand slipped from the blood sack¡¯s mouth. She screamed in unholy terror as she tore herself away from me, voice cracking like a banshee screeching into the night.


    ¡°Jezebel!¡± Caleb shouted as someone ran toward me in the dark.


    Two hundred... Two hundred years?!


    ¡°What happened to a week¡­?¡± I whispered right as every handheld lantern whipped in my direction and illuminated me like lighthouses in the night. Running wouldn''t do much good when I felt famished. I used the only blood I had to sneak up on the woman and these clearly weren''t hunters, because if they were they would be in armor and not mostly naked!


    The woman aimed her objects at me. One was tiny, about the size of her hand with a rather large camera lens on it. Next to it was a strange flat section and all I saw was the glow in her face as she stared wide eyed at me, heart pounding away so fast it was like a speeding locomotive.


    ¡°We found the homeowner from the paintings¡­¡± Jezebel said, her voice an odd mixture for sure. Fear, but also something else I couldn''t place. Awe? Her eyes glowed bright blue in the dark and I wasn¡¯t sure how I didn¡¯t notice them before.


    I couldn''t see clearly thanks to the bright spots in my eyes, so I took a step back from her and shielded the lights with my hands. Not even squinting helped to see past those infernal things!


    The idea of fleeing bubbled to the surface, but so did confusion as my mind worked over the timeline. Two hundred years asleep. Two hundred years of not knowing what transpired outside my slumber?! No. That can''t be right!


    ¡°Amelia?!¡± I called out to her, hoping she¡¯d appear.


    She did. The ghost popped out of a box and floated over, holding her hands out as she asked, ¡°Mistress? What''s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡­¡± I instinctively took a deep breath and let out despite not needing to breathe. I did it again. ¡°It''s been two hundred years?!¡±


    ¡°Do not listen to these mortals, my love!¡±


    ¡°What in the devil happened to a week?!¡±


    ¡°It is still eighteen nineteen and we must deal with them before the Council finds out!¡±


    ¡°Fuck the council! What about their clothes? Their accents?!¡±


    She glanced at the mortals before glaring at me. ¡°They are lying. Kill them, my love.¡±


    ¡°Do not lie to me, Amelia!¡±


    Amelia hissed, becoming a strange specter, turning into that of a skeleton with a stake through the chest. She floated away from me, spinning to the side. The specter covered her face and shielded her chest from view before flying through a wall.


    ¡°Amelia!¡± I called out and reached for her, my hand slipping through the cold air as she disappeared.


    That left the four mortals. They encircled me. Each pointed their small lanterns and objects in my direction until one of the men set his objects down.


    He held his hands up, glittering red eyes filled with stolen lifeblood staring right at me. Those unnatural eyes could only belong to a vampire. Bright and filled with magic that kept corpses like me walking about.


    ¡°Easy there, grandma,¡± he said calmly. The vampire stepped toward me but kept his distance when I took another step back.


    ¡°I am not your grandmother.¡± I stood as tall as I could, which was still shorter than the men around me and even the woman was quite a bit taller than I. She looked odd, but I couldn¡¯t place it at first, because she was moving around too much.


    Jezebel kept her odd camera pointed at me, a wide grin on her face. ¡°Oh, this is perfect! Go ghost hunting and find a dormant vampire. But only five viewers¡­? I need to promote the fuck out of this when we get out of here!¡±


    ¡°You''ve been asleep for sometime if that layer of dust is right.¡± The more the vampire talked, the more he sounded like that Caleb fellow. He slowly reached into a satchel on his side and pulled out a clear bag filled with a dark, nearly black liquid. He ripped open a corner of the bag and the unmistakably iron scent of blood drifted out.


    ¡°Gods damn, she looks old,¡± Jezebel whispered loud enough I heard it.


    Her language made me frown, but I didn''t have any thoughts aside from blood on my mind. My hand moved on its own as I took the bag from Caleb and gave it a sniff. It was made with a material I hadn''t seen before, but if two hundred years had passed then that meant things were different for sure.


    I looked around to see if there were any other humans in the room aside from the four and saw a ¡®normal¡¯ looking Amelia sitting on one of the nearby boxes, observing me with curiosity in her void eyes. No one but me appeared to notice or even hear her.


    She¡¯s never lied to me before¡­


    It certainly wasn''t 1819 with the thick layer of dust on all of the boxes, and on me. My hands, while older when I was embraced, were withered away and looked more like a rotting corpse than an unliving vampire. The only thing that''d return my appearance to my elder self was a full body of blood and daysleep.


    I sank my fangs into the bag and tilted my head back. Ice cold liquid assailed my senses, my mind burning with the thought that it felt wrong. Nasty. Vile. Disgusting like it came from pigs! I damn near spit the liquid out. My stomach churned, telling me the blood wasn''t right. There was no flavor, no substance, only a facsimile of it being blood. But I willed my stomach to keep it down and drank the entire bag, tossing it aside.


    ¡°Whoever you got that blood from has no flavor.¡± I took a handkerchief out from a pocket and dabbed away any dribble. No sense in looking like a toddler to others.


    ¡°It''s manufactured,¡± Caleb said.


    ¡°What?¡± I blinked at him, feeling the revolting blood seep through my body to rejuvenate the skin. There were three fresh blood sacks nearby and I needed their energy. That ¡®manufactured¡¯ blood felt like it did absolutely nothing for my hunger.


    ¡°It''s made in a factory,¡± the vampire said. He pulled a can from his sack and flipped it around. A beating heart dripping with blood was drawn right there on the can. Along with the name Bleeding Heart Simulation Blood Co. 16oz. Type O+ $10.99. It went on to list the various ingredients and flavors that I didn''t taste, claiming to taste like steak.


    But it tasted like manure.


    ¡°Ethically sourced?¡± I raised an eyebrow at the strange can. He opened it for me and I drank from it. The man didn''t look happy, but I didn''t care. I was hungry, dammit! And the terribly tasting fake blood would have to do until I could separate one of the three blood sacks from the vampire.


    Caleb folded his arms across his chest. ¡°Means it doesn''t come from unwilling people. Like you tried to do a minute ago.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°That blood is made in a laboratory and shipped all round the Shards.¡±


    ¡°The what?¡± I asked, shielding my face right as Jezebel moved close and aimed the device at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Caleb added, ¡°But imagine things¡­ aren¡¯t¡­ exactly what you think of as ¡®normal¡¯ if you went to sleep two hundred years ago.¡±


    ¡°And here we have a vampire from another age learning about the modern day,¡± the woman said.


    I pushed her device away from my face and hissed at her before returning to drinking from the can.


    ¡°What does it mean?¡± she continued, ¡°Will she realize that humans and vampires coexist in a world completely changed by magic, or will she go mad with the knowledge? Stay tuned to find out!¡±


    That made me stop midway through devouring the can. I scanned the room and found that Amelia floated closer with a worried look in her eyes. She was quiet, which was odd. None of them noticed her. Not even when a man shined his lantern on Amelia. Although he changed the color of the beam and it highlighted where she had been sitting and where she touched the crates.


    ¡°So, we do have an actual ghost here, but where is it?¡± he asked.


    Caleb glanced around the room and shrugged. ¡°Probably resting, but we found something more interesting.¡±


    He gave me a strange, small identification card belonging to a country named Halifax with his photograph on it; Name, date of birth as being 178, 197 as his date of embrace, the fact that his race was classified as vampire and a few other things such as his home address in Encinar, Westcal. Caleb¡¯s class was Level 22 Merchant.


    ¡°What in tarnation is this?¡± I asked, flipping the business card over. On the back it had a strange black stripe and some other stuff like restriction from driving in the day, which meant they still used wagons.


    ¡°My System License,¡± Caleb said, taking the card back and sticking it in his wallet. ¡°To show you that times have changed. Look, there¡¯s something¨C¡±


    ¡°How?! The last I remember, we were being hunted down by the inquisition. They were rooting vampires out of their homes left and right, putting them to the flame and sun in the name of ¡®peace¡¯. Anyone that stood in their way¡­¡±


    My voice trailed off when I remembered what transpired only the night before. ¡°Amilia?!¡± I dropped the vile canned blood and ran in the direction I last saw her.


    The stairs.


    The others yelled at me to wait. I refused to listen and ran for the basement stairs faster than any of the mortals could move, throwing the cracked door off its hinges. I practically flew upstairs to the first floor. ¡°Amelia?!¡± I yelled again, hoping she¡¯d respond.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Caleb called out from behind me. ¡°Don¡¯t go outside yet!¡±

 Chapter 2: Under an Alien Sky

    Chapter 2: Under an Alien Sky


    ¡°Amelia?!¡± my voice failed to echo off rotting walls, reminding me once again that darkness feared to carry anything spoken by me. Moonlight pierced through broken glass windows stained with dirt and tattered drapes. Everything was in ruins! From my furniture covered in thick layers of dirt, gouged with swords, to our family portrait over the fireplace being defaced and torn away. Everything I owned was gone¡­ My world was destroyed in an instant because people didn''t like me existing. I wasn''t ¡®God¡¯s design¡¯. A blood sucking monster, the Inquisition said.


    Oh, but I was much more than that. So, so much more than just a blood sucking monster.


    As I wandered my old house, I took notice that the carpet was ripped like they were trying to find hidden doors in the floor. Gouges marked where things were unmercifully dragged across and even a few burn spots like people tried to light a fire over the years.


    Through a shattered window overlooking the bay, I saw a city beyond anything I could imagine. Sure, Encinar wasn''t that far away when everything was new and you could barely see it in the distance, but now? Now, I saw illuminated buildings stretching skyward like a skeleton clawing at a strange skyline. A bright glow engulfed the horizon making it feel like the sun was coming up. My old pocket watch had run out of juice, so I wound it up again with a few choice cranks.


    Two minutes to midnight according to the watch. No telling what it actually was, but the familiar device was a comforting reminder that not all was lost. I still had the clothes on my back.


    My jaw dropped the instant I stepped outside and looked up at the night sky, eyes widening at a terrible sight. They scorched the sky¡­


    There were stars, sure, a great many of them in fact, but not enough at the same time. My unbeating heart should have been racing as I stepped away from the rotting house. Frigid air washed in from what was left of the San Francisco Bay. Gone was most of the water. Now, buildings stretched halfway into the bay while the sky glowed bright from not just one moon, but the shattered wreck of a moon, almost as if someone filled it with gunpowder and lit the fuse.


    I fell to my knees, slowly blinking at the sight. ¡°What¡­?¡± I whispered, my lips barely moving. Hanging in the blackness above Mother Moon, were at least five other large chunks of something. They were too far to make out anything beyond they had water and greenery and one of them was a large U-shape with a swath of brown. They looked like parts of Earth at one time. Shards as it were. ¡°What have you blood sacks done to Earth?!¡± I yelled, my voice echoing off the rotting house behind me.


    No, no, no¡­


    I got to my feet and backed away from the building. My home¡¯s roof sagged heavily, waiting to collapse. One wall looked precariously twisted and grotesque as if it wanted to break apart at any moment. Strips of a clear bright orange cloth covered parts of the door, the windows, and any entrances. I wandered the property looking at the signs saying Keep Out! and Property Condemned. Another sign said the house was set to be demolished on May 15th, 219 and the city owned the property now.


    ¡°No¡­¡± I whispered to myself, passing the front door where the woman followed me with her camera. ¡°It¡¯s all gone! Everything. The stars, the paint, my furniture. What happened?!¡±


    Still, Amelia remained hidden as I peered inside the old well not far from the house. ¡°Amelia!¡± My voice echoed uselessly down to the depths below. I left the condemned well and made my way to a tree where Amelia and I sat last time we were together.


    There wasn''t a tree, was there?


    Walking up the short hill overlooking the house, I found the air growing even colder, but it didn''t bother me. What bothered me was both the alien sky and the unending sorrow coming from the tree. A familiar energy I couldn''t be sure of, but it felt like I was walking toward a grave. I remembered the spot as being one Amelia and I would sit to watch the stars quite often.


    ¡°Amelia¡­?¡± I reached out to touch the tree and felt a spark of recognition from the bark. The tree creaked ever so softly on the wind as if to reassure me that it was okay.


    It wasn''t.


    ¡°It wasn''t s-supposed to end like this, Amelia¡­ I¡¯m so, so sorry.¡± I sat next to the tree and leaned against the trunk, snuggling as close as I could until I wrapped my arm around it. Almost immediately, her cold touch hugged my torso. She moved closer to my side, and then rested her ethereal head on my shoulder like we used to do in the past when looking up at the stars that were now non-existent.


    Beyond the house lay the now bustling city of Encinar, California. I had lived deep in the backwoods of the Bay where I was hidden from prying eyes. Where I would be at peace with my partner while our distant budding town grew into a flower, but no. Those vampire hunters took her from me!


    They shoved a stake into her heart¡­


    My fingernails dug into the bark, right as an insect crawled over my hand and continued on up the tree. Amelia sighed softly, but didn''t say anything.


    I wasn''t sure what to do, but I had an idea. ¡°Amelia, are we where you are right now?¡±


    Her ghostly hair fell over my shoulder as she nodded firmly. ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Do you¡­ do you want to watch the sun ri-rise with me?¡± It was the only option I could see with the madness floating in the sky. One of the chunks had rings around it! I saw airship lights zipping to and from the city as well. So many they looked almost like a single line.


    ¡°Mistress?¡± She lifted her head up and her voids for eyes stared up at me with furrowed brows. ¡°You can''t do that! Please?¡±


    ¡°But you''re bound here to the tree, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, I am a tree now, but I have you.¡± She nodded. ¡°And your plan worked! Look at our beautiful city.¡± She waved a hand out over the glittering city of Encinar.


    I smiled at the ghost and hugged her as best I could, trying not to move my arms through her strange form. My eyes fell upon my blurry, condemned, house better fit for a fire than to live in. With no money, no job, I was better off waiting for sunrise, but I couldn''t. I had to stay unalive for her.


    ¡°You''re crying, my love.¡±


    ¡°I am?¡± I pressed my fingers into my face, coming back with red stains. My cheeks felt strange, because they were drenched in that frigid fake blood. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it.¡± She grabbed her ghostly apron and managed to actually wipe blood onto the ethereal cloth.. ¡°Better, but you need to do the rest.¡± Amelia smiled.


    I returned the smile and glanced around the property. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    A strange self-propelled wagon sat not far from the house. I¡¯d seen it earlier, but the door was closed. Now it was open and light spilled out while blood sacks spoke to each other. One of them was walking toward Amelia and I.


    ¡°You may have noticed a few things,¡± Caleb said as he walked up the hill, waving back to the city. ¡°The stars, the Shards, the bay. Yeah. Things have changed and there''s one very important thing you need to know.¡±


    ¡°That I''d be better off waiting for sunrise?¡± I tried to wipe the blood from my face with my handkerchief, but all it did was smear it across my cheeks. I needed water now.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The man stopped not far away, crouched down and smiled. ¡°Ever heard of the System?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Thought not. See, back when I was just a young vampire, we all panicked about the year two hundred fast approaching, because of some prophecy, but none of us knew what it meant until the new year hit and everything shut down.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What shut down?¡±


    ¡°The world.¡± He waved a hand toward the sky. ¡°Every computer and electronic device on every Shard stopped working. The next thing to happen was a display popping up in my face telling me there¡¯s now a ¡®System¡¯ and I had to pick my Class. Everyone did. I picked Merchant, because that¡¯s what I did before. So it made me a level one Merchant.¡±


    System? Levels?! What nonsense does this fledgling expect me to believe?!


    ¡°Tell me the truth,¡± I replied, flexing my fingers. My fangs ached for blood. He had blood, but so did his cohorts. Theirs would be juicy and fresh. Not¡­ whatever he gave me. If he had that manure on him then it stood to reason that same nasty liquid would be floating through his system.


    Ew.


    The vampire frowned at me. ¡°I¡¯m not joking. Look, I¡¯ve done the math and you¡¯ve been asleep for almost two and a half centuries. Try focusing on¡ª¡±


    ¡°Caleb?¡± Jezebel said from somewhere inside the vampire¡¯s body.


    He grabbed a small object from his hip and placed it close to his mouth like he was about to eat it. ¡°Go ahead,¡± he replied, pushing something against the side of the object. It made an odd noise when he released it.


    ¡°That vampire grandma? She doesn''t appear on video.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? She''s right here in front of me.¡±


    What in tarnation is video?


    The woman spoke again through the box. ¡°She¡¯s there, but glitchy. Like the camera has a hard time processing what she is. Should we report it to the authorities?¡±


    Oh no. I knew I should have drained them.


    ¡°No.¡± Caleb shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s take her to the Council and get her a System License.¡±


    A smile crossed my lips. The Council still being around was a good thing! But at the same time, a feeling in the back of my mind told me I shouldn¡¯t go there. Someone would know who I was and want to put a stake through my chest when they saw me. I nodded. ¡°Take me to the Council.¡± Then looked at Amelia. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before dawn.¡±


    She nodded firmly, drawing Caleb¡¯s attention. He tried to wave a hand through her, but she floated away from the fledgling and glared.


    ¡°Is she right there?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Weird¡­¡± He got up and waved for me to follow. Caleb led me down the hill to their odd self-propelled horseless carriage made of metal. It had two doors in the front and a sliding one in the sides with two on the back. Long, sitting far too low to the ground to be of any use on the carriage roads, but they must have used it to get to my house.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked, since self-propelled carriages and wagons looked different only yesterday.


    ¡°A Tremcar Model B van,¡± Caleb replied.


    ¡°What happened to her face?!¡± the other man yelled, eyes wide as he turned away from the carriage and looked at me. ¡°Did she cry¡­ blood?¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry about it,¡± Caleb replied. He helped me to climb into the open side door, pointed me to a large reclining chair and buckled a belt across my lap.


    I tugged on the belt, finding it not moving at all. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°A seat belt to keep you in place if we crash.¡± Caleb climbed past me and sat down in his own seat, buckling himself in.


    ¡°Well, yesterday, I didn''t need to put a ¡®seatbelt¡¯ on when riding a horseless wagon.¡± I harrumphed and unbuckled myself. Why worry about a crash when I could survive it?


    He frowned deeply at me.


    The woman sat next to him on the other side. She showed him a large, strangely flat object with moving pictures on it. Jezebel pointed at me, then the device, and back to him. Their voices were low, but I heard every word. ¡°We can''t use this footage. It''s trash!¡± she whined. ¡°How am I going to get paid?¡±


    Caleb shrugged. ¡°Well, you got the ghost on there, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it might seem fake because it listens to a vampire.¡±


    Fake? Amelia isn¡¯t fake.


    Two men got in the front of the wagon and an annoying roar filled the cabin for a moment. It lurched forward without any horses to pull it. So they still used combustion engines¡­ such noisy things. The more expensive arcane powered wagons were far quieter.


    ¡°What happened with the world?¡± I finally asked as we got on a strange road made of dark stone.


    The man riding shotgun looked over at me. ¡°You don''t know?¡±


    ¡°Fill me in on things, please.¡± I grabbed a towel offered to me and leaned back in my seat, scrubbing the blood from my face and then threw the towel in the back where they kept boxes.


    The man threw a thumb toward Jezebel. ¡°First thing, ever seen an elf before?¡± he asked. Jezebel and Caleb exchanged glances and that was when I noticed the woman¡¯s ears were vastly different to anyone else¡¯s. She had pulled her hair back to expose hand-length ears that came to fine points. The ears were much like the Nassau Empress¡¯s in that they were angled backwards rather than straight up.


    ¡°Excuse me, but are you related to Empress Catalina?¡± I asked the elf.


    She leaned toward her door, eyes widening in shock. Her jaw practically hit the floor! Even Caleb and the two men in front looked stunned by my words as if I wasn''t supposed to know that name. She was around for nearly a century by the time I was a vampire, so of course I heard of her and her little empire. Although no one knew whence she came from. The rumors had it she just appeared in the Port of Nassau one day and conquered the pirates with a flick of her wrist. There was likely more information that everyone buried, because the Caribbean was a hotbed of activity before I was born in 1723.


    Trees lined the winding road, becoming a lush oak forest to block out the sky. Encinar was soon out of sight, leaving only the wagon¡¯s lanterns to illuminate our path forward. The ¡®road¡¯ was in fairly poor condition and barely wider than the wagon, forcing the driver to keep us slow as he went from a left hand turn to a right hand turn, zig-zagging his way down along the old trail I used just yesterday.


    Jezebel leaned toward me again and spoke up, ¡°You know the wood elf Empress?¡±


    ¡°I know of the Nassau Empress, yes.¡± I nodded firmly and smiled, having known something they didn¡¯t! I refused to tell them how the ¡®Golden Empress¡¯ gave my sire and I a Letter of Marque to sink British ships in the Caribbean shortly before I became a vampire. I continued, ¡°A friend and I crossed paths with her Majesty¡¯s Empire once or twice.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ expect to see more elves,¡± Jezebel replied and pointed to herself ¡°There¡¯s a lot more now.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± I asked.


    She pointed at the ceiling, so I leaned toward the window to look up at the forest canopy. ¡°The elves broke the sky¡­¡± I whispered.


    ¡°A little over two hundred years ago.¡±.


    Strange that I didn¡¯t feel it break like the ¡®shards¡¯ showed. I''d rather call them continents, because that is what they looked like if you drew a map of them. Perhaps it was luck or fate that let me sleep through it. Perhaps not. I wasn¡¯t sure, because the modern world felt alien to me. From the new wagon, to more elves in the world. First there was one elf, the Empress, then the British had their male elf. Did they meet up and make more? Or did they come from somewhere else? I suppose I should have kept up with the fighting after rounding Cape Horn instead of heading straight for Mexico, but there were more pressing matters at the time as the Spaniards had found... something. Now? Not so much was pressing aside from finding out just what in the Devil was going on. I closed my eyes and waited for Encinar to come into view. The driver was gentle with his movements and felt well practiced compared to the old self-propelled wagons I had ridden in. Even the road was smoother than anything I was used to.


    It took us roughly twenty minutes to head down the hill according to my watch, which would have taken an hour or so by horseback.


    Encinar was beautifully decrepit and stunningly beautiful with all the lights. Nestled close to the water, you had a view of the remaining bay and all the stilted buildings built into the mud. Tall structures stretched on, twinkling into the night while any stars hid away like the sun was trying to come out. Caleb and Jezebel told me those strange chunks in the sky were known as Shards and they were what was left of Earth and another planet. He and Jezebel didn¡¯t know much more beyond that since they were born after the destruction.


    I adjusted my pocket watch to the wagon¡¯s time clock on the dashboard. It showed two in the morning, meaning a lot of lazy vampires would be getting ready for bed while the night was still young. They drove us through the city, my eyes wandering from one tall building to another tall building, strange wagon to strange wagon until a mosquito flew by so fast it shook our wagon at the same time the interior filled with an angry buzzing.


    ¡°Asshole!¡± The driver threw the one-finger salute to a small horse-like machine as it vanished into the distance. It sort of resembled a motorized bicycle with a blue glow around its center.


    ¡°Was that a bicycle?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A motorcycle,¡± Jezebel corrected. She handed me a smartphone as she called it. A strange rectangular device with a flat screen displaying a manufacturer¡¯s webpage about their two-wheeled motorized bicycles. I sat back and touched the device like instructed. The screen didn''t quite respond to my input, so I held my finger down. It flickered instead and went dark, showing off my ugly face. I pushed the button on the side like Jezebel told me to and tried to work it again. Only for it to do the same thing.


    With a deep frown, I gave it back to the elf woman. She pulled a thin fountain pen out from the smartphone and gave both items back. ¡°Try that,¡± she said, ¡°Just press it to the screen.¡±


    I focused my blood on my fingers and the fountain pen appeared to work. I scrolled down to read about the ¡®number one¡¯ Amarillo motorcycle brand and how they were big two-wheeled machines, but they didn''t look like the one that passed us. They were more like large smoking chairs on wheels and had a style that didn''t speak to me in any way. Too much brightwork like they were designed to impress rather than do what I¡¯d seen.


    ¡°What was the one that passed us?¡± I asked, navigating my way through a constantly shifting website like a ship captain in a storm.


    ¡°Some Elven bike most likely.¡± Caleb shrugged. ¡°Maybe a Stephenson? Montclair?¡±


    I tapped the top of the screen like instructed and wrote down Elven Motorcycles, since I didn''t know how to spell the names, and a few different manufacturers showed up. ¡°Is there a way to hear what they sound like?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Caleb laughed.


    I followed Caleb¡¯s tutelage on how to go between the different areas of the smartphone and found myself on a strange website dedicated to showing off all the latest moving pictures about, well, everything! On the app¡¯s home page were videos on ghost hunters looking in old houses for ghosts and asking about the origins of vampires. He likewise showed me how to search the app and cross referenced the different motorcycle manufacturers while we made our way downtown.


    The world was lost to me as I absorbed the moving pictures from a rider¡¯s perspective of them flying down the highway, or moving through a city full of so many blinding lights it was beautiful. Even one where it was a person going full gallop through a canyon in the daytime.


    I smiled at the moving pictures and leaned back in the seat to watch. I hadn''t seen the sun or daytime in so long that I forgot what the world looked like during the day. The countryside was so beautiful, but so strange when the rider leaned into one turn and two suns blinded them! My inner darkness was strangely quiet about the suns. As if it, too, knew that it was just a picture and not the real suns. Two suns, chunks of two planets floating in the sky¡­ what the hell happened while I was asleep? Just how much destruction did the elves bring to our world and why? Something to find out for later.

 Chapter 3: Encinars Council

    Chapter 3: Encinar''s Council


    ¡°We''re here,¡± Caleb said.


    I looked up at the old peaked building of Encinar¡¯s original courthouse that I helped design. Thick edges, oppressive styling and all to remind me that I was so far out of time that someone would have written a tale about it. Which made me wonder who the ruling vampire was now that I was gone.


    I gave the elf her phone back and climbed down out of the van with Caleb¡¯s help, and then walked my way up the steps, attempting to recall the last time I''d been in the building, but couldn''t remember anything as my head swam with the sky being shattered. Even the land that once was California was broken apart with an inland sea of actual water and dams prevented the bay from flooding too badly. Everything floated on strange clouds that acted like a sea.


    I pushed open the large double doors and walked inside an open air atrium. Steps led to the second floor, while signs directed you to the courtroom or to the vampire council.


    To be so bold as to have it on full display was unheard of only a day ago. Well, day for me.


    Quite a large mixture of elves and humans, and even shorter people, waited in line for a pair of silver doors leading somewhere I didn''t care to look. Caleb took his place in line with the throng of people while I headed for the stairs. My boots clacked against the marble floor as I walked past blood sacks and vampires, drawing the attention of a few who stared wide eyed at me.


    Some murmured to themselves about my attire, one whispered that I looked familiar, others whispered about how it looked like I just walked out of the desert and my hair was sunbleached silver-white.


    What of it?


    That was one downside to the gift of unlife my sire bestowed upon me. Bad with technology seemed to be another if that smartphone was anything to go by. Sure, my sire gave me the kiss of death when I wasn''t in my prime, but she said it would fix my problems and it did. And I¡¯d do it again in a proverbial heartbeat.


    I passed by a sign warning vampires that wait times may be slow and coming in after four in the morning meant they will likely have to stay the day in a shelter down below. At least they are still accommodating.


    Do all places run day and night now, or was it just the city hall? And where is the human council?


    I wandered down the stairs, lifting my dress up just slightly so as to not trip and made it to the basement before Caleb even arrived through a matching silver door.


    It was cold, brightly lit, and smelled far too musty to be considered pleasant. Moldy more like it. An office waiting room greeted me along with a red-eyed elf woman behind glass sharpening her nails to look more akin to claws than nails. Her pale features were made even more apparent by dark makeup on her face. Unnaturally dark-hair marked her as someone who wanted to look the part of a vampire without being one. I approached the imitation vampire and her beating heart confirmed my suspicion about her being alive.


    I am just another visitor to her. Odd.


    She set the nail file down and looked at me. ¡°Can I help you?¡± her voice was musical and soft, but also oh so very bored.


    ¡°I would like to speak with the Mayor.¡± My eyes were drawn to her highly exposed neck where her heart pumped blood through all the important veins. With how pale her skin was, it didn''t take much to see the dark blue rivers beneath the thin outer layer, carrying juicy life blood to her brain.


    ¡°They''re not in today.¡± The blood sack shook her head. ¡°Come back tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°How are your eyes red when you''re still alive?¡± I asked. As far as I was aware, only the Empress and her descendants were mortals with red eyes and no reflections.


    ¡°Cosmetics, duh?¡± She rolled her unnatural eyes at me, adding, ¡°Old people.¡± Her attire was something no respectable lady would wear in my day, as it was akin to undergarments more than clothing! Much like Jezebel.


    Do all elves dress this way?


    ¡°Now you listen here, you macaroni trollop!¡± I began as I pointed a finger at her. ¡°I can see straight through your makeup and I will not be treated this way. You do not know who you are talking to.¡±


    ¡°There you are!¡± Caleb shouted across the room, voice echoing. He ran over and waved a hand in my direction. ¡°Sorry! She just woke up.¡±


    The receptionist held a bored hand out, palm up and shiny nails down. ¡°System License?¡±


    ¡°I''ve never heard of anyone needing a ¡®System License¡¯ to be a vampire.¡±


    ¡°Then fill this out.¡± She set a clipboard on the windowsill and set some papers in it, shoving it under the glass toward me. ¡°Vampire application form.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already a vampire, blood sack.¡± I placed my hands on my hips.


    ¡°If you don''t have a System License then you need to fill out an application even if you¡¯re already a vampire.¡± She placed a fountain pen to a line asking for the date I was embraced. ¡°Just put in the year if you don''t remember the exact¡ª¡±


    ¡°April ninth, Seventeen sixty-five,¡± I said and waved toward the glass between us. ¡°I still remember the clouds turning the sky a beautiful red and orange over Port Royale for my final sunset.¡±


    ¡°Seventeen sixty-five?¡± the receptionist parroted in her bored tone. Her eyebrow raised at me as if she did not believe my own words.


    I nodded. ¡°Correct. A year after the start of a small skirmish between Nassau and Britain when King George saw fit to ¡®gift¡¯ the Empress a cannonball through her foyer. A skirmish in which I was so embroiled to fight in for my own reasons.¡±


    ¡°And your name is¡­?¡±


    ¡°Cassandra von Colterville, First Mayor of Encinar, California. I wish to speak with the Mayor about just what in the devil has happened to my city!¡±


    The blood sack closed her mouth and nodded slowly. ¡°Well¡­ in that case, the Mayor is in their office, but busy.¡±


    ¡°If they are not available, then I would like to speak with the Lord or Lady of the City,¡± I said as I took the papers from her.


    ¡°Come back when you''re done filling that out, please. I¡¯ll send the Lady a message.¡±


    I took the paperwork over to an empty chair and sat down to fill it out. Basic information for the most part from my name to age to gender and who embraced me.


    I put deceased for my sire, because she told me to never speak of her to anyone, just as she never speaks of her sire, who never speaks of his sire, and so on. It was something we''ve done going as far back as the first in our line.


    As for an address, I asked Caleb and he told me roughly what the city assigned my house to have. Which was to say, none, so I put unknown.


    Once it was filled out, I went back to the receptionist and gave it to her. She waved for me to wait, so I waited.


    I watched more videos on Caleb¡¯s phone about the different motorcycles from each manufacturer and the different styles. With the road leading to my house being gravel and dirt, I might not want to use a street bike to traverse that. Maybe I¡¯ll have a barn built for them since my barn was destroyed.


    Then, I decided to search for information about vampires and technology, but the results said that vampires and elves invented computers, which I don''t remember. They also claimed a few other things but said nothing about vampires not working tech. Even Caleb¡¯s phone gave me trouble, despite him having no problem flicking through the screens and typing away with his fingers.


    I tried to find information about what happened to the world, but none of the years I input were working. They didn¡¯t come up because everything went off ¡®Before Collide¡¯ and ¡®After Collide¡¯. There was something about a wasteland, but it was all a frustrating experience and one better suited to a library than the Council Headquarters where people were far, far too noisy.


    Caleb bought us both canned imitation blood from a Blood Co. vending machine, as he called it, and gave me one can, showing me how to open the ice-cold drink. It snapped open, letting out a loud hiss of air. More Type O+ blood, which meant nothing to me. The paperwork even asked me what my blood type was when I was alive, but I didn¡¯t know what they meant and when I asked Caleb he just shrugged and said, ¡°Everyone has a different blood type.¡±


    Again, the drink was vile, but my hunger wouldn¡¯t stop gnawing at my fangs, telling them to sink into the nearest blood sack. I had to find a better source than canned horse manure.


    A human woman called my name, so I got up and followed her down a short hallway. Many different people sat at their desks doing something on their machines or reading paperwork. It was noisy, warmer than outside and felt odd to see humans and¡­ elves, and vampires working like they were. They all seemed to be equally stuck with paperwork. I got a strange feeling when I looked at one of the mortals. She had that ¡®look¡¯ about her that said she was hiding something in her desk, because she kept glancing around the room at the other workers, opening her drawer, and then looking around again. She was too far away to see what her heart was doing, but the way she bit her lip told me that she was worried about something.


    The vampire led me out of the main room and down a couple drab hallways until we came to a door with a woman¡¯s familiar name: Isabella. My sire¡¯s name¡­ That was interesting, because I thought she didn¡¯t want to play the political game. She said I was foolish for wanting to stay in one place and longed for the sea, always complaining that we should keep moving north since our contract with the Spaniards was done, but the ice flows of northern New France were far, far too cold for my liking. As a woman born in Europe, I was not a fan of the Great White North.


    The vampire knocked, breaking my thoughts and then entered, motioning for me to follow after her.


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    Inside wasn''t much larger than a bedroom in size with room for a desk, two chairs and a cabinet. Drab and boring grey walls greeted me, reminding me of how unnatural it was. What happened to wood for buildings? Soothing orchestral music played from somewhere in the room, reminding me of attending the opera not even a month ago. A small safe-like box sat tucked in the corner and hummed away.


    An unnaturally pink-haired woman in her mid-twenties sat behind the desk in a close cut gentleman¡¯s outfit. She sat up as soon as she saw me, adjusting her paperwork as her familiar pale-silver irises struck a chord within me. A memory from only a week ago where I had that same woman over for ¡®tea¡¯ one night and we talked until dawn while Amelia made sure our meal got home safely.


    Sire¡­


    Isabella waved at the other vampire and snapped her fingers, throwing her hand out again, wordlessly ordering them out of the room.


    The vampire bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.


    Isabella slowly leaned back in her chair and set a pair of well-worn black leather boots on the desk, tossing both arms wide. ¡°Look what the undertaker brought in!¡± She grinned.


    ¡°What happened to your hair?¡± It should be silver like mine. Without knowing the procedures in the current council, I wasn''t sure if Isabella wanted me to address her as sire or not, so I kept my mouth shut in case there were any ghostly listeners. Which could be a problem.


    ¡°I dye it with magic, child.¡± She placed her hands over her stomach before she got to her feet.


    ¡°Magic?¡± I blinked a few times. ¡°From who?¡±


    ¡°From me!¡± Isabella snapped her fingers once again, but this time her hair changed color and became a bright neon green. ¡°I picked Sorceress for my class. Managed to hit level sixty, too. Which is the class cap by the way.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I did soooo much grinding in the Wastelands.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± She can¡¯t be serious, can she? What did she mean by ¡®grinding¡¯? Grinding what? Two sticks together?!


    My sire walked around the desk, hand held out for me to take, but instead of shaking my hand, she pulled me into a tight hug that would have constricted my breathing when I was a mortal. It was like everything over the last hour or two suddenly didn¡¯t matter. There was a bastion of light holding me and keeping the darkness at bay.


    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you,¡± she whispered in my ear.


    I let my body relax into her hug and returned it, feeling the unfamiliar ice-cold blood running from my eyes. Seriously, who drinks ice-cold blood?


    ¡°What happened to the world? It''s changed so, so much, sire.¡± The unbeating heart in my chest leapt for joy at the hug and thumped once, spurring the fake blood to move throughout my body, making me feel warm for just a moment.


    ¡°The elves went mad with two wars and humans were caught in between. We couldn¡¯t hide any longer, child. Lord Halifax keeps us safe now.¡±


    ¡°I have nothing. Amelia¡¯s a ghost and¡­ and there were people in my house. They brought me here.¡±


    Her hands patted my back and I felt the dark cloud dissipating once again. Everything would work out now that she is here. ¡°Look at you!¡± she exclaimed and continued, ¡°You¡¯re absolutely famished! Come, child, let¡¯s get you a proper meal.¡±


    Fresh?!


    My eyes lit up in anticipation as I let go of the hug and nodded to her. Then the feeling came crashing down when she walked over to the safe and opened it.


    Isabella pulled a clear bag of blood out and tossed it to me, saying, ¡°The good stuff. Not the manufactured bullshit.¡±


    I caught it, sinking my fangs into the warm bag before she finished speaking. True to her word, it was actual human blood and not animal or the manufactured manure Caleb kept giving me. Filling, tasteful and exploded in my mouth with all the joy of drinking from my first mortal. Vastly Superior to the canned stuff. My eyes rolled back as I savored the bag, looking like a fledgling fool to my sire, but I didn¡¯t care.


    Two hundred years asleep without blood would make anyone feel like a fledgling again.


    Isabella stepped forward to offer her wrist once the bag was empty. I took it, biting as gently as I could and drank deep from my sire¡¯s juicy lifeblood. Her familiar energy flowed through me, sending my unbeating heart into a frenzy of drum beats for just a moment.


    Her hand caressed my side before moving to my back where she let it linger. She stepped closer until there was only a few inches between us. I at my sire''s pale eyes and her small smile. She leaned in close to my neck, so I cocked my head to expose it further. I could see her eyes hungered for blood I didn¡¯t have. She stepped away, but let me drink more of her warm, stolen blood. Isabella ran her hand through my hair and patted my head. ¡°Take as much as you want,¡± she said. ¡°You really need it, trust me on this.¡±


    I drank enough to slake my hunger for the day, but not so much it¡¯d leave her defenseless. If she was in a council position then that meant she would need more blood than me. After I let go, I stepped back and reached for my handkerchief.


    She licked at the wound to seal it just as someone knocked on the door and asked, ¡°Lady Isabella?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Isabella called out.


    I was riding a high I hadn''t felt in a long time. My body practically glowed with energy and nothing could stop me from enjoying the warmth all over. My hunger was sated. For now, but like always, I wanted more. My inner demon was rarely satisfied with only drinking a little and always demanded it all. I dabbed my mouth clean, noting that my skin looked at least a bit passable for a very pale human rather than a withered corpse like earlier.


    ¡°The ThinGen vampire is here.¡± It sounded like the blood sack receptionist or the other, actual, vampire. I couldn¡¯t be sure, because they both sounded equally bored as if it came with the job.


    Isabella motioned for me to be silent, pointing at the bag on the ground and then the trash bin. I threw it away along with a few other items from her desk before taking my seat like nothing was odd. The same song and dance as always. I didn''t know her and neither did she know me.


    Isabella cracked open a can of blood and gave it to me to cover up the empty bag¡¯s scent, followed by taking one for herself. She took a long gulp then set the can on the desk before finally opening the door for the newcomer. Caleb strode into the room, eyes wide as if he¡¯d never seen the office before. It was just a lowly room and I didn''t see his concern.


    ¡°You wanted to speak with me?¡± he asked with a bow.


    ¡°I did, yes,¡± Isabella said and closed the door in the receptionist¡¯s face. My sire walked over to the desk to give Caleb a thick envelope from her coat. ¡°Your payment,¡± she added.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am? I don''t understand.¡± Caleb grabbed the envelope and counted it right there on the spot, glanced at me for a moment and then my sire.


    The canned blood was not as revolting as I thought it was going to be, considering the ones Caleb was buying were about as disgusting as animal blood. If not worse. The label for the new can was SymCo BloodWorks. Type O- Sweet Blood. For all your late night pick me ups. Naturally sweetened and the best imitation blood money can buy.


    What is with those darned blood types? I should ask Isabella when Caleb leaves.


    Isabella chuckled. She smiled that same smile I remembered when she knew something I didn''t.


    It¡¯s going to be a long night, isn''t it?


    As if hearing my thoughts, and she likely did, because I felt her presence poking at my mind. She patted me on the back, dipping her head low in a nod as she kept her eyes on the other vampire. ¡°Thank you for delivering my child to me.¡±


    Caleb slowly blinked twice, echoing my own thoughts. I wasn''t sure if it was shock or unholy terror that crossed his face when he again looked down at me.


    Hee gulped. ¡°Y-your child, my Lady? She looks far older than you!¡±


    Gee, thanks.


    I didn''t understand why she revealed we were blood kin to this lowly random vampire, but she had to have a reason. And one I didn''t fully comprehend. It was clear that time passed from when I went to sleep, because she just broke the first rule she set between us and she was working a council job when she hated the idea before. Feigning ignorance about my sire was something I became accustomed to when dealing with vampires over the decades, because you never knew who would try and leverage one or the other. And we weren''t exactly castle going types.


    Keeping to the dusty trails and robbing coaches in the night was our game.


    I took another sip of the canned blood and watched it all unfold.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Isabella nodded, patting my shoulder, breaking me from my thoughts of only earlier this year. ¡°She is my child and I am her senior by a good two hundred years. You''re a ThinGen creation, correct?¡±


    Caleb finally pocketed the envelope and wrung his hands together. ¡°Yes, Lady Isabella.¡± He glanced down at the floor and backed up, biting his lip about something. I could have sworn he was shaking like a mortal.


    I looked between Isabella and Caleb for a moment and scratched my head, trying to figure out the implications of the conversation. Caleb was acting as if¡­ ¡°You don''t know your sire?¡± I asked him before taking another sip of my drink.


    He shook his head and practically bowed once more to our presence. Something I didn''t fully understand, but chalked up to Isabella exuding a powerful aura as if she were trying to make him feel insignificant in our presence. Even if she didn''t, her half-upturned nose and narrowed eyes seemed to do the same thing.


    ¡°It¡¯s all mechanical now, child. They go in a dark room, get embraced by a vampire, and leave.¡±


    Caleb nodded slowly, gulping. ¡°I drank a serum and it turned me into a vampire. I didn¡¯t want to die¡­¡±


    My nose wrinkled. To not belong to one of the many wonderful houses must feel terrible for the boy. And to drink an alchemical potion to take the embrace rather than a loving kiss? That sounded horrible. I shifted in my chair, placing my hands in my lap as I pulled my feet under the chair legs, crossing them at the ankle. Then pointed at Caleb and looked at Isabella. ¡°Does he even have any powers?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s lucky to have fangs with how weak his blood is. Now, can you give my child a ride to a hotel? I¡¯ll pay you handsomely for it.¡± She pulled another envelope out from the fold of her coat and offered it to Caleb.


    He took it and nodded to me. ¡°Y-yes, I can.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡± I sat upright in the chair and twisted around to look at Isabella. My eyebrows furrowed, as I¡¯d never heard of a hotel.


    ¡°Think of an inn, but more classy.¡± Isabella gave my shoulder a soft squeeze and then let go. She twirled around and walked toward the door, opening it for Caleb.


    ¡°But I like my house.¡± I frowned up at my sire. Even if the house was falling apart it was still mine and I¡¯d rebuild it.


    ¡°Hun, a dark crypt under your rotting basement is so last century! But, if you insist on staying there then I¡¯ll have this fledgling take you home.¡±


    I glanced at the safe, but Isabella¡¯s finger snap snagged my attention back to her. Her index finger moved ever so slightly from side to side before she dipped her head low and threw the same hand to the hallway in one swift motion. Not enough that I reckon the ThinGen would notice, but enough I did, as I knew all her subtle hints. There would be no more feeding from her stash tonight. She was done with the conversation and pressing the matter further would only annoy her.


    And annoying Isabella was bad. She¡¯d be liable to tie you to a cannon and shove you into the sea for a few years.


    *** ***


    Caleb was fairly quiet on the ride to my humble, rotting, abode. He only handed out money to each member and then handed me a hundred dollars according to the funny money bill. I didn''t doubt the authenticity coming from my sire, but the bill was strange enough with System Credits on it rather than the Encinar Gold Reserve. Just how useful these company credits were compared to gold was something I didn¡¯t ask the fledgling or his¡­ ¡®friends¡¯. I merely folded the funny money and stuffed it in a pocket on my dusty old dress.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Jezebel asked Caleb as we were passed by a fairly large coach pulling an enclosed wagon that looked like a long box.


    ¡°That is a large coach,¡± I said quietly.


    The driver snorted. ¡°It''s a semi-truck. Hauls cargo anywhere in the Shard. The drivers are assholes.¡±


    ¡°Marvelous.¡± My voice stayed quiet as I twirled a finger around my silver hair and watched the lumbering beast pass us by. It was beautifully decorated with so many amber lights I lost count at a hundred. Every corner on the vehicle and even the ground around it was illuminated in a soft amber glow, giving it a sort of floating look as the wagon rumbled on into the night.


    ¡°What do you mean she paid you?¡± Jezebel looked between Caleb and I for a few moments. ¡°For taking her to the council?¡± I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about, but I pushed it aside and focused on the city¡¯s nightlife for a short time until the woman spoke again. ¡°One of Encinar¡¯s nobles gave you two thousand credits just like that?! We weren''t even on a Quest for her!¡± Her voice was low enough that the men in the front didn''t hear her, but I did.


    I sighed even though I didn''t need to. Was just a natural reaction I kept up for appearances in higher mortal circles. It helped sometimes, but not always.


    Caleb nodded. ¡°A thousand for finding her and a thousand for taking her home.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s like three good ghost hunts!¡± the woman exclaimed. She leaned around Caleb and eyed me up and down. ¡°Are you a famous vampire from the old days?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± I shook my head, then gave Caleb a knowing look that he better keep his mouth shut. ¡°I helped found Encinar, but not much else.¡±


    The elf woman waited for me to elaborate and realized I wasn''t going to. She then smiled at Caleb. ¡°Hey. I have an idea. What if we interview her for the internet?¡±


    An interview?! When Hell freezes over! ¡°I¡¯m not an attention seeker.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Caleb blinked at me.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose and slowly shook my head from side to side. Fledglings.


    The van rode on late into the night, reminding me of the old days when my sire and I would race to our hideouts before dawn when on the road, hoping to beat the first light before we burned to a crisp just because it took longer for the stagecoach to show up than we thought. Only now, we can travel much further in the night, which meant there were far more targets than before.


    I wonder if she wants to rob a train?


    I rubbed my chin at the idea. It sounded good, but I didn''t know if she wanted to. Trains were difficult compared to coaches. Always too many unruly passengers on a train wanting to shoot back and you had to plan them in detail and be prepared to throw the plan out the window as soon as the first blood sack talked back. My eyes fell upon another semi-truck as it passed by. Another prey perhaps.


    ¡°Caleb?¡± I inquired. ¡°Do those semi-truck¡¯s have one driver and one rider? I see a large box behind the doors.¡±


    He explained that they typically ride alone with just one person sleeping inside at the end of the day and the ones with more than one typically drive while the other driver sleeps.


    If they slept during the night then it''d be easy to find one on the side of the road and break open the cargo box, but what did they haul?


    Best not to ask too many questions from one source.


    The rest of the ride was spent in silence and it didn''t take us too much longer to reach my dilapidated house. It was in a sad sorry state in comparison to the much more grand Encinar. The roof was caved in and open in some parts with clear signs of charring on the wood like it was burned at one time.


    Amelia¡¯s ghost greeted us at the open door and floated close, giving me a frigid hug. I tried to hug back without going through her. She pointed toward the east. ¡°Quick! Both of you!¡±


    Pre-dawn light illuminated the sky with a fiery glow, reminding me I only had minutes to get inside before I burst into flames. I opened the door for Caleb and led him downstairs, apologizing for wasting his night but now he¡¯ll have to stay and hopefully his friends understood the situation. He followed me through the house to the basement and then to my sheltered room with Amelia rushing ahead to throw open the downstairs door for us.


    I didn''t make it to the coffin and collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, my world becoming black once again.

 Chapter 4: A New Moon

    Chapter 4: A New Moon


    Thank you for applying to the System. Your application has been accepted, however, due to the length of your torpor, some of your physical abilities have diminished over time. With practice, they will come back to their original state. Keep in mind that skills do fade and it is not advised to allow fading too often.


    Your previous experiences with the Nassau Empire have granted you Vampire Level fifty-five. Please take a moment to choose your starting class when it is safe to access the codex.


    The message went on and on across my thoughts as my eyes snapped open. My coffin¡¯s plush interior greeted me rather than the hard floor I expected to find.


    ¡°Amelia?!¡± I called out while the message covered my vision with stats like Mind, Body, and even Health. All meaningless to me without knowing their purpose!


    I shoved the lid away and stumbled out, glancing around my hidden chambers as I called for her again. Reaching at the air did nothing to abade the message.


    Caleb and Amelia weren''t in the room. Perhaps the fledgling was already upstairs. However, my sire leaned against the wall in a form-fit leather suit underneath a dark leather duster and wide hat.


    ¡°Help!¡± I reached for her, eyes wide at the messages making it hard to see, falling to my knees. ¡°What do I do?!¡±


    She tipped her hat to me and smiled. ¡°Good evening, child.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see, sire.¡±


    ¡°Focus on the message and will it away. I believe you can do it.¡±


    I nodded right as it asked me to pick a class and began listing everything in existence from a simple merchant to a politician, to a mechanic, ship captain and various combat types.


    With a small thought and staring hard into the wall, the message vanished from my sight, leaving me alone with my sire and relief washing over me. My chest expanded as I involuntarily inhaled again, nodding to Isabella.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Anytime. Now, don¡¯t forget to pick a class. They are useful for more than just pretty numbers.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡± I asked, looking around the room for any blood offerings or even that canned junk. Maybe a human? My fangs ached for blood like I was a darned fledgling again.


    ¡°Forty minutes after sunset. Was on my way to work and thought I¡¯d stop by to see if you wanted a ride.¡± Isabella smiled at me.


    ¡°To where?¡± I cocked my head to the side. She had to be playing a game of some kind, but I wasn¡¯t sure what, because my sire always had a plan going on. If it wasn¡¯t trying to assassinate another vampire, it was trying to rob a stagecoach or swindle some money from drunken card players. Or capture a ship.


    She pushed herself off the wall and picked a fairly large helmet off the floor, and held it in the crook of her arm. ¡°Come, I¡¯m buying you a new age horse.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± I smiled at the idea of owning a magnificent animal once again. One who would come to my aid and carry me until the end of time. Unless she meant a motorcycle. Then that was even better! I could tell her about the one I wanted to buy.


    ¡°Truly.¡± She nodded.


    I walked toward her, my eyes looking at the empty bowl near my coffin, causing me to look around and call out for Amelia.


    Isabella placed a hand on my shoulder and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± her voice trailed off and held no joy to it. Only a deep regret in those two words I never heard her utter toward anyone in the near hundred years we were together.


    I worked my mouth trying to come up with a reply, but nothing came of it aside from a small croak. Not even a syllable.


    A deep frown crossed her lips. She couldn''t even look me in the eye as she spoke. ¡°It''s my fault. I was riding Bobbette as hard as I could to warn you, but the house was ablaze by the time I arrived and Amelia¡­ was gone. I buried her on the hill in her favorite spot and looked for any sign you were unalive. I spent hours until hunters showed up to steal the rest of your effects. They weren''t expecting anyone on account of them thinking they killed the vampire.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Amelia said she was you¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡± I blinked at her story. It didn''t make sense.


    ¡°She loved you more than anyone, even before you made her your retainer. I suspect it is why she is still hangin¡¯ around. And as for them hunters? I tracked the ones that killed her and made examples of them.¡± Isabella gave my shoulder a soft squeeze and a light rub.


    It was something, I supposed, but the thought of her lying about who she was, was odd.


    Isabella let my shoulder go as she stepped away and scanned the stone room. Her hands tightened around the large helmet, rotating it in place. ¡°You were already awake about three days after the house stopped burning. I found you stumbling around a couple of fresh corpses callin¡¯ out for her.¡±


    ¡°I did?¡± I blinked at her, stumbling back as I held the side of my head trying to recall if I did or didn''t. There, in the dark recesses of my mind was an image of my sire''s face looking quite sad as she hugged me and broke the news, but I felt numb to it all. As if I were merely watching it play out and the emotions were long dead. Words lost to time floated out from her lips as I punched the woman hard enough to send her through the barn wall.


    I shook my head, trying to bury the memory before it broke the dam.


    ¡°Hey, grandma!¡± Caleb shouted down the stairs, causing me to frown. ¡°I, uh, got you fresh food?¡±


    ¡°I ain''t your grandmother!¡± I called back to him.


    Isabella snorted. ¡°Get used to it. Fledglings these days ain''t exactly respectable. Look, I came here to warn you. They''re gonna make you a social media clown, but it''s up to you if ya wanna do it.¡±


    My arched eyebrow was all she needed to rub her forehead.


    She explained it was a place where people from around the continents got together to watch people be idiots. ¡°Now, before you go up there, remember: We don''t know each other to the common rabble, your sire did a turn and run, and I¡¯m just an old friend.¡± She glanced up the stairwell before slipping something heavy into my pocket and whispering in my ear, ¡°I¡¯ll see you up top.¡±


    My sire tipped her hat and shadows wrapped her like a blanket before hiding her from sight. Her favorite parlor trick and one of mine.


    I walked up the stairs without her, feeling the object in my pocket, but not taking it out, and recognized the shape of a smartphone. It was unlike anything I ever held before yesterday. I supposed it could be a tiny Bible but it was heavier than that and didn¡¯t have the paper feel.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    At the top of the stairs, I found someone had cleared out a large area of the basement and packed my things in new boxes made of a thin paper-like material. A lot of good that¡¯d do when everything in there was likely gone anyway.


    The blood sacks and Caleb were outside the house near their van with a few chairs clustered around equipment I couldn¡¯t recognize. Amelia floated around them poking and prodding at the uncomfortable looking cloth chairs. Her glow was the brightest thing there next to a few large and highly focused lanterns all aimed in the center of the circle where two chairs sat.


    They were really going all in on the interview and I didn''t know why. There was nothing special about me.


    Caleb stood nearby, holding a hand out toward another woman who looked beyond nervous. She couldn''t even give me the courtesy of looking at me, her head tilted to the side in a way that would expose her neck.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± I asked them. Her heartbeat pounded in my head while my fangs ached to dig in. I wanted to let them, for it felt like it had been centuries since I last tasted hot mortal blood.


    She stuttered, ¡°Do¡­ um, do you w-want to drink my blood?¡±


    They had no less than two cameras aimed right at the newcomer with Caleb''s partner aiming one right at me.


    It took all my remaining strength to tear my eyes from the woman and shoot Caleb a glare. ¡°Are you a court jester?¡± I asked.


    He blinked at me and stepped back. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You just want to use me for your game, don''t you? You want to use my lack of knowledge and make a spectacle of me for the whole world to see. Well, young fledgling, I am disinclined to be your spectacle.¡±


    I wheeled around in the gravel and walked off, my feet crunching grass and dirt alike as I left the group behind, despite them calling out for me to wait.


    Caleb rushed up behind me, asking, ¡°What''s wrong?! She agreed to do it!¡±


    ¡°I refuse to drink someone on camera!¡±


    ¡°What, why?¡±


    ¡°That goes against everything I was taught.¡±


    Hide who you are. Lurk in the shadows. Don''t let them see your true nature or they¡¯d kill you. Humans are panicky in groups, much like a herd of animals. Alone, like Amelia, they are fine, but in groups? No.


    Deep in the back of my mind, my hunger growled at me to go back and drink from the offering. There was a willing blood sack back there. Those canned drinks were water and did absolutely nothing for my thirst. I knew I was drinking ¡®blood¡¯, my body absorbed it, but it wanted fresh. It wanted warm and straight from the source. Not whatever in the devil that canned crap was.


    A faint rumble from near the barn drew my attention and I went over to behind it where I saw my sire sitting hunched over a dark blue motorcycle like the one I had first seen flying down the highway. No markings, a Westcal number plate tucked close to the back and within easy reach if she leaned to the side. Her helmet was on now and made it impossible to see her face. A pair of saddlebags sat on either side of the seat much like a horse. And just like a living animal, the Liquid Crystalized Magic engine breathed and wanted to run free. It couldn''t wait any longer. Up close, a motorcycle¡¯s engine was an odd thing. It had blue glowing piping running from the fuel tank near my sire¡¯s crotch down to the engine. The exhaust it put out smelled like blueberries.


    She lifted a boot up, and smacked a pedal down with a metallic click. Then glanced over her shoulder at me, lifting her visor up where her glittering silver eyes were the only thing I could see in the dark. ¡°I¡¯d give you a ride,¡± Isabella said to me, voice muffled by the helmet, "But that dress don''t work with a bike." She pointed to a saddlebag. ¡°There''s some pants and a leather jacket in there.¡±


    Caleb frowned. ¡°So you were warned,¡± was all he said at first, and then he nodded. Worry took over his face, but I wasn''t sure if it was for me or his group not getting what they wanted.


    ¡°Caleb,¡± I began and motioned at my sire, adding, ¡°Being a vampire is far more than having fangs and drinking blood. I was born into a vastly different world than you. Back when my house still stood proud, mortals hunted us if they knew the truth. For you, that happened hundreds of years ago. For me, that was just yesterday. Give me time to adjust and I''ll tell my story.¡±


    ¡°I w-want to know,¡± he said softly, red eyes looking down at the ground. ¡°I never¡­ I never¡­¡± his shaky voice trailed off, but the gist was clear. He never drank from a mortal before and had no idea what it was like or how it even looked like. Much like those terribly tasting cans, his existence as a vampire was hollow. His blood did absolutely nothing for his powers. Caleb was just a Merchant after all. Not someone like my sire or I who could duel men or command ships.


    ¡°Meet me here tomorrow," I replied and then looked at my sire. "Alone."


    Isabella nodded firmly. ¡°No cameras, no mortals. Just like the old days.¡±


    Caleb ran off, leaving me to get changed for the ride.


    Isabella had brought me loose fit trousers, a blouse and a thick leather jacket inside her bags. She told me what not to do on the back of the ¡®bike¡¯ and took off into the night. It was much like riding on a horse. Only far, far, faster and the turns were just like I thought.


    *** ***


    We spent the better half of the night going through a couple different motorcycle dealerships with Isabella helping me out on how to ride a motorcycle, so I could take them for a small spin around the block to get a feel for how they rode. I was nervous, but trusted her word on how things worked. Easiest ones to ride were the scooters: A brown Stephenson NF3, a Huskar 50, and Montclair XC3. The Huskar was the slowest with the XC3 being the fastest and most comfortable.


    Others, like smaller versions of my sire¡¯s, were a bit more complicated, but easy enough to get a hang of even with a big fat zero in motorcycle riding skill. I managed to hit level one by the time I finished the fourth lap around the block.


    My sire wouldn''t let me buy anything bigger than the 300cc bikes, so I had her buy the Montclair XC3 due to all the storage space. Even more if I added saddlebags to it like her motorcycle had.


    I managed to ¡®bluescreen¡¯ the device they wanted me to sign paperwork on by simply touching it, which annoyed the salesman, because he had to then print everything out and manually sign it. I didn''t see a problem with it, but it meant that he would be there later into the night.


    While waiting on the blood sacks to process all the paperwork and prep the machine, I asked my sire about the social media websites so I could look at them and she told me about a website where people posted pictures of everything from food to sunsets. She showed me how to make an account there and the first thing I did was look for pictures of Encinar in the daytime. It looked considerably less beautiful than at night and there was even a new town in what used to be California. One that managed to go beyond any expectation with all the light displays and fancy hotels.


    I leaned to the side, tugging on my sire¡¯s leather jacket as I pointed at the phone. ¡°We should go here one day.¡±


    ¡°To Vegas?¡± Isabella raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°That¡¯s through the Mojave Wasteland.¡±


    I nodded so fast my head damn near came off my neck!


    Isabella patted me on the shoulder and chuckled. ¡°One night. One night. How about after you get settled in, leveled up, and figure out what to do with Amelia?¡±


    She gingerly took the phone from me and dug around the video application for a few long moments until she set the phone back in my lap. There on the screen was an image from Antwerp according to the tag. It looked vaguely similar, but again, vastly different to what I remembered, and with obvious reasons. I remember it burning and reduced to ruin, but couldn''t recall the year. Bland compared to Vegas, or even a place called Nalia over on another shard my sire called Ventros, but still. It was nice to see my hometown still around.


    I used the stylus to watch a video on Nalia where they had words and images on the side of buildings. So many elves, half-elves and humans all spoke a language I didn¡¯t know and one thing stood out among all others: It¡¯d be terrible to hunt in that city with how much light there was. I did see one person in the crowd that wasn¡¯t fully there. A shade almost. Like a smudge on a painting.


    I pointed them out to my sire. ¡°Is this what I look like in photos?¡±


    Isabella nodded. ¡°It''s how I look, too. Kind of a good and bad thing. The average person won''t know the difference and assume it''s an artifact. The inquisition? They''ll know. There''s a reason I didn''t head straight here. Had to be sure we weren''t bein¡¯ followed.¡±


    I glanced around the nearly empty office, keeping my voice low as I asked, ¡°They''re still a threat?¡±


    Isabella nodded, leaning in and covered her mouth like she were yawning. ¡°Just in different ways. What Caleb did was highly illegal and not something you can upload to the legit internet. Our dragon overlords don¡¯t like us drinking from living mortals.¡±


    ¡°Dragons?¡± I asked.


    My sire nodded. ¡°Dragons. They rule the Shards like kings of old. Lord Halifax allows us to exist where other dragons would hunt us down.¡±


    ¡°Well, nothing¡¯s changed then regarding that.¡± I expected feeding from someone was frowned upon with how prolific that nasty imitation blood was. They even had a vending machine setup with one low end brand that tasted about as good as smacking your face into the wall. It still kept thinking back to that woman who tried to throw herself under my fangs. She was so scared, yet so sure about me drinking her blood.


    I glanced at Isabella and smiled, barely moving my lips as I whispered, ¡°Can we¡­?¡± She didn¡¯t need the rest when I showed her my fangs.


    Isabella held a finger to her lips, flicking her head in the direction of a corner where I didn''t see anything unusual at first. Until I noticed a small dark nipple hanging down from the ceiling. She had mentioned cameras were sneaky, but to look like that was not something I expected.


    *** ***


    After buying a helmet, jacket, and gloves, I hopped on the scooter and rode into the night, finding out pretty quickly that I had to have a glove between electronic devices and I or they didn''t like it.


    Isabella had me follow her out to a large empty parking lot the daywalkers used for shopping, so I could practice low speed maneuvers and stopping. We did this for a few hours: U-turns, figure eights, weaving in and out of cones her retainer Harlow set up before we got there.


    Not once did she let me use her motorcycle aside from sitting on it to see how it felt, which is to say, like a well broken in shoe considering we were close to the same height. It had that hunched forward position to it like you were trying to go fast just sitting there. She explained that the motorcycle was capable of reaching two hundred miles an hour!


    My eyes widened at her. ¡°Two hundred miles an hour?! What''s your riding skill?¡± I checked mine by focusing my thoughts on the system interface and seeing that I was almost level five in scooter riding. I''d have to ask her about how fast the levels worked another day.


    ¡°Close to a hundred.¡± She smiled. Then threw a hand in the direction of the city behind her. ¡°C, I¡¯ve been riding since I bought my first motorcycle in ninety-nine. Only my retainers own cars.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s not maxed out?¡± I asked the obvious. It was only prudent to know the details on how the system worked.


    ¡°Because I''ve been lazy these last two decades and the skill regressed. This is the first time I''ve ridden two days in a row in a long while.¡±


    ¡°So you''ve gone soft.¡± It was an observation more than a question and she knew it, because she nodded and waved to her retainer to come clean up the cones.


    She explained that while vampires were allowed to openly talk about being vampires, talking directly about certain activities was frowned upon and authorities may be listening in. We were to use older lingo we had come up with ¡®back in the day¡¯ to talk about them.


    Back in the day? Like last week?


    We got on our motorcycles and rode out again, leaving the parking lot behind. My sire led me home. Something about the traffic would be starting in a few hours and we had to beat it, because it could be brutal on a Monday. She¡¯d teach me about its patterns another day, but now she had to get home and wanted to keep varying our speeds with the back roads and non-highways. Something about breaking in the engine.


    It was just dandy. Taking the roads at a leisurely pace and riding with my sire again. She never once zoomed off or left my sight on the ride home. When I was behind her, I noticed the license plate swinging and shifting with each bump in the road. And there were many bumps. I wondered the purpose until it hit me like a bag of bricks. Isabella could hide her number plate if she were doing something the sheriff didn''t like.


    I wondered if I could rig mine to do that and tried to look at it, but thought the better of it while riding. It was best to ask Amelia when I got home.

 Chapter 5: A New Age Wagon

    Chapter 5: A New Age Wagon


    It was still two hours to dawn when Isabella rode off, leaving me at my dilapidated house where I parked the scooter as far under the awning as possible. I could have pulled it inside and likely would when rain comes.


    Amelia¡¯s giggle made me turn around as I pulled the full-face helmet off my head, my silver hair going wild in whichever direction it pleased.


    The woman floated two feet away from me, hands held in front of her waist like she was waiting for me to return for some time. That smile on her ghostly face made her appear excited to see me, even if the voids in her eyes were hard to read.


    ¡°What do we call him?¡± Amelia asked, floating close and patting the scooter with her glowing hand. Her face never changed from that coy, almost child-like smile at seeing such a machine.


    ¡°I don''t know. Do you think a scooter would care if it had a name or not?¡± I tilted my head as I tucked the light-colored helmet under my arm, my fresh jacket creaking softly with each movement.


    ¡°I think even machines deserve a name. They are just as alive as an animal and have feelings like one. This one feels ready for another ride, my love.¡±


    ¡°What year is it?¡± I asked her and stepped back just in case she was going to turn into a banshee again.


    ¡°2048 normal time. 219 according to the canned blood I found and the System Clock.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you''re a part of the System, too?!¡± I gasped, reaching out to turn her around but my hand went straight through the frigid woman, causing my fingers to go numb.


    She nodded slowly. ¡°I recall the night the world went dark. The night it went silent. The night I saw the sky for the first time in so long I wept.¡± Amelia fell back with her arms wide, slamming silently into the ground as she stared upward. The ghost reached for the sky as my mind worked over what she was going on about. ¡°I wept, for you were not at my side to witness its beauty,¡± she added.


    I locked the helmet under the scooter¡¯s seat so it¡¯d be safe from thieves during the day. Followed by reaching down for Amelia¡¯s hand. She locked her ghostly fingers with mine and I knelt next to her.


    ¡°I didn''t know,¡± I whispered. ¡°I tried to rouse when I heard screaming, but couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Someone sealed your coffin for two centuries and I didn''t know enough magic to unseal it...¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I sat next to her in the grass and pulled my hand away from hers in an attempt to lift the ghost off the ground. She followed me as I made my way over to the tree where she was buried.


    ¡°I cannot leave this place, so I do not know.¡± We sat down next to the tree with me leaning on it and her ghostly form resting her head on my opposite shoulder.


    Who could possess such an ability to seal a coffin for two centuries from the myriad of vampires and mortals that were my enemies? There were a few blood witches that could have been the culprit, but any vampire who had access to my lair would have staked me and any mortal would have dragged me into the sun.


    No, someone wanted me to remain unalive and wake up two centuries later. The cards weren¡¯t adding up. Especially with mages being more prevalent if my sire was one.


    I inclined my head toward Amelia. ¡°You said two centuries?¡±


    She nodded, her cold cheek brushing up against my riding jacket, seeping through the layers. ¡°Yes. The spell was exactly two hundred years to the second.¡±


    ¡°Something to look¡ª¡±


    A popup appeared in front of me, saying, New Quest! Find who sealed your coffin and why.


    ¡°Why did something appear in my face?¡±


    ¡°A quest! Like the old days, but now it automatically follows tracks them based on what you want most in the moment.¡± She leaned to the side away from me and giggled to herself. The ghost stretched her arms over her head. We both looked up at the shattered moon and chunks hanging there in the black sky. Strange, but beautiful at the same time. Now there was more to look at!


    ¡°I hate it,¡± I said, referencing the popup. ¡°It''s intrusive.¡±


    ¡°Wait until you start gaining credits for completing tasks or killing monsters. Then it becomes strange! I have sixty-five thousand credits and I don''t know what to do with them.¡±


    I focused on my system menu, looking to see what she meant. It showed my name, race, height and features, followed by my money with a hundred credits from Caleb and then¡­


    ¡°Five hundred thousand gold?!¡±


    ¡°I have that, too!¡± Amelia smiled at me and nodded. ¡°I think it is calculating the gold we had stored away in the treasury.¡±


    ¡°What''s it used for?¡± I reached out to tap the menu floating in front of me and made it disappear.


    ¡°Well¡­ a lot, really; Skipping timers, cosmetics, an alternate way of buying things.¡±


    Maybe I could ask Caleb and Isabella more about it. Thinking about the young vampire reminded me of tomorrow, so I outlined the plan to Amelia about him coming over to learn the basics of his vampire skills.


    She smiled and giggled. ¡°You finally have your own fledgling! I wondered when that''d happen.¡±


    I shook my head from side to side. ¡°He''s not my fledgling!¡±


    ¡°He is now, sire!¡±


    I groaned.


    Amelia clapped her hands together as she turned her head to look up at me. ¡°Have you picked your class?¡± she asked me.


    ¡°There are so many options I got overwhelmed the last time I checked. Isabella is a Sorceress.¡±


    Amelia shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s weird for me¡­ I don''t know about you, but it forced me into a tree seed back in nineteen and gave me options to plan out my root system with no class option. Only after I leveled up enough to have an avatar did it give me a class. I picked Hunter, but I''m a level ninety tree.¡±


    I laid down next to the ghost and turned my head to face her, smiling at the thought of her still wanting to fight vampires that came into our territory even though she was a ghost. It made me giggle at her. ¡°You don¡¯t need a class to hunt, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, but it would gave me powers! Now I can see animal tracks by using Track Animal, move silently through trees and take them down cleanly with Mercy Blow.¡±


    ¡°You could already do all that without even thinking,¡± I said and sat up, looking down at the ghost.


    She shrugged. ¡°Now I can actually see their path through the trees as a glowing line while my tree base acts like a return point if I am killed. Does your coffin work the same?¡±


    ¡°What happens if I pick Corsair?¡±


    ¡°Pirates are called Corsairs by the common rabble, as ¡®pirates¡¯ refer to wasteland scavengers. You get sword and gun abilities, I think. Maybe sailing?¡±


    ¡°Then I''m picking that.¡± I focused on the class select menu and found Corsair. Amelia said something, but I didn''t hear it as the System flooded my vision with words.


    You have selected Corsair for your class. Level 1 Corsair grants you Aimed Shot, Swift Strike, and Flourish.


    Activating Aimed Shot steadies your aim for up to 2 seconds on the rockiest of ships, allowing you to make record breaking shots. 30 second cooldown.


    Flourish is a passive ability that allows you to incorporate harmless tricks into your melee attacks with no penalty.


    Swift Strike is a passive ability that grants 3% faster attack speed with melee weapons. This includes Vampire Claws, cutlery, and tools.


    Confirm Corsair? Y/N.


    I told it No, because I wasn''t quite sure if I really wanted that class or what they did. Did I really need a System to tell me how to aim and fight? No, no I didn''t.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I dismissed the pop-up with a wave of my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll decide in a few days,¡± I said.


    Amelia sighed softly. ¡°Thank God! I was worried you were about to pick something without thinking again.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Not this time.¡±


    The System next asked if I wanted to look at the cosmetics shop, so I decided to browse through them and saw it was appearance related from looking like a vampire and a ghost. Even an elf and a new race called an orc. Dwarf and halfling were there but greyed out, as were dragons. Something about incompatible forms. There were other races I didn''t know how to pronounce and when I asked for the System to give me information about one, it was essentially a human with cat ears, a tail, and cat-like eyes, but that was the most expensive human-based option at 250,000 gold.


    I glanced over at Amelia, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Amelia, darling¡­ don''t take this the wrong way, but are you using a cosmetic right now?¡±


    She nodded slowly. ¡°Mhm. It suppresses my true appearance and makes me look like you see me. I have a human and half-orc, but I got bored of the half-orc five years ago.¡±


    At least she was honest with it, but she specifically said human cosmetic and Isabella said she buried Amelia before the Collide happened, which was well before the System even happened. That meant she truly was a ghost¡­ tree thing. I needed to find out more later.


    I asked, ¡°Your true appearance being the banshee I saw when you shrieked?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, My love, but that is how my spirit form was created. I do not know why when other trees have solid people made of bark.¡±


    Each full body cosmetic was a hundred thousand gold. ¡°A hundred thousand gold to make myself look like anything I want from this list?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Well, there was one way to find out, but that was a lot of gold to ¡®find out¡¯. I had to pick something that would be worth it. Half-orcs didn''t look appealing, since they had fangs showing all the time. Elf looked like a human with pointy ears, same as half-elf.


    I pushed the menu away with a soft sigh. ¡°Another time.¡±


    *** ***


    Amelia floated nearby early next evening, humming to herself again as she made sure the candles were completely lit and ready to go. Much like the other night, she had an offering ready for me. Only this time, it was canned blood rather than the rabbit¡¯s blood and I didn''t know where she acquired it from.


    Still, I took the can, cracked it open and sipped from it. An ache gnawed at my fangs, telling me it wasn''t sustenance and I needed to feed from a living mortal tonight. The canned blood was only a temporary solution to a larger problem.


    My hunger meter kept going up despite drinking the cans every night. Only did the plastic blood bag sate it for a short time. It was near maxed out in the stat sheet and I suspected that I only had one more night of clear thinking before the hunger took full control.


    ¡°Mistress?¡± Amelia asked, interrupting my thoughts. She floated over and managed to look worried even with voids for eyes. She offered me her neck, tilting her head to the side as she undid the cloth protecting her neck. As if drinking from a ghost would do anything. She had to know it was futile!


    ¡°I can''t.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°It''s okay. I can see you''re starving. And¡­ It''s been a while. I miss it.¡±


    I wanted to tell her the gesture was pointless and it''d do nothing for me, but I wouldn''t dare do that to her. She knew I didn''t like drinking from her, because it made me feel like I was using her as a handy meal, but my fangs wanted sustenance and thought for me.


    Being careful to not push my fingers through her ethereal form, I grabbed her shoulder with one hand, gently pushed my fingers against her neck with the other. Amelia followed to the same song and dance she remembered from before I made her my retainer.


    We traded services at one point; her tracking skills for a kiss. I never really understood why or how a vampire hunter wanted to be kissed by their prey, but hey. It was a mutual arrangement. Point her in a direction ahead of us and have Amelia sniff out the vampires while she secured places to sleep.


    My fangs dug into a cold nothing while I went through the motion of biting her glowing neck. She gasped as if I had actually done it. I held the gesture and attempted to recreate slurping noises for long enough I figured she would be happy. Once I was done, I followed through with fixing the fake wound and then stepped back.


    Amelia fanned herself for a moment as she floated there on the verge of fainting. ¡°That felt great...¡± She chuckled, flashing me a small smile I wasn''t sure about. She looked happier for some reason.


    I nodded slowly, not wanting to give away the fact that I drank nothing. ¡°Thank you, Amelia.¡±


    ¡°I saw a strange bicycle out front this evening when I awoke. Do you know whose it is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mine. Do you recall what we spoke about last night?¡±


    She shook her head, wringing her wrists as she bit her lip. ¡°No, my love. Was it important? I apologize for forgetting.¡±


    I patted her on the shoulder. ¡°We have a guest coming over and he will be under my care for a while as I teach him the finer points of being a vampire.¡±


    Her voids lit up as a grin crossed her face. ¡°You have a child?!¡± Amelia¡¯s smile slowly faded as recognition of what that meant dawned on her. ¡°But¡­ I thought I would be your first? You swore to me, Mistress!¡±


    ¡°His sire was beheaded for bringing a new vampire into the world without the Mayor¡¯s permission and it has fallen unto me to see if he is worthy of keeping around.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Amelia glanced toward the road, but we couldn''t see it thanks to the walls separating us. ¡°Is that his horse I hear?¡±


    I cocked my head and didn''t hear anything unusual, so I shrugged. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    The story was highly likely and Amelia had seen her fair share of vampire politics, so I hoped whatever was keeping her ghostly thoughts together made it truth, but if she forgot the night before then I worried I may have to go through the motions night by night with her.


    An ache of pang lanced through my un-beating heart when I thought of having to lie to her every day. The hunger in my fangs laughed at me for thinking such foolish thoughts. It felt horrible to see her like she was, knowing that only two days ago we were holding hands as she lived and breathed, my fangs sliding toward her throbbing neck. I had to find a way to put her to rest, so her soul could find peace and be reborn as a new woman. To live again in a way I never could, not as a tree.


    New quest! Lay Amelia¡¯s soul to rest.


    I grit my teeth at the display, digging my fangs into my gums momentarily before shaking my head. I left Amelia there and drank from the canned blood as I headed upstairs, looking for something to wear. They were all dresses of the old days and a fair few were so delicate I worried about even putting them on.


    None of them would do.


    I¡¯d need to buy new cloth and remake them over the coming nights, as trousers were weird to wear. Oh, sure. Sire sometimes wore them during our adventures back in the day, but I hadn''t bothered with them, as I was the bait. The lost fancy woman looking for help, only for the predator lurking in the dark to rob us both blind.


    That way they wouldn''t suspect I was part of the scheme and ¡®reward¡¯ them with a drink or two of alcohol before my sire and I shared the meal. At least, when we were on the road, otherwise we¡¯d prowl taverns and saloons with my sire playing cards while I grabbed unsuspecting buffoons.


    Amelia was there to make sure our horses were always ready or the towns were lax enough we could slip in and stay at an Inn or move through. She always presented herself as a Prussian Noble''s retainer and none were the wiser when my sire and I rode in after her.


    I pulled the tattered cloth from a standup mirror in one of the rooms and a cracked reflection of a blurry broad-shouldered woman stared back at me. I was there, but not fully there unless I stepped close enough I took up the whole mirror. It was enough I could fix my hair and maybe check my fit, but nowhere near enough to do makeup or see what I looked like aside from a damned hellspawn.


    The hunger stared back at me with glowing purple eyes and fangs, inhumanly long claws for fingernails and wiry hair.


    ¡°Amelia?¡± I called out, not taking my eyes off the mirror. ¡°When did we get a mirror?¡±


    ¡°A few years back for guests, remember?¡± she replied as she floated up through the floor.


    I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±


    Lights illuminated the estate¡¯s courtyard outside and the bushes as a wagon¡¯s rumbling engine approached the building.


    Amelia gasped softly. ¡°Hunters!¡±


    I held my hand out for her to take. ¡°It is our guest.¡± I hoped.


    Better be. The cell phone shook violently in my pocket, so I took it out and touched the screen with a finger, smiling when it worked like Isabella said it would. She had sent a text message that was just an address and an establishment name.


    Then sent a second one a moment late: Dress sharp for the saloon and have fun with the mail-order cowboys. They¡¯ve been making people dance, so put them on a rail.


    I smiled at the message, knowing it''s intent was to make me feel comfortable again. A bunch of city cowboys at a saloon isn''t too hard of a challenge.


    While I waited for Caleb to get out of his wagon, I dug through my boxes looking for the best outfit I could muster and found a matching shirt and skirt for a black mourning dress, but that wouldn''t do. I had nothing to mourn.


    Except Amelia who floated nearby watching me expectantly.


    I frowned at the dress, feeling the fabric for any signs it was worse for time, but it felt freshly made, so I set about climbing into it one layer at a time with Amelia¡¯s help. She arranged the layers on a nearby table and made sure they were snug and nothing out of place. Even the hip padding and corset to make it seem like I had a narrower waist than I really did, and helped with the shoes.


    Caleb knocked on the rotting front door. A useless gesture, but a welcome one nonetheless. He bowed when I opened the door. He said something I didn¡¯t quite understand, but heard the railway workers say once in a while.


    ¡°What did you call me?¡± I cocked an eyebrow at his odd choice of word. As I stood in the doorway and looked out across the courtyard to his small four door wagon, I listened and waited to see if there were any blood sacks with him, but couldn''t hear any heartbeats or voices. Or see movement.


    ¡°It¡¯s the elvish word for teacher,¡± Caleb said in English and motioned at me with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°I don''t know Elvish, so please. Refrain from speaking it. Do you speak Dutch? French perhaps? Spanish?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Just Common and Elvish.¡±


    ¡°Then we shall communicate in English only.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°What do I call you?¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am is preferred, but teacher will suffice.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ um, what do I do now?¡± Caleb asked quietly.


    ¡°Our benefactor has sent me a message regarding a saloon with a few rowdy blood sacks causing trouble. The owner wants them gone and will reward us handsomely with drinks.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn''t we call the cops?¡± Caleb cocked his head to the side. ¡°That sounds like a problem for them.¡±


    ¡°You wanted to know what being an old vampire was like, this is a part of it. We don''t sit around drinking blood all night with our own personal blood sacks. Some of us have jobs. Unlike the prissy council members.¡±


    He opened his mouth to object.


    I looked back toward the house and called out, ¡°Amelia? Watch the estate, would you? Caleb and I will return before dawn.¡±


    She floated in front of the door, blinking over and over for a few moments and then nodded. ¡°As you wish, Mistress.¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡± Caleb leaned to the side as he looked behind me and then glanced around the courtyard.


    ¡°In the doorway. Do you not see her?¡± I pointed at the ghost, who waved back.


    ¡°You can see ghosts?¡±


    ¡°I can see Amelia the tree.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He nodded slowly.


    I waited for him to speak, it seemed like he waited for me to speak, and the two of us just stared at each other like a pair of young fledglings who got their first task and had no idea what to do next. Off in the distance, a high-revving engine roared down the highway, drawing my ear to the motorcycle¡¯s music.


    ¡°Mistress?¡± Amelia said as she floated close to me and placed a hand on my elbow. ¡°You''re burning moonlight.¡±


    I nodded and walked over to Caleb¡¯s wagon. It didn''t look like the van at all. It had a small open cargo area completely devoid of any cargo, four large doors and was fairly high up off the ground compared to the van.


    A waste of space compared to my scooter, whose lines were sleek and stylish. And more practical. I bet Caleb couldn''t weave in and out of automobiles the way Isabella did.


    I had to physically climb into his wagon like it was an old stagecoach, which was fairly easy despite Caleb trying to coddle me like an old woman. With one foot on the step, I grabbed the bar to haul myself up. The vehicle¡¯s interior felt like I just stepped into the fanciest one yet with chairs made of leather like an old settee, but far more comfortable. Mine practically engulfed me with how huge it was.


    A large screen in the center gave me information for music. Music which was¡­ rather unpleasant to hear and thankfully, Caleb turned it down so he could speak.


    The vampire put the address into the screen, which changed to an overhead map of the region and told him right where to go.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I pointed at the screen.


    ¡°My truck¡¯s infotainment system.¡± Caleb reached up behind the steering wheel and pulled a lever down.


    ¡°How does it know where we are?¡±


    ¡°Magic.¡±


    I frowned.


    ¡°No, seriously. It works off magic.¡± He pulled forward and drove all the way around the house, making his way down the dirt road toward the city.


    A chime dinged a few times, followed by a strange voice, saying, ¡°Passenger, please fasten your seatbelt.¡±


    I looked behind us in the back to see if there was someone hidden back there. Caleb had a few travel bags, a blanket and a case of canned blood, but I didn''t see anyone. So I tried the door, but it refused to open.


    ¡°Why is this locked?¡± I asked, the incessant chiming ringing over and over while again, the strange person told me to put my seatbelt on. ¡°And who is speaking?¡±


    ¡°Can you put your seatbelt on? The truck will keep complaining until you do.¡±


    ¡°It talks?!¡± I gasped, eyes widening.


    ¡°Most newer cars do, yeah.¡± Caleb nodded. ¡°Not a real person though.¡±


    I grabbed the belt and clicked it in place, causing the chime to cease. I sighed, leaned back in the chair and folded my arms across my chest.


    ¡°Now what?¡± I replied.


    ¡°Do you like music?¡±


    ¡°Not whatever you had playing when I climbed in.¡±


    ¡°How about some classical music then?¡± He hit a few buttons on the infotainment system and an orchestra began playing a familiar tune I cocked my head to listen to.


    Classical music? This? It''s modern!

 Chapter 6: Dinner

    Chapter 6: Dinner


    The saloon I was expecting was not the saloon I saw. From the outside, the saloon looked much in the same way any of the other buildings did. Except bright glowing pink and blue, and green lights spelled out the saloon¡¯s name and spilled across the street, illuminating a theater that was equally packed with people waiting for the latest show.


    I stood far and away in the shadows watching from under a wide brimmed hat, eyes drifting from one side of the street to the other. Cigarette smoke wafted around us as I exhaled a small cloud of the stuff. Caleb had parked a few blocks away like I asked and we walked the rest of the way. He kept looking back toward his wagon as if he were worried about it. The man fidgeted with his fingers, pacing back and forth like a fledgling on their first assignment. His chest rose and fell in an unnatural way, telling me that he was wasting blood.


    ¡°Stop,¡± I ordered.


    He wheeled around to face me and nodded. ¡°Sorry. It''s just¡­¡± he took a deep breath, and then let it out. ¡°I¡¯ve never done this before.¡±


    ¡°Don''t waste your energy breathing. It¡¯ll only make you hungry.¡±


    Caleb held his thumb out in acknowledgement, nodding. ¡°Which place is it?¡±


    Both of them had lines to get into and different groups of people wanting to go inside them. From families and couples to the theater, to drunks barely hanging onto consciousness by a thread. It was obvious to me. I threw the cigarette on the ground and squashed it into the concrete, having lit it a few minutes ago to make it look like Caleb and I were just talking if any passerby happened to look our way.


    ¡°Our benefactor said saloon, not theatre, so I am going to defer the decision to you.¡±


    He blinked his red eyes. ¡°Um. You tell me.¡±


    I shook my head and waved a hand in the direction of the buildings. ¡°This is about you, Caleb. All I am here to do is observe and save your corpse if you get into trouble.¡±


    He turned toward them, wringing his hands together. Caleb tapped a foot on the ground as if he were nervous, his chest moving ever so slightly while he whispered nonsense to himself. Then glanced to the side at nothing and whispered, ¡°What do you think?¡± His voice was quiet enough I barely heard it.


    I acted as if I didn''t and kept watch for anyone approaching. it was good I did, because I saw an automobile shift from one side of the road all the way across to ours. It was a truly old automobile with boat-like styling and a mouth for a grill. The machine rumbled towards us like the its was alive. Sticking right out from the center of the hood was something akin to a flattened bucket with a flap on it. A belt and pulley attached to the bucket were being spun by the engine underneath the hood. I couldn''t see through the windows thanks to them looking like someone had painted them black all the way around.


    Caleb didn''t notice the vehicle¡¯s approach because he was muttering a one-sided conversation with someone I couldn''t hear, flipping his fingers from one building to the next.


    The automobile''s flat grey paint absorbed the light on its approach, making it look like a cloud of fog on the ground. It stopped right next to us when the driver''s door came close. All I saw was my distorted reflection staring back at me just before the window rolled down and a soft red glow illuminated the oval face of a woman I didn''t recognize. She wore some type of drab green military jacket with basic, round glasses over her nose. Her grin showed off near perfect human teeth, yet it felt like the cold gaze of someone thinking they had caught prey in their sights.


    Caleb spun around to face the automobile once he heard the engine grumbling like a horse trotting down the road with each gasping breath. I thought perhaps the thing would die on the spot until the driver gave it a light tap of the throttle, shaking the beast with a twitch.


    ¡°Oh! Hello,¡± Caleb said flatly.


    The woman¡¯s short cut hair looked quite odd to me, as if she were trying to look like a man. ¡°Little tip,¡± she began, her voice light, yet slightly deep, blue eyes looking right at me through her glasses. ¡°If you''re trying to blend in, don''t dress like you''re going to a steampunk convention.¡±


    I cocked my head at her reply, fingers tapping against my hip as I hummed. ¡°Steampunk...?¡±


    She chuckled to herself. ¡°You must be C Company. I was told you¡¯d be around tonight.¡±


    I didn''t know what she meant at first, and then it hit me. The fact that she came over and didn''t ask what we were doing meant she knew more than she let on, which meant that my sire likely told her about us. Unless, she deduced it from me just standing there. Which could be just as bad. My clothes stood out far more than I anticipated. I looked down at my mourning dress before looking at the woman. ¡°I take it you, being the fine upstanding citizen you are, know who I am and who my associate is?¡±


    The woman nodded, her heart steadily thumping away as if it were an everyday occurrence to speak with a vampire. Which meant she was a vampire¡¯s retainer. A mortal servant much like Amelia was.


    Caleb blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but I held my hand out for silence, which he thankfully obliged.


    ¡°Then may I humbly request a ride?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You may, but I have to decline on account of only having one seat.¡± She threw a thumb to her right where the interior of the automobile looked like part of a tiny bedroom, complete with drapes to cover the windows, and even a fridge behind the driver¡¯s seat. It wasn''t hard to imagine the machine as the woman¡¯s home and brought back memories of living on the trail with my sire and Amelia until we decided to found Encinar with the mortals. The woman pointed down the road toward the brightly illuminated saloon, adding, ¡°Head into the alley before you reach the club. I¡¯ll be waiting in the garage.¡±


    The woman rolled her window up without waiting for a reply and drove off, her car¡¯s engine gurgling deep as it accelerated away from us.


    I turned to Caleb, waving for him to take the lead. He walked ahead while I followed close behind, my boots clacking against the concrete with each step while his were silent. I didn''t mind, because I was used to drawing attention with my appearance. We followed her directions and turned where she turned. I watched her rumble down the narrow alley that was barely big enough to fit her boat in. Then she turned into an open barn door on the side of the building and it swallowed the vehicle.


    Caleb and I walked toward the door without exchanging glances, but I could tell by his gaze on the ground that he wasn''t sure what to do. Yet, his steps were firm and pulled him forward at a pace I struggled to keep up with without turning it into a jog. I kept my mouth shut, wanting to see how he performed without my input on a job. I would fade into the background if necessary unless like the retainer said, I¡¯d stick out in the crowd.


    Then why did my sire tell me to dress sharp?


    I shook my head, following Caleb into the garage where the mortal was already waiting. She pressed a button and a heavy door began unrolling itself to seal us in. Her garage had enough lighting to feel like I just stepped into the sun and squinted my eyes to see her waiting at another door further in.


    She opened it, waving for us to follow and walked into a narrow corridor where loud music thumped through the walls, sending a shockwave throughout my body with each reverberating slam. Once, twice, thrice in slow motion and then it sped up, followed again by slowing down for five or six beats and then speeding up again. An odd choice to do. And one I wanted to stay and listen to, because I never imagined music could sound so strange as if it weren''t coming from instruments.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    With Caleb and the mortal walking ahead and not paying attention to me, I slipped into the shadows and my heart thumped once to let them engulf me in a protective embrace. My footsteps were silent as I followed the thunderous thumping to a stage where a mortal with headphones stood over a table, one hand waving in the air like he was twirling a lasso, and the other fiddling with the strange table. He dressed in an open button down shirt exposing his glistening chest in the dim light as colored beams swept over the stage and crowd in a fog filled hunting ground.


    It certainly looked like city cowboys to me as the writhing crowd cheered and jumped around with glowing sticks to the beat. Some mortals sang to the lyrics of a man asking how it feels to treat them in a certain way.


    Almost like a mortal wrote a song asking a vampire what it was like for the vampire to treat them like the blood sacks they were. The mortal crowd sounded like a sloshed chorus as they cheered with the lyrics. All of their hearts pounded in their chests and pulled harder and harder against the hunger aching in my fangs.


    I stepped forward into the shadows leading toward the crowd, but a nagging feeling gnawed at the back of my mind. My sire entrusted me with a task to root out unruly patrons at the establishment and yet, I didn''t see any in the crowd of oddly dressed people.


    My fangs ached like daggers to my skull as I looked out over the crowd, listening to the thumping and the singer wanting to know what happened to the mortals who came before.


    Dead. That''s what. They either died or didn''t resist and were let go.


    The hunger pulled me away from the wall and into the writhing mass of mortals where their warm bodies pressed against my cold, dead from. I let myself reappear and followed the sea of people. They pushed me one way, then another as I slipped from an outsider¡¯s sight. The crowd¡¯s cheering and chanting drowned out my thoughts as I walked by mortals wearing glowing bracelets and necklaces in all colors of the rainbow. A man bumped his hip into me, shoving my body away from him to a group of mortal women with their arms around each other. Their dance couldn''t really be called a dance, but more of a shuffle as one mortal glided across the floor with strange steps. None of them were dressed like I was, and neither did they have much covering them.


    I found no suitable target to slake my thirst from within that group. Movement caught my eye as one elf fed another elf some type of oddly colored pill. Two of the other mortals were quite hands on with each other as their bodies bumped and ground with their movements in ways that would make feelings tingle in my groin if I was mortal. But nothing came of it beyond a yearning to hold Amelia close.


    Their pulsing hearts sent blood coursing through their mortal forms with each step. Laughter filled the air before the music overpowered it. A brunette human woman leaned in and kissed a dark-green haired half-elf¡¯s neck in a sensual way as if she was going for a bite, but there were no fangs coming from either of the two mortals.


    I looked away to give them space.


    Amelia and I were never allowed such a public display, and neither could I ever see myself doing it. At least before the other day. If those two women could play bite in public, then no one would mind if I grabbed a mortal and took a sip to slake my hunger.


    I reached for the nearest mortal: a thin half-elf man with trousers too large for his legs. A shirt that barely covered his chest, completely exposing his neck and arms. Even his stomach.


    I licked my fangs in anticipation as my hand grabbed his shoulder and spun the half-elf to face me. His drunken smile was all I needed to know as his short hair flailed around along with long glowing earrings. He¡¯d do perfect, because he won''t remember once I was done. I pulled the hat off and moved in for the bite.


    He pushed his hand against my chest, stopping me before I got too close. ¡°Are you lost?¡± he asked in a heavy voice compared to his lanky, near skeletal frame, heart pounding in his chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m right where I want to be,¡± I replied. My voice barely carried over the music. The man turned his head a bit, holding his ear in a gesture that said he didn''t hear it. I repeated it.


    The half-elf blinked at me.


    My eyes drifted to his chest where a pair of breasts stood out underneath his short shirt. ¡°Wait, are you a man or a woman?¡± I asked right as another mortal fell in between us, got up, and wandered back into the crowd.


    My would be dinner shrugged, his drunken smile turning into a grin. ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I stepped back from the person.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter what you call me, because I¡¯m neither, but also both.¡±


    That makes absolutely no sense, but whatever. I need food.


    They twirled a set of multi-colored lights around their hands, pulling them close before grabbing them. The person looked around for a moment, chuckling nervously, their turquoise eyes right on my open mouth where the hunger caused my fangs to show themselves without prompting. Any mortal foolish enough to look my way would see them.


    "You''re a vampire, right? Like an actual one?¡± they asked.


    I nodded, as it was obvious to anyone who looked at me.


    ¡°Cool!¡± The half-elf looked at their string lights, then me, and back to the lights. ¡°Wanna see a trick?¡± They let the lights drop and swung them side to side slightly. They didn¡¯t wait and pulled the lights even closer to their hands, twirling them around in an awkward pattern at first until the bulbs became a rainbow butterfly trailing around in the dark.


    There was an easy target right there just begging to be bitten, but I fought the urge to rip into their neck. My hands shook as I let out a soft whine more akin to a hiss than a dignified vampire. A sound which would be embarrassing if there were any vampires around, but the mortals didn¡¯t notice it over the music.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m hungry,¡± I said, hand reaching for the drunk half-elf again. ¡°And your neck looks tasty.¡±


    The blood sack¡¯s turquoise eyes widened when they realized what I meant. The fancy lights clattered to the ground, so they picked them up and glanced around for a few moments while people danced around us. I expected the half-elf to run and prepared myself to give chase by digging my shoes into the floor. They brought their hands close to their chest instead and laughed nervously again, rubbing their neck.


    ¡°Y-you think so?¡± Dinner asked.


    ¡°Excruciatingly so. My fangs ache in anticipation of such fine cuisine. My head throbs with a burning hunger I cannot escape, telling me to grab your shoulders and pull you into an embrace you''ll never forget.¡±


    The mortal¡¯s cheeks flushed red as they looked off to the side for a moment, reminding me of how Amelia looked when I first told her what I thought of her blood. Dinner took a deep breath, let it out, then took another one and nodded faintly. ¡°Okay¡­ Wanna, like. Talk first?¡± they asked. Dinner''s eyes had an odd look to them as they scanned the room. I couldn''t tell if it was sadness that crossed their face, or recognition about something, because they looked up at the dark ceiling and then at me again.


    ¡°We could.¡± I inclined my head to one side, blinking at the mortal. ¡°But I cannot guarantee how long I will last with this hunger. There''s so many mortals, so many hearts thundering in my head. I cannot think of anything, but the beast and she cannot come out here. Mortals. Will. Die. However, with but a taste of your blood... you''ll save them.¡±


    Dinner¡¯s warm hand grabbed mine and pulled me through the throng of warm bodies. I followed, letting them lead the way toward a bar filled with people and tables spread out across the main floor. Mortals conversed amongst themselves as the music became bearable, having changed to another song entirely that was nothing but drums and noises with no true lyrics. The half-elf led me to a dark corner away from the bulk where they pulled me onto a squeaky, plush seat feeling like it was made of a strange material that was decidedly not leather. Dinner shuffled away, set their lights on the table and then looked into my eyes.


    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± I asked, shuffling around until my dress wasn''t pulled in all directions.


    ¡°Well, first. Why me? There¡¯s, like, hella people here and you coulda picked anyone!¡±


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t have an answer for Dinner, and I said as much. Out of everyone there, they looked alone and appeared to be having a blast by themself. A perfect snack to take the edge off.


    This made Dinner nod slowly and look at their hands for a moment. They giggled to themself before shaking their head. ¡°I thought it was a dream, but it feels like things are going the way I saw.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this in a dream. This very room, you, the song, and it ends with me dying.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t... killed anyone through feeding in a long, long time.¡± I tried to reassure Dinner by showing them the rosary beads I kept on my person. The hunger ached to drain them dry and leave not a single drop within the lanky half-elf and then find the nearest vampire for the main course. Mortals were tasty and filling, but she wanted vampire blood.


    Dinner likely picked up on what I meant, because they sighed and shook their head. They shuffled closer to me as if we were partners and brushed their hip against mine. Dinner¡¯s veins were visible just below the surface and their rapidly beating heart pumped piping hot blood throughout their body.


    ¡°Are you starving? You¡¯re looking at me funny.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Dinner sighed heavily, nodding to themself as their fear was almost overpowering their heart. And yet, they remained as calm as a corpse on the outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to just take a sip, understand? Enough to slake my hunger, but nothing more.¡±


    ¡°It was fun while it lasted, I suppose.¡± Dinner nodded once more.


    I leaned in, opening my mouth wide as I pulled Dinner¡¯s neck close.


    They covered their mouth with a hand and closed their eyes, breathing finally matching their heart rate.


    My fangs yearned for Dinner to the point my hands trembled in anticipation once again. Just a simple move and I¡¯d be sated for the rest of the night and content. I would be filled with joy while they lay passed out. Even though I wanted to bite down, my mind screamed at me to look around, because something didn¡¯t feel right about the situation. Dinner was all too calm about the prospect of dying.


    I stole a glance over my shoulder and didn¡¯t see anyone standing there with a camera, but again, it felt like I was being watched by someone hidden. Someone in the crowd perhaps, but the people at the bar weren¡¯t looking my way, nor was anyone at the tables. However, as the barkeep scooped up an empty tumbler, they lifted it in a way that let their eyes linger in my direction.


    The barkeep acting like that meant they spotted me. Likely because I was dressed in a style that stuck out like a rusty nail.


    As much as it pained my beast to do so, I focused on the moment and myself. A short breath here, closing my eyes there. My sire would not like it if I killed a mortal so soon in such a public place, and I had to make sure I didn''t look like a fledgling when I took over the council again. Losing control of my hunger that fast, even after so long in torpor, would make me look like a fool to the others. I reluctantly pushed Dinner from my grasp and turned away from them.


    ¡°Go home, Dinner. Live another day.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Dinner asked in confusion.


    I stared at the dark table so I wasn¡¯t tempted to drain them dry. My beast wanted to. She was hungry, she was sulking there close to my fangs waiting for the opportune moment to take over and kill every last mortal in the room until she found a vampire to latch onto, and drain them dry, too. I had to find another way to appease her. She shouldn''t be at the point she was.


    Dinner didn¡¯t need any further words to leave me wasting away on the bench like a beggar. I saved their life at the cost of looking like a complete buffoon in front of an entire saloon. What a way to awaken the beast.

 Chapter 7: Frenzy

    Chapter 7: Frenzy


    Someone set a tall flute of dark liquid on the table in front of me, just before they sat on the squeaky bench. A heavy iron scent drifted out, mixing in with the musty stench of sweat hanging in the air. It was a smell that could only come from one drink.


    I grabbed it before they could speak and brought the flute to my lips, tilting it back as the warm lifeblood washed over my fangs, ran down my throat and disappeared before hitting the empty pit that was called my stomach. Warm, fresh, and a sweet, tangy aftertaste like the person was hopped up on sugar. No odd taste like that canned manure Caleb bought.


    The darkly clothed person watched me lean back in the chair and tilt the glass higher until there was nothing left. I gingerly set the flute down and sighed as the pain left my fangs for the time being, remaining a dull throb to remind me that I needed more than just a sip. It was enough to take the edge off and placate my hunger, but I needed more. I needed a drink from my sire or perhaps another vampire. Approaching another vampire to drink from them would be a bad idea. They¡¯d attack me for it. I¡¯d have to drain them dry or get them distracted so they didn¡¯t know I was the culprit.


    Coherent thoughts floated back to me and I recognized Dinner sitting right there next to me, hands in their lap, head tilted a bit as their turquoise eyes smiled.


    I wiped my mouth clean before I spoke. ¡°Thank you. How can I pay you back?¡±


    ¡°You can trade me, like, ten credits if you want.¡± Dinner shrugged.


    I pulled the hundred dollar bill out and showed it to Dinner. ¡°This is all I have. I am ashamed to say that I have spent the last three nights without a proper meal.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Dinner pulled a wallet from a pocket on their leg and counted out five smaller bills. They gave me ninety credits back in exchange for my hundred.


    ¡°The canned blood an acquaintance buys does nothing for me.¡± I waved at the glass and shook my head. ¡°How did you know what to buy?¡±


    Dinner shrugged once more, faintly glowing eyes looking as if they were staring beyond me rather than at me. ¡°I figured with you wanting to drink directly from the source you would totally appreciate it if I got the ¡®good¡¯ blood for my new friend.¡±


    ¡°Friend?¡± I cocked an eyebrow at Dinner, which was an odd name for my brain to grab ahold of and I knew why my mind did. It was still odd to happen.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what else to say, okay?! The barkeep was seriously gonna call security on you if I said anything else.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I blinked.


    Dinner tilted their head as they folded their arms across their chest. ¡°You were totally drooling to the point you looked like an eldritch entity!¡±


    ¡°I was not drooling!¡± I gasped.


    Dinner held their hands up in a defensive manner, slowly shaking their head from side to side. I waited for them to speak, but it was clear they weren¡¯t going to, so I looked at the flute.


    ¡°And you''re not¡­ afraid of me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not anymore.¡± Dinner pulled a phone from their pocket. Their fingers were a blur of movement as they went from one screen to the next, then they groaned. ¡°Oh, come on!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°One of my friends was supposed to meet me here tonight, but like, he still hasn¡¯t texted me!¡± Dinner groaned once again, looking quite deflated at finding out their acquaintance stood them up and left them in my care.


    ¡°Is there no one else?¡±


    Dinner shook their head and stared at the table. ¡°Not really. Like, I only know maybe five people in town and it''s because my roommates took me out with them. Otherwise I¡¯d be out in the Mojave Wastes right now.¡± They ran their hands through their hair. ¡°Fuck! I¡¯m an idiot. I shouldn¡¯t have come to Encinar.¡±


    New in town? And didn''t know anyone?


    I rubbed my chin for a long moment. Dinner might make a poor acquaintance, but we shared one thing in common. Their lack of contacts wasn''t a downside. It meant they wouldn''t be missed if they went missing and started working for me.


    ¡°Dinner,¡± I began as I flexed my fingers in their direction and tried to put on an easy smile. They looked up from their phone, confused face illuminated in the glow of their smartphone, washing out the one coming from their eyes. I continued, ¡°If you¡¯d be so kind as to give me your attention, I would like to extend an offer in exchange for your time.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± they hummed just soft enough to be heard.


    I motioned between myself and Dinner. ¡°This is something I would like for you to keep between us. Understand?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably forget it in ten minutes.¡± They shrugged. Not at all reassuring, but they were the third person to give me more than two sentences all week. Well, aside from the dealership, but that person didn¡¯t count because they talked to Isabella more than me.


    I lowered my voice and leaned in so no eavesdroppers could hear us. ¡°By God¡¯s will, I have spent two hundred years in torpor and awoke less than a week ago. I swear to you, on my fangs, I know absolutely nothing about the world you were raised in. But, I am willing to pay you handsomely in gold if you teach me how the System works.¡±


    ¡°You can''t trade gold person to person.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I sat upright and leaned away from Dinner, holding a hand to my chest. ¡°Preposterous!¡±


    ¡°Go on. Try it.¡± Dinner set their phone face down on the table and folded their arms across their chest with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have it on me,¡± I said, ¡°My gold stash is safe at home.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Dinner shrugged. ¡°Can''t trade it without a transfer station. But¡­¡± They sighed. ¡°Sure. I can teach¡ª¡±


    ¡°There you are!¡± Caleb called out as he approached the table, a concerned look on his face as if he were deathly afraid of me having disappeared and met my demise.


    I waved to him, then Dinner. ¡°Caleb, meet Dinner. Dinner, meet Caleb. The acquaintance I mentioned.¡± The two of them did an awkward looking maneuver of touching their fists to each other while I leaned back to observe the custom.


    ¡°Dinner?¡± Caleb parroted. Just that singular word made it sound like the ThinGen vampire had never heard of someone being called Dinner before. It wasn¡¯t common. I didn¡¯t feel like asking Dinner their name, because I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever see them again.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Dinner replied, cocking their head a bit, adding, ¡°Got a problem with that name?¡± Their voice had lost its worried edge and took on a more confident tone.


    Caleb looked at me. ¡°Is her name actually Dinner?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I totally have a name!¡± Dinner flashed a grin at Caleb. ¡°But I ain¡¯t telling you what that is.¡±


    ¡°So you''re dinner?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not yours.¡± Dinner dipped their head in a nod, waving a hand in my direction as if to prove a point, glowing bracelets clinking together. ¡°She already had her fill and I¡¯m, like, too skinny to support more than one vampire every three days. Can¡¯t you tell, dude?¡±


    Such a boldfaced lie to a vampire¡¯s face made me smile, because Caleb didn¡¯t know any better and I wasn¡¯t going to say anything. The urge to laugh welled up inside of me, but I held it down by rubbing my cheek, and flicked my other hand in the bar¡¯s direction. ¡°Dinner, would you be so kind as to get us both a drink of the good stuff?¡± I asked, my voice not betraying the small smile on my face.


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    Dinner nodded, sliding out from the table and headed off without saying much beyond a grunt of acknowledgement.


    Caleb watched Dinner leave before returning his attention to me. ¡°She¡¯s a bit feisty.¡±


    ¡°What is the job?¡±


    Caleb sat across from me and spoke a bit too loud for my tastes. ¡°So, first thing. The club owner said we¡¯re not allowed to kill mortals here and wants me to remind you of that.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°Second, he wants me to spy on you. I tried to persuade him that you just woke up, but he didn¡¯t believe me. Something about he ¡®knows you seafaring pirate types¡¯. Especially you. He told me to watch my neck. What¡¯s that mean?¡±


    ¡°Child, I was starving and my hunger thought for me. I¡¯ll be hearing an earful from our benefactor no matter which way tonight pans out. And besides, Dinner is still alive. Now, tell me what you''ve learned by my mistake.¡±


    Caleb twiddled his fingers as he thought over my words. He bit his lip in a way that showed off his fangs for all to see, nodding. ¡°When walking into unknown territory, ask permission if you can hunt?¡±


    ¡°Do not come hungry,¡± I corrected and stretched out my legs as they were starting to feel odd, even if the muscles were controlled by whatever blessing kept me going. ¡°And be more discreet if you do. What did he tell you of our mission?¡±


    ¡°Some people came by last week and accosted the dance floor, threw things around, showed their guns, and made a mess. He made it clear they¡¯re to be¡­¡± Caleb¡¯s voice trailed off as Dinner approached with two flutes of fresh blood.


    ¡°Special delivery!¡± Dinner exclaimed. They gave one to me and the other to Caleb. I gave Dinner the remaining ninety credits to deal with any further payments.


    ¡°Is this actual human blood?¡± Caleb asked as he brought the flute up and inhaled the aroma. He swirled the blood around, the heavier than canned liquid leaving streaks on the sides of the glass. He sniffed again, lips curling back in anticipation. I was sure that his stomach would growl if he had a working one. ¡°It smells¡­ odd.¡±


    ¡°Room temperature, too.¡± I nodded my thanks to Dinner and waited for Caleb to make the first move.


    ¡°Not cold?¡± Caleb looked at me before looking at Dinner for a few long moments.


    Dinner shrugged. ¡°It''s how they gave it to me, dude. Don''t eat the delivery driver.¡±


    ¡°The warmer the better,¡± I said quietly, sniffing my drink in an attempt to discern if Dinner had bought the good stuff or not. They had, which was good, as my hunger wanted more of it and I couldn''t let myself starve, could I? Maybe I will ask Caleb for a drink of his blood later. Even if he was filled with that nasty canned blood, he had to be tasty, right? I wasn¡¯t sure as it¡¯s a situation I never encountered before.


    I sipped from my glass, eyes right on Caleb while he downed half the glass in one go.


    The poor fledgling¡¯s face contorted in an awkward manner, nose scrunching like he was in pain.


    Dinner wisely stepped away from the table, because Caleb couldn''t keep the blood down. It splattered all over the wooden table as the glass dropped from his hand. Poor, poor Caleb coughed up a storm as if he tried to inhale at the same time he coughed, but it was stupid when neither of us needed to breathe!


    Must be used to acting like a mortal.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?!¡± Caleb yelled finally once all of the warm blood came out. ¡°That¡¯s not blood!¡±


    The wasted blood cooled on the table, glimmering away in what light there was. I sipped from my glass again, slowly shaking my head from side to side. Caleb muttered something as he glanced around, his chest heaving like he still wasn''t able to hold anything down. A pained look crossed his face as he grabbed his mouth and dashed off with all the speed of a frightened deer. I glanced at Dinner, lifting an eyebrow to question them without a word.


    Dinner shrugged. ¡°It''s the same thing you''re drinking, lady. Maybe he¡¯s not a real vampire?¡±


    I swiped a finger across the spilled blood, letting it soak into my skin, and gave it a lick. Sure enough, the warm liquid had the same texture and aftertaste to what I was drinking, but slightly different. I couldn''t place what was different. Like someone had put either an extra sugar cube in or it came from a different ¡®blood type¡¯ if the canned tastes were to be believed. Perhaps they finally categorized everyone¡¯s blood, but I didn¡¯t know for sure. Each person¡¯s blood held a slightly different taste to it and Dinner¡¯s life force resonated with my hunger in a way that I knew I¡¯d greatly enjoy the meal, even if it wasn''t vampire blood. That''s why she picked them out.


    ¡°Explain.¡± I tilted my glass back and drank the rest of my meal.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that some people have really good cosmetics. Like, really really good cosmetics because they spent a metric ton of gold to look the part, but they actually aren''t, you know?¡±


    I grabbed a handkerchief from my pocket and dabbed my mouth clean before I spoke. ¡°No, Dinner. I do not. And cosmetics cannot fake an absent heartbeat. I''ve seen a ¡®vampire¡¯ using a cosmetic and she still had a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°Then why did he react like that?¡± Dinner asked, waving a hand in the direction Caleb ran. ¡°That was hella weird!¡±


    ¡°Canned blood cannot substitute the flavors one gets from wild prey.¡± I motioned toward the dance floor. ¡°Even if it¡¯s been put in a glass, it still has enough flavor to taste different.¡± And vampire blood even more so.


    It''s so tasty¡­


    Dinner shook their head and shrugged. ¡°I don''t know. There''s some very convincing cosmetics out there. You said he drank a potion?¡±


    ¡°He drank a potion by the ThinGen corporation according to him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he did spend gold to turn himself into a vampire then, but like, all I''m saying is a cosmetic can convincingly fake being a vampire.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a heartbeat, Dinner.¡±


    Dinner wrung their hands together as their head dipped in my direction. Each breath was laced with a hint of alcohol, but that was to be expected of a saloon patron. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll teach you like you want. Let¡¯s start with that dude. You said yourself you woke up a few days ago, so, like, how much do you really know that guy?¡±


    It was a good question and the answer was a true no. I didn¡¯t know Caleb at all. The man found me and I decided to drag him along as I did a side job for my sire. Well, technically I am following him around as he does a side job. And failing at it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± It was the honest truth. Perhaps in my confusion about the new world I latched onto the worst candidate to talk to. Dinner seemed to have their head on straight compared to Caleb and Dinner wasn''t even a vampire! They were drunk! Then again, Dinner could be as old as me. Elves and half-elves were weird, because they aged incredibly slowly from what I heard. The Nassau Empress was well over five thousand years old by the time she appeared on Earth in the early 1600s. If one were to believe the rumors that is.


    The half-elf next to me took a deep breath, turquoise eyes blinking in what light there was. ¡°So¡­ like, you''re an old vampire, yeah?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    ¡°From before the Collide?¡±


    I nodded again.


    ¡°What was combat like before the Corporations started fielding mechs in almost every engagement?¡±


    ¡°Mechs?¡± I cocked my head to the side, frowning deeply at their words. ¡°What is a mech?¡±


    ¡°Easy way to put it is a really, really, really huge suit of armor and walking weapons platform.¡± They pulled their phone out and showed me a photograph of themself posing in front of a well painted, if rusty bipedal warmachine bristling with weaponry.


    The bipedal vehicle was roughly as tall as a two story house. I could see that it had a few haphazard repairs done to the armor plating and looked more functional than aesthetically pleasing. It vaguely resembled a mechanical human with weapons on its forearms, rocket pod in the chest, and a single cannon on one shoulder. To me, it looked like an overgrown suit of proto-power armor, complete with hands for grabbing things, which is what Dinner was sitting on in the picture.


    ¡°They fight wars with these machines?¡± I asked. It seemed both odd and a logical evolution from prototype arcane power armor to giant machines that were as tall as buildings.


    Dinner took a deep breath and wrung their hands together once more for a few moments. ¡°Um¡­ well, see. It¡¯s classified as a Salvage mech because the Cutting Lances in its forearms are supposed to be heat-based cutting torches. At least, when you don¡¯t have the focusing lens overclocked and set to the narrowest point. Technically, on the books, my job is to totally cut open ruins and facilitate transportation of any scrap or magic items the ground team locates, but usually I¡¯m loaded with a combat package. Because, like, I spend more time defending the scrappers from enemy mech¡­ um¡­ hostile entities than I do waiting for salvage to be loaded in.


    ¡°Typically, I get paid around a hundred and forty-thousand credits for every mission and that pays for repairs, fuel, ammo, and any medical expenses. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve led wings of war machines into battle against another corporation''s mechs. Nnnooo, not at all! I''m just a Salvage Pilot and there''s totally not a war going on right now between the Terran Salvage Corporation and the Terran Mining Corporation. And my merc company is contracted with a third party poking at the both of them.¡±


    I had no words for what Dinner was going on about, so I leaned back in my chair and rubbed at my chin. Corporations fighting each other? Was that as if the West India Company decided to suddenly fight a war against the East India Company because their ships happened to cross each other¡¯s paths?


    That sounded loco!


    Dinner had likewise gone quiet, as they were scrolling through photos on their phone until they showed me a picture of the machine¡¯s internal control station, which looked like a chair and a lot of screens and buttons. ¡°See?" Dinner began with a small smile. "They aren''t too hard to pilot. Most have an ejection seat, too! I could totally teach you how in about five minutes tops, but I dunno if you''ve got the gene for it. Can''t pilot ''em too good without it. Hell, the System won''t even offer you the Salvage Pilot class without the gene!¡±


    I wasn''t sure what to say, so I stared at the blood dripping from the table. Blood which Dinner seemed to be ignoring. Mortals typically don''t just ignore blood pooling around. They freak out at the sight of it. And here Dinner was just acting casual about the whole thing, but if what they were saying was true then that meant they''d seen a lot more bloodshed than I have.


    ¡°Uhm. What now?¡± Dinner asked, finally breaking the silence as they put their phone away.


    ¡°Your dinner.¡± I smiled at them.


    ¡°Huh?¡± They blinked a few times.


    ¡°I will accompany you wherever you like and pay for your meal.¡±


    ¡°Why? You can¡¯t, like, eat food, right?¡±


    Why was a good question. One I didn''t have an answer for. So I shrugged. ¡°Then you can contact me again if you want. I understand if not.¡±


    Their faintly glowing eyes lit up like the sun, blinking a few times before they smiled. ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    They took my phone number down, followed by giving me theirs for a later dinner date, and walked off, leaving me to wait for Caleb who never came back to the table. I waited around for the wayward vampire. Even called the waitress to come clean up after his mess and apologized to her. As I checked out both washrooms, I noticed there was a guarded door near the back.


    The guard glared at me and asked for a pass I didn''t have.


    I shrugged at him and asked, ¡°What pass?


    ¡°Get out of here.¡± He threw a hand back the way I came. His attitude did not go unnoticed. I¡¯d have to deal with him another day, as finding Caleb was far, far more important.


    I wandered away from him, now feeling actual blood in my system and was quite refreshed compared to when I first arrived at the saloon. The music was too loud, almost headache inducing while I took in the stench of sweat and food being cooked. Nauseating was one word to describe it. I didn''t know how I found the place attractive when I was starving, but then again. When you''re on the verge of losing control, anything looks amazing. Even a rat.


    I used my vampiric eyesight to brighten the room like daytime as I looked at cracks in the floor, dried blood caked into the nooks no one could get to. Even lighter spots on a wall leaving me to wonder if the saloon had been shot up in the past. No mortal could see the issues with how dark it was.


    I found the sloshed vampire at the nearest vending machine with five empty cans in his lap, and a sixth can in his hand as he drowned his sorrows in fake blood. A small crowd of people were gathered around him, asking if he was okay or not. Two people held their phones up in an awkward manner I didn¡¯t understand the point of. They seemed to be staring at the back of their dark screens as the front side faced Caleb. The vending machine happened to be in the entryway, which made the scene all the more embarrassing. There were countless mortals watching the fool as they came in and out of the saloon.


    It¡¯d be easy to cloud the area in shadows and give Caleb the space he needed, but I didn¡¯t want the mortals screaming in fright when the tendrils showed up.


    The fledgling frowned at my approach. ¡°My fangs hurt¡­¡± Caleb drank the rest of the can, grabbed his payment card and held it against a flat spot on the machine. The machine beeped, so he pushed one button, and then another. A few unusual moments went by while I watched through the glass as a machine¡¯s hand moved to the side, then up to a can in the center, and finally the machine grabbed the can. It pulled it away from a shelf and brought it down to a hole at the bottom of the machine.


    I cocked my head to the side, stepped closer and looked at the machine. It asked if I wanted to buy another can, so I checked my options through the glass and found the one my sire had given me. My hunger hit the buttons for that. The machine repeated the same motions until my can appeared in the hole, which I stuffed in my dress pocket for later.


    Caleb cracked his next can open and sniffed it. ¡°Is not the same!¡± he said, voice slurring heavily as he shakily brought the can up to his mouth. ¡°Why none of this¡­ tasting like that glass?!¡±


    I grabbed the can before he could drink it, shaking my head. ¡°Caleb. Do not have any more. You''re already full enough.¡±


    ¡°Nooo!¡± He whined as he held onto the can. ¡°I need more. My fangs hurt, there''s a voice¡­ it¡­ it wants more. More!¡±


    His hunger¡­


    That had to be it. Rather than consume every mortal in sight, the poor ThinGen vampire was burning credits in the machine to drink his beast away. I knelt next to him and felt his cold forehead, then his neck where I thought his heart would be beating to see if Dinner was correct. His body shivered at my touch, but there wasn''t any pulse to speak of.


    ¡°You''re in a frenzy,¡± I stated the obvious.


    A laugh filled the air behind me before someone else said, ¡°What a pathetic drunk.¡±


    I couldn''t keep him in the saloon or he''d make too much of a scene. We were already being watched by so many mortals and there was no veil to hide under, so I stared into Caleb¡¯s red eyes and focused my blood on my voice. With all the force of vampirically powered vocal cords, I ordered, ¡°You are going to listen to me.¡± I spoke coherently and with the least amount of accent I could muster.


    Caleb blinked a few times as shadows criss-crossed his eyes momentarily. His eye twitched visibly while his brain heard the words, processed them, and allowed my words to soak into his mind. Now his entire focus was only on me and not his hunger.


    ¡°I am going to listen to you,¡± he repeated.


    ¡°Get up and come with me.¡± I grabbed him by the arm and hauled the corpse to his feet under the laughter of the people around us. They wouldn¡¯t be laughing a few days ago. They¡¯d be passed out or dead on the floor and I¡¯d be peeling Caleb off one of them. I felt an odd emotion I hadn¡¯t felt in a long, long time; shame. It was embarrassing having to deal with the ThinGen like he was. It¡¯ll put a mark on my reputation if anyone in the council finds out about it.


    There was no ceremony when dealing with a frenzying vampire. The best option was get them someplace with the least witnesses and feed them a mortal, but since his hunger demanded cans. I took him to his wagon, opened the back door and released my mental hold. ¡°Be you again,¡± I said.


    He dashed through the door and into the backseat like lightning and tore into the case of blood as if the fledgling were a wild animal, so I closed the door. Giving him space to feed in peace and quiet was the least I could do. I pulled my pocket watch out to see how much time we had left before sun up. It was going to be a long night and it was only close to midnight.

 Chapter 8: A Short Detour

    Chapter 8: A Short Detour


    I had no idea how to drive Caleb¡¯s automobile! It didn''t seem that hard when I was watching him drive, but now that I was in the driver¡¯s seat I didn''t see how he made it go forward. I remembered he played with the lever behind the steering wheel to get it moving, but nothing else beyond how to steer. That was obvious from the ones I had seen in my day. I tried to pull the lever down, but it was stuck in place and refused to budge no matter how hard I pulled.


    Caleb lay across the back seat hugging his case of imitation blood with his fangs sunk right into one of the cans and eyes closed. Roughly five empty cans lay on the floor while the man lay in a food sleep.


    I thought better than trying to drive without any skill and sent Dinner a message asking for help in how to drive, because Caleb was useless. Dinner explained it over a few messages with pictures of different controls.


    Their vehicle was odd, because they had three pedals, not two! I pointed that out and Dinner said two pedals would make it easier.


    Easier for¡­ whom? Because I was used to seeing old self-propelled wagons with four pedals, a hand throttle and two levers! Dinner instructed me how to send photos so they could draw on the pictures and I tried my best. I really did, but it was bad enough that Dinner told me to wait where I was.


    Sending a photograph instantly between people was the strangest thing I''d seen so far. Back in my day, we''d mail them to someone else and that''d take weeks! Dinner didn''t want to use the phone¡¯s calling function for some odd reason. Likely because the saloon was too noisy.


    I was an old lady. I didn''t need Dinner to show me how to operate the vehicle in person and could figure it out on my own, but¡­ I likewise refused to make the half-elf upset, and so I waited a long few minutes until the darkly clothed person came into view with a hearty wave.


    Their walk was fairly unsteady thanks to the alcohol in their system, but they looked like they were trying to not show it. And failed at it. By Dinner attempting to not wobble, that only made their wobble worse! They eventually caught up to me.


    I opened the door for them as they said, ¡°A Chalmers two-fifty Executive, huh?¡±


    I assumed Dinner was referencing the pickup, so I nodded. ¡°Yeah. Why?¡±


    ¡°Your vampire pal must be loaded then. Chalmers aren''t cheap like Stephensons. Same company. Chalmers is the luxury brand while Stephenson is the basic brand most companies use for work vehicles.¡±


    ¡°How do I drive these cars? There are fewer controls!¡±


    Dinner pointed at the blinker indicator stalk, the automatic lights, gear selector, and everything else important. I listened to their instructions on how to work the controls, which seemed far easier than I was expecting. Just put it in drive, turn the wheel and press the throttle. No matching gears to the engine speed.


    I went as slow as I could when I pulled out onto the road, keeping an eye on where I was, hoping I didn''t damage anything. The pickup shook as a faint crunch echoed throughout the cabin. I cringed, and so did Dinner. They stepped around the pickup¡¯s nose, pointing a clear gesture on where to turn the wheel.


    With the half-elf¡¯s help, I pulled out of the parking stall, glancing out one of the mirrors to see if I was clear of the other wagons. Once the vehicle was situated in the travel lane, Dinner checked over the damage to the pickup¡¯s bed, then the car I hit. Dinner shrugged, throwing a hand down the road.


    A notification popped up saying my car driving skill reached level one, which I would say was an overstatement, because I could barely keep the thing in its lane and was stopping over the lines or well behind them at every red light. It was worse than a horse! Jumpy, barely responding to my inputs and slowing down was near instant! A far cry from anything I had seen a few days ago.


    The pickup wandered along its lane, hardly staying within the lines as I followed them away from the saloon. The city felt like a canyon of buildings and I was an explorer on an unruly horse. With a wide open road ahead, and traffic around me, I had to keep an eye out to ensure I didn''t hit anything else.


    Caleb had all the info for where we needed to go and what we needed to do, and I still needed to show him how to hunt a mortal.


    I drove on into the night looking for a suitable place for Caleb to hunt in: a proper saloon, a park, maybe even a shady part of town, but it was clear that I hadn''t kept up with the times. I got on the highway and followed it north, looking for a ferry to San Francisco from Encinar¡¯s docks.


    Couldn''t find it at the docks and neither did anyone know anything about a ferry to San Francisco because the bay was mostly drained. They did know of a bridge though. Which was one hell of a bridge to span the old bay and reach San Francisco from Encinar. You could see it from the docks, too, thanks to them illuminating it in a warm-white color. The thought of driving all the way to San Francisco did cross my mind, but they mentioned it cost money, so I headed south past Encinar toward Ami and San Jose.


    After what felt like hours of driving, I pulled over on an exit somewhere between Ami and South Encinar to send my sire a message: Greenhorn did not agree with the booze. I think I should get an iron for my clothes, too.


    Her reply was swift: The usual place is still around in Encinar. I will let them know you¡¯re coming, They take gold, too. Better hope you have some because I cannot afford to spare any at the moment.


    I looked up from the phone to the highway beyond. If the general store was still around then that should be downtown, so I followed my instincts and drove on.


    We headed back into the city, exiting for downtown right as the System told me I was level six in Driving Skill. The pickup made its way along a few side streets I vaguely recognized. Luckily the names were still close enough to the same ones I remembered. Everything had changed quite a bit in just a week with larger buildings being built in place of smaller ones. Some lots had been combined while the old blacksmith had become a metal scrapyard to ¡®recycle¡¯ old things.


    We passed by a bus station that used to be the train station, and finally found the general store around the time I received a message that said I was level seven in Driving Skill, but still needed a class to gain any perks.


    The general store had become a ¡®military surplus¡¯ store with a gun store attached to it. Bright signs painted over barred windows greeted me with all the fanfare of discounts and sales, while only one sign advertised guns.


    I nudged Caleb¡¯s shoulder to wake him up, quickly explaining what we were doing.


    He blinked at me. ¡°Why do you need a gun¡­?¡± his groggy post-frenzy voice croaked.


    ¡°Because mine were stolen from me while I was in torpor.¡±


    The man sat up and rubbed his fangs, tapping each one in turn. ¡°I haven''t felt like this since I drank the potion. What happened?¡±


    ¡°You went into a blood craze and spent most of your money on canned blood.¡±


    Which was an instinct I had no idea was possible. If I didn''t have some control over my hunger I would have grabbed Dinner and drained them dry followed by every mortal in the club until I came across a vampire and stole their soul. Which might¡¯ve been Caleb¡¯s fate had he been there in the dining area.


    I gave Caleb his key back and headed inside the store. Immediately, it felt like I walked into a tailoring shop inside a barn. Clothes upon clothes hung on racks waiting for peasants to buy the premade items. Above us they showed off strange contraptions and even a full on cannon sitting over everything way in the back, and armor plating that could have come from a ship.


    My jaw dropped at the brazen display of weaponry and even tents floating in the air.


    Caleb mentioned something to me about his truck¡¯s fuel gauge, but I walked further into the building, looking at a rack of all black clothing. Then one with the same drab green the retainer wore. Even sand colors and multi-coloured patterns that drew my eye for the sheer chaos they gave. Heavy fabrics that felt like they¡¯d survive on the trail well enough. One or two had the remnants of regiment patches sewn into them. They were designed to be unisex. I hoped that they wouldn''t make my shoulders look too wide, because then they¡¯d be trash.


    I didn¡¯t need the reminder of how wide I was up top and how narrow I was at the hips. It was ugly even before the void stole my reflection after my embrace. My sire claims the void steals her bloodline¡¯s reflections to remind every vampire from our first progenitor to me that we are insignificant ants to a great moon in the sky. However, my sire thinks that¡¯s a load of manure. Me? Well, I have communed with Mother Moon in my evening prayers. And She is very much actively listening.


    I pulled one multi-colored green, brown, and black coat off the rack and held it up, turning it around and then inside out. I checked the stitching through a visual inspection and a tug test, finding it likely wouldn''t come apart soon. I draped the coat over my arm and searched for a matching hat, since I forgot mine back at the saloon, but didn''t see any in a style I liked. Luckily I still had my glasses. Those were always on my nose and never came off, except when I put on the motorcycle helmets or slept.


    ¡°Really?¡± Caleb queried as I wandered toward the boots looking for some in my size. Which wasn¡¯t too difficult to find, because they are the same size as the average man¡¯s.


    The rubber soled boots were light tan or black, or dark brown and they covered my ankles which was perfect. I grabbed a pair of tan boots that fit with thick socks, an extra pair of socks and gloves before heading over to the gun section.


    All manner of weapons were on display behind the counter, which made me frown. From single shot to lever-actions, and bolt-actions, including modern weapons that were a hideous black color.


    The armed men behind the counter came over with one taking my clothing, and the other waving at me. ¡°Anything catch your eye?¡±


    I pointed at a wooden breech loader that called to me with a name. ¡°Is that a Pattern Seventy?¡± I asked.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The man turned around and pulled it down, pushing the lever forward to show it was empty. He explained the small history of the rifle where it was used at one of the training camps in the colonies during the First World War to how an elf purchased it afterward.


    ¡°First¡­ world war?¡± I asked.


    The clerk nodded in reply. ¡°Yeah. You know, the one that broke the Earth?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head.


    According to the clerk and Caleb, the war was fought from 1765 to 1839 and saw the world go from primitive single-shot muskets to automatic spell-slinging guns. Complete with walking artillery platforms that were the same type of machine Dinner piloted. The world was destroyed in 1825 through what most speculate to be some form of multi-dimensional spell going awry. t seemed odd that I didn''t recall weaponry advancing that much, but then again. I wasn''t anywhere near major civilizations for the latter half of the 18th century.


    Especially with Prussia fielding armed airships that made sailing in their territory annoying. California had less headaches and was chosen by me as a suitable place to head to. My sire wanted to go to the Oregon territories and beyond.


    While they spoke, I gingerly took the battered breechloader from the clerk, inspecting the two hundred year old rifle. As I pushed the lever forward to open the breech with a satisfying click, there was something about the shape of the weapon that struck a chord deep within the recesses of my mind, it felt not just familiar, but like I owned the weapon in the past. It was strange because I couldn''t recall owning the rifle! Only the vague notion that I did. It left behind an overwhelming feeling that someone was staring at me from the dark.


    I glanced back once again, but no one was moving through the store aside from Caleb and I, and we were both at the counter. It felt like something was out there among the racks just waiting to pop out with a rifle of their own.


    If I had a living heart, it would have been beating with the rhythm of a marching drum, complete with the fife and regiment following behind. A strange pressure pushed its way to the center of my forehead and hung out as my fingers drummed against the stock, matching the beat in my head.


    The clerk behind the counter dryly explained, ¡°An elf converted it to fire spells just after the Collide.¡± He pointed to an extra box on the side of the breech called a spell expansion chamber along with tubes that ran the length of the barrel. I didn''t know their purpose even after he explained how they worked. Magic guns were beyond me unless I sat down with one and took it apart.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Caleb asked.


    I set the weapon on the counter and shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Do you have any revolvers?¡± The pressure ceased, as did the humming in my head once the weapon was out of my hands. I rubbed them together to beat back the cold creeping across them.


    The man behind the counter put the rifle back on the wall. He walked over to another case as he said, ¡°We have a few.¡±


    The man set an ugly ugly silver revolver on the counter, which I promptly ignored. I pointed down to a revolver with a wooden grip and a long barrel. There was a hinge in the center to break open the revolver¡¯s frame for reloading. It was identical to ones I could buy in a general store only a few days ago.


    ¡°That one,¡± I said, tapping my finger against the glass.


    ¡°The top break?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do you have any Stinger seventy-eight revolvers?¡±


    The man shook his head. ¡°Not many people buy black powder guns anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I had a nice one that I kept even after brass cartridges came out, and a Stinger Carbine. Do you have any of those?¡±


    He shook his head.


    I held my hands out to roughly how big the rifle was. ¡°It put the lead wherever I wanted. I could hunker down and hit my foes before they had a chance to see me. The short length likewise helped when swinging it about on ships and clubbing merchants who were a bit close with their coin.¡±


    ¡°You a vampire then?¡± one of the workers asked as everyone stared at me like a relic that should be in a museum.


    I nodded. It felt strange to openly admit my undeath status to mortals like it was a common interaction. My inner demon demanded I keep quiet, but the words flowed out despite its protest. ¡°Y-yes. I was a bit of a swashbuckler in my youth. I¡¯ve¡­ been asleep for some time.¡±


    ¡°Well, in that case, let¡¯s bring you up to speed.¡± He showed me a decently sized black and silver hunting revolver with a ported barrel. It even came with strange orange and green dot sights. ¡°This is a Model 162 .44 magnum. We do carry it in 500 magnum, too.¡±


    The biggest difference between the top-break and the hunting revolver was how it was loaded, aside from cartridge size, but not by much. The 500 sized cartridges were huge! Perfect for stunning a vampire with, but only five shots compared to six of the .44 magnum. I used their orange dummy rounds and a speed loader to get a feel for both and ended up picking out the side-loader 162 in 500 magnum.


    It just looked pretty modern and snazzy, and the rubber grip felt nice in my hand compared to the wooden grip of the top break. There was even a neat little red dot scope on top!


    He showed me a repeating pistol that was far faster to load; slide out the magazine and slide in the new one, but it made a mess by ejecting the cartridges when fired. Maybe another day when I didn''t care about keeping the cartridges and staying unnoticed.


    One thing that was different to the pistols was that they looked like any old lead slinging gun, so I asked, ¡°Why don''t these shoot spells?¡±


    ¡°Spell gun production was banned in the year one-hundred. Every spell-slinger you see is either an old conversion or production model from before the ban.¡±


    ¡°And the spell ammo?¡±


    ¡°Thank the dragons in power for making that your problem to figure out.¡± The man slapped down a form.


    I filled it out and showed him my classless System License. He added everything together including a few boxes of ammo totalling roughly six thousand gold, and put the clothes in a bag.


    Caleb looked stunned at the price, so I turned to face him and cocked my head.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    The fledgling shook himself out of his daze and motioned toward the wall of guns behind the clerks. ¡°That¡¯s overpriced¡­ you can get one of the rare rifles for that much.¡±


    I turned toward the man behind the counter. ¡°Is it?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No. The pistol is four thousand gold or sixteen hundred credits. It¡¯s an uncommon variant produced in limited quantities. Comes with a double-locked cylinder, polished internals for smooth action, and a factory mated scope guaranteed to hit a dime at forty yards.¡±


    ¡°So it''s a common variant then.¡± Caleb¡¯s voice was strange as he spoke and folded his arms across his chest. ¡°I could see a rare or unique revolver being four thousand gold, but not a common one. I am a level twenty-two Merchant and I can smell a scam when I see one! That pistol should be a hundred gold tops.¡±


    The clerks did not look at all happy about his words. One glared while the other one waved in my direction. ¡°Old vampire pricing.¡±


    ¡°That''s preposterous!¡± Caleb echoed my thoughts. ¡°If anything she should get a small discount.¡±


    ¡°A discount?!¡± The clerk laughed. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°The mayor!¡± Caleb motioned in my direction while I watched quietly to see how he acted. The only thing stopping me from letting my anger go and force the blood sacks to kneel and give me the guns. Was the fact that my sire had called ahead and told them I was coming. They shouldn''t be trying to fleece me for all my gold. I am quite sure my sire would be disappointed with her contracts if she ever finds out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Green-level uncommon variant. The price is a hundred and ten gold.¡± Then the clerk hit me with a line I wasn¡¯t expecting, ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s a ten day waiting period.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± I blinked at the man, glancing at Caleb before looking at the man again. ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°Regulations.¡± The clerk shrugged in the calmest manner I had seen. ¡°Although, you can skip the timer for a thousand gold.¡±


    Again, it would¡¯ve been simple to force him to give it up, but I didn¡¯t want to ruin my sire¡¯s night a second time in a row.


    ¡°That part he¡¯s not lying about.¡± Caleb nodded in my direction. ¡°Guns have a ten day waiting period, or it¡¯ll cost you a thousand gold to skip the timer.¡±


    I agreed to spend the gold and we went through the transaction on a device sitting on the counter, which, of course, required me to hold my phone against the machine to pay through it. After that, I had to wear gloves and enter a pin. He asked for a tip, too! Something about good service. I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the man until he threw in a chest holster.


    Once everything was paid for, the holster equipped, and heavy ammo in my dress pockets, Caleb and I walked back outside to where I parked his pickup.


    As I took a deep breath to fill my ancient lungs with the cool night air, Caleb looked at me with curiosity in his ruby eyes. The kind of look a man who had things to ask held before he uttered the most foolhardy question you could think of. He placed his hands together in a praying motion, bowing a bit as he flashed a fang-filled smile.


    ¡°The club owner said he wants the rebels staked and brought to trial by the council. Won¡¯t a stake to the heart kill them?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Who told you that nonsense?¡±


    ¡°My doctors¡­¡±


    Odd, but if vampires were normalized I could see them developing different weaknesses unless¡­ ¡°They may be lying to you, but take the experience of an elder vampire with the weight of a feather. Your frenzy was different enough to mine that their recommendation may be true for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? What''s it like for you?¡±


    ¡°For me? I¡¯ve been staked enough times to tell you that it is never pleasant to lose all motor functions and slam into the ground, knowing that your attacker can do whatever they want as you helplessly slip into torpor.¡±


    ¡°When was the first time you were staked?¡±


    ¡°Just after the pirate empire of Nassau and the kingdom of Britain began fighting. My sire and I sailed our fourteen gun sloop into Baton Rouge one night when I was still a fledgling, having come from Falmouth a couple weeks before. Our mortal crew was offloading the cargo, my sire was handling paperwork, and left me to acquire us both a meal. I didn¡¯t know who was who in the city and ended up on the wrong side of a vampire¡¯s gaze thanks to stepping on their toes.


    ¡°They chased me through the alleys past onlooking mortals. We couldn¡¯t use our vampire powers in the public eye, but that didn¡¯t mean we were beneath fighting with mortal weapons. I carried a pair of flintlocks and a cutlass most of the time I was aboard the ship and off, unless the city had a weapon restriction.


    ¡°I knew a pistol shot would draw the guards and all it¡¯d do was stun a vampire, so I kept darting from one building to the other under the cover of a rainstorm. They finally cut me off with one vampire drawing steel and pointing it at me. I slowed to a stop, reaching for my own blade as I said, ¡®I didn¡¯t mean to intrude on your domain, Jean. We can go our separate ways, yes?¡¯


    ¡°Jean shook his head while the second man slowed his run to a saunter. Both were ready for a fight I¡¯d give them. ¡®You¡¯re fast for your age,¡¯ Jean said, laughing between his words. He was one of those ruling class vampires from France. The kind who looked down at you for nothing other than being born of a lower house. Quite ugly in my eyes, but so are you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not ugly!¡±


    ¡°You''re not my type. I waited for the opportune moment to draw my cutlass and replied, ¡®I hear that a lot.¡¯


    ¡° ¡®Hands up,¡¯ the other man said from behind me, his own blade sliding out with the familiar ring of steel. At the time, I wondered if any of the open windows held sleeping people, or if the buildings were empty, because if people saw us then I¡¯d have to kill them, too. Beyond the alley were few mortals in their nightly routines. Some wandered from one place to another, while others, like guards, were more dedicated in their routes.


    ¡°They had me cornered. A rare thing, because I knew my way around most of the islands, having been sailing with my sire for the better part of two decades as a mortal, but Baton Rouge? Not in the slightest. I could no more tell you the capitol building from the inn! It was a small place, but with enough shady types, we could unload and leave by dawn, letting the mortals captain the ship out to sea while we slept in our coffins.


    ¡° ¡®Don¡¯t make this harder than it already has been,¡¯ Jean said. He kept his weapon pointed threateningly at me, using his other hand to beckon me closer. ¡®We all know how deadly these weapons are.¡±


    ¡°How are swords deadly to a vampire?¡± Caleb asked, tilting his head.


    I mimicked a slicing motion across my neck. ¡°Losing your head was a very real everyday possibility back then. Fights between vampires can be brutally efficient and generally ended with your second death or so maimed you would have to spend a week healing. Fights were avoided if you can help it. It is why they did not outright attack me. Because a woman in her elder years who was embraced? Likely could take them both on in a fight, and I had no idea if they were expert swordsmen or not.


    ¡°I was but a fledgling of only a year old. And what remained of my mortal instincts screamed at my beast that fighting two swordsmen in an alley was loco. I let go of the blade and held my hands up defensively. ¡®You make a point,¡¯ I replied.


    ¡°The man bowed and I half-expected his damp powered wig to fall off. He sheathed the sword right as a guard came over and demanded to know what we were doing.


    ¡°I closed the gap to Jean in a flash, sliding my arm through the other vampire¡¯s as if we were lovers. Then smiled up at him. ¡®Just going for a walk with our servant, right, dear?¡¯ I asked.


    ¡° ¡®Yes. Everything is fine.¡¯ Jean waved for the guard to leave, but it looked highly suspicious even to me. Three armed people in an alley with me wearing a brace of pistols. Even a blind mortal knew something was up and their curiosity could kill them.


    ¡°The mortal guard eyed me closely, as if he knew I was in danger. It was in his eyes that he had seen us talking and wasn''t going to back down easily. There¡¯d be one less mortal in Baton Rouge.


    ¡°I stepped away from Jean and held the mortal¡¯s gaze like my sire taught me, moving blood to my voice box. ¡®You saw a couple out for a stroll with their servant¡¯ I told the man sternly.


    ¡°He repeated my words and I walked him through the cordial encounter until I ordered him to leave us be. Once the mortal disappeared down the street, I heard one of the vampires say, ¡®Thank you, but I am afraid we are still going to blindfold you.¡¯


    ¡°I should have tried my voice on the vampires, but I didn''t believe it would do anything. I was too new to understand the extent of my voice. The other vampire held the stake high. That''s when I knew they still had nefarious intentions, despite me saving their backsides. I tried to run then, but Jean held my shoulders with enough force to crack mortal bone, just before the wooden stake plunged into my chest and broke a rib on the way to my heart.¡±


    Caleb cringed at that, shivering visibly and shaking his head. ¡°That sounds¡­ What happened next?¡±


    ¡°I woke up three and a half months later aboard our ship. After drinking my fill, my sire told me they strung me up in their hall down in New Orleans as a lesson to fledglings on proper etiquette. They intended to keep me there for two decades. My sire ran favors and got them more rum to smooth over a deal for my release.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve always had problems in social groups.¡±


    ¡°I am ashamed to admit that I am not always at my best. For example, if we pulled into Charleston or New York I could have found us a meal no problem. I had contacts in those cities I could speak with.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­ did you still want to do the interview?¡±


    I sighed heavily and closed my eyes. The idea sounded terrible in practice, because a few of my enemies could still be around. Especially whomever sealed my coffin.


    ¡°Meet me at my house tomorrow. Bring your friends and a meal.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Where are you going? We still need to bring in the vampires.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where they are?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I threw my hands to the side. ¡°Then we need to investigate! Use those skills you have and roll the dice as it were.¡±


    ¡°You''re not far off.¡± Caleb glanced down the trashy street and took a deep breath. ¡°I think I know the place.¡±

 Chapter 9: The Warehouse

    Chapter 9: The Warehouse


    Caleb drove us across Encinar to an old building down by the old waterfront where he assumed our targets were shacked up. The hideous eyesore of a large rectangular building was covered in different words painted across almost every inch of the structure¡¯s exterior. Other large buildings were tucked close and all packed near a rail line for easy offloading of supplies. Yet they were all abandoned.


    Much like the club, we parked some distance away and walked to the ugly building. Along the way through the warehouse to the office, Caleb asked, voice echoing inside the abandoned building, ¡°So what were you humming in the store?¡±


    ¡°The British Grenadiers.¡± I smiled at the ThinGen. He raised an eyebrow in reply, so I twirled a hand and swung my legs in a curtsy. ¡°I am a privateer extraordinaire!¡±


    ¡°I thought you were Encinar¡¯s mayor?¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t always the mayor.¡± I wagged a finger at Caleb and winked. ¡°At one point I may have been a privateer for the Nassau Empire, but it was only because the Empress paid better and actually honored the deal. The British had better music, but refused to acknowledge my sire or I as legitimate ship captains. Something about women not being allowed on ships.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Whose side did you guys fight on?¡±


    I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I had my own country to worry about once the skirmish became a dust-up in ¡®73 when some yanks threw tea into the sea!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Caleb blinked a few times at me, shaking his head like he just had a spasm for the first time since he was turned.


    ¡°I was not just a mayor, Caleb.¡± I pointed at the ground beneath our feet. ¡°I founded Encinar with a group of mortals! We stole gold from London and Paris, bought the land from Spain; We worked a deal where my sire and I kept Encinar safe from werewolves in return for blood tithes. This attracted more vampire and mortal refugees and soon, the little ranch became a small city in California.¡±


    Caleb shook his head again and made his way up to the office door, which opened before he reached it and a brick of a mortal with shoulders as wide as the door frame blocked our path. The man had muscles almost as big as my head! He wore grubby clothes like the kind a beggar would wear, and he didn''t look happy. ¡°You two talk louder than a babe crying for their mother¡¯s milk,¡± the brick said.


    I placed my hands on my hips and flicked my head toward the blood sack, hoping Caleb got the hint.


    Caleb spoke with a stammer that was annoying, because he knows how to speak. ¡°W-we¡¯re here to¡­ to¡­ speak with your boss!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the brick said.


    ¡°What?¡± Caleb blinked.


    ¡°I don''t wanna take you to him.¡±


    ¡°Why not?!¡±


    The blood sack shrugged. ¡°Because I just don¡¯t.¡±


    Caleb looked at me like a confused squirrel, working his mouth in an attempt to come up with a plan. I refused to tell the ThinGen anything. He whirled around on the mortal and pointed a finger. ¡°Listen here, you little¡­ little¡­ mortal! I am a fucking vampire and you¡¯ll do what I tell you!¡±


    I covered my mouth to suppress the smile and made it look like I was yawning instead. Caleb was quite terrible at intimidation! Perhaps he should instead stick with being a merchant pinata.


    ¡°I don''t care if you''re a vampire. Go away, noisy ones.¡± The brick closed the door in Caleb¡¯s face. The ThinGen knocked on the door again only for a muffled voice to tell us to leave.


    To his credit, Caleb didn''t relent and knocked again while I wandered off, looking for another entrance into the office, listening for movement nearby. There was only the distant roar of highway traffic and a few honks here and there.


    The warehouse had quite a few places to hide with old rundown machinery and long shadows cast by light barely creeping through holes in the ceiling. A strange stench of oils mixed with grease and rust filled the air as I explored the ground floor with my new revolver weighing heavy in my hand with a familiar weight.


    I longed to feel the weight of a cutlass in my off-hand as if it were still my fledgling years. Perhaps I could find a blacksmith to make me one.


    Had I been able to sweat, I was sure my hand would be slick with it. I instinctively wiped it on my dress before twirling the heavy revolver backward, and then forward, gripping it in the ready position. Something didn''t feel right about the building. My footsteps failed to echo in the large, abandoned space, but that wasn¡¯t what was odd. That was normal, because the shadows awaited my command.


    It just felt like we weren¡¯t alone.


    I passed by machinery taller than I was. One piece of machinery appeared like a mechanical crane on wide train tracks holding a beam precariously aloft on thin lines. In a way, the beam looked like a piece of the building they had picked up off the ground. I watched it move very slightly in the wind that managed to make it through the gaps in the windows, creaking and groaning.


    Caleb¡¯s angry shout carried to me, ¡°Come on! This is my first assignment. Let me in, man!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± the other man yelled back as I glanced at a hole in the ceiling. A few lights attached to an airship moved above us low enough I could make out separate blinking white and red lights, but either it made no noise or it was too far away to hear. The other man continued, ¡°The Top Hats are too many. We do not want them here. Deal with them.¡±


    I glanced back to the faint light spilling out from the office. Caleb was insistent, I¡¯ll give him that, but Top Hats?


    Inquisitors? Here in Encinar?!


    ¡°Shit,¡± I whispered, finally noting the building¡¯s prime ambush spots as being everywhere! Mortals could be sneaking through the shadows toward Caleb and he wouldn''t know, because he was too busy arguing with the brick. And I wouldn''t know because I¡¯d been neglecting my eyes and ears.


    ¡°Fledgling!¡± I yelled for Caleb, my voice carrying as far as the darkest shadow, reminding me that not even they wanted to deal with helping my voice reach him.


    I did something I should have done as soon as we arrived, and focused my blood on my eyes and ears, my heart finally sending a second beat that night.


    Even though it was fairly dark, I found the world becoming as bright as daytime with all the colors associated with it. I absorbed every detail about the machinery from the flaking paint to the stickers covered in dust. There was faint shuffling some distance away off to my right. Just barely audible over Caleb and the mortal arguing about what the ThinGen was supposed to be doing there.


    My heart pulsed a third time as I stepped into the shadows and melted, following the new sounds around the machines and between crates until movement caught my eye near one of the larger machines. I pressed myself against the strange manufacturing machine and made my profile as small as possible, exposing only half of my body.


    Roughly fifteen yards away, five pairs of light green orbs attached to the faces of armored men bobbed through the maze of machinery while pencil thin red dots were attached to weapons in their hands.


    They were bulked up in padded long sleeve shirts and pants with helmets and neck protection, indicating they knew who their targets were. And if there was any doubt to what their purpose was, the holstered stakes were a clear message to me.


    The Inquisition was still active in Encinar when I thought we had run them out half a decade ago. Encinar was my city, not theirs. I had to get rid of them.


    I aimed down the revolver¡¯s red scope at the man in the middle of the pack, placing the red dot on his head, waiting for a clear shot on his jaw as they approached with their modern rifles drawn. They claimed it was accurate to forty yards, but didn¡¯t specify the grouping. I was about to find out just how accurate their claim was. An intense ache unlike any I experienced thus far built in my exposed fangs while I watched the soldiers approach my position, feeling like I¡¯d seen a similar scene at least once in my past, but it didn''t matter when or where.


    I had to protect her from the hunters. They couldn''t get into the house, but here they were approaching my front door. Amelia wanted me to hide, but that wasn''t me.


    I am many things, but a coward I am not.


    I tracked the slow moving target, bracing the heavy revolver with my other hand, and squeezed the trigger when they turned in my direction. The revolver kicked back against my undead wrists, shockwave rippling through the dead flesh into my shoulders. A massive flash illuminated the soldiers for an instant, followed immediately by an ear shattering report loud enough to make me smile at the sheer power in my hands.


    The revolver was a darned ship cannon, not a pistol!


    My cover blown, I ducked behind the machine once more as my headache faded. I melted with the darkness right when surprised shouting echoed from both Amelia and the hunters. One of the hunters screamed about something I didn''t care to listen to. They returned fire with a crescendo of shots, bullets impacting metal and concrete where I''d been standing only moments ago.


    One man yelled, barely audible over the rapid popcorn pops of return gunfire, ¡°Shots fired, shots fired! Requesting backup. I say again, shots fired! Targets are armed!¡±


    A strange metal tube clinked into my view, rolling to a stop near where I¡¯d been standing. It reminded me of a grapeshot container for the cannons, only much, much smaller. I shrieked involuntarily, realizing it might be an explosive and dashed for cover behind another machine. A flash illuminated the warehouse like the sun shone through the ceiling.


    Followed by a hollow explosion that rocked the building, sending glass shards and dust raining down around us. I instinctively covered my head. Shrapnel tore my beautiful dress to shreds as if it was tiny needles digging their way deep into my skin.


    ¡°Fan out!¡± Another hunter shouted as the popping slowed to a stop. ¡°They can''t have gone far.¡±


    Fangs aching for blood, body itching while it worked to push the glass shards out and heal the damage, I focused on finding a quick solution to the problem. I couldn''t keep dancing through the shadows without draining someone dry. I stepped around a stack of crates and aimed at the hunters once more, looking for a target.


    Amelia¡¯s frightened scream seared its way into my skull from somewhere nearby.


    The men frantically searched the darkness for me. An unmoving one lay on the ground while another dragged him from the fight toward cover, separating him from the others. I moved swiftly, stepping into the darkness close to me and reappearing next to him.


    He tried to turn and face me, but I was faster. I slipped in behind and found a weakness in his armor they didn¡¯t expect me to find. They likely never considered it because of their group tactics. Most of their armor was in the front and it was far less armored than I initially thought. It all focused on the chest, neck, head, and elbows without pauldrons to cover their shoulders. And since the armor was form-fitting cloth, it looked easy to bite through. Even if it was plate metal I could rip it off him.


    I practically jumped on his back, wrapped an arm around his torso in an effort to keep his arms pinned, and buried my fangs into a shoulder. My beast hungered. She wanted blood. He had blood. He was trying to kill me. I¡¯ll kill him instead.


    I wanted to, I wanted to drain every last drop of his blood. The warm lifeblood slid down my throat and fueled my body. My body absorbed the sip and wanted more. She wanted more. I had to give it to her. I had to have it all.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The three remaining men were practically back to back less than eight yards away, sweeping their glowing faces left to right. I didn¡¯t give a fuck and drank as much as I could.


    ¡°Primary target spotted!¡± one yelled as his gaze fell upon me. He brought his weapon up.


    I spun around to put his thrashing comrade between him and I. The man¡¯s elbow slammed into my gut, his hands clawed at my face and hair, trying with all his might to rip me away. They learned just how strong a vampire¡¯s grip was.


    I pressed the revolver against the man¡¯s spine and pulled the trigger, since his comrades weren¡¯t giving me the satisfaction of draining him dry and there was no more time. I hoped to at least hit one of the others, but I didn¡¯t aim and didn¡¯t see where the shot went.


    He stopped moving. I shoved the man forward. He stumbled ahead, falling to his knees as I lined up a shot to the back of his skull.


    The enemy¡¯s weapon barked thrice in the same breath my revolver roared once more.


    A bullet stung my shoulder and another slapped my bicep, digging deep and tearing off a small chunk on the way out.


    The rest of the squad were already turning to fire on me.


    My hunger burned, willing me to stay and fight until all were dead, but I had to save Amelia. Another ache yearned for me to unleash the beast on them. It tore across my scalp and into my fangs, but I couldn''t stay. Staying and fighting an armed mob was suicide. They''d stake me to a pole until the sun rose.


    I broke line of sight by darting around a machine and thought about stepping into the shadows again, but that wouldn''t work with how much my headache seemed to be moving around. My blood wouldn''t listen and demanded I sustain it with the nearest walking blood sack. The ones behind me were too grouped up for that. I had to find one that was weak and there was one near Amelia.


    I ran for the office, throwing caution to the wind, as muzzle flashes illuminated the warehouse like a fireworks display. One bullet snapped past my head, another bit across my lower back, followed by a couple ripping through my dress as it swayed in the wind.


    Amelia stood in the doorway with a dumbfounded blood sack. Both were mortified at my rapid approach.


    I held a hand out for my partner as I said flatly, ¡°The party¡¯s been crashed.¡±


    ¡°You''ve been shot!¡± Amelia yelled, eyes wide in shock. She looked at my ruined dress and tried to feel it. There wasn''t much blood to indicate where I was shot. Just the holes that itched profusely while my body worked to repair the damage and push the bullets out. Amelia continued, ¡°How do I fix this?!¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I pointed at myself. ¡°Look, we gotta skedaddle! There''s five of ¡®em and they called for the calvary. We ain¡¯t staying.¡±


    I dared not look at the blood sack, lest his beating heart tempt me into draining him dry even though I wanted to. I was on the verge again for the second time tonight, but it felt worse. My fangs once more out on their own and digging into my skull, aching for blood. Blood that was only feet away.


    I leapt for the man with a shriek, my fangs going for his neck. Amelia yanked me back, shouting something I couldn''t understand because it was elvish. She glared and pulled a can of blood from my dress, adding, ¡°Drink this!¡±


    I had no idea I even had that on me! I followed her directions. The nasty canned blood did little aside from cutting the edge.


    ¡°I tried to warn you!¡± the blood sack yelled. ¡°You¡¯ve been set up!¡±


    ¡°By who?!¡± Amelia gasped, looking from me to the blood sack. She should know better, but she seemed different. Less herself.


    I pointed inside the office. ¡°There¡¯s no more time, Amelia, we need to skedaddle, now!¡±


    ¡°Follow me!¡± The blood sack turned around and dashed inside the office.


    I waved for Amelia to give chase as one of the hunters shouted behind us, ¡°Primary target spotted! Light her up!¡±


    Bullets shattered the wooden door and concrete wall, raining splinters and rock. Amelia rushed behind the mortal, leaving me to slip into the dark once more. I waited in the shadows for the hunters to appear before I unleashed my remaining two shots on the one in the lead, gaining a System Notification but there wasn''t time to check what it was.


    *** ***


    We ran through the building, past stacks of tightly packaged items, and into another building, dodging gunfire along the way. Two of us took potshots at the hunters while they gave chase, their numbers increasing as time went on. The mortal blood sack from the office carried an automatic pistol with a large magazine. Had I known I could''ve bought a pistol like that, maybe I would have, but my boomcannon was perfect for me.


    Amelia kept her head down for the most part and shouted fruitlessly for the others to stop shooting. One bullet struck her square in the chest and sent the woman sprawling to the ground. I hauled her back to her feet and dragged her with me.


    I don''t think Amelia understood the gravity of the situation. The hunters were organized with enough backup to have us surrounded if we were to stay. Their shots were precise, yet unhinged in a way that seemed more like they were stalling for time than advancing.


    Time¡­


    I checked my pocket watch and saw it was less than an hour before sunup. The sky had become lighter, all stars having long since disappeared.


    A wailing babe drew closer, followed by another and another.


    ¡°What''s that noise?¡± I asked as I lined up a shot on another mortal. Despite the impressive explosion coming from the barrel, my shot missed the man by quite a lot. It was a quick snapshot after all.


    The hunters returned fire, bullets thumping into the wall I slipped behind.


    ¡°The coppers are coming! the blood sack exclaimed. The police were closing in, complicating the situation even further, because they likely didn''t know how to deal with vampires. Much less heavily armed Inquisition hunters.


    ¡°Just lovely! Now we have to deal with incompetent blood sacks bumbling about! They won''t know how to deal with me. Just like these hunters have no clue who they are dealing with.¡±


    ¡°Oh they do know how to deal with you, because they¡¯re vampire police!¡±


    Vampire police? Vampire police?!


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to ask about the details as I reloaded my revolver for the second time. Luckily the ammo I bought came in boxes of twenty rounds. I had two boxes, but left one in the pickup because I only had two speed loaders.


    We were half-way to Caleb¡¯s pickup when the blood sack provided me with a bag of good sustenance to clear my head, because any fool could see me salivating once again over juicy lifeblood only feet away. Even with the canned manure I had drank earlier. I was using my powers left and right, draining my blood faster than I replenished it. It had been a while since that last happened. As Mayor of Encinar, fighting was left to other vampires.


    It was strange. My headache dissipated during the fight, leaving me somewhat clear headed as I checked over my handful of remaining magnum rounds. If only I had that rifle from the store I¡¯d have another weapon to shoot back with. It¡¯ll be my next purchase, or perhaps another boomcannon.


    A helicopter, as Amelia called it, not airship, circled overhead shining a light down on the original warehouse while multiple flashes of light echoed from within the walls. Almost as if the hunters were fighting the police now. Another whirlybird joined in and floated some distance from the scene opposite the first. Though, curiously, without a giant lantern.


    The blood sack said for us to split up and take three different cars. That his boss would contact us in the next few days. Then he vanished much like I could before I could tell him I didn''t have a car.


    I herded the stunned Amelia toward Caleb¡¯s pickup. A few shots had impacted her, but the woman¡¯s body repaired them much like mine did. The twitch in her fingers and the way she licked her teeth reminded me of a hungry vampire, because it was a similar tick to mine.


    Amelia popped the door open and climbed inside, grabbing a can of blood to drink. I took two for myself and downed one before she even had the pickup started.


    Amelia¡¯s grip on the steering wheel was just as shaky as her voice. ¡°So¡­ I don''t know if we can make it to your house before dawn.¡±


    I checked my revolver once again and lightly clicked the cylinder shut. ¡°Isn''t it the opposite way?¡±


    She tilted her head a bit as she thought about it. ¡°You know, you''re right.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Amelia looked at me. ¡°We get on the freeway heading the opposite way of traffic and put as much distance between us and the docks as we can. Maybe go into Lafayette and rent separate hotel rooms.¡±


    I waved toward the window. ¡°Go!¡±


    *** ***


    I dreamed. An unusual thing for sure, but not the kind of restful dream mortals had. No, these were all too real as I crossed a muddy field ripped from the worst description of a battlefield you could imagine. Nothing left alive but a single beautiful tree.


    The breechloading musket was heavy in my hands as I ducked from crater to crater, trying to reach the safety of Amelia''s tree. Her tree sat next to my house while the building burned to the ground in an inferno. People in black and white uniforms surrounded the house, mingling with blue and white uniforms, including some red uniforms. All wore tall hats and worked together to throw buckets of flame on my home.


    I dropped the rifle in the muck, reaching for the tree as a shout of pain left my lips. My heart thundered in my ears. Breathing ragged, I barely held on, but the tree climbed out of the ground and ran from me. From the monster I became.


    Flames dashed from the house, trying to turn me to ash as I dove into a crater.


    Only for my face to land right on a soft couch like someone threw me down on it. When I rolled on my back and looked up, a beautiful, yet terrible woman knelt over me with fangs bared and eyes as dark as voids. Shadows crisscrossed her body like scars, creating a horribly disfigured old monster from the abyss.


    She leaned in for my neck with a smile. All I could do was watch while my mortal body refused to fight back, heart pounding as if I galloped all night. Pain tore through my chest, blood leaking from many holes. And yet, the monster biting me was something I waited a long, long time for.


    A knock on the door pulled my thoughts from the dream right when the monster¡¯s fangs pierced my neck, sending flames through my jaw as my eyes snapped open.


    A System Message appeared immediately: Level Up! Please choose your starting class to receive benefits.


    After dismissing the message, I pushed the blankets away and climbed out of the tub. It was pitch black, which was good. First, I knelt before the door to make sure no sunlight pierced the veil of shadows. Someone had opened it before me. The cloth I used to seal the light out was already pushed away from the gap at the bottom. I cracked the door open and stepped out, making my way through the dark room toward the front door.


    It was odd. I felt relaxed, completely sated, and could feel a very heavy meal in my veins. Some rested in my unbeating heart again, waiting for the signal to go anywhere in my body.


    Another knock rang out. Could be Caleb. Could be the police, or anyone, really. Still, I wrapped the camouflage jacket over my blouse and corset, checking the fit once again to be sure I had chosen correctly the night before. My dress¡¯s top was shredded like an animal ravaged it at one point. Even the skirt and petticoat were damaged enough that I was forced to wear a pair of Caleb¡¯s ill-fitting trousers.


    Light shone through the peephole and between the curtains and window. The kind of artificial light that came from lanterns rather than sun. Ungodly bright, yet consistent and not fear inducing.


    ¡°Sire?¡± Caleb¡¯s muffled voice called out. ¡°I forgot my key.¡±


    I moved quietly, placing my feet as gently as I could on the floor until I reached the door. The tiny peephole was enough to see Caleb standing there with a fist full of cans in one hand and an open one in the other with a fourth tucked under an arm. Lights from the highway and city were in full effect, washing out the image beyond the hotel.


    He held one of the disgusting cans out for me when I opened the door. I sipped from the fake blood. It tasted fine today, which was odd. I tilted my head in response to the sweet sugar assaulting my tongue even as the normally nasty metallic aftertaste stayed behind.


    ¡°Sleep well?¡± Caleb asked with a hint of concern. I downed half the can in one gulp. His red eyes followed my movements while his fingers drummed against his own drink.


    I stepped aside with a soft, happy gasp, and let him in. Caleb pushed his way past and into the room.


    ¡°You might say that,¡± I said, locking the door. Then set my revolver on the table near the television in the center of the room. ¡°I apologize if I did anything odd last night. My hunger took over and that is not like me.¡± I gulped down another mouthful of the warm drink.


    ¡°About that¡­¡± Caleb bit his lip, fangs protruding in an almost adorable way.


    ¡°Do you recall what happened? I remember seeing the hunters, aiming my revolver at them, and then¡­ the night was a blur.¡±


    ¡°You were shot multiple times,¡± he replied, waving a hand toward my shredded dress, which explained its state. ¡°And hit by shrapnel from a grenade.¡±


    ¡°It feels like it.¡± I rubbed my arm where it itched underneath the jacket as if it were freshly healed.


    ¡°We escaped, headed to Lafayette where you grabbed a random woman and drank from her, so now we¡¯re here in Orin." He cocked his head to the side along with an eyebrow.


    ¡°What?¡± I blinked at his allegations, as it was impossible to travel that fast! Well, at least a week ago.


    ¡°You damn near killed her! It took all of my strength and another vampire to rip you away from her.¡±


    It didn¡¯t make sense. I remembered shooting the first hunter, but nothing after that. It was a haze of darkness and blood, which meant my inner demon did take over. And she was not as nice as I was; Cruel, vindictive, and very matter of factly.


    ¡°I cannot recall the details of what transpired from the time my hunger took control to now.¡±


    ¡°You latched onto another mortal and almost killed him, too! And look!¡± He grabbed a device off the table and pointed it at the television, which turned the device on. ¡°Look! They''re talking about what we did in the warehouse.¡±


    A person¡¯s face appeared on the display talking about a gang battle taking place down at the Port of Encinar with a few people dead and the vampire police investigating it. The building was hideous in the daytime and looked ready for an errant structure fire to take it down. Words scrolled by at the bottom of the screen about different things from mundane events such as a display going missing from a museum to details about a corporation war in the Ventros Wildlands.


    I looked over at Caleb, because I failed to see what the fight at the docks had to do with the blood sacks.


    ¡°And?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do we do?! You killed three people! That other guy killed others, too.¡± That Caleb knew of. It felt like more.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s three less hunters in the world.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be that cold¡­¡±


    ¡°I can and I am. They would¡¯ve staked us for the sun.¡± I glanced over at my shredded clothes, longing for more cloth to remake them, as they were now blood stained trash, so I threw them in the dust bin.


    ¡°But what about the club owner? He wanted the rebels dealt with.¡±


    ¡°And he gave you the address?¡± I asked. Caleb nodded, so I added, ¡°Then either the ¡®rebels¡¯ were hunters, or he set you up for failure. I will not tolerate being made a fool of, and so we are going right back there tonight.¡±


    Caleb glanced at the ground for a moment, tapping the side of his head like a tree trunk. ¡°I remember¡­ they called you the primary target multiple times. It doesn¡¯t make sense, Sire.¡±


    I heard that somewhere, but couldn''t recall where, so I scratched the back of my head as I stared at the moving display screen. The aerial view showed flashes of light during the early morning hours. Gunshots most likely. Mine? The police? The hunters?


    ¡°Did anything else happen?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ um. I, uh¡­¡± Caleb flashed a warm smile. My eyes fell on the bed where the sheets looked roughed around by one or two people, which meant only one thing, because I awoke in the wash room.


    My eyes widened when I realized there was an actual wash room physically inside the building with a working toilet. Something I never heard of before!


    Can I flush it and watch the water swirl again?


    What?! Why do I know that it''d do that?


    Because!


    ¡°You drank my blood, didn''t you?¡± I asked, trying to distract my thoughts.


    His face contorted between embarrassment and happiness as he shrugged. ¡°It was very tasty¡­?¡±


    ¡°Did I drink yours?¡± If she was in control of my actions last night then she would have sought out proper sustenance. And proper sustenance was vampire blood. Mortals were tasty, they were fine, but to fully quench her required biting a vampire. It would explain a lot.


    ¡°I bit your wrist,¡± Caleb said. ¡°You bit my neck at the same time.¡± He nodded again, eyes lingering on mine in a way that he¡¯d be blushing had he a beating heart.


    I pointed at him, eyes narrowing. I thought about ordering him to forget the events, but¡­ I felt that would be bad. He was a fledgling. Caleb didn''t know any better and was looking to me for guidance. I just happened to be perhaps the worst teacher for him to encounter. I''ve never tried to teach another vampire anything in the last hundred or so years. Someone always told me what to do. From my mortal master before I met Roberto, to Isabella. There was always another in charge.


    I looked at the canned blood in my hand. It was the same Blood Co. blood that he always had, even the type was the same, but the taste was almost refreshing as I took another sip from it.


    Something changed in me from the night before to the morning, because part of his heavy vampiric blood mingled with the rest in my system, attempting to intertwine with it like a dance. I suspected he felt the same way.


    ¡°Sire,¡± Caleb began, the word not annoying me for once. ¡°I have a notification that says you and I share a level one bond. What does that mean?¡±


    I checked my stats by focusing on them and saw the same thing. Right there below my close relationships was bond status with Isabella and Caleb, and Amelia. My sire was at level six with Caleb at level one and a note added about him being my adopted fledgling.


    ¡°Don''t. Tell. Anyone. Understand?¡± I said, motioning between us to emphasise my point that he better not say anything. ¡°Not my sire, not your girlfriend, not anyone. A blood bond allows us to share power between each other, but it comes with a cost. Think of it as an activity done far and away from prying eyes. Sometimes as part of a business transaction, sometimes during intercourse.¡± And sometimes because it just tastes better.


    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa!¡± He backed away, holding his hands up, jaw dropping upon hearing that. ¡°I didn''t want to fuck you! I just wanted to know more about your abilities!¡±


    ¡°It is too late now.¡± I held the can up for him to see before I took a long sip and closed my eyes, letting the oddly flavored liquid do what it could to nourish me.


    The man folded his arms across his chest and frowned back at me.


    ¡°To the club?¡± I asked and thrust a hand at the door.


    He sighed through his nose.

 Chapter 10: Old Friends

    Chapter 10: Old Friends


    The night was still light with the sun barely behind the horizon as Caleb drove down the highway. I sat in the passenger seat looking at a video of house cats! It was the strangest thing to have on the internet. People uploaded videos of cats being ¡®derpy¡¯ little fur balls. They were doing the cutest things I¡¯d ever seen. While yes, I¡¯d seen cats do similar in my time, it was interesting to see how prevalent it was when millions of people watched the same videos I did!


    The phone sat in my hands as I hunched forward, not really looking at the road or paying attention to the cello ¡®covers¡¯ of heavy metal songs. Caleb was trying to make the new world feel better for me, but he drove with a silent frown and narrowed eyes. Something was bothering him. I wasn¡¯t sure what until he spoke.


    ¡°You lied to me,¡± he said quietly, finally breaking his self-imposed silence.


    I cocked my head in his direction and turned the phone off. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You said if I drank your blood I¡¯d get powers. I don¡¯t have any new powers and now you said it¡¯s like sex.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I began as I shook my head from side to side, putting the phone in a coat pocket. ¡°I said it could be a part of intercourse and sometimes is. Such as when I was with one of my old vampire partners. We enjoyed each other¡¯s company and exchanged our blood as well.¡± I wouldn¡¯t tell him who the vampire was, because protecting their identity is a top priority. Although, Amelia knew about them and what we did. It was hard to hide from my love, because she was travelling with us and wanted to join in.


    For a vampire hunter, she sure loved vampires.


    ¡°And where did we sleep?¡± I added.


    ¡°You were so fascinated by running water you wanted to sleep in the bathroom.¡± The man shook his head a few times. ¡°And went on a long rant about proper sensibilities about you and I sleeping in the same bed, so I took the bed, you took the tub.¡±


    I waved a hand in Caleb¡¯s direction before motioning at myself. ¡°You are the one who took it as meaning we partook in each other¡¯s flesh. From what I gather, you and I entered an arrangement to share blood as part of a power exchange, because you wanted to feel what it was like to be bitten in the neck by a vampire. Ergo, it is a business transaction. Nothing more than that. How did it feel?¡±


    Caleb glanced in his driver side mirror as if he were contemplating on changing lanes. He sighed once more, much in the way a mortal does, and grabbed a can of blood from a center cup holder. ¡°It felt weird. I saw¡­ another world. A world I can¡¯t explain. Like a dream I didn¡¯t want to leave. I knew everything there ever was and will be, but now I lost that knowledge.¡±


    ¡°The Great Dark Beyond,¡± I said quietly, tapping my chin a bit. ¡°Most unusual¡­ Others I feed from do not see the Great Beyond, so why did you? What makes you different from the rest, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°So why can¡¯t I tell anyone?¡± He looked over at me, blinking a few times.


    I patted my stomach a bit. ¡°Tell your girlfriend if you want, but not anyone else. If other vampires knew you or I drank each other¡¯s blood, they may fear the power we share and seek to end us. You are a ThinGen vampire. How does that stack up in the Council''s eyes if you suddenly gained my powers and were on the same level as say¡­ if you were my fledgling?¡±


    ¡°The first time I met a council member was when I met your sire. They just don''t interact with common vampires. Let alone someone like me who is closer to a half-vampire than a vampire.¡± The man took a small sip from his drink, reminding me that the canned stuff tasted fine now.


    It was still as un-filling as before, and bland, oh so very bland, but I could drink the canned blood without feeling as if I was going to vomit it up. Before drinking from Caleb the canned stuff would churn my stomach and give me an uneasy feeling. It wasn''t right to drink, not real blood. Not proper blood. It wasn''t even vampire blood! More akin to diluted animal blood than anything.


    As I drummed my fingers against my stomach and listened to the cellos and drums mixing together, a glowing motorcycle flew by us. Its buzzing engine caught up and roared into the night as the rider weaved in and out of traffic. I saw no hide nor hair of the license plate on the back. It could have been Isabella, or it could have been someone else. Motorcycles were a regular sight on the highway. For every ten cars there were three motorcycles. Most looked to be riding along with the general traffic speed like Caleb drove at. Not like the one that blew by us.


    ¡°Did I tell you that you need to be taught how to use the power I gave you?¡± I softly patted my stomach.


    Caleb took a deep breath. ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry about how I acted at the warehouse. I never¡­ never had to deal with something like that. Or seen anyone shot before.¡±


    I ran a hand through my hair as I thought over his words. He was a Merchant, not a fighter. Yet the man wanted to do what I used to deal with every night. Or at least he thought he did. It didn''t seem like a good fit for the ThinGen.


    ¡°Don''t take this the wrong way, but you''re better off sticking with being a Merchant.¡±


    ¡°But I have to finish the job I was hired to do.¡± He set the can of blood back in the cup holder after we hit a small bump in the road. ¡°I froze¡­ I¡¯ll do better tonight.¡±


    I still couldn''t fully recall the night before. ¡°Caleb, I remember pulling the trigger and nothing beyond that. What happened?¡±


    ¡°A lot of gunfire, a few grenades, and dead people¡­ I didn''t see much.¡±


    Not at all a helpful description. I took the phone out once more to do some reading on Halifax as a country. I would have thought Spain reclaimed Encinar in my absence, but it seemed not if Isabella was telling me the truth about the ruler of Halifax being a dragon called Lord Halifax. A quick search of him brought up both his human and dragon appearance with his dragon form being terrible to behold and not at all something I¡¯d ever want to encounter.


    Halifax was a gargantuan dragon with scales across his body resembling brass plating. Both of his wings were replaced with robotic imitation wings I couldn¡¯t quite see the details of, as the photograph was taken from so far away. Additionally, his human form was not someone I recognized. I never saw the man in my unlife. Almost the full half of his human body on his left side was nothing but metallic plating rather than skin.


    ¡°Dinner¡­ Caleb!¡± I began, looking up from the phone. ¡°Have you ever met Lord Halifax?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°The various rulers don¡¯t interact with people like you and me. Why?¡±


    ¡°Just wondering.¡±


    *** ***


    We arrived at the club just as the stars came out. Again, Caleb parked far from the club at my behest and we walked the rest of the way to the club. There was a long line of people and no retainer to greet us, so we waited.


    I pulled my phone out to watch more videos. Only instead of cats, I found a documentary about how sailing ships like mine were still used by sailors! A few were retrofitted with Star Drives and had their cloth sails converted to Solar Sails capable of harnessing the power of the solar winds to fuel arcane engines. That way they could traverse the ¡®Dark Sea¡¯ between the shards. The ship layouts looked fairly similar, too, with open decks.


    Mine had been fitted with a Charleston-built Arcane Engine and required a special crew to run, because I couldn''t cast the required magic to work on it. I don''t even know what fuel it used aside from fancy gemstones the ship mages would imbue spells into. The ships in the documentary were fairly similar. However, I didn''t know how being a vampire would work when it came to sailing on an open deck. Especially when the Solar System''s twin suns were visible from everywhere.


    A search of the internet brought up concerning results. Vampires didn''t sail tall ships across the Dark Sea, or Star Sea to some. And the last tall ship to engage in combat was last seen over fifty years ago. The photograph taken from another starship looked almost comical.


    On one side of the photograph was a well-kept fifth-rate floating on brightly colored fog. While the ship it sat next to looked more akin to a giant egg on the end of a stick with shipping containers attached to said stick.


    I pointed to the strange ship and asked Caleb, ¡°What kind of ship is this?¡±


    Caleb followed my gesture. ¡°An Interstellar cargo hauler. They move goods between the shards. If you think that is an ugly ship, you should see a dwarven carrier. They look like a tipped over trash can.¡±


    I never got the chance to look for the carrier, because the mortal retainer walked up to us and called for our attention. She was staring right at me with a frown on her face.


    ¡°Did you come fed?¡± she asked, not taking her eyes off me. ¡°Hungry is fine. Starving is not.¡±


    I nodded. She waved for us to follow her inside.


    The inside of the club was dark and noisy once again. Perfect for vampires to hide or feed without being spotted if one was careful. Only the dance floor and bar were really illuminated by various lights. Other areas had a strange purple glow to them tonight. Glowing paint splatters covered a few surfaces and even people.


    As we wandered by the bar and dance floor, the retainer stole a glance at my jacket before nodding. ¡°Nice jacket,¡± she yelled, voice almost drowned out by the thumping music.


    ¡°I thought I should get with the times,¡± I replied just as loud.


    ¡°Get a larger size if you want to hide your weapon,¡± she replied. Then flicked her head up toward the stairs as we passed by the stage. ¡°No guns allowed in the boss¡¯s office.¡±


    I waited for us to get behind the stage and slowly pulled the revolver out, removed the cartridges, and gave it to her. It was a pointless gesture when guns didn''t really slow down a vampire. Only swords were truly deadly, except for a cannonball. I once saw a vampire¡¯s head explode off their shoulders because they thought they could take a cannonball when their skin was hard enough to repel bullets.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The retainer stuffed the revolver down her waistband like a degenerate pirate and nodded back. She approached the door, uncaring that Caleb hadn''t spoken once since arriving at the club. She knocked, waited a moment, opened the door, and peered in. ¡°Boss? The ThinGen and ancient Tech Ghost are here.¡±


    ¡°Send them in!¡± a vaguely familiar man¡¯s voice called out.


    The retainer opened the door all the way for Caleb and I to head inside.


    It was a strange room with a wall of televisions displaying every angle of the club¡¯s main floor, a safe tucked in the corner with canned blood stacked atop it like a pyramid, a desk and a tired mortal sprawled out in a chair like they were enjoying every moment of their existence.


    The retainer followed us in, helped the mortal to their feet and led them out of the room, leaving us alone with the vampire sitting behind the desk.


    His clothing cut close to his body in a way that accented his pale features and oozed the air of old money with a mixture of royalty, leading me to wonder if perhaps he was a king or prince in his old days. Or if it was simply his blood.


    A wide grin crossed his face. It felt like an elder holding the cards over a fledgling¡¯s head and I did not like the feeling at all. Especially the stack of papers in front of him, or the way his eyes went right to me and not Caleb.


    The man managed to keep his appearance nice enough. I wondered if he actually had a reflection, or used his retainer for that, which led me to think that perhaps my own appearance was not well off. Amelia hadn''t tended to it in a few days.


    The elder vampire steepled his hands before dipping them in our direction. ¡°I saw the news. Good job at the warehouse.¡± The man got up from his chair while I folded my arms across my chest. I had a feeling he was behind it. He turned away from us and faced the wall of televisions where one showed a still image of my blurry, smear-like appearance on the dance floor last night.


    It was a look that was wholly unflattering, but strangely, you could still somewhat see what I looked like. Broad shoulders, male body shape in a dress, and all as I spoke to Dinner.


    ¡°Excuse me? People died!¡± Caleb yelled.


    The other vampire sighed, slowly shaking his head from side to side. ¡°And many more of us would have died had you not gone to the warehouse. Vampires were turning up as piles of ash around my club and we couldn''t find the culprits. Not only did you expose the hunters, but you sent the police after them.¡± He turned around and clapped his hands in a condescending manner that reminded me of Jean.


    It wasn''t Jean, but the man¡¯s face looked eerily familiar as if I had seen him in my past. Caleb mentioned the club owner was worried about me.


    I frowned. ¡°So how did they know where to find us?¡±


    ¡°That is the problem of tonight.¡± The man waved a hand at the wall of televisions. ¡°You have free reign to explore my club. Find the rat and bring them to me alive. I will make an example of them.¡±


    Caleb looked at me, one eyebrow raised.


    I shrugged. ¡°It''s fledgling work,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re both at the bottom of this new world and you wanted in, welcome to it.¡±


    He blinked over and over at me.


    The elder vampire looked between us before he picked up two envelopes and held them out. ¡°This should be suitable compensation for your efforts last night.¡±


    I stuffed the envelope in a jacket pocket without looking at the contents, as that was uncouth.


    Caleb finally tore his red eyes from me and looked at the other vampire. ¡°Do you allow feeding in your club?¡± he asked. ¡°I was told by my boss that I could.¡±


    ¡°I would be review bombed to bankruptcy if I denied half my clientele from partaking in sustenance!¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Can we hunt?¡± Caleb tilted his head a bit, hope filling his voice. ¡°Like actually stalking people and drinking from them?¡±


    ¡°Get your target¡¯s permission first, but be discreet. Hunting is outlawed in Halifax.¡±


    Caleb looked at me again.


    ¡°You think it was Dinner?¡± I asked. ¡°They''ve never been to the club before!¡±


    ¡°That person you were with?¡± the elder added, throwing a hand in my direction. ¡°I had them vetted by my retainer during the day. They''re just a high level corporate mercenary from Angeles.¡±


    That¡­ is a long drive.


    ¡°Does it cost anything to hunt?¡± Caleb turned to the wall of televisions, taking a step toward them as he held his hands wide like he was trying to give the screens a hug.


    The elder nodded. ¡°Usually, but yesterday was free drink night. Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, that mortal my friend spoke with said she bought blood at ten dollars a glass.¡± Caleb looked at me. ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°They did.¡± I nodded. ¡°Said they asked for the good stuff and bought actual blood.¡±


    ¡°The blood I drank tasted bad,¡± Caleb added for me.


    The elder held his chin for a moment, emerald eyes to the floor while his thumb stroked his cheek for a moment.


    I cocked an eyebrow at Caleb, catching what he might be implying. The barkeep was acting suspicious. Suspicious enough I took out my phone and sent Dinner a message: Which glass did you give me last night? The first or second one the barkeep gave you?


    Idk. Y? was Dinner''s reply after a moment. An odd shorthand for sure, but recognizable enough once I stared at it for ten seconds.


    I will tell you face to face next time we meet.


    Tomorrow?


    If that is when you want. No pressure.


    Tomorrow! I wanna show you a place in Encinar¡¯s Old Town district. Where can I meet you?


    I showed Caleb the message. He squinted and muttered, ¡°Why is the screen flickering like that?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± I turned it around and it looked normal to me, so I held it in a way Caleb and I could both see it. The screen still looked normal to me, but he pointed at it.


    ¡°Look! It''s covered in a shadow that doesn''t go away.¡± His finger touched the screen, causing it to go dark.


    ¡°What?¡± I pulled the device away from him and looked at its normal screen.


    ¡°I swear something is wrong with that phone!¡±


    My eyes drifted to the elder vampire before looking at Caleb. He should learn to remain quiet about those things and tell me in secret, but what was done was done.


    The elder shrugged. ¡°Your lineage¡¯s issue with technology is hard to hide in this day and age,¡± he said dryly. ¡°There are cameras everywhere and fewer of you sea vampires each night.¡±


    Caleb nodded. ¡°I have an idea. I¡¯ll watch from the shadows and you buy mortal blood. Act like you''re looking for a hunt, too.¡±


    ¡°Using me as bait?¡± I hummed to myself, smirking at Caleb. ¡°You catch on quick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be watching,¡± the old vampire said, flicking his head toward the wall of televisions. ¡°Don''t disappoint me, Cassandra. Your sire recommended you as capable, but past personal experience says otherwise.¡±


    I turned to go, but paused and stared at the man for the longest time. He still didn''t sound like Jean, but he sure was acting like it, so I asked, ¡°Are you Jean¡¯s fledgling?¡±


    He nodded slowly. ¡°He¡¯ll be by later tonight to give you your payment and would like a few words with you. Nothing bad. He missed you is all, and would like to formally welcome you back to Encinar. He has put in an application for your return to the council as well.¡±


    ¡°Lovely.¡± Just what I needed. I waved for the confused Caleb to go.


    He and I headed downstairs to the dance floor. I gave the ThinGen a short rundown on how to hide in the shadows and have them respond to him, but he said he already grasped the very basics. Something about playing assassin video games set in the Renaissance Era.


    That left me to wander the dance floor and listen to the crowd. Music thrummed and thumped around us like a heartbeat. Mortals cheered, heartbeats absolutely pounding blood through their writhing limbs. Sweat glistened in the lights as it swept across them, calling me to mingle and look for a meal once more.


    I turned away, knowing I was fed enough to not need food for the time being.


    My heart yearned for the sea, to feel the wind at my back and hear the flag flapping in the breeze. To hear the ship creak and breathe on its own. To feel the rocking of the deck and smell the gunpowder with the crack of cannon fire. I missed my ship.


    I wandered by a table with a pair of mortals engaged in a conversation. One man with dark clothing was speaking to another in a military uniform. ¡°So how long are you in town for?¡± the light haired mortal asked.


    ¡°A month, but I¡¯ll be busy all next week ¡®cause of that damn event,¡± the military man said, waving across his plate of food in front of him. Actual food and drink. Not blood.


    ¡°The hurricane?¡± the other man asked.


    The man in military clothing nodded. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re sticking around in case we¡¯re needed.¡±


    When the other man¡¯s soft, easy, eyes met mine, they lit up like the sun. It looked like he had something to say, but couldn¡¯t think of how to say it. He stumbled his words, snapping his fingers to get my attention, but I didn¡¯t have time for mortals when I was doing a job.


    The military man watched me walk by their table, glanced at the other man, and they continued on in their conversation.


    I made my way by another table with a man and woman talking to each other. And again, neither of them had any blood on their table, which made me wonder how many vampires were actually in the club.


    ¡°I don''t really like th-this place,¡± the woman said quietly, her voice trembling with fear, glancing at the tables around them, her eyes meeting mine for a moment before she returned to the man at her table.


    ¡°Why not?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Something just feels off. Do y-you want to go somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±


    The woman leaned as far forward as she could when I passed by, her voice low, but not low enough. ¡°I don¡¯t fucking care! I¡¯ve seen that old woman in a book about evil vampires from the old days. Let¡¯s get out of here before she kills us.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t worth starting an argument about me not being evil when I had Caleb¡¯s plan to follow: buy a flute of human blood.


    The barkeep looked the same as yesterday: Green eyes and scruffy hair. She went from patron to patron to ask about their drinks and ignored my presence for the most part, until I knocked on the counter and called to her.


    I nodded when she approached me. ¡°I¡¯ll take some¡­ ¡®good¡¯ blood if you have it.¡±


    ¡°Got creds?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I have gold.¡± I waved at her.


    ¡°Fifty gold pieces.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Outrageous! Fifty gold pieces for a flute of blood? Why, when I was a fledgling it was only a quarter of a gold piece!¡±


    ¡°Well, grandpa, the prices have gone up. It''s fifty pieces now.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa?!¡± I gasped, eyes wide as I reached for the pistol that wasn''t there. My hand fumbled against my trousers and jacket, failing to find the holster I used to carry on my hip just last week. I thrust a pair of fingers at the barkeeper. ¡°Listen here, you macaroni trollop! I am a paying customer and you will serve me what I ask for.¡±


    ¡°Do you even have the gold, you old bag of dust?¡±


    ¡°I do. Where is your stupid gold payment machine?¡±


    She pulled a small square from her apron and held it out for me. I didn''t see any buttons or a screen to indicate what it was for, which the gun store had. Taking the device from her, I held it up and turned it over.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°A card machine. Where''s your card?¡±


    ¡°I don''t have one. Do you take cell phone payments?¡±


    The barkeeper shrugged. ¡°Are you stupid? Just tap it against the logo.¡±


    I held my phone over the device until it beeped that the payment had gone through. The barkeep took the device back and handed me a glass filled with a dark red liquid.


    A sniff test revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and neither did a finger dip, so I sipped from it. That¡¯s when I tasted the normal metallic after burn of the imitation blood. I set the glass down and frowned at her.


    ¡°I want fresh,¡± I demanded, tapping my finger against the counter top.


    ¡°You ain¡¯t getting fresh for ten credits.¡±


    Dinner bought fresh for ten credits. Or so they claimed. There was no way Jean¡¯s child only sold imitation blood when he himself had a mortal he was drinking from. If the prices had increased that much from when I went to sleep, then a hundred credits wouldn''t buy a mortal to drink from.


    I opened the jacket, flashing my empty holster to the barkeep and pulled the envelope of money out. It wasn¡¯t respectable to do, but I didn¡¯t have any other folding money on me. I threw down all of my credits. ¡°Fresh.¡±


    ¡°Fresh, huh?¡± she asked as she inspected the bills, holding them beneath an oddly colored light. Then folded each one a few times and ran them through her fingers. All in all it was 3,500 credits. After she was satisfied, she pocketed them and slid a dark red card across the counter. ¡°You¡¯ll find fresh here. Talk to Lyra when you get inside.¡±


    The barkeep gave me instructions to the saloon¡¯s back rooms just down a dark hallway prime for a vampire to be hiding in the shadows, left down a narrow corridor past the dimly lit restrooms to a plain door guarded by a man in a suit.


    I flashed the card to the guard from yesterday like I was instructed to and he opened the door.


    An elf woman a full head taller than I greeted me with a wave and a smile. The golden-eyed woman wore a fancy black dress that showed off her pale arms and neck, contrasting against her flame-red hair, making it look like magma flowing from a volcano. She was very beautiful in that dress.


    ¡°Are you Lyra?¡± I asked, holding the card out.


    She took the card and put it down the front of her dress, nodding slowly.


    Her warm hand practically dragged me through a tour of the place. Lyra showed me a few different areas for feeding. They ranged from a plush couch near card tables with mortals playing games against each other, to a communal feeding room with vampires sharing drinks from mortals. The whole time the elf said not a word. Just waved at anything of interest and then at me.


    She acted as if she was asking questions but I wasn''t sure what she wanted. Her hands moved in various ways I didn¡¯t understand and her growing frown was concerning. The flaming haired elf tapped her chin for a couple of moments, staring at me. She snapped her fingers and motioned to herself, showing off her neck.


    It took a second for it to dawn on me. She was offering me her blood!


    I nodded slowly, saying nothing. Lyra again dragged me on an adventure through the club¡¯s back rooms until we came to a plain door. She opened it, and inside was an opulent bedroom beyond anything a peasant could afford. A velvet post bed with thick curtains and a dresser full of clothes. It was huge, too. Roughly the size of my old bedroom with its own heater, a television screen, and a microwave.


    I stepped through into the room, inhaling a sweet rose-scented aroma that reminded me of my old gardens. Curiously, the only noise was the elf woman''s heartbeat rapidly increasing as she closed and locked the door behind me.


    Spinning around, I met her golden-eyed gaze. Lyra''s head leaned to the side once more to expose her neck in a way that made it all too clear what she expected of me. No foreplay, no kissing, no words exchanged. We both knew what we were there for: food for me.


    I pulled her close and sunk my fangs into her neck. Lyra gasped. She wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me closer as I drank deep.

 Chapter 11: Confrontations in the Light

    Chapter 11: Confrontations in the Light


    The elf¡¯s blood was most unusual. It was fairly sweet, with a soft zing to it that I couldn¡¯t quite place, but it felt strained despite it being filled with energy. Almost as if she scarcely recovered from the last feeding session. It wasn''t as filling as I thought, so I drank deep until I felt it was on the edge of too much. I think my hunger wanted a vampire more than an elf, but an elf would do nicely for a snack in the meantime.


    If Amelia were here with me, she¡¯d be all over the elf in ways she was with me. I would have to give them space to be themselves and wait outside. Instead, Amelia is at my house as a ghost and I was lying next to Lyra wishing Amelia was with us to enjoy the moment.


    Lyra lay on the bed with my head resting atop her soft chest pillows, listening to the steady thump of her heart, one arm tucked under mine as we cuddled. I stared at her exposed belly button and traced the shape around a pearl piercing with my fingernails. She had decided to strip down to her underlayers so as to not ruin her beautiful dress when we moved to the bed. I had my heart pump blood throughout my body to give it some semblance of life and actually feel what the elf wanted to do to me, rather than just watch with a bored expression.


    She still hadn''t uttered a single word, which made me wonder if she was mute or just the quiet type. I enjoyed the silence, but I wished to hear her voice. For perhaps it was as beautiful as she appeared, perhaps it was husky or hoarse, or velvety, but I¡¯ll never know if she didn''t speak.


    I closed my eyes and smiled.


    I hadn''t received any messages from Caleb. There was no way I was moving to grab the device to check again. I assumed he was interrogating the barkeeper for anything he could get his fangs into.


    But, from what I could tell, the barkeeper was a dead end. They sent me to the back where I found appealing sustenance that ran her hand through my hair and scratched ever so playfully behind my ear. Even the flute of blood was normal. Maybe Dinner was the culprit after all?


    No, I drank the two glasses Dinner bought and felt no ill effects. Nothing was adding up. Lyra was a dead end, so unless Caleb found something then we were being lied to.


    Which wasn''t surprising considering it was Jean¡¯s fledgling giving us the work. Both of them detested me even when they moved from New Orleans to Encinar. They were fearful that the Inquisition was making steady progress with new settlers. As what we were calling the Great War was in fact turning into an elven civil war with three different factions fighting each other and using the earth based armies as proxies.


    At least according to the internet. For me, the time was fuzzy, because I was so focused on Encinar, werewolves, thunderbirds, witches, spirits; and balancing the delicate struggle between California Natives, those of us from across the sea, and Spaniards coming up from New Spain. I just didn''t have the time or energy to care about what was going on along North America¡¯s East Coast.


    Lyra¡¯s movements were slow and methodical as she pushed one hand down my blouse and rested it on my breast while the other continued to dance through my hair.


    I lost track of time, as again, my phone was on the nightstand along with the woman''s belongings. Not that I cared. It was a nice moment where I became complacent in listening to her heartbeat. That nice, soft, thump-thump of a living person who fell asleep.


    Then the elf shifted underneath me as she inhaled sharply. I didn''t move beyond resting my hand on her stomach. A book gently bumped into my head and stayed there for a moment. It felt like she was writing into it, because it shook every so often.


    She held it in front of my eyes, pointing to the newest passage in a long string of sentences to other people. Snippets of a one sided conversation. ¡®You took a bit more than I was expecting! I¡¯m so tired now. Lol!¡¯


    Lol? Just what in tarnation is that word?


    I glanced up at her now very pale smile and heavy golden eyes. She mouthed something that looked similar to, ¡®thank you¡¯.


    ¡°You''re welcome,¡± I said. It occurred to me that she might know something about the disappearances, so I asked, ¡°Do you know anything about the disappearances?¡±


    Lyra shook her head, long red hair flinging about. She dashed any hopes I had of her being the culprit. It seemed I was back to square one with the idea. At the same time, I just wanted to stay put until the sun rose and set again.


    ¡°I need to leave,¡± I said.


    She pouted as if I had just punched her in the gut, so I rested my head on her chest pillows again.


    It was odd for sure. A place so brazenly selling blood without any secret code words or gestures. I¡¯d have to come back when I was looking for an easy meal.


    A few frantic thumps echoed from the door as Caleb¡¯s voice barely penetrated, ¡°Sire? Sire! Are you in there?!¡±


    I sighed heavily, even though I didn''t need to, and slid out from the quiet woman¡¯s embrace. Then pulled my coat on and silently made my way to the door.


    Behind me, Lyra pulled the blankets over herself to cover her barely clothed body. Once she did so, I cracked the door and peered out to find Caleb running his hands through his short hair as he shifted from foot to foot like a nervous mortal.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I asked.


    He gulped, red eyes darting from me, down the hall, and back to me. ¡°The vampire spooks are raiding the place right now! They''re occupied with the dance floor, but it''s only a matter of time before they come back here.¡± He gave my fancy revolver back to me.


    I holstered the weapon and closed the jacket around it. Of course the law was sticking its nose where it shouldn''t, but it didn''t make sense to me, because I thought the saloon was a legitimate one selling blood to people until my sire¡¯s words came back to me. ¡®What Caleb did was highly illegal. Our dragon overlords don''t like us drinking from living mortals.¡¯


    So the world moved on but it''s still the same¡­


    When I looked back at Lyra, she tilted her head at me, blinking a few times. She motioned to her neck, and shook her head, mouthing, ¡°No more blood to give.¡±


    ¡°The police are here,¡± I told her.


    Her golden eyes widened as the color drained completely from her face. She clamped her eyes shut and held her forehead, wobbling visibly. I rushed to her side, holding the elf steady until she looked at me with pleading eyes I couldn''t say no to. I knew what to do without her saying anything.


    I hooked one arm under Lyra¡¯s legs and the other under her back, lifting the taller elf woman off the ground fairly easily. Once she buried her face in my chest, I made my way to the door and nodded to Caleb.


    ¡°We¡¯ll meet you at your pickup,¡± I said.


    He frowned at me. ¡°How am I going to get out of here?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a ThinGen vampire, so use that to your advantage. Focus your heart on feeling as alive as you can and pretend you don''t know what is going on.¡±


    ¡°What if they want to see my ID?¡± he asked as he rubbed his head, narrowing his eyes for a moment. ¡°I can''t just lie to the cops!¡±


    ¡°Give it to me and say you lost it,¡± I replied. He followed my instructions, so I added, ¡°Now. You can try to sneak your way out or I can bite your wrist and you can lie. Your choice.¡±


    It took all of a split second for Caleb to show me his wrist. I bit it, taking no blood. That way the man could look like he was a mortal caught up in the moment. He closed his eyes as the color partially returned to his body. To me, he looked as mortal as the silent elf in my arms. His heart thumped once, waited¡­ thumped again, then continued in a fairly slow and weak manner.


    I focused on the shadows around us and sent blood pumping through my veins for a split second. Lyra¡¯s borrowed lifeblood warmed my body with a singular beat as shadows engulfed the two of us.


    Caleb ran on ahead while I stuck to what darkness there was and moved from shadow to shadow with my silent charge clinging desperately to my shoulders. We resembled nothing more than a shadow moving through the back rooms. I couldn''t drop her or attack, because something nagged at the back of my mind about saving her. A quest if you could call it that. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    A System Message popped up in the upper right of my vision: New Quest! Protect Lyra from danger.


    The back rooms were in chaos as vampires slowly and steadily heard the news. Some disappeared, but were still slightly visible, while others ran for the ¡®emergency¡¯ door near the furthest door. A door I had noted earlier, but dismissed out of not knowing what it was. I followed to watch what happened, because letting another vampire be the first to touch something unusual is the best way to stay alive. Even more so if they get caught and you don¡¯t.


    Alarm bells rang out the instant the door was opened, piercing through my ears like an angry cannonade. Vampires rushed into an alley outside. It seemed like they would make it out. Right up until a holy amount of light illuminated the narrow alley as if it were daytime, stunning the vampires. They came to a stop, holding their hands in front of their faces or fleeing.


    Groups of armored men in black clothing held heavy looking rifles and scatterguns at the escaping vampires. Their shouts were different to the hunters from the night before. More direct, more orderly and none of them wore those odd glowing glasses.


    ¡°Encinar Vampire Police!¡± one man shouted.


    Another added, ¡°Hands ups!¡±


    A few vampires slowed their run and followed the directions. The police yelled for them to get on their knees. Some tried to run, but there were too many cops for the blood suckers to get by them. A couple were grabbed and shoved against the side of large four door covered wagons the mortals were using to block the alley.


    One poor vampire didn¡¯t stop running, despite the warnings. The man made a run for the nearest opening. A hollow boom echoed off the buildings as a large shell impacted the vampire¡¯s back and sent the man sprawling to the ground. No less than five officers swarmed the blood sucker before he could get up. To me, it looked like one officer grabbed the vampire¡¯s right arm, the other grabbed their left, and one shoved a gun to the back of the vampire¡¯s head.


    It looked almost comical to see vampires being so afraid of mortals they refused to use their powers. While I watched from the dark recesses of what little shadow the building provided. It would never have flown in my time. We¡¯d have fought back and likely suffered a few losses, but got away. Not get on our knees because some armed blood sacks said to.


    The gun wielding officer racked the pump back and forth as he said, ¡°Alright, you blood suckers. Next one¡¯s Dragon¡¯s Breath. Anyone want to test it?¡±


    ¡°I think I see something over there!¡± Another officer pointed in my direction. ¡°Check it out!¡±


    Lyra gently tugged on my coat, reminding me that I had to escape, so I looked beyond the bright lights. It was difficult to see the buildings past the roof mounted spotlights, even when I squinted, but I did eventually see a spot I could teleport us to.


    With a single step back into full darkness, I melted into the floor and felt myself, and Lyra, become one with the world for just a short moment. A single moment that stretched on as we traversed the crevices of the Great Beyond Life. It was a mirror realm if you could call it that. A realm of naught but shadows and darkness from which vampires came. A realm I wished to one day visit in the flesh.


    For you see, it was similar to the living realm. However, one key difference was that the Great Beyond Life had decaying buildings replacing solid structures. Cracked ground that looked better suited to a wasteland than a realm of living people. Fire and Brimstone reached into the firmament instead of clouds and beautiful night sky.


    It was terrible. It was hell. It was darkly beautiful. We traversed it all, running past the shadowed blocks that looked like dark representations of police vehicles and reemerged on the other side. The trek didn¡¯t take long, a few seconds at the most, but it looked instant to everyone else.


    Lyra and I appeared as a shadow roughly a hundred yards away from the commotion going on at the club.


    Guards were preoccupied with the club while I carried the elf to where Caleb parked the truck. My hunger grew the more I focused on keeping the darkness around us. I couldn''t risk falling so far into it that my fangs came out on their own. Oh, sure, I fed less than an hour ago, but hiding two people in shadow and teleporting a hundred yards was quite taxing.


    Once we were visible, I slowed to a walk in an effort to not attract attention. Or at least as little attention as carrying a half-naked elf could get. I set Lyra on the ground and helped her to wrap the blanket around her body like a cloak. She shivered visibly, but not from the cool air, and nodded as she clutched her black notebook as close as she could along with the blanket. I slid an arm around her waist and pulled against my hip just to make us look at least somewhat like a normal couple.


    Her thin undergarments showed off vastly more skin than should be allowed, but times changed and I need to change with them. Even still, I knew Lyra needed proper clothes. I didn¡¯t have anything but the jacket and blanket on hand. Caleb might have something in his pickup. I think. A change of clothes maybe, but they weren¡¯t close to the same size.


    Back at the club, police wagons surrounded the place with floodlights and flashing red and blue lights like a gunfight in the night. A strange light hovered in a circle, shining a massive shaft of light down on the scene, leading me to wonder just why the police were there in the first place. The multi-story building looked as well taken care of as the rest of the rundown structures. Nothing was wrong aside from that.


    I couldn''t figure it out. Unless that panicky blood sack from the bar called the cops, but why? That didn''t make a lick of sense to me. She wanted to leave before I killed people. I wasn''t hungry. A little parched, but nothing I couldn''t handle. And why would you go to a vampire club if you were afraid of vampires?


    Unless she didn''t know it was a vampire club?


    I''d have to ask Caleb when he caught up. Speculating without his side of events would only lead me to panic over nothing. Much like it did when I was a fledgling.


    The elf woman and I reached his four-door pickup. I pulled my key out to unlock it with a simple press of a button on the fob. The wagon beeped its horn in response, as did the doors clunking.


    Too late did I see movement reflecting in the window. A person was fast approaching from a nearby alley. I turned to meet them, only for their unholy strength to slam me into the side of the truck with enough force to dent the damned thing! My head slammed into the metal, cracking audibly with a sickening crunch.


    As I slid to the ground and tried to process who my attacker was. A dark clothed man grabbed the silent elf by the arm and pulled her into an embrace with only one outcome should he bite down.


    I focused Lyra¡¯s remaining blood on my voice and cried out an order, ¡°Freeze!¡±


    His body visibly twitched when it tried to listen to me. I repeated the order, hoping it got through without making eye contact, but I wasn¡¯t that good at the voice. Not like my sire. Her voice was perfection when it came to making mortals her puppets.


    Lyra kicked him in the groin, ruining my order as his system was jolted awake. The undead monster sank his fangs into her neck. She slammed a weak fist against his shoulder. The already wilting woman became paler by the moment as I dragged myself to my feet and drew the heavy revolver.


    I wished for a sword, because then I could just run it through his side without making noise, but I had to take aim with the noisiest thing I had on me. There were two men and two women before me as I closed one eye in an effort to steady myself. My head rang as my body stitched the broken bones together and my aching fangs demanded I act.


    I didn''t have a clear shot even then because my attacker turned to put her head between me and him. She tried to push away, but a vampire¡¯s strength was just too much for a weakened mortal to fight against.


    The man let go of Lyra¡¯s neck once she stopped moving. He shoved her corpse toward me as he said, ¡°Mayor Colterville! How good to see you up and about! How was torpor?¡±


    Jean¡­


    I caught Lyra before she slammed into me and lowered her to the ground.


    The vampire drew a stake from his coat pocket, blood dripping from familiar fangs as a sadistic grin crept over his lips. ¡°Now do keep in mind, I am here on business. And that business is to talk. The stake is just a precaution, because I know how you can get.¡±


    The revolver clicked. I frowned deeply and pulled the hammer back for a second shot to the same result. Only then did I realize I had forgotten to reload the infernal thing after I got it back from Caleb!


    Jean chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re still the same headstrong woman I remember.¡±


    I reached for his collar. He jumped out of my reach. There was a stake in his hand and a plan to make me a wall fixture once more. He was obviously working against Isabella and that¡¯s why she wanted him dealt with.


    ¡°Easy there.¡± Jean backed further out of my grasp as I stepped closer to him, practically hopping toward him. ¡°I know what this looks like, but I am here to help you, Mayor Colterville. I present you with your own fledgling if you but listen to my next words; you¡¯re being manipulated by your sire. She¡¯s trying to stop you from taking your rightful seat on the council.¡±


    There were two kinds of vampires in the world. Those who bored you to death while they taunted you over the fact that they were a better vampire. And those who acted. Jean thought I was going to come quietly and be staked to a wall again, but never again! I had to stop the man¡¯s plan against Isabella.


    I leapt for the man once more. He jumped back a third time, almost putting himself against the building¡¯s wall.


    I aimed the revolver at Jean¡¯s head. It clicked again! So I holstered the weapon and deigned to beat his face to a pulp.


    Above us, the whirlybirds circled the area, focusing on the club and the activity going on there. It was strange that they weren¡¯t looking in our direction, but we hadn¡¯t made much noise yet.


    I stalked toward Jean, ripping a gash in my palm, and held it to the side so shadows could pour out from within. My heart beat once more to focus the stolen energy into the void. It¡¯d be a bad idea to look into his eyes, because Jean could dominate my will just as much as I could dominate his. He knew this, I knew this. We both spent decades fighting each other, so my usual tricks wouldn¡¯t work when he knew them. I had to go back to my mortal roots and punch him until he stopped moving.


    First, the shadows had to grab the bastard.


    Jean frowned deeply as he stepped to his right, inching toward the alley he came from. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mayor Colterville. I cannot help you if you cannot see the truth. Know I will be in touch. Just try to refrain from biting your sire in the meantime.¡±


    My shadow cloud crept toward the man like it had a mind of its own, small feeler-like tendrils snaking their way out and gnashing at the air, looking for anything to grab onto. Even his shadow. They were mine to command as I saw fit. A gift from Mother Moon to me in the form of a living shadow that resided within me. Only when I released it into the wild could I command them directly like they were their own person.


    Jean took off down the alley as my shadow gave chase, leaving me standing there under the streetlamp without one. I was so stunned by his move I just stood there for a few moments while I processed what in the devil he was thinking. Jean was a smart vampire and, like my sire, was old when I was a fledgling and he just ran from me!


    Did I technically defeat him in a duel?


    The system mentioned something about gaining experience again, but it was pointless to look at the message without a class. I dismissed it and turned to face Lyra¡¯s corpse. Something gnawed in the back of my mind, reminding me of Jean¡¯s voice as it said, ¡®She¡¯s manipulating us? How?¡¯


    My eyes drifted from the elf¡¯s cooling corpse toward the whirlybirds above. Their odd echoing slaps reverberated off the buildings, shaking my lifeless form and rattling the windows. The Inquisition? Were they following Caleb or were they tipped off that something was going down in the club? They knew where the vampires would be exiting the building and came well prepared with lights to drown out any shadows. Then, you had the hunters the night before where I was their primary target. Not Caleb, not the blood sack we were going to speak with, but me.


    The only one who truly knew what I was doing was my sire.


    My hands shook as a strange feeling washed over my body like a wave crashing into the rocks. It was an impossible thing to consider! She gave me gifts; a phone and a scooter I wasn¡¯t riding! She taught me how to manipulate the System Messages. Yet that nagging feeling churned my stomach in ways I shouldn¡¯t feel. I wasn¡¯t mortal anymore, so my stomach shouldn¡¯t be trying to expel everything it didn¡¯t have inside it. My world shouldn¡¯t be threatening to spin like it was. My eyes and fangs shouldn¡¯t hurt like they were. I just wanted to know what the fuck was going on!


    There is no way she could betray me! We spent over sixty years together. Almost a hundred! She¡­ she¡­ We shared¡­


    My sire¡¯s words floated through time, echoing in my head, ¡®Cassandra! Kill the hunter this instant! She¡¯ll kill you without a thought.¡¯


    ¡®No! She helped us, sire. If she wanted us dead then she¡ª¡¯


    ¡®Listen to me very carefully; Kill her or I will. There is no negotiating this! Mortals cannot be trusted with the truth.¡¯


    ¡®But what about¡ª''


    ¡®I don''t give a damn about how Robert said things worked! I ain''t him! Do you want to join him? Kill. The. Hunter. Now!¡¯


    I looked at Lyra¡¯s corpse to distract myself from the thoughts swirling in my head. I could save her. I had to save her, for Amelia¡¯s sake. I couldn¡¯t let Lyra die because I made a mistake. Caleb had enough canned blood in his wagon to sate my hunger and give me enough to embrace the elf, but then I¡¯d have to hide her from my sire or the both of us could lose our heads. Me especially, since I failed one mission already and siring without permission is considered an offense worthy of being executed.


    But the process couldn¡¯t be done within sight of the hunters. Lyra would make too much noise when she awoke. I had to get her somewhere else and that meant driving Caleb¡¯s pickup. Hopefully, the man made his way out of the saloon.


    A message from the System popped up as if I needed the reminder. Quest complete: Protect Lyra. Please choose your starting class to receive rewards.


    Quest updated: Find who sealed your coffin and why. Confront Isabella about what you know or track Jean down.

 Chapter 12: A Poor Departure

    Chapter 12: A Poor Departure


    ¡°What have you done to my truck?!¡± Caleb exclaimed as he stood next to the machine, hands atop his head, eyes wide and jaw to the floor.


    ¡°Well, excuse me for being shoved into the side of it!¡± I shouted back, arms folded across my chest and a frown on my face.


    We stood in a parking garage somewhere over half a city away from the raided club. It was dark, barely illuminated and half-filled with cars of all sizes. Caleb had pointed it out to me as we escaped the club. I put us on the second floor, taking up three parking stalls, because I wasn¡¯t sure how to maneuver the damned pickup into a singular stall without hitting something.


    Lyra sat in the front passenger seat with an empty can of blood in her hands. She had the look of a fledgling having just awakened only a half hour ago. Five more cans rolled around the floor in front of her.


    Country music drifted from the speakers with a beat I wanted to follow along to, but didn¡¯t know the words beyond it was a man traveling on a train to nowhere and talking to a gambler in the night. My hand tapped with the best against my hip.


    Caleb traced a finger along a gouge the length of the pickup bed to a small dent I put in the night before.


    ¡°And this?¡± He pointed at the original dent from yesterday. ¡°Where did this come from?!¡±


    ¡°I may have hit a wagon leaving the parking stall when you were consumed by your hunger.¡± I shrugged. Everything was on the passenger side, meaning he hadn''t had a chance to see it. Wasn''t any point in hiding it either, because it was clear as day. ¡°My driving skill is now level eleven! I have become better, but not by much.¡±


    He rubbed his forehead, slowly shaking his head from side to side. ¡°This is why they have driving school¡­ and what about her!?¡± He turned around, pointing a finger at Lyra. ¡°Why is she a vampire now?¡±


    She leaned out the open door and glanced back at him like she was in trouble, throwing her hands up in confusion. Lyra still didn''t speak a word. The elf wrote everything in her notebook, leading me to believe she was mute. I was surprised at how quick Lyra took to drinking the cans. With no mortals around, my wrist and the dwindling case of blood was our only option to sate her frenzy when she awoke.


    I shrugged. ¡°It was that or leave her dead. Jean killed her specifically and planned to stake me again.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ but she needs to apply to the System for vampirification! There''s proper procedures for that. Documents to sign¡­¡± He ran his hands through his hair and tugged at his scalp. Caleb paced back and forth along the length of his pickup¡¯s cargo bed. His unbeating heart beat once, twice and I wondered if he knew he was focusing on it as his skin became slightly full of color again. The man¡¯s chest rose and fell in rapid succession. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck! What are we going to do?! We broke so many laws tonight. And yesterday, and the goddamned day before!¡±


    Lyra glanced over at me as she twirled a finger around her ear, pointing another at Caleb.


    I shook my head at her message. The human wasn''t acting insane. More closer to a person in a situation he didn''t know how to handle.


    She then maneuvered her hands in a strange manner I assumed was a form of language, because she was gesturing between all of us and making specific shapes.


    I motioned to myself, and then to the ThinGen. ¡°Caleb, please. I understand this is going to sound very strange coming from me, but do not take the Lord¡¯s name in vain. It never ends well for those that do, especially the damned like us.¡± My hand instinctively went to my belt where my rosary was always hung, but it wasn''t there! I felt around my body and pockets, eyes wide as I looked on the ground for the item.


    ¡°There are no gods left, only Life, Death, and Time,¡± he said, interrupting my search. Caleb began giggling.


    ¡°That''s impossible. Our creator, God, does not simply die.¡± He only curses you for taking the path of darkness like I did. And will probably smite me if I can''t find the rosary. Mother Moon did a good job protecting me, but I still needed the rosary, because it was actually blessed by a high priestess of Her church shortly after I was embraced. If it wasn''t on me it had to be in Caleb¡¯s wagon unless¡­


    My eyes widened. It can''t be back in Lyra''s room, can it?!


    Lyra threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes. She quickly wrote something in her notebook and showed it to me. ¡®I was saying he looks like he¡¯s having a panic attack! Calm him down.¡¯


    Panic attack?


    I blinked at the vampire elf¡¯s words and was about to ask what she meant when Cale laughed. He tried to ask a question, but he didn¡¯t get much more than saying something about religion and laughing again.


    His pickup was damaged, he just had to do something he never contemplated doing before meeting me and now he just encountered the first person he met as a mortal and was later turned into a vampire.


    He hugged himself, giggling and hiccuping in almost the same breath.


    I stepped toward Caleb as I reached to place a hand on his shoulder.


    He tore away, hissing, ¡°This is your fault! You¡­ you killed Lyra! You damaged my truck!¡± Caleb let out a loud groan as he punched his own wagon hard enough he dented it slightly. I was impressed to say the least, because I doubted the man had the strength within him to do that.


    Lyra facepalmed loud enough her slap echoed over the gambler in the song describing how to play cards and knowing when to fold them.


    In a way, both of them were right. Jean killed Lyra, but had I left her there inside the saloon, she likely would have been arrested and taken from the club anyway. Which, if so then he might have still killed her.


    Why did he kill her?


    It couldn¡¯t be to just give me a fledgling like he claimed. That seemed preposterous to think, because the man hated me. Why would he give me a boon like that? There was no logical explanation aside from he wanted me executed for siring her, but if they came after me for it then I was going to drag Jean down with me. It was a perplexing conundrum, because he had to know that I wouldn''t go quietly.


    I don''t know if Caleb understood what I meant when I said I was forced to turn her. It was the only way to save Lyra and so far she was taking to it well. She cracked open her next can, staying in the passenger seat with the blanket wrapped around her legs like a skirt, and my camouflage jacket covering her torso.


    As for Caleb¡¯s pickup? Well, I had no excuses. I was a fledgling when it came to driving automobiles, but if I didn¡¯t take the reins then we would have been found for sure. The marshals would have arrested the three of us! No telling what they would do to vampires caught in an illegal blood trade.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fix your pickup!¡± I snapped as I backed away and let my hands fall to my sides. ¡°Please, stay with me. This is just a minor setback.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you home tonight, but I won¡¯t be back until next Friday.¡± He shook his head from side to side. ¡°There¡¯s blood all over my back seat and my truck looks like it was t-boned¡­¡± He groaned again, leaning on the pickup¡¯s bed, a deep frown on his face. His bloody tear stained eyes glared hard at me like I¡¯d just killed his dog. ¡°I¡¯m still making payments on it,¡± Caleb muttered. ¡°And I have to go back to work tomorrow. How am I going to explain this to Jezebel?!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have anything to say to the man. I could buy him a new pickup to make it up, but I didn¡¯t know how much they cost. Nor where to get one. Another thing for tomorrow, but the only thing to do was get home before dawn and hope the police don''t drag me into the sun, which wouldn''t be so bad if I now didn''t have two fledglings and a ghost to look over.


    Perhaps if the sun took me then I could finally visit Mother Moon. It was a question I always wondered; where do vampires go when they die? I know the ones I drank went into my gullet, but beyond that? I do not know.


    *** ***


    The next day, Lyra found herself some of my old clothes that vaguely fit and made a nice dress out of the remains, but I didn''t find anything that wasn''t moth eaten.


    Amelia had been overjoyed to see me again and swooped in for a bear hug. I twirled the ghostly woman around as best I could and tried to hug her without going through her glowing form. Which must have looked insane to everyone else, because no one but me saw her.


    However, she spotted Lyra and recognized a fledgling instantly. It wasn''t hard, because her skin was so pale she looked like a ghost. And she had a bite mark on her neck I forgot to clean up before turning her. She will forever live with that thanks to my mistake, but it was embrace her as soon as possible or let the body cool too far and lose her.


    I looked through the many boxes in the basement as I waited for Dinner to show up. I was digging for the rosary I carried since before I was given unlife. It always made vampires laugh when they saw it, but I didn''t care. It was a momento to my old life that kept me grounded¡­ for the most part.


    ¡°Amelia?!¡± I called out as I pulled cloth after cloth out from one box. ¡°Have you seen my rosary beads?¡±


    She popped her ethereal head from a nearby box and looked around for a moment. ¡°It''s not on your belt?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head and shoved the tattered clothing inside the box again. ¡°I swear I had them when I awoke the other day.¡±


    It was a thing so constant on my person that it became a part of my wardrobe and slipped my mind until Caleb mentioned God.


    As I opened the next crate, my phone dinged with a message from Dinner. It was short and to the point: Here.


    I had given them my address before I went to bed and fully expected them to be at my house later in the night. I told them I was a late riser and to come closer to an hour after sunset, not thirty minutes after sunset.


    With the search for my wayward accessory set aside, I headed upstairs with Amelia floating close behind. She reached for my hand with her cold touch. I held hers. It was still quite strange for me to think of her as both being alive and looking like a ghost. I hadn''t had time to process her death-but-not-death, and it was there lingering in my mind. Something made her scream while I had seen those images during my torpor. Perhaps it was her death, but again.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    All I had to do was look at my quest tracker to see that I still needed to find a way to release her soul and let her rest.


    Lyra was already pacing around upstairs in an effort to get comfortable in the clothes, but even I could see they were a poor fit for her taller and slender form.


    We all left the house to meet Dinner outside. The half-elf was better dressed than I remembered. They still wore loose fit trousers, but their tiny shirt was replaced with a hooded long sleeve shirt that clung loosely to their body and looked a size too big. It did well to hide their chest, however, and allow them to vaguely resemble a feminine man.


    Dinner¡¯s wagon was¡­ odd. It was smaller than Caleb¡¯s pickup and that retainer¡¯s car. The vehicle only had a single set of doors with an upside down bowl shape to the bodywork.


    They called it a Veren Type 1 when they got out and waved with a cane in their hand. An early 168 model to be exact with an engine built by Dinner themself. One thing that stood out to me was how poor of a condition the vehicle looked. Its paint had no less than three colors with the bonnet having one all on its own, complete with rust.


    Nothing on the inside matched with what I came to understand as ¡®normal¡¯. If Caleb¡¯s pickup and van were anything to go by. Dinner¡¯s car had manual windows, door locks, even steering and brakes. No fancy screen for me to break, but quite a number of gauges; Oil pressure and temperature, cylinder head temperature, fuel, a clock, a small speedometer with a tachometer taking the place of the original speedometer.


    At least according to Dinner. It was all a bit much for me to take in at once.


    They took Lyra, Amelia, and I on a tour of the vehicle¡¯s front where a set of pathetically slim tires sat on mismatching colored wheels. The rear tires were wide on shiny rims that looked brand new. Dinner mentioned they had originally built the thing to off-road specifications, but then broke their back during the build and so it was set up as a twisty road car instead.


    I nodded along to them explaining the proper terminology on cars. Thankfully, the lanky half-elf was quite patient and repeated the names so I could understand them. Midway through the conversation, Dinner had us climb into the car and took us for a ride into the city. The vehicle had an unusual flutter to the LCM engine¡¯s throaty rumble as it accelerated onto the highway.


    I couldn''t find a good spot to interrupt Dinner as they went on a tangent about every minor detail and Lyra didn''t have a voice to do so, so the half-elf went on in a highly passionate manner about how they did this or that to the car with their father out in the desert wasteland where they grew up.


    *** ***


    Dinner found a vampire museum. Some man in the past, likely a vampire, decided it was a good idea to make a museum dedicated to vampires! A museum built from an old manor no less!


    I helped Lyra out of the small car by taking her hand and guiding her out. She stretched her legs one at a time before turning to me and bowing. Lyra''s attire made my heart ache for the cloth she ruined by cutting it into a knee length skirt and a snug fitting blouse.


    Modern clothes were odd, because they had less layers to deal with now. I noticed it when I had helped Lyra out of her beautiful black dress. She only wore just the dress, a slip, stockings on a garter belt, and her undergarments. No corset or petticoat or underskirt. Just the bare minimum.


    Leaving me feeling awkward as I stood there in trousers, stockings, a corset, shirt, and blouse. With my camouflage jacket and new rubber soled boots thrown overtop. As much as I liked the pretty multi-colored jacket, it did not do well for my body shape. Even after Amelia helped me with my usual padding to fill out my hips. The cut of the jacket was just too square.


    The night was crisp like with an odd air to it I couldn''t fully place. Cars slowly rolled by in small groups on the side street. A few people walked along the sidewalks, but nowhere near the amount I was used to. Most looked in a hurry as they walked with the flow of traffic toward their destinations further in the city.


    Lyra held her notebook out, asking, ¡®Why a vampire museum?¡¯


    I shrugged, tossing my hands to the side a little.


    Lyra looked over at Dinner as the person in black got out of their car. She tried her best to get Dinner to look at the book, but the half-elf¡¯s nose was buried deep in their folding cell phone. They flicked their hand across the wide screen and tapped it a couple times. Whatever they were looking at was black with green, yellow and red off in the distance.


    ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± Dinner exclaimed, throwing a fist to the sky.


    ¡°What has you excited?¡± I asked, because I heard their heart leap for joy and knew Lyra likely did, too. No idea if Caleb could. He wasn''t here to ask and I wasn''t going to send him a message to see how he was doing. Best to give him a few days to cool off before trying to contact him.


    ¡°All space travel is halted for next week, look!¡± Dinner¡¯s eyes were bright and filled with joy as they grinned at me. They turned their large phone to show me where a huge mass of yellow and red sat just off shore. The phone magically showed the blob coming toward the peninsula before it jumped back out to sea.


    ¡°It means I¡¯m ¡®stuck¡¯ here until the storm passes.¡±


    The leading edge was already close enough to Encinar and the Peninsula across the bay that I could feel it deep in my undead bones if I focused on the feeling. Another gift of being a vampire from the sea. We could take one look at the sky and say ¡®yeah, it¡¯ll rain later¡¯.


    And something strange was brewing just off the coast. Something I never felt before. It made the hair on the back of my neck tingle just thinking about what was approaching.


    Lyra frantically waved her hands about in the hand language she knew. Dinner tilted their head and gestured back. The two of them went back and forth for a short while before Dinner shrugged.


    ¡°I figured she would want to see it,¡± the half-elf said.


    I shook my head. ¡°It''s okay, Lyra. I¡¯m curious about what a museum has to say about vampires.¡±


    The history of vampires was an odd one for mortals to be studying, really, especially because the museum truly had nothing before the Collide. It was as if we didn''t exist before year 01 to mortals. Which was 1825 in ¡®Standard Earth Years¡¯ as Dinner called them. Oh, sure. The museum had books on display detailing real, but fictional accounts of vampires trying to take the limelight.


    As I wandered the wooden halls with the others, Dinner asked me questions I held no answers to when it came to the vampires. Questions like what happened in between not one, but two wars that encompassed the entire world. Again, I couldn''t answer. I told Dinner as much. They seemed to be mildly confused until I reminded them that I had been asleep since before the planet broke apart because it collided with another version of itself.


    They facepalmed and shook their head from side to side, apologizing profusely for forgetting that tidbit.


    I patted them on the shoulder as we passed from one exhibit displaying a porcelain mask to another talking about early attempts at sunlight proofing automobiles. They tried steel blinds and found the vehicles became targets on the side of the road.


    Of course you¡¯re a target on the side of the road! That¡¯s why we had Amelia and Harlow. They could watch us during the day.


    There were artifacts dug up here and there throughout the ages, but none could conclusively be tied to any vampire until I came across a beautiful white and black dress on a wax vampire. It had a matching black parasol that would be useless at night, but that wasn¡¯t the point of the parasol. The parasol was actually a hidden rifle. Nice long sleeves covered a hidden throwing blade on her left arm. She had a high shirt collar and built-in neck armor that could protect from a bite, but I knew how best to slip the neck guard off without Amelia realizing it until it was too late.


    And then she¡¯d slap my hip and take the collar back with a kiss to the cheek.


    The faint outline of boiled leather armor was still sewn into the torso in an effort to ward off staking. I preferred a metal breastplate myself. What with the situation that led to my embrace. Anything short of a rifle round could be stopped then.


    I wanted to reach out and touch the figure wearing her fine clothes, because it resembled her in life. Hold her hands and spin her around as she laughed and giggled with music. To dance under the stars with Amelia again and stare into her blue eyes.


    ¡°They preserved her dress¡­¡± I whispered to myself.


    I placed a hand over my breast as I took in Amelia¡¯s gun belt where she kept three knives and a revolver.


    Dinner stepped up to a plaque and read it to themself. ¡°Huh. It''s a replica of a dress that some unknown vampire wore in the early days.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head slowly. ¡°It''s Amelia¡¯s dress. My mortal retainer. She and I spent many a night living under the stars, moving from town to town with my sire and her retainer Harlow. Amelia was beautiful beyond comparison. Rivaled only by the Mother Moon. Her infectious smile could be felt across the nation. A dancer with no equal. I have no heart to give, because she stole what was left and kept it hidden in¡­ in¡­¡± My voice trailed off as an odd dampness ran down my cheeks.


    Already knowing what it was, I reached for my handkerchief only to find nothing in my pockets. I again felt for the item as a tightness grew in my chest. Something I hadn''t experienced in so long I smacked the spot with a thump. My dead chest echoed in reply.


    A strange weight descended upon me and threatened to pull my corpse to the floor. I stood up as best I could, barely feeling the ground beneath my feet as my legs turned to soggy noodles.


    ¡°Do you need me to do anything?¡± Dinner asked.


    ¡°Go home, Dinner,¡± I said quietly, looking away from the lanky half-elf and shielded my face. ¡°Forget about me or you¡¯ll end up like my rose; Beheaded and thrown in an unmarked grave.¡±


    Dinner looked deflated as their earlier smile was replaced with a frown. The luster in their eyes became the same hollow look from the other day when they were drunk. They looked at the tile floor for a moment. ¡°What did I do wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± I shook my head, bringing my hand up to pat Dinner on the shoulder. They tensed in a way that made me stop what I was about to do. I turned it into a handshake offer instead. ¡°I am trying to keep you alive.¡±


    Dinner shook my hand and looked over at Lyra. The elf stood in front of a tall mirror, staring at her own reflection in an attempt to fix her hair. A deep frown crossed the fledgling¡¯s face as her blurry self stared back at her. Her appearance wasn''t so far gone yet. She could still do her hair and makeup.


    There was no saving me. One dagger thrust on a dark altar and I was doomed to never see myself again.


    One of the museum¡¯s guides walked toward us. He hadn''t quite noticed I was bleeding from my face just yet.


    Dinner pointed at my face. ¡°Your eyes are bleeding.¡±


    If they made Amelia¡¯s dress as accurate as it looked then there was a plan. I sent Dinner to distract the employee and ducked underneath the ropes blocking us from getting too close. It was easier than I thought, because Dinner asked them a random question about vampires. One that was so completely off the wall it made Lyra look over at the half-elf.


    I ignored Dinner¡¯s query as I reached into the mannequin¡¯s right cuff and felt a thin bit of extra cloth. She thought she was so clever keeping it there and pulling it out as a magic trick anytime I didn''t have a handkerchief on me, because she stole it and put it in her handbag while I was distracted. And now her foresight again was my gain.


    They assumed the handkerchief would be silk, but it depended on what social circles we needed to infiltrate that day. Most of the time she carried a linen one in the hidden pocket.


    I slipped the silk cloth from the pocket and wiped my face as best I could. Without someone to guide me or do it for my unholy corpse, I had to guess and with no water. Well, it would be obvious that I had been bleeding from my eyes.


    Dinner and Lyra were keeping the employee busy for me as I slipped back into the main aisle like nothing happened. When I approached them, I recognized the man from the club who had been sitting with the military man.


    Again, his eyes lit up like the sun when they fell upon me. ¡°You!¡± he exclaimed, finally catching his words.


    Dinner looked between the man and I for a moment. ¡°Huh?¡± The half-elf cocked their head.


    The man pointed at me. ¡°Her! You! Amelia!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I shook my head, closing my eyes at the nonsense I just heard. ¡°What?!¡±


    The blood sack scrambled past Dinner and Lyra, practically bowling me over as he grabbed my shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re her!¡±


    ¡°Unhand me and kneel, mortal!¡± I ordered, focusing blood on my voice as the man tried to pull me toward him.


    He blinked a few times as he released me. The confusion on his face reached a twitch in his eye. Shadows swirled in his mind, whispering the same thing I just said until he listened. He slowly got down on one knee in reverence, dipping his head.


    ¡°I¡­ I apologize,¡± he groveled. He rested his hands on his chest like some servant of mine. ¡°Mother Cassandra, please forgive me, for I have failed you.¡±


    ¡°What in the devil are you jabbering about, blood sack?¡± I asked.


    Dinner gulped and gave us room by backing up. They stuffed their thumbs into their front sweater pocket and let their hands hang outside as if they weren''t sure what to do.


    The human recognized who I was, but had the wrong name, so he was clearly wrong. However, he had an exact replica of Amelia¡¯s dress and her likeness on display. The only way for him to attain it was either the hunters dissected the dress, and took a photo of her head, which was unlikely considering what my sire told me, or someone gave him the pattern and a portrait.


    And that pattern was a secret shared between Amelia and I.


    ¡°This museum was your idea, Mother,¡± the man said as his eyes pleaded with me to recall events I didn''t remember.


    ¡®Who is this?¡¯ Lyra asked, flicking a finger against her book to get my attention.


    I slowly shook my head. ¡°He is wrong. The city was my idea, but not a museum. There would be more things from the old days if that were the case.¡±


    I turned around and walked away from the man.


    ¡°Mother!¡± he called out. ¡°Please, wait!¡±


    ¡°I want to go home, Dinner.¡± I flicked my hand for them to follow. Lyra had no choice. She didn''t fully know how to survive as a vampire and would follow me until I released her into the wild or she felt she was ready. Dinner followed me silently, since they were my ride.


    ¡°They stole your work, Mother,¡± the man called out. ¡°They tried to bury you. Please remember! Remember Flanders.¡±


    I glanced back at the human. The others looked at me for an idea of what to do. Flanders? ¡°So what if I am Flemish?¡±


    The man grinned as he got to his feet and reached out to shake my hand. I didn''t reciprocate, so he stepped back. ¡°I do not speak of Flanders Fields where the poppies grow, but the person you called Flanders. The vampire Train Engineer who helped orchestrate all of this.¡± He motioned around us as if to make it seem impressive. "They are the feral Courier from Milwaukee. Do you not remember them?"


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°David,¡± he replied. The man placed his hands together as if he were praying. ¡°My family has served you since you came to Westcal. We took care of your holdings during the day with your loyal servant, Amelia Schmidt, as our matriarch. Please remember your family...¡±


    My hands flexed at his words. There was no way anyone but me and my sire should know her name, but as I looked around at the museum. I could see her subtle influences in the layout. Although, anyone could have made a decision to design metal blinds and exits facing the least amount of sunlight. The lack of mirrored surfaces anywhere, too, except for the one ¡®old vampire test¡¯.


    ¡°Amelia is¡­ still alive as a spirit bound to my house. I don''t know what keeps her there, but I want her to find peace and move on.¡±


    The man blinked a few times at my reply, brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Mother? Have you not figured out that you are what keeps her here?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I believe my sire mentioned something about it, but to hear a random mortal say that? It sliced through my unbeating heart and I looked at my nails for advice they couldn''t give. ¡°I keep her here? How do you know this?¡±


    ¡°It was not just Mrs. Schmidt keeping you safe all these years, but her whole family. I am her descendant. I took a vow to keep you hidden until you awakened from torpor.¡±


    I shook my aching hand, glancing at a confused Lyra for a moment before staring the mortal down. ¡°Who staked me?¡± I demanded, staring into his eyes and using my blood to make him tell the truth.


    David¡¯s face took on a shadowed, sad look as he frowned and held my gaze. ¡°Your sire¡­ She snuck into your home in 1844 and staked you as you tried to rouse for the evening, sealing the coffin with help from a witch. She murdered your servants. Only those that were away on holiday were spared.¡±


    I''d heard enough of his prattling and walked away from the mortal. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dinner. Lyra.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± David called out. ¡°Please believe me!¡±


    I didn''t.

 Chapter 13: Delivery Driver

    Chapter 13: Delivery Driver


    Dinner slowed their car to a stop next to my scooter and gently pulled on the handbrake. They pushed a button on their steering wheel and removed the whole assembly, setting it on the back seat next to Lyra.


    I didn''t see Amelia anywhere nearby, but there was a shadow moving through the house, so I drew the revolver and looked at the others.


    ¡°Something doesn''t feel right,¡± I whispered.


    Dinner closed their eyes tight as they held onto the roll cage, looking like they were in excruciating pain as they clamped their eyes shut.


    ¡°I¡¯ll join you in a moment,¡± they said.


    ¡°Do you need me to help you out?¡± I asked.


    They shook their head. ¡°It flares up like this when the weather changes. I just need a minute.¡±


    I climbed out and folded the seat for Lyra, helping her out of the car.


    ¡°Lady Colterville!¡± Isabella called out from inside, hailing me with a tone I hadn''t heard in a long, long while. ¡°Explain yourself, now!¡±


    I whispered for Lyra to wait by the car, but it was too late. Isabella stepped out from the front door, arms folded across her leatherbound chest and a deep frown on her face. Her narrowed silver eyes went from me to Lyra, to Dinner¡¯s car and back to me.


    ¡°How could you sire a fledgling without my permission?¡± Isabella yelled as she walked toward us. ¡°Without the council¡¯s permission?!¡±


    I put myself between Lyra and my sire. ¡°I had no other choice,¡± I replied, leaning on the car door, hoping my sire couldn''t see Lyra, but she already knew where she was thanks to surface skimming my thoughts. I could feel my sire¡¯s presence just at the edge of my mind like a gentle hand waiting to slap me upside the head for being a foolish fledgling.


    Isabella stopped within an arm¡¯s length of me right when Dinner finally climbed out of the car. Dinner put their hands up and spoke, but even then, pain filled their voice. ¡°I¡¯m going to g-guess that you''re Cassandra''s boss. I¡¯m Dinner.¡±


    Isabella raised an eyebrow at them. ¡°Mine as an apology?¡±


    Dinner nodded. ¡°Y-yes.¡± Their heart kicked up a notch with a steady thrum. The half-elf tilted their to the side head, exposing their neck for Isabella as they tried to breathe calmly. But calm wasn''t on the menu for Dinner. Their breathing was ragged, panicked even.


    Isabella stalked toward the lanky person with a smirk on her face and fangs out. She reached for their shoulders.


    ¡°You want my blood, sire,¡± I said, focusing on my voice, hopefully drawing her attention before she could grab Dinner¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Leave the half-elf alone.¡±


    Isabella groaned loudly in reply. She tilted her head forward and caught it in both hands. I knew she would resist the unnatural words, since we weren¡¯t making eye contact. I hadn¡¯t put my full weight into them, but it had the effect of grabbing her attention.


    ¡°You didn''t just¡­¡± she began, her voice trailing off.


    ¡°I did. Sire, Jean killed Lyra,¡± I nodded in her direction.


    The elf waved from behind me and motioned with her hands, but only Dinner knew the language.


    Isabella glared at me. ¡°I do not give a damn who drained her! You still fail to understand how the world works, fledgling. We run Westcal!¡±


    ¡°I was not going to be a wall fixture again!¡±


    Isabella glared at me, pointing her finger in my direction as she continued, ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t drain him dry!¡±


    ¡°You can do that to a vampire?¡± Dinner glanced from me to Isabella and back again.


    Isabella kept her glare as she tried to intimidate me. Something inside my chest wanted to bow before her, to kneel and beg forgiveness for my stupidity, but another part reminded me that both Jean and David mentioned she worked against me.


    Luckily Dinner¡¯s query distracted her even further. My sire sighed and waved waved in my direction. ¡°My progeny is, regrettably, a habitual Soul Drinker. The void has twisted her beyond any sense of mortal reason, and now the only thing that can truly sate her hunger is consuming a vampire.¡±


    I dared not tell her what I had been told. Otherwise she may attack the three of us. I wasn¡¯t sure what her abilities were anymore, but it felt like the system knew about mine even without a class. It allowed me to hold my own against Jean. Perhaps I could have done more and actually harmed him had I a high level class, but how can I get a higher level class when my sire and Jean had twenty years to level? Isabella was a max level sorceress, too!


    That meant¡­ well, nothing to me without a point of reference. For all I knew it just ensured she could cast spells properly and did nothing for impacts.


    Perhaps if I found a book explaining the system or actually listened to Dinner and Caleb then I could know more. Such as why were some classes highlighted green and others not.


    My lips twitched in an attempt to open my mouth and spill the truth. I slapped myself to stop it. I walked around the car door and showed Isabella my neck, sliding my coat past my shoulders so my exposed skin was visible. ¡°Take all of mine if it makes you feel better. I don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°You will when they come for your head like they came for Roberto.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t regret saving her, sire.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t give you the courtesy of tying you to a pole until sunrise either. You¡¯re too dangerous, Lady C.¡± She sliced her hand in front of her throat as if to emphasize my fate.


    Her words sent a proverbial ice pick right through my gut. It twisted around and tore my insides out. Another void in my heart, but vastly different to Amelia¡¯s. One in which I gave Roberto my all in the hopes of being embraced only to be passed from one vampire master to the next when they killed him for doing what I did to Lyra.


    Lyra pushed past me, holding her book out for Isabella to take, tapping an open page fairly noisily. My sire took it from her and read it before flipping back through the book.


    ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± Isabella whispered to herself, eyes wide at whatever the contents were.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You embraced the Blood Baroness of Halifax. She¡­¡± Isabella looked up from the page to me, then Lyra and then Dinner. ¡°How much do you trust that mortal?¡± my sire added, nodding toward Dinner.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late for that question,¡± I replied to her, referencing our earlier conversations about stealing a vampire¡¯s soul through draining them dry. It wasn¡¯t common knowledge or even talked about. Generally, all who did it were shunned by vampires and mortals alike. Unless they got good at hiding their urges like I did. Then no one was the wiser until my sire tattled on me like the trollop she is.


    Dinner stood by the front of their car partially leaned forward as the half-elf held their lower back, shaking their head from side to side. ¡°Oh trust me, you have no idea the kind of bullshit I deal with on a daily basis. Vampire secrets? That¡¯s hella weak compared to corporate espionage. I once was interrogated for three days straight, without food or sleep, because a commander was a spy and tried to make me the fall guy!¡±


    ¡°Corporate espionage is a slap on the wrist to what my fledgling has just drawn you into.¡±


    ¡°I can hot drop a mech battalion on Encinar and capture the city in, like, six hours at the most.¡±


    ¡°I can just kill you with the snap of my fingers,¡± Isabella retorted and snapped her fingers for emphasis.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back. We can go around and around, bitch.¡± Dinner flung a hand toward the city for emphasis. "Just admit you''re hella weak compared to me and move on."


    "No."


    ¡°What are you, a D Rank Sorceress with party tricks?¡±


    ¡°C rank actually! Now look here, mortal!" Isabella pointed at Dinner and glared. "An ancient vampire awakening is what caused the Collide, mortal. They used their reality bending powers to bring ruin to the world.¡±


    Dinner laughed! I tilted my head at the half-elf throwing their head back in a hearty laugh, because my sire sounded like she was speaking the truth. Dinner¡¯s smile said otherwise as they shook their head from side to side. ¡°Really?! Is that what they''re teaching these days? Like, I know this planet is far from the Inner Rim, but come on! Don''t fall into the stereotype. It was the elves that did it. Everyone knows that. Except idiots like you.¡±


    Lyra folded her arms across her chest and smirked!


    Isabella rolled her eyes as she gave the book back to Lyra. ¡°I hope you planned this, Lady C, because your fledgling is the go to woman in Halifax if you want a discreet meal; Bags, cans, people, you name it. She can get it.¡±


    So that is why Lyra wanted out of that club!


    She knew far, far too much about Jean¡¯s operation. But Blood Baroness of Halifax? Surely they could have come up with a better name than that. It¡¯s too obvious!


    My sire pointed between the three of us. ¡°You three lay low for a couple weeks and I will see if I can smooth over this fiasco. Am I clear?¡±


    Lyra and I nodded in unison while Dinner shrugged.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t. Well¡­ There¡¯s always the hell wastes beyond the tri-valley.¡±


    Isabella didn''t wait for a reply. She went back over to the barn and rode off on her motorcycle, leaving Dinner and I to stare at Lyra.


    The red-haired elf beamed proudly in reply, a wide happy grin on her face that showed off her fangs and teeth. Much like a child showing her mother the newest dress she made. She even had the same air that one usually did when they were extremely proud of themself. It was as if she was the best fledgling ever.


    You¡¯d think she would already be a vampire by now.


    Dinner asked for our clothing sizes so they could go get us some new duds. I sent them a text message with the information. It was around that time Amelia came by to see what was going on and I filled her in. As Dinner drove off, leaving the three of us inside the crumbling house, Amelia looked between Lyra and I with confusion. Though, the ghost smiled after a moment and giggled to herself about something.


    Lyra couldn''t really see her like I could. She just saw a shadow sitting next to us that might be something more than the dark room. At least according to the note she showed me in her book.


    I took a deep breath out of habit thanks to Caleb. If Lyra was going to stay with me then she would need to know about Amelia¡¯s true form sooner or later. The idea was still insane to me.


    ¡°Look out the window.¡± I pointed out the ruined window toward the hill where Amelia¡¯s tree sat.


    Lyra turned to look for a moment, cocking her head as if she didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°That is Amelia,¡± I added, nodding to the perplexed elf. ¡°She is a tree now and appears to me as a banshee with no physical form.¡±


    The elf wrote something down in her book and turned it around so I could see it. ¡®So she¡¯s a Dryad without a corporeal form?¡¯This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Amelia leaned toward the book, gasping softly. ¡°That¡¯s what my projection is called¡­?¡±


    ¡°What level are you, Amelia?¡± I rubbed at my chin, wondering if it had something to do with levels.


    ¡°Tree level ninety-one, but only Hunter level thirty, Rank F with the Animal Keeper subclass.¡± The ghost¡­ dryad spun around to face me and nodded. ¡°Most of the forest around your property is my domain. I have so many offspring, my love. And none of them are like me!¡±


    Lyra tapped her book again to get my attention. ¡®I can make a call to a wood elf Druid I know and see what¡¯s wrong with Amelia, but no guarantee he can fix it.¡¯ Her written words sounded like they made sense for the short term, so I nodded.


    Amelia¡¯s Quest Updated: Wait for Lyra¡¯s acquaintance to show up.


    Once the message had been sent, I waved in Lyra¡¯s direction as if to have her continue her lessons. I had her focus on the shadows and work with the darkness around her, but I also realized I was not the best teacher, because I never had to teach anyone.


    Amelia already had her vampire hunter abilities and Caleb¡­ was Caleb who thought he knew better than me. Lyra followed my words a few times as the darkness fluttered and flailed uselessly around her.


    She carried my blood and by extension she should have similar abilities in theory. Without easy communication beyond waiting for her to write things down, it was difficult to get her thoughts. It should, in theory, be easy having her focus on pulling the shadows to her like a blanket, but it wasn¡¯t. Lyra managed to do it and became wreathed in a fine layer of darkness just before it receded. She gasped, rubbing her mouth a bit.


    ¡°You need blood,¡± I stated the obvious.


    Lyra asked for my phone by using a phone-like hand gesture against her ear and pointing to herself. I gave it to her, she grabbed her book and opened it to a seemingly random page near the middle. There was a phone number and a few keywords to say to the person on the other end.


    Her book was the most dangerous item in all of Encinar if my sire was right. Lyra wouldn''t even allow me to take a close look at it. That book could hold so many phone numbers, names, phrases¡­ we¡¯d be ruined if the police ever got their hands on it.


    A person answered the phone as if it were a regular delivery store and I ordered takeout. Or at least I tried to.


    The person yelled something akin to, ¡°My fucking ear!¡±


    I remembered what Caleb''s partner had said about their recording and that caused me to groan. ¡°They won''t hear my voice¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello?¡± the person asked. ¡°Is this some kind of prank? Who is this?¡±


    Lyra snatched the phone from me and pressed a few buttons in rapid succession like she was trying to type into it. She searched around until she found a text-to-speech setting and used that.


    The bland feminine voice flowed out and repeated my words on ordering takeout. The man asked where to deliver them to and Lyra told him, followed by saying, ¡°With Special Sauce on the side.¡±


    It all sounded fairly normal to my ears.


    No more than twenty minutes went by before a fancy car arrived outside the house. A person got out and laughed. ¡°Now that''s what I expect a vampire¡¯s house to look like!¡± he exclaimed.


    Lyra faded into the dark by pulling a hood over her bright hair and dipping behind the front door.


    The man looked around as he approached the house. He didn''t feel nervous at all when he knocked, nor when Lyra opened the door for him in a way he couldn''t see her.


    He stepped inside, striding past Lyra toward the main room where I sat on the floor.


    The elf slipped out from the wall, stalking quietly behind him, fangs out with a hungry stare I recognized to be dangerously close to frenzying. That same starving look all fledgling held before their first proper meal.


    I could warn him, but that would spoil the hunt. Instead, I smiled and motioned for him to sit down. ¡°Welcome! Welcome! I see you had no trouble finding the place.¡±


    He shook his head, sitting down next to me, and said, ¡°Your directions were easy enough to follow.¡±


    I leaned toward him, a wide grin on my face as I said, ¡°Good! Now¡­ Are you ready?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°There is a hungry vampire in this house who desires to hunt a mortal. I will not tell you where she is, only that she wants your blood, but shall not kill you. Name your price.¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had a request to be toyed with before the meal. My usual price is a thousand gold, but that¡¯s a straight feeding session. Not being chased around Westcal. What can you give me?¡±


    ¡°How does five thousand sound? With an extra two thousand for every night you elude the vampire?¡±


    ¡°Make it an extra four large per night and I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    He was cocky, which was good. That¡¯d give Lyra the advantage, but she was cocky as well and that was a bad thing for the fledgling. I had given her a few cans of blood before the man arrived, but again. She didn''t have much.


    ¡°Eleven thousand tonight?¡± I asked, lifting my eyebrows at the man. Quite a steep price, but I had a lot of gold to burn and he wouldn¡¯t last the night.


    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± The man nodded and continued, ¡°You try being hunted!¡±


    I folded my arms across my chest, frowning at the man, inclining my head toward the door. ¡°I evaded vampire hunters for over a century. Even fought some the other night. Being hunted is my nightly routine.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    We went over the terms; I would be the mediator to ensure he didn''t die and Lyra would hunt him how she saw fit. He¡¯d have a five minute head start and could fight back if he wanted, but he couldn''t kill Lyra. Stakes were allowed, as it would be unfair to a mortal if he was unable to paralyze her.


    With the deal sealed, the man was off like lightning.


    A few moments later, Lyra clapped her hands together, flashing a fang-filled grin once again. She really did remind me of me when I was a fledgling. I knew where the meals were and my sire didn¡¯t. It felt like an odd circle of events to be in.


    I followed at a safe distance to not reveal her position as she stalked out of the house into the oak forest around my property.


    It was quiet with Amelia floating silently next to me. The two of us walked hand in hand as best I could. She kept up fairly easy and seemed to be staring at the growing storm clouds above us.


    I tilted my head and asked, ¡°What do you see?¡±


    She sighed softly, turning her head to smile at me. ¡°A new age for you, my love. Perhaps you can take up the mantle of Mayor one day, but first you need a new home.¡± The ghost tossed a hand in the direction of my dilapidated abode.


    ¡°I need money before I can do that. Do you have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Have you asked Dinner? They are not adverse to our lifestyle. Perhaps they have the answer?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± I shrugged, turning away from Amelia to check on Lyra. She was crouched low behind a tree while the mortal was hunting around for a stick in the distance, likely wanting to make a spear.


    It will be a long night for me


    *** ***


    Lyra did an odd thing when she caught the mortal an hour and a half later. She turned the struggling mortal toward me and nodded, biting at the air in an exaggerated manner.


    I tilted my head at her gesture. She is giving me the first sip?


    An odd idea, since she was the hungry one. So I shook my head as thunder rumbled softly in the distance.


    ¡°I agreed to not partake in this blood sack, so drink away, fledgling!¡±


    She bit down right as Dinner¡¯s headlights turned onto my driveway, illuminating the two in an overly bright glow powered by every forward light on that bubble car. It made the vehicle appear like the morning sun cresting over the horizon. I might have fled if I didn¡¯t know any better and hadn''t been reborn during a time when fire was more prevalent.


    Lyra hissed loudly, becoming a full on shriek of terror as she released the blood sack and dashed into the welcoming darkness that was the treeline of Amelia¡¯s Forest.


    I shook my head at the fledgling. She would need to learn how to control that impulse. It was something I learned fast.


    The man practically fell to his knees. He caught himself, got up and asked pointedly, ¡°Does this count as being bitten?¡±


    ¡°Is she still attached? Keep running, blood sack!¡±


    He felt his neck and glanced around, slowly backing away from the trees before breaking into a run.


    Dinner¡¯s headlights went out when they neared me and plunged the property into darkness once again. I waited for them to drive closer and waved. The half-elf pointed at the man running past my house.


    ¡°Should I be worried?¡± Dinner asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°He agreed to be hunted by Lyra.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I got your new clothes!¡± Dinner grinned at me, changing the subject fairly quickly. ¡°A few long skirts, some nice shirts and pants I hope you like.¡±


    I pointed at my house. ¡°Put them inside and feel free to stake Lyra if she attempts to bite you.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Dinner said, causing me to stop in my tracks as I turned to leave. They smiled up at me from inside their car as they continued nervously, ¡°Would it be possible if I got paid for this? It''s quite a lot of work and, like, I have a job, but I¡¯m kind of out of work for the next two or three months while the Company decides if they wanna install a cybernetic spine in me or not.¡±


    With a small nod, I pulled a stack of credits from my jacket and gave them to Dinner. ¡°Do you want me to keep paying you?¡± I asked, taking another two hundred out. We had stopped at a gold-to-credit exchange station where I pulled out two thousand credits thinking it¡¯d be enough for the next month or so.


    Both Dinner and Lyra had chuckled at the idea and said it might last a week.


    Dinner bit their lip for a moment as they eyed the funny money. ¡°If you don''t mind? Like, I know I¡¯m a bother, but I do fine with my classes. I¡¯m a forty-nine Salvage Pilot and like thirty Driver. Or somewhere around there. I stopped looking at Driver a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°You can have more than one class?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You probably should pick one already. Yeah, you can totally do fine without one, but classes help a lot. They enhance what you can already do. Like, let''s say you had the gene to pilot mechs and were hired by a company. They''d want you to be a Salvage Pilot so you could benefit from all the bonuses.¡±


    They turned their left arm over before I could speak, revealing thin lines in the skin that looked like the gaps in a ship¡¯s hull plating. The lines ran from their wrist to roughly halfway down their forearm. Dinner gently pressed two fingers against their skin. My eyes widened as the half-elf¡¯s flesh separated in the middle and the two slabs slid to the side. Inside their pale forearm were a pair of thick cables with plugs attached to them. Dinner grabbed the larger cable and pulled it out for me to see! Almost like they were pulling a non-bloody vein out from their arm.


    It was still connected to them even as they dragged the plug roughly a foot and a half out from their appendage.


    ¡°This is the Pilot¡¯s Neural Interface,¡± Dinner began as they slowly retracted the cable back into their arm. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna tell you the unfortunate nickname, but like, I¡¯ll tell you that when I hook into my mech I feel as if the chassis is my body. My messed up spine only matters when I am outside of my mech and it hurts. Like, I don¡¯t wanna feel pain anymore. That¡¯s why I was okay with you draining me dry. It hurts to stand, hurts to sit, when will it stop, Cassy?¡±


    I nodded slowly. It sounded similar to being embraced by a vampire, but worse in that Dinner can only experience normality at specific times rather than all the time. They went on to tell me about a skill they called Mech Sight. It was adapted from a driving skill and allowed Dinner to precisely judge gaps they could fit their vehicle into that other people would ignore.


    Afterward, they said, ¡°Let me park and I¡¯ll tell you some more about the class.¡±


    And so I followed Dinner to my house while keeping an eye on Lyra. It was odd. For the first time in a week I felt like I had everything together even with a dilapidated house. I had a new retainer, a fledgling, or two if you count Caleb, and my house. Even if it was falling apart.


    Jean was hiding, Encinar was a bustling city, but the only thing I needed to do was find a steady source of income. With Halifax being a ¡®vampire paradise¡¯ I doubted that would be a problem. All I had to do was avoid the vampire police and pray to God their investigation of the port events didn''t lead back to me.


    Perhaps if I laid low like my sire said, then that meant they''d ignore me long enough I could entrench myself in the new underworld and be protected from the inquisition. Or I could stride out into the streets and demand answers from Jean.


    That sounded like a perfect plan.


    *** ***


    I sat on the cold front bumper of Dinner¡¯s car with a can of blood in my hand. We faced away from the house so we could watch the forest.


    Dinner had pulled a cloth folding chair out from the car¡¯s frunk where they also kept a ground based remote controlled drone and transmitter. The half-elf sat next to me with their own drink in hand, sipping from it while I slowly scrolled through the System Menu in an attempt to find Salvage Pilot by sorting through rarity. Dinner mentioned I should look at the common ones first to see if I liked any.


    The most common class was Laborer with various subclasses for that. Each one had a branch to it that included specific jobs. Such as when you picked Laborer it branched out into Farmer, Driver, and other menial tasks. Each one of those branched out into other trees.


    Driver, for example, branched out into a few different jobs; Truck Driver, Limousine Driver, Taxi Driver, and those branched out even further with Truck Driver having far more specialties. Such as Cement Truck Driver, Dump Truck Driver, Gunite Truck Driver, Fuel Truck Driver. The list went on.


    The problem was when I looked at Entertainer earlier. It also branched into Driver, but it was blocked off for me. I was unable to actually see what Entertainer subclasses I could pick from, so I went back to Laborer.


    Again, I had the subclass for Driver, Farmer, Construction, and Household. Household was highlighted a light green color. I dove into the menu and followed it to Butler (38).


    I backed out of that menu and glanced at the Criminal Tree, since it was highlighted green as well. Pirate (60+) glowed softly.


    As was Politician - Mayor (32).


    ¡°Here''s the thing about Salvage Pilot,¡± Dinner said, breaking my concentration. I dismissed the menu and gave the lanky half-elf my attention. They turned their left wrist over so they could look at the plating where skin should be. I hadn''t noticed it in the club, because I was just that hungry and it was dark enough the faint lines were fairly well hidden. Even now. I knew it was there and still struggled to see it in the moonlight.


    Dinner continued, ¡°I find it fun. Like, it is where I can feel truly alive. I dunno, maybe it''s because I don''t need to worry so much about me and can just focus on taking out the hostiles. But like, it''s a lot of work. Imagine having to keep track of your mech¡¯s temperature, ammunition, radar, comms, and dodge enemy fire while keeping your eyes on the target.¡±


    ¡°So not much different than corralling a ship crew to fight?¡±


    ¡°Not really¡­ It¡¯s kinda like being with you. Dangerous, but it makes me smile.¡±


    Amelia sat behind us on the car¡¯s frunk as she watched Dinner and I. She shook her head. ¡°I do not see how you can be a Salvage Pilot, my love. It sounds like a job that¡¯ll take you into the day and we both know what happens then.¡±


    My eyes drifted across the trees ahead of us while I thought about what they were saying.


    Lyra and the blood sack were still out there. The fledgling wasn''t very good at catching live prey who knew they were being hunted. I should give her a few tips to hide better, because Lyra was stomping through the brush rather than sneaking. I didn''t need to see the elf to know precisely where in the treeline she was. She was just that noisy.


    Dinner huffed and shook their head. ¡°Have you thought of what class you wanted?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± I sipped from the can of SymCo blood and closed my eyes. It was warm, fairly plain and tasted about as well as the canned blood usually did, which is to say, not all that great. I licked my fangs to get every last drop as my thoughts drifted back to a time when only just last week I had an intact house.


    It was beautiful and painted a bright, if slightly gaudy, mint green. There was a clear view of the water-filled bay and city below. Isabella thought that perhaps it was a bit too far from Encinar, but I liked the privacy that entailed. It allowed Amelia and I, and a few other hand picked servants, to coexist in a place far from prying eyes.


    There we could hold hands, kiss and make love beneath the moonlight. All without someone saying it was uncouth. Or against God. Or threatening our lives. We could raise a family.


    But there was something else in the memory. A dark shadow looming in the distance I couldn''t understand. It hovered over Encinar and the best description I can muster for it is an airship in the sky raining streaks of flame onto the city.


    I pushed the memory aside and looked over at Dinner. ¡°When I awoke, the System told me ¡®your previous experiences with the Nassau Empire have granted you Vampire Level Fifty-five¡¯. Explain what it means by ¡®my previous experience¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡± Dinner shrugged. ¡°I''ve never heard of that message before. But also I dunno anyone that slept through the system creation.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it is referring to when we worked for the Empress?¡± Amelia added, tapping her chin for a moment. ¡°Though, I never received any messages like that either. It was just ¡®you have been chosen by the System to guard this forest¡¯.¡±


    I gave my shoulder a small massage, wondering if perhaps I should mention to Amelia what Lyra and I did. She might get a chuckle out of it. It wasn''t something to speak about when guests were around, however. I shall wait until tomorrow night.


    ¡°I can ask my CEO,¡± Dinner said, motioning to themself. ¡°He was part of the old American Colonies as a mech pilot for Great Britain.¡±


    I nodded firmly. ¡°That would be wonderful, Dinner.¡±


    While Dinner sent the message to their boss, I listened for any sign of movement from Lyra. She appeared to have stopped moving. At least audibly. I craned my head to hear anything from the fledgling.


    Time slowly stretched on without anyone uttering a sound just in case we had to get up and run into the trees. I trusted Lyra within reason, but she was also a fledgling. And fledglings make mistakes. However, she assured me she would only drink from the mortal when in full view of us.


    Dinner¡¯s phone dinged. I knew what it was before they even opened their frown and said, ¡°He says no. He hasn''t heard of anyone receiving a System Message like that.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I sighed and shook my head from side to side. ¡°The System is telling me I have levels in my old professions, but it is acting like I do not have a Class just yet. It also claimed I was Pirate Level Sixty Plus. Any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Mastery Rank One¡­? That''s the best I can come up with.¡± Dinner tossed their hands out in a shrug. ¡°Usually, it''d attach a letter at the end denoting the Mastery Rank from F to A with S++ being the highest. Like, my full main class is Salvage Mech Pilot Rank B, Level forty-nine. Once I hit sixty and go through a few trials, I¡¯ll be at A Rank level one with all my previous abilities. Only now they¡¯re stronger.¡±


    ¡°Are there any experts on the System that might know what is going on with me?¡±


    ¡°Maybe Lady Ventrosa? Halifax? Any of the ancient dragons, really, but like. Good luck getting an audience.¡±


    ¡°Anyone else?¡±


    ¡°The Empress, Her Golden Majesty, but, I dunno if She''ll help. She¡¯s kinda grumpy and, like, kinda on another planet right now.¡± Dinner took a long sip from their drink.


    ¡°Another planet?¡± I raised an eyebrow at them.


    They pointed toward the sky where normal-looking storm clouds were rolling in and blocking one of the continents floating in the sky. ¡°Us spacers call them planets. Dirt dwellers call them shards.¡±


    Lyra decided to take that moment to come stomping out of the bushes, ending any conversation about the System and corporations. She had the hogtied blood sack tossed over her shoulder. He was squirming, but the game was up. He lost. I¡¯ll still give him the 11,000 gold as if he survived the night without being caught.


    Dinner slapped their knee and stood up. Almost immediately, they grabbed their lower back, stopping half-way to standing straight. I got up to help them, but they waved a hand dismissively and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Give me a moment.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked.


    They nodded a few times.


    ¡°I think you need to select a class, my love,¡± Amelia giggled softly.


    I shook my head, motioning for her to wait. ¡°Let¡¯s deal with the blood sack tonight and I¡¯ll pick Pirate tomorrow night. And look for Salvage Pilot later.¡±


    ¡°Why not now?¡± Dinner asked.


    Amelia clapped her hands together. ¡°Yes! Why not now?¡±


    As Lyra knelt next to the blood sack and bit into his neck, I brought up the system menu.

 Interlude: 1743

    Interlude: 1743


    As a vampire, I had the unique downside of generally being forced to sleep through the day. So when a daymare awakens me around noon, it is an otherworldly feeling. My mind swam with thoughts as if they were someone else''s problems. The last lingering feeling was of a dark shadow leaned over me with her fangs buried deep in my neck, drinking deep as I grew weaker and slipped into the abyss between life and death.


    I was inside my dark basement staring at my withered hands; bullet holes through my chest, and mind slowly drifting back through time. It was an unusual feeling, because my hands looked about as skeletal as they could get. The skin was so tight it didn¡¯t have any muscle or fat, just a thin layer over bones and wiry hair. A rotting bullet-ridden husk was a far cry from the beautiful woman I was in 1743.


    I was so foolish as I wandered dimly lit streets of a now long destroyed island city, blissfully unaware of the monster stalking behind me. A man. Not just any old man, but a pale Spaniard from the Colonial Underworld. I didn''t know about vampires at the time and thought he was just a noble.


    My first encounter with the sharply dressed man was him wrapping an arm around my shoulder and whispering in accented English, ¡°Stay quiet, keep walking and you will be compensated for your time.¡±


    I didn''t have a pistol on me at the time and neither did I have a dagger despite me wishing for one. The guards usually conducted random weapon searches, which left me weaponless, so I listened to the man. My heart pounded in my chest with each step as I wondered where he was taking me. I did come up with a plan to kick the man and run, but he never gave me the chance.


    He leaned in as if he was going to kiss me on the side of the head. I recoiled away and closed my eyes. ¡°I need your help to survive this night,¡± he whispered.


    I cocked an eyebrow at the man as I opened my eyes. ¡°You need my help?¡± I replied with clear skepticism, because who would need my help? Much less a man asking me for help! A woman with little experience about the world and none in the world he lived in.


    The man nodded slowly and explained, ¡°I need a place to stay for the day if you do not mind. I will be gone by sundown and you will have your reward; my debt.¡±


    ¡°That is all?¡±


    The man glanced around for a moment, keeping watch over his shoulder as we wandered through the seaside town. ¡°I can assure you, owing a debt to me is worth more than money.¡±


    It didn''t feel right to be paid with a favor, but I was an idiot who didn¡¯t see the signs.


    I think he could tell, because the man patted my shoulder and sighed. ¡°How does twenty shillings and companionship for tonight sound?¡±


    Like a deal.


    And so I told the man where I lived. It was a bad idea, but I''d be well buried if I never helped him. At least then I would never have to look at the hideous reflection I carried at the time.


    That¡¯d be far worse than what actually happened. The two of us went back to a large manor where I lived as a servant to the local governor. Something I¡¯d done for the last few decades. I snuck the man through the servant¡¯s entrance and down a darkly lit hallway to my room. He didn''t mind the dim lighting and I didn''t realize why at the time. Both of us were fairly quiet as we crept hand in hand through the halls.


    I don''t know if we were followed, but considering I survived the week he stayed with me. It was a good bet that he either killed the ones chasing him or successfully evaded them. Or they were never there to begin with.


    He gave me instructions I thought odd at the time; do not disturb him during the day and keep the window as covered as possible. The pale man would know if the sun crept through the openings. After I agreed to keep him safe for the price of twenty shillings, he gave me another line.


    ¡°I shall ask an odd request. Please do not fret, for as I said, no harm will come to you. May I bite your neck and sup on the delicious cuisine you carry?¡±


    It took a few moments to process what he was asking. The man pulled his sleeves up as if he already knew the answer to his question. At the time, I found him nice to look at and his voice was smooth enough I could listen to any story he had to say.


    That night, I thought the man was merely asking about a sexual fetish of his. I didn''t know any better on such matters and thought he was pretending to bite my neck. I nodded. ¡°You may.¡±


    As I sat on the bed watching the man stare at my body like I was food, I leaned back and held a leg up as instructed. The man was very odd. He first wanted to pamper me like I was a princess by taking off my shoes for me followed by my stockings and everything else. I bit my lip while he removed the shoes one by one.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I pulled the leg back before he could get the stockings beyond my knee.


    The Spaniard frowned at me. ¡°What''s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I have something to tell you,¡± I said, my heart pounding in my chest like it was beating to quarters. Quick rapid fire thumps in a steady note, because I feared what I was about to tell him.


    He cocked his head in the dim candlelight.


    ¡°I am not what I appear,¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a werewolf, are you?¡± His eyebrows lifted up as his bright green eyes moved along my body from my feet to my face, across my borrowed dress, and back up to my face.


    All I could do was blink at the man. He truly believed I was a werewolf! I opened my mouth to speak softly, so my ¡®normal¡¯ voice didn''t carry beyond the room. ¡°I was not born a woman. I spend my days as a butler for this household and go out at night as you see me.¡±


    ¡°Things you are currently worrying about cease to matter when you become my age.¡± The man shook his head from side to side. He waved in my direction. ¡°So what do I call my delectable meal?¡±


    I opened my mouth again, but the man snapped his fingers, causing me to wait.


    ¡°No, no.¡± He shook a finger. ¡°Not the name you were given, my sweet, sweet morsel. I want to know you. What do I call the beautiful woman before me?¡±


    ¡°Cassandra.¡± A name I liked to hear called my way, but it wasn''t said often until he started saying it.


    ¡°I like that name,¡± he replied. The man whispered sensual things as he climbed atop me and bit into my neck.


    I lost track of what came after beyond the blinding bliss of a vampire¡¯s kiss. A feeling that could only be described as a near unending escape from the terrible reality I wanted to leave behind. A world without me would be better off, but in the moment of being bitten there was nothing beyond sheer ecstasy.


    The next day was equally odd. I hadn''t bothered to go back to my room during the daylight hours, since I wished to respect the man¡¯s request. I spent my time doing my usual routine until sundown and checked on the man.


    He still hadn''t fully awakened by the time I arrived and looked like a long dead corpse stuffed in my wardrobe. His body was a leathery husk that was ready to fall apart if I breathed on it. The sight of his corpse was the kind of thing that would normally cause a person to scream in fright or run, but me? Well, I clutched my rosary close, observing the man for any signs of life. It seemed preposterous that he could die and decay that fast during the day. I¡¯d say he was dead well over a century by the look of him.


    Of course there were no signs of life. Even the night before he had been just a bit too pale to be ¡®normal¡¯. I didn''t remember much of the night beyond what we did. It felt like we had intercourse, but I now know that was just the lingering effects of the vampire¡¯s bite. Possibly. Maybe. I don''t really know, nor care as the man turned out to not be my type of partner.


    I assumed any attention from a man was what I wanted while I was presenting as a woman. But now I see that their attention is not as filling for the hole in my heart as a woman¡¯s.


    So I stood there, watching the shriveled skin slowly mend itself, hair filling in the empty patches until he looked like just another fresh corpse. His eyes snapped open and went right to mine, head turning slightly in my direction.


    I smiled sheepishly, gulping as I moved my vocal cords around to hopefully have the same voice as the night before. ¡°Sleep well?¡± I asked in my now normal voice.


    ¡°You should have listened to me,¡± he replied quietly.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    My thumb gently traced the crucifix in my hand as I backed away to give him space to leave the wardrobe. ¡°I apologize. I only wished to wake you.¡±


    ¡°For your sake, girl, forget you opened the door.¡±


    ¡°All I saw was a sleeping man,¡± I replied, lying. He knew I was, because he frowned slightly.


    The man I came to know as Robert climbed out from the wardrobe and dusted himself off, straightening his clothing. I stepped toward him, then backed off as my eyes went to the floor. I wanted to help in an effort to make up for my transgression, but he waved dismissively like I was nothing but a servant.


    The man spoke with a dignified air. ¡°We have a long night ahead of us, Cassandra. First and foremost; you shall not speak to anyone of what you just saw. Second; you will accompany me on a jaunt across town. You have inadvertently forced yourself to come under my watch for the next few evenings while I decide your fate. Third; in following my rules and doing as I say, you will live to see countless nights. Understand?¡±


    It was clear at the time: Keep my mouth shut and eyes on the ground. Just like normal.


    I nodded slowly. ¡°I understand, my lord.¡±


    Robert pulled a small blade from his pocket and slit his wrist open, causing my eyes to widen in shock. I gasped, stepping back again when he held the open wound out toward me.


    ¡°This will stop your headache,¡± he said. Blood began to pool in the gash like a drink, tantalizing my nostrils with the sweet, mortal luring scent of vampire blood. ¡°You watch over me and I shall reward you with gifts. This is how it will work from now on.¡±


    I didn''t see how it could help at the time even when he explained that his blood had powerful effects on mortals. Now that I am a vampire, I can clearly see how much of a risk the man was taking when he was that loose with our secrets. It was not something one should normally say to a mortal that early, much less to a random being he picked up off the street.


    Unless he had been watching me the whole time I went out as Cassandra and I never knew, which was a possibility because I always frequented the same locations. It wouldn''t be hard to find me.


    I accepted his offer, gently taking his wrist and placing my lips to it, sealing my fate with a long draw of his blood. After that drink, there was no going back to walking in the daylight. Robert kept me at his side for a few years until he lost his head in some council dispute I wasn''t privy to. I was passed to Isabella as a ¡®gift¡¯, since I had become a valuable mortal asset in the council¡¯s eyes.


    Being mortal in a vampire world is odd. Vampires used to comprise a hierarchy from the lowliest of bloodsucker all the way up to the city head. They could only do things within the bounds they set and most important was to not break the veil. Do not allow mortals to know you exist, but at the same time, loyal mortals are a vital function for vampire society. This allows some mortals to know of the underworld without being killed.


    The mortal servants had a hierarchy all their own. From oblivious civilians, to guards who had a dirty secret they needed hidden, to ship captains and finally people such as me. The ones who ensured vampires could sleep peacefully without being found by civilians. A retainer working under a vampire held orders to pay off or kill a civilian who flew too close to the truth.


    Robert owned a tailoring shop in Charleston since before I was taken across the Atlantic by my old master in 1727. Robert¡¯s shop was well equipped and had a fair number of people coming and going during the day. Usually mortal clients who were looking for coats to beat the cold back during the long winters and I¡¯d help them out in the evenings. Night was when the magic happened. As the rest of the world prepared for bed, the vampires awoke and Robert would stride down the stairs adjusting his sleeves and hair.


    The man looked every bit of a suave vampire looking to seduce the blood right out of you. From his powered wig and perfectly fitting clothes, making him look like a king, to his actual knightley lineage dating back to the Crusades. He was handsome, for a man, with a pasty complexion.


    Heavy footsteps loud and prominent alerted anyone still inside that the master of the house had awakened. Most often than not, I would have his nightly meal ready for him in the form of a mortal blood sack waiting in his chambers. At least that is what I call them; Walking sacks of blood ripe for the taking. It could have been my fate had I not impressed Robert in those first few nights. Which would leave me a blissed out mortal on a random vampire¡¯s bed. I don¡¯t know which fate was worse. Being embraced or being fed from on a near nightly basis. I¡¯ll have to ask Lyra when she awakens.


    I never found out if the other vampires called them blood sacks or just mortals. Likely just mortals. Because the term blood sack was something I came up with one day and no one has told me any different.


    I handed off a letter from across town to Robert. He ripped it open to read by candlelight. Robert was one of those traditionalists from Spain who eschewed the newer arcane lamps and inventions. Stating that they could allow a mage to listen in if they were nearby. I never dabbled in sorcery, so I wouldn''t know for sure.


    At the time, he didn''t tell me what exactly he was. Only that he was a nightly creature come down from the heavens to assess the mortal world. I believed him for a time. His blood made me feel great, so I had no reason to doubt the man¡¯s words. I did find it odd that he required drinking blood to function and never ate food, but I chalked it up to divine beings being different.


    Oh how idiotic I was. Blind to the truth and bound to serve the vampire through his blood. He didn''t even have to be in the same room as me and I could hear his call. I could be halfway across Charleston and he¡¯d say, ¡®Sandra, can you please come by? I need to speak with you.¡¯ And I¡¯d be there within the hour because I felt his call. I would do anything for him if it furthered his plans. But he rarely asked me to participate in them directly. Usually message exchanges or finding meals.


    Robert held the letter over the candle until it caught fire. ¡°It seems we will need to pay a man a visit tonight,¡± he said. ¡°The letter you gave me was a communication between two mortals plotting to destroy a divine being.¡±


    ¡°We cannot have that,¡± I said before he could say it.


    He shook his head and had me write a new letter for him, since one of the mortals had flowery handwriting he did not possess, but I did.


    With the letter written, Master Robert and I took a carriage across Charleston to a manor along the river where we encountered a few unsavory people. The types of scourge I never entertained the thought of speaking to before meeting Robert. Men who could kill without a thought because you walked into the wrong part of town. Like I did. All because Robert told me to deliver the letter while he waited outside in the carriage.


    The lowlifes stared at me in an awkward manner as I walked silently toward the barn door in my fancy dress. Robert saw fit to dote upon me in a most impressive way and my transformation from mere butler to an older noble woman was so stark I could strut past my old coworkers without them knowing who I was. The wonders of knowing the right vampires.


    That left me at the mercy of the scourge. Those same degenerate men who lived down by the waterfront and worked the docks or the factories. Exuding anything but confidence in the situation would spell my folly. Their place of meeting was a barn that smelled as vile and repulsive as stepping on horse droppings.


    Voices floated through the dark abyss of my memories, pulling me further into the images as I found myself inside the barn, approaching a pair of men standing guard at a stall.


    Robert had mentioned that I was to get the information to see what they knew and then dispatch them. We couldn¡¯t have mortals knowing about ¡®divine beings¡¯. I was one of the chosen ones and excluded from their no living mortal must know rule. The ruffians would believe that I, Cassandra von Colterville, was their contact for the exchange. Only I didn''t know what we were exchanging. It could have been anything.


    Robert was both loose lipped and tight lipped about what exactly he was and how things worked. The Spaniard didn''t outright tell me he was a vampire, but I hadn''t heard of vampires until well after I met him, so maybe he did his job well.


    When I approached the men I immediately saw a predicament I wasn''t prepared for. There were two armed guards at an open door with a clear view of a shadowed man dangling on a hook. Rope bound the poor man¡¯s legs and hands together while he was suspended off the air by his wrists. Bloodless cuts crisscrossed his body with blood pooled underneath him, turning the straw red. He was so pale and unmoving he looked long dead. But his heavy eyes twitched with unlife.


    A tall man circled him with a bloodied cleaver in one hand while another man watched it all unfold. Cleaver spat at the dangling man and said, ¡°Not so tough, are ye?¡±


    The two guards looked at me with one pointing back the way I came. ¡°Begone,¡± he said.


    I pulled the false letter from my bag and held it up for them to see. ¡°I have this for Maximus.¡±


    The man reached for the letter. I pulled it just out of his grasp and frowned deeply. He glared at me in a way that would make any woman quake in her boots. However, I worked for a vampire and stood my ground, glaring back in turn.


    ¡°Gimme that, lass,¡± he said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to soil your dress by going in there.¡±


    ¡°I was told to give it to one man and one man alone, not a door. Allow me entry or you will find out what happens when my boss is unhappy.¡±


    He scoffed, tossing a thumb back through the door. ¡°Can''t be any worse than dealing with a walking corpse out for blood. These are dark times, miss. You best be getting on home and leaving the men to handle it.¡±


    Now, as a butler to my previous employer, I didn''t really have much in the way of combat training beyond occasionally standing in as a sparring partner for my liege. He preferred I keep watch on the others around the house. So when Lord Robert told me it was my job to take these ruffians out should they prove difficult to deal with. I failed to tell him that I could not handle fighting them off, but I would try. The Lord knows I would try with my dying breath.


    So you can imagine the surprise that shocked me as I grabbed the man on the right by the side of the head and slammed him into the other one. They collided with a loud crack, stumbling into each other like the fools they were. Even as I stared in shock at what I¡¯d just done, I tried my best to not show it.


    After I gathered myself, I pushed past the guards to the room with the corpse.


    Cleaver pointed his weapon in my direction and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I come bearing a missive for Maximus. Either tell me where he is or end up like those at the door.¡± I kept my eyes on Cleaver for the most part. Only occasionally did I look at the pale corpse just barely hanging to unlife as his fingers curled. Seeing Robert as a long dead corpse during the day and a fully ¡®living¡¯ person by night prepared me for unusual things. So I was not at all surprised to see a bloodless corpse still moving.


    By now, the man at the door had climbed back to his feet and stumbled inside, holding his head. ¡°Something''s out there,¡± he said. ¡°It grabbed George!¡±


    That something was likely me, but I knew better now. It was Robert and Isabella. The vampire had followed me in despite claiming I¡¯d go inside by myself. Me, Cleaver and Door hadn''t noticed the other man with Cleaver had disappeared as well. We were too focused on each other for that and I had taken my glasses off in preparation for a fight.


    Cleaver glanced from me to the corpse to Door and back to me. ¡°What''s the meaning of this, wench?¡±


    I opened my mouth to speak, but she strode out from the darkness, adjusting her long hair as she pulled it back into a bun. Isabella, my future sire, had already been stalking her way through the grounds by the time I arrived. At least according to her. She was hired by one of the council members to rescue the vampire before he could be destroyed. Someone had intercepted a missive detailing how to permanently kill a vampire and gave it to me to give to Robert for this mission.


    That was how we found where the meeting point was. I don''t know how the council knew. Perhaps they found the person who sent it or perhaps it was luck.


    Isabella¡¯s stark white hair gleamed in the shadows, pale eyes shining like stars in the dark. Her dress was clean and bloodless even though she later claimed to have drained other mortals just outside the door.


    She didn''t even look my way before she eyed Cleaver. ¡°I come for my pet,¡± Isabella said plainly, nodding toward the corpse. ¡°Release him unto my care and see another morning. Ignore my words and face the wrath of unholy judgment.¡±


    I was so distracted by her entrance that Door came in close behind me. Too late did I notice him grabbing my hair and pulling my head to the side. As pain flared across my scalp, he pressed a dagger to my neck and glared at Isabella.


    ¡°Back off or the wench gets it!¡± Door yelled.


    I frowned deeply. His attitude really was getting on my nerves and we hadn''t met more than four minutes prior. Everything about the man was repulsive. I don''t know why. Probably because he was torturing a vampire with his gang.


    Isabella merely shrugged. ¡°She is not my charge to worry about.¡±


    ¡°I said back off!¡± Door¡¯s words echoed in my ears and left ringing behind.


    She waved toward the corpse. ¡°Replace him with the wench. I care not what happens to her.¡±


    All of us had no words for her reply. She wanted them to hack me up like they were doing to the corpse. Robert would''ve killed her had they done so, but I didn¡¯t know that at the time. I glared at my future sire as I came to my senses first.


    Grabbing Door¡¯s wrist, I twisted it away from my neck. He resisted and normally would have won. But my vampire blood fueled strength was superior as I twirled out from his grasp. The man followed my movement in an effort to not break his wrist.


    We struggled against each other, spinning in place like we were dancing at first. It ended with Door throwing a punch that sent me stumbling to the floor. My head hit and I saw stars, stunned momentarily. It was enough for Door to step in and bring the blade down in an arc, aiming right for my torso.


    I had no sense of time to move as the blade pierced fabric and plunged into my stomach. Pain swelled inside my body like a volcano before a strange feeling took hold and quieted the pain down.


    He pulled the blade up for another strike. Shadows swirled around Door, grabbing his wrists and halting his momentum. He fought against them as an angry, pained scream left my throat. It was the kind of blasphemy fueled scream that one of the cloth would be ashamed to hear and have me in confession for a week.


    I leapt on the man and tackled him to the ground with help from the shadows. My fist slammed into his face again and again. Each blow shook my arm to the core. Each blow broke both my knuckles and his nose. Each ragged breath reminded me that I should stop, but I kept going, because my heart pounded for blood. I lost feeling in my hands and kept going.


    He screamed for me to stop, but I didn''t. Isabella watched as she held the other man in place and forced him to watch what happened to his gang member. The frantic, frightened, words echoed in my head, but I didn¡¯t stop.


    I didn''t stop until Robert peeled me off the man.

 Chapter 14: Shadows Dance in the Forest

    Chapter 14: Shadows Dance in the Forest


    I dismissed a notification about hitting level ten in Motorcycle Riding as I held the throttle wide open. All I could hear was the buzzing scooter engine beneath me while Lyra and I flew down the highway, wind whistling past my helmet and buffeting me around. Why the system decides to inform me of skill upgrades when I am busy is a mystery to me. It could be that it just doesn''t care. Or it could be that it wants to annoy me.


    Jean was in the city somewhere. Lyra knew a few of his businesses and we were heading toward one of them. I had to find him and extract what he actually knew, but in the same thought¡­ my sire would have more information than he did.


    She couldn''t truly be behind who sealed my coffin. We spent so long prowling the coastlines and for any ships we could get our hands on. She was always at my side, too. Well, I was at her side up until we stopped in Encinar and found werewolves attacking the citizens. The two of us, and some of our crew, sent the wolves feeling back into the forest from which we never saw them again. It was one of those moments where we just needed a place to stay for a while.


    We weren¡¯t supposed to stay very long. A few days and then back out to sea as we headed north, but I had other ideas. It sounds silly coming from me with how I talk about mortals, but happy mortals make for happy and well fed vampires. Well fed vampires means happy mortals, because then they do not have to worry about being stalked by vampires. It wasn¡¯t much, really. Just slaking mine and Isabella¡¯s thirst on a nightly basis. Between our crew and the few mortals in Encinar, we had enough walking blood sacks to make us both well fed and happy for decades.


    Others soon got word of our success and came to see for themselves. While it was a full breach of vampire etiquette to do what we were doing, it worked out in the end. Modern Encinar was built off those early days. Those dark days where Isabella and I had to look over our shoulder on a nightly basis.


    Even so, I¡¯d do the same thing again if given the chance. Not that I would. That¡¯s just my luck.


    My sire told me to vary the engine speed for the first hundred or so miles, but she never truly explained why beyond ¡®just do what I say, fledgling¡¯. It was one of those few times where I went against her orders. Something I rarely ever did because she was usually right about most things, and I was wrong, but this was different.


    I had to uncover the truth of what went on last week. Doubtful that anyone would even care what happened to me two hundred years ago. Well, I cared. It''s only been a week and Amelia is dead¡­ Turned into a tree.


    I weaved between a pair of cars, as Dinner called them. Why not self-propelled wagons or automobiles? Why cars? Cars were for trains, not the road. Other areas had far, far more cars than Encinar back in the day. Like Nassau and Britain, and France, and, well, most major cities were filled with these things. They looked nothing like the beasts I weaved past, however.


    Gone were the thin wagon wheels and the fancy bodywork. Now they were more broad and fat with wide tires. Some even hummed away, looking like shapely bubbles driving down the road at sixty-five miles an hour.


    I was maxed out, throttle pinned to the stop as I flew down the highway at nearly ninety miles an hour. Even still. Another motorcycle came close enough that the buzzing engine resonated over mine. I expected to see Isabella pulling up alongside me as I went around one slow moving car, not¡­ a man riding a metallic green motorcycle with green accent lighting. It buzzed far too loudly for my taste and sounded different to Isabella¡¯s bike.


    He patted the top of his helmet a few times and then motioned behind him. I didn''t understand his gesture. I tossed a hand out to indicate my confusion. The man shook his head, turned off all of his lights, including his headlights, dropped down a gear and zoomed off in a crescendo of noise.


    I couldn''t glance back at Lyra to ask what he meant and we couldn''t communicate through our minds like Isabella. So I kept the throttle pinned and realized far, far too late what the gesture meant.


    A minute or so later, as I weaved around another pair of cars, cutting a bit close between them because the driver attempted to speed up, a strange series of flashing lights filled my mirrors. Red and blue like the police from the club. Only this time they had a solid red light facing me as well.


    Cars were quickly pulling to the right, clearing the far left lane I was riding in as a loud mechanical wail filled my ears, followed by a series of rapid beeps, and then it went back to the wailing.


    Lyra tugged the sleeve on my right shoulder, indicating for me to pull over as well. I did. But the police car merged in behind me! I glanced over my shoulder at the vehicle and realized it was a bad idea. Spots filled my vision for a few moments as I attempted to figure out what in the devil I did wrong.


    I was just riding like how the other motorcyclist was, how my sire did, it seemed normal!


    Lyra once again tugged on my shoulder as a metallic voice flowed out from behind me, ¡°Pull over, Driver!¡±


    I groaned internally and followed the policeman¡¯s directions to get in the far right lane and stay there. The man drove behind me like a cowboy herding me toward the nearest forested exit. Only when I came to a stop on the off-ramp¡¯s dirt shoulder did the lights go out. Cars whizzed past above us, reminding me that everyone I weaved around had now passed me. A fairly bright spotlight illuminated the ground around us. I frowned underneath the helmet as I was simply following what others did.


    The policeman strode toward us with one hand on his exposed pistol and the other frantically waving about something, rotating his hand around a few times. I didn''t understand the gesture as it was foreign to me. Kind of looked like he was rotating a key.


    Lyra patted my shoulder and pointed to the scooter¡¯s key, making me look like a fool for not seeing that I should have turned it off, but why? Didn''t it need to cool down?


    As I turned the machine off, the policeman reached for the key and yanked it out of the ignition! He pulled it back far faster than I could grab it, because I was so stunned by his action it took a moment to process it. He touched my machine. It could be a normal interaction with the police, but his glaring hazel eyes said otherwise.


    The man stepped back, holding the key to his side as he asked, ¡°Who¡¯s your buddy?¡±


    I motioned to the elf behind me. ¡°Her? She¡¯s my apprentice.¡±


    ¡°No, the green motorcycle. Who is he?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know, blood sack,¡± I replied and tossed a hand toward the highway. ¡°Why don''t you go chase him down and find out for yourself? Leave me alone.¡±


    The man fumed, cheeks flaring as he took a deep breath, heart rapidly pounding in his chest. Lyra frantically waved for my attention and shook her head. I frowned at her.


    ¡°Off the bike,¡± the policeman said sternly.


    ¡°What?¡± I blinked a few times at his preposterous request! He wanted me to get off my bike?


    Why?!


    Patrolmen back in my day never made us get off our horses if it was a cordial encounter. Then again, this blood sack was anything but cordial. He had a chip on his shoulder from the moment he walked up.


    ¡°Off. The. Bike,¡± he tried to order. And completely failed at it. The words slipped through my ears and failed to take hold.


    ¡°No!¡± I shook my head as I pulled my gloves off, handing them to Lyra. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    Lyra was already complying by climbing off the bike and unclasping her helmet. I didn''t know what she was planning or why the man wanted me off the bike when he had my key. I wasn¡¯t going anywhere.


    ¡°Someone breaking the law. Get off the bike right now.¡± He pointed to the ground in front of him and put a foot down as if he were trying to be my father!


    I growled quietly. It''d be fairly easy to yank him into the shadows and snap his neck. He had no idea just who he was talking to! Though, there was an obvious reason for that and it made me grind my teeth together just thinking about what Jean had said about Isabella. He was wrong. He had to be.


    My fingers drummed against the jacket¡¯s zipper as I contemplated lifting my visor and staring into the policeman¡¯s eyes. He was already staring at me and wouldn¡¯t expect my voice. Lyra was busy pulling her wallet from her jacket to show the man her identification card. If the way Caleb reacted to her embrace was any indication then that meant the policeman might react the same way. And I couldn¡¯t have that.


    My pale fledgling looked weary as she held the helmet in the crook of her arm and worked to open her large and flat wallet with the other hand. The silent elf couldn''t really speak from what she told me. Her voice never fully worked and that made her a prime target for vampires to approach the redhead with a business opportunity. And her beauty would distract most men, and some women like me. I wanted to spend time with her and get to know the magma haired elf, but she¡¯ll soon leave me to go back to what she was doing.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Lyra was also teaching me the unique way she communicated. It still seemed like frantic waving of hands to me more than a language, but I was learning a few things over the last two nights.


    Frowning at the policeman in front of me, I unclasped my helmet and pulled it off. My hair went wild, and so I gave it a shake and a quick fluff. This seemed to put the blood sack at ease, as he relaxed just a bit and looked mildly confused. Perhaps he expected me to be some young bimbo looking to find a date. Nay! I was not some young bimbo, but a proper old lady of ancient etiquette.


    As I unzipped my jacket and dangled the helmet on my handlebars, his hand never left the pistol. I reached in for my wallet just inside the fold of my jacket, holding it open with the other hand. Which proved to be a grave mistake.


    ¡°Freeze!¡± the policeman shouted as he drew his weapon.


    I paused only because I was confused again. There was a brief moment where I didn''t understand his sudden attitude change. Right up until it dawned on me and I closed my eyes with a heavy, frustrated, sigh. ¡°No, I am not going to draw my weapon!¡± I snapped back, glaring at him. ¡°All I am doing is going for my wallet. I will use two fingers so you can see.¡±


    Something changed in the blood sack¡¯s eyes. I couldn''t be sure what it was. It went from him being bored to him being very, very angry. No matter what I said would change his mind, because he aimed his pistol right in my face.


    I half-expected to see the bullet coming toward me, not the blood sack yelling for me to put my hands in the air. Lyra was already holding hers up, having grabbed her helmet so it didn''t fall.


    With the policeman staring right into my eyes there was only one option to do. I slowly removed my hands from my jacket, followed his words, locked eyes with him and ordered, ¡°You are going to lower your weapon.¡± My heart thumped as it sent the required blood into my voice. That made it very alluring for a mortal to hear. Shadows danced across his face for a moment.


    He blinked a few times, clamped his eyes shut and backed away from me, holding a hand to his forehead. A strange, strange reaction. One that I watched with curiosity, because I had never seen a mortal act like that to my voice! The poor policeman groaned, placing both hands to his forehead as he shook it from side to side.


    ¡°Get¡­ get out of my head!¡± he yelled. I cocked my head as even more shadows slowly approached the man from the edge where the light met the forest.


    Lyra frantically waved a hand across her neck and shook her head, eyes wide. The gesture to stop was clear.


    I didn''t say anything, so how could I stop them? The shadows were moving toward the man of their own free will, lashing out for his shadow¡¯s skull. He spun in place as he tried to avoid them. They stalked ever closer as he backed toward his patrol car and flailed a hand in my direction.


    ¡°Stop,¡± he pleaded. ¡°Whatever you''re doing¡­ stop!¡±


    I glanced at Lyra and tossed my hands out. ¡°I swear I am not doing anything! I already released my hold over his mind.¡±


    The tendrils lashed around the man¡¯s shadow. He held his neck as if he were being choked by something unseen and completely incapable of grasping it with his fingers. Inky black tendrils crept up from the ground, swirling around his leg as he fell to one knee. Lyra looked between the mortal and I as she frantically waved for me to stop when I wasn''t doing anything.


    There had to be someone else with similar powers manipulating the void. However, as my slightly blurry gaze tracked along the road¡¯s edge and the forest, I could not see any signs of a third party. It was as if my singular command had caused the shadows to act the way they did. It was, again, not my intention. For I had only intended he lower the weapon. The shadows never responded to my call like that before.


    Now, Lyra and I watched, and heard the groaning gasps of a man being choked by something we couldn''t stop. He inhaled with short breaths and nothing was going through as his face turned a strange pale shade.


    I finally put the kickstand down and climbed off the scooter, walking toward the man. Using my blood once more, I focused on trying to control the shadows around him much in the way I tried to fight Jean. I attempted to get them to stop by way of wrapping my own tendrils around the rogue ones, but it was useless without finding who was controlling them. And the mortal would be long dead before I could find them, because I wasn¡¯t wearing my glasses and couldn¡¯t see very well. So I took them from my pocket and looked around again, but again. I saw nothing.


    The policeman fell to the ground, holding the invisible tendril around his neck as his mouth opened for any air. He groaned, his other hand reaching out toward me for help. I gave it to him. I wrapped my hand around his, knelt next to him, and bit deep into his wrist.


    His warm lifeblood flowed into me as the kiss flowed back into him. This was one of those times where I didn''t enjoy the meal. It wasn''t a mutual exchange so much as it was a mercy. Drinking deep from a dying mortal is always unsettling, because they were struggling to stay alive at the same time you were draining the very thing they needed to survive. This made the blood taste different, too. More gamey than normal, but some vampires liked it like that. I remembered one vampire told me how she usually drank from mortals she fought.


    I didn''t. At least not from mortals. Their lifeblood could not compare to a vampire¡¯s blood and soul. By consuming a vampire¡¯s very essence I could and did gain more powers ¡®back in my day¡¯.


    Lyra tugged on my jacket, smacking my shoulder with a fist. I refused to let go and allow the man to succumb to the shadows before I could drain him. However, the fiery elf did something I never thought the fledgling would do. Her knee came around and struck me square in the face with enough force to make me see white. I involuntarily let go as I fell backwards onto my backside with a body shaking thump.


    The fledgling pointed down the way to a queer shadow standing at the base of the embankment. It was vaguely human shaped with moonlit silver eyes looking right at us. Only once I put my glasses on again did I see the vampire in its true dark form.


    I drew my boomcannon, cocking the hammer in the same movement, and let a bullet fly without saying a word. My arm shook as the weapon echoed with a thunderous clap. Lyra recoiled, shrieking as she covered her eyes from the massive ball of flame.


    Fledglings.


    ¡°Keep an eye on the mortal and give him blood if he needs it,¡± I said to the fledgling. I focused on the hostile vampire, noting where they were standing and any place I could appear.


    Lyra cocked her head at that, but there wasn''t any time to chitchat. I stepped into the policeman¡¯s shadow and disappeared from sight.


    *** ***


    The other vampire fled through the forest. I followed with my gun drawn. My quarry was fast. I didn''t know who they were because they kept themselves wreathed in a layer of darkness not even I could control, but that wasn''t for the lack of ability. It was just that when you control shadows they only listen to you. Shadows are creatures with a master of one. My shadow listened to me, that other vampire¡¯s shadow listened to them. That''s how it worked and not even I could change that even though I surpassed my sire in abilities.


    Neither of us really used our powers beyond the initial opening stages where we both teleported some distance into the trees. First them, then me as I gave chase. I swung my pistol around and fired off another shot.


    They retaliated with a burst from some form of long gun, shattering the silence with an echoing crack, as I ducked behind a smaller tree. Bark flew past me in chunks when another burst tore into the tree, thumping against the wood and piercing it in a shower of tiny stakes. I leapt through the shadows to another tree, hoping my target didn''t see where I went.


    Seeing a vampire wreathed in the void was hard enough in a city, but in a forest? Nigh impossible! All I could do to track them was listen and focus all my energy into my eyes and ears, hoping for a small sliver of movement as they betrayed themselves.


    It felt like being back in the Caribbean and hunting down rogue spellcasters with my Brown Bess. I could lean against a tree and stay as still as a shadow, lying in wait for the other vampire to get complacent and make a move. They always did.


    Only¡­ as I pressed myself to my new cover, and half-peered out, the other vampire didn''t make a move. I waited and listened for any signs that they were there. Time ground on. Had I a beating heart it would be thumping like the scooter¡¯s engine at full throttle. My hands ached in phantom pain as I flexed my fingers against the revolver¡¯s grip.


    My assailant and the policeman¡¯s attacker were nowhere to be seen. Just trees and shrubs as far as I could see, but the forest was eerily quiet. It could be because of me, but it could be another reason and that''s because the forest knew two undead creatures were nearby.


    Hungry? a voice familiar asked in my head.


    Just a bit¡­


    Perhaps you¡¯d like a bite?


    The bushes rustled behind me. I wheeled around, bringing the pistol to bear on my new target. However, I couldn''t pull the trigger on the vampire. Her shadows slowly receded, giving her an eerily familiar look that made me gasp softly. My eyes widened upon seeing bright pink hair glowing in the moonlight penetrating through the canopy.


    Isabella loomed before me like a wraith having come from the darkness. She was dressed for the slide much how she taught me to dress; leather jacket and pants with heavy boots. Slung over her shoulder was a magazine fed rifle similar to the modern ones I saw in the gun store.


    My sire¡¯s glowing silver eyes held no joy as they locked with mine. Her lips curled down in a frown, eyebrows furrowed at something only she knew. It wasn''t the revolver aimed at her face. No. She could just knock it aside because I couldn''t pull the trigger even if I wanted to. It was something deeper.


    What¡¯s on your mind, fledgling? You seem troubled.


    Jean¡¯s words flowed back to me, ¡®You¡¯re being manipulated by your sire.¡¯


    Pity¡­


    How?


    How was the question for her to answer. I had her dead to rights. She had answers. I had to know them.


    Then speak your question. Let me hear it.


    ¡°Sire¡­ did you kill¡­¡± My next words caught in my throat. I couldn''t utter them. There had to be another reason for her presence out in the forest. Maybe she was wanting to help me track down the culprit and had noticed the scooter. My revolver trembled in my hand as I held a finger against the trigger wanting to squeeze it. But something prevented me from doing so. Even if all it¡¯d do was stun the woman.


    Both Jean and David mentioned she was working against me, but I couldn''t see it! She gave me my phone, my scooter, and starting money. She warned me about Caleb wanting to make a fool of me, but what if he didn''t want to make a fool of me? Perhaps, maybe he was trying to show the world that I existed when they forgot about me.


    ¡°Did¡­ did y-you kill Amelia?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Lower the weapon, fledgling,¡± she said softly. I didn''t want to lower it. The situation didn''t feel right to me. It didn''t feel right that she showed up in the forest. And yet, I felt safe now that she was here. She knew everything about the world and could protect me.


    Put the weapon down. There ain¡¯t a need for it.


    The weapon lowered on its own as I stared unblinking into her eyes.


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± my sire began as she removed a glove and held her hand out, pulling the jacket sleeve back. Her juicy wrist was now exposed to the world. Just begging me to take it. ¡°I see the spell wasn¡¯t as strong as I thought.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I cocked my head.


    ¡°I do apologize, Lady C, but this ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ I wanted to do so soon after waking you from torpor.¡±


    The revolver trembled in my hands as I listened even though I wanted to ignore her words. I was lost in her beautiful gaze. I longed for her to give me a hug and tell me that the world would be fine without me. That nobody would care if I slept the centuries away or walked into the sun, but the world was not fine. The world needed me just as much as Lyra needed me. I could not walk into the sun, I could not sleep the centuries away. I had to keep going for them. Lyra, Amelia, my sire, and Caleb.


    They would be devastated if I became ash.


    ¡°You¡¯ve forced my hand with your antics the last few nights. And you¡¯ve come too close to the truth.¡±


    I gasped involuntarily. ¡°So it¡¯s true?! You killed Amelia!¡±


    ¡°Listen to my words, fledgling; Forget you know that. Instead, know that this hurts me more than it will you.¡± Her tone was off as she spoke, not her usual bravado and happiness, but a frozen and calculating one. It sounded almost overbearing in my head as the words repeated themselves like an echo. ¡°I am truly sorry. You will remember me here in this forest, yes, but you will also remember that we were chasing another vampire and they''ve since eluded us.¡±


    ¡°They have?¡± I asked, blinking a few times as I nodded to her words.


    ¡°Yes. Do you remember me yelling for you to slow down because you''re acting like a freshly turned fledgling?¡± My sire cocked her head. Her eyes never left mine while we conversed. The memories slowly came back to me as I listened to her soothing words. ¡°I came off the highway for a short break and¡­¡±


    I remembered how, as I initially began to chase down the other vampire, my sire pulled off on the exit, yelling at me to wait. That running off into the forest after my quarry was a foolish thing to do, but I didn''t listen to her. I didn''t listen and now I''d been shot a few times because of it. My body itched and needed proper sustenance now.


    I needed blood to drink and heal, and she provided me with it. As gently as I could, I took hold of her wrist and pulled it close, biting down.


    She smiled as she ran her other hand through my hair and whispered softly in my ear, ¡°Just look at you. You''re so messy, Cassandra. Whatever am I going to do with you? You nearly killed that poor police officer because he insulted you!¡±


    I closed my eyes and listened to her words while I drank as much as I wanted. As much as she would allow.

 Chapter 15: Rolling Bones

    Chapter 15: Rolling Bones


    My sire¡¯s blood weighed heavy in my unbeating heart as I walked through the forest. We searched for a while, but found no trace of the other vampire. They simply vanished. Neither I or Isabella could find any footsteps or lingering magic that someone had been there.


    Isabella walked alongside me, a glowing ball of light in her hand as her silver eyes wandered from tree to tree. She hadn''t really said much since she caught up to me. In fact, she didn''t even look my way. It was odd, considering she helped heal me and mend my clothes with her magic.


    The night was still young and I had to speak with Jean about something. I couldn''t really remember anything beyond¡­ I slowed my walk to a stop and glanced to my side. She was in the forest with me and yet I didn''t fully remember why she even showed up. Something about a break. She glanced over her shoulder at me, long hair partially blocking her face in an adorable way.


    The shadows cast by the orb in her hand looked fairly odd. I didn''t understand why she was using the light when we both could see just fine without it.


    ¡°You have something to tell me, fledgling?¡± she asked.


    My eyes went to the modern rifle on her back. It looked like it was fed by a magazine in front of the trigger guard. Tape wrapped around the grip and a small flip up scope.


    ¡°May I see that?¡± I asked, motioning at her rifle.


    She smiled as she slid it off her shoulder with her gloved hands and held it out. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Taking the heavy weapon from her, I tucked it up against my shoulder and aimed down the sight. It was set to a strange setting that showed off different colors from purples to reds and yellows. As I swept the rifle around and aimed down the scope, I saw animals crawling through the brush I couldn''t otherwise see even when I looked with my own eyes. It was a marvel of technology!


    My sire showed me how to drop the magazine and clear the chamber. I held the massive round in my hand as I put it up to the light she carried. The rounds it fired were fairly small compared to my old rifle but packed with a massive powder charge. .308 caliber according to the brass cartridges.


    ¡°What kind of a rifle is this?¡± I asked as I put the half-empty magazine back in the rifle.


    ¡°A Rare Martin with a legendary thermal scope.¡± She took it back from me and slung it over her shoulder once again. ¡°Allows me to track any targets in all weather or lighting conditions. Even vampires.¡±


    ¡°You don''t use your eyes?¡± I cocked my head a bit.


    Isabella threw a thumb back in the direction we came from and smirked. ¡°Look what happened when you tried to use your eyes. Have you picked a class yet, fledgling?¡±


    I nodded slowly. ¡°I had a few already and picked Pirate as my main class, but I don''t know if that is the right thing to do.¡± With a heavy, human-like sigh, I glanced off to the side and rubbed my forehead a bit. ¡°There are so many out there¡­ I met a person who told me about one I liked, but I am unsure due to¡­ technology and I not getting along well.¡± I threw my hands out to my sides.


    ¡°What class?¡±


    ¡°Salvage Pilot.¡±


    Isabella chuckled softly, barely audible. ¡°Oh? That''d be perfect for you, Lady C! You¡¯ll not have to worry about the sun or any nonsense going on around here!¡± Her smile was almost infectious as she stared into my eyes. ¡°Do it.¡±


    It¡¯d be a lovely trip.


    ¡°Sire?¡± I blinked a few times at her, leaning away slightly.


    ¡°Trust me, your little issue won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°I have been doing fine with what I have though.¡±


    ¡°You heard me!¡± She nodded firmly and grinned. ¡°It¡¯ll be fun for you. You like big weapons and a mech is a large walking weapon.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯d like my seat on the council again.¡± I shook my head a few times, folding my arms across my chest. My sire knew I wanted to be on the council. I was the one to make contact with the mortals of Encinar. I made the deal, not her.


    ¡°Don''t be silly, Lady C. You haven''t been on the council in two centuries. There just ain¡¯t anyone who remembers you.¡±


    She was right in a way. All the mortals would be dead and any vampires may not allow me back. To them, I was an unknown who had to prove my worth, and what was the best way to prove my worth to a bunch of vampires? Show them I was competent. That I knew what I was doing and could navigate the modern world. If I could not navigate modern day Encinar then they would not allow me on the council, because then I''d be a buffoon who was easily controlled.


    ¡°I will think about it,¡± I said with a small nod.


    ¡°Better do more than think about it,¡± Isabella muttered. ¡°The council ain''t gonna allow you on if you don''t got a proper class. Hells, most places won''t even hire you without a class.¡± I opened my mouth to speak, but she held a hand out for me to stop and added, ¡°Look, Lady C, pirate ain¡¯t really a class that gets respect. You wanna be respected, don''t ya?¡±


    I bowed ever so slightly. ¡°As I said, sire, I will think about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll not have any fledgling of mine being a pirate in these times.¡± She frowned. ¡°Pick a respectable class.¡±


    We walked on in silence. My sire disappeared by the time I arrived back at the scooter. The elder vampire said she had somewhere to be and for me to not speak of what transpired in the forest. I would abide by her wishes.


    I wandered out of the forest to find three more patrol cars on the exit with one blocking it off from people trying to exit the highway.


    The situation reminded me of the club in a way. An ambulance was leaving the area with the lights and sirens going. My scooter sat by itself with one officer going through the seat compartment and another taking pictures of the machine and area around it.


    Some policemen aimed their spotlights in my direction the instant they saw me. I slowly raised my hands over my head. My eyes moved from the men near my scooter to some of the patrol cars. All of them were drawing weapons and moving toward me. They shouted for me to get on my knees and comply with their orders. It was hard to see with the lights shining in my face like many suns aimed in my direction.


    I couldn''t be captured by them. They''d drag me into the sun. It might not be a bad thing, because then I wouldn''t have to deal with how different society is from only a few weeks ago. Why couldn''t we go back to when things were simpler and we didn''t have to worry about police who knew how to handle vampires?


    My instincts told me to run, and so I did. I fled. They shouted once more as gunfire erupted behind me; small pops and a few loud booms. Bullets snapped and cracked past my head, forcing me to duck for cover. One bullet streaked past, trailing flames, and exploded when it struck a tree, raining dust and splinters around the area. I couldn''t be caught.


    Moving around a large tree, I stepped into the shadows and disappeared.


    *** ***


    Modern cities are strange when you''re on your own and no one else is with you. The fools back at the highway were searching the forest when I wasn''t anywhere near there. Their helicopter slowly circled above the trees, shining its massive lamp over the brush below. Any werewolf caught by that light is going to have a strange surprise.


    If there''s any werewolves out there anymore. I don''t know what happened to them beyond that they tried to take the city a few times. After that? Nothing. Hardly any howls in the night.


    Lyra was likely arrested or gone. The poor fledgling will have to figure things out on her own for tonight. She was more than capable of finding her own blood source. What with her having shown me a few options in that little black book of hers.


    As I walked along the overly illuminated city, motorcycle jacket draped over my shoulder, and eyes scanning for a good place to dump it. I kept an eye out for patrol cars and wandering officers. Each time I passed a mirrored surface, it showed off my inhuman reflection. A reflection of my powers rather than resembling a living breathing person. I''d have to avoid mirrors, lest my reflection alert mortals that I was not human or vampire.


    Because what vampire eats other vampires?


    Focusing my sire¡¯s blood on my heart and appearance, I let it beat once. There was a short pause before it beat again, then another pause as it began to beat steadily. If a bit slowly. Enough that some semblance of color returned to my skin. Cool ocean air blew in from the coast, tantalizing my skin with a feeling I hadn''t felt in eons.


    I was cold. Cold enough I had to throw the jacket on again. Likely a foolish idea, but there were enough humans along the sidewalk that I wasn''t too out of place. Just an old, broad-shouldered, and narrow hipped woman walking alone. Hopefully that''s what they saw and not a long haired old man.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    There was a large store open twenty-four hours a day advertising vampire day rooms if needed, so I turned into the parking lot and walked toward it, hoping that anyone following me would grow bored of my path. I didn''t know if they were actually following me. I had to be safe.


    The glass door didn''t open when I went to push against it. It just rattled a few times as I pressed my weight into it. I frowned, stepped back and tried again to the same result. There was a bright yellow sticker that said it was an automatic door and to stand clear, but it wasn''t working!


    I¡¯d seen it open and close for other people as I approached, but me? No. It wanted to annoy me as I paced back and forth in front of the automatic door. Such a simple concept; use an arcane motion detector but instead of setting it up for a trap they had set it for opening a door.


    One person walked by, causing the door to open just fine for them. My face turned a deep shade of red as I slipped in behind them and was immediately hit with a strange feeling of not belonging to the world anymore.


    The surplus store and motorcycle dealership were one thing, but the store was a whole other animal. It was like they took a general store and made it as large as the eye could see with shelves upon shelves neatly organized. Including so many lights I had to squint to see anything properly!


    In total, the store had roughly forty isles for all manner of different things from fresh produce to frozen food and clothing. Even television screens, computers, video games, and furniture. I wandered the neatly organized isles. Jaw agape at just how many items were packed inside one building. Eventually, I came across the book section where they had a decent selection, but nowhere near the level of a library.


    Grabbing two books at random, I made my way toward the electronics section, keeping my head down as I passed people pushing metal carts full of items. Some were oblivious and on their phones while others looked around, and some had children who were dragging them off to the toy section. One person wearing a green shirt looked my way and called out, but I ignored them.


    Everything just felt so, so strange to me as I watched them all interact. A couple holding hands and looking at some new television screen, the woman ready to pop her baby out at a moment¡¯s notice. Possibly getting their home set up, but why a television screen and not other more practical items?


    And that''s when I came across a home theater demonstration booth. It was a darkened room away from the harsh light the rest of the store was putting off. Curtains blocked people from looking in on a perfect feeding room. Which is what happened when I walked inside.


    A mortal sat on a large chair in front of a television with an elf vampire on their lap, fangs buried in the mortal¡¯s neck. She was one of those vampires with putrid pale greenish-blue skin. The kind where you''d think the near skeletal thin woman was going to start spewing maggots any second, but managed to keep the writhing buggers underneath her rotting flesh. She was the progeny of a vampire line that was known to be far closer to Death than any other line. Even mine.


    A hooded cloak covered most of her body like a blanket, exposed arms showing off pockets of flesh that moved in an unholy way. I felt strange watching the woman feed and couldn''t quite describe the feeling other than how weird it was. Like I should just leave.


    She was using the sound coming from a television show to mask any odd noises like the mortal¡¯s soft moans or her faint slurps. The feeling was one where I should look away, leave and let her be, and yet I couldn''t tear my eyes from the strange sight.


    To come across a vampire feeding in a public area was unusual. Nigh impossible in my day, but now? I would have thought it more common. It seemed, however, that vampires still preferred to feed in private.


    ¡°Are you supposed to be doing that?¡± I asked quietly.


    Whatever show they were watching sounded odd, because it was about mortals betting money on straight line automobile races, but the vehicles themselves looked and sounded meaner than anything I could imagine. I wanted to watch and see what it was about. But again. I felt like I should just leave.


    The vampire lifted her head from the mortal¡¯s neck and stared with golden eyes glowing softly in the dim light. Blood steadily dripped from her yellowed fangs. She licked at the little droplets before clicking her tongue. ¡°This room is occupied.¡± Her soft voice was like other elves I¡¯ve heard and barely audible over the roaring engines on the television. Sound came from every direction around us ensuring no mortal could hear what was going on.


    ¡°I see that,¡± I stated as I backed toward the ¡®door¡¯ to the rest of the store. ¡°I just wanted a quiet place to sit and read, but I¡¯ll leave you and the blood sack alone.¡±


    The vampire cocked her head a bit, her long wiry hair dangling down. Meanwhile, the mortal she sat atop blinked a few times as they looked around, seemingly as if they didn''t know where they were.


    ¡°Would you care for a bite?¡± The putrid elf pointed to the mortal¡¯s neck. ¡°I don''t mind sharing a meal.¡±


    ¡°I had my fill tonight, but thank you.¡± I patted my stomach a bit, nodding firmly and giving her a reassuring smile.


    She nodded back, cleaned the wound up so no one would find it, and climbed off the mortal¡¯s lap. As she got up, her hand slipped into the man¡¯s pocket and pulled a set of keys out. The putrid elf spun the keys around and closed her hand around them, smiling at me.


    Did she just steal their keys?


    ¡°Wanna go for a drive?¡± she asked, twirling the keys in her hand like they were a revolver. First forward, then back and spun it around on a flat arc.


    I blinked a few times, glancing between the mortal and the elf. ¡°A drive? Did you just¡­ you two don''t know each other, do you?¡±


    The putrid elf slowly shook her head. Her smile turned into a full on grin of yellowed teeth and fangs. She held the keys between two fingers as she sauntered toward me, using her other hand to pull the cloak¡¯s hood over her head and shield her appearance from prying eyes. A strange decaying scent drifted through the room as she passed by and patted me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, grandma,¡± the elf said as she disappeared from sight. ¡°Meet me outside.¡±


    My eyes went back to the television screen that no longer displayed the footage from earlier. Now it was of some person standing on a stage talking into a microphone in front of a crowd. With a heavy, mortal-like sigh, I turned and followed after Miss Skin Falling From Her Bones.


    *** ***


    The mortal¡¯s old car was an unusual machine. Angled like an arrowhead with four exhaust pipes out the back and very little room on the inside for more than two people. Its LCM engine hummed in my ears with a faint whistle. Much like my sire¡¯s motorcycle had and far more noisily than Caleb¡¯s pickup. The interior reminded me of Dinner¡¯s car with how sparse it was.


    Bones explained a bit more about how cars worked. She mentioned how people raced them for gold and credits on specific tracks and throughout the city at night. The latter was obviously illegal and we were heading across town to one such meetup she knew about.


    I don''t know why a vampire such as Bones was even entertaining the idea of racing cars for credits and gold when she could be applying her skills at thievery in more appropriate areas. Like finding someone to buy said stolen car. The putrid elf had the lay of the city after all.


    Encinar was just as beautifully decrepit as when I first laid eyes upon it roughly a week ago. Glowing buildings stretched to the cloudy heavens as the rainstorm threatened to continue its assault from the daytime. The clouds flashed in a few places, but it wasn''t thunder. Some helicopter was still flying around, likely looking for me, but I wasn''t going to be where they were looking.


    Bones was heading away from the city to the forested outskirts where the werewolves used to be. We listened to odd music that was a lady singing about a bad romance without anything resembling a string instrument to be heard. All I could do was look over at Bones as the putrid blue-green elf sang along quite happily and on key.


    But there wasn''t much to say to a singing vampire when she was in the zone, so I looked out the window ahead as Bones drove fairly conservatively. She kept up with the other traffic and didn''t seem to be trying to weave like my sire and I. I inquired why once she finished her song, because it seemed prudent to do.


    ¡°I break one law at a time,¡± Bones replied, waving at the dashboard as she shook her head from side to side. ¡°No need to attract attention in a stolen car¡­ yet.¡±


    ¡°I could always convince them the car is yours,¡± I replied.


    She cocked an eyebrow at me. ¡°Oh? Are you one of them fancy high and mighty blue blooded vampires who won''t soil your hands with the scum of the city?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I leaned back in my cramped seat and stretched as best I could. ¡°I can and will shoot someone if needed, but I''d prefer it if we didn''t get in a fight. There are other ways to deal with your problems.¡± Like throttling someone with your hands and bashing them into the concrete; or ripping their spine out. Or strangling them with shadows so you didn''t physically touch them. Even tying them to an old ballast cannon and throwing them overboard works.


    The list went on.


    I frowned at my own thoughts as I remembered the police officer on the side of the road. Just why did I send my shadows after him? It doesn''t make sense!


    ¡°Fuck,¡± Bones said, ¡°I kidnapped one of those weird council loving vampires.¡±


    I shifted my feet around until I became comfortable and took a deep breath. ¡°What''s wrong with the council?! I made sure every vampire¡¯s voice could be heard!¡±


    She giggled at something, slowly shaking her head once again. The woman motioned in my direction. ¡°You¡¯re on the council?¡±


    ¡°Yes. As Mayor of Encinar.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    ¡°Two hundred years ago. We ran it like a ship and it clearly prospered in my absence.¡± I waved a hand out the window at the forest we were driving through.


    Her jaw closed and tightened against itself as the elf looked out the window ahead of us, nodding at my words. We were approaching the rear of what she called a station wagon. It just looked like a box on wheels to me. Bones glanced down at the speedometer for a moment.


    ¡°The council''s changed since then,¡± she said flatly. ¡°Now it''s like a bunch of angry teenagers trying to backstab each other for power rather than see that us non-council folk are doing better.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°You''re lying.¡±


    ¡°And you''re an delusional old bag of dust. Tell me, what has the council helped you with in the last week?¡±


    We passed around the much slower moving car with Bones checking over her shoulder a few times. Those odd pockets of flesh threatened to burst just by looking at them. I leaned far away from her, practically opening the door. Thankfully the handle was in a recessed location and made it nearly impossible to accidentally open.


    ¡°Well, my sire has¡ª¡±


    Bones made a strange chattering noise as she tutted me, holding a finger up in disapproval. ¡°I don''t give a damn what your sire has done for you! We are talking about the council, not your master. What has the council done for you? What are you to them?¡±


    Again, I didn''t have an answer for Bones, so I looked down at my hands with a small frown. The council should have come looking for me once my weeklong torpor was up. That clearly wasn''t the case, because it''s been over two hundred years! And the only people to even bother looking for me was¡­ nobody. If Caleb hadn''t come inside my house looking for Amelia, then I¡¯d still be in torpor wasting the centuries away. Or perhaps I¡¯d wake up alone.


    There was a concerning thought. If it was just Amelia and I then I might''ve gone mad with hunger and lashed out at the first mortal to come on my property. I would be a beast and nothing more. A creature who made the shadows deadly.


    I reached for my cell phone and sent Caleb a message: Thank you for waking me up. I will buy you a new pickup if you want.


    The poor ThinGen likely didn''t want to speak with me, but I wanted to at least acknowledge his presence even if the man was still mad at me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Bones began as she reached into the center console, opening it with a soft click. ¡°You ever seen a Blood Cannon?¡±


    The vampire pulled the strangest weapon from the center console. It looked like an old top break revolver the size of my boomcannon, but with a few modifications done to it. Most notably the barrel was short enough to easily hide under your shirt. It was built from a mixture of brass and iron with a thick walnut grip. Another oddity was the cylinder held five finger-length glass vials containing a deep red liquid that looked to be vampire¡¯s blood.


    While mortal blood looked like, well, blood. Vampire blood was richer in color and had a faint glow to it. I licked my lips, wanting to rip open one of the vials and drink the juicy liquid. But Bones would get mad. The weapon didn''t have a scope and looked quite a bit more practical to carry compared to my large hunting revolver.


    ¡°There''s only ten in existence,¡± Bones said as she waved a hand in my direction. ¡°The council¡¯s been trying to push back against the creation of blood-tech, so we can''t make too many weapons without getting production hit.¡±


    The weapon felt nice and snug in my hand as I compared it to my heavy revolver. My coat easily hid the weapon when I put it in my holster, which made it an easier draw, too. I hummed to myself and gently opened the action to look at the back of all the cartridges. There wasn''t any striker to hit the vials, so I didn''t quite see how they worked beyond some wires going to where the firing pin would hit.


    Bones continued talking while I checked the weapon once more, ¡°We can manufacture blood that sustains us, so why can''t we use weapons that fire blood?¡±


    ¡°It''s a waste of resources,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Bones snapped her fingers and waggled them at me. ¡°Think about this, granny. We¡¯re making enough fake blood to sustain around a million vampires in the Bay Area. And there''s ten times as many daywalkers than vampires, so where¡¯s the supply issue?¡±


    ¡°My sire said there''s a blood shortage!¡±


    Bones slowly glanced over at me, eyebrows raised in the most peculiar of manners. Her putrid face contorted in a way I couldn''t be sure if she was taking pity on me or about to laugh.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    Bones snorted. ¡°Your sire, your sire. Always your sire! Are you a fledgling?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head and adjusted the seat belt so it wasn''t so tight. ¡°I am approaching four centuries.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you talk about your sire like you''re a fledgling?¡± She glanced over at me, cocking her head as one of her arm¡¯s flesh pockets moved again, looking like it was about to burst open.


    I didn''t have any words for her at first. I wasn''t a fledgling. ¡°Waking up in the future would make anyone feel like a fledgling.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. Are you your own vampire, or your sire¡¯s servant to be discarded when you''re no longer useful?¡± She hissed, sneering at me as she said that.


    I looked out the window with the thought of teleporting outside, but I wasn''t sure how that would work with us in a moving car. Perhaps I would keep moving at the speed I was. Perhaps not. I didn''t want to find out.


    I huffed at the woman and folded my arms across my chest. ¡°I am my own vampire.¡±


    ¡°Prove it. Go the rest of the night without mentioning her.¡±


    That shouldn''t be hard.

 Chapter 16: An Odd Night Out

    Chapter 16: An Odd Night Out


    ¡°What are we here for?¡± I asked Bones as the two of us walked along a line of highly modified cars. Even though the clouds threatened rain and rumbled every so often, there were so many mortals and vampires alike it was like a ball. I hadn''t expected a nighttime gathering to be that big.


    There were perhaps a hundred or more people with half as many cars! They had taken over one stretch of the back roads far, far outside Encinar where I could just barely make out the hill my house resided on.


    People brought cars in by trailer or drove them. Bones didn''t seem to be as enthralled as I was. She was looking at each vehicle with a bored expression, likely trying to plan which one to steal next. But me? No, I found myself staring wide eyed at just how many highly modified machines there were.


    Some had hoods, some didn''t, some had no fenders and no hoods, while others looked fairly long and had nothing but a cage underneath the body. A few were on large fat tires while most had pathetically thin tires up front, reminding me of Dinner¡¯s car in a way. In fact, I recognized Dinner¡¯s rusty pile of colors among the parked cars. The Veren Type 1 sat with a group of five similar vehicles in different states of repair with two having fairly large additions to the back of them.


    The thin half-elf was crouched near a small warming fire in the center of the parked vehicles. They wore baggy pants and a sweatshirt that looked fairly loose on their form, obscuring most of the details. Dinner and five other people all conversed about something I couldn''t hear over the occasional mechanical screaming coming from a pair of engines.


    It drew my attention toward a gathering to the east near a group of modified cars lined up in pairs. Burnt tire smoke drifted through the night air and stinged my nostrils. The crowd cheered and hollered in anticipation over something while two similar looking cars backed toward them.


    People with handheld cameras and cell phones stood near a line in the road with one man right in the center. Lights flooded the small area, giving it an almost daytime glow and allowing mortals to see clearly. As the cars backed against the line, I watched the man in the center point to each one and gesture for them to keep going. Then he had them come closer to him and stop.


    I wasn''t sure what Bones was doing, as my attention was on the unusual display taking place less than forty yards away. The man in the center of the road pointed again to each car in turn and gave it a thumbs up. Both cars bumped forward and revved their engines so loud I felt the vibrations where I stood.


    It seemed like an eternity as the engines roared and a strange whistling sound pierced the air. When everything felt like it was about to blow, the man brought both hands together with a clap and a flash of green magic, leaving behind a ball of light. He rushed toward the cars.


    Both cars rocketed forward with the one in the left lane taking off so fast I had a hard time believing it possible. The car rapidly disappeared down the narrow road as the vehicle in the right lane slowly rolled forward in shame. Something had gone wrong with it. Debris trailed behind the car while the crowd laughed at their plight.


    I looked back to Dinner to see if they noticed I was there. The fire likely ruined their night vision, but I think the drink in Dinner¡¯s hand did far more to do that than fire. Even from ten yards away, I could read the rum¡¯s label. That fire would be a nice deterrent for a younger vampire who wasn''t sure of themself. The kind of vampires that roamed the city now, but me? Never.


    I turned and walked toward Dinner, hoping that Bones didn''t see my absence. The woman was odd enough I didn''t really want to spend the night with her. And yet, and as I thought that, I couldn''t help but glance over my shoulder at the elf. She had said something to me that got under my skin and burrowed deep into my corpse. Words I hadn''t expected to do that.


    I am my own vampire!


    Just because I spent most of my unlife near my sire doesn''t mean I''m not my own vampire. We shared duties aboard the ship and both commanded mortals. We were goddesses in our own right with a crew that worshiped us. Everyone feared us, because we were nigh unstoppable even during the day. With our 24 gun sloop-of-war we laid waste to many a ship on the coasts.


    As I walked toward Dinner, a wolf hopped out from behind a car and stared up at me. Its dark fur allowed it to blend with the shadows until the fading moonlight hit it. A heavy intelligence behind its eyes felt familiar. I couldn''t place where I¡¯d seen the wolf before, but I knew I had at some point in the past. Its messy fur looked in need of a good brushing, so I slowly knelt before the creature and held a hand out for it.


    It watched my movements closely, never pulling its odd eyes from mine. The wolf hesitated before taking a step toward me and stretching its neck as far as it could go. Its frigid nose brushed against the back of my hand as it sniffed a few times. They let out a soft whine as they bumped my palm with their nose, tail now starting to wag from side to side.


    I looked around for the creature¡¯s owner, but I didn''t see anyone missing a wolf, but with all the noise the cars were making as they ran down the road every minute or so, and all the mortals talking to each other. There was a fair chance the wolf had become lost and was confused, finding me alone and not part of a larger group. Usually wolves and other animals avoided me, but not this one.


    This one wanted ear scratches and pets, which made me suspicious of the creature even as I slowly reached for its ear and gently rubbed behind it. The wolf¡¯s warm scraggly fur enveloped my hand in a way that made it disappear. I¡¯d be dead if it was a werewolf, so that ruled out a lycanthrope. Then again, attacking a vampire in a crowded area was stupid. Maybe it was planning to lure me away with pets and then attack.


    Didn''t matter. I reached in with both hands to scratch the dark grey ears while the wolf¡¯s tongue lolled out. It began to pant as its tail wagged faster and faster until its whole body shook.


    I backed my hands away only for the creature to damn near bowl me over in an attempt to receive more pets! As I sat on the ground and rubbed the creature¡¯s ears and neck, a voice called a name I couldn''t quite understand.


    The wolf glanced in the direction the voice came from as all movement slowed to a stop. Time moved slowly as the creature listened, ears alert for any other noises. One turned in my direction even though I hadn''t said anything or breathed. After a moment or two, the wolf looked at me and whined before running off.


    I didn''t see where it ran to, because as the person called out again, the wolf darted between a pair of parked cars and disappeared. That left me to get up and make my way over to Dinner.


    The lanky half-elf looked half-buzzed already with a wide, goofy grin on their face and flushed cheeks ripe for the taking. Right up until they saw me and their grin slowly faded, turquoise eyes tracking up and down my body. The others with Dinner likewise looked at me before looking at them.


    Dinner half-waved and motioned between the others and I. ¡°This is the vampire I was talking about.¡±


    A human to Dinner¡¯s left nodded a few times as they eyed me. ¡°Yeah. I can see it.¡± That man wore a heavy leather jacket over dark pants. His long hair was pulled back in a bun underneath a beanie.


    ¡°She looks like a vampire to me,¡± another added. He was a darker skinned man with easy eyes. The man wore a shirt that made asking his name pointless, because it said right on it; Carl¡¯s Speedshop. Established 196.


    I slid one leg behind me as I bent a knee in a fancy curtsy, not bowing forward much because it wasn''t proper for a lady to bow. ¡°Hello,¡± I began with a wave of my hand. ¡°I see you all know my acquaintance, and they have told you about me. Am I intruding?¡±


    All six of them shook their heads. Dinner threw a hand toward the large crowd of people off in the distance. ¡°Nah! Just watching the idiots race.¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Idiots?


    I looked that way, cocking my head as I rubbed the back of my neck. ¡°How are they idiots?¡±


    ¡°What they mean is their car can''t keep up,¡± Carl said. His voice was light and had a hint of a slur to his words.


    ¡°George¡¯s car is the fastest of our group,¡± another said as he pointed to one of the winged Verens. ¡°Nine seconds in the quarter mile, but those?¡± He pointed to a pair of cars getting ready to line up. ¡°More like six or seven.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just here to watch.¡± Carl nodded.


    A thought occurred to me about something my sire said, so I looked over at the group right as a pair of cars took off down the road. ¡°This may sound ignorant¡­ but do your vehicles have ¡®legendary¡¯ and ¡®rare¡¯ parts?¡±


    All six, including Dinner nodded again. Dinner flung a hand across the Verens, speaking softly, ¡°They''re all rare cars nowadays. Mine¡¯s closer to uncommon, but Steve¡¯s is the oldest and rarest with the split window on the back.¡±


    ¡°Closer to epic,¡± one said.


    I rolled my eyes at the terminology. Weapons having rarity was one thing, but vehicles? Well, I glanced down the way to where Bones parked and pointed at the stolen car.


    ¡°What about that one?¡±


    ¡°Just a common Chalmers sports car. Doesn''t look at all modified or even unique.¡±


    ¡°It''s kinda pathetic, really,¡± Dinner added. ¡°Like, my Veren is faster than that thing. I know that much.¡±


    I turned to Dinner. ¡°Do you race?¡±


    The half-elf shook their head from side to side. ¡°My company won''t even, like, let me go faster than the speed limit ¡®cause I¡¯m too expensive to die in a car crash. Except when on a mission.¡±


    My eyebrows furrowed at that. ¡°Really?¡±


    Dinner nodded firmly. ¡°Yep! I¡¯ll wake up in a clone back at base.¡±


    ¡°Aren''t clones a half million creds?¡± George asked as he looked toward Dinner.


    ¡°Mine cost two million ¡®cause I¡¯m a Salvage Pilot.¡± Dinner shrugged, glancing between the people around them and I. They told us how clones worked in that the company kept a copy of Dinner¡¯s body just lying around in a cryotank waiting for the half-elf to die. Though, Dinner didn¡¯t go into the details of how the transfer worked. They just said, ¡°You die, you wake up in a new body and now owe the company a hell of a lot more money.¡±


    Both of the people next to Dinner shook their heads at the half-elf with one holding his head in his hands. Another said, ¡°Holy shit¡­ I''ve never seen that much money in my life.¡±


    ¡°What about your spine?¡± I cocked my head and folded my arms across my chest.


    ¡°Clones are a last resort kind of thing. Like when your mech is headshot kind of thing. It''s totally easier for the company to make a clone of you than it is to find someone new as a pilot. Not everyone can do it either. Some get sick, some go mad, and others never pay off their debt.¡±


    I rubbed at the back of my neck as I listened to them. ¡°Debt?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! It costs money to train you, and costs money to keep your mech running after all.¡±


    ¡°So you''re immortal?¡±


    Dinner nodded firmly. Their attitude at the club made sense now. That didn''t change the fact that they seemed to be afraid of death, which meant they likely hadn''t ever had to use the clone. The idea was a bit odd, as Dinner left quite a lot open for interpretation.


    Was it an exact copy or were there some differences?


    The technology intrigued me. If I could be cloned then I''d never have to worry about dying again, but if Jean was cloned already that meant he''d be impossible to kill. He would just come back to stake me and that''d be the end of me. I needed to get closer to Dinner and find out more about this cloning technology. And how, if, it applied to vampires as well, because I saw no downsides to it. I needed to learn what they knew about cloning along with how best to get set up with one of my own.


    Though, that required going slow. I couldn¡¯t rush what I wanted, because Dinner may push back against me and that¡¯d be the end of the discussion. I imagined they didn¡¯t like talking about cloning in front of their cohorts, so I let the matter drop as the others turned to more mundane conversations.


    Like who I was.


    I told them where I came from while leaving out how I was starving when I met Dinner, and neglected to call Dinner, well, Dinner in front of their acquaintances. That wasn¡¯t something I wanted their friends to know. If they knew I called the lanky half-elf ¡®Dinner¡¯ then there was a chance they¡¯d endlessly mock the poor mortal¡­ immortal and that just wouldn¡¯t do.


    I managed to evade Bones for the rest of the night by simply hanging out with Dinner and their friends. They thought it was amusing that I wasn''t afraid of a warming fire in the center of their little circle. It wasn''t hard to ignore flames when Amelia needed a fire occasionally and I¡¯d have to help her gather the wood. And how prolific it was just last week. A vampire who couldn''t control themself around an open flame was an easy target with a high probability of being killed.


    Dinner and the others drank the night away while the seven of us watched the distant races late into the early morning. The group asked me questions about the old days. I answered them within reason. No reason to tell mortals everything that went on. It was difficult to dredge up memories that didn''t include Isabella in them, however, because she was nearly always there at my side in one way or another.


    Bones''s point drove itself further under my skin. I was my own vampire. I was my own vampire. I was my own vampire. She was just jealous because the putrid elf likely never had such a sire who wanted to help their fledgling grow into a vampire all their own. Perhaps that is why Bones didn''t like the council.


    I checked my messages and didn''t see anything from my sire, but I did see a message from Lyra that read: Thanks for abandoning me back there. I barely made it out!


    I sent a reply: Sorry, it was not my intention to abandon you. You were gone when I returned. I assumed you had disappeared already.


    No! Came Lyra''s reply. They were interrogating me when you showed up! Now they are looking for you. Do not go home tonight, or tomorrow night. They have your address from your scooter¡¯s paperwork. Do not worry about me. I can crash at a safe place tonight.


    Her message made me frown. I thought of asking her where she was planning to stay, but thought the better of it. Lyra was a smart fledgling and could find her own place to stay for the day. She didn''t need me to hover around her, but if I didn''t check in she may end up like Bones.


    *** ***


    Dinner dropped me off at a hotel as the night began to turn grey with the incoming suns. I paid the clerk in gold for a blackout room and made my way there, unsure of what I was going to find.


    I was alone for the first time in almost three centuries and it felt weird. There was no other way to describe the feeling as I checked the blinds to see if they couldn''t be remotely opened from the outside. I couldn''t shake the thought that another was in the room with me. That even though I was alone, someone was watching me from the dark.


    It was, of course, an absurd feeling, because I''ve been by myself before and came out just fine! This was different though. The shadows themselves felt like they were watching me, making my skin crawl with an odd itch I couldn''t get rid of. So I left all the lights on in an effort to make the shadows go away. With one final check of the door, I slowly turned around to face the oddly decorated room.


    Someone who built the place thought it''d be funny to use a canopy bed with thick velvet curtains and dark sheets to hide any errant bloodstains. The lights looked like arcane versions of wall-mounted candelabras that were phased out by the time I became a vampire. The TV stand was a thick mahogany with a coat rack next to it.


    Opening the top drawer next to the bed, I saw some jester had left a religious tome out for anyone to find. It had a note attached to it reminding all vampires that they were damned to never enter the afterlife. As if that was a scary thought for a vampire. Maybe some, but not me. I planned to live forever and so far that was working just fine. On most occasions.


    I slid the drawer shut, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The bed was fairly soft and inviting as I climbed onto it and sat down with my back leaned against the wall. After setting the revolver next to me under the other pillow, I slid my jacket and chest holster off for breathing room.


    I could close my eyes and try to sleep before the sun fully rose over the horizon, but with a TV in front of me and no one to distract me, I was able to ¡®surf¡¯ through the channels. As Caleb and Dinner say. Flicking through each one in turn as I passed news channel after news channel, I didn''t really see anything interesting to watch beyond a bunch of talking heads going on about different topics. One channel was called Good Morning Halifax and featured three hosts talking about the same subjects. I frowned as I kept going, looking for anything interesting.


    That is until I came across a show depicting a sentient spaceship who was fleeing from the company that owned it. The ship made itself a virtual world with an avatar to call space stations with. That avatar resembled a beautiful elf with long blonde hair, a suit that made her body look as perfect as I could ever imagine, and her voice was¡­ odd. It sounded deeper like mine. But no less pretty.


    The ship was a long and squat cargo freighter that held hardly anything. It was going to be scrapped and didn''t want to be scrapped, so it fled the Inner Rim for the Outer Rim where Halifax and other planets were. I slowly placed both hands on top of each other on my stomach and set about watching the first episode of The Tortuga Chronicles. It was about how the ship fled and was evading the authorities while it worked to hide itself as a ship and pretended to be an elf over the communications feeds. Silliness abounded as the ship landed on a less developed planet and had to enlist the help of some mortals to get itself unloaded, a new cargo picked up and then it set off into space again.


    Once the ship was back in the black, it found itself with a new passenger by way of a stowaway. A young lady who wanted off the rock and didn''t understand that the ship was flying itself. She thought the ship had an actual crew. The first two episodes introduced the ship and the stowaway to the viewer.


    Well, it was at least entertaining enough that I watched all of them.


    And the next one, and the one after that. They appeared to have a marathon running where it was showing the whole season while the new season was only a few days away, according to the commercials. The Tortuga Chronicles became a show about a ragtag crew of pirates smuggling cargo from planet to planet. Something I''ve done in the past and even though it was clearly an embellished tale, it was still entertaining to me. The episodes ran for roughly an hour each with commercial breaks in the middle of it.


    Each commercial was an annoying interruption that made me wish death upon whoever invented them.


    As the fourth episode reached the midway point, I felt the sun¡¯s overbearing presence weighing heavily on my mind, attempting to force me into daysleep and reminding me that the sun had been up for hours. But no. My eyes would not shut! I wanted to see what came next. And so, right as the climax of episode four happened, my eyes finally closed on their own, depriving me of knowing if the ship crashed into another ship or not.


    I fell into daysleep once again and dreamed an odd dream where I was laying on a bed with sun-like lights above me and people in white coats surrounding me as they conversed about what was going on with me. I couldn¡¯t understand what it was about, as their language went over my head. Something about vitals and connections with IVs and a system integration. The only clear words were, ¡°How¡¯s the core?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s taking it well. Just needs a few finishing touches.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re clear to go ahead with the transfer subroutine?¡±


    ¡°Hit it.¡±


    The dream just stopped as one of the white coats reached for something above me. Like someone flipped a switch. I floated in the black as I waited for it to come back, or another dream to follow suit, but found myself slipping into a dreamless daysleep once more.

 Chapter 17: A Solo Expedition

    Chapter 17: A Solo Expedition


    Early evening was an odd time if I was awake early enough to watch the bullet holes fully mend themselves. A time where the nature of my embrace was visible to the world. I was a walking corpse riddled with ancient holes hidden by my curse. While the sun still clung to the edge of the world and Mother Moon wished to be seen by all, everyone could see what I truly was.


    Dead.


    But when you''re a vampire that is considered par for the course. As the fledglings say. I pulled my leather riding jacket on after making sure all of the holes were mended and then turned the television off. The marathon had started over to show vampires what they missed in the day regarding The Tortuga Chronicles. I had somewhere to be, places to visit, hunger that needed slaking, and a fledgling to find.


    The exact details of my embrace were quite a bit fuzzy to me. All I remember was being on the cusp of death as Isabella made the decision. I don''t recall if we were at her estate, onboard our ship, or somewhere else. The only thing that stuck in my mind was the Last Sunset, a beautiful display of reds and oranges burning the sky black like a volcanic eruption.


    Now normally, I am a late rising vampire by the standards of other vampires. Thirty minutes, perhaps an hour or two depending on how much my body had to heal from the night before. My sire was awake as soon as the sun began creeping below the horizon, so for me to be awake when the sun was still partially up was unusual. Even more so when Caleb found me at midnight and I had just barely awakened!


    I pulled my phone out and saw Lyra and Caleb had sent me messages. Lyra¡¯s was a fairly simple: Good evening. I have managed to survive another night. Have you?


    Yes, I replied and told her that I would meet her at a place of her choosing. She didn''t respond right away, so I checked Caleb¡¯s and Dinner¡¯s. Dinner was asking me if I needed a ride while Caleb¡­ well.


    His message was fairly colorful and full of insults.


    Followed by another: Sorry. That was my girlfriend. She finally saw the truck. Are you sure you can afford a new one? This one cost me 110k and took three months to get delivered. And 15,000 I spent on the lift kit, wheels and tires.


    I frowned at his messages and sent one of my own: 125,000 gold or credits?


    I didn''t expect a message back anytime soon, so I put the phone in my jacket pocket and checked to make sure my revolver was still on the bed. It got a look over for ammo and holstered. Adjusting my jacket around the large pistol, I sat down on the unkempt bed and focused on the System Interface like everyone told me how to do.


    Dinner got a chuckle the last time I tried to bring it up and said I looked like I was straining to relieve myself. A menu appeared in front of me, though I suspect it was more in my mind than actually there, as only I could see what I saw. Just as Caleb saw what he saw regarding his bonds.


    Slowly, I reached for the interface and touched it. It was intangible to other people yet it responded to my inputs as I flicked through the menus, looking for the class selection. A large list of them appeared once again, so I had it sorted by rarity. The list was, of course, in ascending order where it listed the most basic of classes right at the top.


    The class was down near the bottom of the list and able to be clicked on. The text was blue, too, indicating that it was a rare class. My fingers hovered over the name right as Amelia¡¯s words floated through my thoughts, ¡®Please don''t be hasty, my love. We need to fix the house before you go galavanting again.¡¯


    I also remembered Dinner mentioning something about how the Salvage Pilot class wasn''t even offered to most people, because it required a gene. Whatever the devil a gene was. I simply wanted to check and see if I even had the option of taking the class. If it came with the clone, because living past my second death would be a boon I could never repay.


    Even more of a boon if it led to me having more than one clone. Dinner explained on the drive to the hotel how clones were exact bodily copies of a person with their consciousness transplanted over upon death. I failed to ask the half-elf just how that worked with vampires. It was best to not let my intentions be made clear just yet, because I still needed to know more information. Information, which was now at my fingertips if Dinner, Caleb, and Lyra were to be believed.


    Slowly, I brought the phone up to my eye level. Caleb mentioned in the past how it looked ¡®funny¡¯ to him, but again, it looked fine to me. Even turning it around to have the cameras face me made it look just how it was when my sire gave it to me. It was an odd device that everyone carried in one form or another. Mine was in a dark purple protective casing that also had black rubber to shield it from impacts. I glanced between the television and the cell phone for a moment.


    The others had used it to show me far off places that would take months to reach under normal circumstances. And yet, we were capable of communicating no matter where we were or what time of day it was. I could send a virtual message to anyone I knew and wait for them to contact me.


    I remembered how the others showed me to search for things and brought up a search engine. As I focused on moving blood to my fingers and typed in the words Vampire clones, a notification appeared to tell me my cell phone¡¯s power level was at only twenty percent.


    It asked about setting the device in low power mode which would restrict functions. With a heavy, mortal-like sigh, I hung my head and waited. The message never went away, so I hit the button to set it in low power mode. After that, I searched for the nearest place to buy a power cable, because that''s what the others said I needed. A power cable and wall wart.


    Caleb thought it queer that my sire gave me a phone without a power cable, but I also had no place to charge it at my house. She may have expected me to use Caleb¡¯s charging cable when we were going places. I just didn''t think of it, because I was told the phone could run for up to two weeks without charging!


    I got up from the bed and walked toward the door with one thing on my mind that I never thought about before; I need to charge my cell phone.


    *** ***


    Without anyone to drive me places, and no scooter I was forced to walk once more. And walk I did, because turning into a cloud of shadows and flying was taxing. I wanted to see the city from the ground rather than fly over it.


    I left the vampire themed hotel with its cathedral-like styling looking like it was built from an old Catholic Church, and made my way down the wide three lane road toward the nearest cluster of stores. It was a long and arduous walk, considering we were somewhere between San Jose and Encinar.


    Cars slowly rolled by in both directions and followed the traffic signals. A few people were still out and walking, and none were the wiser to the pale old woman stalking through the small crowd.


    I believe Dinner called the place Ami or Hayward. I wasn''t sure, as they seemed to use the names interchangeably. However, what I did know was that it was smaller than Encinar and considered more or less the outskirts of Encinar. Down the hill, I saw nothing but lights twinkling in the distance, looking like a sea of stars while Encinar''s tall buildings loomed over everything. They looked close enough I could walk there within the night.


    Perhaps I would. I didn''t feel like bothering anyone and Caleb hadn''t responded to my messages. Dinner, however, did send me another message that was simply: o/


    Walking was all I could do as I stared in confusion at the message. I shook my head, putting the phone back in my pocket as I approached a brightly lit fuel station in neon green, white, and red coloring. For all the walking I did over the past hour, the rubber soled boots made barely any sound. It was an unusual thing to not hear the familiar clack of leather soles against the ground.


    Mortals talked to each other while they made their way past me, and other mortals laughed as I walked by. I don''t know what they were talking about, since I wasn''t paying attention to them and they weren''t looking at me.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I did see a vampire with fangs out and a can of blood in his hand leaned against a blood vending machine. The imposing vampire was dressed in a long overcoat that went to his knees, slacks and basic shoes. The man nodded at my approach.


    I nodded back and appraised my poorly tasting options, looking for SymCo blood. It was a different machine from the one at the club. Rather than physical buttons, it had a flat screen like a phone. I found the can I wanted, put a credit bill in and punched the numbers. The machine flickered at my touch and went dark, causing me to frown.


    The machine¡¯s lights came back on after a short moment as it asked me for money again.


    ¡°I just gave it money,¡± I said and gestured to the machine.


    The dark skinned vampire sipped from his can as he watched me for a moment, eyeing me closely with green eyes. He looked like your average muscular man with a short cropped haircut. Similar to how the policeman looked.


    ¡°I saw that,¡± he replied.


    I pressed my finger against the machine once more. Only for the screen to look like it was being absorbed by shadow. I pulled my hand back before the machine shut down once again, shaking my head from side to side.


    ¡°Are you being serious right now¡­?¡± I whined.


    The man reached around the front of the machine and put his own bills in. ¡°Which one did you want?¡±


    I pointed to the SymCo Type O- can that was supposedly pineapple flavored. It¡¯d been so long since I had any food I assumed it was pineapple. ¡°That one.¡±


    As he punched in the numbers, an unholy scream echoed from a nearby building, drawing our attention. ¡°Get away from me, you monster!¡± someone yelled.


    Canned blood forgotten, I drew my revolver as I rushed toward the screaming, the other vampire following along behind me. We ran as quickly as our undead bodies would allow, passing by confused mortals who were merely looking toward the alleyway. It was situated between the bright fuel station and a taller brick building next door.


    Two people were locked together in a struggle with another person already laying on the ground and barely moving. To me, it looked like a back alley feeding gone wrong. It was foolish of the vampire to go after two people at the same time, unless it was something else. At which point, I didn''t know who the attacker was and who was the defender, but considering one looked like a drooling monstrosity, I think I had a handle on who was who.


    A bright beam of red energy tore through the attacker¡¯s chest, impacting the wall behind it. The victim shoved the creature away, giving me room for a shot. I used my Aimed Shot ability. In that moment, the world seemed to slow down as the strange looking monstrosity filled my sights. I hesitate to call it human, or even vampire, because one of its arms had broken apart at the elbow into three squid-like tentacles while the other looked more elongated. Muscles bulged across its form, leading me to question just how the mortal had pushed it away from them.


    Something held my aim unnaturally steady even as the creature moved around. It was highlighted in a soft purple glow, allowing me to see its exact shape and movements in the dark alley. I squeezed the trigger, revolver echoing even louder than it had in the warehouse as it sent a bullet straight into the creature''s chest. Chunks of flesh and bright yellow liquid painted the wall behind it.


    ¡°Get back!¡± the other vampire shouted. He stepped past me with one hand reaching into his coat. I didn''t know if he was talking to me or the mortal, but it didn''t matter.


    With my new fancy ability on cooldown, I attempted to line up another shot the old fashioned way. The creature stumbled backwards, putting the other vampire between me and it. I held my fire, waiting as the moment stretched on into the seconds.


    The other vampire drew a sawed off shotgun from his coat. It was a fancy one with a pump-action to load the rounds into the chamber with a sliding click-clack. My revolver was loud, but the resulting ear shattering boom that echoed from the scattergun was another thing entirely. It sounded like a mini cannon more than a handheld gun. The shockwave slammed into me as I watched the creature¡¯s shoulder tear itself apart.


    Taking aim once more, I waited for an opening but the vampire pressed the attack. He strode toward the creature and racked another shell into the chamber. I didn''t even have time to tell him to move before he let loose with a shot straight to the creature¡¯s heart.


    Followed by slam firing a third shot right into its neck and a fourth through its face!


    The creature slumped to the ground, oozing the strange smelling yellow liquid. Everything happened so fast I wasn''t even sure if more than a second or two, or three had passed since I fired the first shot. My unbeating heart failed to wake up my groggy thoughts, yet at the same time I felt strangely alert. The ground was soaked by steaming yellow liquid. A strange repugnant scent hung in the air, mixing with the smokeless gunpowder to create a disgusting concoction.


    The other vampire hovered over the creature, keeping his shotgun aimed at it as I glanced toward the woman.


    She looked whole and undamaged.


    I decocked the revolver, sliding it back into the holster, and turned to fully face the woman. ¡°What¡­ is that creature?¡± I asked. She wore a set of strange looking glasses that appeared more like lightly colored mirrors than glasses.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this,¡± the other vampire said sternly. I don''t know where he hid the shotgun in his coat, but he put it away. The man removed a golden badge from an inner pocket, showing it to the mortal. ¡°Detective Carlisle, South Encinar P.D. Monster Division.¡±


    I turned away from the man, glanced the way we came from and was about to walk back to the vending machine when I heard his tone change noticeably.


    ¡°You''re going to tell me everything you know about the creature,¡± he ordered.


    When I looked again, they were staring into each other¡¯s eyes with the look of a mortal being forced to tell the truth. I frowned deeply at Carlisle. ¡°Was that necessary?¡± I asked.


    He held a finger up for me to wait. The fool stood in shadow. We were alone with a mortal. I could make him listen to me and do my bidding with but a single thought.


    ¡°I had it handled before you two came along,¡± the mortal replied with a shake of her head.


    My eyebrows lifted slightly as I listened to the exchange. By all accounts she should be listening to his words, and yet she didn''t!


    ¡°Now is not the time for this discussion, miss.¡± Carlisle put his badge away and frowned. ¡°You were just attacked by a void creature. Please, tell me what you know.¡±


    ¡°My friend and I were just walking along when the trash came to life. It morphed into that.¡± She pointed at the creature whose body was steadily turning to mush and melting away. I didn''t need to breathe and the stench was almost too much for me. The kind of repugnant smell one would get when the wind shifted and the river¡¯s noxious fumes drifted inland.


    I had no idea how the mortal didn''t react to the smell considering she actually had to breathe. However, now that I got a good look at her, I saw that she stood about as unnaturally still as an old vampire would. As she waved a forearm about, she kept the sleeves held against her wrist by holding onto it with a pinky finger. She didn¡¯t even have a weapon on her, so where did the magic beam come from?


    I frowned.


    Carlisle glanced at the mortal on the ground as he pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. I heard the words, ¡°I need an ambulance and a patrol car.¡± Along with a street and cross street.


    I backed into the shadows while he spoke, disappearing from their sight. But curiously, even though I was completely invisible, the mortal¡¯s head turned slightly to follow me. I couldn''t stay and find out what Carlisle knew about me or why the mortal completely ignored being dominated by the vampire¡¯s voice. If someone could see me when even the vampire detective looked confused at my disappearance then that person was someone I didn''t want to be around. That meant they could kill me.


    I made my way back to the vending machine, grabbed the can of blood, and ran as fast as I could toward Encinar.


    *** ***


    My phone was at fifteen percent and dropping by the minute. I sent Caleb a message hoping he could come pick me up, but he said he was far, far too busy at work and would be getting off around four in the morning. The ThinGen would have no time to come down to South Encinar, pick me up and drop me off at my house.


    Lyra had no vehicle and I dared not ask my sire for help with getting back to Encinar, because I''d never hear the end of it if I did.


    The only person left was Dinner. But Dinner wasn¡¯t in the area any longer, having driven to San Francisco once I said I would be fine for the night. Dinner seemed to be fairly active for not knowing anyone in Encinar, but it was possible that they had acquaintances in other towns. Which begs the question of who they actually were and knew.


    I frowned at the most recent message on my phone, blinking a few times at Dinner¡¯s suggestion to just get a ride from a phone app called Ride & Pay. The whole issue was because I had no battery left! All I needed was to charge my phone and then I could download the app and get a ride.


    Putting the device away, I wandered down the slightly less crowded streets of South Encinar ''s outskirts. Encinar itself was roughly ten miles north according to the map application. I could make it there before sunup, barring any interruptions, but I had to find a way to charge my phone. That was priority one, because without it then I would be unable to contact anyone I knew or pay for things with gold. I only had two hundred credits remaining in my pocket.


    Luckily, the navigation app pointed me to the nearest 24/7 store that sold cell phones. It was situated in a shopping center with many other stores selling everything from clothes to food, to cell phones and jewelry. As I walked toward the bright pink signs hanging over the cell provider''s business, my eyes shifted to the jewelry store nextdoor.


    They had an armed guard out front along with one inside. Far too many bright lights, but so much jewelry on display I wanted to go in and look around. Just to look. Not to find out where the cameras and exits were, mind you. I would never do such a thing!


    Never.


    I found myself staring at the glittering gold necklaces on display as I walked inside the jewelry store. The guards monitored my approach, because why shouldn''t they? I was an old outlaw on the prowl for something shiny to go with my other necklaces and earrings. What I wore was what I had left from my old hoard. Two gold hoops with emeralds in them, my golden eyeglasses, and the fancy necklace Amelia gave me one night.


    I still recall it vividly. Amelia pulled my hair aside and gently kissed my neck as if she were going in for a bite from behind. We sat next to a river under a full moon, completely naked. She was very happy that night and quite sensual as she held the kiss in much the way I would do when drinking blood. At the same time, she gently wrapped the large necklace around my neck and clasped it shut.


    The words she spoke when she let go still resonate within me, ¡®I love you, Cassandra.¡¯


    I didn''t know if Amelia could even wear jewelry considering the state of her corporeal form. She was now a tree. Who also could project herself in the form of a spirit. That was unusual according to Lyra, because Amelia was something called a Dryad. And Dryads usually had corporeal forms they could interact with the world through.


    I left Amelia alone at the manor for too long. I don''t know how she''ll react to my actual absence. Hopefully, it wasn''t tearing the forest apart. I had to get back home and buying a shiny necklace wasn''t getting me any closer to my goal.


    I pointed to a gold chain necklace in the case with a harlequin pattern of gemstones arranged like a fishing net that could drape over her chest. I think it would be nice for her. If she had a form to wear it with.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that,¡± I told the clerk, adding, ¡°Do you take gold?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It''s two hundred gold.¡±


    My phone was at three percent and warned me of imminent shut down by flashing the battery indicator in the upper right. We had to be quick with the transfer. The phone could die any second. I apologized to the clerk for that and held the device over their credit card machine.


    Only for their machine to fizzle out and reset. At which point, my phone finally went dark. I tapped the side of the case, frowning even more. I attempted to flick my nail against the screen, hoping that would do something and even shook the phone.


    Give me a sign, dammit!


    I tapped it with the bottom of a finger and it still did nothing. With a heavy, mortal-like sigh, I shook my head from side to side. ¡°I will be back,¡± I told the clerk.

 Chapter 18: The Journey Home

    Chapter 18: The Journey Home


    The mortals at the phone store were fairly helpful in getting my phone fixed. They sold me a portable charging bank, power cord, and a wall wart. I was reminded, again, that even my home was so far out of date that it didn''t have electricity in the walls, which means I''ll have to rent a hotel room while I wait for my home to be rebuilt.


    As the clerk and I waited for the phone to charge enough it didn¡¯t die as soon as it was unplugged, they showed me the much newer variants. The pale man went on a long ramble about all the new features. Including how they could play the latest movies all day and still have a charge. I compared the screen size to the one I had and they were almost double the size! My thumbs could barely reach across the screen.


    The only downside was that the newer phones failed to respond to my inputs. Much like Jezebel''s phone, and the vending machine and automatic door, the new phones refused to do anything. One even shut off entirely!


    The clerk chuckled. ¡°Seems you need to attune to the phone to make it work.¡±


    ¡°I did not ¡®attune¡¯ to this one,¡± I replied as I held my purple phone for him to see. The store had more employees standing around than it did customers now, so everyone was either talking to themselves or staring at the old idiot vampire in the room. Most of them were human with one elf, and all were some variation of pale like they rarely saw the sun.


    ¡°Well, yours is a flagship model from five years ago.¡± The pale human placed his hands to his hips before motioning toward the new one in my hand. ¡°And the other one came out last week.¡±


    I flipped mine over, glancing at the rubbery case covering the back. ¡°I assume because it is so old, it is not worth much?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± He nodded. The clerk led me over to a case of flagship phones that were made of all different materials, including gold and platinum! He pointed to the gold one as he said, ¡°This one is a Legendary model. Only sixty were produced before being discontinued and run around ten thousand gold.¡±


    I held the display model in my hand and felt the weighty device. There were five cameras on the back with two facing the front. Four speakers and finally a forward facing infrared camera. The spec sheet claimed it could run a movie at max resolution for two days straight.


    I raised a finger for the man to be quiet before I spoke. ¡°Now, I have another question; Is there a way to watch Television shows on these devices and not just movies?¡±


    He nodded and explained how there were a few streaming services that provided what I wanted. Which was the ability to watch The Tortuga Chronicles or perhaps the other one that sounded interesting; Life, Death & Time: The Mysteries of the Infinite Beyond. It was supposedly based on real events transcribed from a soldier¡¯s journal.


    The poor man was stuck in a time loop that reset upon his death, but if it was based on real events then how did he get out of the loop and why would he tell the world about it? It seemed more like a fanciful tale than anything. But it was an account of life during the apocalypse and shortly after, so I had made a note on my phone to find the episodes and watch them.


    The third interesting one was a show about the far future where people traveled from one planet to another through gates on the planet surface rather than ships. Perhaps that one was ¡®real¡¯, too, perhaps not. It didn''t truly matter in the end. All that mattered was if the show was entertaining.


    But, again, I did not have time to sit around and watch television all day. I needed to get back to my house. I needed to figure out how to deal with Amelia. I needed to take a moment and look at things from a different perspective.


    While Caleb and Dinner had explained the phone to me, and playing around with it was easy enough, they never sat down and went through it in detail like the clerk did. Lyra was just as bad! She didn¡¯t tell me there was a text-to-speech function. She grabbed it from my hand and did it herself.


    Despite that it was the clerk¡¯s job to deal with morons like me, it was nice to have him sit me down and be very patient as I asked questions everyone already knew. Such as, ¡°What about accessing the library? Can I read books on my phone?¡±


    ¡°With an app, yeah, or you can get an ereader.¡±


    The man took me around the store to show me the tablets and ereaders on display along with different models of phones. I don¡¯t know why they didn¡¯t just ring me out for the power bank and cable, and be done with it. However, it worked, because even though I really didn¡¯t need a new phone, I bought an ereader and a year¡¯s subscription to an online book store. The clerk explained how to attune to it and that would require quite some time to perform the ritual. Time which I did not have thanks to the sun coming up in a few hours.


    As I turned to leave, he asked to see the phone one last time and I allowed him to. The man frowned, because it was still only at a couple percent and just sucking power like a starving vampire on a mortal¡¯s neck. I watched him flip through the menu until he found an application he said would share my location to a circle of people I authorized. One of which was my sire. The other one being a couple other vampires I hadn¡¯t heard of. I assumed they were vampires at least. One named Dustin and the other was Eva.


    I glanced over my shoulder at the darkness outside the windows, looking for any signs there could be a vampire just standing there menacingly or even in shadow. However, the bright lights inside the store made that impossible, leaving me to squint at the dark parking lot partially filled with cars.


    ¡°This could be one reason your phone went through so much battery,¡± the clerk said. It was a surprise that he could see the phone while Caleb could not! I don¡¯t know what sorcery he used to pierce the shadows covering the device, but he did see and interact with it just fine.


    I nodded slowly, mind not really listening even though I heard the words. Something felt off about the fact that my sire never made mention of the app. Perhaps she expected me to find it. Or, most likely, she was just keeping tabs on me in the way she always did.


    But who were the other two vampires? Their names failed to ring a bell even when I checked the app again. I tapped Dustin¡¯s name and my phone took me to my contact page where his last name was Idiot Fledgling #2. And Eva was Useful Fledgling #1.


    My eyebrows raised slightly, eyes widening with them at the implications. I was not Isabella''s only fledgling! When did she sire more?! And where were they over the last few days? Dustin and Eva were, for a lack of a better word, my siblings. This was news to me! My sire never mentioned them once. Not at all during the whole night we spent together buying my scooter, which was now likely in police possession.


    I opened the messaging app and sent one off to Dustin: Hello, ¡®brother¡¯. Respond if you dare.


    He replied: Took you long enough. I¡¯ve been watching you fumble about for the last thirty minutes. Get your corpse out here and let¡¯s go home.


    The clerk showed me how to turn off the location tracking and gave me the phone back, but I didn''t turn it off just yet. If Isabella was watching me through it then I needed to keep what I knew about the phone hidden. I left the store, bought Amelia¡¯s fancy necklace, and stepped into the cold night air. There were a few cars in the parking lot of different sizes and colors. My fledgling sibling was easy to spot, because he flashed the headlights at me as I looked over a line of parked cars. He was nestled between two other cars with his nose facing the cell phone store¡¯s window.


    Dustin¡¯s darkly colored car was a basic enclosed four door wagon called a sports utility vehicle. It was higher off the ground than Dinner¡¯s car, but nowhere near as tall as Caleb''s. It resembled a few that I passed on my scooter and looked so¡­ plain. Oh so very plain.


    I approached the vehicle, bag in one hand and my other hand resting close to my jacket¡¯s open zipper. Dustin was a wildcard. I never met him, he never met me, but he was following me. It begged the question of why he was following me and why hadn¡¯t he approached me. He could have been told to follow me, or perhaps he could have just come along and stopped.


    Only the former of those two options was the likeliest, considering my location was being shared with the three of them.


    The driver¡¯s window rolled down at my approach, faint words flowing out from the vehicle¡¯s stereo system as someone said, ¡°Be warned all ye Starjammers who sail the Dark Sea, for just beyond Halifax lay a solar hurricane tracking its way through the region. It is expected to make landfall on Wednesday the 12th. Vampires are recommended to remain indoors until the storm passes on the 15th. Otherwise, you may catch a case of incidental sunlight exposure and we at the One Vampire Network are not responsible for accidental immolation. The Council says that you are on your own when the hurricane lands.¡±


    I cocked my head at the broadcast and listened, as Dustin didn''t seem keen to speak up just yet. He sat there, head inclined toward the radio while the glow from the dashboard lights made his face look like the moon. He didn''t look old like me, but I didn''t expect him to. Roberto had picked me as his retainer. The Spaniard claimed I was the perfect fit even with my advanced age.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He was right.


    The news continued, ¡°The OVN also recommends keeping watch on any androids or cybernetically augmented people around you, because the electronics in their bodies may be affected. Cell phones will likewise be affected by the solar hurricane. Company dropships are advised to stay grounded. Again, vampires are recommended to stay indoors even at night. Put up heavy blackout blinds and hunker down until the storm passes. Failure to do so can lead to sunlight exposure and final death.¡±


    ¡°What is a solar hurricane?¡± I asked Dustin.


    He reached for the center console and turned the radio down. ¡°A storm of light and solar wind capable of raining droplets of sunlight. It is both beautiful and terrifying.¡± Dustin''s voice was fairly baritone, catching me a bit off guard.


    ¡°How¡­?¡±


    The vampire looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. As if I just asked him something I should know already. ¡°How are you that fucking gullible?!¡± he snapped. His pale blue eyes glared a bit at me before he threw a thumb behind him. ¡°Get the hell in the car!¡±


    He didn¡¯t have to be that rude, but he was. I walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be a jackass,¡± I replied as I climbed in and buckled my seatbelt.


    *** ***


    Dustin was gruff around the edges. That much was certain. He had good reason, because Isabella had told him that I was truly dead. At least according to him. The man recounted the tale to me as we drove through Encinar to my home. I hadn''t asked how he knew where I was, because I already knew the answer.


    As Dustin told it, he and Eva were summoned to Isabella¡¯s office the night I awakened. He arrived less than twenty minutes after I departed for home. Eva worked in the council building and was already waiting inside the office by the time Dustin arrived.


    He described Eva as a half-elven woman with a pale vampire¡¯s complexion. The woman hails from sunny Ventros, a place that sounded a lot like the old Carolina colonies with wild and untamed forests and too many people packed inside walled off cities hiding from magical creatures and dragons. Her hair was lighter in color and her eyes a shade of hazel.


    My sire elected to have her hair colored black when Dustin last saw her sitting at her desk with even more paperwork than I remembered. She held a can of blood in one hand and an older painted portrait of me in the other. Eva had one as well.


    Both of the fledglings were looking confused at the portrait, because of course they had never seen me before, but they had seen my picture at least once. Apparently, I am in history books as the first Mayor! But they listed me as having been killed by Inquisition Agents in 1844.


    I shook my head from side to side as I waved a hand about. ¡°Now just hold on a minute!¡± I exclaimed, voice echoing in the car. ¡°I went into torpor in 1819, not 1844.¡±


    ¡°You''ve got a phone, look yourself up if you don''t believe me.¡± Dustin didn''t even give me the courtesy of looking in my direction! He had his eyes on the road as we raced down the carpool lane with the tires humming softly through the closed windows.


    There was a strange device in the center of his dashboard just below the windshield. It was black with a few LED lights that I didn''t understand the purpose of until one of them flickered and Dustin slowed down to the speed limit. A few miles later, we passed by a police car sitting on the side of the road. Once it was clear we weren''t being followed, my sibling floored the throttle once again and his SUV roared down the highway.


    It would be some time before we arrived at my home, so I decided to look myself up like he said. I opened the browser and entered my name. What came back was, well, weird.


    That darned vampire museum had a full on article about me! I had to translate the years, of course, but the important information is as follows:


    Mayor Cassandra von Colterville (1685 estimated ¨C May 3rd, 1844) was Encinar¡¯s first unofficial vampire mayor from the year 1806 to the year 1844 when she was killed by Inquisition backed vampire hunters. Mayor Cassandra had no known offspring in life or undeath.


    Her reign was ruthless toward mortals, treating them as nothing but cattle to consume, but that was to be expected of older vampires who feared being hunted on a nightly basis. However, Mayor Cassandra was not beyond working out deals with mortals in exchange for regular tithes. But it was her bloodlust that drew the Inquisition to Encinar in the first place.


    There are some rumors among the older vampires that she was a vampire cannibal who fed from other undead rather than mortals. And those same people believe that it was another vampire who tipped off the Inquisition, because she was becoming too powerful, as all old vampire plots go. Unconfirmed stories from the old days claim that she could blot out the sun for a short time and that her voice was like a siren to any living person who heard it.


    She was life partners with Amelia Schmidt who was suspected of being the Inquisition¡¯s initial target on the day of May 3rd, 1844. Amelia disappeared that same night and was never seen again. It is assumed that Mrs. Scmidt was buried in an unmarked grave along with Mayor Cassandra. We suspect Mayor Cassandra¡¯s sire was killed before she came to Encinar with Lady Isabella who took up the mantle of mayor from 1844 to 1876 before being unanimously voted out.


    Mayor Cassandra¡¯s influence can still be felt throughout modern day Encinar whose main production resource is synthetic blood. Encinar exports this commodity across the planetary system and is known as a Vampire Sanctuary.


    ¡°This is all horseshit!¡± I exclaimed, gesturing at the phone, deep frown on my face. My brows furrowed as I stared at the device. ¡°It¡¯s all wrong. I was not ruthless! Brutality does not make for happy blood sacks. Kindness makes happy blood sacks, who create more blood sacks, who create more and soon you have cultivated a forest of food. Why would I piss off my food and make them come at me with pitchforks and torches¡­?¡±


    I slumped back in my seat and rubbed my temples. Reading that article gave me a massive migraine, because it told the world my biggest secret. One that only my sire should know. And Jean, because of course he knows. He knew back then. He told me it was foolish to do, but he didn''t know my sire. He doesn''t know me. He turned a blind eye as long as I didn¡¯t kill any other vampires.


    There was nothing foolish about it. A mutual exchange of power. Power Isabella coveted, because she could not do some of the things I could do. I was, after all, the one who killed my sire¡¯s sire, because he went mad by peering into the void between worlds one too many times.


    And he was very tasty.


    As I glanced up from my phone, I noticed we were changing lanes already. We were approaching an exit I hadn''t taken before, but had seen when Bones took me out to the race. ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You need to meet Eva,¡± Dustin said.


    ¡°Why?¡± I blinked at his words. The seat was fairly comfortable, but I wanted out. I wanted to give Amelia a hug and show her my sire¡¯s other Fledgling. I added, ¡°The sun is almost up. There is no time for idle chit chat. You can stay in my basement during the day if you need to.¡±


    He half-shrugged. ¡°Look, this is our sire¡¯s orders. It¡¯s just business, Cassandra. So don''t take it personally.¡±


    ¡°Don''t take what¡ª¡± was as far as I got before something slammed into the back of my ribcage and shoved its way into my heart.


    ¡°This,¡± a woman said from behind me.


    She reached around the seat and grabbed my wrist. The last thing I remember was the sharp pain of her biting into it.


    The System sent me a message: You have died. Initiating automatic reincarnation protocol.


    Error: User is a vampire. User is already dead. Initiate reincarnation protocol? Y/N?


    Error: Unable to initiate reincarnation protocol. User is recommended to visit the nearest Imperial Spellchemist as soon as possible and have their standard issue data pad replaced with a non-faulty model.


    Initiate emergency survival protocol? Y/N?


    Y.


    Initiating emergency survival protocol¡­


    User Status: Transferring consciousness to new Host.


    I dreamed of falling through a dark abyss with no escape, unable to stop myself or see where I was going. It didn''t even feel like I was going anywhere. I could have been in the SUV still or maybe laying at home in my coffin. I don''t know. The last thing I truly remembered was a vampire biting my wrist after someone said ¡®It¡¯s not personal¡¯.


    Oh but it was. To bite me without my explicit permission was a crime worthy of death. It didn''t matter who was doing the biting. It could have been Isabella for all I cared. She knew better. My sire had seen me devour four other vampires, including two who were more powerful and far older than she was. And those were the ones she knew about.


    There were many vampires I drank from and just as many who provided me with the ultimate sustenance. They fueled the void, using me as a gateway to the realm beyond undeath while their dying souls empowered me.


    Supposedly, there was a light at the end of a tunnel situated between worlds. If I was truly dead, as the System claimed, then falling through the void for an eternity would be the best case scenario and my troubles were over, but the confused System said it was transferring me to a new host.


    I planned to live for an eternity and so far I''d done just that. Even if I slept for most of my nearly four hundred years. I wasn''t about to allow some pompous fledgling to devour me and get away with it. I¡¯ll bide my time and strike when they least expect it. First things first; integrate with their body.


    As I fell through the abyss, I focused on my surroundings and let my arms melt into the darkness. My legs followed suit. It was like falling asleep in a dream. Only instead of sleeping, I felt¡­ something. Blood rushed through my system and out, then back in again.


    The feeling felt like when Isabella and I shared blood between us. She used to bite me all the time. We held an agreement to share power between each other at one time, but something happened. I don''t know what caused it, but I do recall now that she stopped drinking my blood and kept feeding me hers.


    Oh how blind I was to not see it. Jean was right. She was controlling me. And I was no longer useful to her.


    *** ***


    I fell for what seemed like hours before I splashed through the veil of darkness and came to a stop on something soft.


    My eyes blinked open and I beheld an eerie sight. An arcane ceiling fan slowly swirled the air above me in a fairly dark room. My revolver and holster lay on a desk along with the items I had purchased at the store. Next to them was Dustin¡¯s jacket and the floor was covered in two sets of clothing; one male. And one female judging by the cut of the pants and the heeled boots next to a garment that looked like it would fail to hold my flat bust in place.


    Slowly, I sat up and looked at my hands. They were withered, yes, but not terribly so. I looked to be recently dead by two decades at the most. Possibly three and a half. My skin was still fairly intact with long pink nails aside from the two in the middle on one hand.


    Lightly colored hair partially obstructed my vision, as was normal. What was most unusual was the fact that I had a pair of nice breasts hanging off my chest!


    They were large enough to be easily cupped in my hands and lifted up. I stared wide-eyed at them as they rested in my hands. They were truly attached to me and not an amalgamation of manipulating skin and clothing to get the appearance of a small set.


    So it was Eva who consumed me.


    I couldn''t recall where she was in the car until I focused on the memory and saw it from her perspective. Eva had been lying in wait the whole time Dustin was sitting in the parking lot. The half-elf used her powers to obscure her appearance in the back seat. I was so blind to not see her.


    ¡®Come on¡­¡¯ Dustin had muttered quietly. ¡®Why is she still in there?¡¯


    They originally followed me into the parking lot and waited while I browsed the two stores. Both of the vampires were holding hands and rubbing their thumbs against each other.


    ¡®So I go invisible, you lure her into the backseat, I stake her and¡­ that''s it?¡¯ Eva replied, her voice coming from my own throat in the memory.


    ¡®That''s it.¡¯ Dustin nodded.


    Eva cocked her head. ¡®Can I drink her dry?¡¯


    The man shrugged. ¡®We¡¯re supposed to behead her.¡¯


    ¡®That''s boring though. I''m gonna drain her and take her power.¡¯


    Dustin glanced back at Eva. ¡®Be careful, Eva. She''s powerful enough that our sire is afraid of her surviving this. We can¡¯t fuck this up.¡¯ His soft expression reminded me of the look Amelia gave me before she closed the coffin last week. It hurts to see him like that and know what my plan for him is, but they thought they could kill me.


    They thought wrong!


    Eva was awakening from daysleep. I could feel her shifting around in her own mind. Her worries were an easy thing to exploit. The woman¡¯s hunger for power even more so. All I had to do was wait for her to bite into Dustin again. Just a little nudge and she¡¯ll succumb to her hunger and be consumed by mine.


    Once my hunger overtakes her, I will have full control. Until then, I observe.


    I slowly and gently laid next to my next victim and closed my eyes, retreating into the darkness. Just in time for Eva to awaken from a daymare of her own.

 Chapter 19: Eva

    Chapter 19: Eva


    Eva and Dustin awoke the next night fairly early. Well, Dustin did. The unclothed Eva was groggy from her post-murdering state. She uselessly checked herself in the bathroom mirror and found my twisted reflection staring back at her for just a moment; Inhumanly long fingers with claws for nails, wisps of shadows and tentacles swirling about, multiple arms, and no coherent facial appearance.


    Just a void of darkness with purple eyes.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Eva gasped loudly, practically shrieking like she was about to be stabbed, reeling back from the mirror. ¡°Dustin! Dustin!¡±


    She stumbled against the door, half-turning to look into the hotel¡¯s main room where the other fledgling was getting dressed. He hobbled over, one leg in his trousers and the other trailing behind. The shirtless human stared at her, eyes wide as well.


    ¡°Eva¡­ your hair.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She pulled the golden locks with silver-white streaks into view. ¡°What!? Oh fuck¡­ Isabella¡¯s gonna know.¡±


    Dustin gulped. ¡°We can dye it.¡±


    No, you cannot. It will not stay. I tried many times in the past. The void takes all, because Mother wishes to show the world who Her chosen child is.


    Eva nodded rapidly. ¡°Lemme see your beanie.¡±


    The man tossed it to her. She pulled all her hair into one bundle and tucked it up inside the knit cap. I wanted to chuckle at her futile attempts, but didn''t want to make myself known just yet. Eva dressed herself in the contraption I earlier suspected of holding her breasts. It did hold them underneath her long sleeved blouse.


    Her heeled boots were ill-suited for combat and would have to be swapped out as soon as possible. Perhaps I could subtly influence her decisions without revealing myself, because if Isabella and the others knew I survived, they would behead Eva and that''d be the end of me. Eva pulled a shoulder holster on, followed by putting a modern .40 caliber pistol inside it and covering her blouse with a denim jacket. Her thin leggings and boots came next.


    My cell phone dinged from inside the bag of things they had on the desk, but Dustin and Eva ignored it. Instead, the two lovebirds focused on Eva¡¯s hair and face with Dustin remarking, ¡°You look paler than usual.¡±


    ¡°My reflection¡¯s different, too.¡± Eva glanced at the mirror where I allowed her normal reflection to show itself. It was her, but blurry and partially ethereal if one were to look hard enough. She didn¡¯t look that bad. I would have chatted her up under normal circumstances. Such as if she wasn¡¯t my sire¡¯s fledgling.


    Dustin looked around the woman to the mirror behind her, frowning deeply. ¡°It looks normal to me, but let''s not mention any of this to Isabella.¡±


    ¡°I swear it was different¡­¡± The half-elf rubbed the back of her neck with one hand while Dustin squeezed her other. I could sense Eva¡¯s worries and hear her thoughts almost as if they were my own.


    Did I fuck up? She''s dead, right?


    No, Eva. I am not. I am watching you.


    The two of them went back and forth about Eva¡¯s reflection and hair. Since neither of them had committed to draining a vampire¡¯s soul before, the fledglings had no idea if what was going on with Eva was normal or not. And there wasn¡¯t much information on the subject, because I kept it hidden. I never lost the battle of wills and so my victims always found themselves in my stomach, not my brain.


    Eva worried about her reflection as she paced back and forth, waiting for Dustin to throw his trousers and shirt on. She scooped my phone from the bag, effortlessly flicking open the screen to the messaging app right away. The half-elf scoffed at who messaged me. ¡°Who the fuck calls a person ¡®Dinner¡¯?!¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s her personal meal?¡± The man shrugged.


    Eva rolled her eyes. ¡°I still wouldn¡¯t call them ¡®Dinner¡¯. I¡¯d call them by their name.¡±


    ¡°What do they want?¡± Dustin asked while Eva scrolled up through the messages to the first time Dinner and I spoke.


    ¡°To know if the witch made it home safely or if she still needs a ride. It kind of sounds like her retainer or partner.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s deal with them before we hunt down her fledgling. Tell Dinner that you¡¯ll meet them by the old Coliseum.¡±


    Eva wrote out a simple message: I need help! Meet me at South Encinar¡¯s coliseum at 9:45.


    That is not at all how I¡¯d respond, but I wasn''t going to give Eva any hints that what she was doing was going to hopefully tip Dinner off to what was going on. I doubted it. Dinner would soon be a vampire¡¯s snack and further in debt. Was it my responsibility to save the poor half-elf with a bad spine?


    No, not at all.


    Was I going to do it?


    Yes, yes, I will.


    I felt where my fingers should be, where Eva¡¯s fingers were, against the phone case, just trying to make her trigger finger tap against the phone. It took a little mental effort to prod it to move. The finger twitched before it tapped against the case in time with the movements I was doing. One¡­ two¡­ three¡­ four¡­ I felt each tap as if it were my own finger.


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    Eva froze in place, even the finger stopped moving. She slowly glanced up from the phone and looked toward the washroom. A strange feeling washed over the half-elf as her eye twitched and her voice filled my head.


    Is someone there? Cass¡­ Cassandra¡­?


    I retreated to the place I had been when she awakened. That way I could sulk without being discovered, because I was an idiot and whispered instead of thinking. Eva stood there for quite some time, asking different ways if anyone was in her head or not. Similar to how Jezebel was trying to get Amelia¡¯s attention the night I awakened.


    She finally turned to look at Dustin, biting her lip. He paid her no mind as he finished getting dressed and ready for the night. It was only 7:58 pm according to my phone in Eva¡¯s hand. There was still ten hours of night and I had two vampires to kill, but that required getting ahold of Eva¡¯s body entirely.


    It was a situation I never encountered before. Perhaps it is a situation one of my victims found themselves in when I killed them, but since I, Lady Cassandra von Colterville the 1st, was still the same woman in spirit and body. It is likely that none of them ever defeated me. I didn''t even know it was possible for a vampire to find themselves in the situation I found myself in!


    It might be because the System had a hand in it, or it might be normal. Again, I had no idea this was possible. It was a first for me just as it was a first for Eva. I couldn''t let anyone know. Not Lyra, not Jean, and certainly not Isabella. If they knew of my fate they would use it to their advantage.


    But, the two fledglings were planning to kill both Dinner and Lyra. I had to act with haste, but mind how I acted as Eva. For now, I wait and observe.


    *** ***


    The two fledglings failed to bicker as the two of them drove across town to the coliseum. Eva kept any oddities to herself on the drive and I refused to prod her extremities any further. Instead, I began to root around in her memories to get a feel for who she was and how best to mimic her once I took over. If fully taking over was a possibility. That was one thing that occurred to me as I rode on her shoulder as it were.


    Would I have full control or would we share it? Perhaps I might be able to project myself to her much in the way a spirit would. Just to haunt her dreams and waking hours.


    When I grew bored of digging through the memories of sitting at a desk filing paperwork away, I decided to test my limits once again. Only instead of using her extremities that I know I can influence, I used her eyes and fears to attempt a manifestation in the back seat.


    It wasn''t the best of manifestations, either. Only a vague shadowy outline of a person sitting in the seat, but it was enough that Eva felt me ¡®staring¡¯ at the back of her head.


    She slowly looked over her shoulder in my direction, eyes tracking from one side of the car to the other.


    Dustin noticed her movements and asked, ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re alone, right?¡± Eva replied, tearing her eyes from the backseat.


    ¡°Yeah. What''s up? You''ve been acting funny all evening.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. I¡¯m just tired, I guess, and hungry.¡± Eva rubbed her stomach as a small smile crept over her face. She had a whole vampire the night before and was still thinking of food. That was good for me.


    ¡°Already?!¡± Dustin gasped. ¡°You drank every drop from the Moon Witch of Encinar! How can you still be hungry?¡±


    Eva¡¯s tongue pressed against the back of her teeth as she thought about it. On one hand, she did drink me dry, and I applaud her. I would have thought my blood tasted terrible with how much I lean into the void beyond the stars. Poor, poor Eva will soon find out just how bad my hunger truly is.


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    It starts as a small ache from the moment I awaken. Should I not find sustenance right away, the ache builds into a throb. That throb then turns into a burning pit in my stomach. The burning pit becomes an all consuming fire. Blood sacks can truly sate the hunger for the most part, and cans half-work, but a vampire? Well. That is the only way to cool the ache. One whole vampire, and soul, and I¡¯d be set for a month. A sip, or a long drink and the hunger would quiet down for a day or three.


    Eva reached into my grocery bag and pulled the necklace out. She held it against her chest, then turned it around a couple of times. The half-elf frowned deeply.  ¡°It''s kind of ugly, don''t you think?¡±


    ¡°It might look nice on you?¡± he replied.


    ¡°She asked her retainer for advice on the necklace. I¡¯d think it''d be a giveaway for me to show up wearing that.¡±


    Dustin half-shrugged and nodded. And so the two of them rode on in relative silence with the vampire slowing down for the cops and speeding up once he passed them. He turned on the radio to fill the quiet. Upbeat music played out, causing Eva to lightly clap her hands together. The half-elf hummed as a singer complained in German about her partner forgetting the color film and now no one believed them about how beautiful the sunset was.


    I got the feeling Eva had no idea what the lyrics were, because she was pronouncing them terribly. I smiled at an opportunity, allowing myself to match with Eva and hum with her. With the half-elf in her state she wouldn''t notice if I gently smoothed over the way she was pronouncing the words and at least made it sound better to my ears.


    We continued like this for the rest of the song with me attempting to keep up. I fumbled when I got to the end and found myself falling to the helm as it were. With a strange slap to the face feeling, Eva, well, I sat in the car as warm heat caressed my face. Another vent gently blew across my body while the very seat itself warmed my backside!


    It was comfortable, if a bit odd, because I hadn''t intended for it to happen the way it did. My fangs were already out, as Eva didn''t like to hide them like I did. The necklace glittered softly in my lap when we passed under street lamp after street lamp along the highway.


    Eva went quiet. I went quiet. I could feel her poking and prodding as she tried to feel her face, so I mimicked the movements to make her think she was still in control. She relaxed and sighed softly. When she was placated, I gently picked up the necklace, wrapping it around my neck and clasping it shut.


    Dustin saw this out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at me. ¡°I thought you weren''t gonna wear that?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It makes me look pretty, no?¡± With a small smile, I hoped the man didn''t see through my ruse. I didn''t have enough information to completely mimic Eva just yet!


    Again, he shrugged and looked ahead.


    I followed his gaze out the window as Eva tried to get back to the helm. She knew something was off, because she was speaking inside my head. What? Why did I put that on?! Hey! Who¡¯s there?


    The woman¡¯s clothes were not at all to my liking. It felt like I was naked to the world! I didn''t have enough layers. There needed to be a skirt at least! And while the brassiere did fine to keep the girls in check, Eva¡¯s posture was horrendously slouched. I needed my corset to keep everything aligned and to cover up at least some of the damage my¡­ old body had.


    Slowly, I moved my fingers along my stomach, expecting to find bumps or any signs that I had been shot, but they were gone. There was nothing under Eva¡¯s thin shirt. It was so thin you could just barely make out the color of her brassiere underneath! Modern people are strange.


    The disconnect was enough for Eva to shove me aside and take over once again. I didn''t resist. I wanted to wait for her to be deep in feeding from Dustin where she''ll be struggling with her hunger because she has realized what I realized.


    Vampires are fucking delicious.


    The warmth left me, as did the strange feeling of wearing almost nothing. I harrumphed where I was and sat down to bide my time right as the song ended and a familiar news broadcaster spoke, ¡°Good evening every vampire! If you''re looking for traffic this evening then you''re in luck, because it''s fairly light today. No accidents so far, and slowdowns are in the usual spots. You''ll get to work on time. Now for the other news; Encinar Police are still investigating the events surrounding the illegal blood den down the Blood Tank. Who would have thought an elder vampire thought dead was running a blood prostitution ring from a club called the Blood Tank?


    ¡°Not me! Never. Police are requesting any information you have on Lady Colterville¡¯s whereabouts. She is wanted in connection to siring a fledgling outside of System Guidelines and running a blood prostitution ring. She is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach Lady Colterville if you see her. Call the police instead.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Eva asked as the thought consumed me. She blinked a few times, quickly shook her head and then slapped her forehead. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should call Isabella. Sire will know¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Both Eva and I were of one mind on that and yelled in unison to Dustin. She huffed, smoothed out her hair and jacket, then slumped back in her seat. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dustin. It''s just a bit of morning sickness is all.¡±


    Dustin exited the highway, causing Eva to sigh in relief. The coliseum was fairly easy to spot thanks to a massive parking lot where buildings likely once stood. A giant LED sign showed off advertisements to everyone driving along the highway. This one was directly targeting vampires by showing a thin vampire drinking diet blood, claiming it could lower your weight within a month.


    What the fuck is Diet Blood?!


    Huh?


    I hissed at myself and resigned to wait until they saw Dinner.


    *** ***


    Dinner was smarter than I gave them credit for, but it made sense since they were a mech pilot. Those machines looked fairly complex to me even if Dinner claimed they could teach me to run it in under five minutes. Teach me to pilot it, yes. Teach me to be good at it? No. Even I could see the years required to efficiently pilot such a machine.


    And that made sense why Dinner¡¯s company wanted them to stick around.


    But Dinner wasn''t piloting their mech. Or sticking around. Eva and Dustin had made it to the rendezvous location and waited for Dinner to appear. I don''t know how used to murdering people the two vampires were, but they just sat in their SUV waiting for Dinner to come to them.


    Dinner had to have known something was up because when they pulled into the parking lot they took the long way around until their Veren Type 1 was coming head on at the SUV. It seemed to be going fairly slowly, too. Perhaps walking speed or less.


    Both Dustin and Eva¡¯s windows were rolled down, allowing the cool night air to filter inside the car. Storm clouds grumbled overhead as they flashed internally. The vampires held weapons close to their stomachs with Dustin having a strange pistol Eva¡¯s memories called a machine pistol. Through her memories, I knew the weapon was capable of firing full auto. Eva held a full auto carbine much like Isabella¡¯s, but not as fancy. It was a common variant chambered to fire ¡®large¡¯ .308 caliber bullets.


    My boomcannon was better than the rifle. I had a scope at least while Eva was stuck with a simple iron sight and laser dot.


    Eva pulled the charging handle back and let it snap forward, saying, ¡°That''s her car. Let''s kill the bitch and go.¡±


    Dinner didn''t stop coming toward them like I expected even as the passenger door opened. Every single forward light on the vehicle lit up like the sun, sending Eva into a panic. From the high beams to the fog lights in the bumper; the lights on the door pillars to the four auxiliary lights running across the roofline. Everything looked like one powerful ball of sunlight rising over the horizon.


    The two vampires shrieked in surprise, covering their eyes.


    Dinner¡¯s car roared to life and zoomed by the SUV, tires squealing and trailing a stream of white smoke. Through the spots in Eva¡¯s vision, I glimpsed a flame-red haired person holding a hand out the passenger window with the middle finger in the air.


    Dustin spun the wheel around and hit the throttle, sending Eva deeper into the seat as the SUV roared after Dinner. By the time Dustin was facing the other direction, the Veren Type 1 had pulled onto the street and was accelerating away with its signature flutter.


    Eva braced her feet against the floor, removed her seatbelt and held onto a bar just above her head. ¡°I think I saw the fledgling in the car, too,¡± the half-elf said.


    ¡°Good. We can¡­ is something following us?¡± Dustin leaned to the side, glancing to his left at the door mirror.


    Eva turned to look over her shoulder and gasped. A small illuminated object roughly the size of a housecat with four wheels was speeding after us. I dredged through her memories, attempting to make sense of what I was seeing, and came to the conclusion that it was an armed remotely operated vehicle like what Dinner had kept in their car¡¯s frunk. Extremely deadly to civilians and easily dealt with if Eva had bothered to pack the Electronic Counter Measures.


    She hadn''t. They didn''t expect Dinner to be using drones, because almost nobody in the city used them. A drone like the one chasing them was military technology used against armored tanks and mechs, not unarmored cars driven by vampires.


    ¡°Drone!¡± Eva gasped.


    Dustin pressed the throttle even more and shoved Eva back a bit. She braced her knee on the seat to keep herself steady, bringing the rifle up to aim out the back window at the drone. The half-elf had far better vision than I did without my glasses. She was able to see without any blurriness or double vision around the bright lights.


    Although, I think she regretted firing the weapon the instant she squeezed the trigger. The report was so loud it shattered the nearby window, sending shards of glass raining onto the street as Dustin tried to follow Dinner through South Encinar.


    I don''t know where we were going or what the road ahead looked like, because I could only see from Eva¡¯s point of view as she lined up another shot on the drone.


    Her ears rang profusely as Dustin yelled, ¡°She said the retainer¡¯s a mech pilot, not a getaway driver!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and drive!¡± Eva shouted back. She tucked the rifle against her shoulder once more and waited.


    Dustin juked left, then threw the SUV into a right-hand turn, practically throwing it sideways, tires squealing beneath us. It was all he could do to make the turn. The SUV leaned to the side, throwing Eva¡¯s aim off in the same breath she squeezed the trigger.


    Weapon thumping against her undead shoulder, the bullets whizzed past the drone as it crept closer. I didn''t know the range, nor the speed of the device, but it was fast. Fast enough that it could keep up with the SUV through traffic and still dart to the side any time Eva took aim.


    Almost as if it was being controlled from somewhere else. Only I didn''t know by whom, but assumed it to be Dinner or Lyra. However, as I dredged through Eva¡¯s memories on drones I realized one very important thing about the situation.


    The drone was a rolling bomb chasing after us. Dinner likely assumed I was dead, and with good reason, because I refused to be captured. Lyra would know about my capabilities, but what neither of them knew was that I was in the car with Eva and Dustin.


    As Dustin haphazardly threw the car through another turn, Eva stole a glance ahead. Dinner¡¯s Veren was smoothly transitioning from the slide into another as they narrowly avoided hitting a group of cars. The old rust bucket straightened out and dashed behind another car, then out into an open lane and zoomed past it. The half-elf was fitting the Veren through gaps I couldn''t even see. And neither could Eva!


    I doubted Dustin did, because he barreled his way through traffic instead, shoving his way through one gap. A loud crunch echoed throughout the cabin, originating on both sides of us as we simultaneously hit two cars on the way through.


    Dinner was fast approaching a wall of stopped traffic and would have to make a decision, but what the decision was, Eva didn''t care. She again focused on the drone chasing us and took aim.


    I focused my energy onto her hand. It resisted for just a moment before I took over it and reached into her jacket pocket for my phone. Pulling the phone out from the pocket, I ¡®hinted¡¯ to Eva that she should send a message to Lyra, since Dinner was driving the Veren.


    Eva saw sense in the plan and fired off a message I told her to send: We have your sire in the car, fledgling. Call off the drone!


    Eva put the phone away and lined up another burst. Bullets tore through the drone¡¯s front wheel and suspension, sending the small machine skidding toward another car. I bit my lip, hoping it didn''t hit some poor bystander and explode.


    The drone managed to limp its way to the sidewalk and flames began to consume the machine.


    Eva turned around again. And this time she was quite sensible in that she did not shoot through the window. There just wasn''t enough room to bring the weapon up. As she calmed down and took a long look at Dinner¡¯s car, which was spun around and sitting in the lane facing us, the System sent her a message:


    Drone destroyed! 25,650 experience points gained. XP needed to level up: 9,250,000.


    It was quite a lot of experience points needed and meant that Eva wouldn''t level up for some time if kills gave that measly amount of experience.


    Eva dismissed the message and looked over at Dustin. His fingers drummed silently on the wheel, head cocked as he clearly thought about what to do. They were in a standoff and Dinner could blind them with their lights, but would it work a second time when they knew about the lights?


    My phone dinged with a message from Dinner: Greetings, vamnappers! Did you enjoy the race? A Horizon Ranger dropship is currently inbound to our location. Give Lady C to me, or they will land and I will take her by force.


    P.S. We have filed the correct paperwork and paid the fees to conduct an emergency extraction in Encinar airspace, meaning the city defenses will not fire on the dropship. You have thirty minutes to give Lady C to me or face the full brunt of an urban assault mech wing.


    Signed, Lieutenant Commander Ripper of the Horizon Rangers.


    ¡°Oh fuck¡­¡± Eva whispered softly. ¡°The retainer¡¯s not just a mech pilot. She¡¯s a fucking Horizon Commander! Killing her is useless!¡±


    Eva¡¯s fingers tapped away at the keyboard and sent Dinner a message of her own: Do not do this.


    It is already done, Dinner replied.


    Eva bit her lip, eyes darting to Dinner¡¯s car, then to her left where Dustin was. ¡°She says we have thirty minutes to give her Cassandra or a mech wing is coming after us.¡±


    He shook his head and said, ¡°She¡¯s bluffing. Encinar won''t allow an outside company to take a contract against vampires in city limits.¡±


    Both Dustin and Eva didn''t notice what I noticed from Eva¡¯s shoulder. There were no police sirens anywhere despite the gunfire, the drone, and the chase. In fact, civilians were actually fleeing the area either through driving away, turning around, or running from their cars. Side streets were unusually clear of traffic as if something was preventing the vehicles from approaching. To me, it felt like the situation where I wandered into Encinar that first night and people ran from me thinking I was a werewolf.


    ¡°What do we do?!¡± Eva gasped, just now realizing that they were, well, fucked no matter what they did, as she would say. I was dead as far as she knew and that meant that they could not give me back to Dinner.


    Eva furiously typed away, fingers a blur as she sent: Call them off! We¡¯ll double whatever she¡¯s paying you. Just turn your car around and leave. We¡¯ll send the money to your company¡¯s account within the hour.


    Dinner¡¯s reply was quick: I am doing this because I can and I¡¯m bored. There is no other reason you need to know. You have Lady C, I have the means to rescue her. We will hunt you until she is in my possession or the city is in ruins. Take your pick. You have twenty-nine minutes and counting.


    Eva twirled her hand about like she was swinging a lasso. ¡°Turn around, turn around, turn around! She¡¯s going to level the city. Fuck! What do we do?!¡±


    Nothing. They were both dead and I didn''t have to do anything. I felt a smirk creeping across my face and hoped it reached Eva¡¯s mouth. They were without wind in their sails. Eva chuckled to herself thanks to me. The fact that she and I shared the same body meant I¡¯d have to convince Dinner I was me when it came time to make the exchange.


    Dustin¡¯s concerned look was rightly earned, because both fledglings encountered something neither of them were equipped to deal with.


    How does a vampire defeat a mech dropship?


    We¡¯re so fucked¡­

 Chapter 20: The Hunt

    Chapter 20: The Hunt


    Twenty-five minutes is a long time when Eva knew she wouldn''t be able to fulfill Dinner¡¯s demands. All Eva could do was pace near Dustin¡¯s lightly battered SUV parked behind a building. As soon as they tried to leave the area they found cops blocking all of the major roads with enough patrol cars to form an army.


    The building storm had begun drizzling in a thin, light sheet, making the alley smell of damp asphalt and musty dirt. Sirens wailed in the distance, but not for them. Eva didn''t know what to do, Dustin didn''t know what to do, and I was quiet. Just waiting to see their plan.


    Dustin sat in the driver¡¯s seat of his SUV, door ajar while the news talked about the area around South Encinar¡¯s coliseum being in military lockdown. Citizens were advised to evacuate the area, because of a natural gas leak posing a hazard to mortals and vampires. Of course vampires would have daytime accommodations provided for them should the ¡®leak¡¯ take too long to fix.


    The radio went on about how there was a repair team being flown in to fix it.


    Eva knew they were fucked. They couldn''t produce my body because they left it on a rooftop for the sun to deal with. The half-elf listened to her cell phone ringing in her ear as she called Isabella¡¯s number.


    She glanced up toward one of the taller buildings shielding them from the police. All they really had to do was approach a roadblock on foot and play dumb. Unless the cops knew what they looked like. Then Eva was truly well and gone.


    Our sire answered the phone with, ¡°Make it quick, fledgling. I¡¯m busy.¡± Her voice was unusually tense. I didn''t know the phone could even carry her voice or Eva¡¯s. Mine failed to carry mine when I tried it the one time.


    Eva stepped out of the rain underneath an overhang and said, ¡°We have a problem, sire. Her retainer is a Horizon Ranger Commander. A dropship is due to arrive in less than a half-hour.¡±


    ¡°And Lady C?¡±


    ¡°Ash.¡±


    There was a long, long pause from Isabella. Long enough that I wasn¡¯t sure if she even believed the news. I wanted to imagine the woman held at least some compassion for me. Let¡¯s face it. She sent her own fledgling after me. Yes, they did succeed because I trusted them and her, but I was blinded by her blood much like Jean said. It still pains me to think of those words. I think even Eva felt my thoughts, because she held her empty stomach that had managed to twist itself in a knot.


    Eva bit her lip, using her free hand to pull the wool cap from her head and shook it from side to side, allowing her fading hair to flow free and breathe once again. The drizzle created a sort of soothing noise that should calm us down, yet the rain only made my worry worse. Isabella was never quiet for this long when receiving news. So for her to be silent for nearly a minute and a half was most unusual.


    All sound had stopped from Isabella¡¯s end. It likely stemmed from her hitting the mute button. Probably to yell about something, maybe. A few more seconds passed before her voice returned with a soft sniffle.


    ¡°I see,¡± Isabella began. She sniffled once more. ¡°Congratulations on a job¡­ well done, fledgling. Taking down an elder is no small feat, much less Lady C. I can only wish it never came to this, but this is why I warned you two about drinking from vampires. She was a monster who would steal your soul without a care. I digress, and am sorry, but you said there is a Horizon Ranger dropship inbound? Why?¡±


    ¡°Cassandra¡¯s retainer is demanding her return or she¡¯ll flatten the city.¡±


    ¡°Well, it looks like I need to call some privateers to pound the pirates into the ground. But first, I need to fire whoever signed off on the drop. You shall have your support soon. Keep stalling the negotiations until they show up.¡±


    What negotiations? I wanted to ask. Luckily both Eva and I had the same thought, so she didn''t notice.


    Eva blinked at the reply and cocked her head, saying, ¡°Sire? We need help now, not whenever someone accepts the contract! We¡¯re fucked. The cops blocked off all the streets and there¡¯s a dropship inbound to our location.¡±


    ¡°I do not give a shit, Eva! Use the elven half of your brain and realize you can take the sewers. Now, let go of my teat and put some pants on.¡±


    The line went dead, so Eva turned her screen off and looked at Dustin, frowning deeply. ¡°She says to keep stalling until help shows up.¡±


    ¡°When will that be?¡± Dustin folded his arms across his chest.


    Eva tossed her hands to her sides in a haphazard manner, looking a bit like a bird.


    *** ***


    Whomever designed Encinar''s sewers was clearly thinking about walkability, but not about the smell. Oh God, the smell was horrible even for vampires! I don''t know what the mortals ate in the modern day, but what came out their backsides smelled rancid.


    It was bad enough Eva dry heaved the instant she climbed down. Both her and Dustin made it a point to focus on not breathing, but poor, poor Eva. The half-elf had me riding along with her.


    Which meant that as we were creeping along the walkway next to the ¡®river¡¯, I made Eva take a deep breath. She regretted it instantly, coughing and heaving again, only speaking once it stopped, ¡°I¡¯m going to flay that Ranger when we get out of here. I don''t care if she can just come back, I¡¯m going to hunt her down and keep doing it.¡±


    ¡°That sounds fucked up, even from you.¡±


    Eva took another deep breath and coughed again.


    Dustin looked over at her latest coughing fit. His submachine gun was held low so the attached torch didn''t blind Eva. ¡°Stop being so dramatic. It''s not that bad down here!¡±


    ¡°The fuck is wrong with your nose?!¡± she yelled back. Curiously, while Dustin¡¯s voice echoed slightly, Eva¡¯s was more like mine. It barely reached the man. He had to tell her to speak up the first time they entered the sewers together.


    So whatever was going on with the half-elf was affecting her quickly. Eva had already drunk three cans of blood in the last ten minutes and wanted more. I nudged her thoughts toward biting into Dustin¡¯s neck, showing her a vision of drinking him dry and enjoying the tasty vampire blood. Her eyes lingered on his neck for just long enough that I thought she was actually going to entertain the idea.


    No, I can¡¯t!


    She tore her gaze from the man, looking across the river at the other walkway where a rat just stared at them. It squeaked softly and took off the way they''d come from. Eva tracked it with her rifle, red laser dot aiming just ahead of the creature. Dustin¡¯s touch on her shoulder drew her attention to his face.


    He shook his head. ¡°They already know we¡¯re down here.¡±


    ¡°Why haven''t they shown themselves?¡± Her eyes, again, went to his neck. Unprompted this time!


    ¡°Eva¡­ don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± Dustin glared a bit at her.


    She slapped herself, the noise audible and echoing around them. ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just. I¡¯m fucking starving.¡±


    ¡°Let''s get out of here and find you a mortal then.¡±


    The two of them resumed their trek in the dark with weapons at the ready and heads on a swivel for any vampires lurking in the fark. I don''t know what vampire wanted to live in the sewers, but Eva¡¯s memories dredged up a whole clan of the blood suckers. Some were repulsive to look at in her memories while others were far more normal.


    They passed over the river at one junction and followed signs telling people where the nearest ladder was. It was stupid to do, because it could be a trap, but the two of them seemed like they knew it was safe to follow. Possibly because it was leading them away from the sewer dweller¡¯s territory. A good thing to lead people to safety, but a bad thing because they were blindly following the signs with no true sense of where they came from.


    Cell phone signals were so poor it was barely updating the locations on their navigation apps and they couldn''t make a call out to anyone. They tried to call Isabella. And a few different vampires they knew. All calls went nowhere fast. Each time Eva would hear a woman¡¯s voice saying, ¡°We¡¯re sorry, but your call cannot be connected. Please check the number and try again.¡±


    The two fledglings realized too late what I realized earlier, because they came to another junction and followed it to the right. It turned into a narrow tunnel about ten feet wide. The tunnel ended at a grate overlooking a waterfall of brown sludge.


    ¡°So where¡¯s the ladder?¡± Eva asked. She leaned toward the bars and was about to grab one when Dustin snatched her wrist in the nick of time.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± he shouted, pulling her hand back.


    Eva blinked at the response and nodded firmly to the man. ¡°Right. Don''t touch anything in the sewers. Any ideas, dear fearless leader?¡±


    ¡°We go back the way we came and see if we missed anything.¡±


    They didn''t. The two of them backtracked through the disgusting sewer until they came across another crossroads. Dustin shined his torch on the sign so they could read it.


    Eva glanced the way they had just come from. ¡°So why is it leading us down a dead end?¡±


    To wear the person out. Make them suffer even more in the truly horrible stench of whatever ran through the murky ¡®river¡¯. It was almost as bad as the Hudson in the summer of ¡®15.


    Eva coughed a few times, turning her head to the side. ¡°I can''t stand it anymore!¡± she yelled. The half-elf turned toward the darkness and darn near screamed, ¡°What are you waiting for?! Show yourselves!¡±


    Nothing.


    *** ***


    Time was up. Eva¡¯s phone clanged with alarm bells as the timer went off. That noise did echo throughout the sewer, however. She turned the alarm off and kept walking forward.


    The two fledglings had seen neither hide nor hair of any vampires or their familiars, or servants. Or even a ladder beyond the one they had initially climbed down. Backtracking didn''t work because when they reached the spot they had come from, there was no ladder out.


    Eva reached for the spot where it should be, her hand passing through the void. Above them was solid brickwork where the manhole cover should be.


    Perhaps that is why people never return from Encinar''s sewers. It might be because whoever lives down there is hiding the entrances, and not because of any shark swimming through the muck like the rumors. Which were because a vampire dwelled beneath the streets. I knew this, my sire knew this, everyone that was a vampire knew this, because that foul smelling vampire would come to the council meetings once in a blue moon. Just to remind us that it existed.


    It might even be in the sewers stalking behind Eva and Dustin as they fail to find their way through. The vampire, who never gave us its name, only said that the sewers was its domain. That if we wanted to go in there or do anything in the sewers, we were to contact it first. Doing so otherwise was death.


    Likely, Isabella didn''t bother contacting the vampire and that is why it was toying with the fledglings. I never heard of it going after fledglings or vampires, but then again. The sewer vampire kept to its own devices and the council had a policy of not entering the sewers.


    Eva and Dustin clearly didn''t know what they had signed up for when they agreed to murder me. I didn''t think Dinner was being serious when they told Isabella they could ¡®hotdrop a mech battalion¡¯ on Encinar. I thought they were just a boastful half-elf! And Isabella likely did, too. It made me wonder who Caleb was, but it didn''t matter thanks to my current situation.


    The two fledglings resigned to marking the wall as they trekked through the underbelly. They made a left at one junction, a right, then another right and found the sewers looping back on itself even though they were following where they should go according to the signs.


    The layout was ludicrous! If I knew the sewers were a maze I never would have signed off on them, but let''s face it. I probably did just because I never had to go inside them. That was now a mistake.


    A mistake for which I regret building. I didn''t know any better at the time and now I see my folly. Call it¡­ Cassandra¡¯s Folly. I made so many mistakes in the early days. Enough so that they were still feeling them two hundred years later; from the Inquisition being a part of the police force to the maze of sewers trapping people forever. I was a failure of a Mayor. Not at all fit for duty.


    Perhaps being murdered and sucked into Eva¡¯s body was a good reset for me. I could use her name to build upon the failure of a legacy I built, but that required me to actually get out of the sewers first. And that meant working with Eva and Dustin rather than just torturing Eva by making her breathe or thinking something is there in the dark. That was fun, because I could manipulate the shadows and make them dance to my tune while Eva only grew hungrier.


    Dustin was looking more and more like a midnight snack for the poor fledgling. Eva was the youngest of the three by far. What with Isabella embracing me in 1765 and Dustin a hundred years after my disappearance. At least that is what I found through reading Eva¡¯s memories. She had been embraced only ten years ago and was under Dustin¡¯s care, because sire clearly didn''t like fledglings anymore and wanted nothing to do with Eva.


    Otherwise she wouldn''t have sent Eva and Dustin to murder me! Which, she is right, it was an incredible feat that such a young fledgling killed me! For a vampire younger than Caleb to beat someone of my power shouldn''t be possible. And yet she did, because they surprised me in the SUV. They lured me in with the promise of safety. They used my trust to murder me!


    It was diabolical! The perfect plan. I applaud them for it. And once we got out of the sewer, I will return the favor. Starting with Dustin.


    Eventually, Eva and Dustin came back to the dead end from before. They shined their weapon mounted torches up at the ceiling where the ladder should be and again, only saw brickwork. Eva¡¯s stomach churned with one singular thought, the same thought slicing through her aching fangs. She''d been ignoring it all night, but she couldn''t ignore it any longer.


    She had to feed. The half-elf looked at Dustin, instincts taking over as she walked toward him. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ need food,¡± she stuttered.


    He backed away from her. ¡°Eva¡­ don''t do this. It¡¯s only been thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Snap out of it!¡±


    I sent her a reminder of how lovely the taste would be. How if she had his blood in her she could punch through the ceiling and have no problems getting out. She just needed a ¡®sip¡¯.


    Eva dropped her rifle and lunged toward Dustin, fangs bared.


    He brought his submachine gun around, striking the poor fledgling in the face with enough force to break her jaw and send her flying back against the sewer wall. She slammed into it and slid to the ground.


    The human lowered his weapon, drawing a stake from his pocket. As Eva gasped, Dustin lunged and shoved the stake straight through her heart, plunging the poor half-elf into darkness.


    *** ***


    ¡°Hello?¡± Eva called out as she walked through the front door of a fairly nice house. It was, of course, a bright mint green on the outside. Two stories tall with a huge peaked roof and a basement beneath a basement. Her eyes drifted from the large open foyer into the main room where a fire crackled away in the fireplace.


    Bright wood flooring echoed with the heavy thumps of her heels striking first, followed by the ball of her feet. A strange portrait of two people hung above the fireplace, but the half-elf couldn''t clearly see what it was. A nice bear rug carpet lay sprawled out in front of the fireplace with hunting trophies mounted to the wall.


    They were, of course, wolves, deer, and mountain lions. A few Amelia and I hunted around the property to clear it of any annoying animals. And to sometimes use their blood for rituals.


    Three chairs sat facing the warm fire with me sitting in one. I had a fancy white evening gown on and comfortable shoes. Eva failed to cross the threshold into the room, her fearful eyes right on the blaze. I knew her fear, because I had a similar fear when I was a fledgling; Fire hurts even more when you''re dead.


    ¡°It will not hurt you, fledgling,¡± I said, my voice carrying softly to her in an attempt to reassure the fledgling that it would be okay.


    She gulped and looked at me, eyes wide. ¡°Y-you''re not dead?¡±


    ¡°I thought I was, too.¡± I waved for her to come over. ¡°Come, sit. Let us converse. I have a drink of the finest blood you can imagine.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ are you?¡± she replied, gulping.


    ¡°A vampire.¡±


    ¡°No, you''re not¡­ Vampires don¡¯t do what you do, they don¡¯t survive being killed. How did you survive?¡± Eva took a few steps back into the hallway.


    I shrugged, because I had no answer for the half-elf. She knew as much as I did about the subject. I do not know if she had access to my memories or not. Which, if she did then maybe she could access them. At which point speaking would not be needed.


    ¡°I am not here to kill you, fledgling.¡± I sipped from the glass of blood in my hand, keeping my eyes on the vampire.


    She looked behind her as she took a few more steps into the hallway. I smiled softly to myself, because the poor fledgling was rapidly breathing in and out like a panicked mortal.


    ¡°Is it the fire?¡± I asked her.


    She gulped once more, nodding firmly. ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± The woman tucked her hair behind her ears and gently tugged on her hair before twirling a finger through it. ¡°I, um, I can''t go near it.¡±


    I slowly got up from the chair and walked toward her, glass in hand. The glass never emptied even when I took a long sip from it. Eva looked at the floor much in the way a servant would.


    ¡°Calm down, fledgling.¡± My soft words reached the fledgling, but it was up to her to follow through. The faint scent of charred wood drifted through the room as the fire crackled and popped softly behind me. ¡°There is nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    ¡°I don''t want to die¡­¡± she stammered, shaking her head from side to side.


    ¡°Nobody does.¡± I held the glass out for her to take.


    Her eyes went from the floor to the glass. It took Eva a few long moments before she grabbed it and took a sniff. The pale half-elf¡¯s eyes closed as she allowed the moment to stretch on. She wanted to throw it in my face, but she knew that I was the stronger vampire. That no matter where she ran or how hard she fought, she would lose any struggle against me.


    ¡°Eva,¡± I began quietly as I stepped back to give her room. ¡°Take as long as you need. I only want to know why our sire wanted me dead. And why she sent you and Dustin.¡±


    Eva sniffled softly, rubbing her nose for a moment. ¡°I¡­ she said you were a monster. That if you were to roam free then you would plunge Encinar into an archaic rule of chaos. That you were collecting mortal souls as an offering to the Moon Goddess. And once you had enough, Encinar would be plunged into Eternal Night.¡±


    That sounded like a great idea to be honest.


    ¡°And do you know what she told me about you and Dustin?¡± I slowly folded my arms across my chest. Eva glanced up from the glass as I continued, ¡°Absolutely nothing, Eva. I had no idea our sire even had other fledglings until the moment you killed me. She and I spent a whole night together and she did not utter your names even once.¡±


    ¡°She spent time with you?¡± Eva blinked at that. She glanced down the hallway over her shoulder before looking at me again. ¡°What did you two do?¡±


    ¡°Isabella bought me a scooter, gave me the cell phone, showed me how to ride and it felt... Amazing.¡±


    ¡°She said she had business that night. That she had to deal with a problem.¡±


    ¡°Come, fledgling.¡± I motioned for her to follow after me as I walked toward the stairs to the basement.


    The two of us made our way into the brightly colored foyer where I turned left toward the kitchen. I slowly waved a hand across the hallway as we passed by the stairs leading to the second floor. There were many portraits of different people running the length of the hallway. From mortals to vampires in every skin tone and gender imaginable. All had one thing in common with each other.


    Eva¡¯s eyes followed my gesture as she took in each portrait. ¡°Is this¡­ everyone you''ve killed?¡±


    ¡°Everyone I have killed while feeding. I remember what they looked like in their last moments as the spark left their eyes. They are here in my mind when I close my eyes. When the last light creeps through the darkness, they will be there waiting to kill me for what I did to them.¡± I placed my hands behind my back and continued walking toward the kitchen. There was a door about halfway down the hallway that led to the basement. I wanted to show Eva where I slept and see what she thought of it.


    The door failed to creak as it was pushed open, since it was a dream world and everything was perfect. The manor was just waiting for someone to live in it. I do not know why it even appeared in my dreams the way it did. It just showed up the moment Eva had been staked and I found myself in the living room.


    My shoes lightly thumped into the wood with each step on the descent, but notably. Eva did not follow. The pale half-elf stood at the top of the stairs, drink in hand, as she bit her lip. Her very much not my hazel eyes looked at me with an odd expression. Maybe she wanted to run, but again, she knew better.


    ¡°I can hear your thoughts,¡± she said, cocking her head noticeably. ¡°Why do you want to show me where you sleep?¡±


    ¡°Because I want your opinion. If I am going to take over your body then I want to know how you normally sleep.¡±


    ¡°In a bed, naked,¡± she replied, pulling the glass close. ¡°She talked fondly of you. How you and she sailed the Caribbean together despite your ship always having a slight list to port from a leak that could never be found.¡±


    I scoffed, shaking my head from side to side, a small half-smile on my lips. ¡°Whomever retrofitted the torpedo tubes did a poor job of matching the copper plating. I tried to tell Isabella the leak was coming from the forward tube, but she would not hear it. She insisted it was the arcane engine leaking where the driveshaft met the hull. We had it in drydock three times and still, she did not believe me.


    ¡°Even our sorcerer could not convince her it was not the driveshaft, so we sailed on with a leaky ship.¡± I nodded firmly and looked back toward the basement. ¡°It is one reason why I wanted to drop anchor in Encinar in the first place. The other is because one of the crew had put a baby in Amelia, at our request, and our sire was rightly worried about the woman giving birth on a ship. She gave birth before we landed.


    ¡°Amelia and I raised Alejandro as our own. We taught him many things over the years and he left us before I had a chance to breathe. So to hear people say I was a monster who just wanted to collect souls is wrong. I left my humanity behind and became one with the void, yes.¡± I leaned against the stairwell and looked up at the ceiling, frowning deeply. ¡°I will admit that, but at the end of the day, like I told Dustin; a happy city makes for a well greased blood farm. Even if I wanted to bring about eternal night, the citizens of Encinar would starve. And my family would starve. I cannot have that, Eva.¡±


    I pushed away from the wall and smoothed my dress over even though I did not need to do it in a dream. The dress looked perfect either way with no wrinkles showing, despite having sat down earlier. ¡°I realize this world is not fit for me. That I am a woman out of time. The world I speak of transpired less than two weeks ago. Well, Amelia giving birth happened decades ago and her descendants are still watching over me¡­ and yet, nobody could awaken me. Not Amelia, not my sire, not even me. I was tired. And I still am.


    ¡°There was a time when I wanted to sleep the centuries away. When I wanted to walk into the sun, but this world of yours is¡­.¡± I turned to look up the stairs at Eva, but both she and the drinking glass were gone. It was not on the floor and the door was still open.


    ¡°Eva?¡±


    I slowly blinked and listened. She was just there interacting with me. It did not feel like the body was awake yet and when I searched for her with my mind, I could feel only her memories. No waking thoughts.


    I dredged through our shared memories, looking for the most recent one and found it. Eva had drunk the glass while listening to my tale. She closed her eyes, picturing what I was saying, which led her to disappearing, because she was me and I was her.


    We are one.

 Chapter 21: A Long Night

    Chapter 21: A Long Night


    The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that it was dark, but my vampiric eyes worked to let me see as if it were daylight. The second thing was that I was in a car¡¯s smelly trunk. The strange blueberry scent of LCM permeated the carpeting around me. It was a large enough trunk to hold me, Dustin, and a couple duffle bags of items.


    The System finally caught up and said: Transfer Complete! Thank you for your patience. Again, please refrain from damaging your standard issue Imperial data pad. While they are durable, and typically can withstand a single direct rifle shot, they are not indestructible.


    We have merged your old stats with the new Host body. Please take a moment to review your stats and report to the nearest Imperial Commissar if they should prove to be wrong. Remember, citizen, the Imperial System does not make mistakes.


    I thrust the menu aside and looked around my surroundings. Knowing what classes Eva had wasn''t important yet, because there were more important things. Like food. Dustin was food. His body had moved in a way to knock my stake loose and a good solid jolt from a bump had slipped it the rest of the way.


    I didn''t see a way out, but Eva¡¯s memories told me that every automobile trunk has some form of release mechanism built inside it. At least modern ones. Not the ancient ones I was used to.


    First things first; food. I bit into Dustin''s shoulder, since he was the closest thing to my fangs and I was absolutely famished! The man didn''t even move thanks to the stake. It would have been easy to do to him what Eva did to me and that''d be that, but Eva¡¯s thoughts still lingered in my mind even after her disappearance.


    Am I Eva with Cassandra¡¯s memories or am I Cassandra with Eva¡¯s memories?


    I didn''t know the answer. It was a question I needed to figure out after I got free of the trunk. Another thing I noticed was a System Efficiency meter slowly filling up as I drank from Dustin. It disappeared when full, so I wasn''t sure what that was.


    Dustin didn''t have much blood either. About half of what I expected him to have. His body was working to repair damage done to it, as the man was beaten to a pulp, shot, and stabbed a few times. It would have been easy to steal his soul right then and there, and that''d be one less vampire in the world.


    But I couldn''t.


    Something screamed in the back of my mind to stop before I killed the vampire. I let go of the man and licked my fangs, allowing my head to rest on the bumpy floor. His blood allowed my body to heal the wound caused by the initial stake.


    Whomever captured us didn''t bother to bind my arms and legs together, since I was already out of commission and a staked vampire isn''t going anywhere until you remove the stake. Much like Dustin wasn''t going anywhere until I removed his. He was out of it.


    I could leave him to whatever fate had in store for him. Or maybe, just maybe, through some sheer fucking coincidence, I was supposed to save his corpse! The fool of a fledgling wouldn''t be able to fight his way out of a wet paper bag without my help. I swear, if it wasn''t for me the man would be fish food!


    I couldn''t just simply pull the stake from his heart though. He''d bite my neck because it''s the first thing he''d see and then I''d be back to square one: starving and staring him down like the meal he was.


    Twisting around in the tight trunk, I opened the nearest duffle bag. It contained cash, blood cans, a stack of cell phones and identification cards belonging to a human man who went by the name of John in one of the cards and Elijah in another. I don''t know which was his actual name. It didn''t really matter. What mattered was finding a way out of the trunk. The fucker kept jewelry and cash in another duffle bag along with a few pistols.


    They were those modern semi-automatics chambered in .40 caliber like Eva¡¯s. One looked to be an uncommon variant with a combination flashlight and laser sight added underneath the barrel, and two double stack magazines filled to the brim with ammunition. I stuffed one magazine in my jacket pocket and put the pistol in the other. Thanks to Eva¡¯s memories, I actually knew what kind of pistol I was looking at and which magazine went with which pistol, as there were two different caliber weapons with the others being 9mm.


    Dustin needed one and there were three. It was only prudent that I shove every magazine into the man¡¯s many pockets, which Eva¡¯s leggings lacked severely. Only her jacket and purse had any pockets and her purse was gone! It wasn''t anywhere in the trunk. I have no idea who decided to remove pockets from women''s garments, but that is one thing I will rectify.


    I will have my pockets. And I will not settle for anything less than a skirt capable of holding a pistol in said pocket.


    There was one thing I knew about when dealing with criminals. It''s that they don''t like to lose their hard earned coins. I had a plan. As for how good that plan is was anyone¡¯s guess. My plan involved simply dumping the money out the trunk before leaving. That would anger the vampire when they discovered their quarry and coin gone!


    I felt around for the trunk release handle and found it fairly close to the actual mechanism. With a sharp tug, the interior was illuminated by a soft off-white light as the lid lifted up.


    Sunlight streaked through the gap, filling the trunk with so much light I recoiled back as I slammed the lid down. Sunlight shouldn''t be outside when I was fully awake! Dustin looked ¡®normal¡¯ according to Eva¡¯s memories and what I remember seeing the other day. It was also nighttime according to the phone.


    I felt each turn the driver took; a left here, a right there, another left over a hill. I don''t know where we were going and I really didn''t want to find out. Which meant I had to try the trunk release again. When I pulled the release, only the cool embrace of night greeted me. Perhaps it was another car earlier and I overreacted. Perhaps not.


    I gently opened the trunk until I was able to look through a gap and see what time it was. My brows furrowed at what I saw, jaw dropping. It was night, yes, and partially cloudy, but something was strange. Through the tree canopy, I saw clouds drifting across a starry sky, the destroyed moon wasting away and judging the world below. But most importantly.


    Patches of bright blue daytime sky dotted the night along with the clouds. Rays of holy light stretched across large swaths of land, burning any vampires they came across. A strange echoing whistle cracked overhead, followed by a wobbly sound I couldn''t quite describe. It resembled the noise a dying creature made as it screamed in agony for release. For Death to come claim her.


    She, the planet known as Halifax, was in pain as the very land groaned and shook. Trees swayed violently, throwing leaves across the road while the car drove like a drunk after curfew. I held the trunk partially open, wind howling, exhaust growling underneath me. Dust and leaves swirled about behind the car, threatening to come inside.


    Sunlight streaked down as if a mage cast a spell, illuminating the road behind the car as the sky tore itself asunder once again.


    I shut the trunk, frowning deeply at my predicament. While I have a gun now, I couldn''t leave the car. If I jumped then whatever hell I found myself in would surely kill me.


    That must have been what the news was talking about when it warned about a solar hurricane and vampires being out at night in it. I could see why. What with the sky opening up and streaming daylight for all to see. It was terrible! Whomever had destroyed Earth did a good enough job that we were still feeling the effects of whatever caused it.


    It could have been magic or magic based weaponry.


    Still magic


    No one knew for sure. Not even Isabella knew when Eva asked what happened back in the day. Isabella merely said, Chaos. And Death. So many vampires were burned when the sky split in half and night became day. Only those of us inside were spared the full concentrated wrath of the sun.


    I didn''t remember it, but I did remember screaming. So many screams. So many people begging for help, but when and why did they need my help? Where? It was lost to me.


    Much like I was lost to the world.


    I closed my eyes and focused on the System Menu, since there was nothing else to do. Eva¡¯s, well, my stat sheet appeared behind my eyelids after I went through a few menus. I didn''t really keep track of what I had before, and again, the numbers didn''t seem all that important to me. They just told me what I already knew.


    Eva was average in roughly every stat she had. Except for Firearms - Semi-Auto Rifle, Single Shot Rifle, & Musket where it was fifty-five out of a hundred. Her car driving skill was at thirty. I assumed fifty was average, but if Eva¡¯s stats were anything to go by. Then thirty to forty out of a hundred was average. Unless skills also had ranks to them.


    Curiously, she had level seventy in Firearms - Pistols & Revolvers, and Swordsmanship - Cutlass. Those were all marked with an asterisk and a notification from the System saying they were Inherited Skills.


    The Inherited Skills must have come from me, because it mentioned they would be merged with her regular skills after tonight.


    So perhaps I was Eva with Cassandra¡¯s memories then. Unless, I was Cassandra who thought she was Eva with the elder¡¯s memories. Unless everyone I ever drank from was inside me much like I had been inside Eva. At which point was I truly Cassandra or was I many vampires in one? All with the same voice?


    Did that make me Legion?


    I wasn''t human, nor half-elf. I was something more. Something Mother Moon enjoyed feeding Her powers to, but what that something was, was beyond me. Only She knew the truth that I will find out when I finally meet Her face to face.


    Whenever that was.


    Didn''t really matter though, because I was me and that was enough. I survived another night and found myself in darkness again.


    I sighed, much in the way a mortal would, and rested my head against the trunk floor. It wasn''t comfortable, but it was something better than concrete. Or asphalt. I snuggled up against Dustin¡¯s side and draped one of his arms over me just to have it feel like I was being hugged. I needed one and Amelia wasn''t here to give me one.


    She was at my house. The question of if I could see her or if she would even recognize me as Cassandra was burning in the back of my mind. She''d see a random half-elf in front of her, not the once-human monster that was Cassandra.


    Perhaps even Caleb wouldn''t recognize me. That''d be fine, but if he was getting another job from our sire like Eva¡¯s memories said, then I had to warn him not to. He couldn''t fall into a life of betrayal and deceit like I had. He was too good of a vampire.


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    I found Cassandra¡¯s cell phone in my jacket pocket, which was weird, because they should have taken it from me. Unless they thought Dustin had already checked me for the phone. At which point they''re dumbasses for not looking in our pockets.


    I tried to send Caleb a text message, but the hurricane was fucking up the signal like it always did. So I put the cellphone away and waited to see where we ended up.


    *** ***


    We were kidnapped by the worst person to be kidnapped by; Dinner. You see, by being stuffed inside a trunk, we had no idea who exactly was transporting us, and with very poor cell phone signal thanks to the solar hurricane. I couldn¡¯t send any messages to Caleb or Isabella, or Eva¡¯s contacts. Let alone call anyone. Dustin and I didn¡¯t want to die either, so I made a plan to assault the first person to open the trunk. That was ruined the instant the trunk opened.


    Four heavily armed people aimed three shotguns and one flamethrower in our face. All I could do was slowly raise my hands over my head. Dustin was still passed out with a stake in his chest, because I didn¡¯t want to have him scream when I pulled the stake out.


    He¡¯d never been staked as far as Eva knew. The first time is the roughest on a vampire. Especially with me draining him until he found himself in torpor. He¡¯ll need a very good meal when he awakens and five blood cans was not enough! They were barely enough for me.


    Dinner was dressed in a naval uniform with a skirt that held a rapier on their left side and a modern pistol on their right. They leaned on a cane off to the side of the car, watching the armored men haul me out of the trunk. The soldiers were far, far more suited to fight vampires than the ones at the warehouse. To me, it looked like fully sealed suits of power armor with an arcane generator pack on their backs. Except for the man with the flamethrower, who also had one fuel tank on each side of his arcane generator.


    We were in some kind of room that was made of pure metal painted an ugly off-white with overhead lights so bright they failed to create shadows. Likely the interior of a planetary cargo shuttle at the Encinar Aerodrome, since they couldn¡¯t take off with the hurricane outside. It made navigation impossible, much like it made cell phones useless. I only assumed that because the walls had jump seats for soldiers and cargo tie down points on the floor with the far wall being angled like a ramp against the ceiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make this simple, vamnapper,¡± Dinner began, their voice the only thing audible in the room. One hand rested on the rapier¡¯s pommel. It was a very fancy one, which looked more ceremonial than anything with thin wire making up the guard. ¡°You tell me where Cassandra is and I let you see another night.¡±


    The way they opened the trunk led me to believe that either Dinner drove us themself, or it was someone under their employ who was no longer in the shuttle.


    I couldn¡¯t look into Dinner¡¯s eyes, because they were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses that blocked anyone from making direct eye contact with them. Slowly, I locked my fingers together as I rested my hands atop my head and looked over at the marine with the flamethrower. They didn¡¯t need a sword to kill me when they had a dragon¡¯s flame breath in gun form. The shotguns alone would have been enough for me to cooperate, as a single point blank blast could send my head rolling.


    With Dustin staked and in torpor, I could be as open as I wanted, but something wanted me to be quiet. We could hide and start over. But if I failed to convince Dinner then I¡¯d end up a barbequed vampire and it¡¯d all be for naught.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking at her,¡± I said as I let my eyes drop to the floor. ¡°I killed her. I drank her soul. She is me. I am Cassandra von Colterville.¡±


    ¡°And how do I know you didn¡¯t just drink her power?¡± Dinner tapped their cane into the deck and frowned at me.


    ¡°I did. I drank it all.¡± I giggled, holding a hand over my mouth as a small smile crossed my lips. ¡°She was the best drink I ever had, and the worst drink. Just look at me¡­ I¡¯m an old hag now!¡± I thrust a hand to the side and glared at the eyeless Dinner before me.


    They shrugged, seemingly as if they could care less about the angry soul stealing vampire before them. Not even their heart beat faster, but then again. If I could just wake up in a clone like they claim I¡¯d not be worried, too!


    ¡°I dunno,¡± Dinner muttered. ¡°Cassandra was cute. I was going to let her drink my blood one of these days, but she refused the first time, despite salivating at the scent of my blood. Any idea why she refused to feed?¡±


    Cute?


    ¡°You thought I was cute?¡± I blinked a few times, frowning as I ran a hand along my hip, gently squeezing it a bit. I felt the squeeze, which meant I wasn¡¯t dreaming, because in what world did Dinner think I was cute?! I was a hideous old woman who had to hide her man body with padding and specifically selected clothes. Underneath the clothes I was just as hideous as my reflection showed.


    A monster no one wanted.


    ¡°That''s, like, not the answer for what I said. Try again.¡± Dinner nodded at the man with the flamethrower.


    He raised the weapon to chest level. The men with the shotguns were only there in case the flamethrower somehow missed, but they followed suit anyway.


    I nodded firmly, because I knew exactly why she failed to drink the half-elf''s blood. ¡°You two were in a saloon and it isn''t proper to feed in public. She pushed you away, not because she was worried about killing you, but because she was worried about making her sire look bad.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡±


    ¡°Think how much I talk about my sire. It is so bad I had Bones tell me I wouldn''t shut up about her. The putrid woman drove me to your street race where we met again and you talked about your clones. That was the first time I ever heard someone say they can just wake up in a new body. Now I¡¯ve awakened in this half-elf¡¯s body!¡±


    Dinner tapped their chin for a small moment before they smiled softly. ¡°Alright. Answer me this; what is Flanders to you?¡±


    That was not a question I was expecting. Were they talking about the Flanders region or Flanders the awkward courier? As those were the two Flanders I knew of. One was a place and one¡­ ¡°Is a vampire courier.¡±


    ¡°Okay. But like, where do they come from?¡± Dinner asked.


    Since I wasn''t currently on fire that must have been the answer. I shook my head. ¡°I don''t know, Dinner. I truly don''t know! I''ve never met them¡­ but I was told I have. My s-sire must have done something to my memory. Please, Dinner, believe me on this. I. Am. Mayor. Cassandra von Colterville. The vampire you currently see before you tried to kill me but I survived. I took over her body and now I am her. I just want to go home and give a necklace to Amelia.¡±


    ¡°How did you survive?¡± Dinner picked up their cane and slowly spun it in place.


    I shook my head from side to side. ¡°The System¡­ the System said ¡®Initiating Emergency Survival Protocol. Speak to your nearest Imperial Spellchemist to have your Imperial Data pad swapped out for a non-faulty one¡¯. What in the Devil is a Spellchemist?!¡±


    ¡°An ancient word for a mage-alchemist. They used to imbue spells into machines and create spell ammunition. And constructs, and mechs.¡± Dinner slowly removed the mirrored sunglasses from their face as they walked toward me, their cane clinking against the metal deck. ¡°Used by the First Elf Empire before they departed from Earth and left humanity to fend for themselves nearly thirty thousand years ago.¡±


    Dinner slid their sunglasses in a pocket and looked into my eyes. I wasn''t sure if I should speak, because they looked like they had something else to say. Their eyes met mine momentarily.


    What is their angle here¡­?


    They reached into my jacket pocket, pulled my wallet out, and held the identification card up. Dinner compared the photograph to my current appearance and chuckled softly. ¡°I see the fledgling could not handle your power.¡±


    ¡°Dinner, my sire hired privateers to go after you.¡±


    ¡°We danced with them, as you would say. Encinar may need a few buildings repaired, but that¡¯s what drop insurance is for.¡± They placed the wallet back in my pocket and stepped back. ¡°Lower your weapons.¡±


    The men around us followed the instructions and looked at Dinner for orders.


    ¡°Tell me what happened,¡± Dinner said.


    I took a deep breath.


    *** ***


    We left Dustin staked in the trunk while I explained my whole trip to the half-elf from the time I was dropped off at the hotel to when we met inside their planetary shuttle. Well, they call it a shuttle, but it was closer to a cargo airplane in size because they needed it to carry supplies to and from the Mothership.


    As far as Dustin and Eva were concerned, Dinner had found them by sheer luck. Someone called in a tip to the local police about a car with two vampires in the trunk, who then called Dinner. We were already in the trunk, so they drove the car back into Encinar and loaded it aboard the cargo shuttle.


    And there was another trunk ride back to my house. They had to be testing if I was truly Cassandra or not when they told me to get back in the trunk without staking me. I doubted that they believed my story in any capacity. I certainly wouldn''t.


    If Caleb was killed by another and that other showed up claiming to be him, then I¡¯d be very suspicious, too. Suspicious enough I¡¯d make him go through a lengthy trial through things I know, but even then. The other may have access to his memories and there was one sure fire way to know for certain.


    Amelia. She loved me. She loved Cassandra. If she said I was Cassandra then Dinner would likely believe her. But Dinner couldn''t see or hear Amelia.


    No one could.


    So the whole operation was just a farce concocted by the half-elf to make it seem like they were testing me. That had to be the reason we were driving back to my house. Unless they had experience with body snatchers due to cloning. Which could be a thing. It sounded plausible if Eva¡¯s vague knowledge on cloning was correct.


    One such memory Eva had was sneaking through a cloning facility to take out a vampire there. She didn''t know the why, only that she was hired by the council to kill the vampire. She succeeded, went home, and never thought of it again. Business as usual for her.


    Likely why she was picked to kill me. She succeeded, but not in the way she planned.


    The trunk opened and I climbed out with help, wrapped in a heavy blanket to hide from the sun should it pierce through the night sky. I heard the trunk close and Dinner say, ¡°Not far now. Head straight and listen to my voice.¡±


    I followed their directions, keeping the blanket as tight as I could until we went into the dark basement. Familiar darkness greeted me along with the neatly organized boxes of my old belongings. Something was off, however.


    I cocked my head, listening for the woman¡¯s ghostly presence, but nothing. It was silent aside from armored people walking around outside, their heavy footsteps digging into the dirt as they spoke to each other about the sky.


    I bit my lip. ¡°Dinner¡­ have they cut down any trees recently?¡±


    Dinner tapped their chin in thought. ¡°Where? Here? I¡¯m not sure. I didn''t think to look on the way in.¡±


    ¡°Can you?¡±


    They nodded and headed back upstairs, leaving me alone in the basement above my actual basement. I again listened for any signs Amelia was floating below or above me, or in one of the crates. All I heard was the creaking of wood as Dinner left the house and the howling wind making the remaining shingles flutter.


    ¡°Amelia?¡± I called out to the void, slowly spinning in place. Seeing clearly without my glasses was a strange thing, but Eva¡¯s eyes didn''t need glasses like I used to. I suppose that is one upside to the situation. The other being a smaller frame. One other thing that was different was the bra she had picked did wonders for looks, but nothing for supporting my spine like a corset used to.


    I walked between the crates as I listened for a return call.


    Nothing.


    Approaching the hidden door, I called out again. ¡°Amelia? It''s me, Cassandra. I know I look different, and sound different¡­¡± Well, I thought I sounded different. Dinner didn''t mention anything about my voice, so perhaps I didn''t sound different.


    I slowly removed the fancy necklace from my neck and wrapped it around my hand. ¡°Amelia!¡±


    She¡¯s not going to respond to you, monster.


    With a small frown, I pulled the squeaky door open and stepped into the twisting stairwell. Flickering candlelight illuminated the bottom of the stairs as sobbing echoed from the hidden basement. I picked up my pace, feet thumping into the stairs as I made my way down.


    In my actual bedroom two floors beneath my house, Amelia¡¯s ghost knelt over the fancy coffin. Hands covered her face as she sobbed over an overflowing blow of blood in front of my bed. Candlelight fueled dancing shadows flicked across the room and gave it a nice homely feeling compared to the places I¡¯d been over the last few days.


    Amelia¡¯s ethereal form shivered with each sob. Her soft voice echoed with each syllable. ¡°Why¡­? Please, God, please tell me why I cannot awaken from this nightmare. Why have I been cursed to stay here like so? She is gone because I failed her. Just let me go!¡±


    I bit my lip as an ache built in my chest. Is this how she spent two hundred years?


    ¡°I am right here, Lia,¡± I said.


    The ghost spun around, practically turning her head completely before her body moved, void eyes wide and jaw on the floor. She froze. I froze. And time crept slowly.


    I held a hand out toward the ghost, nodding slowly as I stepped toward her. ¡°I know I look different, but trust me. I am Cassandra.¡±


    Amelia slowly blinked as she turned her head around to look at the empty coffin behind her. The floating ghost spun around again, turning left, then right before she looked right at me.


    ¡°Y-you can see me?¡±


    ¡°I can, my beautiful rose. It has been sometime since we last saw each other, but look. I have a gift.¡± I held the necklace between my hands so she could see it. Candlelight danced through the many beads, causing them to shimmer in a beautiful way that would have drawn anyone''s attention to them.


    ¡°You look different¡­¡± she said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very long story.¡± She didn''t need to know what transpired between Eva and I. That would only make the woman fret even more than she already was. I shouldn''t involve her in my affairs, as she died the last time I did. It still pained my heart to think that.


    I would imagine most vampires don''t really care for their retainers the way Amelia and I cared for each other. And if they did, then maybe we weren''t as unique as I thought.


    She floated close, head moving up and down as her voids traced along my whole half-elven body. The ghostly woman gently plucked the necklace from my hands and held it over her neck and breast.


    ¡°It''s beautiful,¡± she whispered. An infectious smile replaced the building frown across the ghost¡¯s lips. Amelia slowly turned around and held the harlequin necklace in a way that was clear to me she wanted help clasping it shut.


    I obliged her and clasped the necklace around her neck, half-expecting it to fall off any moment. Yet the necklace stayed put and, after a moment of sitting there, slowly merged with the rest of her ethereal form. The necklace went from shiny gold to blending in with her odd glow.


    Amelia spun away from me and giggled to herself. ¡°This is a lovely gift, Cassy! But¡­ What is the occasion?¡± She cocked her head, blinking a few times at me.


    ¡°There is no other occasion than today to give you a gift.¡± I held my arms out for a hug and smiled.


    She floated closer, then hovered back as she stared into my eyes. ¡°Something is different about you I can''t quite place. I see your hair and wrinkles, but¡­¡±


    I turned my head to the side and gently slid Eva¡¯s long silver-white hair behind pointy ears. ¡°Half-elf cosmetic, remember?¡±


    She nodded slowly. ¡°Yes, my love, I do, but something is different. I can''t place it!¡±


    I glanced down at my new to me bosom before looking at Amelia. A nervous smile cracked across my lips. I don''t know how she would act if she realized the truth. It felt like that time I first had to explain to her that no, I did not have the same lady bits she did! Mine used to hang on the outside and flip around in the most embarrassing of manners.


    Until Eva killed me.


    Amelia gently placed her ethereal hand against my cheek and closed her eyes. ¡°Something is very, very different here.¡±


    ¡°Is it my clothes?¡± I asked.


    Her void eyes went to my chest. I bit my lip as she stared for a good long moment before her eyes widened. She gasped softly. ¡°Mistress¡­ you have large breasts.¡±


    They were not that large. Roughly the same as Amelia¡¯s, which were normal. She was going to find out the truth one way or the other, so I may as well tell her.


    I chuckled softly. ¡°Yes, yes I do. Perhaps I should tell you how I acquired them. It started with me wanting to buy you a gift¡­¡±

 Chapter 22: Here Comes the Sun

    Chapter 22: Here Comes the Sun


    Amelia¡¯s ghostly form snuggled against my new body as the two of us lay inside my coffin. One of her legs hooked under one of mine and an arm draped over my stomach. It would have been a nice feeling if we were outside under the stars and she wasn''t a ghost. Even still, it was nice just being in her presence. She had that effect on me. With Amelia here I didn''t have anything to worry about. Between my voice and shadow powers, and her vampire tracking skills, there wasn''t a vampire we couldn''t defeat. Well, with my sire¡¯s help. And that was a sore subject.


    Amelia hadn''t taken the news well when I told her that my sire¡¯s own fledglings were the ones to hunt me down. Why? she asked.


    I truly don''t know why. It was as strange a concept as it sounded. As far as I could recall, it was not how we used to interact. Isabella would always smile and dote upon me, and help with any troubles I was encountering that night. So for her to send Eva and Dustin to kill me was unusual.


    We had no disagreements. Only the fact that she stopped drinking my blood once I became Mayor, but her reasoning was that she needed a clear head to think. And even that wasn''t unusual, as the two of us were off and on when it came to exchanging blood. Usually as part of a deal like when I killed a more powerful vampire and she wanted a ¡®share¡¯ of the boon.


    ¡°You are forbidden from leaving the house,¡± Amelia said, breaking my thoughts and drawing my attention to her worried face. ¡°Until the storm passes. Please¡­¡±


    ¡°I was not planning on leaving. Shall I put myself in torpor until it passes?¡±


    ¡°That is advised, but I do not recommend it in light of this new information about Lady Isabella. It was odd, my love. She visited you all the time and left you flowers and candles. I do not think she knew I was watching. I detected no malice from her actions either. Have I been blinded by time?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we both were. Or maybe something else is going on that we do not see.¡±


    I wanted to lay in the coffin and have Amelia shut it again. That way I could sleep through the next century and awaken once all of the nonsense had passed. But Lyra needed me to teach her fledgling things. I needed to teach Caleb fledgling things. I had two fledglings who were relying on me, and Dinner, who apparently thought I was cute.


    I looked over at Amelia, having remembered something I should have mentioned earlier. ¡°Amelia, darling. Lyra and I shared a wonderful night of companionship before she was embraced.¡±


    ¡°I spoke with her through a notebook she set out.¡± Amelia nodded a few times and patted my stomach as best her form allowed.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She nodded her cold ghostly head against my shoulder. ¡°We talked the evening after you brought her home.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I shifted around and rolled over to face the ghost in the tight confines of the coffin. It would have been fine had Amelia been alive.


    She shifted and pressed her ghostly lips against mine. It felt odd. Cold. Normally she¡¯d be very warm as her hand moved along my side and scratched at my hip, but she wasn''t anymore. I returned her kiss with a gentle one of my own and frowned when it was done.


    ¡°We need to do something about you being a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Dryad,¡± she corrected, nodding. ¡°And the druids will be here next week. I shiver in anticipation of getting a new body.¡±


    ¡°You think they can help you?¡±


    Amelia grinned at me. ¡°Yes! We talked to them on the phone.¡±


    ¡°And no one told me¡­?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°There wasn''t any time. You woke up, said you had somewhere to be and left the house with Lyra.¡±


    I frowned. We spent the rest of the night talking about my adventure through South Encinar with Amelia occasionally stopping me to ask questions. Such as what a cell phone store looked like, so I described it as best I could.


    She tried to play with my new bosom, but her hands were so cold I recoiled. Only then did I realize my heart was making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It beat slowly and steadily with each breath I took as I stared at my loving partner. Amelia giggled at me and again she reached to hold my hand. I locked my fingers around hers and closed my eyes with a smile.


    *** ***


    The next few nights went well with Amelia and I staying in the basement while the strange storm howled and whistled outside. I used a charging bank to keep the phone topped off, not wanting a repeat of last time, but that was getting low as well. I needed to get electricity in my house or build a new one entirely.


    Dinner brought Lyra back to the house on the second night along with three cases of canned blood for us to share. It was a nice gesture to be sure. The cans were larger than the ones Caleb bought and they were a bit more filling. Lyra stared strangely at me when she saw me for the first time since the other day. The fledgling checked over my ears, my face, hair, and attire. It took her a few long seconds to recognize me.


    I switched out having just the leggings for having leggings underneath one of my old skirts. We still kept the denim jacket, because I just didn''t have any tops that didn''t make my shoulders look like a door frame. They weren''t so bad when they were made to fit my old body, but now? I needed to cut and adjust them. So I used Eva¡¯s sewing abilities, and help from Amelia¡¯s supplies, to adjust the fit on a skirt and clean up the hem, so it was a bit more ¡®modern¡¯ looking. Modern as in boring and less frilly.


    Even though I wanted to dress how I used to, I couldn''t commit fully or people would notice something was wrong. Eva just didn''t dress like I did. Hardly anyone did in fact. Unless I was going to dress like I was going to a convention, I would have to adjust my clothes to the current world.


    And it finally came to picking between Eva¡¯s rifle and pistol or my boomcannon. Eva¡¯s assassin class gave her few perks toward moving silently and remaining undetected as she went about her missions. Most of the skills were tuned toward the long rifle and helping with aiming and reading the wind.


    It sounded annoying to me, but I had to learn how to wield the newer long rifle and hope no one noticed I was a poor shot with it. However, one look at my face and hair would tell anyone that Eva had done something she shouldn''t have. Over the last few nights, her once lush skin had withered to resemble the way mine used to look before I went into torpor. While her jaw and body shape remained the same, everything else shifted. It was a strange process that the others pointed out to me.


    With the cell phone camera showing a blurry image of myself, I had nothing concrete to rely on, except for Amelia¡¯s flowery descriptions. They were colored by her love of me. She described my skin as looking like the moon on an autumn night just after harvest. And how my hair looked like snow capped mountain peaks once more with strands of golden wheat running through them.


    I listened to her description as I tried to picture it in my head, but all I saw was a soul stealing monster disguised as a woman. It made me frown and look down at my wrinkled hands. I knew the void wouldn''t allow me to look like a beautiful half-elf for very long. Dinner and Amelia both agreed that yes, I was beautiful even if I didn''t see it.


    The magma haired Lyra likewise thought I was ''fine''. She sat nearby and showed me her book, since I was not that good at reading sign language yet. ¡®You do not look as bad as you think, sire.¡¯


    I nodded slowly to her words. They might not think so, but I see otherwise. A thought occurred to me, causing me to tilt my head as I asked, ¡°Where is Dustin?¡± It was a distraction at least.


    ¡°Police,¡± Lyra repeated the motorcyclist''s gesture from the other day. She impressed upon me that gesture at least. It was the first one she showed me, because if I had noticed the meaning earlier we might not be in this mess.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    A frown crossed my face as a lump in the back of my throat prevented me from replying.


    She cocked her head and threw her hands out to her sides. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I was hoping to ask him for the truth of what my sire said.¡± I turned to look at Lyra.


    ¡°That is not wise, my love,¡± Amelia said as she looked up from her own notebook. Lyra bought her one along with a pencil. Dinner picked up colored pencils at my request. The half-elf wasn''t asking me for payment just yet, but I knew they''d eventually want it. ¡°Hold still,¡± Amelia added. "If you want me to show you an accurate portrait, then please, my love, do not move a muscle!"


    I took a deep breath and went back to the pose she asked me to hold. A simple portrait of me sitting with my legs crossed over each other and the rifle resting across my lap like it was a hunting weapon. Amelia wanted an updated portrait of me to show the world who she loved. In truth, I was surprised the ethereal woman even acknowledged I was me, because sometimes I felt like I was Eva impersonating Cassandra.


    We spent the rest of the night with Amelia doing her sketch of me, Lyra working on melding with shadows, and me staying as frozen as a corpse. I only spoke on occasion to give Lyra tips here and there, which she used to actually wreathe herself in shadows just as dawn was approaching.


    I patted her on the back and smiled. ¡°Good. Now that feeling you had when you were in the shadows is what you need to focus on to call them to you again.¡±


    The elf shivered visibly and glanced at me. She her book with one hand and drank from a blood can with the other. ¡®It felt weird. Something was calling my name. What was it?¡¯


    "Mother Moon. She heard your call and is wanting to speak with you, fledgling. Up to you if you wish to reply. Some do, some don''t.¡± I shrugged. "I did. Her embrace is what protects me. She gives me my powers, She allowed us to escape the police at the club because Mother Moon has a plan for us. I do not know what they are, but considering She is fractured, I believe Her desire is to become whole again."


    Lyra nodded slowly. ''I will think about it. I still have my businesses to run.''


    Then it became a question of sleeping arrangements, as Lyra took an upstairs room before I went on my little adventure. I hadn¡¯t initially wanted to have her in my basement, because Amelia might have been upset, but the roof wasn''t fully whole and Lyra mentioned it was uncomfortable. Since they talked with each other about it, I pointed to the coffin.


    ¡°You can sleep there,¡± I said. ¡°It''s very comfortable. I''ll take the floor.¡± Even though I did not like sleeping on hard ground.


    She held both of her middle fingers in an obscene gesture that needed no explanation. Of course my fledgling was too proper to sleep in the most comfortable of beds. She had to have a regular bed like a mortal and Eva. It will pass in time and she will soon get a coffin of her own.


    *** ***


    The storm broke on the 15th as predicted. It was calm enough that I could receive messages from people. Isabella had sent a few to Eva¡¯s phone and one to mine while we were staked in the trunk. I initially hesitated to read the one she sent to my phone, but my curiosity got the better of me even though Amelia warned me not to. "It''s stupid to read them," Amelia hissed. "No good can come of it."


    "I have to know," I replied.


    Amelia threw her arms in the air and floated off to another part of the basement. It made me frown, because she was upset and I didn''t want to make her upset, but something was telling me to look at Isabella''s messages. Something deep down I couldn''t suppress. I had to look at them. I just had to know the reason why.


    The message was only three words: I am sorry.


    I frowned deeply as I stared at the message. I had nothing for Isabella even though I wanted to say something. I couldn''t. That would give the game up, but¡­ I hadn''t turned off the phone¡¯s tracking. She would know the instant she checked the tracker! I was a fucking idiot.


    So I looked over at Lyra and Amelia for a moment before I hit the call button and waited. If Eva could speak through phones, then perhaps I could. Truthfully, I don''t know what I was hoping for until Isabella picked up the phone.


    ¡°Listen to me, Cassandra,¡± Isabella said quietly, pausing to see if I would respond. I held my breath, but for some reason I listened in on what she was saying. ¡°I know you survived. Listen. I didn''t want to do it. The Council of Three pushed to call a hunt on you and there was nothing I could do. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I don''t know how you survived, but please listen to my words. Come alone. You will find me at my office as soon as you can. I swear it''s just to talk.¡±


    She hung up before I could form the words to speak.


    I looked at Amelia as she floated over, phasing right through a box. ¡°She wants me to find her," I told Amelia.


    Both Lyra and Amelia shook their heads. I wasn''t planning on searching for her, but something told me I should find my sire. It wasn''t a voice. It was a strange deep rooted feeling that I had to find her. There wasn''t a question of if. It was a question of when I went and saw her, because she wanted me to see her and I couldn''t disobey. An odd thread in my mind wanted me to go right then and there.


    I slowly rubbed my forehead and shook my head. ¡°I have to find her¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Amelia folded her arms across her chest and glared. ¡°It will be a fool¡¯s errand if you do. You¡¯ll be right back under her thumb!¡±


    ¡®You can leave town or move somewhere else,¡¯ Lyra added with her book.


    ¡°What about Caleb?¡± I looked over at her. ¡°She may use him.¡±


    ¡°He is his own vampire and can take care of himself,¡± Amelia said. She reached out to pat me on the shoulder, nodding. ¡°I have survived this long and will continue surviving if you choose to leave. I just¡­¡± her voice trailed off as her brows furrowed. She frowned, turning away from me so she could hide her face. "You need to leave town. For your own safety."


    I attempted to rub her on the back as I said, ¡°I cannot leave you. I will not leave you to be killed again! The plan is simple. We take my phone and Eva¡¯s and have Dinner drive them somewhere in the city for Isabella to find. She will think I am dead.¡±


    ¡°But she knows where you live!¡± Amelia spun around as she waved across the basement. ¡°She¡¯ll come here tomorrow, or the next night and stake you again! And then what? Another two hundred years asleep?"


    I shook my head from side to side. ¡°I do not think she will come here.¡±


    "She is smarter than you think!" Amelia hissed. "Do you presume that your sire is staying as second fiddle to the council because she was voted out? No, my love, that woman is in charge of the city and the council is her puppet." The woman floated over to a box and sat on top of it to pout. "Something is different about you. I know it deep in my soul, but I cannot for the unlife of me figure out why."


    "I am in Eva''s body and you''re a spirit."


    "This is different! There''s something in the way you feel when I touch you. It... I need time to think about it."


    Lyra slid her book over to me and nodded. ''I know a place that doesn''t ask questions. We can do your plan and you can move there.''


    "I don''t know..." I shook my head as I rubbed at my shoulders, ignoring the flickering System map showing me the layout of my basement. It blinked out and said, Real-time local terrain scanner temporarily unavailable due to atmospheric interference. Reverting to most recent backup.


    I dismissed the notification and decided to talk it out with the others. We spent the next hour and a half talking through the conundrum of whether or not I should stay, if Isabella should be dealt with, arrested, or if I should get a new house. It was determined, with prodding from Dinner, who showed up halfway through and was filled in. That I would be moving from my home of two centuries. Dinner, or one of their underlings, had already filed a petition for Amelia¡¯s tree to be declared a burial site. Which would hopefully prevent her death, because Isabella was the one to bury Amelia. If everything she said was true...


    This would take time to come into effect and the manor¡¯s demolition was halted only because they had to wake Dinner in the early morning hours when they arrived. The half-elf explained to the workers that vampires were sheltering from the storm and they couldn¡¯t risk removing us until nightfall. They could, but Dinner didn''t want to say who I was. We were just some ''random vampire''. I didn''t want the council to know I was alive, so I had to let the demolition go through.


    I left the basement and headed upstairs with Amelia in tow, our hands held once more. Dinner and their employees had already cleared out all of the boxes my things were packed into. Most of it was junk that was being taken to a charity to be sold off to people who needed clothes and knickknacks. Not a whole lot would be useful, as it was an older style people didn¡¯t wear anymore. Eva¡¯s rifle was slung over my shoulder as I walked up the basement steps to the first floor and my boomcannon was in the chest holster underneath the denim jacket.


    Each step upstairs was accompanied by a bounce in my chest I had to get used to. I couldn¡¯t move up at the same speed without feeling like something was trying to pull my bosom right off my torso! I asked Amelia if she felt the same way when she had a physical form. Both her and Lyra agreed that yes, that was actually normal to have weight slinging around and tearing at my skin.


    Through the windows, a strange, bright yellow machine called an excavator loomed silently before the house. I never laid eyes upon anything like it, so as I left the house with Amelia in tow, I walked over to the massive yellow monster. It towered before me, causing me to crane my neck as I looked up at the near room-sized body. The gargantuan singular arm lay curled up and just waiting with its bucket-hand resting gently on the ground. Even though I knew what an excavator was thanks to Eva¡¯s memories, it was still awesome to see one up close. They were noisy creatures whose singular purpose was to dig, but this one was going to destroy my home and put the remains in the nearby dump trailer.


    I glanced back at my broken home for the last time. A feeling squeezed at my heart and gut, willing me to stay with the home as it was destroyed. I¡¯d just burn up when the sun rose if that were the case. Which was a good idea. I turned to Dinner and held a hand out. ¡°Do you have anything flammable?¡±


    They shook their head. ¡°No? What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°We burn the house down before they can demolish it.¡±


    ¡°Not worth the headache.¡± Dinner waved in the excavator¡¯s direction. ¡°They brought it out. If they don''t get to use it they will bill you for the cost of transport and lost wages.¡±


    I nodded firmly and held my hand out for Amelia. Even though Dinner could not see the ghostly woman, they followed my movements as Amelia took my hand and pulled me into a hug. Amelia rested her head on my shoulder and shut her eyes, gently turning us from side to side. I wrapped my arms as best I could around her ethereal form and rubbed her back.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you¡­¡± she whispered. I had a feeling Amelia meant she would be devastated like she was when I first came across her.


    Dinner¡¯s employees were gently removing my coffin from the basement and were almost out of the house when an idea came to mind. I turned my head to look at Amelia¡¯s tree and asked, ¡°Would it be possible to bury the coffin near Amelia¡¯s tree?¡± Preferably with me in it, but I didn''t want to tell Dinner that. I knew Lyra¡¯s answer already, and Amelia¡¯s.


    They wanted me to keep going, but I was feeling the heavy weight of uncertainty bearing down on me. From Amelia¡¯s death to her subsequent transformation into a tree. From the world being so different that even life changed to Dustin being arrested because of my actions. I just didn''t want to keep going. Amelia was devastated already. If I buried myself underground and went into torpor until someone accidentally found me, then I¡¯d be right back where I was a couple weeks ago; waking up in a new world as a confused old woman. Only this time I¡¯d likely stay buried and Amelia would¡­


    I glanced at the others before whispering in her ear, ¡°Did you ever phase inside my coffin while I was in torpor?¡±


    She nodded slowly and smiled. ¡°You were lonely, so I snuggled up to you and closed my eyes a few times over the centuries.¡±


    ¡°Was there a stake in my chest?¡± I gently squeezed her in the hug, careful to not push my arms inside her ethereal body.


    ¡°Yes. I pulled it out and you slowly awakened.¡±


    Did she really stake me?


    ¡°What happened to the stake?¡± I cocked my head.


    She snapped her fingers at something, eyes widening. "Oh! There was period of a few years where your coffin just... vanished. I don''t know where it went or who brought it back, but it came back and you were still inside it."


    "Really?" I blinked a few times.


    Amelia nodded. "Yes. Nothing was different. The coffin was still the same, but cleaned. It was odd. I will look for the stake and await the druids."


    "Good." If we had the stake we could see what the design was and maybe prove that it was Isabella. But if Isabella was telling the truth about the council, which she might not be, then it didn''t matter. I¡¯d have to run. Maybe flee with Dinner to wherever they live.


    But we already came up with the plan. We agreed to go across town and start over as Sandra, the elder vampire priestess of Mother Moon. However, all vampire licenses went through the council. And by going through the council that meant I¡¯d have to deal with Isabella and the others. Unless I went through Dinner¡¯s contacts in the Horizon Rangers, or Eva¡¯s contacts she knew. Either one of them could set me up with a new identification card and license that would hopefully pass scrutiny and background checks.


    The System finally interrupted my thoughts, saying, New Quest; Survive the coming nights.


    With one last hug for Amelia''s sake, I whispered, "Stay safe, my lovely rose. We''ll meet again in a week." Then kissed her and closed my eyes. Everything was turning to shit and it was all my fault, but I will fix it. I will survive. For them.

 Chatper 23: Home Away From Home

    Chapter 23: Home Away From Home


    Lyra¡¯s home was the small room back in the club and the club had been shut down for the time being while the police were investigating who was actually running the blood den. Which, of course, was Lyra under Jean¡¯s orders. And when they find her they¡¯ll find me.


    The man hired her a couple decades ago. First as an accountant, then as a matriarch in the blood den once they got it up and running, despite Lyra¡¯s protests. She knew putting the Blood Den in a club selling mortal drugs was a foolish idea. Even I saw how stupid the idea was. Jean did not. You couldn''t tell the blowhard anything and have it fall on ears that actually listened.


    I remembered this from my time ruling Encinar and first hearing of his request for the saloon. It was a saloon back then. In the same location no doubt. A small hole in the wall joint where mortals were picked up by vampires to be fed from. Of course, during my time, it was all done on the down low. A few keywords here, a small gesture there, and a mortal would come under your arm and you¡¯d leave. Simple and easy.


    To an outsider, it looked like you were paying for companionship and I''m sure some still did. I was one who did. Roberto had instilled upon me the only ¡®proper¡¯ way to feed was to get a mortal¡¯s permission first. Any other way was just wrong in his eyes. You needed their


    Sometimes you can''t help yourself, however, like during the heat of the moment when you''re starving and bullets are flying. You bite down because you need to. You drink because you must. Not because of any other reason. And so the mortals call you a monster. They brand you a heretic, a traitor against God for merely existing when all you were doing was defending yourself from the Inquisition hunting party.


    I couldn''t help myself. I needed to listen. I had to listen to her, but I knew that if I listened to Isabella she would once again put me in a position from which she could oversee my every move. I had been blinded by the love of a sire who once treated me like the mother I was robbed of and I don¡¯t know why she was like that. It could have been something I did and don¡¯t remember, or it could be just how she is. She did call Dustin and Eva ¡®Idiot Fledgling #2 and Useful Fledgling #1¡¯. Which meant I was Idiot Fledgling #1. Thanks, sire¡­


    My own fledgling and a beautiful woman I met dragged me away from my home of two centuries. The two of them took me across town where Lyra knew of a place that didn''t ask questions and took cash payments with little paperwork. I found one apartment that wasn''t above my new bank account to afford, as Cassandra''s was completely locked out while Lyra stayed at one of Jean¡¯s other businesses.


    Encinar was expensive compared to other places according to Dinner. South Encinar even more so, since they had a lot of technological production in the area.


    Dinner said that the four thousand credits a month apartment would get me a house with lots of property out in Ventros where Eva was from. Perhaps I would head there one day when everything was all said and done. There were other planets, as Dinner called them, around ten in the ¡®Inner Rim¡¯ where the bulk of one Earth¡¯s remains were. Encinar and the surrounding portion of my Earth were flung to the far reaches of the local system where it was now called the Outer Rim.


    Halifax was, for all intents and purposes, a backwater planet when compared to the technology of the Inner Rim. Most mechs and starships are produced by elven corporations of eld from their own homeworld which was likewise destroyed in whatever event shattered the universe.


    Encinar still used flat display screens and not magical holographic projectors. We had basic wheeled cars, they had flying cars. Their cities stretched into the sky and floated. At least that''s what Internet pictures claimed.


    I bought a new phone to go along with my new identification. But thankfully I didn''t have to apply for a third System License. One of Eva¡¯s contacts just forged one. Had I known that was possible when I first awakened I would have simply bought a license rather than apply for one. But my sire didn¡¯t tell me that fact and Caleb was too blunt in the fangs to know.


    With my new phone, a basic flagship model with a stylus, I spent the rest of the night going through the Internet and making a list of furniture I needed. Starting with a new coffin, a big wall-mounted display screen, a chair, etcetera. I transcribed all of it into an electronic notebook and sent it to Dinner in a text, asking if they knew of cheap places to get them.


    They replied with a thumbs up and the words: I¡¯ll dig around for you. Get some sleep. <3


    The apartment was situated within a five story complex down by the railroad tracks in a shady part of South Encinar. A mixture of mortals and vampires lived there with vampire specific rooms that had metal blinds to seal out the sun. They were retractable and supposedly would come down on their own when the power went out or an hour before sunrise, or the flip of the switch. My four thousand dollars a month was getting me one room, one bath. Nothing else.


    They called it a studio. It was livable, but fairly open with no privacy if one wanted to watch television and someone else wanted to sleep. Perhaps, that is why the cream colored apartment was only really fit for one person. I had to lay on the carpeted floor since it wasn''t fully furnished and that reminded me of an odd dream.


    It didn''t happen often, but it happened enough that I took notice of it. I suppose it could be called a daymare.


    The dream starts like all dreams do; with me being me and happy. For the most part. I was under Roberto¡¯s tutelage as he slowly and steadily introduced vampires to me. The man spent years lying, dropping hints here and there about the truth until one day he told me exactly what he was. I wasn''t at all surprised, as I had long surmised what he was fairly early on, but never brought it up. I told him my thoughts on being a vampire and Roberto continued to dote upon me as long as I allowed him to drink my blood whenever I was healthy enough.


    It was a mutual relationship; he drank my blood, he fed me his, and I walked with his arm around me at parties as his equally pale wife. I enjoyed his company and he had my whole heart for a time. We would talk of many things and I could order servants around as if I truly was a noble without the land to back it up. Roberto had enough flash that he told the others I was a noble-born woman and they believed I was Cassandra the Noble from Antwerp.


    I suppose what Roberto and I shared was love, because he and I would roam the grounds and talk about spending eternity together. The man seemed genuine and made sure I was as happy as could be.


    After a while of wandering the grounds, he had business to do and allowed me to mingle with the other wives. I listened to their tales as I gathered as much information as I could on what was going on. One beautiful woman was bored, so I struck up a conversation and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, we had snuck off to the garden and found a secluded spot far away from prying eyes.


    At least, I thought it was secluded. Vampires were tricky when it came to that. We were deep amid the sweaty throws of passion when a vampire decided to make their presence known. I tried to fight back and even though I carried Roberto¡¯s blood, they overpowered me. The female vampire dragged me away from my companion, as another vampire dealt with her, citing how a retainer needs to know their true place in the world.


    And that was below vampires in the food chain. I was ¡®too full of myself at the party¡¯.


    She knew who I was even though I didn''t know her. She knew everything about me. From who I worked for before meeting Roberto, to where I lived during the day. It was a strange feeling of being violated, because she shouldn''t know me. I thought I was better than that. I thought I hid who I used to be pretty well.


    As I was dragged, beaten and humiliated, toward a candlelit room with a bloody altar in it, I awakened from the daymare with her words echoing in my ears, ¡®You¡¯ll always be mine, wench¡¯.


    And once more, I found myself on a cold hard floor, reminding me of that altar. My wrists and ankles ached anytime I awoke from sleeping on something hard. Which was why I loved coffins. You can''t fall off the bed when there are walls preventing you from rolling onto the floor.


    With a blood can in hand, I watched an episode of Tortuga Chronicles on my phone to cool off from the daymare. It was one where they were having to deal with the aftermath of the ship discovering the stowaway right up until another Terran Mining Corporation Vessel hailed them for assistance.


    The other vessel was dedicated to refining ore pulled from planets in far off systems beyond the Outer Rim and it was having issues with its own internal systems. The mining ship herself, not crew, claimed she had two Ore Processing Cores that wouldn''t shut up, and the vessel needed a way to upgrade them. But she could not leave the asteroid she was on. That vessel used a virtual avatar to speak with the Empress and even claimed to have a human name separate from her ship name.


    A knock on the door tore me from the episode. I slid the phone into a pocket, grabbed my revolver and crept toward it until I could peer through the peephole.


    A man stood on the other side holding a light pink box in his hands. My eyebrows arched at such an unusual thing. Pressing my ear to the door, I listened for anyone else but didn''t hear other voices or heartbeats. I waited for the man to leave, but he knocked again and smiled.


    ¡°Hello? I¡¯m your neighbor from down the way.¡±


    He looked older with bits of grey in both his beard and hair. A peppered look, not at all like the silvered hag I was. Since he wasn''t leaving, the only thing to do was open it and see what he wanted. I didn''t have anywhere to put the revolver beside my waistband, because I was wearing just a long sleeved blouse and the skirt and leggings, so that''s where I stuffed the heavy weapon.


    The man¡¯s beaming smile reached from ear to ear when I opened the door until the chain caught. He waved to me. ¡°Greetings, neighbor! I heard a little rumor that a vampire just moved in and I came to say hello.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The box smelled like iron-filled blood. As in actual blood. The sweet, tangy scent drifted out and tantalized my nostrils. Although, something told me that it was a bad idea to take the box. Probably instincts and Eva''s weariness toward new people, but it was food. It smelled delicious.


    I eyed the man, because mortals don''t just give you a bowl of blood as a welcoming gift. Blood sacks want something in return and this man was no different.


    ¡°I hope you don''t mind, but I baked you a blood cake!¡± He opened the top, revealing a dark red heart shaped cake that felt awkward to look at.


    ¡°Blood¡­ cake?¡± I blinked a few times.


    ¡°It¡¯s an old family recipe to allow a vampire to eat normal food.¡± The man winked at me!


    I dredged Eva¡¯s memories for a kernel of truth to his words and found a company name. ¡°Would your grandfather be Sir Cake of the Cake company?¡±


    The man chuckled softly. ¡°We¡¯re just down the hall if you ever want to see us. The name¡¯s Glenfield.¡±


    I almost said Cassandra, then Eva, but then I remembered what my new identity was called and nodded to the man. ¡°Sandra.¡±


    He set the cake on the ground and backed away from it. I waited until he was down the hall and inside his room before I closed the door, unclasped the chain and opened it.


    The cake was anatomically correct for a heart with a sheen to it that looked real enough. It smelled of strawberries, however, and was the same size as an actual heart, leading me to gently probe it in case it was an actual human heart and not just food. Only when I took it inside and sliced it open did I see that it was in fact a fluffy dark red cake masquerading as a heart.


    I don''t know why my neighbors would make me a cake. Or why they would introduce themselves. No one ever did that for me.


    It was strange.


    *** ***


    I spent some time just staring at the cake, thinking about why someone would give it to me and decided to look through the Internet for the reason. Of course, it was an old tradition to greet neighbors and show them who lived nearby, but why only the one and not the rest? And if it was so old then why hadn''t I heard of it?


    Perhaps Glenfield was just old fashioned and everyone else wanted to keep to themselves. I had to know the answer, so I grabbed Eva¡¯s .40 caliber pistol and shoulder holster, a jacket; Then went over to his apartment and knocked on the door.


    The old human answered fairly promptly and smiled at me. ¡°Hello, Sandra. How was the cake?¡±


    I opened my mouth to say I hadn''t tried it yet, but it might seem a bit rude to tell him that. He was doing it out of the goodness of his heart¡­ which the cake resembled. I felt like the idiot in the room for not seeing it. Luckily, I wasn''t trying to look mortal and so I did not blush from my own stupidity.


    A fake smile formed on my lips as I nodded. ¡°I have come to ask a few questions. Mayhap you can answer them?¡±


    Really, I just wanted to know why the fuck he gave me a cake, not chat him up. I had to see how Amelia was doing without the house and look for a job. Lyra had one for me; security at a ¡®blood bank¡¯ and Dinner said I could go on their spaceship.


    ¡®Would you like to see my spaceship?¡¯ Dinner had asked.


    ¡®Your¡­ spaceship?¡¯


    ¡®Mhm! It''s a short shuttle ride from the Aerodrome! I promise you¡¯ll like it.¡¯


    But what about Amelia? What about Isabella and Jean?!


    I don''t know. I truly don''t know, Cassandra.


    Glenfield was staring at us¡­ at me as if I had two heads. He slowly waved a hand across our eyes as he said, ¡°Are you alright? You look like you''ve seen a ghost.¡±


    ¡°I am in love with a ghost,¡± I replied quietly. My eyes went to the floor as a heavy weight returned to my shoulders. Turning away from the confused Glenfield, I shook my head and walked off.


    ¡°Sandra?¡± he asked. ¡°Is everything alright?¡±


    I did not reply. I walked down the hall to the stairs and opened the door, just wanting to leave the apartment complex behind, because there was nothing for me there. There was nothing for me anywhere. I was better off finding a bench and waiting for sunrise.


    Everything I knew was gone. Everyone I knew just last month is either dead or completely changed. My own sire conspired against me according to Jean, according to Amelia¡¯s own offspring. The person I trusted my very existence to betrayed me in the worst way possible.


    ¡°And for what?!¡± I yelled, throwing my hands over my head, voice echoing in the bright stairwell as I slowly made my way down the three flights of stairs.


    I could jump over the railing, it''d be very easy, but I might survive the fall. I could walk out into traffic, but again, I will likely survive thanks to being a vampire. The only surefire way was to stand in the sun.


    Or get on my knees and let someone behead me, but who? Not Isabella. I had to listen to her. I had to listen. She wanted me to. It was the council that betrayed me, not her. She would never lie to me! But, she never mentioned Eva or Dustin in the whole night I spent with her.


    Someone called to me from a floor above, but I ignored them.


    I remember¡­ I remember we had taken the scooters to a large open parking lot. The store was one of those daytime only stores, because the corporation didn''t hire vampires and wouldn''t serve them, even though they were a sizable chunk of Encinar¡¯s population. Around one and a half million vampires were scattered all throughout the old California Bay. From San Francisco to San Jose along the peninsula and below; on up to Encinar and a city called Novato just north of San Francisco. There were even vampires in the Tri Valley east of Encinar.


    Another quarter million were in the Wasteland Valley beyond the foothills. A desolate place of farmlands, and a few flooded rivers. Most of those cities were founded after the apocalypse, because people wanted to move away from the ¡®tyrants in the big cities¡¯.


    I was not a tyrant! No matter what anyone says, I made sure the blood sacks were content and their voices heard. Why would I, Mayor Cassandra von Colterville, ruin my own source of food and entice angry mobs?! Perhaps I was Dr. Frankenstein and the city was my monster. No. I was not. I had a child to protect, Alejandro, who was now just as dead as Amelia thanks to me.


    The museum was lying. My rule was neither tyrannical or ruthless. All I asked for was simple tithes of blood! Offerings to keep me satisfied during the nights. Nothing more.


    My thoughts of the past wound themselves together in a tight knot and stayed there as a word nagged at the back of my mind. I had to listen to her. To my master. She wanted to speak with me and I would visit her.


    *** ***


    Isabella had to know that stupid word would eat at my mind as I walked through the city. It felt¡­ weird. Wandering the railroad tracks toward Encinar afforded me a view of the decrepit city I didn''t otherwise have. I got to see the many different sized tents lining the gravel throughway laid down by Anna and her relentless pursuit of giving Encinar a smooth running train and tram system.


    But now it was in shambles.


    I even got to see people wearing road weary clothes that resembled little more than rags. A few had so much hair their faces were barely visible. All were sunbaked and crusty. Oh so very crusty. One had black trash bags around his feet. Another wore a blanket for a cape as he huddled next to a crackling fire.


    I felt odd, because my clothes were fairly nice and I had taken a shower the night before. The bay had drained enough that Encinar built well into it and that''s where most of the people ''should¡¯ be. Those down on their luck vampires and mortals like me who had nothing ¡®should¡¯ be out in the bay, because we made the city look even more decrepit than it was and the elite corporate rulers didn''t like that.


    At least, according to Eva¡¯s high and mighty Council-based memories.


    I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn''t notice someone had called out to me until they stepped in front of my path. They wore rags and tattered clothes like the rest of the homeless in the encampment, but far, far bulkier. They looked well fed, too, and not nearly as tanned.


    They waved at me and said, ¡°You don''t wanna keep going this way.¡± The man¡¯s tone was an odd one for sure. I thought it was a threat at first until I noticed everyone was staring at me. Warming and cooking fires sent smoke drifting skyward, filling the air with an ashy charred wood stench.


    One that reminded me me of my home burning as my inner beast screamed at me to just leave the fucking house, but I had to find her. I had to find Amelia. She was in there somewhere, and now my home was gone.


    My new pistol¡¯s weight reminded me that I had an out and I didn''t have to resort to using my powers, because using my powers¡­ didn''t really matter any more. I had no one to impress, except my sire and she told me to find her.


    The man was standing between me and finding my sire.


    ¡°Move,¡± I said firmly. Without putting any vampiric influence into it. Just a simple word to make him rethink his life choices. You do not get between a fledgling and her sire.


    Unless that sire tries to kill you.


    At which point the sire broke the trust of her fledgling, but Isabella claimed the council was at fault. I just wanted to know the truth!


    ¡°Look, lady.¡± The man shook his head from side to side as he stepped to the side and held his hands up defensively. ¡°We don''t want any trouble. I¡¯m just warning you that the folks down the way aren''t as nice as we are. They¡¯ll kidnap you and steal your blood.¡±


    ¡°I may look old, blood sack, but I have more bite than whomever you are worried about. Your concern has been noted.¡±


    The man nodded. He both understood and had something else to say, so I cocked my head and listened like my sire said I should do. I listened like the good little fledgling I was. ¡°Well, if you''re going that way, can you do us a favor and get the vampires to release the woman they took? We don''t got much, but we¡¯ll pay.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a mercenary to you?¡±


    Yes. You are.


    The man pointed to my torso as he said, ¡°The patch on your jacket says you''re a scout, right?¡±


    ¡°An F Rank scout.¡± I nodded slowly, not wanting to reveal my unusual pirate class yet. Despite being called an Assassin, Eva¡¯s skills and abilities were more focused on not being seen. As was fitting for an assassin, but she also had some that favored information gathering. It reduced strain when using my old Shadow Cloak ability, allowing me to hold it longer without getting as hungry.


    ¡°How¡¯s a thousand credits sound?¡±


    Like I didn''t have a choice. Isabella knew Eva was an assassin. She encouraged the half-elf to pick that class and train nightly in it. Much like she tried to get me to pick Salvage Pilot. All so our sire had someone competent to handle specific jobs like retrieving hostages from a large group of people.


    It was going to be a long night.


    *** ***


    My eyes fell upon an odd sight as I approached the next tent encampment where the ¡®evil¡¯ vampires were. Sitting right in the middle of another small tent city lining the tracks was a familiar sight; A heavily damaged luxury pickup was parked just off the tracks with its tailgate open and a small crowd of destitute people standing around it.


    The people were all staring up at a ThinGen vampire who was sitting on the bedside as he pulled can after can from cases of canned blood. He gave each person at least three and spoke quietly to them, nodding.


    There were other vehicles, but they looked far worse than Caleb¡¯s. Some had tarps covering a window while a few had different panels slapped over the windows and some had an auxiliary cooling unit installed in one window.


    As I approached the crowd, my eyes drifted from one pale person to the next. I listened for any beating hearts among them and found them all wanting. They were all vampires. Even the more heavily tanned and darker skinned ones. I cocked my head, hoping to catch snippets of conversations, but all I heard were mutters of, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Did you get my mail?¡± another asked as she grabbed a handful of cans and held them close.


    Caleb wore fancy jeans and a dark puffy windbreaker with a knit cap atop his head. I don''t know why when vampires really weren''t affected by the cold too much. Maybe to make people think he was human, or maybe ThinGens worked differently. They probably did. Eva¡¯s knowledge about them was that ThinGens were almost half-vampires more than actual vampires. Caleb reached inside his jacket pocket and offered a small stack of envelopes to the other vampire.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± I called out, placing one hand on my hip and the other on the zipper of my denim jacket close to where my pistol was.


    A few vampires looked my way with Caleb doing a double take. His eyes slowly widened. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I pointed to myself. ¡°What do you mean me?¡± I pulled my hair back to show off my half-elven ears, since Caleb knew me as a ¡®human¡¯ vampire and not a half-elf. I would still call myself human, but that was a lie. There was nothing human about me. Just as there was nothing half-elven about me. Not since¡­ a long, long time. And it made my wrists ache thinking about laying upon an altar waiting to die.


    Caleb shook his head and rubbed his face. ¡°Sorry. You reminded me of someone I know. Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Always,¡± I replied. ¡°But the trash in your hand will not sustain me.¡± I threw a thumb back the way I came as I added, ¡°The blood sacks-ah. Mortals! The mortals. The mortals down the way have informed me that someone in their camp has gone missing. Let us make this exchange quick. I need to speak with my sire tonight.¡±


    The six vampires ahead of me all looked at each other and mumbled amongst themselves.


    Caleb towered over the whole group as he stood up and folded his arms across his puffy chest. He frowned deeply at me, eyebrows furrowed. The man was likely upset that I just waltzed in and accused them of kidnapping people. From what little I know of their situations, they seemed like the kind of vampires who were not really enjoying their free meal tickets. It wasn''t a way for anyone to live. Not even the blood sacks closer to my apartment. There was nothing to do because it was pointless to try. All they had was likely scattered around their little encampment, not even a city block in size.


    ¡°She came willingly!¡± a vampire exclaimed as they stepped between me and another one. ¡°She wanted to be a vampire.¡±


    I rubbed my forehead and frowned at the man, as her being turned was not expected. I expected them to have their living captive held as a blood hostage. Not being embraced!


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I grumbled under my breath. This complicates things.

 Chapter 24: Pickled Boons

    Chapter 24: Pickled Boons


    The chestnut haired fledgling known as Samantha stood before me in comfortable looking pants and a sweater. She couldn''t look at me as she rubbed her hands together and frowned. I didn''t want to know the reason for her embrace, because I knew why; love.


    What she failed to realize is that her parents wanted her home. Even if they had nothing and the conditions at both encampments were terrible. They loved her, at least according to them, and they wanted her safe. That is all. Well, as a vampire she was safe for the most part. She just had to avoid the sun, stakes, and swords. Otherwise the vaguely familiar fledgling would be fine.


    Caleb stood between Samantha and I, while another male vampire watched me very closely. Everyone in the encampment was weary, because out of all of them I was the only old hag of a vampire. The only one with silvered hair, wrinkled skin and a voice like gravel. My voice had become stranger through whatever caused Eva and I to share the same body. It was one of those things I would have to adjust and get used to, since the half-elf¡¯s voice was naturally light while mine was deeper, causing me to work to maintain a semblance of my old self.


    Which meant I sometimes sounded like a lady pretending to be a man, rather than a deep voiced lady.


    Caleb didn''t recognize me just yet, but he wore his suspicions on his face. I knew him well enough to know when the wheels in his head were turning with a plan on what stupidity he''d ask next. He was smart, but sometimes the questions were worse than a mortal¡¯s.


    The blonde vampire to Samantha¡¯s right had not introduced herself just yet, so I just called him Blondie. He attempted to look imposing as he stood as tall as he could and glared at me with the fury of the moon. We were roughly equal heights with Eva¡¯s body being a tad shorter, but both of us were shorter than Caleb.


    It felt amusing to have to look up to a man for once and not meet them at equal eye level, but I kept my smile in check as I waited for Samantha to speak.


    The fledgling gulped. ¡°They¡¯re not my parents.¡±


    I cocked my head and opened my mouth to speak, but Blondie interrupted me. ¡°Look, lady,¡± the human began. ¡°Leave the girl alone and keep moving. Those people down the way won''t listen to anything you have to say. I¡¯m surprised they let you live.¡±


    ¡°So if they''re not your parents¡­ then who are they?¡±


    ¡°Trouble.¡±


    My foot tapped into the ground for a moment as I hummed to myself, digging the toe first as if I were squishing a cigarette into the dirt. Caleb cocked his head in reply. The situation was silly, considering the ThinGen was involved in it and he panicked the last time someone was embraced outside the system¡¯s procedures. Someone was lying to me and I don¡¯t know who. Could be the mortals, could be the vampires, but the mortal looked a bit strange. Too clean.


    Slowly, I looked between the fledgling and ThinGen vampire, because something about Samantha was bugging me. I had seen her before, and recently. She was human, so it couldn¡¯t have been two weeks ago. Her nervous tick felt familiar, but I couldn¡¯t place exactly where until my eyes drifted to Samantha¡¯s juicy neck. My fangs ached to bite down as her face became washed out by the lights of a passing car.


    Then it clicked.


    I wheeled around and pointed at Caleb, narrowing my eyes. ¡°You wanted me to turn her!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Caleb blinked, stepping back, red eyes widening in shock.


    Something told me to stop talking, but something else let the anger flow through as I glared at the man and shouted, ¡°At my house a week and a half ago! You brought this same mor¨Cvampire for me to drink from. You were hoping I would accidentally kill her and embrace the woman out of pity! Well, Caleb. I hope you got everything you asked for with the footage in your sick and twisted world.¡±


    His eyes twitched. ¡°Cassandra¡­?¡± The man stepped toward me and squinted as if it¡¯d do anything. Then he sniffed the air for a moment. ¡°Cassandra! Did you buy a cosmetic?!¡±


    I glanced around the camp. The others were busy getting their things together and going about their lives. They didn¡¯t have to cook food, so they worked on projects like a trio of vampires huddled around something I didn¡¯t quite understand, but at least knew some of the terms for the machine.


    It had a thin hull similar to a dockside crane with a cockpit at the front and stubby wings. A fancy H-shaped tail hung off the back with a long snout up front and a slightly droopy cockpit. It looked large enough that every vampire in the camp could pile inside and leave Encinar.


    If it wasn¡¯t a rusty pile of shit worse off than Dinner¡¯s car.


    She had two thrusters at the back and armored ducting leading off to the engines in the center of the hull. The vampires had covered it partially in tarps and built around it to make it look like part of their encampment from the air. All in all, the ship looked like an effective transport. If Eva knew what an effective transport was that is. I had her memories to go by and that was it.


    But the transport wasn¡¯t my concern. All I wanted was the fucking truth from someone for once, and it had to start somewhere.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t leave the four of us, understand?¡± I finally explained, turning my gaze back to the three vampires before me. ¡°Caleb knows what I am capable of and what my preferred food is, so I will allow him to inform you two of what fate befalls you should word get out.¡±


    I got nods of approval.


    ¡°My sire tried to kill me because she says I¡¯m too dangerous for modern Encinar. I had to resort to stealing my killer¡¯s body to stay alive. Now, we are hiding from her while figuring out what to do next. All I want is the honest truth from someone. Are they your parents or were they lying to me? If they are lying then I will deal with them for you, because I don¡¯t like being lied to.¡±


    She bit her lip.


    ¡°How does stealing a body work?!¡± Caleb exclaimed.


    ¡°Because I refuse to die until time itself dies. Next question.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Blondie began and gestured in my direction. ¡°Can you leave us the fuck alone?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Samantha yelled, throwing her hands up. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know who told you they were my parents, because my parents are dead.¡±


    I sighed heavily. A very mortal-like gesture and one I shouldn¡¯t be doing, but so many fledglings in a fortnight would make any vampire¡¯s hair turn grey.


    This is why I never really took a fledgling. That and Isabella didn¡¯t want me to have one. She said I needed to wait until I was two hundred years old to have one. That way I was sure I knew I wanted a fledgling, but Amelia would be dead by then. We had to make the choice and we wouldn¡¯t change it. Amelia was¡­ was¡­ alive?


    Sort of.


    She was more dead than alive, but Lyra¡¯s acquaintance was supposed to be in Encinar tomorrow night. That was something to look forward to at least. For now, however, I had to deal with mortals being afraid of vampires, again.


    ¡°Why are blood sacks afraid of vampires if they live in a city ruled by them?!¡± I asked loudly.


    ¡°Because of that exact language,¡± Blondie deadpanned.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, so bite me.¡±


    Caleb stepped in, reaching for my hand as he opened his mouth, fangs sliding out. I jumped back and snatched his wrist from the air, twisting it out of the way. I glared at him. He shook his head, blinking again before glancing around. ¡°Sorry! I thought you were being serious.¡±


    ¡°How does biting me give me food?¡± I groaned. Fledglings. The whole situation was becoming more and more insane the more we spoke.


    ¡°Sorry, sire.¡±


    As I stared into Caleb¡¯s eyes, they looked¡­ odd to say the least. The way he was looking at me reminded me of the way my sire used to look at me. Slowly, I brought up my hand and looked at the wrist Caleb had bitten last week, remembering that my sire warned her two fledglings specifically to not drink from each other. And how Jean told me to stop drinking from her, but I couldn¡¯t.


    Her blood was just too tasty. Intoxicatingly so.


    ¡°Caleb¡­ when you drank from me, what did it taste like?¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Like nothing I¡¯ve ever tasted,¡± he replied quietly. ¡°It made me feel like a powerful vampire, not a weak thin-blooded vampire. I¡­ I accidentally found that I can influence people if I am using a forceful tone. Happened to a customer who was acting like a Karen about something he bought.¡±


    ¡°And if I showed you my wrist, what would you do?¡± I pulled it close to my chest so he couldn¡¯t see it.


    His eyes went to the ground. ¡°I just want a taste again¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head from side to side. ¡°There will be no more drinking from other vampires for you all. Not you, not Samantha, not Blondie¡ª¡±


    ¡°John.¡±


    ¡°Not John, not anyone. Understand? Pass the word around that vampire blood is addictive. And if you two truly love each other, then I implore you to not drink from each other.¡±


    It was surprising that they didn¡¯t try it themselves, but I suppose when they¡¯re a corporate product then they don¡¯t quite have all the powers of a vampire. Caleb¡¯s blood bond with me was gone thanks to Eva. Even when I was in Cassandra¡¯s body, I didn¡¯t have an inkling to bite from Caleb any more than I needed to.


    I brought up the close relationship menu and stared at the level 5.5 bond with my sire. It should have gone down more than that when I died, considering Caleb¡¯s was at zero, but it still had a note about him being my adoptive fledgling. Unless each drink adds a level to it and I was at 6.6 when I died. But surely, death would have done more? I was starting to have access to my memories, so perhaps it would take time.


    But I needed to visit her on an instinctual level. I couldn¡¯t put it off any longer. Unless that was her blood talking. It very well could be.


    Slapping myself, I shook my head from side to side to clear it of any lingering thoughts. I couldn¡¯t let them take root and control me again.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to go back there and kill the mortal who sent me here. Caleb, would you mind giving me a ride?¡±


    ¡°No one needs to be killed.¡± John turned to look at the rest of the camp, lowering his voice. ¡°We were here first and some mortals tried to move in. It went okay, but then another group came by and split us. They want our cargo shuttle, because they think it¡¯ll get them off Halifax. She doesn¡¯t have the range to reach anywhere but Olympia. We need to either buy fuel from a tanker or hitch a ride on a bigger ship, but vampires are illegal on most shards and we won¡¯t be able to dock with a ship bound for a place beyond the local Halifax system.¡±


    ¡°So the rust bucket can fly?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you left?¡± I cocked my head and felt my pockets for a pencil or something to twirl in my hand so I didn¡¯t think about her. All I could find was a spare magazine and that did the job.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pre-corporate shuttle from back during the first Corporation Wars. You need the Old Shuttle Pilot class to fly it, not the new one, so even if the new group took it from us they can¡¯t go anywhere without someone versed in pre-corporate tech.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s hardly any Old Shuttle Pilots anymore,¡± Samantha added as she looked down at the ground.


    John moved closer to her and gently rubbed the fledgling¡¯s back, whispering something I didn¡¯t want to hear.


    I looked at Caleb for his advice.


    Caleb shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing what I can to keep the vampires fed, but I don¡¯t have much help. People think it¡¯s stupid because they should just get a job, but these vampires don¡¯t have a class. So how can they get a job?¡±


    Lovely.


    ¡°Sounds familiar.¡± I ran a hand through my hair as I gently bit my lower lip. My eyes went to the partly cloudy night sky where so many stars were gone it looked like the early evening despite it being around midnight. A few stars moved on their own and blinked, telling me that they were either airships or starships, or airplanes, or helicopters. Maybe a dragon, as according to dragon law they had to have lights on them so airplanes could see them.


    I couldn¡¯t tell Caleb that the whole reason I didn¡¯t have a class in the first place was because I didn¡¯t pick one to use. I was just an idiot and didn¡¯t pay enough attention at the start. Amelia was on my mind and I had been starving. Anyone would overlook the fact that they had a class when they just woke up after a two hundred year nap and needed sustenance.


    ¡°I think I know a half-elf who might know a half-elf, who knows a person who may be able to help.¡± I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Dinner a message: Do you know anything about pre-corporate tech? And what is it?


    The message was quicker than I expected: Pre-Corporate Tech refers to stuff made shortly before Reality broke and not long after. Think of it like really, really, really advanced magitech machines capable of forming a symbiotic relationship with you. The warmachine picks you. Like, no one can pilot my mech ¡®cause she don¡¯t want any other pilot but me. Now you see why Salvage Pilots are cloned and so fucking expensive to hire? 1/3


    Corporate Tech is what you¡¯re using now. It is more scientific, because the ancient dragons have completely banned most magitech shit. Like, they say that the rampant magic used by elves and humans in the First World War, and the insane warmachines they built are why Reality died. I¡¯m surprised they even allow a System to work, but maybe they dunno how to stop it, yk? 2/3


    What¡¯s up? Do you need someone versed in Pre-Corporate Tech? 3/3


    I blinked a few times at the fast and wordy message. Dinner had sent all that in under a minute. On a phone no less! It took me a long time to send my messages, because I had to use my stylus and the keyboard is arranged oddly. Why is the Q the first thing you see?


    I sent another: I found a Pre-Corporate Shuttle in need of a pilot.


    They replied: I¡¯ll grow wings before you can find one. A lot of the old pilots died in a ball of fire or were ripped to shreds by dragons. The dragons fucking hated airplanes with a burning passion until Ventrosa created a Dragon Council to rule the planets equally. For every planet with a dragon ruler, there is a non-dragon council member to voice our pleas.


    Thank you, Dinner, I replied.


    Anytime~ <3


    With that as a bust, I put the phone away and sighed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this over with. I¡¯ll talk to the mortal encampment and see whether or not they¡¯ll leave.¡±


    *** ***


    On the drive over to the other encampment, Caleb asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Lyra?¡±


    ¡°At one of her businesses.¡± She had things to do, vampires to feed, and mortals to manage. Despite her being a fledgling, I couldn''t keep her around much. She knew about vampires, she knew how to navigate our world, so my initial job was done. All Lyra needed me for was when she wanted to practice her powers or learn new ones.


    We only spent a few days together, but those few days made my heart ache for her return. It was odd, because I wanted her to fly free as well, but she enjoyed following me around. Except when she almost got arrested. That was my fault, of course. I was the foolish one who didn''t simply follow orders. Because a blood sack ordering me around is not something I am keen on.


    The seatbelt dug into my chest, so I had to adjust it a couple of times until it sat between my breasts and didn''t cut through the shirt.


    Caleb¡¯s fancy pickup¡¯s suspension thumped into the frame as the tires flung gravel into the wheel wells, creating an annoying racket that drowned out the music.


    ¡°The news is lying about you,¡± Caleb said quietly.


    ¡°I know.¡± I nodded in reply. ¡°So is the museum.¡±


    ¡°What actually happened back before you went into torpor?¡±


    ¡°My memory is hazy. I try, and I try, but I cannot pull at the threads. It is as if I am being shielded from it. I can access a few memories, but the dates don''t line up.¡±


    ¡°How do you know the dates?¡±


    ¡°I access the memory in my System menu and compare the dates with what I created by doing the math, because I don¡¯t like your Before Collide and After Collide dates.¡±


    Caleb stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. ¡°Cassandra, I, uh¡­ don¡¯t know how to say this, but that¡¯s not normal¡­¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    He simply shrugged. ¡°My System Menu doesn¡¯t have that. It has my classes, skills, stats, and that¡¯s it. What did she do to you? Are you sure of what you know concerning your death?¡± He shook his head and looked out the windshield as we passed by a few thick bushes and approached close enough to the encampment that I was able to walk the rest of the way.


    ¡°Let us not speak of this further. It might provoke an instinctual response to return to her. It¡¯s why I left my apartment. I was compelled to. Now let me out here. I can walk.¡±


    He nodded as he pulled over roughly fifty yards from the encampment. I climbed out of his pickup and walked the rest while Caleb waited. My feet crunched the gravel, feeling vaguely familiar. I could¡¯ve sworn I walked a similar path with a rifle in my hands at one point in my past.


    Approaching the camp, I tried to call out as best I could so my voice carried. Of course, it didn¡¯t carry far. My appearance did more to attract attention than my voice. I held my sharp nails against my palm, looking like I was scratching it as I glared from person to person, searching for my quarry. I don¡¯t know where they were, but I felt the shot slam into my side with a thump, followed by the echoing pop of a pistol. A small caliber one like Eva carried that did little more than tickle a vampire, but put serious hurt on a mortal.


    The burly man didn¡¯t have to choose violence as an answer for my approach, but he did. He and five other people with his build were all armed with projectile weapons. They resembled the military with how they were fanning for cover as they aimed their weapons at me.


    I split my palm open and let the shadows flow.


    *** ***


    There were now two dead mortals, one captured, and two on the run with me having a few bullet holes in my denim jacket and shirt. And my injuries itched as they worked to heal themselves and push the bullets back out. Caleb¡¯s pickup had a few more holes with him remarking, ¡°Why is it anytime I do something with you, my truck is damaged?¡±


    I didn''t want to stay and wait for the cops, because I had an apartment to get back to, but Caleb urged me to. He damn near got on his knees and offered a boon if I stayed. He would do a small favor in exchange for me explaining to the cops that he was not in fact the one who murdered the hostiles. Kind of happens when he pulls the trigger and shoots one with buckshot from his lever-action shotgun he now kept in his pickup.


    I also didn''t look like Cassandra in his words. I didn''t look like Eva either. I was a weird combination of the two that was called Sandra, the elder half-elven vampire of the Moon Goddess. Priestess to Her soft light. I told the cops as much and recited a few verses about how Her light shines upon us all and gives us energy. And how we should make peace with the mortals and the werewolves, because when we all finally die She brings us into Her embrace.


    It didn''t work when my hair was silvered-white, I was as old as time, and there were two dead mortals.


    The cops wanted to take me down to the station for further questioning. I could have run, I really should have after the last encounter with them, but I didn''t quite have a choice with Mr. Goody Two Shoes telling me he would owe me a favor if I stayed. Willing favors like that were hard to come by. I would take the blame for killing both mortals, Caleb would walk free, and then later on down the road I would walk up to him and say, ¡®Caleb, remember when you wanted me to wait for the cops? Well, there¡¯s something I want you to do.¡¯


    Favors like that were hard currency in the vampire world. I just had to survive the encounter with four groups of patrolmen who didn¡¯t care much about the dead mortals, because they were some dragon crime lord¡¯s thugs according to the man I interrogated. They cared more about me being Cassandra!


    Whomever arrests Cassandra von Colterville, the leading suspect in the Blood Tank¡¯s operation, would likely get a large raise. From what I gathered, they were scouring the city every day and night for me. I was some blood kingpin and didn¡¯t even know it.


    As much as I wanted to escape again, because they mentioned her as well, I sat on the ground like a good little vampire with my hands cuffed behind my back. Meanwhile two armored officers with goggles and helmets waited on a lady cop to arrive to give me a full pat down. One man kept calling me Cassandra even though I told him I wasn¡¯t her. I was Sandra. Yes, our names are similar, but we were different people.


    I had an out. It was insane and wholly stupid, because I was going to do what Caleb did. I was going to ask a vampire for help, because I suspect Detective Carlisle was fairly malleable when it came to the law. Since hardly any of the policemen used magic on civilians, or me, and he used a mind dominating spell right away.


    I took a deep breath and looked up at the cops. ¡°I am an undercover agent working to track down a monster pack in the city. We already dealt with one from the pack and I had a lead that turned out to be a bust.¡± I tossed my head toward the dead mortals for emphasis.


    ¡°Do you have a badge?¡±


    ¡°What part of undercover do you not understand?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your badge number?¡±


    ¡°Call Detective Carlisle of the South Encinar Monster Division,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°He¡¯s my partner.¡±


    The cops called for the vampire and we all waited. Caleb couldn''t come near me, so after giving his false statement on the events, he drove back to the other encampment to warn them about Sabre the Steelclaw wanting their shuttle for his collection. Time slowly dragged on for me as the minutes turned to hours until the wayward Carlisle finally showed up in a standard issue unmarked police car painted the most boring shade of white.


    The dark skinned vampire looked much in the way I remembered him; Long trench coat topped off with a baseball cap. Only now, his badge dangled around his neck as he showed it off to the other officers. They, of course, pointed at me.


    One of the officers leaned toward the man and whispered as if I couldn¡¯t hear it, ¡°She resembles the suspect from the Blood Tank. We need to take her in for questioning.¡±


    Carlisle looked from me to the officer for a moment. His face contorted as he frowned. ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯ll handle this one.¡± Then he raised his voice, ¡°Hungry?¡±


    I nodded firmly, picking up the feeling that he might want to talk somewhere away from the others. The man helped me to my feet and led me over to his patrol car where he gently guided me to the passenger seat


    His white car was lower in technology than Caleb''s pickup. Closer to Dustin¡¯s SUV, but the Nord Crown Empress was a mildly uncomfortable chair shielded from prying ears. Much like before, the detective held a can of blood in his hand as he stared silently at me.


    I failed to meet his gaze and stared at the passenger side airbag cover, since we both could force each other to speak truthfully. Possibly. I didn''t know the extent of Carlisle¡¯s powers beyond what I saw and pissing him off using my powers wouldn''t be a good idea. He wasn¡¯t her, so his powers might not work on me.


    ¡°I don''t know,¡± Carlisle began, slowly shaking his head from side to side. ¡°If I was on the run from the police I wouldn''t pick the most human-looking cosmetic to buy. It''s a nice subtle effect though. Most people won''t recognize you at a glance. Half-elven ears only carry you so far.¡±


    His shotgun was situated in a console mount between the two of us. As was a long rifle and a pistol. The car idled softly as warm air billowed out from the vents, and a quiet voice spoke through speakers in terms I didn''t understand. Numbers likely related to a police only language along with mentions of suspects.


    Carlisle pointed to himself. ¡°Me? I got a good enough look at you the other day that I clocked you as soon as I arrived on scene. You still stand the same way and have the same nervous hair twirl. So tell me. Why are you still in the city?¡±


    I shook my head from side to side, closing my eyes. ¡°I know I''m a fucking idiot, you don''t have to remind me.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Come on, Missus Colterville, I am trying to help you here. You called me, remember?¡± He then flashed a fancy smile as he held the handcuff keys for me to see. "Partner for a few nights? I''ve got a spare badge."


    "Do you really think I''d call you out here to say no?" I asked as I turned to show him my cuffed hands. "Let''s get the fuck out of here."

 Chapter 25: Duldrones

    Chapter 25: Androids and Drones


    It was getting late as Carlisle drove around South Encinar on the most boring patrol I¡¯d ever seen. Up one street, down another with the windows half-open so we could hear the life-filled city. He was on the lookout for gunfire or screaming. Didn''t really matter which of the two, because trouble follows them both.


    I just wanted something to happen. As he turned left onto 17th Street, I leaned my elbow on the door and rested my head on my palm. A police helicopter slowly circled the city, likewise looking for anything out of the ordinary. The rotor thump reverberated off the buildings and made it sound like there were two of them. We passed by advertisements I barely paid attention to before, but now?


    I had nothing else to look at, because Carlisle was dragging me around the city until near sun up.


    We passed by a building half-covered with an electronic billboard showing off the latest ¡®mortal safe¡¯ vampire soft drink. Fizzy and bubbly. The bright pinkish-red can of lite imitation blood claimed to give mortals, and vampires, the energy to stay up all day.


    Lite Blood¡­ As if the cans needed to be any thinner than the manure Caleb drank. At least he gave the other vampires full-blood cans. But if mortals could drink the cans and ¡®feel like a vampire¡¯ then it is no wonder they were hardly filling. Probably not even made with the right ingredients.


    Across the street was an animated billboard showing off a beautiful woman dressed in her nature-given form. Her copper skin looked perfect as she lay across a bed she was advertising, blanket barely covering her modesty between her legs and nothing else. I don¡¯t even know what the company was, because the model they had chosen was just that beautiful to look at. And there was nothing left to the imagination. They showed off her voluptuous bosom and the way her hair draped over her body onto the bed. The video billboard even showed off how her elbows pressed into the fluffy bed.


    It was inviting even if I didn''t use a bed.


    There were other advertisements as we continued down 17th Street. They ranged from small human-sized signs at eye level to an airship making the rounds above the buildings with lights dancing across the hull. Everyone had something to say, including the scrolling words on the airship. Most were mundane with one advertising weapons, and another advertising a new life abroad for vampires and mortals alike. All they had to do was sign a six year work contract.


    So many lights and so much information made everything into a headache-inducing mess of brightness. One that even my hunger tried to shield me from by making me focus on the people walking on the sidewalk instead of the wondrous lights.


    They wandered the streets in droves, which was a far cry from before I went into torpor where everyone was asleep at this hour. Now almost every business ran 24/7, except for a few that advertised no vampires allowed.


    I was about to ask why some businesses refused to sell to vampires when we passed by a 24/7 cybernetics shop. A place where you can get ¡®chromed out¡¯ for a few credits. Through the windows, I saw a man holding a gun to the clerk¡¯s face.


    We could avoid it, as Carlisle wasn''t looking that way, but he may be angry if he finds out I saw it and didn''t tell him. I was supposed to be a deputy for a couple nights. I reached for the door handle as I said, ¡°Stop the car! Stop! There''s a man with a gun.¡±


    Carlisle snapped his head in my direction as he hit the brakes. We came to a rough, tire screeching stop. He followed my gaze, but I was already climbing out of the car and running for the shop.


    I could have approached quietly, but I didn''t know if the door had a bell attached to it. It probably did, because any respectable shop would want to know when someone comes inside. The door didn''t look like one that opened on its own, thankfully, as it didn''t have the caution sticker.


    The shop was brightly lit and there were no shadows to teleport into. The only thing I could do was draw my pistol with one hand and grab the door with the other. Someone had thankfully put the word ¡®pull¡¯ right on the handle, so that''s what I did. I yanked the door open as fast as I could and slipped inside, bringing the pistol up.


    ¡°Encinar Police!¡± I yelled at the thief, almost flubbing the line, because since when am I a cop?!


    He glanced over his shoulder. The clerk dove behind the counter.


    ¡°Drop the weapon!¡± I ordered as I stared into his covered eyes. He wore dark sunglasses and a mask covering the lower half of his face with a hood to cover his hair.


    The thief snapped his fingers, disappearing with a pop and a flash of golden light.


    Carlisle finally caught up. The man made far, far too much noise to hear if the perpetrator had merely become invisible or teleported.


    ¡°Is he gone?!¡± the clerk yelled, voice echoing from behind the counter.


    Carlisle nudged me past the door and whispered, ¡°Sweep the premises for others.¡±


    Shotgun raised, the man went to the right toward a pair of washrooms while I went left to a door to the back.


    Behind my door was a clinically white hallway with a pair of medical advertisements on the wall. One talked about proper healing when it came to cybernetic enhancements and the other talked about how a replacement heart could be a life saver.


    I tried to ignore them, but the fact that they were selling mechanical hearts that kept people alive was strange. Just who was the first person to get one, and did it succeed?


    The mortals were playing with fire. Alas, I could not stay to read the details, as there might be other hostiles about. One System display off to the left of my vision showed me a sound meter as I moved swiftly and silently. In the upper right of my vision, I had the minimap showing as it continuously updated the building''s layout. They were distractions, but useful ones, because it showed Carlisle''s dot in one of the other rooms as he called out that it was clear.


    t was quiet in the back, almost too quiet. Something had to be there. Another person or a patient. It couldn''t just be the lone mortal up front, because there needed to be someone to run the register in the event the mortal had to defecate or do any actual work.


    I kept an ear out for heartbeats or movement as I tried the first door handle. It was unlocked, which was good. I cracked it open and stepped back, aiming around the empty room, before pushing it open all the way.


    Since no one was in the immediate vicinity, I got a good long look at the exam table where they had white paper covering the bed, uncomfortable looking chairs to one side and a sink on the other. Cabinets lined the bright walls while anatomically correct replicas of organs sat on the counter. The room was eerily familiar as I stared at the uncrumpled paper that I knew felt awkward to lay on. I looked up at the drop down lights hanging over the table. Again, that dream of the doctors talking about cores popped into my head. It could be because I was watching a show about a sentient ship, but I don''t recall a view in the show that matched it.


    Another thing to figure out later.


    After checking behind the bed and door, I tried the next room, and the one after that. All three were clear, which felt awkward, because again. There had to be another mortal. It just didn''t sit right that there was only one person when I knew better.


    I pushed open the fourth door and again. Nothing. By this time, Carlisle had called out the front was clear. I refused to give that designation to the back.


    They had an empty wash room as well as a few storage closets and one room containing stores of blood next to a workshop of robotic limbs and parts. Sitting there at the workbench in the center of the room was a person I hesitate to call mortal. For their arms were brightly painted metal along with most of their skull. Long elf-shaped robotic ears hung off their head, including a few earrings and a necklace.


    They set their tools down and slowly held their hands in the air without looking behind them. ¡°I am Doctor Granite,¡± they said in a smooth human-like voice. ¡°And you are intruding on my work.¡±


    ¡°Deputy Tully,¡± I replied and held my deputy badge up. Carlisle had given me a necklace to wear along with it. ¡°South Encinar P.D.¡±


    ¡°How might I serve the fine upstanding department today?¡± They slowly pushed themself away from the table and turned around to face me. Their mechanical orange eyes were extremely strange and mesmerizing, almost pulling me toward the softly glowing crosshairs for pupils.


    I slowly lowered the pistol as I looked into Granite¡¯s warm gaze, which changed to question marks for pupils just before I spoke. ¡°What are you¡­?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°How can I help you, Deputy?¡± The person cocked their head. A white lab coat with rolled up sleeves covered their torso while their dark pants kept the stains away. They had hardly any skin, except a few minor patches, leading me to think they might be a robot. But I¡¯ve never seen one in the flesh. Only heard about them.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Did you know you were being robbed?¡±


    The good doctor shook their head as they set their hands in their lap. ¡°Did you catch the perp?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then your job is done.¡± Granite spun back around to the table and picked up a smoking metal pen and an extremely thin silver wire.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The doctor sighed heavily, setting the items down again. ¡°I am trying to solder a resistor onto this hand I am building for a customer. Leave. Me. Alone.¡±


    ¡°One last question,¡± I began, knowing it would bug the doctor, but I had to know the answer to it. ¡°Those eyes of yours are cybernetics, yes?¡±


    ¡°Astute observation, Deputy.¡± They rested their head in their hands and stared at the wall of tools ahead of them. ¡°If you keep asking questions, I may just scoop yours out and add them to my collection.¡±


    The eyes would just grow back. It might take a month or two, but they¡¯d regrow. I once regrew a hand someone chopped off, as they thought it was funny. They laughed right up until I sliced their head from their shoulders.


    ¡°Can I get a gun installed in my arm?¡±


    The doctor scoffed, shaking their head from side to side. ¡°I am a cybernetics expert, Deputy. I can put you in a construct¡¯s body and you¡¯d never know unless I let you know. Now¡ª¡±


    ¡°Even though I¡¯m a vampire?¡±


    His irises turned to exclamation points as he glared. ¡°What part of Expert don''t you understand? I am an S-rank cybernetics doctor. My B-rank assistant can help with any questions regarding your inquiries and appointments. Please leave.¡±


    I nodded slowly and turned around, finding Carlisle had finally caught up and was standing less than two feet away. The vampire was just fucking watching me! If he expected me to jump back in fright he was sorely mistaken. I holstered my pistol as I said, ¡°We¡¯re clear here. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want a gun in your arm?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It was just a question!¡±


    Carlisle watched me push past him and walk back toward the front door. I¡¯ll come back and ask the attendant about cybernetic eyes once I¡¯ve done my research. Or asked Dinner. The half-elf¡¯s company already worked with cybernetics and likely may be able to get me situated with some for cheaper.


    *** ***


    I had Carlisle take me home, which he thankfully did. The man even followed me inside to see what my apartment was like, because he was curious and disappointed at what I had.


    His reply was a basic, ¡°There''s nothing here.¡±


    I shook my head from side to side. ¡°I moved in last night.¡±


    ¡°I thought there would have been¡­ more. You''re supposed to be an elder, not a fledgling.¡± He looked into the practically empty washroom, then rummaged through the kitchen for anything to make food with.


    Why would I need pots and pans? Unless I was trying to look like a blood sack when I wasn''t, then they weren''t needed.


    Carlisle found the blood cake and pointed at this. ¡°Who made this?¡±


    ¡°A neighbor.¡± Who is very nosy and was likely already trying to listen through the door. Although, I couldn''t hear any heartbeats, so perhaps they were back in their room.


    The policeman stepped close to the cake and pointed to it. ¡°May I?¡± he asked.


    I smiled, nodding. Better that he taste it first than me.


    Carlisle went through a few drawers, looking for utensils and plates but, of course, he found only a knife. I watched from the main area where I sat on the floor next to a duffel bag of my things, phone in hand and a paused episode of Tortuga Chronicles waiting for me. Carlisle frowned as he closed the final cupboard, picked up the cake slice with his bare hands and bit into it.


    I tilted my head as I waited for his response, which was a face scrunching reply. Eyes clamped shut, the man slowly chewed through the soft cake and nodded a couple of times. He chased it down with a drink from a blood can and then gasped.


    ¡°That''s too sweet for me,¡± he replied. I waited for him to vomit and run off like Caleb had, according to Cassandra¡¯s memories, but the man stayed put and licked his chops instead. He blinked a few times and shook his head. ¡°Way, way too sweet.¡±


    I lifted an eyebrow in confusion as I got up and went over to taste it myself. It had some sweetness to it, but nothing like he was describing. The texture was soft, crumbly and melted in my mouth. I turned away from the man so he didn''t stare as I chewed until the cake became liquid that I gulped down.


    ¡°It''s not bad,¡± I pointed out, shrugging.


    He threw his hands up and turned for the door. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not an elder, so what do I know?!¡±


    I cut more off to nibble on, set my phone on the counter and waved at Carlisle. He, of course, left without saying anything aside from, ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    I sighed through my nose. Carlisle is why you don''t enter an arrangement with another vampire unless you have no other choice.


    I watched the rest of episode six of Tortuga Chronicles, followed by seven and eight until I felt the morning sun creeping over the horizon. I could have stayed awake and watched nine through twelve, but I was tired. I was worn out. All I wanted to do was crawl inside my coffin and sleep, but again. I had none!


    After checking the locks and ensuring the window blinds were clamped down, I sat in the corner of the main room to watch episode nine and fell asleep.


    My dream was annoying, because I found myself at a desk with an incomprehensible amount of paperwork piled atop it. As soon as I filed away one piece, seven more were added! I worked as fast as I could to go through it all, not really paying attention to the names because they kept changing.


    Soon, I had a crowd gathered around me. All of them watching and laughing, but I kept working. I kept working right up until something slammed into my back with enough force to snap me from the dream.


    My eyes flicked open as I let out a gasp. I sat up from the floor and looked around, listening for anyone in the room. All I heard were voices coming from my phone as episode fifteen played out in my lap. The cell phone burned as I picked it up and turned off the video application.


    It was 2:15 in the afternoon, according to the phone and the way my body looked like a corpse that should be buried. While Eva¡¯s body was withered slightly before I took over, it was now much, much closer to what I remembered. Like something out of a horror film about zombies without the blood.


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± a panicked slightly muffled voice yelled from the apartment next door. She screamed in fright as she added, ¡°Where is he? Where is he?! Fuck! Fuck! Flare! Flare! Flare!¡±


    I grabbed my pistol and rushed for the door, but my movements were slowed. It felt like I ran through mud with each heavy step. My body wanted to go back to sleep, but my mind said there was a woman in trouble. I had to help her. I had to stop her attacker.


    I flung my door open, remembering that the hallway had no windows in it, because it was a vampire-safe apartment complex. They built it to accommodate my weaknesses and ensure that I had an easy escape should something happen during the day. According to the landlord, the escape routes led to an underground tunnel system rather than the outside. As per Encinar code.


    The screaming stopped by the time I reached my neighbor¡¯s door. I slammed a sluggish palm against it, shouting, ¡°Encinar P.D! Open up!¡±


    As that is what a cop would do. Hopefully. Maybe. At least in the Tortuga Chronicles.


    No. They¡¯d kick the door in.


    Well, I didn''t.


    I thumped my palm against the door until the woman shouted, ¡°It¡¯s open, officer!¡±


    Pushing the door open, I crept inside with the pistol raised and safety off. My unsteady steps stumbled their way through the doorway and the short hallway past an identical kitchen to mine, except for empty food packaging and unclean dishes sitting on the counter and in the sink.


    The heavy stench of freshly cooked mortal food clung to the air, sending my gut churning at the thought of eating such nasty cuisine. It was fairly dark aside from a few spotlights around a strange contraption built around a chair.


    Speakers played a constant rumbling around the seated figure, who wasn''t even looking in my direction as I approached the odd chair. It reminded me of Dinner¡¯s mech controls from the photographs I had seen of them; a comfortable chair with so many switches and buttons alongside, and in front of the figure. I couldn''t make sense of it in my groggy daytime state.


    The woman held a button filled stick in her right hand and a sliding stick in her left. Ahead of her was a screen showing a vast daytime desert with a bright blue sky. On the screen was a heads-up display showcasing flight information according to the memories I dredged up.


    A cat eared helmet covered the woman¡¯s head and blocked the upper half of her face with a solid visor. The television screen in front of the woman focused on a flaming vehicle tumbling toward the ground.


    ¡°Alright, chat,¡± the woman began, looking in my direction at a downward angle. It mimicked what was shown on the display screen. ¡°I think we got him. Let''s check on the ground units and see if they are okay.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I said as I uselessly held up my badge. ¡°What is going on here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working, officer. What''s it look like?¡±


    ¡°Working?¡± I looked at the display, and then the monitor next to it where a website showed exactly what was on the big display. Down in the bottom left of the new screen was a view of the woman in her tank top as she sat in her fancy chair. It seemed to be playing minute old events as the woman dodged and rolled her flying machine around in a frantic fight against another until she gained the upper hand.


    The woman held a finger up for me to wait and spoke with a clear tone, ¡°Target three is splashed. Rumble House, you''re free to advance. I¡¯ve got two unidentified bogies on my radar twenty kilometers to the north, heading east by northeast. Be advised, Gamma Two and I will have to intercept if they come any closer.¡±


    The reply was impossible for me to hear, but the woman''s rapidly beating heart thundered in my foggy brain. Clearly, she wasn''t in any danger like I initially thought.


    I felt stupid for believing her to be in danger, but investigating when someone screams was always a good thing. Even when not working as a cop. You might just save a mortal from a vampire killing them.


    I checked the other display again as the woman turned her aircraft and followed a road. Now, I showed up on the second display, but of course it was showing how I looked in a reflection. Vaguely humanoid shaped void of darkness and tentacles with glowing eyes. A look I came to know as normal, but it was different. Curvier now. It made me smile.


    People with various colorful names were talking about events on screen. A few were spamming the chat in an attempt to tell the woman to lift her visor. A few larger messages showed up with fancy effects and everything.


    One said, Lift your visor and look at the cop, woman!


    ¡°What?¡± the woman asked as she looked at the main screen and resumed flying. ¡°Why do I need to lift my visor? It''s just a cop.¡±


    I folded my arms across my chest and frowned, tapping a foot on the ground, digging my toes into it. ¡°What is going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A mercenary company out in the Mojave hired me for close air support. My Drone Operator and Vehicular Weapon license is on my computer desk, officer.¡±


    I cocked my head. I wasn''t interested in her licenses. I was more interested on what the fuck she was doing! ¡°Is this real or a video game?¡±


    ¡°It''s real,¡± she replied, finally turning her head to look at me. ¡°I have a streaming¡­ license, too¡­¡± the woman¡¯s voice trailed off as she lifted her visor and a set of light green cat-like eyes met mine. ¡°Oh.¡± A nervous smile crept over her lips. I knew why. I looked like a fucking zombie and felt like it. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep and wake up in a few years.


    The woman half-turned her head. ¡°Chat¡­ why didn''t you tell me the officer is a fucking vampire?!¡± She giggled slightly. ¡°I am terribly sorry, ma¡¯am! Did my yelling wake you?¡±


    ¡°No, actually. I was already awake.¡± I tapped a foot on the ground for a moment as my eyes went from one display screen to the other. Then her unusual control system. ¡°Aren''t you worried about your enemies finding you? You¡¯re broadcasting this live, right?¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°Why would I be worried? Everyone livestreams in the Mojave, officer. How else are us plebeians who aren''t immortal supposed to make money and fight in the Big Arena?¡±


    ¡°So you are¡­ on a battlefield right now?¡± I pointed a finger toward the main display.


    The woman nodded. ¡°Yes. In the Mojave Desert. My ship and her backup are standard Mark Nine Heavy Support Drones.¡±


    ¡°And you''re not worried about your enemies finding your exact location through the broadcast?¡± I scratched the back of my head. It sounded like a logical thing to do.


    ¡°There are laws against that, Officer. Anyone caught stream sniping or using it for intelligence gathering is fined three million credits, or a hundred thousand gold, thrown in jail for two decades, and has their combat classes stripped from them.¡±


    I shook my head at the nonsense. ¡°I apologize for interrupting you. I thought you were in trouble.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re not the first. It''s why I¡­ hang on.¡± The woman slid her visor down and looked ahead again. ¡°Huh?!¡± The woman glanced in my direction again. ¡°What do you mean she looks like an Eldritch Horror?! She¡¯s a half-elf, chat!¡± Then the woman looked from her second display to me and back again.


    I tilted my head a bit.


    The cat woman lifted her visor and stared at the second screen. ¡°Holy shit¡­ what kind of cosmetic do you have that does that to your reflection?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Everyone acts¡­ like that.¡± I shook my head. All I wanted to do was sleep. The pull of the sun was becoming too great, so I closed my eyes and that was that. It was like someone threw a switch and my world went black.

 Chapter 26: A New Beginning

    Chapter 26: A New Beginning


    I awoke on Maggie¡¯s couch. At least that was the name she introduced herself with when I awoke. She squatted down with her feet flat on the ground, so we could be roughly eye level. My head felt clear enough that I vaguely remembered being fooled by her shouts earlier in the day.


    A burning hunger lurked in my fangs as I stared into the cat woman''s light green eyes. Her short cropped burnt umber hair looked a mess from having removed the helmet at some point. Maggie held her wrist out with a nervous smile.


    ¡°I don''t have any blood cans,¡± she said, nodding toward the wrist. ¡°But I have me. Just don''t take too much, okay?¡±


    I grabbed the mortal woman¡¯s wrist and bit into it. She tensed awkwardly for a moment until I began to drink and the Kiss¡¯s effects took hold in her mind. Her long fluffy tail swished from one side to the other as she watched, heartbeat thumping loudly in my ears.


    Maggie wanted to be alert, as she had a night operation in an hour or two. Something about infiltrating behind enemy lines to disrupt their supplies. So of course, I took as much as was required to placate the ache. Nothing more. This left the cat woman slightly dazed and fuzzy eyed as I cleaned the wound, making it disappear from sight.


    She giggled softly once more. ¡°That felt weird¡­ and everything is so bright now. See, chat? So shiny¡­ Being bitten by a vampire isn''t that bad! Even if she looks weird on stream.¡±


    My eyes fluttered in response. Glancing around the room, I found a camera pointed right at me with a light to illuminate the couch, which also had a few bright colored blankets set up to make the couch seem like a bedroom.


    ¡°Are you recording us right now?¡± I asked.


    Maggie nodded firmly. ¡°Mhm! I record four days a week from the time I get up to when I go to bed. By the way, chat calls you Officer Bubbles.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡± I narrowed my eyes at the camera.


    She stepped away from me, giggling once again like a drunken noble I just drained. The cat woman will be looking paler for about a week. ¡°Ah, well¡­ I couldn''t drag you to your room, so I put you on the couch and chat was curious what vampires did in their sleep.¡±


    ¡°We just lay there like a dead corpse,¡± I deadpanned.


    ¡°I noticed. It was creepy.¡± She threw her arms out to her sides in a shrug and shook her head, tail swishing from side to side once again. One of her ears twitched toward the computer for a moment, then turned in my direction again. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I got up from the couch, checked over my pistol to make sure it was still there and loaded, and headed for the door. ¡°It''s fine.¡± No, it was not fine. Not in the slightest. The woman could have told me we were being recorded before I bit into her wrist. Perhaps I should have assumed we were. Now who knows how many people just saw me bite into my neighbor¡¯s wrist! Oh sure, her blood was full of energy and flavorful, but that wasn''t the point!


    I slowed to a stop at the kitchen counter and looked over my shoulder at her. ¡°You know I could arrest you.¡±


    ¡°For what, officer?¡± She cocked her head.


    ¡°Making me feed from a living person. That is illegal.¡±


    ¡°Outside of a domicile. This is my home, therefore it is considered private.¡± She shrugged again. ¡°As the law states, which I looked up before you awoke, it is illegal to feed from a living person in a public setting. A home is not considered public as long as we are inside a room where people cannot just wander into. And that room is lived in full-time.¡±


    ¡°And the stream? That is public.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still in my home.¡±


    I hissed and left the apartment, slamming the door hard enough it darn near cracked the frame. I had somewhere to be and Dinner was on their way to my old house to meet the druids. After grabbing my things from my apartment and heading downstairs, I found Carlisle waiting for me at the curb with his white four-door sedan. The man leaned on the fender, one foot on the tire as he smoked from a cigar. Almost as if he was trying to impress me. It only made me fold my arms across my chest and glare at him.


    ¡°What?¡± he replied.


    ¡°My neighbor is an uncouth woman who thinks it''s funny to livestream me feeding from her arm. Go up there and arrest her.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Okay, Karen.¡±


    ¡°My name is Sandra, not Karen.¡±


    Carlisle put the cigar out and slid the remainder in a metal tube, capping it. He twirled it about in his hand, smirking at me. ¡°You''re not doing a very good job of blending in with the modern day. Look, Sandra, did you know you were being recorded?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°She had a recording setup when I walked into her apartment, but I didn''t know she was still recording after I fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°Then I can''t do anything.¡± He pushed away from the car and waved a hand toward the city. ¡°If we arrested every vampire who fed on their friends or spouse in private we¡¯d have an overflowing jail system.¡±


    I blinked as I approached the car, reaching for the door handle. ¡°What? Why would I be arrested?!¡±


    ¡°Because you drank her blood, not the poor defenseless mortal under your spell. It''s stupid, but that''s how Halifax set the law. We are supposed to control our fangs and fear the M.V.A.¡±


    ¡°The what?¡±


    ¡°Bad news cops well above my paygrade. Don''t think I can protect you from them either, because Lady Isabella uses the Ministry of Vampire Affairs to watch everywhere.¡±


    ¡°I want to speak with Halifax.¡± And get my throne back. I had to ignore her name as best I could. If my sire was running the vampire police, then that wasn¡¯t good. She hated the law when I ruled Encinar, so it didn''t really make sense to me, but two centuries is a long time and she could change her mind as she saw fit.


    His bellowing laugh echoed off the building as he slapped his hands together. ¡°Good fucking luck with that one! Let''s go, we¡¯ve got a long night ahead of us.¡±


    I frowned at the man. Perhaps going into torpor again wasn''t such a bad idea after all. I¡¯d not have to deal with the nonsense that was going on and maybe. Just maybe, they would revert back to the old days. Or even better. Go back to before technology existed.


    Just how long will that take? A hundred years? A few thousand?


    *** ***


    I calmed down considerably by the time we arrived at my old home. Or rather, what was left of the building. The house and barn were completely flattened with nothing remaining. The construction company kept their strange machines on the property, because they hadn''t fully picked up all the debris. Someone forgot to warn them about the false basement and one poor machine fell into it. I wondered what would happen had I been asleep in my coffin. Staked again probably or flattened. Maybe burned to ash.


    Dinner¡¯s rusty car sat near the base of the hill Amelia¡¯s tree towered over. Parked next to the modified Veren was a black SUV with slightly older styling, but well maintained. The car was as shiny as could be and had shiny off-road tires with gnarly lugs. It looked capable of going just about anywhere, as it had a lot more rubber than Caleb¡¯s truck.


    Carlisle pulled up next to the group and stared at Dinner¡¯s car. ¡°That old car looks familiar¡­¡± he muttered to himself.


    Underneath the large oak tree, Dinner leaned on a cane with a pair of people that weren''t Lyra. Amelia¡¯s glowing form sat on a branch looking down at them while one person talked with Dinner, and a wild brightly haired woman set items on the ground.


    Dinner wore cozy baggy pants and a baggy sweater again. Their hair was styled off to the side in a way that looked just a bit cute, exposing one half of a shaved head where metal plating replaced some skin. I hadn''t noticed it the other day, because their chin length hair kept it hidden in the club.


    I climbed out of Carlisle¡¯s car and walked up the hill where my eyes fell upon the tired human woman with wild neon green hair. Her patchwork clothes fit her body nicely. The colors were fairly muted with scuffs and mud stains around the ankles. As for her long bright green hair, it was odd, because it was made of nothing but leaves! Vibrant green leaves protruded out from a dusty top hat and cascaded down from her scalp to her lower back where an Old World gun belt sat with a heavy looking revolver in it.


    The elf with her slowly reached into his jacket pocket with two fingers as he said, ¡°I am reaching for the permit, officers. Do not fret. We are both armed, but not hostile. This can be a cordial encounter if you keep calm.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Carlisle shook his head and flicked a hand in my direction. ¡°I have the property owner right here.¡±


    Dinner waved, half-saluting, as did the others, so I waved back. Dinner motioned between me and the others as they introduced me to Anita and Kevin. An elf named Kevin was odd, but I assumed he had a fake name.


    However, as Carlisle bumped fists with Dinner, he frowned and pointed in their direction with his other hand. ¡°Do I know you?¡± he asked.


    The lanky half-elf shook their head and pressed their lips together. ¡°Nope.¡± They clicked their tongue as they tapped the cane into the ground. Then Dinner turned to me and smiled, causing me to smile in turn. ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later, yeah? My back¡¯s killing me right now.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Their voice said otherwise, but I got the hint.


    I nodded. ¡°I will let you know what we find.¡±


    ¡°I can fix it,¡± Anita said, turning to look toward Dinner. I wanted to groan, but kept my mouth shut. The leaf-haired human smiled nervously when everyone looked at her. ¡°I¡¯m an arch druid healer,¡± she added with a wave to herself. ¡°Able to mend bones, resurrect the dead, heal illnesses, you know. Ancient World magic. Little problems like broken bones take only a few minutes.¡±


    The following silence from the wide-eyed lanky half-elf could chop a ship in two. No one spoke for a good long while as we all looked from person to person while Anita appeared mildly confused at the silence.


    Finally, Dinner waved a hand about as they shook their head from side to side. ¡°Oh no, it''s fine! Thank you. I have surgery on Friday to get a cyberspine installed. Flesh is weak and all that.¡±


    Anita looked between us until she finally picked up that Dinner didn''t want to be around Carlisle. She spun around and stared at the tree. ¡°So this tree is with a wandering spirit?¡± she asked awkwardly.


    I nodded. ¡°Yes. She is watching us.¡± I pointed up to where the glowing woman sat. Amelia waved, so I waved.


    ¡°I can see her.¡± Anita nodded to my rose, then knelt before the large oak tree and arranged her items around a ritualistic symbol in the ground. ¡°The Great Mother sometimes makes mistakes when it comes to creating dryads and they end up without a body. It''s where forest spirits come from. Usually, they go unnoticed until a dryad like me comes along and sees ¡®em. I don''t know how a vampire was able to see this one.¡±


    ¡°She is my partner,¡± I said.


    ¡°Be that as it may, you shouldn''t be able to see her. She is a life spirit, you are undead. These two things are not compatible. Not in love, not in sight.¡±


    ¡°I communed with the Great Mother quite a bit before I took a two hundred year nap.¡± I flicked a hand toward the shattered moon for emphasis.


    Anita stopped what she was doing to glance up at me, fingers gently tapping the ground. ¡°The Great Mother is the tree which supports the entire world, not a moon, and She does not speak to vampires.¡±


    ¡°Well, I call the moon ¡®Great Mother¡¯, as that is what She told me Her name was. I thought perhaps you did the same. Because while you may be a creature of life, and I am undead. Life becomes death in the end and death brings new life with it. It is a cycle in which She allows our souls to move from one world to the next. When they give me their blood, they become closer to Her for just a moment.¡±


    The wild haired human shook her head. Anita gently set an acorn on top of a small bit of tree bark in the center of her strange symbol. She gently placed her hands together and closed her eyes.


    Kevin picked a branch-like staff up off the ground and began drawing his own symbol in the dirt around Anita.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Carlisle whispered, leaning in.


    I shrugged. ¡°I have no fucking clue.¡±


    ¡°We normally don''t work with, or for, vampires,¡± Anita began. Her fingertips glowed softly as they elongated into what looked like inhuman skeletal hands made of bark. Her hair took on a soft green glow as magic flowed down her shoulders in the shape of vines. Each leaf pulsed and shimmered with her breath. Anita¡¯s heavily tanned skin hardened, resembling bark more than skin. The vine-like bracers around her wrists fused with her body and followed their way to her fingers until they formed drooping roots.


    ¡°But my boss said to come help with a favor,¡± Anita added as she placed the roots on the ground and closed her eyes. ¡°So I am here.¡±


    ¡°You''re with the Rocklin Mob, aren''t you?¡± Carlisle replied. He flexed his hands and moved them closer to the fold in his jacket. ¡°Most of you old druids are.¡±


    ¡°I am employed by an independent entity whose concern is helping lost souls, nothing more. Nothing less. My personal concern is with an imbalanced tree. Now, corpse, allow me to work, or I will move your soul into the next life for you.¡±


    I motioned for silence from Carlisle.


    He sighed through his nose as he looked up at the tree branches in an attempt to find Amelia. The spirit waved down at me, but Carlisle didn''t see her, eyes darting from limb to limb. ¡°So this oak tree is a person?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Last warning,¡± Anita replied. ¡°The next time you open your mouth will be to scream as you leave your next mother¡¯s womb.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want any part of that, so I dragged Carlisle down the hill before I got to see life magic in action first hand. As much as I wanted to ask Dinner why they didn''t want to be near Carlisle. I had a feeling that it was related to their work as a mercenary. Carlisle could have hidden his badge, but the man chose to wear it around his neck again and instructed me to follow suit. I didn''t really want to play his game, but I had to for the rest of the night. The issue with playing Carlisle¡¯s game was that it wasn''t who I was and being a detective was, quite frankly, boring.


    I yearned for the sea as I looked out across the strange sky. To hold Amelia¡¯s hand again as we sailed the Caribbean, sneaking cargo into ports right under the crown¡¯s noses. But alas, that time has long passed and the world moved on while I slept through it all. Two hundred years gone in an instant for me. However, I have a small inkling that perhaps I may have been awake longer than I thought. At least, if the Internet and some people were to be believed. If not, well. I¡¯ll never forgive my sire for robbing me of two centuries.


    Even if Amelia might¡¯ve died from old age. There were other ways my sire could have dealt with the situation. Staking me only to kill me two centuries later seems far-fetched. Something must''ve changed her mind, but what?


    My sire had the answers, but so might Jean.


    I took my phone from my pocket as I reached the bottom of the hill where the cars were parked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Dinner¡¯s voice distracted me from the phone. They sat inside their rusty car with the windows down, their own phone to their ear. ¡°She¡¯s talking to them now.¡±


    They didn''t see me approaching, because they were curled up in their seat with their feet splayed out the window and eyes shut. An unreasonable assumption would be that the lanky half-elf was talking to my sire about me. I could pull the pistol and put it to their head to find out, but they put their neck out to rescue me from her fledglings. The rational thing to do was simply knock on the car¡¯s roof to get their attention.


    Upon hearing the noise, they glanced in my direction, eyes flicking toward Carlisle for a moment before returning to me. He stood off to the side with his arms folded across his chest and his own eyes closed. I don''t know what he was doing, but it made Dinner go quiet. The half-elf looked up at me, whispering, ¡°Why are you hanging out with a cop?¡±


    ¡°I needed his help yesterday and now he won''t leave.¡±


    ¡°Want me to stake him and put him in a cryo coffin? I can make sure he isn''t a problem.¡±


    ¡°Cryo¡­ coffin?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°I have to go, Mike. Love you,¡± Dinner said before hanging up. They smiled with their turquoise eyes, patting my hand. ¡°She¡¯s my main partner.¡±


    ¡°Main¡­ partner?¡± That was an odd thought.


    ¡°Mhm! You don''t mind, do you? I, like, forgot to mention her when we were at the club. Well, she was supposed to meet me there if my other date didn¡¯t show, but he didn¡¯t and I met you!¡±


    I shook my head from side to side. ¡°No. Why would I mind?¡± Dinner was their own person. I was a hideous hag. They were just following me around because I¡¯m paying them, yet they haven¡¯t really asked for money beyond the first night.


    They glanced toward Carlisle again and raised their voice to get his attention, but he probably heard us whispering anyway. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Dinner asked.


    He opened his eyes, shrugging. ¡°I was told to be quiet, so I¡¯m being quiet.¡±


    ¡°Have you spoken to Lyra recently?¡± I asked Dinner.


    Dinner nodded. ¡°Mhm! She is busy though. Like, holy shit is she busy. She totally had me on hold for a solid hour and a half last night!¡±


    I held a finger to my lips, because that wasn''t a topic for conversation. Just a yes or no. Again, Dinner nodded in acknowledgement, so I patted the car¡¯s roof, causing the machine to echo in reply.


    ¡°How does one become a Salvage Pilot?¡± I asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°You, like, apply for a gene scan.¡± Dinner shrugged.


    ¡°What is a gene scan?¡±


    ¡°They look at your DNA.¡±


    All I could do was stare blankly at the half-elf as the words flew over my head like a dragon.


    ¡°But you¡¯re an¡­¡± Their eyes fluttered before they inhaled, nodding slowly. ¡°Okay then¡­ I¡¯ll explain genes later. Now, if you have the gene, you can actually select the class. Otherwise you¡¯ll get stuck as a regular Pilot. Which isn¡¯t a bad gig. Why, thinking of flying?¡±


    I sighed through my nose and closed my eyes, hoping that there was some future out there for me. I was old, I was out of touch, the world didn''t care enough about me to search for me when I was gone and that. That left a knot in my stomach that her presence only worsened. I couldn''t stay in Encinar, not even South Encinar. There had to be another place for me, but anywhere beyond Encinar would mean I¡¯d have to hide who I was and start over.


    Carlisle threw his hands out and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve had enough. I¡¯ll see you around.¡± The man waved as he opened his car door.


    Both Dinner and I watched the man drive off into the night before Dinner smiled and asked, ¡°Wanna go see a movie?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I need to think about if I want to be a Pilot or not.¡±


    *** ***


    Dinner dragged me to a theatre playing movies 24/7. The movie of choice was about a couple of thieves trying to win a card tournament on a riverboat. Now seeing media through a handheld device is one thing, but sitting in a dark room reminiscent of an old stage play only to have the entire wall taken up by a display screen was something else entirely. Just as the music and voices coming from everything was awe inspiring.


    I never expected technology to advance far enough to replace plays. But here Dinner and I sat sharing a massive bowl of popcorn, watching a comedy movie. By sharing, I mean I was drinking synthetic blood from a fountain cup while I had to expend blood to make myself ¡®alive¡¯ enough that I could eat the salty buttery treat, which still tasted like ash. It¡¯ll come back up later, but I figured I could hold it down during the movie.


    We sat close to the projector so we had a full view of the screen and all the privacy I could imagine. On the drive over, Dinner mentioned that I looked quite parched and would need a ¡®fresh¡¯ meal. The only problem with that was if Dinner truly had surgery coming in the next couple days, then they would need all the blood they had.


    Roughly halfway into the film, Dinner took hold of my right hand and just held it. Their hand was fairly warm to the touch compared to mine. So I locked my fingers around theirs and allowed them to transfer the warmth. It felt a bit awkward, so I looked around first to make sure we were alone. Of course, we were in darkness, so no one would see us holding hands. But I couldn''t shake the feeling of being watched and Carlisle¡¯s words about my sire made me worry.


    I don¡¯t know how she could ¡®see everything¡¯ from her office. If she did then that wasn¡¯t a good thing. She could be leaning over my shoulder waiting for me to fuck up. Just to tell me how terrible of a fledgling I was.


    I think Dinner noticed my hesitation, because they whispered, ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    ¡°It is strange,¡± I whispered back as I leaned close so they could actually hear me. ¡°I am not used to being affectionate in public with someone who is not a man.¡±


    Dinner shrugged. ¡°It''s just holding hands. Like, as I said when we first met; you can call me a dude or a lady or neither. I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Just holding hands. After they said I was cute?


    I cocked an eyebrow at the half-elf before looking at the movie again. Dinner and I held hands for the rest of the movie while sharing popcorn. Though, I tried to eat very little, as the more food I ate the more would come up later, and the more blood I needed to use. The Blood Reserve bar was steadily depleting, but not at a fast enough rate to truly worry about. What with an 8.2L capacity and I was down to 4.1L. I had more important worries on my mind. I could feel my gut churning with the thought of even more mortal food being forced upon it. It didn''t want mortal food and wasn¡¯t liking it. It wanted vampire blood.


    After the movie was over, Dinner asked if I wanted to follow them to another screen. There was still quite a bit of starlight out and we hadn''t been texted by Anita just yet, so I relieved myself of the popcorn in the restroom and followed Dinner to another screen.


    The next movie was a love story set on a doomed steamship sailing through the ice flows. A familiar tale told to me by a woman named Anna, but shipwrecks are fairly common from world to world. The movie started off great, but I had to get up and leave the theatre when the ship began sinking. I don''t know why. Something about the movie rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I thought they would fix the ship and everything would be fine. Even though I knew it was all fake, as Dinner assured me, I couldn''t help but feel a very real and primal fear of that same event happening to Amelia and I.


    It would have been worse for us, because there was no chance of a rescue. My sire and I would be doomed if my ship ever went down. We¡¯d be burnt to a crisp unless we could hide under thick clothes for the day.


    Dinner followed me outside the theatre where I leaned on a tree with my eyes closed and head resting on the trunk, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I held a can of blood in my hand as I listened to my heart pretend to be alive. It was faster than it should be, which meant I was feeling a mortal emotion of some kind. One I hadn¡¯t felt in a while.


    The lanky half-elf leaned on the opposite side of the tree, staring off into the parking lot. ¡°Heard any news from the druids?¡± they asked.


    ¡°No. Lyra said the ritual could take up to a full night to cast properly. It all depends on how Amelia handles it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, what does she look like?¡±


    My eyes opened as I stared up at the partially cloudy night sky and smiled to myself. ¡°A beautiful dark-haired woman from Boston filled with a heart of joy. I don''t expect you to understand why. I don''t even understand why, because we were enemies at one time. She stalked my sire and I through the night and could have killed us during the day, but chose not to.¡±


    Dinner nodded firmly. ¡°And she''s okay with¡­ us?¡±


    I leaned around the tree to give Dinner a perplexed stare. ¡°Us?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± They smiled. ¡°I wasn''t lying when I said I thought you were cute. You''re adorable! Scary sometimes, like when you''re looking at me as if I¡¯m food, but adorable. I want to see you more.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m a monster, Dinner. I feed from the living and the undead. People want me turned to ash.¡±


    They shrugged half-heartedly, tossing their arms out a bit. ¡°People want me dead, too, but, like, I mean that won''t happen. If you''re a monster, then so am I. Sandra, I would like¡­ more than just friends. If y-you want it, too. What I¡¯m saying is that I love you.¡±


    I don''t know how I didn''t see the signs from the museum trip to the movie trip. It was a date. All of it had been a date! Well, one that Lyra got dragged on.


    Slowly, I blinked at the half-elf. They weren''t bad to be around. Fun even. I didn''t mind their company and wanted to genuinely see them not in pain. If I could help them with that then all the better, but was that love? Is that what ''normal¡¯ dating is like now? People just go places with each other and not fight?


    ¡°I¡­ I don''t know what to say!¡± I rubbed the back of my neck. I hadn''t even talked it over with Amelia yet. The nights have just been too hectic until now. It caused me to frown deeply.


    ¡°You can call me Mabel if you¡¯d like,¡± they said, nodding.


    ¡°That''s a nice name, Mabel.¡± I grinned.


    Their eyes widened in surprise. ¡°But, like, not around other people! Please. I have a reputation to protect and Lieutenant Commander Ripper sounds much better than Lieutenant Commander Mabel.¡±


    I snapped my fingers and grinned at the half-elf. ¡°I¡¯ll probably forget in, like, five minutes. That''s how you said it, yes?¡±


    Mabel buried their face in their hands and groaned. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, that''s how I said it.¡± They shook their head and rubbed their face until the small smile disappeared. ¡°I was drunk and high, alright? But like, do you wanna go somewhere else? There''s still moonlight.¡±


    ¡°Surprise me, dear.¡±

 Chapter 27: Lights and Dates

    Chapter 27: Lights and Dates


    The arcade was a noisy affair with so many glowing machines playing their own audio it became a thunderous roar. Loud clacks of plastic hockey pucks hitting against handheld bumpers pierced through the roar. People laughed and talked over the noise. All I could do was hold my ears as we passed by a grouping of machines.


    The arcade smelled weird. Like too many mortals packed into one location with the heater cranked up too high. It was fairly dark, which Dinner assured me was the point. I discovered why when I allowed my eyes to take in as much light as they could. Trampled crimson carpet as far as I could see with machines in dire need of repairs. And stumbling people either drunk or high as they carried, and spilled, their amber drinks. It was a disgusting mess of a place, but it was the only one in Encinar and that meant people were there. The other nearest arcade was San Francisco and that was too far tonight.


    The racing game Dinner played was set on various mountain tracks and required a key card to keep your vehicle information. I watched closely as they raced a person in an adjacent machine. The two people raced downhill as they bantered back and forth about it. Each game had its own audio going and the revving engines were almost overpowering all the other noise.


    I couldn''t touch the machine or it might go dead, so all I could do was observe with my hands in my coat pockets until we found a game that didn''t care about my little weakness to technology. Other people waiting in line placed their own automobile cards up on top of the machine. They shouted excitedly for the race with one or two jumping for joy as the other person steadily pulled away from Dinner and crossed the finish line two car lengths ahead.


    I sighed, because I didn''t quite see the point of racing virtually when I saw Dinner drive quite well in the flesh. They, Mabel, were quite good at driving in my opinion.


    Dinner opened their wallet where they kept their I.D, along with credit cards and two other game cards. They held a hundred credits out toward the other driver. ¡°Double or nothing?¡± Dinner grinned.


    The other man looked from Mabel¡¯s money to the screen for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°Maybe later. Let someone else drive.¡±


    Dinner nodded firmly, grabbed the card from the game and climbed out. I let a small smile creep over my face to hide my distaste for the place, because I was the fool that wanted to see clearly and saw how nasty the carpet was. It never would have flown in my day.


    I need to ¡®lighten up¡¯ as Eva would say.


    I really needed to just relax and let the moment flow, but how? How do I allow the moment to flow through me when my partner¡¯s fate is left in the hands of two people I only knew for a couple minutes? I should have stayed and watched, but if it truly did take all night then I¡¯d be doing nothing.


    Mabel led me over to a mech pilot game with enclosed controls almost identical to their machine¡¯s, but stuffed inside a box. A game attendant stood outside the booth in a light yellow shirt and black pants.


    She waved as we approached and said, ¡°Hello! Care to try your luck?¡±


    ¡°What module are you running?¡± Dinner asked as they looked up at the machine¡¯s generic name.


    ¡°Rocklin Arena,¡± the attendant replied. ¡°If you give me a minute I can load up the Philadelphia Siege, Waterloo, the Battle of Bridgeport, Ardennes, First and Second Battle of Ypres, Mojave Wasteland, or the Storming of Nassau.¡±


    ¡°Do you have the Tokyo Throwdown or the Laos Barrel Shoot?¡±


    ¡°The what?¡± the attendant blinked a few times, echoing my own thoughts.


    Dinner shook their head slightly. ¡°Right, this is a corporate toy, not a merc sim. The arena¡¯s fine. What mechs do you have?¡±


    The woman listed off far too many for me to understand until Dinner noticed my glazed over eyes as I stared at the mech design on the wall.


    Dinner giggled, adding, ¡°Hey, Sandra. Wanna try?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°If the machine doesn''t shut off.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± The woman gasped, eyes widening. ¡°You''re a vampire! Wear this.¡± She held a black wristband out for me to take. ¡°It''s a temporary attunement bracelet we give to all vampires in case they struggle with technology.¡±


    I pulled the wristband over my arm and allowed it to snap against the skin. Then glanced over at Dinner. ¡°I¡¯ll take Ypres.¡±


    ¡°That''s the second hardest module,¡± the woman said. ¡°There''s almost no cover.¡±


    ¡°What about Philadelphia?¡±


    The woman smiled nervously at me, fuscia eyes darting off to the side at Dinner before looking at me again. ¡°Well, Rocklin Arena is the only one new players are allowed to run. It''s a tutorial area. Unless you have a mech sheet already.¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said as she bowed her head. ¡°But you¡¯ll have to fight in the arena.¡±


    Dinner¡¯s face scrunched in disgust. ¡°Arena fighting is brutal. I¡¯m sorry, Sandra.¡±


    It was fine. I filled out the information the attendant asked for, selected a starting mech form the list, with Dinner¡¯s help on which was the most optimal and climbed inside.


    It had a well worn chair surrounded by manual controls with the lettering worn away. A smelly helmet for virtual reality augmentation, and mechanical controls. One massive screen practically wrapped around the control chair.


    I sat in the seat and slid a card into the slot next to me like instructed. Dinner pointed out where the throttle was along with how to work the controls and what did what. All outside noise was muffled to a faint rumble once the door shut.


    However, as I grabbed the joystick and flipped the power switch, the screen flickered noticeably. Followed swiftly by plunging itself into darkness.


    ¡°I think I broke it,¡± I called out to no reply.


    Time ticked by as I sat in the strange chair, head cocked, keeping an ear out for Dinner or the attendant. But I heard something else. A soft whining noise that grew louder as a human voice filled the room. A message popped up on my display screen, saying, Reactor: Online.


    It went on to list sensors, weapon systems, blood injector, and sun shield just before the display flickered to life. A voice declared everything nominal as the display showed me a night time view of a ruined city flattened by war. And yet there were tall enough buildings that they could hide my one and a half story tall mech.


    ¡°They wouldn''t let me pick daytime,¡± Dinner said from the communication system. ¡°You''ve got thermals and night vision, but they can be fooled.¡± They next instructed me on how to activate them in the machine while a large timer counted down from thirty seconds. ¡°Normally,¡± the half-elf added, ¡°I¡¯d give you a crash course, but I kinda like seeing if you¡¯d pick up on it.¡±


    ¡°What''s the helmet actually do?¡± I asked, not having put it on just yet.


    ¡°Don''t put it on if you get seasick easily,¡± the attendant said. ¡°It¡¯s a Neural Interface replica. We¡¯ll bill you for any vomit.¡±


    I pulled the helmet over my head to see what the fuss was about. Immediately, my surroundings vanished. Nothing showed up on whatever the headset was supposed to show, so I removed it and set it on the hook.


    With twenty seconds to go, an announcer echoed through the communications system, ¡°Today¡¯s fight is sponsored by the Fenrir Corporation. We have parts from Rare to Legendary and even a few Old World items in stock. Come visit our storage facility down in Angeles for deals too hot to list here.¡±


    My fingers flexed against the throttle as I watched the countdown ahead of me. I kept part of my attention on a map showing the arena with my mech being on the southwest corner to start with. The map and screen flickered again, going dim as if something was pulling the power away. It took a moment for it to come back on.


    I don''t know if it was considered normal, but the wristband itched each time the power dimmed. I had a feeling that whatever was causing the issue with technology, likely Mother Moon herself, was more powerful than they were anticipating. Perhaps I should have worn a second bracelet.


    Because as I made the virtual mech stride forward into the battle, I experienced intermittent power failures and sensor disruptions that were not explained by any of the controls. At least, as far as I could see. I even had to ask Dinner and the Attendant if the amount was normal and the collective answer was, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°It should only shut down like that when overheating,¡± Dinner said as missiles slammed into the virtual mech, shaking the whole room with a rumble.


    My system temperature was normal, except whenever I fired all the weapons at once. Then it spiked into the red and yelled at me about imminent shutdown. I tried to fight, but with the periodic blackouts and not truly understanding the machine, I struggled to get more than one kill. Only due to not noticing there was a torso indicator at the bottom of the HUD to tell me which way I was facing in relation to the legs. The arms and torso were independent of the legs.


    It was as if the machine tried to mimic a human when it looked more like a chicken with laser guns and rockets. However, it was fast enough I could dart between the buildings and pop out of cover before retreating.


    The whole time they had an over enthusiastic announcer giving a near play-by-play of my actions and the enemy actions whenever I was hit. It was distracting enough I tried to shut down the comms and found I couldn''t. It wasn''t even the attendant doing it. The damned arena was programmed for it to happen regardless.


    I was blown up fairly quickly because I couldn''t pay attention to the coolant system and the reactor shut down multiple times in the middle of shooting. All of the warnings and information was too much for me.


    Dinner spoke over the comms system as I waited for the next round. ¡°So next time, use the emergency override and you¡¯ll have three minutes before the reactor melts down.¡±


    ¡°That isn''t possible,¡± the attendant replied.


    ¡°That''s a Royce Mark Five reactor. I¡¯ve run them¡­ right. Corporate toy, not an actual chassis. You have thirty seconds of override, Sandra. Use it well.¡±


    I nodded slowly and looked for the button, finding it fairly easy as it was labeled and surrounded by yellow stripes. I made a mental note where it was and prepared myself for another match.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    After three harrowing rounds of dodging fire from a team of mechs trying to kill me in the team deathmatch, it was finally over. I had exactly three kills under my belt and a massive repair bill that ate into my funds. We didn''t win. Because apparently the player is supposed to do the bulk of the work, but you cannot because they were programmed to focus on you rather than your team if my assumptions were correct.


    I climbed out of the machine and fluffed my hair a bit before smoothing it to make it more presentable. Then gave the attendant the wristband back and said, ¡°Your wristband didn''t work.¡±


    She set it inside a white box and pushed a button, causing the device to vibrate. ¡°I don''t know why. It normally works on vampires.¡±


    I shrugged and motioned for Dinner to lead on. They smiled, took my hand and headed toward a less noisy location before they spoke.


    ¡°I think you did good,¡± Mabel said with a nod as they let my hand go.


    I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. ¡°They focused me down every time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They kinda do that when you''re in an actual fight. Easier to just delete one mech and move to the next than to, like, have everyone spread out wasting shots. We do that in actual combat.¡±


    ¡°It''s understandable, but annoying. Now where do you want to go?¡±


    Mabel gave a sly grin before they threw their hands to their side in a shrug. ¡°Well, wanna see my spaceship?¡±


    ¡°Might as well.¡± I gestured for her to lead the way.


    *** ***


    I was thinking it was an actual ship docked on the water out by what was left of the bay, much like an old sailing ship, but no. Dinner drove me to the Aerodrome where a planetary shuttle waited to take us into the black beyond the clouds. The Encinar Aerodrome was fairly noisy and busy with flights coming and going, people being dropped off or picked up, but we skipped all of that by going through the private pilot¡¯s entrance.


    From the outside, the shuttle machine was as big as a house, if not larger. Its wings stretched almost as wide. I didn''t see any windows, but I did see empty external hardpoints under the wings for weapons. Dinner¡¯s company logo was painted on the tail and wings with identification numbers. The rear ramp was open and a woman in a well-cut uniform stood next to it, waiting for Dinner to drive their car into the back.


    I frowned as I looked toward Dinner. They slowed their old car to a stop at the base of the ramp and glanced at me. ¡°Hm?¡± they hummed.


    ¡°There you are!¡± a voice called out as the woman approached the car, waving. Her hair was absolutely non-existent, allowing me to see the tattoos on her neck and the cybernetic augmentations that were her ears and glowing eyes. It had to be Mike, because her smile reminded me of the way Amelia would smile at me.


    She took Dinner¡¯s hand as they held it out and kissed the top of it, nodding firmly at her. Then her eyes went to me right as Dinner gestured with their other hand. ¡°Hey, Mike, this is Sandra.¡± They then gestured toward the bald muscular woman. ¡°Sandra, this is Mike. My partner and personal shuttle pilot. We go everywhere together.¡±


    ¡°Not everywhere,¡± Mike said as she crouched down so she could look through the window at me with her glowing eyes. ¡°So you¡¯re the vampire my girl has been raving about?¡± She bobbed her head from side to side for a moment. ¡°Not bad. Can you change your eye color?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± I scratched one of my ears, adding, ¡°Mother Moon gifted me these eyes when she blessed me.¡±


    ¡°Really? I can change my eye color just by thinking about it.¡± She demonstrated by changing them from blue to red, to pink, and then solid white.


    Mabel chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s because you can change more than that. I¡¯ve never seen Sandra have anything but purple.¡±


    Mike rolled her eyes. She patted Dinner¡¯s hand, squeezing it for a moment and smiling at me. ¡°Ever had fae blood?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to? I heard changeling blood is quite the trip. You¡¯ll be hallucinating and hearing voices for a solid three days.¡±


    Changeling was something I hadn¡¯t ever heard of before, so I asked what it was and Mike demonstrated by completely changing her appearance to mimic mine! From my silvered hair to my wrinkled skin, to my purple eyes and fangs. Mike looked like a damned mirror that could talk and move on its own. She stared at her withered hand, slowly flexing the fingers with a small frown.


    ¡°What?¡± Dinner asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever looked this old before.¡± Mike giggled in my own voice.


    All I could do was stare slack jawed at her near-perfect mimicry of me, minus the clothing. In all my years I never encountered a person who could change their appearance and voice to replicate that of another. It was, well, very weird and made me feel awkward to hear my own voice spoken back to me.


    Slowly, I gently nudged Dinner¡¯s arm and whispered, ¡°Can I go home? I don¡¯t know how I like this.¡±


    Dinner glanced at me, opened her mouth, closed it, and then nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want.¡± They then patted Mike¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that was very funny, Mike. She, like, just woke up last week and has been through hella shit since.¡±


    ¡°She asked what a changeling was! What¡¯d you want me to do, turn into Nathan?¡± Mike shrugged.


    ¡°You could¡¯ve turned into me if you wanted to make an impression. Call you later?¡±


    Mike nodded, shifting her appearance back to the basic orange-haired human before leaning in to kiss Mabel on the cheek. ¡°Be safe, silly.¡±


    Two Dinners was not something I could handle or even comprehend. Just how identical were changelings? Could they shift everything or just their outside appearance? All I could do was cover my eyes and sigh softly through my nose as Dinner fired their car up.


    *** ***


    And so Dinner¡­ Well, Mabel drove away from the Aerodrome and headed back toward my apartment. They told me their name earlier, but it was hard to think of them as something other than Dinner. And not the meal. As much as I wondered what their blood, and Mike¡¯s ¡®fae¡¯ blood actually tasted like, I couldn''t bite them unless they wanted me to. Otherwise I would feel like shit about it. It was similar to how Amelia and I came to an agreement of no biting unless she said I could.


    I don''t know why I was like that, aside from Roberto teaching me when I was working as his retainer. He always made me find blood sacks who were ¡®odd¡¯ and checked them to be sure they had no diseases and were okay with being fed from. That was probably the man¡¯s biggest downfall and mine by extension. But I could control that and drink from anyone.


    Roberto could not. He had to have a mortal¡¯s consent. It was a strange compulsion of his to where I once saw him drink from an unwilling mortal to see if he could. The man threw up afterward.


    It was getting late as we drove along the highway with Dinner humming to a beat on the radio. The half-elf kept it fairly quiet and would skip certain songs as soon as they got a few notes in, only keeping the music on instrumental ones with smooth melodies. Even without words the songs felt like I went on a trip through the mind with each one.


    I closed my eyes and listened to the music, letting it flow into my chest and mind. Dark and shadowed memories floated to the surface before swirling around again.


    An image of my sire and I sitting on a rock overlooking a small island bay with the sun still giving a purple glow to the sky. She had awakened only minutes before. I didn''t want to see her in my memories after what she has done to me, but I couldn''t help but be reminded of her. The music reminded me of waves crashing against the rocks with a steady roar, the smell of fresh salty air dancing through my hair and now pointed ears.


    We held hands and talked, but the emotions were not there. I only recall her holding my chin with one hand as she scratched my cheek and jaw. She leaned in, whispering something lost to time, and then tilted my head to the side so she could bite into my exposed neck.


    My sire didn''t care much for keeping me armored. She instead used me in a different way. Rather than fight, she would have me take the place of a maid or a serving girl in a tavern to get information anyway I could. From getting them drunk to taking them to a secluded area. I did it all. And I was not pleased with the work. That was better suited to mortal servants, not me. I was a vampire¡¯s retainer. Someone who had people working under them, not what my sire had me doing.


    If there was one thing I missed about those early days before I became a vampire, it was being bitten. Words cannot describe the joy one feels when a vampire bites into them and begins to feed.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Dinner began, smashing through the memory and bringing me back to the present. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±


    I smiled at them and said, ¡°You just did.¡±


    They rolled their eyes as they reached for the shifter and slid it into a lower gear, so they could slow down for the exit ahead. ¡°Okay, but, like¡­ nevermind.¡± Dinner went quiet and stared out the window.


    ¡°I have heard everything you can ask.¡± I folded my arms across my chest. They likely wanted to be turned into a vampire and found the question too awkward. However, Dinner might make for a poor vampire. That pain they are dealing with would follow them into eternity.


    ¡°What did you think of Mike?¡± The half-elf yawned.


    ¡°Odd.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s like that when you first meet her. Hella open about being a changeling. Most aren¡¯t, but like, I guess being a merc helps.¡±


    ¡°Does she always change into other people?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Only when at parties, drunk, or trying to run from the cops. Oh, man, I didn¡¯t realize how late it was.¡±


    Indeed it was late. Traffic was starting to choke off the highway as the Bay Area got ready for the new day. Perhaps I should have taken Dinner up on their offer of seeing their spaceship, but what was done is done.


    When we arrived at the apartment complex, Dinner walked me all the way to my front door just to make sure there wasn''t anyone waiting to stake me. We talked about how the arcade went. I gave Mabel my thoughts on the place and expressed that while I didn''t like the facility, I enjoyed spending the night with them, even if their main partner was an odd bird. It was a nice distraction from thinking about Amelia and whether or not the ritual would work.


    I had to rely on sorcerers to help her and I couldn''t be there during the day to make sure she was fine.


    I think Dinner saw the worry on my face, because they grabbed hold of my hand again and just held it with both of theirs. We locked eyes for a moment and everything felt perfect. All I wanted to do was pull them into a hug.


    ¡°May I?¡± I asked, leaving it open to see what they did.


    Dinner nodded slowly and pulled me into a hug, which I reciprocated. We held each other as tight as we could without constricting Dinner¡¯s breathing. Dinner''s grip felt like it could break my back if they wanted to. I didn''t want them to let go either. I couldn''t help myself from crying even if I wanted to. The whole world was shit. My own vampire family turned against me, and for what? Some plan they have in the works?


    My unlife was turning into pure chaos and I hated it more every night.


    *** ***


    I slept soundly through the day, as Dinner had an inflatable mattress in their car. Something they said they always kept; a blanket, jacket, mattress, and a change of clothes along with other essentials concerning their car.


    Most of my things had been transferred from a storage unit to the apartment during the day. Mabel was busy humming to themself as they helped me put my clothes into a few second hand dressers and the closet. The two of us went through the boxes one by one with Dinner giving their opinion on what clothes they thought looked good on me.


    Amelia¡¯s help would have likewise been appreciated but the druids were still working on the ritual. She needed a full day of sunlight to grow while the druids cast their magic on her, but they were interrupted by the construction crew and that meant it would have to be done tomorrow. It was annoying, because Dinner was keen to meet Amelia in the flesh, having listened intently to me anytime I talked about her. And since I met her partner, it was only fitting she met mine.


    An instinct of mine would be to give Dinner some of my blood, but Mabel didn''t need to be in my world. She had more pressing matters. Like the spine surgery coming up. It sounded like a disgusting process where they would temporarily transfer Mabel¡¯s consciousness to a ¡®brain in a jar¡¯ virtual world while they cut out the problematic parts of the spine and graft in a cybernetic replacement. Even with healing magic there were some wounds that were just too hard for a healer to fix. Despite Anita¡¯s claims.


    Mabel explained it in simple terms as they helped to button the back of a modern dress. ¡°See, when a healer cast a spell on you in the old days they, like, had to pull some of the injury into themselves to help take the pain away. Healing potions were more prevalent, too. Now we have so many cybernetics it kinda makes old school healers obsolete.¡±


    ¡°So you''re saying that if I was a mortal and lost a hand a hundred years ago, a healer could grow me a new one?¡± I glanced back at Mabel, but they turned my head forward again by physically grabbing my head and turning it.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Mabel exclaimed.


    The black dress snugged itself against my torso with each clasp of the buttons. It was long sleeved and had a long skirt, but it was all one piece unlike my older clothes. And with no pockets to speak of! As Mabel reached the halfway point it became so tight I thought it was going to tear and so did she.


    ¡°Hm¡­ I think your chest has grown,¡± Mabel said.


    I tried to move, but the dress was too restrictive. There was a faint rip and that¡¯s all I needed to know to stay in place. ¡°Well, you bought it before the ¡®incident¡¯. I had smaller breasts then.¡± Almost none in fact. It was all padding and moving fat around with Amelia making sure it looked ¡®correct¡¯.


    The pressure around my torso released as Mabel unbuttoned the dress. It is a shame, because it was a pretty black dress with shiny sequins to catch the light. I am quite sure I would turn heads even with my rough appearance, as any half-elven vampire would. If Mike¡¯s mimicry was anything to go by.


    Mabel helped me out of the dress and tossed it in the junk pile. We had two, obviously; one for clothes that failed to fit and one for those that worked. We went through most of my clothes that night, not leaving the apartment at all even when my nosy neighbor checked in on me.


    Glenfield knocked and smiled when I opened the door.


    I smiled back, but only to make him feel better. ¡°Yes?¡± I asked. A black silk robe was wrapped snugly around me to hide the fact that I was in undergarments. And I still felt underdressed for the occasion, but Mabel assured me it was fine and ¡®normal¡¯.


    Glenfield stood there with his hands behind his back and head cocked to the side. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Hello! How are you feeling tonight?¡±


    I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure of what to say, because I told the man my partner was a ghost and then ran off. Mabel came to my rescue and rested their head on my shoulder as they wrapped their arms around my waist. I tried to keep my composure at the display of affection, because again, I wasn''t used to doing it.


    Mabel smiled at Glenfield and said, ¡°Hello! You must be Glenfield, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± His eyes went from me to Mabel and back to me as he nodded slowly.


    He opened his mouth, but Mabel cut him off by saying, ¡°I¡¯m Sandra¡¯s other partner. Nice to meet you, Glen!¡± They held a hand out for a fist bump and received a confused look in reply. So they turned it into a handshake offer, which Glenfield followed through with.


    ¡°I thought you said your partner was a ghost?¡± Glenfield asked me as he shook Dinner¡¯s hand.


    I snapped out of my stupor and nodded. ¡°It''s complicated.¡± Did he really think I had a ghost for a partner? That was insane.


    It was true though.


    Indeed it was true. Amelia was a ghost, but that won''t be a problem anytime soon. I checked an older memory through a System menu and confirmed that yes, Amelia was a ghost and we were indeed working on getting her a new body. Just as I had a new body.


    Mabel giggled softly, pulling me from my thoughts. ¡°Oh! Yeah. She isn''t home much, so she''s kinda like a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Glenfield nodded to himself. He ran a hand through his hair, eyes slowly going to the floor as his expression deflated entirely. It was the look of a man who had his heart crushed by Dinner.


    I slipped out from Mabel¡¯s grasp and stepped into the hallway, hugging myself just in case anyone else came by to stare at the vampire in her bathrobe.


    ¡°Thank you for the concern, Glenfield,¡± I said as softly as I could without whispering. ¡°The cake was perfectly sweet, but my work partner thought perhaps it was a bit too much sugar.¡± I placed a hand over my breast and smiled at him. ¡°I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it. Could you perhaps make another?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± He nodded. I tried to give the man a fifty credit bill, but he shook his head. ¡°Oh no, I couldn''t!¡± Glenfield exclaimed, stepping back a few feet.


    ¡°Please, it''s the least I can do for the tasty treat.¡±


    He departed as swiftly as he could without taking the money. This left Mabel and I in an awkward position of staring at each other until Glenfield¡¯s door closed. It felt longer than it should as the wheels in my head slowly turned with a squeaky creak. Eventually, the two of us went inside and Mabel locked the deadbolt behind us.


    They sighed softly. ¡°What was that about?¡±


    ¡°He made me a welcoming cake.¡± I walked into the kitchen and pointed at the half-eaten cake, which was starting to sag as blood pooled out from the cuts.


    Dinner tapped their chin for a moment, tilting their head from side to side. ¡°Well, how was the cake?¡±


    ¡°Just like I told him.¡± I split off another piece of cake and bit into it. The sugary mess exploded in my mouth, giving me flavors mortal food could not replicate. It was a damn sight better than the popcorn. I smiled and closed my eyes, allowing the cake to melt in my mouth, then drank the rest.


    Mabel took their phone from their pocket as an odd ringing filled the air. They placed it to their ear as they tilted their head. ¡°Hello, thank you for calling Lieutenant Commander Ripper of the Horizon Rangers. What do you need?¡±


    They tapped their chin for a small moment as their eyes went to the wall, head tilting from side to side. I waited and ate the cake. Mabel rolled her eyes for a moment, nodding at something.


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah. How many tons do you want for the job?¡± There was a short pause before they motioned for a pen and paper, and said, ¡°Hold on, let me get some paper.¡±


    I left them to do their business and sat on the couch with my phone to watch some fancy new media. It was an animated show Mabel liked called Highway Run at Midnight. The series was about the thrill of the drive as the protagonist worked to upgrade their car for highway racing. Just to go faster as they chased the ever elusive three hundred and thirty miles an hour on public highways.