Chương 124: 117. Vampire

"You look like you're going to an execution," I said, my eyes on Q'Shar's tail, which was currently dragging behind him as we made our way to the car.

"Every time you idiots gather is a tragedy waiting to happen."

"Oh, don't whine. It'll be fine—you were supposed to tell us your big plan. I thought you'd be excited." The cat simply jumped into the passenger seat without giving an answer. I saw Ophelia stop in front of the door, realizing she was too slow and would be riding in the back.

"Yeeeah. You were the one who wanted everyone to gather," came Myhur's muffled voice from the trunk.

"I know, and I'm starting to regret that." I just shrugged and started driving us to Red Head. We were three days from the beginning of the sabbath, and everyone was gathered, all pieces in their positions, all plans underway. Even though politics wasn't interesting, I had to say I was excited about the change that was about to come. As I drove, thinking about the shift in the world, I realized something. I could already see its effects.

We were approaching the part of the city where the bars and clubs were located, and the change was visible. It was Friday night, but there were far fewer people around. Typically, driving here meant slowing down for drunk people crossing the road or someone barely walking straight along the curb. But the atmosphere of the late-night scene was gone.

The clubs and bars were still open, but the people who were out were either shady, the type used to more dangerous parts of the city, or clearly nervous, looking over their shoulders, as if out of place. There was a strange tension in the air, getting to everyone. I checked the time. It was 6 p. m. sharp. I told the rest in the car to shut up for a while and turned on the news.

"Aaaand today's hot story continues." An excited female voice blared from the radio.

"The recent failures of electronics still go without explanation as producers of GPS devices panic with the recent stock crash. More on this from our specialist, Eliot—over to you."

"Thank you, Elisa," spoke an older voice.

"As you said, after the recent airplane crashes were ruled malfunctions of onboard systems, the producers of electronics are scrambling to find and fix the error. Now, the problem is that different companies manufactured the two airplanes that collided over the skies of Kraków. Both were sourcing their electronic components from different suppliers, yet, according to the black boxes recovered, both experienced the same malfunctions at similar times.

It is said to be due to environmental factors rather than electronics. However, despite that, more and more reports of sudden malfunctions are coming in—from cars and phones to airplanes and trains. The airlines are drawing new flight paths to avoid the places conspiracy theory enthusiasts have dubbed 'dead zones.' But will it help with public sentiment as manufacturers are losing millions?" I listened, surprised.

If it had been something discussed in conspiracy theory circles, I should have known, but that wasn't the case. I also realized why—I was completely swamped with work over the past few weeks, to the point I didn't even check the news or watch my favorite conspiracy slop.

"Did you know about it?" I asked the cat.

"Yep. Veins connecting in midair. They are everywhere. I mean, you did sense them as we were driving, right?" I did—at least two mid-sized veins in the city.

"One of those is ours. The other belongs to another broker. We're still waiting for the largest ones to connect, but the mana is filling up."

"Do you know the density needed to break electronics completely?"

"We're not sure. It's heavily dependent on attunement, but for now, real issues like the planes occur directly over a vein. Around it, it just causes strange artifacts on photos and recordings, that type of stuff."

"Got it," I said, and went back to listening to the news. The rest was mainly about violent crime on the rise, more electronic panic, and shoplifting of nonperishable goods like toilet paper. The people didn't know what was going on, but like any other animals, they could sense the wrongness and tension. It wouldn't be long before they have to face it. As I was thinking about what I was seeing, I suddenly noticed a familiar face followed by three shady-looking dudes. Seeing them, I smiled to myself.

We drove to the club. This time, no long line at the front was waiting for us. I parked slightly farther away, next to the staff entrance, turning the car so the trunk opened toward the building. We then unloaded Myhur and made our way to the hidden entrance. Usually, the VIP door went through the middle of the bar, but this one was built later, quickly, and on a budget, so we had to go through a wet, cold tunnel to reach the underground cathedral.

As we entered, music sung by a mermaid met our ears, and I let it lightly resonate with my insides. To my surprise, I noticed that the second floor was operational, with some people sitting by the balconies. I wouldn't call it crowded, but it was bordering on lively—a different image from the dwindling crowd outside. Most people here didn't have much magic but were in the know. Some were only now beginning their journey to power, as faint signatures could be sensed all around.

People from the low families—clans with no more resources to practice, but ones who remembered the truth of the world. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"You go on ahead, take a table. I think I saw Luna on the way," I said and turned around to go back. After walking out of the club, I went in the direction where I'd seen her as some shady guys followed her. I noticed them at one of the corners. By now, she was half running as she took a wrong turn into an abandoned back alley. The three men took the same turn after her, and I sneaked in behind them, taking a spot by a trash can. The woman wore a long dress styled in slightly modernized Victorian fashion.

The bright red material contrasted against her dark skin and hair, which cascaded down her shoulders. She went slightly deeper into the alley, only now realizing it was a dead end, as she turned to the three men.

"L-let me go," she said, her voice delicate, clear, and filled with fear.

'Was she taking acting classes or something?' I wondered.

"Come on, honey. We are proper gentlemen—at least give us a kiss," slurred the man in front. I sighed and, noticing their attention was on Luna, started drawing silencing runes on the ground.

"N-no, please," she said, trying to run forward only to crash into the men. The two pushed her violently into the wall, and I dived back as one of them turned to the entrance of the alley. Thankfully, he didn't spot me.

"Come on, sweetie, don't struggle. You're gonna make this worse. We just wanna have some fun," the man said in a slimy voice.

"O-okay," replied the woman.

"L-let me—" she said weakly as her hand moved down, to which I quickly turned around. What came next was a squelching sound accompanied by a pop and a scream a few octaves higher. I still reflexively winced, instinctively closing my legs.

"What's wrong, boys? We were supposed to have fun!" she said, the fear gone, replaced by mocking excitement. The first man went to the ground as another took a swing at her. She simply grabbed his hand, broke it like a twig, and ripped it off completely. More screaming came as I saw my runes light up. I did an excellent job given the time I had—I had to give myself credit. The blood from the hand coagulated into thin blades that cut through the hamstrings of the third man, who tried to turn, now only crawling.

Luna then pulled the first man by the collar to her eye level.

"Let's have some fun," she said, and bit into his throat. I could see her taking a big gulp as I stood there waiting for her to finish. She took another gulp and met my eyes—acknowledging my presence—and took another gulp, and another, then looked at me once again over the struggling victim. She finally let go of the man's neck and threw him to the ground next to the fainted one without a hand.

"Really, Sam? Are you gonna just stand there?"

"I'm waiting for you to finish."

"You're making this really awkward."

"Fine," I said, and turned a hundred and eighty degrees, now facing the opening of the alley.

"You serious? You think that's making it better?"

"Is it not?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Why are you like that? I even helped you. You should have cast Muffle."

"Then I can't hear them scream."

"Riiiight. You're a pervert—I forgot," I said, turning back to the opening of the alley.

"Well, that's rich coming from you. We didn't see each other for such a long time, and you're calling me a pervert."

"Because you're acting like one."

"Madman."

"Pervert." Our gripping conversation was interrupted by the third man, who crawled all the way to me.

"H-help, man. Help," he said, eyes wide with fear.

"Right. Let me give you a helping hand," I said, and used a force spell to throw the severed appendage of his friend next to him. The scene seemed to freeze. His eyes widened even more in abject horror as he stared at the piece of flesh with disbelief. I raised my eyes to Luna, who was trying really hard to look serious, but I could see her mouth slowly twitch upward.

"Pffff." She finally let out a small laugh. I smiled at that.

"Aaaah, come here," I said as she used a spell to get rid of the blood and hugged me.

"Long time no see, Sam."

"Mhmh," I said, letting go of the hug and looking at her, now grinning lightly.

"And congratulations are in order, I heard."

"What?"

"About you and Will—" Before I could finish, I dodged a punch to my head. Judging by the reaction, the gossip was real: vampire and vampire hunter. Strange couple, but who was I to judge? She then took a longer look at me as if studying my whole silhouette.

"You look better," she commented, humor entirely gone from her voice.

"Yeah. Mutating does wonders for the body, let me tell you."

"No, not that. You look more... alive." I stood still for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah, more things to be alive for, I guess." To that, she gave me a knowing nod.

"Come, let me introduce you to my apprentice," I said. We then got rid of the third body, stuffing it in a corner for later disposal. Luna's blood magic turned out to be amazing at getting rid of the evidence, making the scene of the massacre look like a normal alley in a matter of minutes. Once we were done, we started heading back to the club.

"Who were those guys, by the way?" I asked, looking behind. She just shrugged.

"Some random idiots. The streets are getting dangerous, though. The dangerous sort seems ever more daring. Like anxious predators."

"Yeah, I don't think it'll get any better," I replied. We let silence hang before she switched the subject.

"Is the dwarf here?"

"He's running late. Should arrive with William." We arrived at the club after a short walk. Luna greeted Q'Shar and Myhur before stopping on Ophelia.

"This is my apprentice, Ophelia," I said, pointing at the girl.

"And Ophelia, this is one of my few friends—Luna. She's the granddaughter of the Harper clan head and its current main candidate for the position of heir."

"Pleasure," said Luna, greeting Ophelia, and she proceeded to sit next to her.

"So, Darius and Will are running late. Are we waiting for anyone else?" I asked, looking at the cat, who was the main organizer this time around. The cat just shook his head. We spent a few minutes on small talk, Luna talking about vampirism to the ever-curious Ophelia, who, for the first time, met a real vampire. Finally, their conversation was cut off when the door swung open, revealing a massive, two-meter-tall silhouette.

The man not only barely fit lengthwise but also widthwise, as his shoulders would almost touch the sides of the doorway.

"And here's our dwarf," I said to Ophelia.