Chapter I

Humans. They’ve always existed and will always exist. They are the proof that stubbornness can bring you far, even if it was at the cost of others. Furthermore, they can change their environment in a way that benefits them the most. Their intelligence is looked upon with jealousy, their egoism with contempt.

Vampires. They’ve always existed and will always exist. They are proof that, even with a lot of struggle, you can make it far. Not only that, but they drink blood to survive, which isn’t well seen, especially by the humans. They’re loved for their undying beauty and hated for their arrogance. They live longer than other creatures, but they weren’t able to establish themselves in this human-ruled world.

These two creatures are aware of the existence of the other, but were never able to live together in perfect symbiosis. Whose fault is it? Is it the fault of the ruthless, conceited, arrogant, selfish monsters? Or is it the fault of the vampires?

Either way, they hate each other. Humans hunt vampires because they hunt humans for nourishment. Who is in the right? Is there a possibility to find a compromise? Whether there is or not, everyone has stopped looking for it. Now it’s “survival of the fittest” and that worked well for many years, at least for my life partner and me.

Just for the record, a relationship between vampires is more meaningful and deeper than those of humans, who pretend to love each other, just so they can end up in someone else’s bed. Vampires love only once. If two vampires connect with each other, they will become the “vigor” of one another. That means “life-force”. From that point on, they can’t live without the other. They will not die if they are physically separated from each other, but they will depend on the contact with their vigor.

We had a good life, and we enjoyed what we had built together. Sadly, we forgot that humans had this stupid habit of evolving. Our idyllic life crumbled, when, one night, they ambushed and captured us. Since humans are so generous, they gave us two options. Either we get killed, or we start working for them.

Since I care about my life, I chose to work for them. Unfortunately, I had to realize that, being vigors does not equal to having the same ideals. My vigor didn’t want anything to do with the humans and from that day on, we went separate ways. I know with certainty that he isn’t dead, I would have felt it otherwise. Since my life-force was gone, every day was torture, but I had to carry on or else my head would roll.

Many years have passed since then, and I have come to be part of a special unit in the police that takes care of the disposal of vampires that didn’t obey the rules. I still don’t know where my vigor is, but, as long as he is alive, that’s all that matters.

My life was a routine. Wake up, try to tame my red hair, just to give it up after a couple of minutes and to leave it open. Look at myself in the mirror and realize that the rings under my eyes have become bigger and my yellow eyes were bloodshot. Look at the tight chocker that was forced upon me by my boss so that he has me under control, get dressed and then, wait.

Typically, someone would come to knock at the door of the small room they gave me at the police station. And then it came.

Two knocks.

I opened. The devil himself stood in front of me, my boss. The one that, just with a push of a small button, could gift me with eternal sleep.

“A case for you,” he said coldly.

He was middle-aged, with combed back black hair. You could see some white hair in his fringe, just like his beard. He also smelled bitterly. Every time I stood next to him, I had to force myself to not wrinkle my nose. He was a big sourpuss, but the reason for that could be, that he was dammed to take care of me, since he was the chief of my unit.

The problem also laid with his loathing for vampires. I know that because he made it obvious in our first meeting. But I didn’t care, I didn’t care about anything, I just lived each day without an end in sight.

A young police officer came to us, who looked at us excitedly. He seemed to have only started working recently; I could see it in the sparkling in his eyes. He also stank like strawberries.

He stopped in front of us, fixed his blond hair slightly and said, a bit too loudly: “Reporting for duty, sir.” The devil next to me frowned and nodded. “You know the place where the misfit was last seen?” he asked him. The young police officer nodded vigorously. “Yes sir!”

He then threw him a button, which the officer caught skilfully, to then point at me.

“Use it, in case she does anything.”

You have to know that, whenever I had a case, someone had to come along so that I wouldn’t get funny ideas. Today it was this young officer’s turn. He saluted, and the devil left us.

“Let’s go, vampire.”

I had a name, but it’s been years since I’ve given up on fighting to be called by it.

The young officer was full of energy and humming the entire way there. Maybe it was because he knew, we were not in a rush. Every time a vampire that stepped out of line, the entire area gets evacuated, the vampire gets cornered until I arrive.

This time it was in a playground.

It was empty and surrounded by police officers, who were ready to shoot. There was a woman sitting in the centre of the playground. She had dark hair, she wore a bloodied white dress, probably in her mid-twenties. She was holding a man who had bled to death, the same age. I could smell fear and confusion, and it was coming from her.

“Vampire, go,” ordered the young officer, and I went.

The police officers lowered their weapons and watched as I slowly approached her. With each step, I could hear her repeated whispering to herself: “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to…” I sighed, knowing that it wouldn’t be easy. She was pressing her hand on the bloodied neck of the man, as if she had tried to stop the bleeding last second, to no avail. I kneeled in front of her and her head snapped up at me. I could smell the fresh blood on her breath and had to take a step back.

“Did you do this?” I asked her. She shook her head, then she nodded, then she shook it again. “I didn’t mean to…” She was breathing heavily. “I couldn’t control myself, I didn’t mean to kill him…” she whined.

I looked at the corpse.

It looked like his entire blood was drained. “But you didn’t think twice to sucking him dry.” I said coldly. She looked at me shocked. “I didn’t mean to-” “You didn’t mean to, but you did it, and now I have to kill you because of it.” I slowly stood back up, while tears started to roll down her cheeks. She desperately tried to get a hold of my leg, but I pulled away.

“Please, I swear on everything I have, I won’t do it again, please let me live.”

I closed my eyes. I was aware that it would be difficult. Not only that, but I hated it, when they begged for their life after committing the crime because they’ve just realized that they were not immortal liked they wished.

“Please, I have a family, I’m connected, please think about my vigor”

I frowned. “But you didn’t think about your vigor when you made yourself a target, right?” She stood up, and I could hear all the weapons being pointed at her again. Then I heard the ordering voice of the young officer: “ Vampire, kill her.”

They all got on my nerves, all of these wannabe heroes that think they make the world to a better place by cornering other creatures. If Talon had been at my side, he would have made a stupid joke, like always. He was always the one that was able to laugh in everyone’s face, always with a sharp comment. But he left me, he ran away, and now I had to live without his touch.

“Listen, either I kill you, or…” I softly touched my choker and whispered: “Or they kill me.” She looked around, panicked, as if she was looking for a way out.

“I will make it painless.” I promised her. She shook her head, but before she could say something, I elongated my nails to cut her throat, fast and soundless. She gasped for air, then she fell to the ground, motionless. I lifted her body onto my shoulder and made my way to the young officer.

“Good job, you’ve earned yourself today’s blood bag” he said happily, as if he was talking to a dog who successfully “sat” because he promised him a treat.

With blood bag, he meant my payment. Every time I solved a case, I would get a blood bag that lasted a week.“I will dispose of the corpse” I told him, he looked at me sceptically, but then nodded. “Okay, but come back immediately, or else…” he pulled out the button to wave it around in the air.

I walked down a street that led me the opposite way from which we came from. I walked without looking around because there was nothing to see, except houses that looked so much alike, that it was almost boring.

I turned into a dark alley and positioned the corpse in a way that she would be sitting, leaning against the wall. I lifted her head and watched as the cut I gave her slowly healed. The police, just like that young fella, they all thought themselves so smart, but they, like the majority of humanity, didn’t know that we vampires had fast healing powers. To kill us, heads had to roll.

Her body twitched lightly, and then she opened her eyes. She started catching her breath. As soon as she calmed herself down, she looked up at me with wide eyes. “You didn’t kill me…” she whispered.

I nodded.

Tears started to roll down her cheeks again as she smiled at me. “Thank you, thank you, I’m forever in your debt.”

I helped her stand up and she fixed her bloodied dress. “I don’t know how to repay you. Tell me what I can do to return the favor!” She seemed to really mean it. “It’s easy, never do that again.” I said firmly, she nodded vigorously.

We heard fast steps, as if someone was running down the street. I heard loud panting. Then we saw a man with very short red hair stop at the entrance of the alley to loudly catch his breath. His piercing filled face looked frightened, panicked.

That was her vigor.

I could tell from their smell. When two vampires connect, their smell blends, until there was only one. Without uttering a word, he stretched his arms out, and she threw her arms around his neck. He probably started running as soon as he felt her temporary death.

He wrapped an arm around her waist while he held her head to his neck with the other hand. The expression of complete devotion that he wore on his face when he saw her, stirred up some emotions in me that I had repressed for many years. But when he looked at me, I saw pure hate. With good reasons, I had cut the throat of his life partner.

“If I were you, I would leave this town because they know what she looks like.” I pointed at the young woman. He pulled her closer. “If they see her on the street, three vampires will lose their lives.” He nodded and, before I could say goodbye, she turned one last time to me: “Thank you again!”

I nodded and left them behind me. I knew I shouldn’t have let her live, but I couldn’t live with the thought of having separated two vigors, knowing, all too well, what it felt like, being alone. Moreover, with her dying like that, he would not have stayed alive for long. Now I had to go back, before something bad would happen.

I walked down the street absent-mindedly, turned wrong a couple of times, and got lost. Sadly, that was a bad habit of mine, to have a horrible sense of directions. It didn’t happen often that I would go somewhere alone. It used to be with Talon, and now with some officer.

I kept walking, trying to orient myself, which was impossible, since all the houses looked the same. Suddenly, I smelled decay, and it was so strong, that I had to scrunch my nose. I followed the smell and sped up my pace. If it had been another vampire that lost control, I could have made short work with it and then go back to the station.

What I found when I turned the corner was horrible.

There was a corpse on the ground, which, judging from the smell, had been laying there for a long time. I didn’t see any wounds, the body was clean, almost too clean, as if someone cleaned it before leaving it here. It was a man, unknown age, his eyes were closed, and his clothes looked new. His mouth was open, which allowed me to look inside of it.

All of this scared me, and a corpse would normally never scare me, but it was different this time. My instinct told me to run and, as I saw the inside of his mouth, I realized why. It was a vampire, and someone pulled his fangs out.

But why was he dead? Why didn’t they grow back? My eyes wandered to his neatly opened shirt. There was something engraved on his chest. My legs tingled, as if to tell me to run, but I couldn’t. I froze, until my ears heard something from afar. Steps, and they were coming towards me.