Valen looked into the eyes of the cultist masquerading as a cop, his mind scrambling for a split-second response that wouldn't make him seem suspicious.

“I’m sorry, sir,” he said, “but it'd be better if I stayed by this man's side in the ambulance.”

Nigel squirmed around in the gurney and looked at him.

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “You’ve already done enough. I…I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

‘Oh, shit,’ Valen thought. He appreciated the sentiment, but Nigel may have just unknowingly sealed his fate for what would be a tense conversation at best or a death sentence at worst.

Cyril gave Nigel a nod of approval.

“It’s settled then.” He turned to the orc lady holding up the front of the gurney. “Take him away. The police will take it from here.”

The orc woman narrowed her eyes at Cyril.

Cyril’s kitsune partner joined in, speaking in perfectly clear albeit heavily accented Commontongue.

“We just need to ask a few questions for the report,” she assured the orc paramedic.

The orc lady turned to Valen looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. 

Like vampires, orcs were of the most discriminated against races in Dragon’s Rest and the rest of the world in general. They were both warrior races, designed by the gods for incredible violence that had little place in the modern world where they were sometimes shot by police officers for breathing the wrong way.

If any other race could empathise with the struggles of being a vampire, it’d be an orc.

“I’ll be alright,” said Valen to the orc lady. He didn’t want her to get into trouble for his sake either. “It’s just a couple of questions, yeah?”

“Yeah…” The orc woman seemed hesitant to leave, but at the same time didn't want to waste time that should be spent driving Nigel to the hospital. “...Well, we’ll be on our way then.”

On her way out, Valen heard her whisper a couple more parting words.

“Good luck.”

“Now.” Cyril brought out a pen and notepad. “Please state your name for the record.”

Valen knew he had to cooperate. Knowing who Cyril is and who he’s really working for, giving him even the slightest excuse to be arrested and taken away could lead to him getting shanked in a jailhouse ‘accident.’ Still, he wasn’t going to give him anything other than the bare minimum.

“Valen Vasilis.” He spoke in the calm, non threatening tone he’d honed from years of trying to to scare the other kids at Cloverhill Academy.

“Mister Vasilis.” Cyril made a show of writing on his notepad. “Do you live in this building?”

Valen was pretty sure Cyril knew damn well where he lived considering that his cult had just broken into it not three days ago, but played along anyways.

“No, sir. I’m just visiting.”

“Any particular reason why?”

Valen darted his eyes to Louise and Enid for a split second. He’d been too busy trying to comfort Nigel in the back room to listen to whatever conversation they might’ve had with Cyril and his partner.

“We just wanted to spend some time together.” Valen decided that the safest bet was to be as vague as possible so that he could explain away whatever Louise or Enid might’ve said later. “Maybe have a cup of tea before hitting Reveller’s Row.”

“Tea? Really?” His scoffing tone told Valen that he didn’t buy the excuse one bit. “That’s all?”

“We were going to discuss our plans for the rest of the night over tea,” said Valen. “As one should with all plans.”

“You must really like your tea,” said the kitsune lady.

“Understatement of the century,” said Valen with a smile that hid his fangs. “Blood I can live without just fine, but tea is another matter entirely.”

“Speaking of blood,” Cyril’s voice grew low and grim. “Have you ever used bloodglass yourself?”

Cyril’s kitsune partner stared at him wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t believe he’d just said that out of the blue.

“No,” said Valen without hesitation. He considered feigning offence for a moment before deciding against it. “Until quite recently, I did not know what that was. I no longer live in the Nocturnal District, you see.”

Cyril studied his face. Valen could practically feel his gaze crawling across him as he attempted to find anything to be suspicious of. He didn’t, of course.

Valen had become way too good at hiding his emotions, a fancy way to say lying, a long, long time ago.

‘The sun’s melting rubber on the sidewalk right now, do you think you can make it to class? You might lose your scholarship if you don’t!’

‘Of course,’ he would reply. ‘I’m just going to be a bit sweaty is all. It won’t hurt at all.’

‘Hey, vampires don’t need much sleep, right? Hope you don’t mind working some overtime at this shitty part-time job because you’re fired otherwise!”

‘Sure, boss, I’ll stay as long as you need me. No need to worry.”

‘Thank you for your interest in Silverlake Medical School, but after much consideration of the current political climate, we are sorry to inform you that a vampire has no place here.’

‘Oh, well, it can’t be helped. I’ll be happy to settle for my plan B in psychology.’

Cyril squinted at the back room where the computer containing the building’s security footage was, pretended to scribble some more rubbish in his notepad, then continued his questions.

“How did you know that the victim had OD’d?”

Valen cocked his head in genuine incredulity at the question.

“He went into a seizure before his heart stopped, sir. His hagged appearance alone also suggested that he suffered from some sort of substance abuse.”

“He was in the security room back there, yeah?” Cyril pointed at the back room Valen had emerged from with the paramedics. “What were you doing there to notice he was having a seizure?”

Before Valen could come up with a response, Enid jumped into the conversation.

“I asked to be shown the security room,” she said, drawing both Cyril and his kitsune’s partner attention to her.

“And why’s that?” Cyril asked.

“My name is Enid Flamel.” Enid’s one visible eye showed no trace of hesitation, nervousness, or any emotion for that matter as she stared straight through the elven cop. “I’m heiress to Flamel Corp and the discoverer of the Atom Glyph. I didn’t want to leave behind any traces of me being around a place like and create a scandal so I requested to be shown the security room to turn off surveillance during my stay.”

It wasn’t often that Enid brought up her standing in conversation, but when she did it was always for something of dire importance.

Cyril looked undeterred, still determined to find an excuse. “What were you three planning to do here that you didn’t want other people to know about?”

It was at this point that Louise decided to jump into the conversation.

“We were going to fuck,” she said plainly. “And the longer this conversation goes the bluer our balls get.”

That excuse finally seemed to take Cyril aback, his eyes widening in surprise as his mind scrambled for a response and came up with nothing.

His partner responded before he did, the slightest hint of a smile on her lips.

“Oh my.” She looked at Valen, then at Louise and Enid, then back to Valen. “You, Mister Vasilis, are a very lucky man.”

Valen let out a nervous laugh. He felt his face redden from the ridiculous excuse he had to play along with for the second time that day.

“I guess so.”

“As you can imagine,” said Enid without a hint of bashfulness in her voice, “it could cause quite a paparazzi scandal if I were seen here and I’d very much rather keep my sex life to myself.”

“Completely understandable,” said the kitsune, looking ready to wrap things up. “Thank you for your-”

“Wait.” Cyril stared down Valen, the momentary surprise caused by Louise’s left-field excuse now vanished from his stern face. “There are still a few important things we need to ask.”

“There are?” said his partner, confused.

“Yes,” Cyril insisted. “Now, Mister Vasilis…when was the last time you drank blood?”

His own partner looked at him like he was crazy. Valen had to stop himself from flinching in irritation before responding.

“I prefer to stick to Blood Plus.”

Blood Plus was the name of the blood substitute sold by Unified Life, a corporation both relied on and reviled by vampires the world over for their product that barely worked and tasted like shit.

“Have you drunk blood in the last twenty four hours?” Cyril continued.

Indignant annoyance won over caution and Valen gave a response that came out a little more defensive that he would’ve liked.

“I fail to see why that is relevant to the situation, sir.”

“Me too,” said the other detective, now eying her partner with a look of suspicion. “This man just saved someone’s life. Why are you giving him such a hard time?”

“He’s a vampire bringing defenceless two girls into an isolated location where they’ll be vulnerable,” said Cyril. “He even tried to tamper with security footage. I have a damn good reason to wonder what his intentions are.”

“Oy!” cried Louise with brows furrowed in anger. “Who’re you calling defence-”

Cyril reached into his grey suit and pulled out a black switchblade, the sound of its black carbon blade flicking open silencing Louise’s response and forcing Valen to internally tense up. The entire time, Cyril’s gaze never left Valen’s poker face.

“If you only drink Blood Plus like you claim to.” He held up his knife. “Then you shouldn’t have a healing factor right now. If I give you a little cut then we’ll know for sure if you’re lying or not.”

“Okay, that’s it!” The kitsune detective grabbed Cyril by the shoulder and pulled him to face her. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!”

“We have to make sure nothing criminal is going on.” Cyril spoked with gritted teeth as he stared his partner down in an apparent attempt to intimidate her.

The kitsune was unfazed. If anything, it seemed to make her angrier.

“The only crime here is you blue balling this nice young man and trying to stab him!”

“I was only going to cut-”

“That doesn’t make it any better!” The kitsune lady wrenched the knife out of Cyril’s hand with him recoiling in surprise. “The only thing you should be giving him is a pat on the back and you want to stick a knife in him?!”

Cyril scowled. “Remember who you’re talking to, Takara.”

“I am,” his kitsune partner said, returning his scowl with a stern grimace. “You may have a few years on me but we’re both the same rank. So you’re going to get back in the cruiser and wait while I finish things up here by myself or I’m reporting your sorry ass to HR for another ten hours of racial sensitivity training!”

The threat caused Cyril to visibly flinch. Valen decided that he really liked this foxy lady.

After a tense moment of silence, Cyril turned his back on them.

“Have it your way then,” he said as he made for the door. “Do what you have to do.”

Valen didn’t speak until Cyril had already exited the building. When he did, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for that, officer.”

“You’re more than welcomed.” The kitsune detective smiled at him and without Cyril breathing down his neck, Valen noticed for the first time how beautiful she was, with her silky black hair cut short in a bob and almond shaped eyes the colour of fresh coffee. “And for the record, it’s not a crime for you to drink real blood. Good-looking guy like you must have plenty of donors.”

Valen felt his cheeks turn hot as they reddened at the compliment. “Thank you for believing in me, Detective Takara.”

“Please, call me Keiko,” she said. “Takara’s my surname.”

“Pleased to meet you, Keiko.” Valen returned her smile, still taking care to not show his teeth just in case. “You mentioned finishing things up here?”

“Yeah, about that.” Keiko scratched the back of her head. “I only said that for dramatic effect. We already got all we need to know. Seems like a pretty open and shut case anyways.” She paused for a moment. “I should probably stay a bit to give Cyril some time to cool down though.”

“So, what?” said Enid. “We just stand around and chat?”

“I mean, if you’d like. Well, actually, now that I have you, I’m just a bit curious.” She gestured to the three of them. “How does…this work exactly?”

Valen tilted his head in a quizzical look. “I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, I don’t want to intrude so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I gotta know.” Her eyes darted to Louise and Enid. “Are two of you dating and one is tagging along or…?”

Valen felt heat flush his face.

“Oh. Oh. Um. Well, I-”

“I’m dating him,” said Enid and Louise at the exact same time before glaring daggers at each other.

Keiko raised an eyebrow. “Wait, are you guys a polycule?”

Enid put a hand on her hip. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”

Valen felt his insides cringe in embarrassment. Polygamous and polyamorous relationships weren’t unheard of, but they were still uncommon enough that most people who actually participated in it kept things on the down low.

Young succubi and old-fashioned vampires were the most common practitioners. Throughout vampire history, polygamy with other races had been a matter of practicality before Blood Plus was invented. It was a way to ensure a steady supply of fresh blood, with multiple partners allowing the vampire to safely feed every couple of days without inflicting any long lasting damage to their concubines.

Though of course, back in those days, the Noctish words for ‘concubine’ and ‘slave’ were often used interchangeably.

Keiko blinked at Enid, then looked back at Valen.

“So, is this an open thing?”

“I’m sorry, but I fail to understand why you’d want to know that,” said Valen.

“Well, you know.” Keiko brushed a lock of black hair behind her ear. “If this was an open thing I was wondering if you’d like to get a drink sometime.”

Valen was about to tell her he didn’t drink when he saw her tail wagging behind her and realised that she was hitting on him.

“Oh!” He scrambled for the words. “I, uh.”

He looked at Enid and Louise for support.

“I mean, if you want to,” said Enid. “I ain’t your mum.”

“Yeah,” said Louise. “I’m not gonna cockblock either but…” she looked at Keiko. “...you’re just cool with this? This poly thing I mean.”

Keiko shrugged. 

“Hey, I swing both ways so an extra girl or two between the sheets is a win in my book.” She turned her attention back to Valen. “It’s okay if you don’t want to though. I imagine two girls are hard to juggle as it is.”

On any other day Valen would’ve jumped at the chance for a date with someone like her. A woman who isn’t afraid to stand up for her man against blatant discrimination was a catch in his book. Plus, it’d been a while since he broke up with his last girlfriend anyways.

But considering the situation they were in, there were more important things going on than his love life. Sucking up his urges, he concluded that he’d just have to keep it in his pants for a little while longer.

“I’m sorry,” said Valen, “I’m really flattered but I’ve got a bit too much going on at the moment. University and all that.”

Keiko looked disappointed but nodded in understanding.

“That’s fair.” She looked at her watch. “Well, it’s probably about time I got back to the grumpy old man in my car.”

“Are you still going to report him to HR?” asked Valen half-jokingly.

“Oh, absolutely,” said Keiko. “His behaviour was totally unacceptable. Well, have a good day then!”

Valen smiled at her. “Good day to you too, Keiko.”

Keiko made it halfway to the door before stopping in her tracks as if remembering something.

“Oh! And one more thing.” She turned around to look at them. “You mentioned going to Reveller’s Row, right? I know it’s a popular place to party but you three might want to avoid it after having your fun here.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Valen.

“Dealers are starting to sell Bloodglass to tourists there. It used to only be desperate vampires who took it but apparently it’s super addictive to all races. I’ve even heard stories of dealers injecting the stuff into drunk people to get them hooked to buy more later.”

“That’s terrible!” said Valen, a mask of generic revulsion hiding the cold horror he felt creeping down his spine at the news.

If what she said was true and if Bloodglass really was made from the Unborn God’s blood, then who knows how many people had already been infected with it.

“They’re only rumours, though,” Keiko assured him. 

Enid joined in the conversation. “So what are the police doing about this?”

“We’re making progress. Found a Bloodglass dealer a couple days ago. It was only though Bilba’s luck that we did but I’m not complaining.” Keiko let out a soft chuckle. “The bastard passed out with electrical burns all over him in an alleyway. We only found out he was a dealer when he vomited on one of the paramedics and a bunch of drug capsules came out with it. It’s only a matter of time before he starts snitching about his gang.” 

Enid furrowed her brow. Valen felt like this was starting to sound familiar.

“Was he a vampire?” Valen asked.

“No, he was a werecoyote,” said Keiko, cementing his suspicion. “Apparently they have the ability to store and regurgitate stuff from their stomach. Which I had no idea was a thing before this.”

“Yeaaah.” Louise sounded almost embarrassed on behalf of her distant cousins. “We werewolves can do that too. Something about our wolf ancestors regurgitating food to feed their young.”

‘So that’s why she doesn’t have a gag reflex,’ Valen thought to himself before pushing the thought aside.

“We’ll keep the warning in mind,” he said. “Thank you for your concern. It’s appreciated.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Keiko gave him a soft smile that made his heart flutter. “And if you ever change your mind, I jog at Nightingale Park every Friday night. Feel free to come find me if you want to ‘exercise’ together.”

Valen felt Enid’s arm wrap around his.

“Okay,” said Enid with her one visible eye shooting an icy blue gaze straight through Keiko’s soul. “I think it’s about time we got going too.”

Keiko raised her palms up in defeat. 

“Fair, fair.” She turned around and made for the door. “You three have fun now!”

They only started talking again when Keiko was fully out of the door. Enid was the first to speak, casting down an annoyed glance at Louise.

“When are you going to stop using that stupid threesome excuse?”

“When it stops working,” said Louise. 

“I admit, it is effective,” said Valen. “Also, remind me to pay Nightingale Park a visit once we get this whole mess settled.”

He felt Enid’s hold around his arm tighten. It might’ve even hurt a bit had he not been a vampire.

“You got a plan yet?” she asked.

“I do.” Valen pulled out his phone and checked the time. Still plenty of daylight left. Most people would be going to sleep right about now. “We have to find a motel in Reveller’s Row. Preferably one that won’t ask questions.”

Louise’s eyebrow shot up. “Valen, if you really want that threesome we just use my flat.”

Valen resisted the urge to pinch his nose.

“We can’t stay here,” he told her. “Someone from the Primordial Church is bound to come look for us here sooner or later but we have to wait it out in the Nocturnal District until nightfall.”

“So what’s your plan?” asked Enid.

“I’m fairly certain that the Bloodglass dealer Keiko talked about was the same werecoyote you electrocuted,” said Valen. “Bloodglass clearly has some connection to the Primordial Church. I don’t know how or why, but we might get some proper answers from a dealer. We’ll have to wait until night for them to come out.”

“Yeah, just one problem with that plan,” said Louise. “I know you have a blackbelt and all, but you’re still planning to beat up probably armed thugs without a weapon.”

“I actually have to agree with Snowball on this one,” said Enid. “I’d feel safer if you had a weapon with you.”

“It’s settled then!” Louise started walking towards the door.

Valen and Enid shared a glance before following behind her.

“Where are you going?” Valen asked.

“A little hole in the wall I know.” A smirk was already plastered across her face. “If we’re going to go crack some skulls, we might as well have the proper tools for it too.”