Pandora returned my arm to me before I reached the stairs. She told me she would sleep to give me time to grieve. As I descended the stairs, I stopped to see Judith setting plates. "Oh Alexander, I was about to send... My goodness. What happened to your arm?"

Dammit, I'd forgotten to wrap it back up. Oh well, she was bound to find out. "It's a long story... but I have magic now." I even tried molding the mass that was my arm into a dog's head. But it just ended up being a garbled mess.

"Oh, Alex..." Judith brushed her hand against my cheek. She noticed the tears that were still leaking from my eyes and wiped them away. She then pulled back, though she didn't want to. "Go on, Alex... I'll have one of the maidservants pack you some dinner."

"Are you sure, Jude? I even said..." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "You always have a home here. But the home you made needs you. I'll have Penny take you back."

She kissed me on the cheek and then went off into the kitchen. I pulled the cloth again, and it began to close on the haze, forcing it back into the shape of my arm. I stepped outside into the night, looking at the sky as I waited. It would be thirty minutes before Penny came out with a couple of tins of food. "Come on, you lout. Let's go."

We'd taken Penny's car back to Dogland. She left me alone for most of the ride. I just guessed she sensed I wasn't in the mood to talk. When we arrived, the lights on the ground floor were on. Mr. Martinez was probably up late doing something he shouldn't have. Getting out of the car, I approached the front steps, but that was as far as my feet would allow me.

I wondered if I even deserved to come back to this place. It was my job to take care of Francis, and I failed.

I felt something slap me hard on the back, and when I turned, it was Penny, holding our food in one hand. "Come now. You can't hesitate. They've been worried sick about you all this time."

"I know that... I just... I don't." Before I could say what I wanted to say, the door opened. In the entrance stood a short woman with mahogany skin dressed in a white buttoned shirt with brown overalls. As she saw me, her hazel-colored eyes widened in disbelief. "Lexi!? Is that you!?"

It was Becca. She must've been on the way on one of her midnight strolls. She rushed down the stairs, threw her arms around me, and squeezed tightly. Lifting me off my feet, she spun me around. "Holy shit, you're alive. The way Iggy was talking, I thought you'd be blood psycho food."

"Y-yeah, I'm alive," I groaned, "Now, could you put me down." Becca set me back on my feet, then hurried to Penny to hug her.

"So you aren't worm food," greeted Mr. Martinez as he approached the door. "I see you're short one..."

I was afraid he pointed that out. Meaning this conversation was going to happen now. Right after, I'd just argued with Dad. Mr. Martinez sighs then nodded toward the door. "Come on in before you get cold, Chucho."

Penny and Becca would head in before I did. We followed Mr. Martinez to the dining hall where Iggy was sitting. "Alex," he called out. "You're alive!?"

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot," I chuckled. However, the amusement didn't stick.

"Sit down, Tio," Mr. Martinez told Iggy. "Alex has something to tell us." He grabbed a glass from a cabinet and a bottle of hooch he'd been hiding. The residents of Dogland gathered at the table around me, waiting to hear.

"W-well... as you can see," I started to say. I tried to find the nerve to get it out. It'd been so much easier before. Everyone who knew Francis's fate so far didn't know her well. But Becca, Mr. Martinez, and Iggy. The difference in their knowledge was too significant.

"Francis didn't make it," I choked. "I did everything I could to stop it." Becca cupped her mouth with her hands as tears lit up in her eyes. Iggy clenched his fist, almost striking the table in frustration. But Mr. Martinez just poured himself a glass. I didn't notice his puffy eyes or realize he looked worse than usual.

"When Ignacio came home," he began, "he told us that the two of you stayed behind. Suppose you had shown up that night. I'd have blamed you for Francis's death."

That was something I was prepared for. Mr. Martinez was the one who took Francis in. He treated her as if she were his daughter. Putting the glass to his lips, he drained its contents completely before he would set the glass down again. His eyes drifted over to me as his mouth set in a hard line. "I know that girl loved you dearly. There can't be a greater love than someone willing to give their life for yours. This I understand. But know that even if she is no longer of this world. She remains with us through our memory."

Mr. Martinez poured another glass. He allowed me to let his words sink in as best as possible. Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the cigarette pack and opened it. Holding the cigarette up, I remembered to examine the words again. "Congrats, ma chéri" it read.

"Did you at least make those pendejos suffer?" Iggy growled. "I heard the warehouse was a complete mess." Putting the cigarette back down, I held my now empty right hand and tugged on the cloth. It unraveled, allowing the crimson miasma to free once more. I then focused on Bethany's shape, and the haze morphed into the weapon.

"Woah..." murmured. "That's certainly new." Iggy's tail thumped against his chair excitedly as he examined my arm.

"You're a real devil now," Mr. Martinez sighed. "I'd hate to be any poor bastard that pisses you off."

Becca reached her hand up to my shoulder as she cautiously examined my weapon arm. "Alex... are you gonna be ok?" I knew she wasn't asking about my new ailment. I returned the arm to its more natural form and tugged the cloth again. "I will be," I answered, "when the bastard that sent those blood psychos there pays."

"Hold on," Iggy questioned after standing abruptly. "That wasn't just a random pack?"

I shook my head, remembering what Haoran told Yasuo back at the warehouse. "Someone sent those things to kill us. They wanted it to be written off as a blood psycho incident. But I guess it was a rush job. Considering that pack of freaks were uncoordinated."

"It makes sense," Mr. Martinez admitted, "it's hard to bump off a crime family boss. Especially in Iscariot City. Let alone two."

"Who could've wanted Yasuo or Haoran dead?" Iggy asked. "Mr. Yasuo is the nicest guy ever."

"More importantly, how in the hell did they find out about the meeting," I pointed out. "The only ones who knew were the Isoarashi, Huang, and Murcielagos."

The room grew silent again as we all pondered the possibilities. I knew my family wouldn't want to screw up our reputations that badly. Besides, Dad hated vampyres. It would make little sense for the Isoarashi to attack the Huangs with their boss in the crossfire. The same logic applied to the Huangs. Then what Haoran told Yasuo played in my head again.

"Listen... I know this is going to sound crazy. But what about the Andrade family."

"No," Mr. Martinez objected, "Hector would never do something like this. The man hates vampyres as much as Acolytes worship God. He'd sooner bathe in sunlight than ever consider using them."

"How are you so sure, Mr. Martinez?" Becca asked. Even though I wasn't saying Hector was behind this, I am curious about Mr. Martinez's certainty.

He stared at his glass for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell us. He took a sip of his drink and then sighed. "I used to work for Hector in the cartel. He let me walk after I'd grown too old. I've seen that man do unspeakable things to Vampyres... it made me wonder who was the real monster at times."

"What makes you so sure it's someone in  the Andrade family?" Penny asked. "What about the Barnes family? Or an outside source?"

I'd like to know if I should've told them this. But thinking about it for a little longer, I realized no harm could be done since the worst thing had already happened to the enemy. Vampyres attacked two families, and they already suspected someone in the Andrade family, perhaps even one of Hector's brothers. 

"Someone within the Andrade family is making moves behind Hector's back. But they got too ahead of themselves, and their faces were blown up. They're the ones behind Francis's murder."

"Then that settles it," Becca spoke up. "We just gotta find this guy and put him in the ground." I wanted to tell Becca to calm down and think this through. But Mr. Martinez and Iggy snarled in agreement, and even Penny agreed.

Just like Francis, they all were so raring to go. Part of me wanted to tell them to stay out of it. To keep them as far away as possible. But to repeat such a mistake could've been fatal to them. They were a stubborn bunch. So, I elected to try a different approach.

"If you're gonna help," I said, "we have to do this smart. We must figure out who is working behind the shadows and draw them out. We can't just throw baseless accusations and cause a war between the families."

"How do you plan on luring them out?" Mr. Martinez asked, taking another sip of his drink. It was a decent question I had only considered once the suggestion came up.

"What about Yasuo?" Iggy asked, "Couldn't he and his sister help?" Yasuo likely would've started an investigation of his own in the matter. I could ask him for his help. I was to be his brother-in-law. Plus, he'd probably want to find the ones responsible for attempting his life. But that could also lead to an accidental war with the Andrades. Yet there was one more option, which led me to think of my old man.

"The Acolyte that saved me," I mentioned, "She's not just any Acolyte. She's one of the Archangels. Maybe she could help us too?" I had to leave out Detective Harker. Too many people knowing about my new association with the feds would likely get them killed. The less they knew, the better.

"What makes you sure she'll help us?" Mr. Martinez questioned. "The Acolytes only care for maintaining order."

"They'll do it to stop the spread of Vampyres," Penny said, "Iscariot City was the first of the hive cities. They wouldn't allow Vampyres to ruin the accord with the humans."

"Then I guess I'll call the clinic tomorrow," I said, examining the cigarette again. I needed a smoke, to be honest. All of this behind-the-scenes play was different from my style. But if Francis was going to rest easy, I needed to find whoever was responsible. So I couldn't smoke this cigarette. Not now, at least. Putting it back in the box, I slipped it into my pocket.

I couldn't bring myself to smoke that cigarette yet. I hadn't done anything worth congratulating. Still waiting...