It'd be about ten before the Rotterdams left. Yayoi stayed behind to look after me for a while. By the time we'd left the staff room, all of the Rotterdams were already gone. Pandora had retreated into the crimson haze, restoring my arm to me.

I returned to my room, where I'd accidentally left the door open, but that was fine. I was still in the building. As I waltzed right in, I sat on the bed, trying to ponder what my life would be like from now on. Yayoi sat in my desk chair, carefully watching me like I'd break down. "L-Look, Alex," she said, "I know it's a lot for you to take in... especially since... well, you know..." Yayoi wasn't wrong, yet I felt this was the beginning of my troubles.

"It is a lot," I admitted. "But no matter how much I want to think this was all a bad dream. It just... isn't." This was my reality now—a monster who was supposed to be the worst of them all. The thought almost forced a chuckle. Since I was this Crimson Death, I wonder if my enemies also knew this. Because if they didn't, they would find out soon enough.

But then there were my friends and family. Even though I could've been the worst of the bunch, they would be in danger. That Vampyre killed Francis right before me, and who's to say whomever he's working for won't do the same? The same thing could happen again. But that's what comes with our kind of business, right?

"I'm sorry you got stuck with a guy like me," I said as I reached into my bag and grabbed a box of cigarettes. "I seemed to have gotten myself into a pickle."

"N-No. You do not need to apologize," Yayoi said, "if you didn't help us escape at the warehouse... then maybe." Her voice trailed off as if the words were getting stuck in her throat like hair clogging a drain. We were both just sitting here, blaming ourselves for things we couldn't control. Stuffing the cigarettes in my pocket, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"You should know that I'm no fun," I said, breaking the brief silence. "My only hobbies are fiddling with guns and smoking, and I occasionally admire motorbikes."

"What's that got to do with our present situation?" Honestly, nothing, but this would be a good time to tell her at least what she was in for.

"It's gonna take a while before I can come to terms with Francis's death," I admitted. "You're a pretty nice girl. So I thought it'd be despicable of me to at least not give you a fair warning."

Yayoi switched from the chair to sitting next to me in the bed. "Well, it's not like I wish to be Francis's replacement. I'd be more disturbed if you did try to make a move now. I had no evidence to believe Yayoi would come to expect such a thing. However, we had been through a harrowing experience together. Then there's the fact that she's been the only other person I've felt I could trust with what's happening in my head.

Sitting up, I reached into my pocket for the box of cigarettes and pulled out two. Handing one to Yayoi, I stood from the bed and pointed my thumb toward the door. "We should probably get going. I'll have Mr. Martinez put you up for the night in one of the guest rooms."

Yayoi gave me a slight nod, then followed me to the first floor. By now, Penny and Becca were awake. We found them sitting and enjoying some eggs and sausage when we got to the kitchen. Penny had a cup of blood that seemed too sweet-smelling to resist.

"Oh, hey Alex," Penny greeted as she smacked on a piece of sausage. "I take it this is your bride-to-be?" I gave her a nod, then turned to Becca and said. "This is Yayoi Isoarashi, my fiancée. She'll stay in Dogland for the night when I talk to Mr. Martinez."

"Wow... Francis is gone only a few days, and you already brought another girl home," Becca half-joked. "You are a dog."

"It's not like that, I promise," Yayoi said in my defense. "My elder brother and his father arranged this." Becca blinked several times, unable to mask her surprise. "Relax, Ms. Geisha, I'm fucking with you. Francis told me all about it. Sit, and join us. I want to know everything you think about our most loyal dog." Becca stood up and scurried to Yayoi, taking her arm and pulling her away for girl talk. Deciding to let them be, I went to find Mr. Martinez. As I went to the front porch, I found him sitting on the steps.

"Ignacio told me what all that racket what's earlier," Mr. Martinez groaned before I could speak. "The Isoarashi girl can stay the night for my usual fee."

"You charging me?" I asked through gritted teeth, "You must've lost another poker game today." Mr. Martinez would go out during the day to play poker with his drinking buddies. Today wasn't his day.

"Some new fuckin' asshole practically robbed me blind," Mr. Martinez said, his voice raising a bit. "I know your money's good, and it's only to get me through the week."

Sitting down on one of the steps below, Mr. Martinez, I picked out another cigarette from my jacket. I also picked out a small stack of bills from my wallet and handed both items to him. "Gracias, Chucho," he nearly chuckled. "You've saved this old man yet again." I just smiled and then took out my lighter for our cigarettes.

"As long as you're not spending it on whores and your poker night, old man," I said. We both took a huff of our cigarettes and half the night away. I didn't know why, but I couldn't tell him about the Crimson Death. It would only make things worse if he knew. But I'd say to him as soon as possible. Just not tonight.

Before going off to bed, I gave Penny the letter from the Queen. As soon as I told her what it was, she jumped up, scrambled some clothes together, and took off in the Duesy. I could only imagine what opening that kind of letter would be like. After drinking some blood from Becca, I said goodnight to everyone else and passed back out in my bed.

The next time I woke up, I did so early. I put on my suit from the Isoarashi's and met Yayoi at the door. Becca had given Yayoi one of her more excellent dresses, which she seemed to need to be more accustomed to wearing. She still had her red sash around her waist and the Hannya mask she wore on her head. "You're up early," she said.

"I have to be. Drakon Murcielago should be pulling up any moment." A black Rolls-Royce Ghost pulled up to the curb as I finished my statement. In its front seat sat Furio and Walter while Father sat by himself in the back. As we stepped outside, Furio got out to open the door for us. "Good evening, Alexander," Furio greeted," and condoglianze."

"Thank you, Furio," I said, letting Yayoi get in first. "It never does, my boy," Furio said. We got in the car, and Furio drove off to our destination.

Furio and Walter talked most of the ride. They seemed excited about what was happening. The Murcielago was finally back in the big leagues, which meant more opportunities for us. Meanwhile, my father was as silent as a statue. Even though he seemed collected, this did have some effect on him. His brow was furrowed, and he'd been rubbing his temple. Then he couldn't keep his foot from tapping against the floorboards, even though he wasn't being loud. It felt nice to see him nervous for once.

We would arrive at a restaurant near the center of town. It was called Sinful Paradise, a nice and classy joint. The kind of place my old man took Beatrix whenever he wanted to appease her. There were other fancy cars parked outside the restaurant, and people were standing all around. Some were smoking, and others were either coming or going. It was a nice inconspicuous place to be. As we parked and got out of the car, my father momentarily pulled me to the side.

"Listen, Alexander," he said, sounding much softer than usual. "When we go in there, I want you to stand beside me with Furio." I raised a curious brow, and then he touched my shoulder. "The Queen decreed it. But even if she didn't, I'd have you standing there anyway."

I could still feel my anger from the other night festering in my mind. But I had to let it go tonight. I had to present a united front for the Murcielago family. I just gave him a nod and a small smile. He patted me on the shoulder, and we entered the restaurant with the others. A woman met us at the door, blonde, pretty, and wearing a little too much red lipstick. "Welcome to Sinful Paradise," she chirped. What can I get y’all."

"We'd like the Deadly Seven," Father said. The waitress's gaze darted between our faces, and her smile grew. "Alrighty, I'll have y'all seated in the Paradise suite. Follow me." Performing an impressive about-face, she began walking toward the restaurant's staircase. As I looked at all the Patrons, I noticed a few had blood-givers seated with them. I started to reach for my cigarettes, only to see a "no smoking" sign on one of the walls. As we reached the top of the staircase, the large floor was somewhat empty, save for a room on the right side with two men standing guard next to it, one tall and lean, the other short and quite built. One of the men beckoned us toward the door.

"Alright. Everyone stand in a straight line and stretch your arms out," he instructed. Great, a pat down. I knew Wanda was getting confiscated. Furio and Walter had their guns taken from them. Yayoi didn't appear to have her sword and was relatively clean. Then came my father, who was also clean. When they got to me, they found Wanda resting in a holster. "Woah... the hell is this thing?" The lanky guard said as he drew Wanda from my holster.

"It's a Mauser," I said, "Custom built. My father knows a pretty good gunsmith." It was a bad lie, for sure. One that I'm sure could get chewed out for. But it was only for some to buy.

"This is impressive," complimented the short guard. "Well, personally, my heart belongs to 1911. But you can't knock the krauts for their style. Don't worry, kid. We'll keep it safe and tight for ya."

He'd better, or else he would have to hear it fire. The waitress escorted us inside, where I saw five other groups sitting and standing around a round table. I recognized the Rotterdams, Isoarashi, and the Huangs. Yasuo's eyes seemed to light up as he saw Yayoi and me.

Father found an empty seat at the round table with Furio and me standing by his sides. Yayoi returned to her brother's side while Walter waited at the door. I began to feel a faint pain in my chest. The resonance was stronger than I'd ever felt it before. Looking at the people I didn't recognize, I caught the eye of a tall Hispanic man with dark hair and a scar on his cheek. He'd been standing next to a man who looked similar to him, with the only difference being the man was a little shorter and had slicked-back hair.

Then, there was a small group of black men seated near Dad. The one seated was an average-sized man with a crew cut and a thick beard. Next to him was a rather skinny-looking bald guy. He was one of the people giving me that faint pain in my chest. By my count, he and one of the Andrade men made seven that were present, including myself. The last one either didn't know about it or didn't bother to show up.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Queen Jeanne greeted as she stood. "I'm happy that almost everyone has decided to join us for the night."

The Hispanic man straightened himself in his seat, nodding to everyone in the room. I made a safe bet thinking that this was Hector Andrade, the big boss of the cartel. "My apologies for my brother-in-law," Hector said, "He had some business to take care of."

"More like he's probably trying to hide," said the Barnes family's boss. The two guys flanking Hector looked like they wanted to pick Barnes's boss up and toss him out the window. But the skinny guy got in between them.

"Adonis... Hector," the Queen called out, "I will not have violence in front of our new guests, and I will not give either of you a second chance." As the Queen spoke, a golden light took the form of chains that wrapped around the bodies of the men. While they didn't restrain them, the men looked so unnerved by them that they backed off.

The Queen cleared her throat, and her lips formed a warm smile. "Now then... I'd first like to address our new guests. After all, they will be the new members of this esteemed table." The attention of everyone in the room was now focused on us. Father tugged at his collar as he sat forward in his seat. As he stood, he bowed before he spoke.

"My name is Drakon Murcielago," Father said, "I'd first like to thank the High Table for even considering us to join this esteemed society."

"The pleasure is all ours, actually," Adonis said, "Any Father that raises his kid to put down blood psycho trash is more than deserving to sit at a table with us."

"For once, we agree on something, Donny," Hector said, "I'm hoping there was more where that came from."

As lovely as their compliments were, I didn't earn them. Not yet, anyway. Turning to Father, I noticed a slight smile forming on his lips. However, he seemed careful not to look too proud. "I assure you, we will do our very best to ensure that whoever allowed these abominations to walk our streets is brought to justice," he said.

"As I expect," the Queen agreed. "Speaking of the Vampyres, I'd like to know their origin. I'm sure there have been some disturbing rumors floating about." The room fell silent. With the potential of people tossing around accusations, I expected the silence to be brief.

"I'm gonna put this out there now," said Hector, "Mi hermanos and I would never deal with such monsters. Mi Madre would rise from her grave and slit our throats if that were the case." The room erupted into laughter at the remark, but I remembered what Mr. Martinez had told me about Hector.

"Well put, Hector," the Queen said, "We must deal with this recent outbreak of Vampyres. I hope I can have everyone's cooperation in that endeavor."

Adonis raised his hand, and the Queen nodded, prompting him to proceed. "I can lend whatever we can do to help. But I'm afraid I can't actively go looking for a fight."

"I understand," the Queen said, "Your family has suffered greatly at their hands. Regrouping is a valid strategy."

"It's okay, Donny. We'll pick up your slack while you lick your wounds," Hector jabbed. Even though Hector seemed as though he was breaking balls, Adonis didn't look too pleased.

"You're the one with slack," he jabbed back, "Your Sin Factor isn't even here. What makes you believe I'll buy for one second that you aren't just giving us the runaround?"

Hector slammed his hands against the table, looking like he would start shouting. But the chains around his body tightened, which caused him to grit his teeth to keep from crying out in pain. The Queen now stood, crossing her arms as she looked down at the two family heads.

"I believe I ordered that your hostility be tamed," she said in a low tone. "I'm sure everyone knows I have never repeated a decree." Everyone tensed up after hearing the Queen speak. She didn't have chains around anyone else, but it felt like it. I'm glad I was never rude to her when we first met.

"Good... now... from what we know, several members of different families have disappeared or have not been seen. The timing may differ, but the consensus is around the time of the attack."

Yasuo and Haoran must've done their digging while I was gone. Though there was one thing I thought about, The Irishman and his warning. Thinking about it made my head feel a little hazy. But it was something of note that I had to tell everyone, especially now. Typically, I would've just said what was on my mind. But something compelled me to raise my hand first. I remember Francis doing the same thing whenever Mr. Martinez and I would argue about money. As the Queen acknowledged my extended hand, she directed everyone's attention toward me. 

"I'm sorry, I'm only remembering this now," I started, "But the rat I cared for before. Before he exited, they told me that bigger players were at the table. He made it seem like he was working for someone who wasn't the feds. "

"I believe his exact words were... There's an even bigger rat than me. Rotterdam... Huang... those big fish don't even realize they are being played."

As the words settled in the minds of the High Table, I began to ponder them myself. The uncle wasn't talking about the feds. Detective Harker assured me of that. No, rats meant something completely different.  "Whatever the case," Haoran began, "We must remain vigilant. There may be an attempt to poison the alliance we have built so far." 

"That's it!" I suddenly shouted, the excitement of finding the answer coming just as quickly as it went. I had just realized what I stumbled upon when something I learned from Francis came to mind. "Poison... the Vampyres are a sickness among our people. The only sickness. That means whoever is behind the Vampyre attacks is trying to wipe us all out. Not just as paradigms, but Mythics as a whole." 

"Oh, come on," scoffed Hector. "Everyone knows only a paradigm can become a Vampyre. Why would the humans be concerned with other Mythics." That usually would be the case if this were an ordinary opponent. But there was something else I knew. "Iscariot City is one of the few Hive Cities that Paradigms control. But that's enough if we all get wiped out or just enough for us to be unable to maintain control of the city. Whoever these guys are could come in and clean the house. They'd have the right to." 

"But that's a huge risk," Yasuo pointed out. "They haven't been too careful to hide their deeds from us." That was true. We had the upper hand because we knew they were trying to do this now. But how does that work if they get caught in the act?

"Perhaps they are aware of such risks," Father suggested. "If the Acolytes... no... If the Humans discovered Iscariot City could no longer be controlled, it would hurt our position everywhere. Even if we were to stop them from spreading Vampyres across the city, it'd be too late." 

"... Meaning to stop the spread of Vampyres, hunting them isn't enough," the Queen surmised. "We must cut the infection at the root and lure out the mastermind." The room erupted in applause; some hissed while others bellowed excitedly. I had to hand it to the Queen. She knew how to get a room going.

With the Queen's little show, she concluded this sit down. She'd gone to Yasuo and whispered something in his ear before departing. The Barnes didn't stay long, but the skinny one approached me and winked. That was his way of introducing himself since he was a Sin Factor.

Father placed a hand on my shoulder as our party got up to leave. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered, "Stay a minute. I wanna talk to you." As the room emptied, Father let the guard outside know we'd be staying a second longer. Then he turned to me.

"Listen, son... I know we disagreed the last time we saw each other. But I want you to know your anger was justified." As he spoke, I began to understand my Father's earlier behavior. I've seen him meet with the Queen, and he usually could keep up his stoic image. But this... this was rare.

"I just want to tell you I am proud of you," he continued. "The work you've done for our family... your steadfast loyalty, and even your recent sacrifice... it all does not go unnoticed nor unrewarded." He reached into his pocket, probably for money or some trinket. That's what I usually get. But this time is different.

Instead, he pulled a slip of folded paper from his pocket. Handing to me, he said," Go on... it's yours."

Holding the paper in my hands, I weirdly treated it as an antique vase that was too expensive to handle without care. Opening the article, I found out it was a photo. A portrait of a gorgeous woman, her short salt and pepper hair with a long bang swept to the right. The way she smiled felt so warm and gentle. It reminded me of Francis whenever she'd care for an injury of mine or make me something warm to eat. Yet, in contrast, her dark eyes nearly drew me in like I was staring into an abyss. "Who's this?" I asked.

"Her name is Rozlynn... I met her eighteen years ago in Barcelona on a business deal. Letting you have this is the least I could do."

Before I could say anything, Dad just turned away, leaving me in the room alone to absorb what he'd just given me. Then the dots began to connect. I could only stare at the picture as tears started to fill my eyes. There was only one word I could match with this woman. Even though I'd just learned her name, I could only call her...

"...M...Mom?"