With the strong smell of blood hanging in the air, Lucien stares at the woman before him, his expression neutral.
"You're a vampire," he replies. There wasn't much mystery in that.
"That's right, thank goodness you caught on quickly," she sighs, as if she didn't have to give a whole explanation.
"And I'm a vampire too," he points to himself.
"Yes, but you're a special case," she said with a mysterious smile.
Lucien pretended to ignore that part and asked again, "Who are you?"
"As you can see, I'm a vampire."
"..." I know! Damn it! He was about to shout, but when he did, he felt that he would not be able to control his instincts to kill and drink blood. 'Damn, why is it so difficult to maintain this balance?' He sighs and calms down again.
"You're controlling yourself quite well," she comments, satisfied.
'So she was testing me.' For some reason, he didn't find it funny. "What do you mean by that?" he asks as he takes a seat on one of the benches.
"Let's go somewhere else to talk more calmly, before 'they' arrive." She spreads her vampire wings.
"They?" Lucien asks, confused.
"I'll tell you later; now we have to go." She calmly takes flight.
He stares at her, wondering how she unfolds her wings, but remembering the previous sensation, they emerge, and, as they are part of his body, he moves them with ease, following the vampire woman.
Not long after Lucien and the vampire woman left the church, a group of five people arrived at the scene.
Each of them wore priestly robes and silver crucifixes around their necks.
"It seems we're too late," said one of them, who had black hair and dark brown eyes.
Another man with blond hair and green eyes, his features European, crouches down and says, "We're not late, they did the work for us."
"Why do you say that? Vampires clearly killed them; that disgusting smell is permeating the air."
"They were cultists." The blond-haired, green-eyed man picks up a rather old, yellowed sheet of paper with Latin text on it. "Look at this," he says, handing the sheet to one of his companions.
"For Christ's sake! Those annoying cultists are becoming more and more active," he mutters as he clutches the Latin-written sheet tightly.
Sigh.
The blond-haired, green-eyed man exhales wearily: "Those supernatural beings are becoming more and more active. Let's clean this up and get out of here; looks like we have another report."
"Understood, Father Caelus."
Then a prayer begins to be heard:
"Lord Jesus, in your name
And with the power of your precious blood
I cleanse and purify all interference
And all action of the evil one, all
Contamination from the forces of darkness..."
...
At the top of One World Trade Center.
They sit on the edge of the roof, with the sea of lights from the different buildings below their eyes and their senses heightened; they can hear the constant noise of car horns and planes flying over the city.
"Now you can tell me who the hell you are." Lucien shuffles his feet as he enjoys the night breeze gently caressing his pale face.
"You're quite persistent," she says with a sigh, "I'm Selene Kalt, pleased to meet you." Selene puts her hand on her hip.
"Now, can you tell me the other thing, to control myself well?"
Selene makes a cute pout and crosses her arms: "You can't be more sensitive, you're a lady, you know?"
Lucien stares at her with a deadpan expression; he's not in the mood for jokes right now; he wants an answer.
"Pooh, pooh, you're no fun." She touches his cheek and says, "We vampires, despite being considered 'immortal,' have several weaknesses, but one of the most pronounced is our instinct."
"Instinct?"
"That's right," Selene nods. "What we experienced a few moments ago was our oldest and most primal instinct: to cause chaos and drink blood. Don't you find it strange that the more you kill, the more intoxicated you feel?"
Lucien nods, though he can't counteract it; he remembers the sensation was too addictive; if it weren't for Selene's voice, he would have lost himself.
That thought makes his body tremble violently.
"But that instinct we have never goes away, so keep that in mind," she warns him. Once you go in, there's no turning back.
"What if I get lost in that feeling?"
"You will become a creature of blood; that's what we call vampires who lose themselves to their instincts," Selene replies in a neutral tone.
Lucien swallows hard, making a mental note of this critical detail. He begins to organize his thoughts.
"Do you have any more questions?"
"Why did you turn me into a vampire?" That was the most crucial question for him. Was he special? Did he have any hidden powers?
However, Selene smiled bitterly: "You are a mistake, something that should not have happened," she replied, touching her neck with a complicated expression.
"What?" That response baffled him; he did not expect it in the least.
"Next question."
"What are vampires' weaknesses?"
Selene also sits on the edge of the building: "You should already know some: sunlight, blessed objects such as silver, weapons, and more. And a special wooden stake..."
"But who doesn't die from a stake through the heart?" Lucien scoffs as he tries to absorb all the information, though he still has one last question.
"Well, it seems you have no more questions." Selene sits up and stretches lazily.
"No, I still have one last question."
She rolled her eyes in annoyance: "You're quite the questioner; can't you ask at other times?" she said in an annoyed tone.
'That damn vampire.' Several veins stand out on Lucien's forehead, but he does his best to control himself: "What did you mean by 'them'?" he asks, staring at her.
"Ahh, them." Selene flashes a dangerous smile: "They're the Inquisition hunters."
"Inquisition?" He repeats, as if listening to a historical name: "They're basically vampire hunters."
The gentle night breeze blows Selene's dark purple hair like a flag as she replies:
"Yes and no. The Inquisition hunters don't just hunt vampires, but other supernatural beings as well."
"So there are other supernatural beings besides vampires?"
"Yes," she nods. "The people you killed earlier in the church were cultists who used the power of demons through the Latin language."
"Hmm... I see," he murmurs. It seemed that the world was not as normal as they thought. This sparked a slight interest in finding out more about him.
Clap.
Selene applauds, pulling Lucien out of his thoughts, who looks at her, waiting for what she is going to say:
"Enough questions for today. Follow me," she says, without waiting for a response, and jumps off the building.
He watches her fall at full speed, then spreads his bat wings and begins to fly.
He does the same, but with the difference that he does not jump, but spreads his wings and takes flight following her.
...
The moon still hung high in the sky, slightly obscured by clouds drifting in the breeze.
Lucien accompanied Selene to a very ordinary house with an ordinary garden and blue paint.
He had expected a grand Gothic mansion like the ones you only see in movies, with gargoyles, chandeliers, and a butler named Igor.
Instead, there was a two-story house in front of his, with painted railings and a crooked mailbox.
As he crossed, he was stunned. The interior of the box was huge; it looked like something out of a real estate video, with chandeliers and everything. Compared to the exterior facade, it was like heaven and earth.
He couldn't be more delighted with this contrast. Imagine that your house looks like a beggar's on the outside, but on the inside, it's a boom! A mansion with all the luxuries.
Incredible, right?
Lucien looked around; despite the large interior, it was mostly empty, and there didn't seem to be any people.
Follow Selene to the living room, where she sits down on a luxurious sofa, crosses her thick legs, and motions for him to take a seat.
He sits down, his butt sinking into the cushion, his gaze fixed on Selene, and with a gesture, she tells him to begin.
"Now that you're a vampire, there are some important things you need to know," Selene spoke with absolute seriousness, her expression so neutral it seemed carved in marble.
Lucien, almost instinctively, straightened his back. His attention was fixed on every word, as if they were about to reveal a forbidden secret.
"First..." Selene tilted her head slightly. "I am your wife."
Silence.
A silence so deep that Lucien could almost hear a leaf falling several meters away.
"..."
Lucien froze. He blinked once. Twice. Three times. His mind processed the phrase as if it were a system error. Had he heard wrong? Was it interference? An echo of a couple arguing in another building? Or perhaps vampirism came with auditory hallucinations?
"WHAT!?" He finally exploded, his voice breaking between shock and utter confusion.
Selene, far from being upset, let a soft, amused smile curve her lips at the sight of Lucien's distraught expression.