My head hurts so bad!

I'm laying in bed, looking at the ceiling. The sheets are a mess, but I don't have it in me to fix them. A little bit of sunlight is coming in through the blinds, so I know it's morning. As much as I'd like to get up, however, this splitting headache is keeping me here.

The worst part of it is probably that I can't focus on casting any spells, so my body is stuck in this vampire form. I absolutely cannot let anybody see me until I recover, there's no telling what kind of reaction would come from people learning that a Royal vampire is in the city.

I hate this body! I got used to it, but it still makes me look like a vampire! Okay, I literally am one, but I don't want to be one, and I can kinda forget about it when I'm in my human body. This just isn't who I am.

I look at the blinds again to make sure they're closed. I know the living room curtains also are, so at least I'm not at risk of being seen as long as I stay inside.

Still, how did one measly beer knock me out like this? Could it be that the reason there was no alcohol at the castle is that vampires simply cannot stand it? A few sips and they're too drunk to function? One glass and to the bathroom they go?

I feel the same way I did back when I'd spend all night drinking. No, scratch that, it's even worse. At least back then I could still focus on casting simple spells if I needed them.

Medication! That's what I need! Oh, but I don't have any in the apartment... Am I really going to need to go out in this form? I can't call Kitero since I don't have a phone and my voice is too different when I'm like this anyway. I know there's a pharmacy nearby, I saw it on our way here, so I guess I'll just have to tough it out and walk there.

I painfully push myself up, which only makes my headache worse. I manage to put the clothes I was wearing yesterday back on, but they're a bit too large now. I might have to think about getting things that fit this form better, just in case I get stuck again.

I grab my long white hair and tie it on itself. I'll also get hair ties while I'm at it, since I didn't bring any of my ribbons with me.

I adjust my hood in front of the large mirror near the apartment's entrance, then put some sunglasses on. While most of my hair is hidden, my bangs still poke through the front, revealing their unnatural colors. With most of my other features hidden, however, people are more likely to assume that my hair is dyed over me actually being a vampire.

I grab my bag, which contains my wallet, and put my shoes on. Thanks to the money Kitero gave me, I should at least be able to afford a few things. Just as I'm about to leave, however, I hear a knock on the door.

I start panicking. Who could it be? What kind of situation would it cause for them to see me like this? Do I pretend to not be here? Do I send them away?

I'm interrupted by a voice coming from the other side:

"Um... Mister Benord? I have your lease, if you'd like to sign it."

It'll be weird if I don't respond, so I push my voice down as low as I can and say:

"Ah, I'm very sorry, but I'm feeling sick this morning. Could you bring it back later?"

"Woah, yeah, I can hear that you're not doing so good. Look, I can't afford to catch anything contagious, so how about I come back in two or three days instead? Just... Get some rest. I don't want whatever you have."

I put a hand over my mouth to make sure that my laughter can't be heard from the other side of the door. I guess vampirism is contagious, at least to some extent, so he's right to be scared. Not that I'd do anything to him, of course.

"Okay, see you later."

I wait for a few minutes, then crack the door open to take a look outside. No one in sight. Despite the headache still eating away at my skull, I leave my apartment. I'll need to make sure to not forget that I'm Lumirae right now, and that I can't let anyone notice that I'm a vampire.

I make sure to keep my hood pulled over my head and to always look down at my feet as I walk the streets of this area I'm not familiar with. Never had to come around here when I was a hunter. It's poor, that much I can tell, and some of the abandoned or repurposed buildings on the sides of the streets make me think this used to be an industrial zone, likely before the merger of the five Great Cities into a single megalopolis.

As I pass in front of a building covered in graffiti and without a single window left intact, I notice someone who drops his cigarette and starts following me. I can't be sure that he's not simply going in the same direction as me, so I stop for a moment to pretend to look at my surroundings, causing him to stop, lean against a wall, and start looking at his phone. I start moving again, and so does he.

Okay, so I have a stalker now. Thankfully, he's not a very good one.

I eventually make it to the small commercial street where I saw the pharmacy. The strange guy is still following me. My head hurts too much to try to figure out why, so I ignore him and enter the store.

It's small, so it doesn't take me very long to find everything I was looking for. Something for my hangover, something for headaches more generally, some adhesive bandages in case I ever need them, and a pack of hair ties. I put everything on the counter, and the clerk starts scanning them. Upon grabbing the box of hangover medication, however, he stops and says:

"That's not going to work for you."

With a tone that betrays my annoyance, I simply respond:

"Eh?"

"You're to different from a human for that to have any effect. Instead, I suggest this."

He opens a door under the counter, on his side, and takes out a small bottle of red liquid. What is it? Blood? Has to be, my instincts are screaming to drink it. Still, I need to be careful.

"What's that?"

"Due to the way vampires absorb blood, it's been a long-standing practice to incorporate healing enchantments or medicinal substances into it to produce medicine that's extremely effective for them in particular. Here, how about trying it?"

He opens the bottle, and the smell causes me to almost lose control. I haven't had any blood since leaving the castle, and I guess there is a limit to how long I can go without. I haven't quite reached it, but...

I grab the bottle and take a step back, unsure of whether I should trust that guy or resist with everything I have.

"Go ahead, drink it. It'll immediately make you feel better."

I hesitate for a few more seconds before finally bringing the bottle to my lips. As the blood flows down my throat, I feel myself calm down, followed by my headache slowly disappearing. After making sure I got every last drop, I put the container back on the counter.

"Wow! That... worked?"

"I told you! If you ever need more of it, just let me know. Still, I'd recommend avoiding alcohol altogether if you can."

"Right. So, um... How did you know?"

"We have quite a few vampires living around here, so I'm used to recognizing them. And I can tell when one just had their first run-in with alcohol, you all end up in pretty much the same state. This whole area is a bit of a popular spot for monsters in general, truth be told. Isn't that why you're here?"

"No, not really. I just needed a cheap apartment with a landlord that wouldn't ask too many questions, and there was one nearby."

The clerk laughs for a bit.

"I thought you came to my store because you knew about the services I offer. To think this was entirely a coincidence."

"Services?"

He takes a few steps towards a small fridge, from which he gets a bag of blood.

"Vampires need blood to survive, but the ones living here don't want to attract attention on themselves by preying on their neighbors. So I sell them blood bags. Human, elf, or dwarf flavors, with the more exotic types showing up from time to time."

Ooooh, that's going to be really useful! I hadn't really put much thought into how I'd go about getting blood, but that's that solved.

Still, learning that there's a community of monsters here, one I had never heard about as a hunter... I don't know if I should be concerned. Well, I am a monster myself now, so it would be hypocritical of me to say that I can be here but they can't. If they're not putting anyone in danger, they don't need to be dealt with.

"I'll make sure to come by regularly, then. Thanks a lot! Oh and I'll take two bags right now. Any type."

I don't know how much my human form can mitigate my thirst for blood, if at all, so I might as well stock up on some supplies right now.

As I grab my wallet to pay for the things I'm buying, he asks:

"Oh, do you need a job?"

"... Maybe?"

"I have some contacts who help monsters integrate into society by providing fake identities that get properly registered in the system. If you want to get in touch, just let me know."

I grab the bag containing my purchases and put it inside my backpack.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

As I leave the store, I see that my stalker is still waiting nearby. Since my head doesn't hurt anymore, I might as well try to figure out what's going on. Allowing him to follow me back to my apartment is just not an option, so I start walking in the opposite direction.

I don't know where I'm going, but that at least allows me to confirm he's still following me. I take random turns, heading further and further into the former industrial zone, until I'm entirely surrounded by abandoned building on an empty street. There, I turn towards the stalker and shout:

"So, why are you following me?"

I see a smirk form on his lips.

"If you noticed me, why did you make your way to a deserted area? I could be dangerous."

"I'm new to the area, so I didn't actually know where I was going. I just wanted to make sure you were actually a stalker."

"Eh eh, that's why I love new arrivals. You're the perfect victims."

He takes a folding knife out of his pocket and points it in my direction.

"Now, if you don't want to get hurt, calmly come with me."

What's that guy? Some kind of amateur kidnapper? At first I thought he'd want my wallet, but he actually wants me? I'm not going to play along.

"Is this supposed to be a joke? Why would I follow you?"

My resistance causes him to tense up. A few drops of sweat form on his forehead. This has to be the first time he does this, so I decide to keep adding pressure:

"Look, I don't know why you're doing this, but no one needs to get hurt here. I'll simply head back home, and you can do whatever the f..."

A sudden flash of my mother angrily telling me to not use swear words pops into my mind. I shake my head, then continue:

"... Em, whatever you need to do, or something."

He looks at me, clearly confused.

"No, what I need to do is bring you back with me. Without that..."

Now he seems more scared of whatever is going on in his head than of me. What could possibly be happening here?

"Alright, I'm leaving then."

"No!"

With that shout, he starts running towards me, both hands holding on to his tiny weapon. In a swift movement, I grab my own knife from my backpack, the one that survived my fight with my mom, and catch his blade.

"Don't you think you might have underestimated me a bit?"

The fear in his eyes turns into complete panic as he runs away. I shrug, surprised to see that he didn't put up a fight at all. Still, I might learn a few things by following him.

After a few minutes of running, my would-be kidnapper reaches a large abandoned factory. He looks around before entering, but can't see me. No wonder, I'm a bat.

I fly down from my perch and grab onto the metal frame of what was once a window, allowing me to look inside. The place is almost completely empty, with only a few wooden boxes here and there that were either left behind or got moved in after the place was originally emptied. Sitting on one of those boxes is some guy who looks completely out of place, with his clean suit and fancy fedora. Around him are two big guys, both very tall and very triangular in shape, also well-dressed and seemingly acting like bodyguards. Scattered throughout the rest of the room are a few other thugs dressed with masks and hoodies.

My favorite incompetent kidnapper stumbles towards the leader of the place, falling on his knees in front of him.

"I'm so sorry, master! I... I found someone, but when I tried to get her to follow me, she provoked me, and... I think she was someone who can actually fight! I messed up so bad!"

I can hear the anger progressively raise in the boss' voice as he responds:

"... Get her to follow you, you say? Just how much of a fool are you? When out on kidnapping gigs, your task is to find someone you can easily and subtly take out, so you can then drag their unconscious body here. What did you think you were supposed to do? Ask them gently!?"

"Well, I figured that a non-violent route might work better, so..."

"What non-violent route!? You're kidnapping someone! That's violent already!!!"

I probably wouldn't be able to control myself if my current form had the necessary muscles to laugh. Thankfully, that's not an issue, and no one seems to have noticed the bat at the window.

"I'm sorry, boss! I'll... I'll go back, and get it right this time. I..."

"This isn't the first time you fail, Wool. I was generous enough to lend you the money you needed for your mother's treatment, so I expect you to show me results when I ask for them. Is that so unreasonable?"

I'm starting to get an idea of what's going on. No wonder my wannabe-kidnapper couldn't do it, he doesn't actually have it in himself to hurt someone else. This area is poor, and I guess he's one of the victims of that poverty. Now he's indebted to some kind of small-time crime lord.

As a hunter, we never had to deal with cases like that, unless they involved other hunters or dungeon delvers. Local cops would intervene. No idea how effective they actually were, though. Speaking of cops, I haven't seen a single patrol car since I arrived in this part of the city. I wonder what's up with that.

Down on the floor, my failed kidnapper continues:

"Please, just... One more chance! I'll... I'll find a way, just..."

"No need. If you can't pay me back with the bodies of strangers, then you'll pay me back with yours."

He claps his fingers and whistles, then says:

"Boys, get this kid in the van. Make sure to properly silence him, you hear, I don't want a repeat of last week's incident."

"No! No! You can't do this to me! I promised I'd help, that I'd pay you back. You can't send me off, that's..."

The bossman gets up and grabs my defeated kidnapper by the chin.

"Yes, you promised to help, and I'm now seeing that the only help you'll ever be to me is if I sell you off. No hard feelings, eh?"

"But my mother? My friends? They'll notice I'm gone! You can't do this! You can't..."

The two large guys are now dragging him towards a vehicle in the back of the room while the other thugs giggle. I should probably intervene now.

I fly inside of the building, causing a distraction as all the heads turn towards that mysterious flapping noise.

"A bat? What's that thing doing here? Faraway, rid us of that pest."

The thug I presume to be nicknamed Faraway gets up and grabs a rifle that was laying next to him. He takes aim, tries to figure out when to best shoot by following my erratic flight pattern, and finally pulls the trigger. As the bullet flies towards me, I break my bat transformation spell and catch the projectile in my hand before gracefully landing in a pose befitting a princess.

I show the bullet to Faraway before asking:

"Oh, is this yours? It seems to have been misplaced."

A wave of confusion spreads through the room, and it's the gangster boss who reacts first:

"Wow! A vampire, of all things? Just imagine how much money we can get for a real, genuine female vampire! Boys, if you catch her, I'll shower you all in riches!"

I turn towards him and don't hide at all the irritation in my face as I respond:

"Bit eager considering you don't know who you're dealing with, don't you think? How many of you are confident they can take on a vampire?"

I see the lot of them hesitate, but their boss encourages them again:

"Don't worry, there's thirteen of you and one of her. You should be more scared of what I'll do to you if you run away!"

The message seems to have gotten across this time, as all the thugs grab their weapons and rush towards me, except for Faraway who opts to prepare his next shot.

This reminds me of the good old days when I'd have to fight hordes of monsters by myself. However, killing these guys might be a bad idea, since I don't actually know what kind of situation they're in. They might also know a few things that might be useful to me later. As boring as that is, I quickly cast a sleep spell around me, causing all twelve of the ones rushing me to fall down at my feet. Faraway shoots in my direction, but I catch the bullet again and throw it back in his direction with enough force to knock him out.

This is less impressive than the bloodbaths I used to cause, but it's probably a bit more civilized. As I approach the boss, I see the two bodyguards drop Wool to run towards me. I dodge the first punch, then the second. One of them tries to kick me, but I catch his foot and slam his body against his buddy, causing both of them to be flung away into a corner of the room.

Their boss takes a quick look at all of his incapacitated henchmen, then at me, and starts panicking.

"Ah, my fair lady, there seems to be a misunderstanding between us. I never meant you harm! Ah, yes, how about working for me? I can make you rich!"

I pull out my knife and press it against his neck.

"I'm not in the business of harming innocent people. Now, if you want to live, you'll answer my questions."

"Ah! Yes, of course! I would never dare lie!"

"Good. Where do you take your victims?"

"I have contacts with a broader network, but I know nothing beyond that. I simply bring people to our rendezvous point and they take it from here."

I push the dagger into his skin just enough to sting.

"I swear this is the truth! None of the victims are ever seen again, but I know no more."

"So you don't know the names of the people you're working with?"

"I do not. They value their secrecy very much. I swear I can say no more!"

"And where's that rendezvous point?"

"At the disused power plant. I call them, and they show up. That's all I know!"

I push him back, then lick the drop of blood on the edge of my blade. I'm a vampire, this isn't weird. After putting my knife back in its sheathe, I look at the boss again, who's still violently shaking in fear. As much as I despise using this kind of magic, I'm not sure I can safely do without it here.

I cast a quick spell on him, which causes him to enter into a trance. I then ask:

"Was any of what you just told me a lie?"

In an empty and monotone voice, he responds:

"No, none of what I just told you was a lie."

Good enough. So what now? I wasn't planning on uncovering a criminal network on my third day back home, but if there are kidnapping victims I can save, I feel obligated to act. Eh, that feels familiar. Hopefully my opponents aren't vampires this time, that would be a bit awkward.

I turn towards Wool, who's still paralyzed in fear because of everything that just happened. Maybe I can use him to my advantage and get him out of this situation at the same time. I walk towards him, a hand extended forward to help him get back up. Instead of accepting it, however, he starts screaming:

"Monster! You're a monster! You killed them all! You have no place here, get away from me!"

As I get closer, he starts crawling backward to keep his distance from me. Ugh, so much for trying to help him. I cast a quick spell on him, wiping all memories of me and causing him to fall unconscious. I'll just make them all forget me, then come up with a plan I can execute some other time.

I make my way to my apartment, making sure that no one sees me enter. I wouldn't want rumors to already start spreading about someone else sometimes being at my place.

I put the blood bags in the fridge and the bandages in the bathroom. I then untie my hair and adjust my clothes before whispering the chant that allows me to turn back into a human:

"Eniré, come back."

I'm enveloped in a layer of magical energy which starts off red and slowly turns blue as my body reverts to its original form. When it dissipates, I am my old self once more. I didn't expect that alcohol could break the spell, so I'll have to be more careful going forward. There's no telling what else might turn me back into a vampire.

For now, however, I have a mystery to solve, one that doesn't look like it'll be all that simple.