After the story, Sasha fell asleep peacefully in my arms, adrenalin probably having worn off.

which all things considered was probably for the best, because I was not doing well.

My initial evaluation of the damage done to my body after returning had been laughably optimistic.

I was broken, my runes twisted and shattered beyond repair, my current energy capacity was practically non-existent. And I was bleeding... A lot.

“Probably why handling three little bloodsuckers almost killed me.” I thought to myself sardonically.

I’d done my best to stem the bleeding from the bullet wound. I didn’t even have the power to close it up like the rest.

“So, to summarize, there are vampires on earth. I’m slow, weak, running on empty and carrying a presumably kidnapped little girl hunted by said vampires.” I tried to sigh, but ended up coughing from my dry throat instead. For the first time tonight, I felt cold. Even while wearing a coat, I had lost too much blood.

“I’m not gonna make it much further.” My mind was becoming fuzzy.

I was crossing the empty plaza leading to the “Eve” building. But I didn’t make it much further than the steps leading to the building's entrance before my legs gave out.

I sat there trying and failing to catch my breath when something changed.

My instincts warned me I was being surrounded, and people were aiming weapons at me. My blood began to heat again. What little I had left, at least.

That familiar dark part of me roaring defiantly, demanding a bloody last stand of carnage and destruction to mark our end.

What need did I have of a life and a soul?

They were mere offerings to the pyre, to make sure anyone foolish enough to end us would regret their decision, but only shortly before joining us in the eternal dark.

Wresting back control, I looked up as my vision steadied long enough to see three women looking at me and the bundle in my arms. One of them had familiar brown eyes, shoulder length curly hair and looked barely able to keep herself from tears.

The foremost one stood protectively in front of her with a conflicted expression.

I locked eyes with her.

“Not human.” I thought to myself, no longer able to keep them chained. The hungering beasts in me stirred, spreading out through the surrounding shadows, ready to wreak havoc. Their movements, only noticeable to me.

Or so I thought.

The vampires surrounding us froze as if they had felt the change. But just then, the bundle in my arms stirred slightly. The beasts, reminded of our precious cargo, calmed themselves and returned to watch over the little one in our care.

The woman, who I presume was the little girl’s mother, moved forward before anyone could stop her and fell to her knees in front of us.

Tears were streaming down her face as she checked the sleeping Sasha for injuries. I carefully lifted her off my lap and handed her over, her mother locking eyes with me and mouthing a sincere.

“Thank you,”

My vision blurred, and I felt myself crumble and fall as my consciousness slowly ebbed away.

In the dark, I heard voices.

“Get her inside now and tell Dr. Mitchell to have a look at her.” A female authoritative voice commanded.

“Yes Ma’am, what about him?” a man replied with a soldier’s cadence.

“Take him to the guest suite and put two Custodes at the door. Tell Dr. Mitchell to look at him afterwards.” The woman in charge replied.

***

I focused as the dark smoke between my hands solidified into interwoven links, slowly creating a dark obsidian-like chain with lines of red energy pulsating down the links.

Having finished about five feet of it, I looked up proudly at my teacher on the bunk across from me.

“Well?” I asked expectantly.

“A chain?” Liala asked in a flat tone, clearly unimpressed.

“Yeah! I made sure it’s extra tough. We can use it to pull free supply wagons when we get stuck, or to tie down stuff while on the move.” I explained excitedly.

Liala sighed and shook her head in exasperation.

“Well then, what are you going to call this useful chain?” Liala asked sarcastically.

“I was thinking Gleipnir,” I replied

***

The scene in front of me slowly faded away and left me floating once again in the dark.

I don’t know how much time had passed before I heard voices again, this time muffled.

“Sasha said his eyes were glowing red. That he moved fast enough to take them by surprise. Then he apparently beat them in close combat with a piece of building debris.” The woman in charge from earlier explained.

“What is he and will he wake up?” she asked, concerned.

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t shed any light on the situation. His bloodwork came back remarkably human, nothing unusual. I do not know what the black material covering his wounds is. But when I tried to take a sample, something gave me a powerful impression it would be a very unhealthy idea to remove even a small amount.” the doctor said in an unsettled and curious tone.

“It would harm him?” She asked seriously.

“No. I meant unhealthy for me, Ma’am.” he corrected gravely.

***

“You weren’t there Sophia. When he locked eyes with the Matriarch... The emotions roiling off of him; the savagery and fury; some of them didn’t even seem to originate from him, but from all around us. And call me crazy, but I swear I saw some shadows move in ways they shouldn’t.” A male voice said, slightly fearful.

“He brought the heir home safely, Silas. I don’t need to know anything more than that.” Sophia replied, resolute.

“He pinned a hundred-year-old red court enforcer to the wall of a steel shipping container, with a piece of fucking rebar like it was a DART!” Silas exclaimed, voice shaking slightly.

“He kicked some red court ass, so what?” she asked, now a little irritated.

“Soph, he’s Human, and he went up against three of them, each having over fifty years of experience after their rebirth. One of them was over a hundred.” Silas reiterated in a hushed voice. “That’s not human. ”

***

As I slowly came to with a groan, I found myself in a plush bed in a very nice hotel room. One wall built entirely out of glass overlooking the city below at a considerable height.

As I fought through the aches and pains to get up from bed, I felt something familiar.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding... No pants.... Again?” I said, looking down with a frown.

“Well, that’s just great.” I said sarcastically.

Still disoriented, I tried to take stock of my situation the best I could. The room I was in had two doors. One was open and led to a bathroom. The other was closed and led to what I assumed was a main room.

Inside of which I heard a door open, and voices speaking.

“He’s been out cold for three days now Nat, are we even sure he’ll actually wake up?” Silas asked.

“That’s none of your concern, Silas.” Nat replied firmly.

The door was closed quickly before Silas could voice anymore of his concerns.

“Same thing every day. I swear if he wakes up today, I’ll give him a freaking sponge bath.” she complained to herself with a weary voice as she opened the door to the bedroom.

She froze as she saw me awkwardly trying to cover myself with a pillow.

I recognized her immediately as the one who had stood in front of Sasha’s mother at the plaza; She had worn a business suit then, but now she had on jeans and a t-shirt. She looked athletic, with tussled black hair reaching down to deep blue eyes, along with the impossibly perfect features that plastic surgeons seemed to strive for.

She looked to be in her mid-twenties, but something instinctive told me she was likely much older than that. I also got the feeling she was dangerous and capable, ready for me if I decided to act out.

“That sponge bath still on the table?” I asked with a wry smile, trying to break the tension.

She collected herself, putting on a seductive smile.

“Perhaps,” she said, her voice becoming smooth as honey and slightly disorienting as she stalked towards me, leaving the small silver cart she had brought by the door.

She looked at me, studying me as if something wasn’t quite right, making me very self-conscious about my current apparel.

“Boy, was the Doc wrong about you.” she said with a snort in her normal voice.

“I’m Natasha Romanov, but most people just call me Nat. What’s your name?” She asked, still wary and ready, but hiding it well with an attractive smile.

“Aleks’Andros Titanos, you can just call me Aleks.” I said absentmindedly, still trying to sort out my thoughts.

The wreckage of broken runes all over my body still obstructed my power and muddled my head. If I need to get out of here quickly, they will hinder more than help.

“Might as well just get rid of them at this point.” I thought to myself, irritated at losing so many years of work.

She stared at me, surprised, as the black markings across my body slowly faded, as if they’d never been there.

“Neat.” she said with a grin.

I smiled lightly, still feeling a bit exposed.

Natasha was about to say something when the door opened again and the third woman from the plaza walked in, flanked by two men, both of which looked startled to see me awake. But she wasn’t, or she hid it well.

“Greetings I am Katya,” she spoke with a hint of an accent that I was almost certain hadn’t been there before, so it took me a moment, but I recognized her voice. She had been the one in charge at the plaza.

There was a definite family resemblance between Katya and Natasha. Although Katya appeared a decade older and more poised with hair to her shoulders, the pair could easily pass as sisters. Although something told me Katya was more like a distant ancestor than a closely related family member.

“Matriarch.” Natasha greeted respectfully with her head bowed.

I was becoming more and more aware of how exposed I was right now, both figuratively and literally. Something which Katya picked up on quickly.

“Maybe it would be best to continue this... more clothed,” Katya said with a playful smile while looking me up and down.

“You can use the facilities in here and we’ll wait in the other room. I’ll also have Silas here go fetch some clothes for you.” She turned slightly to Silas, and he left the room quickly.

“Thank you.” I said, grateful that I wouldn’t have to rob another laundromat.

“It should be I thanking you, you brought our dear Sasha back to us.” she said gratefully as she left, the remaining guard and Natasha quickly following behind.

fifteen minutes later, I stood clean and dressed in what felt suspiciously like a tailored suit.

“Did they take my measurements while I was unconscious?” I thought, feeling a little embarrassed.

When I left the bedroom, I heard a soft whistle. Natasha was sitting in a plush sofa chair with a devilish smile. Katya gave her an admonishing look before turning and giving me a once over.

“I hope everything fits as it should?” Katya asked.

“As if tailored.” I said with a smile. She didn’t even flinch.

“I doubt I’ll read anything off her face that she doesn’t want me to,” I thought to myself warily.

“Yes, well Natasha took some liberties while you were unconscious, though I assure you they were always entirely respectable.” She said as I looked toward the spiky-haired brunette grinning at me from a leather armchair. She threw me a wink before turning her attention back to Katya.

“Now, I’d like to go over a few things with you if that’s alright?” she gestured for me to sit down on the couch across from her next to Natasha’s chair.

As Katya sat down, her demeanor changed from the polite and confident businesswoman to something unnervingly perceptive. I felt as though every thought and emotion I had was laid bare before her.

“Mr. Titanos, I have a feeling you may have a vague idea of what we are.” Katya spoke, slightly amused.

“Vampires.” I said with a nod and a small frown.

“Yes, and no. We are Vampiris, but we are NOT Sanguinares. We do not drink blood.” She explained, carefully gauging my reaction before continuing.

“We are Sentire. We feed on the energy of others like Sanguinares, but we do so through intense emotions like greed, wrath and lust instead of blood.” She said, throwing a quick glance at Natasha.

“Also, someone can’t be turned into a Sentire; it’s hereditary. Passed from mother to child. Which is why we have an instinctual compulsion to protect and take care of the humans of our bloodline, especially the children.” She continued, clearly referring to Sasha.

“Why take the time to tell me all this?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Because you risked your life to save a precious daughter of our Court. Killing three red court Sanguinares while injured just to save her. Many of us are immensely grateful to you,” she nodded towards Natasha.

“To the point of feeding and caring for you for three days and likely longer, had you not awoken.”

Natasha Blushed slightly, her cheeky bravado gone for the moment as she found something very interesting to look at on the table in front of her.

When I turned back to look at Katya, I was confused as she wore a genuine smile and expression of relief before she continued.

“So, we’d like to repay this debt in any way we can. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask.” Katya said earnestly.

I was stunned for a moment as I considered it.

“What do I want?” I asked myself, when an image appeared in my head of three predators standing over a little girl, terrorizing her for the fun of it.

Dark things stirred in my head. Terrible and brutal ideas of what to do with predators playing at being monsters started flooding my mind. And then I knew what I wanted, what I needed.

“I want them gone, root and stem.” Something in me enraged at their mere existence.

When I looked back up at Katya, her mask seemed to have cracked slightly, an expression of unease appearing through the cracks.

The two bodyguards standing rigidly behind her rested their hands on something hidden under their blazers.

“Apologies, I was thinking of the three men from that night... Their behavior... Deeply upsets me.” I said, the three Sentires relaxing slightly but wincing at my tone. Katya gave me a careful but understanding nod.

“As it should. Cruelty towards children is abhorrent to us as well.” Katya replied.

“I fear I lack the proper knowledge of the value of the things I need, so I’d like to make a list. I will appreciate anything you can provide from it. Also, I would like to stay here for a couple of days to recover from some of my injuries.” Most of my cuts and bruises were completely gone, but I needed to rebuild the foundation of my power.

“Of course. Stay for as long as you need. Several floors of this building function as a hotel of sorts, so it would be no trouble at all. As for this list, you can give it to my assistant Sophia, and I will see to it.” Katya said with a business-like smile.

We said our goodbyes and Katya left with the two guards, who had been standing watch at my door.

I turned to where Natasha was still sitting, giving her a measured look.

“What?” she asked, a little defensively.

“Feeding and washing, huh?” I said, smiling at her.

“Guess I already got my sponge bath.” I continued with mock disappointment.

“You seem dirty enough for another, you perv,” she joked while laughing lightly.

“That thing you did earlier, with you voice. Compulsion?” I asked, still grinning. She seemed a little surprised and chided.

“Yeah, you could call it that. Though I prefer Seduction.” she said mischievously, not breaking eye contact.

“And how did that turn out for you?” I asked, chuckling.

“It’s a work in progress.” She replied lightly, standing up and walking right up to me.

“So, Mr. Titanos, will there be anything else you need during your stay with us?” she said, standing inside my personal space while adjusting my suit.

I leaned in close to her ear and whispered slowly.

“I’d like a bathtub filled with ice, along with a meal every eight hours consisting of at least twenty thousand calories, for the next three days.” I said in a professional tone.

She stepped back and looked up quizzically at me for a moment before responding professionally.

“Consider it done.” her flirty attitude gone, but somehow having the opposite effect on me.

She moved towards the door but before closing it she said in a soft vulnerable voice, barely a whisper.

“Thank you for saving my niece.” and then she left.

“Careful, that one could twist you around her pinky and you’d let her.” I thought to myself.

Half an hour later, I stood in front of a bathtub full of ice and two rolling carts filled to the brim with food.

The idea is simple; I have neither the quantity nor quality of power needed to draw runes on my body without serious side-effects. These side-effects include Heat and Hunger, to extremes that would easily kill me.

After eating a disgustingly large amount of food, I stripped to my underwear and submerged myself almost completely in the water.

“Time to get to work.”