It’s so cold.

So cold.

Even though it’s not snowing… I’m so cold.

Why is it so cold? Winter is ending, isn’t it?

I lie with my back against the wall, breathing shallowly. I probably halved my lifespan just by moving, but I’ll be damned if I die like a pathetic roadkill.

I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have hesitated, shouldn’t have underestimated, shouldn’t have waited to Soul Link. The moment Dracula wounded me, the battle was over.

I reach out my hand, issuing forth a mental summons.

Come to me, Nightfall.

I want to hold it in my hand one last time, at least before I die.

But it doesn’t come.

I’m no longer a vampire – or even a demon hunter. Everything demonic about my soul, including my Divine Edge, was sealed. I’m just an ordinary kid now, alone, left with nothing. Alice is gone. Mum is gone, so is Dad. I have no idea if Shizuka or her agents have managed to survive, but I know for a fact I will not live to see them again. I can only hope Judith found a way out of the school before the nerve gas reached her.

Why am I not dead yet?

A pool of my own blood stretches halfway across the width of the corridor. The nerve gas should have killed me long ago… so why?

Ah well. It’s only a matter of time. So cold…

This must be what dying is like. This must be what all those demons felt as I slew them with my blade. Once the painfulness subsides, it’s quite peaceful. However, it’s this peacefulness that hurts the most. It’s only in the few moments before death that you realize just how much you want to live, just how much you want to cling onto this cruel world.

No wonder Alice is so opposed to killing. It’s truly a terrible feeling - the cold hand of death, slowly creeping up your body… darkness closing in, engulfing you… two hands, shaking your shoulders….

“Bran!”

Sleepy… cold…

“BRAN!”

Something slaps me. Shocked, I regain my focus for a few brief moments.

“J-Judith?”

It’s her no doubt. She’s crouched over me, a desperate look on her face. Her eyes are still red from crying.

“Am I dead?” I murmur.

“Bran… it’s not over yet. They’ll be here soon. I turned off the gas, and managed to turn on the air con. It shouldn’t take too long, but the fresh air should revive them soon enough.”

Her words spew forth in a scrambled mess, but I comprehend it all.

“Huh…”

Ah, Judith. So reliable. Even after going through all that, she still managed to step up to the task. Even if I die, at least I’ll die knowing she’s alive, and that she managed to save everyone else.

“Bran! Don’t sleep yet!”

Her voice breaks a little. If she still had tears left, she’d probably be crying.

“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “It’ll only be for a little bit.”

“You have to save Alice. It’s clear that you love her – don’t let it end like this.”

A small flicker of annoyance passes through me. Why can’t my sister just leave me be?

But I can’t dispel the thought she planted in my mind.

Alice…

“Listen, Bran. There’s something I’ve been keeping a secret from you.”

As she says this, Judith pulls up her wrist in front of her and brings it to her lips.

“I don’t care if you want this or not, but I’m not going to let you die just yet. Think of it as my own selfish wish.”

She pauses for a second – just a single second of indecision, before steeling herself.

Judith bites down hard – and red blood springs from her wrist like a small wellspring.

Wh-what are you doing?

I try to call out, but I’m too weak to do so.

“Listen up, Bran. It’s not just you who owes Alice her life. She’s the one who saved me, back when I was hospitalized by that accident.”

I’m barely able to register her words, before I feel her wrist touch my lips. Warm blood flows down my throat, burning me.

“Alice was at the hospital, right after Dad died. She fed me some of her blood and woke me from my coma. She turned me into a vampire and saved my life.”

Vampire…

My sister… is a vampire?

I feel her skin leave me. Pain begins to wrack my body – but it’s a good pain. It’s like I’m welcoming back an old friend.

Of course, it’s still pain nonetheless – and my already battered body gives in to the darkness.

***

Somewhere inside my heart, I feel like I already knew. That my sister had changed after that accident, that like me, she too had undergone an irreversible transformation.

Her miraculous recovery after being run over. Her sudden change to becoming vegetarian. Her nocturnal study habits. Her paleness, her resistance to disease. Her abnormal recovery from the wounds inflicted by Dracula.

Alice didn’t only save me, but my sister.

The one other life she’d saved, the one which Ian had been so furious about… it must have been Judith. She’d known from the moment she’d taken me in and nursed me. She knew that I was the brother of that girl.

There were probably more cues that I missed. To think that I’d been so absorbed in my own struggles that I’d never spared a thought for my sister. In an alternate universe, I might have even killed her after discovering she’d become a demon.

But now, in this moment where I lie between life and death… I’m glad Alice decided to save her.

***

I open my eyes, seeing the dark hallway around me clearly. It’s not even day yet – no more than a few hours must have passed. Extending my hand, I call upon Nightfall – and it responds.

I’m back.

I suppose one’s soul can never really be truly sealed. Judith’s pact with me simply unearthed the thin layer covering my power – as Alice once mentioned before, the process of becoming a vampire is more a physical one than a mental or spiritual one. Perhaps Dracula’s spear only tricked my soul into forgetting itself. All it took was a bit of nudging to reawaken it.

No matter what the reasoning, I’ve been unsealed – and it’s all thanks to my sister, who’s waiting patiently next to me.

“How long has it been?” I ask. Despite being near death a while ago, I feel refreshed. Perhaps I only feel that way because of the loss of my abilities. Even though I was only a human for a few moments, I’m beginning to realize just how strong vampires are as a race, and how much I’ve taken our strengths for granted.

“Less than an hour,” Judith responds. “Some of the men downstairs are beginning to wake up. I heard them calling the ambulance.”

Less than an hour. A mere fraction of the period it took for me to transform the first time.

Less than an hour. That means I have to make my move fast – if we get caught up with the police and the emergency services, the delay could be devastating.

“Do you know where Dracula is?”

Judith shakes her head. I punch the wall in frustration.

To be so close, and yet so far.

“He’s going to marry Alice, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” I nod.

“I’m not sure, but I might have overheard them talking about a church. Something to do with ‘baptized land’ or something. It would make sense if they were having a wedding.”

I look at my sister. It sounds like the most obvious thing in the world… but it’s not like I have any better ideas.

“Thanks for saving me,” I tell her.

“It’s a little sister’s job to look after her brother. I guess that makes us even, since you saved me too.”

I nod.

“Bring Alice back, Bran. Think of it as paying off your younger sister’s debts.”

“I’ll bring her back,” I reply. “For sure. But after this, you’re paying off your own debts.”

With that, I give Judith one last hug before sprinting for the nearest window. After all, the quickest path to the ground is straight down.

***

I sprint through the streets, rushing towards the church at the top of the hill. I’ve been there once before – when I deposited the feral vampire’s child by the doorstep. I wonder what became of it.

No – I have to remain focused.

I feel surprisingly good despite running for so long as I reach the end of the road. It’s still the early hours in the morning, so maybe that’s why. In fact, I feel as if I could pull off another Soul Link – probably because my earlier one was cut short.

I have to pull off another Soul Link. If I fail, I won’t be getting any more chances.

With this in my mind, I slowly begin to trudge up the hill. The night is calm and peaceful – in complete contrast to the chaos and turmoil within me.

***

The antique chapel looms ominously over me as I reach the top. I’d half expected to encounter some of Dracula’s men, but fortunately I made it without any incident. Despite being a holy building, it gives off a sinister vibe – as with everything else at night.

I stop by the door, examining the doormat. Just a few weeks ago, this is the exact place where I dropped off the vampire child.

It’s a fitting location, really. On top of the hill, it’s removed far enough from society so that our battle won’t disturb it. Even on such a quiet night, any sounds would be lost in the wind.

Alice lies behind this door. I can smell it. I can sense it. As if there’s a string of fate attached to us, I know that she’s here.

I make a prayer to God, asking his permission to enter this building – if he even exists, though in a world filled with demons it’s not impossible – and quietly open the door.

The dark aisles are empty. I see droplets of blood on the ground, leading all the way up and around the altar. The wind whistles through the hall, stroking the wind chimes by the doorway.

I quietly walk forward, following the specks of blood. Once I reach the front row of the aisle, I find an old man lying face down in a pool of his own blood. The collar around his neck tells me he’s the reverend.

“Rest in peace,” I whisper, pausing for a moment to acknowledge him. Just another life taken by the Prince of Wallachia – but a life just as important as say, that of my mother.

This demon is the one demon that deserves a merciless death.

Near the top left corner of the church, next to the deceased reverend is a stone staircase leading down to a door. This is quite an old place, after all – it makes sense that there would be an undercroft, though it would probably be used for storage rather than the dead.

The door is open, and the trail of blood continues. In the distance, I hear Alice’s voice.

My immediate instinct is to call out her name – but I refrain, and instead stealthily edge through.

There are no lit candles, no forms of light whatsoever – but I can see as clearly as if it were day. Passing through the pillars like a shadow, I make my way to the end of the chamber – and that’s where I find them.

Alice lies on her back in a pool of her own blood. Her limbs are spread apart, as if she were making a snow angel – but in this case, a blood angel would be a more appropriate term. Upon closer examination, I realize that her previously chained hands have been unbound and nailed to the floor, along with her feet. Her jacket lies to the side, and her white gown has been ripped to expose parts of her body.

“How did you know I would be here?” Dracula asks, without turning around.

“Lucky guess.”

I should have known I wouldn’t be able to sneak up on the Blood Lord. Hearing my voice, Alice weakly calls out.

“Bran… is that… you? Have you… come… for me?”

Each word she speaks is a struggle.

“Everything’s going to be alright,” I say. “Just hang in there. I’ll take care of this scumbag once and for all.”

Dracula sighs and materializes his spear. “How did you survive, anyway? And you’ve even regained your abilities-“

He stops mid-sentence.

“That girl.”

“That’s right.”

“I was suspicious at how quickly she managed to recover from the wounds we inflicted… but to think such a gift had been wasted on one with as little presence as herself…”

“Not all vampires have powerful souls, Dracula. Sometimes, the weakest among us play the most vital roles. That’s where you made your mistake.”

“You’re talking as if you’ve already won,” the vampire replies, a smug smile forming across his lips. “But you forget something important. I am your master, and you must obey my orders. Now… why don’t you go ahead and kill yourself?”

A brief silence passes between us. A cold draught passes through the undercroft. I feel no compulsions to obey him, none whatsoever.

Dracula finally realizes that his order isn’t working.

“Impossible… unless…”

This time, I don’t make the same mistake.

Come to me, Nightfall!

No hesitation. I know what must be done.

“That’s right. I’m not the only person Alice gave her blood to.”

My soul flares to life, a pitch black aura igniting around my body. I feel my taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing, my strength, speed, reactions, perceptions –

Everything multiplies exponentially, for this short amount of time. My unique – no, our unique ability, the absolute synchronization of the body and the soul, something that is impossible for any other pair to achieve.

Our Soul Link.