Chapter Text
The city had a way of swallowing sound at night.
Viremoor was a tangle of narrow streets and shadowed corners where the fog clung like a second skin. The streetlamps flickered unevenly, casting long fingers of light that barely pierced the darkness. A bitter wind whispered through the alleys, carrying the distant murmur of traffic and the faint scent of damp stone.
Elias Thorn moved with a practiced ease, his footsteps muffled by the thin layer of sleet melting beneath his worn sneakers. The weight of his backpack pressed heavily on one shoulder, textbooks shifting with each step. He usually avoided the alleyway that cut between the cathedral ruins and the back of the old bookstore, but tonight the subway was down again, and the bus was crowded beyond comfort. He had little choice.
He knew every crack in the pavement, every chipped brick, every faded piece of graffiti that marked this shortcut. It was familiar, safe. Until it wasn’t.
His foot caught on something soft and uneven. He stumbled, catching himself against the cold brick wall.
There was a figure sprawled on the ground, half-hidden in shadow.
Elias’s breath caught, clouding the air in front of him. The man’s clothes were torn, soaked in something dark and glistening.
Blood.
The metallic scent was sharp, intrusive.
“Hey,” Elias said softly, uncertain, the quiet edge to his voice betraying his nervousness. “Are you okay?”
No response.
He crouched slowly, hands trembling just slightly. The man’s eyes snapped open—a brilliant, unnatural red that seemed to glow faintly, cutting through the gloom like embers.
Elias froze.
The man’s gaze held a fierce intensity, alive with something ancient and dangerous.
“Don’t be afraid,” the man said, voice low and rough, like gravel scraping silk. “I won’t hurt you.”
Elias swallowed hard, trying to steady his shaking hands. “What… what happened to you?”
The vampire’s eyes flickered with pain. “I need your help. Just a drop.”
“Drop of what?” Elias’s voice was uneven.
“Blood,” the man whispered.
A cold shiver ran down Elias’s spine.
-TO BE CONTINUED-