++None really know what it is that draws the vampires back to human civilisation. Necessity, to be sure, to some extent. Mankind is their food, their cattle, they doubtless like to think. But vampires are lured to humanity to an extent that works against their best interests. Perhaps it is longing. Perhaps they know, on some level, what they are. What they have lost.++

  Chapter 27

  The way Ajoke could move so well was just another mystery for Reggie to look into. He’d not had the chance to really appreciate her physical powers before, only ever seen their use against his own and always in frantic enough circumstances that there was no dwelling on them, but giving chase to her through Norvhan, with no immediate threat and her injuries apparently healed, made everything sink in.

  Reggie was certain this wasn’t any human level of physical ability. Ludvich hadn’t been a match for it fifteen years ago, none of the new Witchfinders were now. The only reference Reggie could think to bring up in comparison was his memory of those elves fighting on the night of his murder.

  Is that how someone else would see me moving, now? He didn’t think so, not yet. Without his transformations Reggie was still a far cry from this kind of power. He’d need to be wary of it though. With most of his Attributes already at 22, and a new Tier increase coming soon, he’d not take long to surpass Ludvich’s prime himself.

  However much inconvenience that would bring in regards to feeding, secrecy and innocuousness, Reggie couldn’t help but wish he’d get that power-up a little bit sooner as he pushed himself following after Ajoke. It seemed she was getting faster by the damned day.

  Mostly this was seeing use in her vaulting up onto rooftops and leaping between them like some sort of demented cat. Reggie had an easy time spotting her, his undead senses being what they were, but between the coiling mists and her dark skin being just that little bit harder to pick out in the night he realised she was actually going to have a much easier time of slipping around unnoticed than he had.

  Reggie was a bit less concerned with that now, having actually established himself as someone who was meant to be there. He tried to look casual as he followed after her, despite the pace she set, but there was really no way you could run through town at night without making people think you had some reason to be doing it. He figured if anyone stopped him to ask, he’d just say it was exercise.

  I don’t get any benefit from exercise anymore.

  Another reminder that he was a walking corpse. Another reminder of what he’d lost. Reggie didn’t want that reminder, so he focused on preparing his excuse.

  Reggie wondered what Ajoke would say if she was caught. Probably nothing. Probably, she’d just hiss and then cut one of their limbs off. Or was that just a vampire-only response for her? He was almost eager to find out, but the shit storm that would result from his doing so was certainly not worth it. Fortunately she knew what she was doing, more than Reggie had, maybe, which was just a little bit amazing all on its own. Weren’t many people who could sneak around better than a kid who grew up being accused of demonic possession.

  Another question for the list. ìràwà. Reggie had never heard of it, something else the elves had done. They seemed to like stamping out knowledge. Seemed to be scared of what people would do with it. That was worth remembering, too. Invincible people weren’t scared of things, they didn’t take out threats pre-emptively. The elves weren’t invincible.

  It seemed that Ajoke agreed, too. Reggie saw her zeroing in on Circumscriber Eryqai’s mansion before long, which didn’t exactly come as a surprise. She spent long minutes circling around the place, studying it and, as far as Reggie could tell, soaking up whatever vulnerabilities were jumping out to her.

  He had an idea of what her overall plan was long before Ajoke departed from the structure and zipped back out over Norvhan’s walls. Reggie strolled out of the town without bothering to be sneaky, then met her just half a mile from it.

  “What are you planning?” he asked, figuring it was never a bad idea to feign less knowledge than you had. Made it harder for people to screw you over if they didn’t quite know what you were aware of or inclined to deal with.

  “The Circumscriber’s defences aren’t that strong,” she noted. Reggie nodded, waited for more. He got it. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Reggie was not surprised by that, intellectually, but hearing it said out loud still had an effect on him, still felt like he’d just been punched in the brain.

  “That’ll be difficult.” Reggie could remember the way Eryqai and his allies moved, however powerful Ajoke was, whatever the secret to her inhuman abilities, she wasn’t on the level of that elf just yet.

  “It will,” she confirmed. “But I’ll have you to help me.”

  And there it was. Again, no surprise on the purely intellectual level but once more Reggie felt a certain incredulity at the words being given voice.

  “You can’t just kill a Circumscriber,” Reggie spat, “he’s too powerful.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Not for both of us.”

  “He…will just get backup from the Warden, Erindoor probably has half a dozen others.”

  She narrowed her eyes at that. “And he’ll have one less after this is done. Don’t you want revenge on the ones who oversaw your town staying the same, who murdered you? I’m offering you a chance to get it. One piece of it, at least. Unless you’d rather risk everything on the assumption you can avoid the Witchfinders long enough to kill him by yourself as a matured vampire.”

  Reggie had to think about it, damn her.

  He didn’t end up having an answer then, and Ajoke disappeared back into the woods with nothing but a snapped remark to come and find her when he made up his mind. Back in Norvhan Reggie felt a new weight settling into the pit of his stomach. Always something more for him to worry about, wasn’t there?

  He decided to worry about it in Anne’s tavern, at least it was warm in there. Not that his new body really minded the cold anymore, frostbite might have sunk into even undead flesh eventually but the higher his Toughness got the harder it seemed to be to find things that were uncomfortable. Reggie found himself wondering how much an open flame would even hurt.

  This time he took his seat in the corner, but found Anne heading over to sit down beside him anyway. Most of the occupants of the tavern had cleared out, and Reggie didn’t think there’d be much use in practicing his Royal Presence as things were, so he just dialled it onto its lowest-level suspicion deflection and tried to relax as she spoke.

  “You’re looking glum, something happen? News on the vampire?”

  He shouldn’t have been surprised, of course she wanted details regarding that. Reggie had seen what he could do with his newfound powers, the last woodlouse he’d killed hadn’t even put up a fight against him as he shredded its guts out. If he lacked those powers, and was hearing stories that a creature with them was running amok, he’d be curious too.

  “No news,” Reggie sighed, “that’s what’s pissing me off.”

  Anne smiled. “You’re not a Witchfinder you know, it’s not your job to take care of it.”

  Reggie was reminded of when she’d smiled like that as a kid. She’d never been one of the ones he had the most interaction with, her father being relatively well-off meant that all the usual places Reggie met people—alleys and building overhangs that offered makeshift shelter from rain—were typically absent of her. They’d still spoken once or twice though. She’d given Reggie a few coins on occasion. She’d been a good kid. Seemed like she was a good adult, now, too. Better than her dad.

  For a second he almost wished there actually was some vampiric monster in the woods that he could take care of to help her out, at least then he’d have felt less shitty about how he replied.

  “I’ll keep doing what I can.”

  ***

  Reggie went back to Ludvich’s soon enough, and the days started slipping by again. With Ajoke gone he wasn’t able to roam through the woods in his transformed state as easily. Fortunately, he’d gained enough Attribute points now that simply walking through it with a few loaded guns was insurance enough against most creatures. Finding and killing woodlice was still an arduous task, one Reggie indulged in only twice during the period. It occurred to him that he’d secured his place in Norvhan a lot better than he’d have thought possible.

  With Royal Presence and his growing Charisma, Reggie was having an easier time keeping people unawares. The higher that Attribute went, the more fleeting he found the suspicious glances and looks even when he wasn’t using his powers to directly affect people. So far he’d been banking on needing to race against time and gather power as fast as he could, to secure himself through sheer strength. Now it was looking more and more like he could just blend in for good.

  That was a dangerous thought, because it was a hopeful one. Reggie kept himself sharp with a redirection to some good old fashioned pessimism.

  He still needed money, and Ludvich wasn’t nearly as confident in his stealth powers as Reggie himself.

  “Something will go wrong,” the Witchfinder told him. “I’ve hunted plenty of older vampires than you, some of them had blended in for years, even decades. All it takes is suspicion, someone keeping it to themselves, and a skilled investigation. You’re running on finite time.”

  As if to emphasise the old man’s point, Reggie found himself called to meet with the active Witchfinders that same day. Vagryn was looking the least grumpy for once, and that did nothing to settle Reggie’s nerves.

  “We think the vampire is lurking in Norvhan itself,” Barry told him, “so we’re going to start searching among the townsfolk.”

  Reggie did his best not to start panicking on the spot.

  “What makes you think that?” he asked.

  “Couple of things,” Ledwig began explaining, “the main thing is in how the creature has been feeding. We’ve noticed from its hunting patterns, area and timing, that it seems to be centred around Norvhan. There’s nowhere close enough to the town that would serve as a suitable shelter for it, so we believe it’s lurking within the town itself.” Barry got up as they spoke, headed to the door and started peering outside through the windows. “We think it’s one of the townsfolk.”

  Reggie found himself keeping an eye on Barry, then saw him begin to close the door and turn to face back into the room.

  “We think it’s a newcomer, John,” Vagryn added, “we think the vampire might be you.”

  Reggie met the man’s eyes, then he started laughing. None of the Witchfinders joined in. They all spread out, backing up, keeping their gazes on him, tensing and readying for explosive movement. Reggie had seen this body language before, and seen the fights that followed it. His panic started to rise.

  “Hang on,” he started, “hold on guys, what are you saying? I’ve been out in daylight, you’ve seen me.”

  “Some vampires can withstand the sun for brief periods,” Vagryn grunted.

  “You can feel my pulse right now!” Reggie snapped.

  “And some of them can even feign the bodily functions of a living man,” Barry added.

  “Okay, hang on,” Reggie began, raising his hands in placation, “slow down here, this is crazy. You’re acting as if—” he transformed instantly and lunged for Barry with a snarl, lashing his talons out and scraping them across the Witchfinder’s chest. Reggie felt thick fabric part like air, heard heavy steel chain links snap as the man’s protective mail gave way almost without resistance, then he saw blood spurting free and experienced a brief tug of resistance where ribs slowed his raking claws. The Witchfinder fell limply to the ground, and while his allies were seized by fear and panic Reggie turned and burst out through a wall.

  Not thick stone, not that section. If he’d been in Vyngar’s mansion, with no expenses saved on every surface, Reggie would’ve been in trouble, but the few inches of wood posed little problem for him as he smashed a shoulder into it hard and crushed past with the weight of a falling tree. The night gripped him tight as Reggie ran, getting a full ten paces before gunfire erupted behind him and hardened lead slugs clipped his side. He didn’t look back.