Johan drove Valen to the Grand Skystone Hotel. The sun had just set when they left the Nocturnal District, but now the night was in full swing. Colourful advertisements on electronic billboards and uniform rows of street lights illuminated the sleepless city.

Valen had spent almost the entire ride there in silence, wondering what to say to Enid and Louise once he met them. Before he knew it, Johan was parking his car in front of the Grand Skystone.

“Take care, Valen,” said Johan. “And please, think about my offer.”

“I will.” Valen unbuckled his seatbelt and got off of the car. “You should be careful too, okay?”

Johan nodded and drove off, leaving Valen at the foot of a hotel that was way too fancy for him.

Valen stepped into the lobby. He hadn’t seen it before on account of Enid taking the car lift straight to the penthouse, and for a moment he was taken aback by just how lavish it was.

Plush blue velvet seats were neatly arranged around glass coffee tables, exotic plants bloomed from expensive porcelain vases, the white marble floors were polished to a mirror finish that reflected the giant diamond chandelier hanging from the massive ceiling held up by great white pillars trimmed with what looked like gold.

And to think, this all belonged to Enid’s family.

No matter how much time passed or how close he got to Enid, he doubted a gutter bat raised in shadow and grime like him would ever feel fully at home in her world of glitter and gold. The only thing that made him at ease in it was the presence of Enid herself.

With her by his side leading the way he always felt like an honoured guest being treated with more respect than he deserved. Now, standing alone in this place of opulence, he felt like an upstart intruder trespassing upon an alien world that he had no right to be in.

The concierge, the same blond high elf he’d seen the first time he arrived at the hotel, was in the middle of conversation with a middle aged human couple who sat cross-legged in velvet seats while she was politely leaned forward beside them in a perpetual half-bow. The husband had his lower lip jutted out in apparent indignance as he complained to the apologetic concierge. Something about the theatre and the seats not being good enough.

Valen was about to slip by to the lifts and guess his way to the penthouse from there when the concierge noticed him looking lost in the lobby.

“Excuse me,” she said to the middle-aged husband. “But something’s come up. I’ll contact you through your number once a better seat has been procured.”

The much younger wife seemed relieved that the conversation was over while the man merely scoffed.

“Very well,” he said with a dismissive wave as if shooing away a dog. “Just be quick about it. The play’s in three nights and I don’t want us to be seen sitting with the commoners during it.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll have the e-tickets sent to you as soon as possible.” The high elf concierge excused herself and walked up to Valen in one long stride across the entire lobby. “Mr. Vasilis, was it?”

“That would be me, yes,” said Valen. “We briefly met when I first came here with Miss Flamel.”

“I remember you,” said the concierge. “Miss Flamel requested that I bring you to her as soon as I see you. Quickly, we must go before you’re recog-”

“Are you serious?!” interrupted the middle aged man’s voice.

Valen and the concierge turned to see the now irate man stood up from his seat. He walked up to the concierge with fury written across his fat face. His younger wife sat looking at her husband in awkward silence with her legs closed and hands laid atop her lap as if attempting to make herself shrink out of existence.

The concierge looked at the red-faced husband with a forced smile. “Is something wrong, sir?”

“Of course there is!” The man pointed a pudgy finger at Valen. “There’s your problem right there!”

Valen felt his heart jump in panic but took care not to let it show on his face. The man must’ve been following the whole #FreeValen thing that was trending on Chirper and was wondering what he was doing already out of police custody, or so he thought.

“Sir,” Valen began, about to politely inform him that he’d been officially released from police custody and to please not let anyone else know. “I-”

The man cut him off before he could finish, his eyes fixed on the confused concierge.

“How is my wife and I supposed to feel safe with this leech lurking about?!”

‘Oh,’ Valen thought. ‘So that was it. He’s just a prick.’

The concierge blinked at the man, her professional smile shifted into a thin line of quiet surprise. Upon fully processing what she’d just heard, her expression hardened and she straightened her back.

“I’m terribly sorry, sir,” she said, just as calm as before but with a stern edge in her voice. “But I am going to have to ask you and your wife to leave the hotel premises.”

“What?!” The man’s face turned red in rage. “Do you know who I am?!”

“I do, sir,” said the concierge before whispering into a hidden radio inside her charcoal suit. In a matter of seconds, two security guards the size of refrigerators walked to her side. “These gentlemen will escort you to your suite to pack your belongings.”

“You’re going to side with this leech over me?!” the man shouted, still refusing to even look Valen in the eye. “Having him here is just asking for trouble!”

Clearly, he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the armoury. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been so eager to disparage a supposedly dangerous person while in punching distance of said dangerous person.

“We’ll bring you and your wife to your room, sir,” said one of the security guards. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with us.”

“This is madness!” The man protested while his poor wife looked like she was about to die of embarrassment in her seat. “You can’t just-”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, sir.” The concierge cut him off before he could go on a rant. “But something’s come up. I wish you luck in procuring new tickets as well as another hotel.”

And with that, the concierge turned her back to the man and walked to the lifts while he continued to argue with the security guards.

Valen hurried after the concierge and got into a private lift she held open for him.

“Thank you for standing up for me back there,” he said once the lift doors closed.

“Oh, it’s nothing!” said the concierge. “It was unfair how he treated you.”

“And I appreciate you calling it out,” said Valen with a close-mouthed smile. “But I do hope I didn’t cost you a loyal customer.”

The concierge let out a snorting laugh.

“Don’t worry about it. He was an arsehole anyway.” The moment the sentence left her mouth, her eyes widened in realisation at what she’d just said. “Oh, sorry for being uncouth! I lost myself for a moment there.”

“It’s alright,” Valen reassured her. “I agree. He acted like a right bellend back there.”

The concierge sighed in relief, then smiled. “I’m beginning to understand why Miss Flamel likes you.”

“That makes one of us,” said Valen with a rueful chuckle. “Ah, forgive, but I’d completely forgotten to ask your name.”

“It’s Evelyn. I imagine we’ll be seeing more of each other during your stay here.”

“I sure hope so,” said Valen. “Sorry, but I’m not quite used to places like this so I’ll probably be relying on you a lot.”

“No worries!” Genuine warmth wormed its way into Evelyn’s practised smile. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

The lift parted and Valen stepped into a short hallway that led to a set of wooden double doors leading to Enid’s penthouse.

“Alright.” Valen sucked in a deep breath and turned to Evelyn. “Thank you for bringing me here. I think I can take it from here.”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him. “Are your girlfriends putting you in the doghouse?’

“They’re not my girlfriends.”

“Right. Of course.” Evelyn didn’t sound convinced. “Well, best of luck to you, Mr. Vasilis. If you ever need me, just request for me on the hotel phone.”

“I’ll be sure to.”

Evelyn disappeared behind the lift doors. Valen walked down the hallways and knocked on the wooden double doors.

Moments later, it parted to reveal Louise. She still wore the same yellow sleeveless hoodie she had on when they first arrived at the hotel, but the creases on the cloth had been ironed out and it smelled faintly of citrus. The hotel must’ve offered laundry service.

“We didn’t order any-” Louise stopped herself when she saw Valen and her face lit up with a smile. “Valen!”

“Hey Lou-”

Louise pulled him to her before he could finish, her furry white arms wrapping around his torso in a tiny cosy hug. For some reason, her fur felt a lot softer than usual. Then, she pulled away and yanked his face down towards her by the collar of his dress shirt. For a moment Valen worried that he’d done something to anger her and should expect a kick to the crotch soon.

The worry subsided when he felt her lips press against his. The silver ring piercing that hung from her lower lip was cold but the warmth of her kiss was still enough to melt his worries away, if only for a moment.

Louise’s eyes widened and she quickly pulled away, her snow white face flushing red.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I was aiming for your cheek.”

“It’s alright,” said Valen, fondly stroking the lip she just kissed. “I didn’t mind.”

A mischievous smirk spread across her face, but quickly faded away when she saw the bandages on his right hand.

She gently held up his hand to examine it and let out a soft gasp upon noticing his two missing fingers.

“Gods, Valen,” she whispered. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” said Valen. “But I’m alright for now.”

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“Well, let’s let Thunder Tits hear it too.” Louise lowered Valen’s hand back down. “She’s been worried sick about you.”

Louise led Valen to the penthouse living room, where Enid was lying splayed out on the sofa in silk pyjamas a few sizes too small for her chest, either oblivious or apathetic to the presence of people behind her. A carton of strawberry cheesecake ice cream sat at her side, which she was eating from directly with a spoon while a giant flatscreen tv played reruns of some crappy soap opera about a love triangle that she’d never shown any interest in in all the time Valen knew her.

“Oy, Thunder Tits!” Louise shouted. “Guess who came by?”

Enid turned around to look at them with one icy blue eye obscured by a tangled mess of scarlet hair. Upon seeing Valen immediately turned off the telly and set the ice cream on the coffee table.

“Valen?” she said in disbelief. “You’re back?”

“I got out a little early,” said Valen.

“The police said they’d call me once you were released.” Her eyes fell to his injured hand and she immediately leapt over the couch to examine it, her slender hands cupping around it as she studied the stumps where his middle and index fingers used to be. “By the gods, Valen, what happened?”

“A lot of things,” said Valen. “But, is it okay if we have some tea first? I really could use some right now.”

“Right.” Enid turned to Louise. “Do you mind making us some tea, Snowball? There should still be some hot water in the kettle.”

“I’m not your maid, fuck you,” said Louise in a deadpan tone, “but sure. How do you take your tea?”

“Lemon and-”

“Nevermind.” Louise walked off to the kitchen. “I’m making your prissy arse some builder’s brew.”

Enid rolled her eyes and sat back down on the sofa, patting the cushion beside her.

“Sit here, Valen,” she said, rolling up the blue silk sleeves of her pyjamas. “I’m going to give you some blood.”

“That’s not necessary,” said Valen. “It’ll heal on its own after a while.”

Enid narrowed her one visible eye at him, her pale pink lips pursed in a disapproving thin line. “Valen, get on the sofa and bite me or I’m shocking your arse and force feeding you.”

“...Yes, m’am.” Valen sat next to Enid and she extended her forearm over his mouth. “Are you sure about this though?”

“Positive,” said Enid, her forearm hanging in the air in front of him. “Now drink up. You can’t play video games with me with two fingers missing.”

“If you say so.”

Valen gingerly wrapped his remaining fingers around her forearm and pressed his lips against it. He felt the blood flowing in the veins just under her pale skin. Her pulse quickened at his touch in anticipation and excitement rose in his own body as he continued feeling his lips up and down her forearm looking for a vein to drink from.

When he found a vein large enough to feed from, he licked his lips and planted a kiss right above it. Then, he allowed his canines to grow into four sharp fangs that pierced into her soft flesh without resistance.

Sweet blood flowed from her delicate vein. Every exquisite drop caressed his hungry tongue in a warm, intoxicating embrace. There was magic in it too, filling his mouth with a tingling sensation. It was powerful to be sure but didn’t overstay its welcome like the Unborn God’s blood that positively reeked of it. If anything, the magical essence in her blood felt like a playful tickle that made Valen smile despite himself.

Enid didn’t seem to mind either. She didn’t even tense up her muscles when his fangs pierced her flesh. The only reaction she offered was a few quiet moans that were barely audible but would sound really, really wrong out of context.

Once he had drunk his fill, he gently extracted his fangs from Enid’s forearm and kissed the puncture marks he’d made on her flesh.

Vampire fangs and saliva had odd properties to facilitate feeding on sapient beings without lasting damage. Whether it was the result of some magic or simple biology no one knew for sure, but they were designed with care by the goddess Dianne herself.

The saliva acted as a mild anaesthetic that had minor healing properties which minimised pain for the person being fed from. Something about the fangs also prevented blood clot in any flesh they were embedded in, allowing the vampire to drink to their heart’s content without needing to make any new punctures. Once the vampire was finished and removed their fangs from the person they were feeding from, their saliva healed the wound up just enough for said person to not bleed out.

For the longest time people assumed that the blood clot came from a venom injected by the vampire’s fangs. It was only quite recently that scientists discovered vampire fangs to be completely solid and in fact one of the strongest biological substances on the planet.

Whether the unusual traits of a vampire’s fangs were the result of some magic or simple biology no one knew for sure, but they’d been designed with care by the goddess Dianne herself so that her reborn children could prosper and coexist with the other races.

If done in moderation with long breaks in between, there really was no real downside to being fed on by a vampire. The problem lay in finding people trusting enough to volunteer themselves for feeding, and vampires with self control strong enough to not overfeed.

The puncture marks on Enid’s arms started to heal, but Enid rolled her sleeves back down before he could see the scabs form.

“You got your fill?” she asked him.

“I did.” Valen licked his lips and wiped the saliva from his mouth.

To his surprise, he felt the muscles on his finger stumps poking against his bandages. He carefully unwrapped the bandages from his hand and watched in silent fascination as his finger bones fully grew back then became wrapped by flesh and skin in a matter of seconds.

It hurt quite a bit, having it all regenerate so quickly all at once, but it was nothing he couldn’t take with a stiff lip.

Not a second later, Louise returned to the living room holding a tray with a teapot and three thick mugs of beige-coloured milk tea.

“I got the tea.” Louise set the tray down on the coffee table. “Valen, if you can’t drink with that fucked up hand then I can hold your mug for you.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Valen opened and closed his fully healed right hand, then wiggled his new fingers up and down to test their dexterity. “Enid’s blood healed me up good as new.”

Louise looked at Valen’s hand and her shoulders slumped. She almost looked disappointed.

“Oh.” She sat down on a sofa beside Valen and held a tea mug up to her lips, mumbling under her breath. “I would’ve given blood too…”

“I know.” Valen ruffled the already messy white hair on her head. “But I’ve already fed off you not too long ago and I’d rather not accidentally overfeed off you.”

Louise snorted out a laugh.

“Is my blood really tasty enough to make you do that?” She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. “I’m flattered.”

On the other side of Valen, Enid loudly cleared her throat. She picked up one of the tea mugs Louise had made and took a long sip before smacking her lips a couple of times.

“This tastes terrible,” she said before promptly drinking more of it.

Valen picked up the last mug and took a sip. “I think it’s perfectly delicious.”

“Why, thank you, Valen,” said Louise with a self-satisfied smile. “Good to see that at least two of us know how to appreciate proper Dragonite tea.”

“To each their own.” Valen set his now half empty mug down on the table with a content sigh. “I’m sure you two are wondering what happened while I was in police custody.”

“Specifically what happened to make you lose your fingers,” said Louise.

“And how you managed to get out early when even my bribes didn’t work,” added Enid.

“It’s a little complicated,” said Valen. “But before I get to any of that, you should know something about my family.”

“Do you mean your ancestry?” asked Louise. “Because I’m still pretty sure you have a royal grand dad or mum somewhere up the family tree.”

“A little less grand than that,” said Valen. “I’m talking about my sister.”

“You mean Vivian?” Enid asked. “Isn’t she still on that pilgrimage?”

“No, I’m talking about my other sister…”

Valen tried to keep things brief.

He explained Valerie’s existence, the long lost owner of his earring’s other half. How she tried to break him out of the police cell only for them to get into a long, bloody, and quite frankly disturbing fight with a shapeshifting Cyril that cost him two fingers. Then, he revealed how it was Johan of all people who came to pick him up from police custody.

Louise and Enid listened in near complete silence the entire time, only ever offering small comments every now and then between sips of tea. When the tea ran out, Enid went back to eating from her ice cream carton which Louise was quick to join in with a teaspoon.

By the time he was finished, the carton sat empty on the coffee table with both his friends looking at him with concern.

“Valen, why’d you never tell me about your sister?” asked Louise.

“It never came up and I didn’t think you’d need to know,” said Valen. “Plus it’d bring down the mood if I ever brought it up.”

“That bombshell aside,” said Enid, wiping a smudge of strawberry cheesecake ice cream off her face. “Johan’s offer sounds unbelievably shady. We’re already dealing with a cult. We don’t need to get involved with some ominous secret organisation either.”

“Valen and I have known Johan for years,” said Louise. “He’s someone we can trust.”

“I’m also quite certain we’ve reached the limit of what we can accomplish on our own,” said Valen. “We’ve been chasing leads like a dog chases cars. It might’ve allowed us to figure out the Primordial Church’s compound, but there’s really not much to do about it now.”

“So you’re going to take him up on his offer?” Enid asked.

Valen went quiet for a moment. Then, he rose from the couch to look out the open window walls overseeing the urban metropolis he’d called home all his life.

When he first left the Nocturnal District, the sight of the bustling cityscape lit by a million colourful lights brought him comfort. On a practical level, it eased his heart knowing that no one would be rash enough to try to mug him with so many witnesses around. On an emotional level, seeing it in comparison to the dead and dangerous streets of his old neighbourhood reminded him of how far he’d come in life.

Now, the only thing he could think of when looking down on the people below was how many of them might be out for his life.

“Both of you have been a great help these past few days,” said Valen. “But I think I can handle the rest of this on my own.”

“Valen?” Louise sounded concerned.

“What do you intend to do?” asked Enid, her feelings hidden by the monotone of voice.

“I’m going to take Johan up on his offer.” Valen turned around to face them. “You two won’t have to risk your lives because of me anymore. I have some money saved up from my freelance job. I’ll just move into a cheap flat somewhere and-”

Enid stood from the sofa and stomped towards him, her lips pursed in an unreadable frown. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and Valen braced himself for a slap. He deserved it after dragging her into all this.

Instead, she pulled his face down to hers and pressed her forehead against his. It felt warm, though not enough to count as a fever, and he could feel her soft breath brush against his face.

“Valen,” she whispered. “Do you remember the first time we met?”

“You mean at Mrs. Wickerbottom’s science class?”

“...What?”

“I couldn’t afford a textbook yet so I had to share yours.”

An awkward silence fell between them. Valen felt Enid’s head grow hotter in embarrassment.

“Oh. I, uh, didn’t remember that,” Enid admitted. “But do you remember when we became friends?”

“It was on the rooftop, wasn’t it?” Valen slowly pulled his face away from Enid’s and caressed her pale cheek.

The memory had embedded itself into his mind. The sight of Enid, barely thirteen and already the richest person he’d ever met, standing on the other side of the rooftop railing looking down at the concrete below.

“You tried to talk me down from jumping,” said Enid. “Do you remember what you told me?”

“...That you didn’t have to go through whatever you were going through alone.”

A rare smile found its way onto Enid’s pink lips.

“You give good advice, Valen.” She lightly pinched him on the cheek. “You really should listen to it yourself.”

Valen felt a pair of furry arms wrap around the side of his body.

“I already left you once before,” said Louise, the regret clear in her voice. “I’m not going to do it again.”

“Enid…Louise…” Valen pulled his two best friends into a hug, making sure not to put in too much strength for fear of crushing them. “I love you both so much.”

“I know,” said Louise, the smile showing in her voice. “You big baby.”

“I love you too, Valen,” said Enid in that blunt but sincere tone Valen had come to expect from her.

Louise was the first to break free from the hug when the ringing of her phone ruined the moment. Her smile melted from her face the moment she looked at the caller ID, which simply read ‘Arsehole.’

“Shit, it’s my boss,” she whispered before answering the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey Louise,” said a man’s voice on the other side. “I know you called in your holidays but we’re short staffed right now so I’m going to need you to come into work ASAP.”

“Wait, what?!” Louise walked away from Valen and Enid, her eyes wide in disbelief. “I’m kind of in the middle of something big at the moment. I don’t even have a motorcycle right now. Is there any way-”

“Either come to work or lose your job,” said the voice on the other side. “Choose.”

Louise looked like she was on the verge of panicking when Enid spoke up.

“Oy, Snowball.”

“Um, sorry, please hold on a moment.” Louise put her hand over her phone microphone and turned to Enid with an annoyed look on her face. “What is it, Thunder Tits?”

“I’ll pay you twenty two hundred a month to be my new chauffeur.”

Louise looked surprised at the offer, then contemplative.

“Make it twenty five,” she said, deciding to push her luck with someone whom she hoped didn’t know the value of the money she was offering.

“Only if you wear a uniform,” replied Enid.

“...Hmm.” Louise seemed to be deep in thought until the voice of her boss through the phone pulled her out of it.

“You know, you’re lucky to have this job. Usually we don’t accept people with your education level.”

A beat of seething silence passed before Louise looked at her phone, took a deep breath, and pressed it to her ear.

“Hey, Matt?” she said to her boss. “Kiss my unwashed werewolf arse you piece of shit! I quit!”