Jonathan had barely stepped onto the flashing floor when a hand dragged him roughly forward. He faltered, feeling his face burn as her arm found the back of his neck. Bloody hell, did she doll herself up while he was gone? Or has she always looked this beautiful?

Lucy’s fingers ran down the small of his back, swaying her hips gently beside him. She flashed him a devilish grin and tugged the helm of his collar forward. Jonathan gulped, trying to keep his eyes off her generous cleavage thrusted mere millimetres away from his chest.

“L-Lucy…” His voice had somehow decided to come out as a whimper, and the woman put a slender finger on his lips.

“You know my name?” She leaned in close, blowing hot air in his ear. “Have you been stalking me? Bad boy…”

“N-no, we’re friends. You don’t remember, but-”

Lucy shoved him out of the spotlight, pushing him roughly up against a nearby wall. She tossed up her jet-black hair sensually and kept one hand beside his head. Jonathan pressed his back against the cold concrete as he watched the groups of men leave in disappointment.

“Just friends? With someone as handsome as you?” The woman bit the corner of her lips, smirking slightly at him. “I don’t think so, honey…”

Her finger trailed down his chest idly.

“It’s just not my style to give up someone who looks so… delicious.” Her hand stopped right above his trousers. She tilted her head up towards him, keeping the seductive half-grin on her face.

God, how is she so ridiculously attractive?

“Lucy, you’re not yourself.” Jonathan tried to regain his composure, only then realising how hard he was breathing. “You’re not as young as you think you are.”

“Are you calling me, a twenty-year-old girl, old? Oh my, you have an interesting seduction technique. Fortunately for you…” The woman dragged him into the nearby lift and pushed a button hurriedly. “That’s so, so… hot.”

The lift doors opened in full view of a carpeted corridor. Jonathan’s eyes darted to the hotel receptionist, pleading silently for help, but she simply motioned them to the closest room. His heart sank. That poor girl had probably seen enough of such passionate ‘couples’ in this place to not question anything she saw.

Muffled groans greeted the empty darkness as Jonathan stumbled into the room, his mouth still firmly interlocked with Lucy’s lips. The woman’s hands ran all over his body while he groped in the dark for a light switch.

There was a brief respite as soft fabric slammed into Jonathan’s back. He scrambled to his feet, desperately fighting against the ridiculously marshy bed to stand back up. But the woman was on top of him before he knew it.

Lucy’s fingers found his belt buckle in no time, pulling down his trousers in a swift motion. Despite claiming to be only twenty years old this time, she was clearly very experienced. Jonathan’s hands shot down to protect himself, but Lucy quickly grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.

Goosebumps went down his spine as Lucy pressed him down with her supernatural strength, gently planting kisses down his neck. Her fingers travelled down his chest, stopping momentarily on his abs, before sliding dangerously lower.

“You look so yummy…” she moaned in his ear.

Sparks danced behind Jonathan’s closed eyes. Lucy was the last person he wanted to use his powers on, but it looked like nothing short of a nasty shock would be enough to get her off him.

Her hand snaked its way into his pants.

“And I’m so hungry!”

Fangs popped out of her gums, and she bit down hard on his neck. The scream that followed grated his ears.

Jonathan quickly shoved the writhing vampire off him and picked up his trousers. He was fully dressed in less than a millisecond. The speedster didn’t want to leave anything else to chance. He approached Lucy cautiously.

“What the hell?!” She sobbed loudly, touching her broken fangs tenderly. “What are you made of? My teeth…”

Jonathan picked up the open-bust top from the floor and passed it to the now whimpering vampire. She glared at him for a moment, before sliding the clothes over her body.

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“Do you remember me now?” he asked.

“Absolutely not. Are you some kind of gargoyle or something? Felt like I was biting into stone…” Lucy winced as Jonathan sat beside her. “Am I supposed to know you? You’re a little too old for my liking. Don’t get me wrong. You’re really good-looking, but just not my type. No offence.”

That was a drastic change in attitude…

“That’s what I get for getting my hopes up, I suppose.” He shrugged. “What do you remember?”

“Something terrible… Someone died… I was so scared, and then… And then…”

“And then what?”

“And then I remembered I was twenty,” she mumbled. “And very hungry. I need blood… Please, you have to let me back down there to find my next meal.”

Jonathan handed a blood packet to her. “Good thing I came prepared. This should sustain you for the next few months.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in joy as she immediately sank her teeth into it, sucking out the blood packet greedily. Jonathan’s hand slid out of his coat pocket. He had planned to ask Lucy for help deciphering those dark magic symbols, but with her unstable mental condition, it was probably best that he let her recover in peace.

The man wrapped himself with the blanket. Was the room this cold when he entered it? He reached for the air conditioning remote to adjust the temperature, but only stared at it in confusion. It was not turned on.

“Whore… Whore…”

Jonathan looked around in confusion. It might have just been the wind, but the whistling air in his ears sounded suspiciously like a woman’s voice. He drew back the curtains to close the windows.

Only to come face to face with a brick wall.

“What-”

A gust of wind swept him off his feet. He crashed into the bed, startling the confused vampire who only stared at him as though he was crazy. Jonathan scrambled towards her in shock, finally noticing that same dreaded brand forming on her neck as well.

“Whore!”

He covered his face protectively as a translucent, demonic-looking face appeared out of nowhere and charged towards them. Power covered his body as he prepared to fight back, but the disembodied being simply went through him like he was the ghost instead. Jonathan turned back at Lucy, whose body was slowly becoming more incorporeal by the second.

No, it wasn’t just her.

His surroundings were also becoming more faded, as though he was somehow transported into an overexposed photograph. Jonathan’s voice echoed back at him as he called out to his friend to no avail.

And then everything turned white.

~ ~ ~

Jonathan found himself back in a dream-like state again, except his surroundings were more akin to some sort of Salvador Dali painting brought to life. If this was a memory like last time, this person must have an extremely vivid imagination.

He followed the singular path ahead of him, treading on the human skin carefully. They rippled slightly as though it was alive, but at least they were firm enough to take his weight. And so he kept on walking.

A dull-coloured tent came into view out of nowhere. His surroundings turned a few shades darker as Jonathan’s next step took him inside the mysterious tent. He looked around in surprise. There was nothing else in this fabric pavilion, other than a table with a crystal ball on it as well as two chairs. All in all, it resembled one of those fortune-telling booths in a carnival, if it was ‘decorated’ by a blind person.

“Baba Yaga! Oh, Baba Yaga. I beg of you! There must be a way!”

Jonathan tried to turn to the source of the voice but found himself rooted on the spot yet again. He rolled his eyes internally; he was getting sick of viewing these memories. If someone was trying to help him, why couldn’t they just tell him directly?

There was a loud sigh.

“I am sorry, but that is what the Heavens have to say.” Baba Yaga, presumably, shook her head sadly. “He was your one true love. But you were never meant to spend the rest of your life with him. It is a cruel fate, but it is yours. There is nothing I can do about it.”

“No, I won’t believe it! There must be a way!” The woman sitting on the opposite end slammed the table, sweeping the crystal ball off it. “Some witch you are. You can’t even get my lover back!”

Jonathan’s mind pricked with recognition. The angry customer sounded exactly like Nicholaum’s wife. Was she…

“The will of the Heavens is not something to be trifled with, girl.” Baba Yaga picked up her crystal ball calmly. “You will lose everything chasing after what is lost.”

“Then so be it. I am willing to sacrifice everything just to be reunited with my love. I have looked everywhere. You are my last hope. You must help me!”

“Even if I could, I will not. Any attempt to go against natural law will wreak devastation upon myself,” Baba Yaga refused firmly. “You are obsessed. I truly am sorry. Please, take your leave.”

“That’s it? You won’t even try to help?” The woman was trembling with anger. “You are useless!”

Green light exploded in the room.

Pain shot through Jonathan as he watched Baba Yaga stumble back, clutching her right eye. Blood spurted from between her fingers, staining the floor. The woman shrieked in anger, releasing another green blast of energy that practically ripped off half of the old witch’s face.

“That is all I can show you for now, Stonekeeper,” an unfamiliar voice rang out in Jonathan’s head. “Seek me, and all shall be revealed.”

The tent shook violently as everything dissolved into white again.