I reluctantly pulled myself from the warm embrace of the water. Pleasant as this moment was, we had work to do. My old body was out there somewhere, possessed by something dangerous, and I needed to find out what was happening.

"Time to go," I said, reaching for a fluffy towel. "Earth isn't going to wait forever."

Aria pouted but followed suit, water cascading off her curves as she stood. "I suppose we can't stay in here all day, delicious as that sounds."

Isabella emerged with more grace, somehow managing to make even getting out of a bathtub look elegant. "The sooner we deal with this vampire situation, the sooner we can return to more pleasant activities."

We dried ourselves quickly, the soft towels absorbing the water from our skin. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror - my white hair hung damply around my face, and my red eyes seemed to glow with renewed energy. The feeding and intimate connection with my friends had left me feeling stronger than ever.

As I slipped into my clothes, I noticed Aria examining the bruises on Bellas's sleeping form with a frown. My mood darkened instantly.

"Don't worry," I told her, my voice taking on an edge. "When we get back, we're going to find out exactly who thought they could lay hands on our slave." I surprised myself with the possessive growl in my voice. When had I started thinking of Bellas as 'ours'?

"They will regret touching him," Aria agreed, her usually cheerful face showing a flash of anger.

Isabella finished adjusting her dress and checked her spatial ring. "I've got all the equipment we might need. Tracking crystals, protection amulets, and some nasty surprises for any vampire that gets too close."

"Perfect," I said, gathering my own gear. "Let's go find ourselves a vampire."

The familiar scent of London's polluted air hit my nostrils as we emerged from the transport gate. The alley remained as dingy as ever, with graffiti masking the magical symbol on the wall.

"So," Isabella brushed invisible dust from her designer dress, "what's our plan here?"

Aria leaned against the brick wall, seemingly unbothered by potential dirt on her clothes. "Should we contact those vampire hunters you mentioned? The ones from that VCD place?"

Isabella's ice-blue eyes flickered with interest. "Or we could handle this ourselves. Show these mortals how real demons get things done." Her lips curved into a predatory smile. "Nothing quite like outdoing humans at their own game."

I adjusted my glamour, ensuring my demonic features remained hidden. "I think it's better if we work independently for now. We can coordinate with the VCD once we have more concrete information about the vampire possessing..." I paused, catching myself before saying 'my body.' "...Liam."

The truth was, I didn't want Faith getting too entangled with my demon friends. Isabella and Aria were wonderful companions, but they were still demons. One wrong move, one misunderstanding, and Faith could end up seriously hurt - or worse. Better to keep them separate for now.

"Besides," I added, "we'll have more freedom to operate without mortal bureaucracy slowing us down."

"Ooh, good point," Aria pushed off the wall. "No tedious paperwork or endless meetings. Just straight to the fun part."

Isabella nodded approvingly. "A wise choice. Mortals tend to overcomplicate things."

"Let's prepare then," I turned to Isabella. "You brought those items you mentioned?"

Isabella's pale cheeks flushed slightly. "Oh... right. I completely forgot after our little... distraction." She reached into her spatial ring, pulling out an ornate wooden case. "But yes, I did prepare everything beforehand."

She opened the case, revealing an array of weapons nestled in black velvet. "First, enchanted silver daggers." She distributed sleek blades with intricate runes etched along their surfaces. "These are particularly effective against vampires."

"Next, blessed wooden stakes." She handed each of us several polished wooden spikes. "Traditional, but reliable."

"These tracking amulets will help us locate our target," Isabella passed out crystal pendants on silver chains. "And communication runes for staying in touch." Small stone tablets with glowing symbols followed.

"And this," she lifted a delicate silver chain that seemed to shimmer with its own light, "is for binding our vampire once we find him."

Aria wrinkled her nose as she handled the silver weapons. "Ugh, these feel really unpleasant. Like touching something covered in static electricity, but worse."

Isabella's lips curved into a knowing smirk. "That's because they're blessed with purifying magic. Don't worry though - it won't actually harm you unless you get stabbed. Most of the time it's just uncomfortable to handle."

I turned the dagger over in my hands, noting with interest that I felt none of the discomfort Aria described. Perhaps it had something to do with my angelic heritage through father?

"And finally," Isabella pulled out one last item - a silver whip that caught the dim light. "This one's for you, Lily. I thought it would suit your... style."

The whip coiled in my palm like liquid moonlight. Unlike the daggers, this weapon had an undeniable grace to it. "Why me specifically?"

"Just a feeling," Isabella's ice-blue eyes sparkled with amusement. "You have a certain... fluid quality to your movements that would complement it nicely."

I stored the weapons in my spatial ring, keeping only the tracking amulet around my neck. The crystal felt cool against my skin, pulsing with a faint magical energy.

"So, how do we approach this?" Aria twirled her own amulet between her fingers.

"The amulets will lead us to him," Isabella explained. "But we should coordinate with those vampire hunters you mentioned, Lily. A coordinated attack from multiple directions would be more effective."

I nodded slowly, my mind racing with possibilities. After a moment's hesitation, I voiced the thought that had been growing in my mind. "Once we corner him... we should eliminate the vampire completely."

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The words felt strange leaving my mouth. This was my old body I was talking about destroying. But the truth was, I didn't want that life anymore. Being Lily felt right in a way I never expected. And leaving my old body alive meant leaving evidence that could connect me to Liam.

Neither of my friends showed any sign of shock at my suggestion. Of course they wouldn't - they were demons after all. Killing was hardly controversial in Hell.

"Ooh, can we play with him first?" Aria's eyes lit up with excitement. "I've never tortured a vampire before. Could be fun!"

I shook my head firmly. "No. We need this to be quick and clean. If we're working with the VCD, we can't risk drawing unnecessary attention with excessive violence."

The real reason stuck in my throat. Even if someone else inhabited that body now, I couldn't bear the thought of watching it suffer. A quick death would be mercy enough.

"Fair point," Isabella adjusted her hair. "Clean and professional it is. Though I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed we won't get to have more fun with this."

"There will be other opportunities," I assured her, silently grateful they accepted my decision without questioning my motives.

"Anyways, how exactly do these amulets work?" I held up the crystal pendant, watching it catch the dim alley light.

Isabella stepped closer, her fingers brushing mine as she adjusted the amulet's position. "It's quite simple. Infuse some of your mana into the crystal while focusing on your target. When you face their direction, it will glow."

"That's it?" Aria dangled her amulet like a hypnotist's watch. "Seems almost too easy."

"There are limitations," Isabella's ice-blue eyes narrowed. "The range only extends about two kilometres. But the trade-off is that it's completely undetectable by the target."

I wrapped my fingers around the crystal, channelling a thin stream of mana into it. My thoughts focused on my old body - on Liam - or rather, whatever entity now possessed it. The memory of that unnaturally fluid movement in the sewers, those red eyes staring back...

The crystal remained dark as I faced north. I turned slowly, testing each direction. Nothing to the east. Nothing south. But as I faced west, a faint red glow emanated from the crystal's core.

"There," Isabella pointed at the dim light. "That means your target is at the very edge of the amulet's range."

"At least we know which direction to head," Aria stretched lazily. "Please tell me we're not actually going to trudge through two kilometres of sewers."

I shook my head. "We'll track him from the surface. It'll be faster, and honestly, I'm not keen on wading through sewers myself."

"Oh, thank the hells," Aria linked her arm through mine. "I just got these shoes, and sewer water would absolutely ruin them."

Isabella rolled her eyes but smiled. "Surface route it is then. Shall we?"

I followed the pulsing crystal's guidance through London's streets, its glow growing stronger as we headed west. The city's air felt cool against my skin, a pleasant change from Igneus' perpetual heat.

"So, after we deal with this vampire situation," Aria skipped alongside me, "we absolutely need to go shopping again. I already have some ideas about what I want to try."

"Already planning our victory celebration?" I kept my eyes on the crystal, watching its steady pulse.

"Of course! And this time, we should bring that VCD woman along. Faith, right? She seemed interesting when you mentioned her." Aria's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I bet she'd be fun to play with."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably at the suggestion. "Faith wouldn't be interested. I don't think she even considers me a friend."

"Shame," Aria pouted. "But speaking of fun, we should find some handsome mortals while we're here. Rich ones, preferably. I already spent all the money from our last visit."

"You spent it all at once?" I raised an eyebrow, though my own funds had run dry between my two visits. At least I'd stretched it out longer than she had.

"What? Those silk sheets weren't going to buy themselves." She grinned unabashedly. "Besides, mortal money is so easy to get here. Just bat your eyes at the right businessman, and they practically throw it at you."

Isabella walked slightly ahead of us, her eyes scanning our surroundings. Though she didn't interrupt Aria's enthusiastic planning, I could tell she was more focused on our mission. Still, when Aria mentioned finding wealthy mortals, she glanced back.

"I disposed of my leftover money too," Isabella admitted. "I hadn't planned on returning so soon. Finding some rich mortals to feed from wouldn't be a terrible idea. Might as well combine business with pleasure."

"See?" Aria bounced excitedly. "Isabella gets it! We could hit up that fancy hotel again. The mortals there were particularly generous last time."

I adjusted our course slightly as the crystal's glow shifted. "Didn't you already make me promise to take you shopping in Igneus after this mission?"

"That's different!" Aria's tail swished with enthusiasm. "Mortal fashion has its own charm. The cuts, the styles - you can't find anything like it in Hell."

"Let's focus on the vampire first. We can discuss hunting plans after."

"Fine, fine." Aria waved dismissively. "But I'm holding you to that. I saw this absolutely gorgeous dress in a shop window last time, and I need it for my collection."

The crystal's pulse suddenly intensified, its glow almost blinding. Isabella raised her hand, signalling us to stop.

"We're here." She pointed at the ground beneath our feet. "Whatever we're tracking is directly below us."

I scanned our surroundings - a quiet street lined with brick buildings, most appearing to be old warehouses converted into offices or artsy lofts. Nothing seemed out of place, yet something felt wrong. My skin prickled with an unexplained sensation, like static electricity dancing across my nerves. Both Aria and Isabella appeared unfazed, which only heightened my unease.

The setting sun cast long shadows between the buildings, painting the street in amber hues. Isabella studied her tracking crystal intently.

"They haven't moved for a while now," she observed, tapping the crystal thoughtfully. "Given it's still technically daylight, this might be their hideout. Or they're conducting some business underground."

"So what's our next move?" Aria turned to me, brushing a strand of black hair from her face. "Do we contact those vampire hunters? What were they called again... VCD?"

I nodded, already reaching into my ring to retrieve my phone. "Yes, that would be wise." My fingers found the smooth surface of the device, and I pulled it out, quickly finding Faith's number in my contacts.

"Might as well let the mortals handle the grunt work," Aria added as I pressed the call button.

I held the phone to my ear, hearing it ring twice before Faith answered.

"We found them," I said without preamble. "My friends and I found the approximate location of what seems to be vampire's hideout."

"Ah, so that's what you three were doing." Faith's voice carried a hint of amusement. "At least you had the decency to call before barging in."

My eyes narrowed. "You were tracking us?"

"We have our methods. Besides," Faith's tone turned playful, "it's not like three striking beauties walking together through London are hard to spot."

I scanned our surroundings more carefully, my gaze sweeping across the buildings until it landed on a security camera mounted on the corner of the nearest warehouse. Its lens stared down at us, red light blinking steadily.

"The cameras, isn't it?"

"Cameras indeed." Faith's surprise was evident in her voice, clearly not expecting us to notice.

I glanced at Isabella and Aria, who were watching me intently. "Should we wait here for your team, or meet you back at headquarters?"

"Come to headquarters," Faith replied. "We need to discuss strategy, and Galahad wanted to speak with all of you anyway."

"We'll be there in a few minutes," I said, ending the call and slipping the phone back into my ring.

Aria's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Let's see these vampire hunters up close. I bet they're all fit and strong." She licked her lips. "Perfect for a quick snack."

"Aria, they're professionals who deal with vampires. I doubt they'd fall for your charms that easily." I smoothed my dress, adjusting the glamour to ensure our human appearances remained perfect.

"Oh please, even trained mortals are still mortals." Aria twirled a lock of her black hair. "Besides, what's life without a challenge?"

Isabella observed our exchange with mild amusement. "I'm more interested in how mortals in this world organized themselves. A whole agency dedicated to vampire control?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Most worlds I've visited rarely hid supernatural existence, let alone maintain specialized forces for that purpose."

"Well, you'll see for yourself soon enough." I gestured toward the main street. "Their headquarters isn't far."

"Lead the way then." Isabella fell into step beside me, her heels clicking against the pavement. "Though I do hope they are more sophisticated than what we've seen so far. Otherwise, I might lose all respect for them before we even start our hunt."

Aria skipped ahead of us, humming a tune. "As long as they're entertaining, I don't care how sophisticated they are."

We made our way through London's evening crowds, three succubi heading to work with Earth's supernatural defenders. The irony wasn't lost on me.