It's not like I was expecting Mira and Minx to be happy Jonathan and I had made a real progress in the investigation. I knew how serious this was.

But still.

They were positively shocked that another man had been found.

Mira kept saying, "This is it! Now they're really going to blame it on the Blood Drinkers!"

The way I saw it, it was better now. It was more suspicious back when the only body ever found was at our school. Now, we didn't look related to the crimes so much anymore.

Of course, it was unfortunate that the killer seemed to be some kind of vampire. The only vampire-like thing that existed in the world were us, and that was not a correct metaphor by any means.

It could only be the work of some demon, perhaps a crazy rogue, but how these things worked were hard to know specifically even for us.

I groaned. Mira looked at me like, Now you get it!

"We need to go to Jonathan," I said. "I don't feel comfortable knowing he's out there, with the killings still happening."

About at the same time, Mira said that we needed to go where Jonathan was to check the body.

"Yeah," I coughed, embarrassed. "To check the body."

"I'll bring Roman and be right back," said Minx, uncharateristically serious.

"Roman?" I asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Mira explained to me as Minx stalked away gloomily. "If we can find the ghost of the departed, it can be of extreme importance for us to find out the cause of the death. Perhaps, he'll even be able to point out the person who did it."

I had to admit to myself it made sense.

A few minutes later, Roman appeared with a scowl on his face, not very different from his regular face. Sometimes he looked so impossibly young, I had trouble remembering he was already thirteen like Jonathan and I. On the other hand, he more than made up for it with being ridiculously tall.

"So, you found another victim," Roman said to me in what I guessed could pass for small talk. I was surprised. I knew it wasn't his thing, especially if it involved repeating an information he already knew just to start up the conversation.

"Yeah," I said. "It's strange, isn't it?"

He simply shrugged, which made me feel strangely hurt. It was like he had decided to go back to ignore me in a few seconds. I felt like I deserved more than that. At least, my question wasn't rethorical.

"I didn't know there was much a Macbeth had never seen," he commented, after a while, as if he was trying to decide how to not make it sound accusatory.

"I'm not my family," I couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. "While I admit that, at least, culturally speaking, I am by far the most advanced student of my age, I'm still very young and I have not got a lot of field experience."

Roman smirked to himself.

"What?" I said.

"I'm trying to be your friend," he explained. "Because Atticus likes you." He winced. "Not that way. But he thinks you're alright."

"Thanks," I said. "I mean, I'll thank Atticus when I see him. But you're not exactly attached at the hip, you know. It doesn't mean anything coming from you."

I knew I had been harsh, but really? My best friend was Jonathan, and nobody in my family, no matter how much I looked up to them would have liked it. It's obvious that some choices you've got to make for yourself.

Roman blushed. "Sorry," he said. "I guess I meant to say that Atticus is always right, especially about people. I just... trust his own judgement more than my own and it's done me good so far."

"Do you mean because he pushed you to spend time with Matias?" I asked him curiously.

He just blushed more.

"You know," he said, leaning in like he was revealing a bit secret. "Even if we were attached at the hip... it wouldn't change the fact that we'd still be different people. Next time you want to diss me, try to say something that makes sense scientifically. Like sharing the same brain, or something like that."

"Hey," I apologized. "I didn't want to diss you."

Not much later, we met up with Jonathan. I immediately took my usual position by his side. I felt like I missed him, despite having spent not much time apart.

Mira and Minx had entered the house where the man had died. Even dressed like they were, with many layers to protect them from the sun, people tended to shy away from them.

I already knew how it was, but it was still hard to watch. Maybe because, for the first time, my own Blood Tasks were only a few months away. If I passed them, which was the only acceptable version, I would become something else.

Compared to demons and Creatures, we didn't look like monsters. But we didn't look like humans either. The townspeople were scared of Minx and Mira, of their powers, their innatural appearance.

"What are you thinking about?" Jonathan asked me softly.

I could have lied, and say that I was about to resolve the case. It wouldn't have hurt my reputation. Instead I decided to tell the truth.

"Us," I said. "Looking like them."

He followed my gaze, and I thought he got it. Well the difference was already visible with our older peers who already drank Blood at school, it was especially striking on Mira, and, for some reason, especially Minx. I had never noticed there was little human left in his features and his long limbs, but he looked like something out of a horror novel in the daylight.

No, I told myself. I had gone too far. It was just my own anxiety projecting into other, innocent, people.

"Well, isn't the Blood supposed to enhance our beauty, too?" Jonathan asked. But I could tell he was nervous, too.

"I think it sharpens and stregthens our main characterics," I said. "And it makes us look more balanced, in a way. These changes are usually perceived as beautiful."

"Nah," Roman snuck past behind us. "I'm pretty sure the Blood doesn't do any of that."

"Well, it's not like you're going to try it, anyway," I stated.

It seemed a pretty normal thing to say to me to someone who wasn't destined to become a Blood Drinker, but that put him in a sour mood, and he went back to stalking the scene of the crime, like he was doing before.

I guessed he was waiting for some kind of spirit to come around.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

About half an hour later, Mira came out of the house.

"Any news?" Jonathan asked.

"Dominic is still testing a few of his theories," she said. "He seems to be pretty invested in this. Who knows, perhaps he has a taste for solving crimes we didn't know about."

I decided to go straight to the point.

"What happens if you and Dominic can't find out who is behind the murders?"

"We will have to tell the Court," Mira grimaced.

"What's so bad about it?" I couldn't help but ask. Wasn't the Court supposed to help us with difficult matters?

"It wasn't so bad back then when more people were involved in it," Mira said. "But, as of now, it looks more like a gang than anything else."

I admired her spunk. It was unusual for Blood Drinkers to voice political opinions against the Court. The members of it took their job to heart, and were always ready to punish those who stood in their way, even harshly.

"I'm sure you will reach a solution, even it takes all day, and all night," I said, sounding less sure than I wanted to.

"Before I go back to help Dominic again," Mira said. "I wanted to tell you guys I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

Jonathan and I had actually felt really proud we were given this mission. Our chests deflated slightly.

"We found another victim for you to study," Jonathan fidgeted with his sword pommel. "We gave you the right trail to follow..."

Mira looked at us like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Of course you did great, and I'm proud of you!" she beamed. "It's just that this situation is even worse than I thought. Something evil is going on here. Perhaps even something Blood Drinkers have never faced before. I don't want to put you in danger."

She smiled and she left.

"You do realize what she meant right?" Jonathan asked me darkly. "It was plain to see that she thinks something big is coming. Even if they fix this situation today, there's no telling when things will go back to normal. Even Blood Drinkers normal."

I wanted to say he must have got it wrong. But I was actually amazed at how deeply his brain could work, when he could connect certain patterns. Of course he was right. These crimes were just the start of something. Maybe Nature, or some kind of divine presence, had even come up with a natural enemy for the Blood Drinker.

Well, that would have been the Creatures and the demons, but, aside from the occasional accidents, they never gave us too much of a fight.

Now, something more challenging... could be a risk to humanity, as well as to us.

"It's okay," Jonathan added. "We're already two very good fighters, and we have powerful Skills. We can take down whatever this is."

I knew he must have had his doubts, but I was more than okay with him not voicing them.

Another hour passed. Then, after a little while, Minx Morris came to us.

"I need the opinion of a detective on a theory that I have," he said. "I know Mister Lady Macbeth here fancies himself one, so, would you follow me kid?"

I shrugged and Jonathan and I exchanged a puzzled expression. First of all, I did not go by Mister Lady, thank you very much. Then, which adult would trust a kid with a matter such as this? But, at the same time, it wasn't so unusual for our Professor to act that way. On the other hand, all the students agreed it was way more out of character to see him being serious about something.

I followed him gingerly. After spending so much time unable to help, I was ready to give my expert opinion, whatever it was.

But, as soon as we approached the house, he made a detour and took me to a wood nearby.

As soon as we were out of eyesight, he crumbled down. he looked extremely tired, and ready to cry.

"Cypress," he said. "Do you remember what we talked about when you had detention?"

I was about to get angry. I got that Minx was probably extremely sick, and was losing some of his marbles, but a student like myself never got detention. I felt threatened by the very prospect.

Then something clicked. The way he had said detention, like it wasn't a real detention.

I didn't know how I could have forgotten about that!

The day Roman had graced us all with his street poetry (I shivered at the memory), and I had gotten mad at him, the Professor had given me detention.

But it wasn't a real one. It was a way to talk to me alone, face to face. He told me that my family was planning something horrible against Blood Drinkers, and to feel safe to tell him anything about it. And that, even if I trusted my family more and didn't want to, he would have not used that against me.

I had never heard of anything like that and immediately decided to investigate, but dropped the matter after a few days for lack of promising leads.

And I'd even forgotten all about it. What a fool.

Then I got a sick feeling in my stomach.

Was this the thing my family was doing? Were they involved in the murders?

"I know I told you you don't have to tell anyone anything," Minx said, quietly. "And I still respect that. But if you've changed your mind... We're really at the end of our rope here, Cypress. I thought maybe, with time, you'd realize, we love you like a family."

He smiled.

"I know I wouldn't be much for a father," he said.

"Neither is mine," I replied. "You would be more suited sir, and that's saying something. No offence," I added quickly.

He laughed, but there was no fun in it. He looked like he needed animal Blood. But that was strange. The lack of it didn't mean we looked like we were starving.

"I don't know anything about any plan," I said firmly. "Even if my family was involved, and since you say it is, I'm going to assume it's true, they left me out of it."

As bad as the murders were, it still stung a bit to say it. But my mother could be cruel to people not related to the family, and she already knew I wouldn't have played along.

"I sincerely doubt that, boy," Minx said sweetly, and it broke my heart. I could never lie to him. I would never.

"Why do you say so?" I asked.

"You see, Athanasios and Bertha already knew there was some kind of stirring in your family. There's where I heard about it first. You must have asked yourself how I knew. I don't suppose you think I'm all-powerful," he chuckled bitterly.

"And what's that to do with me?" I asked again. I had never spoken to the rich Blood Drinker called Athanasios, who had sired Jason and bought Matias. Neither had I spoken to Bertha, one of the last members of the Court.

"Maybe you shouldn't trust the Court," I couldn't help but say. "That's what Mira seems to think, at the very least."

"Mira is very tired," Minx cut me off, which sounded weird. A bit like every time Roman pronounced a body who still looked in good health dead.

"They didn't say anything about you," he added. "But they were pretty sure from their inside sources they would try to sabotage the school. And what better way to do that collaborating with somebody on the inside? That's your first real as an enrolled student, after all. And before you, all the other Macbeths had been home-schooled. You often remind everybody yourself that the knowledge of your family is beyond our mere understanding."

"Sir," I said. I was desperate now. Everything he said sounded true. But it was wrong. I knew it was. I just hoped he would not tell anybody else, because it would have been easy to believe.

"How can I prove to you that I am not involved in my family's plans? I would do anything you ask me to."

Minx Morris couldn't talk to me, however. He had just passed out.

I called Mira to take care of him, and I went back to Jonathan, who was killing time chatting with Roman, or whatever Roman did instead of chatting. I was happy the Speaker had included Jonathan in the list of the people he would want to be friends with, but I hoped it came from a truer place in his heart than a suggestion from Atticus.

"I know what you're thinking," Roman said, as soon as I approached him. He turned to Jonathan.

"He thinks I'm only talking to you because Atticus made me do it. Cut me some slack, blondie. Atticus set me up with a jerk to the ball and I fucking punched the guy in the face. See? We do not share the same brain."

Jonathan looked a little at a loss for words, especially since he didn't know about the talk Roman and I shared before. I, however, laughed. The kid was growing on me, in his own strange way.

I knew I had nothing to do with my family, but the idea that they could be behind the murders still made me feel like scum. I was even jumpy being with Jonathan, afraid I was the pawn in some game I was not aware of playing.

"What did Minx wanted to know?" Jonathan asked.

I thought about it, before responding. If the murders got resolved and my family miraculously wasn't involved, there was no need to bring them up now. But if they were behind it, it would have looked like I was covering for them. And I trusted Minx. No matter how kooky he was. If he said they did it, they did it.

"He thinks the Macbeths are behind this," I said. "Asked me if I knew anything."

"Do you think they could be?" Jonathan asked me softly.

"I don't know. Maybe. My mom, and some other Blood Drinkers in my family do have a mean streak. But I never thought they would take anything this far. It doesn't matter, though. Minx Morris think they are responsible, so that's it."

"That's it?" Jonathan asked me with wide eyes. "You're not even going to investigate about it?"

"I haven't got any leads," I complained.

Roman was looking at me funnily. I realized he wasn't blaming me for the murders, but he seemed smug about something. Then it hit me. Of course. He was noticing how he wasn't the only one who trusted other people's opinions more than their own.

"Please," I told them both. "Don't tell anyone. I am, of course, not involved, but I think not everybody is going to believe it."

I didn't mention how Minx Morris found me guilty himself. I had already given too much away, and that would have only scared my friends.

"You realize Roman is going to tell Atticus and Matias, right?" Jonathan asked me.

Roman sent him a death-glare.

"I didn't tell anyone about the dybbuk until it was absolutely necessary. I can keep a secret, thank you very much."

"That was because Matias was involved and you didn't want to betray his trust," Jonathan suggested.

"Wait," I said. "How long have you known about the dybbuk?"

"Shit," Roman commented. "I guess you can't really trust me on this, after all."

"It's okay," I decided on the spot. "Matias and Atticus can know, and so can Aurora, if Atticus wants to tell her. They're all alright with me."

"Why would Atticus want to tell Aurora?" Roman asked me, like I just suggested his brother exchanged long and heartfelt conversations with his weapon of choice.

"I've got just one question for you," Jonathan said. "If somebody from your family is really behind this... would you be able to take them down, if it came to that?"