Harold Bessinger pushed the glasses upwards onto the bridge of his nose. He sat in a large chair in his office. The brown leather upholstery was quite uncomfortable. It let Harold focus on his work instead of the comforts that coddled his brain.

But now, he could think of only one thing. The woman at the vampire hideout, the one he shot in the head. He could only think of her and the rush he felt as he pulled the trigger and watched her burst in flames of joy, or at least it was joyous to him. His heart raced with adrenaline and his blood coursed with a burning passion.

He stared at the book in his hands. It was about business law and how to work it to your advantage. His eyes skimmed the words but no information was absorbed from the white pages littered with black symbols. It might as well been gibberish to him. He couldn’t focus on the words with that night playing through his head over and over.

The only thing that could distract from his first kill was the thought of what Ra would say when he found out Andrelle had escaped. Her and her lover had both disappeared from the apartment building without a trace. It was hard enough to find out who had died from the raid. The mutants left a mess of the building that Mother Nature’s worst catastrophe would be jealous of. It didn’t help that the vampires would burst into flames when they met their end. It made identifying bodies most difficult, not impossible, but difficult and expensive. Some of their DNA was left in the ash, but you needed a significant amount to yield any reliable

data. The money went into the process would be better spent on paying off a politician or two. Still, he was sure the rebel’s leader had escaped with her husband.

From what the mutants told him, they had disappeared into thin air, something most interesting indeed. Andrelle’s husband must be a powerful psychic to pull off such a stunt. That gave him an idea. He could hire a psychic to follow any psychic residue across the globe that was powerful enough to be Andrelle’s husband. If he could find him, then he could find Andrelle close by. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was all he had going for him.

Harold slapped shut his book. There was no use holding it up if he wasn’t going to read the damn thing. He set the book down on his desk and removed his glasses. He rubbed his temples and looked around his office. It seemed smaller now. Maybe he felt bigger.

Harold’s mind went back to his kill. He certainly was bigger now. He was a killer now. He smiled for a second, enjoying himself for a quick moment before standing.

“Please sit, Harold.”

The thick, heavy accent, that sounded like oak timber caked in fresh blood, dripped into his ears. This was a voice he knew well, and he was well to fear it.

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Harold fell back into his brown leather chair and stared at the man before him. The same man with pale skin, almost translucent, with the spiraling goat horns escaping his skull, stood before him, a fresh suit pressed to his body. The sharp teeth revealed themselves as the man smiled at Harold deviously.

“I need a report on your raid in the rebel’s hideout. Was it a success?” Ra crossed the room to a small bar atop a wooden cabinet.

Harold hesitated for a second. He couldn’t, wouldn’t lie to Ra. The vampire would see through his deception with ease, but to tell the truth would invoke his employer’s wrath. It was an easy dilemma to conquer. “It went well for us. No casualties on our side. The mutants lost a few men, but that is of no consequence to us. The rebels have been annihilated.” Harold sat back in his armchair. There was no sense in getting tense over what Ra was about to say, it was going to happen either way.

“Good to hear.” Ra opened a decanter and grabbed a crystal cup. He poured the brown liquid into the glass and turned towards Harold. “And what of the rebel’s leader? Was Andrelle captured or killed?” Ra stared down his employee, waiting for the answer he already knew.

Harold took a deep breath. His eyes hovered on the honor guard Ra had accompanying him. Their presence was most aggravating when they were not under his command. “She escaped, along with her husband.” Harold figured he would complete the report before Ra coaxed the rest of the information out of him. “Several of the rebels were out on reconnaissance as well, we estimated about six. They too were able to escape from our grasp, but overall, the mission was a success on our part. I already have a plan to find Andrelle, I just need to push it into motion. I need permission to use a substantial use of funds to find them.” Harold finished his sentence, leaving the rest up to Ra.

Ra knocked back his glass, clearing the liquid out in one gulp. He licked his lips and set the glass down. “I also heard you killed one of the vampires yourself. Is that true, Bessinger?”

Harold nodded.

“Good to hear it. It is about time you dirtied your hands in the front lines of our work. I was prepared to rip your head from your shoulders for failing me, but you are too good at your job for me to just dispose of you like trash. Carry through with this plan of yours. You have until the end of the month to find her.” Ra headed over to the door. “I want her alive, Harold, don’t disappoint me.”

Harold nodded and spoke up, “I have one request.”

Ra stopped and turned to his second in command. “And that is?”

“I want to carry out the operation in person. I want to be the one who takes her down.” Harold pushed his glasses back up his nose. His thoughts rushing to the vampire woman he killed again, his heat began to race. He stared down Ra like never before.

Ra smiled again, this time it was with joy, “It’s a good feeling when you take a life, isn’t it?”

Harold nodded again.

“So, get on with it.” Ra held his arms out wide, “Bring her to me, and I shall give you power. You have proven yourself worthy of my gift.”

Harold smiled as well. He pulled his phone from his pocket and began dialing a number from his memory.

Ra turned and stormed out of the room. His second hand was quite becoming of himself. It was only a matter of time before he felt the joys of hard labor, but this new obsession of his would be his downfall. Harold had given into the bloodlust. His mind would be lost to it now. Ra entered into the night of the outside world and sucked in the crisp ebony air. He had seen many men like Harold before in his ever-long life, and they all ended up the same.