By the time the four of them made it back to San Antonio, the sun had fully set. It had been a long day for them, Alain had realized – they'd come into town and immediately started investigating, with no breaks from the time they'd first entered through the checkpoint to now. That explained why he was starting to feel it in his legs, he supposed, though he was fortunate enough to have it much better than Danielle.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth as she continued to walk along. "Just… not used to being this active… my legs are killing me…"

Alain rolled his eyes. "Az, would you mind?"

Danielle let out a small yelp as Az suddenly picked her up and began to princess carry her.

"Thank you," Alain said without looking back.

"Hmph." Danielle crossed her arms. "I was fine on my own."

"No, you were not," Alain replied evenly. Before she could reply, he added, "So, where's a good place to stay?"

"Well, there's the hotel my father was at-" Danielle began, only for Alain to shake his head.

"I'd rather not stay somewhere there are armed men patrolling," he said. "They seemed cordial enough to us back then, but given how wary people are about vampires, I wouldn't put it past them to try and take a shot at the three of us at some point just out of pure fear."

Danielle thought for a bit. "...There's this smaller inn my father used to stay at, before he struck it rich. It's just down the street from here."

"And you think it'd be a good option?"

"It's nearby and it's not the place you just refused to stay at."

"Point taken. Okay, let's head there."

Danielle ended up directing Az on where to go, the two of them taking the lead while Alain and Sable stayed back a bit, keeping their eyes peeled for any movement across the various rooftops as they walked.

"I see you're just as vigilant as ever," Sable commented.

"Have to be at this point," Alain replied. "I know better than to take my chances."

She gave him a nod. "You've become an adept learner, my apprentice."

"The way I see it, I was either going to adapt or die." Alain thought for a moment. "Wonder if this is how my mother felt for all those years… I've been doing this for a few months, and she did it for over a decade. I can't imagine…"

Sable's expression tightened. "I never mentioned this earlier because it wasn't my place, but… Alain, I do not care for the way your mother acts towards you."

"Hm?" Alain asked, looking over to her.

"She abandoned you for over a decade, and then when you invited her back into your life, she refused, saying she had other stuff to take care of," Sable pointed out. "I stand by my statement."

Alain blinked, then gave her a shrug. "You're not wrong," he admitted. "But at the same time, my mom has been a vampire hunter since before I was born, apparently. We have no idea the things she's been up to during that time. For all we know, she could be facing down a possible world-ending event on her own right now. So you're not wrong, but at the same time, I'm willing to give my mother the benefit of the doubt."

"Then you're a nicer person than me," Sable told him. "But then again, what else is new?"

She quickly looked over to Az and Danielle to make sure they were just out of earshot, then leaned in to speak quietly with Alain.

"Have you been practicing with the runes?"

"A little," Alain admitted. "Just enough that I won't get caught."

"Good."

"You know, all the secrecy bothers me," Alain said to her. "Az deserves to be brought into the fold, too. Is there a reason why you're not letting him in? Because initially it was due to him hiding something from us, but now we know that's not his fault."

Sable hesitated, then gave a small sigh. "…Truthfully? I don't want him getting jealous of you."

Alain just stared at her, and a faint dusting of red crossed her face. "Look, Az has been my loyal servant for quite some time now," she insisted. "I owe him a lot… but ultimately, I took you on as my apprentice, not him. I did this out of necessity, sure, but at the same time-"

"You're worried he'll think you're replacing him," Alain finished.

Sable nodded. "Yes."

"Well, no offense, Sable, but that's kind of stupid. I guarantee you Az won't care about this. You should tell him."

"I will," she promised. "Just… not right now; not when we have so many other things to worry about. When the time is right, I'll let him know."

Slowly, Alain nodded. "Alright, then. Let's keep on-"

Movement across one of the rooftops suddenly caught his attention. A shadowy figure jumped from roof to roof, closing in on their position; Alain was able to make out a silver dagger held in the person's hand, glinting in the moonlight as they moved. And they were moving fast, too – not as fast as a vampire, but much faster than a regular human could ever hope; if anything, they reminded Alain of how a professional vampire hunter like his mother would move.

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"Sable, look out!" Alain shouted, shoving her aside and reaching for his holstered revolver just as the figure leaped off the roof, aiming for Sable.

Alain's shove saved her, as the dagger passed by within inches of her head, nicking her across the cheek. Black blood dripped from her wound, staining the ground below. Alain, meanwhile, went to finish drawing his revolver, only for a length of chain to come flying out of the darkness; it snaked around his arm, and before he could do anything else, he was pulled to the ground by it, then started to be dragged away.

Alain struggled to free himself; in the background, he heard the telltale sounds of fighting, and shots being fired. But his struggles were in vain; he was pulled across the street and into a shadowy alley.

The last thing he saw before being knocked unconscious was a boot descending directly onto his head.

XXX

"Wake up."

Cold water was splashed onto his face, and Alain awoke, sitting bolt upright and sputtering. He looked around, though he wasn't able to tell where he was, exactly; only that it was some kind of basement, lit by a single lantern hanging above him. He'd been stripped down to his underwear, his weapons and clothes having been removed from him. And sitting across from him, there were two people, both dressed in robes, an older man wearing white and a younger man wearing black.

The younger man was tall, about his height, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a few days' worth of blonde stubble lining his face. Through the stubble, Alain could see a few thin scars dotting the sides of the man's face, along with a large, jagged chunk missing from the top of his right ear. The older man, meanwhile, had short gray hair and dull green eyes, and was slightly overweight compared to his compatriot.

At first, Alain wasn't sure what to make of the two men before him. His initial thoughts were that they were connected with the cult from that other town, but that thought died when he saw what they were wearing atop their robes.

Both men had a silver crucifix hanging around their necks. And moreover, they were both wearing a priest's collar.

That earned an eyebrow raise from him. Slowly, Alain turned towards the older man.

"Let me guess," he began, "Lutherans?"

The younger man scowled at that and went to take a step forward, but the older man held him back.

"Very funny," he deadpanned. "But if it's all the same to you, we'll be asking the questions here."

"Don't tell me – you want to know why I'm traveling with two vampires and the daughter of the missing senator. No need to confirm it, I already know that's what you're wondering."

The older man sat back in his chair. In spite of that, he kept a solid poker face and wouldn't give Alain any tells if he was right, or if he was dooming his friends. "Then if you'd be so kind?"

"To put it simply, Danielle hired us," Alain said. "The three of us were at New Orleans, you see, and since the Veil was lifted, we decided to go into business, rooting out the more unsavory creatures that lurked on the other side. Business has been good – good enough that she tracked us down and hired us to find her missing father."

"How compelling," the younger man said dryly.

Alain turned to him. "You know, I figured the Catholic Church would take an interest in this sort of thing at some point, but I never suspected… well, whatever this is."

"I thought we were Lutherans to you."

"Buddy, I was raised Catholic. Believe me, I can smell the guilt emanating off of both of you." Alain mirrored the older man, leaning back in his chair. "So, that's the story in a nutshell. Now are you going to tell me why I'm here, and what you've done to my friends?"

"Miss Silvera is upstairs," the older man answered. "As for your so-called friends, the two vampires… we have them in some of the neighboring rooms for questioning. We want to see if your stories line up."

"Well, by all means, take your time," Alain said. "Not like a man's life is on the line or anything."

The old man's expression narrowed. Before he had a chance to say anything else, though, the door to the room opened, and a nun came walking in.

"Father Alex, the others have finished questioning the vampires," she informed him.

"How timely of them," the old priest said. He motioned to the young priest at his side. "Father Corrin, watch him. I'm going to go confirm the stories with the others."

Father Corrin nodded, and Alain watched as Father Alex left the room, closing and locking the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone with each other.

"So," Alain said. "Are you the one who knocked me out earlier?"

Father Corrin said nothing, instead merely giving him a baleful look. Alain scowled, but offered no further words of resistance.

Something told him that unlike the cultists he'd fought earlier, these priests meant business and had the means to back it up.

Alain sat in silence for a while before the door opened once more and Father Alex stepped in. To Alain's surprise, he motioned for Father Corrin to leave, which the younger priest did. Father Alex took his seat, settling in across from Alain before leaning forwards to address him more directly.

"The female vampire mentioned something of interest to us," he said. "She told us that you are her apprentice."

Alain blinked, surprised. Immediately, questions began to race through his mind. Sable had always been careful to keep that a secret from everyone else, so why bring it up now, especially when the priests could just as easily mention it to Az, which he knew she didn't want? She was playing at something here, he just wasn't sure what.

"Is that true?" Father Alex demanded.

Slowly, Alain nodded. "Yes, it is," he said. "It's a new development, though. I'm still very unpracticed with even basic runes."

"My interest in this does not lie in your rudimentary ability to cast basic magic," Father Alex said, sounding very unimpressed. "You have no idea what being apprenticed to a vampire actually means, do you?"

Alain stared at him, saying nothing the entire time. Father Alex's eyes narrowed. "It means she intends for you to serve alongside her when she develops her kingdom."

"I'm sorry, what?" Alain asked. "I mean, I knew about the kingdom thing – she's mentioned it enough times for me to know already – but serving alongside her? We're friends, but in no way are we equals – she's much more capable than I am."

"Clearly, she doesn't see it that way. Now, you tell me – why, of all the options available to her, would a vampire pick a lowly human to serve as her apprentice? Especially when she has the tall man in the suit at her beck and call as well."

"You make it sound like he isn't a vampire."

"Because we know he isn't. We're not sure what he is, exactly, but he's no vampire." Father Alex leaned in once more. "Now answer the question."

"I can't, because I don't know the answer," Alain insisted. "And that's the truth."

"Hm. Another thing – you mentioned that the two of you were friends. That is unusual, to say the least, though I assume you already knew that."

"What's your point?" Alain asked, impatient.

"My point is that nothing about your relationship with those two makes any sense," Father Alex growled. "You claim to be good friends with your natural predator, to the point where you allow her to feed on you. You place a lot of trust in someone who could easily snap your neck and bleed you dry in a heartbeat."

"Sable wouldn't do that," Alain insisted. "And besides, it's different – the two of us have fought alongside each other basically for as long as we've been traveling together. I know I can trust her, because if she was going to try anything, she would've done it already. Hell, it would have been easier for her to have done it back then, if anything; her betraying me the way you seem to suspect she would makes no sense."

Father Alex shook his head. "Regardless of her intentions, you ought to thank her for telling this to us."

"And why is that?"

"Because it just saved all your lives."

Alain's eyes widened just as the door opened again and Father Corrin stepped in, holding his clothes. He placed them on the table in front of Alain, then stepped back.

"Get dressed," Father Alex commanded.

Alain eyed his clothes for a moment before turning back to Father Alex.

"What about my weapons?" he asked.

"You'll get those back later. For now, get dressed and follow us. We have much to discuss."

Alain gave him a suspicious look, but ultimately decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Father Alex unlocked his shackles, and Alain set about getting dressed. Once he was finished, he looked back to the two priests and gave them a nod.

"Okay," he said. "Take me to my friends."