III

Ellis spent the rest of the night scrubbing. Scrubbing at the floor, scrubbing at the soiled carpet, and finally scrubbing the splatters off the wall. The blood on the floor came off easily, the ones on the carpet taking at least an hour, and the wall… her beautiful, fresh, white wall would forever be scarred with odd brownish smears for the rest of its life.

Ellis tossed the grimy rag into the trash, since it was literally reeking to the high heavens. She scrubbed the blood off her hands, and slumped back against the counter with a sigh, sagging slowly to the ground. She checked her watch.

3:30 AM

Yeah, that was late… or early, to be more accurate.

Ellis swallowed, her throat constricting in so much pain she coughed and gagged. She hadn't eaten a single drop of blood since the moment she came home, and for a while, her thirst was forgotten. Now that she was done, it came back full force.

Now… Mustering whatever strength she had left, she ran to the nearest bar. The light and darkness muted and blurred around her as she swirled in, grabbed a bottle of raspberry vodka and grapefruit juice, and blazed home. Without stopping, she whirled into the shower, and in moments, she was back at the kitchen, crisp and clean, mixing together the juice and vodka. Smiling, she watched the liquid turn into a brilliant shade of scarlet before popping in some ginger and rosemary sprigs. Raspberry, Grapefruit, and Rosemary Martinis always made her happy.

Last but not least, once everything was done, she carefully opened a bag of blood, pouring it in. Immediately, the liquid flushed into a dark shade of crimson. To most people, the original shade of scarlet was prettier, but to Ellis, she preferred the deeper hue. It reminded her of revenge.

Closing her eyes, Ellis took a good, long drink. Bit by bit, her energy returned to her, filling her with blissful cool. It was all very lovely, a beautiful end to a terrible night.

Πρωί ως το σούρουπο

The next morning, Ellis woke up, still tired, but feeling considerably better. Sleepily, she stumbled out of bed, brushed her teeth, tucked herself into jeans and a plaid shirt, and got ready for school. After a quick breakfast, she headed out the door.

Serena was waiting for her in the shade. Immediately, Ellis found herself smiling as she headed over.

"Hi," Serena said, handing her a coffee cup.

Ellis took a sip and her smile widened. Serena was always so good at making Blood Chocolate. The blend of chocolate, milk, and blood was perfect.

"Thanks," Ellis said, taking another sip.

Serena smiled kindly, cupping her hands around the warm Styrofoam. "What happened? You look tired,"

"Yeah, I know," Ellis said. Without further ado, she told Serena about everything that had happened the previous night, from meeting Dreyon to cleaning up the mess he left behind. Once she was done, they were a little over halfway to school, and Serena had a look of frozen shock on her face.

"You should have called me!" Serena said, aghast.

"It's all right, I didn't mind cleaning it up," Ellis said, failing to sound convincing when she was interrupted by a massive yawn.

Serena sighed. Soon, the school appeared into view, but Ellis's smile faded as she saw a rather unpleasant surprise at the gate.

"Dreyon," Serena hissed.

Sure enough, the little brat himself was standing there, leaning against the gate casually, as if owned the entire place. Students swarmed in and out of the courtyard, not talking to him, but definitely not ignoring him either, lowering their eyes in respect and even nodding from time to time.

"Sorry Dreyon. I'd love to talk, but I got some homework to catch up on. You know, I was really busy last night…" Ellis said breezily, walking past him. Serena casually gave him the finger, her little hand flying so fast that no one saw it but the intended person.

Suddenly, something cold clamped over Ellis's wrist. It was Dreyon's hand. Serena snarled, quiet but viciously. Ellis yanked her hand away and took a few steps back, just to be on the safe side. If he wanted a fight, fine. Yeah, she'd get a pretty heavy punishment, but she'd take him down with her.

"That's no excuse for not doing your homework," Dreyon said. A strange, silky quality crept into his voice. "I thought you were a good student."

"I am," Ellis said sweetly. "Now, we wouldn't want my fresh, clean record to be broken, right? So we'll just head off now, and see you later."

With that, Ellis turned sharply on her heel, and followed Celine into the school.

Πρωί ως το σούρουπο

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, which was why Ellis was on high alert when she and Serena entered the Cafeteria for lunch. Dreyon hadn't bothered them. Goodness sake, he barely even glanced at them after the morning incident for hours. Inwardly, Ellis was starting to wish that Dreyon would just… I don't know, throw a blood bomb at her head or something.

The second they stepped in, Ellis located Dreyon at the opposite end of the hall. Good. Let him stay there.

Ellis and Serena found themselves seats, sat down, and opened their packs.

Vampires could eat human food, but it was like eating dirt: edible, but disgusting and useless. That was why they preferred to bring their own lunches, with blood carefully disguised inside. Serena had a small bowl of pasta drenched in thick blood sauce, and Ellis had some blood tofu and a bottle of 'tomato juice' for lunch.

Thank goodness no one asked why their food was always so red.

Of course, the peace wouldn't last forever.

Ellis had barely stuck a spoon in her tofu when Dreyon sauntered over.

"I'm hungry, Dreyon. Please don't make me give up my snack again," Ellis snarled.

"I'm not here to take your food," Dreyon said. "Last time I recall, you were the one who gave it to me."

"So that you can stop eating people," Ellis countered.

Dreyon laughed. "You're hilarious. How old are you?"

Ellis swallowed. It had been centuries since she had to calculate her age. "About… five hundred?"

"Five hundred?" Dreyon said, a bit of shock lacing his voice.

"Yeah, I know, I'm ancient. I'm supposed to be filled with eternal knowledge and whatnot." Ellis scowled. "Glad to tell you that yes, I've seen lots of stuff, but I won't be sprouting prophecies or giving away precious advice for anyone to hear."

Dreyon chuckled. "When was the last time you've hunted?"

Ellis shrugged casually. She hoped he meant animals. "Last year, when I was in Canada."

Dreyon nodded slowly, turned, and walked away.

"What do you think he's up to?" Serena said warily.

Ellis shrugged. "I have no idea."

Πρωί ως το σούρουπο

For the rest of the day, Dreyon didn't bother any of them. Nevertheless, Ellis didn't bother relaxing. Dreyon was definitely prowling in the shadows and waiting for a chance to snap at her.

Sure enough, her prediction was correct. When she opened her locker, ready to grab her books to head home, a little note was lying among her books.

Hello, Ellis.

Meet me at six. We're hunting.

If you don't, you know what I can do. A Clan war might stain your record.

Ellis moaned, slumping against the locker. That bastard, that stupid, bloody bastard…

Vampire Clan wars were terrible things. It always ended with thousands of people dying. She had been through terrible ones, and she did not want to go through any more of them. Maybe Dreyon was bluffing, but Ellis really didn't want the entire town she was in to be leveled by hordes of bloodthirsty monsters.

"You win," Ellis hissed. But she couldn't help adding, "For now."

Πρωί ως το σούρουπο

Later that night, Ellis slipped out of her apartment quietly after finishing her homework, striding out the door. The night air was crisp and cool on her face, tinged with a bit of moisture from the earlier drizzle. People were rushing home, and the air was filled with the aromas of cooking dinners.

Ellis's boots clicked on the stone cobbles as she headed into an alley. She thought about leaning against the wall, but since the wall was covered in a nasty greenish moss, she chose to stand still and cross her arms instead.

There was a flash of shadow, and Dreyon appeared before her, smirking.

"You've dressed up," Dreyon noted.

Ellis felt her face warm. Well… yes, she did dress up a bit nicer than usual, but she could still move and fight. The trench coat did seem a little dramatic, but the high-heeled black boots could definitely pack a nasty punch.

"So?" Ellis said back. "It's a cold night, I don't want to freeze to death."

Dreyon laughed, but it wasn't a kind one. He tipped his head to one side, and his eyes glowed red.

"Let's hunt."

A quick note: Blood tofu (血豆腐) exists. It's not a made-up thing. You can actually find that in China.