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IV

The night air felt cool around Ellis's face as she and Dreyon ran across the city, moving faster than anyone could see. Dreyon was on the lead, darting ahead. Ellis followed behind, trying her ultimate best to keep up. Whatever it is, Dreyon was fast.

"Where are we going?" Ellis called.

Dreyon didn't answer. But moments later, they skidded to a stop at a nightclub.

"Oh," Ellis squeaked.

That was one seriously low nightclub. It was a small, ratty place. Paint peeled off its walls, and the floor was slick with sewage and rainwater. Pounding music and weak lights swirled around them. It was awful.

"Trust me, no one is going to notice a few missing people in this shithole," Dreyon said easily. Ellis hated the blasé way he said it, as if the people there deserved to be snacks for hungry vampires.

"Let's just get this over with," Ellis growled. She wrapped her coat tighter around her, and stormed into the building.

The second she walked in, the stench nearly blew her off her feet. The entire place reeked of alcohol, sweat, cheap microwaved food, and vomit. Bracing herself, Ellis held her breath and took a step forward.

Along the wall was a bar, where an incredibly fat bartender poured a drink and tossed the empty bottle out a window, a chorus of screeching cats following the smash of glass. A DJ was in a corner, smashing a control box, screaming along with the lyrics of the nastiest song Ellis had ever heard in her life. People, young and old, writhed on the dance floor, throwing their arms in the air and… the way they danced… Ellis wasn't even doing anything, and she was already feeling embarrassed for them.

"So… any preferences?" Dreyon asked. Ellis clenched her teeth as Dreyon came up behind her. "See that guy over there? He looks good."

Dreyon pointed towards a rather good-looking guy sitting at the bar. He had tattoos swirling up his arm and peeping over his collar, and his hair was gelled back, gleaming in the weak light. Right on cue, he turned to look at her, grinning, and waved a glass at her.

"After you," Ellis suggested, her stomach churning. She was dressed in at least three layers of clothes, but that guy stared at her as if she was dressed in nothing.

"Sure," Dreyon shrugged casually. He headed over to the opposite end of the bar, where a small, rather delicate girl sat, sipping on something bright blue. She was dressed modestly enough. Ellis craned her neck, and felt instantly uncomfortable when she saw the girl clearly. That girl had long brown hair, delicate features, and looked disturbingly like Serena. The nose was a little too large, and the eyebrows were a little too thick, but other than that… Ellis scowled and slunk into the shadows, watching.

"Hey," Dreyon sat down beside the girl.

"Hi," the girl said, downing the rest of her drink.

"Do you want another drink?" Dreyon offered.

"It's my…" the girl paused. She counted her fingers slowly, one by one. "It's my… I think… I think it's my fifth drink?"

"Well, one more won't harm you," Dreyon said easily. The girl smiled drunkenly at him, sidling up.

Ellis suddenly felt like vomiting. Thank the heavens it wasn't Serena. Never in a thousand years would Serena ever do anything like that.

"How about…" Dreyon glanced at the menu. "How about a chocolate martini?"

Ellis gritted her teeth. Serena's favorite cocktail was the stupid chocolate martini.

"Too weak," the girl said dismissively. "How about... I know! A Long Island Ice Tea! Hey! You! Bartenter!"

The bartender turned to her.

"Two Long Island Ice Teas! He's paying, so get your stupid money from him, 'kay?"

The bartender glanced at Dreyon pointedly. Shrugging, Dreyon tossed some money onto the bar. Moving as fast as lightning, the bartender grabbed the money and got working. In a few moments, the drinks were ready: icy cold and the perfect for a massive hangover.

Dreyon and the girl drank. They laughed, chatted, and flirted with each other. And Ellis just stood there in the shadows, shifting from foot to foot, and feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Did they forget about her? Probably.

Slowly, Dreyon got to business. He leaned down, almost as if he was about to kiss the girl, but he went a little lower, till his mouth was over her neck. The girl was barely breathing, her eyelashes fluttering prettily over her pale cheekbones.

Then, carefully, delicately, Dreyon bit.

The girl gasped, but didn't do anything.

Then, Dreyon drank.

The girl moaned, and soon, she was seriously barely breathing anymore. Her face continued to grow paler and paler. Her entire body went limp, and in moments, she was as still as death.

Dreyon lifted her up easily, bridal style, and carried her though the back door of the bar. Fuming, Ellis followed.

And the scary thing? No one, not even the bartender who was mixing drinks right in front of them, noticed. Not a single puny human realized that there were two dangerous hunters walking among them, and had killed one of their friends.

Through the back door was a small clearing filled with trash: broken bottles, greasy wrappers, and smashed plates. A few scruffy alley cats darted away the second they stepped out. Very wise of them to do that. Ellis was getting a little hungry, and she didn't want to eat human just yet.

Ellis steadied herself and took a deep breath. The air was filled with the smell of rotting garbage, but anything was better than the stench inside the nightclub. She would love to enjoy the cleaner air for a moment longer, but she turned to Dreyon.

"Wow, great job," Ellis said sarcastically. "So that's what you call a hunt. You pick off some random girl, get her drunk, flirt with her, then you eat her. Beautifully done. I am so proud of you."

Dreyon tossed the girl into the massive pile of trash, where she sank in easily. No one would probably ever find her in this dump.

"That is what you call a hunnnnn…" Dreyon slurred.

"What are you doing?" Ellis said, crossing her arms.

"I… like… hunting…" Dreyon's voice was even more slurred. He straightened up, but stumbled immediately, staggering and tipping over into a pile of garbage. Ellis grabbed his hand and yanked him upright, but he flopped onto her, nearly pushing her down. The reek of alcohol on his breath made her stomach churn.

"All right, you're drunk," Ellis said, shoving him away from her. She pushed him down to the floor, where he leaned against the wall with a groan. Hopefully he'd stay there while she tried to find a way out of their sticky situation.

Ellis sighed. This was getting a teeny bit awkward. Sometimes, vampires eat drunken humans by accident, which would mean that they just drank a whole lot of tainted blood. Of course, the alcohol wouldn't kill the vampire, but it would get them drunk. It's just like drinking a normal can of beer, really, but only twenty times stronger.

The girl mentioned that she drank… five or six drinks? That was an awful lot. To top it off, Dreyon just drank a fair amount of alcohol himself, too.

Ellis sighed one more time. She would probably have to take him back to his home, and dump him in bed, but she had no freaking idea where he lived. Another option would be to just leave him in this reeking dump, but she saw the rats, flies and maggots crawling all over the place… well, she wasn't mean enough to let him spend a night with the pests. No one deserved that.

The final option would be to take him to her home and wait for the alcohol to flush out of his system. As much as Ellis hated having him over, it was the only option that would actually work.

"You owe me big time," Ellis said viciously.

Dreyon just mumbled something unintelligible.

Ellis hauled Dreyon up to his feet and slung his arm over her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, Ellis ran.

With Dreyon loading her down, she couldn't move quickly enough to be invisible to human eyes. The best she could do is this awkward jog, still fast, but completely visible to everyone. A teenaged boy walking his dog gawped at her. An elderly couple taking a stroll gave her a funny look. And to make matters worse, she heard the wife mutter, "Children these days… always getting drunk. Next thing you know, she's sobbing her eyes out and expecting a baby!"

All right. That was slightly over the line. No, that was way over the line, but Ellis forced herself to continue running. She must not stop to snap the old lady's neck. She must not kill anyone.

Soon, they arrived back to her apartment. Unceremoniously, Ellis dumped Dreyon on the couch. The chivalrous thing to do would be to offer him her bed, but please kindly remember that (1) Dreyon was slightly dirty, and Ellis liked her sheets clean and (2) Dreyon was a completely uninvited guest. He would never in a thousand years get a five-star treatment from her.

"There you go," Ellis said, stepping back. Dreyon rolled away from her, still mumbling.

After that, Ellis headed to the kitchen, where she got out a small packet of blood. Usually, she'd add a bit of vodka or whiskey inside, but today… she had seen enough alcohol, thank you very much. Plain was good enough for her.

Ellis finished the blood bag and tossed it out. She stripped off her coat and placed it on a chair.

"Alice?"

Ellis turned to see Dreyon stirring.

"Alice, it's beautiful," Dreyon whispered.

"Who's Alice?" Ellis asked.

"It sounds so good," Dreyon murmured. A sleepy smile spread across his lips.

"Dreyon?" Ellis said.

"It's good. I lo…" Dreyon trailed off. He stirred again, and fell back asleep.

Ellis hesitated. Then, she just shrugged. Dreyon was drunk. Alice was probably some random lover or something.

Ellis went to a closet and got out a thick, warm blanket before tossing it over Dreyon. For the good measure, she also got a small stuffed animal to tuck under his head. And finally, she got a small pail from the kitchen and placed it beside him, just in case if he needed to throw up in the morning during the hangover hours.

Then, Ellis went to bed. It was definitely a very interesting, if not somewhat educational day.