On the other side of the city...
An unbelievably handsome young man burst through the doors to an office, his gorgeous eyes were frantic and they immediately locked on the man sitting behind the desk.
Despite being extremely flustered, he wasn't panting although he had most definitely run up the stairs because the lift was taking too long. In fact, he wasn't breathing at all.
Because he wasn't human.
"Boss! Sir! Another one! Around the same area as the last time, but this time, he was-" The man gulped, "He was burned."
The man he was reporting to didn't look up until he finished typing his document and with every 'clack' of his keyboard, the informant cringed.
Finally, his boss lifted his head and levelled him with an icy glare.
If the first man was handsome, his boss was beyond perfection. Rehan Caruso had the kind of face you would normally see in cologne advertisements (and under his immaculately tailored suit, he had the kind of body you would normally see on underwear advertisements too).
His dark hair was expertly styled and his piercing amber eyes made you feel like he could stare into your soul, or maybe set you on fire.
"What do you mean 'burned'?" Regan's voice was smooth like velvet, but his tone was so severe that his underling felt the room's temperature drop drastically.
"He... he was," The man took a deep breath, trying to forget the gruesome crime scene, "He was melted with holy water and a... a cross was burned into his forehead."
Rehan raised an eyebrow.
"One of the new ones, then?" He guessed. Contrary to popular belief, not all vampires were susceptible to garlic, holy water, sunlight and even a stake through the heart. As a vampire got older and more experienced, the more immune they would get. Of course, full immunity was practically impossible, but only the newer, younger vampires would be done in by a holy water dousing.
"It was Dyanes, sir," The man reporting nodded, "He was attached to the team for the lower East side of the city. Pyol was killed on the outskirts of that area too!"
The first case had been a simple stake through the heart. But this had been far more brutal and Rehan swiftly came to a decision.
"Keep an eye on the area, put an extra team on it and I'll make a trip down in a few days," he ordered.
The man straightened as he heard his boss's calm, authoritative tone. There was zero hesitation in the way Rehan assumed command and it made him feel very assured.
Boss will sort it out, he told himself as he left the office, he's not the head of our vampire clan for nothing!
On the other side of the city...
Around the same time, Vari Mactans pressed a handwritten talisman on the forehead of the man who was leaning down to kiss her.
With a howl, he jerked back, fingers scrabbling at the flimsy piece of paper. Already his skin was smoking, and he failed to pull the paper off as his fingers were burnt with every attempt.
Ever since Vari had killed her first supernatural creature, she had unlocked the ability to detect non-human creatures and had spent the last few weeks going after werewolves, vampires and ghouls.
This latest boyfriend was a demon of some sorts, but it had taken several tries to get rid of him. Originally, she had employed some of her basic skills and it was only after doing some research that she found out that what she needed was an Eastern talisman rather than what she'd been using and so she had taken some time to track down the correct professional who would show her how to do it properly.
She'd added the skill into her collection and had practised a couple of times to build it up, in case this demon was a powerful one.
Her supernatural detector only informed her if the person wasn't human and she never knew if she was hopelessly outmatched or not.
After that encounter with Lester, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
And so, she dated the demon while figuring out how to kill him. Unlike the other men so far, he had been insufferable and she had been sorely tempted to kill him sooner.
But she had bided her time and let him treat her to good food and expensive wine that she didn't know how to drink. She let him buy her dresses and shoes, and in the meantime, used her abilities to keep him charmed and infatuated.
She knew that without her charming skills, seducing her targets would be hard work. But all she had to do was turn it on and smile, and bam! They were hooked.
By the time she had finished her cup of tea, the demon had evaporated, leaving behind a piece of paper that fluttered in the wind.
Smiling, she got up to leave and then paused, scanning the lush apartment that had once belonged to the demon.
She didn't want to stay where this douchebag had, but he did have good taste in tea sets and plates...