Pete lay there reliving the experience of his first magical experience. Being a mage is cool. Being a mage is dangerous. The delicious feeling of his power raged in his mind. Like a breath of cold wind, he was distracted by a pet voice,
"You are careless. I can understand this magic now. I'll be careful."
"Trank, what about the dragon's presence? I don't understand? You are a dracat. Aren't you as one as a dragon and a cat?"
"It's complicated. I'm not ready to answer that. It's not unity. It's complicated."
"I understand that you are still a little cub. What does your willingness to understand magic mean?"
"It's simple. The old mage from Plas was human. I can convey his thoughts to you. I cannot understand his thoughts. I understand you."
"Can you learn this spell and apply it through my body? You have controlled my body and dodged sword blows."
"I can act you. I cannot control you. You are your own master for yourself. You wanted to survive on your own."
It was an interesting concept of symbiosis. Pete thought that Trank was right. He certainly does want to survive. The question is another. Does Dracat understand what his goals are? He understands the important aspirations for the moment in time. But will he be able to understand and accept Pete Harrison's place in the world? But does he understand what he wants to accomplish?
"We will grow, Brother. Buy me a portal to my world. I'll be there. You will be alone."
"10,000 gold coins is a lot of money," the young man sighed.
"You buried eight rings in the ground. I saw it. I remembered."
"Let's not grieve for the spilled milk. Tomorrow we'll start working for the vampires. But Scarlet's attempt to weaken me inspires distrust in them."
"Distrust. Caution. Attention. We'll get through this. We won't spill the milk."
***
In the morning, the friends ate breakfast and set out to meet the vampires. At the crossroads at the entrance to the summoners' guild stood a man in a dark cloak. The sun had not yet risen and the city was faintly lit. The vampire had already covered his head with his hood. His voice sounded quiet,
"Follow me summoner."
A spot of teleportation flashed on the stones of the road between them. Pete was no longer surprised by such wonders and stepped into the new place following the vampire.
Castle Angus greeted his guest with the calm friendliness of a confident host. There was no small chamber for arrivals here. He looked around. High walls surrounded a stately building of dark stone. The castle was adorned with statues. The vampire stood and waited for his guest to look around. Pete finished admiring the castle and looked at his guide. The vampire nodded his head and walked towards the tall doors.
They climbed the steps and came to the entrance of the castle. The doors opened slowly before the visitors. The atmosphere brought back memories of horror movies. But the inside was more pleasant and comfortable. They walked down a wide corridor from hall to hall. Pete could see the paintings on the walls and the statues by the walls. The atmosphere was full of reverence and respect for the castle's owners.
In another hall, the vampire stopped in front of a closed door. He knocked and opened the door.
"The summoner has come," the vampire announced.
He turned and walked past the young man. Pete entered the hall.
It was a large room. Harrison again noted the presence of large windows, which were open and let the sunlight into the room perfectly. Vampires are not afraid of sunlight! On the one hand, this was news. On the other hand, it meant that his knowledge of vampires from Earth would be of interest to the local bloodsuckers.
There was a large table in the center of the room. The table was surrounded by several armchairs with high backs. One of the chairs stood out. It was the chair of the master of the castle. All the armchairs were empty. A voice came from the fireplace,
"Glad to welcome a new wanderer to Ark."
Pete turned his attention to the fireplace and saw two armchairs nearby. In one of the chairs sat a young man. The summoner approached the vampire with a slow, quiet step. He had already assessed the vampire's appearance. The vampire looked like a young man in his prime. There was a slight stubble on his face. He had the correct facial features of a handsome young man. Pete knew at once that this vampire had been around for more than a hundred years. Now he knew what an old vampire looked like. The face was young but had lost all its colors. It was a pleasant light gray color. Only the narrow lips still had a faint hint of pink. The attentive gaze of the pale blue eyes was frightening in its expression.
Eternity was looking at the young man. Calm and cold, wise and menacing, living and dead, Eternity looked at Pete Harrison with indifference.
"It is a pleasure to welcome you. Thank you for the opportunity to be of service," Pete replied and bowed his head in a slight bow. He felt no humiliation or pressure on himself. He made a natural gesture to someone worthy of respect.
"Have a seat by the fire. Tell me about the vampires of your world. Don't be afraid to confuse me. I have heard many stories of vampires from different worlds. I will gratefully listen to what you have to say."
"Please allow me to introduce myself.
I am a man of no wealth but taste."
Pete Harrison wanted to start the conversation with this misspelled phrase from the song. A faint smile appeared on his face and he called his name, "Pete Harrison."
The vampire did not call his name in response. No hint of emotion appeared on his face. He waited for the sequel.
The young man sat back in his chair and felt sympathy for the vampire. Fire is good. Fire is nice. It is the best part of their companionship. Pete began to tell a story about the vampires of Earth. He spoke at length and his monologue caused fatigue and a sense of the worthlessness and nothingness of his knowledge. Pete didn't look at the vampire's face. At the beginning of the story, he looked into the fire and continued to speak without taking his eyes off the flames. But occasionally the young man turned his head again and noticed the gaze of the silent attentive listener. The dead man's eyes were unsettling and disturbing.
Pete finished his story and waited for questions.
The vampire closed his eyes and continued to remain silent.
The silence did not cause any discomfort! The young man felt relieved and quiet confidence returned to him.
"Well done. The deal started well. They'll pay us for everything."
"Of course they will. We made a deal with Scarlet. It's a high-grade mission. About 1,000 gold coins," Pete agreed with the pet.
"Poison. You paid 27 gold for the drink. They'll pay for the poison in it."
"You couldn't have discussed this subject earlier? This vampire seems very important to me. I'll talk to Scarlet about compensation."
"Compensation. That's a good word. They'll compensate us," Trank retorted with a satisfied purr.
The vampire opened his eyes and Pete stopped having a mental conversation with Dracat.
"Dracat summoner." The vampire said quietly. His gaze diverted slightly from the young man's face. The vampire looked at his left shoulder and continued. "It is a pleasure to greet you, dracat."
The fabric of the hood moved and the pet showed his muzzle.
"Meow," Trank meowed loudly.
A faint smile appeared on the vampire's lips. He rose from his chair and made a gesture of invitation to the table.
"We can continue this conversation over food. I hope you've had time to get hungry, summoner and dracat."
The vampire walked over to the table and sat in the castle master's chair. Pete got up and walked over to the table. He paused and could not quickly decide where he belonged. He now realized that his interlocutor was probably the most important vampire of the clan. Should he sit next to him or choose a chair on the opposite side of the table?
The summoner's confusion was interrupted by the girl's appearance. She quietly opened the door and entered the hall. The girl walked past the young man and approached the vampire. She placed a tray with three ceramic bottles and glass goblets on the table. The girl moved the contents of the tray onto the table. Then she pulled back the chair closest to the vampire and took the empty tray. Pete realized that his doubt had been resolved and his place had been pointed out to him. He nodded his thanks to the girl and sat down next to the vampire. His host had already chosen one glass and moved one of the bottles over to himself. Pete saw that he was well taken care of. There were glass and a small bowl of the glass in front of him. About the contents of the bottles, the vampire said,
"Juice and unicorn milk. For you and your pet."
When dracat heard about the unicorn milk he immediately jumped on the table and sat down by the bowl.
"Unicorn milk! It's delicious. I want it. Give it to me."
Pete didn't hesitate and took the bottle that stood next to the bowl. He removed the ceramic plug from the neck and gently splashed some of the contents into the bowl.
"Give me more."
Trank's voice in his head almost growled with anticipation of the delicious milk. Pete reassured the pet,
"I checked. Maybe there was juice in the bottle. I'll pour a full bowl now."
The young man closed the milk bottle and set it on the table. Then he filled his glass with juice.
The vampire had time to fill his glass, too. Pete saw the color of the drink and realized that the vampire was drinking blood. The contents of the glass were a dark red color. Wine? Not in this world.
The vampire lifted the goblet and invited a treat,
"Here's to a long and bright life for us."
Pete raised his glass and took a sip of juice.
"Half a century ago, a wanderer from your world came to our city. He had a short life. And he had talent. I liked the songs of your world. The Rolling Stones are good songs, but I prefer The Doors."