"You said your trouble is not so bad. What the heck was that?" Ezra couldn't help but ask Genesis as they speed walked to the elevator.
"It's not that bad." Genesis said, a grin still on her face. She turned to Olivia. "Secrecy." She said.
Olivia nodded before her wings disappeared into her back and Genesis' axe faded into thin air, making them look like disheveled but normal people, albeit too good looking.
He glanced around the quiet hallway. The neighbors were all in their apartments. "How did everyone not hear the fight? I could have sworn the building was shaking."
"That's the purpose of the black zone." Olivia jammed the elevator button and they had to watch as the elevator ascended to their floor. "It isolates a surrounding area, allowing us vampires to fight without exposing ourselves to the world. Sound, light, motion, nothing enters and nothing leaves. We had to cut our way out."
"Shit!" Ezra swore. "Sarah's not a Count, is she? If this is how dangerous Genesis' trouble is, just how dangerous is Olivia's trouble?"
He needed to know what he was dealing with to be able to come up with a plan.
"That's why we turned you, isn't it?" Genesis grunted as her flesh bubbled, a new arm growing like a time lapse video.
Ding!
The elevator arrived and they piled in.
"If you expect me to fight all your battles for you, count me out. I'm not dying for anyone when my eternity barely just began." Ezra said.
"Of course not." Genesis scoffed. "As you are, Sarah would rip you to shreds in a second."
Ezra knew that was true. He wasn't a full vampire yet. "How do I get my powers?"
"Later." Genesis said. "I'll show you."
"You better take care of yourself first. You almost got ripped to shreds." Olivia told Genesis like she was talking about the weather. She turned to Ezra. "We don't need you to fight for us. Only your existence solves half of our problems."
"My existence?" Ezra was confused. What the heck were they talking about? He wasn't some kind of god.
"First, you have to understand that vampire covens can only be formed with at least one male." Olivia lectured as the elevator descended. "And male vampires are hard to find."
"What do you mean?" Ezra frowned. "How hard could it be? Just find a dude and bite him."
"It's not that easy. Due to the Y chromosome present in the male gene, the vampire virus has a hard time turning men into vampires. Biting any man you see is more likely to cause his death."
"And I assume there are ways to find the perfect male." Ezra said.
"Yes." Genesis interjected. "There are some genetic markers in the blood of some men that indicate that they'll survive the turning. You are one of those men."
Ding!
The elevator opened to show the underground parking lot of the building. They followed as Olivia led the way. "She's right. Vampires who are trying to form a coven have to sneak into hospitals and find men with those markers themselves. Or pay others to do it. That's how we found you."
They walked to an expensive, black hover car. "Damn it." Olivia paused, glancing up at something only she could see. "Sarah's out of the black zone. Let's get out of here. I used up most of my vitality creating that."
"Get in." Olivia entered the driver's seat and Genesis entered the passenger side. Ezra took a moment to admire the car before sitting at the back.
"Where were we?" Genesis asked as Olivia started the car and pulled out of her parking space. "Male vampires are not only valued for how uncommon they are but also because of the benefits they bring to their coven."
"Benefits?"
"Sex." Genesis grinned. "Not ordinary sex but powerful sex."
Ezra's eyebrows climbed higher on his forehead.
"As undead creatures, we do not produce our own vitality and that's why we consume blood." Olivia explained as she drove. "However, when a male vampire and female vampire engage in sexual intercourse, it allows us to create more vitality than we could get from just drinking blood."
"That's one of the reasons why your existence will grant us a reprieve. Having a new coven will make Count Griffin's power base increase. For this benefit, he'll have to stop the fight between Sarah and Genesis. Male vampires are hard to come by after all. No one wants you to be collateral damage."
"As for me, having a male vampire will let me accumulate vitality rapidly. This would let me bridge the gap in power between me and the hunters Count Solomon would be sending after me."
"The only reason I'm still alive is because Count Solomon is unwilling to tell anybody what I stole. If he does, they'd rather take it for themselves than help him. And as I am currently under Griffin's protection, he can't hand me over to Solomon without a good reason. If he does, he'll lose the trust of his subordinates and no Count wants that."
Ezra nodded, ruminating on what he'd heard. He took a moment to appreciate the fact that he'd be having sex with two beautiful vampires before compartmentalizing it.
It was a good thing that not many people knew what Olivia stole. This meant that for now, their available option was as a coven under the greedy Count Griffin he'd heard about.
The hover car zoomed through the streets of First City, the lights of the various holographic adverts painting their faces as they got closer to their destination. He could see the various ads endorsing Itachi Yaiba as mayor.
Itachi Yaiba, richest man in First City and a mayoral candidate. A known supporter of self-driving cars. Self-driving cars have been outlawed in the Republic due to the rampant hacking by criminals.
"Where are we going?" He asked the women.
"The City Lord's domain."
"City Lord?"
Olivia glanced at him through the windshield mirror, her iris spinning rapidly in her eyes. "The three Counts are under the control of the City Lord. The City Lord rules over all vampires in the city. We need to go there to make you a legal vampire."
"What do you mean legal vampire? I'm already a vampire, aren't I?"
"All vampires are required by law to register under the City Lord in the city where they are turned. Failure to do so will result in death. No exceptions. We do have a grace period of seven days to complete your registration but as you can see, we don't have the time."
"So, you guys have a government?" Ezra asked.
"Yup." Genesis nodded. "And they're not very nice."
At that moment, a police siren went off for a second and a police hover car appeared behind them.
"It's the police."
"Let's ignore them." Genesis suggested.
"We can't. Remember the Law of Secrecy." Olivia sighed. "Glamour, now."
Both women's features began to change, their eyes turning an identical blue. "Here." Genesis passed him dark sunglasses and he wore them, hiding his red eyes from view.
The hover car slowed to a stop inside a lonely tunnel and the police car parked behind them. A police officer stepped out of the car in his white uniform and walked towards them.
"License and registration please." The officer bent his waist to peer into the car. With his white cap restraining his blonde hair and dark sunglasses on his handsome face, he looked like an actor from a blockbuster cop movie.
Olivia opened the glove compartment and produced the necessary documents. The picture in her license had blue eyes like she did now. The officer examined the documents before returning them. "May I see your IDs?" He asked.
"Officer?"
The officer pushed down his sunglasses revealing red iris spinning lazily. "May I see your IDs? Your vampire IDs."