Gabriel
The silence in the old church was different.
Not the tense silence of the monastery, filled with suppressed cries and trembling prayers. Not the heavy silence of the night when we snuck into the chapel to find our weapons.
This silence was… peaceful.
My eyes wandered over the crumbling walls. Dust covered the old pews, and cobwebs hung from the high windows. The walls were cracked, yet the symbols—ancient prayers carved into the stone—were still visible.
Someone had lived here. Someone like us.
"This was a hunter's hideout." Michael's voice was quiet, almost reverent. He ran his fingers over an inscription on the wall. "Lumen Dei was here."
Raphael leaned against one of the columns, the lance resting casually on his shoulder. "Does that mean we'll find supplies here?"
Michael snorted. "Probably just bones and memories."
I approached the old altar, running my fingers along its cold surface. There was more here than just memories.
There were secrets.
Raphael
"We need a teacher."
I expected an argument. I expected Gabriel to insist on taking responsibility himself—like always. But this time, he only looked at me and nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Michael, who had settled on one of the broken pews, raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly are we supposed to find one? I don't have a directory for retired vampire hunters in my pocket."
I twirled the lance in my hand. "Then we'll search for clues."
Gabriel sighed, shaking his head. "We barely have any food, no allies, and every damn vampire in London is hunting us. Finding a teacher can wait."
I stepped closer to him. "Really? How long, brother? Until one of those bloodsuckers catches us in an alley? Or until the church finally tracks us down?"
Gabriel stayed silent.
I knew I was right.
Michael rubbed the back of his neck. "If there are any old hunter records here, we should find them. Maybe hunters don't leave addresses… but they leave trails."
Gabriel gave me a sharp look, then nodded. "Fine. Let's search."
Michael
The archive was a disaster.
Broken books, burned parchments, shattered wooden crates.
But in the darkness of the old chamber beneath the church, we found it.
A hunter's chronicle—an ancient book filled with names and locations where hunters had once been.
Gabriel carefully flipped through its brittle pages. "Here…" He stopped, his eyes narrowing. "This name keeps coming up."
I leaned in to see.
"Isaac Crowe—the Fallen Hunter."
Raphael grinned. "He sounds friendly."
Gabriel kept reading. "He was one of the best hunters of Lumen Dei. But ten years ago, he was banished. No one knows why."
"And now?" I asked. "Do you know what to do?"
Gabriel looked at us.
"Now we find him."