Chapter 1: Arrival

“Secretary Ava, where are you going?!” yells one of the citizens, as I rush into the main hall.

“Sorry, but I’m in a hurry!” I shout back at him while fingering my light brown hair.

With my high heels clicking against the floor, various sheets of paper flutter out from the folders tucked under my arm. It’s tough keeping hold of them when having to step around the many citizens sitting against the walls. I even yell out my apologies when sprinting past them, but it does little to stop the looks of confusion and discontent pointing my way. But taking a moment to explain isn’t an option right now. It’ll start any moment now.

Then comes the sound of numerous explosions outside, stopping me in my tracks in front of the hallway window. Bright white orbs light up the sky as if someone had called upon the sun on this cold, rainy night. The light peeking through each window was like an exaggerated sunrise, one that forces me to avert my eyes in fear of blindness. And as it’s dwindling, I stomp my heel.

“No, this shouldn’t be happening!” I shout, before continuing down the hall. I can’t stand around any longer, I need to know why this happened.

The farther I run through these halls towards the mayor’s office, the emptier it gets. Those taking refuge aren’t allowed this far, leaving me with the distant sound of explosions muffled by the pouring rain, along with the echo of my heels clicking against these marble floors.

“Mayor, we have an emergency!” I shout, slamming open his door with bated breath.

To my dismay, I find him gazing out his window. His sitting posture is upright, and the small ashtray on his desk is empty. He should be smoking his evening cigar right about now, but since he isn't, something must be on his mind. As his assistant, I’ve come to notice these small details as a way to avoid getting on his bad side.

He’s a large man. A large feline man to be precise. His face almost never twists into a smile or a grin, as he’s always scowling. He isn’t the type of creature to mess around, and he is quick to judge those that inconvenience him. If I so much as forget to file an important document on time, my competence would come into question. That’s the type of demeanor he carries, so I suspect he must be furious.

“What is it, Ava? Are there more citizens seeking refuge?” He asks with a tinge of annoyance in his voice while turning his chair towards me. His pointy orange ears twitching.

“No sir, something isn’t right! Someone reinstated clearance for defensive measures to be taken!” I explain to him while fidgeting with the remaining documents in my folder, just to realize how much I have left.

“Unfortunate really. It was a temporary measure after all.” He says while pointing towards the clock on the wall.

“But sir, they’re supposed to be arriving soon!”

“And they’re late…” He says with a pointed glare. “It’s funny, considering the ringleader leading that little band of savages, you’d think they’d at least manage to make it here on time.”

“Sir, their ‘ringleader’ was the only vampire willing to cooperate with us. With him dead, we’ll never get a chance like that again!”

How can he be so calm? It’s uncharacteristic even for him. I made sure to give clear instructions to the mages academy for a ceasefire in the city; instructions he told me to relay. Worst of all, they even used an experimental weapon as a defensive measure. None of this is making sense.

“Hmm, perhaps your instructions weren’t clear enough.”

“Huh, what do you-”

“Ah, yet again, you’ve fallen short of what it takes to be a reliable secretary. And it’s thanks to your incompetence that things turned out grave!” He says while getting up from his seat. His large gut is raring to burst through the buttons of his dress shirt as he looks at me with contempt, expecting me to apologize.

With a gulp, I tuck a length of my long light brown hair behind my ear. “Sir, I… now is not the time for-”

He sighs. “Oh, so now you're avoiding my constructive criticism? Honestly, you're utterly hopeless.”

His words sting more than usual, but maybe he’s right. That spell the academy used was developed to eradicate vampires caught in its light, similar to how the sun would during the day. My hope was to garner a relationship with them, but now that isn’t possible. They’re dead, and it’s my fault. I don’t want to imagine how much bloodier this war will get.

The mayor's phone begins to ring. I assume it has something to do with what's happening outside.

He hits a button to put the call on speaker. “Mayor Greene here.”

“Sir, there’s a group of vampires in front of the capital! They said they are welcomed guests. Should I let them in?”

Vampires? There’s no way, right?

“Nonsense, your eyes must be deceiving you Caleb. Haven’t I told you to stop overworking yourself? Now you’re at the point where you’re hallucinating on the job.” Mayor Greene says with a wave of his hand, before scratching the orange fur on his face.

“No sir! I assure you I’ve been getting a good night's sleep, but enough about that. The leader's name is ‘Sintobi Temory’, and they don’t seem to be acting aggressive…”

The mayor's expression tenses up, leaving an awkward silence between the three of us. This is amazing. These guys must be way more special than we thought.

“Uh, Mayor Greene?” Caleb says over the phone.

“Ehem! Of course, Mr.Temory. Please see to it that he and his band are treated with the utmost respect.” Mayor Greene says before hanging up. “Well would you look at that Ava, it seems that our guests have arrived in one piece. It seems like you were worrying over nothing.”

“Perhaps I was…” I say with reluctance, noticing his grin. Unlike his usual demeanor, where it’s apparent that he’s just playing cordial, I sense an insincerity. The kind that forces a smile so rigid that his teeth seem to grind against each other. The kind that is making me uncomfortable.

For a man that never makes an effort to smile, I’m sure this is the best he could do. But it makes me think. Who canceled the ceasefire?

“Well, let’s not dilly-dally! We shouldn’t test the patience of our guests any longer.” he says before making his way to the door.

“Understood…”

“...Damn vampires.” he mumbles with a click of his tongue, still gritting his teeth as he walks past me into the hall. Well that answers my suspicions…

Following behind him, I notice that the explosions outside have ceased. Now left with the rythmic sound of my own beating heart, I start to feel anxious. But how can I not, I am meeting the leader of the Temory clan after all. Which is the group responsible for pretty much all vampire activity across Hunter’s End.

I wonder what kind of man it takes to lead such a group. Goodness, I shouldn’t be getting this excited.

“...Ava, have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?” he asks, looking back at me.

“No sir, I didn’t quite catch what you just said. Could you repeat it?”

He takes a deep sigh. “Daydreaming again? Oh my, I just don’t know what to do with you sometimes.”

Great, that’s another strike against me.

“I need you to stay on your toes. I hear those vampires can be quite bewitching, especially to those without a good head on their shoulders. Be careful Ava.”

“Thank you sir, I will.” I nod.

I hope this meeting ends up working out, because it seems like only one of us wants it to work out.