The rest of the week practically flew past us. Sirius was slowly recovering, and the little setback thankfully hadn’t ruined his progress. The wound was closing up, and his body was gaining strength. On Friday, he was even able to walk around the room a bit. It had been a massive relief for us all to see how well he was already doing.

I’d stayed with Sirius as much as I could, but because of the penthouse, I now had a lot more errands to run on his behalf. He was ordering a lot of stuff for his new home, though there still was paperwork and other things to deal with before the penthouse was finally his and ready to be moved in. We still had a lot to do before Sirius could get out of the clinic.

And then there was my new hobby.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” a tall man in a black hoodie and sweat said, speaking from behind his desk that had several small cardboard boxes and a gun resting on it.

The rest five of us stood behind similar desks with similar items on them, and no matter how curious I was to take a closer look at the boxes, I kept my eyes on the instructor, Mr. Graaf.

“Last time, we learned about different types of handguns and how to use them, but from now on, we’ll be focusing on the most commonly used gun, the Harbinger,” Mr. Graaf spoke.

I nodded with the rest of the group. The guns Mike had let me borrow were both Harbingers, X67 and X98, as I quickly learned. This intensive crash course taught by this orc was Mike’s idea, and I now had three classes each week for the next couple of months. At least the classes were only one and a half hours long, so it didn’t take too much of my free time.

“The gun in front of you is a Harbinger X11. Make sure the gun isn’t loaded, and the safety is on when you pick it up.”

He gave us a moment to do as he said. I couldn’t really tell the guns apart yet, but that was why I was here. It looked exactly the same as the ones I had at the clinic.

“X11 is a somewhat failed hybrid that technically can fire almost every type of Harbinger bullet there is. I say failed, because it is lacking in performance and durability, and because it tends to break the bullets ten times more often than its sisters. It is good for self-defense, but I am not bringing it with me to a fight, and neither should you,” Mr. Graaf spoke. “It is, however, a perfect gun for our course because of its flexibility.”

I peered at the boxes on my desk. Each of them had different kinds of bullets in them, but I waited before touching anything.

“The bullets in front of you are B56, B63, B67, B97 and B98. Like I mentioned last time, if you have B56 bullets – iron bullets – you should have an X56 gun, which can fire iron bullets. The numbers have to match. It’s very simple.”

I listened closely when he talked about the bullets in front of us. The first box marked with B56 had iron bullets in them, and Mr. Graaf spent a moment listing the creatures that could be killed or at least harmed with those bullets. He started that list with humans, and I felt a little surreal when he mentioned ghosts right after.

B63 bullets were much more interesting. Mr. Graaf told us to take a few from the box so we could see what they looked like. It would’ve looked just like any other bullet, but half of the casing was made of glass, and I could see green liquid inside it.

“Wolfsbane bullets. These are specifically tailored to kill and injure werewolves. One bullet like this through their head or heart will kill them in seconds. There are strong antidotes against wolfsbane, but it has to be given to the victim within minutes, and often the wolfsbane has to be removed from their system to prevent it from reaching the heart before the antidote kicks in. That usually means amputations. This is also the kind of bullet our X11 will break most often when firing. I do not recommend using these bullets with X11 if there is another way to defend yourself. If the bullet breaks inside the gun, the gun will become useless until the shards are removed, and the chamber thoroughly cleaned.”

When he stopped talking, I was already peering at the next box. B67. I had a gun that used them.

“B67 is the most popular type of bullet. It’s pure silver, and silver works against a big list of creatures. If you’re not sure what kind of gun you need, this is the one to start with. These bullets can also be easily upgraded or enhanced. Silver doesn’t work against vampires, but dip it in holy water or ask a priest to bless it, it will hurt their kind as well. Same goes with other unholy creatures. You can also mix in other ingredients, like salt or iron, even hide small spells and hexes inside them. This makes these bullets the number one choice for any hunter, guard, and civilian.”

I shivered when he mentioned vampires, though now I understood why Mike had given me that specific gun.

“Both B97 and B98 are vampire bullets. B97 is made of dead man’s blood, which is mainly used to poison the vampire target to make them weak. If left untreated, the poison will eventually kill the victim, but that takes several hours, maybe even days. B98, on the other hand, is made of UV light, and will burn the victim inside out. This bullet will kill the target in minutes unless it’s removed, making it far more efficient than B97.”

I hesitated before I took one of each type of bullet. The one with the poison looked exactly the same as the wolfsbane bullet, but the liquid inside was red. But the UV bullet was the most fascinating of them all. The tip was made of glass, and it emanated bright, blue light. That was the bullet for my second gun.

It felt wrong to have something so powerful. This thing could kill Sirius in a horrible, painful way. I was still getting used to holding such a deadly weapon – I had never held one before this – but somehow the idea that these two bullets were specifically created to kill Sirius and his kind… There was something very disturbing about it.

I tried to pay close attention as the theory part of our class continued. Mr. Graaf gave examples of other types of bullets meant for less common targets, but apparently mostly only hunters used them, so we wouldn’t need them during this course.

Once the theory part was over, Mr. Graaf took us to the firing range next door. The rest of the class was for target practice.

“You remember how to load the gun? Good. You may use B56 and B67 bullets freely during this practice, but if you want to test the glass bullets, ask for my help, okay? The gun acts a bit differently with each type of rounds, so don’t be shy to test them all.”

We all nodded and started loading the guns under his watchful eye. He kept reminding us of the safety rules and came to help if there was even a small issue. I really liked him. He was calm and patient, which was greatly appreciated since I was still very nervous about firing the gun. 

I took my time practicing, loading the gun and shooting at the target over and over again. I was not good at aiming, but that was the second reason I was here. I didn’t feel a difference between silver and iron bullets, and when it was my turn to test the wolfsbane rounds, the only thing I noticed was that it kicked back a bit harder, and the sound was a bit… screechy. The bullet itself stayed intact until it hit the bottom corner of the target, where it spilled the liquid and the shards all over the lane.

At the end of the day, I did feel a bit more confident handling the weapon. At least I was slowly figuring out how to aim. I was feeling good about it since this was only the second class. 

When the class was over, I hurried to my car so I could go see Sirius. I hadn’t had the time to visit him that day, so he was probably starving. He’d told me he was just fine with blood bags this time, but I knew him better than that.

When I arrived at the clinic, it was already twenty minutes past eight. Knowing I could only stay for an hour or two made me sad, and the fact that Sirius hadn’t eaten anything in the past twenty-four hours made me feel worse.

“Did he eat?” I asked first thing when Mike came to open the door.

“At least he tried to,” he said with a sigh, stepping aside so I could get in.

I had never tiptoed my way through those two corridors to the very back of the clinic as fast as I did now. When I stepped into Sirius’ room, I found him lying in his bed, his eyes closed and face pale. He was very uncomfortable.

“Hey. Are you awake? I’m sorry it took so long,” I told him as I went to sit on his bed.

He opened his eyes slowly, and the second he saw me, they turned red.

“You must be hungry,” I said, pulling up my sleeve.

“Hey, Ri…” he breathed out, his movements slow when he tried to sit up.

“Oh, no… You’re really weak,” I muttered as I gently helped him sit up, but he didn’t have the strength to stay up. I held him carefully while wiggling to sit down behind him so he could rest against my chest. “Here, you need to eat.”

I had to press my wrist on his lips because he couldn’t even lift his hand. Twenty-four hours without food was way, way too long for him.

“Did you try to eat from blood bags?” I asked him, glancing at Mike, who was standing a few feet away, looking just as worried as I felt.

“It made me sick…”

“Okay, okay… I’m here now,” I said reassuringly, watching him try to lick my skin. “Don’t worry about that. Just bite me. I can take it.”

He refused to bite me as long as I could feel it, no matter how many times I asked him to ignore me. But finally, he sank his teeth into my wrist. It wasn’t a good bite, but at least he was able to draw a little blood.

“That’s it…”

I was horrified at how weak he had become in one single day. While he drank, I turned to Mike again.

“We need to take a few bags of my blood for these kinds of situations,” I told him.

“We can try. I hoped he is now able to drink other people’s blood, but he can’t hold it in for some reason,” Mike said. “I fear it will be the same with your blood when it’s not fresh.”

“But why? What’s with the bags?”

“He can’t stand the taste. He is still sick. Imagine having a bad stomach flu and someone tries to offer you food you never liked in the first place.”

I turned to stare at Sirius. He was slowly getting his fangs deeper into my flesh. He didn’t look like he could hear us.

“We should still try bagging my blood,” I said. “We can’t let this happen again.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Mike said, his worried expression gaining an amused hint to it. “He’s getting his strength back now, so I’ll get out of your hair. Call me if you need anything.”

I nodded, and he left.

Sirius was still pale, and his body was freezing cold. I had not seen him like that since I became his feeder. I’d almost forgotten how cold his body could get without blood.

“I’ll go get your heating blanket once you’re done eating,” I muttered, but he didn’t react to my words. “Sirius?”

Nothing. He was too focused on eating, so I stopped trying to disturb him. He was finally taking bigger sips now, but his movements were still slow and sluggish, like he was just about to pass out. Thankfully, he started looking better as the minutes passed by.

And eventually he recovered from the blood loss. He paused for a moment and looked at me over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I… kind of lost it again…” he muttered.

“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have made you wait for so long,” I said.

“I just wish I could drink from the bags… I just…” He gagged at the thought of it.

“We’re going to try storing my blood. It’s worth giving it a shot. Maybe mine will taste better even if it’s in a bag,” I said.

“We can try, yeah,” he said. “How was the lesson?”

“It was interesting,” I said. “We learned about different types of bullets today. I didn’t even realize there were so many…”

“A bit different from human weapons, huh?” he asked, taking another short sip.

“Yeah, and I have no knowledge of those, either,” I said and chuckled. “And I didn’t miss the target sheet even once.”

“Target sheet?” he repeated with a smirk.

“Hey, those guns kick back hard, all right,” I said and giggled. “I’m just a weak human who’s never fired a weapon before. But I’m a fast learner, don’t you worry.”

“I’m sure you are,” he said. “And once I’m strong enough, you can teach me.”

“You don’t know how to shoot?”

“I can fire a gun, but I can’t promise I’ll hit the target. Or the sheet.”

I laughed lightly at his words. “I guess vampires don’t need guns to win fights, huh…”

“We are more of the brute force type of fighters, yes,” he said.

I rested my head against his. “I can’t wait to see you in full health.”

“Just don’t expect too much. I’m not that strong,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

“You won’t disappoint me,” I said, giving him my widest smile. 

His smile turned shy, and he looked at my wrist to avoid my gaze. He brought it to his lips and licked my skin to finish the healing process.

“Are you done eating?” I asked.

“I had enough already.”

“Are you sure? You’re still quite cold and pale,” I said, brushing his hair back.

“I’m sure,” he said, still not looking at me.

“It’s Saturday tomorrow, so I’ll come give you breakfast first thing in the morning. I think you should eat more regularly for the next few days. Every couple of hours should do the trick.”

“I can’t possibly eat that much,” he said and laughed. “I’ll burst.”

“Every three hours it is then,” I said and chuckled as well, then paused to take a deep, content breath. “You get to move to your new home soon.”

“I just need to find a way to sign a couple of papers, then we’re all set,” he said, his excitement returning. “I’m pretty sure we can do that by mail, so I don’t need to disguise myself this time.”

“If Mike lets you,” I said with a smirk.

“Oh, he will let me,” he said, and I already knew there was no way we could hold him here a minute longer after the penthouse was ready for him to move in.

“I’m sure you’re feeling much better by that time,” I said. “Can I see the wound?”

Sirius lifted his shirt up so I could take a look. The wound was so much better now. In my eyes, it looked like it was fully closed now, but Mike had warned us that the skin was still so fragile it could just rip back open from too much pressure. Sirius still had the stitches to help it stay closed.

“Looking good,” I said and smiled at him. 

“I may be able to move next week,” he said in a quiet mutter.

“What? Next week?”

“Yeah. Just a few papers and it’s mine,” he said with a soft smile. “I have most of the furniture waiting to get delivered, and I’ve already booked a Storm company to come coat the windows with UV protections. I just need to sign those papers. They should arrive on Monday.”

“Oh wow, you’ve been even busier than I thought,” I said.

“I just really want to get out of here already,” he said, leaning against my shoulder.

“I know,” I said, hugging him gently. “Soon.”

“Soon,” he said with a smile.