Lucian let out a groan, still feeling a throbbing pain hammering into his skull. The headache made the world around him seem like it was spinning despite him lying down. He weakly opened his eyes and stared up at something white in color. His eyes widened in fear when he realized it was a ceiling he was looking up to.

He jerked himself up into a sitting position, only to cry out when a sharp pain traveled up his back. His body still being sore and battered from the car crash. He clutched the sides of his head as anxiety settled into his blood.

The vampires must have kidnapped me. Does that mean they have Lillian, too? I have to find her no matter what it takes, he thought. He shakily moved off the bed and nearly tumbled over from his wobbling legs, barely being able to support his weight.

Come on, stupid legs, work with me! Lucian screamed inside his mind. He dragged his body over to a dresser that had a white vase adorned with golden etchings on top of it. With a quick sweep of his hand, he sent it flying to the floor, causing it to shatter into pieces.

Lucian carefully reached down to grip a piece of the vase fragments to use as a weapon. He cautiously opened the door and peeked around the corners. When he saw no one, he headed down the stairs inside the building he was in, careful to ensure he didn't place too much weight on the steps to make them creak.

His right leg gave out the second he placed his foot on the last step. He frantically grabbed onto the railing to stop himself from falling, but in the process, he dropped the vase fragment, sending it clattering to the ground.

"My goodness, you're actually awake. I was getting worried that you might not wake up," a man said with a smile as he peeked around the corner after hearing all the racket Lucian made. The man had beautiful golden blonde shoulder-length hair. His light blue eyes held kindness in them as he looked down at Lucian.

Upon seeing the man, Lucian stumbled backward, landing on his butt. He looked up at the man with anger-filled eyes. "Stay away from me, you vampire! I'm warning you!"

"Oh, goodness, that's quite a temperament. Silly, I'm not a vampire. My name is Priest Elias, someone who slays vampires. I took you in after I found you passed out not too far from a car crash," Elias explained. "Also, would you mind telling me your name?" he asked as he leaned forward, causing the gold cross he was wearing on a golden chain around his neck to jingle.

"My sister, where is my sister?! If you're a vampire hunter, then you must have seen her, right?" Lucian asked desperately, not caring to give out his name since it wasn't more important than Lillian's whereabouts.

Elias frowned and looked at the floor with sadness flooding into his eyes. He shook his head softly. "I'm afraid I only found two bodies at the site of a man and a woman who I assume were your parents. As for your sister, I didn't see any other bodies at the scene. I apologize that I wasn't able to be there sooner," he said softly.

Lucian's body shook as if he was suffering from the cold. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes as sniffles escaped his throat.

Elias knelt down and reached over to gently pat the top of Lucian's head to offer some form of comfort to the poor boy. "I'm afraid there isn't anything I can say to ease your pain. But you're more than welcome to stay here," he said in the sweetest tone he could muster. He could only imagine the pain that Lucian was feeling right now from losing his entire family in one night.

Through Lucian's sniffles, he yelled, "Make me a priest! I want to make all those vampires pay for what they did and stop them from doing that to anyone else," Lucian said with determination in his eyes.

Surprise flashed in Elias's eyes before he sweetly smiled. "My, that's quite the request. It won't be easy, but I'll teach you to be an excellent priest to the best of my abilities, you'll see," he stated.

******

The trauma from the previous day carried over to the next morning. A sickening feeling loomed over Lucian that he couldn't shake off; it was a sheer reminder of the horror that had unfolded that night.

Lucian used the fork in his right hand to shovel the last few pieces of egg from the breakfast that Elias had made for him that morning into his mouth. After cleaning the plate, he went to find the nice priest who allowed him to stay there.

Lucian wandered around the church before pausing when he saw Elias not too far from him. Elias was praying in front of a statue of a beautiful woman who had luscious, cascading hair that formed into curls. The woman had a soft expression on her features as she gazed down at the glass sphere she was holding with a single flower inside of it. The vibrant stained glass windows from behind allowed gentle trickles of light to flow into the room, filling it with an eternal warmth.

"Who is she?" Lucian asked as he tilted his head.

"Oh, I didn't realize you finished your breakfast," Elias said with a smile as he turned around. "As for her. She is the goddess known as Eupherial; she's the one who gives us the power to make weapons imbued with holy magic to slay vampires. Without her, we would be at their mercy," he explained.

Lucian's eyes sparkled with awe as he gazed up at the statue. He didn't know such an amazing goddess existed. "Hey, um, do you think we could possibly train today?"

Elias clasped his hands together with a look of excitement. "Of course, but don't push yourself too much since you're still recovering. We'll start with target practice," he stated.

Elias led the way to the training area in the basement of the church, and he entered the first room, which had a variety of targets to hit. He did his best to explain how to go about hitting the targets and handed Lucian a dagger.

Elias resisted the urge to chuckle when Lucian missed every target possible despite them being stationary. "Don't be too upset about missing them all. You'll eventually get better with practice," he assured after noticing a gloomy look on Lucian's face.

******

Lucian had grown much taller and handsome over the five years that passed. He managed to improve his skills as a priest immensely by taking the time to train every day whenever he had the opportunity.

Lucian retracted his hand back. His eyes darted around, taking in the placement of each of the targets. With swiftness in his movements, he threw six daggers that stabbed into each bull's eye, causing a grin to appear on his lips. He froze when he heard clapping behind him.

"You did amazing today. But it's still not enough to make me forget about all the targets you missed in the beginning," Elias teased as he walked over before playfully ruffling up Lucian's hair.

"Cut it out," Lucian grumbled with a smile as he nudged Elias's hand away playfully. "Yeah, but I'm still not near your level yet. Do you think we could spar later today?" he asked.

"Yeah, I should. But don't expect a victory though, because I don't intend to let you win," Elias claimed with a confident grin. "But I do have one small mission that I'll have to do today, so I'll see you later," he said. He turned around to leave before he paused when Lucian spoke up.

"Uh, there was one more thing, actually. I've been here for a while, and I would say we are pretty close. Would it be all right if I referred to you as my dad from now on?" Lucian asked before his eyes widened when he heard Elias sniffle.

"That's so sweet. Of course, you can," Elias claimed, and he pulled Lucian into a bear hug.

"I can't breathe," Lucian complained as he patted Elias' arm, begging him to release him. "You're making a big deal out of nothing," he claimed, while he slightly blushed in embarrassment.

"Nonsense," Elias said with a smile as he finally released a nearly breathless Lucian from his death grip hug. "I'm just happy, is all," he claimed. "Which reminds me, you're in charge of dinner today."

"Again? I've been in charge of dinner after you taught me more about cooking," Lucian grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"It's your fault for being a good cook. Also, see you later," Elias said with a small wave as he ran toward the exit, not giving Lucian a chance to complain.

"What am I going to do with him," Lucian said as he shook his head in disbelief. Soon, a smile found its way to his lips. He was happy to be able to call someone his family again.