“AJ… wake up.” Eliza’s voice was hushed and filled with urgency. They were in one of the private rooms in the Haven. Eliza had suggested to AJ he get some rest on account of him having been awake for around sixteen hours. Having agreed, he fell asleep almost immediately on the plush sofa, not even bothering to take his shoes off.

“I don’t wanna go to the park,” he replied, still in a sleepy stupor.

“AJ, come on!”

“Geese scare the shit out of me…”

“AJ!” Her voice was followed by a swift smack across the chest.

“Oh! What, what?” he sat up and checked his watch. 3.44. “You let me sleep for just under three hours, what a kind and benevolent Master you are…”

“Shut up for a second. There’s a problem. A big problem. A Haven has burned down.”

“This one?”

“No not… are you on fire? What do you mean ‘this one’?”

“In case it escaped you, I have just woken up.”

“Look,” she loomed at the edge of the sofa, her green eyes narrowed with the kind of tension that made AJ's stomach twist, “It wasn’t just any Haven, it was a neutral Haven.” AJ stared at her; the look of confusion must have been clear on his face. “It belonged to everyone. Both Vesperate and Maw… the Ones who have no allegiance! You knew you could go there and be safe!”

“Why didn’t we go there then?”

“AJ!” she whisper-shouted.

“Sorry…”

“Who would do such a thing? It can’t be vampiric. Did OUSR do it?”

“I dunno, I can ask Sofia?”

“Do it, please, my… some of my friends…” tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. He’d never seen her look fragile before, and it scared him more than the word ‘fire.’ “I’ll see if Lyle knows anything.”

AJ nodded. Something in the way she said his name made AJ want to find a lighter and test how fast smug burned. He searched Sofia’s number and called. One ring and she answered.

“Is this about the fire?” she said, loudly. She was outdoors.

“Are you there?” AJ asked.

“Yeah, how did you hear?”

“Erm… it’s all over the news?” AJ guessed.

“Sorry, yeah I can see the media vans. They’re probably screaming to the whole world that the OUSR are there…”

“Yeah exactly,” he lied, “was this us? Like some sort of assassination?” He asked, his voice dropping slightly.

“No. Preliminary investigations seem to show that it was Type-V violence.”

“How do you figure that?” AJ asked, becoming increasingly concerned.

“Too much doesn’t add up, AJ, the fact it’s just this warehouse, the windows didn’t shatter, they fucking melted… even the firemen are saying this wasn’t normal. It was too controlled. Some of these bleeders can do fire-magic shit, I’m betting it was one of them.”

“Damn, have you been able to get in there yet?”

“We’ve had to send drones in instead of people… it’s still too hot to step inside.” Her voice dipped. “Hang on, I need a quieter spot.” Thirty seconds or so passed before she started talking again. “The drones spotted ash, the kind you get when a Type-V burns.” Eliza walked back into the room.

“Cheers for the update. No doubt I’ll have my hands full on Monday.”

“I reckon Michael will call you in tomorrow for overtime. Get some rest, eh?”

“Fantastic. Will do.” The phone clicked off as she hung up.

“So?” asked Eliza impatiently.

“Wasn’t us. Sofia thinks it's Vamp-on-Vamp crime.”

“That doesn’t make sense…”

“What did Lyle say?”

“He had only just heard from the Keeper over there today. Nothing sounded amiss. I need to see the Praetor… I’ll call you tomorrow evening if I don’t manage to tonight.”

“What about Radha?” he asked, a different type of fear tinged his voice.

“She’ll be asking the same questions as us. I imagine the blood feud can wait.”

She moved in for a kiss, her cold lips pressing against his with a desperate urgency that made his breath catch. Her fingers dug into his shoulders like someone clinging to the edge of a precipice, and he tasted the metallic hint of fear beneath her familiar scent. The gravity of what was happening; what might happen; wasn't lost on AJ.

“Dave said he’d walk you back to your place.” She pivoted and walked away.

“Can I trust him?”

“With your life!” she called back.

Less than a week ago, his biggest worry had been corrupted data feeds. Now it was which flavour of vampire arsonist had lit up Leeds. He walked out of the private room into the grand main hall and spotted Dave, still at the bar. The Haven's atmosphere had transformed; hushed voices hissed into phones while others huddled in corners, shoulders trembling, faces hidden behind pale fingers. Dave however, seemed pretty undisturbed.

“Hey,” AJ greeted him

“Had a good nap?”

“Yeah, until I was rudely awakened.”

“You can’t blame her though. It’s pretty brutal stuff. A neutral Haven taken out and no one knows who did it? My money is on OUSR.”

“I just confirmed that it wasn’t them,” AJ said confidently, perching on a stool. Dave's face shifted, eyebrows climbing toward his hairline.

“Wow.” He reached for his glass and took a sip. “Just… wow. The plot thickens. I assume you told Eliza?” AJ nodded, motioning to the bartender for another black coffee. “You’re sure it wasn’t OUSR?”

“Yeah, I work there as an analyst. My source is a field agent and she had no idea.”

“Damn.” The silence hung heavy in the air for a moment, before Dave broke it. “You don’t strike me as a Vessel.” AJ didn’t respond. The bartender returned with his coffee, and he took a sip. “Understood,” said Dave, “I won’t pry.”

I like this guy - AJ smiled. “You don’t seem all that bothered by this fire…”

“Don’t mistake my calm for being unbothered. The Concord Writ established those Havens after the Red Schism, what you call the Thirty Years' War. Vesperate fought Maw until kingdoms were ash. Now it is decreed every city must have neutral ground where no blood can be spilled.”

"If someone torches one..."

“The Writ breaks," he said flatly. “And there is no safety,”

 “So I’m very concerned, however, no matter how much I would like to, there isn’t a whole lot I can do."

“Actually,” responded AJ, taking another sip. “there is something you can do…”

“What’s that?”

AJ stared into the steam rising from his coffee. “Eliza mentioned you’d walk me back to my place,” he said, keeping his voice low. Dave set his glass down with a soft clink, his face unchanging.

“Did she now? Generous of her to volunteer me.” He slid of his stool and straightened his jacket with a casual tug.

“She didn’t say straight home though.”

“What do you have in mind?” Dave asked, adjusting his glasses. AJ slid off his own stool. The Vampire’s calm demeanor didn’t fool him; not entirely. There was an edge to Dave, something watchful beneath the easy chatter. AJ figured that it stemmed from his humanity and was tempered by being undead for nearly a century. Still he seemed solid.

Unlike Lyle’s oily bullshit.

“I was thinking about that fire,” he kept his voice low, “I’m in a unique position where I might spot something the OUSR might not, considering my newfound contacts.”

“I see.”

“So let’s go. Surely there’s something to explain what happened, and if we get there whilst it’s fresh…”

“Look AJ, you seem like a lovely guy, but walking into a OUSR infested crime scene isn’t my idea of safe.”

“Come on. You’re telling me you’re not curious? You just said you want to do something.”

“I am extremely interested in what’s gone on there.”

“You wouldn’t have to really do anything, just get me there safely and I’ll do the rest.”

Dave sighed. When he smiled, the tips of his canines caught the light. “Fine, come on then.”

“Do you have a car?”

“No, I can fly,” Dave said, dryly. AJ laughed. “No, seriously, I can fly. Come on.”

The duo made their way up the stairs and out of the front door. Dave made sure there were no one watching.

“OK come here,” he held his hand out to AJ, who walked over to him. Grasping him by the arms he swung AJ over his shoulders in a fireman’s lift.

“Woah!”

“Ready?” Dave asked.

“You’re asking me now, after manhandling me like that?”

The ground fell away beneath them as Dave rose into the night air, the city shrinking until rooftops and streets resembled an architect's miniature display.

“They’ve got drones at the site,” AJ said, craning his neck to see which direction they were heading in.

“OK, I’ll bear that in mind on approach.” He glided slowly through the night air, their silhouettes dissolving into the inky blackness that shrouded the city.

“Is this as fast as you go?” AJ asked.

“It’s quicker than you think, and yes this is what I can manage whilst carrying you.”

It’s quite relaxing actually. Shame we’re not going on holiday.

“Right, shouldn’t be too long now, I hope you’re comfy.”

“Yeah. A bit exposed, but more or less comfortable.”

“Don’t worry, birds avoid us. Mostly.”

Christ, mostly - AJ thought, It better not end with a bird in my ass, Dave, I swear to God I will haunt you.