“Did you enjoy yourself?” Bloodworth’s gaze was fixed on Merritt, those penetrating vermillion eyes burning a hole right through him. 

“E-Excuse me?” Merritt sputtered as warmth crept up his neck.

Bloodworth rested his steepled hands on the prosecution's table, dragging that sinful tongue along those sharp points of his fangs.  “The bloodguards were gossiping when I arrived.  Said you flew around the area like you were drunk on faery wine.  One even saw you upside down on your broom.” He chuckled.

Heat bloomed in Merritt’s cheeks as he adjusted his glasses, casting a silent spell to prevent them from fogging up.  Much to his relief, they were the only two in the courtroom at the moment so nobody overheard them. He took a moment to clear his throat and replied, “It helps me to calm my mind.”

“Was something troubling you?” When his boss leaned in, Merritt shivered at the feel of his warm breath ghosting his face, faintly smelling of wintermint. “If it’s about earlier tonight when I fed, I apologize.” 

 “I know you have to… drink blood,” Merritt rasped. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”  

“I did tell you to go on and fly over to the courthouse.” Bloodworth had shifted his chair closer, until their legs nearly brushed beneath the table.  “I tend to keep a fresh supply of refrigerated blood, but nothing compares to right from the source. It gives us more energy and nutrients when fresh. It won’t be an issue for you when I feed off live and willing donors, right? Because I would hate to have to see you go if it is.”

“No, of course not. You just surprised me, that’s all.  I thought blood feedings were supposed to be painful.” Merritt met the vampire’s gaze, wondering if the spark in his eyes was amusement or a trick of light.  

“Oh, they most certainly can be excruciating. Especially when the vampire doesn’t know how to use his fangs properly.” Bloodworth flashed his own pearly white fangs at him, and Merritt found the judge’s podium far more fascinating as he swore his blood rushed to his own heated face.  He should not have been thrilled to see those vicious teeth. 

“Also, I wasn’t trying to be weird and watch or anything.” He felt the need to clarify that then wanted to mentally whack himself for how he phrased it.  “I only wanted to make sure the young woman was safe.”

“All my donors have filled out their proper blood consent forms, if that makes you feel any better.  They also get paid for their services,” Bloodworth explained. “Unlike low-class vampires, I do not feast on bloodwhores and unregistered blood slaves.” He curled his lips in disgust.  “Such brothels are run so poorly and do not consider hygiene.  I do not trust an ounce of blood from them.” 

“They’re just as awful as the blood farms,” Merritt spat before he could think twice about it.  

“I cannot say I’m very fond of them.  Although, I will confess that they do have higher standards compared to your back alley blood brothel and ensure their donors are healthy to provide nutritious blood for us.” Bloodworth poked his lower lip with his fang.  “Hawthorn Veinworks is the most notorious, and where I tend to get all my refrigerated blood. The head owner is also one of our clients.”

“Wonderful,” Merritt murmured.

“Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all, sir.” Merritt knew they’d taken on vampire clients like that.  It didn’t mean he liked it, but he could deal with it.  “So long as my blood isn’t being taken, I do not care what yours or your clients drinking preferences are.”

“Do not worry. Under my administration, you cannot be touched by other vampires.  This keeps you from being influenced by them. Any vampire that tries will face severe punishment by my own personal security, as I’m sure you read in your contract.”

Merritt nodded.  “Good.”

“Look, I should have locked the door, but if I’m honest, I was in quite a bit of a rush this evening.  I’ll be sure such won’t happen again.  I do not wish to make you uncomfortable.” Bloodworth checked his watch with a disapproving click of his tongue.  “Had I known our judge would be so late, I would not have bothered to hurry with my meal.”

After his flusterness faded, Merritt remembered the charm he still had in his pocket. “Oh, and I went to your office because I wanted to give you this.” He pulled the protective charm out of his enchanted breastpocket, its magically weaved navy-hued fabric glittering like embers.   

Bloodworth furrowed his brows and stared down at Merritt’s charm like he’d offered him a hairball. “What is it?” 

“It’s an anti-ghost repellent and wards off demons.  I bought them from a local witch who specializes in long-term charms.  I could recreate my own, but they’d only last a month at the most,” Merritt explained.  “I thought we could use something much stronger.”

“You bought this for me with money out of your own pocket?” Bloodworth took the charm, rolling the fabric between his long, slim fingers. 

“I did. They weren’t too expensive since it’s the end of the month. Local vendors always offer the best sales then.”

“I’ll be sure to cover the expenses for this in your next paycheck.” Bloodworth tucked the charm away into his suit’s pocket.  “Just bring me a copy of the receipt later, all right?”

Merritt hadn’t even considered reimbursement for the charm, and merely nodded. “Of course. I’ll do that tomorrow night..” 

Merritt fiddled with a quill on the table, relieved for the fact that the entire courtroom was vacant aside from them and a bloodguard posted at the entrance.  He didn’t mind the judge and defense being late as much as Bloodworth did.  

At one point, his boss marched over to the bloodguard and demanded he find another judge if nobody could show up on time.

Bloodworth clearly prided himself for punctuality and thought little of those who could not be on time.  But Merritt did wondered if something was wrong.

After the demon incident, Merritt couldn’t deny how it concerned him for the vampires to not even show up on time.  He tried to think positively, how they just got delayed somehow or misread the court times.  For the judge and the defense though?  There had to be something else going on unless it truly was a scheduling error.  Merritt pitied the poor bastard who made that mistake if so because he swore Bloodworth would blow an ember out at any moment now.

The second time his boss marched out of the courtroom to find someone else of higher authority, he left Merritt by himself with Bandit curled up at his feet. It was hard not to let the worst case scenarios run rampant through his mind.  

What if someone summoned another demon elsewhere in the courthouse and had them trapped there?  Merritt sensed nothing like that in the air, even allowing his own magic to flow freely throughout the room to pick up on something, but not even the whisper of a spirit lingered.

Curiosity urged Merritt to rise from the table, gesturing for his familiar to follow him out into the hallway.  He couldn’t sense anything wrong.  No strange magic wafted in the air or anywhere nearby. He wasn’t sure where Bloodworth had wandered off to, so he figured it best to stay nearby in case the judge and defendant arrived.  

The bloodguard posted outside their door had left his post as well, likely to try finding out what had happened.  Merritt honestly didn’t mind waiting by himself since there were no other vampires on the floor.  He leaned against the brick wall, letting his thoughts travel back to earlier that night.  

After some time passed, he wandered back into the courtroom and paced around the benches. Where did Bloodworth go? Did something happen?

Merritt wasn’t sure how long he spaced out, not until the soft scruff of shoes pulled him back to reality when the door creaked open.  Fiery red hair drew his attention first, followed by the constellation of freckles that dotted her face.  Behind her, a black winged cat trailed her feet and he straightened his posture immediately as she made her way over to him.

“Are you lost?” Gwyneria Grimheart furrowed her brows.  

“What?  Oh, no.” Merritt released a nervous laugh.  “I’m just waiting for my boss to return.  Neither the defense nor our judge showed up tonight.”

“Really?” Gwyneira frowned.  “As far as I know, I’m the first scheduled to try a case in this courtroom tonight. Was your boss mistaken or mixed up the dates?”

“I can’t imagine him making such a mistake.” Merritt vividly recalled how lost in his bloodlust he was earlier, but once a vampire fed, it typically strengthened their energy and sharpened their mind.  “Something else must be going on.”

“Now that you mention it, I found it very strange how empty this floor became when I stepped up here.” Gwyneira scanned the area with a deepening frown.  “The bloodguards seemed to vanish into thin air and you’re the only person I’ve spoken to after making it through security.”

“Let’s go down to the lobby,” Merritt suggested.  “Maybe someone there will know what’s going on.”

Something was terribly wrong.  Merritt couldn’t fathom what it was yet because he couldn’t detect anything sinister around them.  The only oddity was the lack of vampires and people in general.  Gwyneira was right about the bloodguards too. Not a single one in sight.

Merritt tried to remember where the vamp posted outside their room had gone, but he couldn’t recall seeing him walk away.  It was like he too had vanished.  How was that even possible?  

Once back down in the lobby, only the echoes of their footfalls and both their familiars pawsteps could be heard.  Merritt approached the front desk, peering behind it like he expected a bunch of vampires hunkered down behind it.  If they had to evacuate, surely someone would have told them or a siren would’ve blared throughout the building.  

Heartbeat roaring like thunder in his chest, Merritt cautiously made his way to the glass doors.  Did they always have such a dark tint?  Gwyneira called out for someone, but her voice only reverberated throughout the lobby with no answer.  Merritt reached for the door’s handle only to find it was no longer there.  He pushed at the door, finding it unwilling to budge.  

That wasn’t normal.  He channeled silvery embers along the doorframe, but his magic couldn’t seep into the outside world.  It was like running right through a brick wall.  Beyond the windowglass, Merritt only saw blurred shadowy figures.  None of them moved like vampires did.  As he squinted his eyes, he realized they literally hovered off the ground like cloaked ghosts.

“Maybe they’re down in the basement?” Gwyneira suggested.  “There must’ve been a drill or a threat, and they neglected to inform us.  Probably took priority over vampire lives.”

“The vampires aren’t missing, Gwyneira.  We are.”

“What do you mean?” Gwyneira asked.  “That makes no sense.”

“I only ever crossed into a demon’s astral domain once as a child, and it was certainly not intentional.” Merritt moved away from the door and windows, shivering at the chills that crept down his spine.  “It’s why I didn’t recognize what had happened right away.”

“A what now?” Gwyneira looked at him like he’d sprouted horns himself.

“It’s a place where demons reside between the underworld and the real world,” Merritt explained.  “Someone out in the real world helped it set a trap because only a living person can create an opening like this.  They didn’t allow the demon to escape, but they offered it a meal.”

“Meal?” Gwyneira blanched.

“Demons devour souls.  In the human world, you must make a deal for them to claim your soul.  Here in their domain though?” Merritt shook his head.  “They can do whatever they want.”

“How in the hells do we get out of here?” Gwyneira rasped, lifting her little winged cat up in her arms to cradle to her chest.

“Someone back in the real world has to reopen the portal we unwillingly walked into.  If I had to guess, it must be connected to the courtroom.” Merritt struggled to wrap his head around it, then remembered the anti-demon charm he’d given Bloodworth.  That was why he hadn’t immediately gotten sucked in and why his boss was still safe on the outside. 

“Nobody knows where we are!” Gwyneira bristled, searching the area with widened, terrified eyes.  “There has to be a way to get a message to someone in the real world, right?  Please, tell me there is.”

“Is there someone you think we could find and reach out to?” Merritt asked.

Gwyneira shook her head.  “No. I came alone.  My client wasn’t expected for another thirty minutes or so.  I can’t say I have faith that any of the other vampires would bother to care or acknowledge us either.  What about your boss?” Hope lit up in her eyes.  “Surely he’s worried about where you’ve gone.  Maybe we can reach out to him?”

Merritt didn’t have the heart to tell her about the repellent charm he’d given his boss.  There was a slim chance in hell they could communicate with him, but instead, he simply nodded.  “We can try.”

Something wailed in the distance, its distorted voice resembling neither a vampire or a wild animal.  

It was coming for them.