The river flowed slowly underneath the old bridge that connected Old Dawn and downtown. The morning air was crisp, a puff of warm air escaped his lips as he pushed his red hair behind his ears before stuffing his hands into his black biker jacket. This was simply another day at work for him, another vampire for him to hunt down perhaps. He turned a few corners before heading down the street toward an old back alley between two derelict brick houses. An old neon sign flickered inconsistently in the dim morning light as he stepped into the alley.

“Detective Walker, it would be better if we did this during the night, would it not?” He clicked his tongue as he made eyes with a rather short, grey-haired woman.

“Luke Dellinger, what difference does it make? You look just as sour whether it’s night or day,” she chuckled before her face turned grim, “But in all seriousness, I might have something for you, and I don’t think it can wait.”

Luke placed a finger on his forehead, “Fine, but don’t waste my time. Give me the information I need.” 

“You are lucky I used to be good friends with your late uncle, you've grown to be quite the rude young man." She shook her head. "Anyway, it's about the nightclub downtown, V. After doing some real detective work, I found it belongs to a Valentine. No surprise there, really. We have received quite a few reports of fog-minded people outside of or in the area around the club, even a couple of missing people. You know what that means right?” Detective Walker raised an eyebrow and glanced at Luke. 

“It means there is a high likelihood that the nightclub could be catering to vampires,” Luke muttered and pressed his temples.

He knew exactly what this meant, being fog-minded meant a vampire’s bite. It made people lose all sense of time and place as if a mist was cast around their mind. They would wander aimlessly until they regained themselves, showing no other signs of being bitten. Reckless vampires. Luke hated them all. 

“I trust you’ll look into it. This is more the area of the Geirmund than the police anyway,” Detective Walker remarked as she adjusted her dark coat and started walking out of the alley.

“Yes, the Geirmund will take care of this. Or at least I will,” Luke mumbled breathlessly. 

He glanced down at his black glove, eyes darkening;  killing vampires was all that mattered, that was what the Geirmund was for, wasn't it? The spear that protects. Hunting vampires and other creatures that posed a threat to humans, though Luke didn’t care about the other creatures. He only wanted to hunt vampires— it was absolutely personal. 

Luke tensed his shoulders as he left the back alley and the flickering neon light behind. There was no need to hold back, these were the worst kinds of vampires —Luke clenched his fists tightly— vampires who thought they could do whatever they wanted without a care. 

He soon found himself downtown, gazing up at the neon V of the nightclub, bright enough to be visible even during the day. He felt like all he did these days was chasing neon, where were the real vampires? The powerful, strong ones? 

Luke clicked his tongue, muttering under his breath as he glared at the neon V, “What an ugly piece of shit.”

He hesitated for a moment while quickly going over the plan in his mind. He needed to do a spell first, one to see if there were any vampires there at that moment. He could do it in one of the bathrooms, it would cover the area surrounding the nightclub as well. Luke was confident with his magic, it never failed him. He was more talented than any of the hunters at Geirmund in Dawn at the moment, at least according to himself. 

He was greeted by a muscular doorman, nodding with an unpleasant grimace on his face. Luke could hear faint music, even though it was late morning by now. He wasn't surprised, this was Dawn, after all, nothing ever closed. The doorman opened the large door for Luke and the music grew louder. He stepped inside, pushing a strand of red hair back behind one ear, his pale complexion made his hair stand out even more; he hated his hair and everything about it. Luke’s face remained monotonous, not revealing any emotion or reaction as his eyes scanned the dance floor carefully. He was here to get a job done. 

People were dancing and drinking as if it was midnight— the lights were so dim it might as well have been. Luke clicked his tongue, he hated clubs; people were so pushy and always talked nonsense. He didn’t want to deal with all of that, swiftly he made his way into the bathrooms. It was completely quiet, neon-lit with blues and violet as if he had entered a whole different world altogether. The music faded as he closed the door to the bathrooms, and Luke could hear something else, a faint sound from one of the toilet stalls. He closed his eyes for a moment and he knew, it was a vampire. 

“I just got here and it is already time for action. I suppose this place is crawling with them. This is perfect,” Luke mumbled coldly, his darkening eyes set on that bathroom stall door. 

Darkness clouded everything for a moment, the vampire dropped dead, scattering to dust, and a girl screamed in the toilet stall. She scurried out, fumbling, stumbling, before staring at Luke. 

"Get out of here and go home," Luke said coldly, nodding at the door. 

She didn't question what he said, something inside of her felt compelled to listen to his words. Luke sighed deeply as he finished the spell, this vampire was dead, but he was certain there were more now. He watched the girl leave and started whispering words in ancient Lore into the air. 

Magic didn't come easy to normal humans, though Luke was not normal; his family had been hunting vampires since before the Geirmund was founded. It was in their blood. Mani blood, they called it, the ones who had strong magic and strong arms. Luke had spent his childhood studying magic, and he knew every word, every whisper, and how much intent to place into them. 

A faint red light glowed —a light only he could see— exiting the bathroom. "Great. More vampires," Luke whispered to himself. 

He was not displeased, in fact he was happy, the more vampires to get rid of the better. And if they were all in the same place? Perfect. His golden eyes darkened yet again as he followed the red light back into the club, searching the bar for suspects. Everyone seemed completely oblivious to the world around them, as if they didn't have a care in the world. Perhaps they didn't? It was almost noon, and they were all dancing the day away. 

Luke could easily imagine his carefree sister in the club at noon. He clicked his tongue, eyes shifting as the light went into the dance floor, to a man with golden hair dancing with abandon. Luke gritted his teeth, he knew who that was. A vampire he couldn't touch, or rather, the Geirmund were too scared to let any hunter touch this vampire. Leon Valentine was a prominent name in Dawn, the Valentines being one of the thirteen vampire families, true vampires with powers that could destroy and kill all too easily. 

He clenched his right hand into a fist, nails digging into his palm, vampires all deserved to die, one day he would take them all down. The thought of killing a vampire this powerful, he couldn't help but look forward to it. There was almost a madness in his eyes as he stared at Leon Valentine, the look of a hunter who had found his prey. The darkness had seemed to grab a hold of him, and for a moment he felt as if he could do it, he could kill Leon Valentine if he wanted to. 

Leon's blue eyes met Luke's for a moment, sending chills down his spine. It was as if the vampire saw right through him, and knew who he was. 

Seconds later Luke stood outside the club and leaned his head against the rough wall, breath ragged, heart beating fast. Despair had gotten under his skin, his expressionless mask slipped for a moment. 

"Get a grip," Luke mumbled under his breath, "I can come back when he's not there." 

A sudden gust of wind blew through his red hair as he straightened himself. One dead vampire was better than none, at least that was what Luke told himself. The rest would have to wait. Perhaps tomorrow morning would be better, right at dawn. He breathed out, a sense of relief from the pressure he kept putting on himself. 

"I know, I could have taken him on, but at what cost?" Luke whispered to himself as he started walking down the street. 

Luke had let his feelings get the better of him in there, he shook his head and glanced at the blue sky. He was better off without feelings, without anything that would get in the way. Killing vampire worked better if he turned it all off. 

He knew he needed to be better prepared and needed a more solid, less rushed plan. All the evidence he had been gathering slowly, including what Detective Walker had just given him, all pointed to Leon Valentine as the one behind the emergence of Sorrows, and the dead hunters. Luke couldn't kill him yet. No. He needed to catch him in the act, prove to the other hunters that this was the one, and then he could kill him. He half-smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket. 

Later that evening Leon frowned and stared at Sigrid, his assistant, "Why is there a spirit in my club? Who died in here? Someone please explain to me, why!" He fell onto the cushioned seat dramatically. 

Sigrid folded her arms, "It seems that a vampire was killed in the bathrooms, sir. We found the dust." 

"But why? Who did it? I need answers. I do not approve of spirits on my property! He is miserable. Miserable! Now I am miserable too!" Leon exclaimed, throwing his arms up and staring at the spirit hovering behind Sigrid. 

"We have security camera footage of this suspicious man." Sigrid took a photo out of the folder she was holding and handed it to Leon, "He might be a hunter." 

"I saw him in the club. I remember thinking how striking his hair and eyes were, though there was something sinister about him, something not right… Well, now I know what was not right. Curses. Curse him. Find him and bring him to me so I can… so I can…" Leon stopped, staring at the spirit again. "Pluck his eyes out? Break his limbs? Oh, I don't know. Just find him," Leon moaned and fell back into the seat again. His club had been free of any spirits until now. It was his sanctuary. Peaceful. Quiet. 

"Very well,sir," Sigrid said before leaving. 

"I guess it's just you and me now," he chuckled at the spirit, "I better get rid of you…"