The night smelled of death. 

Shadows slithered across the walls of surrounding buildings, long inky skeleton fingers reaching out for Merritt Lark. He unfurled his umbrella and stepped out into the pouring rain, making a quick haste toward Sanguine City’s courthouse.  Fog steamed the lenses of his black-framed glasses, and with the snap of his fingers, he cast a spell to clear the path ahead of him.

Merritt cradled his precious baby two-tailed raccoon close to his chest, letting his familiar burrow her little nose against his black velvet cloak with golden trim. The Lark family pendant was wrought into the shape of the very songbird itself, and Merritt wore it proudly on the left side of his breastpocket.

Fresh rain wafted in the crisp air, tinged with rotten leaves.  Raindrops pounded against his umbrella, but the waterproof charm he’d cast around himself kept him dry from the tempestuous elements.  He reached the concrete stairs of Sanguine City’s courthouse, gripping the railing tightly with every step as thunder rumbled like an angry dragon in the pitch black sky.

Many weather witches had predicted that thunderstorms would be horrendous this year during the spring solstice. Merritt suspected it was only the beginning of the Goddesses wrath to come too. Just when he reached the doors to the entrance, one blew open for him as if forced open by the wind. However, as he stepped inside, he noticed the gentlevamp holding it ajar for him.

“Thank you, sir.” Merritt held Bandit close as the raccoon wriggled in his arms while he used a bit of magic to levitate his briefcase alongside him.  He hurried inside, past the devilishly handsome vamp whose impassive expression bordered on impatience. 

Those vibrant vermillion eyes must’ve stolen the hearts of many maidens.  Merritt stared at the man far longer than he should have, enough to make his heart quite literally mimic the thunder outside. That platinum snow-blond hair coiffed to perfection complimented his moonblessed skin. If he knew no better, Merritt would’ve found himself swooning for the gentlevamp.  

“This place is turning into a fanging zoo with all these silly animal companions.”  A muscle in the vampire’s chiseled jaw ticked as he gestured for Merritt to hurry along, out of his way. As if he were such an inconvenience to him.

Such a waste of a beautiful face.  Of course the bloodsucker had to be an absolute arse.  

No matter, Merritt would not let one measly encounter damper his high spirits. It was his first day in the court, and despite the treacherous storm brewing in, he would do everything within his powers to make sure it was a good one. There was an old superstition amongst those in Sanguine City’s Courthouse that if their first day was horrendous, it was destined to be a horrid year for them.

Chills raked down Merritt’s spine like ghostly fingertips just having the vampire stand so close behind him, but he shook it off and made his way over to check in for the night.

Merritt provided his credentials to the Bloodguards in their fancy dark crimson uniforms that bore the Valorathian crest on their chests of a golden bat with a crown.  After they’d inspected his briefcase and verified his own ID badge, he handed over his familiar’s personalized ID card, verifying her as a working service animal.

Aghast by that interaction with the rude vamp, Merritt made his way down the corridor to the spiraling staircase with an audible groan. Of course there had to be endless stairs. He would be interning with one of the most prestigious vampire firms across the country, and Mr. Bloodworth had given him instructions to meet up in one of his personal offices upstairs before court. 

The rain had tried to wash him away during his flight that night, but he’d still managed to arrive with minutes to spare. Merritt, however, had not yet released the butterflies fluttering in the pit of his chest and felt they would burst at any moment.

He couldn’t afford to make a magical mess of things.  He desperately needed this internship to go well.

Much to his dismay, the devastatingly handsome vamp followed him all the way upstairs.  He tried to ignore his burning gaze on his back.  Merritt certainly wasn’t thinking about the delightful sandalwood and citrus scent wafting off the vamp either.  Probably masking the stench of rot and blood, that was all.

If he was lucky, he’d never encounter that wicked animal-hating bloodsucker again.

Merritt finally reached the room he was instructed to meet his new boss in, coaxing a little magic from his fingertips to ease it open for him. Unfortunately, that scent of sandalwood overwhelmed his senses even more when the vampire appeared at his side like a mere shadow to hold it open for him. Again

It was hard not to let his jaw literally drop. Merritt scrambled to make his way inside, flinching when the door sealed up behind them.  The lack of windows made Merritt quite claustrophobic, and he found himself reeling against the mahogany desk in the center of the room.  

A nameplate shined with golden letters amidst the mountains of paperwork piled up, spelling out the prestigious vampire prosecutor’s name. Lucius V. Bloodworth. 

Bloodworth’s face remained impassive, with an undertone of annoyance buried beneath it.  He undid the buttons on his black jacket and draped it on the leather chair behind his desk.  “Will you just stand there gawking all night like you’ve seen a ghost or do you intend to make yourself useful?” 

Merritt fumbled for a response, rushing to reply, “Useful, sir.”

“Excellent.” Bloodworth unlocked one of his desk drawers and rummaged for something.  “You’re the first human they’ve sent me in a long time.  The last intern I had quit their very first night. If that sounds like something you’ll do, please just do us both a favor and get your arse out now.”

“No, sir. I deeply regret to inform you, you're stuck with me.” Merritt mentally cursed himself, wishing he had the ability to turn back time just so he could stop himself from saying something so doltish.  He wanted to crawl into a dark hole and die.

“Come along then.” Bloodworth collected his own briefcase, likely filled with truly important files while Merritt only carried his and his familiar’s ID cards in his own.  “The night has just begun, and we’ve got several cases on the docket tonight.”