After Hours (VAMPIRES PART 1)

Chapter 38

LISA

It's been twelve hours, and we still have absolutely no idea what the most beautiful object in the city could be.

"This is a waste of fucking time, we're never going to win this damn trial," Roseanne says and slams her fist into the side of the carriage.

"Do you feel better now?" I say, folding my arms and raising an eyebrow at her.

"What? I can pay to fix it." She pouts at me.

"Don't behave like a child."

She sticks her middle finger up at me, which is bleeding, cut on a splinter from the wall.

My nose flares, her eyes widen. "Sorry," she says, all the tension dissipating.

We've agreed that we should try and wean me off her blood as soon as possible. While the trials aren't the best time, we can at least lower the amount I take when I take it.

It's not working exactly, but I am happy about it. I'm feeling clearer too and more like my old self even if I spend half the day wracked with shivers and sweats while my body is trying to get used to the smaller doses. This is the right thing. For both of us.

She wipes her finger on her leg and sucks the wound into her mouth until it clots enough the smell isn't so strong.

The carriage pulls to a stop in the heart of the Midnight Market. We step out by the library and Taehyung and Mingyu walk out.

"Too bad for you, we've already found the most beautiful item," Taehyung says.

"Oh, really?" Roseanne sneers.

The pair of them hold four ancient books, one in each of their hands.

"Looks like you've really decided what that object is," Roseanne says, glancing between their hands. "Of course, you think it's a book."

"Not a book, the knowledge within it. There's no greater power than knowledge. Nothing more beautiful than the preservation of history, what else could it be?"

Mingyu nods as if that's the most obvious thing in the world. But I remain unconvinced. The pair of them step into a carriage and we stand side by side, staring after them long after the carriage disappears out of sight.

"He's wrong, isn't he?" I say.

"So completely wrong he'll probably pitch a fit and burn the book when the amulet rejects it."

I laugh.

Roseanne slips her hand in mine, "I can just imagine the tantrum he will throw when he realises the trials aren't going to be as easy as the first. He's running on the arrogance of a win. Taking things for granted. That's his loss. I made the same mistake underestimating him in the first trial."

"Is this okay?" she asks, tugging my hand.

I hesitate, we're in public, but it really does feel okay. It feels like I don't want to hide anymore.

We stroll through the market area, circling stalls, the Church of Blood, the square, the Whisper Club. We walk miles. We pass the Church of Blood for a second time, its ancient spires towering into the sky like spears.

Seulgi appears in the entrance. She's holding a small red vial. She secretes it in her pocket and then speeds away before Roseanne can question her.

"Interesting," Roseanne says.

"What?"

"Seulgi thinks the most beautiful thing is something religious."

"It looked like blood. It was definitely red."