The Cardinal could feel the pull of the people around him. The dance-floor was packed yet he snaked himself through, drawn to something he couldn't quite describe, but it made his heart beat that little bit faster.

Aemelia watched from her place at the bar, clutching the cold glass of diet-coke. Her eyes were fixated on the glaring red tailcoat, a bright splodge amongst a sea of black clothed individuals. She wasn't particularly impressed that he was essentially ditching her to be the soul of the party, but she supposed that it was his whole ethos, so she sat there and narrowed her eyes, loudly sipping her soft-drink in the hope that she would be left to her own company... 

A dark-wave track played over the speakers, bodies rocking side-to-side in time to the punching beat. Their moves only made Cardinal's desire to follow the supernatural pull even worse. He turned to his right so that he could slide into gaps between bodies more successfully. The sound of his tailored coat brushing against the leather clothes of those he passed reminded him of a scratched record and honestly, it only added to the awkwardness of the night which he was probably ruining by interrupting their dancing.

It wasn't long before he had arrived where he had been drawn to. There was a small group of gaunt, ethereal looking people stood close together, swaying to the rhythm of the music. Their eyes were hooded over, irises rimmed with glowing claret which cut through the darkness of the club effortlessly. Their pull was impossible to resist and the cardinal could only chase his sense of fascination, his legs unable to stop even if he wanted them to. He came to a halt before the four of them, eyes wide as he suddenly realised he had no plan of how to introduce himself... considering the fact he had merely followed a whim, truthfully, he had no idea why he was there in the first place anyway...

The three of the four, who were female, continued to dance, ignoring his existence for the time being, too lost in the thumping of the music to care about his presence. The one that had stopped however, turned around, his eyes gleaming impossibly amber as he extended out a finger-less glove towards the cardinal. 

The cardinal, still under some sort of trance, reluctantly lifted his right arm and the man jolted towards him, snatching hold of his forearm. And then he was pulled into the midst of their group, the four of them now syncing up their movements around him. He opened his mouth as he stayed still, the surreal circle of beautiful people around him causing him to rub the sides of his temples in confusion.

One of the women leaned towards him and grabbed hold of his wrists, easing his hands away from his head. She loosened her grip and nodded towards him. From what he could gather, she must have wanted him to join in with their movements and he shrugged, really wanting to decline but he figured he'd stick with the odd situation for now... in truth, something was compelling him to stay.

Despite Cardinal being a completely elegant and accomplished dancer, when out on the town, he wished to have fun in the easiest way possible... once he began to dance in time with their movements, they seemed to falter in surprise. His moves were reminiscent of a drunk uncle at a wedding, and from the slight frowns on their faces, they must have been expecting something else from him entirely.

Ignoring the surreal sight of his simplistic and ridiculous dance moves, they closed in on him and he cleared his throat at their uncomfortably close proximity, their fronts brushing up against him to the point that he could feel the shapes of their bodies through the leather layers of their clothes. He parted his lips in preparation to ask them to back off a little, sensing their eagerness was laced with an ulterior motive...  

As Cardinal took part in the sexiest of group dances, Miss Vial was half-way through her second glass of diet-coke, holding it up in the air to study the sight of the melting ice cubes. She huffed out a depressed sigh and slammed it back onto the bar, swallowing back the urge to burp. 

She decided that she would see what Copia was up to, considering that she had been faced away from the dance-floor for quite some time and swivelled around on the bar-stool, adjusting her plaits into a neater position so that they laid over her collarbone. She frowned in unease as the stark red of his tail-coat was nowhere to be seen, the mass of dancing clubbers engulfing any chance that she would have of ever finding him.

It didn't take much for panic to set in, and she bolted from the stool, heading towards the dance-floor, regardless of her fear of the party-going public. She couldn't lose sight of him now, if he was to go missing she hadn't a clue what she would do...

Hands gently held him in place, some others sliding down his arms, his chest, his back and each side of his neck. Cardinal was so stunned by what was happening that he just allowed them to continue, amazed how they were treating him like he was Papa Emeritus III, who had been known to draw gatherings of people whenever he had been on a night out. He couldn't help noticing how similar it seemed around him then, the glinting of salaciousness in their strangely coloured eyes. 

By all means, Cardinal was flattered by their attraction to him but in the back of his mind he was taken aback at how they moved against him so publicly. His mind didn't linger upon such a thing for long, a wave of desire suddenly overwhelming him like it had been dished out in a sudden hit to hush any of his curious thoughts on the situation.

He could tell they were having some kind of supernatural effect on him, desire being chained to him like it was a night-long sentence. He fought away the feelings of lust and focused on the people around him, narrowing his eyes in exploration of each of their faces, wondering what their aim was... could they have been some kind of sirens?  

Desire flooded his mind again, battering back his questions of whether they were some kind of creatures, causing his heart to pump even faster. Unfortunately, they underestimated how surprisingly controlled the cardinal could be.

"You took my fellow Clergy like this, did you?" he whispered simply with a sneer, sensing foreboding in the air, ignoring their trap which was littered with silent promises of pleasure. Their hands paused over him and whatever spell they had on him seemed to start to fade. Instead, it was replaced with the feeling of maliciousness from the four of them, their faces still displaying expressions of intoxication.

"We did." the flawlessly pallid one answered, fluttering her eyelashes at him even though he wasn't gazing upon her. "But you are far more intriguing, your scent is... delectable. Such a shame you had to come in here to investigate, you certainly won't be coming back out..."

He felt something spiked and needle-like graze over either side of his throat and wrists, his eyes widening with realisation.

"Wait! Wait! Ehh, come on now. I am sure we can come to some... agreement, ah? I know you must be thirsty but you can't keep taking members of our church. Our numbers are already dwindling so...  it would be great if you could make me less paperwork by choosing some other unfortunate fuck, you know?"

"So you are Cardinal Copia then..." one of them murmured, their lips wet against the pulsing flesh of his right wrist.

He wanted to struggle as the sharp tips of teeth returned, brushing over his pulsating veins, but he played it cool. Internally he was panicking and far more uncomfortable than he had initially realised, amazed by their strength as they held him in place. 

"Sure, sure..." he brushed off, like he hadn't a clue what was publicly known of him - then again, it's not like he read the opinions of Vampire Weekly.

"But your sinners are so delicious, we could hardly stop, dear Cardinal." the female one with olive skin replied, breathing over his skin in hopes that desire would return to him soon... 

"Okay, that I can agree upon, but c'mon, you have aaall these others to choose from - "

"What makes you think that they are human?" the third woman chimed in, causing the others to giggle in spine-chilling unison.

The cardinal parted his mouth in concern, his mismatched eyes the size of saucers as he realised that the situation was completely out of his control. Before he could say anything in reply, the male snatched hold of his forearm, lifting it up before his very eyes. Cardinal attempted to pull his arm away, but the young man had already tipped his head back to unsheath two canines, glinting from the violets and magentas of the dim lights above. He bit down upon the cardinal's right wrist, a torrential flood of red trickling out from the two fresh incisions. Copia winced from the irritated feeling, hissing out in protest as the warm fluid rolled into his sleeve and gathered in the crease of his elbow.

Before the others could do the same, the male lapped up the blood and Cardinal groaned in pain as a consequence. He supposed it could have been a lot worse... but, who was he kidding - it felt downright terrible. His head felt dizzy and he found himself falling back involuntarily, but hands seemed to catch him, his liquid life-force seeping out of him, extreme weakness winding him to the point he was no longer able to speak...

Aemelia pushed her way through the dance-floor, cursing and spluttering as a few people turned towards her and attempted to convince her to dance with them. She elbowed them in reply and zig-zagged through the mass of dancers, spotting an opening that was vacant of anyone. As she burst free of the public, her face turned ashen at the sight ahead of her. 

There was a discrete booth in the corner, occupied by four thirsty vampires. Copia was propped up across a table in the middle, his eyes heavy from lack of energy - or more likely, blood-loss.

She inhaled sharply and immediately pivoted around, launching herself back into the dancers, who were oblivious to the bloody scene occurring less than ten yards from them. A frenzy of thoughts ran through her head as she fought her way out of the dance-floor, scrambling out towards the long exit corridor of the club. She jogged along the length of it with ease, not wishing to go any faster or she would likely slip from the velvet carpet underfoot. 

She passed by the door-man who was seemingly unaware of the situation inside, and gave her a friendly wave as she shoved by him, "Going so soon, little lady?"

Rain beat down upon her form heavily and she growled in annoyance, smacking her feet faster over the pavement below. It felt like hours rather than seconds when she reached the Ambassador sedan, which was gleaming like an ethereal prize before her due to the raindrops and vibrant moonlight. She scrambled hurriedly, knowing time was of importance and fished her keys out of her blazer, her deep crimson plaits now a dark mahogany from how drenched they were. 

She wasted no time and rounded the rear of the car, violently shoving in one of her keys to unlock the tailgate. It popped open immediately, shading her from the heavy downpour momentarily. Her breathing was quick and shallow, her chest rising and falling quickly with panic, but she remained focused, splaying her hands over every item in the trunk, cursing the fact she hadn't got a source of light.

She felt around, chucking away any square items she could feel, cursing when she couldn't seem to find whatever she was looking for. 

"Where is it?!" she hissed loudly, eyes wide with fear as her hands moved faster, discarding one thing to quickly move onto another. As her hands continued to rifle through the many supplies of defense for a variety of supernatural entities, her mind fixated on the image she had seen... the cardinal would have barely blood left if she carried on at this rate, and she really didn't want to have him die on her watch, no matter how irritating he could be. 

As her thoughts of him turned to slight fondness, her mind already decided that she had failed, her hand latching onto something wooden and dense, gnarled and spindly. She exhaled and actually smiled with triumph, yanking the item out of the trunk immediately, keeping hold of it with her elbow against her side as she quickly snapped the tailgate shut and fiddled with her keys to lock the vehicle. 

The assault of rain pelted down upon her again and she sprinted across the pavement, narrowing her eyes to stop the droplets invading her vision. She slipped her keys back into their rightful pocket and held onto the spiked stake in her right hand, siphoning it upwards so it was hidden beneath the sleeve of her black blazer. 

She felt adrenaline surge through her body, the soles of her oxfords slapping against the sopping puddles over the pathway, her eyes locking onto the entrance of the nightclub. She slowed, approaching the doors once again and the guard at the door stepped in front of them, shaking his head. She skidded across the puddles on the floor to halt before she flew into him, spraying him with salty droplets and grit.

He dropped his crossed arms and gestured both hands towards his attire in disbelief, clearly saddened by his soiled clothes. 

"Out of my fucking way..." she muttered darkly as she purposely shoved by his shoulder, finding at least a little bit of relief to her panic by doing so. She bolted through the long black-light corridor, a few heads turning her way in confusion. Her heart was racing from worry, the possibility of Copia being dead when she returned forcing her to blink away stinging tears. 

It wasn't long before she was pushing and jabbing her way through the mass of dancing bodies again, their sensual movements only adding to how depressing the situation was for her. The dark-wave music pounded her temples and she fought against the sea of dancers faster, her breathing in rags once her eyes spotted a slither of a gap in the distance. She powered towards it, the spotlighting pulsing out into intermittent flashes of blackness. Her heart sunk as the space grew closer, her elbows pushing downwards to force those around her to back away. Many cursed her for her actions as she left the obstacle of the dance-floor, her black eyes settling on the occupied booth that she had spotted before.

The small pack of vampires were still there, surrounding Copia to hide the fact they were feeding from him. As Aemelia approached, she gritted her teeth and hardened her eyes, disgusted from the sounds of their slurping - they were drinking him like he was merely a milk carton. 

Now that she was closer, she could see that they had laid him out across a rounded table, his arms splayed out with one creature to a wrist. Two others resided behind him, cradling their mouths around each side of his neck. His eyes were blacked over entirely due to his eyes being shut, his skin devoid of any colour. Thin trails of scarlet droplets soiled the torso and sleeves of his red tailcoat, the darkness of his blood standing out distinctly despite the colour of his attire. 
 
"Fucking vultures." she murmured, already extending her arm out so that she could draw out the wooden stake with ease. Her eyes narrowed in challenge, the sight of their oblivious feeding urging her to consider vomiting. But she resisted, swallowing back her disgust. 

"Oi! Fuck faces!" she roared, determined rage surging through her veins as they continued to suckle on the cardinal, regardless of her loud protest. "I don't think Papa Nihil would approve of me returning to the Ministry with the corpse of his next-in-line..." 

Three of the four moved their mouths away from Copia so they could all let out amused laughs, like they had some underlying joke that she wasn't aware of. She took a few steps closer, her eyes scanning over the extremely pale cardinal, concern pinging her heart in a heavy stab. She was unaware that they were ridiculing the spiked weapon in her hand, their amusement pricking her ears from how high pitched it was.

"You think you can just stake us?!" one of them laughed out as they wiped their fingers over their bloodied lips and licked the tips of their fingers clean. 

"Of course I do." she retaliated venomously, her eyes shading over in warning, thick obsidian present in her eye-sockets. To any human the sight of her would have been alarming, but the vampires were howling in laughter, presumably on a high from one of the purest sinners they had ever tasted. 

Her tolerance of their childish behaviour finally snapped and she wordlessly drew her left hand up into the air, gripping onto the sharpened stake with enough force that it should have probably snapped. She leapt forwards into an attack, lunging towards the nearest creature in her path. The weapon struck dead into the chest of the olive-skinned vampire, and the female screeched out in pain, black particles of energy meeting at the acute point of contact. She screeched out like she was raising some kind of unhallowed alarm, shaking violently beneath the needle-point of the stake. 

Aemelia's hold was steady, and her eyes glazed over as her entity's power took hold, bleeding the undead creature of its very existence. Her anger seemed to influence the entity that resided within her, her teeth gritting in irritation as the vampire's screech raised in pitch, her ears aching from such a sound. The vampire wavered erratically, the others scampering out from the private booth. One creature managed to fluidly sprint away, whereas the other two ducked under the table as they awaited the opportune time to make their escape.

The female that Aemelia had pinned into place soon erupted vigorously, the feel of fleshy obstruction around the stake falling away with ease. Their crying faded into a distant memory as their form puffed into nothing but simmering black dust, the pathetic sound of their death causing the party on the dance-floor to pause, amid the shock of what was happening. The black particles naturally seemed to be finding a route towards Aemelia, floating elegantly through the air like a flowing ribbon. 

The place was deathly quiet, other than the sad echoing of a dark-wave track now that many were starting to flee the scene. A few opted to stay, gazing upon the sight of the pale cardinal with concern.

The two vampires that were hiding under the table thought that the silence meant that they were off the hook, and manoeuvred their way from beneath the table-top, smiling victoriously...

Until their paths were blocked by Miss Vial, who didn't have the patience to draw out their suffering this time. She stabbed them casually like she was doing nothing but giving them a firm, playful prod in the chest and they hissed an obscene series of outcries, exploding into cascades of glistening black energy. The mass of particles flurried towards her in an eye-catching display of twists and turns, though she seemed completely oblivious to its existence, sliding her weapon back up her sleeve.

She hurried over to the rounded table where Cardinal was splayed out and it seemed that he was completely inert. 

"Cardinal!" she pushed out in a worried whisper, unable to muster a louder volume of voice as she shook his shoulder in hopes that it would waken him, but it only caused a ripple of blood to pool out from two neat incisions on his neck. 

"Fuck!" she yelled in startled exasperation, breathing out harshly as she wrestled her hands inside the pockets of her blazer. She huffed out in annoyance, and unbuttoned her jacket as quickly as she could so that it would allow her more access to what she needed. She pulled out a folded patch of material from her inside pocket and used her left hand to start taking off her blazer. 

She hurriedly leaned across the table and pressed a the patch of fabric onto the oozing wound, concerned when she saw other incisions over his neck and adjacent arm. She kept pressure on his neck and pushed him away from the table slightly, sliding her jacket around his shoulders in hopes that it would at least keep him a little warmer. His skin was so cold and pallid, in all honesty she would be surprised if he was even alive. 

Yet she continued to act like she believed he was, using her left hand to unhitch the ebony tie from around her neck. In order to hold the patch of fabric in place, she swapped hands so that she could knot her tie around his neck, careful that she didn't tie it too tightly so that he could at least breathe if he was able. As she double checked its tightness, he wheezed sharply, the strain of the tie over his windpipe causing him to choke back into consciousness.

Aemelia let out an audible exhale of relief, regardless of his discomfort, lightly pressing two fingers to the free skin of his opposite jugular, double checking that he had a pulse despite his splutters of discontent.

"W-What are you doing?" he asked in a small voice, finding every part of his body aching an unreal amount.

"I'm double checking that you have a heartbeat." she replied shortly, leaning back in even more relief when he certainly did. He was still incredibly pallid and his eyes were only cracked open, like he had no energy to open them fully. They'd feasted on him so much that she was surprised he was even coherent at all... then again, she supposed that he must have had Satan on his side when it came to strange occurrences such as this one. Apparently, she was beginning to realise that Copia was actually quite a resilient individual.

He groaned in displeasure as she linked her arms around his waist and when he made no effort to help her, she persisted and grew annoyed, feeling the eyes upon the two of them. Eventually, she prised him up and his eyes widened in surprise, his arms stiffly outstretched either-side of him. 

He was limp as she elbowed him upwards, his feet touching the floor. 

"Are you able to walk?" she asked, realising she should have probably asked him before yanking him up onto his feet.

"Ah, the legs are not so bad, you know... strong legs..." he slurred, blinking as his head lightly swayed from side to side. In fear that he would topple over, and still very much needing to vacate the place, she sighed in defeat and lifted up his left arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. She acted as his crutch and powered forwards, his weight leaning against her effortlessly.

They made slow progress across the expanse of the club, headed towards the long exit corridor. She was surprised that what she was doing was actually working, but she should have expected it to, as the cardinal wasn't exactly a heavy man. 

"I thought it would be sexier, you know?" he admitted quietly with a little choked chuckle as he staggered towards the right, but she steered him in the correct direction. "Turns out it feels like you're fucking dying..."

6 : She Doesn't Believe Him

Copia was laid out over the back seats of the sedan, his skin still almost as white as a sheet. His arms were stiffly splayed out across the backs of the seats, his head falling backwards to lean on the cushioning for extra support. His wounds had finally stopped oozing once Miss Vial had placed him in the back of her car. He was incredibly grateful for her coming to his aid, but he felt so strange that thanking her didn't even occur to him and he closed his eyes, deeply inhaling to ease the feeling of his lack of blood. 
 
The door on his right side was open, raindrops pattering down over the shining puddles on the pavement outside. A draft swamped the interior of the car and he exhaled, shivering slightly as the cool air contacted with his face. 

Miss Vial was busily tossing all sorts of items in the trunk around, muttering curses when she hadn't found whatever she was after. She paused upon hearing him groan in discomfort from the cold waves of breeze surrounding him and it caused her to wear a focused frown, her hands rifling through the tangled mess of equipment. She was internally chastising herself - if she hadn't have panicked so much earlier then everything would have been in a neat position where she could easily have found the items she needed...

As the sounds of clinking bottles, scraping stakes and clunks of heavy boxes resumed ringing out, Copia's eyes grew heavy and he found himself being hurtled into an involuntary dream-like state. His body felt weightless but he couldn't move, his form was riddled with goosebumps as another chilling gust blew into the vehicle, a few brown strands of his hair straying from the neat slick over his head to abide by the rules of the creeping draft. 

The rummaging in the trunk seemed to reach a peak and it eventually stopped, causing him to hum in wonder. Aemelia slammed the tail-gate down with ease, wrestling her way around the sedan as she hugged a bundle of supplies to her chest. She darted into the rear of the vehicle, raindrops dripping from her form as she shuffled further inside to reach him. 

His eyelids were entirely closed now, hiding the sight of her concerned expression from the drunken-like stare of his conflicting irises. She assembled the items in her hands, placing down a roll of fresh bandages, cotton pads, first-aid tape and a waxy bottle on the part of free seat in between them. She wished she had more to work with, but it would do for now until she could find more adequate help for him.

She scooted closer to him and appeared a little more relaxed now she could see the rise and fall of his chest, adjusting the black blazer she had draped across his shoulders to gain better access to his bites. She picked up the translucent brown bottle of witch-hazel, analysing his neck wound like she was deciding how much she needed. She passed the bottle between her hands as she ensured her shirt sleeves were properly rolled up, her blackened irises hardened with determined concentration. She slid out a clean cotton pad and wasted no time in unscrewing the bottle to lather the clear liquid over it. She tightly screwed the bottle lid back on and discarded it carelessly over the seat next to her. 

She inhaled sharply like she was really hoping he was out of it and leaned over his splayed out form, immediately preparing to press the sodden pad onto his most problematic wound. The corners of his mouth twitched as he felt the warmth of her body heat approaching him, which soon turned into a incoherent smile as she brushed her elbow over his chest. 

His ridiculous smile soon fell as soon as she pressed the cold witch-hazel to his wound and he knitted his eyebrows together, gritting his teeth in painful discomfort. 

"Yowch!" he hissed, his toes curling inside his shoes as a stinging sensation began to emerge from the pressure that she was applying. "...testicoli di Lucifero, that fucking hurts."

Aemelia kept a straight face but her eyes were filled with mirth at the disgruntled expression on his face. She doused his wound throroughly, each time she brushed against the incisions making him clench his jaw in quiet distress.

"Is that witch-hazel I can smell?" he grumbled through his clenched teeth, his voice still high-pitched out of intrigue and incoherence.

"Yep." 

"You are not supposed to use this on fresh wou - "

"Would you rather I left these bites to get painfully bruised and infected so that I'd have to drop you off at the hospital?"

"No, no! No hospital." he replied quickly, his mind still completely fried though it was clear that his reputation was still heavily important to him and very much on his mind.

"Good." she commented without so much as a smile to show her approval, knowing how much it would have hurt his appearance if he was forced to enter a public space when he was littered with crisp vampire bites. "You can grin and bear this for now then."

"Of course, of course..." he murmured, feeling dizziness overcome him entirely to the point where it was almost like he was entering some kind of drunken high. She noticed his head lolling backwards and raised an eyebrow, realising his mind was probably reeling with nonsense due to his recent blood-loss.

She removed the soaked cotton pad from his skin, evaluating the sight of the wound before she nodded, tossing the pad away before collecting another one. She thought she would find giving Cardinal first-aid trivial or awkward, but it wasn't so bad considering he seemed very out of sorts... which was lucky for her.

He stayed still as she repeated the same treatment on the other side of his neck, half-leaning across him. Although the stinging pain had returned he snorted out a laugh and wore a silly smile, feeling the damp ends of her plaits tickling his chin. He continued to giggle to himself, finding something about how she was tending to him incredibly entertaining. She ignored his chuckles and continued to ease his wound, her black eyes darting towards the door as someone ran over the pavement outside.

Her caution subsided and she returned her attention to the cardinal, who was sighing in relief but still mumbling chuckles under his breath. She rolled her eyes and threw the cotton pad somewhere behind her, dousing another one as she took hold of his right arm. 

She firmly gripped around his forearm and pulled his coat's sleeve upwards to reveal a pair of neat bites over his wrists. She grimaced at this particular wound as it had already started to bruise over and it honestly looked an unpleasant sight. She pressed the pad over his wounds and he actually opened his eyes in shock, presumably the stinging pain was a lot stronger this time.

He caught her attention instantly and immediately, she noticed that he looked like he was almost intoxicated as he looked at her, even his blinks were out of sync. She stared back at him, giving him a blank expression as she waited for him to inevitably say something. 

He licked his lips and tilted his head to the side, his dream-like state finally merging with the real world around him.

"You are very beautiful, y'know?" he murmured with breath-filled confidence, oblivious to the fact she was truly hearing his blatant confession. He looked up at her as his chin tucked into his chest which caused the arm she was tending to waver uncontrollably as he chuckled at her lack of words.

"Sh, stop moving." she chided like she was scolding a child, pinning his limb still with a firm grip from her other hand.

"Ah shush, you don't believe me?" he questioned defensively like she had outright insulted him, his mouth open in disbelief.

"Of course I don't, you've lost quite a large amount of blood. It's no wonder that you're speaking even more bullshit than usual." she reasoned, feeling the start of a wave of heat rushing to her face - she swallowed back her embarrassment for the time being and filled her mind with the task at hand instead.

"Sure, sure, I taste the edge of death and I lie? Fanculo." he quipped sharply, dramatically flinging his head back which caused her grip on him to loosen slightly.

"I said stay still, Copia!" she scolded loudly, dragging him back into the original position that he was in.

He winced at her frustration and he could feel the passionate resilience rattle through him as she firmly pressed the cotton onto his wound again. He hissed in discomfort but knew in the back of his mind she had saved him from something he didn't know whether he could have escaped by himself.

He kept his mouth tightly shut as she continued to dress his wounds, and after doing all four bite locations, she wrapped them all with clean bandages as best as she could, securing them with sturdy white tape. 

"Right, we best leave for the Ministry, I'm sure someone will be better equipped to help you there than I am."

"Yes, yes." he mindlessly agreed in a hushed tone, attempting to nod until he realised it was an impossible action due to the bandages wrapped across his neck.  She moved away from him and he winced as the cold air replaced where she had previously been.

"Wait, Miss Vial!" he yelled as she stood outside of the vehicle now, her black oxfords scraping over the pavement as she hunched so that she could stare at him in anticipation of his words. "Would you be able to help me into the front? I wish to - "

"Nope." she responded quickly, bending back up into her usual stance to slam the door firmly shut. The vehicle rocked to-and-fro from her action which caused another wave of dizziness to wash over him. 

For once, he had realised that he was expecting a bit too much from her. It was such a shame that his realisation never seemed to actually teach him anything...

7 : Their Terms

Miss Vial stepped down onto the accelerator firmly, the engine growling into life as the rear wheels skidded into motion over the drenched tarmac. 

Cardinal was leaning his head against the glass of the left window, still splayed over the seats in the back. Even though she had tended his wounds, he was still very out of it and couldn't quite register everything that was going on. He slid to-and-fro as the sedan sharply rounded a corner, causing him to audibly mumble in soreness. He managed to crack his eyes open, focusing on the snippet of her face in the rear-view mirror, her black eyes full of concentration.

He wasn't exactly sure what speed the vehicle was going as he couldn't quite turn to look out the windows beside him, but from her consistent gear changes and controlled turns of the steering wheel, he could gather that she wasn't hanging around. The night life of the lively town evolved into blurred images through the windows, the rain beating harder and harder as the car picked up some speed.

Silence lingered for quite some time as they travelled further and further from the small urban streets of the town, back towards to rural roads which were now thick with navy darkness. The black sedan would have been hidden to the eye were it not for the great beaming lamps on the front of the vehicle, light spewing out to illuminate the few yards of world ahead. Although the darkness was oppressive causing driving to become considerably more difficult, Aemelia found the atmosphere of the night exhilirating and strangely helpful - after all, she and the cardinal were sat in the safety of a tin box on wheels that was made in the sixties... the car was practically an impenetrable fortress. If they were to run into something else she didn't seem particularly concerned.

"Are we there yet?" Copia slurred out, his limp form bouncing up and down uncontrollably as they hit a couple of ridges laid over the road. His childish question didn't quite irritate her, if anything, she found it understandable given his recent blood-loss. She was sure he would be fine for the time being, but she couldn't deny that she was driving with a panicked sense of urgency.

"I'm afraid not, Cardinal. But I'm trying to get us back to the Ministry as fast as possible, alright?" she reassured, sniffing in confusion as scented particles of smoke filtered through the vehicle's ventilation. Her eyes darted to every mirror available as she tried to spy the source of the worrying smell, but there wasn't anything obvious to her.

"You... you are too kind, Miss Vial..." he admitted, his slow intonation of his words giving away that he wasn't completely present in his head. "... you have done all the things tonight that I could never do..."

"What? Like driving?" she quipped playfully, briefly acknowledging him in the mirror to ensure he wasn't about to pass out... although for her concentration's sake, she really hoped he would.

He chuckled weakly at her response and shook his head, wearing a silly smile over his mouth. Anyone in his position would have probably been anxiety-ridden from the attack he had survived or sweating buckets from the thought of the vampires hunting them down... but nothing of the sort even entered his head, it seemed that he was latching onto his optimism and feeling a sense of indifference about it all.

"You saved me..." he murmured quietly, like he actually didn't want her to hear but she could quite clearly. "... I thought that you wouldn't give a rat's ass... "

She frowned deeply at his confession of previous expectations of her, clearly quite upset that he would even think that of her. She knew she could come across distant and cynical, cool and uncaring, but she wasn't so immoral that she would have left him there to become a vampire's squeezed carton of blood-flavoured capri-sun. In that moment, she was visibly disappointed in herself for coming across that way, grateful that Cardinal seemed too out of it to pick up on her expression of upset.

As much as she wanted to reply to him, she clamped her lips together, knowing that if she spoke he would hear the tremble of sadness in her tone. And him worrying about her was the last thing she needed in that moment, she had to keep a level-head and stay as calm she could...

"You think we have time to... stop by and grab some donuts?"

Her eyes glared at the cone of road that was lit up ahead and she shook her head in disbelief, intrigued that his mind seemed to be subconsciously flowing out through his mouth. To be honest, she was glad he seemed to have forgotten about her actions towards him for the time being.

"I fuckin' love donuts... Glazed ones. Iced ones. Fruit butter ones. Extra sugar? Mmm... those bad boys would be devoured faster than a family of couch-potatoes in a house full of cannibals."

She continued to pull various expressions of confusion but dared not intervene with his ramblings - she supposed he was entertaining her rather than badgering her, so couldn't really complain. He tittered to himself as something else must have crossed his mind, his chuckles growing in volume with the more seconds that passed. As he was soon launched into a laughing fit, she narrowed her eyes in the rear-view mirror, black eyes filled with amusement at the sight of him laughing his head off... she wasn't sure if that night could get any more surreal than it already was.

"What's so funny?" she inquired, causing his giggles to subside so that he could answer her.

"Heh... just - hhh -" he cut off into another amused wheeze, tears springing out of his eyes, trickles of thin black paint trailing down his cheeks. "Just... I was... I managed to pick up four vampires!"

He burst out laughing again like it was somehow hilarious to him, but from his reaction she could only assume that he had never picked up anyone at a club in his life. She wore a small smile of amusement and shook her head, trying to block out his contagious snorts and wheezes of laughter.

After a few minutes his amusement died down and he closed his eyes, adorning a broad smile that looked absolutely ridiculous on him. It didn't take long for him to slip into slumber, light snores escaping his throat as he sunk deeper and deeper into sleep. His mouth fell open slightly and his snoring became louder, Aemelia's hands tightening around the steering wheel at the sound.

Her eyes flicked towards the rear-view mirror and widened in alarm, spotting the sight of two beams of light headed towards the rear of them at a catastrophic speed. Its engine revved so aggressively that small wafts of smoke were starting to rise up from the hood of the car, heat invading the air that they breathed as the scent of smoke grew stronger.

Aemelia muttered a curse under her breath and swerved to the edge of the road slightly, inviting the other driver to pass by - but it slowed down to the speed she was driving at, ominously lingering as close to the back of the sedan that it could get without touching it. She spied through the rear-view, the figure in the driver's seat nothing but an indistinguishable shadow... with glowing amber eyes.

She growled in frustration - why did these vampires hold such a grudge? Sure, she'd eliminated a handful of them but it was all in retaliation... couldn't they just let things go?

The flashy sports car suddenly shuddered and the engine snarled like it was a battle-cry, its bumper dishing out one merciless thrust towards the rear of the black Ambassador, sending it flying forwards, the tyres screeching out from the unexpected speed it was picking up. The sports car easily caught up with it, the flaming amber eyes of the enraged driver piercing into the back of the cardinal's head like he was somehow to blame for something.

It closed in again, this time giving the sedan a thundering ram, the whole of the car dashing forwards which caused everything in the interior to slide forwards. A tape that had been half-hanging out of the music player was forcefully eaten up by the machine, the volume somehow obscenely loud as Rebel Yell began to roar through the constraints of the vehicle. Copia had been thrown into a more vertical sitting position, his bandages caught on the thin tubed fibres of the seats, the friction setting off the pain he had forgotten all about.

"The fuck was that?!" he shouted angrily over the loud eighties rock music, his eyes bolting open at the forced position of his body and the ear-splitting soundtrack of Billy Idol. He gritted his teeth as an unbearable ache rippled throughout his body - his veins had finally realised he was lacking in blood and throbbed in the most unpleasant manner.

He shut his eyes as he grimaced loudly, biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself from screeching out in agony. He groaned loudly and wriggled side-to-side in complaint, continuing to whine loudly over the music. The engine rumbled beneath his outstretched legs straining from how much speed the vehicle had gained, the vampire still hot on their tail. Despite the focus she needed to have on the control of the car at that moment, Aemelia found herself unable to ignore the sounds of pain consistently flying out of him... she knew she would have to do something about his fresh wave of pain or she was likely to lose control of the situation entirely.

Huffing out in exasperation, she let her right hand fall from the steering wheel, glad of the presence of the loud rock music or she would have probably blown her top from the stressful situation she had been left to deal with. She swiftly reached down towards the dashboard and twisted a dial with a cigarette symbol on it, a skewed plan evolving in her head... it may have been completely unorthodox but she couldn't deal with him writhing in pain while she was trying to steer clear of the vampiric maniac behind them...

"Lean forward." she ordered in the most stoic, practical tone she could muster, and he winced as he immediately obliged her instructions, still mumbling curses of protest beneath his breath.

Aemelia made no delay in swinging her right arm back towards where he had moved, swiping her hand backwards in a purposeful strike. She blindly directed her actions towards one of Cardinal's rolled up sleeves and immediately dropped an inch or so... the searing cigarette lighter bounced into the skin of his forearm for a few split seconds and she immediately retreated once she had completed her plan... leaving him to scream out in the most high-pitched squeak she had ever heard.

"You... you bii-hi-hiitch!" he squealed out, hissing out through his teeth as he flung a gloved hand over the small circle that was now branded over the skin of his arm. She ignored the temptation to laugh at how feminine his voice sounded and twisted the cigarette lighter into its rightful place, resting her mirthless eyes upon him in the rear-view mirror. He was glaring at her, his differing eyes framed by an intimidating scowl, sprigs of brown hair loosely falling down to cling to the sides of his face.

"What in Lucifer's name was that for?!" he bellowed in the lowest voice he could conjure, like he was attempting to make her forget how girlish he had initially screamed. 

"Figured it would take your mind off the other pain for a while." she replied loudly without an ounce of emotion in her voice, focusing back on the vehicle that was still set on chasing them down.

He glared at her like she had lost her mind, softly rubbing the fresh circle of sore skin tissue in hopes that it would cause the burning sensation to ease. He was utterly offended at her actions but he couldn't exactly disagree with her attitude as he could no longer feel the awful aching from before. He pierced his eyes into the back of her but frowned in bewilderment when she visibly froze in her seat, her shoulders and back stiffening...

She jolted the steering wheel to the right until it locked and the screech of tyres shrieked out, the rear end of the car skidding out to the left, almost crashing into a line of diagonally parked cars. They had completely blocked the road ahead so she hadn't been left much choice other than to abide by their wishes. The car that had been tailing them had eerily come to a halt to the right side of the sedan, and Aemelia scowled, knowing that such a situation had to have been organised in some way.

She dropped gears and powered ahead, obliging their road-block despite her frustration. She wore a look of realisation on her face once she recognised the layout of the location they had forced her into, gaining a sense of strange familiarity from the sight of a variety of vehicles packed into the thick strip of car park... it appeared to be the diner they had visited earlier that day.

Cardinal slumped backwards into a more comfortable sitting position as the vehicle pulled into the cramped space of the car park, completely unaware that they were entering a place he had urged them to visit no so long ago. The bass line became more prominent as it blasted out of the speakers and he bobbed his in appreciation, softly singing along with the words as Aemelia cranked the handbrake to keep them stationary.

She peered out, following the trails of her headlights which were pointed towards a large group of individuals. They were leaning against their diverse styles of vehicles - some were bashed up and weaponized, whereas others were in pristine condition considering the age they were. The group's eyes gleamed a recognisable amber and it briefly reminded her of the sight of cats' eyes in the dark - alarming once seen, but not so scary once the explanation was fairly straight forward... apparently vampires were merely straight forward to her.

She rolled down her window considering a few of them had begun to approach them and no way in hell was she getting out of her seat to converse with a large group of vampires... especially considering that they looked pretty ticked off.

Cardinal was still unaware of his own whereabouts, about to sing more passionately to the song that was still blaring out. Aemelia knew she should have probably turned it down a while ago but she realised how ridiculous things probably appeared to the vampires around them... she and the cardinal were hardly taking their threats seriously and that only seemed to irk them more.

At the absence of Rebel Yell's addictive melody, Copia shuffled up, finally finding he had energy to sit up straight, his eyes casually peeping out of one the windows. When an array of pallid, fang-wielding people glared back at him he fell back across the seats, blinking his eyes like he was checking that he was awake.

"They're kinda... antsy, aren't they?" he blurted out, shaking his head at the animosity he had sensed emanating from them.

"Shh!" she hushed quickly, a person bending down to peer through the open window at her. She could see them in her peripheral vision, their features overly perfect, their eyes begging for her to look into them. She would never give them what they wanted. 

She kept quiet, the song finally quietly ending on the tape, leaving a tense silence over the diner's car park. Footsteps began to sound out as more and more vampires emerged from the shadows, circling the car as they drooled hungrily. Hands pressed over the glass as they caught scent of the cardinal's healing wounds, the recent bites calling out to them with an abnormal amount of impure temptation. He must have seemed like a fine vintage wine to them...

Cardinal didn't appear to be concerned, still mumbling the words to the song that had been playing but his attention flew to them instead once they began salivating over the rear window.

"Yeesh. You're gonna wanna go through a car-wash after this, Miss Vial."

Her eyes were also on the disgusting sight in the rear-view mirror and she winced with disgust but didn't reply to him, waiting for the vampires to make their first move so she knew where they stood.

They continued to swarm around the vehicle, panting like a pack of starving hounds, vengeance aglow in their inhumanly golden irises. The two of them must have been the ultimate prey - there was one whose veins were boiling with anger and anticipation, and the other beared the most deliciously sinful blood. The sedan wobbled as they began to growl in unison, growing impatient and feral, a few starting to scramble up to the roof of the car...

One thing that really irked Aemelia Vial was anyone that dared lay a finger on her car... so when the few that managed to climb onto the roof of her sedan attempted to use their superhuman strength to slice their way into the interior of the car... she absolutely lost it. 

Her eyes blacked over, the dark entity making its presence known as her rage seemed to fuel its existence, shimmering black shadows collecting together in the atmosphere around her.

"Ok, ok, fuck it - listen up folks!" Cardinal suddenly exclaimed, his voice comically muffled from the glass of the windows. "We don't wanna harm anyone, we just wanna go home, forget this all happened, smoke a few then head to bed, you know? There is no need to have sticks up your butts, so hey, listen, we can make a deal, alright?"

He'd noticed that Miss Vial was unveiling her darkness to them despite the fact he was still utterly incoherent - but he figured he needed to distract them from her.

The vampires continued to lick their lips hungrily at him but they didn't say a word, some others poised like they were prepared to attack as they stared at Aemelia. The black particles twirled through the air, travelling through the frame of the black sedan with ease, clinging to each panel like it was forming some kind of ethereal barrier...

From the silence of the vampires, Cardinal guessed they were at least listening and cleared his throat, weakly sitting up so that he could dust down the front of his red suit jacket. 

"We make an agreement between our two parties... ok? ... ahm... if you all vow to stop preying, turning, mistreating - basically, whatever-the-fuck you enjoy doing - to any associates of our Ministry - Miss Vial included - ahm..."

He paused and briefly scanned his eyes around the gruesome-looking group of creatures, who were now bearing their canines at him like it had only made things worse. The blackness that was eminating from Aemelia's form was starting to attract their attention and all of them started to yelp in fear, starting backwards like the stuff was about to harm them, their impossibly yellowy eyes latching onto her like she was the most threatening monster there. Cardinal continued his speech regardless of their actions, confidence lacing each of his consonants.

" - then we will vow to never speak of your existence to anyone, and this night is just a drop in the ocean too. How's that sound?"

To Copia's surprise they all nodded their heads in a panicked manner, all deadly silent as the shadows clung to the lines of the car, Miss Vial's eyes still blacked out as she gritted her teeth together in annoyance.

"I... take that as a "yes" then?" he asked in confusion and before they could all nod again, Aemelia audibly exhaled, unlocking the handbrake from its position so that she could slam one of her black oxford's down on the accelerator. She locked the steering wheel so she could pivot the vehicle around, tyre smoke rising up and mixing in with the particles of shadow that were still escaping her.

She easily left them all standing in bewildered (and terrified) awe as the sedan rolled away, the cars that had blocked their path now parting for them as the shadowy sedan sped away from the odd gathering of vampires.

"Did... we just negotiate with vampires?!" Copia questioned, eyeing her with concern as the strange darkness didn't appear to be going away any time soon.

"I'm pretty sure we did, Cardinal, yes." she replied emptily, raising her head so that she could glance at him in the mirror. Her anger seemed to ease slightly as he stared back at her quizzically, the particles around them slowly flowing back towards her until the darkness over her eyes sucked into her irises, the whites of her eyes returning once again.

"So... case solved?!"

"I suppose so." she replied in a sadder tone, eyes focusing on the vast navy of night in front of them. "Unfortunately I think your missing Clergy members are gone once and for all. They would have easily left you as a cadaver so that's enough of a solution for me. All we can hope is that they abide by your terms, Cardinal."

He smirked and chuckled, "Heh, somehow I don't think that will be so much of an issue..."

8 : A Strange Conclusion

When they were both back to their more sedate Ministry professions on Monday, it was like nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. 

Cardinal performed his habitual sermon and paper-work duties, gave Papa Nihil the low-down on the solution of the case - without mentioning the fact he was attacked - and attended the infirmary to have a final check-up on his bites. Other than the itchiness of them healing up, he was still often light-headed and unfortunately it had only caused his insomnia to worsen, but he supposed it was a small price to pay to be alive...

He still had Miss Vial to thank but he hadn't gotten round to doing such a thing just yet. Papa Nihil was even more expectant that he worked endlessly - if he'd explained the fact he was attacked he probably wouldn't have had so much work but he wished everything to appear normal as much as possible. He really didn't want Nihil to have that sort of knowledge about him, mostly for his own pride. As a consequence, he adorned his cassock to cover as much of his skin as he could, ensuring that no one would know of the bites that were scarred across his neck and arms.

It was late-afternoon when he finally had a free slot of time to head to the apothecary, the idea of thanking her heavily on his mind. He pulled up the right sleeve of his cassock nervously, taking note of the time before he rolled his eyes at how pathetic he was for stalling himself and pounded a fist against the door.

He waited there patiently for almost a minute, and having gotten used to her by now, he shrugged and knew that she likely couldn't hear over the music she had playing. So he let himself in, entering as quietly as he could so that he wouldn't intrude on her work, closing the door after himself as softly as he could.

He sniffed in interest, the familiar scent of tobacco reaching him as his narrowed eyes set on her casually holding a lit cigarette between her fingers, a cloud of recently exhaled smoke causing her to seem like a translucent apparition to him.

Aemelia gasped at his presence and dashed towards a rounded ashtray - which she'd set out on the sill which framed the underside of the stain-glass - whispering a variety of expletives to herself. When he realised that she immediately assumed his expression of surprise meant she had to snuff it out, he waved his gloved hands at her.

"Hey, don't worry about that, I won't rat on you." he said kindly with a choked chuckle, taking a few steps closer. She raised her brows at his joke but returned to the table, which now separated the two of them as they stared at each other. She had her cigarette poised between her middle and index finger on her right hand, smoke swirling up to the rafters above.

"You aren't going to berate me for breaking one of the more important rules then?" she asked quickly, her heart still pounding from the fact he had caught her lighting one up.

"Nah, the only reason we even have that rule is because of laws... but we can skirt the line with some, ah? You are fine to puff anywhere you like in the old building. Just don't try it in the newer section, those detectors could detect the fumes of a shit-stain."

She snorted at him, which soon evolved into her throwing her head back and spewing out a surreal choked cackle. His moustache curved upwards as he smirked at her, confused at her blatant amusement but he decided to roll with it.

"Hey, you laugh, but what are we supposed to do, Miss Vial?" he asked with mock confusion, tipping his hands to the ground like he was even asking his Dark Lord the same question. "We are a Satan worshipping church, we have fucking candles everywhere."

Her cackle grew stronger and she had to lean forwards to steady herself, resting her weight on the left hand she had placed flat onto the alchemy station. She didn't know why she found him hilarious all of a sudden, she had gritted her teeth whenever he'd made the attempt at jokes before. But now she could actually feel tears springing from her eyes and she closed them for a moment to stop herself bawling with amusement.

When her moment of laughter came to pass, she heaved an enormous relieved breath and cracked open her eyes. Eyes which widened into saucers when she felt a weight on her left shoulder, and she quickly flicked them to the source of such pressure. He had placed a firm hand on her and all she sensed from him was a strange sense of sincerity. She flicked her eyes away to glance at his face, his eyes unusually clear of any ulterior motives or questions.

"Just make sure Sister Imperator never catches you, Aemelia." he whispered, winking at her as he used his free hand to tap a finger against the end of his nose.

She gently frowned at his abrupt use of her first name but she nodded and leaned back, his hand swiftly leaving her. She took a long drag from her smouldering cigarette, closing her eyes to feel calming waves ripple through her.

"You honestly don't mind that I'm smoking here then?"

"Not at all, you should know from how much of your smoking I have already endured." he replied, knitting his eyebrows together like her smoking in the sedan was some kind of ordeal.

"I suppose. It's just a bit different when you consider that this is your place of worship." she responded in a more serious tone, her eyes falling to the floor as another depressing thought suddenly entered her head.

"I couldn't give two shits, Miss Vial." he snapped passionately and she immediately raised her eyes to his, inhaling sharply to stop herself from laughing again - she was having quite some trouble doing so. "If what you hold in your hand makes you feel better then so be it, I am not going to stop you. You are showing your freedom to relax the way you wish to, how my superiors fail to see that I will never know. Of course, you are... quite an exception anyway, but hey, they are not aware of the darkness that resides as a part of you."

A silence fell between them, and her jovial manner ceased to be. She nodded her head as she repeated his last sentence in her mind, her eyes shining as she inhaled and exhaled each new cloud of smoke.

"I will never tell a soul, you know? I will take it to my grave." Cardinal piped up in a whisper, his hushed actions almost hinting that he probably didn't trust his own church - someone could very well have been eavesdropping for all he knew. 

"Good to know." she replied with a nod, sighing like the topic of conversation was trivial but in reality she was finding his sincerity a bit too overwhelming. "How are the bites doing?"

"Aw man... They're real fuckin' itchy. That's the last time I try picking up at a club full of vampires." he answered with a wince, mentally noting how quickly she had diverted the conversation.

"Good call." she assured with a smile, trailing her eyes over the locations of the bites even though they were very well covered. "At least you can say that propositioning vampires is off your bucket list now."

He chuckled and shook his head at her, watching her take another load of nicotine in.

"Just how old do you think I am, Miss Vial?" he questioned with mock hurt, crossing his arms over his chest with an over-dramatic pout. 

"Not sure, really." she sighed out casually and exhaled a small tornado of smoke into his face as a consequence, his gloves hurriedly wafting it away from his person. "You're either close to death, or still on the approach to puberty. I can't quite decide."

He opened his mouth but quickly shut it again, rendered completely speechless. To save the atmosphere growing anymore uncomfortable, he raised his hands up in surrender and shuffled backwards, narrowing his eyes at her like she'd truly annoyed him... and soon scraped his back against the door of the apothecary.

"Ah shit..." he muttered as he quickly scrambled around to hide himself from her scrutinising gaze, flinging the door open so that he could escape the awkward atmosphere of the apothecary. As soon as the door slammed behind him he breathed a heavy sigh of relief and leaned his back against it, closing his eyes for a moment to calm himself.

He couldn't help feeling like he was acting more like the part of the fool with every interaction that he had with Miss Vial. He truly couldn't stop acting so ridiculous when he was in her presence, so he would have to just sit back and embrace it.

After all, it wasn't like she was going anywhere any time soon.

He suddenly remembered something and leaned his head backwards, the back of his skull loudly thumping against the wood of the door.

"Ah shit, I forgot to thank her..."

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