CHAPTER 67: TO THE EAST

Seamus hadn’t even noticed the figure behind Maria until the man shifted his weight. Brown hair fell over tanned skin, a face he recognised instantly but had no patience for.

He was already shocked by the revelation of David, Betty, and Maria being vampire hunters. Now this person too?! Was everyone he knew in this town either a vampire or a hunter?

"Ah! What I meant is, I’ll come with you!" Dylan blurted out.

"A new recruit?" Seamus folded his arms, his tone flat. "I don’t think so. I don’t want a burden."

"Burden? You’re not better than me," Dylan snapped, narrowing his eyes.

A short laugh escaped Seamus. "Ah, now I remember. You’re the loser I wiped the floor with in college. Dropped out, didn’t you?"

He glanced at David. "Is the Vampire Hunter quarter really this desperate?"

Colour rushed to Dylan’s cheeks. He squared his shoulders, trying to look bigger than he felt. But Seamus’s cool, uninterested stare only made him feel smaller.

"You’re no better than me just because you won one fight!" Dylan barked.

"One fight? It was three against one, and I still clapped you."

"What? You—"

Dylan lunged, but David slid between them, pushing him back with one hand.

"Enough! We’re in a crisis."

David’s gaze cut to Seamus. "Bring him. If you’re as great as you say, you can keep him alive."

Then he turned on Dylan. "And yes, Dylan, you do suck. That’s a fact. But it doesn’t mean you’ll stay at the bottom forever. Prove yourself."

"Both of you knew each other in college. Great. Now act like teammates."

"Tch." Seamus’s eyes narrowed. "Is this what the Vampire Hunter quarter has come to?"

He turned and strode off. Dylan and Maria hurried after him; Diane lingered a moment, simply watching.

Outside, a pink-haired girl was waiting, a bright smile lighting her face. "Oh, they’re our new team?"

Seamus exhaled through his nose. "Yes, Lulu. This is Maria and..." He tilted his head at the boy.

"I—I-I’m Dylan!" Dylan stammered, his cheeks burning.

Seamus’s brow twitched. That reaction told him everything: Dylan liked her. Great. Another complication. It irked him, the way the kid blushed like a schoolboy at Lulu’s smile.

He stepped close, draping an arm over the pink vampire’s shoulder. "This is my girlfriend. Don’t even think about it."

Lulu blinked, her face heating. Diane’s head snapped around. Both women shouted in unison, "WHAT?!"

"What?" Seamus smirked. "You want to be my girlfriend too?"

Diane just rolled her eyes as a response and said nothing.

Dylan scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Oh... okay. I understand."

At least he didn’t argue further. But if Dylan so much as flirted with Lulu, Seamus would kick him off the team himself.

They climbed into the car while Diane protested that she could fly and teleport. In the end, she relented, slipping reluctantly into the passenger seat beside Seamus, her shoulders stiff, as if the small space were closing in on her.

"What’s with you? It’s just a car." he shot her a sideways glance, one hand loose on the steering wheel.

Diane’s eyes flicked warily over the cramped interior before she clipped her seat belt with a sharp click.

"Yeah, well, a while ago humans rode horses instead of this iron death trap. Do you have any idea how many accidents happen every day because of these things?"

"You’re a vampire. A car crash won’t kill you."

Her gaze slid to him, cool and steady. "But you—and the rest of the humans in here—aren’t so lucky, are you?"

They bickered in low tones as the engine hummed. Pine shadows swept across the windshield, the smell of resin seeping through the cracked windows.

Dylan shifted uncomfortably in the back seat, finally clearing his throat. "So... where are we going? And what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"To the east, Dylan. Just stay alive."

Seamus’s tone was curt as the car wound along the forest road, gravel crunching under the tires. The mountains rose ahead, their peaks already dimmed by evening haze.

***

Bork was a small town swallowed by dark pines at the base of the eastern mountains, a perfect feeding ground for Scavengers.

They weren’t bound by covenants or rules but they still like to gather like gangs, united by one instinct: to eat.

Worse, they could turn humans into E-rank vampires: half-starved creatures who couldn’t restrain their thirst. They went berserk, killing indiscriminately: human, vampire, anything in their path.

With only claws and fangs for weapons, they still left trails of blood... and then died miserably in the sun. Unlike higher vampires, who merely felt discomfort under daylight, these creatures had no resistance at all.

The Hunters once kept their numbers in check, but corrupt officials in Bork—now slain by Isolde—had let the plague spread. Uncontrolled, the Scavengers had become someone’s weapon for reasons still unknown.

Seamus pulled the car off the road beside an abandoned garage buried in the trees. Its corrugated roof was rusting through, and the air smelled of oil and damp metal. He killed the engine and scanned the building.

"How many, Maria?" he asked.

She closed her eyes briefly, then grimaced. "A lot. And there’s a strong signature SP inside."

"Could it be the Raven?" Seamus’s voice sharpened.

"Maybe. I don’t know yet without a sample."

"Alright. You’re with me and Lulu. Diane, stay here and cut down anyone who tries to run." He opened his door, boots crunching on gravel.

"What about me?" Dylan jumped out first, puffing himself up as if to announce his importance.

"I told you to stay alive." Seamus strode off with Lulu without looking back.

Maria rested a hand on Dylan’s shoulder as she passed. "Just come with us. Hide if you have to, fight if you can. Just don’t get in Seamus’s way." Then she moved toward the garage, her eyes narrowing.

Dylan exhaled hard and followed. He wasn’t about to sit in the car like a coward. The cold mountain air stung his lungs, and his palms itched around the dagger at his belt.

"How strong can Seamus even be? He’s human too, and his fights haven’t looked that impressive..." he muttered under his breath.