"So how long have you been? You know..."

  He stopped in his track as he heard Gabriella speak up, "All my life really, but I only learned of it yesterday."

  They were on the way to train station and her weak attempt at conversation was clearly a sign that she was struggling with everything Harry had told her. To be fair the only reason he had so easily accepted his situation was because he had been forced to. He couldn't exactly deny what he was just because it scared him seeing as his nature had caused him to kill someone he had genuinely cared about. The simple truth was that his very existence was living proof of the supernatural.

  "Gabriella, I went from being unable to jog without passing out to running fast enough to overtake a car in a day," he said as they entered the station house, "So there's really no point if I try to deny that the supernatural is real when I'm living proof of it."

  "I see," she said weakly as she took a seat next to him.

  Harry had told them that he had needed to get some things done and had told them to head downtown in the meanwhile. He still didn't know why he felt so comfortable around Harry, but if anything the man was interesting at the very least.

  Apparently Harry was a mage, but he still didn't exactly know what that meant. Valentine had called Liz a mage, and his father hadn't denied being a part of that world when he had asked him when he woke up that morning. What it really meant was unclear, but clearly they possessed the ability to do certain unimaginable things that he could only describe as magic.

  "So how long have you known Harry?"

  He couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about the fact they had barely known each other for even a day. Harry had appeared in his life out of nowhere and had dragged him into the world of the supernatural without a second thought. Despite having just encountered him the man had dragged him into his strange investigation without a second thought, which had given him a way to avoid being devoured by his guilt.

  "I met him last night and if I hadn't I'd probably be in a much darker place than I am right now."

  "So you've known him for half the time I have and yet you still trust him?" she asked him as he watched the landscape outside zooming past the speeding train.

  "I don't know if I trust him exactly, but I think I'd rather he tells me about the world than some cold woman in a suit," he said almost bitterly.

  Liz hadn't displayed even an ounce of care. It was as if life was no more than a number to her, and even Valentine who clearly worked for the same organization as her had been annoyed by her words. There was no way he would ever let life become nothing more than a number to him because if he did he would end up no better than her. Even if his vampiric nature changed the very way his mind worked he would still do his all to hold on to his belief that life needed to be preserved at all costs.

  The moment the doors opened they exited the train. Harry had said that he would meet them outside one of the fancier inner city night clubs when the sun set and it was already disappearing beyond the horizon. After only a few minutes of walking Harry came into view. It was an almost comical sight to behold. He looked like if the prototypical private investigator had stepped out of the movies and into reality when he walked up to them in his beige trenchcoat and adjusted his dark trilby hat.

  "See, ma'am, where were you at the time of the murder aye?" Harry said in the worst american accent he had heard in his entire life.

  Gabriella's head sunk as Harry flashed them a bright smile, "You can't be serious..."

  "Well he nailed the look to be fair, he's got that unkempt stubble and the wild uncombed hair," he said as he shot Harry a thumbs up.

  "That part wasn't intentional," Harry stammered, "My barber is sick and the sound of the trimmer makes it impossible to shave on my own."

  "So what's the plan here, Harry?" he asked him before turning to look at the establishment.

  "I'm going to go with Gabriella and ask around to see if any of the patrons know anything about the killings, but you're here because the place is run by vampires and when I told the owner about you they said they wanted to talk to you personally."

  The owner of a night club run by vampires wanted to meet him? It didn't exactly bode all that well in his mind. The fact they wanted to talk to him personally made the prospect of entering the nightclub feel like walking into unknown territory. There was just no way for him to know what they could want from him, but his mind immediately assumed that it couldn't be anything good.

  "I hear the owner's a great guy, but he is also the oldest of his kind on Avalon so what he might want from you is anyone's guess," Harry said as he pushed the doors open and stepped into the club.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The sun hadn't set and the place didn't look to be open yet, but Harry surely wouldn't just barge into a building without permission. The building anxiety was almost palpable and once he went inside there would be no knowing what might happen. He took a deep breath to center himself and threw a final glance at the setting sun before following Harry inside.

  "You are early just like you said you would be, 'Arry" said a short blonde girl with a thick french accent, "And you have brought us the chimera I hope?"

  "I've got him for you right here, Lili!" Harry laughed as he pushed him towards her.

  Lili's eyes flashed red for a moment as she studied him intently. She gave Harry a short nod before opening a door that almost seamlessly blended in with the buttoned leather wall panel. When he leaned forward and peered beyond the door he could see a small set of stairs leading up to the floor above.

  "Our master is very appreciative that you ended that haunting for us, so if you need the chimera back you need only ask one of our employees and they'll bring him back to you at the earliest convenience," Lili said to Harry.

  She nodded at Gabriella and Harry one last time before grabbing him by the hand and leading him towards the stairs. Harry was clearly in their good graces somehow, but he still felt somewhat uneasy as she dragged him up the stairs. He didn't know the first thing about vampires and for all he knew his existence might even offend them. Valentine had made it sound like the birth of a chimera was an unfortunate thing when he had explained it to him.

  Once they had reached the end of the stairs he saw what could only be described as a perfect time capsule. While the nightclub on the floor below was all modern and top of the line lighting systems, the bar in front of him looked like something right out of the eighties with all the colorful decor and memorabilia to go with it. There were even countless pictures of celebrities all over the wall and standing next to them in every picture was a bald man with an excited expression on his face.

  "Master, I've brought you the chimera," Lili said as she let go of his hand.

  "Splendid!" came a voice from the back room of the bar.

  An incredibly tall and imposing bald man stepped up behind the counter and he could feel his heart pause as he took in his appearance. The man's skin was practically gray, his eyes a deep crimson like freshly spilled blood, and his nose looked as if it had all but fallen off his face. As the man began to speak he could see the countless needle like teeth hiding behind his lips.

  "I know my appearance can be somewhat disconcerting, but I couldn't be bothered to do my makeup today," said the man as he studied him with those deep red eyes, "I'm Bernard and I'm so glad you've decided to join us here in the vip section."

  Bernard's voice was incredibly soft despite his grotesque appearance, and he spoke with an almost aristocratic british accent. There wasn't a hint of the Avalonian patois in his speech. He almost tripped as Lili gave him a light push towards the bar and after slowly breathing out he finally approached Bernard.

  "I'm uh Ken," he awkwardly stammered, "Last name Carver, and my parents adopted me when I was very little which is why I look nothing like them."

  "Not only a bifold vampire chimera, but an adopted one at that," Bernard said as he dragged a long finger ending in a wicked black talon across the bar counter, "Don't worry young man it'll just be us and the regulars here tonight, so the two of us will have plenty of time to get to know each other."

  It was the oddest thing really. His anxiety was quickly fading as some strange newfound sense told him that he was in the presence of others like him. It was as if his instincts recognized Bernard and Lili as others of his kind. He felt like he was safe there as if he was finally among his own species even though his instincts recognized that they were anything but human.

  "Your blood may not be pure, but in a way you're blood is purer than ours seeing as you were born not turned like the rest of us here at the establishment," Bernard chuckled.

  "You used to be human?"

  Bernard placed a menu in front of him and gave him a warm smile, "Most vampires you see were at one point since it's so incredibly rare to encounter a born vampire."

  He gazed at the menu as Bernard spoke. Every drink on there was a fixture of the colorful themes created by culture of the eighties. Almost no drink on the menu was without grenadine, blue curacao, midori, or some kind of juice to give it a vibrant and striking hue. There were even some drinks on the menu that credited Bernard as their creator.

  "I can recommend trying every drink on the menu, but it can never go wrong to begin with one of my own creations."

  Eventually he settled on one drink on the menu and spoke up, "I'll take a beneath the moonlit waves."

  "Great choice!" Bernard exclaimed as he got to work preparing it.

  The speed and agility that Bernard displayed as he prepared the drink was stunning. His hands practically became a blur as he poured it all into a shaker with impressive flair and countless bottle flips. Bernard had all the talent of an experienced flair bartender and had the superhuman physicality to pull off some utterly mind boggling tricks while he was at it. He didn't even realize the show had ended as the drink slid towards him on the counter.

  "That was insane..."

  "I've got more than a lifetime of experience in this business and eternal life gives you plenty of time to practice," Bernard said as he started cleaning the shaker, "That and our inhuman reactions do give us quite an advantage when it comes to fun things like flair bartending or juggling chainsaws."

  "You don't say?" he said as he took his first sip of the drink.

  It was colorful, sweet, slightly sour, and also incredibly complex in flavor. There was a hint of exotic fruit and something very lightly floral to its aroma that reminded him of the smell of roses. The drink itself also glittered in a way that actually reminded him of the moonlight when it hit the ocean waves off the coast.

  "Only one in ten chimera are bifold, and other chimera like you often struggle with their new nature just like we do when we are first turned."

  "Did you call me here just to talk me through everything I'm going through?" he asked Bernard cautiously.

  "I do feel responsible for all the dhampir I come across here on Avalon, but we also discovered something unusual that we ended up having to trap in the basement and we'd like you to come take a look for yourself."

  They had trapped something in the basement and they wanted him to look at it of all people? Perhaps whatever they had encountered had some connection to him or his birth parents. Either way experienced some amount of trepidation, but after some consideration he decided that there was no point in trying to run from whatever it was that they wanted from him.

  "I guess you might as well lead the way then..."