NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Your blood will be the next on the floor if you do not provide the answers I need, especially the foul smell coming from the floorboard below where the buzzing flies like the likes of you had decided to feast on,” Theodore uttered, standing to his feet.

”I do not understand what you mean by my blood being the next on the floor.” The man countered back, his brows knitted as his red eyes glowered with a dangerous glint. ”You come to my home asking for blood which you deliberately poured on the floor, shattering my glass too, and now? You threaten me?!”

”And what if I did?” Theodore took a step forward towards the man, his head tilted to the side. ”You think I merely came here for a glass of blood? You must be foolish. Tsk.”

”What are you called?” Theodore continued to ask, his nails elongating as he spoke.

”I am Glenard and who are you?” Glenard replied maintaining his stance not to be intimidated by the presence of Theodore.

Theodore stared at his nails while testing how sharp they were with his fingers. He then turned to face Glenard, his eyes glowing red with a maddening smile on his face. ”You need not know who I am, Glenard. I will be quick with my questions and you dare not waste my time. Firstly, why have you decided to cause chaos in Blackfang town?”

Glenard frowned, perplexed and at the same time annoyed by the questions of Theodore. ”I do not know what you speak of. Now, if you may, leave my house this instant!”

”I’ll make this easy for you for the last time,” Theodore asserted, his face bearing no smile this time. ”The death in Blackfang, what was your reason? If not your reason, who ordered you? Who do you work for?”

”Hahaha,” Glenard suddenly let out a dry laugh that didn’t reach his heart. He pointed at the door commanding, ”Leave my house this minute or I won’t guarantee what will happen to you!”

”That phrase should be what you ought to be reciting because my leniency is slipping faster than the second-hand ticks. My questions remained unanswered unless you want to resort to violence. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty though.”

”Are you a church member?” Glenard quizzed, realization dawning on him.

A small smile stretched on Theodore’s lips, his eyes glinting in their usual evil way, ”Took you so long to realize.”

”I do not want any trouble with the church. I have been in this village without causing any trouble or harm to anyone. I haven’t killed anyone, to begin with. I see no reason why the church should come to my house at such an odd hour to interrogate when the real culprit might be somewhere.”

”Look,” Glenard stepped forward, squatting at the same place where Theodore had broken the glass of blood. He went ahead to open the board where Theodore said a foul smell came from. ”This is what is inside this floorboard. I do not keep dead bodies if that is what you are thinking. I hunt animals for my food and I store them here. I am no killer!” Glenard stood up, his expression stoic and glaring.

”Now, if you could leave me and my house, church member, and look for the real killer. Is this how the church does its work?”

”For a man and a vampire, you do speak more than you ought to while neglecting the questions I demand the answers for,” Theodore remarked having heard everything being said by Glenard. ”Let me remind you also that I am no fool to believe any flimsy tale of yours. You shall, however, explain better in the church’s dungeon.”

”I did no wrong!” Glenard insisted, standing his ground. ”I refuse to go with you. This is my house and I demand you to leave!” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

”We shall see about that then,” Theodore smiled, and in the next second was behind Glenard his elongated nails right on his neck.

Glenard not expecting that move from Theodore tried to fight back. He held onto his arm in return wanting to push him away from himself, however, Theodore was faster and more experienced than he was Ashe successfully trapped him.

”Do not forget you are just a lowly vampire. You dare not challenge a pureblood.” Theodore’s grip on his neck tightened, and his other hand twisted the hands of Glenard to his back.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Churchwoman Aurora rushed in saying, ”We’ve got the wrong person! Donovan demands your presence immediately!” Aurora relayed immediately stopping Theodore from hurting the man more.

”How did that happen? This was the house we got the information on.” Theodore frowned, releasing the poor man from the mercy of his nails that already left some marks on his neck.

”I do not know too but it was intercepted by someone who obviously doesn’t want us to know the truth.” Aurora continued to explain. She turned to Glenard who now stood at a corner feeling more furious than before. ”Please, Mister, I apologise for everything that has happened between the both of you. The church shall take it into account and compensate you.”

”Compensate me?” Glenard scoffed. ”I do not need anything from you or the church. Leave my house immediately and let me be! And you!” He spat, glaring at Theodore, ”I hope we don’t cross paths with each other.”

Theodore’s gaze sharply stared at the man, his mouth twisting in controlled anger as he thought over what he was told. He replied with the same vigor, ”I hope so too,”

”Come on, we have to hurry!” Aurora urged Theodore outside the house. ”Why did you have to do that to him so quickly?” Aurora referring to the scene she walked into shook her head in disbelief. Was this the heart-to-heart conversation he said he was going to have?

”That man is not innocent of the claims of this mysterious death in Blackfang town.” Theodore asserted his resolve firmly. He refused to accept he made a mistake by the things he discovered in the house of that man. Even though the evidence wasn’t enough, he was surely going to dig into it.

He turned to Aurora and asked, ”What is this about the real place of the culprit being intercepted? Was this not a confidential case that isn’t accessible to everyone? How was the person able to do that while it was under Head church Donovan’s care?”

”That is what I have no answer to, Churchman Theodore. Head church Donovan just got a message sent from a bird about where the real culprit is.”

”And where could that be?”

”Three villages away from here and in one of the forests there,” Aurora replied, her steps fast on the ground just like Theodore’s walking beside her. She turned to Theodore, her expression solemn and worried, ”We have a problem, however.”

”When was there never a problem in any case?” Theodore mused, scratching his head in annoyance.

”This time it is different,” Aurora shook her head and deadpanned, ”The forest Donovan mentioned is one we cannot enter even as vampires. We will be needing the assistance of a witch to walk us through performing a certain ritual.”

”And?” Theodore sighed waiting for the next word from his fellow church member.

”And we need the witch that performed the exorcism ritual in the village of Woodbridge back then to help us with this task. Donovan said you are the only one who can contact her.”

”Right,” Theodore shook his head. ”Cast the witches but need their help later. Take me to Head church Donovan.” Theodore, just as he finished speaking increased his steps, the look on his face ready to kill anything that got in his way.