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CHAPTER 1: The Hunt

Midgard Island.

Red, thick clouds gathered in this dark night, and soon the rainstorm tore its way through the city ofMidgard. The wind kept pushing against the rows of twenty-foot high windows of First District's

Library, an old, four-story building built more than six decades ago.

On the top floor, where the glass ceiling allowed the scenery of the sky above, a dark-haired youngman was occupying a long, oak table in the far corner. He chose to distant herself from the morecrowded desks that were lined up in a rectangular line around the wooden handrail in the middle,where one could watch people going about their quiet business down at the spacious lobby on the firstfloor.

As antiquely charming as the library was, there were supposedly more interesting places for a youngman like Ian Kruger. Approximately two dozens of thick, leather-bound books piled up in front of him,acting as an excellent foxhole to separate him from the rest of the world. A single table lamp lit justenough for him to read the texts on the yellowing pages. He gave heed neither to the rumbling ofthunders, nor the sounds of footsteps from the lower floor. The rain still poured as the night went on.Given the fact that the library opened at dusk and closed at dawn, there was no other place in the

world he would rather to be.

His brows knitted into a dramatic line, he closed the book in front of him and pushed it away. Themanuscript offered no information he wished for, or at least, it did very little to convince him of itscredibility. He then caught sight of a new book to venture on, the royal blue, leather-bound one to hisleft. He picked it out of the pile and brought it a little closer to his face, reading the title.

Legend of the Vampire.

The book was only half an inch thick, a junior among its peers. Perhaps it was the very reason Ian hadoverlooked it in the first place. The cover looked centuries-worn, and certainly smelled of old papers.He held it carefully; the crumpled papers felt so crisp as though they would vanish into dust at histouch. He began to flip through, however, with a discouraged spirit. He had read about a thousand

legends concerning origins of the vampires, but still, he hadn't gotten any closer to the truth thanseveral years before. His incessant researches were unrewarding and often ridiculed by his peers.

The sound of footsteps he had caught earlier finally came to stop at his desk.

"There you are! I was looking all over the place for you. What are you doing here?"

He continued to read without looking up. He could hear his rushing footsteps even before he turned atthe corner to enter the library. Jerry Storm was always the loud one, even for a bestial standard, andit was the reason he always got into trouble with the vampires. They sensed him miles away.

Taking his brown hat off, Jerry plopped onto the chair opposite to him, brushing the raindrops from hissoaked jacket. To his annoyance, he had drawn attention from other tables he didn't seem to notice.

He glanced down at the book he was reading. "Legend of the VampOh, not this nonsense again.Can't you stop this ridiculous quest of yours? It doesn't exist! And the more you're digging, the easieryou'll become a target. You're only digging yourself a grave."

His head snapped, and he glowered at him. "Are you afraid?"

Jerry sat back, feeling uneasy whenever the pair of deep green gaze flashed it rage. The kind offerocity unimaginable to humans, and only he had witnessed and actually survived it.

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"I'm afraid of you," he said. Jerry appeared mildly surprised when a glimpse of reluctance replaced thefury in Ians eyes.

Ian instantly looked down at the book, his fingers gripping the edge of the book. "I need alone time,"he said.

"Please, you've been alone out here for long enough. I've come to get you back at the mansion. Weneed you there. We're in trouble." Jonny reached out for his arm, but the dark-haired manimmediately drew back. He rarely allowed body contact even with his closest comrades.

"What kind of trouble?" he eventually asked.

Then he looked up at the ceiling, and beyond the wet, glassy surface above, he spotted a pair of largebats zoomed past the thundering, crimson sky. His mouth gaped open as bewilderment set in hiseyes. It was an unusually audacious roam for the vampires to expose themselves with such publicdisplay. Human eyes might not be able to catch their presence as fast as him, but it was stillconsidered precarious. Years spending in this suspicious library, he had yet to encounter a vampire.His regular visits were an open invitation, but he hardly expected the vampires to strike in public.

"They're enraged. They've just caught our spy. They'll torture her, Ian." Jerry leaned forwards, staringat him in the eye. "She might expose our lair, and it would mean hell."

"She knew our location?" Ian mumbled almost to himself as he sat back in his chair, his face creepingaway from the light from the table lamp. His vision fared better in the dark. He looked beyond thewooden handrails and down to the lobby on the first floor.

Two slender figures approached the door to the lobby entrance. Their faces were half-hidden underthe hoods of their black coats. Their glides were easy and smooth, untouched by the furious wind andheavy rain outside. Their feet, if one carefully noted, did not touch the ground. They entered, and theold, female librarian at the oak counter nodded at them.

"You always picked the best time to be in public, Jerry. They're here for us," Ian said, turning hisattention to his companion.

Horror filled Jerry's eyes as he watched the two agents downstairs turning around for a sign of theirtarget.

"God, I knew it. I knew it was a bad idea to come and get you. Why couldn't you just stay home andsearch for this crap over the internet?" Jerry gripped the armrests so tightly that his knuckles wentwhite. His lips quivered, and beads of sweat formed over his forehead.

"Internet doesn't have everything," Ian said, hurriedly fumbling through the pile of books. Consideringthe size of the books and the emergency he was in, he blindly picked the small book he was readingearlier and stuffed it into his backpack.

"If it isn't on the internet, it doesn't exist!" He was exasperated that she was still worried about thebooks.

Ian swung the backpack over his shoulder and ran towards the row of windows to the eastside. Hisfriend followed suit, sporadically turning to see if the vampires had already caught their presence.

When nobody was near enough to notice, Ian pushed a window wide open. They should be able tomake a four-storey landing just fine. The only concern was to steer clear of the two agents until dawn.

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"Itdoesn't exist because they want us to believe that way." With the triumphant smile on his face, hejumped off the edge and let himself fall to the ground below. With ease, he landed on all fours andthen leapt into the shadow of the night, averting attention from the passersby.

Jerry followed in the same manner just before the two agents made their way up to the forth floor.

The tall, dark-haired man led the way, his young, beautiful friend closely behind. Looking around for alittle bit, he then approached the opened window. A strong gust of wind slapped against his ashenface, and he narrowed his hazel eyes in contempt as he watched the two running figures disappearinginto the dark alley. He clenched his fists as his companion started to giggle, and then turned to her.

Stalking across the narrow path between the empty desks and rows of shelves, the man stopped atthe table where Ian had sat before. He looked at the scattered pile of books, while his friend hadalready occupied Ian's previous spot, flipping a book with an expression of mild interest on her paleface.

"Interesting version. I've never read this one before." She only skimmed through the pages, but noword could escape her fast eyes.

He put both hands over the edge of the table, leaning forward and glaring at her. "We've just lost himagain. We can be sure that the bastard won't set foot out of his shit hole again anytime soon. And I'mtalking about months before another chance."

"There's no 'we', Reito. I only tagged along because you needed a companion. You lost him." Leaningback comfortably in her chair, the young woman continued to read on. Her chestnut, wavy, long hairhung over her slim shoulders, her face was reminiscent of a marble sculpture come to life. In herhumble coat, she still attracted unwanted attention from passersby wherever she went, and he noticedit too well.

Reito cautiously glanced around the area, making sure that no one was staring at them long enoughtonight to remember them tomorrow. Or he would have to make them 'forget'. Mind control was apowerful weapon for a powerful, three-century-old vampire like Reito.

He then turned to her, his voice softened a bit. "You act so carelessly, Spencer. This concerns the fateof our clan. Doesn't it disturb you to see all these books around? A werewolf was studying us. Hewants something."

"Dogs are always the curious ones. Let them be."

"It's not just another werewolf, an unfortunate nuisance. He's the son of Kruger Hideaki." The name ofthe famous scientist did catch his friend's attention, and he continued with a lower voice. "We've justcaught their spy, and it's turned out to be a vampire among us. Spencer, this is a grave matter. Forthe first time in centuries, our sworn oath of absolute loyalty has been broken."

The woman paused for a long moment. The state of betrayal must have struck hard at an ordinaryvampire like her. A treachery among them was unheard of.

"Who's the mole?" she asked.

Reito looked around a bit, arms across his chest. He was one of the top agents, the queen's right handman, and the information he had was confidential. But Spencer Lee had been his friend for as long ashe remembered, and there were few things that he had kept secret from her.

"Her name is Anderson Mai, daughter of Lord Fukuoka, Anderson Tatsuya."

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Spencer stopped to think a little. "Never heard of her."

"She" Reito briefly looked away. "She usually keeps to herself, very much like you, except that shespends most of her time in the castle, but you in your invalid dormitory. Wherever that is."

Spencer chuckled at Reito's sarcastic shrug. She tossed the thick book back into the pile. "Still. What

can this Kruger possibly get from these phony stories anyway? It's a waste of time."

Reito's gaze became cold, horror filled his entire being. "Perhaps... the legend"

At his words, there was almost a disbelief in Spencer's eyes.

"The blood, Spencer. The origin of all vampires granted us immortality and it could very well take itaway."

"Fiction!" She laughed in her chair.

As her soft laughter echoed through the night, Reito turned to the opened window, his hazel eyesnarrowing with full determination. Fiction or not, Ian Kruger already had his answer.