The sun was Alucard’s oldest enemy, but the fluorescent lights of the precinct were a close second.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVI9ACsrzl
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhfXSkiwOi
He sat at his desk, his eyes shielded by tinted glasses that he claimed were for a "migraine." In reality, they hid the fact that his pupils hadn't fully constricted since the night before. Using the Glamour—the hypnosis—on Anne had taken a toll. It wasn't just the energy it required; it was the guilt.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGysfEUoyAQ
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3cUIzwlt8
Across from him, Anne Jones was staring at a blank computer screen. She had been holding the same pen for ten minutes.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2hBNk59XD
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMnsg0D43f
"You’re staring, Detective," Alucard said, not looking up from a 19th-century autopsy report he was cross-referencing. "The ink in that pen is drying out. Much like the leads on the 'New Rache' case if we don't move."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbDDK6xU2R
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11lutlEhAf
Anne blinked, shaking her head as if clearing cobwebs. "Sorry. I just... I have this pounding headache. And I can’t shake the feeling that I’m forgetting something important about that theater."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNBON9jkxH
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR46zJnsYzD
Alucard felt a cold prickle of apprehension. "Adrenaline often causes memory gaps. You were attacked by a man with a silver blade. Your brain is simply protecting you from the trauma."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZVskEAqdW
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiQUsY9EaO
"Maybe," Anne muttered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. Her brow furrowed. "Then explain this."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCBDdNYWNs
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AN82HN9tA
She smoothed the paper out on the desk. It was a polaroid photo—blurry, taken in the dark of the theater. It showed a figure pinned against a wall, and a shadow looming over him. The shadow had an elongated jaw and eyes that reflected the camera’s flash like a cat’s.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8RskbLu81
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCPWF0mLsy
"I don't remember taking this," Anne said, her voice dropping. "But I found the camera in my jacket pocket this morning. My finger must have hit the shutter when I fell. Al... that shadow doesn't look like a man."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBXU5FjizP
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJFb1shGKj
Alucard reached out, his pale fingers steady as he took the photo. He could see himself in the frame—the monster he tried to hide. With a flick of his thumb, he used a sharp, hidden nail to put a tiny, unnoticeable scratch through the "monstrous" part of the image.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLiSSRLZTP
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkrG96gRwg
"It’s a motion blur, Jones. Light refraction in a dusty room," he said coolly. He tossed the photo into the 'Evidence' bin. "Don't let your imagination do the job for the criminals."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtE2cNPmBYf
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvz8D0xW5sg
The Second Case: The Vanishing Patient117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2s6X62PcP5
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtv7A4hMeM
Before Anne could argue, Captain Miller slammed a new file onto their desk.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqOOgJjDS3
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9o6Oae1hQ4
"Drop the Rache stuff for a second. We’ve got a weird one at St. Jude’s Hospital. A patient vanished from the ICU. Room was locked, fourth floor, no balcony. The nurses say they heard a 'whistling' sound, and then the guy was just... gone."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRGLktrVhx
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuzjIv6IqI
Alucard’s ears perked up. The Speckled Band. Or a modern variation of it.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JdVdx2pv8
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXH3JSKeHW
"Locked room?" Anne asked, her detective instincts overriding her confusion. "Maybe he walked out?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfjT8gdwis
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkqng7R6Ua
"He was in a coma, Jones," Miller said. "Unless he learned to teleport, he didn't walk anywhere."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsr7rRWV4f
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69eXwo6ZPy
The Hospital Visit117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALdi4uCVVF
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7ekoDc3V1
The ICU smelled of bleach, sickness, and—to Alucard—the faint, cloying scent of ozone.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWH2DHgMOce
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwW1fiSBNu0
As Anne interviewed the terrified night nurse, Alucard walked to the center of the room. He didn't look at the bed. He looked at the ceiling.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NU0qLcsIg
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOmZ7z9ODR
"The vent," Alucard whispered.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NTdGmVbFm
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AbmBc7XIH
"The vent is four inches wide," Anne said, joining him. "Even a child couldn't fit through that."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gOyh8Ne9G
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCx0HXw9bh
"A human child, no," Alucard agreed. He stepped closer to the wall, sniffing the air. He caught a scent that made his skin crawl. It wasn't blood. It was cold. "But something that can change its molecular density... or something very small and very lethal."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTk92ebdcS
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZ5uPcdYSb
He saw a tiny smudge of grey ash on the edge of the vent cover. He touched it. It wasn't ash. It was skin—shriveled and burnt by the hospital’s UV sterilization lights.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5L9TgMsKb
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdotRmSF0r
"Anne," Alucard said, his voice urgent. "Check the hospital records. Was this patient ever an employee of Sanguine Medical?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMgaI7dSfY
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQFC1IqseO
Anne pulled up her tablet, her fingers flying. "Yeah. He was a lead researcher in their hematology department. He was fired six months ago for 'unethical experimentation.' Why?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdE8IWTLNd
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eafkaCdYa
"Because," Alucard said, his eyes darkening. "My cousin Carmela doesn't just run a medical company. She runs a sanctuary. And it looks like one of her 'pets' has gone rogue."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF96OLjxar2
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEeHdLLNfA
The CEO's Office117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeT7z828yz
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBN9LyLe6Un
They didn't call for an appointment. Alucard led Anne straight to the top floor of the Sanguine Tower.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpQ0lw2HKq
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx7vLvhHgb
Carmela was sitting behind a desk made of obsidian, looking at a series of digital charts. She didn't look up when they burst in.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCIaGOnsXK
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPj4eyG6a2C
"Alucard. Detective Jones. You’re becoming a recurring series," Carmela purred. She looked at Anne and smirked. "You look tired, Detective. Having trouble sleeping? Perhaps you’re dreaming of things that shouldn't exist?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgTlL2h6zM
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhrR5eG9r3
Anne stiffened. "How did you—"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre7e6fqrnM
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYOHGize8M
"I’m a CEO. I have a pulse on everything," Carmela interrupted, finally looking at Alucard. Her eyes moved to his pocket, where he had hidden the scratched polaroid. "Including the little 'glitches' in your partnership."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRIX7Nd4WZ
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡei0tOyzFsb
"The researcher, Carmela," Alucard growled. "Victor Hesse. He vanished from the hospital. What did you do to him?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYdNwCnxCd
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7rzSeEwKt
Carmela sighed, standing up and walking toward a floor-to-ceiling window. "Victor was... ambitious. He wanted to see if he could create a vampire without the 'Dracula' bloodline. He used a strain of modified bat venom. It didn't make him a king, Alucard. It turned him into a leech. A mindless, crawling thing that can squeeze through a keyhole."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMPJImhiAs
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQ6vZ9qBwH
"And now he's hungry," Alucard finished.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelBVNzicwo
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhcUPpxAnD
"Extremely," Carmela said. She turned around, her face suddenly serious. "And he’s not just looking for blood. He’s looking for pure blood. The kind that hasn't been diluted by centuries of evolution."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTA0G9TCXP
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwLW6T8p32
She looked directly at Anne.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggZfsVq7Gx
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb5Yj3HFxF
Alucard stepped in front of his partner, his hand instinctively resting on his holster. The hunger in his own stomach flared—a protective, possessive roar. He wanted to drink Anne's blood to keep her safe, to mark her as his so no other monster would dare touch her. The irony was a bitter pill to swallow.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPOrULJR19
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPRY6xlbk5
"He's coming for her, isn't he?" Alucard whispered.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wBopLpAzH
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjTNDdyYf2
"He's already in the building," Carmela replied, checking her diamond-encrusted watch. "I’d suggest you use that 'Sherlock' brain of yours, Alucard. Because when Victor feeds, he doesn't leave a body. He leaves an empty shell."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44Frok76AH
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKe9zJGJn46
Suddenly, the lights in the office flickered. A soft, high-pitched whistling sound began to echo from the ventilation shafts above their heads.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQajLHrVwz
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9bQYv8J2d
Anne pulled her gun. "What is that?"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraoRM0nRws
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbBHErK8pe
Alucard looked at the vent, his fangs beginning to ache behind his lips. "That, Jones... is the sound of a very bad night."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhTWb5B5K2
117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2KerS2PES
1234 copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡIU9TIfEt3U 尼117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlj0fUmvZCJ