The sun was Alucard’s oldest enemy, but the fluorescent lights of the precinct were a close second.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCxoklF0b3
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhsUu9ZRLh
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Across from him, Anne Jones was staring at a blank computer screen. She had been holding the same pen for ten minutes.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5D99FSFhdQ
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAZw5LwCwK
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzXoQOmX5D
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3ObmFSYIX
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"Maybe," Anne muttered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. Her brow furrowed. "Then explain this."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqJDf34fVl
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJG4IEcj0Xk
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1LRLzy8ct
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfUUhFx6Xe
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77LZNr7VbD
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The Second Case: The Vanishing Patient121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkQZkT3Gmh
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Before Anne could argue, Captain Miller slammed a new file onto their desk.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmpfAmIVBa
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04ML16fCI6
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Alucard’s ears perked up. The Speckled Band. Or a modern variation of it.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrSq1zgvKT
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"Locked room?" Anne asked, her detective instincts overriding her confusion. "Maybe he walked out?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauVOvcxY4h
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"He was in a coma, Jones," Miller said. "Unless he learned to teleport, he didn't walk anywhere."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDUV1JrUUE
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The Hospital Visit121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnPLGgmKjJ
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The ICU smelled of bleach, sickness, and—to Alucard—the faint, cloying scent of ozone.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rU6nDLXvD
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRg4urPW1N
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"The vent," Alucard whispered.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx82sCXvaI
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"The vent is four inches wide," Anne said, joining him. "Even a child couldn't fit through that."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXZ4HjeHtz
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JMvNyj6cB
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vSqTsSk5F
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"Anne," Alucard said, his voice urgent. "Check the hospital records. Was this patient ever an employee of Sanguine Medical?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ze8zZuZDv
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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?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrK7sNsuye
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxRd7OL7gJ
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The CEO's Office121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWE6KCn08s
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They didn't call for an appointment. Alucard led Anne straight to the top floor of the Sanguine Tower.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KmlKLp0EE
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfybFsEIhRl
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"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?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRtnmeBaEf
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Anne stiffened. "How did you—"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDnkL3OIFe
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjSvOykd2h
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"The researcher, Carmela," Alucard growled. "Victor Hesse. He vanished from the hospital. What did you do to him?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUVexPaGNo
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTWRPlwOGt
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"And now he's hungry," Alucard finished.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGI7g2cO6mu
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iRS4WxZN1
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She looked directly at Anne.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgnnK14Su3
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdc4vRuEO7
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"He's coming for her, isn't he?" Alucard whispered.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SSIOWCL26
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"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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4kXQaDgkb
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Suddenly, the lights in the office flickered. A soft, high-pitched whistling sound began to echo from the ventilation shafts above their heads.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3miqaliMl
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Anne pulled her gun. "What is that?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvMsi1VBWT
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Alucard looked at the vent, his fangs beginning to ache behind his lips. "That, Jones... is the sound of a very bad night."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtohmwXeF05
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