“May I come in?” He asked standing at the stoop “Though I would love to simply stare into your eyes all day there are pressing matters I must discuss” he said looking directly at Evangeline

“Um yes come in” Claudette said with reserved confusion. They moved to the main parlor on a long satin couch

“Could you perhaps fetch us some tea?” he said looking at Claudette

“Sure” she said as she left the room

“I must ask; what is the name of this Aphrodite before me and does she have a suitor?” he said kissing the back of Evangeline’s hand before she pulled it away forcefully

“My name is Evangeline Church and it’s none of your business” she growled

“I take it that you are the rough and tumble type, who plays hard to get and isn’t afraid of dirtying her hands, or say… running up and down Rosam with blocks of stone” Evangeline blushed from embarrassment “I’ve heard all about your excursions, and I must say you are impressive, though I imagined someone…”

“Easier to manipulate?” she growled defensively

“I was going to say shorter, you are quite tall, and might I say, paired with your beauty it is quite intimidating” Blud replied

“Tea’s ready” Claudette said with gritted teeth

“Ah, you were fast, I hoped you would take longer” he chuckled

“I’m sure” she said sarcastically “Here allow me” she said as Blud held his cup and she poured, though she made sure to ‘accidentally’ pour a little on his lap

“Ow, Ow, Ow!!” He yelped in pain

“Oh I’m sorry, was it hot?” she pouted

“Piping” he replied “burnt thighs and tea aside, I have pressing matters to discuss with Jonathan Arc”

“Evangeline and I are his students, anything you want to say to him you can say to us” Said Reginald as he entered the parlor, still in coroner clothing, covered in corpse blood.

“I suppose so” Maxwell said, completely unfazed by the gore “The monsters that attacked yesterday eve” he said “They are widespread, I was sent from Galatan to muster aid from the famed Jonathan Arc but he to seems a tad… preoccupied” he mentioned “The beasts who attacked us call themselves ‘Vampires’. They attack nightly and regularly drink the blood of my townspeople”

“Your townspeople?”

“Yes, The Blud family is the governing body in Galatan, it is our responsibility to protect the people”

“At least we have a name to associate with them, I was gonna call’em white hairs” Reginald laughed

“Does the name Asteroth mean anything to you?” Evangeline asked, causing Maxwell to reel back for a moment

“I… it… It does seem familiar… perhaps in whispers and rumors, but I’ve not anything significant to say about it. Why? Does it have some bearing on this scourge?” he said with confusion

“I have reason to believe that a man named Asteroth is either closely connected to these ‘vampires’ or is even possibly coordinating these attacks”

“Geez, thanks for keeping me informed” Reginald pouted

“Hey, I just made the connection earlier, I was going to tell you but Mr. Blud here arrived before I could”

“I see” Blud said, rising to his feet “I will remain in town, I have many connections, if any of them have any information on this Asteroth character, I’ll be sure to let you know personally” he said as he stood and placed his hat on his head “Dear, dear Evangeline Church” he bent down to kiss her hand “Let this not be our last encounter” he showed himself out, closing the door softly behind him

“That… He… Ughh!” Claudette groaned punching a pillow “He has some nerve, walking in here and flirting with you so shamelessly! Such a filthy man, people like him disgust me! Just because he has money doesn’t make him some… some… important person! Ugh”

“Geez, calm down sis” Reginald said putting a hand on her shoulder

“Right… sorry… Oh dear, the couch, I got tea on it, oh no, this is bad, Master Arc will be upset!” she said cleaning the couch frantically

“Geez, you really are popular aren’t you Evangeline?” Regi said with a grin “Maxwell Blud may have information we need about the vampires, so we may need Evangeline’s… ‘skill set’” he chuckled

“Don’t even joke about that” Claudette scolded

 

Meanwhile, just outside the manor

“Well? How did it go?” A white haired woman inquired

“Swimmingly” Maxwell said sarcastically

“Awe, be serious now, wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to that little town of yours” She cooed

“I know… They know about Asteroth…” he said

“They do? You didn’t tell them did you?”

“Of course not, they know his name and that he’s connected to the attacks, that’s all, they’re not a threat”  He said, trying to keep his composure

“We’ll leave that up to the master”

“What do you want from me?! Why do you need me?” Maxwell demanded

“We are doing you a favor, turning you into a god. You’ll come around to our point of view” she assured him “In the meantime, you keep doing what we say and your little town will stay safe”

“Fine” he said storming off into town.

 

“Well I’ll have you two know that I too have discovered something in my research” Ajora said to Evangeline and Claudette as he removed the coroner’s smock and rolled it into a blood stained ball “It turns out that with the arrival of day the Vampires lose muscle mass, and for the most part are reverted to human levels of strength” he said, throwing the ball of cloth into a basket “They are primarily nocturnal, so I wouldn’t anticipate any day attacks”

“That’s… pretty good news” Evangeline said

“But that’s not all” he said “It seems these monsters depend strongly on blood, if weakened they need only drink human blood to regain a temporary boost of power, even in daylight, so be ever vigilant”

“I understand” Evangeline said walking towards the front door

“Where are you going?” Claudette asked

“I’m going to tell the town guard to increase security around night, also people will need to stay indoors after dark”

“I’ll go, I’m more suited for errands anyways” She pleaded

“Don’t worry about it, besides, I could use some fresh air and exercise” she said stretching as she walked off into town

“You seem worried sis”

“I don’t trust mister Blud” She said angrily

“Is that because he’s interested in Evangeline?” Reginald asked

“No! It’s… I.... He’s hiding something, I can tell!” she cringed

“Relax, Evangeline isn’t going away anytime soon” Reginald said confidently, patting her shoulder

“How... you?”

“It’s my job to read your mind, we’re twins after all” He affirmed