(Southern Region- Loyren Town)
Loyren Town may be called a town but truthfully that was just in name only.
It was nothing more than a village left behind by the industrial revolution that had swept through the country in the early eighties.
The young and those with families had long abandoned the village leaving behind the frail and the elderly.
pαпdα Йᴏνê1,сòМ There was a sense of desolation in the air as well as an eerie stillness as if something was holding its breath.
That was the impression that Lily got as she stepped out of the car and looked around the village carefully.
Most of the buildings were in various states of disrepair. Roofs were partially broken and missing tiles, walls were cracked and several doors were just missing.
There was a handful of residents in the distance sitting down in what used to be a lively town square but was now nothing more than a relic of the past.
Lily let out a heavy sigh and kept her eyes peeled for anything that was suspicious.
The sun was shining brightly high above in the sky so it was unlikely that the vampire that she was hunting down would be active.
Still... it never hurt to be cautious.
Lily observed that the elderly residents in the town square were looking at her silently with expressionless masks on their faces.
Should she approach them first?
Lily frowned slightly as she felt a heavy weight land on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Finley smiling at her with a roguish glint in his soft brown eyes.
"Lily babe... you got to relax... we got a few hours before nighttime," the handsome boy said casually as he squeezed her shoulder.
"Why don't you and I spend some time together?"
Finley smirked and winked at the young woman who pursed her lips together with barely concealed annoyance.
She politely removed Finley's hand from her shoulder and then took several steps away from him.
"Can you please be serious and focus on the mission?" Lily sighed heavily as she crossed her arms and looked at the boy who never appeared to take anything seriously.
"There have been five victims so far and we need to hunt down this vampire before anyone else gets hurt."
"I am going to speak to the locals and try to get more information... you just... just... don't get into any trouble."
Finley scowled as he watched Lily walk off towards the residents hanging about in the town square without even sparing him a backwards glance.
He didn't understand what was going on. The charms of a half vampire were almost impossible for normal humans to resist.
Lily was... special.
Finley did not know what exactly was special about her but something about the young woman made his heart skip a beat.
He wanted her for himself.
A possessive glint surfaced in the dhampir's eyes as he looked at the retreating woman's back and licked his lips.
It was a good thing that Lily had not seen what he just did because she would have been creeped out even more.
"Alright... you can do this," Lily whispered quietly to herself as she passed a few run-down shacks on her way to the town square.
Her first vampire hunting mission.
She felt a mixture of both fear and excitement at the prospect of hunting down a monster from the race that had killed her sister.
She was relatively confident in her skills, but practice was a lot different from a real battle.
Lily was well aware that she had several shortcomings, but she was prepared to work hard to become the best vampire hunter.
Some may call it a foolish goal especially for an ordinary human who did not belong to any ancient families but...
Lily was determined to be the best. It was this drive that was the main reason why she had no time for either Ian or Finley.
Although frankly speaking... they were both annoying.
Finley much more than Ian because at least her senior knew when to back off. Finley just never seemed to be able to control himself.
Lily let out another sigh as she felt a headache coming on.
Her school days had not been pleasant so hopefully successfully completing this mission would raise her class standing.
"Good morning," Lily said pleasantly as she approached the group of elderly residents and waved politely.
"I am a vampire hunter sent by the Association. Any information that you may have on the vampire in this area would be greatly appreciated."
"In fact, there is a substantial cash rewar..."
"Fuck off," came a blunt reply.
"Excuse me?" Lily spoke with a tinge of disbelief in her voice.
"You heard me..." the voice came from an old man in the back of the group who leaned against a nearby tree.
"We aint like your kind around her girl... you hunters are no better than those bloodthirsty demons..."
"I'm only trying to..." Lily tried to protest but was interrupted again and this time by an elderly woman leaning on a wooden cane.
"Help? Oh please... we know how this works... you 'solve' our vampire trouble and then demand money," the woman scowled fiercely.
"Look at us... we aint got nothing to spare. You bastards took everything from us last time... we aint got nothing now."
Lily looked at the residents and saw that most of them wore clothes that had been well worn with holes, stitches and even tears in the fabric.
One of the elderly men spat on the ground near her feet and Lily had to close her eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Okay... don't lose your temper... don't lose your temper...
Her eyelids were closed so no one saw that her piercing green eyes kept flickering between their normal colour and a golden hue.
Lily opened her eyes and decided to go about this a different way.
Getting help from the residents was technically not necessary but she had a feeling that they could provide valuable information.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Lily calmly spoke as she maintained eye contact with the elderly man who she assumed was the leader of the group.
"I am not an official vampire hunter... I am only a trainee which means that I have been sent on a mission to eliminate the vampire living in this village."
"I will not ask for any compensation from you all. Just let me know which areas of the village has the creature been active."
"Where have the corpses been found?"
There was a brief moment of silence as the elderly man leaning against the tree stared into Lily's eyes as if searching for something.
Finally, he opened his mouth and reluctantly spoke, "Alright girl... if you walk down this street you'll arrive at Old Joseph's house."
"It's got a red door so you can't miss it. Speak to Joseph and he'll tell you what you need to know... but make sure you give him some money."
"Thank you," Lily politely replied as she walked away in the direction that the elderly man pointed.
She could feel the hard stares watching her as she walked away, but she simply straightened out her back and walked confidently.
So far, this mission had not been going super well but at least she had managed to find a lead.
Now all she needed to do was speak to this Joseph character and take a short rest before night fell.
Lily walked for around ten minutes until she finally arrived at a house that seemed a bit out of place.
Even compared to the homes around it... this house looked as though it was about to collapse if even the slightest gust of wind blew against it.
Lily glanced at the front door and saw that it was bright red colour. This was the place that the elderly man had told her to go.
The young woman approached the door and softly knocked against its wooden frame using her knuckles.
It took a few seconds but eventually she heard footsteps coming from the other side. Hopefully this resident would be a bit friendlier than the rest.
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