"So… how long has it been since you left that place, and not just to the village?"

The fact that Cassidy had to actually think about it was a little concerning.

"Like… maybe twen'y years ago?"

"Twenty years ago?!" Tulip hissed, "Are you kidding?"

"Hey, it's really hard for a vampire to go on a road-trip you know!"

"Okay." Jesse winced, "Understandable. So, where would you really like to visit? Anywhere in the world? Paris?"

Cass scowled, "As someone who drinks blood, I can say with certainty that the French eat some gross shit. Snails? What's that about?!"

"What about Transylvania?" Tulip asked, smirking when Cass groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha." He sighed, "You are so funny."

"Aren't I just?"

Outside, a storm raged on.

….

"This is quite the storm." The minion nervously piped up, still shaken from the previous events, "Cassidy won't be travelling in this, he'll have found somewhere to stay, right?"

Silence.

"He'll be forced to stay there until morning, we could turn back now and- "

Eccarius spun around and glared at the minion, stunning the man into silence, before opening the door to the mansion.

The minion sighed. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his master rip his friend's throat out, the blood splattering across the nearby rocks and trees. As they walked into the main hall, the pair froze at the sight of all the other minions.

It was clear that they'd noticed the missing man… and the blood drying on Eccarius's face. The look on his face must have dissuaded them from asking any questions.

"Cassidy has crossed the line." He eventually spoke up, "I tried to save your friend, but I was too late… wasn't it?" He turned to the other minion to ask the question, raising an eyebrow and waiting for the minion to confirm his story.

Which he did.

Reluctantly.

"Once the weather clears, we will all go out to find Cassidy and the two humans who have bewitched him."

….…

Cassidy watched as Jesse and Tulip laughed and joked with each other from the doorway. It was…. nice.

Reminded him a lot of home actually, long before any of this crap took place.

It was clear that they were completely and utterly in love, and honestly, Cass felt a little bit jealous at the fact.

"What are you doing just sitting there?"

Cass yelped as Tulip grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bed, practically throwing him at Jesse, who then started to twirl him around the room, laughing at Cass's stunned look of surprise.

"You act like you've never danced before!" Jesse teased, as Cass rolled his eyes.

"Not like THIS!" He yelped as he was dipped, before being thrown back at Tulip and twirled around again.

This continued on for many minutes, as Cass slowly came to the realisation that he was starting to fall in love.

He'd never been so scared in his life.

….

By the end of the dancing, all three were exhausted, staring up at the ceiling.

"We haven't danced like that in years…" Jesse gasped, clutching his sides, "… I'd almost forgotten what it felt like."

"Hmmmmm." Tulip seemed to agree, a pleased smile on her face, "Note to self, go out clubbing sometime."

Cassidy was silent for a few moments, glancing out of the window to see the sunlight shining through the curtains.

"…If you leave know, ye might still get the chance."

The two humans turned to look at him in shock, trying to meet his eyes as he forced himself to look away.

"They won't be looking for you now, not unless they want to risk getting burnt… even if they do come after ye, I bet you can manage it." He forced a smile onto his face, hoping that it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"But… What about you?"

Cassidy shrugged, "I'll distract them… give ye enough time to get away."

Tulip and Jesse glanced at one another, almost seeming to have a mental conversation, before Jesse nodded and sighed. "We're not going to be able to change your mind about this, are we?"

"Nope." Cassidy titled his head towards the door, "Go on. The sun will start to set again before you guys actually move."

He moved to sit on the decrepit bed, watching as they headed out of the door

…

The atmosphere was muted as they headed back to the village.

"We should go back." Tulip hissed, "He'll never survive another round with that… creature."

"I know."

"Then why are we walking away like this?!"

Before Jesse could answer, they entered the courtyard, where a mob appeared to have gathered…. Pitchforks and everything.

"What is going on?!" Jesse yelled at the top of his lungs, as everyone fell silent, turning to look at them.

"Preacher!" One of the leaders called out, "We thought you'd been killed!"

"Well as you can see, I've not." Jesse glanced around, "What are you doing?"

"We've figured out where those missing people were being taken to!" Another member called out, "And what took them!"

"Demons!"

"Devils!"

"Vampires!"

Jesse and Tulip glanced at each other.

How could they possibly know?

"So, we're going up there to kill them!"

Jesse shook his head, "You'll never win against a host of vampires!" That… and there was a chance they would kill the wrong vampire, "Do you actually have a plan?"

"Blow them to smithereens!"

"Yeah!"

As several members of the mob, held up various explosive ingredients, Tulip rolled her eyes. They'd been inside the castle, at it was obvious that a few well-timed explosions were going to do jack-shit.

They watched as the mob slowly moved out, a sinking sensation in each of their stomachs.

What if they killed Cass?