"You good," Yurian who had been waiting outside for Aselia asked, seeing her red eyes.

"Yes, let’s go. We are getting late." She replied in a trembling voice, not meeting his gaze. Yurian quietly followed her, confused about what to say and how to pacify her.

Soon they reached the runway where a customized turboprop plane waited for them. The back had been customized to carry their car and equipment. Other than the cockpit, there were 8 seats and a lavatory.

Aselia and Yurian entered the plane and settled down, fastening their seat belts as the plane took off. Their destination was Treskilaya, they had been requested to visit a town where people had been disappearing and it seemed to be the work of vampires. Local authorities have been unable to capture the culprits behind.

Aselia sat quietly deep in thought, while Yurian was playing a game on his cell phone. A snake caught candies to grow in size and killed other snakes.

"Woah!"

"Woo!"

"Yoooo!"

Sounds escaped him as he killed snake after snake. "You should try this game, I just discovered it and it’s so addicting." Yurian offered, trying to distract her.

"Hmm, I am not in the mood." She replied quietly, keeping her gaze outside.

"Just one game," he pushed his cell phone toward her and she sighed before taking it from him. She began to play and he guided her on what to do. Soon she was engrossed and adamant to break the small scoring records Yurian had set up.

"Yahh!" Aselia cried out happily when she killed Snake King who appeared as a villain to devour all the other snakes.

"See, addicting right," Yurian said with a knowing smile. They played for some time, laughter filled the plane and Yurian brimmed with happiness seeing she was distracted.

His eyes kept going to her hair which she had butchered and would not even let anyone talk about them or shape them. She had made hair a taboo. He remembered the anguish and gratitude on her face when he had given her Xiran’s hair, wrapped neatly in a cloth. He himself was horrified when he saw what she had done to her hair.

He had never seen her cry so much in the entirety of the time he had known her as much as she did yesterday. Nothing he said soothed the girl he held so dear. White Falcon had clutched the cloth containing his hair to her chest and wept bitterly.

Yurian sat with her for a long time and she didn’t let go of his hair as if holding onto the most precious possession. It was a long night and they didn’t sleep a wink. Now, he could see her yawning in between playing the game.

"We still have two hours to reach our destination, sleep for a bit, partner." Yurian took the cell phone from her and she nodded before placing her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, soon she was snoring.

Yurian woke her up when they landed on the outskirts of the town, a small runaway and a setup had been constructed here for planes. Aselia groggily opened her eyes and stifled a tiny yawn.

"Come partner, let’s kick some vampire a*s." He smiled at her and she nodded. They made their way to the back of the plane, where a shiny grey car waited for them. Aselia took the driving seat and Yurian climbed in the passenger seat. Fastening the seat belts she firmly placed both her hands on the driving wheel, a surge of energy coursed through her body and the elven hunter felt energized. She missed the freedom to drive again.

The rear side of the plane opened and Aselia reversed the car and glided it down the ramp with precision. Once they were out, she revered her vehicle, and off they went toward their destination.

Yurian turned on the GPS and it showed they would reach the town in 30 minutes. The land around them was dry with patches of withering bushes. It seemed the rain hadn’t adorned these areas for a long time for everything was dusty. Tumbleweeds and cacti were strewn alongside the patchy road.

"I missed driving, it feels good." Aselia confided in Yurian with a slight smile. Her hands gripped the rubber of the steering wheel, keeping the car steady. Her eyes focused on the road ahead.

"And I missed going on missions with you. I am glad we are doing it again." Yurian chuckled while adjusting and tousling his hair with his hand.

"Yes but I want to get this done with as soon as possible and get back to him. I want to set him free, he has suffered enough on my behalf. No more." The determination emanated from every word she spoke as her orbs held a dazed look.

"I understand, we will get back as soon as possible."

"It agonizes me to think what they will do to him in my absence." She stomped on the accelerator and sped up, the mere thought of his mangled body was butchering her inside.

Soon they had reached the town and halted outside the Mayor’s office. They climbed down and were received by the Mayor and Chief of Police.

"Hello! Welcome to the town of Bruida, we are very humbled to have you amongst us." The mayor who was an elderly man in his sixties with gray hair and a kind smile greeted them. Aselia and Yurian shook hands with him.

"Thank you for having us." Aselia returned his gracious smile.

The Chief of Police was a man with a stern expression, the bags under his eyes showed he hadn’t slept in days due to the attacks that kept ravaging the peace of his town.

"Let’s head inside and I will brief you," The Chief of Police offered, and they were guided inside to be seated in Mayor’s office. The office was wide and airy, with the Mayor’s desk, chairs, potted indoor plants and lines of bookshelves holding record books, taking up half the space.

Once they were seated the Chief began to brief them about the attacks. "They began two weeks ago and every day one person is taken, mostly young girls. Bodies are left on the outskirts of the town, completely drained of blood, with distinctive marks on necks and wrists. We have tried to hunt down the culprit but no one has ever seen him or her. All our efforts have gone in vain, we had no choice but to seek help."

"Don’t worry we will weed the culprits out. There could be more than one. What’s the pattern and time when people are taken?" Aselia inquired with a furrowed forehead.

"Mostly night but people have been taken during day time as well, especially those who were alone. This has them scared and people have stopped stepping out of their houses for the fear of being their next target. We are a small and tight knitted community so most people know each other. 12 people have died so far and this has our town devastated. Please, catch them as soon as possible." The Chief pleaded with them, his eyes holding the anguish he has been feeling.

"Leave it to us, we will handle them. Just tell us where we can place our equipment and strategize. Also, I would need a marked map of all the places where attacks happened and people were taken and where bodies were found." Aselia requested while getting up and the Chief nodded.

They were then taken to a room where they could set up their equipment and organize their luggage. The room had a large table in the center where Aselia and Yurian spread the map that had been provided to them, alongside some food and drinks. They studied the map carefully and analyzed all the bodies that were dumped, away from the population.

Most of the victims were young girls and men, while autopsies revealed that none of them were raped, so it was only the blood they needed. Younger girls and men could be lured and captured.

Aselia then laid out the plan and marked the places, she believed their target will have easy access to. "I will act as bait and Yurian you will shoot from a distance. They want the enemy dead so we don’t have to restrain ourselves. Although I would need to change into something that townspeople wear." Aselia announced.

"I will shoot to kill especially if you will be in harm’s way, we can request the Chief to provide us with a dress," Yurian added.

Aselia was provided with a white dress and she changed into it from her hunter dress and put on some makeup. Hiding a few shuriken knives in her sleeves, she ruffled her hair and moved to the chosen spot which lay between a few abandoned houses.

The Elven hunter tripped on purpose and grazed her knee on the stones that were strewn on the ground. Spilling her blood, spreading its scent to lure the enemy out. She then took out her cell phone and dialed a number, pressing it to her ear she spoke: "Darling! Where are you? I fell and grazed my knee near the old houses. Come quick."