Chapter 4: A partnership

 "I asked you a question," the voice said with a hint of amusement.

"Show yourself. I am a citizen of Duria, and the guards are going to rip you a new one if you try anything," Edwin heard a thud and saw two glowing purple eyes in the dark. There was also the silhouette of a man, but he couldn't see any specifics.

The figure made an intricate bow and Edwin could tell that he was smirking, even if the darkness of the night cloaked the man's facial features.

"The name is Hadrian Deranges. Now, don't freak out, but I am a vampire," said Hadrian with hands raised high in an attempt to appear harmless.

"Edwin Roberts. Sort of necromancer and a healer… a hedge healer," Edwin corrected himself in the last second.

"Look, Edwin, may I call you Edwin?" the vampire asked in his disarming way.

"Sure," Edwin said. If this vampire wanted to control him in any way, they wouldn't be talking now. So, he didn't see the danger in letting him use his first name.

"Good. Edwin, I am stranded here, two hours before sunrise, with no way to enter the city and no blood to drink."

Edwin raised his dagger high. This was an outlaw. Vampires were welcomed in most cities, unlike werewolves, and there were shops that catered to their thirst. For Hadrian to have nothing to drink, he must be an outlaw.

"Edwin, listen to me. I am not here to harm you. I can pay for a liter of your blood. Not only that, but I won't take more, honest. Just enough to get me to the caves deeper into the forest. Have a heart, man," Hadrian said, and Edwin stopped.

Well, to leave Hadrian without blood right before sunrise was equal to murder. If the first person he saw was someone who ended up dead, then how good of a healer was he going to be?

"Just one liter," Edwin said, pocketing his dagger and undoing the button of his sleeve's cuff.

"Wonderful. I nearly tested the pity of the guards. You are a lifesaver, Eddy," Hadrian said as he moved closer. Now that the light of the moon was hitting him straight on, Edwin could see he had white hair and a youthful face. He was deathly pale, but then again, he was a vampire.

"Don't call me Eddy. Edwin and Eddy have nothing in common," Edwin said as he extended his wrist towards the vampire.

"Well, Hadrian and Harry have little in common too, but I don't mind you calling me Harry, Eddy," Hadrian offered as he took the offered wrist and dug his fangs in.

Edwin found it was just like receiving one's vaccinations, if the syringes had bigger needles and were placed on the wrist. He felt strangely calm, which was thanks to the vampire saliva, of that he had no doubt.

He stood there, not feeling anything bar the strange numbness that overtook him. Shouldn't this feeding be more, well, exotic? His female colleagues have more than once gone to vampires to be drunk from.

Some of them had even taken vampire lovers because of the blood drinking process. So, why was he not feeling anything?

Hadrian let go of his wrist and smiled a lopsided smile at him. His tongue went out to lick a stray droplet of blood from his cheek, and all Edwin could think of was how the vampire acted like a puppy.

"Well, thanks Eddy. Now I have two hours of sunlight. Where are you going? Perhaps we can travel together?" asked Hadrian as he looked down the direction where Edwin was heading. 

"Myrna. There is a strange plague there. People are coughing out blood," Edwin said, still as relaxed as he was during the feeding. He realized he was lucky that vampires had decided to be peaceful after their clan founders died off. With such abilities, they could enthrall anyone.

"Coughing it up? When could they give it to me?" Hadrian asked, and Edwin glared at him.

"It was a joke, Eddy. Myrna sounds a good place as any to kill time. I am not blacklisted there — yet. I will travel with you. Oh, how much do you want for the blood?" Hadrian asked as he took off a coin purse from his belt.

"Nothing. It is a healer's duty to help those who need it," Edwin said with a shrug. Then he took a step forward in the road.

"Ah, we have to get to the caves," Hadrian said, and he looked at the horizon with worry. "I am easily fried in sunlight."

Edwin looked at the tourist trail that led to the caves and then to the open road. What was the chance that the vampire was luring him into the caves to kill him?

"Why were you blacklisted in Mitestone?" Edwin asked, his hand reaching towards his dagger.

"I am a thief by trade. The very best!" Hadrian said proudly. Edwin furrowed his eyebrows.

"Never heard of a thief who gets blacklisted and still claims to be the best," Edwin said. Hadrian smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I like to brag in taverns after a heist. Then the guards get wind of it, but, as they don't have evidence, I am let off with blacklisting," Hadrian said proudly.

"Why even steal? You are a vampire. You have centuries to accumulate wealth," Edwin said, now genuinely curious. He had never heard of a poor vampire. They were given startup money, just like every other citizen.

"What is the fun in toiling away?" Hadrian asked, and then he waved a watch in front of Edwin. "Take me with you, or I'll rob you blind! Won't even leave pants on you."

Hadrian laughed as Edwin sputtered. This watch was from his mother! She had spent a month saving up for it.

"Give that back, you wretch!" Edwin screamed and he lunged at the vampire. Hadrian sidestepped him and swatted him on the back.

"A Healer you may be, but you lack in the physical department. You need a guard, Eddy, and I need someone to hide behind, so cities will open their gates to me. Here you go," Hadrian said, and he returned the watch to Edwin and made a couple of steps back.

Edwin remembered the panic he had felt when he stepped out of Mitestone and the fear that came with it. He didn't know if Hadrian was any good in a fight, but a meat shield was a meat shield. 

"Come on, before the sun raises," Edwin said as he pocketed his watch. Hadrian whopped with joy and followed him down the forest trail.