Delia looked up at the alien eyes looking down at her from within the dark hood. He held his hand out to her as his uncanny cloak vanished to reveal his face. His eyes dimmed, turning from strange nebulae to dark brown. She clasped his hand and he helped her to his feet. That she needed the assistance was startling, not having felt weak in years.“Drink this,” he said, holding out a glass vial containing purple liquid. “It might taste a bit funny — my friend Jory has been experimenting with local ingredients — but it’s good.”Delia pulled out the cork and swigged it down without hesitation. The taste was awful, like cheap salami coated in sugar, but the effect was immediate. She felt magic flood through her body, stronger than her own. The lacerations scoring her body closed, and her battered muscles were soothed.“Was that a gold-rank potion?”“Told you it was good. How are you holding up?”She looked herself over. Through the rents in her clothes, she could see scars left behind where her wound had been.“I don’t think it healed me right,” she said.“It healed you right. We can talk about that after, though. We need to go get your people.”“Are they alright?”“No. I’m afraid they’re not.”***Eleven vampires dangled in the air over the cathedral’s carpark, held aloft by Jason’s aura. Four of them were snarling and thrashing like animals, flailing at the air. The others were calmer, their expressions ranging from fearful to calculating. Standing under them was a clone of Asano, but with solid red orbs for eyes.“They’ve turned them,” Delia said, her voice shuddering as she stared at her team.“The four are yours?” Jason asked.“Yes.”“The good news is, they’re not too far gone. Feed me your sins.”Red light started shining from within the feral vampires, the representation of their life force. What should have been a (...)