The moment the elderly woman lunged, all hell broke loose. Gilbert and Amory were the first to move, having already been suspicious of her crumpled figure. They moved forward, creating a barrier between the danger and their charges. The rabble-rousers came in second. They realized something was wrong fast enough, but they were just too slow to get out in time. The elderly woman’s face twisted grotesquely, revealing sharp canines and glowing red eyes, set in a wrinkled, predatory face. She was on her victim in an instant and sank her fangs in before anyone could stop her. Selene watched the entire scene with her mouth wide open, her expression caught between disgust at the bloody sight and amazement. Orion, on the other hand, had anticipated something like this happening ever since they left the Sanctum, so he didn’t waste any time. He didn’t know whether they could save the bandit. The little they’d been taught about what a vampire’s venom could do made him suspect there would be serious repercussions, even if they managed to pull him away. But then again, he wasn’t really worried about his safety. He had two vials of Bloodsucker’s Bane with him, and more importantly, the laser magic he had been working on for the past few weeks came in very handy for this kind of situation, so he didn’t hesitate to activate it. I = ζ Eₛ ⁄ A was the final formula he’d come (...)