The Preying City

Vincent spent the entire Thursday experimenting with the mask. He believed that he now had a good understanding of the mask's abilities. Now, all he needed to do was attend the gathering tomorrow.

He also needed to make enough preparations in case he found any clues regarding the seventh gate. He had breakfast and headed to the bank early on Friday. After the addition of 3000 pounds two days earlier, he now had 5300 pounds in his account. A sizable sum that would make one rich but a supernatural could spend such an amount extremely quickly. There were many supernatural items whose allure were too great. One couldn't not want to possess it after seeing one. Sadly, the costs were equally high and few people owned good items.

Withdrawing 2000 pounds, he headed back. Mrs. Lee invited him to join her for lunch and he agreed.

"The city is getting scary lately. Three people were found dead this morning. Looks like their blood had been s.u.c.k.e.d dry. The police said that it was the work of Zulu bats. Do you think they are telling the truth?" Mrs. Lee asked about a news article featured on the day's paper.

"Zulu bats are indeed capable of such a feat."

"I wonder what the authorities are doing? This isn't the first time this is happening and the bats haven't been eradicated for so long already." She continued with her complaints as she ate.

Vincent finished swallowing and answered, "The bats sleep during the day and it is hard to spot them. They like to sleep with shadows behind their backs and their black fur makes for a really effective camouflage. I wouldn't be surprised if this matter persisted for much longer."

'Well, not like I can tell her that the culprit was actually a vampire. Is it a vampire on the verge of rampaging or is it a newbie with no knowledge? Why isn't he controlling his feeding urges? If this continues, he will be captured or killed soon.'

The two talked about a lot of other topics. Vincent learnt a lot of recent gossip materials from his landlady. He needed to keep his ears open for all kinds of information after all. Mrs. Lee on the other hand was happy to have found a companion who was equally interested in spicy gossips.

*****

Vincent left his room at around 10 in the night. The gathering started at midnight exactly and he wanted to know the area well. He was wearing his new coat with hood and the people avoided him to stay out of trouble. You could never know what a low life could do after all. You had to stay away from one, specially at such late hours.

He went around the area twice, taking note any of any structures that might come in handy in a pinch. As midnight approached, he made his way to the gathering after putting on his mask. Tens of men and women were standing around in the dark alley with clothing and accessories that covered their faces. Few spoke a word or two to each other while the rest preferred to be left alone. Vincent intentionally let his footsteps be heard so as to announce his arrival. It would be inconvenient for him if this was a gathering that didn't welcome unknown or new people. By making his presence known, he could make out the nature of the gathering from the member's reactions.

Everyone turned around to look at the newcomer. Some glanced at him secretly while others checked him out openly. A few of the people present looked at him curiously but none approached him. He sighed in relief after looking at their reaction. It looked like getting a new member they didn't know about every now and then wasn't uncommon.

Vincent had arrived right before the clock struck midnight and waited for the host to appear. The door at the end of the alley swung open and a short man in silver robe walked out. His hood covered more than half his face and making out his features was difficult. He looked at everyone and spoke ,"Looks like we have two new members tonight. My master will be happy. Now then it's time to get going."

As Vincent focused on the man to find out how he transported so many men without anyone noticing, the sound of metal grating against the ground resounded in the quiet alley. Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to the source of the sound. Looking over, Vincent saw manhole being pushed aside and a girl peeked out from below.

The girl had golden hair tied in a French braid. A masquerade mask with pointy ends and glittering stones embedded all over it covered the upper portion of her face. She looked over at the silver robed man and smiled, "Thank god you haven't opened the door already. I thought I would miss the gathering." Saying so, she climbed out of the manhole and closed it with much effort.

The silver robed man replied while chuckling, "I must say your entrance is still as grand as ever, Miss Mystique. My master had a really good laughter last time when he learnt of your style."

The girl ignored the man's remark and dusted her dress with her hands. Unfortunately, the smudges she got from climbing the manhole only spread further and into her glove as well. Sighing, she moved towards the silver robed man and bumped into Vincent. The girl was startled and apologized, "I am so sorry. I didn't see you at all."

Vincent was equally surprised. The girl hadn't noticed him until they bumped into each other. This meant that the girl wasn't a supernatural but a normal human. He couldn't understand why the girl was here attending a gathering for supernaturals. She looked at him and spoke in an excited voice, "Mr. masked man. Is that a supernatural artifact? It's the coolest one I have seen so far. Will you sell it to me for 10000 pounds?"

The girl's words caught everyone's attention. 10000 pounds was enough to buy a mansion inside Kindlewich. Such an offer would make almost anyone dizzy but Vincent didn't even consider the offer.

"I am sorry but it's not for sale." Vincent replied nonchalantly and waited for the silver robed man to continue.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's settle down. I am going to open the door now." The silver robed man took out a golden key. The key was far too big to be used on the door in front of them. Besides, the man had just come out of that door. Vincent was befuddled at the man's action but noticing that none of the others found it weird, chose to keep quiet. The key shrunk down magically and the man inserted it into the key hole. Turning the key, he opened the door. What lay behind the door was no longer the small dark room the man had come out of, but a luxurious room filled with chairs of exquisite craftsmanship arranged neatly in a circle.

The people present entered the door one after another and Vincent followed after them. The key was an artifact that could magically connect two places using a door. Vincent had only ever heard about such an artifact from his parents and it had been a wish of his to own one when he was a kid. Years had gone by and the wish had died, and now he got the chance to see such an artifact in action.

'Looks like I hit the jackpot. The host of this gathering isn't to be taken lightly. He is either incredibly powerful or incredibly rich. There's also a slim chance of him being both rich and powerful. I will also have to tread carefully for the host might have means to identify me. I guess it really is true that great opportunities don't come without equally restrictive threads attached to them.'

He sat on a free chair away from all the other members. He didn't know anything about the gathering and wanted to just observe at first. Interacting from the get go could result in him giving away vital information about himself. He made up his mind to just watch from the sidelines and not interact with anyone for now.

The girl from earlier came over and sat next to him. "Mr. masked man. This is your first time here right? You can ask me any questions you might have."

Things rarely went as planned. Just as he had resolved himself to stay out of the playing field, the girl came up to him. Left without a choice, he replied in a rough voice, "Thank you."

The grand door at the other end of the room opened up and a gold robed man entered the room followed by another silver robed subordinate. He sat on the most luxurious chair and the two silver robed men stood behind him on each side. He looked at everyone briefly and began, "It's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to see you ladies and gentlemen once again. Looks like we have two new members today. Please do go ahead and introduce yourself. By the way, you can call me Mr. Collector."

A big man clad in black from head to toe got up and spoke, "You can call me Big Joe. Combat is my specialty, so you can look remember me if you need to take care of something messy. I can hold my own even against grade three supernaturals specializing in combat for a minute or two."

The man's introduction generated a lot of buzz in the room. He clearly gave away that he was a grade two supernatural. He also spoke with confidence about being able to deal with combat focused supernatural of a higher grade for a while. A man who could make such a claim was either bluffing or extremely strong.

Vincent could understand the appeal of making such an introduction. Getting jobs would be much easier that way. However, this didn't suit his style and he wasn't in particular need to money for now.

He waited for the crowd to settle down. He took deep breath and got up. "You can call us Secret."