Chapter 6 VI

"Come out of the fucking building..."Someone swore in front of the church early the next morning.

"Let's just go."His assistant protested.

"Gangsters like us are nothing if we lose face.We can't back down. This is the only house left in the neighborhood and the priest is holed up in there and won't come out. Today is gonna be the day I..."

"Hi there, I'm the priest you mentioned just now."

"Alright, where the hell..."He flinched and his voice trailed off as he turned to see Father Michael taking a drag on his cigarette and holding on to a wood which most gangsters used to fight."Listen up old man...if you know what's good for you...better sign this while I'm being nice, otherwise someone's going to get hurt."

"In that case..."Father Michael cracked the wood on the ground, scaring both men and stuck out his tongue to serve as an ashtray. "This isn't a good place to talk. How about we go somewhere quiet? Just the three of us."

"Not really...I just remembered that I have some other things to do."He said and turned to leave, followed by his frightened assistant.

"Sir, but you don't have other things to do..."

"I've got some other businesses to take care of..."

"What other businesses..."His assistant asked and he yelled."I just do, okay? By the way, what kind of priest looks like that?"

"I told you we should have just left"

"What did he do before he came a priest?" The man asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He was probably a thug...I heard rumors that anywhere he went, people would start dying."

Zuriña was pacing up and down as she made the sign of the cross and Henry sighed as he shook his head.

"She has been doing this that for over an hour."

"I'm worried about her" Rietta said as the door swung open and Father Michael walked in.

"Welcome back, Father Michael." She threw a salute.

"Huh? That's not like you. What's up?"He asked as the twins threw a hug.

"I'm just really happy to see you. How was the workshop?"

"Fine."He replied, without shooting her a glance.

"You said you also did some volunteering."

"I did."

Although he didn't look it, Father Michael was the church priest and like a father to her and she felt grateful to him for giving her the chance to go to university like normal kids. But he got mad whenever she morphed into a vampire, so she hoped he wasn't aware of her recent activities.

There was a knock on the door.

"The door's opened." Rietta answered and two women Riña recognized were from the church walked in. Mrs Johnson was particularly holding a bag.

"Father Michael,we were counting the days until you came back." Mrs Johnson smiled.

"Oh, good afternoon sisters, what brings you here?"Father Michael asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for fixing my plumbing and seeing as it's your birthday soon, happy birthday. And yes, Veronica and I brewed this plum juice. We want you to have some since you like a good drink."She replied and handed the bag to Father.

"Stop, you're making me blush." Veronica said as she shyly turned.

"No need to thank me. I just had some free time, that's all." He replied.

"I hope you enjoy it, Father." Veronica said.

"We'll be off,then" Mrs Johnson said and with that, they turned to leave.

"Looks like he doesn't know what happened." She thought to herself and was about to head for her room when Father said.

"Riña Anderson, come up to the roof. We need to talk."

"I should have known."

The sky rumbled as they headed for the roof and clothes on lines flapped against each other. Father Michael glanced through the neighborhood as he slipped out a cigarette. He frowned on sighting two vampires lurking around buildings and they disappeared when they'd noticed they'd been caught.

"Father Michael..."

"It was you, wasn't it? You were responsible for the vampire incident nearby." He asked as he lit his cigarette.

Darn, she swore.

"You could have been caught. Are you trying to get your siblings and everyone else in the neighborhood killed? I trusted you and respected your decisions until now but I can't let this go. From now on, you can't go to school until I trust you again."

"What?Father, that's too harsh. I haven't been allowed to go outside since I was ten and you know how much of an effort I've made to adapt to everyday life..."

He interrupted. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter how much you train a wild beast. In other people's eyes...."He slowly turned to her. "You're just a monster."

Riña looked out at the drizzling rain that night. She didn't have any memories of her past before she arrived at the orphanage ten years ago during winter and she realized something while figuring who she was.

Normal people were like beautiful flowers which came in all kinds of pretty colors and she didn't belong among them.

"Maybe Father Michael was right, it doesn't matter how hard I try."

To humans, she'd always be a monster wearing a human mask.

She'd never make friends which she could share her life with and she'd never be able to tell someone she loved them.

But inside of her,she yearned to be a human.

Two vampires were having a smoke outside that night while the junior stood on guard out Red Bomb Club.

"I like your spirit, kid. You're a better replacement for the guy who croaked recently." The blond said.

"You mean Brad?" The guy who'd dyed his hair yellow asked.

"Yeah, he was a crazy bastard. Anyway, there's no training but remember this. When you see an 'angel of death', just grovel. Got it?"

"Okay sir, but what's an 'angel of death'?" The junior asked.

"Listen up.The six leaders that rule over all the vampires in this country are called the'angels of death'. These vampires are on a whole level compared to the ones you've seen so far. They have extra ordinary powers that keeps other vampires in check and they each have enough power to raze an entire city to the ground by themselves."

"Whoa, can I become one too some day?"

"You'll never make it." Yellow-haired man replied and took a drag from his cigarette.

A man suddenly jumped from the sky and dropped in front of them and they stood to obstruct him.

"Hold up for a sec. What do we have here?"

" I'm here to see the angel of death." The man in coat replied.

"Angel of death? This ain't a scene from the Bible." The blond said.

"If you're picking up what we're putting down, then I suggest you turn around and leave quietly. Otherwise, you might just find yourself on the missing persons list." Yellow-haired man warned and he shoved both men aside and started walking towards the building.

"How dare he ignore you?"

"Damnit. Okay, this bastard has got a death wish." Yellow-haired man swore as they lurched towards him to attack him from going in and they were dealt with punches that sent them paralyzed to the ground.

"Alright, tell him to come out. I wanna meet him."The man said to the junior.

How should we handle this sir?"One of the bodyguards who was inside with him asked.

"Hmm...this could be entertaining...Let him in." He replied as he ran his tongue over his golden fangs.