Hidden Truths - Ethan

3 - The Doctor

The blood in front of me is just too fascinating and I linger when the others move away fast. One of my duties is to lead investigations and this looks like it could get very interesting. I gently touch Tristan's shoulder once to let him know I will not let that deed get away unpunished before I fully step to the table and the body in front of me. Bowing down to the wounds of Warlow I nearly stick my nose in there. Tristan and I shared most of our second life together, which means, I do not always need to say what I mean.

Beside the disgusted and shocked noises of the other vampires in the room, when I come so close to the dead blood, I can hear Tristan instructing the servants. "We need to get the council members to come back. Hurry, they shouldn't be that far away already." Even in his nearly paralyzed stage, he does not forget about his leadership duties.

After a few moments of a pause, it seems like he also remembers about the guest in the room. Dr. Nowak is covering his mouth with his hand and carefully tries to look everywhere but the bodies on the table. "Excuse the chaos Dr. Nowak, but it seems like you have chosen a really bad day to arrive in our otherwise pretty peaceful empire. Eve, please bring our guest into a room where he can rest over the daytime."

"Ah, that's not necessary, Lord Blackwood. I got a room in the city," Dr. Nowak replies.

"I'm afraid it is," Tristan states. "But, Tristan, I am..." Eve starts to protest. "Now!" Our Lord commands without leaving room for further discussions. While I am still untangling the scents on Warlow I have to grin. Only Eve would contradict Tristan like that in public, and I am also happy that he follows my protocols, to not let a guest go anywhere when an incident happens.

"Well then, follow me, Doctor. I guess we are not needed here anymore," Eve pouts before leaving the room. I barely hear her whining, because I am about to do, why people fear and hate me. Sticking my little finger in the wound I pull out some blood and get my nose away from it. Trying the blood, I am pretty sure now about my conclusion.

To be on the safe side, I do the same with the second body. Most people in the room simply do not understand what I do. For them, I am just a brute in fine clothes, with no respect for death and no empathy. Besides that, I am happy that I know that Tristan knows exactly that I get my information mostly by scent and taste. Eyes can be betrayed so easily, but a missing soul is something you cannot see.

When I am done and still looking at the dead woman, I can feel Tristan stepping next to me quite close and leaning forward, supporting himself with his hands on the table and making sure nobody can hear us. Well, he may also do that to even out the height difference between us. He grants me the time I need before I nearly whisper in his direction.

"My Lord." I take a side look at him to see his state of mind. "Tristan," I start again when I see him wrinkling his forehead. "This wasn't an animal attack I'm afraid. It was also not a human lucky punch. This deed was caused by a vampire. Both were killed by the same guy," I tell my conclusion.

Tristan simply nods but I can see him clenching his teeth. This is our highest of all laws. Vampires must not kill vampires. Killing another vampire does not always only mean to take away a life. It means to suck in all the other vampires being, to gain strength through blood, but could come with a cost.

Some go mad after killing like that. It puts you in complete ecstasy and gets you into an uncontrollable stage, where your feelings feel even more intense. Everybody reacts a bit different, but it's sure that it costs a lot of energy to cause such wounds and take in all the blood you can get.

It is especially tiring when the deed is done and your mind clears again after the ecstasy. The good thing is, there is a certain spirit that surrounds you after this. Maybe it is a special mechanism from nature to warn others. I do not know why but I had those spirits for a very long time around me and it gained me everything from respect to pure hate from others.