Hidden Truths - Ethan

18 - The Establishment

The room is filled with silent music and the red-carpeted floor swallows every loud noise and makes the talks around me sound muffled. I take another draw on my cigar to add some more smoke to the already thin white veil that adds to the atmosphere. The light of the candles brighten up the smoke to look luminous, while the dark wooden interior brings the velvet red upholstered chair I sit into a whole new level of decadence.

This kind of nightclub is made for wealthy men, so that they can pretend they have no clue this even exists when they come home again. They come here to drink, talk and smoke while looking at the waitresses which are barely dressed. It's a good place for vampires to find victims. 'Victim' is not exactly right. It is more of finding volunteers. I can smell that I'm definitely not the only creature of the night here.

Whenever I don't feel like going on a real hunt and need
some time off from the headquarters I'm wasting my time here; foremost because I can sit here without getting bothered from any known face. I just do it like all the others here and pretend to be one of the wealthy men, who are searching for a bit of entertainment.

It's an open secret what is going on here and that these waitresses have far more services to offer than bringing drinks. They wear masks and a lot of pearls and cloth that is so thin that it can be seen through. I can't deny that I enjoy the view and I even consider getting something fresh this night. All that bottled blood gave me the impression that I forgot how real blood should taste.

I made sure to have drunken enough before I came here though. I don't want to kill one of those ladies and I want to take it slow as I have plenty of time and enough to think about.

I went to the post room after the lesson I gave the recruits in the training room. To my surprise, Tristan ordered that Eve already got all the reports I usually get. Even though I got enough other letters that usually Warlow got. I only opened two of them and realized that people really asked for advice when they struggle with ethical questions.

I read that it would be my new duty to help them if needed but I couldn't believe that this really will happen. In addition, I have no clue how to answer them, literally. The hand I usually use for writing is currently... out of order.

One letter was different and a bit disturbing actually. The post office was not able to tell me from whom I got it and there was no address or name written as a sender. It only stated 'You're welcome.' and came along with a box. To my
surprise, it contained a hat. A hat that has rounded edges and I could smell a familiar doctor to whom it most probably belonged. Maybe I should tell Tristan, but then again it doesn't really matter.

It would prove that I messed up. I could burn and bury it. Maybe that's the best option to just forget that guy. I'm still sunken in my thoughts as a gentleman at the entrance catches my attention.

He looks appropriately dressed for this establishment, but still remaining a sight on his own. One of his eyes is milky and the wound that most probably was the reason for it left a scar on half of his face. His bearing tells me that he is

about to come over to me as soon as his healthy eye catches me.

"Begging your pardon, Sir, but... could it be that you are Mister Vinge?" he asks silently and I take an even closer look at him. He looks wild and he definitely is a vampire.

There is also something else I can smell on him. Death.

"Depends on who is asking..." I reply.

The mixture of power and insanity one can feel after that kind of killing is tempting. I'm not a fool and know very well that those spirits stick to you for a long time, so he not necessarily killed Warlow or Doctor Nowak, but I'm alarmed.