Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

as though the law didn’t exist, that their families meant nothing, because it was just about the two of them and that moment together. He’d been so gentle, his eyes full of tenderness, that it had only served to confuse her even further.
    “You are very quiet. Are you feeling all right?” he said as they left the hotel behind them.
    She came out of her thoughts long enough to smile at him. There was concern in his eyes, a flicker of his other side. Over time, he seemed to be slipping more often. He’d changed so much since they’d left Prague, but at the same time, he seemed the same. She wondered if he was really changing or just growing used to her presence and letting his guard down. Either way, she preferred him like this. It was far better than the cold, indifferent man she’d first met.
    “Fine,” she said and then dropped her gaze. “How’s the shoulder?”
    He looked at it with a raised brow. “Healing. You did a good job of dressing it. I never did thank you.”
    She shrugged, not wanting him to thank her now because it would make her feel awkward and she didn’t want that. She was silently thankful when he didn’t say anything more on the subject. He just continued walking.
    Her eyes roamed the streets around her. It was beautiful, just like it had been in the pictures, but she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that said that whatever fate had in store for them, it wasn’t going to be romance and flowers like the scenery suggested.
    The city was old and, for that reason alone, it was probably the favoured haunt of many different demon species. With an unknown bounty on their head, it wasn’t going to be easy to move about undetected. A dark sense of foreboding told her there were going to be fights and there was a high probability that they were going to face worse things in Venice than they had done in Paris. They were going to have to stick close together and she was going to have to learn how to use her magic if they were going to make it through.
    “Whereabouts are we going?” she said, trying to dispel the silence between them.
    “Campo dei Frari,” he replied, turning down another narrow street.
    She wondered if he really knew where he was going. He seemed to know the city well. Had he lived here for some time too? It would be a wonderful place to live. She’d once seen a program about the carnival they held here. The people were all wearing masks and dressed in elaborate costumes. The canal was packed with boats of different shapes, sizes and colours. It had been a real Mardi Gras. It was a shame it was spring now. She would have liked to see such an event. It reminded her of the Creator Day masquerade held by the pure bloodlines.
    When they came out into a square, she immediately looked around her. The buildings were all old, their plaster façades beginning to deteriorate with age. They had small windows and their roofs were low and tiled. She looked at the well in the centre. One side of the square was open and lined by a canal, with a small white bridge crossing it to the other side. As they walked further out into the open, she noticed the imposing front of the church and frowned up at it. She never could stand the sight of a cross. It made her stomach turn and her demon visage push to the forefront. Valentine didn’t seem at all bothered by it. He strode purposefully towards a building opposite them and went in.
    She wove her way through the corridors and narrow stairways, following him as he moved further into the building. Her unease grew when she looked around. The building appeared to be empty, unlived in. The walls were dirty and most of the lights didn’t work. She focused, letting her senses reach out and using them to survey the area.
    When Valentine stopped in front of a door on the second floor, his signature grew stronger and she realised that he was doing the same as her. He was using his senses as a radar to see if there was any danger on the other side.
    He knocked and she ventured a step closer when the door creaked and gave way, opening a crack. Something wasn’t right.
    Valentine looked at her and she shook her head, silently telling him that she couldn’t sense anything on the other side.
    “This is not good,” he said.
    “Why... oh.” She realised that his hand was inside the boundary of the apartment and that could only mean one thing.
    Their contact was dead.
    Valentine frowned and withdrew his hand.
    The curator had been human, and no