The restroom was clean but small and lacked many facilities a US customer would take for granted, like separate rooms for sexes, a soap dispenser or a hand dryer, and multiple cabins. Nevertheless, it was what it was. Grace had finished the number one and washed her hands when a hand grabbed her neck.

  “Not a word!” a voice hissed near her ear.

  She tried to scream but couldn’t. Her muscles were paralyzed, and she barely breathed. Like a rag doll, she was handled and turned toward the mirror. Grabbing her from behind was the Vampire. Tall, sexy, blonde, but with such a look in her eyes that she felt horror creeping down her spine. Grace’s eyes became watery. She wanted to live, for herself, for Rowan, and for Lizzie, most of all.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” the blonde whispered. The dizziness and disorientation increased. “I’m here to deliver a message,” Grace’s captor continued, her voice’s airflow running down the young woman’s cheek and neck. “Father decided not to piss against the Karmic Wind anymore. He wants to talk. I’ll give you a Gift to prove we’re serious.”

  Grace saw the Vampire grimacing in the mirror, her pointy canines biting her left hand's index. The blonde forced her finger inside Grace’s mouth a moment later, keeping it there for a few seconds.

  Grace found it was impossible to struggle. There was a gag reflex, and then she fell on all fours, freed. She threw a hand up, grabbed the sink, and pulled herself up. The blonde was nowhere, only a whiff of cigarette smoke lingering behind.

  Then came the burning. In her throat, in all her body. She screamed and ran out, wobbling, slamming the door on the wall. The restaurant’s owner appeared behind, alarmed, and then she bumped into Rowan in the doorframe of the eating room. Isla was a step behind, her gun at the ready.

  “What happened?”

  “The Vampire ambushed me in the bathroom and did something to me!” Grace screamed.

  “Did she bite you?” Rowan asked, pulling her eyelids up.

  “Yes… no… I don’t know… It hurts…”

  “There’s no notification, DOT, or anything,” Rowan said, helping Grace to sit down. “Nothing shows on Inspect.”

  “She’s gone,” Isla reported, returning from the bathroom. A terrifying thought crossed Grace’s mind.

  “I don’t want to turn into a Vampire! What if I hurt Lizzie?” Then, resolve came. “Kill me! You have to kill me before it takes effect. Please…”

  Graye’s sight became blurry.

  “I can’t get Cory,” Rowan complained, fidgeting with his phone.

  “Sorry….” Giovanni lowered his eyes. “I should have taken the Mana 1000G network when I had the chance.”

  “A stake, do you have a stake?” Grace yelled. “Plunge it in my heart!”

  “A steak?” the restaurant owner asked, shaking his head in befuddlement.

  “Rowan, Isla… Take care of Lizzie for me,” Grace begged.

  With an easiness showing much practice, Isla turned Grace’s arms behind her back and handcuffed her. “Don’t be melodramatic!” the policewoman said. “If you turn vampire, I’ll shoot you myself. For now, restraints will do. Let’s go home, Cory might know what to do. I’ll call my folks too. They have like tons of holly water. Shamanistic, holistic, catholistic, you name it.”

  “Take care of Lizzie,” Grace repeated, feeling her consciousness sleeping away, and then there was only blackness.

  Grace did not gasp when she woke. Instead, she held her breath like she had forgotten to inhale.

  Am I a Vampire?

  [Cory]: No, you’re not. You have no sign of sickness whatsoever. Your friends called the best Healer in town, and she cast twenty Cures, then they sponge bathed you with holy water, despite my protest, and called a priest to do an exorcism, too. It was absolutely ridiculous and anything but scientific.

  Struggling to draw breath and looking around, Grace realized she was in her bedroom.

  [Cory]: Did she bite you for real?

  “I… don’t remember exactly… she said weird things… bit on her finger and stuck it into my mouth… Ew…”

  [Cory]: What did she say exactly?

  “That her master… no, father… wants to talk because he’s fed up with pissing against the Karmic Wind.”

  [Cory]: Karmic Wind, huh?

  “That’s it. And she said something about a gift to prove they’re serious.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  [Cory]: Ouch!

  “What?”

  [Cory]: Nothing. My virtual body hit a virtual desk and hurt a toe. Let me Inspect you again, stay still… Yeah… there it is. The Gift finished installing. She did not bite you; she let you drink her blood.

  “Will I turn into a Vampire?” Grace blurted, feeling panic going up her throat, together with bile.

  [Cory]: Not from such a small amount. I’ll show you.

  You have received a Blood Gift from a True Vampire. The next time you reach a Threshold in the Constitution stat, it will offer a special perk that will adapt to your personality.

  “What the fuck does it means?”

  [Cory]: Why don’t you invest your points and see?

  “But I don’t have enough—”

  [Cory]: Look better.

  “What?… I’m Level Forty and have twenty-six free Attribute Points. How?”

  [Cory]: You were Level 36 this morning, went to 37 in the Sewers, 38 and one AP from saving Lepastrina, 20 APs for saving Rome’s monuments, then got another level for fighting against a much higher level opponent and making them run. That would be the Vampire when you shot her. After you got knocked out, Rome pledged allegiance to Rowan. That helps me a lot; both towns share perks now. You guys got another level and AP from that… Now, how about seeing what this Perk is about?

  Focusing, Grace invested twenty-five points in her Constitution, leaving one aside. The notification gave her food for thought.

  Constitution Perk, Threshold 2 reached. Please select from the following options:

  Seer Class:

  1: Enhanced Toughness Physical resistances raised to +50%, immune to small and medium caliber bullets.

  2: Enhanced Regeneration (HP): You heal 2x faster.

  Rogue Class:

  1: Dotting (Rare): Your CON harmonizes with your DEX. Enhance any DOT you apply by 0.5%/HP second.

  2: Parry, Don’t Tarry: Your CON harmonizes with your STR. +25% to parries or deflecting physical hits or projectiles

  3: Blood Gift: Blood Minstrel (Legendary)

  There is a reason why Vampires are seductive. Your body will be permanently infused with Mana, gaining properties that can be used both for debuffing an adversary, helping an ally, or in recreational activities. Harmonizes with the Mindful Control, Veil of Deceit, Silk-Tongue, and Charming Gaze perks.

  Your touch can inflict or deliver the following effects:

  Antipyretic, Sedative, Regenerative, Truth Serum, Paralytic, Aphrodisiac

  Adding singing while applying the said effects can enhance their potency and transform them into spells: Fever’s Cure, Mesmer's Lullaby, Charmed Restoration, Truth Song, Siren's Daze, and Lover’s Remedy.

  Intentional activation is required. These effects cannot be set on automatic. Macros (combining them) are possible.

  Warning: Unconsensual application to non-hostile targets carries the risk of accumulating Negative Karma.

  “What do you think?” Grace asked.

  [Cory]: It’s a powerful perk… Highly specialized healings and debuffs… It’s just I don’t like the idea of dealing with those guys.

  “Who are they?”

  [Cory]: Escapees from the Traipenent. A clan of Vampire mobsters. They’re the opposite of everything I stand for; by that, I mean the rule of law and order. I see they’re sending me a message through the official County site.

  Grace massaged her forehead, then opened her mouth to ask a question but closed it back. She felt too enfeebled to dabble in politics and alliances just then.

  [Cory]: Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it. Why don’t you show Rowan and the others you’re back to yourself? They were really worried. But before that, choose your perks.

  I’ll go for the Blood Gift in Rogue and the immunity to bullets for the other…

  A sudden influx of power made Grace feel like she was inside a vertigo tornado. Nevertheless, she tried to ignore it and supported herself on a piece of furniture here, another there, and then the railing. She finally got downstairs, and the wobbliness passed as soon as she arrived in the living room.

  “Mommy!” Lizzie erupted in a bomb of hugs and tears. “I’m so happy you’re OK. I prayed and did all my homework…”

  “Thank Goodness,” Isla said. “I’ll leave you be.” There were dark circles around her eyes. She nodded a slow salute and left. Then Rowan arrived and hugged and kissed her.

  “I… I…”

  “What hour is it?” she asked, seeing the darkness outside.

  “Five in the morning… It took twelve hours to get you back. We couldn’t sleep… Neither did Dmitri, but he got drunk, and I helped him to his room.”

  “Let’s take her to bed,” Grace gestured toward the girl, now half-asleep in her arms.

  “I’ll carry her,” Rowan proposed.

  “No, I’ll do it.”

  She was not in top form but willed herself to the task. After putting Lizzie in bed and pulling the blanket over her, Grace joined Rowan in the bedroom. He had put on his pajamas but was still awake, looking at her. She went and lay on the bed near him.

  “I’m sorry…” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For not loving you from the start… I had doubts about how I could fit near you… I’m just a simple guy; you’re an artist. I thought true love would smite me down from the first moment, like a hammer to the head. That I’ll know… In a way, it did… Today, fearing I’ll lose you, I knew I couldn’t live without you…”

  “You silly man,” she sighed and fondled his cheek. “There’s more than one way to love, Rowan. A hammer to the head is one way, a seed that grows another. I’d rather have the growing seed. What are you holding there?”

  It was a ring, hidden in his right hand. “Lizzie did her homework, and I bought a ring. I swore that if you’ll be OK, I’ll propose.”

  Tears filled her eyes so hard she couldn’t repress them any longer. They cried in each other’s arms. She put the ring on and rose.

  “I need a shower…”

  She threw her clothes everywhere in the bathroom and tried to be brief. She exited in less than five minutes, naked. No bathrobe or lingerie. She looked into his eyes.

  “Do I have your consent to do some naughty things to you?