Vampire Assassin: Love and Lies

Damian spotted the folded note under his door as soon as he entered his room. Its edges were slightly crumpled, the paper faintly smelling of ash. He didn't have to guess where it came from—he'd been receiving notes like this for weeks, each one cryptic and unsettling.

Unfolding the paper, his eyes scanned the sharp, deliberate handwriting:

"School farm. Midnight. Come alone if you value your life."

His jaw tightened. This note was different. The others had been warnings, vague and frustratingly unclear, but this one had a sense of urgency that couldn't be ignored.

By midnight, Damian was moving through the school grounds, his footsteps soft against the frosty grass. The farm was at the edge of campus, shrouded in darkness and silence. The air carried the faint scent of damp earth, mingled with decay, as if the place hadn't been touched in years.

In the moonlight, Damian spotted a figure standing in the middle of the overgrown field. The man wore a dark hooded cloak, his posture calm yet commanding. The sight froze Damian for a moment. He recognized the figure—the same wizard who had saved him when Gabriel nearly killed him.

"You again," Damian said, stepping closer, his voice sharp. "What do you want this time?"

The man didn't respond. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, as though studying Damian.

"Enough games," Damian snapped. "You've been following me for weeks. Leaving notes, saving me, but never explaining anything. If you have something to say, say it. And take off the hood while you're at it."

The man raised a hand, the air around him shimmering faintly as if bending to his will. "You're not ready" he said finally, his voice low and smooth, like a whisper carried on the wind.

Damian clenched his fists. "Not ready for what? What's coming?"

The man hesitated, then spoke, his words slow and deliberate. "You know the Silent Blades are moving. They know you're here. But know that they're planning a more serious attack, Damian."

Damian's heart skipped a beat. The Silent Blades—the organization that had trained him, turned him into a weapon, and now wanted him dead.

"Why?" Damian demanded. "What are they planning?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he turned and raised his other hand. A swirling portal of shadow and light began to form behind him, its edges flicekring like a flame.

Damian stepped forward, his voice rising. "If you know something, tell me! You owe me that much."

The man paused at the edge of the portal. "Prepare yourself, Damian..

Damian's blood ran cold, but he refused to let the fear show on his face. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why did you save me back then? What do you want from me?"

The man's hood tilted slightly, as if he were smiling beneath the shadows. "You'll understand soon enough. If you survive. Don't worry, I'll keep helping you."

With that, he stepped into the swirling vortex, and the portal collapsed behind him with a loud crack.

Damian stood there in the cold silence, gripping the note in his hand. The Silent Blades were coming for him. He didn't know when or how, but the hooded man's warning left no doubt.

If they think I'm not ready... they're wrong.