Eamon gently placed Skarn on the soft pile of cloth and blankets he had laid out earlier. The wolf curled up immediately, letting out a soft whimper. Eamon knelt beside him and brushed his fur with care.
"You're safe now," Eamon whispered. "Rest well."
He stood up and looked around his small room. It was quiet, warm, and peaceful. But the fire outside had not cooled in his mind. His body ached. His hands were still shaking slightly from the fight. But he had to return. There were still questions. Too many of them.
Eamon took one last look at Skarn, closed the door behind him, and stepped out into the forest again, where Arthur was waiting for him.
The flames had died down now. Smoke hung in the air like a ghost refusing to leave. The path back to the clearing was marked by broken branches and scorched earth. Eamon walked carefully, avoiding the more unstable parts. He could still feel the heat in the soil.
When he reached the same spot again, Arthur was still there. He stood in the same place, arms folded, staring into the dark trees as if waiting for a shadow to step out.
Eamon let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for not running," he said as he approached.
Arthur turned his head slightly. "Before you left," he said, "you said you'd help me kill the real killer. Why would you help me? What do you get from all this?"
Eamon stopped a few feet away. "I'll tell you all that. But first, I want to know your story. Who is the real killer? Tell me everything."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. He looked away for a moment, then sat down on a large rock nearby.
He spoke slowly. "Alright. You want to know. I'll tell you."
""" I was nine when my mother died. The one who took me in was Dr. Grumes. He brought me to his home. He and his wife, Annie, treated me like their own. They knew what I was. A vampire. But they still loved me.
I told them I didn't want to live inside their home. It didn't feel right. So the doctor bought a small cottage outside the town just for me. He and Annie didn't like the idea, but they respected my wish.
I used to help the doctor with his work. We would visit sick people, help injured travelers, and mix medicine. They asked me to go to the town's school. But I didn't. I knew what I was. I always feared that if people found out, they'd hand me over to the royal army.
So I kept my distance. I never made friends. I just stayed close to the doctor and helped where I could.
Being a vampire means I need blood every twenty-one days. If I don't get it, I lose control. I go mad. The doctor understood. He found a way. He arranged blood packets from the nearby cities. He kept them hidden.
Only he and I knew. """
Eamon raised his hand suddenly. "Wait. Why the hell are you telling me all this? I don't want to hear your full life story. Just start from when the murders began."
Arthur's jaw dropped. "What? You asked me to tell you everything!"
"Yeah," Eamon said, folding his arms. "But not from your birth."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Forget it. I'm not telling you anything now. You are too arrogant."
Eamon groaned. "Fine. Alright. Arthur sir, please tell your story. But maybe start it from the recent events instead of a decade ago."
Arthur gave him a long look. Then finally nodded. "Fine. But only because you begged like that. And don't interrupt again."
""" Everything was normal for years. Peaceful. I stayed quiet. I lived simply. The doctor and Annie were my world.
Then, a few weeks ago, a family was murdered. It shocked the whole town. They were a quiet family. A farmer, his wife, and their child.
The doctor and I were asked to examine the scene. What we found… it wasn't just a murder. It was a massacre.
The walls of the house were covered in blood. The floor was soaked. The bodies… they were drained. Every drop of blood was gone. The necks had deep bite marks.
I knew what it meant. I didn't want to believe it, but I had to. It was a vampire.
But the way they were killed… it wasn't just feeding. It was cruelty. The father was made to watch as his wife and child were killed first. Then he was left to die slowly.
I told the doctor my suspicion. He wasn't sure. He didn't want to believe it either.
A week later, it happened again. This time, a mother and her little daughter.
Same signs. Same brutal method.
Another week. An old woman.
Five people. All dead. All drained. All tortured.
I kept telling the doctor it had to be a vampire. But I didn't know who. The doctor was scared. I think he feared that I would be blamed.
That night, he left the house without telling me. He went into the forest. Alone. He wanted to find the killer himself.
He came back the next evening. He told me what happened. He saw the vampire. He saw it attacking someone. The town guards appeared just in time, and the killer ran away.
I was furious. I told him that was too risky. But he said he did it for me. He wanted to protect me.
Then he said something strange. He told me to remove all the blood packets from my cottage. He feared that if anyone found them, they would think I was the murderer.
I listened. I packed them up. I walked toward my cottage.
As I was cleaning it, I heard screams from the town. I rushed back.
And I saw the worst thing of my life.
The doctor and Annie… they were both dead. Slaughtered. Like the others.
But this time, there was a message. Written on the wall in blood.
"It was Arthur. He is a vampire."
The townspeople arrived. They saw the message. They saw me. And they chased me like an animal.
I ran to the cottage. They found the blood packets. That confirmed everything in their minds. For the town, I was the vampire that murdered their citizens. The royal army had also arrived. """
Arthur looked away and fell silent for a moment. His fingers clenched into a fist.
"From that day, I've been hiding in this forest. Waiting. Watching. Hoping that bastard would return. I thought today was the day."
He looked at Eamon.
"But it turned out to be you."
He lowered his voice.
"And if someone came running from the town again today… then it means someone else has been killed."
Eamon didn't speak for a while. He let the words settle.
The night around them was quiet. Even the wind had stopped. The moon peeked through the leaves.
Finally, Eamon stepped closer.
"I'm sorry for whatever happened to you."
Arthur looked down.
Eamon continued.
"I promise you, I will help you in defeating him."