Conflict of Blood

"Sit down! It's not that I won't pay you—I just don't have any cash right now!"

Seeing the dejected man start shouting, Professor Higgins hurriedly grabbed his hand, trying to make him sit down. He was clearly worried about drawing too much attention.

"Don't even think about it!"

The Bloodkin flung the professor's hand aside and even raised his voice:

"Pay up now. I won't believe your excuses. If you leave and take a train out of town, where am I supposed to find you?"

"I really only don't have money for the moment, but someone will bring me money tomorrow."

The professor still tried to persuade him, but the other man showed no appreciation:

"I'll come find you again at eight tonight. If you run away—"

He bent down and whispered something into the professor's ear, then stood and headed toward the inn's exit. But after taking only a few steps, he turned back and looked at the suitcase Professor Higgins was carrying. He waved at the professor, signaling for him to follow.

The two of them left the Sikar Inn together. Shade did not follow immediately. He planned to finish the apple juice in his hand first, and if he could no longer find them afterward, he would simply lose interest in the matter.

But before he had even finished his drink, another person came down the stairs. It was Armand Bernhardt, the uncle among the Bloodkin uncle-nephew pair Shade had saved in Life and Death Limbo.

Likewise, at the same moment Shade saw him, blood-red mist gathered above Mr. Bernhardt's head and formed a tiny bat. Compared with the shabby Bloodkin from earlier, Mr. Bernhardt was obviously a member of high society at a glance.

He had likely been drawn by the earlier argument, or perhaps he