Chapter 18 - ... Explanation
Chapter 18 – … Explanation
Del opened his eyes. Everything was so bright. Everything was so white then he realized that it was the lights coming out of the window. He looked around. It seems that he was in a normal bedroom, just like the one on Earth. He felt comfortable in that room.
"So… all of them was a dream?" Del asked himself.
Eventually, Del came to a realization when he felt the pain in his torso and his legs. He then looked at it. Bandages were wrapping his bodies on those parts. There was no blood coming out of it, but he remembered that those wounds were from the icicles barrage.
"Nice. Those should heal nicely," A voice came out of his left direction.
Del looked in that direction and he found the exact vampire that was shooting him with the icicle barrage. Right now, she was just standing in the doorway with a bloodstain on her mouth.
"AH, IT'S YOU!" Del tried standing up from his bed, but his legs felt wobbly from the pain.
"Jeez, don't worry about it, kid. Besides, you are delicious," the vampire licked her lips.
Del feared that woman. It was the same woman that almost killed him and Cole. It was the woman that guarded a criminal. What did she do to him? Did she just turn Del into a vampire?
"DID YOU TURN ME INTO A VAMPIRE?" Del shouted.
"Boy, I ain't going to turn a person like you into a vampire. Besides, I'm engaged," the vampire showed a rink on her pinky.
Suddenly, Cole entered the room with three glasses of tea on a tray. The vampire grabbed the tea and he put the tray right next to the bed. Cole sat down on the edge of the bed with a cup of tea in his hand.
Del was confused why Cole was alive or why the vampire seemed to be very friendly with Cole. Del felt that all of the logic inside of his mind was thrown out of the window. He wondered how two people that tried to kill each other became a good friend that soon.
"I think I have some explaining to do, hehe," Cole smiled.
The little bit of laughter at the end of Cole's sentence sent Del down the trench of confusion. Did Cole betray him or was there something that he simply didn't know? Del also noticed that the vampire was oddly friendly to him.
Wait, Cole was a demon and the vampire on the doorway was a demon as well. Did it mean that they know each other?
"Yeah, I'm confused and I also felt betrayed. So, will you explain it to me?" Del asked.
The vampire walked closer to the bed, "My name is Cassandra Blair. I'm a post-graduate medical student and a surgeon. I'm Cole's senior from the same university, but we attend a different major. I guess I were too rough, huh?"
"Too rough? I guess trying to kill me wasn't rough enough," Del said sarcastically.
"You might want to rethink that kid, I did save your life with the tools that I have in my bag," Cassandra sipped on her tea, "You might also need to know that you turn some of my internal organs into mashed potatoes."
Del became even more confused. The woman that ricocheted .45 ACP AP and 7.92 Mauser said that the bullet smashed her internal organ even though the bullet didn't even penetrate. How could that make sense?
"Wait, I wounded you?" Del asked.
"You did," Cassandra said.
"When?" Del asked.
"Before I sucked Osmond dry," Cassandra said.
"The blood, right?" Cole smirked mischievously.
Cassandra sighed, "Of course I sucked the blood. What else did you think I suck?"
"Nothing, hehe," Cole let out small laughter.
"Anyway, your name is Del, right? Can I ask you for a favor since I saved your life?" Cassandra asked.
Del refused, "Wait a minute, you wounded me and you fixed me. I think that is just your way of taking responsibility. I don't think I have any responsibility to do anything for you."
"This is not for me, this is for my junior, Cole," Cassandra said.
Del looked at Cole. Cole replied with a smile.
"Can you help him with his research? You owe his life to him. Imagine if you find me without him. You will end up six feet under the ground like everyone else inside of this house," Cassandra said.
Del agreed with that statement. If Cole weren't with him, he would probably die. It was reasonable enough to help Cole with his research even though Del didn't know what exactly Cole was researching even though it was about Darium or something.
"Fair enough. Don't worry, I understand what you meant. I will help Cole with his research," Del said.
"That's what I like to hear. Anyway, Del, your wound should heal up in around six days or so. I have fixed most of the internal bleedings, but you shouldn't force yourself too hard for six days," Cassandra said.
"Why?" Del asked as he held his stinging chest.
"You still feel the pain, right? It's your body working hard trying to normalize itself on the post-surgery recovery. I have connected all the tissues, all the blood vessels, all of the broken muscles, and bunch of other things that I'd rather not mention. Your body still needs to regulate itself to maintain the after-effect of the surgery. Even with the ability of a healing spell, it still takes time," Cassandra said.
"I… understand, I will have no money then since I can't even go out for assignments," Del sighed.
"Well… there's Cole," Cassandra suggested.
"What can Cole do for me?" Del asked.
"I can take some assignments while you're on your bed rest. However, after that, I want to demand something from you, can I?" Cole asked.
"We'll see about that, Cole. It depends on how much money I can get during my bed rest," Del said.
"Cole, do you think you can handle him?" Cassandra asked.
"Don't worry, my little sister is worse than this," Cole said.
"Alright, well, I should take my leave then, I see no reason to follow you two since my research requires me to move around the country a lot. Anyway," Cassandra held Del's chin, "You're one hell of a delicious specimen."
Del felt awkward. The woman should be around thirty years old or something due to her taking a post-graduate class. However, the woman also looked as young as his twin sister. Being teased like that wasn't something that he wanted. Aging in demonic creatures was weird.
Cassandra left the room, and eventually, the house. Maybe the best part of being a vampire was not having a horn. Unlike Cole who had to hide from the crowds, Cassandra could roam around freely.
"You're one hell of a sleeper, you know that, mate?" Cole asked.
"How long did I sleep anyway?" Del asked.
"Two days, perhaps more?" Cole said.
"Huh? How did Cassandra feed me?" Del asked.
"I'd rather not talk about that," Cole said.
Del squinted his eyes, "Ok, I understand. We should get out of here. We will need to get out of here as soon as possible."
"I do agree with that, but with your wounded state, I think we should take a rest in this place," Cole said.
"Alright, you sound more reasonable than usual. Anyway, where will get out food? Don't tell me you're suggesting us to eat the dead bodies of Osmond's bodyguard," Del said.
"No, hell no, I might be a demon, but I'm not that low," Cole said.
"What are you suggesting then?" Del asked.
"Meat. I hunted a wild deer in the grassland," Cole said.
"Deer? That's a lot of meat, not to mention that it can spoil, where did you put it?" Del asked.
"Huh? Spoil? I'm not that stupid, Del. I put it inside of the cellar of course," Cole said.
"What's so special about a storage cellar?" Del asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Storage cellar is a place where you put an ice spirit and food, don't you know that?" Cole asked.
"Ice spirit? What's that? I never heard of that," Del said.
"Well, how can I describe it? It looks like a floating blue flame oftentimes, but sometimes, it looked like a legendary creature as well. It fed on magical energy and it usually dissipates heat on its presence," Cole said.
"I understand. Anyway, Cole, thank you," Del said.
"No worries. Anyway, your magical tools are below this bed, in case you need it. I also found these 1,000 gold coins inside of Osmond's pocket," Cole said.
"Let's return it to the guild later, we don't need any bounty hunter coming after us," Del said.
"I agree with that. Anyway, Del, do you need me to do anything?" Cole asked.
"Yeah, I want you to explain how magic works? Instead of the simple pronunciation, Cassandra seems to be using a more complex way of using magic. Can you explain how can I cast a spell similarly to Cassandra?" Del asked.
"Well, fundamentally, I learned magic differently from you, humans," Cole said.
"How so?" Del asked.
"Well, you, humans, use magic using feeling while we, demons, use magic using a more sophisticated way called magical programming. I am not a magical engineer, so I wouldn't go too deep about that. My magic only goes as far as what a Chemical Engineer uses on daily basis," Cole said.
"What are you trying to tell me?" Del asked.
"Magic is a very complicated subject. Let's play chemistry instead," Cole said
"Alright, if you don't want to teach me, just say it, damn it," Del said.
"Fine, I will teach you later, once your body heals up. Before that, you need to take bed rest, understand?" Cole asked.
"I understand."