Chapter 44: The Jewel

Her body had been scorched like a burned candle wick, black and red, her body deformed under the sunlight. Her clothes ripped of, not for rape but for bloodless murder. Her body is wick, grotesquely waxy and charred. Her eyes spilled tears of blood, gouged out in pure horror. Burns scattered her body like a mountain range, volcanos oozing drained blood. Her lips a cold blue tone, a prominent tattering of cuts all around her body.

Wei's eyes widened as he walked over to the woman. He crouched, sliding his finger along her body. Her skin was jerky, dried and wrinkled all through her skin. Her fingers were chopped like carrots, her entire body mutilated beyond recognition. Cuts slid along her face with precision, the murderer obviously with a surgen background. On her stomach laid a sign of terror, with blood pulling in the large jagged words.

VAMPIRES DIE

"Oh my god.." Yang whispered, slowly approaching. She died fairly recently. The chance the hunter might have been around would be close. He placed both fingers onto her neck, where a heartbeat might be if she was alive. Sadly, she wasn't. Vampires have hearts, just like humans. They have blood, just like humans. But they're all useless.

Wei sighed, leaning back and falling onto the ground. He rubbed his face, sliding out his phone. "Is she dead? As in dead and not coming back to life?" Wei didn't exactly know if Yang had ever seen a dead vampire, nor if he had even seen a dead person before. But based on the boy's reaction, he had a good idea. "Yeah. She's dead." Wei answered.

Yang didn't crouch down like Wei did, nor did he walk much closer to the girl. Wei didn't blame him. It was a gruesome way to die, that was for sure. He slid his phone out of his bag, turning the device on. He didn't know who he should call. Chan or Ying. Or maybe neither. He didn't exactly know what to do.

"Oh… wow." Yang mumbled, walking over to Wei, sitting down beside him. As Wei scrolls through his contacts his hand hovers over a specific name. Wei shakes his head slightly, shutting off his phone. He combs a hand through his hair, as he hears someone's voice from the entrance of the alley.

"What happened here?"

Wei looks up, seeing Yuao standing, looking down at the body. He sighs, standing up. "Good question." Wei muttered, helping Yang up. "We stumbled upon her just like you." Wei explains as Yang looks towards him with a confused look. Wei gestures to Yuao. "Yang, meet Yuao." Wei says calmly.

Yuao smiles, looking over at Yang. "Yang. Your Chan's friend?" Yuao asked curiously, as Yang gave the elder a curious look. "Uh, yeah." Yang asked, crossing his arms, almost defensively. Yuao smiles, stepping aside to reveal a vampling. Wei knew him. He worked at the same place as Jingfei. He couldn't remember the boy's name, but it was nice to know he had a protectrice.

Wei nods towards the boy. "A vampling? Yours?" Wei asked, looking up at Yuao once again. The elder laughed casually. "No. I found him." Yuao explained simply as the vampling stood up, walking past Yang and Wei and towards the dead girl. "What happened?" Lin Feng asked, crossing his arms. He looked at the girl. "She was tortured." Lin Feng observed.

The vampling, unlike Yang, crouched down to look at the girl, opening her eyes, the crimson color drained. "Who is this girl?" Yuao asked, walking behind Lin Feng towards the girl. Wei shrugged. "I don't know what the problem is. Whoever did this made sure she couldn't be identified."

Everyone was quiet, staring down at the dead girl. That is, until Yang gasped. "It was a vampire! A vampire killed her!" Yang said, both shocked and worriedly. Yuao widened his eyes, looking back at Yang with a shocked expression. "She- what?" Yuao asked. Yang turned around to look at the elder. "Let's say it was a hunter. Why would they mark off their face? They just need the vampire dead, not stabbed to cut a threat in her stomach. Even if the hunter hated her, they can't scratch out their face. They need it for recognition o that she wasn't just a random person."

Lin Feng turns around to look at Yang, shrugging slightly. "He's not wrong." Lin Feng gestured to Yang slightly, before crossing his arms once again. Yuao clicked his tongue looking back down at the dead girl on the ground. "Or a vengeful human." Yuao proposed hesitantly, placing his arms behind his back. "Someone who hates vampires with a passion, for one reason or another."Yuao explained further.

Wei took a moment, before sighing. "I have to tell this to the council." Wei mumbled to himself, before speaking louder. He had to tell the council. Maybe they could do something. Yuao's eyes widened, both in shock and worry. Lin Feng looked up, confused. "The council?" Lin Feng asked with confusion. Yang looked over at the vampling. "You don't know what the council is?"

Lin Feng stared at the only human for a moment, before nodding. "Beau Mort. It's a league of vampires. Like a government for vampires. Wei is a representative." Yuao explained simply. Lin Feng scanned the different people in the room, his eyes lingering on Wei for a slight moment, before shrugging. "Uh, okay." Lin Feng muttered. Yang looked over at Wei.

"What exactly would they do? It's not illegal for humans to kill vampires. For some reason. They won't do anything about it."Yang pointed out. Wei sighed, crossing his arms. Yang was right, but there was one thing that Wei could do. "It isn't illegal for humans to kill vampires. But it is illegal for vampires to kill vampires."