Chapter 7

Tasmania Island, 1866

Black wars against natives in Australia and Tasmania are becoming more frequent, even though the governor has been negotiating for the indigenous Van Diemen islands to migrate elsewhere. In addition, the colonizers competed to exploit profitable natural resources, especially gold.

On the other hand, the victims who fell were something of value to the vampire clans who disguised themselves as part of the British colonial. Before the peak of the blood moon in March, instinct and thirst for blood are increasing daily. Many are never satisfied with sucking one victim's blood, so some steal blood bags from hospitals or kill livestock at night.

Matthias stood behind a large pine trunk quite far from the snake clan on the north side of the Gordon River. Ever since the territorial dispute with Aaliyah, he had been curious about what would happen to taste the blood of that proud clan. He sniffed the scent of the snake clan with his pointy nose. There is no difference that is so striking with the smell of blood other than the rancid and fishy smell. Even he could call the scent of the snake clan's blood the most rotten among different blood types.

Matthias' thin, pale lips stretched to form a straight line with a meaningful look. Those eyes with blood-red irises stared at the slightly dark sky with clouds moving slowly towards the south. The air blows strand after strand of her blonde hair with the smell of earth indicating that rain will soon fall. Grapevine's sweet aroma tickled his nose; he combed around while stepping through the thickets, looking for the source of the intoxicating scent.

His steps stopped when Matthias found Aaliyah's figure molting under a pine tree. With such a beautiful half-human body and peeling greenish scaly skin, Aaliyah looks so pale under her exotic skin. Matthias squinted as the beads of sweat off Aaliyah's human body glistened like pearls. The vampire smells again. Aaliyah's sweet scent is getting stronger, accompanied by the smell of blood, completely different from before.

Matthias's thin lips grinned more expansive, then glanced back at the darkening sky. Then, he left the hiding place while recalling the smell of blood that made him impatiently wait for the blood moon.

"One moment, Stella," William interrupted. "So, as long as the blood moon doesn't appear, vampires don't have any power, is that it?"

Stella nodded. "As long as the blood moon doesn't appear, they are nothing more than ordinary people. It's just that they have a habit of sucking blood and like to play against each other."

"Why? Vampire movies are described as strong monsters who can kill humans whenever they want."

Stella laughed, and her cheeks turned red. She shook her head and then said, “They are exaggerating. The vampires are the weakest clan among the clans. They agree with pure humans that there cannot be news of the death of more than twenty people in one day in one city. They also have a pact with other clans that will not attack during the blood moon."

"Then how do they survive? Isn't their staple food blood?" asked William, who still didn't understand the foreign world he had just heard.

"They steal blood bags and use the blood of accident victims or victims who died in fights. That's how they survive, William."

The older man nodded as he looked Stella straight in the eye. Suddenly, he remembered the accident that had happened to him some time ago. His whole thin body suddenly tensed up; maybe what William saw at that time was a vampire. Unfortunately, no one believes in humans with red eyes and fangs. And perhaps also, vampires suddenly appear to make tragic accidents to drain the victim's blood.

"Could it be... could it be that the accident my wife and daughter had was their doing?" accused William with rising emotion. “Back then, no one believed I saw a human whose features were the same as you described, Stella.”

"You met them?" asked Stella back, squinting her eyes.

William nodded quickly. "Yes. I saw it with my own eyes, Stella. He was a man with slightly long hair, red eyes, and a mouth full of blood. When he appeared in the middle of the street, I still remember his skin shining like crystal."

For a moment, Stella was silent, remembering the smell of two stiff humans in that strange room last week. There was no trace of the vampires, and even Stella wondered why they had started showing up. It broke the rules they used to make with the humans.

"Then, I didn't even find the vampire scent on your wife and daughter's bodies," Stella said.

William breathed a sigh of relief. As he recalls, as soon as the bodies of his wife and children were cremated, William immediately buried his loved ones in the city center cemetery. It's also impossible for vampires to dismantle burial areas to look for blood.

"But...the last few weeks, many have died from animal attacks. That's what the police believe, Stella. If I sum up your story, they most likely caused this mess."

The girl confirmed William's alibi. As he remembered, vampires would only come out during a blood moon, unlike now, when the full moon is the peak werewolf night. If vampires have dared to appear, the era has evolved, and rules were made before.

"We'll investigate later. So, may I continue with my story?" she asked.

William nodded. "Please."

March 1866

The night is so dark with shining stars, making the sky even more beautiful in the city of Strahan. When the first natural phenomenon occurred, the moon appeared reddish like blood. Many people, British colonialists, and inland tribes enjoyed the rare natural landscape. However, everything is inversely proportional to the atmosphere around the Gordon River.

A gust of wind that shook every leaf from the old trees there seemed to indicate something big was about to happen. Jake Rogers stood on the banks of the Gordon River, looking up at the dark sky with a moon that was so striking. He had ordered several adult foxes to watch in every corner of the watch. Jake's orange eyes stared at the reflection in the calm ripples of the river.

His two sharp ears moved momentarily when he caught the sound of friction not far from his current position. Jake wagged his tail, stance ready to attack whoever came. He turned his head while sharpening his pupils to catch a strange object. His snout sniffed for a scent, but there was none other than his own.

Jake roared to warn the rest of the herd; luckily, he had hidden in the women and at the confluence of the Gordon and Franklin rivers. Suddenly, a shadow moved behind Jake's back, alerting the fox. Jake skidded through the undergrowth warily. There was a strange smell tickling hA strange smell tickledncountered before. It smells so sweet, like flowers and sweet like honey.

Jake's scent almost so carried Jake away that he didn't realize that behind him was someone with bright red eyes grinning. Before Jake could turn around, the vampire attacked and tore Jake's fox body furiously seriously. The poor fox didn't have cream before it finally drained of blood.

The blonde vampire throws Jake Rogers' body into the river until the water turns red. His eyes closed briefly while licking the blood, which was so delicious. No. Matthia shook his head hard, not because the fox blood was delicious, but it was because Aliyah's broodmare meals so enjoyable.

The blood moon is getting brighter in the middle of the night sky. Suddenly, Matthias's body felt so hot, with his red skin like it was burning. The vampire screamed, foaming at the mouth. He didn't know if this was the effect of sucking Aaliyah's and Jake's blood. Matthias called even more as his pale skin had greenish scales that gave off a foul smell. Its tailbone protrudes and reveals a fox tail with claws, revealing gears.

The heat was getting worse and worse until his scaly skin was blind. His head and chest felt like a giant rock had hit them, so the foam from his mouth replaced his mouth, look spurting out loud. Hit his throat and hurt like a gaping wound with salt. Matthias screamed in pain as the agony crept up in his eyes. The blackish liquid comes from between the eyes, with jaws moving forward into a fox-like muzzle.

The vampire couldn't make any more sounds. His vocal cords had probably been severed as the effects of the snake's and fox's blood converged in veins. Matthias didn't know when all of this would end. He thought that maybe his life as a vampire would end.

The light from the blood moon phenomenon hit Matthias' body. He wandered as his vision grew more and more blurry. Until accidentally, Matthias' right foot hit an old pine tree trunk and then made the tall vampire fall to the ground.

Matthias groaned in pain along with his scaly body, now covered with the fox's signature orange fur. Then, the next second, Matthias's two irises lit up brightly, with the right iris green and the left iris orange. The man suddenly vanished with the incredible pain that hit him, replaced with an extraordinary sensation.

The tall body rose from the ground. His vision, which had been blurry, could now look around more sharply; he could even see the movement of the dust surrounding the man. His sense of smell can detect various scents, including new carcasses buried in the ground. Likewise, the purpose of hearing can capture multiple sounds to the friction of leaves on the tallest pine trees.

A smirk spread across those thin lips; he didn't expect the effect of Jake and Aaliyah's blood to be this powerful. Then, the vampire tried jumping over Gordon's river with fox fur on both hands and scales on his face. With ease, Matthias' body floated in the air and stood on the river's other side.

"How could it be?" said Matthias to himself. "How could the mixture of their blood make me this strong?"

The two vampire irises stared at the moon. Matthias laughed, feeling happy at the peak phenomenon of the vampire clan. He didn't expect to be able to survive the transition that no vampire could go through.

Matthias climbed up the pine tree with swift and agile movements. He also stood on one of the branches of a tree, looking around him with a broader and sharper field of view than before. From here, he could see the clan members hiding in the lair. Matthias smiled slyly again and then muttered,

"Let's see to what extent this power can be tested."

"I don't know, William. I see no traces."