Chapter 171: Night’s Hunt II
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Sekhmet opened the door just enough and stepped into the corridor.
The hallway was dim. The air was cooler. The house fell asleep.
He moved like a shadow.
Bat Bat moved like an excited shadow wearing boots.
Sekhmet headed toward the guest wing.
The twins’ room was dark, but he could sense them even before he reached the door. Their presence was sharper now, not because they were loud, but because their blood resonance had changed.
True vampires did not feel like normal people. They felt like still water that could become a wave.
Sekhmet knocked once. Inside, there was a brief pause. Then a quiet voice.
"Enter," Vera said.
Sekhmet opened the door.
The twins were awake.
Both of them sat on the bed, posture straight, clothing simple, hair loose. Their red eyes reflected faint light in a way that was not human.
They looked calm. But under the calm was hunger. Not the wild hunger of ghouls. A refined hunger, disciplined, waiting for permission, but still hungry enough that their throats tightened when Sekhmet entered.
They rose immediately.
"Master," Vera said.
"Master," Vela echoed.
Bat Bat stepped into the room behind Sekhmet and puffed her chest proudly. She pointed at the twins like she was presenting students.
"Hungry," Bat Bat announced.
Vera’s gaze flicked to Bat Bat.
Vela’s gaze flicked to Bat Bat.
Then both looked back at Sekhmet, waiting for instruction.
Sekhmet spoke calmly.
"We hunt tonight," he said.
The twins’ eyes sharpened instantly.
Bat Bat grinned like a demon child.
Sekhmet held up one hand.
"Before we hunt," he continued, "you learn rules."
The twins nodded immediately.
Bat Bat also nodded, but she nodded like someone agreeing to rules that applied only to other people.
Sekhmet looked at Vera and Vela.
"You will not feed on children," he said.
Their expressions did not change, but their eyes did. They understood the weight of that sentence.
"You will not feed on innocents," Sekhmet continued.
Vera spoke softly. "Define innocent," she asked.
Bat Bat gasped dramatically.
"Master," Bat Bat whispered loudly, "Same face talk back."
Vela glanced at Bat Bat like she was considering eating her out of pure annoyance.
Sekhmet ignored Bat Bat and answered Vera.
"Innocent means anyone who is not harming others," Sekhmet said. "Anyone who is not actively preying on the weak. Anyone who is simply living their life with honesty."
Vera nodded. Vela nodded.
Sekhmet continued.
"You will feed on criminals," he said. "Bandits. Predators. People doing shady deals. People who would not hesitate to cut a throat for a coin."
Bat Bat raised her hand like a student.
"Master," Bat Bat said, "Bat Bat know many shady people."
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"You," he said, "do not know many shady people. Weird faces don’t make them shady..."
Bat Bat looked offended.
"I am not talking about them. I know shady," she insisted. "Elena is shady. She makes me do homework."
Sekhmet did not react. He decided if he reacted, this hunt would become a domestic argument, and he would end up arguing instead of hunting criminals.
He looked at the twins again.
"There is another rule," Sekhmet said. "You do not kill unless I allow it."
The twins’ eyes tightened slightly.
Vela spoke carefully. "Master," she said, "can we feed without killing?"
Sekhmet nodded.
"You Can," he replied.
Bat Bat made a face.
"Bat Bat like killing," she whispered.
Sekhmet glanced at her.
Bat Bat immediately smiled innocently like she had never said anything.
"You will learn control," Sekhmet continued to the twins. "Not tomorrow. Not next week. Tonight."
Vera’s eyes brightened slightly.
"How," Vera asked.
Bat Bat stepped forward proudly, waving her hand like she was about to give a lecture.
"Blood control is easy," Bat Bat announced. "Just think about blood. Blood listens. Blood goes. Like this."
Bat Bat lifted her palm.
Nothing happened.
Bat Bat frowned harder, concentrating.
A tiny drop of blood rose from her fingertip, wobbling like it was confused why it was being summoned into this nonsense.
Bat Bat pointed at it proudly.
"See," she declared. "Big technique. I teach better than Elena. She must go home and cry."
Vela stared at the tiny drop.
Then she looked at Bat Bat again.
Vela’s expression did not change, but her silence explained everything.
Bat Bat puffed her cheeks.
Sekhmet spoke calmly.
"Bat Bat," he said, "if Elena finds out you left your room and talking shit about her, you will have ten times more homework."
Bat Bat froze. Her eyes widened.
"Master," she whispered urgently, "Elena must not know."
Sekhmet nodded once. "Correct," he said.
Bat Bat’s voice dropped to a dramatic whisper.
"Then the master must hunt fast," she said. "Then Bat Bat returns before Elena knows."
Sekhmet did not promise anything. He simply turned toward the door.
"Follow me," he said.
The twins moved immediately. They did not rush like excited children. They moved like predators who had been taught discipline.
Bat Bat followed too, by sitting on Sekhmet’s shoulder, and being loud.
They moved through the corridors of Dawn House, avoiding servant routes. Sekhmet did not head for the main gate. He headed for a side exit.
Outside, the city was a different world at night.
Slik City’s lanterns burned like low stars. The streets closer to the center still had movement, still had guards patrolling, still had merchants closing late.
Sekhmet did not want that. He wanted shadows. He wanted distance. He wanted space where mistakes would not become rumors.
They moved along quieter streets, hugging walls, slipping between alleys. The twins followed perfectly, their steps silent, their posture controlled.
Bat Bat tried to be silent for a few seconds. But Bat Bat failed...
At one point, Bat Bat was flying then for rest she stepped on a loose stone. The stone scraped.
Bat Bat froze, eyes wide.
Sekhmet turned slightly, gaze sharp.
Bat Bat immediately blamed the stone.
"Stone is loud," she whispered angrily, as if the stone had personally betrayed her.
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