Lucio had let the mayor know heโd see him tomorrow sometime.
Lucio left Annaโs house walking back to the body where he had hid it. He gathered some firewood, building a fire and burned the corpse. It had seemed the mayor was more than some kind of regular mayor and this town was turning out to be something more odd than he had expected. Lucio didnโt know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
He pondered about it as he watched as the ash of the body blow away in the wind. After a while it had died down. Lucio buried the coals with some dirt. He left and walked to the inn. It was late and was basically finished up for the night.
โGood evening Lucio.โ Verna smirked giving him a playful look. Lucio nodded his head walking towards her, โGood evening.โ He leaned over on the counter where she stood behind. โIs there anything I can do for you?โ She asked cleaning a glass with a rag. Lucio shook his head no. He let out a deep breath, โIt was a long night.โ He lowered his head, โHowโd your night go after Anna and I left?โ Lucio asked. Verna shrugged, โDull. A bunch of wealthy men talking and flirting with women.โ She said putting the glass down in the shelf of the open counter behind the bar. โNot my type of men.โ She said picking up another glass to clean and looked at Lucio. She eyed him up and down, looking at his outfit. She rose an eyebrow, โDid you and Anna have some fun on the ground?โ She joked noticing his outfit wasnโt clean like it was before. Lucio slightly chuckled, โNo. It wasnโt like that.โ He said standing up straight, getting off of the counter he had leaned on. โI think Iโm the last thing sheโs thinking about.โ He said shrugging.
Vernaโs face showed a little surprise, wondering why Lucio had said that. She let the conversation stay at that for a moment. Before Lucio got her attention, โCome to the backroom with me.โ With her previous compulsion she had already known that he was a vampire, but her conscious self didnโt know that. The compulsion would make her forget everything about his vampirism. They walked into the back room and Lucio had locked the door behind him. Verna had been wearing a long dress, โSit down.โ He said. She had walked over to a stool by the side of the room. Lucio walked over lifting her dress to her mid thigh. He knelt down, putting his face to her thigh as his face slowly turned to one of a vampires. His fangs sank into her flesh. Droplets of blood appeared. Verna winced and groaned lightly as the pain shot through her body. Her hands grabbed onto Lucioโs shoulder, gripping it. After a moment, the pain had dulled. She began to feel slightly light headed. Lucio stopped.
He backed off, wiping away the blood from her thigh. โI feel much better.โ He said taking in a deep breath. He looked at her, โThank you.โ He said to her, as if she had a choice in the matter. Verna smiled politely and nodded, getting up from her stool. She promptly walked out of the room and Lucio followed. She had been compelled to forget every encounter they had when he had fed. He walked in front of the bar, looking at her. โWell Iโm going to head off to bed. Have a goodnight Verna.โ He smiled to her walking towards the stairs upstairs. โGoodnight Lucio! It was nice to see you at the party tonight!โ She said raising her voice as he walked to the stairs. Lucio gave her a slight wave as he disappeared upstairs.
Lucio walked through the small hallway to his room, walking into it and closing the door. He walked over to his bed and laid down looking at the ceiling. He didnโt really mind using a coffin or a bed, either one had worked fine for him. The myth that vampires used coffinโs was more or less a myth. Maybe some vampires had used it for the image, but it wasnโt necessary.
He pondered for a few moments, thinking back to Anna. "Thank you Lucio. I'm forever grateful for your appearance in this village. If not for you, I would have surely died tonight.โ Those were his last thoughts before sleep had taken him for the night.