Chapter 31: The Long Road Back
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
Mariana had come back to life in a human body. At first, she couldn’t stand, unable to control the long, slender limbs of her new form. Even when she managed to get to her feet, she couldn’t keep her balance. In her previous body, she had no eyesight and relied on the Lizardman’s senses to perceive the world. Now, her unique perception was gone, and the sudden appearance of “vision” only left her panicked and disoriented.
The colors and lines robbed her of her sense of space. She had to close her eyes just to slowly get to her feet. She moved like a toddler learning to walk, nearly stumbling with every step. In the end, John decided to carry her on his back.
“This reminds me of when I was little,” Mariana said with her eyes shut. “Back then, I was just a small lizard, unable to stand upright. I used to cling to my father’s back while he carried me through cave after cave…”
“Uh, how old are you now?” John asked. He knew her new body had “died” at the age of nineteen.
“A little over six.”
“What!”
Coraci followed behind them. “Don’t be so shocked. Mariana’s an adult Lizardman. The average lifespan of a Cave Lizardman is about twenty-five to thirty years.”
“And now?” John asked. “I mean, after taking over this new body…what exactly is she? Human or undead?”
“She’s human,” Coraci said. “When you use a heart to transfer a soul, the new body becomes truly alive — not a zombie. She’ll need food, bleed, sleep, and age just like a human.”
Mariana listened without fully understanding, opening her eyes and glancing back and forth between John and Coraci.
The three of them walked toward the highway under the cover of night, leaving the forest riverbank behind — and with it, a new rumor: Romanian vampires truly exist, and a young woman had risen from her grave.
By the next morning, hunters were already whispering that the dead had risen in a certain graveyard. That evening, local Romanian demon hunters found them.
At the time, John was sleeping in an abandoned barn outside a farm, while Coraci stayed inside with Mariana. The kindly elderly couple who owned the farm believed they were foreign tourists — a brother and sister — who had been robbed.
A hunter knocked on the door. He was a middle-aged man with a brown beard, dressed in a suit, and introduced himself as Detective Paul. The old couple let him in, and he walked straight up to Coraci, pulling out his phone and starting a video call with Instructor Jere.
While Coraci and Instructor Jere spoke, Mariana curled up on the couch, staring fixedly at Paul. Ever since she’d gained her sight, she had developed the habit of staring at one thing for long periods of time.
Paul shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Interrupting the conversation, he asked Coraci, “Hey, what’s with your friend? Is she afraid of hunters?”
“She shouldn’t be,” Coraci replied, smiling at Mariana before lowering his voice to the hunter. “She’s harmless. Trust me.”
“I know she’s harmless — your people told me you work with a bloodkin — but I don’t like being stared at by one.”
“Oh, no, it’s not that,” Coraci said. “She’s…just a human. My bloodkin partner is resting.”
“He still can’t handle sunlight?”
“He can, but it’s not exactly pleasant. Do you want to meet him? I can go get him.” Coraci glanced toward the door, hinting that “he’s hiding nearby”.
Paul curled his lip. “Oh…my partner is patrolling the area. He might have already found him.”
John was sleeping deeply, utterly drained from exhaustion. Buried beneath a pile of hay, he didn’t notice anyone approaching.
A figure in black robes stood in the barn doorway, his shadow stretching all the way to the haystack where John lay. Slowly, he walked over and brushed his hand over the hay covering John’s chest. John didn’t stir.
The man pulled out a flat flask, twisted off the cap, and the rich scent of blood filled the air. This time, John’s eyes snapped open. He bolted upright, then instantly sprang back, pressing himself against the wall to put distance between them.
“Who are you?” John’s muscles were tense. The figure was dressed in a full-length black robe, the kind he’d only seen worn by women in certain Middle Eastern countries.
“Don’t be nervous, my brother,” the robed figure said. “My name is Danny, of the Menkovár family. I honor your kind.”
“I don’t have any brothers! I have only one sister!” John shouted.
Danny’s shoulders slumped. “Fine, I’ll speak plainly. I’m Danny, a child of Romania’s Menkovár family. We’d like to offer you our assistance. This bottle is a small token of respect. Considering you may be exhausted, please accept it and use it freely.”
John blinked at him. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Damn wild bloodkin!” Danny screwed the cap back onto the flask of blood and tossed it to John. “Listen, I’m a vampire too. My family is allied with humans. Today, my companion and I received a request for help from the Unthreatening Creature Protection Association, so we came to find you. That’s what this bottle is for. You understand now?”
John muttered a quick thanks and picked up the flask. From both the voice and the name, he was certain Danny was male, yet he was dressed like a Middle Eastern woman in long, flowing black robes and even wore a veil. John couldn’t help but ask, “You dress like this to block the sunlight?”
“Yes, because I’m not that old,” Danny said. “I can move in the sunset and my eyes aren’t too sensitive, but sunlight still burns my skin. I’m younger than you, which is why I called you brother1 earlier. It’s a courtesy in the coven.”
“And how do you know I’m older than you?”
“Of course bloodkin in the coven have ways to tell,” Danny replied, a hint of pride in his tone.
Paul and Danny were a pair of demon hunter partners: Paul, a human, and Danny, a young bloodkin. They brought Coraci and the others to a nearby inn to rest for a while. In the morning, they planned to borrow a van to take the three of them to Bucharest. The enclosed vehicle would allow the bloodkin to rest more comfortably during the day.
Everyone worried about how they would get Mariana on a plane. Fortunately, a wealthy businesswoman agreed to help, offering to let them take her private jet. They would have to wait a few days which was long enough to arrange a passable temporary identity for the girl. After all, even a private jet still had to go through the airport.
“That noble and wealthy lady is an elder of the Menkovár family,” Danny said proudly once they reached the inn. “She runs several multinational corporations and has made generous donations to your association.”
Paul coughed pointedly, but Danny pretended not to notice.
The hunters helped book two rooms before leaving for a while. Originally, Coraci had planned to let Mariana have a room to herself — after all, she was now a human girl. But not long after they closed the door, he and John heard her shouting outside.
They opened the door to find her sprawled on the hallway carpet like a seal. Without a tail, she hardly knew how to walk.
“What do you need?” John asked, carrying her back inside.
“I just wanted to go outside for a look,” Mariana said excitedly, “and I saw those two hunters.”
“I thought they’d already left?”
“They have now. But just a moment ago, they were out there — at the far end of that long road.” She meant the end of the hallway.
Then she asked, “Coraci, John, do humans and vampires both like touching other people?”
“What?” They both stared at her, confused.
“John, you touched Coraci with your lips. When I died and woke up again, I saw you touch Coraci’s arm with your lips. I didn’t even know that was called ‘seeing’ yet, or that it was you two — I just thought it was interesting.”
John was too embarrassed to look at Coraci. Coraci looked nearly as uncomfortable, but still tried to explain to the girl. “Uh, usually it’s a gesture of friendliness or affection, and only people who are very close can do that. You can’t just do it to anyone.”
“I won’t. Lizardmen don’t put their mouths on other people’s bodies — it’s impolite where I’m from,” Mariana said seriously. “Oh, right, I wanted to say — I saw Paul touch Danny’s mouth with his mouth, and then he touched Danny’s…”
She pointed between John’s legs.
John and Coraci exchanged an oh, I see look.
“Paul said Danny likes to…boast. Is that the word?” she asked. “Danny said something else, then Paul pulled off Danny’s veil — and Danny looks exactly like you two!”
“How could he look exactly like us?” John asked in surprise.
“You all have pointy noses, soft lips, thin necks, and forward-facing eyes! Paul has a lot of hair around his mouth, but you and Danny don’t have as much as he does.”
“Right. Mariana, I should remind you — you have that same look now. Except your chin won’t grow hair.”
Mariana nodded and touched her face — her first instinct was still to feel rather than look in a mirror.
“Then I saw them touch their mouths again,” she continued, “and then their whole bodies touched. Danny said, ‘Back to the car.’”
“And then?” John asked. He could picture the whole scene perfectly; Mariana’s halting way of describing it was oddly precise.
“Then I lost my balance and fell, and they left.”
Coraci was trying not to laugh. Mariana tilted her head. “Coraci, was that really a sign of affection?”
“Mm-hm. Just remember — you can’t do that with just anyone, all right?”
“All right. But…yesterday I saw John touch you — why didn’t you touch him back?”
In Mariana’s eyes, the two men held their foreheads at exactly the same time, without even looking at each other first. The girl, who had just learned to see, was utterly confused.
Since the private jet’s owner was also bloodkin, their departure was set for the evening and arrival at midnight.
At the airport in West Bay City, Carolyn and Liz spotted an unexpectedly heartwarming scene from afar: Coraci and John walking on either side of a black-haired girl, each holding one of her hands. The girl stepped hesitantly, like a mermaid setting foot on land for the first time, her gaze timid and her movements cautious.
“Oh my god, they actually brought back a woman!” Carolyn shouted in shock.
“No,” Liz said, pushing her glasses up. “It’s more like they brought home a daughter…”
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