After pulling away from Wednesday’s delicious lips, Luke asked hesitantly, “Aren’t vampires forbidden from drinking normie blood?”
Knowing that they are dealing with vampires, it’s obvious why these Drosia clan vampires are kidnapping humans—they do it to drink their blood. It seems they have chosen this town as their blood supply.
“Yes, they are forbidden. It was a law imposed by the vampire community itself over two centuries ago. Human blood may be a delicacy for them, but it’s not necessary for their survival. In fact, vampires are completely self-sufficient without the need to feed on normies,” Wednesday replied with her characteristic precision.
“Then they’re committing a crime here. If the main branch of the Drosia clan finds out, it would put them in a tight spot,” Luke remarked, a new idea forming in his mind.
“A tight spot?” Wednesday repeated, her tone carrying a hint that made it clear she didn’t see the situation as lightly as Luke did.
“That would be an understatement. The main branch of the Drosia clan could simply erase them from existence for breaking that rule. Vampires are very strict about the laws they themselves imposed in their closed society,” Wednesday added in a serious tone.
“Really? Just for using some normies as food, they would wipe out an entire secondary branch?” Luke asked, frowning.
“Yes, they are more serious than you can imagine. They value the structure and order they have created. Vampires are, to put it mildly, the most conflict-ridden outcasts when it comes to normies, as they actively kidnapped people in the past to suck their blood,” Wednesday replied.
“So that’s why they banned feeding on human blood? To avoid conflicts with normies,” Luke said, and Wednesday nodded.
“Yes. Even though vampires—and outcasts in general—are incredibly powerful on an individual level, normies have a weapon no outcast can match: their numbers. There are far more of them. And, more importantly, they have a unique ability to organize and act as a single force. If hundreds of thousands of them mobilize with weapons, even the strongest vampires would face a very difficult battle,” Wednesday explained.
“I guess that evens things out so there’s no extermination from either side,” Luke commented.
“Something like that. Normies were able to stand up to outcasts thanks to their ability to unite, to form societies. Meanwhile, we’re notoriously bad at working as a team. In the past, vampires were known for wandering alone, acting independently,” Wednesday said.
“Why?” Luke asked, genuinely interested in learning history from his cute gothic girlfriend.
“By nature. Outcasts, being so unique in their abilities, tend to feel self-sufficient. Why trust another when you can face the world yourself? That’s why outcast communities have always been small and disorganized. For centuries, that made them vulnerable,” Wednesday replied, only able to be this patient and explanatory with Luke; with anyone else, she’d have told them to read a book on outcast history.
“That changed with the creation of the council, right?” Luke remarked.
“Yes, the Council was the first real attempt to unite all the outcast races under a single legal system. Psychics, vampires, werewolves, gorgons… each group finally understood that if they didn’t organize, normies could continue to kill large numbers of outcasts, and we’re not known for our numbers. You have the example of Crackstone and his fanatical pilgrims who killed a large number of outcasts, including my ancestor,” Wednesday confirmed.
“But each race also has its own rules,” Luke said, more as a statement than a question.
“Correct. The council is the general authority, but each outcast group has its own specific laws and traditions. Vampires, for example, have a very strict hierarchy that regulates their behavior. They themselves imposed the law prohibiting human blood after centuries of bloody conflicts with normies,” Wednesday nodded.
“Even with the council, each race still has its own rules, traditions, and internal conflicts,” Wednesday added, shaking her head slightly.
“Whoa, you’re like a history book, only much cuter and more interesting,” Luke said, looking at her with admiration and a hint of fun.
Wednesday shot him a death glare, though she couldn’t hide the slight blush that crossed her pale cheeks.
“Stop with the stupid compliments. Now use your brain and think about how we’ll use this information,” Wednesday said, having done enough work herself and wanting Luke to take charge from now on.
She only did this with him; she had always been independent and wanted to do everything on her own, until she met him.
Luke smiled mischievously and said, “Yes, historian ma’am.” Then he paused briefly.
“If they’re using Shadyside as their blood farm, their base must be in Sunnyvale or the forest between both towns. We can find them and blackmail them,” Luke commented after a few seconds.
Wednesday narrowed her eyes, intrigued. “Blackmail them?” she repeated.
“Yes, threaten to accuse them in front of the main branch. If this is such a serious crime, what we already know can scare them. In exchange, we’ll ask for information on when my parents arrived here,” Luke explained.
“It’s a risky approach. Knowing how serious the crime they committed is, they’ll want to eliminate anyone who knows about it,” Wednesday said, evaluating the idea.
“Really? They’d want to eliminate the firstborn of the Addams family? The great heir, Wednesday Addams?” Luke said, raising an eyebrow.
Wednesday shot him a death glare, but her lips curved slightly in a satisfied smile.
“You’re right. Our abilities surpass most races, which is why we’re considered the highest point in the power hierarchy. It wouldn’t be smart for this secondary branch to start a war with my family,” Wednesday said.
If that happened, this secondary branch would have a death sentence for sure. On one hand, the Drosia Clan would immediately eliminate them for committing such an act, and that would be the best thing that could happen to them, because if the Addams family catches them, they’d wish they were dead.
“That’s why, if we go with the intent to negotiate, they won’t want to attack us because of your last name. Also, what we’re asking for is very easy to pay,” Luke said with a slight smile.
“Mm, true, but more than a negotiation, it’s a threat,” Wednesday replied.
“Call it whatever you want. The important thing is that we get what we’re after without going into a confrontation with the entire branch. Although if they refuse to give it to us, it’s obvious they’ll attack us to silence us,” Luke said with a shrug.
“That’s a problem. Facing a branch will create chaos,” Wednesday said, frowning slightly. “We’re supposed to be here undercover. We can’t be fighting openly against a secondary branch of one of the seven most important vampire clans.”
“It’s just a secondary branch,” Luke said, waving his hand dismissively.
He had faced demons, Crackstone, Dolores, and many other powerful enemies. He wasn’t afraid of taking on a few vampires who secretly kidnapped normies to drink their blood.
“In the worst case, we’ll defeat them and I’ll read their memories looking for what we need,” Luke added.
“Can you search memories from over ten years ago?” Wednesday asked inquisitively.
“I’ve never tried, but there’s always a first time. That’s why I’d prefer they talk on their own. It’s faster, but if there’s no choice, I’ll do that,” Luke replied.
“Well, another option is if we defeat them, we can torture them to get the information, so you don’t have to read their memories. We could even promise to spare their lives if they tell us what they know about your parents’ arrival,” Wednesday suggested, and Luke nodded, as that was a good option.
“That’s it then. Tomorrow we’ll tell Natasha and plan out how we’ll confront them,” Wednesday said, glancing at the clock, which read 4:46 in the morning.
Luke frowned when he saw the time. Tomorrow he had class, the damn stupid classes.
“Now that I remember, we have that game against Sunnyvale tomorrow,” Luke commented.
The football teams from both schools were facing off in an “exciting” match at 7 p.m. tomorrow. In this case, Shadyside was playing away, so they had to travel to Sunnyvale, the cheerful and charming town.
“That’s a good thing. We can use that trip to explore Sunnyvale and see if these vampires are staying there,” Wednesday said.
“Finally, the stars align,” Luke murmured, eager to find the evidence as soon as possible, so he could stop taking the gender-swapping potion.
Although the really good part of being here was that he lived with Wednesday and they shared a room—something he couldn’t replicate at Nevermore or the Addams Mansion. An equivalent exchange.
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