"Have a good time studying, P, P!" the same girl shouted after Niran. "So cool that we’re on the same faculty!"

Before finally leaving the university area, Niran turned back to glance at the fearless brat Dao—he was still lying on the grass. The vampire couldn’t get the boy out of his head. Dao continued staring at the sky, even as his classmates began to leave. It seemed he had no friends at all. Niran noted his height again. He had the same height as his own. He had rarely seen a Thai so tall. The nickname "bamboo stick" is going to be with him forever now. However, the vampire didn't think he would ever see him again. There were so many students here, and he was here only for his short-term mission. The witches had walked ahead, but Niran kept staring on Dao. He was already frowning, not sure if he was even alive. Then, the Bamboo Stick propped himself up on his elbows and, like he was bewitched, Dao stared straight at Niran. His gaze had no comprehension, as if he was somewhere far away from here. Who knows how long Niran would’ve stood there looking at him, but Naam touched his shoulder and made a 'wai' gesture.

“P’Niran, we’re waiting for you,” she reminded him about herself. “We still need to discuss future plan.”

“…Yeah.”

Niran didn’t particularly enjoy conversations with anyone. In the modern world of delivery and self-checkout cash registers, he’d finally managed to shut himself off from society and not to leave his apartment. If he needed incense sticks, he simply ordered it online and kept socializing to a minimum. He avoided actually hunting people. Before, in the age without cell phones and radios he could  let himself attack a fisherman in the woods or a random traveler. But these days, concealing murders had become almost impossible. He walked to the car, noticing that the witches were already sitting in it and talking about something. Niran didn't listen to them, but he realized that his vampire senses felt completely muted. Ordinarily, even without meaning to, he’d pick up any snatches of conversations in the crowd, some hum of the city, but right now there was complete silence even within a hundred meters’ radius.

He got behind the wheel and glanced at the girls. Somehow, he’d been roped into babysitting all of them.

"So convenient you all live in the same place on the way," he hissed before starting the engine. "Naam, you said we need to discuss our next steps".

"That’s right. The ritual confirmed that the Marked one is studying at this university. But there are too many students here, and it may take several years to find him. We don't have so much time" Naam was talking quickly and to the point. "We’ll need to perform another detection ritual, something more precise. My sisters and I need to do an extra detecting ritual to bind you to the Marked One in some unusual way. For example, you will sneeze beside him."

Niran shot her a look through the rearview mirror as if she was a freak.

"I was being figurative. The ritual has a difficulty,” Naam corrected herself quickly and continued. “ We must be within two kilometers of the binding target. If we already knew who the target was, the distance wouldn’t be an issue. But since we don’t know, we need…"

"We have to get a cauldron into the university and perform the ritual there,” Ji finished for her. “We'll just be arrested or we'll burn down the whole university."

"If you’d actually put effort in gathering the ingredients for the first ritual, everything would be fine," Niran hissed and rolled his eyes. "I've waited so long... And you've screwed up everything."

"Forgive us, P’Niran..." Naam lowered her voice, and all three witches folded their hands in a ‘wai’ gesture.

Niran squeezed the steering wheel of the car so hard that it almost cracked. His emotions had dimmed many years ago. In anger he smashed some stuff, in sadness he withdrew into himself, but somehow, the vampire had lost the ability to react to things as the situations demanded. Even the witches’ ritual couldn’t rouse a proper rage in him. Instead, now he just felt resentment. He’d waited so long for the chance to infect people again that he was obsessed with the idea. He knew that he would find his Marked one. The Marked one was real and Niran had no need to search all over Bangkok to find him. These were just temporary problems that would slightly delay the main mission. He licked the lips, his thirst coming on the wrong time. And that scent of blood from his fight was clouding his senses. Niran stopped the car next to the apartment. He still had another 30 minutes of driving to reach his apartment. At least he would come to his senses and calm down.

“Make sure the next ritual actually works. Otherwise, I won't kill you, but I might cripple you for the rest of your lives,” he glared at San. They folded their hands in a ‘wai’ gesture, but he’d already hit the gas and trying to accelerate a hundred kilometers in three seconds.

His appartment was well away from everything to keep him away from people as much as possible. Ten years ago he’d purchased an entire floor where he lived in the mid-sized single room apartment. The floors above and below were also his property, ensuring any neighbors could disturb him. The complete soundproofing of all living spaces was an ingenious solution. But he never could stay in one place unless the building was to be demolished. Staying anywhere longer than necessary drew attention. Vampire hunters didn`t rest. If someone finds out a wealthy hermit living somewhere, they`ll start tracking him down. And sooner or later they'll find a way to figure out his racial indetity.

Niran slowed down the car beside his apartment, grabbed his dark sunglasses from the seat and walked out.

He looked around and found no one who might waste his time in any way, so he went outside. The vampire was much more tolerant of the heat, but it had been a nervous day, so he tugged at the collar of his shirt, trying to let in a breeze. He groaned in frustration when he noticed stains on it. He’d spent so much time picking this outfit out this morning but at home he'd put it in a black garbage bag and throw it in the trash. Good thing one of his rooms was set up as a coat room. All Niran wanted now was a glass of cold blood, air conditioning, and a shower. It's vital for him to wash off the dust and dirt. And then he would go to bed. Since he would choose when to go to sleep, it made a lot of things easier. He had to go to university on Monday and he would spend his entire weekend to get ready. He knew as little about architecture as he did about the other field. It was mindful not to go into medicine. He shivered at the thought that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of students around him.

He opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Unceremoniously he stripped off the ruined shirt, along with his shoes and jeans, leaving himself in nothing but black boxers. Niran turned on the air-conditioning and hurried to the shower. He wouldn't be in there for long. He felt much better afterward. Niran slicked his damp hair back and padded across his apartment barefoot straight to the special refrigerator, took a fresh blood bag, stirred it up and poured it into a clean glass. He drank it down in one shot, moaning softly. The strength was coming back to him and his nerves were calming at last. He returned the bag to the refrigerator and put the glass in the dishwasher, heading into the room.

The cool air in his bedroom and the thick curtains immediately relaxed him. He looked around his gray-toned bedroom. Nothing out of the ordinary: a double bed, a dresser with his belongings, a floor mirror, a TV on the wall, a closet and an air conditioner. In one corner, illuminated by artificial red light, he had sundews on the special table. He checked them out, touched the ground, and noted that they needed to be watered soon. Predatory flowers with a predatory vampire. That was how he reassured himself when doubt about the hobby came over him. He took two steps around the bed and paused for a moment, studying his own reflection. If there was one thing immortality was good for, it was the permanent perfection of his body. Acne, overweight, wrinkles - it wasn't about him. Niran turned around grinned and ran his index finger under the elastic band of his underpants. He fell like a starfish on his bed.

Niran lay still for five minutes before he turned over onto his back and looked up at his ceiling.  The glow-in-the-dark stars he’d glued there caught his gaze. They reminded him of the ones he had seen long time ago, before electricity had come to Bangkok. Now somehow, this green light stars reminded him of the lawn at the university. The glass of blood had calmed him down and now the situation he was in didn't seem terrible. Just some kind of misunderstanding. They'd work it out, he'd find his Marked one and revive the vampire race. Except that somehow, just after the lawn, he thought of the Bamboo glaring at him with coldness. Strangely, the vampire hadn't forgotten his face yet.

Covering his eyes with a hand, Niran fell asleep.