Chapter 1837: Wounded Drows

Larissa stopped the van outside the deli, and the two quickly found the stairs to the third floor, where the two drow brothers were living. Mira had looked up their lease details and sent over the information on their way there.

Ning stopped halfway up the stairs and grabbed Larissa, pointing to the step they had just taken.

Larissa looked down, seeing drops of dried blood. Her eyes narrowed in seriousness as she climbed faster.

There were a sparse few more drops of blood, but the rest seemed to have been cleaned in a hurry. They found the apartment and saw the outside cleaned as well.

Ning walked up to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked from the inside.

He turned toward Larissa, questioning her on what to do. Larissa frowned and pressed her ear to the door. "I hear something," she whispered after some careful listening.

Ning thought for a moment and turned the handle. The lock came off with a clank.

Larissa watched in abject horror at how easily he had unlocked the door. She was about to admonish him for doing something so illegal when her eyes turned to the two brothers that lay on the floor.

One mumbled something under his breath, his eyes completely vacant. The other whimpered inaudible sounds, his head in his hands.

They were both covered in bruises, the forehead of one bleeding profusely. It bled so much that one could see layers of blood that had dried and been bled over.

Ning stepped in slowly, but his presence didn’t rouse the two brothers out of their misery. He looked closer at them, seeing their clothes covered in blood, most of which did not belong to them at all.

They had minor wounds—some cuts, some scratches—but the majority of the blood had come from another source.

"How did the minotaur die again?" Ning asked.

"Bludgeoned to death," Larissa said softly. "His head was caved in—an act of cruel violence."

Ning looked at the two brothers. "Violence is correct. But cruelty... I’m not so sure."

Larissa brought out her phone and was about to call for support when she remembered who she was standing with. So instead, she took out two handcuffs and handed one of them to Ning.

"You two, stand up," she shouted, walking over to them. "You are under arrest on suspicion of murder."

Ning walked over to the one mumbling while Larissa read them their rights. As he got closer, he could hear the man’s words.

"I killed him. I killed him. I killed him."

"The minotaur?" Ning asked.

"I don’t know why. I don’t remember why. He was there. He was smiling. Then I saw red, and I attacked him. I killed him. I killed him."

Ning frowned. He handcuffed the man and made him stand. He looked around the room afterward, trying to see what else he could find in there.

"Look!" Larissa suddenly said, turning the other drow over toward Ning. When she did, Ning saw two puncture wounds on the drow’s neck on the other side.

Ning frowned. "How fresh is the wound?" he asked.

"Hard to tell. Vampires have enzymes on their fangs to keep the blood from clotting. So while this looks fresh, it could be from last night."

"There were none on the minotaur, right?" Ning asked.

Larissa shook her head. "There’s a vampire out there that’s listening to its primal instincts. We need to find her before more get hurt," she said.

Ning looked at the drow he had cuffed. "Do you remember the vampire that was with you last night? The female vampire," he said.

The drow slowly turned his head. "Who?" he asked.

"The woman from last night that you were with," Ning said.

"We... we killed the man. We didn’t kill any woman," the drow said.

"Not kill. She was with..." He sighed. "Where are the pictures?"

"In the van."

"Alright, let’s go."

He hauled the drow out of the room and down the flight of stairs to the van, where he brought out the pictures and showed them to him. The drow looked at the pictures with drowsy eyes, failing to recognize the woman in the slightest.

Larissa arrived behind him, struggling to move the drow that was barely walking at all.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"No, he doesn’t recognize her in the slightest," Ning said. "We might have to take them to the hospital first and then get a mental checkup. I don’t think they’re right in the head."

Larissa frowned but nodded. "I suppose."

She placed the two drow in the back and pulled out her phone, calling for Jack to bring a few to the hospital. Then the two drove away.

Half an hour later, the two drows were admitted to the hospital, and the doctors and nurses took them away. A few cops went to stand guard around them just so they wouldn’t leave.

Ning and Larissa waited for a while before the doctor returned with more information.

"One of them had a bruised elbow and a cut on his forehead, but other than that, he’s mostly fine. The other one, however, has been bitten by a vampire and was being turned into one. We have given them an antidote, so that should be stopping soon."

"What about their mental state?" Larissa asked. "They were out of it when we found them. Do you think they’ll be good enough to talk?"

"I can’t answer that," the doctor said. "One keeps talking about killing someone, so we’ll have to get someone special to look them over. I’ve already made the call."

"Thank you, doctor."

The doctor walked away, leaving Larissa with Ning.

"Jack’s searching their apartment, so maybe we’ll find something, but I’m beginning to doubt it," she said.

"They don’t remember the vampire chick at all," Ning said. "There might be something supernatural going on, I fear. Like she made them forget who they are."

"That would pose some trouble in finding her," Larissa said with a frown. She took a deep breath and let it out. "We might need some external help."