THE MOMENT
"If you leave now, no one gets hurt," Wilford froze as he stepped into the alleyway. Luckily, no one noticed him. A tall, pale figure in a black duster and matching porkpie hat stood in front of a small, huddled figure. The pair were surrounded by five transformed werewolves standing on their hind legs.
It was early afternoon and Wilford was out hunting werewolves. There had been a lot of unsanctioned activity in the downtown area recently and he was sent to sort it out. His instincts told him the pale man was a vampire, but he doubted his own assessment. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining in the clear blue sky. Not only that, but Wilford had never met a vampire willing to help a child cross the street, much less protect one with their life.
"I don't know who you think you are," the tallest werewolf chuckled at the cornered vampire. "But, that little morsel ain't worth your life. Move along, pal. We're not opposed to starting trouble with your clan; but we'd prefer to avoid it."
"No clan," the tall vampire shrugged. "I'm not from here; just passin' through. But, I'd rather not see anyone hurt," he grinned. "But, I'm not opposed to ending any trouble you start."
Wilford tensed. He'd never seen a vampire so calm; but, he knew the werewolves wouldn't stay calm for long. The vampire made a fatal mistake in saying he didn't have a clan; the threat of retaliation was the only thing keeping them at bay.
The four shorter werewolves leaped forward towards the vampire. They were on him before Wilford could decide what to do; but, for some reason they didn't bring him down. The vampire remained on his feet, and his expression soured.
"C'mon, guys. You can't even hurt me," he said with a thick layer of condescension. Wilford looked closer. All four werewolves were biting into him; but they might as well have been biting a steel beam. They couldn't pierce his coat. Wilford grew curious that he was still on his feet too. Standard procedure for werewolves was to get the prey down to the ground. "Just leave already," he added with some annoyance.
"Sure, we'll leave...," the lead werewolf said with a chuckle. "...with our snack!" Then, everything happened in an instant. The tallest werewolf dashed forward and around the vampire towards the child. Wilford was too far away and too slow to react. He dashed forward while drawing his silver sword; but, he only took a single step. The lead werewolf yelped in sudden pain. He disintegrated into a pile of brown and red dust before he reached the child.
"Who wants to try next?" the vampire asked and his gaze focused on Wilford. His heavy footstep drew everyone's attention.
"No trouble!" one of the werewolves released the vampire to speak, then dashed towards Wilford. But, he ran past him, the other three werewolves followed him. Wilford considered cutting them down as they passed him; but, he did not want to end up on the vampire's bad side. He seemed content with letting the wolves live. Whoever he was, he was the most powerful vampire Wilford had seen. And, he didn't have a clan. Wilford felt some hopeful flutters in his stomach that he could get the vampire to join his organization. Wilford sheathed his sword, then cautiously approached the vampire.
"Whose side are you on?" The vampire raised an eyebrow at Wilford. He wasn't on the vampire's side, but he felt saying, "my own' would just confuse things. He nodded at the huddled child who looked up when the werewolves fled.
"Hers," he said.
"Great, thanks," the vampire nodded and Wilford, then began walking towards the main street.
"Wait, who are you?" Wilford asked. The vampire paused, then he removed his hat to bow.
"Name's Ruin," he said. He had a bat skull tattooed on his pale, bald head with the number 42 in blood red numbers under it. He replaced his hat, then started forward again.
"Wait!" Wilford said.
"You don't have a clan?" he asked. Ruin shook his head.
"I'm looking for something; just passin' through," he said.
"What are you looking for? Maybe I can help?" Wilford said. He was determined to get into Ruin's good graces to try and sell him on the Organization.
"Well...," Ruin shrugged. "...you probably can't. But, have you heard of something called voidsilk?"
"Never heard of it," Wilford shook his head vigorously to hide his surprised expression. Voidsilk was the Organization's most sacred relic. Its most secret secret. Wilford only knew about it because he was one of the highest-ranked agents. But, even then, his knowledge only extended to the fact that something called voidsilk existed within the organization. It couldn't have been a coincidence that this vampire was asking about it. Maybe the child was part of the ruse too. "Is that some kind of cloth? What are you going to use it for?" Wilford decided he needed information to protect the holy relic.
Once Wilford learned about it, it became clear that the entire organization was built around the one scrap of voidsilk they owned. Somehow the organization used it to imbue weapons and armor with magic. It was rumored that the voidsilk was created by God himself, and Wilford knew better than to let it fall into the wrong hands. Everyone that knew about it would protect the voidsilk with their lives. There was no telling what atrocities Ruin could commit with it, if he wanted to.
"Got an important day coming up in a few months," Ruin said. He stood up straighter and adjusted the collar of his duster for effect. "A special day with a special woman requires a special suit."