Mathew didn't know much about hunting monsters, but he wondered if it usually went this smoothly.
Perhaps fate just wanted their first job to go well.
"How long ago did you 'bump into' the sisters?" Ophelia asked.
Still clutching the fruit in one hand, Chloe pressed a finger against the bandanna wrapped around her head.
"Hmmm… maybe 30 minutes ago?" she said.
"Did they reveal any hints about their destination?"
"Nope." Ophelia put a hand on one hip.
"What direction did it seem they were headed?"
"Uh, it looked like they were walking east maybe."
Ophelia gave a rare smile, which Mathew pegged as surprisingly genuine, and then she patted Chloe on the head.
"Thank you. You were most helpful."
Chloe giggled and waved at them. As the duo went to leave, however, Mathew had a thought.
"Hey," he said to the young girl, "One more question from me." The girl looked at him, then looked at her uneaten fruit, then back at him.
"What." She said, pushing out her lower lip.
"These sisters… Siyah and Beyah was it? What do you think about them?"
"As friends?"
"As anything." Her face softened.
"They're always so nice to me, and all the other kids too… ones who had folks and ones who didn't. Beyah asked me to help her garden, and Siyah taught me how to sing."
"They sound like kind people. How long have you known them?"
"As long as I can remember… I guess. They've been a part of the town my whole life. If I had older sisters, I'd want it to be them."
Mathew rubbed his metal chin, then gave a quick nod.
"I see. Well, that's everything."
"Huh?" Chloe said, and raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. Enjoy your fruit."
When he turned away, he found Ophelia, arms folded, tapping her foot. He shrugged at her and then proceeded to walk right past her. She followed.
After a minute or so, he heard her speak behind him.
"What was that about?" She said. Her tone was level but demanding.
"I was just curious." He replied simply. He didn't dare say anymore because he feared that Ophelia would get suspicious and order him to spill everything.
It wasn't that he was hiding anything, but something felt off about the situation, and he just wanted to collect his thoughts for a bit so he could form something concrete. He was worried that speaking his mind prematurely might confuse him further.
Luckily, she didn't press further.
At the east entrance of town, they spoke with one of the guards on watch. She wasn't a trained soldier by any means, just a housewife who was serving her community by covering some shifts. Her task was to track everything that went in and out of town and keep watch for outside disturbances.
After the standard greeting ritual of Ophelia convincing her that Mathew wasn't as scary as he looked, they were able to get some answers out of her.
"Do you know of Siyah and Beyah? We have a message we must give them."
"Oh yes, I know those two girls." The guard said. "They are an absolute delight. They take after their father, you know, always giving back to this community."
"Did you see them pass through this way?" Ophelia asked.
"They did, not too long before you arrived. Maybe twenty minutes ago?"
"Can you tell me a little bit about them?" Mathew asked. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ophelia's nose scrunch up.
"Well, besides the fact that they and their father are always helping around town, I would say they are very close as sisters."
"They always look out for each other?" Mathew asked
"Always. One time, one of the sisters accidentally shattered a vase while helping to tidy up my home. I wasn't angry, but I did want to know who broke it. Siyah adamantly declared that she broke it, apologized, and promised to try to fix it, or at least pay for it. But, later that day, Beyah came and confessed that she had done it and would pay for it before her sister could."
The story was simple, but Mathew felt a tug within his chest. It was familiar to him somehow. The guard continued:
"To this day, I'm still not sure which sister broke it, but I'm sure they would jump to each other's defense immediately if something like that happened again."
"Thank you for the story," Mathew said. "I think I have a good idea about the kind of people they are now."
The Guard nodded, and Ophelia and Mathew were on their way again.
Both Chloe and this guard seemed to have such favorable opinions of the sisters, and by extension their adoptive father, Damon the priest. The only one who had seemed previously suspicious of them so far was Theron. The sisters didn't seem so evil
It made Mathew feel torn up inside. Was he being foolish?
They were a pair of monsters that seemed human, but could kill the man they loved without a second thought. He had seen the wounds left by their claws, the bite mark on the bounty hunter's neck.
Was he really trying to convince himself that they were innocent?
He wanted to let it go, but he couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.
It was more than just the fact that Siyah and Beyah had been murderous creatures their whole lives and had just now decided to turn on their caretaker… something about the timing of everything was funny. The anonymous tip, the bounty hunters, Theron's suspicions, and the death of Damon.
What piece of the puzzle was Mathew still missing?
"I do not know what it is you are scheming, Dread, but it best not get in the way," Ophelia said.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, I could always force you with the contract to tell me everything."
"You would only be disappointed."
Ophelia released a breath. "If you have something important to say before we find the targets, tell me now, Dread."
Mathew thought for a moment as the magical compulsion to speak hit him.
"What are immortal hounds?" He asked.
"Argus has already explained this to you."
"I know they're monsters, but if we are going to try to catch two of them, I need to know more than that."
"I will handle this matter on my own. You stand and watch."
"I won't stop you." He said.
Ophelia nodded like the conversation was over. Getting any sort of information out of the headstrong woman gave Mathew a migraine, and he wasn't sure he could physically get those anymore… But he needed to get something out of her.
After thinking for only a moment, Mathew spoke again.
"But wouldn't you rather have an informed slave than a useless one?" No response.
After a few moments of silence, Mathew looked over his shoulder to meet Ophelia's glare. He was used to it by now, and hopefully this time she was at least considering a response.
She finally gave in:
"The Enfiri are human-like creatures of the 3rd tier. That means they are equivalent in strength to enhanced humans like us. They have incredible strength and speed and can heal from most injuries."
"Wait… If they are enhanced humans like us, then why would they even need to eat people in the first place? Why not just eat normal food?"
"They can indeed choose to eat normal food, but they mostly sustain themselves by eating people. So long as they continue to drink human blood every so often, they can live for centuries. That is why we refer to them as Immortal Hounds."
Drinking blood? Immortal? Did they have fangs too?
"If they're really that dangerous, why are you so confident you can take them on your own?"
Ophelia pointed at the sky.
"It is a sunny day today," She said, "Enfiri struggle to fight in direct sunlight."
So they really were vampires.
"I see," Mathew said.
"Is that all you wanted to say?" Ophelia asked.
Mathew felt the faint power of the contract on his mind, but because he really didn't want to speak his mind just yet, he was able to resist it.
He just nodded instead. Ophelia narrowed her eyes at him but didn't press further.
"Then it is time to begin tracking these wolves."