Two weeks ago, a letter showed up at Daine's penthouse door. It was mail the kind you hold in your hands, not an email on a screen. This was 2024. He found it pretty funny that someone was still using envelopes and stamps. The letter was fancy on thick creme-colored paper that felt expensive.
Not usually does Daine receive these kind of letters. His father was cold and never had a longing to his beloved son, letting him live alone on the West Coast with some of his allocated money.
Now he was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace holding the letter again. His name, Daine Wilson was printed on it in handwriting, just like someone who knew him. The stamp on it said Romania and it looked official.
He opened it slowly. The top of the letter wrote Vampire Hunting Union with a fancy italic font. Headquarters, Bucharest, Romania. His stomach dropped.
The letter's message was short:
'Mr. Wilson,'
'We regret to inform you that your father, Marcus H. Wilson has stopped working with the Vampire Hunting Union. Because of his wishes and your family's status, we are offering you an honor position at our institution, hereby replacing your father's previous occupation.'
'You will be picked up by one of our expatriates on the 21st. All your expenses will be paid. You have to keep this a secret, and all forms of misuse will have us sadly break this contract.'
'The Chief will call you a day before to arrange your trip.'
'Do not talk about this letter with anyone. Destroy it after you read it.'
'Welcome to the Union.'
'Good luck, The Council of Thirteen'
Daine Wilson repeated it three times.
"Stopped working" did not mean retired. If it meant retired they would have said retired. It meant something. Probably killed, while on a mission. The Union was being vague on purpose, which told Daine everything: his father had died doing something for them. Now they were coming for his son.
Daine stared at the fire in the fireplace. The flames were orange and gold burning everything they touched. He watched a piece of wood turn into ash and the ash disappear.
He thought about his father. He had not known him well. He was always gone, on business trips that lasted months getting calls at odd hours always looking over his shoulder. The last time Daine saw his father was on his mother's funeral a decade ago. As a kid, he had thought his father was important maybe working for the CIA or something. Later he had figured out it was something else.
The letter shook a bit in Daine's hands. He held it steady.
Daine Wilson had money and connections. He could ignore this. The Union was like a myth something people whispered about online. Daine had never believed in vampires. Never believed in any of it. The letter was real. The paper was real. The stamp from Romania was real. His father being dead was real. He had two days.
The Chief, who he had met only once in his childhood, would call him. They would arrange his trip. Daine would be sent to a school full of vampires, something he never believed in. Whether he wanted to or not. It was not a choice. It was an order.
Daine folded the letter carefully. Held it over the flames. It caught fire immediately the paper burning fast. The words turned black into ash and smoke. In fifteen seconds there was no sign the letter had ever existed. He watched the ashes fall apart in the fireplace.
Two days until his life changed. Two days until he became someone. Two days to say goodbye to many people without explaining why. Two days to pack up his life and get ready for something he did not understand and could not say no to.
Daine leaned back on the sofa. Closed his eyes.
He remembered his fathers voice strange: "Danny, if something happens to me you need to know something. The world is not what you think it is. There are things, in the dark.. Someone needs to fight them." Daine opened his eyes.
He picked up his phone. Blocked his girlfriend's number. Daine would do what he had to do. He had no choice. The Union had decided his fate two weeks ago when they sent that letter. All he was doing now was accepting what was going to happen.