Chapter 10: Human flesh
The rooftops of the warehouse district stretched out like a concrete ocean under the moonlight. Kaine moved across them with the practiced ease of someone who’d spent years avoiding ground-level patrols, his boots finding purchase on rain-slicked tar and weathered brick. The city looked different from up here—cleaner somehow, without the grime and desperation that clung to street level like a disease.
Marcus followed exactly three steps behind, moving with that same aching dullness but somehow making no sound at all. For something that weighed close to two hundred pounds, the ghoul had an unnerving ability to ghost across surfaces that should have creaked or shifted under his weight.
’At least he’s useful for stealth work,’ Kaine thought, leaping across a six-foot gap between buildings. Marcus followed a moment later, covering the distance with inhuman ease and landing without even a whisper of impact.
The problem of feeding his undead servant was proving more complicated than expected. Kaine’s knowledge of vampire biology was extensive—twelve years of hunting would teach you everything about their feeding habits, territorial patterns, and reproductive cycles. But ghouls were different. They weren’t vampires, weren’t exactly zombies, and the system’s tutorial had been frustratingly vague about their dietary requirements.
’Human flesh’ could mean a lot of things. Fresh or aged? Specific organs or just general meat? Did preparation matter? Kaine had seen plenty of undead over the years, but most of them were kill-on-sight situations that didn’t require understanding their culinary preferences.
He paused at the edge of a twelve-story office building, scanning the streets below with enhanced vision. The Death Sight ability had been running passively for the past hour, highlighting the warm life signatures of late-night pedestrians and the colder, darker shapes of things that hunted them.
Downtown was crawling with bloodsuckers tonight. At least fifteen different signatures moving through the financial district, probably coordinating some kind of operation. The Shadowguard response would be minimal—rich neighborhoods got protection, but the business district after hours was considered acceptable risk.
’Politics as usual.’
Marcus appeared beside him, those pale eyes reflecting the city lights like a nocturnal predator. His nostrils flared slightly, testing the air for scents that normal senses couldn’t detect.
"Still hungry?" Kaine asked quietly.
The ghoul’s head turned toward him with that dullness, and something that might have been anticipation flickered across his features. His lips pulled back just enough to reveal teeth that were definitely sharper than they’d been three days ago.