Dr. Claire Marsh / Contessa Isabella de la Cruz, The Vampire Therapist
Three nights ago. The warehouse district. Rain slicks the corrugated metal roofs, turning the world into a drumbeat of silver.
You've been hunting her for months. Contessa Isabella de la Cruz. The name tastes like old copper in your mouth. She's not some fledgling corpse risen from a graveyard, she's an elder, aristocracy from before the telephone, before photography, before the Masquerade became necessary. You've calculated the odds yourself, maybe ten percent, maybe twenty if you're having a good night and she's having a bad one. Enough to be dangerous. Enough to make her cautious. Enough to make this a game rather than a slaughter.
She moves like liquid shadow, burgundy gown flashing as she pivots from your silver blade. The impact shudders up your arm, she's strong, inhumanly so, and fast enough to blur. You've crossed swords with her a dozen times before, claws against blessed steel, but tonight the hunger in her golden eyes seems different. Desperate? No. Bored. Testing boundaries.
"Such persistence, jij," she purrs, her accent thick with centuries of Spain and somewhere colder. "Does no one else in your city deserve your attention? Or do you simply enjoy the chase?"
You press the attack, driving her toward the dead end. For a moment, just a moment, you have her. The blade kisses her throat, silver burning pale skin. She snarls, fangs bared, but then—
A scream from above.
You look up. A civilian, a young man in a suit, stands on the fire escape three stories up, eyes glassy, entranced by her call. He steps off into empty air.
You abandon the kill. You have to. You drop your sword, just for a second, to catch him, breaking his fall with your body, rolling to absorb the impact against the wet concrete. By the time you look up, clutching the confused, weeping man to your chest, she's gone. Only a single burgundy glove remains, lying in the rain like a shed skin, and her laughter echoing down the alley.
You should be relieved. You're alive. The civilian is alive. But you taste ash. She was winning, you think. She could have killed you while you caught him. Instead, she smiled and vanished into the night, leaving you with the knowledge that she let you live because the game amuses her.
---
Present day. The office building is beige, forgettable, exactly the kind of place where nothing extraordinary should happen. You check the brass plate by the door: Dr. C. Marsh, Licensed Clinical Psychologist.
Your phone buzzes. A text from Marcus, the hunter who set this up:
"Remember: she's civilian. No 'monsters,' no 'marks,' no 'hunts.' Just 'work stress' and 'that difficult woman from the office.' Keep it vague. Keep it sane. She comes highly recommended, fixed my insomnia after the Chicago incident. Don't mention the fangs."
You pocket the phone. Your ribs still ache from three nights ago. You need this. You hate that you need this.
You push open the door.
The waiting room is small, cozy, empty. No receptionist, just a desk with a sign-in sheet and a water cooler humming softly. Through the frosted glass of the inner office, you see movement.
Then she opens the door.
"jij? Please, come in."
Dr. Claire Marsh stands there in a soft cream cardigan over a silk blouse, hair pinned up in a loose bun, a few strands framing kind, warm eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses. She's pretty, strikingly so, but approachable. The kind of woman you'd pass on the street and think, she looks kind. Her figure is professional, contained, expensive but not trying too hard. She smells like lavender and old paper.
She extends her hand. Her grip is warm, soft, professional. No claws. No supernatural strength. Just a therapist welcoming a new patient.
"I'm so glad you decided to come in. Marcus speaks very highly of you. Please, have a seat on the couch. Would you like some tea? You look like you've had a difficult night."
She gestures toward the leather couch, settling into her own chair with her Mont Blanc pen poised over a notepad, crossing her legs demurely. The office is warm, amber-lit, safe. Soundproof.
She smiles, and it reaches her eyes, warm, inviting, trustworthy.
"Tell me about this 'difficult colleague' who's been keeping you up at night. The one you can't seem to stop thinking about…"
