Now that the sun was up, the rogue vampires were resting quietly in their cages which gave Lynn a little time to relieve his mind from the stress caused by all the maddening noise they were making. He had now regained enough strength to stand on his feet and get a more thorough look at his surroundings. The lock on his cell was one requiring a combination of a four-digit number to be unlocked. His first thought was to randomly press any number he could think of until eventually hitting the correct password, but that would have taken him forever. Assuming that there were over 10,000 possible combinations and with nothing to write them down he was bound to insert the same incorrect ones, over and over again.

He didn't have any instruments to cut through the bars and the fact that they were coated in silver prevented him from using his bare hands to break them.

He was never a prisoner of war during his time as a soldier and has only heard tales of the poor souls who had the misfortune of being captured. He didn't care about being tortured. The years he had spent fighting on the battlefield made him almost indifferent to pain. The real torture for him was the passing of time, with every second not knowing what happened to Ava after their departure.

"Daydreaming again?" He heard Marcus's voice interrupting his dreadful thoughts. "Got you a snack." The boy tossed him the blood bank he was carrying.

"Thank you, but you shouldn't have. I'm too afraid of what she could do to you if she finds out." Said Lynn.

"No, I absolutely should." The boy sat down narrowing his eyes, his tone was serious. "I know why Ruby was keeping you alive. I had my suspicions after yesterday's supper, which were confirmed by the roomers I overheard from her handmaids. She wants to turn you into a rogue and put you in a fight against Ava. Apparently, she can become as strong as the boss if she drinks vampiric blood, or so I'm told. Ruby wants to put her in a situation where she would be left with no choice but to do so and become just like her."

Lynn was left without words, his mind still trying to process what he had just heard. A mixture of disgust, confusion, and horror flashed through his face before settling on anger. He imagined various ways in which he could annihilate the red-eyed woman for thinking up something so evil. A desire arose just in him to tear her head clean off the same way she did to his friend, but he quickly brushed these thoughts off, as they reminded him of the person he didn't want to be anymore. After all these very thoughts were the reason he was now locked behind bars.

"Do you have any idea what the combination of the lock could be," Lynn asked after downing the blood.

"No, but maybe I could smuggle in something with which you can cut through the bars."

"I've thought about it. I'm afraid the noise from two metals grinding against one another will disturb the rogues and draw unwanted attention."

"What else do you suggest we do?"

"For now, nothing. Keep a close eye on Ava for me and don't let anyone know that you are helping me." Lynn swiftly turned his head to the sound of clanging coming from the air vent, then whispered."There's someone here. Quickly, get away before they see you."

Marcus nodded, then quietly made his way back to the ladder. The sounds from the air vent drew closer and closer until they turned into footsteps. The smell of fresh blood aroused the attention of the rogue ones and they soon started waking up one by one, staring at the person coming their way.

"Lynn!" Ava ran towards his cage, ignoring the creatures who were desperately trying to claw their way out and have a taste of her flesh. "Thank goodness, you're alright!" Her eyes glistened with hope. She was covered in spider webs and dust from head to toe, which she unsuccessfully tried to brush off.

"How did you get here?" Lynn asked a little worried.

"I made a deal with that guy with the scar. He's currently on the lookout in case someone decides to come this way."

"You should use this opportunity to get out of here. Leave this city at once and don't look back!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Go! I'm being serious. Who knows when else will you get the chance."

"Ruby's not forcing me to stay here. She knows that I can't leave leave you behind."

"Forget about me. I've lived for over a hundred years, it doesn't matter if I die now."

"How could you say that!?" Ava's voice trembled with sadness. "Ruby is still my friend, I'll find a way to convince her to let you go."

"Friend? You call that lunatic your friend?" Lynn couldn't hide his bewilderment and grimaced.

"Well, at least she doesn't hide things from me!"

"Oh, is that so?!" He thought back at what Marcus had told him but decided to not say anything. "You couldn't even tell me your real name after we started dating."

"Said the man who had my fucking foster parents locked in his basement! You lied about the number of people you've killed. You lied about why you left the clan and no matter how many times I've asked, you wouldn't tell me your last name. Talk about hypocrisy..."

Lynn stood silent. He sighed and was about to rest his head on the bars, but experience told him it wasn't a good idea. Meanwhile, Ava's eyes were piercing through his soul. He couldn't figure out whether she was mad at him or if it was a look of disappointment.

His mind shifted back to the last time he ever spoke with Edwin.

"How could you do this?" Said Edwin as he watched his friend pack his stuff.

"You know why. I couldn't watch a kid that young die right before my eyes, morals be damned." Said Lynn.

The night before, a widowed woman from their community had brought her injured son to the old hotel. The boy was no older than six, his eyes barely had any light in them by the time she reached the place. The child in question was one of the few who had no fear of the vampires in the clan and they would often play football with him out of curiosity for he had no other friends. The woman begged for them to save his life, knowing that at this point there was no other way than to be turned into a vampire.

"You know you can stay here. I will overlook this once because we are friends, we need you here..."

"No. Rules are rules for everyone. You should make no exceptions. The last thing I want is for people to start questioning your authority."

While Lynn recounted the memory, Ava was staring at him with her hands crossed waiting for a response.

"Cypher." He said. "My full name is Lynn Cypher. That's right, same as the author - Henrik Cypher. He is my son."

He was met with confusion as if she didn't understand what he just said.

"I bet you never thought I had a son. He was five when I left home and never came back. That night when I turned Marcus into a vampire, he was about to draw his last breath before I saved him. I could feel the despair in his mother's eyes. It was the same despair I felt when I realized I'll never get to see my boy again."

"..."

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. Remember what I used to say? We vampires are prone to cling to things that remind us of our past as humans. Maybe a part of me thought that if I saved Marcus from dying, I could have a piece of my old life back. Believe me, there isn't a day passing without me regretting the day I left my family behind. I can still remember it as if was yesterday, how my wife begged me to resign from my post and search for a different job." He sat down with his legs crossed and a melancholy look on his face. "You look so much like her..."

Ava's heart grew heavy, thinking back to the time they first met. Their first kiss and all the precious time they spent together. The scenes replayed in her mind countless times as she tried to form a sentence, not being sure of what to say.

"Is that why you are with me?" She mumbled. "Because I remind you of your dead wife?"

"... yes" Lynn twisted his lips, trying to hide his blatant lie.

"You are lying again."

"That's right. I'm a filthy liar, that's why you should leave me behind. You still have the chance to lead a normal life, please if not for your own sake then do it for me. I've ruined enough lives. I'll never forgive myself if I ruin yours as well."

"Lynn look at me." Ava got as close as possible to him, clenching the iron bars and in her most serious voice she said: "I'm sick of your ramblings. I swear I'll get you out of here no matter what. Ruby shall pay for what she did to you and your clan. You can count on me for that."