Chapter 2: Lord of Willow Creek

The next morning, after Charlotte got her things settled in at the inn, she decided to hit the library first just to see if she could drum up any records of this mysterious vampire lord. There had to be something if he truly had been there for a while. The castle at the end of the main road appeared to be old, so she couldn't imagine that he just moved in a short while ago. Something was telling Charlotte that that castle had been there just as long as Lord Hunt had been occupying it. Now she just needed that proof.

Vampires became part of the public just a few centuries ago, according to the research she did on them. The first vampire to announce his existence was the oldest of their kind, he was known as the First Vampire. Ever since he made himself public, the others followed suit and soon enough they became so common that a new set of laws were eventually established in order to hold vampires accountable for the deaths they caused.

Those laws stated that a vampire could not legally take the life of a human being or other living creature. So, in order to feed the vampire populus, alternative methods were set into place. A vampire could choose to buy blood from blood banks or if they preferred the blood come from a living source, they could contract a willing human into supplying them. The contracts worked the way an independent contractor worked. Those who agreed to the contract gave their blood in exchange for some form of payment.

In which case if there was a vampire lord living in Willow Creek for this long, he had to have some kind of record. If she couldn't find anything in newspaper clippings or articles about him, there was bound to be something on him based on contracts he had made. Most Vampire Lords contracted humans for their blood supply, as most preferred the taste of living blood. That's what she had learned from various other lords, anyway.

"Ah, here it is. Lord Rodrick Hunt, Willow Creek's wealthiest resident," Charlotte read aloud to herself the snippet of an article she found. "He's incredibly evasive and has only been known to be seen during the autumn."

"Indeed he is. Lord Hunt does not fancy being bothered by outsiders." A posh-looking middle-aged man cut in.

At the sound of his voice, Charlotte looked up from the archives she was going through to find the suited gentleman standing just a few feet away. The look on his face said that he was all business, but he seemed to be eyeing her rather curiously. She was an outsider and Willow Creek was such a small town, so she could see why the locals might be curious about her. His input had her equally curious about him, it sounded as though he knew Lord Hunt personally.

"You sound so well versed on the subject," Charlotte said and offered a smile. "I am Charlotte Barnes, historian. I was just doing some research."

"Kaleb Mosey, I work with the agency here in town," the man replied and gave a nod to her in acknowledgement.

"That would explain why you know so much about Lord Hunt then. Am I right to assume that the agency you mean is for vampire contracting?" Charlotte questioned.

"Yes, that's correct. I work closely with Lord Hunt on his contracts. He's particular about what kind of assignments we offer him," Mr. Mosey said.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. "So, he's that kind of Lord?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of, I'm sure. Lord Hunt is very… business oriented. He wants to ensure that all his contractors are aware of that," Mr. Mosey replied with a wave of his hand. He reached into the inner pocket of his suit then and offered her a small black envelope."Perhaps it may be better if you didn't take my word for it, Miss Barnes."

Charlotte hesitated at taking the envelope from him and even threw him an uncertain glance once she did. She opened it and found inside what appeared to be an invitation of sorts. The date was for tomorrow night and it was titled, "Lord Hunt's Grand Autumn Ball." After reading over the times to begin just under sunset, she couldn't help but look back up to Mr. Mosey again. It seemed strange that a man who was said to be evasive, would throw a sizable ball in his own home. Wasn't that just asking for strangers to come in?

"Lord Hunt is evasive and doesn't like outsiders, but he throws a ball every year?" Charlotte asked, perplexed.

"He does. Lord Hunt has never explained the reasoning behind his annual event, but it's become something of a tradition to Willow Creek. Every October, the residents here look forward to being able to visit the castle again. Other than that, the only individuals permitted to enter the castle are those he has contracted," Mr. Mosey explained.

"That sounds pretty evasive," she said with a sigh and sat back in her seat.

"If you'd like a chance to talk with him, go to the ball tomorrow night," Mr. Mosey offered a small smile. He then handed her a card from another inner pocket. "And if you decide you'd like to see more, this is my office number and hours."

Charlotte just stared at him as the card was handed over to her. She didn't say another word to him and just watched as he gave her another nod and left her alone. Part of her wondered if that whole conversation wasn't just the agent searching for more people to contract. It took a special kind of person to agree to allow a vampire to drain blood from your body. While it wasn't much different than just donating blood to a blood bank, it felt much more personal. Probably because it involved the touch of a stranger's mouth to your body.

That kind of life just didn't sound appealing to Charlotte. She enjoyed learning about the history of the vampires and the places that they lived in. Just as she enjoyed traveling to old little towns like Willow Creek and exploring its history. There wasn't a thrill in her mind to being sucked on by a person who was likely hundreds of years old. Even if most of them were impossibly lovely to look at. Charlotte hadn't met one vampire yet that ever convinced her that signing up with an agency would be a good idea.

She would take Mr. Mosey's advice though and head out to this Grand Ball. While she might not be interested in the services he was offering to her, she was interested in the information he gave about Lord Hunt. A vampire lord that was so completely wrapped in mystery. The only way to break through that veil would be to speak with him personally. It was her goal to try and convince him to at least do an interview with her. That way, she didn't need to stoop into contracting her blood out to a vampire just to learn about his history.

There wasn't a mystery that Charlotte Barnes couldn't handle. From the sounds of it, she would have her work cut out for her with Lord Hunt. That was just fine, she thought, because the more challenging the work, the more it paid off. If he was truly this hard to get in touch with, it could only mean that the mystery he was hiding was something incredible. As to what kind of incredible that could mean, she would have to find out tomorrow night when she attended the ball at Lord Hunt's castle. The Lord of Willow Creek would be revealed, one way or another.