Here I am!
@ Sinless: Your wish is my command ... once I put a bit longer chapter in it.
Have fun while reading!

When Serafin opened his eyes, the bright light of the morning sun stabbed his eyes. He blinked a few times, but his eyes were only getting used to the bright sunlight and it was a few more moments before he got the idea to put his arm in front of his face. Then he slowly straightened up. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer outdoors.
When his eyes got used to the light, he looked around. The room he was in wasn't particularly large, but its walls were made of exposed stone, almost like an old castle. The only furniture was a wooden table and a stool on which someone had folded a pile of clothes. Serafin himself was sitting on a large and rather comfortable bed.
Serafin threw back the covers and only now noticed that someone had taken off his clothes.With quick steps he was at the stool and slipped into his adjusted clothes, which consisted of black, tight-fitting trousers and a simple, gray-brown hooded sweater.
Then he looked around again.
Where was he here? And how did he get here?
He remembered that one of the two men had touched his neck somewhere, but then his memory just stopped. Or maybe he was passed out.
Serafin went to the window and looked out. He was really in a castle, because under him an old stone wall stretched to the ground.
The landscape some distance away was the first thing he saw. If his memory didn’t mislead him, the castle was north of the city. Then it had to be the old castle that had once belonged to an old noble family. With that he had at least answered the question of where he was.
But how the hell did he get here?
And why was the castle inhabited? The noble family to whom it had belonged still existed, but had long since stopped living in this part of the country.The door opened behind him. He turned around in surprise. He almost expected it to be the two men he had met that night, but instead a young woman entered the room. Serafin estimated her age at about 20 years, so not very much older than himself. She had light, almost turquoise eyes and her ash-blonde hair fell down to her hips. Her fragile figure was only wrapped in a simple, dark red dress.
"You're awake. She remarked unnecessarily. "It's good. “She turned back to go. "Follow me. “With these words she was gone outside again.
Serafin watched her indecisively for a few seconds, but finally hurried after her. What else could he have done?
The long corridor into which he had stepped had stone walls, just like the room in which Serafin had woken up, and although the morning light fell through the scattered windows, it was dusky twilight.Large tapestries hung on the opposite wall at regular intervals. An intricate symbol, vaguely reminiscent of a dragon, was seen on each of the carpets.
A few meters away the corridor opened into a large hall. When Serafin and his guide reached the hall, he looked around in amazement. It was a huge staircase with one staircase leading up and another, which the young woman was just entering, down. Before he stepped onto the stairs, he turned once in a circle. He didn't think the castle was that big.
He slowly descended the stone steps of the stairs. The railings on either side were apparently made of ebony. The fine carvings that served as decorations looked very similar to the symbol Serafin had seen on the tapestries.
At the foot of the stairs, his guide turned to the left, where a double-leaf door led into another room.Serafin followed her in silence. An uneasy feeling germinated in him as he got closer and closer to the door.
His guide stopped, pushed open a wing of the door and gestured for Serafin to enter the room. Reluctantly, he stepped past her. The strange feeling was almost unbearable now. He had to bring himself to go any further.
When the door slammed shut behind him again, he winced.
A laugh rang out from somewhere in front of him.
But although the room was almost completely flooded with the light of the morning sun, no one was to be seen when Serafin's gaze wandered around the room.
In the middle there was a long table that could have seated up to 20 people, and on the wall opposite the windows hung a large painting that depicted some old king, judging by his clothes, from the 15th century . The intertwined symbol could be seen on the long coat he was wearing.Finally Serafin's gaze caught on a particularly massive shadow in a corner.
The laughter rang out again - and a figure emerged from the shadows.
“Your senses are better than I thought. ", she said. Serafin now recognized a thin, middle-aged man who, although he was now in the light of the sun, was difficult to recognize. Without exception, he wore dark clothes. His black and brown hair was cut short, his eyes not unfriendly. A smile played on his lips.
"Who are you? “, Serafin asked with a trembling voice. The uncomfortable feeling clearly came from the man. “You can call me Cain. “He eyed Serafin intently. “You can feel it, don't you? "
"I don't understand ..." Cain cut him off. “I think you know what I mean. An uncomfortable feeling that you could compare with the feeling of being watched, only that it is much stronger.“Serafin felt increasingly uncomfortable in the company of this man. It was strange - he felt exactly what Cain had described. Still, he was stubbornly silent.
But that seemed to be enough of an answer for Cain, for he smiled again. “I know it's uncomfortable, but don't worry, you'll get used to it quickly. “He took a few steps towards him.
"What do you want from me? “Serafin backed away from Cain.
"What do I want from you? “Cain laughed. "Explain to you why you have this feeling, why you are here, but above all what you are."
Suddenly Serafin had to think back to the previous night. What did the two men say? “If you're telling me to be a vampire - that's ridiculous! "" So? Is that it? “Cain sounded almost amused at Serafin's words. “Then why did you kill someone last night? "
Memories flashed again in Serafin.A corpse covered in blood ... The torn chest ...
"I ... didn't ..." Serafin stuttered. Then he called: “You are crazy! "
"Is that me? “Cain's tone was still amused. He seemed to have expected exactly this reaction. “Then, Serafin, tell me what did you do last night? "
Serafin was silent. Yes. What did he do?
A flood of images streamed in on him. He tried to push her back, but couldn't.
The blood on his hands ... the man's throat ...
The sweet taste of blood on his lips ...
Serafin shook his head. No! He hadn't ... No, it just couldn't be like that ...
“Don't defend yourself against your memories. "Cain said softly. “Let them work on you. And then tell me what you feel now, in retrospect. "
Almost without his intervention, Serafin did what Cain said. As before, the images hit him with hard force.But something was different. The horror he had felt was gone. Where it had been now was ... nothing. More to himself than to answer Cain, Serafin whispered, “I don't feel anything. “That shocked him almost more than the memory of what he had done yesterday. It was as if he suddenly didn't care what he had done, a small part of his consciousness even told him it was necessary. And no matter what he thought of, nothing could change that knowledge.
He didn't feel anything.
Now, thinking back about the man's death, he felt ... nothing.
The only thing that reverberated in him like the echo of the old horror was Celia's face ...

“Celia? "
Celia jumped when her mother's voice echoed through her mind. She was now huddled on her bed.
“Celia! Why don't you open the door? "
She sighed softly. Even though she hadn't slept all night, she hadn't told her mother what had happened.Instead, she had locked herself in her room the whole time. She was very calm inside now. She didn't know if she'd finished with what she'd seen the previous day - which was very unlikely - but she didn't dare recall what had happened either. Nor did she feel any more horror, just a strange emptiness.
“Celia! ", Her mother called again, then Celia could hear how she went back down the stairs after a brief hesitation.
At some point this morning the police would be at the door. They would ask Celia questions, just as the young officer had said yesterday. But what should she answer? To tell everything meant to recall everything again. And that's what she was afraid of.
But she had to say something.
Five minutes later the doorbell actually rang. Celia could hear the front door open downstairs and her mother say something.Then it was quiet for a short time before the creaking of the stairs sounded.
Celia slowly straightened up and went to the door. She turned the key and opened it.
The police officer who drove her home yesterday was standing right in front of her. He had reached out a hand toward the door, almost as if he was about to knock.
On the last step behind him was Celia's mother, who was watching her with a concerned look.
"May I come in? “, Asked Johansson kindly. Celia nodded and stepped aside.
Her mother wanted to follow the young man, but stopped mid-movement when he made a gesture in her direction.
Johansson looked directly at Celia. He seemed to sense that she really didn't want her mother to come into her room too.
"Miss Sylvers? ", He addressed the word to her. “May I ask you to wait a moment downstairs? "" Yes, "Celia's mother replied with a distraught and even more worried look at her daughter."But why ..." The police officer interrupted her. “I came down to them like that. It really doesn't take long. “, He said, a little more urgently. Celia's mother still hesitated, but eventually went back downstairs, but not without glancing at her daughter again.
Without a word, Johansson entered Celia's room. He closed the door behind him.