Andrew closed his eyes, feeling the power roll through his body. He tried to envision his own form, impossible as that hope was.
A sudden click rocketed into his ears, and he felt his hand go slack. He realized he was still holding the light gun, and looked to see it disconnected from the alarm chain. No alarm sounded, even though it was liberated from the cabinet.
Experimentally, he took the other gun, and felt it free itself from its moorings. The orange plastic darkened and weighted in his hands, feeling more like a real firearm by the second. Two new guns began to coalesce at the end of the dangling chains.
His reflection had changed very little. He was still pale, though he looked more albino than undead. He still had small fangs, and slightly pointed ears. He laced clawed hands through the triggers of his guns, raising them high. His body mass grew, adding muscle and definition to his form. He felt like an athletic powerhouse.
His jeans and T-shirt warped and fused, arranging into a wrapped leather ensemble. Multiple pouches formed, and he knew instinctively that hunting gear was within. His blond hair darkened, lengthening into a full onyx mane.
The word Dhampir floated through his mind. Half-vampire. Just like one of the hunter characters in the game.
“Cool,” the girl whispered. She drew a game card and made a move toward the slot.
Andrew motioned her back. “This is very dangerous,” he said, his voice deep and resonant. “If you succeed, you will become a hunter. Fail and you become a vampire.” He crossed his guns over his chest. “And then, you will have to deal with me.”
The girl nodded. “I’m real good at this game. I’ve played it a lot, just not here.”
Andrew nodded. “I wish you luck. May the outcome be favorable,” he turned and began walking away, “for us both.”
The dance floor was quite a sight to behold. Half of the dancers were quite obviously vampires, and he could detect Lila’s work in at least three. The humans that remained were singled out systematically, succumbing to the rapturous bite of their vampiric partners as they danced their mortality away.
Calmly, he leveled his guns at a pair of newborn undead in the center of the room. They were preparing to bite as he pulled the triggers.
Twin pulses of blue light launched from the barrels, striking the fledglings square in the back. They screamed like scalded bats as they melted into unrecognizable goo.
Lila turned, hissing and baring her fangs. Her eyes narrowed. “You!”
Andrew leveled his weapon at her, swaying his other gun across the crowd. “Anyone human in here, get off the dance floor, now!” The majority of mortals obeyed. A few remained, fascinated or stunned at what they had just seen.
“I was wishing for you to lose,” she sneered. “It would have been fun sharing eternity together.”
“Your eternity ends now,” he retorted, as he pulled the trigger.