Book 2. Hidalgo and the Vampires. The Legend of the Golden City - Demon Sword. Heart of God, #2

Medieval Spain. The money granted by the French king is gradually melting away. Rene enters the service of a wealthy merchant who transports goods from Malaga. The path is not close and dangerous; the merchant promises a good reward for guarding the caravan. Rene and Alonzo travel safely to Malaga and back to Madrid. They reach the city late in the evening, and follow through Puerto Serrate. Rene hears a voice calling to enter the shelter for vagrants.
The door is opened by a mysterious stranger, dressed in a long black cloak. Entering the shelter, Rene sees a noble Grandee sitting at the table. A stranger in a black cloak invites Rene to go on an expedition to the New World, under the command of Don Ramirez di Sallust; it was he who sat opposite at the table. Rene disagrees. A stranger who called himself Enerei admits that he is a vampire. Enerei offers a deal: the life of Madeleine and her daughters will go to Venezuela for the consent of Rene.
Rene has no choice. He agrees, but wants to know: the purpose of the expedition and why they chose him. Enerei does not know about the ultimate goal of the expedition, and admits that he is just an intermediary. And there are forces that are very interested in the participation of Rene. Enerei then goes with Rene to the basement where the rival clan's vampires are dying. Rene notices that one of the vampires is a woman and is quite attractive.
Enerei says that Sallust will soon wake up from the vampire spell and Rene will appear before him as the winner of the vampires, thereby gaining his boundless trust. A female vampire from a rival clan begs Rene for help. She says that Enerei hates their clan because they are mixed with people. The female vampire calls herself Vanessa and promises to thank Rene for the favor. He agrees. Vanessa gives him a necklace and rose gold, which allegedly opens a passage to the Gray World, where vampires live.
Vanessa herself is weak, she is reinforced by the blood of a horse and disappears in the darkness of the night. Don Ramirez comes to his senses and perceives Rene as a savior. Rene agrees to participate in the expedition and helps emissary di Sallust form a team. Unexpectedly, he meets a Professor (Fernando Siguenza) in Madrid who sells French fabrics. His affairs are going well, but the restless Professor is drawn to various kinds of adventures.
When Fernando learns about the upcoming expedition, he immediately tells Rene about his new invention, a certain Titanius substance that explodes better than gunpowder, and begs him to take it with him. The Professor even promises to charter a brigantine at his own expense.