(3.1) A Date with Troubling Memories

Chapter 3, Part 1

When I put her into the bathtub, her head lolled over to one side, giving her the impression of having a very sound and restful sleep. If I was a man of lesser morals I’d have taken greater advantage of her unconscious state. As it was, I simply took this opportunity to look at her a bit closer.

By now there wasn’t a single scratch on her. The color that had rested in her cheeks, the tell-tale sign that blood was still pumping in her small frame, was slowly beginning to fade away. What was left in her veins was no longer the blood of the living, but the blood of the dead.

More importantly, it was my blood.

Siring a new vampire was a big deal. Granted, the times had changed and there was no longer a “Prince” like there had been the last few times that I’d sired someone, but it still isn’t something that’s done all that often. I’d have to be careful this time, nurture this one. The last two that I had were made at the same time, and as I’d had to divide my attention between them, they hadn’t absorbed the necessary vampire do’s and don’ts.

Ademos Aviscous Tovas, the last of the ruling class of vampires in Chicago had had them sentenced to the final death for violating some trivial rule that hadn’t been enforced in well over 300 years. He’d earned my malice then, and in order to keep myself from attempting to get his fangs on my wall, I’d left my home there.

The memories of my outrage at the news were starting to rise to dangerous levels and I had to fight the surge of emotions down before I wound up blowing a hole in the wall. After a few moments, calm returned to me and I started removing her clothes.

It had been a while since I’d undressed someone who was unconscious so her head ended up slamming into the side of the tub a few more times than I would have liked. Adding on the fact that all of her clothing was extremely tight fitting, it took more than a few minutes of extensive wriggling to free her of them. I tried my best not to look at her while I was doing this. But I’m only a man, and she was an impressive sight to behold.

I caught myself staring after I had removed her bra. So sue me, I haven’t been laid in over 50 years. When I was done, I started up the water and headed back to the living room, grabbing her clothes and sorting through them as I did.

There was only one thing in her outfit, a small single fold wallet. Its size reminded me of my own badge carrier. Well, Detective Ward’s badge carrier. Inside this wallet, however, was a single buisness card. Its message was very simple concise and to the point.

Alexis “Angel” Davril

D7

That it gave the girl’s name so matter-of-factly was actually the second thing I noticed. The first being the tingle that shot up my arm when I touched it. This small piece of paper was an arcane creation. It didn’t have the thrum that I felt near the more powerful arcane pieces of paper like scrolls and spellbooks, it didn’t even have as much of a tingle that I got just walking within a block of a place that someone had cast.

But it didn’t change the fact that this girl was carrying a bit of magic in her– I checked where I found this and immediately dropped it.

Christ, of all the places to keep something it had to be there?

I shrugged off the chill that ran up my spine, gingerly pocketing the wallet and dumping her remaining clothing into the bucket, heading off to my bedroom.

The bedroom was also a mini-IKEA catalogue, the color scheme here was the same as the living room. The only differences were that my room contained a bed instead of a sofa, and the only cotton fabric to be found anywhere in the room was kept in my closet. My many nights living on the streets before Mab had hired me only served to make me love the feel of silk and satin. As such, when I was given this apartment and Mab’s generous stipend, I did my best to make sure I would always have silk touching my skin.

It’s weird I know, but I love it.

There was only one stipulation that Mab had upon my receipt of my fashionable living quarters. As a creature who has, how should I put this, old schooltastes Mab required me to put a very large dresser equipped with a vanity mirror somewhere in my apartment. This was mainly so that she could communicate with me directly from her cozy little throne in Fae-Mundus.

The other added bonus is that should she choose to contact me through the mirror, she also has the option of grabbing me by the throat and pulling me in after her. She hadn’t contacted me since she’d sent me to see Nick, the woman with ties to no one that knew everyone.

I jumped a little when Alexis woke up and started screaming from the bathroom. Okay fine, I let out a little shriek in response.

Leave me alone, I startle easily when I’m lost in thought.