The Vampire's Requiem II [malexmale]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two (Newell)

I woke up to Xed shaking me gently in the shoulder. It was difficult to force my eyes open as they felt like they were made of lead. I managed to peek them open and look up at Xed, who stared down at me with mismatched eyes. He made a gesture indicating we should hurry and move along. I nodded sleepily and rolled over onto my stomach as Xed left the room to get Daimonas ready for school.

I cringed at the sight of the clock as it read six thirty in the morning. I took a deep breath, then buried my face in my pillow, wishing I could suffocate in it. I made a mental note to torment Vladimir for eternity for giving me this babysitting job. Waking up every morning at six thirty? It made my other nightmares seem like dreams.

I reluctantly forced myself out of bed and washed my face to further awaken me. I dressed in a pair of black slacks, a matching sleeveless turtleneck and tugged on a pair of black shoes. I went out into the living room to find Daimonas nervously nibbling on pieces of toast and slurping his cereal as he watched some odd television show about a talking sponge.

TV these days. Were they running out of ideas of what to air?

I shook my head and went into the kitchen where Xed was licking his chomps. And judging from the feathers that were scattered, he'd probably eaten the mockingbird that enjoyed to sit outside the apartment and scream all morning. I appreciated his gesture. I went to the fridge and got a blood bag, coming back into the living room to sit in the recliner near the sofa where Daimonas was fretting.

"Can't I start school tomorrow? Why do I have to go today?" He complained, twirling his spoon in his cereal without touching it. At least that was some sort of practice. I scowled, though, at his constant whining.

"Daimonas, we've been through this before. Stop whining. You're too old to be whining."

"Technically, I'm not."

"And technically, I can hit you, so eat your breakfast and get dressed before I decide to." I scolded, to which Daimonas just whined a little more before lapsing into a nervous silence as he finished his breakfast and went to shower and dress. I shook my head, leaning back on the sofa, grimacing at the fact that it was still dark outside and I was actually awake early enough to watch the sunrise.

Some say it was a beautiful thing to witness and it made you feel refreshed and wonderful. Waking up early in the morning to start a long day of living.

It sounded like hell to me.

"Have you got a list of names of all the witches in the Haight?" I asked Xed as I punctured the blood bag with my fangs. I drank deeply, enjoying the rich flavor of blood as it flooded my senses. Xed came into the living room with a sheet of paper, sitting on the sofa and handing the paper to me. Without removing my fangs from the bag, I took the paper and scanned it. There were twenty registered witches in the Haight area, meaning witches that openly identified themselves as such, which meant there were probably twenty more who were very closed about it. I sighed and nodded, setting the paper down in my lap and unhooking my fangs from the empty bag that I tossed in our second toxic waste basket near my recliner.

"This is going to take all day," I muttered in irritation, pinching the bridge of my nose, "We also need to be home by the time Daimonas is so he doesn't panic." Xed nodded understandingly, then paused and made a gesture with his hand, asking if we were going to take him out to eat tonight like we had promised a week ago. I nodded.

"But try to refrain from eating our waiter this time." I told him, reminding him of the pit stop we made at a Waffle House for Daimonas, only to have Xed eat her just before we left. While it hadn't bothered me that the poor young woman had been devoured, as she had handed me a kid's menu, it had still caused a mess as the town searched high and low for her. Her parents were still searching for her and they wouldn't find her. Xed digested as quickly as he ate, so her body was broken up into pieces by the moment he swallowed her.