The Trouble with Hades

Chapter 9

"You will find that what a vampire will notice is how you two interact with each other, how much love there is, and I don't mean this slobbering nonsense that goes on these days," Niko said with an air of arrogance to his tone. "I mean the subtle hints of your undying affection. If you are concerned about Nora's thoughts, bring her here, and we can talk about it. She's had a bleak start in the world of vampires, so it is easy to assume that she knows little of our ways. In fact, it would be a good idea if Nora and Karina visit regularly so that they can be taught what is ideal for a proper vampire. Send a message to her and invite them to spend the day with us tomorrow."

"It's a little cramped in here," Brad said.

"I suppose that it is. There is little that we can do about it at the moment. If you want to move forward with Nora, have your conversation at her house. I require well-behaved vampires in this coven so they should still visit."

Brad nodded, quietly sending Nora a message.

"So, what else did you get up to after the arcade?"

"Well, after we annoyed the owner for booking all the lanes again, we decided to annoy someone else. Somehow, we ended up at this random house that's near a park that happens to have a lot of pigeons in it. I don't know how it happened, but Anzide got onto the roof and unloaded a lot of birdseed onto it while Karina and I tried to pick up the dozens of bags that were just lying around everywhere. These bags had splits in them, and birdseed went everywhere. It was crazy. It didn't take long for the birds to realize. There were a lot of feathers and poop. Karina and I were trying to get away, and somehow, the bags in our hands spilled all over the car sitting in the driveway. It was covered, and the birds went crazy. There were even other kinds of birds, not just the pigeons. The car was a mess but not as bad as the house, though."

I looked up from the plate and saw two faces of doom and another that was quietly smiling. Beatrice said nothing as her eyes lowered to the plate.

"Please tell me that you did not do that to Drakkus's house."

"We did not, and I also don't know where it is."

"Well then, it seems as if you've clearly managed to figure out where the Lothaire's live, so it's not unreasonable to think that you could figure out where Drakkus lives. Were they home?"

"Amazingly, no. Crazy, right?"

Niko sighed heavily while Brad shook his head.

"Pranks are not the ideal behavior of a coven leader."

"Yeah, but there aren't many Phoenix, so I'm calling it early on this one. We are definitely jokesters."

"Joke all you want, Evelyn. At the core of this, we are still a coven, and you are still the leader. You should refrain from anything that is considered beneath you."

I stared at Niko as the thoughts rolled around in my mind.

"Is there something you wish to tell me, Evelyn?"

"Not really. Just that, you know, I'll behave. From now on."

His eyes closed as Niko exhaled slowly. When his eyes reopened, I saw an exhausted vampire who was now living in a world with a wise-cracking teenager. It was something he'd never experienced before, and in a modern world, it had to be tough.

"What did you do?"

"So, when I said that I don't know where Drakkus lives, it wasn't a complete lie. I still don't know."

"But?"

"But we might have traveled by Anzide Air and did a little decorating at his house. You know that this is normal behavior for a teenager, right?"

"It might be, but your partner in crime is not a teenager."

"Technically, he could be." Beatrice offered. "Nephilim age in a way that is vastly different from anything that we are used to. He has the appearance and the mind of an adult, but deep down, he's experiencing life in this world as a teenager would. He's going to school with Evelyn, he's hanging out with her and now Karina. It's only natural for a teenager to get into mischief and they are both doing what they've missed out on in their early years."

Which was so accurate, it wasn't funny. Sure, I had teen years. They were wild and unrestrained, but that didn't mean that they were fun. I did things to survive, to put food in front of myself when my mother forgot to buy it for me. As for Anzide, his life before me was one of service. There was no fun in his youth, as short as it was.

"Alright. I concede that you are enjoying your teenage years and accept that there is little I can do to alter it. I will also add that when considering the life that you endured, I think that a little fun is necessary. All I ask is that if you decide that you want to continue your campaign against our enemies, you ensure that you are safe. Remember that the two of you are eternal, but Karina is only immortal. Death can still shadow her life, and I would not want either of you to bear the burden of that for an eternity."

Wow. Way to kill a mood. Niko was a legend.

"Sure," I muttered.

"This would be the part where you tell me all the other things you're hiding from me."

I looked up and saw Anzide grinning like a loon.

"We can call it a bonding experience between a coven leader and a new member, right?"

"If you actually accepted your role, then we could, but you won't, so where does that leave us?"

In an awkward situation, sitting at a tiny and cramped table in a small caravan.

"I guess somewhere like where we're at right now."

Niko grumbled softly.

"Continue."

"We let down the tires of his car, used shaving cream to draw indecent images that referenced his trouser snake, put a couple of fake spiders in his letterbox plus a few snakes in the grass. There might have been a glitter fight that got a little out of control as well. We were bored. Blame Brad's devious urges to defile Nora for hours."

Brad glared at me, almost as unimpressed as the one that Niko was giving me.

"And let's not forget how uninteresting Hades is."

Niko opened his mouth, but Beatrice placed her hand on his forearm. His head turned to her, and she gave him a soft smile.

"Enjoy moments like this, my darling. She's showing us what it's like to be a young but strong woman in a modern world. They're also bored. There is a part of her statements that have an element of truth to them. In giving Brad and Nora time alone to forge a relationship, they are left to their own devices. This town has little in the way of entertainment for the youth. It is boring in this town. The steps you take can create a firmer foundation, or it can create a mark that will leave a scar and always be there, no matter what you do."

Niko paused, and for a moment, he looked at Beatrice. His gaze turned to me, and as the glare softened, Niko conceded.

"Alright. I cannot say that I am impressed, but I will let it slide. Perhaps the three of you can think of alternatives so that in the future, you can make better use of your time."

"Sure," I said softly.

Brad was still frowning at me. He was probably annoyed that if he wanted us to entertain Karina so that he could have play time with Nora, we'd be up to no good again. I gave him a challenging smile that Brad shook his head at. It was fun, and that's all there was to it.

Secretly, I was hoping to annoy Drakkus enough that he actually did something. I wasn't ready for anything he might throw at me, but this was dragging on. I wanted to get the blood war over and done with so that we could get on with our lives.