Nekturna

Three

Inside the Veil

Pest begrudgingly made his way to the end of the hall to Piper's room. He had to pass the rest of the crew's rooms to get there and they were all standing in their doorways watching him, like a sibling who knew he was going to get in trouble. He glared at all of them as he passed by.

Life was simpler in the Serpent Veil. Their leader, the now-deceased Lucy, was more of a "stay in the action" kind of leader. She encouraged Pest and the other Serpents to take the fight to the Coven. They were largely the reason the witches were pushed back to the north of the Vein. He missed her and the rest of them dearly.

The memory of the night the Serpent Veil was destroyed was burned into his heart. They were on a mission north of the Vein, trying to eliminate the Coven in the northeast section of the city. Lucy was leading a team of four on the rooftops towards the Coven's hideout in that section and Pest and Claw were accompanied by their old associate Victor underground. They were supposed to jump through a manhole and attack the witches when Lucy gave the signal.

They were in position when Lucy called out for them and they burst through the manhole into a large auditorium. There was supposed to be a seance going on according to the rumors Victor had told them but it was empty. Then chaos erupted.

At least fifty of the Shadowhunt jumped up from behind the chairs in the auditorium. Led by the High Inquisitor Lazarus himself, they all started firing crossbows and chanting prayers to the Lord Havoc. They were outnumbered.

Pest and his crew scrambled to get back into the sewer. Claw and Victor we're the first ones back down the hole. Pest looked toward Lucy for orders, but it was too late. She had been hit at least six times and lay dead along with her team. He turned toward the manhole when he felt an excruciating pain in his thigh. He looked down and saw a crossbow bolt sticking out of his leg. He started to feel dizzy and fell next to the manhole. These bolts were dipped in holy water. His vision was blurry and the last thing he remembered before passing out was the sound of a flute coming from the sewer.

He racked his brain for countless nights, trying to figure out how this could have happened. How could the Shadowhunt have known they were coming? Why were there so many of the Shadowhunt there? They don't deploy that many just to deal with a small group of vampires. What happened to Victor? If he escaped why didn't he seek him and Claw out? The biggest question though, was what were his and Claws' names? He knew somehow that their names were different in the Serpent Veil, but even in his memories, it was Pest and Claw. The Serpents didn't use code names like the Vermins did. The rest of the crew don't remember their names from before they joined the Vermin Veil either. When he would ask Piper he just says he isn't ready and it would be too painful for him to know.

Pest emerged from the depths of his memories when he reached Piper's door. He let out a small sigh and gently knocked. He was not looking forward to the ass-chewing he was about to receive. He heard a soft voice coming from the other side of the door.

"You may enter Mr.Pest."

Pest opened the door and walked in.

Piper's room was completely bare except for an arched window. They were underground in a sewer so the window was a pointless addition. There was a solid white wall built into it so there was no view. The rest of the room was white cobblestone and brick.

Piper always sat on his feet with his arms resting on his knees. He was paler than the rest of the crew, being the oldest of them, and always wore a suit and a top hat. He had dark red eyes and long black hair. His face never showed any emotion at all.

"May I ask why you killed three witches this evening Mr.Pest?" Piper said solemnly. He barely spoke above a whisper and stared into Pest's eyes as if looking into his soul.

"They attacked us! I was about to bring the body back here when spells started flying. Me and Claw were almost killed," Pest shouted defensively.

"And why was Mr.Claw with you? Only one of us is to be out at a time, you know that," Piper replied emotionlessly.

"Oh come on Piper, we had no choice! It isn't my fault either that Claw broke the rules!" Pest retorted.

Piper sat unmoved, "I needn't remind you, Mr.Pest, this city is not a ballroom. We are not here to waltz our way into chaos."

Piper hadn't blinked once during this whole conversation. He stared wide-eyed like he had found some perplexing puzzle in Pest's forehead.

"The Shadowhunt won't even bother investigating where we were at! The Frayed Flaggin is a cesspool of drunks and thieves! They'll assume some tavern brawl broke out or something! They hate witches anyway!" Pest replied desperately.

Piper's eyes started watering from keeping them open for so long, "I would rather not risk any extra attention Mr. Pest, nor would I want to risk open war with the coven. I would appreciate in the future, a little more discretion. That will be all."

Pest stared at the floor in shame. He turned to walk out the door but he had a question for Piper. He asked this question hundreds of times and always got the same answer, but remembering the night Lucy died somehow gave him the courage to ask once again.

"What was my name?"

Piper stared unblinkingly still, "Your memories of that night are occupying your mind again Mr.Pest?"

Pest looked at Piper with pleading eyes, "I've been going over that night in my head for decades and I just don't understand how it could have happened. I know you know what happened."

"The events that took place that night are much bigger than what you could imagine. The Serpent Veil was involved in something that would have changed the entirety of Nekturna." Piper said. His eyes were twitching slightly from being forced open.

"Lucy didn't tell me or Claw about anything like that, we were just going to kill some witches," Pest replied angrily.

"Precisely. Lucy didn't think you were ready and now that the Serpent Veil is destroyed, there's no reason to worry about it. You are all a part of the Vermin Veil now, you're new names are what matter," Piper said, cooly. His voice remained monotone and quiet.

Pest rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"Your anguish from the situation saddens me, Mr.Pest, but trust me, knowing the truth would utterly destroy you, as it did me. I keep all of your names secret and safe in here," Piper whispered pointing to his head.

Pest left his room and closed his door behind him.

Fang and Claw were standing outside Piper's room, obviously being nosey.

Fang was a beautiful woman. She had long straight black hair and bright green eyes. She and Claw had apparently finished with their "activities" and were waiting to hear how badly Pest had been reprimanded.

"Well, how'd it go?" Claw asked already wincing.

"He basically throttled me in there. I've never heard him so angry," Pest replied, "And you made it worse asshole."

"Sorry about that. I'm sure I'll get it too later. In the meantime, let's eat. We do have that fresh body we brought home."

Pest just rolled his eyes and followed them back to the kitchen.