Chapter Three (Newell)
The second time I ran into Vladimir Van Gothica was a year after our first meeting.
It was the Samhain celebration for our people, and my father decided to host it as he'd bought us a new home. A large white plantation house with two stories, long white columns leading up to the roof and a huge drive way that led up between rows and rows of big green trees. I used to enjoy weaving around them, looking up at how tall they were. I liked watching the leaves fade in color and fall to the earth.
I loved the house. It was my favorite home so far, and I was happy my father had decided to let us stay.
That year, the Samhain celebration was going to be huge. A bonfire was being prepared and fountains set up in the backyard to be filled with plenty of fresh, sweet blood wine. I had also heard Vladimir was to come.
At the time, I had been excited. Vladimir and I had only spoken once, the year before at the Yule party, but this time we were going to spend more time together as the Samhain celebration was to be two days long. It was the new year for our people, a harvest holiday.
"Sweetheart, will you quit fidgeting?" Aurora asked me for the hundredth time. I couldn't stand still. I wanted to go downstairs and find Vladimir. I didn't say that, though. Just forced myself to obey as my mother straightened my black dress pants and the black vest over my white dress shirt, tying my tie and tucking it into my vest.
"Come along, sweetie, daddy's going to get impatient." She added, frowning as she brushed her long hair over her shoulder before she reached down and took my hand. I followed her out of my room and down the hallway. Edward was just coming out of his room, straightening his tie and giving the lapels of his black jacket a tug before he glanced toward us. As soon as his eyes fell on me, I remembered the cold chill that went through me.
He was angry. At the time, I didn't understand why. Had I done something wrong? Did he not like the outfit my mother had chosen for me?
"We're wasting time. The Gothicas have already arrived." He spoke to my mother as if it were her fault we were late for our own party. My mother just dropped her eyes, but followed my father obediently as he led the way down the large staircase to the main lobby where guests were gathered.
Such guests included the Gothicas, dressed in clothing that was quite fashionable back in the 30s, along with glasses of blood wine that glinted in the lights of the chandeliers.
The same thing happened here as did with the Yule party. After speaking to Vladimir, I had learned that my father faked his smiles very often. I didn't understand it then. It took me years to catch onto the fact that everyone was my father's enemy, by choice. He saw everyone around him as a threat, including his own family, my mother and myself included.
Vladimir had grown taller since our first meeting. I remembered being incredibly envious. He looked more mature and he wasn't smiling or joking around as he did back when we first met. It had concerned me. I waited until our parents had left before I spoke.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Vladimir looked away from our parents to me, his expression bored.
"I'm betrothed." He answered. I blinked. Betrothed? But he was so young. Even I wasn't betrothed yet. It was a rather old custom as well. I hadn't particularly thought of it before.
"To whom?" I asked. Vladimir's eyes drifted away from me and I followed his gaze to see him staring across the room at a pretty blonde girl, who obediently stood by her parents' sides. She was a lovely thing, definitely older than Vladimir. She was about twelve then. Her chest was already swelling into breasts, but her velvet black dress still wasn't as low cut as her mother's. The collar swept just below her collarbone. However, despite how pretty she was, she didn't look friendly. She wore the stern hard face that her mother wore.
"What's her name?" I asked Vladimir, then paused to see something odd in his eyes. I had never seen it before, but now that I look back on it, Vladimir had already fallen for her.
"Elizabeth," He breathed her name like a prayer, his eyes flickering before he looked at me, "We're supposed to be married once I reach sixteen."
"Is she nice?" I asked. Vladimir raised an eyebrow and for a moment, I saw the joking expression he'd worn when we first met, but then it quickly vanished and he became serious.
"That shouldn't matter. Marriage is marriage. It's done for power, for strength."
"But you seem to like her."
"I like powerful people," Vladimir admitted with a light shrug, his blue eyes watching Elizabeth from afar, "They're like magnets. They draw you in, even if you don't want to be drawn in. You can fight it all you want, but in the end, you'll slam right into them."
"That sounds painful." I replied. Vladimir laughed, making me cock my head at him in confusion. He smiled at me.
"I envy you, Newell."
"How so?"
"You're so innocent," He answered, making me stare at him blankly, "You don't see the darkness yet. You only see light. I rue the day when your light goes out and you fall into the pit with the rest of us." At the time, I hadn't understood what he meant. I had thought he was joking again, so I just smiled back at him, trying to be friendly. Because that was all I wanted, was to spend time with the only friend I had made in my entire life.
Oh sure, my father's halfblood servants were polite and nice. They played with me and bought me toys and made sure I was kept with my mother could not, but that was only because they were being paid, being fed. Otherwise, I was sure they didn't give a shit about me.
I rue the day when your light goes out and you fall into the pit with the rest of us.
Vladimir's words renosated within my head as I laid on the bed in the hotel room Xed and I had snagged in the city. It was a decent price and the room much cleaner. It helped that there was a pool as well, one that Xed and I would visit after midnight to make sure we weren't snuck up on.
I was half tempted to call Vladimir and ask him if he rued the day we even met. We had met with full intentions to be friends, or at least, I did anyway. I was innocent. I was naive. I was stupid.
So bloody stupid.
I listened to other people, let them tell me what the world was like. I admired the people I should've been trying to tear down. And I tried to love the people who had never loved me to begin with. It was my fault that I had ended up where I was. All of it was my fault.
"It's not his fault, Edward! It just... it just..."
"Oh shut the hell up, you stupid woman. You don't know anything! This is the Goddess punishing me for thinking I could use the ingrate to get a leg up on the Gothicas!"
"Edward! Stop! He'll hear you--"
"The bloody hell do I care what he hears?! He's always got his head in the clouds! He's too stupid to even remotely understand what I'm talking about! His body doesn't grow and neither does his brain!"
"Edward, please!"
It was an argument that I had often been forced to listen to. My father purposely shouted everything because he was trying to make sure I heard. However, by the time we realized I wouldn't grow any more, I had already begun to collapse under the pressure. I was supposed to take over the Drakon Clan and all the other minor clans beneath it, to take over my father's corporation, to find a wife.
And none of it was happening the way it should have. Betrayals were cropping up here and there, the Gothica Clan was experiencing its own tensions and betrayals, our society was becoming franatic as the human population esculated at alarming rates. Children were being born left and right. Our nearest neighbors had their tenth child the same year as the Samhain celebration.
And then my father began to stress.
I wasn't growing. I had turned eleven when my father began to complain about it. He would rant and rave, feeding me extra blood and force me into rigorous exercise regimends. When it didn't work, he'd beat me. And finally, he took me to a specialist, a member of the Grey family.
In our world, each clan had its own strengths. The Grey clan was known for its medical prowess and intelligence. They were also quite a beautiful bunch, famous for their blonde hair and blue eyes.
The Gothicas were famous for their manipulation and business abilities. The Drakon clan was known for its mental strength and corporal power. We were also rather popular for the black hair and blue eyes trait.
After seeing the specialist, the doctor had informed my father that I had a condition in which my body would no longer grow. My body was not producing the proper amount of hormones. I couldn't get taller. I couldn't grow body hair in the right places. I couldn't produce children. While mentally I could function and grow as an adult, my body would forever remain that of a child's.
And then I was beaten again.
And again and again and again.
To this day, I would always wonder why my father hadn't simply killed me. Maybe he was as sadistic as the whispers in our society claimed. Maybe he kept me alive to torment me as punishment for ruining his plans. To publically proclaim that he was stepping down as the leader of the Drakon Clan, passing it onto my uncle and aunt. We moved away from the lovely plantation home in the south and moved into the city in a house crammed in between other houses, stereotypical white picket fence, flowers in the yard, lovely human neighbors...
And behind the closed white door of that house was where I had grown up.
Where I had learned that life wasn't making friends or getting married or taking over businesses.
It was surviving.
And years after that visit to the specialist, the front door was no longer white, but red with the blood of my parents. Or rather, parent, considering the fact that my father had supposedly escaped his death somehow, someway.
At the time anyway. Now he was dead.
Burnt to a crisp by the fires of Hell. Where he belonged.
A knock on the door made me jolt from my daydreams. I sat up, staring at the door intently as I waited for a distinct pattern of knocks. I crawled off the bed and padded across the room to the door, reaching up on my toes to undo the latch. I stepped back, letting Xed in before closing the door behind him.
He had gone out to do a reconnaissance of the surrounding area to ensure that the oni hadn't surrounded the place and planned to jump us in our sleep. Of course, that would be their funeral considering Xed was an incredibly light sleeper.
"You checked all the buildings and shops?" I asked Xed sternly as he turned to face me. He nodded, then made a gesture with his hands that assured me there was no one within the vicinity that was a threat to us. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but caught myself just in time and nodded to him, brushing past him to the bed where I sat down.
Xed approached his bed and sat down as I turned on the television just as another news flash came up on the screen.
"... six dead this morning in a warehouse in Manhattan. Five males and one female. Authorities claim that this massacre was done in the same way as the one discovered yesterday and the ones from ten years ago. Victims families are setting up a memorial in Central Park tomorrow evening from 8 a.m. to eleven a.m. to honor their loved ones and family members..." I shut the television off, frowning.
I had originally thought this was a job done by the oni, and yet... Hearing that they'd done it again? It made no sense. Surely the yakuza wouldn't be stupid enough to attack again the day after. This sounded like something else, something worth investigating.
It wasn't as if I wanted to save humans, however. If this person was a threat, I had to make sure. If they could help us out of the city, well, that'd be much better. However, to find this person, was going to be quite a hassle and there was only one person in the city close enough who I could speak to about it.
"We're leaving." I announced. Xed blinked, but obeyed, getting to his feet and following me out the door as I grabbed my coat and tugged it on. We locked the room and tucked the key cards into our pockets before making our way out of the cheap Holiday Inn. Once outside, I was assaulted by the natural scents of the city.
Car gas, fumes that were probably toxic to the oblivious humans, blood, sweat, and just the faintest hints of death. It was a sour, pungent order that made me wrinkle my nose in disgust as I started down the sidewalk with Xed beside me.
I would never comprehend the humans that loved to live in this place. It reeked and burned my heightened senses. It was a good thing I was mostly immortal, otherwise, I probably would've died weeks ago from the toxins that hovered as a thick layer of smog in the air.
Xed and I moved quickly down the street, both of us keeping our senses sharpened in case any oni happened to be hovering by. It was difficult to sniff them out considering they smelled about as bad as the sewers did, but the faintest hints of sulfur gave them away most of the time. Much to my relief, we had no problem getting to where I needed to be.
It was an odd shop. A stereotypical gothic hang out with tinted windows that only slightly hid the horribly disfigured mannequins dressed in gothic attire. The mannequins were either hugged or choking each other. In gold medieval font was the name of the shop, Infernus.
I pushed open the door that had a wrought iron gate stuck to the front of it to give it the appearance of walking into a cemetary. Upon entering, I instantly recognized the thick scent of cigarette smoke, booze, and blood. There was also some expensive perfume being sold.
It was a small shop, but popular, with black shelves shaped like coffins holding multiple gothic knick knacks. From skull shaped bottles of nail polish to soap dispensers of Dracula spitting up red, foaming soap. There were racks of gothic clothing and hats and bags. At the front of the shop was a fake cut out of a mausoleum with the shop's name on the top. Instead of a door leading to a crypt, however, it was the register where a tall, slender man was leaning on the desk.
His hair was dyed black, piercing green eyes outlined thickly with black eyeliner, matching the tear drop tattoos under his left eye. He wore an ear cuff of a dragon on his right ear, a studded black choker, black turtleneck sweater with pictures of skulls wearing Christmas gear killing Santa on the front, tight black jeans with chains, and knee-high buckled boots.
"Well, well, well," He purred as soon as he caught sight of us heading for the register, "What have we got here? This is a face I haven't seen in centuries." He stuck a long black nail between his teeth as he smiled flirtatiously before lowering his hand to the counter.
"Alaric." I greeted flatly. He smiled, then looked away from me before his eyes locked on Xed. His pale cheeks turned pink and a lazy smile crossed his lips as he tilted his head, his long black hair sliding over his shoulder.
"Mmm, aren't you a sexy piece of ass? I didn't think Newell even liked guys." He added. Xed gave him a blank stare, obviously not understanding who this person was. I cleared my throat, giving Alaric a droll stare before I turned to Xed.
"Alaric, this is Xed. Xed, Alaric. I've known him for... quite a while. He's an ally." I added, turning to Alaric, who pouted, drumming his nails on the sleek black counter.
"I thought we were friends. How cruel. If you came here for help, you're not off to a good start, sweetheart." He drawled. I wrinkled my nose at the nickname, then shook my head. I couldn't risk letting my temper get out of hand now, especially now.
While Alaric seemed friendly and flirty at first, he was actually quite the asshole. He was part of my species, but sometimes, I questioned it. Alaric could do things I'd never seen another person of my species do. He wasn't as great as Vladimir, of course, but he was great in his own way, I suppose. But he always demanded the most outrageous things as payment.
"I need to find out who is murdering the humans." I told him. Alaric dropped his sweet act and dropped his hand to the counter, raising an eyebrow with a bored look.
"Well, hmm, gee. Someone murdering humans? Now I've never heard of someone doing that before. What a troll." He answered sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.
"Haven't you seen the news? Someone is killing humans in handfuls. I need to know who it is and if they are a threat to me or if they can get me out of the city." I replied. Alaric's eyes glinted dangerously in the dim multi-colored lights above our heads.
"That so? Sounds... interesting. I think I did hear a couple of my customers talking about something like that, but I dunno, sweetie. That requires a fuckload of digging and talking to people I don't like. And doing things I don't like. It's a pricy demand." He mused, tapping his chin with a long fingernail. I narrowed my eyes at him, then frowned as Xed took a threatening step toward Alaric, who instantly flashed his fangs defensively.
"Oi, oi, oi," He warned, keeping his fangs bared at Xed, "I don't want you siccing your merman on me. And that's not the way to pay for stuff. If you're gonna threaten me, I'd recommend you take your business elsewhere. I'm not scared of mermen. You have yours, and I have mine." I wanted to curse at the idiot, but I knew he was right.
Alaric was very popular in the world beyond the human realm. He was an information broker to the max, a thief too. Most everyone liked him, even if his demands were outrageous, and even if someone didn't like him, they needed him and it would be wise not to piss him off. Piss off Alaric and he could easily talk his friends into kicking your ass. Not to mention, he wasn't such a bad fighter himself. I'd seen him kill a handful of creatures on his own.
"Xed, back off," I told him firmly and he obeyed, but kept his eyes trained on Alaric, who was eyeing him wearily, "Alaric doesn't work well with threats."
"Exactly," Alaric agreed dryly, folding his slender arms over his chest and cocking his hip, "If you wat something, you gotta pay for it. No such thing as a free lunch, Nessie, so sit." Xed was obviously annoyed with Alaric. I could see the vein in his jaw pulsing, his fists clenched and muscles flexing, wanting to pound Alaric into the ground. And while I shared his feelings, I didn't have time to waste.
"And what is it you want?" I asked Alaric, who smiled mysteriously for a moment before he licked his lips. He inched his finger at me and I grimaced, but stepped up to the counter, having to stand on my toes so I could get closer. Alaric leaned over the counter, bringing his lips to my ear, giving me chills at the proximity.
"Word on the street is that the yakuza gang known as Hell's Rain has a bone to pick with you for killing some of its members. They really wanna torture the hell out of your cute little ass. And it's actually pretty convenient for me, because, you see... The oni just happened to get their hands on a little treat from their homeland... Hoshi no Tama. Heard of it? You should. It translates to star ball. And it just happens to belong to one of the most powerful kitsune to ever crawl out of the Japanese folklore and I really want a new pet to join my collection." He explained in a quiet voice before pulling away to smile at me. I glared.
"You want me to get you a star ball from the yakuza that's hunting me down. Just so you'll look into this human killings thing. How does that even make any bloody sense? I could get killed doing that kind of job." I snapped in irritation. Alaric shrugged, folding his arms over his chest again and closing his eyes.
"Oh well. Whatever. Guess you don't wanna know about the... hunter." He paused, peeking an eye open to stare at me. I narrowed my eyes.
"You already know who he is." I seethed. Alaric smiled secretly.
"Maaaaybe."
"You arrogant little--"
"Ah, ah, ah, sweetheart," Alaric warned, wagging a finger at me, "Not yet. Get me my star ball and I'll get you your human killer. If you don't wanna know, then too bad. No deal. Take it or leave it." I glared at him for the longest time.
Sometimes I wondered if Alaric was trying to kill me. His demands, as I mentioned before, were always ridiculous. He always asked for the most difficult things to aquire, although, he claimed that what I wanted to know was difficult as well. Did this mean that this hunter was dangerous? A threat? I didn't like the sound of that. I already had enough enemies, and if this hunter was as powerful as Alaric made him seem, maybe he could get us out of the city without running into any trouble. Of course, I'm sure he wouldn't do it for free, but I would wait to think about that when I came to it.
Now I just had to worry about making a deal with Alaric. Judging from the way he was looking at me, he wasn't about to budge on the deal. He really wanted his star ball. It sounded like the oni's prized possession, and they weren't about to let go of it. I could see why. If it belonged to who I was thinking it did, they were definitely going to tighten security on it.
At the same time, Alaric knew the yakuza were after me. Something told me he was purposely waiting for me to show up and ask for a favor, and he planned this out. He was a sleek little bastard when it came to getting what he wanted.
"You knew I was in town and you knew the yakuza were after me," I said aloud, watching a smile curl the corner of Alaric's lips, "Which means you have a way to get us in and out." Alaric was full on grinning now.
"Maybe. Maybe not. Are you accepting my bargain or just trying to find out your chances of dying?" He asked teasingly. I grimaced. Maybe a bit of both, I thought bitterly. I glanced at Xed, who frowned at me. I could tell he didn't like the sound of this. It meant using me as bait, it meant getting trapped by the yakuza, because knowing Alaric and his sadistic tendencies, that was the plan. It was a smart plan, but a dangerous plan. What would the yakuza do with me once they got their hands on me? Kill me, torture me, sell me? I couldn't tell which was worse.
"I'm asking you to find the hunter so I don't die," I told Alaric dryly, "Agreeing to your demands will get me killed, so what would the point in it be?" Alaric shrugged.
"If your self-esteem is so low that you can't even go in and do a little borrowing for me, then fine. Go take some therapy lessons. Cuz if you're not gonna agree to my deal, you might as well leave, right? Unless you wanna stick around and buy some merchandise, then go ahead... We have children's clothes now." He added with a wicked smirk. A hot spark of rage lit up inside me and I wanted so badly to smack the smile off his face, but that would be a stupid move on my part.
Arguing with Alaric was a bad idea, a fatal idea. I couldn't change the deal. It was like he said, take it or leave it. And I didn't have time to dance around him and hope he changed his mind.
"Fine," I seethed past clenched teeth, making Alaric raise an eyebrow, "Fine, I'll take the deal." Alaric beamed.
"I knew you'd come around," He answered, making me scowl, "I'll even throw in some treats since you were such a good boy." He held up a finger for us to wait a moment and went to the closet in the back of the room he was in. I frowned, then felt my skin tingle, making me turn to see that Xed was staring at me. I glared.
"Don't look at me like that," I snapped, making his expression go blank, "I had no other choice. If I didn't ask Alaric, we'd never be able to find this hunter, and who knows? He might be able to get us out of the city and away from the yakuza. We'll just go in and out as fast as we can. Besides, think of it as visiting an all you can eat buffet." Xed gave me a deadpan look that was surprisingly comical. I would've laughed if I didn't have control over my emotions. I turned away before I did lose control, watching as Alaric came back with a file folder in hand.
"Here you are," He said, pushing it over the counter, "This should contain the maps of the yakuza place. Hallways, air ducts, doors, even some secret passages that led to the sewers for easy get away. There's also a list of names of some friends of mine. Oh, if you run into a man named Takayuki, tell him I said rainbow unicorns. He'll know what it means." I scowled, but took the file, flipping it open. My eyes widened at the sight of several blueprints of the yakuza headquarters.
It was incredibly detailed for being sketched out by hand. It showed every turn and corner of the buildings, every opening and escape route. It was impressive.
"Did you draw this?" I asked, looking up. Alaric shook his head.
"My friend Kou did. I can't tell you anymore about him. Otherwise, the yakuza would turn to me next and I dunno about you, but I kinda like living for eternity," He replied, making me roll my eyes and look away, "You should be able to come up with a plan on your own, but... we both know there's probably only one way into that place. The maps show you what physical lay out, but not the living lay out. The yakuza are very, very private people. Especially when its run by oni. I'm telling you right now that their front door may only have three guards, but that's leaving out the two snipers that watch the place. So good luck. In the mean time, I'll be looking around and see if I can dig up more on your mystery killer."
"He's not a mystery if you already know about him." I answered flatly, closing the file folder. Alaric shrugged, reaching into a skull shaped canister on his counter, taking out a rainbow skull shaped lollipop. He took the wrapper off and popped it into his mouth, smiling at me.
"I know what he is because of his patterns and the whispers. But I don't know who he is. I can tell you one thing now, though," He took the lollipop out of his mouth and inched me closer, so I obeyed, leaning in closer as he smirked in my face, "He's a dangerous mofo if he's got people on Xed's level talking." I stared at him, then winced as he shoved his lollipop in my mouth. I went to spit it out, but Alaric took hold of the stick, keeping it my mouth. The sugary sweetness of it assaulted my senses and stung my fangs.
"Have fun, Newt. I'll look forward to seeing you again. Very, very soon." He stepped back and I wanted to spit out the lollipop, but he was eyeing me threateningly. So I just turned and left the shop, waiting until we were outside before I spat the lollipop out, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth.
"Disgusting," I muttered, then looked down at the file folder, "It would seem we have something to occupy our time now, Xed." I looked up to see him looking at me. Though his expression was stoic, I could see the emotions swirling in his mismatched eyes. How someone like Xed got attached to me like this was a mystery.
"Don't do this," I warned in a hard voice, "We have no choice. I had to take his deal, otherwise, we'd be stuck in the city with the yakuza and a mystery hunter that might be dangerous or might be helpful. Besides, this can't be as hard as we think it is if we play our cards right. Let's go back to the hotel and discuss it." I brushed past him down the sidewalk and he followed close at my heels.
The entire time, I could feel the heat of his emotions radiating off him like a heater.
Xed could be as angry as he wanted, but he couldn't change my mind.
Time to work.