Fine *** Mess- (Zodiac)

[Dulce Periculum]

Cool rain left beads of moisture sliding down the black thigh length jacket that caressed the back of each pale lethal leg that moved beneath as it entered the interior of Honeymead Market. The stride that would require two human steps to keep up with a single one of the statuesque blonde remained unbroken as it carried her into the doors of the one shop she had watched grow from four bare fresh walls to the considerable success it currently was. The rhythm of the allurist in eternal denial flowed smooth and calm without the slightest hesitation of leaving another click behind. The black on black ensemble was predictably anchored by the signature Gaultier boots that held secrets that would never be told. The very same ones that carried a threat in each of the six inches of custom needle sharp heel that set the woman that much over her natural six feet plus of eternal sin. The shine of butter soft silk moved lightly with the sway of hips on the move. A sway that caught the eyes that couldn’t help but take notice and were rewarded with the chill of concern.

Dulce Periculum was proof winter was coming before August had a chance to fade into history. The frost surrounding her chilling blue orbs were accentuated by the constant charcoal smudge that never left the frames of her cold blooded eyes. Interest in her passing by was not the typical effects of an allurist at work- one that had served some considerable time building to the power she had acquired. It was more along the lines of a wave of impending doom filling the air and all spectators eyes fix on the train wreck about to happen.

“Hang on!” The mother in pursuit was not fast enough and the child tumbled over lost in a silk cloud of nearly white curls and layers of sunshine yellow eyelet. “Wonderful.” Items cradled in the woman’s arms spilled onto the nearest table as an effort was made to tend to the toddler. Petal pink innocent hands lined with the layers of healthy flesh patted the floor and soon the tiny ruffles at each tiny ankle appeared to correct the situation. Off the tiny being took aimlessly only to lose balance once again and be caught by the fluid sweep of a hand. “Abigail!”

Dulce had the child dangling by the hook of her fingertip in the back of the pint size dress. Only a feet of distance was traveled before the child started wailing, kicking in protest. The catch and release method was not left to the numerous lakes and water sources in greater Canada. Thick hard to miss lips formed an amused lift at each corner that the little one had the right idea and a name that would hopefully serve her well in the decades to come. Cool fingers straightened just at the moment the double wide chaise was reached. A bounce followed by a roll and a surprising fit of giggles left the scene much calmer than it truly could have been.

“Ready or not…” A low purr of her voice left the first clue she was coming through. Each particle in the air brought back a plethora of memories of time well spent and not forgotten.“Betty…” Her eyes set on the doorway to the behind the scenes space of the shop in search of the resident mystic gypsy. “Here I come.”

[Zodiac]

How to Fix Error 651 in Windows
It shows a message that Your modem (or other connecting devices) has reported an error and Usually the message will be “Connection failed with error 651” .

Step 1. Uninstall Modem

She tried that with no change in the situation at all.

Step 2. Download Updated Drivers.
Drivers are Important for your Hardware.

The raven haired girl blinked several times at the information she read on her iPhone. ”How in the **** am I supposed to download drivers onto a computer that won’t connect to the internet?” she mentally snarled. She dropped her phone on her desk and mock slapped the monitor staring her in the face.

”Let’s upgrade our computer system” some genius that wasn’t me suggested.” Hers was not the only new machine that did not want to play for some reason no one could agree on was the source of the matter. She shut down the tower and disconnected it and replaced it with her original unit. ”If it ain’t broke– don’t fix it!” the gypsy laughed. The original tower powered up and found the internet without hesitation. She’d have a talk with her ‘tech guru’ later on the matter. She brought up the Llewellyn’s page and began to browse the subject of ‘Ghost Boxes’. Some swore the device actually worked, but the gypsy was dubious on the matter. She had her own private pipeline to at least part of the spirit world, but her wraith was very little help when doing seances for the living.

”Thomas Edison first tried to make one of these? Wow!” A man of science trying to talk to the dead? That notion alone convinced her to add a couple books on the subject to her order for the month so she could read more at her leisure.

She rolled her eyes at the sound of a child crying out in mortal terror. Despite the door to her office being closed, her hearing picked up the noise with ease. ”Put a leash on those damn brats, please.” she hissed in silence. Children and ‘Pandora’s Box’ was like water and vinegar. Zodiac loved children in general, but in her shop?

Not so much.

***

Jennifer heard the squealing child as well, but could see the reason why. The assistant manager saw the tall woman heading her way with a child hooked in her fingers. She smiled and stepped in front of the visitor and gave her most disarming smile.

“I will tell her that you are here. You might want to get that off your fingers first, though.” She told the woman before turning and heading to Zo’s office.

She knocked and opened the door. “You have a visitor. Someone you haven’t seen in a while.” Jenn told her employer. The large black cat that sat on the side of the desk opposite the computer sniffed the air and suddenly stood up. Her back arching as she let out a loud hiss of displeasure.

”This will be fun,” Zodiac watched the cat’s reaction. ”Well, show them in, love. Besides, Ginny hasn’t eaten yet this evening.”

NOTE: ‘Ghost Boxes’ are a very real thing and yes, Edison tried to create a “Telephone to the Dead,”

[Dulce Periculum]

“What’s up pussycat?” A sound of warning followed the question.

The low hiss was serving a purpose while she entered the office the redhead escorted her to. It was directed at the black ball of magical mousehunter that was never far from it’s mistress’ side. The arch of the back and challenge it presented was met with a cold stare that the creature would know all too well. The cat absolutely hated her. History proved it. There was no way to think any different. From the first encounter it was nails out and blood between them. It never got beyond that. Years passing obviously had not improved their relations whatsoever.

“I see Ms. Mousecheeks is still as bitter and hostile as ever.” Icy blue eyes kept track of the couple pound wonder that was known to disappear in the blink of an eye and destroy her legs before she had a chance to take a seat. “Is it safe to say hello or is she going to cash in one of those nine lives to chase my *** out of here?”

Not that Dulce was going to allow that to hold her back. She continued in her casual steps and went around the chair opposite the desk from where the woman, computer and grumpy cat were holding down furniture and general space. While her eyes assessed the visual currently offered of Zodiac she gave the room a mental sweep for any signs that perhaps she was interrupting something.

“You seem to be holding up nicely.” Not that she expected anything but that. The gypsy in her sights had defied and survived more than most. The human population discovering vampires didn’t sparkle and were in fact walking the streets among them likely wouldn’t have surprised her when it happened. Zodiac had always believed it was only a matter of time.“It is good to see you.” A frosty glance was cast towards Ginny then back to the one who called the shots.

[Zodiac]

The sound of the voice was a surprise. It had been, what? A year? Two since they had been face to face? There were many Zodiac knew who had gone silent and when she looked into the matter she’d find they had fallen into the Fade, but Dulce was one of the few she never worried about. She was a survivor. They both were. She shot a warning glance at her familiar as she stood up and moved to where the leggy woman sat. A true smile on her lips as she hugged the woman tightly.

”Nice to see you as well,” ]her mindspeak touched Dulce’s thoughts like a feather. ”And if you were honest with yourself, dear, you are the one who started the situation between you and her. You did threaten me right in front of her. She holds grudges I guess.”

“So where have you been? How’s things going and what brings you to this dump in the middle of the night?” The gypsy returned to her chair and got comfortable. One hand trying to calm down Ginny. She had settled down on the desk but kept letting out a low growl as her eyes tried to burn holes into Dulce. ”Oh will you stop,” she admonished the cat. Finally she scooped up the large ball of black fur and sat her in her lap. That calmed down most of Ginny’s reactions save her eyes. She refused to look away from Dulce as if she was double dog daring her to do something.

”Well, I see you survived the ‘coming out’ party us night feeders had that I hoped would never happen. Anyone figure you out yet? Hassle you about it? Some are still guessing on me but I do everything I can to keep public opinion as off balanced as possible. A few have been bold. One idiot I used to read the cards for sat in my parlor and threw holy water in my face of all things hoping to prove I was a vampire and when there was no reaction I rewarded her courage by chasing her out of my shop while I beat her with a broom.”

[Dulce Periculum]

Zodiac was right. A subtle roll inward then a release of her hard to miss lips was done with agreement. All of it was water under some unseen bridge for the lethal allurist but clearly not the same for the festering feline. Dismissing the cranky cat for the one who greeted her warmly and took a seat became a wiser option all around. Once Zodiac’s questions settled she figured it was as good as time as any to get comfortable. Obviously the mystic had time to spare for catching up and that was the reason one of her legs folded over the other and dipped at the knee.

“Betty…” She looked at the woman with an expression that said to keep it real. “People hardly get chatty with me. I make kids cry and supposedly am one of those that is to be a magnet for humans?” She shook her head. “Figuring me out is impossible and hassling me is an invitation I am always waiting for but never seems to arrive.” That was an understatement. “Survival? We are entitled to give ourselves a little credit. That isn’t a fight someone wants on their hands. I am ready for the torches if they light up and come my way. I don’t seek them out or wave my fangs but I haven’t changed sides or my views.” Her fingers tapped in slow succession on the arm of the chair beneath her hand. “I don’t believe it is going to be hugs and singing kumbaya in the park.

The whole thing about holy water inspired her brow to lift when her words briefly fell in favor of a silent pause. Some idiot being disrespectful to Zodiac in such a manner would have ended much differently had she witnessed it. Some tried the tolerance route. To be the stronger species and yet give allowance to the ignorance that went with the human mindset fresh off the news flash that vampires were not limited to the big screen any longer.

Dulce would not be one of those. She stood by what she had spent years trying to keep from happening. Despite the fact it eventually happened as Zodiac predicted more than once she was not about to open her mind to the point she would be trusting a warm blooded neighbor to housesit for her or trust them while she was sleeping with her doors wide open. Certainly not one that she had not bewitched or held some form of control over. They were the ones responsible for sending their kind to the dark side after setting home base on fire. History repeats itself if given half a chance.

“I would have had her riding that broom.” Zodiac was far more patient and tolerant than Dulce could ever be. A swift and hard line response was more her style. Clean and neat, lights out. “But that is why people are drawn to you and trust you. You have a heart that still connects to the living world around you.” It was hardly a bad thing. Dulce was fond of very few to begin with. Sharing a bond with another was even more rare. The gypsy just so happened to be one she felt a strong connection to. If there was a bet going on who would survive a second rise of human outrage the alluring killer would bet on the mystic on the opposite side of the desk. “It will hopefully continue to serve you well.”

[Zodiac]

She laughed. Some had commented in the past how her face could be totally wrapped in joy and not a single sound escaping her lips. Her real ‘laughter’ popped like tiny bubbles inside the mind of the allurist.

”Well, Gretta,” They both had pet names for each other. ‘Betty’ was in reference to ‘Betty Paige’ the model while ‘Gretta’ implied ‘Gretta Garbo’ the actress. Zodiac was not 100% sure she matched up to the 40’s pin up queen, but she could so see Dulce leaning against a wall in total dispare sighing ‘I vant to be alone!’ like Garbo had. ”It just proves the living are sometimes smarter than you think they are.” Dulce certainly had ‘the look’ that could lure self sure males to their doom. She had seen it when the pair had been out and about in the past. Eyes like lasers scanning every inch of the tall woman, but few dared to take the bait.

”And no, I agree. I hardly see us all holding hands and singing old Beatles tunes while we smoke pot. Humanity cannot even tolerate itself. Different colors, ideas, religions, one side is always determined to kill the other. Give it time. ‘Vampires are SO cool’. For now. In time jealousy and envy will set in or hatred based on religion. I keep wondering if some vampires I used to see that have vanished are now unwilling guests in a science lab somewhere.”

She shuddered for a moment. The timber of her mindspeak changed, growing soft and hushed now. ”We have talked before about things in our pasts. What my grandparents told me about how they were lucky and managed to escape Europe as children when the Nazi’s were in full swing. My great grandparents weren’t so lucky. Dachau and Auschwitz was their final stop in this life. Wasn’t just the Jews being forced into slave labor and death. Anyone who thinks that can’t happen again is insane, and I have no intentions of going through a set of gates thinking ‘it will be alright’. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but as the old joke says– just because I am paranoid, that does not mean they are not out to get me. Or the rest of us.”

She laughed again at Dulce’s idea of how to handle the one who threw holy water. ”Oh trust me. I wanted to do far more to her than that. But when I came out of my parlor chasing her there were almost 20 customers in the shop. I admit it. I was so mad at that moment I wanted to pin her down to the floor and rip her throat out. Let her see in her dying moments how right she was, but such a display would have been bad for business. If I wanted to, however, she was a discount card holding customer of mine. I could have Jenn bring up her address on the card club files and I could track her down. But then again, having that idiot crying to all her friends how I didn’t melt under holy water like some vamps do in the movies does discourage some of the would be vampire hunters.” she shrugged. ”I have tried all my life to be kind to people and help them as I can. Hell, that’s how we got to be such friends.” in the aftermath of their original confrontation a unique friendship blossomed. The gypsy could count on a hand and a half how many vampires she would trust without hesitation. Dulce was one of them.

She pulled open her desk drawer and removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Once she lit one, the soft smell of cinnamon and cloves filled the air. She nudge the items towards Dulce and leaned back in her chair. ”So tell me, love. What brings you out this night?”

[Dulce Periculum]

“I think the ones that ride the line concern me the most. So many of the super humans have grown stronger than we ever anticipated. They grow faster than we do, their abilities raise flags in areas we aren’t prepared for. Power influences all given enough time and circumstances as you have pointed out. Some self serving and others to benefit the whole. But what happens when the best of both worlds becomes not only the majority but the superior of the two? We are vulnerable already for the sentence of our permanent conditions. We have limitations that they do not, many of us lack the blending skills and options that they do.”

Her eyes fixed on Zodiac searching for some reaction, if any at all, to the length of her rare verbal expression. She was known for being silent for long periods simply because something said had to have some value or purpose. Chatting was never her thing, never would be.

“They can produce. Yes, we can too and faster but we know the full cost of what we get. There is only enhancement for their current human condition. Most of those obtain the same existence expectancies that we do so they aren’t susceptible to the effects of time. In that extension they have gained more leverage by our lax positions while we have handed over our powers, our blood. We become even less in number than our fragile species already is. The future and the risks that come with that easily can welcome another catastrophic event that captures us all. We have opened the doors in the rise of awareness and the call for unity and peace to appease their fears and resistance. So many are so ready to give benefit of doubt because centuries have passed. Things should have changed given enough time. That is a human expectation that can be a double edge knife thrust at us and even worse if we are forced to swallow it down.”

If it had not been Zodiac then the thoughts likely would have stayed where they came from. In the end Dulce was prepared to go through her routines as she had, saying little and watching her back as well as the ones she considered worth protecting at any cost to her. It would still prove to be effective, functional with her existence as it was. She did not long to return to being human or hang on the warmth they brought like small windows that gave the cursed glimpses into what she would never be again. Maybe that was part of it. She got to that point and she was not going to be comfortable with the idea that she could have it, what she was now, taken from her and in it’s place all of that time possible spent in the place she had been a handful of times. More than enough to know it wasn’t where she wanted to invest a unlimited future in it.

“And I stopped by to see you because there is a future in question that involves those I care about. Who better to discuss it with such as you, a friend who was there when I first arrived?” She would have fingers left on her single hand if she were to count who was considered a friend.

[Zodiac]

She was surprised how deeply Dulce had considered the issue and what her conclusions were. Not that the woman was stupid by any stretch of the imagination at all, but she was always so quiet on things. Most days it took a pry bar and a sledge hammer to get a reaction from her.

Yes, the ‘enhanced humans’ (or ‘meta-humans’ if you followed the lines of thinking in the DC comics TV shows.) were more of a time bomb in way vampires could not be. Hadn’t one of their kind in the past gone as far as dressing up like a super hero? Granted, that one tried his best to use his ‘powers’ to make this town a better place, but there were others. There was one who actually thought they were the Predator and was on a mass killing spree. She could take Dulce out to the hunting grounds and show her the remains of his lair. Perhaps all his ‘trophies’ was still there as mute evidence. She was right. The super heroes and villains that could sprout from a crop of blood thieves, paladins and sorcerers could be more of a red flag that the night feeders were. And if caught? They would point backwards to the vampires and scream ‘Not our fault. Blame THEM!’.

The gypsy girl actually missed Harper Rock’s ‘Batman’. He had the potentials.

”I don’t swallow any kinds of ‘swords’ personally,” she smiled weakly. ”The problem with the metas is, they do not see the issue from our point of view. If they do, they feel it does not apply to them. Mortal arrogance at it’s finest. There has been proof all through human history, printed and unrecorded, that humanity as a whole will only tolerate ‘different’ for just so long, and then they demand conformity or extermination.”

“I will tell you this much because I know what I say will not go past this room with you. I have tried to find a ‘cure’ for what we are. I have spent years digging through every tome, grimore, and text I could find on the subject of vampires. If there is such a thing it is well hidden or lost in the depths of time.” She never wanted this. Even Dulce was a victim in that respect. Too many of them had this dark wonder of a gift thrusted upon them and then left to figure out the do’s and don’t’s on their own. Personally Zodiac was never 100% comfortable being like this. So many aspirations that involved being human were now denied to her. She never wanted to be all powerful and mighty. A simple, good life would have suited her tastes.

A husband in the form of a boy she had grown up with. Children. Grandchildren. She had always felt at the end of her life she would be her best. A big fat gypsy grandmother surrounded by grandbabies (perhaps even great-grandbabies?) and basking in the love. Doing for them what she did now for her more vampiric ‘childers’. Teaching and guiding them to be safe, well, and successful. Life and the damned kiss of a vampire destroyed all of that for her.

Dulce’s last statement surprised her. Zodiac reached over the desk and gave the woman’s hand a gentle squeeze. Dulce was anything but the touchey-feely type, but the gypsy could not help it. ”And likewise, love. We have always managed to have each other’s backs when it counted the most. I personally have no intentions of stopping now no matter what. Even if one of us managed to turn human again, I’d like to think the other would remember the feelings and not look at the human as food. We'll still be Butch and Sundance looking at the army and saying 'These guys need more help'.”

[Dulce Periculum]

“I don’t think that will ever happen.” Being human. Her fingers took the focus of her eyes as she felt the gypsy’s hand join hers. A barely there smile surfaced at her lips for the time it took to look across the space between them. “Yes, we will.”

Thelma and Louise, Butch and Sundance. Toss in a little Fred and Barney, Lucy and Ethel, Cheech and Chong...well it was even closer to what they had the potential of pulling off when they set their minds to it. Their antics were history but never short of serious when it came down to it. All one needed to do was ask the opinion of the one on the bounty list stupid enough to stand out in the open. Right there in Zodiac’s hallway of the apartment building they came face to face with a fuzzy slipper and bathrobe wearing mystic who took things just as seriously back then. The cigar perched between the woman’s lips didn’t experience neglect as she left the junk mail and started to take up issue with the offender instead.

So many good times. All equally hard to ignore as they flooded back as she released the woman’s hand. The random drive by of White Castle one night in the southern outskirts of town had the two acting like delinquents who had all the freedom in the world to be unaccountable. The private residence windows were rattled seeking out those sliders that could either make or break a sleepless night. The catsuit in a box and tapes held for ransom that brought them together. The Canadian party that the allurist’s guild put on. The card reading and revelation that she was born Abigail Sutton, a property and legal broker, but had a past that needed to be resolved. Jeremy, the lion of an underestimated man, surfaced and had been with the tall allurist ever since. The hot seat that Zodiac was responsible for getting her into. She held the honor of being the first one in it. Tytonidae. The only home she knew. It was then that the ice found it’s way back into the next inhale that filled her dead lungs. Her crisp movements of complete control returned and even the random blinking ceased.

“Want to get out of here and do something?” It was unavoidable. She stood because waiting for an answer suddenly required time than she was interested in investing in one place surrounded by four walls. “I brought her if you want to go for a ride.”

The 2012 Harley Davidson Night Rod Special VRSCDX 280er Air Ride had been through just as much hell as the two of them put together. CC even had it beneath her hell bent *** when it was a ticking timebomb. An assessing glance over her shoulder to the gypsy had her narrowing her eyes in silent question as she recalled Cinnamon Cherrywhip. Silence was golden and so was the time Dulce still had left to share with the woman in the office. There was no need to open what wasn’t left wide open with invitation.

“C’mon. I promise to bring you back in one piece, Betty.” She walked out of the office.

[Zodiac]

The look in her eyes spoke volumes. Too many encounters to count. Be it life or death or zany misadventure, the pair had seen their share of them and odds are those times were far from over. She remembered a wild night when Dulce called her to the hunting grounds and the gypsy discovered she had made an extra large / extra tall childer that in time would become Zo’s security chief for her operations. Her back still hurt from helping Dulce drag him into the back of her van and transporting him to a safe place to finish turning. Then the fun with his real life daughter when she came searching for him? Zo did enjoy freaking the girl out like she had.

Dimly she sensed in another life they would either have totally ignored each other or would have been sisters of the heart, if not blood. One or the other. Now they were sisters of the night. Nothing epics and movies were made of, but in this backwater town?

They were legend.

”A cycle ride? Just try and change your mind.” The gypsy stood up and quickly checked her oversized purse, making sure her blades and gun was in place. Always be prepared.

”And you, Miss Thing. Stay here.” she rubbed the large black cat behind it’s ears. It was pointless. The odds were high wherever the allurist and mystic ended up, the cat would soon put in an appearance. How she managed this, the raven haired girl could not say but that was a mystery for another night.

As she walked out of her office, Jennifer caught her eye.

“Out for the night?” the red head asked.

”Hold my calls, doll.” her thoughts answered as she smiled brightly.

“I’ll keep my phone on and have bail money handy.” She smiled back. Zodiac laughed and then quick stepped to catch up with the leggy blonde.

"Wait up, Gretta. Bettie is coming!"