Path of the Vampire forum

Caramel fingers dropped the last brush in the white ceramic mug that wore the message of identification. Paint water it was. The matching mug next to it contained the dry ring of what had been hot tea hours earlier. There on the desk where she left it is where it would sit until she was inspired to make more. For the moment she was taking the canvas she had been working on in hand and lifted it for placement on the easel nearby her current workspace. With a few seconds of adjustment the wet 24 x 36 wood frame was perched evenly just where she liked it. Some found watching paint dry to be what they referred to when something was far from interesting. Indigo eyed the finished product and felt many things but boredom was certainly not one of them. As the minutes ticked away she sat poised on her rolling studio chair admiring the shimmer of the paint that was fresh where she brushed it.

Beautiful, rich colors that reminded of her of unreachable places, sensations so infrequent she savored them that much more and the hints of what was yet to come were embodied in each stroke to the surface that held her attention. It took several events in her young life to bring her the maturity and appreciation for what she allowed to all but fully absorb her current existence. Timeless. Once she created it then it would be. The sounds of the front doors to the Apiary opening lured her focus over the Life is Beautiful floor mural and to the adjacent room where the studio gave her a limited view of.

“I am back. I come with good news.” The sounds of Ross with Nigel in tow were as predictable and telling as the sounds of the clock on the furthest wall from where she sat. The ease of her body rising from the round padded seat beneath her was met with the appearance of both men nearly hidden beneath their bulky winter wear. “Well…” Ross gave an effort to acknowledge Nigel was to be included in any credit due of his upcoming announcement. “We both do actually.”

Nothing more was said while they appeared as attentive as any couple in love doing the honors of assisting each other with the removal of their jackets, long earthtone scarves and gloves. The phone that she had set on her business desk chirped for attention while the seasonal outerwear was neatly hung where it belonged in the studio. A stretch of her arm had the device in her hand and the sweep of a manicured thumb brought the screen to life. Adley’s voice was audible as was the message as she brought it to her ear. She felt her world in that moment sink or shift or whatever it did to bring on the uneasy feeling that filled her. She pocketed the phone while her long stride had her passing Nigel and Ross who were wiggling into a comfortable fit of the clothing that remained on their bodies.

“Indigo?” A finger went up to raise a point that should signal they are ready to discuss things with her. “We…”
“Where are you going?” Nigel asked turning on his heels in unison with Ross. “Ross, where is she going?”
“Indigo?” The sound of his first step forward was drown out by the clicks of her own steps as she tugged the first jacket within her reach as she walked briskly out of the studio without a word.
“She left.” Ross turned around to find Nigel on his heels. “And she just took my coat.”

The only place she could imagine Adley would be given the snippet of his message she was able to still hear replaying in her head was the place she pinpointed to once she stepped out of the transit in Cherrydale. He needed covering which would mean he was not fit to be seen be it current condition or otherwise. She knew the drill and typically it was the darker the better when it came down to those factors. What she was wearing had no relevance as she started heading south to the entry point. She was dressed for business but where she was destined to go was far more suited for anything but what she had on. Her creator, her dark angel finally was asking for rescue and nothing could stop her from doing just that.

The trip down to the sewers was hardly a routine one. Her hand held the coat in her grip as if she could be prepared to use it for anything but to wear. Unseasonably warm weather had less eyes following her as she continued on holding the garment instead of using her own shoulders to support it and freeing up her hands. Back and forth it moved, whipping outward with the long and continuous stride she maintained. Much of her felt like she was floating on the waves of concern that were flooding her as she moved closer to the one spot so many disappeared through daily. Her senses were heightened along with the energies that they triggered into preparation to act when the time to do so would come.

Into the dark depths below her body descended and finally dropped into the slick sludge that coated the interior and walls that seemed to enclose her. Her nose usually would have developed an instant block on taking in any air in her nostrils or lungs. Sewers are the intestinal tract of the monster city Harper Rock had become. It was was no bed of roses she was landing in and far from tiptoeing through the tulips. But there was nothing about it that could compete with the concern that she carried with her and she could smell him despite all the sewage that was impressively rancid around her.

What was going on with Adley?

The question consumed her as she moved. All the possibilities and worst case scenarios spun through her head. He never asked for her help. He always was the protector. Then again, Adley Reed had a certain portion of pride that had him going through the typical tenderizing that could be found in the night hours of the unstable city and rarely saying a word when he returned home. Obviously he needed her because he wouldn’t have called if he didn’t. She also had a suspicion that the sound of his voice was hardly revealing the full extent in which he did. That was when she discovered what would be the last thing she would have expected to see in the nearly black abyss she was traveling in.

Indigo stumbled with her increased steps toward him. Her hands shook with the attempts of her fingers to offer what she brought in place of the requested sheet. It was the one thing in his current condition he used his strength to ask for. Her brows knitted and her lips parted to say something, anything that could possibly apply given the situation but she was distracted. The scent of him was overwhelming. So much more than she generally took in while in his presence. He was in pieces and shredded in ways he had not been since she had known him. Wherever she looked she discovered what made no sense. Her focus locked on the glistening mass beside him as she sidestepped it to get in close and cover the gruesome condition he was in.

“What is that?” She glanced to him and shook her head pulling her attention to what was most urgent and that was tending to him. It really didn’t matter what it was. It was familiar and questionable but hardly life threatening to Adley. Whatever got a hold of him obviously was capable of coming back again if he had not destroyed it already. “Nevermind.” She kneeled down and embraced him hoping to inspire him to rise to his feet. “We need to get you out of here.” Tighter her body pressed to his and formed a link of her hands at the opposite side. She used what strength she had to pull him up with her rise. “You think you can make it back to the house?”

Taking him back to the Apiary was not an option. Not with the way he looked. The Hive would have to suffice. There she could see what the true damage was and if need be call all the king's horses and all the kingsmen to come and help put Adley back together again. Or in the very least patch and stop up whatever needed to be.

“Is it safe to go back the way I came?” It was her subtle way of asking if anything was still a threat to them as they made their way back out of the sewers. Indigo was no fighter. She could handle herself just enough to ward off an attacker and make a run for higher ground but that was usually a result based on luck more so than her skills as a fighter.

“It wasn’t like you were using it.” She tried to be reassuring and optimistic because whatever it was laying on the ground obviously was not impeding his ability to function. He would get by without it. One of the many perks of being closer to immortal than to the living. “Think of it as less baggage to haul around. That is always a good thing.” She glanced back. “Especially in this case.”

Her cool hand curled about his back and somehow found a place to hook her thumb to stay in contact as they moved in unison towards the exit. Her steps were far more steady than his and she did her best to compensate for whatever he lacked during their walk and weave through the sewer back tracking her recent route taken.

“You set the speed and I will do what I can to divert any attention.” Her powers hardly were phenomenal compared to most on her path but she was sinfully charming if needed and creative enough it could be considered criminal if the situation called for it. “Just keep wrapped up and let me do whatever it takes to get us back safe…” She exhaled the heavy littered air of the sewers as the finally surfaced just where she had entered what seemed moments before. “Especially you.”

On the street the sounds of distant sirens pierced the night. Her fingers curled firmly keeping a hold of the one she felt responsible for more than ever. How much blood he lost was hard to tell but the weakness it brought on was the hurdle that they would need to clear as soon as possible. What had possessed him to be down where there was something so threatening was a mystery. “Whatever got a hold of you is not getting a second chance.” Her words may have been amusing to the one who knew far better than anyone else what she was and wasn’t physically capable of but she meant each one nonetheless. “There is nothing worth getting yourself shredded to pieces over.”

The scent of his open flesh was hard to ignore. The borrowed barrier of material she brought with was doing a majority of the expected job at keeping it the damage done concealed from the random eyes that glanced at them while on the move. She would owe someone a jacket afterwards and possibly an explanation if he was insistent on getting it returned.

“No I am not.”

Indigo voiced her disagreement with his statement. She knew full well it was the truth when it came to risk and to Adley. Nothing about her was worth him being harmed. Unfortunately that was becoming a bit of a pattern lately. One that started to concern her since it was he that seemed to be coming out of whatever they got caught up in looking worse for wear. Was she really worth it? She couldn’t help but consider it as they continued to step along.

“I want you safe, Adley.”

Her hands were slick with the proof that for the moment he was far from it on the streets that they were walking. The length of her fingers clung tighter to the surface of bone and cool flesh beneath her hand.She sighed and tried to give him everything she had to offer to rejuvenate him. Using her own energy to inspire him to be more positive in his thinking perhaps was all she currently could offer in the momentary silence between her words. Unfortunately whether it would work or not was not up to her.

“Ignore the faces and eyes. Spare your energy.” He could be devastatingly charming even as he was bleeding out beneath his smile.

Through the station she guided him. Each nameless face that stared too long was an increased annoyance. What was going on was not of their concern. She felt sour for the duration of their short travel home. Only when she got the door in Larch Court open did she finally feel an ease in the tension that had been in her body brought on by hopelessness. She should be able to do more for him than she currently could. There were powers out there she could gain but moments like this revealed how frivolous she had been with her time thus far. Carefree and happy in her lot in the new life he had given her had been at the cost of what? Indigo orbs fixed on him as soon as she finished dropping her keys and locked their front door.

“Time to let me see you, baby.” She stepped toward him without any reservation as to how he would react. Whatever damage had been done was capable of killing her as much as it was him even if he was the only one bleeding. She wasn’t sure where she ended anymore and he began. There were no lines. She doubted there ever was. “I am going to fix this.” Her hands peeled off her top layers before she reached him and dropped it all to the red chair as she passed by. “Bathroom.” Her hand was around him again leading him gently to the one place that made the most sense to take issue with his significant wounds.