Path of the Vampire forum

“It was just over a year ago that hell seemed to open up in the town of Har-.”

Click. She changed the channel.

“Vampires, are they really right out of a horror film, or are they diseased individuals trying to liv-.”

Click. The screen went black as Every sighed and set the remote down on the desk, pushing herself up from the chair she’d been occupying. “Done watching the news?” The voice of Lizzie Tanner, one of the employees that had been working under her for over two years, greeted her as she left the office. She hadn’t questioned the change in body, simply stating that, “Harper Rock was too ******* weird, sometimes” when Every took up the alias and life of Mercy Devereux, right up to her career on certain days of the week. “It isn’t as if they have anything new to report on since last year anyway.” The retort fell from her lips, the voice that reached her ears still something that the shadow didn’t register entirely as her own. Even now in telepathy, the husky growl that Every had all her life was fading into the soft, feminine tones that had taken over.

“I’m going out.”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she put on the thigh length leather jacket that had been hanging from the coat rack. She went through one of the service doors that had been pried open, the winter weather still in full swing. With her boots crunching on ice, the shadow pulled the pack of cigarettes that she had been taken up on from her jeans pocket and brought it to full lips to draw one out. A box of matches were found moments after she walked past a bank, the whisper that someone had appeared naked and in the streets nothing new to her. “This bare *** woman just - poof Totally weird, a few minutes ago if that. Nice rack though.” One of the soldiers muttered as he told one of his colleagues. A wave of his hand was indicated towards Every, who simply nodded in his direction - he was one of the few she dealt with during her rounds of patrolling River Rock.

Drawing in an unneeded breath, she inhaled the taste of menthol mixed with tobacco onto her tongue before exhaling. Every never took more than a few pulls, as if it were impossible for her to finish, and used the bottom of her snow covered boot to extinguish the light. Another block led her further, to a garbage can on the corner. Once she was free of her bad habit, the woman pulled her hair back from her face and into a messy bun as she contemplated where to go. As her hazel eyes drifted towards the sound of a shout, it seemed that fate had a different decision for her as she recognized a particular, plump backside.

Her hazel eyes found the officer approaching the woman shouting for her to wait, that she was under arrest. Although she was positive of the identify, Every could smell her blood, feel her presence back amongst the living, she focused and sought her location. Sure enough, she was correct. “Of course, I would know that *** anywhere.” She stepped off of the curb and began removing her jacket as she went. The holster on her hip caused the cop to glance in her direction during her approach as she said, “The only place she’ll be going is home with me, thanks.” Headache was right, she could already feel one potentially wanting to form in its usual place when Nishaa was involved, causing trouble. But, she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that her childe was home, even if Every didn’t look the way she had when the necromancer had last seen her, even if nothing was the same.

Her childe was still a pain in her ***. That much hadn’t changed in the two years that Nishaa had disappeared, it seemed. She made a mental note to put her hacking skills to the test later on, but for now, the woman was more preoccupied with the situation at hand. Primarily, Nishaa streaking through the town. Mentally sighing, she wasn’t surprised to see that the woman was as shameless as ever. She offered the jacket that she was carrying, even if she doubted that the raven haired beauty would take it as soon as she was at her side.

The blank stare was to be expected, both for the fact that she didn’t look like the Every that Nishaa had seen last. She had a strong desire to roll her eyes at the question, but she’d mentally slapped herself at the words. Still, Every gave her a smirk that hadn’t quite reached the way she’d done it in the past. “I suppose you’ll have to come with me and find out, hm?” She lifted her eyebrow in response before her hazel eyes drifted towards the cop. “For what? Public indecency? Having fangs? The former happens in this town all the time, you’ll be laughed right out of the station when my lawyer gets done with you. The latter isn’t a crime. **** off.”

And then she was told “No thanks” regarding being a one night stand. She glared. Every was happy to see her, but... “That’d be implying you’d get me in bed in the first place.” Before she could say anything further, she darkened the shadows surrounding them as Nishaa moved in towards the man. If there’d been any doubt to who the woman was, it would have been confirmed in that moment. That didn’t, however, mean that Every wasn’t particularly peeved at the slaughter of the cop as screams filled the air. Every moved her hand, the twitch of a muscle sending a shadow skewering the phone of the closest bystander. “As if you couldn’t have done it in private.” Her irritance was palatable. The device hit the ground with a shattered screen.

The shadow didn’t bother to stop the necromancer. Even if Every wanted to, the raven haired woman needed to feed and she didn’t have any blood bags on her. The blood connected with her jeans, warm against the cold flesh underneath. It steamed as it mixed with the cold winter air and she had to disagree, she’d fucked with Nishaa well enough and lived. “My little hole?” Her eyebrow lifted, “That’s adorable.” She waited for the woman to get several feet away before summoning her right back to her side as she held the jacket out once again, “I didn’t stutter, Niagra. You’re coming home with me, and I’m sure you’ll appear there whether you like it or not.”

Her hazel eyes looked over Nishaa's bloody face, a frown playing across her lips as she took in the lack of emotion in them. Her concern was evident, but she didn't question the reason behind it.

It was second nature, then, summoning Nishaa back.

Even as Nishaa looked her over, Every didn’t seem bothered. She shifted her stance out of need for comfort rather than under the emotionless weight that pressed against.

She bent over at the waist to collect her jacket, sighing before she straightened up and folded it over her arm. She waited after she’d spoken her piece. It was a low blow, using the woman’s biological name, but she would later have to check through police databases to check for any bulletins matching Nishaa’s description. Thankfully, she didn’t think it would be too difficult to locate anything about a naked woman in the files.

“I know the pain that followed that name and I knew it’d let you know who the hell I was without much question. Time hasn’t changed my memory, headache.” The retort fell from her lips, her expression unfaltering as she lowered her eyebrow. “It’s not as if I do it every day, so calm your tits.”

As the words fell from her lips, her gaze dropped to the woman’s chest briefly before a smirk crossed her lips.

Her hazel eyes lifted afterwards as she lifted her hand and rubbed at the back of her head, studying her childe’s face. Behind her, Every could see the clear reflection that belonged to Mercy Devereux. Whether or not it was something that was in her head or something that she was simply seeing, the shadow was unsure as the reflection seemed to flicker momentarily before shaking its head violently. Her attention went back to Nishaa. She’d been haunted before.

“A lot has happened in the time you’ve been gone. I died, again. A few times, for starters. Last year I died in front of an ancient and it fucked with my path. I don’t know how or why. I bleed red and seemed to have shifted to the mystic path.”

She shrugged her shoulder, having gotten used to it by now.

Nishaa had missed a lot.

She’d died, again, and time had moved on. The masquerade, a cure, Theodosia. They were simply pieces that would be shared over time, but Every didn't plan to overwhelm her temperamental necromancer. The concern that Every had for her childe hadn’t diminished, but it had shifted to will she come back rather than the question of when. She’d looked for her in the shadow realm, entering the shadows shortly after triangulating only to never get the answer she was seeking. Time, it seemed, hadn't diminished the woman's tendency to play on violence - it wasn't something that Every had ever expected to change.

"At least she didn't call me a white rabbit this time." Every thought before giving a soft shake of her head. In the distance, she could hear sirens and the shadow wasn't too concerned. They were in a **** part of the town, but the crime rate had gone up and until she could see the lights, Every knew they were fine. Looting, zombies. It was just another day in Harper Rock and she was part of the reason why.

“The masquerade fell, by the way. The world knows of us, and the mayor is the thrall of some vampire, untraceable. Been trying.” It was beyond the tip of the iceberg, in the fall of where **** had begun to hit the fan. Every gestured towards the corpse of the cop, “Morons like that one are typically quick to panic at the sight of one of us returning, but there’s several that I’ve met that have no preference one way or another. Others want to bomb us, yet it's been a rumor that has been repeated time and time again.”

And then her childe moved, raising her nails.

With an unimpressed look across her features, Every stood still.

A soft snort falling from between her lips. Despite the shift of her path, she’d still held onto some of her shadow-y traits. The preference of isolation, how she killed without batting an eye. However, even if she didn’t care to admit it, she knew she’d taken on several mystic traits.

Expectations didn’t seem to change, feeling the splitting of her flesh before the wound would close up due to the size and depth. She lifted her hand, touching the blood and holding up her fingertips. “It’s still odd, even if it’s been a year. At first, my blood was still black and would transfer between that mystical shadow **** and to this,” It had been interesting to see the way it seemed to shift between one type and another, the way the red would remain even after the inky particles had vanished. “I didn’t let anyone do anything. I took a few down with me.” Her hazel eyes lifted towards the streetlight before she looked back to Nishaa.

Marjani.

When was the last time that Every had seen her?

It had been a while, a year or so, at most.

Andras, for the most part, had gone silent.

She typically only saw Micah.

Maybe more.

“I’m sorry, Nishaa.” The apology is genuine, but she only frowned. She didn’t know what to say beyond it, if there was anything else that she could. She’d felt the sensation twice on her own, but never as strong as what would be a partner bond. Hadrian, Naomi. They were gone, untraceable even in the realm. “I’m here if you need a shoulder, or just someone to punch.” Every hadn’t gone anywhere in the past year, and in seven years, she’d only tried to run twice. It seemed her days of wanting to escape were long behind her. Coward had been one trait that Every hadn’t been in a long time, not since Micah’d nearly thrown her threw a wall.

She’d be there, even if it killed her.