by Logan Byrne
“Yeah, to work all hours of the day and night at a noodle shop, right? I bet they promised you fame and glory, a harem of women to satisfy your every desire, and then boom, here you are, with a piece of ramen stuck to your apron,” I said, pointing out a hardened noodle embarrassingly stuck to him.
He started to shake himself violently, trying to get free of my chains, but it didn’t work. I can’t say I didn’t get a little nervous, wondering if I knotted everything correctly to hold him back, but I didn’t worry too much. He was, after all, still stuck no matter how much he thrashed around.
“Like I said, you can’t keep me here forever,” he said, grinning sadistically. “Sooner or later you have to let me go.”
“Um, no, I don’t,” I said, with a little chuckle that pissed him off.
“You’re going to keep me here for eternity, then?” he asked.
“Yeah, why not? You’re a vampire, dude! You don’t eat, sleep, or need to drink. You can’t die, because you’re already dead, so why not hang out here for a while and think about what you’ve done? I could come back ten years from now and you’ll still just be hanging out,” I said.
“You wouldn’t dare,” he said. “I know you’re not that evil.”
“Kiren would think so, wouldn’t he? I might as well fit his narrative before going back to my comfy bed,” I said.
“I’m going to get free,” he said, before moving around. I watched as the bottom of the chair shifted a little, the stress on the joints of the chains increasing as he put every ounce of his heightened vampire strength into breaking free.
He was pushing himself, likely far past his limits, when the impossible happened. The foot restraints shattered, and he took the opportunity to come for me. He hissed, his mouth open and his gleaming fangs sharp, before I pulled up my wand. “Arma Maximus!” I said, the bubble stopping him before he slid down to the ground.
He fumbled, trying to stand up, but without use of his hands or arms. “Rigormorio,” I said, and his body seized up again.
“No!” he roared.
“I need some help,” I mumbled, before walking towards the other wall and pulling out my phone.
“Hello?” Charlie answered, sounding a little dazed.
“Charlie, it’s Lexa, I need your help,” I said.
“What? Where are you? Are you okay?” he asked, perking up.
“I’m fine, I’m in the realm. I kidnapped a vampire from that noodle shop and I’m interrogating him. I need you to get down here and help me keep control of him, but don’t tell anybody. This mission isn’t exactly sanctioned, if you know what I mean,” I said.
“Lexa,” he said, with a drawn-out reply.
“Are you talking to Lexa?” Blake asked, in the background.
“Don’t tell Blake!” I said.
“Lexa?” Blake asked, taking the phone from Charlie.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” I asked casually.
“Please tell me you’re not on a one-woman mission,” he said. “Are you in trouble?”
“Not trouble, but I have a prisoner against his will and I’m interrogating him. No big deal,” I said.
“Text us your location, we’re coming,” he said, before hanging up.
“Can’t handle me on your own?” the vampire asked snidely.
“You know what, I’m sick of you. Have some garlic,” I said, before shoving some into his mouth. He hissed, trying to spit it out, but I held it in.
He put up a fight for a good twenty seconds, trying to hold his breath and hold out hope that somehow somebody would save him, but nobody came. It was just him and me in here, and I wasn’t relenting.
He calmed down, his eyes glazing over, the black garlic working and making him docile. I couldn’t deal with that mouth anymore.
“Lexa, come on,” Britta said, when she walked in with Charlie and Blake fifteen minutes later.
“You brought her? Why not wake up Mirian or the commissioner?” I asked.
“Why is it that you keep getting yourself into these situations, Lexa? You know you can’t do this, it’s illegal. And why does he look so vacant?” Britta asked.
“I gave him something to calm his nerves,” I said. I pulled out the black garlic, and Britta looked at me with a serious stare and swiped it from me.
“You can’t do this, Lexa. You’re lucky you’re one of us or else we’d have to arrest you here and now,” she said, stuffing the garlic into her pocket.
“Can you wake him up?” Blake asked.
“How much did you give him?” she asked.
“He only ate a small bit, half of a clove at best, maybe even a third. And that was when I called you,” I said.
“Okay, so he should come out of it soon. What are you even doing with this? We have the place under surveillance,” Britta said.
“I can’t just sit idly by, guys. I have to do something about Kiren and I thought I could find out some information about what he’s doing with his little army. I say we ask him a few questions while he’s sedated and see what we get,” I said.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Charlie said, his arms crossed. “He is already under the influence, and it’s not like this is official business anyway.”
“Fine, but make it quick,” Britta said, looking the other way.
Blake picked up the vampire, his eyes still glazed, and I got close to him. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“My name is Demetrius,” he said, in a robot-like voice.
“What’s happening in the noodle shop you work in? Are you selling drugs in there?” I asked.
“Yes, sometimes. We manufacture them down below,” he said, a little drool slowly dripping down his cheek.
“Do you know about the vampire babies?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“I think his eyes are starting to change back,” Britta asked.
“Who is behind it all?” I asked.
“Kiren Nightstorm,” he said.
“Yes, but who is running it? Who ran the casino?” I asked.
“Benko,” he said. Then he quickly gasped, before looking around at all of us. His eyes flashed red as he tried to move the chains again and escape his restraints.
“I think this is over,” I said, holding him down.
“Let’s wipe his memory and get him out of here,” Britta said.
“Cranius Expellus,” I said, and the white bolt hit him in the head. He was knocked back out, and the guys picked him up. We walked him back through the darkness to the back of the noodle shop. The door was still closed, nobody the wiser. They set him down and we all ran off around the corner.
“Please don’t pull a stunt like this again,” Britta said, hugging me. “I don’t want you to get in trouble or get caught, and you were obviously in over your head or else you wouldn’t have done this.”
“We need to find this Benko guy. At least we have a name to go by now,” I said.
“We’ll handle that,” Blake said, his arms crossed. “Please just go back to the camp and stay safe.”
“I can’t sit there my entire life, you know. I’m not meant to,” I said.
“You are meant to, at least for now. We’ll take care of this, and we’ll get you out of there, but you have to be patient,” Charlie said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“None of you understand. You aren’t the ones sitting there rotting away, wishing you were allowed to do anything other than sleep and breathe. It’s easy to tell me to calm down and sit still when you aren’t the ones having to do it,” I said angrily. I pulled out my wand, holding it over my head, ready to teleport back into my tent.
“Lexa, please. We love you and care about you. We don’t want to lose you again,” Britta said.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t sit idly by forever. Eventually I’m going to have to break free,” I said, before swirling my wand and going back to the camp.
I teleported back into my tent, not even caring if they knew that I’d been gone and came back inside the c
amp walls. What were they going to do anyway, kick me out? Make me leave and never come back? I’d relish that sort of punishment this time around, and then I’d at least be able to have some autonomy over my life and body.
It was so unfair, how everybody just wanted me to sit here twiddling my thumbs like some useless kid who couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t a kid, I was a grown woman, and I was grown enough to make my own decisions on what to do with my life.
I’d flirted with the idea of leaving and just going on my own, trying to stop Kiren without the interference of Pote, Mirian, or anybody else who would rather do it their way. Their way wasn’t exactly working, given the fact that all these people were still living in this camp with no end in sight.
As much as I didn’t like the idea of murder, they could’ve just killed Kiren a long time ago if they felt he was such a threat to the realms. They could’ve toppled him even, planning a coup and taking him away from power. They could’ve kidnapped him and let somebody else come to rule. There were so many things they could do, but instead they just wanted to sit around and keep waiting, as if he were going to screw up eventually and then they’d catch him. Well, it was years later, and he was still sitting there, making laws and ruling the realm.
An hour passed and nobody came by, making me wonder if they would. I thought my tent would’ve been searched by now, Pote herself coming in to tell me how bad I was and blah blah, but nothing. Maybe I didn’t trigger any alarms. Maybe I was safe, at least this time.
I tried to push it all out of my mind, instead focusing on the interrogation I did tonight. I got a name, Benko, and that was more than enough to go on. That man who’d slipped into the shadows each and every time I tried to take him down now had a name, and soon I’d have a face. I sent an encrypted text to Faus, asking him to look up the name, since he wasn’t there tonight. I told him not to tell the others, and just to talk to me about it. I didn’t want them getting worried about it.
As soon as I got more information, I was going to go back out there and find him. It was the only way to cut off the snake’s head and cripple him once and for all.
14
I woke up to three texts from Faus, all telling me the information I wanted to know. My suspect’s last name was Benko, and his first name was Reginald. He was from Amsterdam originally, and was himself a vampire, and an old one at that.
The first note Faus could find about the guy was an account from the early 1700s about a man with his name, older, who had tried to attack a man outside the city. I was guessing he was transformed as an older man, and the person I was looking for might be gray and have a few wrinkles, though turning into a vampire did help with some of those cosmetic things.
Faus asked why I wanted this information, so I told him what I’d found out and that this was the name of the guy running the club. I said the others didn’t want me involved, but this was still my case even if I didn’t have a badge to back me up anymore. He said he would keep my secret, but that sooner or later I would have to tell them what I was up to. I agreed, as long as he kept his mouth shut for now. I figured once I caught Benko I wouldn’t feel ashamed to tell them. They’d be praising me.
Faus sent me a list of Benko’s known associates, as well as where to find some of them. One of them, an ogre, had just been released on parole two weeks earlier, and was living in the slums with his mother. He was wearing an ankle monitor, which Faus said he’d be able to give me coordinates for. At least I had one friend who wasn’t trying to squash me at every turn.
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to get out until later that night, when people were asleep and the camp was silent. Besides, I didn’t want to sneak up on or question an ogre in broad daylight. Their vision wasn’t as great at night, and I would have an easier time sneaking around.
“Lexa,” I heard someone say behind me, startling me.
“Oh, hey, Rosie,” I said.
“What happened last night?” she asked.
“Well, a lot,” I said, sighing.
“Did you find anything out? Are they doing drugs there?” she asked.
“Yeah, they are, but I’m not sure how much they’re actually selling there. I think it’s more of a factory than anything,” I said.
“That’s so horrible. We were sitting above that! Imagine if something had happened, or it exploded. I can’t even think about it, I’ll panic,” she said, breathing hard and trying to calm down.
“I found out more information, the name I needed. I’m going back out tonight,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.
“I can’t be the pretty little princess these people here want me to be, Rosie. I can’t just sit idly by when I know there are atrocities being committed by a tyrannical man and his government who would kill me if they had the chance,” I said.
“Well, then isn’t that a good reason not to go out? So that you don’t get caught and killed?” she asked.
“Sometimes the things in life that are worth the most are the ones we have to risk a great deal for. This is one of those times, and I can’t look back at this in the future and regret not at least trying something. If it doesn’t work, then at least I can say I tried,” I said.
I was mostly telling Rosie what she wanted to hear so she wouldn’t worry about me. I thought she was just worried about losing me, to be honest. I’d seen her talking to some people here, but I was still her only real friend. We’d been through a lot together, and I owed her so much, but I couldn’t allow myself to slink around here just to make her happy. At the end of the day, making myself happy and fulfilling my life was more important.
“Take me with you,” she said, out of nowhere.
“W-what? No, I’m not taking you,” I said.
“Why not? Am I not good enough?” she asked.
“Rosie, you’re going to get hurt. You have no fighting experience,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s the reason, and not because I’m a pilt?” she asked.
“Rosie,” I said, with a sad tone. “You know that’s not it at all.”
“Then prove it and bring me with you. Somebody needs to watch your back, and it should be me,” she said, holding her head high.
I admired her spunk and willingness to come, but I knew she would only get hurt. Being a pilt was a big part of it, and I never had to worry about that with Charlie or Britta. They had shifting and magic on their sides. Even Lisa could fight her way out of anything, but Rosie was just my sweet little Rosie who everybody adored. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of life. This rough kind of life.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. I want one night, just give me that,” she said.
“Fine, but you need to follow my lead. If you want a taste of what this is like, you need to do what I tell you. If I give you a command, you follow it, okay?” I asked.
“Anything you say, I’ll do, I promise,” she said, with a huge grin.
“Be back at my tent around ten and we’ll go from there,” I said.
•••
Right on time like she was showing up for a job interview, Rosie knocked on my tent as the clock struck ten. “Come in,” I called, and she pushed her way though the canvas.
“I’m here like you said, at ten,” she said eagerly.
“Good, you have a hood. You’re going to need to keep that up. Your face is out there, too,” I said.
“I know, I will, whatever you say. What are we actually going to do tonight?” she asked.
“There’s an ogre we need to question,” I said. “He knows more about this Benko guy.”
“An ogre? Wow, aren’t they kind of big? And why are they working with vampires? I thought they kept their business, sort of, you know, in house,” she said.
“Ogres are attracted to evil, and they do make great muscle and protection for creatures like vampires. It’s just a mutual agreement that benefits them both. We’ll be fine,” I said, before zipping up my bag and slinging it around my shoulders.
“Now?” she asked.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
“Will we get caught without using the portal?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, grabbing her and holding my wand above me.
“Wait, you don’t kn—”
We were spit out in the slums, my teleport working perfectly because I knew this area well. The heart of the criminal world, at least the one I’d been a part of, was in these slums. The characters you would find here ranged from bad to horrible to devilish, and everything in between. I’d stolen a lot from here, mostly taking scrap and other bits of broken garbage that nobody seemed to notice missing.
I know it seemed bad, stealing from people who obviously didn’t have much, but trust me when I say they never even noticed the things I stole were gone. My favorite spot was the shack of a hoarder, who had broken sinks and tires strewn around his shack. If I stole a cracked tube, he never would’ve known.
“The house is just up here. Keep your hood up, these people would kill for the bounty on us,” I whispered in her ear. “And when I say kill, I mean it literally.”
I could hear her gulp before getting even closer to me, as a grunting old man shambled past us. I shook my head, wondering how she convinced me to let her come along.
I looked at my phone, seeing the address matching the house I was standing in front of, before I snuck closer and peeked in through the windows. It was dark, the only source of light a television that was illuminating a man sitting in a chair. He laughed, slapping his knee, before crushing a beer can in his hand. This had to be my guy. I stood on my tiptoes, seeing a little red light blinking from around his ankle. This was definitely him.
I took out my wand and gripped it tightly as I walked to the front door and knocked three times. I felt the place shake a little as he got up out of his chair and walked towards the door. “Who is it?” he grunted.
I knocked three more times, agitating him a little, and he asked again who it was, this time more loudly. I didn’t reply. Before I could knock again, the door flung open, and I pointed my wand directly at his throat. “Get inside and shut up,” I said.