VAMPIRES
“You want me to run an investigation with a vampire?” asked Molly.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” said Elaine, “I know some vampires. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
“I didn’t say I was afraid of vampires,” said Molly. Actually Molly was not sure if she was afraid of vampires.
“So these are real vampires?” Molly began asking again, “With fangs and they drink blood and coffins and all that.”
“Yeah that’s about it,” said Jim, “except for the coffins. Don’t say anything like that in front of them. And don’t mention garlic or poppy seeds either. They find those stereotypes offensive.”
“Poppy seeds?” asked Molly.
Valerie walked into the lounge followed by a man and a woman. The woman looked to be in her mid twenties. She was pale and had long dark hair. She wore a simple white blouse and black pants. She just looked like a pretty girl you might see anywhere. The man looked younger, barely out of his teens. He wore a long dark coat with black pants and an open collared red shirt. Molly thought maybe he could be considered dressed slightly vampire like but he just looked like a very handsome young man. A very handsome young man with very nice hair. He looked at Molly and she felt herself strangely enjoying this brief moment of his attention. He quickly looked away as Valerie spoke.
“Ms. October I would like you to meet Shannon the magistrate of vampirekind for the greater Chicago area. And with her is Lucas Rudoson a special investigator sent by the Vampire King himself.”
Molly stood up a little awkwardly as Shannon reached out to shake her hand. Lucas simply bowed his head to her.
“It is nice to meet you,” said Shannon.
Molly wanted to say something but she was still trying to get around the idea that these two people were actually vampires.
“So there’s a vampire king?” asked Molly.
There was a long pause from everyone that was broken when Lucas said, “You can’t be serious. How am I supposed to conduct an investigation if I have to deal with this?”
He had a European accent that Molly could not place. She might have thought it made him that much more attractive if she had not been angered by what he said.
“You don’t have to ‘deal’ with me,” said Molly, “I was under the impression that we were going to work together.”
“You said she was uninitiated into the world of magic,” Lucas continued, “You did not tell me it was this bad.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room,” demanded Molly.
“Hold on before this argument goes any further,” said Valerie, “There are some things we clearly need to get straight first. Listen to me Lucas, I don’t care whose son you are, to me you are just another vampire and I will not have you roaming my city on your own.”
“I am aware of your opinion of our kind,” said Lucas, “And I know my families reputation. I assure I do not live up to it. I do not need any assistance in my investigation. I already know who is responsible.”
“We all know your theory,” replied Valerie, “So far you have no evidence that proves it.”
Lucas was ready to continue arguing but Shannon stopped him by saying, “She is queen of this city Lucas, you had best obey her. The old king of this city was known for being lenient to our kind. She is not.”
“Can I just say something?” said Molly, “Listen Lucas, I have a personal interest in this case. I have been an agent of the FBI for over three years and I have closed all my cases until this one. Don’t for a second doubt that I am a competent investigator. So if you are willing to show me the way around all the magical stuff we can work together and solve this thing.”
Lucas looked her in the eye and said, “I can live with that.”
“Good we can all be civil,” said Valerie, “Do you know where to start?”
“We should go to this city’s marketplace,” said Lucas.
“Here they call it the Undermarket,” said Shannon.
“There is one other thing,” said Molly, “I don’t want to make myself look dumb or anything but since I’m new to all of this that might be unavoidable but anyway… You guys are really vampires?”
“Yes,” said Shannon.
Lucas rolled his eyes.
“It’s just that well,” Molly was not sure how to put it, “You just seem like two people, a man and a woman. I thought there would be more… You know what, never mind.”
“Show her,” said Valerie.
The first thing that changed was their eyes. They turned yellow like the eyes of a nocturnal mammal. Their skin changed too. Lucas became pale. The only time Molly could remember seeing skin that pale was in a morgue. It was even more significant on Shannon. Her skin was more than just pale. She was like a statue, or a painting, she was something that would never grow old, never change. Shannon opened her mouth. There was a tiny clicking sound of bone on bone as her fangs deployed. They were more than just two pointed teeth. They were sharp and deadly and would probably leave more than just two little holes behind if she used them.
“Holy shit,” said Molly quietly.
