Chapter 1: Rebuild
Chapter Text
Ash drummed their fingernails on the counter top as they flipped through the same TV Guild for the millionth time since they inherited Blood and Roses. Business was always slow at 4 am. They pushes the well-worn issue aside and looked over the adjacent aisles of adult products.
A lot have changed with Ash and with Hollywood as a whole within 3 years. Once Saoirse, Andre and their collective crew left Hollywood to Ash and Randal, things have slowed down. Blood shed became limited between petty quarrels. Ash and Randal became an unofficial item over time.
After a couple months of stopping by Blood and Roses to dust the mannequins and feed the local cat population, Ash took it upon themself to make the adult store their own. After discarding a box or two of expired condoms and lube, rearranging shelves of dildos and restocking shelves with the latest big budget porn titles, Ash held a grand reopening.
They still kept some of Markus’s; the original owner’s belongings. Over time Ashe grew to love finding old mismatched pieces of sheet music, dated styles of sunglasses and Markus’s old collection of TV Guilds. Ash would collect the old tokens of Markus’s past life and save them in a box behind the store counter.
Ash placed the old Guild back into the cardboard box with the others. They pulled out and old, familiar pair of glasses. They fiddled with them in their hands. Enough time as passed where they would finally indulge in trying on Markus’s old shade.
“Alright, babe, I found that missing box of pocket pussies the day crew misplac-“ Randal cut himself off. He set down a large box down in an aisle. “I know you two were clanmates and weirdly platonic lovers, but wearing his glasses doesn’t feel right”.
Ash remember when they and Randal use to come to the store just to clean and they caught Randal swiping a pair for himself. Ash found them on Randal’s bedside table when they came to spend the day sleeping with him at the beach house. They were nestled between discarded felt pen, old bar napkins with sketches and disposable lighters.
“You still miss him?” Ashe asked as they took off the glasses and flipped them between their slender fingers.
Randal scratched the back of his head. “I suppose. War makes people love harder or hate harder and I guess he really grew on me. It kinda hurt my feelings in a way when he left. I wish he stayed and helped rebuild with us, but that’s Markus. The muscular, blond man nudged the box farther into the aisle with his foot. “Markus, man,” Randal sighed.
He looked around the shop. “Will you be sleeping at the beach house today or here? It’s July, so the sun will rise in about an hour.”
“I have to host a BDSM safety talk here tomorrow at 8:00 at the shop.” Ash ran their finger through their curly, dark hair. “The sun should start to set by then and I won’t have time to make it back in time. I will close up when the talk is done and I’ll make it up to you.”
“You always do,” Randal smirked and strolled over to the counter. “Maybe you can use that Gol Voodoo and send me dreams of the time you convinced me to let you tie me up and ride my cock.”
“Possibly,” Ashe purred.
They stood on their tip toe, offering their lips up to their Mavaar lover for a kiss goodbye. It was a light peck at first, but Randal had to tease them with a playful bite to their lower lip. Ash deepened the kiss. Their tongue flicked over his fangs into his cold, dry mouth. Ash softly moaned into the kiss. Randal was the first to pull away. He lightly kissed his partner’s forehead.
“I gotta go before the sun grills me on the 5.” Randal headed towards the door, waving behind him.
Ashe listened for the sound of Randal’s bike engine roaring to life while they were locking up the store.
Ash had a small room in the stock room. One could argue it was a large closet with a lock, but to Ash; it was home when they weren’t at the beach house. The room was their then they took over Blood and Roses. They didn’t find it until their made up their mind about reopening the store to the public. Ash almost mistaken it for a closet for spare cleaning supplies until they opened it to find Markus’s old living space.
It was painted deep maroon with yellow-aged news articles and music sheet pasted haphazardly to the walls. A flat of memory foam filled the floor. It was covered by several pillows and a red and gold duvet that was frayed with age. Ash did consider repainting and replaying the makeshift bed for something more suitable to their liking, but they were drilling pining for their old mentor and eccentric lover.
They stripped their clothing and tossed the discarded clothes in the corner where their feet would point. Ash locked the door behind them and dead bolted it. Ashe snuggled themself under the duvet and pile of pillows.
Nuzzling their face deep into the pillows, they tried to pick up the ever fading hint of Markus’s scent. They could just barely make out dust, dried tea leaves and iron. Ash was sure if they allowed Randal in their room, he could use his heightened sense of smell to describe the scent with clarity to them. This was Ash’s most intimate price left of Markus and wasn’t ready to share it with Randal.
Ash was on the verge of drifting off to a dead sleep when a thin, bony arm snaked around their middle and firmly held them. “My dear, brave traveler,” Ash heard murmured behind them. She felt someone bury their nose in their curls and deeply inhale their scent.
‘This is just another vision. It’s not real’ Ash thought to themself.
“No, this isn’t no Golgothic vision. I’m truly here, Ash,” said a very familiar drawl.
Tears felt like they could come to their eyes. They whirled around, kicking the duvet off. They came face to face with the piercing blue eyes they have missed so much. “Markus!”
Ash flung their arms around the ageless man’s neck. He held them with matching intensity. They fell back on to the scattered pillows. They held each other as if their live depended on it. Not a word was spoken.
It felt like hours have passed when it was only a few minutes. Their grips relaxed around each other. Markus laid back, cradling Ash’s small body between his legs. Ash rested their head on his chest, their fingers tangling in his long, black hair. Markus lazily rubbed circles on their bare back. Neither of them spoke. Just completely enjoying each other’s presents, eventually drift off to sleep.
Ash woke to Markus toying with a curl of their hair. Gently pulling taunt before letting it go and bouncing back with it’s natural curl. Ash pressed their face into his still clothed chest. “Good evening,” Markus hummed.
“’Evening’” Ash rubbed the sleep from their eyes.
“Kiss?” Markus asked, looking down at Ash.
“But you don’t like intimate, physical contact.”
“That ship has sailed when I held a naked, sleeping vampire between my thighs,” he said coyly. “True, I’m not ‘batting for any team’, but I would l still enjoy some affection from my favorite clan mate” Ash lightly peck at his thin, cold lips.
Ash felt for their clothing and tried tugging them on their body in such limited space. “Where were you all this time? Did you find what you needed? Are you finally cured? How did you get in if I deadbolted the doors?” They rapid fired questions off at their ex mentor.
“Calm yourself. I will answer what I am able to in due time. But I do believe you have a seminar starting soon.”
Chapter Text
Ash looked over the counter, watch a handful of humans mills around a professionally dressed woman that the average Joe on the street would have never guessed was a highly requested dominatrix or a sex positive activist. When they would catch glances at her, Ash’s visions showed her with a dainty gold crown on her head and a whip on her hip. The talk did bring in extra revenue from the participants purchasing extra smooth, brightly colored rope, small crops and lubricants.
“I have to say I love what you done to the place. Using the shop as a hub for carnal information. I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it first” Markus lead against a wall with an open window, using a defected feather tickler as a makeshift cat toy to tease a young alley cat that felt brave to be so close to humans that night.
“Will you be taking it back?” Ash swallowed, hoping to suss out any information Markus could be habitually or unintentionally hiding.
Markus abandoned feathered adult toy and the cat. He slipped behind the counter, ducking behind to rummage around. “I have yet to decide if I’m here forever or her for four hours.” He placed the box of belongs Ash was shaving on the counter. “Here we go.” Markus found the old pair of shades Ash was fidgeting with the day before. He replaced the cracked pair that looked like came from a truck stop with his older pair. “Much better.” He toss the cracked pair in a near by waste basket. “Good craftsmanship that speaks to you is so hard to come by on the road to discovery.”
“No, don’t believe I could take the shop back from you. I told you to become what you can and wither you were attached to shop or attached to who owned it is on you. How am I take that growth from you of all people,” Markus upturned the box onto the counter.
The clatter made the last few patrons gather their belongs faster and shuffle out the door. Ash followed behind and switch the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’. They reached for the lock. “Don’t lock it. I’ll save you the extra steps. Today is Friday. Does trash still go out Fridays?”
“Markus, please. What are you doing? You left us in an uncomfortable position. I know you had to leave, but you still broke my goddamn heart. I need a straight answer. Is your condition cured and are you just passing through?” Ash felt like tears could come to their eyes.
Markus places a hand on top of Ash’s head and softly, but sadly smiled at them. “Come with me.”
He tucked the cardboard box of his old belongings and tucked it under his arm and lead Ash out side into the alley way. He opened the store’s dumpster that was emptied that morning. He took a lighter from his coat pocket. He lit the corner and coaxed a healthy flame before dropping the box into the dumpster. A small crackle could be heard as a small stream of black smoke rose.
“What was that about?”
“Catharsis, mainly. But wait.” Markus held up one finger.
“Hey babe, we’re gonna do a bonfire tonight at the- WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” A deep roar came from behind Ash that made them jump.
Solid thuds hitting pavement would be heard gaining more and more speed. Randal came at a full charge into the alley. His fangs bared, ready in attack. He clotheslined Markus in the chest, pinning him against a grimy brick wall. No doubt Markus had a cracked rib or two.
“How could you? How could you leave us like you did?” Randal snarled in low voice.
Ash tried gripping Randal around his midsection and pull them off of their clan mate. His Mavvar strength kept him firmly planted in the ground. All of Ash’s preternatural strength was wasted against him.
Markus was slouched against the wall, holding his chest with his eyes wide. His glasses were knocked from his face in the attack and were now somewhere in the alley. He didn’t appear frightened of Randal, but his face did hold shock.
“ You abandoned us, you abandoned any cause, you abandoned Ash and you abandoned me. You were pulling strings that forced my hand.” The anger in Randal’s voice turned to genuine hurt. “I didn’t want to be a leader. I didn’t want to be king. I just wanted the Queen Bitch and that fucking genocidal Psychopath out of Hollywood!” His voice shook from being on the edge of tears. “You should have stayed. You should have fought with us and rebuild. You should have taken some goddamn responsibility for once in your fucking life.” Dry sobs finally broke through his shell.
Ash relaxed their grips around their companion when they sensed that he wouldn’t frenzy and tear the man apart. They saw a literal weighted chain drop from Randal’s neck with their Golgotha abilities. Ash never saw this vision before. Randal dropped his head onto Markus’s shoulder. He pulled him into an embrace.
Ash gave Markus back his old room for the day time. An unspoken agreement was brokered that they would talk about an future plans once Randal calms down.
They went back to the beach house with him. Various Mavvars were chattering with eachother, with a few members of the Iscari and Golgothas that defected to Randal’s side peppered throughout. Bottles of spiked blood were being shared between them. It appeared the were getting ready to start a bonfire on the beach.
Randal retreated back to the beach house. Ash was scanning faces, looking for Jaoqina, the ancient sharp shooter. She became unofficial den mother when Randal came into power and would be mobbed by admirers from his clan, the freshly turned and visiting vampires from Fresno, Bakersfield and Sacramento.
Once Ash caught sight of her, they waved the elderly woman over to them. “Hey Ash, I was just telling the newbies about my time during the Mexican-American war,” Jaoquina chuckled.
Ash gave her a firm, familial hug. “I need a favor from you. Something came up and Randal needs his space to think. Will you please make sure he isn’t disturbed tonight. Please keep having fun with the others on the beach, but if anybody needs him, they will have to wait.”
“No problem.”
“Thank you. He would have been crushed if he would have to put his open door policy on hold tonight.”
“That he would. Then take these.” She held up a partially empty, cardboard, 6 pack with 2 bottle of spiked blood. “I’ll see to he can rest tonight.” Joaquina turned back to a group of young vampire she was talking to, “ Hey, did I ever tell you the story about the priest and the sea turtles?”
Ash went to go find Randal in the beach house. A few vampires were still laughing, chatting and just creating a cacophony of noise. They cleared there throat, “Can I have your attention?” The noise slowly died down. “I am going to have to ask you to please join the bonfire outside. Randal is in dire need of a night off. If you have any of him, please leave a short message with Jaoquina and he will meet with you. Other than that, please enjoy yourselves.” The vampires gathered their drinks and belongings and heading out to the beach.
Ash did a sweep of the house, looking for anybody who didn’t hear their message. Once the beach house was cleared, they when to Randal’s room.
Ash gave his door a curtesy knock before entering his space. “I asked the clan to give you some space for the night.” Randal was pacing his room like an irate, caged rate. “Babe?”
‘He wasn’t prepared. He didn’t know how deep my actions affected him’ Words that weren’t their's ghosted through their mind.
“No shit,” ash said under their breath.
Randal kept his placing but it did slow down to a stop. He pinched his wrinkled brow. A sudden jolt ripped through him and whipped his head towards Ash.
“Ash. Will you leave with him?”
“Randal, I-“
“I can’t run LA alone. I can’t do it without you.” He voice was shaking.
“No, no,” Ash shushed him. They set down the bottles of blood. They took his face between their hands. “I took your said in the war. I was your double agent. I was set on front lines. I have done too much to leave Hollywood alone. Maybe liberating Hollywood became a larger on taking than what you were expecting, but I am here. I have sunk too much into this.”
The Mavvar placed his hand over Ash’s on his face. “Tell me you love me. I need to hear you say it”.
“Randal, I do love you. I do love you so much.”
“Do you still love Markus?”
“Not like I do you.”
Randal enveloped them into a crushing hug. He kissed them, nipping their bottom lip. He trailed smaller, lighter kisses from the corner of their mouth, down their neck and across their collar bone.
Ash pulled their shirt off. He has access to their small breast. They willed a warm blush to their flesh. Randal dropped to his knees. He placed a large hand on their belly, pinning them in place.
He drug his tongue from Ash’s neck to their nipple. He greedily sucked on their flesh. His fangs glinted over their torso. His claws pierced the tender flesh of Ash’s belly.
Ash gave a small yelp and bit the back of their hand. Randal undid their pants and slide them down their legs.
Randal buried his face between their thighs, licking and swirling his tongue around their engorged clit. Ash tangle and twisted their fingers in his hair.
“Have I ever told you how fuckin’ beautiful you are on your knees?” they panted as they grinded their hips into his face.
Ash was close to coming. Randal pulled away. They let out a frustrated whine. “No, don’t stop,”
“Have I ever told you have fuckin’ sexy you are a wreck.” He growled.
Faster than Ash could follow, he picked them up bridal style and tossed them on the well worn mattress they would share.
Randal stripped himself of his clothing. He kneeled between Ash’s legs. “Do you have anymore of that lube from the shop?” Ash reached for a small bottle they kept near by.
They placed a dollop on to their fingers. They touched his erect cock, coating every usable bit with the gel. They gently reached for balls and cupped them before retreating.
As if his patience ran out, Randal forced their legs over his shoulder and plunged deep into their body. Ash let out loud gasp. He kept an iron grip on their hips. His nails piercing their skin. Small blood drops trailed down their body.
“Ash, you’re so fucking tight. So fucking perfect,” he snarled. “So pure and letting me dirty you”.
Every thrust left Ash feeling so empty and then way too full. They reached up to hold his face. He slapped their hands away and held then both of their wrists together in one hand above her head.
“I could devour you whole. Let me have every inch of you. Let me hunt you.” Randal growled.
“Have me.”
Randal let go of them, just to position them face down into the mattress. Ash was completely trapped between Randal and the bed. They couldn’t escape if they wanted. And they didn’t want too.
Ash’s toes curled with every thrust. They didn’t try to suppress their moans and panting. They were able to angle to hips enough to slide a hand between them and the bed. Their fingers rubbed their clitoris.
Hard kisses were placed on the back of their neck and shoulders. Fangs drug along their skin. He came to a pause where their should and neck met. His fangs rested there.
“Please, just do it. Bite me!” Ash demanded.
Randal pulled them by their hair , exposing more skin to him. The pain they felt sent them over the edge. He picked up the pace of his thrusts. Ash felt him orgasm inside them. His cock twitching inside them.
He released Ash from his mouth. He grabbed a empty bottle and spit a mouth full of their blood into it. “That is so nasty but feels so good”. Randal rolled to lay next to them. Ash felt drained and so pleased. They laid there head on his chest. “Thank you so much. I can feel some form of clarity now. How are you doing?”
“I need to feed asap in the evening.” Ash found an article of clothing they pressed to their neck until the wound closed. “Satisfied with the outcome.” The sighed.
“Let’s go back to the shop tomorrow. No hurt feelings.”
“I think that would be best.”
Chapter Text
Ash slipped out of the beach house the sun was setting to make their way back to the shop. They had to relieve their blood pet from their shift.
David was restocking merchandise. “So you’re just like Ash?”
“Indeed.” Markus said curtly, flipping through what they assumed was that day’s paper on the counter.
“Did you make them?”
“More than they know, less than I think. But ultimately, no.”
“Are you gonna bite me too?”
“I don’t like to put other people’s things in my mouth without enthusiast consent.”
“Playing nice?” Ash asked to particularly nobody.
“Like an emotionally unstable teenager and mild bouts of arson.”
David quickly emptied this arm load of extra silent vibrators on to the shelf and gleefully made a beeline to Ash. “I missed you. Have you eaten?”
Ash cupped his blushing face in their hands. “Good evening, David.” They kissed his cheek. “I will be needing you. I did the payroll and I deposited your check in your account. Also brought you some recovery snacks.”
David beamed at them. “ You take such good care of me,” He nuzzled into their palm.
“Get a room. You’re contaminating the pornography.” Markus quipped from his paper.
Ash shot Markus a sharp look. “David, here,” Ash reached into their pockets and pulled out a couple protein bars from their pocket and thrust them into David’s hands. “Go to the back room and wait for me. Raise that glucose”. He dutifully did as he was told.
“Hiring day help, payroll? Next you’re going to tell me you pay taxes.”
“You didn’t?”
“All I have to in life is die and pay taxes, so I died. Besides, isn’t your partner an anarchist?”
“Independent, anarchist; potato, poatto, depending on who’s reporting the news and air time.” Ash leaned on the counter with their elbows. Their face level with Markus reading. “So?”
“'So?’”
“So you gonna spill the beans yet? Your trainee would like to know what the minty fresh, death scented hell is going on?”
Markus folded his paper and pushed it aside like it offended him. He patted their head and ready his hand there. He weakly smiled.
“I don’t know what to say. I felt so compelled to come back. I’m not entirely sure what my condition is truly about, but I’m getting some ide-“ The shop’s bell rung. “ Damn and my bones just healed” he said under his breathe. Markus cleared his throat, “ How can I help my friend, the Rebel King?”
Randal walked in. He stoically turned to Markus’s direction. He sighed, “I am sorry I was emotional yesterday. My actions were not warranted.” His words sounded rehearsed to Ash's ear. “ You’re back after leaving at a very volatile time and then you have history with Ash-“
Markus held up a hand to stop him as he spoke. “Ash, see to David. I want a moment alone with our guest”.
Ash straighten their back. They searched Markus’s and Randal’s face for a hint of what is to happen.
“You two may need may need more than a few minutes to sort out whatever this is. I’m gonna snag David and go back to our apartment. I’m gonna turn on the closed sign. Do what you both need to, don’t fuck up my fuck shop.”
A few days had pass without word from Markus and Randal. Ash continued running their shop as normal.
They tried calling the Mavvar beach house for Randal, but whoever would pick up would say he was away but they would gladly take a message. Markus spent most of his time out or would sneak his way back into his old room.
Ash sat up top the counter. Since hiring help for the day time, night time customers became less frequent under their management.
A small click of a lock followed by a small, chilled breeze could be sensed in the shop. Ash turned to face towards the back room. They were too late before they heard the shop’s door open and closed.
“Dammit. I really wanted to see him” Ash said to themselves.
They laid back on the counter as if it was the most normal thing to do. Something caught their eye. It looked like a business card was fluttering down from the air. Ash reached out to catch the card. It was one of ‘Blood and Roses’ business cards. They turned the card over in their hand.
'Traveler- My room will be unlocked when the peacock crows at dawn’ Markus’s message was sloppily written across the back in small print.
Ash glace at their digital wrist watch. The face just flashed 3:45 am. They sighed and pulled a clear Gameboy for their back pocket and powered up their game of Pokemon Blue. They promised David they would help him get a ninetails if he would get them a scyther on Red. Now seemed like as good as a time as ever.
Ash barely noticed the sky turning rosy over the 8-bit cry of a computerized critter. They saved and powered down game. They locked the front door before slipping into the backroom.
They knocked on the small room’s door. They listened for any movement. Hoping Markus pulled his disappearing or in this case, his appearing act.
“Come in,”
Ash opened the door to the cramped, red room. Markus was kneeling on his bedding. He hung his coat on a near by hook. He slid off his dark glasses and slipped them into the coat’s pocket.
“Come in, or else we’ll both be flambéed and I don’t think the sun will give us the pleasure of being drown in cognac first.” They kneed in front of Markus and shut the door and locked it. “Get comfortable. You’re my guest tonight.” Markus undid the top few buttons of his shirt before reclining back on the arranged pillows.
“What’s going on? I highly doubt you invited me to bed just coz you’re suddenly scared of the dark” Ash undid their pants and slipped off their shirt, leaving them in their undershirt and boxers. They messily hung up their clothing on a spare hook on the wall.
“I have been assisting in a side project and I have to get my favorite bed fellow in on it. My biggest question so far is; do you want to be the little of big spoon?” Markus smirked.
Ash crawled closer to Markus. They laid their head down on his still chest. He wrapped an arm around their shoulders and pulled the duvet over them.
“I probably should have asked if your partner is ok with you sharing a bed another man.”
“Are you kidding me? The Mavvar sleep in a pile. I have woken up to Randal and some other guy using my ass as a pillow. One of a few reason why I didn’t move to the beach house.”
Markus chuckled to himself. He eyes lightly glowed under his lids. “ Have to love those inter clan relationships,” Ash’s eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. “I wonder where your subconscious will land us tonight.”
Chapter Text
It felt like Ash’s eyes were closed for seconds. Their shoes padded against a familiar carpeted floor. They opened their eyes. They were back in the store behind the counter. Ash peaked out the front door’s tiny window. Bleak darkness replaced the street and alley.
“I think you may not be able to separate work and the rest of your existence,” Markus spoke, completely void of his southern accent. “Let’s try a different scene,” Markus exited the shop’s door with Ash on his heels.
They were in a cramped, yellowing apartment living room. A tired, Hispanic mild aged woman in a nursing uniform set down a curly haired 5 year old on the second hand, hideous couch and handed the child a dinosaur coloring book.
“No! Not here. You are not gonna touch this!” Ash grabbed Markus by his sleeve and dragged him past their grandmother and younger self to a door.
“I see where you get your work ethic from. Let me speed things up and pick a spot”
Within a blink, they were sitting in a booth at the old Saturnalia. It looked just as it was when Saorise and the Iscari clan ran it a few years ago.
“Real shame. I liked this bar, but I don’t think Mr. Polaroid had the guts to stay and keep it running.” Markus took a deep breath. “Still smells like old cigarettes.” He took a careful sip from a mug that had materialized in his hands.
“I thought about fixing it up and passing it along to anybody who was willing to run it. It was a good meeting spot. I was so burnt out after the war and couldn’t step foot inside when the Iscari booked it.” Ash stared down into their mug of swirling, amber liquid. “I’m curious as a cat about this tea. I was a coffee drinker in life. So this can’t be my memory and I don’t think I have enough info for my subconscious to come up with this.”
“You can change it if you want. Your mind is our host.”
Ash looked back to their mug. The liquid turned black and gave off a nutty scent. “Why are we here?” Ash picked up their cup, savoring it’s warmth.
“ I have made an agreement with the Rebel King and I have damned myself to stay. Also the tea your psyche serves is delicious”. He took a deep sip from his mug.
“An agreement?”
“I used you as a bargaining chip.”
“Again? Seriously?” Ash’s voice became curt. Warmth and color was being leeched from the bar.
“Calm yourself. Nobody’s head is on the chopping block this time. I promised that you and I will help the Rebel King help get LA organized.”
“At what cost?”
“I get control of Andrei’s old territories.”
“Why? You and Randal hate the cemetery.”
“Let’s move on. I will need to break this is bite size bits,”
Ash drank their coffee. They felt the liquid disappear from their body as soon as they swallowed. The bar’s edges stabilized.
Markus let out a sigh, “I miss drinking”. He drained his mug completely. “This have been the first thing in years I can enjoy and keep down. But this isn’t real.”
“Allow me to try something,” Ash reached out for Markus’s mug. He slid it over. They rolled up their sleeve and brought their wrist to their mouth. They bit down. Blood dripped down their arm. “Let's try this,” they held their wound over the mug. The mug was one thirds full by the time the wound clotted and closed. “Drink up,”
Markus took the mug. He swished the blood around like he was preparing for a wine tasting. He sniffed it.
“1996, my personal vintage or whatever wine snobs say,”
He nodded his head at them. He took a cautionary sip. He licked his lips and then drained the mug dry. Markus shuddered. “My god, I have missed this,”
“Do you need another?” Ash brought their wrist back up to their mouth.
Markus reached out and placed a comfortably warm hand on their wrist. “Your giving nature will be the death of you”
The bar flickered away. They were no longer sitting at their booth. They stood across from each other, surrounded by darkness. Markus firmly held Ash’s shoulders. He brushed their hair away their neck.
Ash had a flashback to the night they was sired at The Abattoir three years ago. They also thought back to the first dream they and Markus shared and how he fed on them, taking their sire’s place in the dream. Ash shivered.
He wrapped their arm around their waist and held them tight against his bony frame. He buries his fangs deep into a long still artery. Ash let out a gasp of searing pain. The pain melted into rapture. They flung their arms around Markus, burying their hands into his hair.
Ash could feel themselves being devoured by a starving man. Imagine or literal, they felt like they could no longer tell the difference. They felt weaker and weaker before everything became black.
“Kid? Come on, babe. Time to wake up,” there was a soft padding on the side of their face. “Come on, Ash. Wakey- wakey,”
Ash cracked their eyes open and met with Randal’s golden set. Their head and body throbbed. “Ouch, my immortality hurts” they weakly said.
They were still in Markus’s tiny room. Randal kneeled beside them and propped them up. “Markus called me to come pick you up. He highly recommended you feed,”
“Can you take me back to my apartment?”
“Sure thing, kid,”
Randal helped them redressed. Markus was nowhere to be seen. They made sure the shop’s closed sign up and the door locked. Randal helped them up on the bike and sat behind, keeping them steady in their weaken state.
They pulled up to Ash’s apartment. It wasn’t fancy and blended into the other working class, mass produced apartments nearby with it’s crowded parking lots, peeling beige paint and paper thin walls.
Randal helped them off the bike. They were still very wobbly as he lead them up to the second story. He opened the door with the key they had given him when they got the unit.
“Dave?” Randal called out to Daniel who shared the apparent with Ash. “David, buddy. Ash needs a snack”.
The apartment was completely dark but for a dim, slowing light from the living room.
“He’s coming up right behind you. Reload.”
“No, I got him. I got him.”
David and Jack, a vampire from Randal’s clan sat cross legged in from of the TV, playing Resident Evil 2 on David’s PlayStation.
Jack turned to look behind them. He face kept covered by the dengy hoodie that Ash was pretty sure he died in 4 years ago.
“Bro, pause.”
“I was wonder where you’ve been the past two nights. Beat it. You have perimeter duty with Ziggy and Marla tomorrow at sunset.” Randal said to his clan mate as he sat Ash down on the second hand couch.
“Yeah, gotcha. Take care, David. Ash.” Jack scurried out into the night.
“What’s wrong with Ash?” David asked with concern.
“Nothing too drastic. Markus did say they need to feed right away.”
“I haven’t seen them like this before. Check the fridge, I got a bloodpack in there. That Markus guy really creeps me out. Any idea what he did to them?”
David placed his bare wrist against Ash’s lip. They opened their mouth enough for their fangs to prick his skin and blood bubble to the surface and drip into their mouth and down their throat.
Ash’s mind was beginning to focus and sharpen. They bit deeper into David’s wrist. He yipped, shuddered and then purred as their venom or whatever makes a vampire’s bite pleasurable into his veins.
“It’s fucking frozen” Randal called from the kitchen.
Ash let go of David’s wrist. He flopped back on the couch, blissed out and high out of his mind with a touch of anemic dizziness.
“I’m good, Randal. Please grab David some orange juice or something with sugar.”
Rummaging could be hear from the kitchen. “Got it.”
Ash laid in small bathtub. The water just barely 2 inches above their face and already threatening to flood over. Their fingers grazed over their jugular which was bruised and was mildly sore. They would have to go out and hunt the next night to fully recover. Rusty swirls of dead blood lightly tainted the water.
“Babe?” Randal stood above them with a towel over his arm. “The sun is rising. Let me take a look at your neck.” Ash stood up and accepted the towel. They bared their throat to their paramour. “That is fucking nasty. And Markus did this?” His fingers traced the puncture marks.
“It will heal after I hunt.”
“He did tell me his “nature”,” Randal made quotation marks with his fingers, “ has changed since he was attacked by some of my clan.”
Ash vigorously dried themself off with the towel. “Yeah, whatever happened to those guys?”
“Meat shields,” Randal said matter of factly.
“Meat shields?”
“Meat shields. I couldn’t back Markus after crashing Jackie’s funeral and I couldn’t allow them to get away what they did, so when we had the war, I ordered them front line then had them pushed towards the Iscari and Gols. So meat shields,”
“Hmm. Clever, underhanded and someone died. Very effective. Will you be spending the day with me?”
“Unless I wanna do my best birthday candle impression, I don’t think I have a choice,” Randal shrugged.
Ash wrapped the towel around their frame. Regardless of the rising sun, the apartment was still dark thanks to the investment of blackout curtains. They could hear David softly snoring on the couch as they make their way to Ash’s room.
Their room was bare but for a full sized bed, a dresser and writing desk. Ash fished around in a drawer for clean underwear and undershirt. “I think I may have some clothing you left here,” Ash opened the bottom drawer that they reserved for Randal.
“My very own drawer, I don’t know if I’m ready for this level of commitment. Maybe in 50 years we can talk about meeting your parents first.” He heartily chucked to himself. Ash chucked a wadded up part of pajama bottoms at his head.
They climbed into bed. Randal pulled Ash on top of him. They laid their head on his chest. “You are still so warm from your bath.” He pulled the top sheet and blanket over them. Randal lightly dragged his nails down the length of their back until they both drifted into a death like sleep.
“That can’t be good. How are you not fucking gagging? Drinking vampire blood looks more appealing than that. Fuck, eating vampire flesh looks like a double bacon cheeseburger than that.”
“It's not that bad. It’s like a bloody Slurpee.” Ash said between gulps of a partially frozen blood bag. “Just don’t think about it and avoid the clots.”
Randal watched in horror as, “You didn’t have to say ‘clots’. No, give me that. I will bring you someone if I have too.” He took off the lid to the kitchen trash can and held it up for them to toss away the partially drank blood bag.
“Fine. Not as good as 7/11 Slurpee any who.” They dropped the offending meal into the trash.
“ARE YOU CRAZY!? RENT IS DUE IN A WEEK!” The female voice of Ash’s neighbor yelled.
“DON'T TELL ME WHAT DO WITH MY MONEY!” a deeper male voice replied louder, making the two vampires jump.
Ash rolled their eyes, “They are fucking fighting again.”
“I know what your financial situation is like, you could afford to move to a quieter side of town with where the walls don’t scream or move into the beach house,” Randal wiggled his bushy eyebrows. “Can’t beat beachfront property in sunny Santa Monica.”
“No. I still don’t do crowds 24/7 and I grew up in areas like this. Also I don’t want to move to the nicer side after being kept the Iscari and being forced to run Saoirse’s errands.”
They heard glass shattering against a wall and a yelp. “Ok, I’m gonna go over there and sort something out.” Randal placed the kitchen trash can down and started to head towards the front door with purpose.
“Wait, wait , wait. “Ash pulled on his arm. “Let me go. If something happens, you’ll put them through a wall. I’ll go take care of it then we’ll go hunting.”
He pinched his brow, “Are you sure you’re ok to finish whatever they have started?” Ash shook their head. “ And you'll yell for me if it’s too much?” Ash shook their head again. “Ok, fine.”
Chapter 5
Summary:
TRIGGER WARNING FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Notes:
This chapter contains domestic violence. If you can't read this chapter, please don't force yourself. Take care of you first.
Chapter Text
Ash poked their head out their door. They saw a little girl in her baby blue pajamas, hanging her bare legs over the edge of the balcony railing, fiddling with a filthy stuffed, bunny. Ash saw bruises with the outline of handprints across her olive skin. Her face, bare arms and tiny legs were purple. Within a blink, the hand prints and bruising was gone.
“Hi” Ash said softly to her, slowly creeping closer to her. “Is that your mom and dad fighting I hear?”
The little girl nodded at Ash. She kept the stoic face of a child who had experienced domestic turmoil regular. “What's your name, beautiful?”
“Marisol” she said in a whisper.
“Marisol, my name is Ash. I have lived next door to you for a couple years. Can you show me on your fingers how old you are?” She held up 5 finger that had chipping glitter paint on them. “Such a big girl.”
Another glass object broke. They had to speed this up. Ash did need help. They turned to call to Randal, but they felt a tug on their pant leg. “Help my mom,” Marisol’s dark eyes welled up and appeared larger.
“I’m going to help your mom, but I need you to be a brave girl while I get someone to help us,” Ash went back to their apartment door. “Randal, I need help,” they said in a low but harsh tone.
Randal flung the door open, fangs bared. Ash held their out in front of him to stop him from a possible charge. They pointed to the little girl. He was taken back.
“You didn’t say they had a child,” he hissed low for her now to hear.
“She is very scared and I had a vision. Stay with her. Keep her safe while I go in.”
Randal lower his guard. He slowly walked behind Ash. Marisol yelped and whimpered. She buried her face in her rabbit and hands.
“Marisol. This is Randal. He is very big and very strong. I know he may look super scary at first. But he is my friend and will help you. What I need you to do is be very, very brave. You and Randal will stay right here while I go get your mom. Can you stay right here with Randal?”
Randal crouched down on his heels and softly, yet uncomfortably smiled at the scared child. “You’re gonna be fine. Ash is very good at helping others and I will be right here. Will you stay here with me?” She shook her still buried face yes. “Ok, and if the yelling gets too loud, can I cover your ears?,” She mumbled something and then shook her head yes again. “Ok, Ash is going now.”
The apartment door was unlocked. The couple were still fighting. They were so loud and angry that it was all just noise to Ash. They slipped down the hall to they living room. Ash made sure to avoid stepping on toys, broken glass and porcelain shards.
“You and that brat will never ruin my life again!” A man yelled he had a sobbing woman in sweats by her brown her hair. He pulled his arm back and made a fist that was aimed for her head.
As fast as Ash, they pushed the man away. They grabbed his wrist of the hand that had the woman by her hair. It snapped like a candy cane. He shrieked in pain and let his spouse go. His fist came down on their face. Ash's nose spewed cold blood down their chin. They saw stars for a second.
“Who the fuck are you!?” The man held his broken wrist close to his chest. He grabbed a ceramic ash try and aimed it at Ash.
Ash didn’t answer. They took a crack at his jaw. It dislocated upon impact with their fist. He stumbled and a collapsed onto the floor. He tried crawling away from them.
They grabbed him by the scruff. When their hand made contact they saw this man’s life. This wasn’t the first family he had or the first he has. They saw what would happen if they didn’t intervene. They saw Marisol’s mother on the floor with her face beaten in. They saw the woman in a hospital, eyes closed on a ventilator with Marisol grasping for her had while an old woman tried to pull her away.
Their body shook with an anger that they haven’t felt in so long. Their fangs pierced their lips as their jaws clinched.
“Your baby girl is waiting outside, hoping her mom and dad will come get her, hold and love her.” They drug them threw the broken shards. He one good hand clawed at their wrist. “You will leave and you will never ever come back.” They hoisted he to their face. Ash locked their preturnatural brown eyes with the man’s terrified, blood shot hazel eyes. “You better thank your daughter that she is here or you would have never make it out of here with your fucking head attacked to your disgusting shoulders. You better thank God for her.”
Ash carrier him by his throat to the door. “Randal! Cover her eyes!” They growled. They pushed him out the door and onto the balcony. “Leave!”
The man whimpered like a kicked dog with tears running down his face. He ran across the balcony and down the stairs to the parking lot. A car door was shut while tires squealed.
Ash was breathing heavy. A growl made it’s home in their throat. They could smell blood everywhere. They licked at the man’s blood that coated their fist.
“Ash!” Randal forced Marisol’s face into his chest, trying to keep her eyes and ears covered. His hands were wet with her tears.
They shook their head, trying to clear their head of a possible frenzy. They nodded at Randal and headed back into the apartment.
Marisol’s mother was still in the floor in pure shock and fear. Ash got down to her level. Her brown hair had blood caked in it from a small cut above her eye. They reached towards her. She flinched and coward away from their hand. Ash continued their advance and brushed the hair out of her face.
“Marisol is outside with my friend. She is a very brave little girl.” Ash pulled her up to her feet. Maybe a little too fast. She staggered and collapsed again. Ash caught her. “ Listen to me. I lived next door to you for a few years. Do you have any family you can stay with?”
The woman was in gasping sobs and shook her head. “My sister. Sh-sh-she is in Es-Escandido, two and a half hours from h-here.”
“Listen, listen to me. Call you sister and pack a bag for you and Marisol. You are leaving tonight.”
“Frank, he controls all the money-“
“Don’t worry about the money. Clean yourself up and pack those bags. Can Marisol stay with me in my apartment while you get ready?” She hesitated and then agreed. “Ok, I will leave my door unlocked. Just come in. What is your name? My name is Ash.”
“Carlotta,”
“Ok, Carlotta. We will be waiting for you.”
Marisol sat in the living room, watching whatever was on late night tv. “Ash got a gross looking cut and I have to help them clean it.”
“Cut cleaner hurts,” she said matter of factly.
“Cut cleaner hurts.” Randal agreed. “And that’s why I have to help Ash or they will not heal and their skin will turn green and look like scum.” He embellished.
Ash slinked to the bathroom and began filling the sink with hot water. Their reflection showed a broken nose and a shadow of a bruise on their cheek. Blood caked on to their chin, neck and front of their grey v-neck. Their fangs were still bared as if promised blood.
They took their shirt off and tossed it aside. Ash damped a wash cloth in hot water and dabbed at their face. They found spots on their face that make them wince with pain.
There was a knock at the door before Randal stepped in with a clean shirt and held up the partially drank blood bag that they threw away earlier before.
“Listen, I know I said this was gross, bu-“
Ash tore it from his hand, “ I would gladly suck a tampon right now,” and squeezed the contents into their mouth.
“Babe, on second. Wad up that bag and bite down. This is gonna suck.” Randal placed his thumbs on either side of their broken nose and pushed it back into place. Pain shot through Ash’s face. “There, not we won’t have matching noses,”
“Ash?”
“Mommy!”
“Just one second,” they called out.
Ash wiped up the rest of their face and put on the clean shirt that was offered. And went to see Carlotta.
She had Marisol in her arms holding her tight. Bruising covered her arms, one eye was swelling and the outline of a hand was on her neck.
“You have your bags. Did you call your sister?”
“Yes. She knows we’re coming.”
“Good. Hang tight for a sec.”
Ash went to their room. They slid open their closet and bent down to the small safe they kept hidden. They entered their combination. They sorted through legal documents, photos and reached for their ‘bug out’ money. They counted out $500 in 20’s. They went to their writing desk and wrote down their work and home phone number on a slip of paper. They sealed both in an envelope and wrote ‘Carlotta’ across the front.
“Do you want to have someone tail them out of town?” Randal asked as they watched taillights in the darkness.
“No, she has to have some form of responsibility for her own well being and her child’s. Can we please get dinner now? I was not joking when I said I would start sucking tampons,”
“That is so fucking gross. What are you feeling tonight?”
“Think we can find a freshman still on the University campus? I wanna suck on those hopes and dreams for the future before they become disillusioned.”
Randal sniffed the air. “Maybe we should get you two meals tonight. You look like absolute shit. I smell a stoner kid behind the dumpster,”
“They are so mine,” Ash climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped, silently sticking the landing.
Ash snuck over to the apartment’s dumpster. The smell of cheap, skunky weed wafted from behind. They grabbed a young man that appeared to be in his very late teens to early 20’s by his hair and shoulder, exposing his jugular to their bite.
Warm, salty and coppery blood rushed down their gullet, filling them with heat. They lightly moaned into his neck. They swallowed drink after drink until his heart started to slowly beat.
Ash left the conscious man to slide against the dumpster and crumple to the ground. They wiped their mouth with the back of their hand.
They felt renewed. The wound from the earlier fight began to seal themselves. The pain in the bridge of their nose went away.
“Oh fuck that is some good shit,” they moaned to themself.
“Did that hit the spot?” Randal placed a hand on their shoulder.
Ash began to feel a little bit of a buzz and giggly. “I could use like, 10 more of these guys,” and pointed down to the unconscious man.
“Lightweight,” Randal scoffed. “Let’s get out of here and look for more food,”
Chapter 6
Summary:
Trigger warning for manipulation and gaslighting.
Chapter Text
Ash was blinded by a flash of light and a mechanical sound when they entered ‘Blood and Roses’ for their shift. They put up their hands to cover their face in defense.
“Crazy night?” Markus grabbed a photo from a Polaroid camera spat out and began to wave it.
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“ Your juice box came by looking for you tonight. Apparently while he was out with one of Randal’s boy, the one with the hoodie-“
“Jack.”
“Yes, some officers of the law came by your apartment. Something about a domestic dispute and assault.” Ash felt their heart drop into their belly.
“He was going to make Carlotta a vegetable if I didn’t-”
“Let me finish, traveler. They came her to look for you. I being a patient, loving friend and teacher, took full advantage of LA having one of the most corrupted police force, slipped them $500 from the till to get them off your trail.” Markus finished his account with what felt like misplaced satisfaction.
Markus reloaded a film cartridge into his camera and took another photo of Ash. “Why? Stop.”
“How could I not snap a photo? It’s baby’s first run in with the law as a vampire. And for such a noble cause. Warms my long cold heart,” He slipped the photos in his coat pocket.
Ash pushed pasted Markus and took their place behind the counter. “Taking up a new hobby?”
“I’ve always had a soft spot for candid photography. Feels more genuine and truthful than a portrait or planned scene.” He folded down the Polaroid camera’s flash lens and tucked it always into a coat pocket.
He reached out and touched their shoulder and brushed back their hair. Their neck was exposed, where they were bitten a few nights ago. The wound has long healed, but not left their unmarked. Two pin marks that could easily be mistaken as acne scars remained. Ash side stepped and reached up to their throat and fained an itch that needed to be scratched.
“Why do you want the cemetery?”
“Hmm?” Markus was shifting through the shop’s mail that someone from the day crew collected earlier. He picked up a tv guide.
“Why do you want the cemetery. You hated it there.” Ash recalled back to when Markus was newly afflicted with his condition and how they needed to meditate with Andrei and the others of Clan Golgotha to ease his symptoms.
“I enjoy the view.”
“ Bullshit.”
“I need my own space. With you being the new owner and me living off your good graces in the back room, I need to find somewhere else to hide for the sun.”
“I can’t help but to feel like you’re hiding something.”
“Hiding something? Why would I ever hide anything from my beloved pupil and travel-“ Markus cut himself off with a round of chuckles. “ I’m so sorry, Traveler. I could not keep that up any longer. Let me get my camera ready, for tonight is a night of “cherry popping”.
Ash felt as if the floor was swiped out from under their feet. “Markus, you’re scaring me.”
He locked the shop's door and beckoned them to follow him to the back. “Now I for one never suffer a fool, but myself. So when the cops came looking for you, I sent them away. Now this charming gentleman,” Markus opened the door to his lodgings, “ came looking for a little revenge.”
The man for last night was tied and gagged. His face was black and blue and his arm was in a cast. He appeared to be unconscious.
“No. No. No. Oh fuck, no,” Ash panicked.
“Oh yes, found this little beauty on him as well,” Markus reached into a pocket and pulled out a cheap looking .22 pistol. “On a good night, this will be a bee sting, but close to the head or heart, final death. As far as I see it, you can’t leave the table until you finish your vegetables. So you can; A, kill him and call for clean up, or B, turn him and hope rehabilitation is more possible as a vampire than in the US penal system.”
Ash felt trapped. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. I just wanted to hel-“
“Traveler, you of all people know the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions, but you have to clean up your messes.”
“I never killed a human and the only time I’ve hurt someone was in self defense or war.” Ash thought back to the dead left behind when Hollywood became independent.
“You will never cease to amaze me. Normally we have our first kill in the first few weeks of learning to feed and yet here you are. Come, you have to make a choice.”
“I could never allow a wife beating asshole to stick around and hurt others.”
“Sounds like you made your choice.”
Markus put his arm around Ash and turned their backs to the injured and unconscious man. He readied his camera and look a photo of all three together with his biggest, brightest smile possible.
“I need to make a call.”
Markus went to grab the phone, but Ash caught him by his sleeve. “Please don’t leave.” Ash knew if they could still produce tears, they would be crying. “Don’t make me do this alone.”
“I suppose I could hold your hand on this one.” Markus patted their head softly. “Now, let’s finish what you started and walk away with this as a learning experience.”
Ash lingered a little longer for more head pats until the finally turn to the man. They flexed and unflexed their hands, shifting their weight between their feet.
“If it help, taking his life will save a few,”
“I got this.”
Ash uselessly took a deep breath. They grabbed the man by his shoulders. He grown. A small trickle of blood ran from his right temple. They avoided directly looking at the man’s face. Just glancing at bits off him.
“This didn’t have to happen.”
Ash opened their mouth wide and sank their fang deep into their throbbing artery. The man’s blood poured their mouth, faster than they could keep up with. They swallowed flood after flood.
They slammed their eyes shut as visions took them. They saw a small, young version of the man holding a rag to his bloody nose while a middle aged man yelled at him. They saw the wiping him taking a bottle from their sleeping mother which bled into another vision of him as a teen holding the hand of a teenage girl.
The man’s body spasmed in Ash’s grasp. He shuddered and groaned when they finally sucked their life out of his body and left a dried husk behind.
Ash threw the body into Markus’s room and slammed the door. They collapsed against the door. Their body shuddered and shook as if they were sobbing hard.
“I didn’t want to hurt you! You didn’t have to hurt anybody! You didn’t have to come here! You made me!” Ash screamed to the dead man on the other side of the door.
Markus took a knee before them, any and all mirth was gone from his face. Wordlessly, he petted Ash's head. His fingers making their way through their ringlets, avoiding any tensions or pulling.
He curled a finger under their chin, tilting their head up to meet his eyes. “I need to make a call.”
“Not a drop left in this sorry motherfucker,” Randal nudge the body with his boot. “Oddly clean. Last time I did clean up, the poor sap looked like he was mauled by a couple hungry pit bulls,”
“Can you dispose of him tonight? And this as well?” Markus handed him the pistol the man brought with him.
Randal looked it over. “Someone forgot the safety.” He turned it over in his hands then emptied it of any bullets into his palm. “Ziggy, you know what to do with this.” He passed it over to the Mavvar’s resident gunsmith. “So what happened here? Robbery gone wrong?”
“You don’t recognize him?” Markus asked.
Randal crouched on his heels. He turned the dead man’s face this way and that. His brow scrunched. “God fucking dammit. You have got to be shitting me.” He sprung up to his full height. “Ash, I told you should have let me handle it.”
Ash jumped at his raised voice. They weren’t able to speak since they drained the man. Ash tucked themself behind the counter, sitting on the floor with their knees to their chest. They covered their ears with their hands. They felt like they were growing smaller by the second.
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter. We are burning moonlight. How are we gonna get him out of here, unseen?”
“We have that extra large duffle bag. A few dislocated joints and he’ll fit alright.” Marla, the mechanic to the Mavvars and Ziggy’s girlfriend suggested.
“Good. Then afterwards?”
“Puncture his belly and organs and feed the fishes. Gonna need to remove that cast first.” Marla said
“I don’t know, if a current picks him up, we are back at square one.” Randal scratched at his beard.
“Oil drum and lye.”
“If I may make a suggestion, the cemetery currently holds no residents. Toss him in a mausoleum. Can be done with it in under an hour.” Markus said as he took his place behind the counter. He reached down and resumed petting Ash.
“Ya sure? Isn’t that your territory now?”
“Anything for our traveler,”
“Speaking of which. Ash, I know you’re there. Stop hiding.” Ash felt like their could jump out of their skin as Randal barked.
“Hush tones, rebel king. Tonight had a night of firsts. This was Ash's first cover up and killing a human. The poor thing isn’t taking it too well.”
“You don’t say. They have been dead for three years, how have they not accidently killed someone within their first few nights. It’s part of the territory.”
“They must be double blessed or double damned.”
“Oh Christ, kid. Marla, Ziggy; pack up the body. We’re going to the cemetery.”
Markus pulled his hand out of Ash’s hair. They could feel the reveration of Randal’s heavy steps on the floor. Markus vaulted over the counter. He took his place, squeezing his large frame in the tight space. He crouched down, but still toward over Ash.
“I don’t know what to say to help you, but we are on clean up.” He brushed a knuckle against their cheek like he was wiping an invisible tear away. “If he came here with a gun, even a little pea shooter, he didn’t have the best intentions. He would have hurt more than just you. You did what you had too.” He leaned towards Ash and kissed their forehead. “I gotta take care of this. But call me anytime you need to.”
Ash shielded their head with there hands and squeezed their eyes shut.
Chapter 7
Summary:
Trigger warning for parental unit not respecting pronouns.
Chapter Text
“Mija, it’s time for school.” Ash was shook awake by firm and caring hands on their shoulder.
“Five more minutes, Abuelita.” They groaned, hugging the crocheted Afghan closer to their body.
Ash’s grandmother stood over them. She appeared too young to be a grandmother and she was. Late 40’s, barely making it over 5 feet tall and with a stocky build. “There is no time. I was called into the hospital. Come on, I made breakfast.”
She threw open the door to Ash’s closet. Digging around for a clean school uniform. “Ashley, you said you were going to return this,” she help up a pair of navy blue slacks and a beige collared shirt.
“I don’t like the skirts. They feel weird and I think Father Diego is trying to look them. I want the boy’s uniform.”
“Ashley, we don’t have time for this this morning. Wear the skirts. I am paying for you to have a good education, don’t be difficult. And if you ever catch anybody looking up your skirt, take their eyes. Nobody in this house has time for boys and their nonsense.” She placed the uniform back into the closet and pulled out a girl’s version. She left it on the foot of Ash’s bed.
Ash's grandmother left them to their privacy. They groaned and tossed the covers back. The sun leaking into their room felt extra warm and inviting on their skin. They stretched and popped the joints in their toes.
They looked into the mirror. Their skin was flushed from sleep warmth and brighter and darker olive than they recalled. Their hair was much longer than they felt it should be. The only thing that felt right about Ash’s face to them were their deep, golden brown eyes.
They looked around their small bedroom. A few posters here and there. From Prince in his full sensual glory to Nirvana and their grunge energy. Pamphlets from UCLA companied them on the wall.
“I’m leaving for work!” Ash’s grandmother yelled.
“Bye! I love you!”
“Yo también te quiero. Be safe. Don’t follow stranger men into alleys and don’t talk back to you teachers.”
Ash begrudgingly pulled on their school uniform and headed to the kitchen. They could smell something sweet and rich coming from the kitchen. They grandmother left a crock pot on low.
They lifted the slow cooker’s lid. Their grandma made champurrado. They gleefully stirred the rich, chocolate concoction with a ladle. They wrapped themself in the scent of sugar, milk, orange zest and cinnamon. Ash poured themself a large mug while they were waiting for their toast to finish browning.
They took their breakfast to the dining table and looked a speech for their junior speech class. They felt loved and content with themself. They took a deep sip of their mug, but something felt very off.
The taste of sweet rich chocolate that was expected was salty and mineraly. They looked into their mug. They did expect to see a brownish maroon, but this was too red. The white walls inside the mug were bright red. They yelped and dropped the mug.
“This is where you’ve been hiding.”
Ash shot up in bed and let out a blood curdling scream. The sunny apartment and their grandmother’s warmth was gone. They were back in their apartment, with its purposeful darkness and bare walls.
Their head was pounding like a migraine they use to get during finals when they were in school. Dried blood flecked around their mouth and in their hair. Their mouth was dry and felt sandy.
Ash propped themself up in their bed. They were changed into a oversized night shirt that had droplets of blood staining the white cotton.
“You always had a soft spot for the familiar. And who can blame you? There is comfort in the devil we know.” Markus sat on the foot of their bed.
“How long was I out?” Ash groaned.
“ Two weeks.”
Ash swung their legs out of bed. They wobbled as they got to their feet but eventually stood firm.
“What happened and who's blood is this?” They scraped some blood off their face and licked the dried blood off their finger. “It doesn’t taste like David.”
“The Mavvar left you a boon. The rebel king has been in the foulest of humors since you took to your condition. Bless those poor beasts. They thought bleeding their blood pets into your mouth would revive you,”
“A boon? Do you know what I need to pay back?”
“I’m assuming they want their leader back to get them back in line. I advised you head to Santa Monica and build a sand castle. You did after all tried to walk into the sunrise in your stupor,”
“Do you get your rocks off by burying the fucking lead like that?”
“I think we both know the answer to that. Clean yourself up and head to Santa Monica,”
“How's the shop?”
“Nonexistent if the Mavvar are not back on their leash.”
The cab pulled up to their apartment. They got into the back without the driver saying a word. They got the familiar sense that the cab driver was in a similar condition as themself and very familiar.
“I’m sorry if this sounds silly or prying, but were you a personal driver about three years ago?” The driver nodded into the rear view mirror at them. Ash could only see his sunglasses in the mirror. “Do you remember me?” He nodded again. “Sorry if you don’t want to talk. But it’s great to see someone familiar, especially if we are from the same house,” Ash motioned to their sunglasses. “Santa Monica, please. I’m glad you’re still with us,”
The beach house was a wreck. Empty bottles, sand, blood, mechanical oil and broken glass was everywhere. The Mavvar's hand out was never spotless, but it wasn’t this dirty. A few vampires milled around in placed while some seemed to feverishly pace in the sand.
“They are awake!” A young Mavvar yelled. Some froze in their spot and turned to Ash.
“Where is Randal?”
“He hasn’t been out for nights. He locked himself away in his room,” another answered.
“Did our blood pets help you get better?”
“I’m gonna go check on him,”
The interior was just are destroyed as the outside. They stepped around bottles, discarded knifes and what they assumed to be couch stuffing. They came to Randal’s door. ‘Fuck off’ was scratched into the surface.
Ash gave a small curtesy knock before turning the knob. They gently called to them. He was sat on the bare floor with his back against a wall with his legs crossed and his head lolled back. His long hair became stringy with grime. His eyes were closed but he wasn’t asleep.
“Randal, I’m awake,”
“I should have taken care of it. I should have never let you go over there.” He mumbled.
“I’m not sorry.”
“Of course you’re not. You’re never sorry. Too noble for your own good. Too generous for your own good. Too good for your own good. Never fucking sorry.” His voice was horse.
“I’m fine now. It was all just a big shock,”
He patted at his lap as an invite. They accepted and crawled into his lap and lauded their head against his chest.
“Back when I was freshly turned, I knew this kid who was also new. He had to be a run away or something coz he was very young. Couldn’t be any older than 17. I don’t remember what house he was from. Like most newbies, their sire tired of him and abandoned him. He was never taught how to feed on his own or control himself. On his first true night of fending for himself, he drank too deep and killed someone. It affected him so much that he didn’t feed for a week. Everybody thought he was gonna frenzy and kill a handful of humans. But no. He walked into the sunrise. He wasn’t even a year dead.” He stroked Ash’s face and griped their shoulders close to him. “When you had your “episode”, brake or whatever you call it, I was afraid we failed another one of our own. I failed someone who tore us from the jaws of a stupid conflict and gave us our free will. It wasn’t just a clean up job. I was so in love with your strength and light that I couldn’t see your weaknesses and shadows. And I failed you.”
Ash reached up and stroked his face and beard. He didn’t seem to react to their touch. He kept his eyes closed. “Let’s just stay like this for a bit longer.” He nuzzled his face into the side of their head. “You will never understand how deeply I want to devour you,” Ash shivered they didn’t know from discomfort or from excitement.
And so they stayed like that until the next sunset. Randal finally showered and changed clothing before rounding up his clanmates. He sent them all on mundane errands and patrols to keep them focused
“I swear it’s like owning a Siberian husky in an apartment. Need to run them or they’ll eat the couch.”
“That is very concerning.” Ash buried their feet into the sand what was still hot from the summer day.
“I guess it is. Do you know what happened while you were out of it?”
Ash dug deeper into the sand with their hands, finding moist and malleable sand. “I’m not very sure. One minute I was having one of the worst nights of my life and then I was a kid again, getting misgendered and telling my grandma to have a good day at work and drinking champurrado in the kitchen and then I woke up screaming.”
“What’s champurrado?”
“It’s like a very thick hot chocolate with masa, cinnamon and she made it with orange zest. I think Markus had to go in and hit a factory reset button.” Ash tapped the side of their head. They gathered more wet sand and started shaping it in their hands.
“Markus can do that?”
“It’s a Golgotha thing. Had to do it for him after he got eviscerated that one time.”
“Still kinda feel like shit about that,”
“I did at first but now that everything is said a done and the rose colored glasses are cast aside, I really don’t.”
“So can you guys go into someone’s mind and fix their daddy issues?” He twisted the cap off a bottle of spiked blood and took a deep pull from it.
“There isn’t enough vampire blood in the world to fix a single person’s daddy issues.”
“Damn, almost had my hope up there for a sec. Was it all one ‘scene’ or did you jump around?”
“No, it was based on an actual memory. So how it went down was my Abuelita woke me up for school. I think I was a junior, coz I still wanted to go to UCLA. She was annoyed I had a boy’s uniform and I said I didn’t want to wear my school’s girl uniform coz it felt weird and one of my teachers was a perv. Then she left for work and I went to have breakfast. My champurrado turned to blood and I woke up screaming.”
“That doesn’t seem too back. I guess breakfast turning to blood in your mouth is scary, but not too bad.”
“I think the screaming came from being back online. If I remember correctly that was the day my grandma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Turns out it runs in my family and it got her mother and aunt. Those extra shifts weren’t to pay for my over priced, half assed, Catholic Private school, but her going to a doctor for a diagnoses. Coincidentally, did you know that private schools can choose their own curriculum and don’t have to rely on what the state sets? And here I was thinking I was the smartest duck in the pond. ”
“Yeah, I never made it pass the 8th grade, so you got me beat there, but I feel like we completely glazed over something kinda big there.”
“Was it my parent’s ovarian cancer?” The mass of wet sand Ash was playing with took shapes and were starting to become something that they could yet make out.
“Yeah. Shit, I didn’t even know she was you parent. I just assumed your grandma lived with you and your biological parents.”
“Nope, just me and my Abuelita. She passed in three years. I think I was nineteen years old. She had a decent life insurance policy from being a life long nurse. Nothing glamorous. Her funeral was small and simple and left me some money to move to Fresno to LA. I gave up on going to college and wanted to take care of her in her final days and thought maybe I would try college at a later time.” They started building turning the shapes into structures. They wish they had a bucket or cup to compact the sand.
“Where were you parents if you don’t mind me asking. Kinda a big task for a kid.”
“I’m the product of a weak pull out game so who knows who my father is and my mother booked it as soon as she could stand up without her guts falling out. It use to bother me when I was a kid and got made fun of, but it’s whatever. Anywho, so my grandma died and I moved got a small apartment, which I lost after being held as a political pawn. What shit luck, am I right? Like the night I was killed, I took myself to the Abattoir for a late 21st birthday, coz I couldn’t get the night off from a shitty office job and was grinding too hard to make real friends. ‘Don’t follow strange men into a dark alley’, my grandma use to always say. Never once did she warn me about fucking vampires in a club or bullshit bureaucracies,” Ashe finally got the shape of a ‘castle’ in the sand. They too the edge of their finger nail and began etching details.
“Damn,” Randal began picking at broken shells and dried out legs and claws of long dead crabs. He made a pile of pieces that he deemed visually appealing.
“I think my psyche linking up a traumatic moment with another trauma while trying to find comfort or a silver lining. I don’t know, I’m not a fucking shrink.” Ash picked through Randal’s pile and found some beach litter that would look good on their sand castle. “You know what sucks? In movies and books, eternal youth is glorified and just a vampire trope. Battling your bestial nature is a vampire trope. I got turned as soon as the state said I was old enough to hold my liquor. Because my sire couldn’t keep his fangs-dick in his mouth-pants, now I am the trope and not my own personal experience. When I watched ‘Interview with a Vampire’ I thought I would have preferred to changed when I’m middle aged with some sort of aged wisdom that came from experience.” They let out a manic laugh that made Randal jump.
“The fuck was that?”
“Aw, sweet Christ. If it wasn’t for my grandma’s ovarian cancer, I wouldn’t be a vampire,” And with that they slammed their fist into the sand castle.
Chapter Text
“Ok, next step,”
“Um, lace loop D through loop C and then bring both tails around to the back,” David read off the instructions from a beginners guild on shibari.
“Are you sure it’s meant to look like this?” Ash asked, holding the smooth nylon rope taunt on the mannequin.
David cocked his head to the side and looked from the mannequin to the photo example. “No, that can’t be right,”
“Wanna trade spots?” Ash threw down the ropes in frustration and took the book from David. “It looks so pretty, but there is something I can’t nail down about it.”
“Why don’t you do the harness that looks like a star on the chest and ties the hands back again?” David coiled back up the rope for a fresh start on the mannequin.
“No, we did that for a display two months ago and I kinda wanna do a “knot of the month” display.
“Hey, can you hold up the book to the example?”
“You don’t need me to read the steps?”
“No, just the example should be fine,”
Ash held the book open to the example. David set to work. He draped the rope over the mannequin’s shoulders and level the ends. He glanced at the book a few times. Within seconds the mannequin began to look like in the book.
“Wow, David. Something you’d like to tell me?”
“My parents sent my brother and I to a summer camp in Colorado for years. They had knot tying competitions. “
“What the hell kinda summer camp do they have in Colorado?”
“Hold on,” David help up a tail of rope for Ash to hold while he weaved the other tail between two slats across the mannequin’s belly. He took back the rope from Ash and tied both ends behind the back. “There. And it looks like in the book,”
“Wow, that’s just beautiful work. Good job,” Ash stuck two fingers in between the mannequin and rope. “You even have a little bit of slack. I am greatly impressed. Never would have pegged you as a bondage guy,”
The door to ‘Blood and Roses’ was kicked open, causing both Ash and David to flinch. Two large Mavvars rushed towards Ash and pulled them towards the door. They recognized the one with brown facial hair as Nik and they other man was tall as he was wide, black and bald. They recognized him from the beach but never spoken directly to him.
“What the hell?!” Ash tired to rip their arms away but they both had a tight grip on them. “Let go!”
“Come on,”
Ash’s vision blurred and flashed. They smell the acrid blood of vampires. Their hand felt it hold another cold, stony hand. They saw open wounds, lifeless eyes. The scent of burning plastics soon followed.
Their visions replaced the shop with dark flora. Pain shot threw their neck, spine and chest. They couldn’t move. They felt fingers tear and enter wounds.
“Markus!” Ash screamed.
“Ash!” David stood shaking. He appeared paralyzed.
Ash was shoved in the back of a sedan. Nik and the other Mavvar man sat on otherside of them, making them feel claustrophobic.
Ash was shaking from their visions. They looked out the window. They expected that they would be going to the beach house, but they took started heading East.
Ideas how what could happen to they swam in their mind. Ash didn’t know why the Mavvars would be so aggressive to this extent with them. Mental images of Ash’s body being tattered and left for the sun to finish them took up their mind.
“Where are we going?”
“ Griffith park, now quiet down,” Marla barked.
“What? Why?” Ash got no answer
They rode in silence until they came up to the observatory. A few motorcycles and a truck were parked in the lot. Randal pointed to a direction in the tree and two Mavvars went that way. Ash counted ten vampires with Randal. Seeing him wiped away all panic rushing threw their still veins.
Marla parked but didn’t get out of the car. As soon a Nik moved, Ash rushed out. “What the fuck is going on?! Did you really have to send two of your dumbest goons after me?” Randal held up to hands in defense. “They scared the shit out of me! They nearly gave David a heart attack! I thought they were gonna eviscerate me and leave me for the sun! Fuck!”
Randal clinched a fist and pinched his furrowed brow. “I said ‘get Ash, this may become an emergency’, not terrify them! Jesus Christ! You two! In the car! Marla! Get them out of here!” Nik and the other man slunk back to the car.
“Wait!” Ash shouted at Nik and the other man. The both stopped.
Ash charged at Nik. They made a fist, pulled their arm back and aimed for his stomach. The air was knocked out of him and he doubted over, then collapsed on his side.
“You sorry sack of over zealous crap!” They kicked him in his ribs. “Scaring the fuck out of me! In my fucking shop! On my fucking land! My fucking territory!”
Randal grabbed Ash and pulled them off the now bruised and slightly bloodied Mavvar.
“You!” Ash pointed to the man that accompanied Nik. “What is your name?”
“Samuel,” he said in a deep, baritone voice curtly.
“I don’t know you! I probably would have loved to meet you! I expect an apology at a later date to me and my blood pet!” Ash fought against Randal as they yelled at Samuel.
“Why does he get off easy?” Nik groaned in the ground and spit out a mouthful of blood.
“Because I don’t know him, Nik!” They hissed.
“Calm down. You’re ok now. Shhhhh….” Randal squeezed then closer to his chest, pinning their arms to their side. Ash’s toes dangled off the ground by at least 4 inches.
“They are fucking crazy.” Nik croaked. “Fucking Gol.”
“Fuck you, Nik. Your parents never loved you!”
“Get out of here!” Randal roared.
Samuel dragged Nik into the car. Marla sped off, kicking up gravel. Ash was still seething. Randal stroked the top of their head and turned back to the other Mavvars.
“Ok, now that’s sorted. I asked you here tonight because there has been some movement of unknown vampires spotted on patrol. I have reason to believe that there are a few pockets here in the park. Now, we are not here to hunt them. We are not here to scare them or spook them. We want to know who they are and if they are willing to join an independent LA. Do I make myself clear?” The other vampires murmured agreement. “We will all meet back her in at three am. If you find someone, bring them back here to meet us. Now pair up and be smart out there.” The vampires paired up and started heading scattering through the part.
“I’m gonna put you down and when I do, you need to keep your cool. Keep cool. Icy chill.”
Ash took a therapeutic deep breath. “I’m cool. We’re good. I just got spooked,”
“I can only imagine what hellfire you rain down on when you find spiders. Like I said, we have some a handful of visitors in the park. We need to know where they stand. If they want to join up, awesome. But if they think independent means free real estate, then we are gonna have a big fucking issue.” Randal set Ash back down. “Mavvars are not known as talkers, so here is where you come in. You’re gonna have to work P.R.”
“I just knocked around one of your guys, and got out of a trauma coma a week ago. I don’t think I qualify. And I’m a painful introvert.”
“But you did help create a free state, sent two rival groups packing and deal with Markus on a regular basis. Sounds like you’re over qualified. And you do suck at parties, but someone has to balance the vibe,”
“Fine,”
Ash kicked off their work flats and tossed them by a bike. Their soles softly padded on the grass. They headed towards a trail heading down hill.
“What makes you think someone is hiding in the park?” Ash asked Randal.
“I’ve had patrols set up in prime real estate areas. Griffith Park is huge. I don’t expect a legion of Iscari fops to set up shop here, but it would be great for another Mavvar clan moving in or a small but tight group of Golgothas. Also there has been a spike in reports of joggers getting roughed up.”
Randal kept a steady stride. Every 50 or so meters he closed his eyes and sniffed the air. If Ash strained their eyes, they could see his ears twitch. They studied his tracking method.
“Are you having visions of a white picket fence, a golden lab and 2.5 kids?” He bared a toothy grin down at them. “Maybe spend winters in Alaska when it’s dark for all but 2 hours a day,”
“Sounds like you’re the one with the visions. Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,”
“Hey, can you possibly use your visions for tracking?”
Ash redirected their eyes head of them on the dark trail. They squinted in the dark and even tried crossing their eyes. No hidden information came to them.
“No, I’m not getting anything. Sorry,”
“No worries, kid,” Randal patted Ash on their back, forcing them to stumble forward. “Do your feet hurt?” He pointed down to Ash’s bare feet.
“Nope. I just didn’t want to ruin my work shoes. I didn’t know I would be on a hike today,” They kicked a pebble and sent it skittering down the trail. Ash notices their new, deep plum pedicure was chipped.
“Want a piggy back ride?” Randal dashed a meter ahead of them. He lowered himself to one knee.
“Ok,”
Ash braced their arms against his shoulder and wrapped their legs around is his hips. He hooked his arms under their knees. “Do me a favor and move my hair to the side?” They gathered his hair in their hands and moved it over his left shoulder. Ash rubbed their cheek against the exposed back of his neck. “Don’t get too comfy. We are still on a mission.”
They continued on the trail for another hour. “Ash, what time is it? We have to meet up with the others at three? I don’t think there is anybody down this way,”
Ash pulled back their shirt sleeve and looked at their digital watch. “It’s fifteen minutes past one. Yeah, see?” they lowered their arm down to Randal’s eye level to show their watch face.
“All right, Let’s turn back and meet up with the others. This was a disappointing hunt,” he groaned. “Maybe the others found someone. Well at least I got more than an hour between your thighs, so it wasn’t a total loss,”
Ash scoffed, “Are you sure that’s the reason for dragging me out her? Just wanting a romantic, midnight hike?”
“Not gonna lie, it has been a date idea for when watching you beat macho men at the strength test at the pier gets old,” he chuckles. “There is something I would like to do. I want to hunt you here,”
“What?” Ash was taken aback.
“Hear me out. Drop you off here in the park after you’ve fed. And mean eat like it’s Thanksgiving, I need you to be very warm for this. Give you an hour or so head start. For you to get deeper into the park,” A mild purr came from the back of his throat. “Get off the trail, get lost if possible and let me hunt you like a deer. If vampire blood wasn’t so disgusting, I would ask to feed on you. I know you can’t out run me, but suppress your presents, try to ambush me back. And when I do finally find and catch you, fuck you straight into the earth.” That suggestive purr in his voice grew into a carnal growl.
Ash felt very aware of themself and like a blood slide under a microscope. That began to slip into a vision. They saw their clothing becoming tatters and claws slicing dark rivers across their front and arms.
“Ash, you ok? Got kinda quiet. Sorry of that isn’t your thing,”
“No, I’m just having a vision. It looks like that may eventually be on the menu-“
Pain radiated through Ash’s chest. They were dropped to the ground and landed on their back. They clutched at a wound above their right breast. Cold blood leaked from it. Ash placed shaking fingers to the small wound. A small hole with the circumstance of their finger tip. They felt something metal in their flesh.
Randal roared in pain. He was holding his shoulder. “Did I just get shot with a fucking arrow?!” Ash saw the arrow sticking into his shoulder and exiting his back.
Ash pressed their fingernails into their gash and felt something sharp, serrated and triangular. “I think I have the tip in my lung,” they winced.
A figure came running at them from the shrubbery. Ash squinted at them. The figure was holding a cross bow. They were still in mid reload. Man didn’t feel like another vampire, but like a human.
Ash scrambled to their feet. They can out at the man with the cross bow, keeping low to the ground. They began a stampede towards the man.
An explosion went off behind them. They felt their flesh tearing. They kept their charge at the man with the crossbow. They slapped the barrel upwards with their palm. The weapon left his hands. Ash snatched it and brought the butt down on his shoulder. They didn’t just hear his shoulder break, they felt it. The man fell to the ground, screaming and holding his shoulder.
Ash threw the crossbow down and stomped on it. They didn’t care if their unprotected heel would become a bleeding mess. They brought it down and left it an useless mess of materials.
They scanned the trail. They saw five others running towards them. They saw a glint of light off of the muzzles of a few pistols.
They caught sight of Randal, two men were on him. One on his back while the other was trying to line up a shot with his head. Ash ran at the man with the gun and tackled him. A shot went off into their stomach.
They gripped their wrist and slammed it down, sending the gun skittering. They grabbed him by his shoulders and sunk their fangs deep into his throat. His warm blood freely flowed into their mouth and down their gullet until he went limp.
Ash tossed the man aside. They felt a hard kick to their back. They went rolling until they were face down into the dirt. The felt a gun muzzle in the back of their neck.
Ash coughed. Blood ran from their mouth into the dirt. They tried to roll over, but couldn’t move. Panic started to sink it’s claws deep into their stomach. They had to get moving or the humans will kill them.
“Ash!”.
They heard a couple gun shots that was followed up with bones cracking and screams. They body was in the most pain they have very experienced.
“Ash!”
Hurried hands lifted Ash from the dirt. Their chest and head were patted down for what they assumed killing wounds. Held tight against Randal’s chest. He took off at an incredibly fast pace.
“You’re going to be fine. I’ll have you fixed up and you’ll be fine. I promise. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Randal kept running, holding Ash. They couldn’t turn their head to look to see where they were going. They only saw blurs of the trail, foliage and shrubbery.
Ash heard more feet running towards them. They sounded too fast to be humans. “Randal! There are hunters in the park!” They recognized Jack’s scared voice.
“I know! They fucking got Ash! Do we lose anybody?”
“Not that I know of. Ziggy has a few potholes in his back and Lisa took an arrow to her leg.”
Randal growled. “Here’s what we are gonna do. Tell the others you see to head to a safe house. Don’t go back to the beach for a few days. Afterwards, you head back to the beach. Do not, Jack, do not take the direct route. Gather a clean up crew for tomorrow night. Can you do that?”
“Yeah, man! Where are you going?”
“I don’t know yet, but don’t worry about it. You have a job. Be careful out there, Jack. I’ll call when I find a place.”
Randal turned and dashed off the trail. His heavy feet kicking up dirt and small, loose rocks. He kept a hand shielding their head.
Within what felt like twenty or thirty minutes, they were back at the parking lot. All the Mavvars’ mode of transportation were gone. All was left was Randal’s bike and a cab with one figure sitting cross legged on the trunk and one leaning against the hood.
“Start the fucking engine!”
The figure sitting on the hood popped themself behind the drivers wheel and the engine roared to life. The other opened the door behind the driver’s side. They slide in.
Ash was tossed into the back seat of the cab like a sack of potatoes. Their head landed in Markus’s lap. He lifted them but their shoulders and adjust them to lean on his shoulder.
“You’ve had an terrible night haven’t you? I heard you screaming from the cemetery.”
“That explains why you’re here.” Ash could see Randal out the corner of their eye, gripping his wounds. “Fuck. I can’t stop bleeding. Something is stuck inside.”
“Brother, you know where to take us?” Markus said more as a command than a question to the Golgotha cab driver.
He turned in his seat and flashed a fanged and silent smile before nodding
Chapter 9
Summary:
This story isn't taking on the life I was hoping and I feel the need to change the title and tags.
Also TW for not so sane, not so safe and not so concentual "medical play" and body horror.
Chapter Text
Randal opened the unlocked the door of Ash’s apartment. Markus followed after him, with Ash in his arms.
“Ash! I was so worried,” David said in a panicked tone. “If anything happened to you-“
“Fuck off, blood bag. If you wanna be helpful, get some water and towels,” Randal snarled. David clamped his mouth tight and turned down a hall.
Randal flopped into a chair at the simple kitchen table. He removed what was left of his shirt. Angry wounds peppered his torso. He took a claw and stuck it into a hole. A river of thick, maroon, cold blood bubbled up around his finger. He winced and snarled as he pulled out a bullet. He dripped the offending metal on the table. The injury began to slowly seal itself. He repeated the process, littering the kitchen table with spent bullets and arrow heads.
“I’m going to take the traveler to the bathroom and clean out their wounds.”
“Great. David, those towels?” he said through gritted teeth, digging a foreign object out of his bicep.
Markus carried Ash to the bathroom. He gently set them down in the cramped tub. He bent their knee to fit them in better, but left their right leg hanging over the tub’s edge.
“You still can’t move with that bullet in your neck.” He stroked blood matted hair out of their eyes. “You’re completely paralyzed.” He turned their face towards him to meet his glowing eyes. “Let me care for you, traveler.”
Markus turned towards the counter. Ash could just barely see a bowl, tweezers, a wash cloth and scissors. He turned back to Ash with the scissors in hand.
“You’re not going to mind me finishing the job on your clothing,” He said as more as a fact than a question. He was right. Ash would have thrown away their destroyed pants and shirt with them being riddled with holes and tears.
Markus took the scissors to the hem of their charcoal shirt slide the scissors from belly to neck. He coaxed their arms out of the sleeves and haphazardly tossed the clothing to the floor. He did the same for their slacks. They were left in their underwear and a thin, once white tank.
Markus set down the scissors and turned his back to them. He picked up something small from the counter. He piled his long, easy hair into a sloppy, high pony tail and set his sunglasses aside. He unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeves and rolled them to his elbows. He reached to the bathroom door and closed it. Ash heard the lock on the door click into place.
“How embarrassing would it be for someone to walk in on you this venerable?” He kneels onto the floor, next to the tub. “Well, maybe not too embarrassing. After all, each of us know you intimately in our own way,” his cold, scentless breath drifting across their cheek.
Markus picked back up his scissors. He bunches up the thin, ribbed cotton of their tank and snipped it.
“Now this next part maybe awkward for you, but nothing I haven’t seen before.” He slid the scissor bled against their thigh and clipped off Ash’s underwear.
Ash tried to close their legs or turn their face away. They felt like an object, akin to someone’s cross stitch than a person.
“First thing’s first. Lets get that bullet out of your spine.”
Markus placed a cold hand on the side of Ash’s face. He turn their head down and away. They heard a light clattering of metal against ceramic.
“I’m going in with some tweezers. Let me know if you can feel or move,”
A minute of silence passed. Ash heard a faint clatter as a bullet was dropped into bowl. They tried flexing their fingers and toes with no results.
Feeling slowly crept back into their body. The back of their neck felt wet while they began to feel the outline of Markus’s hand against their throat. Ash could make out the feeling of a light padding on the back of their neck. A jolt went down their repairing spine when something entered the wound and lightly swirled around inside.
Disgust and panic were heavy stones in Ash’s belly, began to slowly melt away. Their mind softened and blurred with a cloud of euphoria. Their eyes drooped and their body untensed and relaxed again. Being this naked and injured didn’t feel like such a threat anymore. They were in Markus’s hands and he would care for them.
“There, that should make you more docile as you heal.” Markus wiped a dark spot away from his lips on the back of his hand. “A little venom and dash of perception blocking is a hell of a drug.”
Markus took back up the tweezers. He selected an injury on their thigh that was hanging out of the bathtub. He dug deep and expressed a useless arrowhead. He dropped it in the bowl with the bullet. Ash felt pressure but no pain.
Ash was transfixed on watching Markus. From his stoic face to his boney hands working on them to his slender, painted fingers dipping into their wounds. Ash let out a small gasp when his fingers reached into their torn flesh.
Their spine was repaired enough for them to turn their head slightly.
“Traveler, if you keep watching me watching me with such love in your eyes, I’ll have no choice but to blush and break your heart.” Markus said in a soft tone.
Ash closed their eyes. They melted away into a vision of him shredding their belly open. His hand snaking under their rib cage and caressing their still heart. His long fingers wrapping around it and pulling it free of its flesh and bone cage. Markus bringing the organ to his mouth and devouring it like a starving man.
They sighed. Their heavy arms dragged to their chest and hug themself as best as they could. They reopened their eyes. Markus was smirking at them.
“Not a half bad idea. Devouring my pupil’s heart. Letting me swallow you whole,”
Ash had the urge to reach out and touch his face. Wrap their fingers in his hair. Bury their own fangs into him. Drink him. Swallow him. Feel his un-life inside them.
“Careful,” Markus used the side of his thumb and wiped fresh blood from Ash’s lower lip. Their fangs had extended and pierced their own lip. “I don’t think you’re ready to be infected with what I have.”
Markus reached for the tap, he turned the water on. Ash couldn’t tell if it was hot, cold or water a perfect bathing temperature. They could only feel the wetness. The water went from clear to a cloudy reddish brown.
“ I will clean you off,” he took a bar of soap and a wash cloth in his hands.
He rubbed the soap in the cloth until sudsy. He rubbed the cloth along their arms and legs. Working off any blood and dirt from the hunters. Ash savored any contact any contact made with their to their thighs, belly and neck.
“Such a lightweight. A little perception blocking and my saliva made you turn some bathtub surgery into a melting, mewling mess.”
Ash knew they should be completely embarrassed by their reaction and behavior. But his hands, his care were too much.
“Now that you’re clean and don’t seem to be in too much pain, I’m going to take some payment.”
Ash didn’t notice there was still one wound left in their chest. A small, dark void was left in the slightly fatty tissue centimeters to the left of their heart. Markus took up the tweezers again and dug into the wound. Blood freely began flowing.
He dropped the spent bullet and tweezers in the now filthy water. His pale tongue chased after the trail of cold, thickened blood. From their stomach, between their small breasts and finally to the injury itself.
Ash let out a small moan. Barely audible but enough to Markus press two fingers to their lips. He took their hands and crossed them over their mouth.
“Sshhhh, Traveler. We don’t want anybody to get the wrong idea.” His eyes glowed brighter than usual and felt blinding to Ash.
His hand went up the base of the back of their neck. He spread his fingers wide apart and grabbed their hair from the base, forcing their head back. They made a muffled groan. Their hands still clamped over their mouth. Ash felt as if they couldn’t removed their hands from their face.
Ash felt a mixture of pain and pleasure blooming from their injury. They panted out of habit when he lapped at gash. Ash didn’t know if they wanted to push him away and run or if they wanted to hold his face in their chest and have him bleed them to a second and final death.
They tried to pull their hands away from their mouth. Their hands felt like super powered magnets attracted to their face. They managed to wrestle a hand away. Their hand fell to Markus’s head.
They pulled out his hair tie. Markus’s wavy, dark hair spilled over their chest and his face. Ash’s fingers petting his hair back and over his shoulder. He flinched under their hand. Ash stroked any loose hair away from his face, tucking those strands behind his ear.
Ash’s vision was blurring. They couldn’t tell if it the blood loss or absolute bliss. Markus unlatched from their wound that was mostly healed. They could barely keep their eyes open.
“Traveler, don’t fall asleep. You don’t have Charon’s fair on you.”
Something plastic was pressed to Ash’s now turning blue lips. “Canned is never as good as homemade but is still filling and satisfying”. Ash bit on the blood bag. Blood filled their mouth and flowed down their throat. They could feel instant rejuvenation.
When empty, Markus took the bag from their mouth. “Touch your nose.” Ash did as ordered. “Wiggle your toes.”
Ash looked down and remembered how naked and splayed they were. They slammed their legs together and crossed their arms across their bare chest.
“Well that proves everything is back online and functioning.” Markus chuckled. He reached for a towel. “One final test. Stand.” He handed them the towel.
They got to their feet. They still felt weakness in their entire body. They wrapped the towel around themself and took a shaky step put of the bloody water.
Ash went to their room for clean clothing. Every step and movement felt uncoordinated and heavy. They dug through their drawers and found clean night clothes.
Ash found Randal still at the kitchen table. He was drawing something on his palm in a felt marker. He was chewing his lower lip and bouncing his left leg.
Ash snuck behind him and slipped into the kitchen. They reached into the fridge. They grabbed a repurposed butter tub and popped the lid off. They retrieved two blood bags. They did a quick count of their supply and placed it back into the refrigerator. They opened a cupboard and grabbed two glasses.
They pulled a chair across from Randal. “I know you’re not a fan of the glass, but I think it’s too late to hunt.” They filled the two glasses with blood and slid one to Randal.
He looked up from the drawing on his palm. He scrunched up his nose, but accepted the glass. He downed the pint of blood in a small series of gulps.
“Thanks.”
“Where is Markus?”
“I think he left. You know how he is. You’re up and walking again.”
Ash touched the back of their neck. “Yeah, he pulled the bullet out of my spine.”
“Speaking of which,” he help up a spent bullet and an arrow tip. “This was no fucking accident or happenstance. This was a planned attack.”
“Why do you say that?” Ash asked as they sipped their glass of blood.
“Look carefully. These are not steel.” Randal handed a bullet to them.
The metal was very light and looked tarnished. “This can’t be silver. Tell me we weren’t attacked with silver.”
“Yeah. Those nut jobs shot us up like goddamn werewolves. That takes a bit of collateral to make customized ammo.”
“Like someone put a hit on us?”
“Fuckin maybe. I have a few theories. Either some hunters grab one of ours and made them squeal and send out a false rumor, or someone from outside want to pick off the current management. Our clan isn’t known for being the most organized or up right citizens.”
“You’re clan.” Ash corrected.
Randal grunted. “I’m sorry, kid. I was going to save this for your 16th death day. But you’re adopted. And that doesn’t mean your sire and I love you any less. You know what I meant. There’s the Iscari in San Fran and the Golgotha in San Diego who could want our turf.”
Ash rolled their eyes. “Please tell me there isn’t going to be another war to fight.”
“We’re not going to enter another war if there is no need too. Tonight’s attack was planned.” He patted their back. “In the mean time, we need to lay low. Those who were in the park tonight all went to safe places to not lead the hunters to the beach house. Mind if I stay here for a few days?”
“You know which drawer is your's,”
“Also, you should stay in for a few nights.”
“Dammit. I need to get back to the shop and David needs a break. Since Markus came back, I have not been keeping up with the shop like I should. Fuck, I would have fired myself already
Chapter 10
Summary:
This one is just for the porn with little plot.
Chapter Text
Ash climbed into bed. The rosy glow of the dawn peaked around the outline of their curtains.
“Here’s how I see it. We are gonna have to reach out to our neighbors for an alliance and eat the political shit sandwich or wait it out and hope nobody gets hurt until we know more.” Randal pinched his scrunched brow.
“Did you really think that we could have stayed independent without any guidance?” Ash pulled the covers under their chin.
“You know, for a minute there, yeah. I did think would could all just police ourselves and that would be respected.”
“Did you call the beach house and let the others know you’re ok?”
“Yeah. I did that while you were being some back alley surgery.” He laid back in bed and took Ash’s hand in his. “Hey, so that guy with Markus. I got some weird vibes. I don’t know if you should hang around them.”
“I don’t know much about him. He use to drive for Saorise. He’s never said a word to me. I think he’s from my clan.”
“I’m not your dad, so I’m not going to say never speak to him. But please be careful around that guy.” He dug around in his drawer for clean and bullet hole free clothing. “He just give me weird vibes.”
“Me too. I feel like I should know him more. Markus seems pretty chummy with him.”
Randal settled for a pair of grey gingham flannel pants. “In my experience, Markus is always chummy until he’s not. Then he’s fucking homicidal. And then it’s hard to tell where you stand with him at times. So take that for what you will.”
Randal slipped under the blanket with Ash. “We got too fuckin comfortable, so we got fat and lazy in our peace.”
“Nobody talks about what happens when the underdogs grow into Cerberus.”
“I think I have a plan brewing. I just need to sleep on it for now.” Randal turned on his side away from Ash.
Ash stared up at the ceiling. They tried to sleep a couple times, but they jolted awake from nightmares. Nightmares ranging from being a deer getting hunted to being a cow raised for slaughter then finally to being back at the Abattoir and being turned again.
They rolled on their side to face Randal’s back. They remembered back when they were a young child and was prone to nightmares around the same time their grandma would have to work double shifts, they would pet the household cat, Tito, until she came home and they could snuggle with their parent or fall asleep.
Ash reached out to the back of Randal’s head and raked their fingers through the dark gold strands. They couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or just playing opossum. They gently ran their finger through, taking care to avoid pulling. After a few minutes of the repetition, their eyes were heavy.
“Kid, kid. Walk up. I need you to let go.” Ash cracked open their still sleepy eyes. Trickles of sunlight tried to enter their window from behind the curtains. “Let go.” Randal said firmly.
Ash had his hair wound tightly around their fist. They quickly let go. “I’m sorry.” They rubbed their eyes. “What time is it?”
“Judging by the amount of light and brightness coming from behind your curtain, I figure day o’clock,” he chuckled.
Ash reached over his chest for their alarm clock. The digital, red numbers read ‘4:35’.
“About another two hours sun set. Not that it really matters now that we are under house arrest.”
“I’m going back to sleep,” They pulled the blanket up and over their shoulder and buried their face into the pillow.
“Good luck with that. I don’t think I could get back to sleep after you trying to scalp me. I don’t know how you can after those wicked assed nightmares you were having.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What were you dreaming about?”
“Heavy, needlessly overpowering symbolism.”
“Why can’t you Gols ever have normal dreams. You know, like a nightmare about having to present some project to your old middle school class and you someone how end up in the front of the class naked. Or your with your teen years sweetheart and your about ready to fuck but you can’t get it up and Saorise and Andrei are there and they look so disappointed at you and eventually start laughing at you.”
Ash lifted their face from their pillow. “Do you have these dreams often?”
“Only when I drink too much.”
“I think I’m just processing last night.”
“I know what will make you feel better. Stay on your stomach.”
Ash kept still on their belly. They felt him roll on top of them and straddle them below their thighs. His hands traveled under the back of their oversized nightshirt. His hand rested on Ash’s shoulders. Randal applied pressure and stroked down to their hips. He repeated the action.
Ash felt their mental tension ease. His bandaged hands were so rough and comforting on their back. They nuzzled their face deeper into their pillow.
His rested his had above their hips. He lightly sunk his claws into the soft flesh of their sides. He kneaded their sides, lightly dragging his claws towards their back.
They let out moan into their pillow. Randal traced a path up and down their spine.
“There you go.”
Randal tugged Ash’s nightshirt over their head, leaving them in their underwear. He went back to rubbing their back. Working their shoulders and pausing to rake his claws against more sensitive areas.
Ash was a mess of giggles and low groans. They bit into their pillow to keep their voice from being heard.
“Come on, kid. Let me hear you.”
They felt his hands leave their back. They heard Randal rub his hands together. They braced for what they knew was coming.
There was a sharp snap across their ass. Ash threw their head back and gasp. His hand cupped their ass, stroking the cheek he just slapped. It stung and felt slightly warm. They lifted their hips and pressed harder into his.
“When we first started hanging out, I never would have fucking guest how much you would have loved being spanked.”
Ash fingers gripped the pillow, stitches were popping. They closed their eyes and savored the second and third swat.
Their hips completely left the bed. Ash tried to spread their legs, but Randal’s weight was holding them together.
Randal pulled Ash’s underwear down. He kneaded their cheeks. His hair tickled their back as he kissed down their spine to the small of their back.
He spread the globes of flesh. “Fuck, I love your ass.” He worked his two handfuls of flesh.
A thick, viscous fluid landed on them. It dripped own the valley to their labias. A finger spread the moisture to where it was needed.
“Randal, no. Wait,”
He chuckled, “ No, baby I’m not going to ‘wrong hole’ you.” He whispered into their ear. “But I will you keep your pretty ass in the air for me?” Ash nodded. He nipped the tip of their ear.
Ash felt him shift on top of them and cloth on cloth friction. They felt his erection rest on their lower back. He ran a finger tip down the slit of their pussy.
“Ever now and then, I wish I knew you before you were embraced. What kind of person were you?” He lightly rubbed their swelling clit. “Did you need to be wined and dined and maybe have a ring on your finger before somebody could get you on your knees?” His finger traveled up and parted their lips and entering their body. “Maybe you were on the complete opposite of the spectrum. A five minute fuck and shuck in an alley or hourly rated motel.” He slipped two saliva moistened digits into Ash.
They backed onto his fingers. Small moan bubbled in the back of their throat. They savored his fingers spreading them open and rubbing against their walls. He grinded his coz I against their ass.
“Randal,” Ash whimpered. “I love your fingers.”
“I can imagine when you were still warm and breathing, how wet you could get.” Randal’s words carried a predatory note to them. “If your body is so fucking inviting now, how divine was your cunt when your heart was beating? Would you have even let someone like me touch you? ” He made small circles above their clit with his thumb.
“Yes, but I would have ridden you and kick you out of my bed before your dick could dry.” Ash purred.
“That makes me want you more and more.”
He pulled out his fingers. Ash suddenly so empty. His hands gripped their ass. He rubbed his cock between their cheeks. Squeezing their flesh tighter around himself.
Randal’s claws pierced their flesh as his thrusts picked up speed. Within a few thrusts, they felt his shiver. No matter how many times they had any sexual contact, Ash still expected to feel warm, sticky semen in or on them.
Randal rested his head on Ash’s back. He pulled his claws from their ass and snaked his arms around their belly. He gave a hearty squeeze.
“Did you have fun jerking yourself off with my ass?”
He gave their rear a playful slap. “I did in fact.”
He rolled over to his side of the bed. Randal patted the space on the bed between his legs.
Ash kicked off their underwear that was rolled around their calves. They planted themself between his legs. Randal tugged their oversized night shirt over their head and tossed it in a corner.
“Lay your head back on my shoulder and close your eyes.”
Ash did as they were told. Randal took their hands in his and placed them firmly on his knees. “Keep your hands there and don’t move.”
He rested a hand on their chest, inches above their breasts. “Take a deep breath.”
Ash snorted. “But I don’t-“
Randal’s beard scratched against their neck and ear. “I will not ask again,” he whispered. His voice was soothing to Ash. It made them want to do everything to please him. Fulfil every command he gave. “ Slowly and deep. Try to reach my hand.”
Ash parted their lips and drew air in. “1,” Randal counted in a soft monotone voice. “2.” Ash focused on the weight of his hand on their chest. “3.” They felt their lungs expand and their chest swell. “4.” They reached their full capacity. “5 and release.” Ash released the air from their body on his count.
“There we go.” He kissed a spot under their ear. “You did so good.”
Ash’s heart grew with his praise. They muffled a whine of pleasure. “Please. Tell me again how good I am.”
He nuzzled his face into their neck. “Ash. You are so good for me.” He kissed lightly along their shoulder. “I can’t tell you enough how wonderful you are.”
His arms snaked around their middle and he squeezed. He placed his palms above their long deceased womb.
“Keep breathing. Breath down into your tummy.”
Ash pulled more air in at his set pace. His hands left their hands traveled along their abdomen.
Randal cupped their breasts. He rubbed his thumbs across the dark, pebbles skin of their nipples. He lightly kneaded their flesh.
Ash’s psyche was on fire. Small moans slipped from between their lips. They willed blood to the surface of their skin. Their skin blushed and warmed. Ash’s arousal became physical as their clit swelled. The contrast of their artificially living skin against Randal’s cold body made them gasp.
“I can only make myself warm for so long,” Ash panted.
“Open your mouth. Make my fingers wet.”
Randal’s thick index and middle finger pressed against their flushed lips. Ash opened their mouth for him. His fingers snaked in. Ash pooled their venomous saliva in their mouth. Their tongue slid between his fingers. His fingertips grazed their fangs. Randal pulled out. A string of saliva connected his digits to their tongue.
His darted to their pussy. His wet fingers coaxed and rubbed their labias. Ash’s back arched. He parted them open and ran his slick fingers along the insides of their lips, up to their clit.
Ash bit their lower lip, piercing themself. Their nails dug into Randal’s legs. Between his beard tickling their neck and his hands working their breast and clit Ash was in complete bliss.
“Don’t you dare stop breathing and don’t you fucking think about moving your hands,” he said in a low growl.
His moist fingers expertly worked them how they liked. Pressing their clitoral hood lightly oved their extremely sensitive bud of nerves and rubbed in circles.
Ash tried to muffle their moans and panting by keeping their mouth shut. “Open your mouth. You’re doing so good. Let me heard you.”
Their orgasm was building. “Randal! Please, I am so fucking close!”
He picked up his pace and added some pressure on their sex. His fingers on his other hand rolled the tip of their nipple.
Ash wanted to cum and wanted to cry from release. They rolled their hips against his hand.
“Ran-Randal!” Ash’s orgasm hit them hard. Their clit twitched against his finger tips. Their body went limp against his chest.
Chapter Text
“While we are here on lock down, let’s hash out a plan and look at our options concerning the last clusterfuck in the park.” Randal fidgeted with the silver arrows and spent bullets in his massive hand.
“Yeah, one sec.”
Ash pulled a glass pitcher from the cupboard. They tore open three blood packs and poured the collective three pints of blood into the pitcher. They grabbed three recycled mason jars and placed them on the counter.
They set two jars aside and took a knife from the cutlery drawer. They hovered their wrist above one jar and slit it along the width. Their cold, thick blood trickled into the jar. They managed a little over a pint before their flesh knitted itself close.
Ash balanced the pitcher, the two empty jars and the filled jars in their hands. They placed them in the center of the dining table. They placed one empty jar in front of Randal, another in front of where they were to be seated. Finally they handed the jar of their blood to Markus.
They took their seat. “Ok, ready.” Ash said as they filled the empty jars with the morbid contents of the pitcher.
“No.” Markus held up a hand. “There is a reason Ash poured three bags into the carafe. They just don’t know it yet.”
Ash did eye the blood left in the pitcher. They did partially fill Randal’s and their jars. They didn’t think about why. Only if felt right to distribute their meal in such a fashion.
“Right. I trust you two, so we’ll wait for a few minutes.” Randal set down the now silver scraps and pulled out a small spiral note book and a sharpie from his back pocket.
Ash crossed their arms on the table and laid their head down. Their watching eyes switched between sneaking peaks at Randal’s drawing in his note book and Markus swirling the contense of his jar like a wine taster looking for sediments at the bottom of their glass.
At least five minutes had passed before a tapping could be heard from the living room window. Sight of what could be causing the noise was blocked by the curtains yet to be drawn that evening.
“That will be him. Traveler, be the stunning host you are and welcome him in. I will fetch another glass.”
“Who is “him”?” Markus was already rummaging in the cupboard for a clean glass.
Ash looked to Randal. He gave a hesitant shrug, followed by a nod. He turned in is chair to face towards the window.
Ash pulled back the curtains. Their eyes met with a set of thick sunglasses. Visions of circular saw blades, black cladded bodies dancing feverously and screams of their kin made impact with Ash's psyche. They clapped their hands over their eyes, rubbed hard and blinked a few times.
The cab driver tapped on the window’s glass with a black painted nail. His smile was wide, toothy and that of a maniacally crazed man. He clung to the window frame with ease.
Ash slid the window open and offered a hand to the crazed man. He took it and pulled himself into their apartment.
“You could have used the front door.”
He patted dust off the front of his black leather jacket and matching, extremely tight black jeans. Ash noticed he had a duffle bag strapped across his torso.
“Can I offer you a seat at the table?”
Some how the cab driver’s smile became wider at the offer. He nodded but then lifted his index finger and lightly pressed it against it the tip of their nose. He made an auditable “boop”.
‘What an odd man' Ash thought to themself.
The cab driver pulled his glasses down to the bridge of his nose and gave them a knowing wink with a brightly glowing, hazel eye.
Ash instintually covered their mouth with a hand, afraid they said their comment aloud instead of thinking it.
“Here. We were short a seat so I rolled your desk chair out.” Randal called to Ash and pointed to the office chair he retrieved from their bedroom.
Everybody took their seat at the small, simple kitchen table. Ash filled a glass that Markus chose for the cab driver with what was left in the pitcher and pushed it towards the man.
“Now that our little coven is assembled-“
“Coven? Who is this guy?” Randal jerked his head towards the cab driver who looked so happy to just be apart of the meeting.
“He was Saorise’s old drive-“
“I know that but who the fuck is this guy?”
“He is an ally and a valuable asset.” Markus said as he straightened his back, crossed his legs and placed his folded hands in his lap. “After triaging Ash the other night, our friend and I went back to the park to investigate and “clean up”.” Markus unfolded his hands to make quotations. “Nobody thinks to look for corpses in a cemetery.”
“Did you find anything on how those hunters got us or who sent them?” Ash asked. As Markus talked, their eyes darted between the three men, trying to read their body language.
“Sadly, not much.”
“Ok so let’s work with what we know.” Ash grabbed a silver arrow head that had caked on gore. “These things are silver. Nobody just shoots someone up with silver just for a fashion statement or without being the Lone Ranger.”
“They had to think that silver does something to us. Or else why would they spend that much scratch on lame weapons.” Randal went back to playing with the dented precious metal. “Taking into account their numbers. They did have enough to circle our crew.”
“So these were not a group of misguided youths who played a little too much Dungeons and Dragons or a handful of zealots who thought they were doing the Lord’s mission.” Markus said matter of factly. “Brother, if you would,”
The cab driver rubbed his hands together with subdued glee. He reached under the table and produced his battered, faded, dark grey duffle bag.
Ash's eyes swiveled between all three men of the table. They watched Randal’s jaw tighten and hints of crows feet etching themselves into the corners of this eyes. Their eyes looked to his hands. Searching for his habitual stress stemming of making such tight fists, his nails would pierce his palms.
Markus remained calm, proud and statuesque like he was sitting on the hottest piece of gossip, the funniest joke known to man, and the cure to every known illness. Ash spied the iota of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Ash returned their eyes to the cab driver. He was rummaging in the bag like a child gutting their Easter basket for every last sweet. He produced a handful of wallets, raging form humble Velcro to shiny, rich leather. He slapped them down on the table and drove back into the bag.
Randal dove for a couple and disembowel the contents. Cards and identification littered the table. He began making stacks of the semi empty wallets and the ID’s and cards.
The cab driver held up a set of keys and jingled them in Randal’s direction. The sound grabbed his attention from the wallets’ contents.
“Oh shit, those are my keys. I forgot I left my bike at the park with the risk of second death and everything.” Randal’s face softened. “Where is it parked?” The cab driver pointed down at the floor. “So down stairs?” The man shook he head up and down. Randal tucked his keys into his pocket and patted the tiny bulge of the keys on his hip.
“I’m not sure if I know what to make of you, but I owe you. Name it and I will try to get it back to you.”
The cab driver cocked an eyebrow and nodded his head. The man’s mannerisms came across cartoonish to Ash.
Ash slid the stack of identification towards them while Randal and the two Golgotha men talked and signed.
The ID’s were all standard Californian drivers license. They laid them out in a grid before them. X’ s flashed over all of them but one. Ash picked up the one that didn’t have a vision of an X above it.
They examined it. The drivers license belonged to a Jeffrey Park. The pictures showed an Asian man with a dark brown crew cut in his early 30’s. They looked for an address. They assume he must have just moved and had yet to update the DMV when they saw the Escondido address.
Ash gathered up the ID’s set them aside, all but Jeffrey Park’s. They held it inches from their face and studied his photo. From the mole on his Adam’s apple to the sliver of a scar in his right eyebrow.
The address felt like a dead end to Ash. They needed his full wallet. Ash closed their eyes and reached towards the pile and grabbed the wallet that felt the most “Jeffrey Park” to them. In their hand was a coffee brown, pleather wallet.
Ash opened it. A few monetary bills were still inside the billfold. They found a visa credit card, a business card to an auto repair shop that was worn and faded. They came across a picture of a middle aged man and woman with a teenage boy. They recognized the child as Jeffrey but they assumed the man and woman were his parents. The next card they pulled was another business card but this one was fresh and crisp with a well know, inexpensive motel logo.
Ash felt the gears in their head turning at an increased speed. They flipped the motel business card. The back was covered in scribbles in Royal blue ink about weekly rates.
“How convenient.” They said under there breath.
Ash placed Jeffery’s driver’s license, photo and motel card back into his wallet and pocked it.
“So we are in agreement? I’ll give you Marla’s contact and she can help with any repairs and what the fuck is going on with you?”
Ash looked up from their investigation. “What’s up?”
The three vampires locked eyes on to Ash. They searched their faces. Randal looked like her was trying to suppress shock. The cab driver was failing in controlling his manic glee while Markus kept stoic as possible.
Markus reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver pocket watch. He flipped it in his hand a few times and held up the reflective back to their face.
Their dark, brown eyes looked like they were reflecting a fire. They rubbed their eyes and the glow dimmed in their reflection in Markus’s watch.
“Excuse me.”
Ash scurried to the bathroom. They flicked on the light. They leaned over the sink to get a closer look of themself in the mirror. The glow was dying down but very noticeable to anybody was a keen eye.
They gently pulled down on their lower eyelid and rolled their eye about. The glow appeared to Ash to come from their eye as a whole instead of just their iris or cornia.
“I was wondering when you would take on more of our traits.”
“Weird time to for this to happen? You would think I would get my eye glow thingy back when my life was constantly threatened instead of just once a week now.”
Ash released their eye lid. Markus was removed his sunglasses. His eyes shone brightly in the mirror.
“I have a theory,” he offered.
“Lay it on me.” Ash turned the water faucet on and splashed their face with cold water.
“You never really had a chance to learn and bond with those in our clan. Maybe this caused you to become a late bloomer. Mazel tov.” He wiped his glasses off on a towel on the rack next to him.
Ash turned to face Markus. He laid his cold, bony hands on the sides of their face. His thumbs rested just under their lower eye lids and his forefingers on their eyebrows. He lightly forced their eyes to stay open.
“Hmmmm,” Ash tired to advert their eyes. They felt like a bug being inspected and arranged for pinning. “I don’t think you’ll need your own pair of shades of yet. You did go from a deep chocolate to a rich honey. How charming.”
Markus gave their cheeks a soft, playful squeeze and finished with a couple pats.
“ You found Mr. Park's temporary residents.”
“Um, how-“
“Ash,” Markus said in a tone like a parent catching a child in a harmless fib. “ You can fool and lead the average corpse, but I’m delightfully impossible.”
Ash sighed and nodded. “Yeah.” They pulled Jeffery Park’s wallet from their pocket and offered it to him.
He held up a hand. “No, you keep it.” He stopped down to get to Ash’s level. “We will pay the hunter a visit as soon as your king lets you out of his sight.”
Ash nodded. They felt their stomach drop. They had a flash of a vision. The man they killed in Blood and Roses. “We’re not going to hurt anybody? Are we?”
Markus shrugged. “That all depends on Mr. Parks.” Markus shook his head. “ Harden your heart, traveler.”
insanityizgood on Chapter 1 Wed 13 Nov 2019 07:12PM UTC
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haysalhero on Chapter 7 Mon 13 Jan 2020 06:37PM UTC
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Anonymous (Guest) on Chapter 7 Wed 15 Jan 2020 01:01AM UTC
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